Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Xiao Hei called downstairs for a while but received no response. He began to hesitate, wondering if he should try to communicate with his older brother through "spiritual communication".

...Having commanded the previous rescue operation, Xiao Hei's use of "mental communication" can be described as highly proficient...at least he won't suddenly get stuck.

On the way back, Sano and Kuro conducted a thorough study together.

While the effect of this spiritual exchange was indeed dominated by Kuro, Sano, as a participant, was not entirely without his own "rights."

Simply put, in this section, which functions as a "remote team-up channel," Sano and Xiao Hei each have a "microphone" and a "phone" in their hands.

Xiao Hei can control these two switches himself.

On Sano's side, however, he could only control the microphone switch, but could not turn off the earpiece.

To put it bluntly, if Sano wants to have a remote conversation with Kuro, it depends on whether Kuro is willing to.

If Kuro wants to communicate with Sano, regardless of whether he wants to speak or not, he has no choice but to listen.

...Even though Kuro held such a dominant position, he still didn't dare to easily disturb Sano.

Because of the previous lesson, Xiao Hei was really scared.

Waaaaah, I miss my old older brother so much! He was so kind and approachable!

The little girl tightened her grip on the little black boy's neck.

Little Black, standing upright, was filled with grievances.

……

The next day, Sano got up and went to the hospital with Sonoko Suzuki after she kept calling him.

Yes, that's right, the two of them are going to the hospital to visit Conan, that jinx.

According to Sonoko Suzuki, Conan was rushed to the hospital yesterday and immediately underwent surgery. Fortunately, the problem was not serious, and the surgery was successful. He has now become a little girl... cough cough, no, he is out of danger.

After sleeping soundly all night, this plague god was fully awake this morning.

One noteworthy point is that, during Conan's surgery, the hospital's blood bank had already run out of blood that matched his blood type.

So Ran Mouri donated a lot of blood to this kid.

...Is this considered being fed dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection)?

Sano didn't take it to heart at first, treating it as just gossip for his own amusement. After all, Ran Mouri didn't know that Conan was actually her... potential boyfriend.

It wasn't until they arrived at Beika General Hospital, where Conan was hospitalized, that Sano learned from Ai Haibara that this seemingly small matter actually contained a different kind of information.

...because Ran Mouri insisted that her blood type was the same as Conan's.

This likely means that Ran Mouri has already discovered the truth that the other person is Shinichi Kudo.

Especially since Conan had already suspected from various signs that Ran Mouri knew his identity even earlier, the situation became even more tense.

...Of course, it was them who were nervous, not Sano.

After all... how many times has Ran Mouri suspected Conan?

It seems like it wasn't that long ago, was it, during the Egg of Recollection?

Anyway, Conan always manages to easily fool him, so Sano doesn't think anything will go wrong this time.

It's no big deal.

Secondly, does Ran Mouri know Conan's identity, and what is Sano's relationship with that?

Does it make a difference whether you know it or not?

After saying goodbye to Conan and Ai Haibara, who both seemed preoccupied, Sano left the hospital.

According to Ran Mouri, given Conan's current injuries, he'll need to stay in the hospital for at least another week or so, so during that time, this scourge probably won't harm innocent people anymore.

...No, that's not necessarily true.

When the Plague God Aura is in effect, it doesn't care about the environment.

Moreover... the Beika General Hospital seems to be an old location on the map.

If this plague god triggers one or two story missions while he's in the hospital, Sano wouldn't find it strange at all.

Forget it, we'll deal with whatever comes our way.

Why think so much about the future now?

After shaking his head, Sano was about to go home when he received another notification.

[Please ensure that the Armed Detective Agency accepts and completes ten commissions with a guaranteed fee of at least ten million within the mission time limit. Completion will earn you three hundred enhancement points. Mission time remaining: 719:59:59]

...What kind of divine mission is this?

Sano frowned. This mission was very similar to those previous ones that involved catching a certain number of criminals or completing a certain number of tasks.

