Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

"hiss--"

Upon hearing this, Conan gasped in shock. He hadn't expected Sano to be so... sassy.

After a two-second silence, Conan gave Sano a thumbs up. He liked this gesture, hehe.

Afterwards, Hattori Heiji led Sano and his group on a tour of Tsutenkaku Tower—its status in Osaka seems to be equivalent to that of Tokyo Tower in Tokyo.

Then, a police officer named Sakata, who had been assigned by Hattori Heiji's father, took on the role of driver and led the group into... the police car.

...It seems that Hattori Heiji's father is quite busy with a certain case, so he didn't come over.

Hmm, Sano strongly suspects that Numabuchi Kiichiro might be involved in this case.

It's really a bit crowded to have so many people on one bus.

Finally, Sakata drove, Heiji Hattori sat in the passenger seat, the Mori father and daughter Sano sat in the back, Ai Haibara sat on Ran Mouri's lap, and Conan sat on Kogoro Mouri's lap.

Damn it, if Ai Haibara hadn't insisted on coming along, I could have been sitting on Ran Mouri's lap.

Conan glanced at Kogoro Mouri, who also looked unhappy, and thought that he might as well sit on Sano's lap than on this old man's lap.

Conan then looked at Sano.

After Sano saw through his thoughts and gave him a cold glance, Conan guiltily looked away.

Never mind, Kogoro Mouri's legs seem pretty good too...

Afterwards, Sano and his group had lunch—an unusually bland ramen, and then they ate takoyaki, which could also be called octopus balls.

Sano had never eaten such a unique snack in both his lives, after all, he couldn't even accept things like bullfrogs and grilled squid.

However, when he passed by a small roadside stall, something caught Sano's attention.

...It was a doll.

The doll was pitch black, so black that you couldn't even make out its features. You could only barely make out that it was human-shaped by its form. I don't know if it was designed that way on purpose or if it was just dirty.

Sano was drawn to the doll precisely because of its black color.

This thing is way too black, it's like a black hole.

Chapter 245, Section 244: Ran Mouri's foundation has been undermined.

So much so that even just catching a glimpse of it out of the corner of one's eye can make one involuntarily turn their gaze there.

"He does look quite similar to a dark-skinned person."

Sano narrowed his eyes, picked up the doll and compared it with Hattori Heiji, which immediately made Hattori Heiji's already dark face even darker.

"First of all, my name isn't Blackie!"

"Secondly, how does this thing resemble me at all!?"

Sano ignored the dark-skinned man's frustrated shouts and asked the shopkeeper with interest, "How much is this thing?"

"Ah, you have excellent taste, sir."

The shopkeeper, a seasoned salesman, rubbed his hands together and gave a fawning smile as he said, “This thing is a spiritual artifact. Its full name is a cursed doll. It’s said that if you stick the name of someone you hate on it, it will form an invisible connection with that person’s soul. After that, whatever you do to this doll will cause the person whose name was on it to experience the same thing.”

...Isn't this just like sticking pins in a voodoo doll?

Sano glanced at Ran Mouri, whose face had suddenly turned pale, and pursed his lips: "Alright, stop talking nonsense and just tell me how much it costs."

"cough."

Seeing that Sano was being so disrespectful, the shop owner coughed awkwardly and said, "Well then, I think you have good taste, and since our meeting is fate, I'll make an exception and give you a friendly discount... ten thousand yuan!"

Ten thousand?

That's so expensive! Only a fool would buy that.

Upon hearing this price, Hattori Heiji, Mori Ran, and the others all had similar thoughts.

"What the hell?"

However, just when the others thought Sano would give up, he directly slapped down a 100-yen coin: "100 yen, sell or not, if not I'm leaving."

"One hundred?! Who bargains like that?!"

The boss's eyes widened instantly, and even Hattori Heiji and the others next to him gasped.

Discount?

Even a broken bone wouldn't be this bad, would it?

"I told you I'm in a hurry. You have one more chance to say whether you'll sell or not."

"Oh dear, it's not easy being a business owner..."

Seeing that the boss was still trying to play the victim, Sano stopped talking nonsense and prepared to take back the hundred dollars and leave.

