Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

He was a hands-off manager the whole time.

They're just as bad as those middlemen.

Especially the last mission, which was originally given to Ito Taka by Sano, but unexpectedly, this guy also gave it out through a second channel, it's just...

Outrageous!

Sano returned the phone to Gin somewhat speechlessly. He had originally thought that Gin had discovered that Ito Taka had some kind of "undercover" activity.

I never expected it would be because of something like this.

Of course, Sano didn't think that Gin was unhappy about Ito Taka's unauthorized "outsourcing" of the mission and taking a cut of the profits, or that he was profiting off the organization.

The real reason was probably that he felt this was close to "leaking information," so he didn't directly order Sano to be silenced, but instead hinted that he should "be wary" of the other party.

After all, it's fine at this stage, but if Ito Taka really climbs up in the future, he'll be taking on missions with a high degree of secrecy.

If things had reached that point, Ito Taka's willingness to engage in such "outsourcing" would be considered an act of betrayal by the organization.

In the end, Ito Taka will undoubtedly die.

I'll remind him later.

Sano gave a perfunctory reply and then picked up a magazine from the side and started flipping through it casually.

After a while, the plane finally landed. Sano and his group got off the plane, but there were no cars waiting outside the airport. Instead, they took a taxi and checked into a hotel.

When Sano and the others departed from Japan, it was still afternoon. After a flight of twelve or thirteen hours, it should have been late at night, but due to the time difference, it was still afternoon here.

"Gah!"

Chapter 361, Gin: I just find it noisy.

A low, hoarse cry suddenly rang out.

It sounds awful.

It's like scratching a blackboard with your fingernail or scraping glass with a spoon, making the listener feel annoyed and also giving them a strange sense of desolation or even bleakness.

Chianti glanced at the crows perched opposite the hotel entrance and muttered, "Running into these things as soon as I arrived is really ominous."

Sano also glanced at the crows.

So, it turns out that people in Japan also consider this thing unlucky?

Sano thought that such a saying only existed in the flower-growing region.

"Go and rest for a bit, we'll go get our equipment and move out tonight."

Under Gin's direction, the group went into their own rooms, although due to the unspoken rule of "mutual supervision," they were actually two people per room.

...Normally speaking, Sano should most likely be sharing a room with Vodka.

But for some reason, Gin went into the same room as Sano.

If I sleep with this guy, will I be at gunpoint every night?

Ok?

That sounds so strange.

After shivering, Sano chose the bed by the window and lay down.

However, even with Gin watching over him, Sano's mind was still unsettled.

After settling things in Tokyo, Sano's points have returned to 1,000, allowing him to upgrade again... This is thanks to the fact that the price of upgrades has stopped increasing; otherwise, he would be far short by more than a hundred points.

Although yesterday... well, it was only recently that the last enhancement was implemented.

But it was precisely because of his good luck last time that Sano now felt a little impatient and didn't want to wait any longer.

It was one thing on the plane, but now that we're in a hotel...

Then there's naturally nothing to worry about.

Seeing his account emptied instantly, leaving only a few dozen points, Sano's attention was completely focused on the target of his enhancement.

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

……crow??

Sano's eye twitched. He had just heard Chianti complaining down below about how unlucky it was to run into a crow, and now he himself had gotten another crow.

I felt a little speechless.

Furthermore, to be honest, Sano's impression of living enhanced beings wasn't very good either.

This thing is really too much trouble... although it is indeed quite useful.

I wonder how this thing will differ from Little Black.

Sano glanced at Gin beside him, rubbed his fingers together, and finally couldn't resist the urge to get up. He got up, walked to the window, and opened it.

"Gah!"

Without Sano even having to do anything, a crow flew over on its own.

Sano instinctively raised his hand so that the crow could land on his fingers.

Gin, who was checking the room for listening devices or surveillance cameras, noticed something amiss, turned to look at Sano and the crow in his hand, and finding nothing wrong, he lowered his head to continue checking... In the past, he would have just left such trivial matters to Vodka, but his current "roommate" had no intention of checking at all.

