Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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August 16th, Beika Town, 1-chome 34.
This time, instead of entering openly through the front gate, Ritsu bypassed the surveillance cameras and climbed over the three-meter-high back wall to get inside. Of course… someone who had already been notified had arranged in advance for the electrified fence above to be turned off.
Brushing the dust off his clothes, Ritsu, dressed entirely in black, pulled his cap low and waited by the back door for the person assigned to meet him.
There had originally been five security guards stationed here, but to prevent lower-level public security officers from discovering Ritsu's identity, all of them had been reassigned under the pretext of shift changes.
The iron door opened, revealing a man in a brown suit with tea-colored hair and green eyes. It was Andrew, who had assisted him before. The two hadn't seen each other in three months since parting at the airport.
Andrew gave a polite gentleman's bow and gestured for him to enter. "Nanase-san, please follow me. Sir is already waiting upstairs."
"Mm."
They took the same private elevator as before. After reaching the top floor, Andrew once again remained stationed at the elevator entrance.
Ritsu walked straight toward the conference room. Without needing to be told, he pushed the door open and looked at the man seated behind the screen. Judging by the silhouette, he was drinking tea.
And once again, it was black tea, though the aroma seemed different from before.
"Since you're here, have a seat."
Seated in the conference room, Ritsu reported all the information he currently knew to the man behind the screen. Of course, he withheld certain details; such as nearly being caught by Hiro when he returned home after being injured, and the fact that he had already killed a low-level member who had defected from the organization.
The man behind the screen set down his teacup and interlocked his fingers, resting his elbows on the table. Ritsu could feel his gaze through the screen.
"Macallan. That's what I'll call you from now on."
"Suit yourself."
The man chuckled softly. "Macallan, there are two things you need to pay attention to. First, regarding the drug APTX4869. Since you're involved in its research, slow down its progress as much as possible. Understood?"
The National Police Agency clearly did not want this "dream drug" to be completed. Ritsu nodded. "Understood. What's the second matter?"
"Miyano Shiho. I need you to protect her."
"…??"
So direct?
Could it be interpreted that the man behind the screen had some kind of connection to Shiho?
"…Why?"
"Because you would choose to protect her anyway."
Ritsu hadn't expected his thoughts to be seen through so easily. He truly didn't want to harm Shiho. Regardless of what others thought, he felt guilty for using her to gain entry into the organization and that guilt only deepened after realizing she was essentially a pitiful girl imprisoned by it.
"You must be wondering how I know that, right?"
"…Yeah."
"When you mentioned her earlier, every word you used carried a positive tone. It wasn't like how you spoke about Calvados or Chianti. Miyano is useful to us, so she cannot die. Protect her as much as possible."
So he had overthought it? Was it simply because she was valuable to the agency?
"Then what about her sister, Akemi?"
"Handle her the same way."
"But Akemi isn't skilled in research. She's just a low-level member, what use is she?" Ritsu pressed further, trying to discern the identity of the man behind the screen. His voice wasn't altered, which meant it was his natural voice.
That strange sense of familiarity puzzled him. He shouldn't feel that way… so who could it be?
"Macallan, I know you're curious about my identity. But now isn't the time. When the moment comes, I'll stand before you in person."
The man behind the screen smiled and pointed toward a black backpack on a rack by the door. "I'll send you the time of our next meeting by email. Don't forget to take the bag when you leave."
"…Understood."
Dismissed, Ritsu stood up. When he picked up the backpack, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, the weight surprised him. He had assumed it contained documents.
Andrew, who had been waiting, spoke politely, "Nanase-san, please follow me."
"Mm."
Escorted out of the National Police Agency grounds, Ritsu carried the backpack into an alley. Parked there was a black-and-white painted Ford GT40, the car he had bought after "selling off all his belongings."
Because he had been ordered to focus on recovery recently, Ritsu hadn't received any missions from the operations team. That meant he had no reasonable excuse to purchase a GT40 outright.
Left with no choice, he had boldly asked Gin to lend him some money.
As a result, Ritsu was now in debt to the tune of 15 million yen, to Gin, no less. It felt like, for the next few months, he and Shiho would be in the same situation.
