Chapter 469

Just as Usaku Saiki was happily petting the cat, the cat suddenly twitched its ears and abandoned Usaku Saiki, rushing towards a person who approached.

The man was the young man who had come looking for the cat, wearing a fisherman's hat. He seemed quite pleased with the cat's affection.

"Hahaha, sorry, I'm just so lovable to cats. I don't know why cats especially like to rub against me."

Bo Yezhai: "…………"

Amuro Tooru glanced at Usui Saiki's expression, then at his hand still hovering in the air: "…………"

That...that person actually dared to snatch his things from Bo Ye Zaiji's hands...!

How lucky are ordinary people who know nothing! They can do something like this without feeling any pressure at all...

If Vodka accidentally stole something from Usoppō Saiki, he'd probably get a stomachache on the spot by the time he realized it.

Usoppō Saiki slowly stood up.

Amuro Tooru moved closer to him without making a sound and said in a low voice, "He's just an ordinary person."

"Of course I know. What do you think I'm going to do?"

At this point, saying anything would be wrong, so Amuro Tooru chose to remain silent.

Even though Amuro Tooru knew that Usuiba Saiki had helped Morofushi Kagemitsu fake his death, helped them conceal their identities, and might even have concealed his identity as a CIA undercover agent, and might have been involved in Akai Shuichi's fake death... Amuro Tooru still felt that he could not completely trust Usuiba Saiki.

On the one hand, it was because of the long-standing impression that Bo Yezaki had no bottom line, and that if he wanted to do something without any bottom line, the person involved would probably not even realize it when they were about to die, and there would be no way to find any evidence against him.

On the other hand, it's because... Morofushi Kagemitsu has already fallen for him. He feels that he should at least look at Usakuya Saiki calmly and rationally, otherwise if the two of them let their guard down, it will be too late to regret it if something happens!

Conan Edogawa frowned as he observed the young man in the fisherman's hat, and some guesses began to form in his mind.

However, there isn't enough evidence; we'll have to wait for Captain Calico to arrive...

Before Conan Edogawa could even sort out his thoughts, Saiki Usaba's voice rang out.

"You're out."

The young man in the bucket hat, who was petting a cat, exclaimed, "Huh?"

Usakabe Saiki said with a straight face: "A guy who needs catnip to attract a cat before he dares to come and acknowledge you can't possibly be the captain's real owner."

"Wait, wait, what are you saying? I—" The young man in the fisherman's hat looked flustered, but he was still being stubborn.

"It's fine if you don't admit it. Catnip's effects don't last long. I bet by the time the captain arrives, the effects will be gone." Bo Yezai crossed his arms. "Do you know how much a captain is worth? Do you know that what you're doing constitutes fraud? Do you know how many years you'll be in jail?"

The young man in the fisherman's hat awkwardly put down the Russian Blue cat, muttering something like "I just came to give it a try," and turned to withdraw from the competition.

After a moment of silence, Kogoro Mouri slowly spoke: "Fraud and such, but in this case, it doesn't seem like enough to convict me, does it?"

"As long as he believes it." Bo Yezaki pouted, reached out and beckoned, then hugged the Russian Blue cat back into his arms.

Amuro Tooru looked at Usaku Saiki with a completely new gaze.

So it turns out that Usaku Saiki can let others off so easily...

I get it! This must be the state that Usaku Saiki truly wanted to maintain while pretending to be an ordinary person!

When he was in the organization, he wasn't pretending to be an ordinary person at all; he was using being an ordinary person as an excuse to act crazy!

Although Conan Edogawa found the process a bit ridiculous, it was easier with one less person, so he continued to ask the remaining two people about the cat in a high-pitched voice.

Soon, based on the descriptions of the remaining two people about their cats being spayed or neutered, Conan Edogawa deduced that another person was out of the game.

After all, the bandaging and recovery process after spaying/neutering male and female cats is completely different, which is quite obvious.

After figuring out that one of the elderly women had to find another calico cat to cover up her granddaughter's cat disappearing from her home, Conan Edogawa suggested looking in places like wardrobes where the cat might not be, and then sent the elderly woman away as well.

Now there's only one person left, but judging from the photo with the cat, we can't be sure if this person is the captain's real owner. We can only wait for the captain to arrive and see his reaction to confirm.

After thinking for a moment, Conan Edogawa designed an experiment: he let the cat eat outside the door, and then had the remaining man go to the door to open it, because the cat could recognize the owner's footsteps.

After all, if you deliberately try to provoke a cat, it probably won't react much, and it won't even bother to answer its name. But when its owner comes home, the cat likes to come to the door and wait for them.

In this way, everyone finally identified the cat's true owner and, with some regret, gave the cat away.

However, the owner has a nice personality and left his business card so that people can visit his home when they miss their cats.

Now I truly have no regrets.

"Finally done!" Kogoro Mouri stretched. "I've been working on this all afternoon."

"Dad, you didn't do anything, did you? You just provided the venue, didn't you?"

Amuro Tooru smiled and said, "This time it's all thanks to Conan-kun... He hides his sharp claws under an innocent smile, his skill at getting information out of people is really good, did he learn that from Mori-sensei?"

Kogoro Mouri paused for a moment, then burst into laughter: "After all, he's always been by my side, so he's bound to learn something!"

