Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Perhaps they intend to plan carefully before making a decision, observing secretly?

Black Fox casually responded to the others' conversation, seemingly bored.

"...By the way, Ran, that Mr. Blade is actually quite handsome."

Chapter 628, 631, Conan: I almost got tricked into being crippled?

Sonoko Suzuki started displaying her infatuated side again.

"Although you can't see his eyes, his straight nose, thin lips, sharply defined jawline, fair skin, and seemingly good figure are all very impressive."

As she talked, Sonoko Suzuki became excited.

"Looking at it this way, that strip of cloth seems to have a special charm, giving people a sense of mystery. Even that head of bright pink hair doesn't seem so jarring anymore. Instead, it's as if a gentle filter has been added to him out of thin air. He must be the kind of person who's cold on the outside but warm on the inside!"

...They were whispering in each other's ears with their best friend.

Sonoko Suzuki's voice grew louder and louder, to the point that it was no longer realistic for Black Fox to pretend not to hear. He could only smile slightly at Ran Mouri's awkward gaze and say, "I'm not familiar with that person, so say whatever you want."

In fact, Sano can understand Suzuki Sonoko's feelings.

After all, Sano's personal style when creating his own persona is all about looking cool.

Generally speaking, when people mention swordsmen in Japan, they tend to think of them as swordsmen.

Ronin?

A free-spirited, lazy, and easygoing style.

But that would clash with Kurosawa's style, so Sano made some changes.

Similar to the difference between Black Death and Black Cat.

The young general—this was the feeling Sano originally wanted, not the aloofness that keeps strangers at bay, nor the elegant and composed indifference, but a different kind of coldness.

Sano first tried the black-haired look, but it felt too aloof.

That's when he changed his hair back to red.

He resembled a cold and aloof young general on the battlefield.

Now, she seems more like a young lady from a military family...?

...This is no nonsense.

That hair color is just so damn youthful.

It appeared even softer than aloof.

But after looking at it for a while, it should look better, after all... it has a head of bright pink hair.

And it's not just this one.

Yes, I'm talking about a certain top investigator.

"By the way, Mr. Black Fox, why did you suddenly decide to change your name?"

That being said, Kurosawa was blind and mute, so even Suzuki Sonoko, who was the leader of the social butterfly group, was too embarrassed to use her social skills and could only focus her attention on the more familiar Kuroko.

"And it even takes that person's surname... I don't have any problem with the surname Kurosawa, it's just that the last character, Gin, does sound a bit off."

"Does it matter? You'll still call me Black Fox even if I change it."

Upon hearing Black Fox's words, Sonoko Suzuki was taken aback at first, then beamed with joy.

"Hahaha, it's all because we're such good friends!"

"hehe."

Conan, standing nearby, gave him a deadpan look.

Black Fox, however, still wore that same smiling expression.

...In fact, Sano spent a lot of brainpower on the given name part after the surname of these two pseudonyms. Just as he is not good at coming up with nicknames, he is naturally not good at naming, which is a technical skill.

Being able to come up with names like Kurosawa and Kurosawa Yu is already thanks to Sano's extensive viewing of anime. As for Kurosawa Blade, he originally thought of Kurosawa Sword or Kurosawa Blade, but considering that he uses a genuine sword, the former was not really suitable as a sword name, and the latter was too unpleasant to hear, so he compromised and settled for the nickname "Black Blade".

The character "刃" (blade) was used.

As for the name Black Fox, Sano couldn't think of one, so he simply copied the name of Ito Taka's little brother, Gin, and then the names of Black Death and Black Cat.

Sano thought for a long time.

First, they named the black cat Kurosawa Claw, but when they got to the Black Death side, they just got bored and simply added the character "Ze" in the middle.

But then again.

The fact that he named all his alternate accounts made Sano feel like he was back in his junior high school days, when his chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) was relatively severe.

...So it's true that people tend to reminisce about the past when they get old.

While silently reflecting on his own feelings, Sano declined the offer of drinks from the people next to him, saying, "Sorry, neither of us drinks."

"Hey, what man doesn't drink?"

The man sitting next to Black Fox seemed to have had a bit too much to drink. He laughed and said, "Aren't you a detective? Besides ability, the most important thing in this line of work is social skills. Drinking more will definitely do you good."

