Chapter 282

Looking at the flurry of suspicion points from Vermouth being deposited into the system, Usoppei Kijiro was filled with emotion.

[After all these years... she's rarely raised any suspicion... but today she's finally been generous!]

As for whether he would feel bad about losing Vermouth's trust, that's not an issue!

Anyway, Vermouth's feelings for him were just superficial to begin with, and now that he saw his progress bar moving forward, Usakabe Saiki was only happy.

A career-driven mindset can be so ruthless!

The system originally wanted to say a few words, but seeing Bo Yezhai's attitude, it shut up.

Alright, since Usaku Saiki is so ambitious, it should be encouraged.

【That's right! Keep it up!】The system started cheering for Usakata Saiki.

Knowing that her prolonged silence would arouse suspicion, Vermouth quickly said, "I don't think Kudo Yusaku would cheat. There are people in this world who look alike. It's probably just that they look alike."

She chose a very safe topic.

Without revealing his own inclinations and stance, nor involving Shinichi Kudo, he shifted the focus to Yusaku Kudo, showcasing the demeanor of an intelligence operative.

Bo Yezhai exclaimed, "No, no, no, it really looks like it! It's exactly the same!!!"

Vermouth felt a chill run down her spine.

She figured that it was fine if Usuha Saiki didn't go around telling everyone, or even telling others, but it was also okay if she didn't tell other members of the organization besides herself. But if she told these things to people she shouldn't have...

If Gin and Vodka, who personally "killed" Shinichi Kudo, discover anything, it will be troublesome. To avoid this, we need to shut Usaku Saiki up.

As a member of the organization, the simplest solution Vermouth could think of was to silence them.

But she didn't really want to do that to Usaku Saiki.

The reason wasn't that she was worried about the organization losing Usui Saiki and whether it would affect making money... These things weren't within her considerations; she was simply a dutiful daughter of the Black Organization.

On the one hand, after so many years, almost all the memories of spending time with Usakuya Saiki are happy ones, and no matter how superficial the relationship, I don't want to kill him right away.

On the other hand, and mainly because... the last person to dislike Usaku Saiki was Gin, and everyone in the organization has seen what kind of treatment Gin is receiving now. Vermouth doesn't want to follow in his footsteps; just thinking about it gives her the creeps.

Vermouth's mind raced, trying to figure out what she should do in case of the worst-case scenario, while she casually replied, "Does it really look that similar?"

Bo Yezaki said, "Yes, wait a moment, I'll send you the photos."

After saying that, Bo Yezaki hung up the phone.

While Usui was looking for photos, Vermouth quickly organized her thoughts.

Upon calming down and thinking about it, I feel that Usaku Saiki may genuinely not know that Shinichi Kudo has already died within the organization.

Because Usui Saiki never did any work and didn't care much about most of the organization's missions, he would only occasionally check on Gin's missions if he happened to be passing by. And Gin just happened to...

Wait, she doesn't really pay attention to that group that persecutes Gin. If Usui Saiki really went to find Gin, there should be some trace in the group. What was the date Shinichi was attacked?

Vermouth quickly searched the chat history and was shocked to find that Usaku Saiki had actually spoken in the group that day, and even posted a photo of Gin, Vodka, and Shinichi Kudo's ahoge (cowlick) that flashed by in the corner!

In other words, on the day Shinichi Kudo had his accident, Saiki Usubaba was also at the amusement park...

It's even possible that when Shinichi Kudo was attacked, Saiki Usaba was watching from the sidelines! He might have even witnessed Shinichi shrinking!

Vermouth felt her hands trembling.

How could this be? Maybe Usaku Saiki has already secretly investigated Conan for fun... Is he testing her by telling her this now?!

How can she protect Shinichi...?

Just then, a new email arrived, and Vermouth's phone vibrated, causing even this cold-blooded member of the organization to feel a rare moment of unease.

She silently opened the new email from Usakata Saiki.

Look! Doesn't it look just like it?

[Attachment: "Image"]

While waiting for the image to load, Vermouth felt her palms sweating, but after it finally loaded, a question mark slowly appeared above her head.

Wait, this isn't Conan Edogawa!

This is...it really does look a lot like Shinichi, just with some differences in the details...Wow, she recognized him!

Is this Kaito, the boy from Kuroba Toichi's disguise-learning class? He seems to be the same age as Shinichi this year! Is Usui Saiki talking about Kuroba Kaito?!

