Chapter 104 In the end, it was still taken over by Nekono-nii-san...

Conan Edogawa sipped the nutritious porridge that Ikumi Nekono had ordered the chef to prepare for a long time. The porridge was soft, sticky, and fragrant, cooked to perfection, and tasted unexpectedly good, but he couldn't taste it, his mind completely elsewhere.

He glanced at Nekono Ikuya across the table several times.

The other person was eating with an elegant demeanor, calm and composed, moving at a leisurely pace, as if announcing on a whim that they wanted to adopt a strange, unfamiliar child they had picked up was a perfectly normal thing, not worth mentioning at all.

Conan Edogawa was torn between his inner thoughts, countless questions swirling on his tongue, he hesitated several times before finally speaking, then stopped himself again.

However, perhaps it was the restaurant's overly quiet and elegant atmosphere, or perhaps it was the innate, refined and aloof aura of Ikuya Nekono that infected Conan Edogawa, who inexplicably felt that he should 'not speak while eating' and was too embarrassed to talk while eating.

But Conan Edogawa couldn't resist secretly glancing at Ikuya Nekono.

At first, Nekono Yuuya simply let things take their course, allowing the little detective across from him to watch him, while he calmly and leisurely enjoyed his lunch, eating elegantly with a faint smile on his lips, as if he were completely unaware of what was happening.

Until a certain moment, he seemed to have teased enough, and suddenly raised his eyes, accurately catching Edogawa Conan's gaze that had once again drifted towards him unconsciously.

Then, to Conan Edogawa's surprise, Ikuya Nekono suddenly winked at him quickly with her right eye, giving him a wink that seemed a little out of place with her demeanor, yet perfectly natural, lively, and playful.

"!!!"

Conan Edogawa's hand holding the spoon trembled slightly, almost spilling the porridge. He quickly lowered his head.

He thought this adult was really strange! His appearance was impeccably handsome and elegant, but his temperament was as clear and bright as the cold moon. Thus, he had a natural aloofness and sternness, yet he was also strangely approachable. His personality was also a bit mischievous, unpredictable, and liked to launch surprise attacks!

In his mind, Conan Edogawa silently labeled Nekono Ikuya as 'unpredictable', 'not a bad person but very wicked', and 'a willful adult'.

He secretly glanced up again, wanting to confirm the other person's expression, but he met Nekono Ikumi's smiling blue eyes, which seemed to have anticipated his reaction. The other person had clearly seen his series of reactions and was watching with great interest.

Conan: "..." He decided to bury himself in his food and ignore this awful adult for the time being.

The meal ended in this atmosphere, and afterwards they moved to the living room, where the atmosphere seemed to return to one conducive to conversation.

Just as Conan Edogawa hesitated to speak, a steady footstep approached from afar. A man in a well-tailored suit and sunglasses walked silently over, nodding slightly as he passed Conan Edogawa, who was curiously looking at him, as if to say hello.

Conan Edogawa suddenly realized that this must be the person he mistook for the man in black last night. Now it seems that this is probably Nekono's brother's assistant.

...or more like a bodyguard.

He looked at Blake's steady gait and his hands calloused from gunshot wounds.

Blake handed a thin folder to Nekono Ikuya: "Young Master Ikuya, here is the briefing on the unusual incident in Beika Town that you requested."

"Yes, thank you for your hard work." Nekono Ikumi took the folder, her expression unchanged, and quickly began to flip through it.

As he looked at it, he suddenly raised an eyebrow in surprise, his gaze lingering on one page, which he examined closely.

"!!!"

Beika Town Abnormal Incident Briefing?!

Conan Edogawa's heart jumped. What could be more unusual than Shinichi Kudo disappearing and him, a little kid, appearing dressed in the same clothes as an adult?

Will Nekono find out about this? Or... is he investigating the Beika Town anomaly briefing because of him?

Conan Edogawa tensed up.

Nekono Ikuya seemed to notice his nervousness, but without looking up, she said, "Black, my security advisor, also holds other positions. He's not a bad person. Edogawa Conan, the child I will adopt later."

Conan Edogawa immediately flashed a bright, childlike smile and greeted him politely, "Hello, Uncle Black!"

Blake nodded steadily, "I understand, Master Yumi." He would go and complete the adoption procedures later. "Hello, Master Conan," he replied to Conan.

Conan Edogawa was internally screaming: Was the adoption really decided so casually? And Nekono-nii seemed to think he was nervous because of Uncle Black, but his nervousness wasn't because he was afraid Uncle Black was a bad guy, it was because of that report! The report! What exactly did that report say?!

Seeing that Nekono Ikuya had refocused her attention on the documents, tapping the paper with her fingertips as if she were thinking about something, and even glancing at him once in between, Edogawa Conan felt like a cat was scratching at his heart.

He really wanted to take advantage of his current status as a child to join Nekono Ikuya in watching it, so he steeled himself and prepared to abandon all restraint.

Anyway, Conan Edogawa is still a child, and it's normal for children to be a little mischievous! As for Shinichi Kudo's principles? Principles can be temporarily abandoned in the face of potential danger!

