Chapter 74: He was extremely tolerant.
Their footsteps stopped at a corner that seemed less than half a meter away, so the sounds that were originally somewhat distant became extremely close, as if lovers were whispering in each other's ears.
The next second, Edogawa Conan heard the rustling sound of clothes. The man who was only a short distance away from them squatted down, his magnetic, low voice carrying a clear smile.
"Come on, let me introduce you to my little friend, the adorable kitten-chan~" Glenturret was like a child sharing something interesting with a friend; the sense of danger from before vanished in an instant.
"Meow~" Simultaneously, Edogawa Conan heard a soft cat's meow.
But Edogawa Conan still dared not breathe, afraid that his panting would startle the cat that had appeared out of nowhere, or that Glenturret would notice him.
The young man with medium-length hair reached out and expertly rubbed the cat's chin, then casually remarked, "Scotch, don't you think this cat looks familiar?"
Scotch: "Hmm?"
Seeing that the cat wasn't afraid of people, Glenturret picked it up and said, "Look, its eyes, aren't they exactly the same as yours!"
Scotch: "..."
Scotch chuckled: "If you're that free, how about I leave the rest of the work to you?"
"Ugh—no way!" Glenturret puffed out his cheeks. "I promised someone I'd go get a drink tonight!"
"Alright, let's not waste any more time. Let's finish this quickly."
"Who is really wasting time?" Scotch casually remarked.
Glenturret pretended not to understand and changed the subject with a smile.
It wasn't until the two people had walked away that Edogawa Conan was put down. Morofushi Sora'aki patted the little detective on the back. Only then did Conan belatedly realize that he hadn't been breathing for a long time.
His face flushed red, and he was breathing heavily.
Seeing that the child had recovered, Morofushi Sora'aki withdrew his hand and then aimed at the orange cat that was walking around the corner with small, cat-like steps.
"Meow—" The cat drew out its sound, as if it wanted to be praised, and raised its little chin to rub against Morofushi Sora'aki's feet.
Morofushi Sora'aki remained in a half-squatting position and rubbed the cat's head: "Good child, good child, thank you for earlier."
Morofushi Sora'aki pinched the cat's ears to confirm, then nodded and said, "You haven't been spayed/neutered yet. I'll take you to the vet later."
So, Edogawa Conan, who had just come to his senses, heard such a subtle line, and all the tension and panic in his heart were put behind his urge to make sarcastic remarks.
Looking at the completely unaware cat that was still trying to rub against him, Edogawa Conan asked hesitantly, "Nozaki-san, whose cat is this...?"
"First time seeing this, a stray cat." Morofushi Sora'aki waved the cat's paw at Edogawa Conan. "If it weren't for it, we would have already been found. We should thank it properly."
"Uh, no, what I mean is..." Edogawa Conan didn't know what he wanted to say for a moment, and finally slumped his shoulders: "I understand, Nozaki-san."
Edogawa Conan also thanked the cat sincerely, and noticed that the cat's eyes were blue, and the upward curve of its eyes was somewhat similar to that of Nozaki Umetarou: "Thank you, kitten."
Hearing the word "kitten", Morofushi Sora'aki was reminded of his own past use of the term "fish-stealing cat". Cats are so cute, should I say "fish-stealing dog" from now on?
As a high school student, Edogawa Conan felt his behavior was a bit childish, but then he thought about his current appearance and it made him feel better. After all, only Nozaki Umetarou in front of him could see him; in Nozaki's eyes, he was just an elementary school student. So what if he was childish!
But here's the key point: Edogawa Conan became serious: "Nozaki-san, just now..."
Just then, the phone rang, and Edogawa Conan's heart skipped a beat. He froze for two seconds, his expression blank for a moment.
Only then did I realize that it was my phone ringing in my pocket.
He couldn't help but feel relieved that it hadn't rung earlier, or he would be dead by now—it would be one thing if it happened to him, but it would be terrible if it implicated Nozaki Umetarou, who was protecting him, or the people around him.
"Hello..." Edogawa Conan answered the phone.
Meanwhile, Mouri Ran's voice rang out from the other end of the conversation: "Conan-kun! Where are you? Are you lost?"
Suzuki Sonoko's voice could be heard on the other end of the phone: "Maybe that brat fell into the toilet!"
"No way!" Edogawa Conan retorted first, then obediently said, "Um, Ran-neechan, I..."
Edogawa Conan glanced subconsciously at the black-haired, blue-eyed boy and saw him extend his hand, gesturing for him to hand over his phone.
Edogawa Conan was taken aback. Perhaps he wanted to test him, or perhaps for some other reason, but in any case, he still gave the phone to Morofushi Sora'aki.
Mouri Ran, on the other end of the line, asked with some concern: "Hey? Why are you suddenly so quiet?"
"It's me, Mouri-san." said Morofushi Sora'aki.
[Hmm? That voice... Ah! Is that Nozaki-kun?]
