The unscrupulous detective in Conan

Chapter 1478 Old Auntie, Stop Making Brother Teng Laugh
"Keep the list for now, I'll pull it up if I need it..."

Fujino greeted Hiroki Sawada with this greeting.

The matter of the list actually made him feel a bit clearer.

He really wasn't wrong to blame someone. The murder of the old man and his mother here back then was indeed connected to the Black Organization, and the connection seemed to be quite deep.

Judging from the current situation, it's certain that someone within the Fujiwara family is conspiring with the sake brewery to stage a coup within the family...

Although he wasn't particularly interested in family matters, Fujino was quite interested in revenge.

Having merged his memories, he can now be called either Fujino or Fujino Doji. In any case, Fujino has never agonized over it too much. At most, he just considers it as his own Fujino Doji awakening Fujino's memories. Anyway, there's not much difference.

To be able to avenge myself in this world or something.

He was still very willing.

Vermouth was clever; she used her bath time to avoid Fujino and Hiroki Sawada's conversation.

For this reason, Vermouth only took a quick shower and then came out:

"So, are any of the people on the list of interest to you?"

"Nothing particularly interesting, I just learned a little about the family secrets." Fujino scoffed lightly in response to her question.

Vermouth, wrapped in a bathrobe, wrung out her hair with a towel: "Really? About the Fujiwara family?"

"More or less." Fujino glanced at her and said calmly, "There seem to be some traitors in the family who want to join forces with you to seize power, and it looks like they've been infiltrating for quite some time."

"What do you think?" Vermouth walked over slowly. "Do you want to go back to the Fujiwara clan and take revenge?"

“I’ll keep the list for now and talk about it when the opportunity arises.” Fujino closed his laptop. “Revenge is certainly something I want to do, but I’ll have to take it one step at a time, depending on the actual situation. As for returning to my family, I don’t have that idea for now.”

Vermouth chuckled softly: "A rebellious young master throwing a tantrum like a spoiled brat?"

"It's just that returning is of no value to me." Fujino shook his head slightly, denying her claim that the rebellious young master refused to take over the family business because of his own ambition, and said frankly, "If the Fujiwara family is of use to me, I will go back. Acting on impulse as a partner is not a thing for me."

“You really are cold-hearted…” Vermouth shuddered. “I’m worried that if something you think about is based on self-interest, you might sell it out one day.”

"There's no need for testing me. I wouldn't sell you out." Fujino glanced at her. "As long as you don't do anything reckless and don't mess with the people around me, I won't touch you either."

As he spoke, he borrowed a phrase Vermouth had said before: "You're right, we've at least gotten to know each other a little."

"not to mention……"

Fujino glanced at Vermouth, who was wearing a bathrobe: "Although she's a bit old, she's still quite pleasing to the eye."

Vermouth's expression faltered slightly: "I'm quite confident in my looks..."

"I didn't say you're ugly, just that you're old."

"..."

Vermouth fell silent, unable to speak for a moment.

However, judging from her expression, she must have already mentally cursed Fujino a hundred times over.

Taking a deep breath and letting out a long sigh, she calmed herself down, then walked to the bedside, picked up the menu from the bedside table, and asked Fujino, "Speaking of which, I haven't eaten all day, and I'm a little hungry."

What are you planning to eat?

Fujino responded directly, "Pick the most expensive one."

“This hotel offers several free meals a day.” Vermouth closed the menu. “Don’t even think about taking advantage of it; you won’t get any.”

Fujino glanced at her menu: "I don't have any dietary restrictions."

"Then I'll just order the set meal."

"The food is free, but we could like some good wine."

"Want to have a drink with me?"

"Getting drunk won't work; it won't seduce me."

"It was just a chat and a few drinks."

Fujino glanced at Vermouth, not quite understanding what she was up to, but thinking that a chat might yield some information, he agreed.

In such a high-end place, dinner is naturally Western food.

Red wine and Western food, with a touch of bourgeois charm.

Fujino picked up the red wine but couldn't taste anything special. If he had to say, he was drinking it for a sense of superiority.

