Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

With this level of skill, if Eri Kisaki decides she doesn't want to be a lawyer anymore, becoming an assassin in her own organization might be a good career path.

With its unremarkable appearance and unremarkable ingredients, it lures enemies into eating the food without warning, causing them to vomit and have diarrhea, rendering them unable to fight. Finally, it can be easily harvested to complete the mission.

Yes, that makes perfect sense.

……

Sano stayed at the office all night.

And so, a day and a night passed, and it seemed as if nothing had happened.

...Except for Sano, who almost had to be taken to the hospital.

However, seemingly frightened by what happened to Sano, Eri Kisaki, though a little disappointed, didn't insist on having her cook anymore.

The next day, the Dog Rider squad came to see Ran Mouri again—they claimed they were there to serve as her bodyguards, and they even had pepper spray and other weapons in their hands, which could be considered weapons.

The Dog Knights squad was unaware that Sano was protecting Ran Mouri around the clock, so when they arrived at the agency in a boisterous manner, they immediately turned into ostriches again.

In addition, Sonoko Suzuki also came to see Ran Mouri.

"Oh, senior, you're here too. Have you been discharged from the hospital?"

Sano glanced at Suzuki Sonoko and casually teased, "Even these little brats knew to go see Ran yesterday, but you, my best friend, are quite late."

"What are you talking about? I spent the whole night at the hospital with Xiaolan the day before yesterday, okay?"

Sonoko Suzuki complained, "Even the ambulances going to the hospital have my picture on them."

Upon hearing this, Sano raised an eyebrow, probably realizing that the two best friends must have both attended that wedding.

That makes sense.

"What, senior, are you upset that I didn't visit you in the hospital the other day?"

Sonoko Suzuki grinned and moved closer to Sano: "Oh dear, I just have so many banquets to attend these past few days, I haven't had time. Besides, Ran tells me about your condition every day, senpai. I really care about you, senpai~"

Listening to Sonoko Suzuki's... delicate explanation, not only Sano, but also Ran Mouri, who had little memory of the two, and the five-person team, couldn't help but shudder and get goosebumps.

"Aren't you only in high school? Why do you have to attend so many banquets?"

Sano asked a question he was curious about: "Why don't you just let your sister handle it?"

When this was mentioned, Sonoko Suzuki sighed and explained her family's situation.

Originally, Suzuki Ryouko, the eldest daughter of the Suzuki family, was planning to get married, and Suzuki Sonoko became the sole heir to the Suzuki Group's business empire.

It can almost be said to be the mainstay of the Suzuki Group's future.

So even though she was only in high school, Sonoko Suzuki already had to go through various situations with her parents.

...To put it bluntly, Sonoko Suzuki is not a rich second-generation at all, but rather—the richest woman in Japan.

Although it will take several years for this transition to happen.

As children of Japan's top conglomerate, Sonoko Suzuki and Ryouko Suzuki were practically born at the very top of the pyramid.

But the gifts bestowed by heaven often have their costs already predetermined.

With benefits come responsibilities and obligations; rights are limitations.

...Of course, this is just Sonoko Suzuki's personal opinion. If Sano were to comment, he could only say... he couldn't agree.

Perhaps Sonoko Suzuki's words are not without merit, but at least in terms of cost-effectiveness, Sano believes that out of the billions of men, women, and children in the world, only one in a hundred million would feel that this is not a huge bargain.

According to Sonoko Suzuki, it was destined that one of the sisters would have to manage the family business, while the other, although not required to, would still have certain requirements regarding her romantic partner.

Although Sonoko Suzuki spoke cryptically, Sano still understood the meaning behind her words.

It's just a marriage alliance.

As for the question of which of the two sisters would go on a marriage alliance and which would continue to manage the family business, the Suzuki couple did not seem to interfere, but rather let them decide for themselves.

Now that it's confirmed that Sonoko Suzuki will be the richest woman in the future, shouldn't I start planning ahead so that I can avoid working for twenty years?

Sano stroked his chin, realizing that even after twenty years of hard work, he still couldn't compare to the Suzuki Group.

Sigh, the gap between working-class people and capitalists...

