Chapter 32 Masked Detective

Today marks the seventh day since the birth of "Conan Edogawa".

He solved a total of six cases that week:

Two theft cases, two murder cases, one case of running away from home, plus one misunderstanding that was actually not a case at all.

One case a day, and Uncle Mori's annual KPI was achieved within a week.

It is said that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.

"So, following this pattern, I should be able to take a break today, right?"

Conan sat obediently at the dining table, thinking to himself.

This is a very high-end restaurant, and the Mori father and daughter don't usually frequent such places.

However, because Ran won the lottery, Conan also got to enjoy a big meal.

However, what Conan didn't know was that God could rest, but Death could not.

"Sorry for the wait, please check the menu."

The young waiter pushed the food cart to their table.

The moment Conan heard that voice, he froze.

He last heard that voice two years ago. Yet, more than 700 days later, the voice still echoed in his ears.

Conan stared blankly at the white-gloved hand, looking up along the arm.

Sure enough, it was that wheat-colored face with golden hair on its head.

However, the other person's expression was quite kind and friendly, with a beaming smile, and did not exude any aura of a criminal.

A typical restaurant waiter image.

"He probably...didn't recognize me, right?"

"Nobody would believe that someone could suddenly go from a high school student to an elementary school student!"

Conan consoled himself.

The blonde waiter placed the plates on the table one by one; the dishes looked quite delicious and tempting.

"Wow! This looks amazing!" Xiaolan excitedly took out her phone and started taking pictures.

"What's so special about filming such an ordinary dish?" Mori said dismissively, then took a bite but changed his mind, "This tastes pretty good!"

"Hmph - let Shinichi regret it! He won't even come to dinner when I invited him!" Ran took a picture and sent it to her childhood friend who had lost contact with her.

"Excuse me, is the Shinichi you're referring to the famous detective Shinichi Kudo?" the waiter asked politely after serving the food.

"Huh? You know Shinichi?" Ran was surprised, while Conan was terrified.

The waiter said with a smile, "Yes, I've known Kudo-kun for a long time. He even helped me find my wallet not long ago!"

"That's clearly my wallet!"

Conan was furious but dared not speak out, fearing that Ran would continue to talk about him with the other person.

"Excuse me, do you know where Kudo-kun is right now? I have something important I'd like to ask him for help with, but I can't seem to get in touch with him," the waiter asked again.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where Shinichi is either. He suddenly stopped coming to school last week."

"What happened?" the waiter asked, looking concerned.

"Actually, I'm a little worried too. He just disappeared without a word, it's really unsettling..."

The waiter seemed thoughtful, then comforted him, "But I believe that with Kudo-kun's intelligence, he can handle any difficulty properly."

Conan thought he had escaped a disaster, but Ran's words stirred up another wave of trouble.

"Thank you! I'll definitely let you know if there's any news about Shinichi. Conan, please tell me as soon as you know anything!"

"Conan?" The waiter looked at the child curiously.

"His name is Conan Edogawa. He's Shinichi's relative's son and he's been staying at my house temporarily."

"Edogawa Ranpo, Conan Doyle." The waiter savored the two names with interest. "Does the child like Sherlock Holmes?"

In any other context, Conan would undoubtedly admit without hesitation that he is Sherlock Holmes' number one fan.

However, this time, he abandoned his idol to save his own life.

"I don't like Sherlock Holmes!" the little boy pouted, looking unhappy. "And I don't like the name my dad gave me either."

"Really?" the waiter sighed softly. "But I like it very much."

Conan was momentarily confused as to whether the other person liked Sherlock Holmes or his own somewhat comical name.

"Conan, should I cut this open for you?"

Conan looked up and saw a gleaming silver blade.

He broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that the man was going to tear him apart like Hannibal Lecter.

"Alright, please enjoy your meal." The waiter pushed the food cart away.

Conan then realized that the other person was cutting steak...

"So he really didn't recognize me. That's understandable, since those people wanted to kill me. How could they have imagined that I had turned into a child?"

"He said he was looking for me, but wasn't he actually looking for my corpse?"

"But I didn't see the white RX-7 in the parking lot just now. Did he really change his car, or does he live nearby and don't need to drive?"

"If it's the second scenario, could I follow him home after he gets off work?"

Conan was thrilled by this.

They've forgotten the pain once the wound has healed; they completely forget how they ended up in this state last week because of following Vodka.

The Mori father and daughter ate with great relish, but Conan only had eyes for the blonde waitress.

While eating, he secretly observed the other person's every move, wondering what that person was doing here working.

