Chapter 107
In everyone else's eyes, not doing proper work during a mission and instead running off to play with a high-ranking police official's child was an extremely outrageous and suspicious thing to do.
But to those who knew Usuha Izuki well...
Vodka's mind quickly recalled the incident when Usuha Izuki said he was treating Scotland to celebrate getting his codename, then casually helped the police solve a case... Heh, repeat offender.
Scotland and Gin were also aware of this, so when they heard Usuha Izuki say with such a proud tone something that would be enough to get anyone else locked up and interrogated for days, Scotland merely raised an eyebrow, and Gin directly looked away, too lazy to even give Usuha Izuki a glance.
Vodka, who had no choice but to deal with Usuha Izuki, couldn't play dead. He could only push his sunglasses and take a deep breath to suppress his urge to scold the other for not doing his job, his mouth twitching as he asked: "Did you go help the police solve another case?"
That word "another" was quite telling.
Both Mizuno Rena and Akai Shuichi couldn't help thinking about what exactly Usuha Izuki had done before that would make Vodka react so strangely.
"No, I just went to eat, and then this brat came over talking about some recent serial murders related to haori, commenting on my outfit... How could I stand for that? I immediately taught that kid a lesson."
Usuha Izuki said proudly: "Now he owes me ten meals!"
Vodka: "............"
Everyone else: "............"
Scotland tried hard to recall the age of the Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters Chief, attempting to estimate how old his child might be.
Although Usuha Izuki wasn't very reliable and rarely interfered with Organization matters, getting involved with Usuha Izuki tended to bring bad luck and might attract the Organization's attention. As someone from Japanese Public Security, he was somewhat concerned about a police official's child being used.
Fortunately, although Scotland couldn't remember clearly, Vodka righteously accused: "You even scam elementary school students out of money?"
Everyone else: "............"
It was hard to imagine such words coming from the mouth of an Organization member who committed all kinds of evil... It could only be said that Usuha Izuki's actions really did lower the Organization's standards.
Usuha Izuki looked indignant: "What's wrong with elementary school students? A bet is a bet. He insisted he was going to be a detective in the future. As Detective Conan, I naturally had to teach him how to be human as his senior, telling him that being a detective isn't that easy!"
"Enough, I don't want to argue about this with you..."
Vodka painfully returned the phone to Usuha Izuki.
Usuha Izuki stared at him: "Don't you have anything to say?"
Vodka was startled, then suddenly had an epiphany: "Uh... You have such a good relationship with a police officer's son, you're not an undercover agent, are you?"
Though he said this, Vodka didn't really suspect Usuha Izuki.
What undercover agent would be so eager to expose themselves, expecting to be suspected, and even insisting people check their phone... Besides, the timing didn't match. The information was leaked last night, and Usuha Izuki only ate with the police official's son today—if the informant was a high-ranking police official, who would make an anonymous phone call without knowing if it would work?
Usuha Izuki responded happily: "Well said, but at times like this, it might not necessarily be an undercover agent—there might be a traitor who simply couldn't stand this garbage workplace and decided to run away."
Mizuno Rena: "......"
How dare he say that! Directly calling the Organization's workplace garbage?!
"Got it, got it... What do you think is wrong with the workplace? Can you just say it directly?"
Only then was Usuha Izuki satisfied as he took back his phone: "I don't like working night shifts. If there are too many, I'll quit."
Vodka said coldly: "You can refuse night shifts. You're the one who insisted on participating."
Everyone else: "............"
What kind of mess is this... This is supposed to be a transnational criminal organization, so why does finding an undercover agent feel like child's play?!
"Anyway, you suspect me of being a traitor now. So what happens next?" Usuha Izuki asked curiously.
Vodka responded steadily: "Next you can move freely. The Organization will send people to investigate your whereabouts and look for more evidence. Do whatever you normally do, and if you want to meet with contacts, hurry up and go."
"I see." Usuha Izuki nodded. "Then I'll go play with the headquarters chief's son."
No one stopped him—rather, everyone was stunned by this development and could only silently watch as Usuha Izuki came like a whirlwind, left everyone disheveled, then departed like a whirlwind.
Several undercover agents even noticed that once Usuha Izuki left, Gin's expressionless face visibly relaxed quite a bit...
Mizuno Rena hesitated for a moment, then simply asked directly: "Is this really okay?"
"No problem." Vodka wiped his sweat. "I didn't get a chance to mention it yesterday, but you've probably guessed by now... Botanist's abilities are indeed strong, but there's something wrong with his brain. Unless necessary, everyone should avoid provoking him."
Everyone: "............"
Akai Shuichi said flatly: "But he really does look most like an undercover agent—not only is he always late, but he also has good relationships with police and has time to act alone."
"What you're saying makes a lot of sense." Vodka gave his approval, then continued matter-of-factly, "Anyway, now that Botanist is finally gone, let's continue looking for the undercover agent..."
Mizuno Rena: "............"
So you're just directly ruling out Botanist's suspicion?!! Why do you trust such a suspicious guy so much?!! Just because he's mentally ill?!
These past two days of experiences kept making her feel that the CIA's painstaking training of undercover agents seemed to be going down the wrong path. Getting some mentally ill persona might achieve better results...
Vodka felt bitter inside. He actually didn't want Usuha Izuki to come from the beginning, but he had accidentally sent it to everyone... What a waste of time!
He could only console himself that it wasn't entirely a waste—at least now he knew Usuha Izuki had connections with the Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters Chief's son, which might be useful in the future. Plus he found an excuse to get Usuha Izuki to leave, satisfying both Big Brother's requirements and his own selfish desires.
