I'm in Conan, I'm not a gangster

Chapter 679 My name is Sera Elena (2nd update)
It took Shiraishi E several minutes to barely process the unbelievable situation before her—Miyano Elena's physical functions and appearance had returned to those of an eighteen-year-old, but her mind and memories had also regressed to that period. Her long memories as an organization scientist, wife, and mother seemed to have been completely formatted and disappeared without a trace.

This bizarre amnesia was completely beyond his ability to handle.

He shook his head, deciding to put that problem aside for now, and instead asked about another point that puzzled him: "Okay... let's put the memory issue aside for now. So... you were clearly awake just now, so why did you continue to pretend to be asleep? And even lied to us?"

Upon hearing this, Elena Miyano lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly, twisting the corner of the blanket with her fingers. Her voice was barely audible, filled with timidity: "Um... I'm just... very scared... When I woke up, I heard the voices of strangers around me, and it sounded like someone was crying... calling 'Mom'... I... I've always been very shy around strangers since I was little, and I don't know how to deal with this situation."

"So... I thought I'd pretend I wasn't awake yet, and wait until everyone left before secretly opening my eyes to check the situation..."

After hearing this reason, Shiraishi E scratched her head, somewhat amused and exasperated.

This was exactly the mindset of an introverted and shy young girl, and for a moment he really didn't know how to respond.

He pondered for a moment, then decided that he should tell her the basic facts first, and how much she could accept was up to fate.

He took a deep breath, his expression becoming slightly serious: "Ms. Miyano. What I'm about to say may be very unbelievable, even hard to accept, for you, but please believe me, it's all true. Please be prepared."

Elena Miyano nodded, seemingly understanding, to show she was listening. But her gaze was unconsciously drawn to a banana in the fruit bowl on the bedside table. She couldn't help but swallow hard, and quietly interrupted, "Um… excuse me… I… I think I'm a little hungry… can I have a banana first? Just one…"

She stretched out her slender fingers and gestured, her eyes filled with longing.

Shiraishi E shook her head decisively: "No. You absolutely cannot eat anything right now."

"Why...why?" Miyano Elena pouted, looking just like a little girl who hadn't gotten her snacks.

“Because you’ve been in a coma for over ten years,” Shiraishi explained, trying to sound calm, “your digestive system is likely not yet able to adapt to normal food. I don’t know what the consequences would be if you ate anything rashly. If you’re hungry, drink some water first. We’ll talk about it after the doctor comes and examines you.” He pointed to the water glass in her hand.

Elena Miyano quickly and obediently drank two mouthfuls of water, trying to suppress the hunger in her stomach.

But hiding behind the covers, her big eyes darted around, and suddenly she revealed a "I saw right through you" expression, retorting with a hint of smugness and disdain:

"Hmph! Don't try to fool me! You can't fool me!"

“If I had really been in a coma for ten or twenty years, as you say, even with nursing equipment, my muscles would have atrophied beyond recognition by now! I should be having trouble even raising my arms, how could I be so mobile now? Look!” As she spoke, she deliberately wiggled her arms and legs nimbly.

"And another thing!" She pulled up the sleeve of her hospital gown, revealing smooth, fair arms full of collagen: "Look at this skin! It looks like I'm in my thirties... Oh no, according to you, I must have been in my thirties before I fell into a coma, plus the time I was in a coma... How could this skin look like that of someone in their forties or fifties! You lie without even thinking!"

As Shiraishi listened to her clear and logical rebuttal based on her existing knowledge, she sighed helplessly and explained, "Your current physical condition is due to taking a drug called APTX4869, which has made you... return to the appearance of an eighteen-year-old. That's why your physical functions and appearance are like those of a young person."

“APTX…4869?” Elena Miyano tilted her head and repeated the tongue-twisting name, then covered her mouth and burst out laughing, her eyes curving into crescents: “Hahaha…you can’t even lie properly…how could there possibly be such a drug that makes you younger!”

"I'm from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Medicine! I've never even heard of such an outrageous thing! You've been watching too many science fiction movies, haven't you?"

Shiraishi E felt a headache coming on. He made a "stop" gesture and pressed his hand down: "Quiet down for a moment, don't rush to conclusions. Let me finish what I have to say... As for whether you believe it or not, you can judge for yourself after you've heard it, okay?"

