Chapter 216, Seventy-Third Cycle (46)
"You don't seem surprised by the first piece of information."
While speaking, Ai Haibara was observing Conan Edogawa's reaction. Since the other party was off guard, she easily noticed that something was wrong.
"Where did you get the information about Scotland and Bourbon? From Amuro himself? No, impossible, he wouldn't have said that. Was it the FBI? But how could an ordinary FBI agent know so much?"
Conan Edogawa was sweating profusely and quickly changed the subject: "Why are so many people certain about his distinctive blue, upturned eyes? Does he often wear a mask that only shows his eyes?"
Ai Haibara stared at him for two seconds, then crossed her arms and snorted unhappily, "The reason I'm certain of this is because when gossip about Scotland and Bourbon circulates within the organization, they sometimes use the contrast and characteristics of fierce drooping eyes versus gentle upturned eyes. Some even say that this news was spread by Scotland himself, just to make others think that he and Bourbon are a good match, but that hasn't been proven."
Conan Edogawa: "..."
Conan Edogawa asked with difficulty, "So what do you think...?"
Ai Haibara said expressionlessly, "I have no opinion, don't ask me."
Conan Edogawa: "..."
Conan Edogawa instantly recalled the complex entanglements between Ray, Scotland, Bourbon, Sherry, and Akemi Miyano that Shuichi Akai had briefly described in the organization, and ultimately kept his mouth shut.
*
Conan Edogawa went to Poirot's Cafe again.
The weather wasn't great today; it was overcast and rainy, and there were few pedestrians. The Poirot Cafe wasn't very crowded either.
The elementary school student, wearing large black-rimmed glasses, never liked child support chairs. He sat upright on the sofa, leaned on the table with difficulty, chose a new dessert he had never tried before, and then just stared at the busy blonde shop assistant without moving.
Only a perceptive person could notice that, more than the blond youth himself, he was actually paying closer attention to anyone who approached Amuro Tooru out of the corner of his eye.
Who exactly is Scotland?
Besides the distinctive feature of blue, upturned eyes, what else does a Scottish person look like?
The last time he appeared on the Suzuki Express, he was disguised as Scar Akai. When he finally appeared in his true form in the smoke-filled carriage, only Shuichi Akai and Bourbon saw him. Kid, who was at the door of another carriage, did not see him clearly.
Has Scotland already arrived nearby, or has it not officially come yet?
Conan Edogawa had no idea.
Although he should have followed Bourbon by now, intelligence from the last Suzuki Express train suggests that Scotland has its own mission to complete, so it's possible he hasn't come yet.
But what if it's already here?
Perhaps he had already appeared among them without their knowledge?
It's even possible that someone like Vermouth is actually a household name. Members with codenames have a high degree of freedom, and people in the organization don't know much about each other's identities, let alone someone like Scotland who used to be a sniper and is now a hacker and intelligence agent. It's entirely possible that he already knew her as a celebrity.
Shuichi Akai did not describe Scottish appearance to Judy and Carmel at the time. When asked, he said that even without disguise and without Vermouth's help, Scottish would skillfully use some simple little things and certain subtle body habits to achieve an almost complete transformation of his appearance.
Furthermore, it cannot be completely ruled out that Scotland, like him, secretly learned disguise. The three members of the Whiskey Group were all equally capable of learning. He could learn disguise from Yukiko Kudo, and Scotland could learn it from Vermouth. Recent information does indeed show that Scotland and Gin Vermouth are very close...
Shuichi Akai also emphasized that revealing Scotland's original appearance now might actually influence their judgment. If Scotland discovers them first, they'll be in trouble. It would be best to wait until he sees Scotland before telling them who they are.
Jodie and Camel trusted Shuichi Akai completely, so they didn't ask any questions, leaving Conan Edogawa, who was eavesdropping, to worry helplessly.
Following this logic, Scotland should not have appeared yet.
However, the limited life trajectory of Subaru Okiya after Shuichi Akai faked his death does not mean that Conan Edogawa did not encounter him.
Blue eyes, blue upturned eyes, beautiful blue upturned eyes.
Conan Edogawa's first thought was Rena Mizunashi and Eisuke Hondo, but it couldn't be them.
Moreover, it's difficult to confirm based on just this one point alone; there are actually quite a few people with attractive blue, upturned eyes.
Most recently, there was the genius Go player, Taiko Meijin (Master of Go), Hideyoshi Haneda.
However, he has no connection with Amuro Tooru, and he also has a girlfriend. Although he seems to be called an ex-boyfriend now, there is obviously a possibility of getting back together.
Judging from the kidnapping of Yumi Miyamoto during the Taiko Meijin Tournament, it seems that their relationship may not have really broken up. Even if they had broken up, they have now reconciled and even kissed. It is unlikely that it was Scotland.
What about the others?
Conan Edogawa's gaze swept over the customers in the store, making everyone look like a Scotsman.
After all, there's still a one in a thousand chance that Scotland might even change its identity!
And those who are closely monitoring Amuro Tooru...
Three policemen, who had just finished their shift, walked into the coffee shop laughing and joking, and gave the blond young man who greeted them with a big hug.
Conan Edogawa: "..."
Conan Edogawa, with his dead fish eyes, slumped his shoulders, leaned on the table, and sighed.
There are just too many people paying attention to Amuro Tooru; it's impossible to keep track of them all.
After all, he's practically a local celebrity in Beika Town now. People of all ages and genders pay attention to him when they pass by, and Amuro Tooru has a gentle personality, so he'll come up to greet and chat with them.
The affection and close contact from the three policemen made Amuro Tooru seem safer and easier to approach. Some girls even blushed and ran up to him to take photos. When they were rejected, they didn't get angry but instead seemed so happy that they were about to faint from being treated gently and talked to.
