Chapter 153 Brother Maoye, you're showing favoritism towards An...

As evening approached, the sunlight gradually took on a pale golden-orange hue, no longer so bright and dazzling, but becoming soft and lingering, like a warm veil gently enveloping the streets and alleys of Beika Town.

Conan Edogawa, riding a skateboard, nimbly weaves through the streets.

With the Nekonoya residence right in front of him, he skillfully adjusted his center of gravity, subtly pressing down on the tail of the board with his toes. The front of the skateboard instantly lifted up, and the board, still carrying momentum, traced a beautiful arc across the ground, coming to a steady stop in front of the Nekonoya residence with a slight scraping sound.

Conan lightly leaped off the skateboard, which bounced up with a "whoosh" and he caught it with one hand with a graceful movement, easily tucking it to his side.

Perfect stop!

Conan's lips unconsciously curved upwards, revealing a satisfied expression. His other hand expertly pulled a key from his pocket and deftly turned the lock.

Just as he was about to change his shoes, he noticed a pair of men's sneakers in the entryway that didn't belong to anyone in the family, and the style looked somewhat familiar.

"We have guests," Conan muttered to himself, not paying much attention. He changed into his slippers, picked up his skateboard, and headed upstairs to his room.

As we passed the second floor, the door to the tea room was half-open, letting in bright light and a delicate aroma of tea.

Conan glanced over curiously and saw that Nekono Ikuya and Okiya Subaru were sitting opposite each other across the coffee table.

Nekono-nii, with a relaxed demeanor and bright smile in his emerald green cat eyes, was whispering something to Okiya Subaru.

The distance was a bit far, and Conan couldn't hear the specifics clearly, only vaguely catching a few fragmented phrases such as "I think I know...", "...still needs to be confirmed", and "maybe I'll see you soon..."

But what stunned him was Subaru Okiya's state.

When Nekono-nii was speaking, Okiya Subaru unusually didn't squint as usual, but instead opened his eyes frankly, his dark green pupils clearly visible. He had lost some of his deliberate gentleness and harmlessness, and gained more of the calmness and sharpness that belonged to Shuichi Akai.

Mr. Akai listened intently to Nekono-nii. Although he was disguised as Subaru Okiya, his relaxed posture and eyes made Conan feel that it was more like Mr. Akai himself sitting there.

Upon hearing Nekono's words, Mr. Akai's expression relaxed even more, and a smile slowly crept onto his lips.

—This is not Subaru Okiya's smile; it is a more genuine one.

He seemed to say something, and the next second, Nekono-nii smiled, his emerald green eyes appearing exceptionally clear amidst the rising steam of the tea.

They smiled at each other, and the atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious.

The little detective, feeling like he'd missed yet another hidden plot point, stood outside the door. He glanced left at Ikuya Nekono, then right at Shuichi Akai.

Under his intense gaze, the two of them looked at him simultaneously, displaying perfect understanding.

Conan: "..."

You adults...

Conan's accusatory eye!

Why are you secretly chatting with him again behind his back?

A feint, hehe.

...

As night fell, Shuichi Akai politely took his leave, but the young detective still looked at them resentfully, without saying a word.

After seeing Shuichi Akai off and closing the door, Nekono Ikuya turned around and met Conan's blue eyes, which were filled with silent accusation. The little detective stood behind him with his arms crossed, not saying a word, just staring at him with a melancholy air, as if resentful little flowers were floating in the background.

Nekono Ikuya found the look in her eyes amusing and couldn't resist teasing her.

He deliberately put on a confused expression, tilted his head slightly, and his emerald green cat eyes gleamed with mischief: "What's wrong? Why the sudden expression? It's like I secretly ate all your little cakes."

The moment he finished speaking, Conan's resentful expression froze, his eyes widened, and his voice rose: "What?! You stole my cake?!"

That shocked expression, mixed with a hint of "How could you do this?", was incredibly vivid.

Nekono Ikuya: "!!!"

For a second, Nekono Ikuya was stunned by Conan's overly smooth and unexpected reaction. She blinked before realizing that she had been outmaneuvered by Conan.

No, Conan hasn't left any small cakes at home these past few days!

He watched Conan's expression instantly switch from a resentful, bun-like face to a shocked, cat-like face. What realistic acting! It was on a completely different level from before.

"Wow—" Nekono Ikumi drawled, her emerald green cat eyes filled with wonder.

He looked Conan up and down with feigned seriousness, as if he were seeing him for the first time: "Wow, little detective, you've evolved."

He laughed and shook his head, the feigned confusion from before long replaced by suppressed laughter. He said with feigned distress, "Looks like I'll have to be more careful when teasing you in the future, or I might end up being teased by you one day."

Seeing Nekono Ikuya laughing heartily, Conan couldn't help but laugh too. Most of his earlier resentment had dissipated, and a little smugness and embarrassment appeared on his face. He muttered, "It's all because Nekono-nii-san that you always tease me. I learned it from you!"

"One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black." And if you're afraid of being teased in return, you might as well not tease him at all!

Joking aside, he didn't forget his business.