Ah... that makes sense. Usaku Saiki is 24 years old, so it's normal for him to call someone 7 years younger than him a kid. After all, if we consider the normal school age, when Usaku Saiki was in college, Shinichi and the others were still in elementary school.

She had preconceived notions that it was about Conan Edogawa, and ended up scaring herself...

Vermouth was relieved, feeling as exhausted as if she'd been chased by the FBI for three days and three nights. Her heart felt dead, completely devoid of emotion. She slowly typed a reply: "It really does look like it."

The system, seeing the sudden decrease in suspicion points, replied with regret: "Wasn't that a bit too much of a shock?"

Usoppai: [No, Vermouth is naturally very perceptive; this is enough. Too much of a good thing is bad, and that's not my goal anyway.]

Then Usui Saiki sent Vermouth another photo: "Look, this one looks a lot like her too. This is a photo I took at some kind of kendo tournament. I think her name is Okita Souji."

Vermouth took a look and was speechless to find that Okita Souji really did look a lot like Kudo Shinichi... How come she never noticed before that Shinichi actually had such a common face?

Sigh... But the world is so big, she's seen people who look like her, so it's normal for her to have a few more who look like Shinichi. It can help distract her from this situation, which is good.

After relaxing for a while, Vermouth suddenly realized something was wrong—Hakuba Saiki nominated these people who had nothing to do with Edogawa Conan, but that didn't mean he hadn't met Edogawa Conan!

Usui himself admitted that he frequently borrows and returns books from the Kudo family... Conan also often visits Professor Agasa's house; they're neighbors, so the chances of them bumping into each other are quite high...

Why hasn't Usui Saiki mentioned Conan yet?! Is it because he's very lucky not to have seen him, or is he deliberately keeping it a secret...?

Alas, Kudo Yukiko didn't know she was part of the organization, and she wasn't wary of Usuiba Saiki, whom she brought along. As a result, she was tricked into revealing important information and allowed such a dangerous person to come and go freely. It's a pity that Sharon Vineyard, the person Yukiko was close to, is already dead. Yukiko even attended her funeral. Otherwise, she would have definitely talked to Yukiko about being more vigilant.

Vermouth hesitated whether to ask, her suspicions rising again.

The system was dumbfounded, wanting to shout "6": "It's true! You didn't say anything more, yet she's starting to doubt again..."

Bo Yezhai remained calm: [Basic procedure, don't be ridiculous.]

He didn't actually know what Vermouth was imagining; he only knew that Vermouth wouldn't lower her guard so easily.

Otherwise, Vermouth would have died outside long ago, and she wouldn't have used the identity of Sharon Vineyard for so long without even Yukiko Kudo discovering it.

Vermouth hesitated for a long time, but ultimately did not dare to test whether Usui Saiki knew Conan Edogawa.

She decided to go back and test Conan Edogawa! It was safer than testing Saiki Usaku!

Bo Yezaki even asked, "When will you finish your mission? I'll come visit you."

What was originally a perfectly normal sentence now seemed dangerous to Vermouth—although she usually disguised herself as the school doctor at Teitan High School, she wasn't completely without her own time and could easily remove the disguise to go out and play with Usui Saiki, but now she just wanted to politely refuse.

Sorry, the time is uncertain. I'll call you as soon as I'm done. Don't you trust me?

Because the reason behind Usaku Saiki's absurd judgment of people is still unclear, Vermouth has been afraid to see him lately, fearing that he might notice something amiss and then tell the Boss that she is also an undercover agent.

...It shouldn't be that bad! After all, she's treated Bo Yezaki to meals so many times!

Soon after, Usoppei replied.

Of course I believe you! In the organization, you're the one I trust the most! None of the undercover agents can compare to you!

Vermouth: "…………"

What's going on? Praising her is fine, but why the sudden comparison to an undercover agent? This has never happened before...

— Surely Usaku Saiki doesn't suspect that she would betray the organization because of Shinichi, right? ...He didn't think that way, did he?

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It's almost the end of the month, I'm begging for some nutrient solution!

.

Thin Leaf: The undercover agent said that's fake wine, you've been gradually adding water to it!

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Okita Souji is the person they used online to clarify things after Shinichi from the original work caused such a big fuss...

They really look alike!

However, it seems there's a reason why Aoyama said Shinichi and Kaito look alike, but he hasn't mentioned it for so long...