"Ding dong."

Just as Sano was sighing inwardly, the doorbell of the agency rang. Conan ran over and saw, "Ah, it's a package. It looks like it's for Sano... his brother."

For myself?

Sano raised an eyebrow as he watched Conan approach carrying a cardboard box.

Logically speaking, even if someone did send the package, it should have been sent to Sano's home or the hospital.

Sano only came to the Mori office yesterday. There are only a few people who know about this, including those present. Why did they send the package here?

Sano narrowed his eyes; his intuition told him that there was probably something wrong with this package.

"Give it to me."

Sano took the package and looked at it. Apart from the recipient's information, the sender's information was completely blank.

...This looks even more problematic.

Could there be a bomb inside this thing?

Sano narrowed his eyes and tore off the outer tape without hesitation, but inside was not a bomb, but... a newspaper and some photos?

what?

Sano frowned, took out the photos, and flipped through a few at random.

...This looks like a crime scene. The deceased was a woman with wide-open eyes, covered in red, and there was blood everywhere in the photo.

Then there was a man's corpse.

This one appears to have been burned alive; it's completely charred.

After taking more than a dozen photos, they were basically all of these two corpses, just taken from different angles.

What does it mean?

Sano frowned. This woman seemed vaguely familiar.

I think I've seen it somewhere before.

Having no clue what to do for a moment, Sano took out the newspaper again—the material looked like it was several years old.

The newspaper's headline was very eye-catching: "[A corporate executive killed his wife and then set himself on fire; his middle school son witnessed the entire incident and has been sent for psychological treatment]".

...The original owner's parents?

Looking at this...familiar title, Sano paused for a moment before finally realizing what it meant.

That woman is none other than the original owner's mother.

So someone is threatening me?

But why?

What is the reason?

It just so happens to be at this time...

Looking further down, there was a card in the package that looked like it had just been written.

The scarlet words above, like blood that has not yet dried, say: "Your cowardice killed your parents, Shinichiro Sano, you shouldn't continue to live!!"

"...What's wrong, senior?"

Seeing Sano's furrowed brows after opening the package, Sonoko Suzuki finally couldn't help but ask.

This was, after all, a package addressed to Sano, which is a private matter, and of course, no one else could just peek at it.

...If it were someone else, Conan or the trio of real kids might join in the fun, but facing Sano... if you don't want to get hammered, you'd better not.

"nothing."

Sano snapped out of his daze, threw the things he was holding back into the package, and then threw the package into the trash can.

"It's just some trivial stuff, don't worry about it."

If it were the original Sano, he might actually be frightened by these things, but for Sano now...

Ha ha.

Who cares?

Seeing Sano's obviously unusual reaction, the others exchanged glances but didn't dare to ask anything.

It wasn't until evening that Conan dared to sneak downstairs and retrieve the package from the trash can.

"This is……"

Upon seeing the newspaper and the photograph, Conan's expression instantly turned serious.

"Is someone threatening Sano?"

...Conan had some understanding of Sano, or more accurately, Sano's original self, so he understood the purpose of the package almost immediately.

The only reason Conan could think of for Sano being threatened was Ran Mouri.

The murderer was indeed after Ran Mouri.

Is it because she feels that Sano is too much of a hindrance by Ran Mouri's side, making it difficult to take action, or is it simply because she is afraid that Sano will find out the truth and wants to expel him from this matter?

Conan stood in front of the trash can for a long time, pondering. After a moment's hesitation, he put the photos and newspapers into his pocket, turned around, and went upstairs.

However, as Conan approached the entrance of the agency, he suddenly didn't know how to get in.

...Of course it wasn't because I forgot my keys and the door was locked.

Conan simply doesn't know how to face Sano.

It was one thing if he didn't know before, but now that he knows what Sano saw at noon, how can Conan pretend not to know?

Anyway, now that Conan is just putting himself in Sano's shoes, if this kind of thing is brought up again, or even put in front of him, and he is verbally threatened, who the hell can stay calm?

...Although Sano didn't seem to react much.

But that's only what it looks like.

Conan hadn't forgotten that this guy was still sick. Would he really be alright after being stimulated like this?