Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Sano tilted his head, picked up the Hammer of Justice that had fallen to the ground, stuffed it into his sleeve, and continued breaking apart the sausage.

Nakajima Keizo: "..."

The other party seems to have been in the news before for exposing someone's face. If they really don't want to show their face and still take photos without permission, they might not be thrown into Tokyo Bay later, but they would probably be beaten up on the spot right now.

After wiping the cold sweat from his brow, Nakajima Keizo decided to give it a try anyway.

Of course, Nakajima Keizo wouldn't start filming immediately, as that would be tantamount to declaring war. He would test the waters first before deciding whether to launch an attack.

"Um...Mr. Sano?"

Sano tilted his head slightly, looked at Nakajima Keizo, raised an eyebrow, and gestured for him to speak if he had something to say.

"Hello, let me introduce myself first. I'm a reporter from the Tokyo Ghost Stories section. I'd like to take two photos of you for promotional purposes. Is that alright?"

...Tokyo ghost stories?

Good grief, so this is the guy who's been keeping an eye on me?

Sano narrowed his eyes in surprise: "Why would a ghost story segment film me?"

"This……"

Nakajima Keizo paused for a moment. "That seems to be true. But there's no reason for that."

Or, why not try using your "Detective Dee" persona?

...Isn't this just asking for trouble?

Nakajima Keizo fell silent and did not say anything more.

Meanwhile, it was finally the turn of the new big black dog to be fed.

Surprisingly, after picking up the chicken leg that Sano threw away, this guy didn't start eating it right away. Instead, he went to a corner and gave it to a dirty white long-haired plush toy. After seeing the toy start eating, he even licked its fur.

...Wow, so he was just a simp after all?!

Sano said, "How come this guy accidentally shot friendly forces earlier? Turns out he was seduced by the beautiful cat's trick and betrayed us?"

Seeing that the black dog's tail was practically wagging like a propeller, Sano couldn't help but choke slightly.

Ai Haibara, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but murmur after watching for a while, "Feeling the same way, huh?"

Ok?

Ai Haibara's murmur was so soft that even Conan next to her couldn't hear it, but Sano's hearing was perfect.

Sano looked at Ai Haibara. Could it be that this guy was making connections with herself and Conan, who were of the same species?

"Sigh... He really is like a knight protecting a runaway princess."

The true loli Ayumi's love-struck mind started to kick in, and she couldn't help but sigh.

Noticing that everyone, including Sano, was looking at her, Ayumi stiffened and quickly changed the subject, saying, "...Speaking of which, what kind of dog is this? It looks so different from other dogs."

"...It's a greyhound, isn't it?"

Conan attempted to switch to educational mode, but was interrupted by Sano the next second: "It's not a greyhound, it's a greyhound..."

Sano, who originally intended to say "saikou" (睬狗), paused for a moment and then changed it to "saikou" (睬犬).

This left even Conan and Ai Haibara, among others, bewildered.

"What kind of dog is a greyhound?"

"The Greyhound is a breed from China. It is very similar to the Greyhound in size and characteristics. In addition, the number of Greyhounds is decreasing, so it is not surprising that they are mistaken for Greyhounds."

Sano, unusually, did some popular science: "For example, the celestial dog that Erlang Shen, a figure from Chinese mythology, always carries is actually a greyhound."

"I see."

Conan, Ai Haibara, and even Keizo Nakajima all nodded thoughtfully, while the three real children beside them remained completely bewildered.

What are the two gods?

Wasn't it supposed to be a greyhound? How did it turn into a celestial hound?

"Since greyhounds and greyhounds look so alike, how do you tell them apart?"

Ai Haibara pressed for more information.

"A very simple way to tell them apart is that Greyhounds usually have folded ears, while Greyhounds usually have floppy ears."

While answering the questions, Sano was actually lost in thought and wondering how a greyhound from China could be in Japan. Could it be that a dog dealer was selling greyhounds as greyhounds?

Wait, greyhounds seem to be quite valuable too... huh?

Sano's thoughts suddenly stopped. Looking at the greyhound licking the fur of the plush toy, a strange impulse surged up within him.

...It's a similar feeling to the first time I saw the bold and unrestrained emperor.

This time is different from the last time. There shouldn't be anything that could trigger Sano's interest. So what is this strange feeling?

Sano stared intently at the greyhound. The other cats and dogs around them, even Conan and his friends, seemed to vanish, leaving only Sano and the dog.

Suddenly, the greyhound stopped its licking behavior and turned to look at Sano.

