Chapter 205: With That Cooking Skill Alone, Farewell!
Natsukawa rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, we'll go to the Moriya residence now. We don't know the combination to his safe, but we can take the whole safe."
This was inspired by watching Fast and Furious in his previous life—he'd just dig the safe out of the house.
Given Moriya Teiji's wealth, the safe wouldn't be that large. No problem.
Now that they had a car, Vodka's driving speed was definitely on point. They'd see if he was fast enough.
Half an hour later, the two arrived at the Moriya mansion.
However, the place was already heavily guarded by police. Yellow and black police tape surrounded the entire mansion, and officers stood along the walls, vigilant.
"What happened?"
The two in the car exchanged a glance, both somewhat confused.
Vodka's expression remained unchanged. He rolled down the window, took out his forged Metropolitan Police Department badge, flashed it at the officer, and asked, "What's the situation?"
He didn't ask what happened, but instead asked about the situation, to avoid arousing suspicion.
"Moriya Teiji hasn't been found yet. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team is currently checking the building for explosives."
The officer, acting like an obedient NPC, was met with a nod from Vodka, who thanked him for his service before rolling up the window and driving away.
"..."
Natsukawa raised an eyebrow, unsure what to say.
These police officers didn't just casually reveal details to Conan—it seemed they treated everyone the same.
Judging by Vodka's familiarity with the process, this wasn't his first time. It seemed the Metropolitan Police Department's officers needed better training. They didn't even need an inside contact—just a few questions were enough to find out everything.
Learned something new. I'll do that next time too!
"What a pity."
Vodka sighed, lighting a cigarette.
With so many police officers around, they definitely wouldn't be able to get their hands on the safe.
Natsukawa was curious why Moriya Teiji had been exposed so early, but it didn't matter. The objective had been achieved—there was nothing to worry about.
Moriya Teiji's body was disposed of, and he died carrying the blame for him and Franky. The Metropolitan Police Department would likely close the case of the stolen explosives as soon as possible, and this matter would probably end there.
After all, the reporters were keeping a close eye on things. If this continued for a few more days, even high-ranking officials in the Metropolitan Police Department might be at risk of resignation.
Back at the temporary base in Shibuya, Natsukawa and Vodka carried two boxes of explosives to Gin.
Originally, there was only one box.
However, Moriya Teiji seemed to have other sources of explosives, and the volume increased after being made into plastic explosives, hence the extra box.
"Hmm, this batch of plastic explosives looks good, and the quantity is quite substantial. Enough to last for a while."
Gin nodded in satisfaction. "The base in Tokyo needs to be reorganized. For the time being, Tequila should lay low. I'll contact you again after the base is re-established.
Remember, don't cause trouble."
The Organization had been exposed to Public Security multiple times, and Gin had developed a slight crisis of trust in his personnel.
Besides re-establishing the base, he also needed to investigate the peripheral members.
There wasn't much to investigate about the code-named members. They were mostly people he could trust, especially Tequila. This guy had brought him too many benefits and had been in the Organization for quite some time.
If he was an undercover agent, he must be a spy sent by the Boss to infiltrate and then sent back.
The only ones he didn't fully trust were Kir, Pisco, and Bourbon.
Kir was alright—she was a trusted confidante Vermouth had cultivated since childhood, so she definitely wasn't an undercover agent.
Kir was somewhat useless. He rarely used her, so she wasn't exactly trusted—someone you could keep around but felt bad about eliminating.
This time, however, she came in handy. She extensively reported negative news about the Metropolitan Police Department in the media, which caused panic among Tokyo citizens regarding the explosives.
Pisco was stingy. If he weren't the Boss's old subordinate, Gin would have definitely eliminated him and recovered all the funds.
Bourbon was too mysterious—nobody knew what he was doing all day. Gin was quite concerned about the things the Boss recently asked him to investigate, but since the Boss hadn't told him directly, he couldn't overstep his authority and question Bourbon.
Relying on the Boss as his backer, Bourbon treated him coldly, which annoyed him greatly.
Fortunately, Bourbon was the type to work alone, and most of the time they cooperated well, so Gin had no reason to cause trouble.
These three were all manageable. They might have conflicts with him at work, but Gin didn't quite believe they were traitors.
"I understand," Natsukawa nodded vigorously. This was great.
