Chapter 111 Life is tough, Conan sighs. ...

As a top assassin for an international criminal organization, and also skilled in illusion magic, Spider shouldn't have been eliminated so easily. However, upon learning of Little White Dove's encounter with the tarantula, the giant crow secretly rose from the dead and revealed the tarantula's identity to the blue-eyed cat. Caught completely off guard, the tarantula was brutally beaten by the cat and bird in its nest, leaving it utterly defeated and unable to rise again.

Nekono Ikuya, disguised as Günter von Goldberg II, stayed in Kanagawa for a period of time, leaving behind ambiguous clues before handing over the newly acquired Spider disguise to Kuroba Toichi, who was already prepared. The remaining instigation matters would be handled by him, whose family and brother's family had grudges against the zoo and the brewery, respectively.

Against this backdrop, the Great Raven will undoubtedly seize this opportunity to do everything in its power to weaken both organizations.

A month later, after finishing all his business, Nekono Ikuya returned to Beika Town, which he had left long ago, with a satisfied heart.

The warm breeze of late spring swept through the familiar streets of Beika Town. Nekono Ikuya walked leisurely on her way home, imagining what her family was like at that moment.

The miniature version of the famous detective is probably sitting in the living room, engrossed in the souvenirs that Ikuya Nekono bought when he visited the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street—a gift he gave to the boy before he left. Meanwhile, Teru Akashi, played by Hiromitsu, is perhaps leisurely reading a newspaper nearby.

Thinking of Conan's blue eyes lighting up instantly when he received the gift, his childlike joy showing without any acting, a faint smile couldn't help but appear on Nekono Yuuya's lips. That child was indeed adorable, especially when it came to gifts he desired.

With a feeling of ease and anticipation, he pushed open the familiar door of the Nekonoya residence.

The heartwarming scene he had envisioned did not materialize. As soon as he opened the door, before he could even take off his shoes, a small figure rushed in front of him.

Conan Edogawa crossed her arms, tilted her head back, and stared at him with her bright blue eyes, her gaze filled with resentment and accusation.

And he's inexplicably a little sullen? — Because of his chubby baby face.

Conan Edogawa, whose anger stemmed from being innocently shrunk, gave it a sharp thumbs down.

Nekono Ikumi tilted her head in confusion, hallucinating a cat that had been neglected for a long time and was finally waiting for its owner to come home. The cat was resentfully squatting in the entryway, ready to give its owner a swipe at any moment.

Hmm, something feels a bit dangerous. What's going on?

Nekono Ikuya was slightly taken aback: "Conan?"

The little detective didn't say anything, but stepped forward, reached out her little hand, grabbed his sleeve, and pulled it down hard, indicating that he should bend over.

This action, with its childlike stubbornness, made Nekono Ikuya chuckle, yet also feel a little puzzled.

Although he didn't understand, he obediently bent down to look Conan in the eye and asked in a soft voice, "What's wrong? What happened?"

He didn't want to unconsciously soften his voice and speak to the little detective like he would to a real child, but the shrunken detective was really cute!

He has a chubby little round face and a cute little tuft of hair sticking up!

And the little detective has black hair and blue eyes!

Nekono Ikuya's gaze wandered. Everyone knew that he could never resist someone with black hair and blue eyes.

Upon hearing Nekono Ikuya's unconscious tone of coaxing a child, Edogawa Conan seemed to pause for a moment, his expression subtly shifting.

Nekono Ikuya blinked, seizing the opportunity to tease Conan: "Eh~ Did Conan miss me after not seeing me for a month?"

Conan's expression became even more subtle. He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't: "Nekono-nii-san, you, I..."

The way Nekono-nii-san is coaxing a child doesn't sound like he's acting, but he's not a child anymore.

Nekono Ikuya typed a question mark: "?" What's going on? Why are you hesitating to speak?

He looked at Conan, puzzled.

Then he saw Conan take a deep breath, his bright, clear blue eyes staring intently into his emerald green eyes: "Nekono-nii, you actually knew from the beginning that I was Shinichi Kudo, and you also knew about the existence of that organization, right?"

"!!!"

It was an unexpected straight attack; the little detective delivered a straight shot!

Nekono Ikuya's azure cat eyes widened slightly in surprise. He didn't answer immediately, but subconsciously glanced at Akashi Teru, who was sitting in the living room and had obviously heard the question as well.

"???"

What's going on? It's not surprising that Conan will eventually find out about Nekono Ikuya, because he didn't really try to hide it, but why ask him in this particular situation?

Jingguang, who plays Akashi Teru, was still there. How could this kid just self-destruct like that?!

Unless he's not afraid that Akashi Teru knows, because Conan trusts Akashi Teru, or Conan already knows that Akashi Teru knows.

Could it be...? An unbelievable guess arose in Nekono Ikuya's mind. Could it be because Kagemitsu had already been exposed by the little detective?

It's only been a month since they last saw each other, what could have happened between them?!

Nekono Ikuya felt like she had missed an entire season's worth of plot.

When he met Nekono Ikuya's questioning gaze, Akashi Teru's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, and he guiltily raised the newspaper to cover his face.

