Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

So, the group of people went to a top-notch restaurant.

...Originally, the rest of the group planned to have dinner at the hotel's buffet restaurant, since the prices were relatively reasonable, the quality was good, and most importantly, it was unlimited, making it undoubtedly the best choice.

But Sano deliberately pointed out Conan's secret stash of money, all for the sake of a lavish meal.

There are three people who need to contribute money.

Sera Masumi and Conan are not short of money, so it doesn't matter to them. But Ran Mouri is different. She is just a typical high school girl, and her allowance is no different from that of other high school girls.

Under such circumstances, how can Sano afford to eat well?

Even if Sano is shameless, the problem is that Ran Mouri can't afford it either.

Therefore, having Conan pay an extra sum of money is the best option.

Although Sano still wasted a lot of breath trying to convince Ran Mouri to let him control Conan's savings like this... it wasn't too much.

The treasury has been taken, so the foundation is laid. Taking it a step further shouldn't be difficult.

"Bring two more of these giant lobsters!"

Sano called out to the waiter, which made Conan's eyes grow even more resentful.

"No, that's enough, isn't it? You can't possibly eat all that."

...Even though the vault was no longer in his hands, Conan still felt a pang of heartache.

"Yes, senior, it would be a bit of a waste if we couldn't finish it, wouldn't it?"

Ran Mouri chimed in, though unlike Conan, she genuinely feared wasting food.

"It's okay, we can take the leftovers home."

Sano responded while eating.

Conan's eyes widened: "No way, bro, you're packing up leftovers? We agreed on one meal, are you planning to pack up two or three days' worth of food to take home?"

"What are you thinking? Do you think I'm that shameless?"

Sano rolled his eyes and said disdainfully, "I still have someone to feed at home."

"That's not right either!"

Conan complained, "The agreement was that the loser would treat the winner to dinner, but your mouth didn't even participate in the betting."

"It's all the same. This portion that I packed was specially saved on an empty stomach. Even if I don't take it back, I'll still eat it. You're not losing out."

Conan's lips twitched as he looked at Sano, whose expression remained unchanged.

...Bullshit, I just said we'd pack up the leftovers.

"Oh, right."

Sano didn't give Conan a chance to complain anymore. He looked at Asai Narumi and said, "After all this, I forgot to tell you before. I have a way to solve your current situation that might be able to solve it. Since you treated me to lunch, I won't charge you the commission fee. But I can't guarantee whether it will work or not. I can only say that we can give it a try."

"Ok?"

Asai Narumi paused for a moment, then immediately put down her chopsticks: "You tell me."

"Call the police."

"Call the police?"

"Call the police!"

"..."

The Conan and his friends watching the two talking were filled with curiosity.

"Why are you calling the police? Did Dr. Narumi encounter some kind of incident?"

Conan, forgetting even the pain of losing his secret stash, asked...

Neither Sano nor Asai Shigemi paid any attention. The latter shook his head and sighed, "If calling the police would be helpful, then I wouldn't be so troubled."

"You called the police because you're saying someone is spreading rumors and defaming you?"

Sano asked, and Asai Shigemi nodded: "But when they came to investigate, they just asked each person verbally, and there was no progress at all."

"...You didn't even do one thing that specifically named anyone?"

Faced with Sano's surprise, Asai Narumi said awkwardly, "There's nothing we can do about it. If we can't find the source right away, then even if we point out who was speaking at the time, it won't be of much use, and it might even make things more complicated."

"But that would at least be a temporary solution, a warning to others, and would greatly reduce the chances of them causing trouble in front of you. If all you want is peace and quiet, that's a pretty good approach."

Sano first criticized Asai Narumi's idea, and then said, "But even from this, it can be seen that even if it treats the symptoms, you probably won't be able to adapt, so we still have to use my method."

Asai Narumi blinked.

Didn't they say the solution was to call the police? And haven't you already called the police?

"...What method?"

For the sake of his career, Asai Narumi cooperatively took over the conversation.

"To muddy the waters, or more accurately, to drag people down with them."

Sano crossed his legs: "Making people afraid to say that anymore is a temporary solution, but letting everyone know that this is a lie is the real solution."

Asai Narumi tilted her head in confusion: "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, the next time you hear someone say those things, don't show your face, secretly record it, and don't go looking for them, just call the police... Of course, don't go looking for them, but go looking for the people they mentioned who were also the ones being slandered, just say that based on their testimonies and your own memories, you suspect that you were drugged by them."

