Chapter 124 Eighteen Cats

A tall young man with an upright figure quietly asked an underage girl "Can you go home with me?" Under normal circumstances, Kuai Dou would definitely call the police station.

But now he is the underage girl, and everything becomes delicate.

First, he needed to confirm.

I wondered: Who was Mr. Miyamoto questioning? Was it the identity of Ran Mouri, which he was currently borrowing, or did the other party really discover that he was the Phantom Thief Kid?

But he is also a minor! The difference between the two is almost non-existent, right? It is even more subtle because of his gender...

The quick-witted poker face almost collapsed after hearing the store manager's words. The smile on the corners of his mouth froze for two seconds before it recovered as naturally as possible under the store manager's patient gaze.

The detective himself didn't realize that he actually showed a lot of trust in this young master, but Kuaidou could see it.

Just in case, on the way to the showroom, he found an opportunity to quietly ask Uncle Maori about the store manager. It sounded like the store manager had no problems except that the commission was so high that it seemed like he was being taken advantage of.

So, what is the other party actually saying to the thief Kid? Want to keep a thief at home? Do all the rich young men and women nowadays play like this?

No, it seems that the other party has no other intention at all.

As a magician, Kaito is very good at observing a person in great detail. As long as he calms down a little, he can see something strange about Miyamoto Akira.

When the other party said those words, his expression and tone were very frank, and he didn't think in any other way at all.

Maybe this could be faked, but those watery red eyes were also extremely clear, and the gaze that fell on him was filled with deep appreciation and pure liking, without any impurities, just like a child expressing his love for a favorite toy.

The clear eyes made Kuaidou's conscience ache. How could an adult look more innocent than a minor like him? He had the inexplicable feeling that he was corrupting a child!

So, that sentence doesn't mean being Kidd's sponsor, right? Maybe providing funds for Kidd's actions or something.

Kaito no longer dared to entertain the possibility that the store manager hadn't realized that he was Kidd.

After all, the other party had directly said that he could help him get the gem. It sounded like he was definitely the thief Kidd... Should he still try to make excuses?

On the surface, it was unknown what the store manager communicated with the girl, and the latter's expression froze for a moment. The uncle and Sonoko couldn't see it, but Conan could see it clearly from his angle.

He frowned and a possibility popped into his mind.

Could it be that the thief disguised himself as Xiaolan again this time? !

The detective's face suddenly fell. He stared at Ran Mouri's neck suspiciously, trying to find the boundary between the disguise mask and the skin - even though he knew that Kidd's superb disguise skills would never leave such a conspicuous mark.

Damn it, I can’t hear the conversation between the store manager and Xiaolan from this position! What are they talking about? I’m so concerned!

Kaito was hoping that Conan would hear and interrupt their conversation.

"Don't you believe I can get the gem for you?" The store manager in front of him said with a troubled look because he didn't answer for a long time, "It's indeed more convenient to buy it directly, but this is Miss Suzuki's birthday present, I don't think she will sell it."

No, it wasn't because of that that he was bothered. Rather, he had never considered the option of buying it directly! Putting aside his identity as a thief, he was just an ordinary DK from a well-off family. How could he possibly afford such an artwork that cost millions of dollars?

Does the store manager know what he is talking about?

Kuaidou could hardly hold back his complaints. He had silently changed the way he addressed the store manager from Mr. Miyamoto to store manager. He was crying inside, but on the surface he had to pretend to be calm when answering the store manager's questions.

"I don't seem to understand you?" He said with a troubled tone, "Um, Mr. Manager, you mean... do you like this painting too?"

Seeing the desperate struggle of Kuaidou despite knowing the outcome, Chijiang Nayue really wants to take this little bird home and raise her.

But he thought about the four cats and one dog that he had brought home, and he was worried that if Kuaidou really went home with him, he might lose all his beautiful feathers in less than half a day. This was based on the fact that the four cats and one dog in his family actually had human thinking patterns, so they would not really harm their own kind.

Otherwise, Chi Jiang Na Yue guessed that if he brought Kuai Dou home today, he would be able to get a little bird with flailing legs tomorrow.

What a shame, since he thought it would be interesting to have a signature bird in the store.

After satisfying his own evil taste of teasing a child, Chijiang Nayue didn't plan to continue bullying this strange little thief. He took a step back, keeping a suitable social distance from Kaidou, and kept his expression within the range that Kaidou could see.

