Chapter 311

"...What do you mean by lying to you?"

She was a beat too slow, but Yukiko Kudo still managed to keep her smile and asked, feigning surprise.

Strangely enough, after losing his smile, Usaku Saiki seemed like a completely different person. His boyish, refreshing, and innocent charm faded away, and his adult presence suddenly increased.

Her pale green eyes, which usually held a soft, gentle light, now resembled a type of jade with lower transparency, possessing a colder, harder quality.

It wasn't until this point that Yukiko Kudo, whose impression of him had remained that of a naive young boy because of his playful and cheerful nature, began to vaguely realize, "Ah, this child has indeed grown up."

But before she could form that idea, Bo Yezaki suddenly laughed again.

He looks like a young person who likes to joke around.

Yukiko Kudo: "...??? Saiki-chan?"

"Although Yukiko's attitude seemed a bit strange during our chat, like she was hiding something from me, we're both adults, I understand~ Don't always treat me like a child, I'm very reliable, tell me when you want to." Usui waved with a smile, "It's getting late, I'll be going now, see you later~"

Since he had already changed his shoes and was standing at the door, Yukiko Kudo didn't have time to stop him, and Saiki Usaba ran away, skipping and jumping.

Yukiko Kudo: "…………"

She didn't know whether she should relax or be tense.

Watching Usui Saiki's figure disappear into the distance, Kudo Yukiko closed the door, turned around, and saw Edogawa Conan rummaging through something in the living room.

Hearing the noise at the door, Conan Edogawa gestured to her to be quiet.

Yukiko Kudo silently watched as Conan Edogawa searched from the living room to the kitchen, checking every place Saiki Usaba had passed by that day, before finally feeling relieved.

Conan Edogawa: "Alright, you can talk now."

Yukiko Kudo immediately retorted, "No ordinary person would just plant a bug! He's come so many times, and the organization's people have come before too. If they were going to plant one, they would have done it long ago!"

"Because Bo Ye's attitude was very strange just now!" Conan Edogawa was embarrassed to admit that his heart was pounding. "Besides, with so many things that happened yesterday and the fact that he just met Vermouth, it's possible that his attitude has changed."

Yukiko Kudo paused for a moment, then hesitated before saying, "We can't be sure if Saiki knows Sharon's identity yet, can we? To him, she might just be Chris."

"...But, we can't be sure he really didn't know. What he said before he left..." Conan Edogawa looked at Yukiko Kudo with a puzzled expression. "I could only hear his voice, not see his expression. What did you do that made him feel like he was being kept in the dark?"

Yukiko Kudo punched her son on the head: "How dare you doubt my acting skills?!"

Conan Edogawa covered his head, looking aggrieved: "This isn't a matter of acting skills. Sometimes it's a detective's intuition. Usopp-san is a detective too! It's normal for him to sense something's wrong... Rather, he keeps mentioning that I look like Shinichi... Maybe he already has a preconceived answer in his mind, and then his reaction to yours makes it obvious."

"...If he really knows, then it proves he's not part of the organization, right? After all, the organization hasn't found you yet."

"Not necessarily. I've already said it could be due to a lack of information sharing within the organization... and..."

Conan Edogawa pinched the temple of his glasses: "Thinking back, Gin and Vodka's attitudes were a bit off."

Bo Ye once said that seeing Gin and Vodka jaywalking was extremely rude.

The next day, he witnessed firsthand the arrogant behavior of the two organization members, who forced several cars to stop; they were indeed extremely arrogant.

...So here's the question.

The time he encountered Gin and Vodka on the Shinkansen, those two arrogant guys didn't even react when Bo Ye scolded them like that, and even stepped aside to make way for them.

After listening to Conan Edogawa's explanation, Yukiko Kudo offered a guess: "Is it possible that they had a mission to do on the Shinkansen and didn't want to attract attention, but they didn't when crossing the road, so it didn't matter? After all, if they had called the police, it wouldn't be good if someone found out they had a bomb on them?"

Conan Edogawa nodded: "I also considered that factor. Overall, I still hope that Bo Ye has nothing to do with the organization... He doesn't usually seem like someone from the organization."

Yukiko Kudo hesitated for a second: "...Well, usually he is...but he's surprisingly imposing when he's serious."

Conan Edogawa, who missed the scene of Usui Saiki's change of expression, recalled his misunderstanding that the other party had killed Professor Agasa, and said with a twitching mouth, "I understand, but how should I put it, he's never really serious. When he's serious, it's just to scare people... On the contrary, his usual leisurely and carefree attitude can't be faked..."

After a pause, Conan Edogawa said hesitantly, "Besides, I feel that Usopp-san doesn't really say what he doesn't want to say, and most of what he does say is very sincere..."

The mother and son discussed it for a long time, but as expected, they came to no conclusion.

After all, Ai Haibara didn't react, and Saiki Usui himself was living too carefree. Although there were many suspicious points, after discussion, it was more likely that the organization was eyeing the inheritance he had received, so they sent Vermouth to get close to him.