...How come Japan still has that kind of drinking culture from the flower garden?

After sighing inwardly, Black Fox continued with a smile: "Because I am underage."

"..."

The private room fell silent.

The man who had been urging him to drink sobered up instantly, staring wide-eyed at Black Fox in disbelief: "You, you, you, you... you're still a minor!?"

Amidst this astonished voice, Conan and the others who were relatively familiar with Black Fox almost popped their eyes out and remained silent for a long time.

"Yes."

Black Fox nodded calmly, then continued eating with his chopsticks.

They seemed completely oblivious to the fact that there was nothing wrong with what they had just said.

...This left everyone somewhat unsure whether this was a statement of fact or simply a perfunctory attempt to avoid concealing their true feelings.

"..."

After a brief, awkward moment, the dinner continued as if nothing had happened, with everyone eating, drinking, and doing their own thing as usual.

A few minutes later...

Ran Mouri and the other girls went outside to see the night view.

Conan immediately seized the opportunity and approached Black Fox: "Uncle Black Fox, why did you suddenly change your name? Besides this Uncle Blade, there should be other people with the surname Kurosawa among the people you know, right?"

It's not even a test anymore.

I just asked the question in a slightly more tactful way so as not to be perceived as being interrogated.

But to be honest.

Conan asked the question, but he didn't really have any hope of getting an answer.

however.

The smile on Black Fox's lips deepened.

"Oh, yes, you know him too."

"Ok?"

Conan was taken aback: "You mean Kurosawa?"

"Ah."

This confirmation was truly unexpected, causing Conan to be unable to immediately respond for several seconds. Black Fox seemed to have deliberately waited two seconds before raising an eyebrow and asking, "Anything else? You only know one?"

"what?"

Conan was pulled back to his senses and asked with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness, "Are you referring to Black Death and Black Cat... or even those people from Black Rye?"

Black Fox remained silent for a few seconds.

Conan, who was getting impatient, laughed and said, "So that's all you know? That's a bit disappointing, Great Detective."

The Great Detective...

Conan, despite being mocked, didn't seem bothered at all.

"Then how much do you think I should know? What exactly is this so-called Black Organization? What are your goals? Why are you spreading out into various fields? You were silent before, even pretending not to know each other or even being hostile to each other, but now you're deliberately spreading rumors."

The urgent questioning came to an abrupt halt. Conan's eyes flickered: "Also, what is your relationship with Sano? What do you want to do to him? I don't believe that your appearance in his detective agency was a coincidence."

"Who knows?"

Black Fox put down his chopsticks, took out a tissue to wipe his mouth, and said, "Don't ask anymore. That's all I can say. It wouldn't be good to say anything more."

……not good?

Conan had just frowned when Black Fox suddenly changed the subject: "After all, when it comes to taking risks like this, there have to be other people to share the burden. Next time you see someone else, just ask them. They're all good people anyway. Even if they're too lazy to bother with you, at least they won't harm you, right?"

"If you persist a little, maybe they'll get annoyed and, like I did, leak some information to you. One person might only leak a little, but if they leak a little bit one after another, and you piece it together, it will be faster than your current progress... For example, Kurosawa, who's sitting over there, you could try pestering him to ask."

Is this a hint to himself?

Conan's eyes lit up slightly—wait a minute, if that's the case, does that mean I can continue to pester the black fox in front of me to try to get some more information beyond what he's already revealed?

Unfortunately, before Conan could speak again, Black Fox had already stood up and called out to Kurosawa, "Are you full? If you're full, go back to sleep."

Kurosawa did not reply.

He simply put down his chopsticks, got up, and left the private room with Black Fox.

Seeing this, Conan, who had finally managed to grab the thread, became a little anxious.

"Hey……"

"Wait Kudo!"

Heiji Hattori grabbed Conan, who was trying to chase after them.

"What are you doing, Hattori? They..."

Before Conan could finish speaking, Heiji Hattori interrupted him, saying, "Stop bothering them, Kudo. I don't know how dangerous this guy you told me about, the one called Black Fox, and that newly emerged black-clad organization are, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that right now, Kurosawa is the real danger. That guy has been watching you since just now, ready to make a move at any moment!"