Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

The little girl replied, feeling wronged, "I shouldn't have done that. I ate other people's food without asking any questions..."

"Yes, this is a lesson for you. It's only because of me now that you've run into some other bad guy who tries to extort you. Even selling you out of the market wouldn't be enough."

Sano began his ideological education in a manner reminiscent of a parent.

"Yes……"

Seeing the little girl nod, Sano also nodded: "It is a great virtue to admit one's mistakes and correct them. Since you already know you were wrong, and I am not a stingy person, I will be merciful and forgive you this time."

"Really!?"

The little girl, relieved and overjoyed, was almost moved to tears: "Thank you, Uncle!"

The four people next to them looked on with strange expressions.

...At first, it seemed like Sano was the one who should be forgiven, so how did things turn out the other way around?

I have a feeling this little girl has been fooled.

Moreover, he was completely misled by Sano.

Especially the kind-hearted Ran Mouri, who was almost unable to bear it any longer.

If it weren't for the sake of Sano's...face, Ran Mouri would probably have already grabbed the little girl and started shaking her—"Wake up, you idiot! Your underwear...oh wait, I mean your diapers are about to be stolen!!"

"Ah."

Ignoring the gazes of the four, Sano took the hundred-odd yuan from the little girl's hand again, seemingly oblivious to their presence: "Although it's not enough, I'll still accept it. Here, have another piece of cake; this time it's free."

The little girl, who was initially a bit disappointed that her money had been taken away, immediately smiled again upon seeing this: "Really, really free?"

"Yes, eat quickly."

"Thank you!"

Seeing that the little girl had cream smeared on her lips again, Sano suddenly asked, "Speaking of which, what were you planning to do? Why did you sneak out to play again?"

"No, that's not true!"

The little girl denied it, dissatisfied: "I came out to buy soy sauce for my mother... Ah!"

At this point, the little girl suddenly bristled: "Oh no, I haven't bought the soy sauce yet! Oh no, I have to hurry! Thank you for the cake, Uncle! Bye-bye!"

Sano watched the little girl run away on her short legs. Suzuki Sonoko, who was standing next to him, stroked her chin and suddenly asked, "Senpai, do you think... the money that you took from that little girl just now, could it be the money her mother gave her to buy soy sauce?"

"...Who knows?"

Sano divided the remaining cake: "Alright, we've made up for the birthday now, shouldn't you guys be leaving?"

Sonoko Suzuki pouted and said, "Seriously, senpai? Are you in such a hurry to get rid of us? That's so heartless! I haven't even started eating the cake yet!"

"Could it be that he's in a hurry to go on a date?"

Ai Haibara, holding a cake in one hand, said, "She's carrying a trash bag, so it looks like she's planning to go out and take out the trash."

“But Sano… my brother looks like he just washed up, which means he just woke up. Usually, someone in this state would go home after taking out the trash and would dress very casually when they go out. But his clothes are very neat, which means he obviously doesn’t plan to go home after taking out the trash.”

Ai Haibara's reasoned and well-founded analysis instantly convinced the two best friends.

Ran Mouri looked at Sano with a mixture of surprise and apology: "Is that really so? Then... haven't we been taking up your time, senpai?"

Sonoko Suzuki pouted pitifully, "Really? Senpai, you really abandoned me and Ran and found another woman?"

Even if you're single, you can't drag yourself into being single too, right?

Sano glanced at Ai Haibara and the fake loli. Sure enough, she had been spending too much time with Conan and had picked up a lot of bad habits.

Why bother learning reasoning and pretending to be a detective? Are you afraid your fake loli identity won't be exposed?

"I'm planning to go on a trip for a few days."

Upon receiving Sano's reply, Ran Mouri smiled with a sigh of relief: "I see. Then why don't you come to Osaka with us, Senpai? I was just about to talk to you about this today. After all, traveling can help you relax and is good for... recovery."

...Well, so that's what they were waiting for.

Sano, seemingly ignoring the question, retorted, "What are you doing in Osaka all of a sudden?"

"It's all because of that Hattori guy, he insisted on calling us over."

Chapter 243, page 242: Did he poison breakfast?

Conan sighed and interjected, "But since that guy will take care of our food and lodging anyway, we only need to pay for our travel expenses, which is quite a good deal."

Sano, looking down at Conan, raised an eyebrow: "In your eyes, am I the kind of person who would change my destination for a small gain?"

Conan blinked: "Isn't it...?"

"……Yes."

After a few seconds of silence, Sano accepted Ran Mouri's invitation to team up.

"That's great!"

Ran Mouri clapped her hands happily, but then realized something was off. Under the strange looks from the others, she chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of her head, while also slightly elaborating on her earlier statement: "What I mean is, it's really great that you're willing to come with us, senpai."

