Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

"...I mean, you should know my situation, right?"

Asai Narumi lowered his voice and asked. He was genuinely puzzled as to what the man in front of him was thinking. Although he himself knew very well that with his appearance, he could attract the attention of many men, and even if he revealed his male identity, probably no one would believe him, but this place was different.

The White Coat organization, despite being an official entity, is not legitimate.

However, some procedures still need to be followed, such as identity verification and physical examination.

Those teammates of the same level are one thing.

As the captain of the white-clad team, Corin naturally had the right to look through the team members' files.

therefore.

Asai Narumi was well aware that her gender was not a secret.

If that's the case, why insist on relentlessly pursuing yourself?

"I know."

Koren nodded with a grin: "So, are you going?"

Asai Narumi: "..."

This guy just doesn't make sense. Could it be that he's...?

After a few seconds of silence, Asai Narumi still chose to coldly decline the invitation.

……no way.

Or perhaps this person does have a special orientation and doesn't mind this.

But I'm perfectly normal, and I really mind it!

...Of course, Asai Narumi also knew that, judging from her appearance...

It's hard for people to believe that they are normal.

But what can be done? I've gotten used to this look, and I even had minor cosmetic surgery to fix it. Even if I were to change it back now...

It's doubtful that they'll be able to restore their gender.

...Fortunately, I didn't impulsively undergo gender reassignment surgery back then.

Otherwise, that would truly be going down a dead end.

While Coron continued his relentless invitations, Asai Narumi was already considering whether to change her clothes, cut her hair short, or, if all else failed, undergo further minor adjustments to completely revert to male gender.

The door to the bar was pushed open.

The wind chimes by the door jingled, drawing everyone's attention as the person entered.

They were all drawn to it.

Aside from the somewhat intriguing all-white outfit, her cherry-colored high ponytail was also noteworthy.

It is particularly eye-catching.

"……Who are you?"

Asai Narumi and the others, who were unaware of the situation, became wary.

Only Koren narrowed his eyes, glanced at Suwa Yuuji and Tachibana Maya on the other side, and then smiled as he went over to greet them: "Hello, Kurosawa Blade, right?"

Sano… um, glanced around the bar and nodded in response.

"Oh my, I've been waiting for you for so long! I've heard so much about you!"

Koren tried to put his arm around Sano's shoulder in a very familiar way, but Sano dodged to the side. After a moment of surprise, Koren tried to do it again, but Sano simply blocked him with his hand. The obvious resistance and distance made the air a little tense.

embarrassment?

However, none of the people here are ordinary people, so it's not a big deal.

"Okay, then let me introduce you to my colleagues first..."

"no need."

However, just as Koren was about to move on to the next stage, Sano interrupted him.

"Let's get down to business."

"..."

Koren blinked: "So cold? We're going to be comrades-in-arms, fighting side by side, even sharing life and death. At least you should know each other's names?"

"No need, I already know."

Sano deliberately pretended to realize that he might be misunderstood and added a sentence, while at the same time revealing a subtle message to Koren.

That's you guys. You have information on every single member of the White Robe.

That's really true...

Koren laughed again.

"Ha, alright then, I'll just introduce you to everyone. Kurosawa Blade, a swordsman, very skilled. At least Uncle Suwa seems to be ashamed of himself."

After explaining it to the others.

Aside from the two who knew beforehand, Maeda Satoshi and Ochiai Museum Director didn't react much. Only Asai Shigemi, knowing Suwa Yuji's strength, was surprised by the statement that he was "ashamed of his own inferiority".

I'm also curious about Kurosawa's surname.

As a member of the White-Clad Team, Asai Narumi was well aware that among the team's key targets, there were two people he knew well: Rye and Black Mask.

As for the latter's real name... that remains to be considered, but it is known publicly.

It's definitely Kurosawa.

Therefore, Asai Narumi couldn't help but have some doubts about the relationship between the two.

"In short, that's it. As a welcome ceremony, let's have a party tonight!"

Koren's passionate speech left Sano speechless.

"...You said you called me here because it was important, is this it?"

"Ok?"

Corren turned his head: "Otherwise what?"

"..."

Sano felt his blood pressure spike, and with a struggle to avoid making a deep breath, he asked instead, "No work?"

"Hmm, there are no instructions from above."

Before Sano could speak again, Koren seemed to understand his thoughts and said with a smile, "Don't be so tense. We're quite relaxed here. After all, the initial goal was to find the Black Clothes, but we don't have any clues right now. We can't just rely on a few of us to start. Although we can do other missions, they are relatively difficult. At least our earliest members have only gone on two missions in a month or so. The rest of the time, they are all free to do whatever they want."

"in other words."

Koren grinned slyly: "We're just freeloaders, so feel free to slack off."

After saying that, Corren stopped talking and turned to continue pestering Asai Narumi.

The others went about their business.

Sano was left standing at the door in silence for a long time.

...White clothes eating white rice, hmm, that rhymes and makes sense.

What Sano didn't expect was that these people would eat so matter-of-factly.

Seeing that perhaps because of his performance earlier, or perhaps because of his personality, his teammates didn't seem to want to get close to him, Sano was happy to have some peace and quiet and casually found a place to sit down.

Would you like some alcohol?

As an "acquaintance," Suwa Yuji still asked Sano a question, pointing to the bottles of liquor on the shelf behind the counter and saying, "Those decorations are drinkable, but not free. You can drink them at cost price, and they can be reimbursed proportionally."

...This wave of perks left Sano speechless once again.

Food and drinks are provided, but alcoholic beverages are classified as a special category and are not reimbursed, which is fine.

But they actually tried to cheat and evade, even trying to exploit small loopholes like the cost price.

This is truly somewhat unexpected.

As for the other reimbursement percentage, Sano didn't quite understand it.

However, it wasn't convenient for Sano to know.

This group of people are very good at taking advantage of others.

But that's not surprising, since none of them are exactly good people.

The fact that even this loophole could be exploited made Sano wonder if it was because other major loopholes, namely the specific reimbursement procedures, were not exploitable.

This might be much stricter than what the brewery does?

"……No."

While thinking, Sano replied to Suwa Yuji with a sentence.

"Ah."

Yuji Suwa nodded and said nothing more.

Sano had the time to carefully observe this white-clad stronghold, or rather, its headquarters.

...I don't know why.

The probability of using a bar as a base is very high for either side.

The brewery, the police, the arms dealers, and even Sano's armed detective agency.

A bar that you can go to.

It's basically all a facade; there will be customers on the surface.

In terms of specific usage, either keep communication low-key, or implement a separate design, with the real stronghold either at the back or underground.

Only here.

It's one thing if they belong to the first category, but they're all so arrogant.

Wipe the knife and the armor.

Why not suggest putting the gun on the counter and wiping it clean?