Chapter 227
Although Kudo Shinichi knew Usuha Izuki and got along well with him, to be honest...
They had met no more than three times, and with the age gap, they really couldn't be said to be very close, only that their relationship was decent.
He still didn't even know what Usuha Izuki's job was! He was already an adult—surely he couldn't be a shut-in?!
At this moment, Kudo Shinichi suddenly recalled that time a few years ago when he was still in middle school, when he accidentally encountered Usuha Izuki and they agreed to eat together, but ran into a kidnapping case.
At that time, Usuha-nii's fighting posture was very skilled, and his posture when threatening people with a gun was also very skilled. Back then Kudo Shinichi didn't think much of it—after all, he was a big brother brought by his mother's acquaintance. Who would directly think of a real gun?
But looking back now, Usuha-nii seemed to have never directly said that gun was a model gun. Instead, his attitude was very ambiguous, especially his behavior of avoiding the police afterward... combined with his usual mysterious behavior...
After experiencing being attacked and then becoming younger, Kudo Shinichi couldn't control his conspiracy theories when facing an acquaintance he wasn't particularly close to. He felt that Usuha Izuki's mysterious appearance here at this time seemed very wrong.
But it seemed too late to hide now—the other party's umbrella surface was already lifting up, and he was about to see him—
"BOOM—!!!"
A sudden explosion drew the attention of both Kudo Shinichi and Usuha Izuki.
The neighbor's house next door had suddenly exploded.
However, Kudo Shinichi wasn't too worried about it. After all, the neighboring Dr. Agasa was obsessed with researching various inventions and had explosions every few days. He already had experience in protecting himself, otherwise wouldn't he have to be hospitalized several months every year?
Taking advantage of Usuha Izuki's attention being drawn to that commotion, Kudo Shinichi quickly hid, then secretly observed the situation.
Usuha Izuki, standing at the entrance, watched Dr. Agasa running out of the thick smoke, then silently retreated back into the house.
Kudo Shinichi: "......!!!"
Would a normal person have such a cold reaction seeing an old man running out of an explosion so nearby? Not helping would be one thing, but actually hiding? Isn't this obviously something shady!
Could Usuha-nii really be with that organization... no no no, can't jump to conclusions yet...
Soon, Usuha Izuki appeared at the door again, only this time he had added a windbreaker to his outfit, then hurriedly headed toward the explosion.
Kudo Shinichi: "............"
So he went back because he realized he forgot to wear a coat... it is indeed a bit cold in the rain...
Although he still had some suspicions in his heart, Kudo Shinichi still breathed a sigh of relief. After all, no one hopes that someone they know is some cold-blooded, heartless person.
As Usuha Izuki walked out quickly with his umbrella, Dr. Agasa, who was avoiding the smoke from the explosion next door while coughing, looked at him in surprise: "Eh? Are you Shinichi's classmate...? You have his house key?"
That's what he said, but he looked several years older than Shinichi and was a completely unfamiliar face, yet had just come out of Shinichi's house... judging by the lights, Shinichi didn't seem to be home yet?
"You must be Dr. Agasa, right?" The silver-haired young man seemed quite familiar, looking completely like a law-abiding citizen.
The rain was too loud. Kudo Shinichi, hiding at a distance, couldn't hear what they were saying. Even if he could read lips, it wouldn't help—the umbrella blocked his view. He could only watch helplessly as Usuha Izuki and Dr. Agasa conversed for a few sentences before taking his leave.
Dr. Agasa rubbed his back and, not caring about the rain, planned to quickly clean up the aftermath of his explosion.
Kudo Shinichi cautiously waited until Usuha Izuki's figure with the umbrella disappeared around the corner before rushing out: "Dr. Agasa!"
Dr. Agasa looked at this child wearing adult clothes with a very familiar face, was stunned for a moment, then suddenly understood: "Are you Shinichi's relative? Why are you dressed like this?"
Kudo Shinichi explained his identity to Dr. Agasa with great exasperation.
Dr. Agasa was greatly shocked. He never imagined the world had already reached the point where someone had invented a youth-restoring drug! Why weren't they rushing out to apply for a Nobel Prize?!
Oh, it was done privately by an illegal organization. Never mind then.
"In any case, change your clothes first. You're soaked through—be careful not to catch cold." There was no point thinking about illegal organizations now since he couldn't figure anything out anyway. Dr. Agasa rubbed his chin and could only first worry about the immediate problem. "Your house should still have clothes from when you were little. Let's go back to your house first..."
"Wait!" When it came to going home, Kudo Shinichi quickly interrupted, his expression somewhat troubled as he asked, "That person who came out of my house just now—what did he say to you?"
Although Kudo Shinichi felt that Usuha-nii walking around so openly, not fearing Dr. Agasa as a witness at all, probably had some legitimate reason he didn't know about, he still didn't dare go back without figuring out why Usuha-nii was at his house!
