The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

Vermouth paused for a moment, then laughed as she watched Aragaki Yu hurriedly retreat.

"Don't you want to know why Gin asked me to impersonate him and approach you?"

Perhaps to find a topic to talk about, or perhaps to add a thorn between Gin and Aragaki Yu, Vermouth said this.

However, Yuu Aragaki's reaction truly surprised him.

Upon hearing his words, Aragaki Yu, who had managed to escape, paused slightly, but seemed to have no intention of turning back.

Only after his figure disappeared into the alleyway did Aragaki Yu's faint voice drift over.

"Not interested in."

Upon hearing this, Vermouth was slightly taken aback.

She first frowned subconsciously, then suddenly smiled.

She tucked her hair behind her ear, leaned back slightly against the wall, and looked in the direction where Aragaki Yu had left.

He then took out the cigarettes that Aragaki Yu had just put back into the cigarette case. "Heh, what an interesting guy."

However, it is precisely this kind of person who...

She was increasingly worried about the other person being around Xiaolan.

but……

Yet their relationship seems so good.

Thinking of this, Vermouth rubbed her head helplessly.

"Ugh……"

Chapter 496 Lost

Unfortunately, we were delayed a little by Vermouth on the way.

When Aragaki Yu arrived at the shopping mall where the murder occurred, Kudo Shinichi was already at the scene making his final deductions.

Moreover, Yuu Aragaki could clearly sense that Shinichi Kudo was not in a good condition, probably because the temporary antidote was about to wear off.

Sure enough, it didn't take long.

After Shinichi Kudo completed all the reasoning, while Inspector Megure and the others were reflecting on the case...

As the effects of the medication wore off and he became increasingly miserable, Shinichi Kudo finally rushed into the toilet at the very last moment while still conscious.

Before he could even find a toilet stall and rush in, Shinichi Kudo, who was leaning against the sink, completely passed out.

His body gradually transformed into the likeness of "Conan Edogawa" while he was unconscious.

Fortunately, because of the incident that occurred in the mall, there were no customers loitering in the restrooms at that time.

And all of this was naturally seen by Aragaki Yu, who followed him into the restroom.

Just as Aragaki Yu frowned, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside the bathroom door.

He frowned subconsciously, just about to throw the shrunken Conan into the cubicle.

However, after hearing the Snow Woman's explanation to the newcomer, he decisively abandoned the plan.

He nimbly slipped into a stall at the last second before the person entered the restroom.

This is because the toilet stalls here are designed with open bottoms on the doors.

Even if you hide in a cubicle, people outside can still see your feet.

Therefore, Yuu Aragaki also used both his hands and feet to support himself on the two side partitions in the cubicle.

In this way, as long as the visitor doesn't go into each cubicle to check, they naturally won't find Aragaki Yu hiding inside.

The next second, Ai Haibara, disguised as Conan again, appeared in the bathroom.

Seeing Shinichi Kudo, who had collapsed in front of the sink and reverted to Conan, Ai Haibara frowned slightly, her expressionless face blank.

She then quickly scanned the toilet stalls before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, there was no one else here. Otherwise, if someone had witnessed an adult turning into a child, who knows how much of a commotion it would have caused.

As for why Ai Haibara was in this place, it was naturally because she was worried about Shinichi Kudo, that impulsive guy.

As expected, things turned out differently, and she still had to clean up the mess.

……

After half an hour.

Conan, who was groggily waking up from his coma, suddenly felt a tightness in his chest after opening his eyes and realizing what had happened. He then jumped up from the ground.

He subconsciously looked around, afraid that someone would notice him, until he spotted "Conan" leaning against the sink, at which point he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Since Ai Haibara is here, it means that no one else has noticed anything unusual about her.

"..."

After exchanging a few words, Conan quietly changed into the glasses and spare clothes that Ai Haibara had given him.

They then hurriedly went to the restaurant on the top floor of the mall.

You see, Xiao Lan was still waiting for him in the restaurant!

……

Sure enough, it was inside the restaurant.

Xiaolan was staring at the seat opposite her with her head down, her eyes filled with both expectation and loneliness.

"That case seems to have been solved!"

Just then, a waitress walked up to her and leaned down to say something.

"Huh? It's true!"

Ran seemed pleasantly surprised to hear this. So, Shinichi is coming back?

"You'll be able to see your sweetheart soon!" the waiter teased kindly.

Clearly, she had overheard Shinichi Kudo and Ran's conversation and knew that the young lady's companion was a detective who was currently helping the police solve a case.

"Don't say that, what sweetheart are you talking about!" Xiaolan blushed with embarrassment upon hearing this.

This scene, witnessed by Conan who had finally made it to the restaurant, made his heart sink instantly.

"Conan?"

When Ran noticed Conan, who was panting heavily, appearing there, she suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Here, this is a credit card..." Conan forced a smile as he handed the card to Ran. "Shinichi asked me to give this to Ran-neechan."

Seeing that Ran showed no intention of reaching out, Conan silently placed it on the Western-style dining table, and then continued to explain, "When Inspector Megure came to find Uncle Mori and me, I happened to run into Shinichi."

"What? Dad's here too?" Xiaolan asked in surprise.

"Yes, he's in the parking lot downstairs!" Conan nodded in response.

"Where's Shinichi? Where did Shinichi go?" Although she was a little surprised that her father had also come to the mall, Ran still asked the question that concerned her the most.

"..."

Seeing Conan open his mouth but not make a sound immediately, Ran's bad premonition intensified.

Ran stared at Conan, her face slightly pale.

Under Ran's pitiful gaze, Conan could only suppress his inner turmoil and explain calmly, "Shinichi just received a phone call. It seems there's been a slight problem with a case we were working on. He rushed out immediately after receiving the call..."

Hearing Conan's words, Ran had expected it, but the melancholy that welled up in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Xiaolan, who had been full of anticipation, suddenly became disappointed.

"Oh……"

Xiaolan turned her head away, looked at the empty seat, and slowly lowered her head.

"Ran-neechan... Shinichi-nii is such a jerk... He actually abandoned Ran-neechan and left," Conan stammered.

He was conflicted and saddened, and for a moment he didn't know what else to say.

Xiaolan: "..."

Xiaolan remained silent and did not give any response.

"Sister Xiaolan, you..."

“He abandoned me again…” Xiaolan’s eyes instantly welled up with tears.

Her brows furrowed slightly, her eyes glistened with tears, and her lips drooped slightly, trembling gently.

Conan noticed that in that instant, Ran's eyes became vacant, and a bitter smile appeared on her lips from time to time, as if she was recalling something that hurt her.

She seemed to be deeply embraced by loss, her whole body exuding a repressed sorrow, as if she were about to be overwhelmed by tears, yet unable to release the pain hidden deep within her heart.

Chapter 497 Conan: My mentality has collapsed

"Oh, right, Shinichi also told me..." Looking at the heartbroken Ran, Conan felt as if his heart was being cut by knives and pierced by needles.