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

Chapter 684 Mary's Thanks (1st Update)
Elena Miyano and Marie sat down at an inconspicuous cafe nearby.

When she sat down, Mary habitually chose a spot with her back to the wall and facing the entrance. This was an instinct she had developed over many years as a secret agent, and even when facing someone who might be her sister, she never completely let her guard down.

After the waiter left, a brief silence enveloped the two of them.

Mary's gaze remained sharp as she carefully examined the face opposite her, a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

Her eyebrows, her expression, even the curve of the left corner of her mouth when she slightly pursed her lips, were exactly the same as the younger sister she remembered. The only difference was that youthful and vibrant girlishness, which created an unsettling contradiction.

She finally spoke, her voice low and cutting straight to the point: "Elena, tell me, what exactly happened? Weren't you dead?"

Elena Miyano met her gaze and said softly, "Mary, actually... I don't remember very clearly either. But I heard them say... there was a fire in the laboratory back then, and I was rescued. Although I survived, I'm now in a vegetative state."

"I lay unconscious in the hospital bed for more than ten years. It was only recently, just two days ago, that they injected me with medication and I regained consciousness."

Mary paused almost imperceptibly in the coffee cup she was holding.

This answer was clearly beyond her expectations, but she couldn't find any flaws in it.

She merely narrowed her eyes slightly and posed the next, more crucial question: "After being in a vegetative state for over ten years, you woke up no longer your expected age. How could you... be so young?"

A bitter smile, tinged with helplessness, appeared on Miyano Elena's lips. She said softly, "They injected me with a drug that Shiho developed... It's called APTX4869."

"Then, my body... reverted to what it looked like when I was about eighteen years old. Amazing, right? Surprising, right? Even now, I often feel like I'm in a dream."

To her surprise, Mary's reaction was unusually indifferent.

She simply sipped her black coffee slowly, her tone calm to the point of indifference: "Not surprised at all... I myself was forcibly given drugs and turned into this child."

Elena Miyano let out a long "ah," completely unable to refute it.

She hurriedly asked, "Sister, what exactly happened? How could you... Who did this to you?" She couldn't believe that someone as powerful as Mary could be so secretly plotted against.

Mary let out a very soft, almost inaudible sigh: "It's a long story..."

She briefly summarized the details, clearly unwilling to elaborate at this moment: "I was ambushed by that woman Vermouth. She forcibly fed me a mysterious drug, and I seized the opportunity to jump into the river to escape. When I woke up, I looked like this."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Moreover, judging from what Vermouth said back then... this drug was most likely originally developed by you."

"Huh? Is that how it is?" The small spoon in Miyano Elena's hand gently tapped against the side of the cup, making a crisp sound.

The accusation made her heart skip a beat, and she said helplessly, "I'm sorry, sister... I've lost most of my memories. I only have... memories from when I was eighteen."

"Oh, it's alright. It's nothing serious, as long as you're alive." Mary had also noticed this, after all, the way Elena Miyano looked at her was full of fear.

She then asked, "The name you just mentioned—Shiho. Who is she? Since she was able to develop this kind of drug, is it possible that she could also be the cause of my current health problems?"

When her daughter's name was mentioned, the gloom on Miyano Akemi Elena's face was instantly dispelled by a bright and proud light: "Shiho, she is my youngest daughter."

“Your daughter?” Mary was surprised. She clearly remembered her niece, Mingmei, with her bright, big eyes. “Wasn’t there only Mingmei? Did you secretly have another one later?”

Elena Miyano nodded, confirming Mary's guess: "Yes, it's the youngest daughter. And she's incredibly intelligent, far beyond my expectations."

"Did you know what? She single-handedly advanced and perfected the research on APTX4869 to this incredible level without any guidance from me!! Isn't that amazing?"

Mary was indeed shocked by the news, and it took her a moment to process the fact that "her sister's daughter is a genius scientist."

She suppressed the turmoil in her heart and tried to comment in a calm tone: "Indeed impressive... This has already exceeded the scope of ordinary geniuses."

Then, she asked the most crucial question, her voice tinged with barely perceptible urgency: "Where...is she now? This child named Shiho."

Elena Miyano took her phone out of her handbag and unlocked the screen as she said, "They're nearby waiting for my message. I'll call them now and have them come see you immediately."

Mary nodded and didn't say anything more.

But she was incredibly excited and thrilled!
She never expected that this trip would yield far more than she had imagined. Not only was her sister alive, but the drug's developer turned out to be her niece!

--------------

After hanging up the phone, Akemi immediately signaled Ai and Shiraishi to follow. The three of them walked through several streets and soon found Miyano Elena and Marie in a corner booth of the cafe.

Akemi stepped forward first, a perfectly timed smile on her face, and politely bowed to the "girl" who looked only thirteen or fourteen years old but exuded an undeniable aura: "Aunt Mary, hello, I am Akemi."

Ai nodded slightly, her voice calm and even: "Auntie."

Mary's sharp gaze first fell on Mingmei, scrutinizing her carefully for a moment; her eyes, honed over many years, seemed to pierce through time.

She nodded, her tone still holding a hint of scrutiny, but much softer than before: "Yes, I've seen what you looked like as a child in old photos left by your mother, and you look very similar to how you are now... in spirit."

Her gaze then shifted to Ai, who had short brown hair, and her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, with a hint of inquiry and disbelief. "You... took the drug you developed yourself?" She cut to the chase, her tone stating rather than questioning.

Ai met her gaze, nodded frankly, and replied simply, "Yes." There was no further explanation, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

A fleeting look of genuine surprise crossed Mary's eyes, which quickly turned into undisguised admiration.

She clicked her tongue softly and nodded: "Not bad, not bad, you've got guts." This praise, coming from a veteran agent, carried considerable weight.

