Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

So the group went to the village's government office to ask the guy whose letter was signed by Yuta Makoto where he was currently living.

But they were told the result.

This person went to work in Tokyo six months ago and has since disappeared without a trace.

If you want to find someone, you can only go to the police station.

However, it's worth mentioning that when Hattori Heiji mentioned the name Kudo Shinichi inside, the atmosphere suddenly changed. The crowd and staff inside all looked at Sano and the others with an ugly and strange gaze... It was undeniable disgust. There was even a little boy who jumped out and started spewing nonsense at the innocent Toyama Kazuha.

In other words, the situation wasn't right at the time, plus he was just a little kid.

Otherwise, Sano would probably have started a fight.

"...What annoying thing did that kid do that made us all look down on?"

Kogoro Mouri grumbled and complained, while Ran Mouri looked around and noticed something was wrong. She asked in confusion, "Hey, where's Conan? I can't see him."

"Ah, that kid has already gone to the hotel; he caught a cold."

Kogoro Mouri said this, while Sano glanced at Heiji Hattori.

...Of course, Conan wouldn't abandon the case and go to rest just because he's feeling unwell.

The contents of that letter were probably not as simple as Hattori Heiji described.

Sano knew where Conan had gone and had already arranged for Daikoku to keep an eye on him.

Based on what Dahei saw, it seems the sender wanted to meet with Shinichi Kudo alone to discuss things in detail, even though Conan can't grow bigger right now.

It's perfectly fine to ask about the situation and then adapt accordingly.

It's impossible to keep avoiding this issue just because you can't poop.

Sano did not choose to follow Conan.

It's all because of this new colleague next to me.

"...By the way, what's your name?"

When Sano suddenly spoke to the new colleague, he smiled slightly and said, "Just call me Ueno."

"Ah."

Sano nodded, but didn't say anything more.

Then the group arrived at the police station... a small room with only one old policeman. But before they could say more than a few words, Ran Mouri, who had left the group to return to the hotel because she was worried about Conan, rushed over again.

"Conan isn't at the hotel!"

Ran Mouri frowned and said anxiously, "And I've already asked the villagers, and they said they saw a little boy wearing glasses walking into the forest just as the sun was setting."

"Then just call him and ask him to come out."

Kogoro Mouri casually suggested it, but Ran Mouri immediately rejected it.

"There's absolutely no signal here!"

...No signal?

Sano took out his phone and glanced at it; it really was true.

...This world is indeed quite peculiar. Even if we put aside the skewed technology tree, the normal level of technology has developed to a similar state as Sano's previous life, but in some aspects it is very backward, perhaps even more backward than the normal 1990s.

Or is it...?

Is it just that the neon lights themselves aren't quite right?

Never mind, it's not important. This is a good thing for me.

Sano glanced at Ueno, thinking that he needed to keep a close eye on him to prevent any oversights.

After some discussion, the group decided to go into the forest and search for the people manually.

However, it is impossible to find.

Because Conan is gone.

Yes, that's all. He went to the toilet, although Sano didn't see it with his own eyes.

Anyway, according to Dahei, after Conan went to a small cabin in the forest, he was locked inside. Just as he used a soccer ball to kick open a small ventilation window high up and tried to climb out,

The medicine is working.

That's right, Conan took drugs.

According to what Hattori Heiji said on the way here, it's some kind of miracle drug.

...Sano didn't understand why this medicine, originally used to treat colds, had suddenly become a medicine that could make people bigger, but it was a fact.

Conan had just leaned out of the window when he suddenly grew huge and fell into the lake. Of course, Sano didn't think this jinx would die so easily.

As for why Daikoi wasn't allowed to continue staring at Conan, or rather, Shinichi Kudo, it was because Sano had it turn its attention to the person who closed the door—that guy was completely covered up, and you couldn't even see his face.

Sano naturally needed to first grasp the movements of this key point.

But then, the message that Daikoku sent back was a bit unexpected for Sano.

