Chapter 309

Unlike Gin's side, where Usaku Saiki was always meddling, Usaku Saiki didn't join in the clashes between Vermouth, Ai Haibara, Conan Edogawa, and the FBI agents. Instead, he quietly waited until after the full moon.

If Vodka knew, he would be in tears, wishing that Gin would one day suddenly reveal that he was actually a woman disguised as a man, so that they might be treated normally.

In short, after the full moon, when Usaku Saiki called Vermouth again, Vermouth stopped mentioning being busy with missions and finally agreed to meet him.

After all, the mission failed, so using the mission as an excuse won't work anymore.

Usaku Saiki went to visit Vermouth at her new apartment.

"How did you get injured like this?"

Usoppai was stunned when he saw Vermouth clutching her chest and struggling to open the door for him: "You were shot?"

"No, I was wearing a bulletproof vest, but I have a slight rib fracture and need to rest."

Bo Yezaki asked knowingly, "What kind of mission could have gotten you into this state? Aren't you mainly in charge of intelligence?"

Vermouth answered without hesitation, "I met Shuichi Akai."

"Oh, that's all Gin's fault." Usui Saiki also shifted the blame without hesitation. "If Gin hadn't refused to believe me, how could Akai Shuichi have escaped and ended up like this!"

As he spoke, Usakabe Saiki took out some snacks from his bag as a token of his appreciation and placed them in the entryway. Then he tossed the bag aside, helped Vermouth back to bed, and continued to lie down, displaying the image of a dutiful son.

Vermouth was somewhat moved.

Usoya Saiki is such a willful and spoiled child, always self-centered. It's surprising that he's so perceptive today. He must have feelings for her after all.

We haven't been kind to this child for nothing!

Usoppai sat by the bed and chatted with Vermouth for a while.

Anyway, Usakabe Saiki knew the specifics better than Vermouth, so he didn't inquire about anything and just came to visit the patient.

This made Vermouth, who was unwilling to expose Conan Edogawa and had also promised Conan Edogawa to spare Ai Haibara, feel much more at ease.

However, as they chatted, Usui Saiki's old habit kicked in, and he couldn't resist trying to raise some suspicion: "By the way, I'm going to the Kudo house in a bit. It seems like Yukiko-neechan is back. You look like this... um, is there anything you'd like me to pass on?"

Vermouth: "...The Sharon that Yukiko knew is dead."

Although Shinichi had probably already told Yukiko his deduction, and Yukiko knew that Sharon Vineyard = Chris Vineyard = Vermouth, this matter could not be known to the organization.

Once it is discovered that the identity of an organization's codenamed cadre has been exposed, those who knew about it would likely be silenced; this has always been the practice.

She has to work hard to protect the Kudo family now, how could she possibly make such a low-level mistake in front of Usuba Saiki, who is exceptionally perceptive about traitors and undercover agents?

But Usoppō Saiki blinked his light green eyes, which were far too clear for his background, and gave her a bright smile.

"Actually, it's okay if Yukiko-neechan knows your identity, right? As long as the rest of us don't tell anyone, it'll be fine, isn't it?"

Vermouth: "...!!!"

Does this mean that Usaku Saiki has already discovered something?!

It can only be said that Vermouth's acting skills are exceptional. Even after hearing Usui Saiki's words, she didn't reveal any subtle emotions. She simply and naturally said with a helpless expression, "Why bother?"

Instead of giving a direct answer or responding to the probing questions, she offered a counter-question that could be interpreted in any way.

This is what professionalism is all about.

Bo Yezaki looked at her quietly for a good ten seconds without saying a word.

Vermouth felt a chill run down her spine as she mentally reviewed where the mistake had occurred and how much Usui Saiki actually knew.

Before Vermouth could break the awkward and heavy atmosphere, Usui sighed.

"Okay, you're being too cautious. I don't think it's necessary to hide things from friends like this. Yukiko-neechan wouldn't want you to go to jail either."

Vermouth remained vigilant, keeping her guard up: "This isn't a matter of trust; it's a matter of organizational principle. If our identities are discovered, we'll have to choose between silencing them and killing them."

Usui Saiki: "But Shuichi Akai is not only alive, he even beat you up like this."

Vermouth: "…………"

This child is good in every way, but sometimes his mouth is really unbearable.

Fortunately, Usoppei didn't continue the previous topic. Seeing that it was almost time, he said goodbye and left.

Vermouth, still very worried, warned, "Don't mention anything about me to Yukiko!"

“I know, keeping it a secret is important, although I don’t think it’s necessary.” Bo Yezai waved his hand. “You can just lie there. I’ll come see you later.”

After saying that, Bo Yezai closed the door to her bedroom.

Vermouth breathed a sigh of relief.

...Were those words just now a test?

She had always felt that Usaku Saiki didn't really have any feelings for the organization, but she also knew that Usaku Saiki had been in contact with the Boss in private... Could it be that Usaku Saiki's rebellious phase has finally ended? And he suddenly wants to contribute to the organization?

Given that she chose Shinichi over the organization, Vermouth, who overestimated Saiki Usaba's abilities, didn't really want him to genuinely stand on the organization's side.

Seriously, with his absurdly poor judgment of character... did he really not notice anything at all?

Even if her acting skills did fool Usuiba Saiki, what if Yukiko's side were to discover something was amiss... After all, Yukiko couldn't even keep the fact that Shinichi Kudo was still alive a secret from Usuiba Saiki before...

Vermouth was very uneasy.

Because Vermouth's suspicions were flooding the screen, Usui Saiki knew very well that she was currently experiencing endless anxiety.

