He's in Detective Conan, and he's the mastermind behind everything.

"Kindergarten Cherry Blossom Class".

"What about before?"

Chapter 179 Shirley is Holmes' Watson!

"Before?"

Sonoko Suzuki pouted: "They haven't even met before the Sakura Class, are you stupid?"

“That makes sense. How old were you then?” Ying Sheng asked.

"What, are you checking my household registration?"

"This is related to Xiaolan's emotional journey, it's very important, please, please."

"Hehe, four and a half years old, probably."

"There's something wrong. At this age, you weren't just starting kindergarten, were you? Why was Ran meeting Kudo for the first time back then?"

"Because Kudo transferred here, okay?"

"Which kindergarten did he attend before?"

"How should I know? Ask him yourself."

"You've known each other for over ten years, and you didn't even know about this? I'm conducting a secret investigation right now, planning to give them a surprise, so of course I can't directly ask the parties involved."

"surprise?"

Sonoko Suzuki was shocked: "My God! You and Ran were already holding hands in the street, doesn't that mean you're officially a couple? You're still trying to set them up? Do you have some kind of weird fetish? You...you..."

"..."

Ying Sheng was speechless: "It wasn't that kind of surprise. Sorry, I misspoke. Anyway, you don't remember anything at all?"

"No, let me think... Hmm, it's been too long, I don't remember very clearly, but I do think I did ask when I was in the Sakura Class, but Kudo avoided answering and pretended to be confused, like he had amnesia. I don't think I asked again after that, anyway, it doesn't matter."

"That's it..."

Ying Sheng asked thoughtfully, "So, what memorable things happened between him and Xiao Lan?"

"Hey, are you really a pervert?"

"...Never mind if I asked. And didn't I just say that I mainly wanted to analyze the reasons for Ran's current personality? Sonoko, you know that childhood experiences are very important in shaping a person's personality."

"You bastard...you're serious about Xiaolan, aren't you? Don't betray her!"

"No way, I..."

Through the earphones, the sound of a teacup tapping on the table could be heard. Hotaru changed the subject: "Can I ask you for a favor? Sonoko, recall your past experiences. It would be even better if you could write them down. This is very important to me."

"Isn't it very important to Xiaolan?"

"No, it's very important to me. Can I ask you this, Sonoko? I need your help."

"Sigh..." Sonoko sighed softly, "Can I really refuse?"

"Thank you, Suzuki-kun, goodbye."

"........."

Sonoko gritted her teeth: "You bastard!!"

Unfortunately, Ying Sheng had already hung up the phone, so we couldn't hear her exasperation.

Hotaru could only hear Kiyoko chatting idly with Miyano Akemi through his earphones. However, this was thanks to the saleswoman who had brought the manager over, which prevented Kiyoko from having no reason to change the subject.

Recalling his casual conversation with Sherry last Saturday morning, Hotaru pondered for a few moments before calmly saying:

"It's speculated that Shinichi Kudo and Sherry attended the same kindergarten before Shinichi transferred to the Sakura class. Sherry was sent to America when she was very young, probably around that time."

Judging from the two sisters' attitudes toward the brewery, Sherry's departure to America was by no means voluntary. When the brewery staff tried to take her away, there may have been a struggle or even crying and fuss, which may have attracted the attention of Shinichi Kudo when he was a child.

Judging from Miyano Akemi's current behavior, Sherry must have been quite close to Kudo Shinichi back then, and given Kudo Shinichi's personality, he would probably have stood up to stop her even if it came to the adults at the brewery.

Unfortunately, he was clearly not strong enough.

I don't know if he was kicked to the ground, but he probably witnessed the person he cared about being swallowed by darkness in some helpless way.

This may have caused him great harm in his young mind, and out of the human instinct to avoid pain, he forgot this memory.

After that, to prevent him from reliving everything, his parents arranged for him to transfer schools.

Ying Sheng paused for a few seconds, then another image came to mind.

It was below the wooden staircase of a pub. Sherry, who was always aloof, was passing through the boundary between light and shadow, her tone carrying a strange meaning.

Ha, so that’s it.

Ying Sheng smiled and said, "Add one more thing, Shirley knows Anna Katherine Green, and she also reads detective novels. I think in kindergarten, she would definitely discuss cases with Shinichi Kudo, and even solve them. Haha, she is the Watson that Holmes is missing."

Other details are completely unclear, but this should be the main outline.

Kiyoko, it's up to you now.

VIP room at Mikasa Branch of 4L Bank.

Kiyoko gently set down her teacup, waved away the manager who came to handle her business, and looked at Miyano Akemi, who seemed restless and kept glancing at her, before lowering her eyes and sighing softly:

"Ms. Akemi, do you know what Kudo-kun said to me when I confessed my feelings to him?"

Akemi Miyano gently shook her head, her thoughts quite complicated. Had she already confessed her feelings...?

Kiyoko smiled faintly, revealing a hint of sadness, yet also a sense of relief: "Kudo told me that he was sorry that his words and actions had caused me to misunderstand, but he actually just saw a shadow of someone in me."

Akemi Miyano's heart skipped a beat. Could it be?!

Kiyoko looked up and asked softly, "Ms. Akemi, do you know who that person is?"

Akemi Miyano's eyes almost glistened with tears: "Could it be... Shiho?"

Kiyoko sighed again: "Who else could it be but that person from the depths of my memory, heh..."

