Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

This guy dared to kill Rum, so who wouldn't he dare to kill?

“...Rum is different from you. He is the head of our intelligence group, and we can’t disobey him. But you are not the head of the intelligence group yet; you are just an officer of the same rank as us. We don’t have a superior-subordinate relationship. In fact, to put it bluntly, you need our support to become the head of the group. You are the one who needs our help. We are the superiors.”

Seeing that everyone else was intimidated, Amuro Tooru had no choice but to bite the bullet and become the troublemaker.

"Do I need your help?"

Rye suddenly laughed: "You seem to have misunderstood something. Although the official reason for calling you here is to vote on whether I can be the group leader, in reality, I'm just informing you."

"Varied……"

Compared to the previous wave of rapid pronouncements, Gin felt uneasy.

Logically, if the first wave was suppressed and the second wave brought even greater pressure, these people should have been even less likely to speak up, but that's not actually the case.

The first wave, while sounding like a threat, also included some "reasoning," but this round was pure arrogance without any logic. This group might be a little afraid of rye, but not to the point of being terrified and not daring to even have the slightest thought of resistance.

...In the end, it's not really about being afraid.

In short, these words ignited the arrogance hidden in the hearts of this group, and their anger surged, making the air thick with tension.

This surprised Amuro Tooru.

Amuro Tooru's original intention was for Rye and the intelligence team members to be at odds with each other, but under such pressure, no one dared to oppose him.

That's why Amuro Tooru took the lead, but he thought there would be another round of mutual tug-of-war, and it was hard to say whether he could force Rye to say the wrong thing in the end.

Unexpectedly, the rye turned out to be... but that seems to be in line with its style.

Anyway, I've already achieved my goal.

Amuro Tooru fell silent, even trying to minimize his presence and wait for the two sides to clash. Sure enough, someone stepped forward and retorted, "Since you say that, then our opinions are completely irrelevant, right? Fine, then I'll vote against it."

With someone willing to take the lead, the morale of the other intelligence team members also rallied, and they confronted Rye head-on without any hesitation.

"That's right, Rye, you're not the team leader yet, you're not qualified to make decisions!"

Gin's brow furrowed more and more deeply.

...Rye had spoken up first, so it was not appropriate for me to interrupt and take over. The first wave was fine, and it seemed like things were going well and the situation was basically stable.

But who could have imagined that the second move would be such a terrible one?

What should we do now? How can we get these seasoned veterans to change their tune?

Just as the situation was becoming increasingly tense, Rye suddenly reached for a gun.

This threw the intelligence team members on the other side into a panic.

...After all, given his past behavior, it's hard not to suspect that he was just angry and didn't want to waste words, so he planned to resolve the issue directly with force.

However, what was both surprising and reassuring was...

Rye pulled out his gun but didn't point it at the other side. Instead, he just held it in his hand and asked Vodka, who was standing next to him, "Vodka, I have a question for you."

"Hey?"

Vodka was taken aback by Rye's sudden question and his expression tightened.

"W-what's the problem?"

"Is this Glock in my hand a pistol or a magic wand?"

"what?"

Vodka looked bewildered and hesitated as he looked at his older brother.

Gin casually lit a cigarette: "What do you think it is?"

"I think it's a magic wand."

Rye provided the answer, and Gin immediately nodded in agreement: "I think so too."

"..."

What is that?

The others, including Amuro Tooru, were completely bewildered, not understanding what the question meant, until Rye pointed her gun at the ringleader who had taken the lead and made a "bang" sound.

The man immediately screamed in agony, his face contorted in pain, and then collapsed to the ground with a thud.

In less than two or three seconds, he stopped breathing.

This left the group, who were already on edge, completely bewildered once again—they hadn't seen a shot fired, so how could the person have disappeared? Could it really be a magic wand?

"...A traitor attempted to use this gathering as an opportunity to wipe out all of us cadres, but I discovered and executed him in advance. All the cadres who are loyal to the organization are convinced of my abilities and have unanimously decided to elect me as the head of the intelligence group."

Before anyone could react, Rye started rambling on about nothing, but the more rambling it was, the more chilling it became.

Then Rye stepped forward, spread her hands, and asked gently.

"Who's in favor, and who's opposed?"