He hadn't really raised Vermouth's suspicion level much in previous years, but this year he really got his money's worth. Vermouth is indeed an intelligence agent; she can get caught up in her own thoughts for ages over the smallest things, and her overthinking is comparable to that of an undercover agent.

However, Bo Yezaki showed no mercy whatsoever.

What's so upsetting about the suspicion points he earned through his own abilities? He's still waiting to meet Conan Edogawa—starting a few days ago, Conan Edogawa has been giving him a wave of suspicion points from time to time.

They must have guessed Sharon's identity and started to suspect him. Actually, it's fine if Bo Ye Saiki doesn't go now.

But wasn't it because Usaku Saiki wanted to see Conan Edogawa's expression in person that he didn't mind making the trip himself?

Soon, Usaku Saiki arrived at the Kudo residence by taxi.

He took out his key as if he knew the way well, opened the door, and went inside.

Yukiko Kudo heard the noise when he opened the outer iron gate, saw him through the window, and hurriedly came downstairs to greet him: "Saiki~ Long time no see~"

Having spent a long time in the United States, she immediately pounced on him and gave him a hug.

"Yukiko-neechan~" Usui-ba Saiki hugged Kudo Yukiko in a very cooperative manner. "So you went back to Japan? Why didn't you tell me?"

Yukiko Kudo let go of his hand and winked at him: "Because we weren't planning to stay long, I didn't expect us to be so in sync~"

Her attitude toward Usaku Saiki remained unchanged, but she still paid special attention to carefully observe Usaku Saiki's reactions.

Just as Vermouth had guessed, Yukiko Kudo now indeed knew her identity as a member of the organization.

However, Yukiko Kudo didn't assume that Saiki Usaba was also a member of the organization because of this—she knew Sharon, so was Sharon Vineyard a member too? There were plenty of people who knew Sharon Vineyard!

Her son was a little worried.

The reason is that since Sharon Vineyard's identity and Chris Vineyard's identity don't have a good relationship, and even Kudo Yukiko, who is considered a close friend, doesn't have much contact with Chris Vineyard, how come Usui Saiki seems to have a good relationship with Chris?

Vermouth used two identities without anyone noticing because her identity as Chris was a reclusive woman who rarely interacted with others and would leave after filming a movie.

But Sharon and Saiki Usaku are so close that Sharon is willing to bring people to meet Yukiko Kudo. Isn't Vermouth afraid that if she uses Chris's identity and gets to know her better, she might accidentally expose something?

“It’s possible that Bo Ye was an insider all along.” This morning, Conan Edogawa said to her with a serious expression, “It could also be for other reasons… I think Bo Ye doesn’t seem like a member of the organization, although he is indeed very suspicious.”

Yukiko Kudo immediately raised a question: "But if he's a member of the organization... he actually knew you weren't dead all along, and thought you were investigating a case. Shouldn't he have reported that to the organization?"

Conan Edogawa has a self-consistent logic: "Maybe he's not in charge of this in the organization. After all, if the organization kills someone, it's impossible to report it to everyone in the organization, right? The point is, he seems reluctant to see the police, and he doesn't even know what his job is... We've known each other for so many years, yet he's so mysterious. Don't you find that strange?"

Yukiko Kudo was persuaded.

She promised her son that she would find out about Usakabe Saiki's background when she had the chance.

Not long after he agreed, Usoppō Saiki coincidentally came to his door.

...Her son is still upstairs waiting for her to help him disguise himself as Ai Haibara and go out to test the waters! Apparently, Vermouth promised not to investigate Ai Haibara anymore, and he wants to test her...

Now we can only ask our son to wait.

However, the heavy mood that Kudo Yukiko had when thinking of Usuiba Saiki suddenly dissipated a lot after seeing him in person.

"Oh, I feel so happy just to see you."

Yukiko Kudo looked at Saiki Usaba, who was accompanying her into the kitchen to make tea, and said with a smile, "It must be because you always seem so happy. Don't you have any worries?"

Conan Edogawa, who had secretly placed a listening device under his mother's clothes with her tacit approval, couldn't help but twitch his lips upon hearing this.

Yes! It's precisely because Brother Bo Ye always seems so carefree that he thinks the chances of him being a member of the organization are slim...

But every time he thought of Brother Bo Ye, he felt a little uneasy. He thought about it and realized that it might be because he didn't know Brother Bo Ye well enough.

Once he figured out what Bo Yege usually does, how he met Vermouth, and why he's so close to Chris, he could probably rest easy.

"Of course, there are still some worries."

The bugging device picked up all of Usakabe Saiki's voice, not even the slightest sigh.

Yukiko Kudo asked in surprise, "Eh? There really is? What is it? Can I help?"

"Well, I'm afraid I can't be of much help. Actually, it's a friend of mine. When I went to visit her today, I found out she was injured... She looked really uncomfortable. I wish I could take her pain away from her."

Yukiko Kudo: "…………"

Conan Edogawa: "…………"

Wait, is your friend Vermouth?!

Vermouth just had a fight with the FBI last night, and she's already allowing outsiders to visit her today?! Really?!

That can't be right!!!

Normally, members of an organization like Vermouth should be very cautious, quietly recuperating from their injuries, and not even seeing unfamiliar members of the organization until they are fully recovered... But Usui Saiki did just that!

What does this mean?!

The possibility that Conan Edogawa originally only suspected as a precaution, and didn't really have any real suspicions, suddenly swelled up.

—Bo Ye! How did you manage to see Vermouth in this state?!

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Bo Ye was actually quite nice to Vermouth, and even brought her some gifts.

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Vodka: If I were a woman...

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Vermouth had always felt that Usui Saiki's rebellious phase was a bit too long, but now she thinks it would be better if it were even longer, as long as he doesn't help the organization.