Conan dropped his joking expression, raised his head, and stared directly at Nekono Ikuya with his deep blue eyes, his gaze becoming unusually serious and sharp.

He stared intently at Nekono Ikuya, his expression one of certainty: "Nekono-nii, Mr. Amuro... isn't he actually one of us?"

Conan knew, of course, that the list of undercover agents he had seen earlier was fake, and that Bourbon couldn't possibly be a CIA agent, but that didn't stop him from suspecting that the other party was an undercover agent from another department.

In fact, he had been suspicious of Amuro Tooru's stance for some time, not noticing that Amuro had basically not taken any action against Bourbon before, only being somewhat wary but not much.

Later, he would even temporarily shut down his overactive reasoning at times, which was tantamount to ignoring Bourbon.

While part of the reason might be to avoid overloading his brain with too much complex emotional information, if he truly believed that Bourbon posed a significant threat to him or those around him, he would not truly ignore Bourbon in any way.

Nekono Ikuya blinked her emerald green eyes, looking at the little detective's confident "I guessed right" expression, and couldn't help but laugh.

Is today some kind of day that Bourbon's identity is revealed? And why are so many people coming to him to confirm things?

Is it because he's the only one among the insiders who's currently free, while everyone else is so busy they're rarely seen, that they can only ask him?

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you." Nekono Ikuya said with some curiosity, "When did you start to suspect something?"

Conan breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes sparkling: "So it really is!"

Although he had some suspicions, he still felt relieved to receive confirmation from his brother, Nekono.

It's so great that Mr. Amuro is one of our own.

Conan said, "I felt something was strange when I first found out that Mr. Amuro was Bourbon."

He guessed it himself, but that doesn't mean he wasn't surprised.

"Mr. Amuro has a very good personality. He is very patient with children, generous in helping others, and sometimes has a strong sense of justice. Although it may be Bourbon's disguise, I always felt that it was not entirely an act."

"Then, during that tennis match," Conan paused, recalling that tense doubles game, "the chemistry between you and Mr. Amuro was so natural; it couldn't be achieved through temporary teamwork."

“Mr. Okiya and Mr. Akashi have great chemistry, but I know they were partners in the organization for a while.”

"At the time, I didn't fully understand it, but I always felt that Mr. Amuro and Akashi had a strange understanding of each other and would sometimes inadvertently predict each other's moves."

This understanding is not entirely absent between Subaru Okiya and Tooru Amuro.

So at that time, he felt that these adults gave off a really strange vibe.

Nekono and Akashi don't seem wary of Bourbon; they must have a special relationship.

He looked up and smiled at Nekono Ikuya: "But the biggest question is—ever since I told Nekono-nii that you knew I had shrunk, you've told me almost everything you know about the organization. Especially information about the organization's members, Gin, Vodka, Vermouth, Rum, Curaçao... even that man's possible past identity."

This is why he became wary of Curaçao immediately after noticing her heterochromatic eyes.

“But there’s no information about Bourbon, who we’ve had a lot of contact with,” Conan’s eyes lit up. “Nekono-nii, you’re showing him favoritism!”

Conan was certain that this was a form of protection and favoritism; Bourbon held a special place in Nekono's heart.

Akashi's brother also didn't tell him about Bourbon; they couldn't possibly favor one member of the organization.

Putting aside other miscellaneous pieces of evidence, this alone is highly suspicious.

Conan couldn't understand what other reason there could be for this situation to occur, besides Bourbon being one of his own.

The hints were obvious from the start.

Nekono Ikuya finally couldn't help but chuckle softly, her emerald green eyes sparkling with pleasure.

He nodded frankly, his eyes curving into crescents, his tone carrying a sense of natural intimacy and a touch of pride.

"That's right, I do favor him."

Conan: "..." What are you so proud of? Are you proud of Mr. Amuro?

I've been shown off again.

Damn it, that's why he brought that up earlier!

The young detective coughed awkwardly, then quickly changed the subject, a serious look of worry on his face: "So, how come Mr. Amuro's name is on that list? Is he in danger? Won't the organization suspect Mr. Amuro?"

Nekono Ikuya said in a relaxed tone, "Don't worry, he's fine. The reason is still under investigation. The unexpected inclusion of the list was a bit surprising, but the result isn't bad. Don't underestimate him; Bourbon's position in the organization is very secure, and he's not so easily shaken."

Conan nodded, temporarily relieved. But then he felt a sense of absurdity: "But Rum really believed that list was real so easily?"

Isn't this a bit outrageous?

Nekono Ikuya blinked: "But he believed that the Japanese National Police Agency had a list containing undercover agents from various countries, and that Curaçao had stolen it."

Isn't this even more outrageous?

Conan was taken aback. Hmm, now that you mention it, it does seem a bit strange.

The spies in various countries should not be kept strictly secret. Even our own people who are not high enough in rank are not qualified to know. How could they have been leaked to other countries?

He instinctively asked out of curiosity, "So, the police department really does have such a list?"

Nekono Ikuya nodded with a very peculiar expression: "It may be hard to believe, but I can tell you for sure that it really exists."

This is the most outrageous part of the whole thing.

Reality is so amazing, so what is there that absolutely cannot happen?