"...Okay." The store manager spoke calmly when he heard that he was being rejected, but Kuaidou suddenly shuddered and broke out in a cold sweat.

I always feel like the other party has some dangerous ideas!

"You really can't go home with me?" The store manager lowered his eyes, and his long hair, which was tied up high with a headband of the same color as his eyes, shook slightly. Then he raised his eyes again under Kuaidou's sweaty gaze, and the two windows of his soul were filled with "I want this".

Completely, totally, and literally, this is a child who can't move when he sees a toy or pet he likes.

Kuaidou's hands trembled, and he resisted the urge to say "yes". He looked away and said with difficulty, "Sorry, I, I have to go to the garden now."

Only after he turned his back to the store manager and walked away quickly did Kuaidou cover his face with one hand and use the other hand to hold down his small mouth, which was inexplicably filled with guilt and uneasiness.

That store manager is definitely not an ordinary person!

Kaito couldn't see behind him. The store manager, who should have been disappointed because he couldn't kidnap Xiaoniao, and Shirley, who was temporarily put back into Conan's arms, were staring at each other.

"Manager, I heard everything." Shirley pressed her paw pad on the back of the manager's hand without questioning, and said quietly, "Don't bring everything home."

A dog's hearing is sixteen times that of a human, so Conan didn't hear the conversation between the two, but Shirley heard it all.

She smelled the same vibe in Kid, but that was because she was now in her original form.

According to Shirley's understanding of the store manager, what he just said was definitely just literal meaning. For a store manager who lacks common sense in interacting with humans, he would never think of going anywhere else.

In other words, the store manager could tell that Kidd was an animal just by looking at him.

Shirley didn't dare to think about it, because if that was the case, could the store manager really not know that she could become a human? Her previous guess was completely wrong!

The store manager was a very smart person. If he knew that Shirley was a human-turned-silver fox, would he not have guessed how dangerous things were behind this? But even so, he still kept her.

The store manager rubbed Shirley's head with his hand, and said in a voice as warm as when they first met, "Because she is really beautiful."

Shirley said indifferently: "Who have you told this to? Do you need me to remind you? Manager."

"He didn't agree either." The store manager frowned childishly and said unhappily, "It's the first time I've been rejected..."

Please don't let this happen again! Facing such a store manager, Shirley couldn't help but feel a headache. She even forgot to ask him if he knew her true situation.

Then, she heard the store manager ponder for a moment.

"It doesn't matter, because I still have little Shirley."

He walked towards the crowd with his little silver fox terrier in his arms, and said cheerfully, "So it's okay, don't worry about it, I won't abandon you."

Before Shirley could be moved by these words for even a second, she heard the store manager add, "Even if little Shirley is a puppy that I hate, I will always like little Shirley."

Shirley was silent. Shirley looked up and gnashed her teeth again with the sleeve of the store manager's shirt: "This sentence is superfluous——"

Those who think the store manager is an innocent and good kid will definitely be bullied to death by this guy!

—

As soon as the store manager left during the day, the cats in the house ran away.

On weekdays, they are always within the store manager's sight, and the only time they can escape and transform back into human form is basically after the store manager goes to bed at night. So this is the first time that the three cats of Hagiwara, who were brought back the earliest in two months, have resumed their activities during the day, and they were even a little uncomfortable at first.

Knowing that the store manager would not be home until late at night, everyone prepared to take advantage of this rare opportunity to hand over their human identities to the staff - except for Furuya, who actually had to transform back into a humanoid to participate in the organization's work every night.

Hagiwara and Matsuda take the opportunity to contact the Metropolitan Police Department, and use the brief period of freedom to coordinate with their operations and launch a final hunt for the criminals who have forced them to hide in animal form.

However, Zhu Fu, who was apparently faking his death, still needed to continue pretending, so he simply did not go back to report for duty, but followed near Fūya, hiding in the dark and acting as a "backup" for his friend.

Coincidentally, Furuya, who managed to contact Vermode during the day, received a new mission from the organization.

Tonight's birthday party being held by the Suzuki Foundation, a company that is officially run by the organization has also received an invitation, and Vermouth and he need to go together.

He clearly remembered that the store manager went to that banquet. His expression changed again and again, but he finally accepted the task with a pretended calm tone.

"receive."

At the same time, he was actually a little nervous. This was his first time meeting the store manager in his human identity - would he be recognized?

If he was the store manager, it was normal to be recognized, he thought.