Seeing that the other person seemed very serious, Elena Miyano reluctantly nodded, but still couldn't help but make a request: "Then...then could you pour me some more water...could you...add some glucose? I think I have low blood sugar, I'm dizzy..."

Shiraishi E took the cup and, while preparing glucose water for her, began to recount what he knew about her in as calm a tone as possible: how she later graduated from Tokyo University, joined a mysterious organization to conduct research, married a scientist named Miyano Atsushi, had two daughters named Miyano Akemi and Miyano Shiho, and the subsequent events, including how she became a vegetable due to a fire in the laboratory, and was only awakened today by the new drug developed by Ai…

Elena Miyano sipped her glucose water as she listened to this fantastical story.

When she heard that she was not only married but also had two daughters, she finally couldn't help but burst out laughing, saying jokingly, "Hahaha... That's outrageous! I'm only eighteen! Where did I get a husband? And two daughters? Even making up stories has to conform to basic laws!"

She even got playful and, following up on Shiraishi E's words, deliberately asked in a teasing tone, "Really? Then tell me, my husband... Miyano Atsushi? Is he handsome? Is he good to me? And my two daughters, aren't they cute? Are they well-behaved? Do you have any photos? Let me see them!" She completely took this as an absurd joke.

Seeing her completely disbelieving, even teasing, expression, Shiraishi knew that words alone wouldn't convince her. He sighed, "Photos... we don't have any yet. But..."

He stood up, walked to the door of the ward, and said, "Wait a moment. I'll call your two daughters over now. Let them talk to you in person."

With that, Shiraishi E stepped out of the room and immediately began shouting into the villa, "Akami! Ai! Come quick! Your mother's awake!!! She's really awake!!"

His voice was loud enough to carry throughout the entire mansion.

Almost as soon as the words were spoken, extremely hurried, even somewhat panicked footsteps came from the end of the corridor!
A short while later, Ai and Akemi came running up, panting, their faces a mixture of disbelief, urgency, and immense anticipation. They ran and cried, asking, "Really? Shiraishi-kun! Mom...she really woke up?!"

Shiraishi E stepped aside to clear the doorway and pointed inside the room: "It's inside, go see for yourselves."

Ai and Akemi could no longer contain their excitement and rushed into the room like a whirlwind! Their eyes were instantly locked on the "girl" on the bed who was wrapped in a blanket, with only her panicked little face showing!
Although she looked extremely young, the familiar features of her eyebrows and eyes made them absolutely certain that this was their mother!
"Mother!!"

"Mom! You're really awake! That's wonderful!!"

Years of pent-up longing, worry, and sorrow, combined with the overwhelming joy of finding what they had lost, instantly overwhelmed the two sisters' reason.

They cried out "Mommy" excitedly, like children who had been lost for a long time and finally returned home. They rushed to the hospital bed and buried their heads in Miyano Elena's arms, hugging her tightly, crying uncontrollably, their whole bodies trembling.

This sudden and overly enthusiastic "attack" completely stunned Elena Miyano, whose memories were still stuck in her teenage years!
She froze, her eyes wide open, like a startled rabbit, completely at a loss.

A girl about the same age as him and a schoolchild rushed over, hugged him, cried and called for their mother?!
This is straight out of a horror movie!

Her mouth trembled with fear, and her pleading gaze passed over the two people's shoulders, helplessly landing on Shiraishi E at the door. She couldn't utter a complete sentence, only managing a faint, tearful whisper: "Help...help..." Shiraishi E stared at the utterly absurd yet somewhat heartwarming scene before her—a grown man and a young girl crying out for their mother, while the "girl" was terrified and trembling.

He could only scratch his head helplessly; he really had no experience in handling this situation.

He shrugged at Elena Miyano, who was looking at him pleadingly from the bed, and said, "Don't do anything, just let them hug and cry for a while... They need to vent their emotions... Just bear with it."

Upon hearing Shiraishi E's words, Miyano Elena immediately wore a tearful expression.

Her body was stiff, and she dared not move. She could only stand there like a life-sized body pillow, nervously letting the two unfamiliar "daughters" hug her and cry their hearts out, feeling their tears quickly soaking her hospital gown.

Time seemed to pass exceptionally slowly.

About twenty minutes later, Ai and Akemi's excited and out-of-control emotions finally began to calm down.

The crying gradually subsided, turning into soft sobs.

