Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

...The full name is the Egg of Memories, which was discovered in the Suzuki Foundation's treasury just last month. It is known as the Tsar's secret treasure, the Emperor's Easter Egg, and so on. Sano didn't pay much attention to the whole set of details.

After all, it's not Sano's personal property, so why bother studying it so carefully?

"Is it really okay to just casually take out something so valuable?"

However, before Ran Mouri could finish speaking, Sonoko Suzuki waved her hand and said, "Oh, don't worry about it. This thing isn't that important. I used to treat it as a toy when I was a kid, but I ended up throwing it in the warehouse and forgot about it."

...800 million worth of antiques and toys, thrown away in the warehouse and forgotten. Hmm, no wonder she's Japan's future richest woman.

It's so grand!

Then, Shiro Suzuki showed and introduced the Egg of Memories to everyone.

Overall, it looks like an ostrich egg. Although Sano had never seen an ostrich egg before, he just felt that it looked like one.

The outer shell is dark green, and inside are several small golden figures. After using a key to open the mechanism, the figures will turn the pages of a book they are holding...

Chapter 263, Section 262: Sano clearly likes Ran's mother!

No wonder Sonoko Suzuki said she used to play with this thing as a toy when she was a child.

Afterwards, the group discussed why the Egg of Memories contained the word "memories".

"By the way, what are these sparkly things? Gems?"

Ran Mouri suddenly pointed curiously at the glowing dots inside the Egg of Memories and asked.

"No, it's glass."

Shiro Suzuki said with a smile.

"Huh? Isn't this a gift from the Emperor to the Empress? Why would they use such a cheap material as... glass?"

"Ah...it seems that when the Emperor created this fifty-first Memory Egg, the country was already in a financial crisis, so...that's how it is."

Shiro Suzuki explained again.

"I see."

Heiji Hattori, standing to the side, stroked his chin: "But compared to that, what I find even stranger is why Kaito Kid's announcement mentioned a glowing sky tower. How could Osaka Castle glow?"

The entire contents of the announcement sent by Kaito Kuroba were as follows:

"The lion of dusk, until the maiden of dawn, when the clock without a second hand reaches the twelfth, descends from the glowing sky pavilion to receive the egg of memories—the magician of the end of the century, Phantom Thief Kid."

The sentence about the lion and the girl was interpreted by Officer Nakamori as referring to the time when Leo crosses over to Virgo, which is between today, the evening of August 22nd, and tomorrow morning, August 23rd.

The middle sentence should be the specific time... although Officer Nakamori didn't decipher it.

Finally, the sentence that likely represents the location was identified by Inspector Nakamori as the castle tower.

Heiji Hattori was clearly skeptical of Inspector Nakamori's interpretation, but before he could investigate further, Inspector Nakamori himself stepped forward and declared that his interpretation was absolutely correct.

Then, everyone analyzed and discussed the point that "the clock without a second hand reached the twelfth mark," and finally, Kogoro Mouri's explanation was that it referred to 3 a.m.

...There's no mistake, it definitely isn't three points.

Seeing Inspector Nakamori confidently stating that Phantom Thief Kid would definitely arrive at three o'clock, Heiji Hattori hesitated for a moment before deciding to scout out the enemy's situation.

"Hey, Sano, what do you think?"

Sano, leaning back on the sofa, glanced at Hattori Heiji, then gradually slid down into a reclining position before replying, "I'll watch while lying down."

"..."

Knew it.

Conan, who had expected this, stood to the side with a pair of dead fish eyes.

After looking at Sano thoughtfully for a few seconds, Suzuki Shiro smiled and asked, "Detective Sano, are you not interested in this operation? You seem a bit unmotivated."

"No, I'm very motivated and will definitely do my best to protect the Egg of Memories."

Sano gave a perfunctory reply.

"Yeah."

Shiro Suzuki continued cheerfully, "Then I'll leave it to you. If you can protect the Egg of Memories from Kid's clutches, I'll settle the fee with you based on the last commission. If you capture Kid, it'll be thirty million."

"Of course, even if they don't catch them, there will still be three million."

Sano, who had been lying down, suddenly sat up, grabbed Suzuki Shiro's hand, and said with a serious expression, "With me here, you can rest assured."

"Haha, I will."

...This guy's face changes so quickly.

Most of the people present stared blankly, as it was the first time they had ever seen someone so openly display their stinginess and greed.

Is there really no dignity at all?

Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki, however, both showed admiring looks: "Striving for the goal without any pretense, truly worthy of being called a senior."