He looked at Vermouth, who was sitting across from him at the living room table, and asked, "I'm curious, does someone like you... well, a long-lived species, ever get drunk?"

"Longevity...?" Vermouth narrowed her eyes upon hearing this.

Fujino swirled his wine glass, spoke casually, and gave a light scoff: "You don't think I'm joking when I say things like that, do you?"

"You can't hide it from me..."

Vermouth was not surprised to hear this; she had already expected it.

Indeed it is.

If the other person didn't know, they certainly wouldn't say she's old.

It was just that she couldn't quite accept it at first, since it was the first time she had been so honest about it. After all, she had kept it a secret, and it was inevitable that this would happen when the secret was revealed.

She said calmly, "It's just a curse."

Fujino leaned back in his chair: "What's a curse to you is something others would dream of."

Vermouth raised her eyes, her gaze deep: "It's just a different perspective. You'll know what it feels like if you were in my shoes."

"People can make sarcastic remarks as long as nothing has happened to them."

Fujino chuckled lightly: "It's not that bad. I'm the kind of person who can endure and think things through."

“People like you are indeed like that…” Vermouth picked up her glass of red wine, took a small sip, and said, “Compared to my little matter, you definitely have a lot more to deal with, and a whole lot of secrets.”

Fujino shook his head slightly: "It's just that there are many things I can't say. Aren't you the same way, keeping secrets to yourself?"

"We're all pretty much the same, but I can't say more about mine."

Hearing this, Vermouth smiled slightly: "Including but not limited to, at such a young age, possessing such illogical behavior and personality, as well as almost omniscient information, and illogical abilities?" Fujino shrugged: "Of course, actually more than that, but is there any need for you to investigate?"

“Of course not.” Vermouth nodded in agreement. “Just like you have no reason to force me to ask about my secrets.”

She sighed: "Ultimately, the reason people explore secrets, besides curiosity, is because these secrets are closely related to their own interests."

"I'm actually quite curious, is it because your secrets encompass my secrets, since you're not interested in them at all?"

"Pretty much, but I'm not as youthful as you are now." Fujino put down his wine glass, then picked up his knife and fork, cut a piece of steak, put it in his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed. "You know this world, it's not as simple as you imagine. Almost anything is possible, isn't it?"

Vermouth looked up and stared at Fujino: "Your secret is related to them?"

"More or less..." Fujino continued eating his steak. "But I can't tell you more. If I tell you too much, you can slowly deduce it all, which would be bad for me."

“You’re still very wary of me…” Vermouth sighed. “Can’t we just be honest with each other?”

Fujino looked at her as if she were an idiot: "Do you think our conflict can be resolved?"

Vermouth shrugged helplessly: "I've already given up..."

Fujino scoffed, "Giving up is just temporary forbearance. You see, if I were to kick the bucket today, would you just come to our Ai's house and kill her?"

"When it comes to contradictions, there is only tolerance and compromise in order to seek more benefits. There is never a time to truly give up. In the end, irreconcilable struggles are nothing more than a life-or-death struggle."

Vermouth sighed: "A life-or-death struggle will ultimately lead nowhere."

Fujino nodded: "So you gave in, essentially because I can let you die and I live. If it were me who would die and you who would live today, things would probably be different."

"You make concessions because you can gain corresponding benefits from them, and I can also gain corresponding benefits from you by making concessions."

"In the end, the reconciliation between us is just an exchange of interests. If one party's interests suddenly disappear, then in the end it will still be a life-or-death struggle."

Vermouth asked calmly, "Then, can't our differences be completely resolved?"

Fujino pondered for a moment: "Compromise is the way to reconcile contradictions. We have now reconciled and transformed the main contradiction into a compromise. If we want to put the contradictions aside, we must completely resolve the fundamental conflict of interest between us."

Vermouth picked up her glass of red wine and continued drinking: "So, you're saying you're giving up protecting them, or rather, I'm giving up killing them..."

Fujino thought she was right: "So, it depends on whether it's more important for me to protect them or to cooperate with you, or whether it's more important for you to hunt them down or to cooperate with me."