Dr. Agasa answered very naturally: "You mean Usuha-kun? Don't you two know each other? He said he just returned from America, and when chatting with Yukiko in America, he mentioned envying how many books your house has. Yukiko directly gave him your house key, telling him that when he comes to read or borrow books, he could also look after you, since you two supposedly get along very well."
Kudo Shinichi: "............"
Mom—you should have told me about something like this!! Making me imagine all those weird things just now! I completely misunderstood Usuha-nii!
Actually giving out the house key directly—just how much does Mom like Usuha-nii... It seems Mom has always really liked Usuha-nii's face, and Usuha-nii is also very good at pleasing women...
Kudo Shinichi felt a bit sour inside.
But it's great that Usuha-nii isn't a bad person... That's right, although his consciousness was already somewhat unclear at the time and he could only vaguely hear the conversation between those two men in black, he did hear words like "test drug" and "poison."
Combining the intelligence and logic, his earlier speculation that they might try to observe him for results was probably overthinking—perhaps that black-clothed organization's ultimate goal might be developing a youth-restoring drug, but currently the death rate must be ridiculously high. Maybe before him it was 100%, so it was completely being used as poison.
In other words, after giving him the drug, the men in black assumed he was already dead and probably immediately forgot about him!
Coming to his house to chase him or whatever was completely his persecution complex... Sure enough, the shock at that time was too great!
Although Usuha Izuki had left the Kudo house, he had actually been monitoring Kudo Shinichi's suspicion values.
Watching the suspicion values sometimes give more, sometimes less, and now finally stop giving any, both Usuha Izuki and the system sighed with regret.
System: [Worthy of being this world's pillar, the undisputed protagonist. Without even saying a word to him, he crazily gave suspicion values. With the weight multiplier, it was really so rewarding!]
Usuha Izuki was also moved: [Indeed, it's been a long time since farming suspicion values was this easy. Everyone in the organization has become a bit numb...]
[......Like I said, the organization becoming like that is completely due to your initial policy mistakes. You weren't farming suspicion values at all—you were just letting yourself run wild...]
[You actually figured that out.] Usuha Izuki remained unfazed. [I need to find some fun for myself. Otherwise, if every day is just opening eyes and closing eyes to farm suspicion values, what's the point of living?]
System: [...Why make yourself sound so pitiful? I see you playing games quite happily every day.]
Usuha Izuki said righteously: [That's also because I worked hard farming suspicion values and farmed a lot extra, so I have the leisure to relax! It's all points I earned through my own hard work! What's wrong with rewarding myself a little!]
While bantering with the system in his mind, Usuha Izuki wasn't idle in reality either. While holding the umbrella, he freed up one hand to send an email to Kudo Yukiko.
He had traveled abroad recently, with his final stop being America, where he found an opportunity to "accidentally" encounter Kudo Yukiko at a coffee shop.
Kudo Yukiko had met him a year ago at "Sharon Vineyard's" funeral. Since Vermouth wanted that identity to die and continue using that identity's daughter "Chris Vineyard" in the future, he had never attended this kind of foreign funeral before and curiously went to observe.
Of course, since it was a funeral, he dressed quite low-key at the time and was careful to avoid cameras, hiding in a corner. But he was still discovered by Kudo Yukiko.
Kudo Yukiko had even comforted him a few times, though that kind of occasion couldn't allow for deep conversation. After chatting briefly, they separated.
This time meeting again in America, Kudo Yukiko seemed to have transferred most of her nostalgia and affection for her "deceased friend" to him, this "young person that her friend was very fond of during her lifetime and even specially brought to meet her."
She was so caring toward him, asking after his well-being. When he said he wanted to go to the Kudo house to borrow books but Kudo Shinichi was often at school and not home, Kudo Yukiko very readily gave him the house key, not worrying at all about what he might do.
This trust was really... if he were farming trust values, he definitely would have made a fortune then.
Since Kudo Yukiko trusted him so much, he couldn't disappoint her trust too much. He should give her some reward, like proving he really did go visit Kudo Shinichi.
[Yukiko-nee, I went to see Shinichi today. This kid wasn't home even at nearly 8 o'clock—but don't worry, I saw him on a date with a girl at the amusement park, probably just stayed out late playing with that girl. I was too well-behaved back then, so I still don't have a girlfriend even now. Today's young people really know how to have fun. Maybe Shinichi will be able to get married right after graduating high school...]
"Alright, send." Usuha Izuki finished editing the email and said with satisfaction, "I really care so much about children."
System: [............]
No, you're setting up Kudo Shinichi! And with such a tea-like tone!
With you sending this email, his parents will definitely call to ask what's going on and what progress he's made with Mouri Ran...
Kudo Shinichi just became small and is already worried sick about the organization. You're forcing him to add a family subplot on top of that. You really can't stand seeing people doing well!