Presumably after this incident, Big Brother wouldn't harbor unrealistic fantasies about Usuha Izuki anymore!
A permanent solution—not a loss!
Usuha Izuki also felt that his trip to Kansai was not a loss.
Setting aside Vodka, Gin, and other acquaintances—he hadn't expected much generosity from these stingy people anyway. He was mainly performing for those newcomers.
The newly met people were all good, providing plenty of suspicion values. Calculated seriously, the efficiency was even higher than on Samukawa Shinryu's side.
Usuha Izuki analyzed and felt it might be because undercover agents had more delicate minds and were naturally prone to overthinking, while on Samukawa Shinryu's side, no matter what, they were still police officers. Other police were more restrained about suspecting colleagues, plus the Mobile Investigation Unit had few opportunities to contact others, resulting in the main body without the "Black Screen Aura" farming suspicion values more efficiently.
But the Organization side was like "not opening for three years, but eating for three years when it opens," while Samukawa Shinryu's side won in stability—steady flow over time. Each had its merits, making it hard to say which side to focus on. He could only spread his attention evenly.
Usuha Izuki left the abandoned building, thinking about what to do next.
Although Vodka said the Organization would send people to follow and investigate him, without even turning on "Universal Navigation," Usuha Izuki knew this was just Vodka's casual bluffing. Even if he entered the police headquarters now, no one would care.
It would be a bit of a waste to return to Tokyo after such a rare trip to Kansai...
Why not go play with Hattori Heiji again? He had told Vodka he would do that, so it would feel like a loss not to actually do it.
Usuha Izuki sent Hattori Heiji an email asking what he was doing now.
Hattori Heiji replied quickly: [At a murder scene. That haori serial murder case has a new case. Where are you? Want to come over?]
Usuha Izuki's eyes lit up. He immediately asked Hattori Heiji for the address, then took a taxi. When he reached the vicinity, he took off his coat and draped it over his arm, revealing his black and gold haori, then walked directly toward the police cordoned area under the confused, shocked, and suspicious gazes of passersby.
Before he could get close, a police officer rushed out to stop him: "Sorry, the area ahead is off-limits... May I ask who you are?"
The officer's gaze subtly swept over the haori Usuha Izuki was wearing, his expression wavering between suspicion and self-doubt.
After all, although the case was related to haori, not everyone wearing haori was suspicious. Besides, there were so many police here—even criminals who liked returning to crime scenes wouldn't be this brazen, right?
And dressed so visual kei and alternative—if he really was the criminal, wouldn't he be afraid of being remembered?
But what if the criminal was exploiting this psychological blind spot?
Fortunately, this officer didn't struggle for long. The boss's son came running out: "Ah! You came... This is a detective, not a suspicious person."
Then the young master complained to him: "I told you to take off the haori before coming. Why didn't you listen and even took off your coat completely?"
"There's nothing shameful about my aesthetic sense." Usuha Izuki said righteously.
Hattori Heiji: "......Aren't you cold?"
Usuha Izuki thought about it and put his coat back on.
Hattori Heiji fell silent for a moment.
His deduction was indeed correct—this detective big brother seemed to have a very bad personality... He was clearly just doing the opposite of what he suggested on purpose! What was the point?! Was this a rebellious phase?!
Hattori Heiji, still in elementary school, inexplicably felt the same exhaustion a parent would feel dealing with a problem child.
However, thinking about the case behind him, Hattori Heiji still perked up and communicated with the police: "I called him here. He's a detective. Can you let us in to see the scene?"
If this were the high school Hattori Heiji who had already made a name for himself as Kansai's famous detective, these words might have carried some weight.
But he was currently just an elementary school student. What the police saw wasn't his clever mind, but his family background.
The officer bent down awkwardly to communicate with Hattori Heiji: "Heiji-kun, letting you in was already being lenient. We can't let this detective in too... Or you could ask the chief? If the chief agrees, there'd be no problem."
Hattori Heiji wrinkled his nose: "Father would just think I'm causing trouble."
Officer: "......"
Actually, we think you're causing trouble too... What's an elementary school student doing at a murder scene!
"Alright, if we can't go in, we can't go in." Usuha Izuki was very calm. "Let's look around the area for clues. Heiji, you've already been inside, right? Can you describe it verbally?"
Hattori Heiji was very disappointed: "That's all we can do..."
He had been hoping to see how a real detective solved cases!
He'd wanted to be a detective for so long, but everyone around him was police. This strange big brother was the first detective he'd met, so he'd been quite looking forward to it...
Without seeing the scene and only hearing verbal descriptions, the chances of solving the case seemed very slim... If there weren't many clues at the scene, could there really be clues in the surrounding area?
As he searched the vicinity for clues that might or might not exist while thinking this, he suddenly heard the silver-haired big brother ask him.
"Let's play a guessing game. If I said I know who the culprit is, why do you think I would know?"
Hattori Heiji: "............"
Without even going to the scene, just walking around the area for one minute, and you already know who the culprit is... How is that possible?!!
He was about to complain when he suddenly realized something was wrong.
Wait, there really was one possibility.
If this guy was the culprit... then knowing this would seem perfectly natural?!
But he even brought him here in front of the police—if he were the culprit, wouldn't that be too brazen? But insisting on taking off his coat to show the haori underneath despite obviously feeling cold also seemed to fit a certain criminal psychology described in books... Such a person doing anything wouldn't seem strange...
Only now did elementary school student Hattori Heiji finally snap out of his excitement about solving a case with a detective.
Come to think of it, although he'd had a good time playing deduction games with the other party earlier, hadn't he trusted this guy he'd only met today a bit too much?
Forget about whether the other party was really a detective—he didn't even know the other party's real name!