Gin will have to shoulder more of the burden.

"The capable should do more work, the capable should do more work..." Gin murmured to himself.

Sano paid no attention to Gin's performance, but was engrossed in observing the enhancement effect of the crow.

Enhancement item name: Black Raven.

Grade: B.

effect:

1. Pet (The affinity between this pet and its owner will reach its maximum and cannot be eliminated).

2. Contract (This enhanced item's attributes are doubled in all aspects, and it can communicate with its master mentally).

3. Summon (Use this to summon the enhanced creature to the vicinity of the master, regardless of distance).

4. Unlucky Aura (Anyone hit by the excrement of this enhanced object will enter a ten-minute unlucky state).

5. Fusion (can enter a fusion state with the enhancer, lasting up to one hour).

Limitations: Effect Summoning cannot place the enhanced creature in any observable location; it will automatically adjust its summoning location based on the situation. Effect Fusion cannot be used again for 24 hours after each use.

Note: The white doves in the church will not kiss the crows in the field, just as the old man in the toilet will not go home hungry.

...What the hell is that toilet guy, Lao Ba?

After his usual rant, Sano turned his attention to business.

In terms of effectiveness, the first three are the same as Xiao Hei.

These three are probably the standard combination for living enhancements... and it may also mean that there will be more living enhancements like this in the future.

Sano didn't comment on whether the discovery was good or bad for the time being, but instead turned his attention to the two effects that were different from Xiao Hei's, effects unique to this crow.

Does it have one more effect than Xiao Hei?

But isn't the way this unlucky aura works a bit outrageous?

Locating targets using excrement?

Is there no cooling option, or does it depend on whether... the crow can be expelled?

Once the "inventory" is cleared, it enters a cooling-off period until it can be produced again.

Countless thoughts flashed through Sano's mind in an instant.

With Kuro's experience as a precedent, Sano only needs to experiment with the latter two effects. For the former, he needs to see exactly what kind of "bad luck" it is, and for the latter, "fusion," the situation is even more ambiguous.

Similar to a cat demon form?

Or will it transform into a crow, just like the black cat form?

...It's impossible to start the experiment immediately.

Putting aside the fact that Sano is currently on a mission, Gin would never allow himself to leave his sight for "long periods of time." Even if he could, it would be difficult to communicate with this crow, and he would probably have to let it grow for a while.

Sano stared at the crow with his eyes lowered for a while, silently gave it the name "Big Black," and then tentatively tried to communicate with it mentally.

"Big Black, can you talk? If you can talk, give a 'caw' sound."

Daiko tilted its head and, as expected, let out a "ga" sound, though it couldn't really be considered an answer to Sano's question; at most, it was...

respond?

The difference between the two lies in whether Daikoku can understand Sano's meaning.

The former understood, but the latter did not.

Sano thought it was the latter because Daikoku's response was similar to what Kokoku had said earlier—it was all about "closeness."

Sano didn't care whether Daikoku could communicate or not, and just rambled on and on to the other person, as if he were talking to himself... Of course, the main reason was that this might be able to help it grow in a tiny way.

Although Dahei couldn't understand or explain it, he still chatted away with Sano, each saying their own thing, and they seemed to be having a good time.

However, people's joys and sorrows are not shared.

Most of the time, they just find each other noisy... For example, Gin, who was still checking in the back, was so annoyed by Daikoku's "caw caw" that he started nagging and his veins were popping out.

It's already annoying enough to "work" alone, and now I have to listen to crows babbling on and on.

Adding to the trouble.

Gin turned to look at Sano and the large black object in his hand.

...This guy is really boring, it's just a crow.

What's so interesting about it that you can just sit there and stare at it for ages?

If you have so much free time, why don't you come and help? You have no sense at all.

Chapter 362, Vodka: Serving a King is Like Serving a Tiger