Chapter 201
Vermouth kept her word. The next day, after having breakfast with Usui Saiki, she leisurely went to Eddie Cassano's villa.
As had been discussed beforehand, and given that Vermouth's face, reminiscent of the famous actress Sharon, was her pass, Usui Saiki easily followed behind Vermouth and slipped inside.
"Oh, isn't this Sharon! It's been so long!"
Eddie Cassano, a dignified-looking middle-aged man, was sitting on a beach chair by the pool drinking when he saw Vermouth. He stood up warmly to greet her: "And the child you brought is...?"
“It’s a friend’s kid.” Vermouth patted Saiki Usaba on the back. “He came to visit me, and I didn’t know what to do with him for a while. I heard you were having a party today, so I brought him over to check it out.”
Eddie Cassano burst out laughing: "Hahaha, young people like this. Good boy, play around as you please, just tell me which one you like!"
Because he was brought by Sharon, and seeing the importance Sharon placed on him, Eddie Cassano automatically included Usakata Saiki in his own class—that is, the class that could do whatever they wanted.
This can no longer be considered an unspoken rule, but rather a well-known privilege. Judging from the attitude of those around him who take it for granted, this old man must have done a lot of dirty work.
“Go ahead,” Vermouth said with a smile. “I’ll talk to Eddie some more.”
As she spoke, her gaze casually swept over the figure frozen at the edge of the pool.
Without a doubt, the guy who was dumbfounded was Vodka.
Gazing at those two familiar faces, Vodka's composure crumbled, a voice screaming hysterically in his mind:
Vermouth—!!!
What do you mean?! Why did you bring Potts here?!
Are you messing with me? Are you deliberately messing with me?!
Vodka and Gin have recently been in talks with Eddie Casano. Putting aside the goods they originally intended to discuss, when they arrived, they discovered that Eddie Casano had a new type of drug, but it would take some time. So, the vodka was kept behind to observe the new goods and consider whether to place an additional order.
As for Gin, of course he wouldn't stay to do such a boring thing; he just left the vodka and went.
It's not that they're ripping off vodka.
Originally, they came to talk business with Eddie Cassano and also to build rapport. Eddie Cassano was bound to treat them to good food and drinks. Vodka even changed into his swim trunks today and had a great time in the pool with handsome men and beautiful women. From any perspective, staying was an enjoyable choice.
Gin wasn't that he didn't like pleasure, he just wasn't interested in this kind of pleasure. Vodka, on the other hand, was quite looking forward to it—vodka himself liked following celebrities and was quite interested in meeting many stars, so at first, Vodka was actually in a very good mood.
This beautiful moment was shattered when he inadvertently glimpsed a new guest appearing on Eddie Cassano's side.
The scariest part was that he didn't even have time to dodge; Usoppō Saiki walked straight towards him...
Help me, help me, help me...
Vodka instinctively took a step back, but accidentally bumped into someone next to him, lost his balance, and fell into the pool.
However, there were many people here, and since Vodka was a distinguished guest whom Eddie Cassano had instructed to take good care of, everyone quickly lifted him up.
That's so embarrassing.
The thought of being witnessed by Usoya Saiki in that embarrassing moment made Vodka wish he had already fainted and been carried back to his room...
Usuha Saiki's voice rang out: "Oh dear, why isn't this person opening his eyes? Has he fainted? I'll take care of taking him back..."
I'm fine now!
Vodka suddenly opened his eyes and sat up: "I just suddenly feel that lying down is quite comfortable!"
Are you kidding me? Letting Bo Yezhai send him back is like throwing a lamb to the slaughter. Staying here at least means there are so many people around, and Bo Yezhai should be more careful with his words.
Vodka slowly looked at Usakawa Saiki, who was squatting beside him, and pretended not to know him with a fake smile: "Thank you, young man."
“You’re welcome,” said Usakabe Saiki in Japanese. “If you’re worried about being overheard, you can use Japanese. This is America, so Japanese is like an encryption.”
Vodka: "…………"
Thank you so much for being so considerate!
Fortunately, Vodka immediately came up with an excuse: "No, there are Japanese people here. Have you seen that guy? The one playing ball with some girls."
Following the direction indicated by the vodka, Bo Yezai looked over and indeed spotted an Asian face among a group of beautiful European and American women.
"...They're just Japanese, there's no need to be so careful, is there?"
Vodka pushed up his sunglasses—yes, although he had taken off his suit jacket and put on swim trunks, he hadn't taken off his sunglasses; after all, it was normal to wear swim trunks with sunglasses: "That's not an ordinary Japanese man, that's..."
At this point, Vodka suddenly paused: "...No, I can't tell you the specifics of the mission...Did Vermouth tell you?"
Vodka felt a little excited.
Right, could it be that Vermouth told Usui Saiki about their mission? Then could he take this opportunity to make Vermouth suffer a setback, so that she'll be less likely to give Usui Saiki preferential treatment in the future?