"You should know that the men who are the subject of these rumors are mostly high-ranking and powerful people. They generally don't go to the front lines, so they don't hear those rumors. Even if they do hear them, there's a high probability that they won't care. After all, compared to men, women are more likely to be affected by this kind of thing, whether they are in a lower position or... women. They might even be doing this themselves, so they don't care."

"What you need to do is make him aware of this matter and not ignore it. Let me put it this way, most rumors and defamation are classified as civil disputes, but if you escalate the matter and turn it into a criminal case, then it's a different story... The important thing is that you'll have another teammate."

"You don't even need to do anything. Just pass the buck to the person in charge, and he'll rush to prove his innocence and resolve your troubles... On a smaller scale, he'll help you share the burden, which is a temporary solution. On a larger scale, the outcome of the criminal case will undoubtedly prove your innocence. Even if there are still any underlying problems, I think he'll still help you get rid of them completely. That's the best solution."

After Sano's explanation, Asai Narumi and Ran Mouri's expressions gradually became blank... Even Conan and the others, who were originally unaware of the inside story, could basically understand it through these words.

What exactly happened?

"But isn't this a bit much? There are two people being slandered, and he is also a victim. If I were to turn around and call the police to arrest him... wouldn't that be framing him?"

Asai Narumi showed a slight hesitation on his face.

"Hey, you can't say that. You didn't say you were definitely drugged by him. You just heard the witness's testimony, so you had reason to suspect him and applied for an official investigation. How can that be a frame-up?"

Watching Sano trying to persuade Asai Narumi, Conan couldn't help but tap a row of dots... He felt that what Sano was saying just now wasn't about worrying about legal issues, but rather about moral issues.

Are they on the same channel?

"But this kind of thing is too easy for people to notice that something is wrong."

Conan thought for a moment and then spoke up to remind her, "Besides, to be honest, the workplace is all about stability, not right and wrong. Maybe doing this will solve the problem, but afterwards, the person in charge might want to fire Dr. Narumi."

"She works at a hospital, you don't think it's some small workshop."

Sano immediately denied it, saying, "Especially given that Ms. Narumi doesn't seem to want to climb any higher, there shouldn't be any problems."

"If you're a good actor and can make it look so real that outsiders hesitate, then it might not have any impact at all... If the guy you used as a witness isn't fired or quits his job afterward, you can treat him to a meal, thank him and apologize, and act sincere. This will make you disgusting and seem more real."

Wow, this guy is really something.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines after hearing Sano's last sentence... Just imagining it made their hearts ache. That guy Sano.

His heart is truly filthy!

"...Okay, I got it. I'll try it later."

After nodding, Asai Narumi smiled and said, "Although you said you wouldn't charge me a commission fee, I'll treat you to dinner if it turns out to be successful."

"I don't care."

Sano stood up and called the waiter to pack his food: "Then I'll be going now, everyone."

"Goodbye~"

Then, the following evening, Sano ran into Asai Narumi again.

Of course, this wasn't something the two of them had planned, and Sano wasn't in his true form when he encountered Asai Narumi... the other party probably couldn't be considered as such either.

Identity of the entity?

"coming."

Chapter 616-619, Do you think you've returned as the king?

This is a small tavern.

There weren't many customers inside, just a few scattered around, and it wasn't noisy at all.

Only soothing music was playing from the speakers.

Combined with soft, multicolored lighting, it's easy to lose your way.

Sano and Gin sat down.

Sitting opposite him was a man in a suit, around thirty or forty years old.

"Where are the things?"

Gin asked the question.

The man immediately took a box from underneath and pushed it over.

Gin took the box, opened it a crack to peek inside, and then closed it again.

"Where's the money?"

The man asked with a smile.

Gin didn't waste any words and picked up a small box, pushing it to the other side.

After checking and confirming that there were no problems, the man stood up and reached out.

"Pleasant to work with."

"How can such cooperation be pleasant?"

Gin's cold retort made the man's face stiffen.

"……What's the meaning?"

Gin reached for his gun in his pocket: "Being watched is one thing, but not even knowing that someone else had infiltrated your team is quite another. Your abilities really make me wonder if we'll ever have another chance to work together."