Just then, the waiter glanced in his direction, and their eyes met. The blond man then walked towards Conan.

Conan panicked immediately: Oh no! We've been discovered!

Conan sat frozen in the chair, at a loss. Ran and the uncle were still there; he certainly couldn't run away on his own.

What should we do now?

Surely that person wouldn't resort to violence here?

But the other person is really getting closer and closer!

The blond waiter smiled and knelt down next to Conan.

She took out a wet wipe and gently wiped the little boy's face, scolding him softly, "Look, you've got it all over your face!"

Xiaolan quickly said, "Thank you, I can do this!"

"It's alright, it's my job. You can call me anytime if you need anything."

Xiaolan's affection for that man skyrocketed, while the blond waiter left with an air of nonchalance.

They do shady things in secret, but put on a respectable act in public.

"Since you're taking the role of a waiter so seriously, then I'll take the role of a child seriously this time!"

Conan begins to try to act like he's 7 years old again.

He picked up a large piece of meat with his chopsticks, took a bite, and exclaimed, "Wow! So delicious—"

Ran wanted to remind him to keep his voice down, but no sooner had Conan finished speaking than the man at the next table collapsed to the ground.

He died.

Conan, with meat still stuffed in his mouth, couldn't help but feel a little bewildered.

"Who did this?"

The police arrived quickly.

The visitors were Conan's old acquaintances: Date and Takagi.

As usual, the two police officers first questioned the people at the scene.

When it was the blonde waiter's turn, Conan listened especially carefully.

When he heard that the other person was already 29 years old, his jaw dropped in astonishment.

The name "Toru Amuro" also garnered his special attention.

"The Amuro figure from 3 years ago, it really was his idea, wasn't it?"

In addition, Conan noticed that Amuro and Date exchanged a glance.

"What is he up to now?"

Conan quickly noticed something amiss.

Officer Ida, who is usually observant and clear-headed, seemed like a completely different person today.

It was originally a very simple case; Conan had already figured out seven or eight parts of it before the police even arrived.

As a result, Date's reasoning was far from up to par, even worse than Uncle Mori's rambling nonsense. The two of them chatted away, leaving everyone present completely bewildered.

Takagi diligently took the statement and followed Date's instructions, but he didn't realize what the truth of the case was.

Conan was so angry he wanted to stomp his feet, but he held back.

"We can't reveal our identities. Using a tranquilizer dart in front of Amuro is too risky, and directly confronting him is also too risky."

"The best way is to get Amuro out of here, so that Inspector Date might not be coerced by him anymore."

But how do we get rid of that troublesome guy in this situation?

Conan was in a panic, but suddenly an idea came to him.

He sat down in the chair and burst into tears, sobbing, "Waaaaah... I'm scared, I want to go home!"

The little boy cried so hard that he attracted everyone's attention.

As expected, five-star employee Amuro stepped forward to comfort him, saying, "Conan, don't cry. I'll take you away from here, okay?"

Conan had been waiting for this very sentence, and nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Amuro picked up the child, but the direction behind him was unexpected for Conan.

Amuro patted Conan's back gently and said, "Sweetie, I'll take you to the lounge first. We'll go home after the police and Detective Mouri solve the case, okay?"

Conan's mind went blank; he didn't want to be alone in a room with this man.

Indoor and outdoor are completely different concepts.

In the cramped and confined space, Conan had no chance of winning.

Everyone else seemed to think the suggestion was good, but Ran said with some concern, "How about I take care of Conan instead?"

Adhering to the principle of absolutely not letting Ran get into dangerous areas, Conan continued to cry at the top of his lungs: "No! I want my big brother to hold me!"

Ran's expression froze, and Amuro said apologetically, "He was terrified. I'll take him to sleep for a while, and he'll be fine."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Amuro," Ran said helplessly.

Conan nestled obediently on Amuro's shoulder, pondering how to get through the ordeal with his cuteness the whole way.

Unexpectedly, Amuro carried Conan to the bed and said, "This is my bed, sleep here for a while!"

"Huh?" Conan didn't expect that the other party really only wanted him to sleep.

"Don't want to sleep? Do you want some water?"

"Thank you, but no need."

"Would you like something else to eat?"

"No need."

"Will it be cold to cover yourself with this blanket? Should we turn on the air conditioner?"

"No need."

"Should the lights be on?"

"Need not…"

As soon as he said it, Conan wanted to take it back.

However, words spoken are like water spilled; before the words were even finished, the lights went out, and everything went dark.

"He definitely did it on purpose!"

"Okay, go to sleep now. Don't be afraid, I'll stay with you."

