Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Sonoko Suzuki, who had initially wanted to agree with Sano's earlier statement, was stunned when she heard his later statement.

Ran Mouri, standing next to her, couldn't even care less about her little emotions. Her face turned as red as a steam girl, and white steam was coming out of her head.

"senior!"

Ran Mouri retorted angrily, "Don't joke about something like this!"

Even so, Ran Mouri still recalled the rumor she heard from a waiter at the observation restaurant when Shinichi Kudo went to solve the case.

It is said that twenty years ago, a man and a woman sat in the same spot where Ran Mouri and Shinichi Kudo were sitting, and a case also occurred at that time. The man in that couple was also a detective, making it seem like a complete replica of the scene.

However, at that time, the man returned after solving the case and proposed to the woman...

No, no, no, what am I thinking?

Just as Ran Mouri finished mentally presenting and then denying her own evidence, Sano across from her pulled out his phone: "Has he not contacted you since he left last night? I did receive a text message from him... and the content was quite interesting."

"Hey?"

Everyone present was taken aback. Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki were surprised that the first person Shinichi Kudo contacted after leaving was Sano.

Conan and Ai Haibara are relatively simpler.

Because it's impossible for Sano to receive a text message from Shinichi Kudo.

Conan's phone had been in Ai Haibara's hands since last night, and he only returned it to her this morning. After that, the two of them stayed with Sano the whole time.

What text messages were sent?

Under the watchful eyes of the four people, all filled with doubt, Sano opened a text message and laid the phone screen flat on the table so that all four could see it clearly.

"I'm sorry, father-in-law, there's been a bit of a problem with my case, so I have to go now. I'll treat you to a big meal next time we meet. Bye-bye."

The sender is Shinichi Kudo.

"..."

The eyes of all four gradually widened, their mouths opened, and their expressions were uniformly astonished.

"Why!!?"

Ran Mouri slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly: "How could Shinichi...!"

Ran Mouri's face, which had just turned white, turned red again, whether from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.

The former might be anger that "Shinichi Kudo" texted Sano but not Ran Mouri... or it might be anger that she called Sano her father-in-law, which is considered as helping to steal her father's girlfriend?

As for the latter, there's even less to say.

After all, Sano had just joked about the "father-in-law" issue yesterday, so why did Shinichi Kudo do this?

Perhaps it could be considered a disguised confession... No, it certainly doesn't count as a confession, since it wasn't sent to Ran Mouri, but the meaning was still there.

"...I mean, senior, you wouldn't happen to have made a fake of this, would you?"

Sonoko Suzuki picked up Sano's phone with some suspicion. It wasn't that she didn't think Shinichi Kudo liked Ran Mouri, but she really didn't think that someone with his personality would say something like that.

Under the watchful eyes of the others, Sonoko Suzuki fiddled with her phone, her eyes widening as she looked at the phone number saved as the sender's contact: "It really is that guy's number?"

Upon seeing this, Conan looked at Ai Haibara in disbelief, strongly suspecting that she and Sano had worked together to do it.

Did they think that tricking Hattori Heiji wasn't enough, and now they want to trick themselves too?

Looking at Conan's expression, Ai Haibara sensed that he wasn't faking it, so she shrugged, indicating that she didn't know anything.

...That's true. When Conan got his phone back this morning, he checked the messages and calls and there was nothing unusual. Besides, Ai Haibara had no reason to help Sano trick him, since he hadn't offended her.

So what exactly happened?

Conan's brain briefly went blank.

How did my account get hacked again, especially my real phone number?

"I'm going to call Shinichi!"

Ran Mouri, whose mind went blank, didn't have time to think and turned to run out of the coffee shop.

"Hey, wait for me, Xiaolan!"

Suzuki Sonoko, a bystander, followed closely behind with great enthusiasm.

Seeing that the unrelated people had left, Conan couldn't hold back any longer and asked Sano, "How did you do that?"

"How did you do that?"

"It's just a text message."

Conan looked on in astonishment: "Could it be that current hacking technology is capable of doing something like this?"

"...I don't know if hackers can do something like that, but I do know you'd better answer your call right now."

Sano pulled out another red flip phone and said this.

Conan was completely dumbfounded when he saw the phone in Sano's hand.

Isn't this my own phone?

