Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 433 Before the Cry
Not long after Aoyagi Akimitsu arrived, a Honda Fit drove up and parked on the side of the street.

Kogoro Mouri rolled down the car window and was taken aback when he saw Aoyagi Akimitsu's current appearance, but he didn't ask any questions and invited them to get in the car.

Conan Edogawa was incredibly curious about Aoyagi Akimitsu's new look, and even after getting into the car, he couldn't help but keep glancing at his face.

Aoyagi Akimitsu naturally noticed his gaze: "Why are you staring at me? Do I look strange?"

Conan Edogawa scratched his head, trying to describe how he felt: "I'm just a little unaccustomed to it."

Aoyagi Akimitsu's disguise was superb; even upon close inspection, no abnormality could be detected, and there were subtle differences in his physique. If the other party hadn't admitted it himself, he would have thought he was talking to someone with a completely different voice.

Ran Mouri, sitting in the front row, turned around and couldn't help but look at the unfamiliar face: "Mr. Aoyagi, why did you deliberately change your appearance?"

Kogoro Mouri was the most composed of them all. Having been a detective and currently serving in the police force, he dismissed the question with a nonchalant shrug.

"What's so strange about that? Sometimes when police officers are staking out criminals, they disguise themselves as inconspicuous passersby. They can't just walk by in their uniforms; that would alert the criminals."

“That’s right.” Aoyagi Akimitsu laughed first, then sighed. “My destination is also Anchu City. It’s a small place, not as international as Tokyo. It would be too conspicuous to walk on the street with a foreigner’s appearance.”

Ran Mouri was still puzzled: "But, Mr. Aoyagi, you're a police liaison officer, right? To find missing persons, you should contact the local police in Gunma, identify yourself, and then investigate together. That's how it was done with the embassy bombing..."

Aoyagi Akimitsu did not answer this question immediately.

He paused for a moment, then said somewhat helplessly, "Well, this situation is rather special. I want to investigate it myself first before deciding whether to contact the local police."

special?

Conan Edogawa sensed that Aoyagi Akimitsu was reluctant to talk about it, and felt that there might be some hidden story behind it. The more he acted this way, the more his curiosity was piqued.

He glanced furtively at Kogoro Mouri and Ran Mouri in the front row and decided to ask them secretly when they weren't around.

He then continued the previous topic: "What about the name? If you go with your real name, and some people notice, it could cause trouble, right?"

"Indeed, there will be a lot of trouble."

Aoyagi Akimitsu smiled again.

If he were to show this smile with his original face, it would always carry an inescapable sense of frivolity, like that of a playboy. But with his current face, it only gives off the feeling of a good student who has received recognition and is feeling shy and docile.

"However, changing a name is a troublesome thing. I can immediately put myself into it, but the people around me may not be."

He looked at Conan Edogawa and added:
“If you introduce me to others using a name and then subconsciously call me ‘Aoyagi’ even once by accident, it could easily arouse suspicion, so it’s better not to change it. My identity is currently fairly confidential; it’s not so easy to find out just by looking at my name.”

He spoke very bluntly, and Kogoro Mouri vaguely felt that this was a sign of distrust, but considering the other party's special status and the promised reimbursement, he didn't say anything.

They were all settled, so it was Aoyagi Akimitsu's turn to ask, "Mr. Mori, may I ask who your client is this time?"

Kogoro Mouri didn't mince words and answered directly, "His surname is 'Takeuchi,' a large conglomerate in Gunma. The person who commissioned me is the eldest son of the current chairman."

Conan Edogawa, who had no prior knowledge of this, was utterly astonished: "It's a wealthy family like that? Don't they have any other detectives in Gunma?"

Kogoro Mouri was only polite to Aoyagi Akihiro, but not to him. Hearing this, he was furious: "I am now a nationally renowned detective. What's wrong with me taking a case from someone like this?"

"Dad, you're still driving, be careful." Ran Mouri had to speak up to reassure him, and then explained to Aoyagi Akimitsu, "Actually, it was Sonoko's father and Chairman Suzuki who introduced him. He and Chairman Takeuchi are friends. The person who came that day was his secretary, and we don't know the details of the commission yet. He didn't mention it when he came."