"Yes. I just found a stray cat and was planning to take it to the vet to get it spayed. Conan was curious and said that his teacher assigned a research report on cats, so he asked if I could go to the vet with him."
[Huh?] Mouri Ran was a little surprised.
"I think this is a great life experience. After all, simply feeding stray cats won't cultivate a child's sense of responsibility. Seeing the whole process done firsthand is a great experience for elementary school students."
Mouri Ran was convinced, but still a little worried: "Wouldn't this be too much trouble for you, Nozaki-kun?"
"It's alright, I'll get him back to the office before dark."
After exchanging a few more words with Mouri Ran, Morofushi Sora'aki hung up the phone.
Upon hearing the first sentence, Edogawa Conan realized the other person was making excuses for him and didn't interrupt until after the call ended. He then said, "Nozaki-san, so you—"
With one hand holding the cat and the other outstretched towards Edogawa Conan, Morofushi Sora'aki said, "Let's go to the hospital."
Edogawa Conan: "Hmm?"
Edogawa Conan: "..."
Edogawa Conan: ...So you were serious about sterilization!
Looking at the oblivious kitten, Edogawa Conan felt a pang of remorse, as if he had repaid kindness with enmity.
"Is Nozaki-niichan very popular with cats?" Edogawa Conan asked curiously as he walked, trying to find a topic to talk about and get to the heart of the matter.
"Yeah, it's to the point where you'd get buried alive if you went to a cat cafe." said Morofushi Sora'aki.
Edogawa Conan: "...Ahaha, is that so?"
Morofushi Sora'aki was definitely not a good conversationalist, but he was a perfect listener. This resulted in Edogawa Conan not getting any information out of him, but instead revealing a lot of his own information.
Of course, he only revealed the daily life of elementary school students; he wouldn't reveal a single word about Kudou Shin'ichi's part.
Watching Morofushi Sora'aki perform the procedure with remarkable skill, and seeing the bewildered kitten being controlled by the doctor with an Elizabethan collar on its head, Edogawa Conan's urge to make sarcastic remarks grew even stronger.
At that moment, Morofushi Sora'aki touched Edogawa Conan's hair and said, "After the surgery is over and you've settled it in, I'll take you home."
Edogawa Conan exclaimed in surprise, "Nozaki-niichan!"
The agreed-upon information exchange—wait, this guy hasn't said anything at all. Was he really just sent here to witness a sterilization surgery? He's the one who kept assuming he'd explain things to him!
Edogawa Conan startled himself, while Morofushi Sora'aki didn't have much interest in teasing a child, since his mission was to protect the young detective.
Edogawa Conan decided to test the waters one more time, "So why did Nozaki-niichan do that back then?"
"Where is it?"
Morofushi Sora'aki looked down at those clear, clean blue eyes behind the glasses, "I'm doing the same thing as you."
Edogawa Conan paused for a moment: "...The same thing?"
He was just following Glenturret, so Nozaki Umetarou is also following Glenturret... No! Not necessarily!
From his perspective at the time, it was impossible for him to notice the other person's appearance beforehand! Rather than tracking Glenturret, Nozaki Umetarou's target... was probably that man known as Scotch!
Glenturret earlier words suddenly echoed in Edogawa Conan's ears: "Scotch, doesn't this cat look familiar?"
"Look, those eyes, aren't they exactly like yours!"
The eyes... This detail seemed completely unfounded, and he had never actually seen what that Scotch man looked like, but Edogawa Conan instinctively felt that this information was the key point.
Edogawa Conan stared at the cat emerging from the operating room. Memories can be blurred by the brain, so he had to see it again—looking at the drowsy, anesthetized orange cat, its eyes meeting the blue cat eyes that seemed vaguely familiar to him before. Edogawa Conan swallowed hard.
He knew his judgment was somewhat sudden, yet the logic seemed perfectly reasonable.
Why did he not pay attention to his older brother's existence for 22 years (to be precise, it was only a little over ten years for Nozaki Umetarou), but suddenly want to know about him recently?
Also, is Nozaki Umetarou really his real name?
It was precisely because he had met the other party recently that he had the idea of investigating, which is why it was that way when he commissioned the case. But there is one thing: assuming that Scotch and Nozaki Umetarou are really related, but they are not direct brothers, can they really look so similar?
Edogawa Conan's voice was calm, but his hands behind his back clenched tightly. "Um, Nozaki-niichan, I have a question."
Meeting Morofushi Sora'aki's gaze, Edogawa Conan pursed his lips: "Scotch... is that the older brother you're looking for?"
"Speaking of which, those two older brothers are really childish. Nowadays, even elementary school students don't use nicknames to address each other!"
Edogawa Conan's voice seemed to be cut off, because Morofushi Sora'aki spoke up.
"No need for explanations, no need for pretense." he said. "Why do you think I came to the Mouri Detective Agency to commission this case?"
Seeing the child's barely concealed fear, Morofushi Sora'aki felt a little strange, but then he remembered how easily his classmates would react, and he immediately understood.
After all, they're all male high school students. Morofushi Sora'aki thought to himself.