I reached into my pocket again, and it was empty; my phone was indeed gone.

"Damn it, when did you take it?"

Conan was genuinely surprised that the reason Sano was able to "steal" his phone number was not because he possessed extraordinary hacking skills.

Instead, they used real theft techniques.

...Although the level is still extraordinary.

How come I didn't even realize it all along?

After snatching his phone away, a call came in, which, if nothing unexpected, should be from Ran Mouri. Conan didn't have time to think and ran to the bathroom.

The only one left, Ai Haibara, glanced at Sano and said, "It's really surprising that you would do something like this on your own initiative. It's not like you at all."

Unlike Conan, Ai Haibara doesn't believe that Sano's act of "forging" the text message was just to trick that troublemaker; rather, it seems like she was cleaning up his mess.

...More precisely, it should be to prevent Ran Mouri from continuing to be immersed in that kind of emotion?

"Do you really like Ran Mouri? Even though she already has someone she likes, you're willing to silently protect her from behind and not let her be sad?"

Hearing Ai Haibara's teasing, which carried a hint of probing, Sano chuckled dismissively.

Let whoever wants to be a simp, I, Sano, will never be one.

"If it's really as you say, I think the best way to solve this once and for all is to just kill Conan. Of course, you can't be allowed to live either."

Faced with Sano's outspoken remarks, Ai Haibara typed a dot and fell silent, focusing her attention on the script in her hand.

Seeing that Ai Haibara did not retaliate, Sano's attention shifted to the booklet in her hand.

"What is this? A novel?"

"No, it's a script written by Tsuburaya-kun, and it will be performed at the later carnival."

"...You're going to act in a play too?"

Chapter 328, 327: Your Entertainment Circle is Truly Chaotic

Ai Haibara gave Sano a deadpan look: "What, is it not allowed, or do you have a problem with it?"

"No, it's just a little hard to imagine."

Sano didn't pay much attention. Teitan High School and Teitan Elementary School were part of the same system, so it wasn't surprising that their school fairs were held on similar dates.

As for the Tsuburaya classmate that Ai Haibara mentioned... Sano had never heard of her; she was probably one of her classmates.

Sano had no interest in investigating what a primary school student was like.

After grabbing a bite to eat at the antique cafe for lunch, Sano returned to his apartment building to receive a driving lesson from Amuro Tooru, and then planned to do some more missions that evening...

Then, it was time for Sano's personal business.

In the alley, Sano, a cigarette dangling from his lips, waited silently.

Until one moment, a figure walked out from the other end of the alley.

"Hey, Rye, you're here early."

Seeing the dark figure not far away, Ito Taka smiled and greeted it.

...Ito Taka was not surprised that the other party had obtained his phone number and sent him a text message even though he hadn't said anything.

After all, it's backed by the largest criminal organization in all of Japan, so finding out the identity of someone who doesn't try to hide anything is incredibly easy.

Ito Taka just didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

No, to be precise, it was after what happened today that Ito Taka thought it would be a little later.

...This morning, Ito Taka received a call from the Armed Detective Agency.

It's said that because Ito Taka's request to find the location of "Rye" caused considerable losses to the Armed Detective Agency, ... they have to pay more.

That's right, extra money afterwards.

Ito Taka had never seen such a flashy move before.

As for the "losses" mentioned by the other party.

Ito Taka felt he had reason to suspect that it was the rye in front of him who had taken revenge because of his explanation yesterday.

...This guy is surprisingly vengeful.

Even though the culprit has already been dealt with, they're still doing such childish things.

Wait a minute, what about me, who is similar to the Armed Detective Agency, or even more deeply involved? Won't this guy also hold a grudge against me?

Ito Taka suddenly discovered the blind spot.

But since the other party has called me out and said they want to arrange an "entry test," I guess nothing will happen. Besides, it seems that the Armed Detective Agency hasn't really been completely retaliated against.

Otherwise, Ito Taka wouldn't have received a call asking for more money.

In conclusion, Ito Taka felt there was no major problem.

The only problem might be that the other party is busy retaliating and investigating me all at once, which is a bit too fast.

Sano also looked at Ito Taka, recalling the text message that his mistress had sent him that morning, saying that the matter of demanding more money and collecting debts had been completed very smoothly. In addition to feeling satisfied and happy, he also had some doubts.