Immediately afterwards, her gaze, like a precise searchlight, swept over Shiraishi E, who stood casually behind the two sisters.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice tinged with her usual caution and scrutiny.

Shiraishi E seemed not to hear the slightly oppressive question, and casually pulled out an empty chair, making a soft sound, and sat down.

Then, seemingly oblivious to everyone around him, he pulled out a cigarette case from his pocket, skillfully flicked out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it with a "snap," and exhaled a wisp of smoke. His entire action exuded an arrogance that was completely out of place with his surroundings!
Mary's brows furrowed immediately, and her face revealed undisguised disgust and displeasure.

This casual and rude behavior clearly crossed her bottom line.

However, before she could even open her mouth to rebuke him, she heard the arrogant boy say calmly, "The three of them."

Shiraishi E casually pointed at Miyano Elena, Akemi, and Ai with the finger holding a cigarette: "I rescued them all from that Black Organization on a whim."

This sentence was like flipping a switch.

Mary's displeasure and doubt froze instantly, then were replaced by immense shock and realization.

The next second, she suddenly stood up from her seat with a "bang," so fast that she didn't even notice the small spoon on the table being knocked over.

She stepped in front of Shiraishi E, her previous indifference and scrutiny vanishing without a trace, replaced by a heartfelt and utterly solemn gratitude.

She reached out and firmly grasped Shiraishi E's hand, the one not holding the cigarette, shaking it vigorously up and down, her voice filled with lingering fear and sincerity: "Thank you! This... handsome young man! Thank you so much!"

“If it weren’t for you… my sister and my two nieces would probably still be struggling in that terrible situation! I, Mary Sera, will always remember this kindness!”

Shiraishi E seemed a little surprised by this sudden enthusiasm, but she didn't pull away, letting the other woman hold her hand. She simply waved casually with her other hand, which was holding a cigarette, and said in a calm tone, "It's nothing, it's nothing, please sit down, no need to be so polite..."

He paused, then looked up at Akemi and Ai who were still standing: "Don't just stand there like idiots, sit down."

Mary then released her hand and sat down again, but her gaze remained fixed intently on Shiraishi E, her attitude having completely changed.

"Excuse me, handsome, may I ask your name?" Her tone became very polite, even showing a hint of respect.

"Emi Shiraishi." He exhaled a smoke ring, answering simply and decisively.

Mary leaned forward slightly and continued to press, but her tone was just right, no longer offensive: "If I may ask again, I wonder... what do you do for a living?"

Shiraishi flicked her cigarette ash, her tone casual and matter-of-fact: "I'm just a high school student."

Mary was taken aback at first, then chuckled and shook her head: "You're really joking. How could an ordinary high school student possibly have the ability and courage to rescue all three of them safely from that huge organization?" She clearly thought this was just an excuse for the other party not to reveal their true identity.

Shiraishi shrugged indifferently, stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, and said lazily, "Believe it or not."

Mary nodded knowingly, a "I understand" expression on her face, and said in a very considerate tone, "I see. It seems it's inconvenient to say. That's okay, I understand."

She clearly categorized Shiraishi E as a special individual with a powerful background who was carrying out a secret mission.

…………

Elena Miyano, who was standing nearby, witnessed her sister's dramatic change of expression the whole time. She couldn't help but lean closer to her two daughters and whisper in a voice only they could hear, her tone full of disbelief and a hint of teasing: "Wow, did you see that? Mary's attitude towards Shiraishi-kun... it's a complete 180-degree turn!"

"She changes her attitude faster than turning the pages of a book! She really is exactly the same as before, not changed at all, and is extremely good at playing favorites against different people!"

Mingmei seemed to think her mother's words were biased and disagreed, retorting in a low voice, "Mom, Mary is your sister and our elder. She is genuinely grateful to her savior. She can't just keep a cold face, can she? That would be so impolite."

Ai nodded calmly and analyzed objectively, "Yes. Moreover, your aunt is a professional in MI6. She knows better than anyone how difficult it is to successfully rescue someone from that organization and escape safely."

"She showed due respect and adjusted her attitude towards truly capable individuals, which in itself is a manifestation of professionalism and 'sharpness'."

Hearing her two daughters singing in unison, both siding with Mary, Elena Miyano felt a surge of annoyance and protested in a low voice, "Hey! Whose daughters are you two anyway? Why are you both taking Mary's side?"

Mingmei quickly took her mother's arm and soothed her softly, "Mom, don't be angry, we were just telling the truth..."

Ai pushed up her glasses and added in a calm, almost academic tone, "It's because your prejudice against Aunt Mary is too heavily filtered, Mom."

"Perhaps it's because you were trained in combat a lot when you were young, so you see everything as bad. But objectively speaking, Aunt Mary's intentions in forcing you to learn self-defense were indeed good. Besides..."

She paused for a moment and then said, "Facts have proven that her decision was correct. Otherwise, with your introverted and trusting personality back then, you would have been easily bullied."

Although their conversation was quiet, it clearly did not escape the ears of the well-trained Mary.

She turned her head with satisfaction, a rare, almost smug smile on her face, and looked at Elena Miyano: "It seems that my two nieces, whom I have never met, can understand my good intentions... Elena, you really need to learn from the children in this regard."

These words infuriated Elena Miyano. She was speechless for a moment, her cheeks puffed out slightly, and in the end, she could only snort coldly, turn her head away, and decide not to talk to these three "united front" guys anymore.

She channeled her grief and anger into her appetite, picked up a small spoon, scooped up a large piece of cake, and stuffed it into her mouth. She chewed it silently and forcefully, as if that piece of cake was her older sister, whom she was both angry and helpless about, yet unable to refute.

(End of this chapter)