Seeing the boss, he couldn't hold back any longer and immediately became anxious, grabbing Sano's hand that was holding the money: "Hey, hey, I'll sell it, I didn't say I wouldn't sell it!"

It actually sold!?

Hattori Heiji and the others stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with disbelief. Even after Sano paid for the doll and took it away, they were still in shock.

...Buying a doll for 100 yuan is nothing unusual.

But everything is afraid of having a comparison.

The price of 10,000 yuan first, and the price of 100 yuan later, is a huge difference.

...Should I say this guy is really stingy?

"Take care, boss."

After watching Sano and his group leave, the stall owner's lingering pain vanished instantly. He then pulled out a new black doll from under the stool and placed it on the stall.

"What a pity, I only made fifty yuan."

Sano was unaware of the boss's grumbling after he left, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.

The price of a few dozen yuan wasn't enough to bother Sano much. After all, people are in business and can't expect to make no money from you. Besides, he was too lazy to waste his time on a few dozen yuan; time is money.

Instead of wasting time here for this little bit of money, why not finish this sooner and go back to boosting performance? Wouldn't that bring that bastard wife faster?

After stuffing the black doll into his arms, Hattori Heiji then dragged Sano and his group to eat pancakes.

...Although Sano still didn't quite understand what was going on with pancakes and white rice.

"I'm going to call my mom. You guys eat first."

Hattori Heiji left in a hurry.

Sano glanced at the absent-minded Ran Mouri. Ever since arriving in Osaka, this girl seemed to be acting somewhat uneasy from time to time, though it didn't seem like she was embarrassed.

"What’s wrong with you."

Sano, who always speaks his mind, asked the question directly.

"Ah...it's nothing, it's just that I feel like someone is watching me."

Ran Mouri said hesitantly.

Is someone watching Ran Mouri?

Sano glanced around thoughtfully. He didn't doubt Ran Mouri's intuition, but he wondered if the guy staring at Ran Mouri had anything to do with the case that Numabuchi Kiichiro and Hattori Heiji had mentioned before.

However, before Sano could notice anyone around him acting strangely, a girl who clearly had ill intentions quickly walked over to his side and sat down.

"Um, I'm sorry, miss, this seat belongs to our friend and it's already taken. You see..."

Before Ran Mouri could finish speaking, the girl snorted and said, "You're that Kudo guy, right?"

"Ok?"

All four of Sano's men, excluding Kogoro Mouri, raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

"Ever since Heiji came back from Tokyo, he's been talking about you a lot."

The girl turned her head with a cold smile, looking in Sano's direction... Considering what she said earlier, she should be saying she was staring at Conan.

Sure enough, Conan's expression began to look strange.

Could it be that Hattori actually told strangers about his affairs?!

"...Kudo, you mean Shinichi?"

Ran Mouri instinctively asked a question, but the girl suddenly lunged forward, forcing Sano in the middle to instinctively lean back and dodge, and Conan also leaned back.

...Although this lecherous brat's posture was a bit off.

"Stop pretending with me. Heiji has already told me everything."

Conan frantically tried to cover the other person's mouth, but the other person had already roared angrily, "You're the woman Heiji met in Tokyo, the one he keeps talking about, the one called Kudo, right!?"

"..."

Ai Haibara, equally taken aback by the previous developments, took a sip of water with a blank expression: "Just how many times has that dark-skinned guy been mentioning Kudo every day?"

Sano sat in the chair in an almost reclining position, glanced at Ai Haibara standing next to him, and took a sip of water: "Perhaps this is... the bond between men."

Although this affection seems a bit excessive.

Could Heiji Hattori be gay too?

Ok?

Why should I say it myself?

The current situation is quite clear: this girl is interested in Hattori Heiji, but Hattori Heiji keeps mentioning Kudo, so she thinks she's been cheated on, gets jealous, and even mistakes Mouri Ran for that so-called Kudo.

Well, I wonder if Ran Mouri, this innocent victim, will suffer even more—who knows, she might actually be the one whose boyfriend was poached?

Ran Mouri smiled awkwardly: "Miss, it seems you've misunderstood..."

"Oh."

The girl chuckled and stood up defiantly: "Let me tell you, Hattori and I are best friends who were once bound together by iron chains!"

"Kazuha?"

At the same moment, Hattori Heiji finally returned.

"..."