Chapter 167
Soon Vermouth and Usuha Izuki met at the agreed location.
After all, her true identity was a major star whose schedule even fans didn't know, so secrecy was paramount when going out. Therefore, Vermouth was in disguise and had arranged to meet Usuha Izuki for dinner at a star-rated restaurant that looked very expensive.
Since the weather was still a bit cold, Usuha Izuki's trench coat covered most of his outfit, making him look much more low-key. With some hair clips and earrings on his head, combined with his outstanding appearance, passersby would only think he looked fashionable.
Since it was a high-end hotel, Usuha Izuki took off his trench coat before being seated, revealing a mainly dark-colored shirt underneath that was quite subdued, though the tie and tie clip were a bit flashy—but this only added some liveliness without reaching the "blinding" level Vodka had described.
Seeing this, Vermouth even felt it was somewhat pleasing to the eye.
Sure enough, after staying in Japan longer, this child's aesthetic sense had become much more normal!
Vodka actually criticized Usuha Izuki for liking to dress up—what was there to complain about? It must be jealousy from a lazy man toward a beautiful young man with normal aesthetic pursuits.
What was wrong with boys living more refined lives! It was better than those dirty men who liked to criticize women!
Gin fussed with his long hair every day and Vodka never complained about that—he just knew how to bully young people.
Both Usuha Izuki and Vermouth were people who liked to get reimbursed by the organization, so they ordered without restraint, especially Usuha Izuki, who showed no intention of being more restrained in front of a woman.
In the eyes of certain organization members, this would be called unscrupulous, but in Vermouth's eyes, this was called being genuine.
This showed how position determined perspective...
Vermouth took a sip of wine, satisfyingly swirling her glass as she said: "I just contacted Yukiko—she said she's waiting for us at home."
In her identity as actress Sharon Vineyard, she and Kudo Yukiko had both studied under Kuroba Toichi, maintaining a fairly good relationship. Due to organization matters, she had consciously maintained some distance, otherwise their relationship could have been even better.
So when Vermouth rarely took the initiative to ask Kudo Yukiko if she could bring a young friend to see her later, Kudo Yukiko was very happy and extremely enthusiastic.
Vermouth actually had some genuine feelings for Kudo Yukiko. If other organization members had asked her to contact Kudo Yukiko through her, she would definitely have found excuses to be evasive, but Usuha Izuki...
According to Vodka's complaints, Usuha Izuki basically didn't get involved in organization affairs these years—he was just a mascot. When asked to do some work, he would try every means to torment organization members, as if he had a grudge against the organization.
But Vermouth felt Usuha Izuki's purpose was very simple—he just wanted to be an ordinary person. If the organization didn't cause trouble for him unnecessarily, his attitude would naturally improve.
Therefore, when Usuha Izuki asked her like an ordinary fan, Vermouth seriously considered it and felt this should just be Usuha Izuki's own idea, unrelated to the organization, which was why she agreed so readily.
Usuha Izuki was naturally very happy and smiled brilliantly at Vermouth: "Then I'll trouble you."
"When we're in front of Yukiko later, you should call me Sharon." Vermouth instructed. "I'll say you're a friend's child. As for your own identity, though she might not necessarily ask, you should still prepare a background. Yukiko is an actress after all—if you improvise on the spot, she might notice you're lying."
Truly a professional actress, being extra thoughtful when partnering with amateurs.
Usuha Izuki readily agreed: "I know. There's nothing unspeakable about my identity—I'm just an ordinary person."
Vermouth couldn't help but smile with somewhat complex emotions: "It seems you're doing well as an ordinary person."
For her, that was an almost unreachable world.
She hadn't expected someone in the organization like Usuha Izuki... It wasn't that no one wanted to be ordinary, but such people were generally forced to join the organization. Those who could successfully make their lives truly seem ordinary were too rare.
This at least showed Usuha Izuki had a good mentality.
It was just a bit harsh on Gin's eyes, so his low evaluation of Usuha Izuki felt quite normal.
Vermouth put on rose-colored glasses.
If Usuha Izuki had started behaving normally like he did with other organization members, those glasses would probably have shattered quickly.
Usuha Izuki had indeed planned to say something weird, but before he could say anything, Vermouth was already generating suspicion value, leaving him somewhat confused.
System: [...She probably thinks you're different from the rumors and is suspicious whether there's something wrong with you or the rumors.]
Usuha Izuki thought about it and felt this was good—a new approach.
