Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 350 Vermouth Comes to My Door
the next day.

Kido Detective Agency.

Gao Mo got up early and went for a morning run, and was still thinking about Vermouth when he ate breakfast.

I want to ask Furuya Rei, but I don't know in what capacity.

Actually, he didn't have any deep-seated hatred for Vermouth, but Ai's safety was not something to be discussed.

"Boss Kido."

After having been free for several days, Nanatsuki Koshimizu took the initiative to contact the firm.

The days of having nothing to do made her feel uneasy. If she weren't living in a luxury apartment every day, she probably would have wondered if Gao Mo had forgotten about her.

When can I start working?

"Uh, have you taken care of everything at home?" Gao Mo secretly rubbed his forehead.

Because of the comet incident, he almost forgot about one of his employees.

“I’ve been living alone at home for a long time, so there’s nothing to take care of,” Koshimizu Nanatsuki said, her expression darkening slightly. “I had already dropped out of school before coming to Tokyo. If it weren’t for my boss taking me in, I don’t know where I would have gone…”

"Sorry." Gao Mo took out his phone and logged into the firm's website.

Fortunately, Rei Furuya didn't have time, as he still had quite a few new requests to submit.

"This is the agency's homepage that the PhD next door helped me create a few days ago. I'll give you an employee account later, so you can directly select commissions online. I usually upload offline commissions as well."

"Okay." Koshimizu Nanatsuki felt relieved.

"You decide on the details of the commission."

Gao Mo quickly glanced through the list and found that there were almost no high-quality requests. They were either miscellaneous intelligence investigations or extramarital affair cases that were common in the Conan world.

Another aspect is security.

"Or you can wait a bit, and Ai will help compile a list of valuable requests."

Koshimizu Nanatsuki immediately got to work: "It's okay, I can tidy up too."

Ai, who was feeding the cats upstairs, twitched her ears. Just as she was about to go downstairs, she discovered that Rei Furuya had driven up a hunched-over, silver-haired old lady.

"Mr. Amuro?"

Gao Mo looked at the newcomer in surprise.

If his senses were correct, the old man next to Furuya Rei seemed to be Vermouth in disguise.

Why did they deliver themselves to our doorstep?
“Mr. Kido,” Rei Furuya said apologetically, “this is a relative from my hometown. Could she stay at the office for a few days? I really can’t leave these days, and I don’t feel comfortable letting her go anywhere else.”

"relative?"

Gao Mo observed the old lady chatting with Koshimizu Nanatsuki with suspicion.

I wonder what tricks this woman is up to this time.

It looks like he's injured?

The occasional cough doesn't seem like a lie. Did something happen last night?
Gao Mo was about to push the offer to Koshimizu Nanatsuki, but after thinking for a moment, he readily agreed, saying, "No problem, there are still plenty of empty rooms here."

It's better for Vermouth to stay under his nose.

Whatever this guy's plans, we can deal with them immediately.

"Thank you so much," Furuya Rei breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Consider it my request. I'll come pick her up in a couple of days."

He couldn't let Vermouth get into trouble, so he had to let her keep a low profile for a while.

Currently, only the boss's location is safe enough; both the organization and the FBI have avoided this area.

The organization was formed because of Rum and his presence in the area, while the FBI seemed to be influenced by Shuichi Akai.

“Bourbon,” Vermouth suddenly followed as Rei Furuya was saying goodbye and leaving, “Are you really planning to let me stay here?”

“Don’t worry, this is the safest place, boss. Gin and the others won’t expect you to be here,” Furuya Rei said hurriedly. “As for that hunter, wait for my news. We don’t know why he’s targeting you or what his relationship is with the FBI. In short, it’s best not to reveal your identity for now.”

"Safety?"

Vermouth, her aged mask concealing a hint of confusion, seemed about to say something when she saw Rei Furuya already board the bus.

Is it really safe?
Why did she have a stronger sense of danger?
"Cough cough!"

Feeling a burning pain in her chest, Vermouth sighed inwardly.

She didn't understand why the "hunter" was bothering her.

Not only did the plan fail, it also led to Calvados's death.

The sniper Chianti, who already disliked her, wanted nothing more than to kill her, and Gin, that cold-blooded guy, actually shot her as soon as he saw her yesterday.

If she hadn't been wearing a bulletproof vest, it probably wouldn't have been as simple as just breaking a few ribs.

Moreover, without Calvados, she will have a hard time finding any useful assistants in the future.

Bourbon may seem to be helping her, but he's not someone you can just use.

What a bad luck.

Vermouth coughed and turned to walk into the office, where she immediately saw the smiling Gao Mo and was inexplicably startled.

"Grandma, you still don't know how to address me?"

“No need to be so polite,” Vermouth replied in an aged voice. “Just call me Saori.”

