Chapter 267
After school that day, Haibara Ai and Edogawa Conan walked home to Dr. Agasa's house together.
Since Dr. Agasa and the Kudo family were neighbors, when they went to Dr. Agasa's house, they would pass by the Kudo residence.
Because of this, any changes at the Kudo house would naturally be discovered.
"Hey, Kudo, your front gate is open." Haibara Ai frowned slightly. "Did your parents come back?"
Edogawa Conan shook his head: "No... it should be Usuha-nii, the guy I told you about who called himself Detective Conan."
"Oh..." Haibara Ai showed an expression of suppressed laughter and teased: "Good thing your Usuha-nii didn't encounter organization members when he came to borrow books before."
Edogawa Conan felt a chill: "That really would have been scary."
After getting to know Haibara Ai, Edogawa Conan learned that the organization had actually sent people to his house and confirmed he was really dead when they found no one had been cleaning.
However, Haibara Ai noticed that his childhood clothes in the closet had all disappeared. Combined with previous experimental results, she deduced that Kudo Shinichi had shrunk, but due to some mentality, she still registered Kudo Shinichi as dead.
Haibara Ai: "If your Usuha-nii had been just a bit more diligent and helped clean your house, this whole thing would have become much more complicated."
"...Uh." Edogawa Conan was exasperated. "How should I put it—Usuha-nii and I aren't that close. He mainly seems to know my mom better. With no one home, he probably didn't feel comfortable touching things randomly... and from the results, it was good that he didn't help clean."
Haibara Ai nodded: "True, we didn't carefully check the dust on the bookshelves. It was mainly signs of habitation..."
"If the door is open now, he should have gone to Dr. Agasa's house."
As he spoke, Edogawa Conan glanced at Haibara Ai.
Although Haibara Ai went to school normally, she still wasn't very willing to meet strangers. If she didn't want to see visitors, she could wait outside.
Haibara Ai said nothing and just continued walking forward calmly.
After all, if this Usuha Izuki often came to borrow and return books and had a decent relationship with Dr. Agasa, even if she didn't meet him this time, she might see him in the future... If he was just an ordinary person, there was no need to keep hiding. She wasn't fragile to that extent.
Seeing she didn't mind, Edogawa Conan was relieved. The two walked together to Dr. Agasa's front door and found it unlocked, so they pushed the door open and went in.
"Doctor—"
Edogawa Conan pushed open the door, then looked up and suddenly froze.
He saw Dr. Agasa slumped over the table with red liquid flowing along the table surface to the floor. Behind him, someone was holding a gun, and as if hearing the commotion here, suddenly turned to look their way.
The originally light green eyes showed a somewhat eerie tone in the dim indoor lighting. His gaze fell indifferently on Edogawa Conan's horrified face, and he raised an eyebrow.
"Just you?"
Edogawa Conan instinctively stepped back, blocking Haibara Ai: "Usuha-nii..."
Dr. Agasa... was he, dead? Because of Usuha-nii?
But if Dr. Agasa had offended some force, the only possibility was that Black Organization... Could Usuha-nii be from the organization?!
Wait, Usuha-nii had also gone to that game launch event...
Haibara Ai, who was blocked, felt puzzled and somewhat alert, asking quietly: "What's wrong?"
Edogawa Conan was about to say something when he saw Dr. Agasa suddenly groan and sit up straight.
Edogawa Conan: "...???"
He stared blankly at Dr. Agasa, who seemed perfectly fine, then slowly looked toward Usuha Izuki nearby.
Usuha Izuki also acted as if nothing had happened, tapping Dr. Agasa's shoulder with the gun in his hand.
Dr. Agasa jumped in surprise and turned around: "Oh, Usuha-kun, you're here..."
"Yeah, what's this for?" Usuha Izuki casually returned the gun to Dr. Agasa.
Dr. Agasa laughed heartily: "This can shoot playing cards! Doesn't it look like Phantom Thief Kid? An old friend's granddaughter likes Kid, so he asked me to develop this little toy... Hmm? Shin—Conan's back?"
Haibara Ai, who hadn't quite understood, walked around Edogawa Conan and took two steps inside, looking at the messy table and floor, somewhat speechless: "Doctor! You spilled tomato juice!"
Dr. Agasa scratched the back of his head embarrassedly: "I accidentally fell asleep and probably knocked it over..."
Using [Universal Navigation] to see that Edogawa Conan and Haibara Ai were approaching the door, Usuha Izuki had deliberately spilled the tomato juice to recreate a misunderstood scene from a manga. Now he nonchalantly went to set the can upright: "Just wipe it up later."
As he spoke, Usuha Izuki looked toward Haibara Ai: "You must be Ai-chan, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Usuha Izuki."
He was a bit curious—would Haibara Ai's organization radar work on him?
Haibara Ai's attitude was somewhat cold but very polite as she nodded to him: "Hello."
...Well, it seemed to have failed.
