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

Conan Edogawa, hand in hand with Akimitsu Aoyagi, returned to the main entrance of the hospital.

As the automatic doors opened, the hospital's interior was fully revealed to them. There were five or six people queuing in front of the information desk on the first floor, and a long queue also formed at the payment counter not far away. This hospital had more patients than they had expected.

Aoyagi Akimitsu glanced around, then looked up slightly before turning to Mouri Kogoro: "Mr. Mouri, who are you asking about?"

They were in different rooms earlier, and of the materials President Takeuchi gave them, only Kogoro Mouri had thoroughly reviewed them. He quickly gave his answer:
"There are two people in total. One is the chairman's wife's former maid. She came to the Takeuchi family with the lady back then and is said to know a lot about the sisters' past. She was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of this year and is currently receiving treatment at this hospital."

"And another one is the chairman's attending physician." Kogoro Mouri scratched his head and lowered his voice, "This is a bit troublesome. Judging from the chairman's attitude, we probably won't get any information out of him."

Aoyagi Akimitsu nodded slowly, without asking any further questions.

Kogoro Mouri looked at him, recalling the foreign tourists he had mentioned on the way here and the few people in the hospital who knew about it, and said, "Aoyagi, you take this kid and go first. It's too conspicuous for the four of you to go and question people together. Ran and I will go."

Aoyagi Akimitsu understood his meaning and readily accepted the offer: "Okay."

Then, as if remembering something, he let go of his hand, pulled the backpack that had been hanging on his shoulder to his front, rummaged inside, took out the notebook he had used at Takeuchi's house that morning, and handed it to Kogoro Mouri.

"By the way, I've written down President Takeuchi's request; it's right here," he reminded him.

"Do not……"

Kogoro Mouri was about to say no, but before he could finish speaking, Aoyagi Akimitsu had already shoved the notebook directly into his hand.

“Take it.” Aoyagi Akimitsu repeated, looking directly at him. “If you’ve forgotten anything, you can take a look. The specific contents are still very important.”

Even Ran Mouri looked puzzled.

Not to mention Conan Edogawa, who is already very observant, he once again sensed something strange in Aoyagi Akimitsu's attitude.

Very strange.

Mr. Aoyagi is really strange today.

He seemed quite relaxed on the way, even having the leisure to read a mystery novel, but after visiting the Takeuchi family, especially after meeting Chairman Takeuchi, his attitude became subtle...

Conan Edogawa couldn't help but tilt his head back, wanting to take a quick look at the notebook. But as soon as he looked, his gaze suddenly stopped.

A small corner of the notebook was visible in the middle, and it looked like a piece of paper was tucked inside.

Conan Edogawa's eyes widened instantly.

……

Filled with questions, Conan Edogawa followed Aoyagi Akimitsu.

The hospital is shaped like an inverted U-shape. The ward for short-term inpatients they were looking for was located on the left side of the main building, in the opposite direction from the Maori father and daughter who were looking for a maid.

All the way, he held Aoyagi Akimitsu's hand, wanting to ask what had happened, but unsure if he could ask now.

They soon arrived at the third floor. They had seen the floor plan on the first floor and found that people with minor injuries such as fractures and small-area burns lived on this floor.

The inpatient area was noticeably quieter than the first floor. The wards here were for two to three people each, and all the ward doors were closed. There were only a few nurses walking around in the corridors, and there were fewer surveillance cameras than on the first floor.

"Mr. Aoyagi..."

Conan Edogawa couldn't hold back any longer and wanted to speak.

However, Aoyagi Akimitsu had already stopped in front of a ward, effectively cutting off his next words.

"This is the one." Aoyagi Akimitsu stopped and turned around.

The room was at the end of the corridor, next to a window. The afternoon sun streamed in through the clean glass, illuminating the person standing there. He glanced down, then quickly looked away, focusing on the boy in front of him.

Conan Edogawa felt those emerald green eyes watching him.

"They're not easy to get along with, so I won't take you in with me."

Aoyagi Akimitsu's words startled him. Then, the FBI agent pointed to the chairs outside the ward and added, "You can wait for me outside. If you're bored, you can play on your phone for a while, or you can go and look around the neighborhood."

"—Remember, don't run too far. Make sure someone can always see you within your field of vision. I'll be out soon."

"..."

This gesture still seemed odd, and Conan Edogawa hesitated, but eventually nodded.

Aoyagi Akimitsu smiled at him, a smile that finally had some of his usual easygoing and relaxed demeanor. Then he knocked on the door and entered the ward.

The door opened and closed softly, almost without making a sound. Conan Edogawa watched his figure disappear, and faint voices could be heard coming from inside. He didn't eavesdrop, but silently sat down in the chair that Aoyagi Akimitsu had pointed out earlier, and took out his phone.

He unlocked his smartphone, the screen lit up, and an email notification appeared before his eyes.

The sender was Aoyagi Akimitsu, and the message was sent a few minutes earlier, just as they entered the building.

really……

Conan Edogawa felt a slight unease.

This email was probably typed blindly by Mr. Aoyagi right after meeting with the chairman. At that time, he was holding his own hand with one hand and had the other hand in the kangaroo pocket of his jacket.

Conan Edogawa looked up to check the surveillance cameras above and realized that he was in a blind spot. He quickly opened his email.

[Be careful, the Takeuchi family is in big trouble. Mr. Mori has been bugged; it was probably planted by the man in black who bumped into him at the door. When we met just now, I also sensed that other people were watching us.]

Conan Edogawa: "..."

...So Mr. Aoyagi's strange behavior just now was because he discovered that Uncle Mori had been bugged, but he couldn't tell them immediately because he wanted to keep his identity a secret, so he could only give them a heads-up.
His mind raced back to Aoyagi Akimitsu's words of advice, leaving him momentarily speechless.

He could understand Mr. Aoyagi's eagerness to remind them, but this reminder, with its "you can take a look" and "play on your phone for a while"... wasn't it a bit too blatant?
It was practically like saying to their faces, "I found XXX, you guys should go check it out!"

However, Conan Edogawa knew that this was Aoyagi Akimitsu's style.

This FBI agent is really bad at and doesn't like decryption; he finds it troublesome. For example, sometimes when I share some bizarre cases with death messages with him, he not only isn't interested, but he even complains.

"I really don't understand why they have to go through all that fancy stuff," Aoyagi Akimitsu sighed. "Didn't they consider that if others can't solve it quickly, it will delay the case's resolution? Why can't they just be direct?"

When Conan Edogawa was still Shinichi Kudo, he replied, "The fun of deduction lies in unraveling the mystery."

Aoyagi Akimitsu shook his head and sighed again:
"If it were me, if I couldn't directly convey information, I would use a method that is easier to expose. After all, I value efficiency and results more."

……

Conan Edogawa, having finally figured out the reason behind Aoyagi Akimitsu's strange attitude, breathed a sigh of relief.

...A certain tension that had been building up inside him subtly eased. (End of Chapter)