...Is it really just exaggerated praise?

Conan and the others, who overheard the two whispering, all looked speechless.

At the same time, Shiro Suzuki turned his gaze to Kogoro Mouri, whose eyes had turned red after hearing about Sano's "commission fee," and laughed, "Of course, Detective Mouri's commission fee is settled in the same way as Detective Sano's."

"Oh really?"

Kogoro Mouri's expression immediately changed, and he couldn't help but grin: "How could I possibly accept that? It's a detective's duty to deal with a thief for the sake of an artwork, hahaha... Of course, Chairman Suzuki's hospitality is too much for me to refuse, otherwise I would be disrespecting you, wouldn't I?"

Upon seeing Kogoro Mouri's appearance, Ran Mouri's face darkened, and she muttered, "Dad, really, he has no sense of humility at all, it's so embarrassing!"

"..."

Is this girl really Kogoro Mouri's biological daughter?

The crowd's gazes gradually turned strange again. When Sano stood up just now, you clearly didn't say that!

Don't be so obviously hypocritical.

"Hey, hey, Kudo."

Heiji Hattori suddenly leaned close to Conan's ear and, as if stirring up trouble, said, "I have a feeling that your girlfriend seems to be showing signs of changing her mind?"

"Oh."

Conan sneered, "Don't try to get me to lead the charge just because you want to deal with Sano yourself. I won't fall for your tricks so easily... Besides, I've already confirmed that Sano has absolutely no interest in Ran!"

"Really? I have a feeling that Sano is quite interested in Ran Mouri."

Ai Haibara also joined the conversation, stirring things up.

"No, don't talk nonsense. Sano clearly likes Ran's mother!"

Conan, who had been verbally attacked by the two, finally couldn't hold back and let out a loud howl, plunging the president's office into silence.

"..."

Sano... likes Ran Mouri's... mother?

Everyone present had a stiff expression, which then gradually became strange.

However, due to the sensitive nature of this topic, almost everyone present was hesitant and dared not make a sound.

The expressions of the Mori father and daughter were particularly bizarre.

...After all, besides Sano, the two of them are the biggest parties involved.

In this atmosphere, Conan realized he had said the wrong thing... or rather, switched to the wrong communication channel, from the three-person team channel to the public channel?

After looking around, Conan began to sweat profusely, and his breathing became rapid.

...It seems, it appears, it seems, things are going to get bad.

"Cough cough."

It was Suzuki Shiro who couldn't stand the awkwardness the first, saying, "I have things to do, so I'll be leaving now," and then he was the first to leave the battlefield.

The trio of real kids didn't dare utter a sound, and crouched down to secretly follow Suzuki Shiro out. Hattori Heiji and Haibara Ai patted Conan's shoulder with pity, and also got up and left the president's office without saying a word.

Sonoko Suzuki hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly followed Kazuha Toyama, who had been dragged away by Heiji Hattori.

Only Nakajima Keizo's eyes were shining, his fingers frantically fiddling with the camera.

I really want to take pictures! I really want to take notes!!

But no!

Nakajima Keizo reluctantly left the battlefield.

Fortunately, Sano, the person most directly involved, didn't seem to care about Conan's...unintentional remark, and had no intention of pursuing the matter at all.

After glancing at Conan and giving him a... ambiguous look, Sano left the chairman's office.

Phew... at least I wasn't completely unlucky. Since Sano isn't angry yet, the problem shouldn't be too serious...

Suddenly, Conan, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, froze. When he turned around, he realized that only he, Mori, and his daughter remained in the president's office.

Then cold sweat started pouring down again.

...If there are outsiders present, even if it's just one person, to avoid embarrassment, everyone would probably wisely choose to ignore what just happened, skip it or even change the subject, and let it pass by as if nothing happened.

But things are different now.

Now that only their "family" are left, the "public place" has been turned into a "closed door to beat the dog." How could Kogoro Mouri and Ran Mouri possibly care about the existence of others?

No wonder, no wonder Sano gave him that look at the end.

That guy knew all along, he fucking knew all along!!

That's why I deliberately left, leaving myself all alone here!

"I...I suddenly feel a bit of a stomachache..."

Conan, who was cursing inwardly, was about to make an excuse to slip away when Kogoro Mouri and Ran Mouri grabbed his shoulders at the same time.

"Conan, we think it's about time you were properly taught what rules are."

"……what!"

...A moment later, Conan and Ran, their heads covered in large bags, arrived at the entrance of the art museum and joined the large group that was waiting for them.