Chapter 247

Usoba Saiki entered the Kudo family's house openly and honestly with the key, not afraid of anyone coming to his door, even if it was someone from the organization, he could still act with righteous indignation.

Therefore, when he heard the doorbell, he didn't try to hide anything and went straight to open the door.

He opened the door to the house. The visitor stood outside the iron gate of the yard and rang the doorbell. Hearing the noise inside, he peeked into the yard.

Then the newcomer exclaimed in shock: "Ah!!!"

Usoba Saiki: "Ah..."

"It's you! It really is you!!"

The dark-skinned high school detective, whom he'd known for so many years but never knew Usui Saiki's name, gripped the iron bars of the gate like someone visiting him in prison, straining to peer inside. "Don't hide! Your clothes are too easy to spot!!!"

Even if he hadn't seen him for two years, he would still recognize this messy outfit and that white hair!

"I wasn't trying to hide, I was just changing my shoes."

"Why are you changing your shoes? Aren't you going to invite me in for a bit?"

Usoya Saiki replied dismissively, "This isn't my home, it's not convenient for outsiders to come in..."

Having finally caught the elusive "Detective Conan," Hattori Heiji was so overjoyed that he almost forgot why he came here. He suddenly realized, "...Oh right, this is the Kudo residence! What are you doing here?!"

“I know Shinichi’s parents, and I occasionally come over to borrow books or something.” Usakata Saiki came out after changing her shoes, then asked knowingly, “And what about you?”

Having been frustrated by Usui Saiki so many times, Hattori Heiji answered rather obediently, "I heard that Kudo Shinichi has gone missing and hasn't been to school lately. I don't know if he's dead or has gotten into some trouble, so I came to check on him... Since you know his family, do you know anything about the situation?"

Usoppei, absentmindedly thinking about what to eat later, said, "What does it matter to you what he does?"

Hattori Heiji raised his chin: "Because the newspapers always compare me to him, I've come to see if he's qualified!"

"Good luck then, I need to go eat, so I'll head out now..."

"Wait! Don't try to slip away!" Hattori Heiji grabbed Usui Saiki's arm decisively. "You still haven't answered me. Where's Kudo?"

Usakabe Saiki said irresponsibly, "Who knows? Go ask his girlfriend. He won't contact me, but he will definitely contact his girlfriend. After all, Ms. Mori is raising a child."

Hattori Heiji stammered, "B-child!?"

"Sigh, in this respect, your progress is really too slow, you've completely lost to Shinichi Kudo..."

"Who lost! No, nobody actually wanted to compete in this!"

Hattori Heiji was greatly shocked and could no longer bother arguing with Usaku Saiki. Seeing that Usaku Saiki absolutely refused to go to the Mouri Detective Agency with him, he could only leave in a hurry by himself.

He arrived at the Mouri Detective Agency shortly after. Halfway down the stairs, he saw a child opening the door.

Upon closer inspection, the child did indeed resemble Shinichi Kudo from the newspaper.

Hattori Heiji muttered to himself, "Kudo... he actually..."

Conan Edogawa: "...?!?!?!?!"

What's going on?! Who is this person? He comes up here and calls him Kudo right away, doesn't he have any basic manners?!

He wanted to speak, but couldn't help sneezing, which brought Hattori Heiji back to his senses.

Hattori Heiji strode forward, squatted down, and looked at him hesitantly: "You...you are...?"

"I'm not!!!" Conan Edogawa quickly retorted.

"What do you mean, 'not'?" Ran Mouri was talking to Kogoro Mouri when she heard the strange noise at the door, so she came over to check it out. She looked at Heiji Hattori, who was a stranger to her, with a puzzled expression. "Eh, are you a guest?"

Heiji Hattori took off his hat: "I'm here to see Kudo. You must be Kudo's girlfriend?"

"No, no!" Ran Mouri blushed with embarrassment.

Hattori Heiji breathed a sigh of relief: "I knew Shinichi Kudo couldn't have acted that fast. That guy lied to me again..."

Although he was startled at the time, he thought about it on the way and suddenly realized that he would definitely have to take leave to have a child, and it was impossible to hide it.

Moreover, that guy said "Miss Mori is raising a child," but he didn't say that the child was hers and Shinichi Kudo's... He's always using this kind of rhetoric. Dealing with that guy is more careful than interrogating a suspect.

Ran Mouri was embarrassed, while Kogoro Mouri exploded: "Who's spreading rumors?"

“Uh…” Hattori Heiji paused for a moment, but still had to give the name the other party had always called himself, “Conan.”

Conan Edogawa: "...Huh???"

Wait, what does he have to do with this?!

Kogoro Mouri and Ran Mouri fixed their gazes on Conan Edogawa, their eyes filled with displeasure and an expression that said, "You're the one talking nonsense."

"Wait! I didn't say that! Achoo... cough cough..." Conan Edogawa was in a hurry to explain, but he had a cold and his throat was sore, so he couldn't speak at all when he was anxious.

Heiji Hattori observed the group's reaction and paused for a moment before asking, "This kid's name is Conan?"

Ran Mouri was taken aback: "Huh? You don't know? Then who is this Conan you were talking about...?"

