Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Sano raised his hand to signal Vodka not to move.

Driven by curiosity, Sano did not move.

He silently watched as Gin slowly approached the cabinet where Conan was hiding.

Finally, the cabinet door for Conan was opened...

However, after the cabinet door was opened halfway, Gin suddenly stopped.

He then gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"Ha, I doubt even a seven-foot-tall man would hide in a closet like this..."

However, Gin was still unable to close the cabinet door again.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed Gin's wrist.

Gin, who was bent over, subconsciously raised his head and stared straight at him with a pair of eyes that were completely devoid of light and were so blue they looked almost black.

"Why not open it?"

Faced with Sano's question, Gin's breath hitched: "I already said, a grown man..."

"Why a grown man? Have you even seen him in person? Why can't it be a child? Is it strange to you to use a child to carry out a plan? With proper training, a child can be a very useful tool, can't he?"

In Sano's series of words, the pronunciation of "child" was deliberately emphasized.

This made Gin's nerves increasingly tense.

...Damn it, this guy is definitely a big problem.

Vermouth cursed inwardly. Wasn't it said that only Vodka was supposed to carry out this mission? Which idiot leaked this damn information?!

But what really made Vermouth nervous was...

It's still unclear what the other party discovered.

First, there was the child's pronunciation, which made Vermouth suspect that the child had already discovered Conan. Second, there was the child's attitude towards her.

It's important to understand that, whether viewed from Vermouth's own perspective or from Vodka's reaction, Rye's attitude towards "Gin" is quite different.

It shouldn't be like this now.

Even if Gin really did something wrong, Rye would never question him.

unless.

This guy has realized he's a fake.

Even further, their identities have been discovered.

...Just as Sano thought, Vermouth came to save people.

Belmod's original plan was to not only save people but also give this reckless brat a little "warning" so that he would know that anything related to the organization is no different from walking on a knife's edge.

If you're not careful, you'll end up on a dead end.

When Vermouth arrived at her destination, she discovered that there was an unexpected person there.

Because of the urgency of the situation, Vermouth didn't have time to think too much and could only proceed according to the original plan... Otherwise, if those "loopholes" were pointed out by the other party instead of herself, the initiative might not still be in her hands.

Thinking even deeper, this could become a loophole for Vermouth herself.

This is just the last cabinet that hasn't been opened yet.

They've already been relentlessly pursuing this issue, at least from the root of the matter.

This guy probably discovered some other loopholes that he hadn't noticed.

Oh no! Is this a disaster? Did we try to save someone and end up getting ourselves into trouble instead...?

Meanwhile, Conan, who was even more nervous than Vermouth, was inside the closet.

Today's events are complex in some ways, and simple in others.

It's about Conan encountering a case where he discovers that the deceased had made some kind of deal with Tequila, which appeared in the Full Heaven case.

After solving the case, Conan began reading the other person's diary.

Finally, they learned the details of the deal between the other party and the organization, and arrived at the other party's villa in Gunma Prefecture.

Having obtained more information, Conan happened to receive a call from Vodka, so he took the opportunity to use his voice changer to bring forward the transaction time and rushed to Tokyo.

Of course, during the journey, the plague-destroying aura continued to function reliably, and he even managed to solve a robbery along the way...

All in all, today was very exciting.

But Conan never expected it could be even more exciting.

First, I thought that at most there would only be one vodka trading partner, then suddenly there was rye, and then gin appeared out of nowhere.

Then his little tricks were exposed, and he was cornered.

After enduring agonizing wait until Gin finally dispelled his doubts, before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, the damned rye started to entangle him again.

If you're going to fight or kill, just give me a straight answer.

If we don't hurry, we're about to suffocate before we're killed!

Conan looked dazed, his face flushed, but he had no choice but to pull himself together and listen carefully to the sounds outside.

"...Don't tell me you're really an idiot, Rye."

Finally, Vermouth found a way out: "If others can't hear the sound from inside the cabinet, how could you not hear it? It's the ticking of a time bomb."

A time bomb?