Young men also ran over excitedly to express their gratitude; it's unclear how many good deeds Amuro Tooru has done.
In short, what he meant was, isn't this guy being a bit too high-profile?
Are undercover agents this high-profile these days?
This makes it really difficult for him to determine who is Scotland!
There are quite a few people with blue eyes, and he himself is one of them.
Although I have some ideas, I can't put them together yet, and I need to see how things go...
"jingle--"
The door to Poirot's Café was pushed open again.
When Conan Edogawa saw the person's face, he almost dropped the spoon in his hand.
Disheveled black hair, a stubble-covered chin, round glasses, and those strikingly upturned blue eyes… who else could it be but Haneda Hideyoshi, whom he had just been thinking about?!
Conan Edogawa, who had been lying down, suddenly straightened up and stared intently at him, even forgetting to cover himself.
Why would Hideyoshi Haneda come to Poirot Cafe?
Why did he go to see Amuro Tooru as soon as he came in?
"Welcome! What would you like to drink?" The blond, dark-skinned waiter greeted us with a smile.
"I... I'll just have a coffee and a sandwich, thank you." The Taiko Meijin completely lacked the imposing presence he displayed on the Go board, and his usual carefree demeanor was gone; he even spoke with a hint of nervousness.
As he avoided the other person's gaze, he turned his head and saw Conan Edogawa. His eyes lit up immediately, and he rushed over happily as if he had seen a savior.
"Conan-kun! Can I sit at the same table as Conan-kun?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.
Conan Edogawa held the spoon steady and nodded silently.
"Ah! Could you be that Taiko—" The man who had gotten up to leave suddenly froze when he saw them, and was about to cry out in alarm.
"Shh! Shh!!!" Haneda Hideyoshi immediately turned his head and desperately raised his index finger in a low voice to tell him not to make a sound, then put his hands together in a pleading manner: "Please don't be too loud, I don't want to be surrounded by too many people, please!"
The man instinctively covered his mouth, then quickly pulled out a pen and paper, got the autograph, and left satisfied.
Haneda Hideyoshi breathed a sigh of relief, and his first reaction was to look at Amuro Tooru.
Conan Edogawa's glasses reflected the light slightly as he gently set down his spoon and asked in a natural tone, "Do Mr. Haneda and Mr. Amuro know each other?"
"Huh? I don't know him, I've only heard about him..." Haneda Hideyoshi answered subconsciously, but then seemed to realize something halfway through his sentence, and his tone abruptly changed. He grinned foolishly and said, "It's just that Yumi Tan said the sandwiches at this coffee shop are delicious, and there's a handsome blond guy with dark skin, so I was a little interested and decided to come and check it out today since I had some free time."
"Oh, really?" Conan Edogawa smiled and followed up, "Why did Yumi-neechan bring this up with you? Aren't you afraid you'll get jealous?"
“Yumi Tan won’t like anyone else, not even the most handsome guy. She told me this because three policemen really liked Poirot’s sandwiches. They came out of curiosity and found them to be really, really delicious, so they recommended that I try them too,” Haneda Hideyoshi said without hesitation.
"Oh, I see." The curious elementary school student suddenly realized, "Officer Matsuda and his colleagues do come here to eat often, and the sandwiches are really delicious."
Haneda Hideyoshi breathed a sigh of relief.
This child is indeed very capable, frighteningly perceptive and mature. No wonder his sister and mother told him to be more careful.
However, he was more concerned about Amuro Tooru over there than about this strange elementary school student.
A handsome young man with blond hair and dark skin walked over carrying a tray, a gentle, sunny smile on his face. He served coffee and sandwiches to the table in a way that made people feel relaxed, and then made a perfect exit.
Haneda Hideyoshi picked up the sandwich, still sighing as he watched his retreating figure.
Although it's unclear what the relationship is between her brother and this man, the information her sister provided is truly astonishing. It's hard to imagine how her brother and Amuro Tooru interacted, or what their current situation is.
But he and Makoto shared the same opinion.
We'll definitely be able to find out about my missing brother from Amuro Tooru.
Unlike his sister and mother, Hideyoshi Haneda, although he had also lost contact with Shuichi Akai, believed that his brother was not dead.
However, his brother's current situation is indeed very puzzling. Since Haneda Hideyoshi has nothing to do right now, and his mother and sister are both busy, he decided to also try to observe the suspicious Amuro Tooru.
Haneda Hideyoshi was deep in thought when he took a bite of his sandwich.
Then, those blue eyes suddenly lit up.
"tasty!!!"
Conan Edogawa: "..."
Conan Edogawa was genuinely confused for a moment.
If you're from Scotland, you can't possibly not have tried Bourbon's cooking, right?
Mr. Amuro's reaction was fine. Could it be that he's just being paranoid and overthinking things?
Conan Edogawa was deep in thought when his phone suddenly rang.
It was Kogoro Mouri on the phone; the moment the call connected, a loud, booming male voice greeted the caller.
"Hey kid, Ran and Sonoko went out to play and will be back late tonight. Let's go out for dinner."
"Hmm...right! Let's go to the Iroha Sushi restaurant next door! I heard they have a new chef there, who claims to be a wandering chef who travels the world, and his skills are excellent. The owner even bragged about it to me. I'm curious to try it and see just how delicious it is!"
"It just so happens that my top disciple, Amuro-kun, paid a lot of tuition fees today, hahaha—"
With his dead fish eyes, Conan Edogawa couldn't help but glance at Tooru Amuro over there again, wanting to ask whether the money belonged to the Public Security Bureau, the organization, or was earned by him through his many part-time jobs.
"Okay," he casually agreed to Kogoro Mouri.
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