"Shinichi Kudo, he looks exactly like Shinichi Kudo!"

"……what?"

Sano was taken aback: "You mean the person who locked Conan in the house?"

"Yes...sigh, he jumped into the lake!"

...Listening to the loud, boisterous voice of the big black dog, Sano frowned slightly.

What exactly is going on here?

Disguise, or simply looking alike?

If it's the latter, then that's too much of a coincidence, and if you think about it carefully...

If we also include Heiji Hattori, the dark-skinned version of Shinichi Kudo.

There are four people using Shinichi Kudo's face at the same time.

And they're all about the same age.

Tsk tsk tsk, suddenly I'm actually hoping it's not a disguise.

But what does it mean that this person jumped into the lake...?

While Sano was distracted, the group overheard two villagers talking during their search. They said they had found a naked boy by the lake... Hattori Heiji immediately asked for the exact location.

The group then arrived at the lakeside.

At first glance, I saw a familiar figure surrounded by several people.

The man's hair was wet, and he had a coat draped over his shoulders, which looked like it had been given to him by someone else.

Hattori Heiji ran over to take a look.

"Kudo!?"

"what?"

Ran Mouri also joined in, and the scene suddenly became a bit chaotic.

Sano glanced out of the corner of his eye at Ueno, whose brows had suddenly furrowed. It seemed that Ueno also knew about Shinichi Kudo's death from the drug.

...Although the plague god is a bit annoying, it is still a very useful ATM for now.

Sano naturally couldn't let the brewery truly realize the existence of this protagonist, let alone if things really escalated, it would most likely affect his rye vest... His true identity didn't really matter, the main thing was that the vest, or rather the identity of the brewery executive, was still useful, and he couldn't betray them for the time being.

Once everything is resolved, everything will be fine.

Of course, once the matter is resolved, the notion of betrayal will probably cease to exist.

Sano peered through the dense branches of the forest at the large black creature within.

Since both Shinichi Kudos jumped into the lake, Sano might not be able to tell whether the one in front of him is real or fake without confirming with Daikoku.

But since Big Black is here, there's no need to even ask.

The only thing that might bother Sano was Ran Mouri wiping the face of the fake Shinichi Kudo after taking a towel from someone nearby.

...It doesn't seem to be a human skin mask.

This is truly the fourth Kudo-like face.

Sano was secretly amazed.

Furthermore, while caring for this fake Shinichi Kudo, everyone discovered that he had amnesia... This could only be an act, a convenient excuse to use his identity. After all, this person is not the real Shinichi Kudo, so naturally he doesn't have Shinichi Kudo's memories, and he might expose his true identity in some way.

Ultimately, the substitution failed.

"...This kid seems to have caught a cold too?"

Just then, Kogoro Mouri noticed this.

This immediately reminded Ran Mouri of Conan, but Heiji Hattori, who had been somewhat flustered, now nonchalantly comforted her.

"Ah, Conan wasn't feeling well and went back to see Professor Agasa, so you don't need to worry. Right now, this guy is more important."

"..."

Sano raised an eyebrow and looked at Hattori Heiji with an indescribable expression.

There are so many flaws that I don't even know which one to criticize.

Why do people go to see Dr. Agasa when they have a cold and feel unwell?

Do you really think PhDs are omnipotent?

...Although this is not much different from being omnipotent, and although it only applies to Conan alone, anyway, it is about a sick first-grade child who took half a day to travel back home by car.

To put it bluntly, wouldn't this only make people more worried? How could it possibly comfort anyone? But to Sano's surprise, everyone accepted this statement very readily and immediately turned their attention back to the fake Shinichi Kudo, which greatly shocked Sano.

He's too confident in Conan.

Or do you think Conan is unimportant and therefore don't care at all?

"In short, let's all go back to the hotel first."

And so, the group returned to the hotel with the fake Shinichi Kudo.

Just before leaving, Sano suddenly turned around and looked at a tree on the other side of the lake.