"...A guy with a twisted sense of humor, Conan is just his alias...no, not necessarily." Hattori Heiji looked uncertainly at Edogawa Conan. "What's this kid's name?"

Ran Mouri said, "Conan Edogawa."

Heiji Hattori: "...So there really is someone with that name!"

Could that guy really be named Conan...? No, no, no, given that guy's twisted sense of humor, it's definitely fake!

Ran Mouri said with a hint of helplessness, "Even if you say that, his name is indeed Conan."

Conan Edogawa was coughing so badly he was practically dying. Hearing Heiji Hattori's increasingly absurd words, he quickly tried to change the subject: "You, you cough cough... the person you're talking about... Achoo!"

Ran Mouri asked worriedly, "Why have Conan and Shinichi both caught a cold?"

Hattori Heiji suddenly looked up: "How did you know Kudo had a cold? He was in contact with you after all, wasn't he?!"

Amidst a chaotic flurry of reasoning, doubt, and explanation, Conan Edogawa unwittingly drank a bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor) that was supposedly a cure for a cold, and then, bewildered, followed his client to her house.

Then the locked-room murder occurred. Unfortunately, he was feeling unwell and disconnected midway through. When he came to his senses, he had already returned to his original body.

Shinichi Kudo quickly stopped Heiji Hattori's flawed reasoning, and the truth was finally revealed.

Hattori Heiji sighed and walked up to Kudo Shinichi: "I lost this time."

Shinichi Kudo leaned weakly against the bookshelf, correcting Heiji Hattori's point of view: "No, there are no winners or losers in reasoning, because there is only one truth."

Hattori Heiji was shocked by those words.

He felt he should say something at this moment, but worried that what he said might not be appropriate for the occasion. Just as he was struggling with this, he heard Shinichi Kudo continue.

"Instead of this, do you know someone who likes to dress flashy?"

No matter how he thought about it, he felt that this style of talking nonsense was very similar to someone else.

This question instantly brought Heiji Hattori back to reality: "I do know him. That guy calls himself Detective Conan. I met him back in Osaka. He's really good at solving cases..."

Shinichi Kudo immediately showed a pained expression.

—It's you! Bo Ye-ge! The detective who called himself Conan several years before me!

Although he knew that Usaku Saiki liked to trick people, Shinichi Kudo never expected to be tricked by him in a place like this.

Looking at Shinichi Kudo's expression, Heiji Hattori realized something: "That guy's name isn't Conan after all! Ah! So, he came from your house today, do you know his real name?"

“…His name is Usui Saiki,” Shinichi Kudo said weakly. “He likes to joke, so be careful not to be fooled if you see him next time.”

Hattori Heiji couldn't help but complain: "After knowing him for so many years, I don't even know his name. You can just say he has a bad personality. You don't need to be so subtle."

Shinichi Kudo: "Excuse me, how many years have you known each other?"

Hattori Heiji: "It's been six years, hasn't it?"

Shinichi Kudo: "………………"

You've known someone for six years and you still haven't told them your name... Brother Bo Ye! Isn't that a bit outrageous?! Six years ago, this person was just a primary school student! Are you even targeting primary school students?!

“Speaking of which, I suddenly realized something,” Hattori Heiji pondered. “About three years ago, my school organized an event, a skiing trip, and then we encountered a film crew where someone had died…”

The more he listened, the more familiar the voice sounded. Shinichi Kudo raised an eyebrow in surprise: "Could it be that you're the one who went to the police to explain the reasoning?"

Hattori Heiji sighed, "You're the one who was on the phone with the police while I was deducing, right? I see. So many years ago, that guy... Mr. Usui already said you were better than me. I was wondering where I lost, and now it seems that's where I lost..."

Shinichi Kudo was completely confused: "Wait? Usoba-kun praised me to you?"

"It's not just praise."

Hattori Heiji said expressionlessly, "When he asked me to share information, his reason was that I had already shared the information with him, and if I disagreed, wouldn't I seem petty and lose at the starting line? In the end, I told him I lost, and he said that someone on my side also gave me a heads-up. I said, 'So that's a draw?' He said the winner was the police, and if we had to compare, I was better. Even though I had already admitted defeat, he still pulled this trick on me..."

Shinichi Kudo: "…………"

Three years later, the resentment is still so deep. Just imagining it makes you feel how uncomfortable Hattori Heiji must have felt back then, with his heart pounding up and down.

He suddenly realized that Bo Ye had actually been quite good to him. Look at how Hattori Heiji was treated; that was truly miserable.

Shinichi Kudo was about to say something when suddenly, his heart skipped a beat, and that sharp pain surged up again.

Could it be that he's about to turn into a child again...?

Seeing that Shinichi Kudo looked so pale and was still trying to leave, Heiji Hattori quickly followed to help him up: "Are you alright, Kudo?"

Shinichi Kudo gritted his teeth and finally blurted out the request he had been hesitating to make: "You need to investigate something for me. I'm not available right now..."

Heiji Hattori and Shinichi Kudo are not only evenly matched, but also share a bond forged from being toyed with by the same wicked older brother, so he is very concerned about Shinichi's affairs: "Investigate what?"

"[Advisor]...criminal advisor..."