Working at the Organization was too exhausting—he needed a good vacation.
And reshuffling the bases was also beneficial.
Although he'd been undercover for some time, there were inevitably some bases he didn't know about, and he couldn't very well ask Vodka. If the original Tequila had known, it would seem suspicious.
When the bases were reshuffled, there wouldn't be this concern. Gin would definitely give him the complete list.
Then he could sell another batch of intelligence to WISE.
Although WISE didn't profit from obtaining the specific location of Shirakage Pharmaceuticals this time, Twilight received a substantial reward.
Suddenly, he felt this was a virtuous cycle, and he could do this more often in the future.
He wouldn't expose himself, and he could still obtain funding from WISE.
It wasn't that he was being malicious—it's just that working as a spy was expensive!
This was called strategic asset acquisition.
Three days later, the two bombings and the explosives theft that had rocked Tokyo were solved.
At a press conference, police publicly announced that both bombings were the work of Moriya Teiji.
The reason, they claimed, was that Moriya, dissatisfied with his early asymmetrical works, had plotted for years to destroy them with explosives.
The Kurokawa residence was just the beginning—the Beika City Hall and other buildings would have followed. However, during the first demolition explosion, Moriya failed to control the explosive charge and detonation timing properly, killing himself in the process.
As for Shirakage Pharmaceuticals, the police gave a rather far-fetched explanation: the Shirakage Pharmaceuticals explosion was a bombing experiment by Moriya.
Regarding the near-simultaneous timing of the Shirakage Pharmaceuticals explosion and the explosives theft, the police stated that Moriya, as an architect, had planned for years and acquired a considerable amount of explosives, accumulating them gradually.
He then used timed detonation technology to accomplish the "feat" of committing two major crimes simultaneously.
An unnamed explosives expert also came forward, claiming to be a close friend of Moriya Teiji, with whom he'd discussed explosive techniques for many years, and that Moriya was definitely capable of committing the two explosions.
Although the police couldn't find the remaining explosives, considering the growing tension among Tokyo residents, they decided to inform the public that the stolen remaining explosives had also been found in Moriya's home.
The matter was thus resolved.
Public Security, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the Organization were all pleased with the outcome.
Natsukawa put down his newspaper, stood up, and stretched.
Society needed stability, and the Metropolitan Police Department needed someone who could bear public anger. Therefore, Moriya Teiji was chosen.
This was also the result he wanted.
Sunlight streamed through the clouds onto the balcony, illuminating the vibrant flowers on the nearby plant stand.
This was the flower garden that Yor had created.
Because Natsukawa loved sunbathing, Yor had bought some easy-to-bloom, low-maintenance plants for the balcony.
Enjoying the fragrance of the flowers and basking in the sun, Natsukawa was extremely relaxed.
What was rare was that he didn't need to worry about Anya on weekends, all thanks to Ai Haibara.
Natsukawa was increasingly convinced that adopting Ai Haibara was the right choice.
Speaking of Ai Haibara, Natsukawa didn't completely let her roam free—he kept a close eye on her movements.
For example, yesterday.
Yesterday, Ai Haibara, along with Conan and Professor Agasa, went to Professor Hirota Masami's house at Nanyang University to retrieve lost research materials.
They also saw Hirota Masami off.
Judging from Ai Haibara's enthusiasm in teaching Anya today, it seemed the materials could still provide good help.
Although there wasn't any new data, all the research was done by Ai Haibara herself. With the earlier data, she should be able to quickly catch up with the current research progress at the Organization.
It was just a bit tough on Anya. Natsukawa hadn't seen her smile these past few days.
Under immense pressure, she studied diligently every day, her constant writing filling him with both pride and guilt.
"How about we take them to a hot spring inn during these two days off?"
With the explosion and explosives theft "solved," and Yor back to her normal schedule, he had plenty of time and days off.
Sometimes, Natsukawa wondered if he should ask Yor to quit her job.
But then he dismissed the idea.
She was doing well at the Metropolitan Police Department—he didn't have any valid reason to persuade her.
They were still dating. Asking her to quit and take care of the children seemed excessive.
No, even after marriage, he shouldn't have such thoughts.
Being a housewife wasn't really suitable for Yor. With her cooking skills... farewell!
She could just use her cooking as a biological weapon.
