Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

"Besides, what's the point of hating a dying person?"

Sano had just nodded when the Stand user added something that made him both confused and amused: "You're not talking about me, are you, a dying man?"

You will know the answer.

Sano narrowed his eyes, and the Stand user quickly raised his hands: "Hey, don't try to interrogate me. I don't know anything either. That person told me to tell you this. If you have any questions, you can talk about it when you meet."

"..."

Tsk, damn riddle maker.

After clicking his tongue, Sano didn't bother to make things difficult for the Stand user who had just taken the blame for him, and said, "I have a promotion celebration banquet to attend, do you want to come along for a free meal?"

The Stand user looked at him strangely: "How am I supposed to introduce myself to Gin if I go there?"

"Twin brothers or something?"

Sano shrugged.

"...You're awesome."

The Stand user gave a thumbs up, then waved goodbye and left.

Sano watched the Stand user's retreating figure, lost in thought.

...Originally, Sano had already achieved his goal, so whether or not he needed to stay at the brewery any longer was no longer a matter of concern, especially considering the various matters, big and small, that he, as the head of the intelligence group, had to handle every day.

They are more likely to give up if they feel bored.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Sano needs to leave the Black Organization. Considering his connection with Conan, his relationship with Gin and others, or even the inside story of the so-called boss, he is more likely to choose to step down or become a hands-off manager. But the other person doesn't seem to think that way.

Is she deliberately seducing me because she's afraid I'll leave?

With even greater curiosity, Sano went to the location sent by Gin.

"...Who was that person just now?"

Before Gin could even ask, Vermouth couldn't help but casually inquire first... Only she knew how panicked she was when Amuro Tooru said that rye was Sano.

Fortunately, the problem was quickly resolved and there wasn't much of a problem.

...If Vermouth hadn't just happened to catch a glimpse of Sano's Stand user's face from afar at the very end, she probably wouldn't have been in such a hurry to ask.

But who could resist catching a glimpse of it?

You mean Sano?

Sano glanced at Vermouth and chuckled, "Aren't you one of his confidants? How come you don't even recognize him? You even know Rum."

...He's connected to that person, and Rum even knows him?

Both Vermouth and Gin were startled and began to speculate.

“But according to Bourbon, Sano is with the police right now.”

Vermouth probed further.

Sano stated very bluntly, "This Sano is not that Sano."

This relieved Vermouth, but she still asked again to confirm, "But he and that Sano not only have the same surname but also look the same, right? This is too much of a coincidence. Are these two really not twins?"

"How would I know?"

Sano sat down opposite Gin and casually replied, "She's not some great beauty, I have no interest in digging into her family privacy."

Having come this far, Vermouth naturally couldn't press the issue any further.

The sniper duo beside them, though unaware of the situation and somewhat confused, didn't care about their curiosity. Chianti raised her glass and pushed it toward Sano: "Now, congratulations to Rye on your promotion!"

"Congratulations."

"congratulations."

Cohen and vodka followed by a drink.

Although Gin and Vermouth didn't say anything, they still took a sip of their drinks.

Their gazes then focused on Sano.

"...Aren't you going to drink it, rye?"

Chianti stared intently at Sano… This was certainly not drinking culture, and her purpose was certainly not simply to persuade him to drink.

This is Sano's promotion.

Although it doesn't matter to me personally, the support from the action team has indeed played a significant role.

Leaving aside Gin, the core figure, and Vermouth, an outsider.

For the other members of the action team, they supported Sano more because they considered him one of their own, but in reality, he is now the leader of the intelligence team. In other words, he may not be on either side anymore.

It's not about forgetting each other when we become rich and powerful, but at least we can't just use each other and then discard each other, or even betray each other on the spot. That's exactly the attitude Chianti wants from Sano.

This promotion banquet was a test.

Sano's willingness to attend already demonstrates his stance—he is still willing to participate in internal gatherings, so he is still one of us.

Even so, Chianti was still worried.

Or rather, it's not enough to consider whether Sano is one of our own just by looking at his position.