He raised his hand behind the newspaper, touched his nose, and gave a helpless smile.

I'm sorry, Yumi, the child is too smart, it's really impossible to hide it anymore.

Nekono Ikuya immediately understood the situation.

Got it, Jingguang really got exposed by the little detective, and it seems he has a very high opinion of the little detective's intelligence.

Conan noticed Nekono Ikuya's subconscious glance and Akashi Teru's guilty reaction, which confirmed another guess: Mr. Akashi and Nekono's brother did know each other before.

He became even angrier, because his cheeks were slightly puffed up due to his baby fat.

Double the cuteness!

"Stop looking!" Conan tightened his grip on Nekono Ikuya's sleeve, his voice tinged with resentment. "I know you're in cahoots!" He glared at Nekono Ikuya with his bright blue eyes, accusingly saying, "Nekono-nii, you really do know everything! You pretended not to know all this time, watching me act like a child in front of you all the time... You must have been secretly laughing at me, right?!"

The thought that his over-the-top performance had been seen by Nekono Ikuya, who was actually aware of the situation, made Conan Edogawa want to disappear into a crack in the ground.

This is a dark history, a blatant dark history!

However, in order to avoid being discovered by other perceptive people, this child will probably have to continue acting for some time to come, because there are banquets where he can disguise himself, so he cannot relax in private.

Life is tough, Conan sighs. His embarrassing past keeps piling up—how ​​can this be?

Seeing the little detective about to explode with anger, Nekono Ikuya recovered from her initial surprise, a smile quickly flashing across her eyes, but it was soon replaced by admiration.

He reached out and gently ruffled Conan's hair, his tone filled with undisguised praise: "Looks like it can't be hidden anymore. You're so clever, little detective."

Nekono Ikuya's smile blossomed from the corners of her mouth, carrying a hint of nonchalance, as if she had been caught red-handed but didn't care.

They admitted it!

but--

"That's not the point at all!" Conan protested, covering his head.

And what's with that tone? Why is Nekono-nii still treating him like a child? He may look like a child, but he's actually a high school student!

Mature! High school student!

But wait, it seems we can't blame Nekono for not changing his tone and talking to him like a child. Did he just act like a child and act cute just now?

How could this be? Conan was stunned. Had he already gotten used to being a primary school student?

Don't do this habit.

Seeing his sudden stunned expression after his initial anger, Nekono Yuumi found it amusing and couldn't help but chuckle. Her emerald eyes sparkled. "Okay, I admit I do know some things." A lot, actually, a lot.

He blinked his emerald cat eyes, his tone laced with a hint of slyness, yet equally earnest, "But Conan, I never intentionally hid anything from you. If you think about it carefully, the flaws are quite obvious. Right, little detective? I knew this mystery wouldn't stump you. I was just waiting for you to discover it, or waiting for the moment when you felt you could tell me."

Sweet words, it's all sweet words.

Super thoughtful, right? Nekono Ikuya is taking credit!

Conan Edogawa was almost moved by the ruse, if it weren't for Ikuya Nekono's wicked urge to add the next sentence.

He reached out, this time not to ruffle his hair, but to gently pat his shoulder, his voice softening: "Besides, the way you act like a child..." Nekono Ikuya's smile deepened, tinged with a hint of teasing, "is really cute, making people want to look at you for a while longer."

Ikumi-neko wags its tail wickedly!

Conan Edogawa: "...!!!"

The young detective's face instantly flushed red, half from anger and half from embarrassment. Just as expected! That guy with the worst sense of humor!

He knew that this seemingly refined and gentle adult definitely had a wicked side hidden in his personality!

In a fit of anger, Conan Edogawa decided that the mature elementary school student wouldn't argue with a childish adult!

"So," Conan tried to calm himself, his gaze sweeping between Nekono Ikuya and Akashi Teru, "is Nekono-nii also a member of the Public Security Bureau? Just like Akashi-nii?"

No way, Nekono-nii is the head of the Nekono Group, that's too big of a leap in status.

“Of course not,” Nekono Ikuya replied crisply.

He smiled slightly: "I just have a wide network of connections and know a lot. Occasionally, out of personal willingness, I'll help deal with that organization."

After a pause, Nekono Ikumi's gaze swept over the shrunken detective before her, then glanced at her childhood friend who had been forced to disguise herself for an extended period. Her mind drifted to her lover, still working undercover in the organization, and a hint of helpless sigh escaped her lips:

"There's nothing I can do. I don't know why, but the people I care about always get caught up in that organization's vortex for various reasons."

For example, his childhood friend and lover, and the little detective he met when he was a child who was also his cousin who watched the child grow up.

With a sincere look in her eyes, Nekono Yuuya concluded, "So, in order to restore peace to my life, it would be better if that organization disappeared as soon as possible."

Someone you care about? Conan Edogawa pursed his lips, noticing Ikuya Nekono's gaze. Did he include him in that gaze?

A warm feeling rose in his heart, and he felt a little shy. It felt pretty good to be cared for and protected like this.

At the same time, he keenly noticed a brief exchange of glances between Nekono Ikuya and Akashi Teru when Nekono Ikuya said these words, suggesting that their relationship was not so simple.