Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

The little girl placed two buckets of instant noodles on the table and sat down obediently... Yes, instant noodles.

This is the feast the little girl was talking about.

To be honest, Sano didn't have high expectations, so he didn't expect the little girl to actually treat him to a big meal, but in his many predictions...

And it doesn't even include instant noodles.

However, this doesn't seem to be any ordinary instant noodles.

After filling the water bottle, Sano went to the table to unpack the package. He glanced at the words on the bag: "Super Deluxe Carnival Instant Noodles... Priced at 5,000 yen."

...Five thousand??

This is robbery! Why is it so expensive?!

They could have just robbed me of 5,000 yuan, but instead they gave me a bucket of instant noodles?

Sano frowned. Actually, for him, five thousand yen for a meal was nothing, probably equivalent to a few hundred yen for a meal in his previous life.

But spending 5,000 yuan on a bucket of instant noodles is a bit outrageous.

The little girl was happy to spend money on Sano, and Sano was quite pleased, but this way of spending money...

It's a bit... well, you know.

Sano picked up the little girl's instant noodles again and glanced at them. They were not the same type as his instant noodles, but they were much cheaper, only one grade better than ordinary instant noodles.

Generally speaking, when giving gifts, especially substantial gifts, people are reluctant to reveal the price. If the price is too high, it's not appropriate; if the price is too low, it's not very generous.

But that's for dirty adults.

A little girl like her probably wouldn't understand these things.

From this perspective, the little girl might not have noticed it at all, or she might have noticed it but had a little bit of a crush on it.

For example, making Sano feel embarrassed, and then exchanging things with the little girl.

Of course, Sano has never been one to assume malice in others.

More likely, the little girl didn't have enough money. After buying Sano's cup of instant noodles, she could only afford this level of instant noodles, but she still gave him the more expensive one.

To put it even more positively...

The little girl originally wanted to buy the cheapest instant noodles, but she was afraid that if she found out, she would be too embarrassed to trade with her, so she gritted her teeth and traded for a better instant noodle.

That's not impossible.

Of course, the most likely explanation is that this girl is simply a glutton.

That said... where did this little girl get the money?

These two buckets of instant noodles may not be that expensive, but for a kindergarten child, they must be an exorbitant price. Not to mention, given the little girl's family situation, they probably don't even have pocket money. Is there a "commission" for the charity sale?

Sano asked the question.

The little girl replied that she returned the gloves her mother had bought earlier that day, and with the money she had saved up, she was able to buy the two buckets of instant noodles in full.

...The gloves were returned?

This was within Sano's expectations, but the fact that he only retired today is somewhat unexpected.

I bought it so long ago, why would the seller agree to a refund?

Sano roughly imagined how things would develop; perhaps, the little girl would act cute.

The boss just happened to like that, so he refunded me?

"Waaah~"

As the water boiled, Sano, who had already opened all the packaging, came to his senses, got up to get water, and when he came back, he threw all the various seasoning packets from his instant noodle cup to the little girl.

"Ok?"

The little girl tilted her head in confusion: "Uncle, aren't you going to eat?"

“I don’t like eating these things. Instant noodles are just instant noodles, nothing fancy. If you like them, you can have them.”

...Instant noodles, as a fast food, are different from luxury brands in that the price difference does not lie in the quality of the noodles.

It lies in the seasoning packet, or perhaps it should be called the ingredient packet.

Just like the name of this thing suggests, it's a bunch of small bags containing all sorts of miscellaneous things like braised eggs, ham, beef cubes, etc. Just looking at it makes Sano feel nauseous.

Of course, in the little girl's eyes, this was probably truly "luxurious".

Therefore, the little girl hesitated when Sano pushed those seasoning packets over.

Seeing this, Sano could only speak again: "Don't overthink it. I really don't like eating that stuff. Otherwise, if I really liked it, why do you think the instant noodles I have at home aren't this kind? I never skimp on myself in this regard. You haven't seen enough of this stuff. I'll take you out for a good meal sometime."

……rub?

The little girl blinked but didn't say anything. She just silently tore open the seasoning packets one by one and poured them out, piling them up like a small mountain in the instant noodle bucket.

After pouring in the steaming hot water, Sano grabbed two things to weigh down the two buckets of instant noodles. A few minutes later, the aroma began to waft out.

"I'm starting!"