Aoyagi Akimitsu nodded: "I see."

Then I stopped asking questions.

Conan Edogawa, standing nearby, lowered his head, lost in thought.

He knew Takeuchi; while slightly smaller than the Suzuki Group, it was still one of Japan's well-known conglomerates, with ties to many other business and political families. Their family was a leader in the pharmaceutical industry, and with the rapid development of the internet in recent years, there were rumors that they planned to enter the internet sector.

The Suzuki Group has business dealings with them, and the Takeuchi family would not allow a detective personally recommended by their chairman to undertake any dangerous or confidential tasks involving the group.

Finding a cat or dog... that's unlikely. It's more appropriate to leave such a request to a servant familiar with the surroundings or a local detective.

Could it be an investigation into infidelity and catching a mistress? He remembered the chairman was almost seventy, his arranged marriage wife had passed away a long time ago, and he himself had reportedly been bedridden since last year. His children…

Conan Edogawa kept recalling the news reports he had read. Just then, he noticed that Aoyagi Akimitsu, who was sitting next to him, opened his bag.

A flash of silver and a blurry face flew past Conan Edogawa's eyes.

It looked like a photograph, pasted in the corner of the document. He was moving so fast that he didn't even get a clear look at the face before a book took over his view.

"I just bought this a few days ago. The salesperson said it's a good new social mystery. Do you know the plot... um? Conan?"

Aoyagi Akimitsu, holding a book, noticed Edogawa Conan standing there in a daze and asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you?"

Conan Edogawa snapped out of his daze and instinctively said, "That picture from just now..."

Ran Mouri, who was ahead, heard their commotion and turned around again. "Conan, don't cause trouble for Mr. Aoyagi."

"..." Realizing that he couldn't directly tell her many questions, Conan Edogawa quickly pretended to be a child and chuckled a few times: "I know."

He planned to ask when the Mori father and daughter were not around, so he maintained his smile, looked at what Aoyagi Akimitsu was holding, and then paused for a moment.

"The Cry?"

He read out the book title.

"Yes, it was just published recently. When the clerk recommended it, he told me that it reflects many real social problems in Japan, and that I should pay attention to them after reading it."

Aoyagi Akimitsu said patiently, raising his hand to stroke the book: "I was bored on the way, so I brought it with me. I don't know if what he said is true."

Conan Edogawa snapped back to reality and was speechless after hearing what Aoyagi Akimitsu said.

He even has the leisure to read a book on the way; it seems the case he's handling isn't that urgent...

……

Ten o'clock in the morning.

Gunma Prefecture, Anchu City.

An inconspicuous car slowly pulled up in front of an apartment building.

"According to the surveillance footage, the last place Itakura was seen was this apartment." Metropolitan Police Department Public Security Officer Ishigami and his colleague Morofushi Kagemitsu exchanged views. "We can only start our investigation from here."

Morofushi Kagemitsu's feelings were somewhat complicated.

As public security officers from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, they were subjected to far greater restrictions when they went to Gunma Prefecture to investigate people than they would in Tokyo. However, the supervising officer did not intend to transfer the matter to the National Police Agency.

The reason given is that the National Police Agency is currently investigating more important matters, and the Metropolitan Police Department is responsible for investigating a programmer who is being targeted by an organization and whose specific value is still unclear.

"Then let's..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Fujingguang's body suddenly trembled. He turned his head sharply to look behind him, his azure pupils shrinking to the tip of a needle.

There were no pedestrians on the street.

Only one inconspicuous Honda Fit drove past at a normal speed.

"Morobuchi?" Ishigami became alert. "What's wrong? Is there something outside?"

Morofushi Kagemitsu stared at the now empty street for a good ten seconds before saying hesitantly, "...No, maybe I'm seeing things."

Even so, his tense body did not relax in the slightest.

...Was it his imagination? Just a moment ago, he felt a familiar gaze scrutinizing him.

—That chilling feeling, etched deep in his memory, like being stared at by a snake, he had only ever experienced with one person.

(End of this chapter)