Having made up his mind, Conan Edogawa immediately took action. Taking advantage of his current size, he slid off the chair like a nimble little animal and quickly moved to Nekono Ikuya's side. He gripped the edge of the table with his two little hands, tried to stand on tiptoe, and strained his little head to look at the documents. His blue eyes were filled with undisguised and righteous curiosity (Conan: Actually, I'm still a little guilty).

"Nekono-nii-san," he asked in a voice several degrees sweeter, his eyes fixed expectantly on Nekono Ikuya, "what are you looking at? Conan wants to see too! Hmm... can Conan see?"

Nekono Ikuya looked down at Edogawa Conan.

Conan Edogawa gripped the edge of the table with his little hands, tilted his head up, and his blue eyes sparkled.

“Of course, this might also be related to you, Conan.” Nekono Ikuya handed the folder in her hand to Edogawa Conan.

His tone wasn't serious; in fact, it was quite gentle. But Conan Edogawa's expression involuntarily stiffened after hearing it.

He awkwardly withdrew his hand from the edge of the table and obediently took the document.

What strange events are related to him...? Hahaha, what could they be...?

Conan Edogawa looked down—

Summary of Recent Child Abduction Cases and Preliminary Investigation Progress

Conan: "Huh?"

Nekono Ikuya understood Conan Edogawa's surprise, because he had also been surprised when he saw the report a moment earlier, especially since the latest missing child had disappeared just yesterday, near Dorobiga Park.

He glanced silently at Conan Edogawa, who was still stunned, his eyes filled with worry: "Conan, yesterday... did you just escape from the bad guys? Do you remember what the bad guys look like? If you do, tell me, and I'll fight them with Conan!"

The bad guys Nekono Yuuya was referring to were Gin and Vodka. He knew Conan would misunderstand, but he had already made his decision. He would wait until Conan realized his connection to the organization—his abilities were recognized—or he bypassed the observation process and openly asked for help—a privilege reserved for children—before exchanging information with Conan. This was a promise.

Hmm, information unrelated to Rei Furuya.

If he doesn't realize it or use his childish privileges to ask for help until the end, then Ikuya Nekono will take care of him until the organization is destroyed and Conan Edogawa returns to normal.

As expected, Conan Edogawa failed to grasp the deeper meaning of Ikuya Nekono's words and regrettably missed the shortcut to skip the level.

He blinked. Could it be that his older brother, Nekono, thought he was one of the missing children, just a clever one who somehow managed to run away?

Perhaps it wasn't that simple. After waking up in the morning, he didn't ask Nekono-nii to take him home. He even gave her a strange name and said he was afraid of causing trouble. His reaction was also strange when Nekono-nii asked him if he had anywhere to go.

Could it be that Nekono-nii said he could be his guardian because... Nekono-nii thought of him as a homeless child?

Conan Edogawa's silence after becoming a homeless child sounds so reasonable.

But what are the characteristics of a bad guy? Conan Edogawa was about to say that he didn't know—he didn't want to provide false clues to mislead others—but he suddenly swallowed the words.

Because he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and remembered that last night, on the way from escaping from the patrol officers to meeting Nekono Ikuya, he seemed to have indeed glimpsed an unusual scene.

A woman wearing a gray trench coat and a hat, carrying a sleeping child, hurriedly turned into a small alley while making a phone call.

Looking back now, the woman's shoulders seemed a bit too broad, and her voice a bit rough... Perhaps because there was no one around and it was her companion making the call, she didn't try to hide it too much.

They seemed to have mentioned a location, at—

Conan Edogawa suddenly looked up: "Nekono-nii-san, I think I know where those missing children are! Let's go!"

Nekono Ikuya opened her eyes in surprise. "No, you really know?!"

Nekono Ikuya followed Conan Edogawa.

Conan Edogawa recalls clues along the way and makes correct deductions.

Blake drove them to one of the main hideouts of the human traffickers.

The police officers who received the emergency call arrived quickly and quietly.

Police surrounded all of the human traffickers' hideouts.

In the chaos, two human traffickers abducted a sleeping child and attempted to escape.

"Bang!" The two human traffickers were shot down by a police sniper!

The remaining suspects were all apprehended, and all the abducted children were safely rescued.

"I see. Conan-kun went through something so terrible." The investigating officer looked at Conan, whose head was bandaged, with sympathy and praised him, "Conan-kun was able to cleverly escape from those despicable human traffickers, remember their location, and help the police rescue other children. He is a great hero."

He gave Conan a thumbs up and praised him in a coaxing tone.

None of the captured human traffickers admitted to hitting Conan on the head, so it must have been the two dead men who did it. They deserve to die.

Conan Edogawa raised his hand and scratched the back of his head: "No, no."

Seeing the sympathetic and admiring looks in the eyes of the police officers, Conan Edogawa thought: What are you all imagining? But has the identity issue been resolved?

The investigating police officer said, "It's a pity we can't find Conan's family... Mr. Nekono, thank you so much! You not only helped rescue the child, but you're also willing to take care of Conan."

Nekono Ikumi politely said, "This child is very pleasing to my eye; it's what I should do."

Conan Edogawa's crescent-shaped eyes were eventually taken over by Nekono-nii-san. Sigh.