After saying that, the blond man seemed to lie down on the small sofa next to him.

Is he really asleep?

Conan was completely bewildered; none of the clever plans he had come up with along the way had come to be used.

He decided to play along, taking off his shoes and pulling up the blanket.

It's just sleeping! Anyone can do that.

"Officer Date, good luck to you. This is all I can do for you."

However, Conan really couldn't sleep this time.

Every day felt like an eternity; he dared not even turn over in bed, every second was a tremendous torment for him.

What exactly is that person's purpose?

Ten minutes later, Conan could no longer bear it and finally decided to get out of bed to check on the situation.

The room was dark; he could only see the top of the man's golden hair.

"If you get caught, just say you went to the toilet!"

Conan tiptoed off the bed, wearing only socks and no shoes, and silently approached the blond man.

In the darkness, only the other person's rhythmic breathing could be heard.

"You're sleeping quite soundly?"

Conan was furious when he suddenly noticed something flash in the other person's pocket, which he guessed was a phone notification.

He mustered his courage and reached out to see what it contained, wondering if it was related to the case.

Before Conan could even touch his phone, Amuro woke up.

Conan hurriedly pulled his hand back, but he was a fraction too slow and the other person grabbed it firmly.

Amuro gripped the little boy's thin wrist tightly with two fingers, so hard that Conan gasped in pain and almost cried.

"It hurts..." Conan pleaded.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Amuro's tone was calm, without any sense of pressure.

"I'm sorry, Amuro-nii, I was wrong! I shouldn't have woken you up!"

"Conan said loudly."

However, he's quite right; Amuro was indeed a bit angry about this.

He only slept for less than three hours yesterday, intending to sleep longer. He also wanted to keep a close eye on this troublesome little detective.

And in less than 10 minutes, this kid got so cocky he started stealing phones?!

Amuro grew angrier the more he thought about it. When he recalled how the young detective had exposed his shortcomings in front of Kuroda three months ago, almost causing a crisis of trust between him and his superior, his anger flared even more.

In the darkness, Amuro couldn't see the little boy's pitiful state. But he could tell from the boy's tone that he was in a lot of pain, so he let go.

"It seems we'll never be able to get along well," Amuro suddenly said, his tone full of regret.

Conan was so frightened that he got goosebumps all over. He stared at the face that blended into the darkness, trying to make sure he hadn't misunderstood.

"Can you remember this next time?" Amuro asked with a wry smile.

Conan remained silent; everything was heading in the worst possible direction.

The other party recognized it from the beginning; it was all an act.

"What a troublesome child! He disappeared in the blink of an eye and got himself into this state..." Amuro murmured, seemingly talking to himself. "Can't he just sleep? Sleep as long as he wants? If he slept for ten years, he'd look like he did last week, Kudo-kun?"

Conan tried his best to calm himself down, knowing that his opponent had an absolute advantage in terms of physical strength and height.

"what do I do?"

"What do you want to do?" Conan asked calmly, abandoning his childish tone.

"Huh?"

"You said you needed something from me."

Amuro couldn't help but laugh and retorted, "If I beg you, you'll agree?"

"It depends on the terms you offer."

Amuro was a little surprised, because in his view, the advantage was clearly on his side.

Where does this little guy get his confidence?

If it's just bluffing, then the effect is indeed quite good.

Kuroda had strongly recommended Kudo to him as his assistant.

But Amuro refused, not primarily because of his ability, experience, or personality.

Moreover, he instinctively felt that if they really cooperated, the master-servant relationship might be reversed.

But since Conan has taken the initiative, we might as well give it a try.

"How about Xiaolan?"

"What?"

Conan was stunned, but quickly realized what was happening.

If he had any doubts about Amuro's covert manipulation of the Metropolitan Police Department before, now the evidence is irrefutable.

"Using close friends and family as bargaining chips is this person's most common tactic, isn't it?"

Previously it was Officer Hagiwara's older sister and Officer Date's wife; now it's Ran's turn.

At this moment, Conan could understand the feelings of those police officers very well, and if he were in their shoes, he would make the same choice.

Because I can risk everything, even my life, but I can't risk others, let alone Xiaolan.

"I agree."

Amuro was somewhat surprised that the other party agreed so readily.

"After searching for so long, so this is where the dead end is!"

He was very pleased with himself for it.

Although it was an unfair victory, based on my experience dealing with him over the past three years, Amuro really didn't need to talk to Conan about martial ethics.

The little detective stretched out his hand and said crisply, "Give me the earphones."

"Wow! You're a quick learner, so self-disciplined!"