Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Sano glanced at the little girl next to him, whose face was flushed and who was covered in sweat.

After thinking for a moment, I agreed.

Undoubtedly, this trip carries a heavy aura of calamity.

However, considering that the train incident had just ended, Sano felt that there shouldn't be any major problems.

It's time to take it out for a walk.

Staying cooped up at home all the time isn't a good thing.

It's impossible to never leave the house again just because there's a possibility of getting into a car accident.

Just keep a close eye on it.

So, the time came to the next day... but that same evening before.

Something a little unusual happened.

Sano received a text message from Rum—not to him personally, nor to Rye, the action group leader, but to Black Fox.

Amuro Tooru's assessment summary had already been submitted, but the outcome was different from what Sano had originally predicted—that the matter would be dragged on until it was forgotten…

Black Fox has now been promoted to a cadre member.

Besides informing Sano of his promotion, Rum's text message also included other details.

It was just to inform them of the code name and to notify Sano to meet with his teammates.

The main point is that Sano's interpretation of Rum's words doesn't seem like that of teammates who are just temporarily teaming up to supervise each other while completing a mission, but rather... well, long-term teammates.

……rare.

This is Sano's first long-term teammate... No, to put it more broadly, both Gin and Gin can be considered his long-term teammates, both in the past and now. Besides, he can't be said to have never had any long-term teammates.

At least.

Gin originally intended to maintain the relationship with several of Sano's former teammates as long-term partners... but none of them were able to stick with it.

So, that evening, while swimming with Gin, Sano went to meet up with his longtime teammate from the intelligence group...

Then I saw a guy who looked incredibly familiar.

"Hi~"

Ito Taka smiled and waved to Sano.

Sano: "..."

That bastard actually got promoted to a cadre position along with me?

And they didn't even say a word to their boss... Even though now, they're not really in a superior-subordinate relationship anymore, but rather on the same level... Hmm?

Wait a minute, wasn't this guy originally in the action team? How did he end up in the intelligence team?

Sano narrowed his eyes, which were already at their narrowest, and stepped forward.

"What, you've been transferred to the intelligence group?"

"uh-huh."

Ito Taka pushed the iced coffee he had ordered in advance in front of Sano and said with a smile, "This is all thanks to you, Master. It is said that it was because of you that Lord Rum took a second look at me and promoted me ahead of schedule... and even got me into the intelligence group."

"If Rum wants it, Gin will give it to him?"

Faced with Sano's question, Ito Taka could only shrug.

“This is something that a nobody like me can't possibly get involved in.”

……Too.

Sano nodded calmly, took a sip of coffee, and then asked another question.

"...Did you talk to your former boss about this?"

"what?"

Ito Taka's face showed obvious confusion.

"Gin or Rum will probably inform him, so there's no need for me to do anything more, right?"

...But in fact, no one informed me at all, not even a word.

Sano secretly curled his lip, but continued casually, "It's their business to notify him. You are you. You've worked under him for so long, and now that you've finally been promoted, even if he doesn't treat you to a meal, he should at least... say something. Do I need to tell you about such basic social etiquette? If you just run away without a word, be careful that he doesn't hold a grudge."

Hearing this, Ito Taka thoughtfully stroked his chin and hesitated, "Probably not. Given that person's personality, he doesn't seem like the type to care about such a small matter... I feel that if those two don't contact him, he'll probably forget that I even exist under his command."

...That point was actually correct.

Sano unconsciously typed a series of dots in his mind... After all, Ito Taka, this tool, was a bit of an in-between; even when he was really too busy, he still might not be able to remember.

"Besides, in the end, I'm no longer his subordinate. We're all on the same level now. Even if he really holds a grudge against me, what can he do about it?"

Ito Taka laughed smugly.

Sano took a sip of coffee and spoke slowly a few seconds later.