Working for free.
Opening the driver's door, Ritsu got in and unzipped the heavy black backpack. Inside were bundles of yen bills, each stack made up of 1,000-yen notes, meaning each bundle was worth 100,000 yen.
Ten bundles made one million yen. Most likely, this was his salary.
Heh. Compared to the pay from the organization's missions, the difference was stark. Being a good person really didn't pay well.
He casually tossed the backpack onto the floor of the passenger seat, fastened his seatbelt, and started the engine, heading toward Beika Town. Passing by a convenience store, he realized he hadn't eaten breakfast yet.
He parked in the lot of a nearby children's park, locked the car, and walked toward the convenience store.
"Welcome."
Standing in front of the refrigerated section, Ritsu reached for three onigiri. His gaze then shifted to the wide variety of sandwiches nearby, lingering on a tuna sandwich… which seemed like something Gin might like.
Rich mayonnaise and peanut butter paired with relatively oily canned tuna, along with tomatoes and lettuce… not his kind of food. He disliked canned products.
Especially canned fish; tuna, sardines… that mushy texture always felt like some kind of culinary abomination. No matter how well it was prepared, he could still detect a fishy smell.
"That'll be 420 yen. Here's your change."
Instead of eating in the car, Ritsu went to the children's park. At this hour, there were no kids around, and the place was quiet. Sitting on a swing, he unwrapped an onigiri, only to find that half the seaweed was stuck to the plastic wrapper. His brows immediately furrowed.
Messing up the wrapping on an onigiri was seriously irritating, especially for someone with obsessive tendencies.
With no other choice, he tore off some seaweed from the other side to create an imperfect symmetry, better than leaving it uneven. He took a big bite of the ham-and-egg-salad filling. It was generously packed.
Sitting alone on the swing, he gently swayed. It felt completely different from when he was a child, his long legs had nowhere to go.
Turning his head, he spotted two small sparrows perched together on a branch. Their round, plump bodies looked adorable.
"Meow~"
Ritsu paused and looked down. A small black kitten had appeared beside him, pawing at the plastic bag on the ground. Tilting its head, it let out another meow, as if asking for help.
"Regular milk isn't good for your stomach."
"Meow…"
"I can't say no to you, huh? Wait here for a second."
Ritsu hurried back to the convenience store. Fortunately, they sold pet supplies. He bought a can of goat milk and rushed back, only to find the kitten gone.
"Guess it didn't understand me and left?"
With a wry smile, he sat back down on the swing and reached into the plastic bag for his second onigiri, only to feel something soft and furry.
"Meow~"
"…?"
Turns out the mischievous little thing had hidden inside the plastic bag. Seeing it blink up at him with wide, pleading eyes, Ritsu shook the goat milk in his hand. "Come out and drink this."
Pouring some into his palm, he watched as the kitten eagerly lapped it up. As expected, all young creatures were adorable, it stirred an instinctive urge to protect them.
He probably couldn't keep a cat at the research institute. But if he didn't take it with him… could something this small survive on its own?
"Do you want to come back with me?"
"Meow!"
"I'll take that as a yes, then."
"Meow~"
Watching its little tail wag from side to side, Ritsu couldn't help but laugh. "Are you a cat or a dog? Come on, I'll take you home."
Looks like he'd have to rent an apartment near the institute. Fortunately, as a member of the operations team, he could freely enter and leave. Asking to move out should be fine.
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Author's Note:
To address a few comments: Chianti won't be punished. The protagonist will choose to conceal things and use a softer approach to draw her closer. Being deep in the enemy's stronghold, he needs to gather a few trusted allies, that's the direction I've chosen.
Second, some readers say the protagonist's personality is problematic. Personally, I'm an optimistic person and prefer positive themes. I'm past the age of being overly edgy, if I were younger, I might have written him as a true villain. But now, I want to portray someone who, even in adversity, still yearns for the light and believes in justice. Of course, according to my outline, he is a very positive character. After all, being an undercover agent is inherently complex.
Lastly: if everyone resorted to killing or beating others over every little issue, everything would fall into chaos! Can't let younger readers pick up bad habits (lol).