So Vermouth's rose-colored glasses were preserved and lasted a very long time, to the point where Vodka deeply suspected whether Usuha Izuki only acted well-behaved around women, or whether Vermouth's eyes were actually blind...
Good boy Usuha Izuki obediently finished his meal, then followed Vermouth to buy souvenirs before heading to the Kudo house.
Vermouth didn't remove her disguise and directly rang the doorbell with this plain appearance.
Kudo Yukiko, worthy of being her junior sister, directly came to open the door and welcomed them in with a smile: "Welcome! Sharon and this little friend~ Really, coming to my house, why bother with disguises?"
"I'm afraid of being recognized by fans." Vermouth naturally tore off her mask in front of Kudo Yukiko, then introduced: "This is the little fanboy I told you about. He insisted on coming to meet you this time."
Usuha Izuki looked refined and well-behaved: "Hello, Yukiko-nee. I'm Usuha Izuki."
Being called "big sister," Kudo Yukiko smiled so broadly her eyes disappeared: "Ah~ Hello there, Usuha-kun. Come in quickly, I've prepared some sweets."
Vermouth settled on the sofa and casually asked: "Where's the great writer?"
"Don't mention it! A friend of his was killed, and he felt the case was suspicious, so he ran off to help solve it." Mentioning this made Kudo Yukiko furious. "He hasn't come back all day! I think he shouldn't come back at all!"
Usuha Izuki had already known Kudo Yusaku wasn't home.
Before leaving yesterday night as Samukawa Shinryu, Kudo Yusaku had said he wanted to investigate his friend's case situation. Then before leaving this morning, he checked [Universal Navigation]—though he was out of keyword searches, the map function was still available. He looked at the Kudo residence and knew who was inside.
But it didn't matter that Kudo Yusaku wasn't there—his main purpose this time was to see Kudo Shinichi.
For some reason, though they were both in Tokyo and he'd even gotten to know Kudo Yusaku, Usuha Izuki had never met Kudo Shinichi... If he had to say, Kudo Shinichi was still a student spending most of his day at school, and when he was out, Usuha Izuki might have just gotten off work and only wanted to go home and lie down...
Taking advantage of Vermouth's opportunity today, he wanted to simply come over and get acquainted. Then in a few years when Kudo Shinichi became small and discovered that someone he'd known for a long time might also be an organization member...
Suspecting acquaintances would definitely make someone want to find evidence that the acquaintance was innocent. That wavering feeling would be much more stimulating than suspecting strangers! The suspicion value would definitely be much higher too!
Usuha Izuki felt beautiful just thinking about it.
Kudo Yukiko chatted with Vermouth for a bit, then said she wanted to introduce her son to them.
"You always say you're busy, so this child hasn't met you yet. This time, hurry up and let him recognize you..." Saying this, Kudo Yukiko raised her voice and shouted upstairs: "Shinichi! Shinichi! We have guests! Come down quickly!"
After shouting, Kudo Yukiko gave Usuha Izuki an autograph while chatting with Vermouth about her recent new drama.
After chatting for several minutes with still no movement upstairs, Kudo Yukiko said with dissatisfaction and helplessness: "That child is probably absorbed in researching something again... I'll go call him."
Vermouth shook her head: "It's fine. He might be busy—you don't need to call him..."
"No way, you finally came to Japan... wait for me!"
Saying this, Kudo Yukiko ran up the stairs. Soon, there was a commotion upstairs.
"I didn't hear... don't pull my ear, I can walk by myself!"
After a while, someone came down the stairs.
He looked about middle school age, with some annoyance on his face from being interrupted, but his expression changed to surprise upon seeing the guests.
"Eh? Wait, could you be..."
Kudo Yukiko smiled as she ruffled his hair from behind: "This is Mama's good friend, Sharon! A big star! The other big brother is called Usuha Izuki. He seems quite interested in mystery and such—you two can chat."
Kudo Shinichi's eyes immediately lit up.
He restrainedly greeted Vermouth first, but clearly had little interest in celebrities, quickly moving to Usuha Izuki's side and asking curiously:
"You like mystery too? Do you like reading mystery novels? Which author do you like most?"
Usuha Izuki thought for a moment: "I used to like Conan Doyle most, but recently I decided to switch to liking someone else."
Kudo Shinichi was shocked: "What?! What's wrong with Conan Doyle?! Why suddenly switch? Who are you switching to?"
Could there be any mystery novelist better than Conan Doyle, who created Sherlock Holmes?! How could someone defect?!