Her brows finally relaxed slightly, and she took Miyano Akemi's hand: "There's nothing to be disappointed about losing to someone as outstanding as Shiho-san. I'm not as good as her anyway. Akemi-san, you have a very capable younger sister."

Akemi Miyano quickly shook her head: "Miss Kiyoko, you're amazing too. Your case-solving at the coffee shop last time was brilliant. Shiho didn't want to bother you anymore after seeing it, but who knew... Kudo-kun actually remembered it all this time. I'm so sorry, we..."

Another piece of unknown information obtained, but it seems to be useless now...

Kiyoko gently shook her head and interrupted, "Miss Akemi, you don't need to comfort me. Miss Shiho is far more outstanding than me, and she has known Kudo since childhood. I have no chance, and I will not have any more illusions. I am already very happy to be able to help Kudo as his companion at present."

Seeing Akemi Miyano's apologetic look and her opening her mouth as if to speak, Kiyoko continued:

"Getting back to the main point, ever since Kudo-kun last saw you, he has been secretly investigating and has learned about your current situation. He has come up with a plan to take you away from the organization's surveillance without anyone noticing."

Akemi Miyano hurriedly asked for the method, and Kiyoko smiled slightly, took out a human skin mask, and placed it on the mahogany coffee table.

"Miss Akemi, do you know about disguise techniques?"

Private Marseille, to be added tomorrow.

Chapter 180 Miyano Akemi: A Pure and Naive Sweetheart

"Disguise?!"

Akemi Miyano's heart skipped a beat. She suddenly remembered the rumor of a thousand-faced witch in the organization. Could it be that she achieved that through disguise?

With this thought in mind, Miyano Akemi's gaze towards Yukimatsu Kiyoko became somewhat wary. She was just a low-level peripheral member with limited knowledge; she didn't even know the code name of the Thousand-Faced Witch, let alone her true appearance.

Who can say that the person in front of me isn't her?

Perhaps her previous acts of kindness were just the organization trying to toy with her like a cat playing with a mouse?

A brief silence fell over the VIP room until Ying Sheng chuckled softly on the other end of the headset:

“Interesting, interesting, Qingzi, do you know that when I was interrogating the nameless man, I didn’t think of seeking help from the distillery because I had another suspicion: those two, could they be my colleagues from the distillery?”

The fact that Akemi Miyano is so surprised by the term 'disguise' might really be a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Ha, could it be some damn factional infighting?

Kiyoko, have her confirm your face, and call Sherry to verify. Sherry is a very important codename member; she definitely knows far more information than Miyano Akemi.

Kiyoko did as she was told, and then smiled gently at the end: "Ms. Akemi, if I were part of the organization, why would I do these unnecessary things? Even if you really robbed a billion yen and handed it over to Gin, do you really think he would keep his word and let you and Ms. Shiho go? That's a bit naive."

Akemi Miyano, of course, knew she was ridiculously naive. After hesitating for a few seconds, she reached out and began to trace the edge of Kiyoko's cheek, especially her chin. She held on for about half a minute before withdrawing her hand, letting out a long breath, and rising to bow deeply to Kiyoko.

"I'm so sorry, I was just overthinking it!"

"It's nothing. It's good to be vigilant. Ms. Akemi, you should call Ms. Shiho again to confirm. What we need to do next requires building mutual trust. Of course, it's best not to say too much right now, and also to confirm whether there are any eavesdroppers over there."

Kiyoko maintained that faint smile, unchanged from beginning to end.

Akemi Miyano nodded. Kiyoko's attitude was so frank that she had already believed most of it. Moreover, she had heard the rumors of the Thousand-Faced Witch a long time ago. The age of that person was unknown, but she shouldn't be a high school student.

Akemi Miyano took out her phone, entered her sister's number, and before pressing the dial button, couldn't help but ask curiously:

"Isn't the organization supposed to be very secretive? Why do you guys know that Gin ordered me to rob a billion yen?"

"Um……"

Kiyoko's face showed a strange expression: "Actually, it's because of Mizuki Hotaru. That guy is very carefree and talks about many things in front of people without any hesitation. And Gin, for some reason, also talked to him a lot. Combined with some other channels, we have a reasonably good understanding of the organization."

"Mr. Shuiyue?"

Akemi Miyano paused slightly, recalling Hotaru's behavior at the dinner table the night before, and then thought it wasn't impossible. It wasn't that she thought Hotaru was incapable of keeping secrets, but rather she felt…

"Mr. Mizuki has a cheerful and easygoing personality. He probably doesn't care about many of the things we care about." Miyano Akemi couldn't help but sigh softly. Such an open-minded outlook on life is truly admirable.

"Last time, I was really grateful for his help, which allowed Shiho and me to put aside our differences and get along well for a while. But we broke up with each other again not long after we sobered up the next day. I'm really not a good older sister."

As she spoke, she pressed the dial button.

The call was connected in less than five seconds, and Shiho Miyano's urgent voice came through:

"Sister, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that to you."

I don't know if she was slacking off, but she was clearly keeping a close eye on the phone.

“I should be apologizing, Shiho. You’re right, Gin can’t keep his promise. I’m just making a pointless sacrifice.” Miyano Akemi’s voice was somber. “I’m sorry, Shiho, I just… couldn’t see any hope, and I thought that if it were just like that… it would be better if it all ended.”