"I suggest that before you say that, you should first get to know more of the management members and ask your colleagues about the reputation of rye among its peers in the distillery, and then decide whether or not to be so arrogant."

Ito Taka raised an eyebrow: "...Master, you seem to know a lot about that rye?"

"I guess so. After all, he's the one who's most noticeable in the entire distillery."

Sano smiled and said, "Or, you can choose to ignore what I said, or even go further and go to that guy and repeat what you just said to him... Practice makes perfect, right? That way you'll know everything."

Ito Taka: "..."

I have a feeling that I'm being encouraged... or more accurately, urged to do something reckless.

"...Let's forget about it. I'll just treat him to a meal later."

Ito Taka decided to back down.

As the old saying goes, "Listen to advice, and you'll have a full stomach."

"That's settled then, I'll be going now."

After finishing his coffee, Sano planned to leave... naturally, he wouldn't be the one to pay.

Even though Ito Taka didn't explicitly say so, Sano still implicitly acknowledged that he could get something for free.

"Hey, don't forget you have to go to Izu to work tomorrow, Master."

Sano turned around, and Ito Taka blinked: "Oh, I shouldn't call you Master now. According to the rules, we should address each other by our code names."

"Well then, see you tomorrow... Scotland."

"Okay, Corn."

"...What corn??"

Upon hearing Sano's address, Ito Taka, who had initially found it quite novel, was taken aback.

I was completely dumbfounded.

"What, you don't know? Kolen is corn."

Sano smiled and said, "...Scotch whisky, and corn whisky."

These are the code names for the two Sano people.

Needless to say, Koren of Ito Taka's generation was personally sent away by Sano in the previous generation.

But Sano even heard that his own codename, Scotch Whisky, seemed to be inherited from... a mole who was killed after his identity was exposed two or three years ago... Could it be that the organization now has a lot of codenames?

Is there really not enough? Are all newcomers just going to inherit the job?

In particular, he had been given the code name of an undercover agent.

Well what does that mean?

However, there are two interesting points about Scotch whisky.

One of them is Sano, I heard.

The previous generation of original Scotch whisky was an undercover agent for the Japanese Public Security Bureau.

The other one is...

After his identity as a former Scotch whisky was exposed, it was the former rye that killed him.

That is, Shuichi Akai.

All things considered—it's no wonder that Amuro Tooru is so hostile towards Akai Shuichi.

This is only considering the background setting of Shuichi Akai's side.

Even Sano felt that as an undercover agent, it was impossible for him to be truly clean.

But at least in this respect, there's a high probability that there's something hidden.

After a fierce battle, they realized it was all a misunderstanding, then reconciled, joined forces against their enemy, and demonstrated the power of love and justice...

It's the same old trick.

"...No, Master...Scotland, of course I know that Kohlen means corn, but calling it corn directly sounds too awful. Why don't you just transliterate it as Kohlen? It sounds better to me, and it's easier for you to say it yourself."

Ito Taka interrupted Sano's train of thought with some frustration, and said...

"Because Cohen and Cohen are easily confused."

Sano gave a direct reason, but this only made Ito Taka feel more frustrated: "...Cohen, it should be the one from the action team, right...? No, we haven't had any contact with him, so it's practically impossible for the two of us to be in the same conversation, how could we possibly get them mixed up?"

"..."

Oh dear, I forgot that Black Fox, under this alias, doesn't even know Cohen.

Sano, who subconsciously put himself in the shoes of the man in the rye vest, felt slightly awkward.

then.

“We’re in the intelligence team, and our job is intelligence. How small do you think the probability is that we’ll come across the code names of the organization’s cadres and members in our intelligence work? We’ll inevitably come into contact with the code name Cohen in the future, so just in case, I think you need to be called Corn.”

Sano paused, then continued, "I only care about what I think, not what you think. The final interpretation is entirely in my hands. No protests or objections will be accepted."

After saying that, Sano left, leaving Ito Taka speechless.

……