Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Finally, due to the urgency of the situation, Conan's side decided to do as the kidnappers demanded.

...The main problem is that there are really no clues at the moment.

Even the cell phone the kidnappers used to send text messages was taken from Professor Agasa.

Even if you report it to the police, it's difficult to find anything.

"Moreover, if they are professional kidnappers, they will most likely use black cards."

Shuichi Akai finally spoke up: "Right now, the only thing we can do is find the cat as soon as possible so that we can have a chance to communicate with the kidnappers further. That way, no matter whether they will actually release the person or not, we will have the possibility of finding a loophole."

"Ah."

Conan nodded solemnly, then gave the order for everyone to go out and search for the cat.

...Sano and the little girl stayed behind.

The reason given was that the kidnappers might be trying to lure the enemy away, or there might be some important clues left in the house, so Sano had to stay at the base. As for the little girl... a kindergarten kid would only be a burden if she went out.

Conan naturally wouldn't say anything more about this.

Even if Sano's excuse is reasonable, or even if he had no excuse, this matter has nothing to do with him in the first place. Is Conan going to accuse him of being indifferent?

After watching Conan and his group leave, Sano turned his gaze to the little girl beside him.

Even without fox eyes, it was clear that something was wrong with the little girl.

Considering that she had just been stunned by the kidnappers, an ordinary person would probably only think that the little girl was frightened by what happened today. However... fear, confusion, sadness, and all these emotions were telling Sano.

Things aren't that simple.

After squinting, Sano glanced at the puddle of coffee on the ground...?

Then he asked the little girl, "Are you hungry?"

"Ok?"

The little girl snapped out of her daze and responded somewhat absentmindedly.

"Ah."

"I can't cook, so I'll just order takeout. What would you like to eat?"

"It will be all right……"

Sano frowned, but didn't say much. He took out his phone and made a call.

Not long after.

The delivery rider from NaDuTong delivered a pizza, some snacks, and two drinks.

"Dinner's ready."

"Um……"

While eating, Sano was also thinking about what had happened that day.

On the surface...

At first, the kidnappers' target seemed to be Ayumi, but according to Conan's explanation later, the real source was that when Professor Agasa was filming a video to sell his vase on a second-hand website, he accidentally captured Ai Haibara's reflection in his glasses.

Unfortunately, while cooking curry today, Genta kicked the soccer ball into the bucket, causing curry to splatter all over Ayumi. That's why she went to take a shower and changed into Ai Haibara's clothes... In short, it's possible that the kidnappers mistook her for someone else.

Because of this.

Both Genta and Ai Haibara had clearly entered a state of self-blame.

Genta, needless to say, felt that if he hadn't been playing soccer in the house, which forced him to go to the supermarket to buy groceries again and made Ayumi change into Ai Haibara's clothes, perhaps this wouldn't have happened.

As for Ai Haibara... she was simply worried that the kidnappers might be connected to the organization and were actually after her, only "accidentally" injuring Ayumi or something. But Sano thought that possibility was extremely slim.

Because if it really is an organized group that takes action.

So let's put aside the fact that since Ai Haibara is involved, the person who comes out to do the work must be a member of the leadership level. Whether she is so inexperienced that she can make such a big mistake is a question. Even if she really is like those few useless people who died earlier and made such a big mistake, it shouldn't end so simply.

At the very least, you should leave a bomb or set a fire, right?

In any case, Professor Agasa and the little girl definitely fall into the category of those who should be silenced. They shouldn't still be standing here breathing right now—even if they're novices, they can't be completely ignorant of the rules, otherwise, who would be the one who can't breathe?

But that's a bit hard to say.

Shuichi Akai knew this, which is why he didn't take any action before.

Sano couldn't help but have some doubts.

Isn't this fake loli a bit too disrespectful to her own company?

Although sometimes, the food really is bad.

But knowing it in your own heart is different from being seen that way by others.

It's still a bit off-putting.

It's not that Sano has any sense of collective honor towards the organization.

But what if, incidentally, this also damages the image of his pseudonym?

If it lowers the overall standard, what can be done?

Should I try to regain this false sense of face?

Sano was already considering whether he should scare the fake loli a little...

cough.

As for what the kidnappers said in the text message later, their real target was the cat.

Anyway, Sano doesn't believe it.

However, that cat is still a bit of a concern.

In the video filmed by Professor Agasa, besides himself, the vase he wants to sell, and Ai Haibara's reflection in his glasses, another key element is the cat.

A blue cat.

Professor Agasa's original intention was to make the video more dynamic and the vase more attractive so that it would be easier to sell... but he never expected that it would attract the attention of kidnappers. The problem is that he doesn't know where the cat came from or where it is now, which is simply outrageous.

I wonder if Conan will find any clues outside.

After eating and drinking his fill, and having a cigarette afterward, Sano finally realized...

The sun was already setting, and it was well past dusk.

Sano took out his phone and glanced at it.

Aside from the text message from Shuichi Akai asking if anyone had found it, there was...

"Click".

The door suddenly opened, and Sano turned around to see that Conan and his friends had returned.

Compared to when they left, there's now an extra Ayumi in the returning group... Hmm?

What's this extra thing?

Sano opened his eyes wider in surprise, confirming that he hadn't misread it.

Ayumi has made a safe return.

...So, this case is closed?

That's not right. My mission hasn't been said to be over yet, so the truth hasn't come out yet?

Sano leaned over and listened to what was going on.

It turns out that Conan and his friends had been searching for the cat all afternoon, but they hadn't found anything, because they only had a single photo and a few people.

It's really hard to find a target in just one afternoon.

But just as the sun was about to set, the kidnappers sent another text message saying that the cat had been found, so they were returning Ayumi.

...Hmm, they actually returned it, and the person is pretty nice, huh?

Finally, Conan and his friends found Ayumi wrapped in a carpet next to the garbage dump, based on the text message... So that's what the carpet was.

As Sano listened to Ayumi's explanation of what happened after Professor Agasa was electrocuted when she opened the door—both kidnappers were wearing hoods and even using voice changers. The only thing they gained was their conversation, which further confirmed that their purpose was indeed just the cat.

"Anyway, now that the person is back, everything is fine."

Professor Agasa patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Now there's nothing to worry about. We can go straight to the police, right?"

"Not yet."

Sano and Conan both spoke up in denial.

Chapter 551, 554, Conan: The Black Reaper is really useful.

Conan then looked at Sano.

Sano remained silent.

He seemed to be just going through the motions, as if to say, "Since you've already spoken, then let you explain."

Conan was speechless, but he couldn't say anything, so he could only explain his thoughts.

According to what Ayumi just said, the two kidnappers spilled coffee on the floor while trying to tie her up. Besides the spill that was still on the floor, it was also on her clothes, her face, and the carpet.

They were all covered.

However, when Ayumi was "sent" back, the carpet that was now spread out on the floor did not have any coffee stains on it.

It was spotless, just like a brand new one.

To be honest, this wasn't the first time Sano had witnessed the blindness of the "spectators" during the course of a case, but every time he saw it...

Sano was greatly shocked.

"You mean, the kidnappers' real target was that carpet?"

Conan nodded, then launched into another analysis, concluding that the two kidnappers had likely planned this for a long time and knew everything about Professor Agasa's family situation.

So he asked Professor Agasa if any strangers had entered the house recently.

Dr. Agasa also provided three groups of six suspects.

...It seems to be Professor Agasa's vase, which is quite exquisite, resulting in a rather large number of people coming to see it.