But that made sense. Haibara Ai's radar, though mystical, had some principle—roughly sensing "very scary and dangerous." For ordinary people to reach the level of danger and terror of Black Organization members, which seemed to come from experiencing many things normal people couldn't experience and the pressure naturally accumulated from that, was quite difficult, so it would appear very accurate.
As for Usuha Izuki...
A carefree person without worries—that described him perfectly! He had no pressure himself and didn't give others pressure either!
Since Japanese people generally don't lock their doors, Dr. Agasa wasn't surprised that Usuha Izuki appeared directly indoors. While wiping the table, he asked: "Usuha-kun, is there something you need from me?"
"Nothing much." Usuha Izuki helped tidy up the table. "I just wanted to ask if anyone else besides me has entered the Kudo house?"
Haibara Ai and Edogawa Conan instinctively exchanged glances.
Dr. Agasa immediately thought of what Haibara Ai had mentioned about organization people coming to check, but this wasn't something he could tell Usuha Izuki: "Yukiko came back recently."
Then she left with her son, and they solved a case in the process. She actually didn't stay home much, but this excuse should fool Usuha Izuki.
"Eh—Sister Yukiko didn't even tell me!" Usuha Izuki sighed. "I wanted to properly thank her for the book borrowing."
Haibara Ai heard this unabashed "Sister Yukiko" and her mouth twitched. She developed a subtle respect for Usuha Izuki, who could call someone that with a straight face even when the person wasn't present.
Kudo's seniority just dropped instantly.
"Speaking of which, what was Conan-kun's situation just now?" Usuha Izuki tilted his head. "You suddenly seemed very alert... Was it because I was holding a gun? But normal people would think it was a toy when they saw it, right? Why was your first reaction to take it seriously?"
Edogawa Conan: "...! Uh, because I encountered a shooting case recently and I'm still a bit sensitive..."
"I see." Usuha Izuki looked hurt. "But in your mind, am I actually someone who would kill people? Why did you still make that expression after seeing it was me?"
Edogawa Conan: "..........."
This was a bit hard to explain. He couldn't very well say he suspected Usuha-nii was connected to the Black Organization... Quick, think of an excuse, Kudo Shinichi!
Haibara Ai was somewhat speechless.
Please, he's obviously just teasing you. Taking it so seriously only makes him want to tease you more!
Usuha Izuki indeed saw Edogawa Conan's troubled expression and couldn't help but laugh: "Ah, children are still the most fun."
Edogawa Conan: "..........."
He'd almost forgotten that Usuha-nii also had some dark humor...
At this moment, Usuha Izuki's phone suddenly rang. He took it out to look, then answered: "Hello? Mm, tonight? Sure, see you tonight."
Though he spoke in English, everyone present could understand.
Edogawa Conan wasn't surprised that Usuha Izuki had foreign friends—after all, the first person to bring him to meet Kudo Yukiko was the big star Sharon Vineyard. He had previously guessed that Usuha Izuki worked on film sets.
Usuha Izuki hung up: "Sorry, I was planning to continue chatting with you all, but now someone who's hard to refuse..."
Dr. Agasa vaguely heard a female voice in the background and smiled teasingly with elder-like demeanor: "A girlfriend?"
"No, it's an elder's daughter." Usuha Izuki sighed. "Though their mother-daughter relationship is average, I've always been well taken care of by her mother. Since she rarely comes to Japan, I should act as host and receive her properly... Sorry, let's chat again later!"
Edogawa Conan understood—it was Chris Vineyard, right? Sharon Vineyard's daughter.
But he wasn't a fan and had no interest in celebrity matters, so he was too lazy to ask more: "Okay, goodbye..."
"Oh right, I almost forgot." Usuha Izuki seemed to suddenly remember something. "Conan-kun, do you remember those two poorly-mannered men in black we encountered on the shinkansen last time?"
Edogawa Conan's previously relaxed nerves immediately tensed up again: "I remember. What about them?"
Haibara Ai had also heard Edogawa Conan talk about his re-encounter with Gin and Vodka. She immediately realized who Usuha Izuki was referring to and quickly lowered her head, hiding her expression as panic began to overwhelm her.
Usuha Izuki thought for a moment: "Never mind, it's nothing. I'll go first."
Edogawa Conan: "...???"
Haibara Ai: "..........."
"Wait! You can't just say half a sentence!" Edogawa Conan couldn't help but grab Usuha Izuki's haori sleeve. "What happened to those two! Tell me!"
Under Edogawa Conan's pestering, Usuha Izuki finally reluctantly said:
"Ah, I just saw them again earlier. Terrible manners, jaywalking. If they hadn't driven away so fast, I would have called the police... With people who would put bombs on shinkansen appearing nearby, it feels a bit dangerous. You should be careful when going home from school recently. But I guess it probably won't be such a coincidence, so it should be fine not to tell you, right?"
Edogawa Conan: "...Right."
No! It's very important!! You should have said this earlier!!
Usuha Izuki turned around: "Huh? Why is Ai-chan suddenly shivering? It's not cold indoors... Hmm, could it be that Ai-chan has also seen those two men in black? What a coincidence."