The ticking of a second hand?

Conan was suddenly stunned and looked at his watch... Awesome!

It's like they dug a tunnel for themselves out of sheer desperation!

Conan was so excited that he wanted to crawl out and give Gin a big kiss.

"Don't tell me that when you plant a time bomb, you simply set a timer detonation device and don't leave a remote control or triggering device."

Vermouth looked calmly at Sano, feeling that this round was already won.

Perhaps the other party did discover other loopholes, but since they only spoke up just now, and the content they posted was only about the cabinet.

Then there shouldn't be any problems in other aspects, or rather, there shouldn't be any major issues if it's taken out.

However, faced with Vermouth's confidence, Sano could only think to himself... Does this guy only have hearing for the ticking of a watch, but not for breathing?

And this thought process is quite bizarre.

Aren't you afraid that they'll just tear off the mask and force you to open the cabinet?

Sano pulled himself together and ultimately didn't dwell on the matter any longer. However, this didn't mean he didn't intend to bother the other party anymore.

"Then let's change the subject."

If you want to prevent one layer of skin from being torn off in a legitimate way, then you have to tear off another layer of skin.

Sano suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it at Vermouth's head: "Who are you?"

Vermouth and Vodka both tensed up.

Vodka immediately drew his gun and pointed it at Sano: "What are you doing, rye!?"

...Is this guy really that loyal?

Sano raised an eyebrow, ignoring Vodka, and looked at Vermouth instead: "You might be right about one thing, the person who tried to set a trap for Vodka didn't or didn't have time to leave, so they had to stay here."

"Another point is that if the person who set this up isn't a child who can't hide in a closet like this, then where do you think he could be hiding? Is it possible that he didn't actually hide at all, but stood out openly, or even infiltrated our group and is one of the people present here?"

"Hey?"

Vodka was taken aback, feeling as if a new way of thinking had been opened up for him.

...Sano met up with me halfway and came together, and he even called in advance, so it's unlikely to be fake, except for Gin.

They arrived without prior notice and without warning.

Before Vodka could think it over, Sano continued, "Furthermore, as an excellent employee, Gin works day and night and always likes to smoke to relieve his worries. He has a strong smell of smoke on him. Although you also have some smoke smell on you, it is closer to that of women's cigarettes. And it seems that you sprayed a little bit of perfume to cover up the smoke smell."

As Sano spoke, Vodka's gun barrel gradually turned towards Vermouth.

"Could it be that you are..."

Vermouth gritted her teeth inwardly, but outwardly she still pretended to be calm and sneered: "Can I take this as you wanting to betray the organization? Rye, and the smell? If someone can smell that kind of rye, unless you are really a dog, there is no need to make up such an excuse if you want to fight me."

Vodka paused again, then turned the gun on Sano once more.

After all, vodka doesn't have that kind of sense of smell, so is the situation really as Sano described?

It's really hard to tell the difference...

Faced with Vodka's wavering, Sano chuckled and said, "You seem unaware that Gin-sama has been busy searching for Kurosawa lately and has no time to get involved in such a trivial matter. You also have no idea how much Gin-sama trusts me. Since he sent me here, why would he waste his time making the trip himself?"

Vodka then pointed the gun at Vermouth.

Vermouth: "..."

This is bad; it seems I can't argue with this kid.

"How about this?"

Sano took out his phone: "Shall I call Gin-sama and have him take a look?"

"Oh, right, there's another way!"

Vodka parted the clouds to reveal the clear blue sky and clapped his hands in delight.

Vermouth's lips twitched. In fact, she knew very well that she could not "win" from the beginning. Pretending was a very powerful thing to do.

However, there is a crucial point that is the prerequisite for being powerful.

That is "without a trace".

Vermouth's superb disguise skills make her appear flawless, but there are still other "traces" besides that. For example, to impersonate Araide Tomoaki, she first had to understand his habits and experiences.

Finally, kill the other party to completely erase the most crucial "trace".

Avoid situations where there is a direct confrontation.

But Gin is different.