"Let me tidy up your room first, Grandma Saori."

"Thank you for your help."

Vermouth followed Gao Mo with a heavy heart, not giving a second thought even when she saw Ai Haibara coming down from upstairs, who looked somewhat familiar.

She didn't really care about Gin and the others' attitudes, but the boss seemed to be somewhat dissatisfied with her.

I don't know how to explain it now.

Does he not know why he provoked the number 3 on the assassin list?

Or perhaps the other party was actually after Calvados?

That seems plausible.

"Kirouto-chan!"

The mustachioed man, who had spent a few days in Okinawa, showed up at her door. Ran and Conan didn't come with them, but a short-haired girl wearing glasses did...

boy?

After Gao Mo tidied up Vermouth's room, he came out to see a bespectacled boy who looked confused and almost stepped on the black cat's tail.

Her eyes are very similar to those of Reina Mizunashi; they both resemble cat eyes.

The boy slipped and bumped hard into Gao Mo. He was in so much pain that he wanted to cry, but he still managed to force a friendly expression: "Sorry, I'm a fan of Mr. Kindaichi, Hondo Eisuke. I heard that Mr. Kindaichi works here, so I came with him."

The man with the mustache pursed his lips and whispered in Gao Mo's ear, "He's a new transfer student in Xiao Lan's class. It's best to stay away from him. That kid is a plague."

You have no right to judge others.

Gao Mo knew the boy's identity.

Hondo Eisuke's father was a former CIA intelligence officer, and his older sister is Hondo Hidemi, who now goes by the alias Mizunashi Rena.

This guy has been searching for his sister and seems to believe that the current Rena Mizunashi is an imposter who killed his sister.

"Meow--!"

The boy apologized as he got up, but still stepped on the black cat's tail. A shrill meow echoed throughout the office. Startled, the boy took a step back, only to bump into the coat rack.

With a crash, the decorative vase was smashed to pieces.

He really is a jinx.

Gao Mo's eye twitched.

"Now you understand?" the mustachioed man said, still shaken. "That kid almost broke my ten million dollar teacup when he came to my place before."

So you brought him here?
Gao Mo glanced at the man with the mustache: "What are you doing here?"

"Huh?" The man with the mustache pulled out a signed baseball with surprise. "How did you know I have a rare baseball? You know Nose, right? He's the top scorer for the Panthers in professional baseball. This baseball in my hand is the last one he signed."

"I don't know him." Gao Mo instantly lost interest.

"Right?" The mustachioed man boasted about his baseball. "This ball is worth a lot of money now. Actually, I was invited to talk to Nose on the show, but someone killed him as soon as I got there. Luckily, I asked the staff there beforehand to get me an autograph..."

What's there to be proud of?
Gomer noticed that there was also the message "For Eri Mouri" on the baseball.

The mustachioed family is quite interesting. But the rare autographs are a bit amusing; is this family a dedicated collector of rare autographs?

“By the way,” the man with the mustache noticed Vermouth packing her luggage behind Gomer, “who is this old lady? Didn’t you say you didn’t have any elders?”

"They are Mr. Amuro's relatives, and they are staying here temporarily."

Gao Mo had been secretly watching Vermouth all along, and he was even more puzzled when he realized that the other party did not recognize Ai.

If they weren't here for Ai Haibara, why did they move into his office?
“Mr. Amuro,” the mustachioed man said suddenly, “I see. Let me help you.”

"Need not."

Vermouth hurriedly stopped the man with the mustache.

She had a lot of disguise tools in her luggage, and she dared not let outsiders touch them.

In any case, she must remain steadfast in her role as the old man until she receives definite news from Bourbon.

Let's assume for now that "Vermouth" is dead.

"Do you want some medicine?" Ai had been staring at Vermouth strangely since earlier. Seeing that she was still coughing, she took out a box of medicine and handed it to her. "We have some very effective cough medicine."

"Thanks, it's an old problem."

Vermouth stared blankly at Ai, suddenly feeling as if she were being watched by the Grim Reaper. A strong sense of death surged in her heart, and she could hardly breathe. She quickly turned around and closed the door.

What happened to this child?

She looks a bit like Sulli.

"Must be a coincidence."

Vermouth took a few breaths, looked at the cough medicine in her hand, and forced herself to stop thinking about it.

I tried taking one, and the chest and abdominal pain persisted, but the cough did improve, and the feeling of impending death receded like a receding tide.

"Boss, I think this one is pretty good." Koshimizu Nanatsuki had chosen the case she wanted to take: a haunted house investigation.

The commission was also quite good, at 50.

She never imagined that being a professional detective could earn so much money. When she was a high school detective, she could only earn a maximum of 10.

"You've hired more people?" The man with the mustache finally noticed Nanatsu Koshimizu.