The moment their eyes met, Sano didn't hesitate to pull out the system and enhance it.

...After completing the mission to capture Kiichiro Numabuchi in Osaka, Sano's enhancement points were already very close to the value of the item he could enhance next.

Sano originally thought that two more missions would be enough, but he didn't expect that the missions after that were all low-reward, easy ones. Then, although he had enough enhancement points, he felt very bad. He always felt that he couldn't enhance anything good... or even create some very bad things, so he didn't do anything.

But right now... it feels okay!

"Random enhancement in progress. Congratulations, host, your doll has been enhanced successfully..."

baby?

Sano paused for a moment, pulled up the system map to locate the new enhancement item, and found that it was in his own home.

...I have dolls at home...Oh, it's the one I bought in Osaka last time.

So that thing really did become a power-up?

Although when Sano first saw that thing in Osaka, he didn't feel the same strange impulse as when he saw the Gokai Emperor and this greyhound.

Chapter 257, Page 256: The Clone Technique!

But Sano did indeed have this idea.

Perhaps I'm just overthinking it, but one thing is true.

That is, the dog system seems to have a particular fondness for strengthening... well, randomly assigning it to those black entities.

It's not that Sano hates black; on the contrary, he quite likes it. But if it's always black, it can get a bit tiresome.

After all, these things aren't ordinary clothes, so they can't be calculated like that.

...To be honest, Sano wasn't sure if the target of enhancement could be a living being, but since he could enhance his eyes, enhancing a living being, especially a non-human being like an animal, didn't seem impossible, right?

However, the exact cause of that strange impulse remains inconclusive.

Sano sighed, his feelings a mix of regret and something else.

"Hey, Sano, Sano, are you alright, Sano...?"

Then, Sano was brought back to his senses by Conan's anxious and worried calls.

"...If you shake it again, I'm going to hit you."

Upon hearing this, Conan, who was gripping Sano's shoulder, froze. He released his grip, pouted, and glared at Sano resentfully, saying, "Please, I was worried about you."

Damn, a male high school student... even though he's shrunk, does he have to act like he's trying to be cute and cuddly?

Sano shivered and moved to the side: "Although I don't have a girlfriend, it's not your place to worry about me. Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about that dark-skinned guy. Anyway, he's very interested in you."

...How did this get involved with Hattori again...? Sigh, when did I start assuming that dark-skinned people are Hattori?

While Conan was confused, Ai Haibara asked, "Have you been taking your medicine on time lately? What happened just now? Why did you suddenly freeze there? Is something wrong?"

...Why is everyone asking themselves if they've taken their medicine?

Sano pursed his lips: "It's none of your business. I'm going home. You'll have to take care of these cats and dogs."

Ai Haibara raised an eyebrow and coldly crossed her arms: "If you don't answer the question, I won't help you."

Sano raised an eyebrow as well: "Alright."

Just as Ai Haibara was somewhat surprised that Sano had been so easily blackmailed by her, he handed the bag in his hand to the trio of real children on the other side: "You guys should help me with this, right?"

"...Of course! We are very happy and honored to serve Sano-nii-san!"

The three true children stood at attention and, under Ai Haibara's somewhat speechless gaze, respectfully took the bag from Sano's hands, just like his group of tools as the Black Reaper.

If the situation weren't so awkward, I might have even wanted to give Sano a salute.

...After returning home, Sano immediately dug out the black doll he had bought from Osaka.

Although he was quite interested in the doll at the time, this was the first time Sano had taken a close look at it since he bought it.

It's not big, about the size of Sano's palm, but it's not particularly small either; it's at least a bit bigger than his bootleg Kamen Rider keychain.

Because it was completely black, you couldn't see any details... and there weren't any details to begin with, it was just a round-headed humanoid shape.

Enhancement item name: Copy Doll.

Grade: B.

effect:

1. Copy (Used on a single person, can be activated through contact, perfectly copying an entity that is physically identical to the target).

2. Twins (The status of the clone and the target, including but not limited to basic attributes, stamina, injuries, and consciousness, will be completely synchronized).

Limitations: The effect of copying can only be activated after three minutes of continuous contact with the target, and the copy will revert to its original form after a maximum of three hours.

Note: Shh, another version of you is watching you.

...It's not a cursed doll, but a clone doll??

Although in terms of effect, it seems to be not much different from a cursed doll.

Sano carefully studied the effects and limitations of the replica doll.

The description of the Twin Effect mentions that the clone and the cloned entity will share the same status, including the concept of "injuries".