Conan Edogawa: "…………"

Normally, Conan Edogawa would already be internally criticizing Kogoro Mouri.

But right now, he's just wondering if Amuro Tooru's words had a different meaning.

The next day, Conan Edogawa went to Professor Agasa's place to discuss the situation with Ai Haibara.

"Huh? You're asking me if Bourbon could be an undercover agent for the Japanese Public Security Bureau?!"

Ai Haibara was shocked: "He almost killed me!"

Conan Edogawa didn't betray Saiki Usaku, and instead pretended to have deduced something himself: "Think back, what rumors are circulating in the organization about Bourbon?"

Ai Haibara managed to calm herself down and recalled, "They're just mystics, there's no rumor about them. I'm a researcher, so I'm not very familiar with the organization. You should ask Kaito Kid instead of me. Didn't he confront Bourbon's undisguised state as an organization member? Maybe he can figure something out."

After a pause, Ai Haibara seemed to remember something.

"However, when Bourbon cornered me, disguised as Kaito Kid, in the last carriage, it seemed he didn't intend to kill me. He was quite surprised to find the carriage full of bombs and wanted Kaito Kid to leave... But that doesn't necessarily mean anything! He probably just wanted to capture me alive for interrogation. I have quite a lot of valuable information in my head."

Conan Edogawa paused for a moment: "...But when Gin mistook Sonoko for you and directly sniped her, he didn't seem like he would show any mercy. Vermouth was also on the train at the time, so she was probably the one who planted the bomb in the carriage to kill you, and didn't intend for you to live...Is it possible that the organization did abandon you, and that capturing you alive was Bourbon's own decision?"

Upon hearing the codename Gin, Ai Haibara shuddered reflexively: "Y-your analysis makes sense... Since you've already betrayed the organization, it's normal for them to decide to silence you. Although I inherited my mother's research, I was still young when she died, and compared to other researchers, I didn't have much of an advantage... If they kill me, other researchers can continue..."

"It's highly likely that Bourbon decided to spare your life on his own initiative."

In that case, he probably wouldn't be too anxious if Bourbon discovered his true identity.

Today, when Amuro Tooru complained that he was pretending to be innocent, he probably would have been really nervous if Usopp hadn't spoiled it for him.

However, it's not good to tell Ai Haibara about these things. If Ai Haibara finds out, another person might guess his true identity, and she'll explode and give him a hard time for a long time... He doesn't know when he'll need Ai Haibara to provide a temporary antidote, so provoking her is not a good choice.

While I was discussing this with Ai Haibara, Shuichi Akai from next door suddenly showed up at the door in disguise, carrying a pot.

"I accidentally made too much stew today," Shuichi Akai said, using the same old excuse. "I saw you were home, so I came over to share some with you."

Ai Haibara now knows that this "Subaru Okiya" is one of her own, but the aura emanating from him still makes her very uncomfortable. So, as always, she greets him politely and then goes to hide in the basement.

This conveniently gave Conan Edogawa and Shuichi Akai room to talk.

"You don't look well," Shuichi Akai said. "Did something happen?"

Conan Edogawa sighed: "It's a long story... Mr. Akai, are you familiar with Bourbon?"

Shuichi Akai answered objectively, "It's alright, we've collaborated a few times."

"Then... do you think it's possible that he might be an undercover agent?"

Akai Shuichi: "…………"

For a moment, Shuichi Akai almost thought it was Bordenis speaking.

Because Shuichi Akai had not experienced the original world, and because Bourbon had misunderstood him for killing Scotland and showed signs of wavering, in his view, Bourbon was flawless except for the one point of suspicion that Bordenis had pointed out.

Hearing this speculation from someone other than Potts, Shuichi Akai felt a little out of touch.

No, what's going on? Did Potts do something to make Conan Edogawa have this idea?

Is this really the main purpose behind all that trouble Potnis had been going on for?!

If even the enemy thinks Bourbon is an undercover agent, it would be a miracle if the organization didn't suspect him... Is he thinking of reporting him?!

Bourbon has really offended Potts!

Shuichi Akai was shocked, but his words remained rational: "Why do you have this guess?"

Conan Edogawa still didn't betray Saiki Usaku, but simply brought up the conversation he had with Ai Haibara about Bourbon's incongruous behavior on the Mysterious Train.

“That’s not enough,” Shuichi Akai said calmly. “Isn’t there any other reason? You suddenly suspect he’s an undercover agent?”

Conan Edogawa hesitated.

Looking at his expression, Shuichi Akai suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "Did someone tell you something?"

Conan Edogawa chuckled awkwardly, "N-no, it's just a bit complicated..."

Akai Shuichi: "…………"

This acting... good, someone must have told Conan Edogawa something.

As for the candidate, it's easy to judge; no one but Potts would do such a thing.

Since it was Bordenis who told Conan Edogawa in private, it's highly likely to be true—Bourbon is indeed an undercover agent.

But! Why did you tell Conan Edogawa so easily?! And in what capacity did you tell him?!

Judging from Conan Edogawa's reaction, he still trusts Potts so much, which clearly shows that he hasn't suffered any mental torment, unlike him back then when he was tortured into being paranoid...

Potnis, you feel like a stranger to me.