The two girls awkwardly released their embrace, wiping their red and swollen eyes, their faces filled with apology and still barely suppressed emotion. Mingmei choked out, "I'm sorry, Mom…we got too emotional, we lost control…"

Ai sniffed and whispered, "I'm sorry... Mom..."

Elena Miyano felt a huge sense of relief. She carefully moved her numb shoulders, looked down at her clothes which were soaked, and smiled helplessly.

She cautiously, with utter confusion, reiterated, "Um...you two...I really think you've mistaken me for someone else! I'm not your mother!"

"Look at me, I'm so young, I haven't even had a boyfriend yet, how could I possibly... have kids as big as you?" Her tone was full of girlish certainty and a hint of embarrassment at being mistaken for someone else.

These words struck like a bolt from the blue, leaving Ai and Akemi completely stunned!

Akemi was the first to react. She grabbed Elena Miyano's hand and said urgently, "Mom! Don't you remember me? I'm Akemi! Akemi Miyano! Your eldest daughter! I've grown up. You...you look closely, don't you recognize me?"

Startled by her action, Miyano Elena quickly pulled her hand back, shrank back, and forced a smile, saying, "Um... sister, let me reiterate: I am not married, I have never had a boyfriend, and I certainly don't have children! You have really, really mistaken me for someone else!"

Akemi turned sharply to look at Ai, her voice filled with panic: "Shiho! Mom...she...she has amnesia?!"

Ai's expression also became extremely solemn. She carefully observed her mother's unfamiliar and wary eyes, as well as her reaction that perfectly matched the demeanor of a young girl, and nodded heavily: "It seems... yes."

"It must have been the fire from that experiment that year that caused prolonged oxygen deprivation in her brain, resulting in irreversible damage to the hippocampus and surrounding cortex, which are responsible for encoding and storing memories... causing her to lose most, or perhaps all, of her memories." Her analysis was calm and professional.

Upon hearing Ai's words, Elena Miyano looked at her with surprise and a hint of admiration: "Wow? You know so much! You're so smart! You even know about the hippocampus! When I was your age, I was just playing around..."

At that moment, Shiraishi E spoke up, confirming Ai's guess: "I've already asked her about it."

"Her memory seems to stop shortly after she entered the medical school at the University of Tokyo... She has forgotten all her memories after that, including marriage, childbirth, and work."

"Now, how do you convince her that you are her daughters... I'm afraid you'll have to figure it out yourselves."

Upon hearing this, Ai and Akemi exchanged a glance, both seeing determination in each other's eyes. They nodded vigorously.

Mingmei nodded: "We will definitely try our best!"

Ai replied firmly, "Yes! We will do everything we can to help Mom regain her memory! At least... at least we want her to acknowledge us!"

Just as the atmosphere became slightly heavy and filled with determination, Elena Miyano's weak voice rang out again. She pitifully clutched her stomach: "Um... before that... could... could I eat something first? I'm so hungry..."

Her gaze once again drifted uncontrollably to the tempting banana.

Ai immediately reverted to her scientist's meticulousness and subconsciously retorted, "No! After a person in a vegetative state awakens, their digestive system has been idle for a long time, resulting in atrophy of the gastrointestinal mucosa, insufficient secretion of digestive enzymes, and extremely fragile function. They absolutely cannot eat normally immediately! Enteral nutrition support needs to be gradually provided—"

Elena Miyano couldn't help but mutter a rebuttal under her breath: "I already said I'm not in a vegetative state... What vegetative state person can move their limbs so freely, speak so fluently, and think so quickly like me?" She had a clear understanding of her condition.

Ai's words came to an abrupt end.

Looking at her mother's rosy complexion and agile movements, she paused for a moment, then had to revise her judgment: "...However, it seems that Mom's condition is indeed special."

"Under the effects of APTX4869, her physical functions seem to have fully recovered to their peak state at eighteen years old."

"Therefore, in theory, the usual dietary restrictions after waking up... may not apply to her."

Upon hearing this, Elena Miyano's eyes immediately lit up, as if she had received a pardon. She quickly pointed to the banana and said, "Then! Then please give me a banana! Just one! Thank you!"

However, she then added to the two sisters very seriously, with a pleading tone, "And... please... really stop calling me Mom... I'm really not... you've mistaken me for someone else."

"My name is Elena, Sera Elena!!"

(End of this chapter)