“You’ve got me all tangled up.” Vermouth rubbed her forehead. “You’ve turned something unimportant into a topic of our cooperation. You’re forcing me to choose between cooperating with you and giving up the hunt for them…”

Fujino chuckled: "You're wrong about that. The key is the contradiction. It's because of the contradiction that there's conflict. If it's like this between us, then it's naturally the same between you and them."

"Is there really an irreconcilable conflict between you and them?"

"Your hatred for them is definitely not without reason..."

"If there were any, they should be their parents' generation."

Fujino looked at her: "Their fathers, I think, are all dead. As for you, is there any need for you to continue your revenge?"

Vermouth gripped the wine glass tightly.

After a pause, she spoke: "Don't worry, at least for now I have no intention of taking action against them. Our conflict hasn't reached the point of no return. As for the future, I think we should wait until then."

At this point, she smirked slightly: "Perhaps, if you can move me, I really will give up killing them."

"Then forget it. I'm quite confident in my lifespan. At worst, I'll just take you with me when I'm about to die." Fujino stroked his chin, then looked up and stared straight at her.

Vermouth sighed, sounding somewhat resentful: "You're even willing to protect them for the rest of your life, but you're not willing to move me even a little bit?"

“I have no designs on you, old lady, so don’t come over here and get angry.” Fujino looked at her with dead fish eyes: “Besides, logically speaking, long-lived species are generally unable to reproduce. What’s the point of you doing this if you can’t reproduce?”

"..."

Upon hearing this, Vermouth's expression first became unnatural, and then her lips twitched.

I was just teasing him a little, how did I end up getting a full combo of true damage?!
She felt that Fujino was really rude.

"Looks like I guessed right." Fujino nodded and continued eating his steak. "Although it's a bit unethical to poke at someone's sore spot, you should probably skip this, ma'am."

"If you're not good enough yourself, then trying to seduce others is, frankly, pointless."

Vermouth narrowed her eyes slightly and retorted, "Even if it's not possible... never mind, anyway, it doesn't prevent normal relationship progress, does it?"

Fujino glanced at her and said, "I have my OCD. Don't tell me you're still some naive young girl at your age."

“I didn’t say I wasn’t, so why can’t I be?” Vermouth’s pale hand trembled slightly, her slender fingers gripping the wine glass and swirling it gently. “How can you make such a assumption…”

Fujino looked at her with an expression as if she were an idiot: "Don't make your brother Fuji laugh. Do you even believe what you're saying?"

"..." Vermouth's eyebrows twitched.

She thought about it and realized that there was actually nothing wrong with what she said.

She took a deep breath, put down her glass, and finally tapped the table with her fingers before saying, "Does that mean you don't see the existence of Platonic relationships?"

"Oh, they do exist, but they all end up in pretty bad shape." Fujino clicked his tongue. "I'm a pretty realistic person, and besides, I already have someone better. Just give up on this kind of pointless idea. I'm not that cliché to think about building a relationship with this kind of boring love or desire."

"Also, I'm not some innocent young man, so don't try to seduce me with those mature, seductive tricks."

“We rational people who only look at the interests don’t buy into this.”

Fujino lowered his head and thought for a moment: "In comparison, you might as well give me some money, and I might consider whether or not to sell my dignity."

Upon hearing this, Vermouth pressed further, "In that case... how about I pay you?"

Fujino picked up his wine glass and took a sip of red wine to settle his stomach: "As for giving money, that's a different story. I'm a person with a lot of dignity. I don't agree to be a kept man, and being a gigolo is even more out of the question."

Vermouth: "..."

So you're going for a full-scale, three-dimensional defense, huh?

If money isn't enough, then what's the point of giving money?
Are you kidding me?

Vermouth took a deep breath, picked up the glass of red wine, and gulped it down.

They easily get led astray by the other party's words, being guided by the nose, and then suffer real damage...

She felt she shouldn't chat with Fujino unless there was a reason.

Otherwise, one day he'll just die of anger and go enjoy his happiness.

(End of this chapter)