However, Usakabe Saiki's answer was unequivocal: "I don't know what the mission entails. I just came to Hollywood for fun. She heard there was a party here and brought me along. We were both surprised to see you here."
Vodka: "…………"
You think I'd believe you just because you say it in a high-sounding way?!
Vodka strongly suspected that Vermouth had already told Usopp Saiki everything she should and shouldn't have said, and that the kid was just playing dumb with a plausible excuse!
But he had no evidence and could only resentfully accept this premise: "Anyway, there are Japanese people here, and speaking Japanese isn't safe either. You'd better pretend you don't know me."
Bo Yezaki glanced at him, then turned and left.
Vodka immediately sensed something was wrong.
Oh no, he probably fell into the pool and got water in his brain. He might have accidentally said something wrong. What does Usuke Saiki mean by this? Is he angry?
Thinking about it carefully, it seems that Bo Yezhai came this time to reconcile with him... Although he was also inexplicably dumped, the other person kindly came to find him, and he nagdredged them up... Would he hold a grudge? But if he talked to Bo Yezhai any longer, he worried about his blood pressure...
Vodka made everyone numb.
Neither too close nor too far, Usoya Saiki is more troublesome than a cat!
Just as Vodka was hesitating about whether to try to improve his relationship with Usui, he realized that Usui's destination was obvious: he was heading straight for the Japanese man.
"Hi." Usakabe Saiki patted the Japanese man on the shoulder. "You're Japanese?"
Although Vermouth didn't directly tell Gin and Vodka the details of the mission, the information she revealed was enough to guess. Judging from Vodka's behavior, this person seemed to be related to the mission. So, Saiki Usaba came over to join in the fun and see if he could find an opportunity to cause trouble for Gin and Vodka.
"Huh? Ah..." The person was startled, but quickly calmed down. "Yes, you came with Miss Sharon?"
"Hmm, you can call me Conan." Usui Saiki switched back to using a pseudonym without hesitation. "And you?"
“…Masato Edamura.” Masato Edamura thought the name Conan was a bit strange, but considering that the United States is a country of immigrants, and although the other person could speak Japanese, he was probably actually from an American family, so it was normal for him to use a foreign name.
Usoppei asked with a smile, "You're not an actor, are you? What brings you to see Mr. Cassano?"
The alarm bells in Masato Edamura's heart are ringing wildly.
Ostensibly, he approached Eddie Cassano to discuss business—he claimed to have a new method for producing drugs that he intended to sell to Eddie Cassano.
But in reality, he was a fraud.
He and his accomplices told a colossal lie, deceiving Eddie Cassano and making him believe in the effects of the new drug. In reality, he knew nothing about pharmaceuticals. The background information Eddie Cassano obtained from the research institute in Japan was also a scheme orchestrated by his accomplices.
Once they have the money, they'll run away, leaving Eddie Cassano, who's been swindled, in a state of impotent rage.
Because Masato Edamura is a fraudster, he is very sensitive to people who come after him, and he worries that Eddie Cassano has discovered something is wrong and sent someone to test him.
“…Yes, I’m here to discuss a business deal with Mr. Cassano,” Masato Edamura replied cautiously in Japanese.
Usakabe blinked, seemingly uninterested in the topic and changing the subject as if it were just a casual remark: "You're from Japan, right? What do you do there?"
"Drug researcher..."
Masato Edamura carefully followed the pretense he had created, dealing with what he believed to be the platitudes from Eddie Cassano's men.
Finally, the handsome young man let him go, turned around and went back to the edge of the pool, took the juice handed to him by a waiter, and leisurely drank it.
Did you pass?
Masato Edamura secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Eddie Cassano was being far too cautious; the lab was almost finished, and yet he still sent someone to test the waters...
Although Vodka couldn't hear what Usaba Saiki and Edamura Masato were talking about, he saw Usaba Saiki return to the poolside and casually approached him, pretending that he hadn't chased him away and trying to get closer to him.
"You two had a good chat?" Vodka coughed. "How did it go? Did you find out anything?"
Usoppei pondered, "Your and Gin's mission wouldn't happen to be related to this person, would it?"
"...If you put it that way, you're not wrong."
The new stock depends on the recipe that Masato Edamura is going to sell, but they mainly buy old stock.
Bo Ye Zaiji sighed.
Vodka's heart jumped: "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
“I think he’s an undercover agent,” said Bo Yezaki worriedly. “Eddie Cassano seems to have been in trouble recently, so I think you should just abandon this mission.”
Behind Vodka's sunglasses, his eyes instantly turned into a dead fish's: "………………"
—You little brat, you've managed to infiltrate someone else's organization while investigating undercover agents?! You're actually holding a grudge because I was rude earlier, so you're trying to ruin my mission, aren't you?!
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Extra chapter tonight, energy bar 58/100
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Akai's defection will have to wait; the US is just giving us a heads-up!
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This time it's the "Great Pretender" instance.
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