Conan Edogawa felt that if he could see Usopp's reaction when he met Gin and Vodka again, he might be able to glean more information this time.

I was too nervous on the Shinkansen that time, and I feel like I overlooked a lot of details.

Conan Edogawa sighed.

I really want to ask directly, but detectives, unless they've deduced it themselves, can't really trust answers from others!

—Hakuba Saiki loved this habit of detectives, otherwise where would his suspicion come from?

Despite not seeing anyone, Usakabe Saiki still garnered a lot of suspicion. After leaving the Kudo residence, he naturally took a walk while opening the "Universal Navigation" app to see if there were any interesting people around.

Since we're already out and about, we should get a few more things done! Otherwise, we'll feel like we're missing out!

Hmm... let him suggest where to go for fun...

Usakabe Saiki went to one of the organization's bases in Tokyo.

Vodka had only intended to stay here temporarily, planning to finish organizing his materials before heading out for dinner, but instead, he was greeted by Usoppō Saiki.

He was filled with regret and cursed himself in his heart.

I told you to work so hard! What's wrong with taking a break and slacking off? Now look what happened! You've run into your nemesis!

"Hey, isn't this vodka?" Usoya Saiki feigned ignorance, revealing a look of surprise. "What a coincidence!"

“Hahaha…” Vodka chuckled dryly, “Well, are you here to see Chianti or Scotland? They’re at the training ground.”

This base is not just an ordinary safe house; it has a high-tech simulated shooting range specifically for snipers, capable of simulating various mission scenarios so that snipers don't become rusty due to a lack of suitable practice areas.

Originally, he had gotten used to the place because Gin would come here occasionally and Vodka would come along, so he just stopped by today... Of course, he now regretted his decision to stop by.

Usoppai sat down opposite Vodka without ceremony: "Vermouth is injured."

“I know, it was my brother and I who rescued her yesterday.” Vodka didn’t hide anything about this and told the truth, hoping that the girl-biased Saiki Usui would let him off today because he had helped Vermouth. “It was Shuichi Akai who did it.”

Usakabe Saiki frowned: "How can the FBI be so arrogant on Japanese soil? What are the Japanese Public Security Bureau doing?"

The Scottish man, who had just finished sniping practice and came out of the training ground, thought: "...?"

The Scottish man, feeling he'd missed a few episodes, was confused: "What's wrong with the FBI again?"

Vermouth's actions are very mysterious. Just last night, in order to kill an FBI agent, she asked Calvados for help, but he died. After that, Gin and Vodka rescued her from the phone booth and took her to her apartment. Scotland knew nothing about this from beginning to end and only felt that the Japanese Public Security Bureau was inexplicably mentioned.

Usui Saiki complained: "Shuichi Akai actually injured Vermouth! When I went to visit her today, Vermouth was still lying in bed and couldn't get up! She was barely clinging to life! That's too much!"

Vodka: "...???"

If it's really that serious, they sent him to the emergency room last night!!! What is Bo Yezaki exaggerating here?!

Scotland was puzzled, but still agreed, saying, "That's really going too far."

Bo Yezaki turned to look at him: "So you think we should get revenge for the organization?"

Scotland: "...If I said yes, would you then send me to have a one-on-one fight with Shuichi Akai?"

Would you agree?

“I disagree,” Scotland said with a friendly smile. “Actually, I’m not familiar with Vermouth.”

"This isn't just Vermouth's problem; Shuichi Akai's slap was actually a slap in the face to our entire organization!"

Vodka blurted out, "Is it like Shuichi Akai slapped you?"

Bo Yezhai: "..."

Vodka: "Yes, you slapped me. Sorry."

Looking at him, Usoya Saiki suddenly smiled brightly: "Akai Shuichi has already slapped Gin's little brother in the face, Gin must be going to get revenge, right? After all, you two have such a good relationship!"

"My brother is still on vacation..." Vodka lied nervously, though he knew the vacation had ended several days ago.

The main problem is that these words sounded like Usoppō Saiki was being sarcastic towards him, even though just a few days ago he was saying that his older brother was actually being very perfunctory with him...

Usakabe Saiki smiled broadly: "That's perfect! It's only during holidays that I have time to do these things. When I'm on a mission, I don't have time to cause trouble for Akai Shuichi."

Vodka then changed his tune: "Actually, big brother's vacation is almost over."

"That's not necessarily true. I think Gin's vacation might be extended."

"...?" An alarm bell rang in Vodka's head. "What are you trying to do?"

"How can you say I'm doing something?" Bo Yezhai said sternly. "It's clearly Gin's own problem! He said he had his eye on a promising talent, and Boss asked me to investigate. But after all that investigation, I found out he's a cop!"

Scotland asked cautiously, "...Is Gin trying to bribe someone? What position?"

"Never mind his position, it's tough anyway. He's got a solid family background, and even petty thugs passing by his house get kicked... and they're all called in and arrested!"

Vodka: "???"

Scotland:"???"

—Who has Gin taken a fancy to?