"Humph."

Sonoko Suzuki started trying to burrow a hole in the ground with her toes, pouting sourly, "I have to go to some lousy banquet, I can't possibly go with you guys."

"Oh, Sonoko, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Ran Mouri started coaxing her best friend, while Sano turned to Ai Haibara and asked, "Are you going too?"

"what?"

Ai Haibara asked with a hint of wariness, "Whether I go or not is none of your business."

"I'm just a little curious about when you started to enjoy joining in on things so much."

Sano lit a cigarette: "After all, given your personality, you shouldn't have made a special trip to celebrate my birthday."

Ai Haibara narrowed her eyes but did not reply.

The reason Ai Haibara came over was actually quite simple: she just wanted to observe Sano.

After all, at the end of their last meeting, Sano's actions truly gave Ai Haibara a super, super big... well, surprise.

Damn it, just thinking about it now still gives Ai Haibara the creeps.

Fortunately, Gin was probably worried that the police might arrive at any moment because he had just caused an explosion that day, and he didn't want to be targeted and cause unnecessary trouble.

That's why they didn't catch up and start firing.

Otherwise, Ai Haibara would never have doubted the outcome of four lives lost in one car.

Even so, when Ai Haibara finally came to her senses and tried to give Sano a moral lesson,

The other party still acted as if it didn't matter, as if everything was just a passing cloud!

Does this guy even realize he just had a close call with death?!

Ai Haibara didn't know how Sano managed to get discharged from the hospital, but she was certain that being with this guy would indeed be extremely dangerous.

The problem is that Sano still has leverage over him that could kill him at any time, so even if they're not together, his situation is still very dangerous.

Ai Haibara had also seriously reminded Sano about this issue.

But Sano always looked so confident and assured everyone that everything was fine.

This only made Ai Haibara more uneasy.

This guy is so unpredictable; he might just lose control, do something reckless, and end up hurting himself.

Whether it's realistic to keep Sano by his side at all times in case of unforeseen circumstances, or even whether it will be effective, is another matter entirely.

To this end, Ai Haibara devised a series of detailed plans... well, actually she had no idea what she could do or what she should do.

The only way out at present is to observe Sano's condition, analyze his structure, study mental books on his own in order to find a way to cure him, and at the same time, take timely action when he finds something wrong with him to prevent him from losing control.

Therefore, even though she can't follow Sano around all the time, Ai Haibara still has to try her best to stay in touch with him.

...Ai Haibara had secretly tried to find Sano a few days ago, but they just couldn't run into him.

I don't know what she's busy with all day long. I heard from her two best friends that Sano rarely goes to school.

Sano didn't get a reply from Ai Haibara, and didn't care. He just looked at Conan again... and narrowed his eyes at the bag he was carrying: "What's this thing?"

"Ah, a birthday present."

Conan realized what was happening and handed it to Sano: "This is a snack gift pack that I bought together with Ai Haibara... Ayumi, Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Professor Agasa. It's enough for you to eat for ten days to half a month. They were supposed to come along too, but they didn't have time, so it was just Ai Haibara and me."

...Professor Agasa truly doesn't have time, but Conan doesn't know whether the trio of real children are genuinely short of time or just pretending.

However, originally, those four guys didn't know about Sano Hibiki; they only found out after overhearing Conan and Ai Haibara's conversation.

Following this logic, the four people didn't need to come to celebrate Sano's birthday in the first place, let alone give him any gifts.

As for why it was given away.

Ha, that's what you call social skills and etiquette.

After Conan started, the two best friends also changed their minds and started giving gifts instead.

"Hey."

Ran Mouri gave her a novel... or rather, eight books, but they were all from the same series.

The gift Sonoko Suzuki gave was clearly not befitting her status; it was just a lighter.

However, it wasn't one of those lighters you can just buy at a convenience store; it was more of a retro type... In Sano's past life, it seemed to be called something like "zi".

It looks like a small brick... about the same size and shape as the MP3 player that Amuro Tooru gave away.

When using it, you need to push open the top cover and then use the internal gears to rub against each other to start a fire, and sparks may even fly out... It's like taking off your pants to fart.

Flashy.

Based on Sano's understanding, this thing should cost around... tens of thousands of dollars?

Of course, Sano wasn't complaining about the price; after all, it was just a birthday gift, and giving something too expensive wouldn't be appropriate.

At least Sano doesn't know how to reciprocate in the future.

By this point, those who would have given gifts to Sano have basically already done so.

Among them, the snack gift pack jointly donated by Professor Agasa and the team, and the novel donated by Ran Mouri, should be the cheapest. Next are Sonoko Suzuki's lighter and Tooru Amuro's MP3 player.