Chianti was worried that if Sano rose to a higher position, he would look down on them and other ordinary cadres because of their different abilities... even though the two sides were not actually very equal to begin with, and Rye's strength and style were overwhelming in his rise to power.

However, the two situations are fundamentally different.

Facing Chianti's somewhat nervous yet expectant gaze, Sano reached out and turned the wine glass on the table, then sighed, "I really don't understand what's so good about this stuff. Oh well, let's just have a drink to celebrate today."

Sano picked up the cup and drank it all in one gulp.

Chianti immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then loudly reached for the wine again.

But just as Sano put down his glass, the next second...

"boom!"

Sano suddenly collapsed onto the table, leaving everyone present stunned.

"The wine... the wine is poisoned!?"

Vodka jumped up in alarm and screamed.

Gin remained calmly seated, glancing speechlessly at Vodka: "If it were truly poisonous, he would have discovered it long ago. How do you think that idiot in the intelligence team was killed by a magic wand? The autopsy results would have been out long ago."

"Hey?"

Vodka scratched his head, bewildered: "Was it poisoned with rye?"

"Yes, most likely. The cause of death was undoubtedly poison, but no trace of poison was found."

Gin glanced again at Sano, who was slumped over the table.

...Sano had a history of using poison before, but he used it very little or not at all afterward, so much so that everyone basically ignored it. Unexpectedly, he took it out again at this time, and his behavior was outrageous.

To kill silently and without a trace... that's the kind of drinking capacity he has.

Gin picked up the bottle on the table and glanced at it: "It's only fifty proof, and you're knocked out after just one glass."

"Ha, I thought he really didn't like drinking, but it turns out he can't drink at all."

Vermouth shook her head and chuckled, which made Chianti feel awkward... Should she have not urged him to drink? What if he sobered up later and felt embarrassed and held a grudge against her?

"So what do we do now? Should we continue?"

Vodka tentatively asked, "Shouldn't we send the rye back first?"

Where to send it?

Gin raised an eyebrow, speechless once again: "Just open any room and throw them in."

Vodka then realized that it wasn't a good idea to send the rye to Sano's house.

"Yes, that makes sense."

Vodka pulled Cohen around the table and prepared to lift Sano up.

Before the two of them could even squat down...

Sano suddenly straightened up again, his face as usual and his eyes clear as he looked ahead, which startled everyone in the room.

...What's going on? Aren't you drunk?

Before Gin could speak, Sano suddenly raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

This almost scared the hearts out of them.

I thought Sano had drunk too much, so I was going to set off a few fireworks to check it out.

Fortunately, nothing happened after the snap.

Then Sano continued to snap his fingers, several times in a row, with intervals that were neither too long nor too short, creating a kind of... rhythm. So, was he tapping his fingers?

Driven by curiosity.

No one bothered Sano, letting him finish snapping his fingers. Then he suddenly stood up, his two legs kicking out and retracting rhythmically, somewhat like a moonwalk, his whole body moving in sync with his footsteps... So he was going to dance?

Gin recalled what had happened earlier and couldn't help but rub his forehead.

...He was indeed drunk.

Looking at Sano again, he had changed his posture. While covering his groin with one hand, he kept switching the front and back of his feet inward and outward, causing his knees to buckle inward and spread outward. It was a bit inexplicably... lewd, but strangely, it also looked quite good.

What kind of dance is this?

Gin doesn't really know much about dance, while Vermouth, despite her extensive knowledge, is still a bit confused... if Sano were to look at it from an outsider's perspective.

That should give you a very clear answer.

This is the infamous Gangster Shake!

Coming to their senses, Vermouth and Chianti, being girls, exchanged a smile, then tacitly pulled out their phones and started recording, intending to capture this beautiful moment... leaving aside Gin and Cohen, the two serious individuals.

Vodka also had that urge, but he resisted it.

...because I always felt that if I actually did that, things might turn out very badly later.

Chianti and Vermouth then started to egg them on.

They kept cheering, trying to entice Sano to be even more unrestrained.