If he weren't so well-off, he could definitely market Yor's cooking as an extreme survival challenge.
But that would be too cruel. Even if he was short of money, he shouldn't do that.
Conan hadn't been idle these past few days either. Besides seeing Hirota Masami off yesterday, he'd been busy the days before that too.
With Conan's efforts, the Grim Reaper's workload would likely remain relatively stable for the time being.
At lunchtime, Natsukawa smiled at the two girls and said, "You've been studying so hard these past few days. I'll take you to a hot spring inn to relax tomorrow. The voucher is still valid."
"Really? I love Papa the most!!" Anya's eyes suddenly lit up. She jumped up, stood on her chair, and faced Natsukawa, her cute little face filled with joy.
"Of course."
"I'd better not go. I have to go to the Professor's house this afternoon and tomorrow. I have things to do."
Ai Haibara shook her head. She'd just received her research materials yesterday, and today and tomorrow were the weekend, so she needed to organize them properly.
Moreover, Professor Agasa had prepared the research equipment she needed these past few days, and they could officially start working this afternoon.
While in the Organization, she'd felt tired from constant research, but after escaping, she found that without research, she seemed to have nothing to do.
Only supervising Anya's studies kept her from feeling empty, but Anya wasn't a machine—she couldn't study 24/7. Haibara also needed research to pass the time.
And she also wanted to return to her normal size.
Shrinking was only for escaping the Organization. Normally, no one would willingly remain shrunken.
She wouldn't mind becoming younger, but seven years younger? Forget it.
"You need to relax sometimes," Anya said, though secretly she was delighted.
If there was one person she least wanted to see, it was undoubtedly Ai Haibara. She'd been driven crazy by the torment these past few days.
Although her grades had improved slightly, compared to the suffering she'd endured, it was unbearable.
She'd be much happier if Ai Haibara didn't go.
After all, if Ai Haibara came along, she might have to do homework while soaking in a hot spring—the thought was terrifying.
Ideally, she'd spend all her time researching that drug and forget about supervising her studies.
"No need," Ai Haibara said calmly, glancing at Anya.
Anya's thoughts were written all over her face, yet she still tried this. A child was a child.
But her absence didn't mean Anya didn't need to do her homework.
"I'll pick out some workbooks for you at the bookstore when I get back tonight. Even if you go to the hot spring inn, you can't fall behind on your studies. Look at the difference between yourself and Ayumi."
Bang!
Anya's head suddenly lost its support and slammed onto the table.
Tears welled in her pale green eyes.
"Just enough."
Natsukawa interjected cautiously, a little reluctantly. "Anya probably won't be able to handle too much homework."
"Papa—"
Anya cried out, tears of gratitude streaming down her face, jumping off the chair and hugging her father's leg.
"But listen to your sister Ai this week. If your exam results improve next week, then we'll talk about lightening the burden."
Natsukawa silently shook his leg, avoiding looking at Anya, whose face was on the verge of collapse.
"Ai, are you really not going? Soaking in a hot spring is quite relaxing."
"No."
Haibara Ai ate slowly, the hot spring trip not appealing to her. She was still wondering if Tequila would come looking for her if Natsukawa wasn't around.
Four or five days had passed, and Tequila hadn't appeared, which made her suspicious.
The person knew she'd shrunk and should be able to find her, so why hadn't they shown up yet? Was it because of Natsukawa beside her?
Conan said that Natsukawa's background was quite mysterious, and Tequila might be hesitant to appear because of his identity.
Yor shared her curiosity about Tequila.
After finishing his work these past few days, he finally had time to meet with Rei Furuya.
Besides handling some Organization matters, there was another reason—to inquire about Tequila!
Upon seeing Rei Furuya, Yor remarked that the man was still as tan as ever.
Even more so.
Could it be that the Black Organization had some negative effect that made people darker?
Yor was utterly baffled by the question of what genetics could produce a dark-skinned, blond-haired person.
Was his father dark-skinned? His mother a blonde Japanese woman?
Or perhaps his grandparents?
Yor was quite curious.
However, he didn't ask, as it wasn't work-related.
The identities of Public Security officers were highly confidential, and inquiring about other people's families was a major taboo, especially for an undercover agent like Furuya Rei, whose identity had to be kept extremely secret!
(End of Chapter)
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