Chapter 277: Yusaku Kudo's Investigation
After the flurry of chaos finally settled, Conan Edogawa came to the startling realization that the mysterious lady at the heart of the commotion was, in fact, his own mother in disguise.
And Hades, the infamous phantom thief, was not a ghost at all—his supposed partner had indeed passed away long ago.
Conan looked up at his mother, his eyes as flat and lifeless as a dead fish's. "So," he asked, his voice dripping with indignation, "did you come all this way just to scare me?"
Kudo Yukiko covered her mouth with a delicate hand, waving the other with a theatrical flourish. "Of course not," she chirped, her smile radiant.
"Your father and I..." Yukiko glanced up as Yusaku Kudo approached them, his presence calm and grounding. "...have also been following this case."
"In fact, I was the one who solved the code from Hades's previous escapade," Yusaku added, walking to Yukiko's side and draping a casual arm around her shoulder. He offered a brief explanation of their sudden appearance in London.
"I thought that with Hades's cunning, apprehending him would require a great deal more effort, but I didn't expect..." As he spoke, Yusaku's gaze shifted toward the center of the lingering crowd, landing on Lyney and Lynette. "They were the ones who helped a lot this time, weren't they?"
"Yes." Following his father's line of sight, Conan's expression grew complicated as he watched Lynette.
'Are all the members of the Teyvat Organization this skilled?' he wondered.
He'd heard that the police managed to arrest the culprit so smoothly in part because the man had lost a significant amount of blood and was too weak to resist. Hades had apparently claimed he was stabbed by Lynette, but with no weapon found and no other evidence, Scotland Yard had dismissed it as the desperate ramblings of a cornered criminal.
But Conan had a gut feeling that Hades wasn't lying.
'So, how did she do it?'he thought, his mind racing.'How could Lynette possibly conceal a blade of that size on her person without anyone noticing?'
"They're in the same group as Miss Ningguang, right?" Yusaku asked, his voice low and thoughtful, breaking the silence.
"Yeah... ah, no, wait... They're friends..."
Being around his father, Conan's usual vigilance had lowered considerably. Caught off guard by the direct question, the words tumbled out before he could stop them. He immediately realized his mistake, but it was too late to take it back. Facing his father's gaze—a look that seemed to say he already knew the answer—Conan knew he couldn't hide it any longer.
"Fine," he admitted with a sigh. "They are in the same group. But, Dad, how did you know? I don't think I ever told you."
In the end, his innate curiosity got the better of him. If he hadn't stumbled upon their similar accessories and pieced together scraps of information by sheer chance, he never would have connected them himself. How had his father done it?
"Sigh..." Yusaku let out a soft breath. "The Professor told me."
"Ah!" Conan grumbled, a flash of dissatisfaction crossing his face. The Professor, really... "I specifically told him not to..."
"Not to tell us, right?" Yukiko interrupted, leaning down to vigorously ruffle her son's hair in mock annoyance. "If my dear hadn't sensed something was wrong and pressed the Professor for details, how much longer were you planning to keep this from us, Shin-chan?!"
"She's right," Yusaku added gently. "Try relying on adults occasionally. After all, it's much easier for us to gather information than it is for you."
"I'm sorry..." Conan lowered his head, a faint blush of embarrassment creeping up his neck. He explained uncomfortably, "Ahem, I saw that you hadn't heard of that strange organization at all, so I... I wanted to try and figure it out on my own first. Besides, most of the people from the Teyvat Organization aren't actually dangerous to be around. On the surface, I'm just an elementary school student. As long as I don't do anything to arouse suspicion, I'm basically not in any danger. That's why I wasn't in a hurry to tell you..."
He quickly shifted gears. "By the way, Dad, did you find any other special information later?"
Yusaku raised an eyebrow at his son's transparent attempt to steer the conversation. He decided to let it slide, following his lead. "Unfortunately, no."
He elaborated, "The backgrounds of the people Professor Agasa told me about are all quite detailed, with no signs of forgery. On the surface, there are no obvious connections between them. Their interactions and relationships all seem perfectly natural..."
"As for that young lady who happens to know all of them," Yusaku continued, referring to Natsume, "I investigated her as well. She has indeed been to many places." At this, he couldn't help but let out a small sigh of admiration. "She's truly gone to incredible lengths to find her brother."
Hearing his father's words, Conan lowered his head and began to ponder slowly.
He had long expected the first part of the report. After all, when he'd asked Heiji Hattori for help investigating, he had come up empty-handed too. Still, hearing it confirmed left him with an unavoidable pang of disappointment.
But the results of the investigation into Natsume gave him pause.
'So, Natsume knows so many people simply because she's traveled to so many places? Is it really just a pure coincidence?'
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