A moment of silence followed until it was clear that no one objected. Gin then spoke up, saying, "I agree," prompting the other members of the action team to echo him. Vermouth, Rena Mizunashi, and the others remained silent throughout, maintaining a neutral stance.

In other words, it's the default.

...We lost.

Amuro Tooru now understood what that question meant.

If I remember correctly, it should be the story of the flower grower who called a deer a horse.

However, this refers to a gun, but the purpose is a staff, specifically a magic staff.

These people dared to go against Black Rye because they were betting that he couldn't or wouldn't dare to fight. Who would have thought that just one step would prove that he not only could and dared to fight, but that the fight might not even have any consequences.

How the hell are we supposed to fight like this?

...And most importantly, of course, is Gin's attitude.

They actually condoned rye's unbridled behavior and even helped it mess things up, gaining a group of staunch supporters, and no one dared to oppose it anymore.

Rye was naturally elected as the new group leader.

Amuro Tooru couldn't do anything more. Being a neutral observer who fanned the flames was acceptable, but if he really wanted to be the one to stick his neck out, he should just go to bed and wash up.

Seeing that the brief meeting had ended, Rye followed Gin out. Amuro Tooru's eyes flickered slightly, but he still went over... Regardless of the consequences, he would make contact under the guise of congratulations and try to probe a few words.

Not too much, right?

However, before Amuro Tooru could speak, an unexpected figure appeared.

Looking at that familiar face with a piece missing from its ear.

Both Amuro Tooru and Gin were momentarily stunned.

Chapter 687 Deep Feelings, One Bite

Amuro Tooru is actually alright; at least he knows a little bit about it.

Gin was absolutely dumbfounded.

...Beside him was a black rye, and according to Amuro, Sano was being held by the police.

And now another one, Sano, has appeared.

What are three Sanos doing, playing a match-3 game?

Sano, observing Gin's changing expressions, could roughly guess what the other was thinking... If he were in Gin's shoes, he would probably start to doubt and complain as well.

...For example, why not give it a two-star rating or something?

"Is something wrong?"

Sano asked the real Stand user.

"It's nothing, just came to congratulate you on becoming the head of the intelligence team."

The Stand user twitched the corner of his mouth and glanced at Amuro Tooru again.

"In addition, he also told me to tell you that if you are in a position, you should do your job. He hopes you can do a good job as a team leader. He will contact you later."

"Can't a simple text message solve this little problem? Do I really need to make a special trip?"

Sano asked knowingly.

As expected, the Stand user's lips twitched more and more, and in the end he could only force a smile: "Shall we talk here, or go somewhere else?"

"Let's find a place to sit."

Sano waved to Gin and Amuro Tooru before taking his leave and departing with the Stand user, leaving the two bewildered. They wanted to follow and investigate but felt they couldn't, or rather, they couldn't figure anything out at the moment.

After exchanging a glance, Gin and Amuro Tooru tacitly parted ways without saying a word.

Of course, before that.

Amuro Tooru also checked first to make sure that Sano was still in his car.

On the other end.

After Sano and the Stand user arrived at a secluded place, he was unsurprisingly asked about using a Stand as a Stand... This was a rather unusual situation.

"Sano" was alleged to have been taken away by rye, but later escaped.

Although only Amuro Tooru and Conan know the specific details at present, there are quite a few people who know the surface level.

Therefore, Sano naturally realized that he had been framed.

"...When did I become a rye? I don't even know it myself?"

He was somewhat amused by the Stand user's comment.

Sano just smiled and patted the Stand user on the shoulder: "I never said you were Rye. What others think is none of my business. If you're not happy, you can try to clarify. Of course, if you really want to be one, I don't mind giving you that code name."

Stand user: "..."

If some damn mud falls into your crotch, it's bound to cause some kind of... well, you know.

Sano waited for a while and, finding that the Stand user still didn't say anything, asked with some curiosity, "Hey, you hate me so much, why didn't you attack me the moment we met this time? Are you really afraid of me now that you've been beaten up once?"

"Ha, didn't you ever think that if I really had such a deep-seated grudge, why would I only appear in front of you at that time?"

The Stand user's rhetorical question dispelled Sano's doubts.

"That's true."