But this should be considered closer to the mission of the Black Reaper who conquered the country.

Because this cannot be resolved by Sano's personal strength alone.

To put it simply, it's about boosting the performance of the Armed Detective Agency.

...Speaking of the operation of the Armed Detective Agency, it actually became more formalized faster than Na Du Tong.

Due to differences in the industry, Armed Detective Agency's performance, except for the earliest period, has never been as good as All-Knowing.

Now the situation is completely different.

However, this is just something you can earn on the side. Putting aside whether a small amount is really valuable, the sales volume, while not much, is not insignificant either.

Everyone was happy with what they earned.

Even so, these achievements are only earned from the superficial layer of commission.

As for the deeper level, the one where "anything can be done as long as the money is there," there has been absolutely no progress.

...After all, if you really want to hire someone to do something dangerous, compared to delinquents, you should go directly to a yakuza organization, or even... an assassin.

It's obviously more prudent to proceed with this approach.

As for those who don't rely on force but instead seek the intellectual tasks that come with being a detective, the first impression the word "detective" gives... even within the entire industry, such cases are extremely rare.

Even if someone really wanted to post this type of case, they would usually go to a famous detective who had demonstrated their "intelligence" through countless cases.

Who would still hire delinquent teenagers?

Chapter 306, page 305: The Great Detective of Futaba Kindergarten

In short, the Armed Detective Agency can only earn "small money" at present, and they want to receive high-level commissions with a guaranteed fee of over ten million.

That's practically impossible.

Not to mention that he received ten in one month.

Isn't this just making things difficult for myself?

Sano scratched his head in frustration, unable to come up with a good idea for the time being.

Forget it, I'll think about it slowly when I get home.

Sano quickened his pace to get home, only to unexpectedly run into that little girl again downstairs at his own apartment building.

...Sano was unaware of what happened after yesterday's events.

All we know is that the little girl held onto Xiao Hei until her mother returned, and then she let the dog go.

Whether the little girl told her mother later, and whether her mother called the police, is unknown.

However, at least Sano knows that this little girl has a big heart and seems to be completely unaffected by yesterday's incident, such as being left with any psychological trauma.

Don't ask Sano why he's so sure.

Otherwise, why would this girl hop and skip when she walks?

Sano stopped and watched the little girl approach, his little tune becoming clearer.

"what."

Upon seeing Sano, the little girl bowed again and greeted him, "Hello, Uncle!"

"Ah."

Sano nodded, but his gaze fell on the little girl's schoolbag: "You've started school already?"

"Yes! I'm in kindergarten, in the Sunflower Class!"

The little girl nodded happily.

...Heh, enjoy it while you can, because once you go to high school, or rather, once you're in middle school, you'll probably be too happy to be doing it anymore.

That said, do four-year-olds start kindergarten here?

How old was I when I started taking classes in my past life?

Sano pulled out a lollipop and tossed it to the little girl: "Do you need to carry a backpack when you go to kindergarten?"

"Of course I have to memorize it!"

The little girl caught the lollipop and cautiously asked Sano if he was sure it was free. After receiving an affirmative answer, she began to explain: "Because the kindergarten gave us books, and we also need to carry our homework and lunch boxes prepared by our mothers, we definitely need a backpack to carry them!"

"Uncle, you don't even know this? Did you never go to kindergarten?"

Hearing the little girl's words, Sano stroked his chin and asked, "Then why is your backpack empty now?"

"Hey?"

Faced with Sano's question, the little girl was taken aback and instinctively retorted, "How could it be empty? It's clearly full of things!"

Sano didn't say anything, but just gestured with his lips, indicating to the little girl to see for herself.

Then the little girl immediately took off her schoolbag, opened it, and saw—

It's completely empty!

"Um???"

The little girl looked up in confusion, tilting her head: "Wait a minute, I remember putting everything in my backpack, how could it be gone..."

"Ah, I understand!"

The little girl pounded her palm with her fist with a serious expression: "This is what they call the mysterious disappearance of schoolbag items!"