The little girl forked a big lump of dough, blew on it twice, and then hurriedly put it in her mouth. Sure enough, she was burned and had to pant for breath, so she could only swallow it whole in two bites.

Then, without stopping, he was burned again.

Sano ate very slowly and methodically, mainly because he needed to be distracted.

Just as Sano returned home, Vermouth also returned home and saw a familiar face waiting for her.

The living room was dimly lit, with only slivers of moonlight shining onto the balcony.

After adjusting to the darkness for a while, Vermouth was about to turn on the light when she immediately noticed a strange dark silhouette on her sofa.

are people.

who is it?

FBI?

No, the FBI shouldn't be showing up so suddenly. Could they be after Shinichi Araide?

Vermouth quickly became alert, reached for her gun, but did not turn on the light.

"What, don't you feel uncomfortable without the lights on, senior?"

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Vermouth's pupils instantly contracted, and she turned on the light.

Sure enough, I saw a white-haired figure wearing a black baseball cap, whose face was obscured.

"rye……"

Vermouth's mind went blank for a moment. She didn't understand why the other person was in her house, nor did she understand when the other person had found out about her identity. But her subconscious reaction made her quickly go to the balcony, look around cautiously, and then pull up the curtain.

Then Vermouth began exploring the house again.

"Don't waste your time there. The FBI isn't stupid enough to just install surveillance cameras or bugging devices in your house. After all, they're the senior ones."

Hearing Sano's teasing, Vermouth's lips twitched, but she remained silent and continued her inspection until she was certain that there were no such tricks inside the house.

Vermouth then turned her head and looked coldly at Sano.

"Why are you here, Rye?"

"Are you that unwelcoming to me?"

Sano rubbed his gloved left hand and grinned: "Or do you think my presence here will ruin your plans, senpai?"

"...When did you discover that I was pretending?"

Vermouth asked a question, partly to change the subject, and partly out of genuine curiosity.

"What? You're allowed to find out that I'm messing around with Shuichi Akai, but I'm not allowed to find out who Shuichi Akai is watching? If you hadn't insisted on tattling, I might not have been able to find you."

Sano chuckled and said, leaving Vermouth speechless.

Why did Gin tell Rye about this? He's just making himself the target of hatred... But at least he figured out how the other party found him.

Furthermore, under these conditions, the arrival of rye should not have alerted the FBI, thus eliminating the possibility that the FBI might have wanted to close in.

That's the only good news.

"So, you came here specifically to get revenge because I told on you?"

Vermouth gave a mocking smile: "Speaking of which, did you come here with Shuichi Akai? I thought you would start bombarding him without restraint when you saw him, just like last time. Do you think I am more hated than him in your eyes?"

"What are you saying, senior? How could I possibly hold a grudge against you over such a trivial matter?"

Sano raised his hand and took off his hat, revealing his face so that Vermouth could observe his facial expressions and changes in his eyes.

This would lower Vermouth's guard and allow her to discern the other party's thoughts.

"I'm just a little curious, senior, you came all the way from America back to Japan, replaced a junior doctor, and went into hiding. What exactly are you planning to do?"

Sano lit a cigarette, crossed his legs, and smiled sweetly: "I did some research beforehand. Ran Mouri, Sonoko Suzuki, Conan Edogawa, Shinichiro Sano, which of these four is your target, or are all four of them your targets?"

Vermouth tried hard to maintain the smile on her face, but her palms were already sweating.

It's like knowing that since the other party has come over, there's a high probability that the FBI won't notice, and there's a high probability that nothing will be installed in their home.

Since the other party has proposed these four names.

That's not something Vermouth can simply deny and get away with.

Just how much does this guy actually control...?

After licking her lips, Vermouth sighed, "Well, I guess I'll just have to tell you... I'm keeping an eye on Shinichiro Sano."

Ah, just as I expected.

Sano chuckled inwardly.

Since Vermouth was unwilling to put Ran Mouri and Conan in front of Rye, the only names she could possibly mention were Sano and Sonoko Suzuki.

From a common-sense perspective, it's understandable that Sonoko Suzuki, as the eldest daughter of the Suzuki Group, and Vermouth, a high-ranking member of a criminal organization, would target each other.

But that's just common sense.

The organization's true purpose is not "money".

This is merely a necessary nutrient to achieve the goal.

Enough is enough. Instead of racking your brains to scheme against the Suzuki Group and causing unnecessary trouble, it's better to let the executives do more low-level tasks. The funds will come in faster and easier that way.