She's not exactly his type in terms of figure, but she's undeniably beautiful.

He was just wondering if she was Gao Mo's girlfriend.

“Yes, Mr. Amuro is a bit overwhelmed by himself,” Gao Mo explained, turning around.

The man with the mustache felt both ashamed and envious.

He's mostly free, and Xiaolan certainly wouldn't allow him to hire pretty employees.

"I say, where do you get so many clients? If we're talking about reputation, I'm quite famous too."

Moreover, their network of contacts is much wider.

The man with the mustache added in his mind.

"Maybe it's because our agency has its own website? And many of our clients are fans of Kindaichi." Gao Mo didn't understand either.

In terms of the number of commissions, he does indeed have more than the man with the mustache.

It's only because he keeps pushing the blame onto Furuya Rei that he seems to have nothing better to do.

"A website?" the mustachioed man asked, puzzled. "What website?"

"Times have changed; now many people seek help from detectives online."

"Y-really?"

For the first time, the man with the mustache felt outdated.

Is information available online reliable?

"You'll understand once you build one yourself. Anyway, you'll still need to contact them to accept commissions in the end, it's just another channel."

As Gao Mo spoke, he grabbed Hondo Eisuke, who was clumsily trying to tidy up the entryway.

"Alright, I'll clean up in a bit. You just sit down quietly."

The decorative vase wasn't expensive, but he didn't want to let this guy ruin it all.

"I'm so sorry!" Hondo Eisuke was on the verge of tears. "Actually, I do have something I want to ask you to do, but I don't have much money... Can I work part-time here? I'm pretty good at deduction..."

“We don’t need any more people here, you can go work for Maori.” Gao Mo inwardly gasped.

He wouldn't dare take this guy in.

Putting aside his unlucky constitution, the fact that he's Rena Mizunashi's younger brother is already a problem, and the CIA might even be paying attention to him.

Although this guy is indeed quite capable, far more so than he appears on the surface, it's nothing special to him.

“I don’t need any more people!” the man with the mustache quickly emphasized.

"So it really didn't work?" Hondo Eisuke lowered his head in disappointment, looking as if he had known all along. "I thought I could get Mr. Kindaichi to help me find my sister."

"What happened to your sister?" Koshimizu Nanatsuki asked with great interest.

She's not a famous detective; as a newcomer, she needs to gain experience, so helping out isn't a bad idea.

"It's nothing, I'll find it myself." Hondo Eisuke glanced at Koshimizu Nanatsuki, then immediately lowered his head again, which made Koshimizu Nanatsuki furious.

What do you mean?
Does this mean they think she's not good enough?

“Don’t underestimate me just because I’m a newbie,” Koshimizu Nanatsuki continued with a smile. “I used to be a well-known high school detective. I handled more than 100 cases, though not many.”

"Really?" Hondo Eisuke still had no intention of taking on the case, but curiously looked at Koshimizu Nanatsuki. "How did you join the Kido Detective Agency, sister?"

"How do I join? Just like this," Koshimizu Nanatsuki puffed out her barely noticeable chest. "I'm also a fan of Mr. Kindaichi. A few days ago... never mind, I'd better hurry up and complete the request."

This time it was Hondo Eisuke's turn to feel uncomfortable.

Anyone who enjoys reasoning hates people who only say half of what they mean.

What happened the other day?

"It's nothing, it's just that I might owe Mr. Kindaichi a favor." Koshimizu Nanatsuki shook her head and didn't say anything.

The man with the mustache gave Gao Mo a strange look, lost interest in showing off, and prepared to go to Kabukicho to find his old friends.

Old friends can provide emotional value to some extent.

Kido never reacts, it's so boring.

He just happened to have something to brag about.

During this trip to Okinawa, he solved the case entirely on his own, unlike usual when he would fall asleep and forget the process.

That's enough for him to brag about for months.

Wait a moment……

A sudden inspiration flashed through the mustachioed man's mind.

Why not bring Kido along too?
“Ahem,” the man with the mustache looked around and quietly pulled Gao Mo aside, “Do you have any plans for tonight? I’ve found a great place that has all kinds of shops.”

"I'll forget it."

Gao Mo smiled wryly and refused.

It's not that he's not interested.

It's fine if the guy with the mustache goes, but if he goes too... it's hard to imagine how Ai, Ran, and the others will react.

Moreover, Kabukicho easily reminded him of the incident involving Kirie and Xiangzi.

A beautiful woman who seems to be smiling ingratiatingly may not actually be that happy. Once you see through her, the so-called emotional value is meaningless.

All that's left is color.

But he's actually a bit of a germaphobe.

“Then I’ll have to go by myself,” the man with the mustache shook his head regretfully. “Don’t tell Xiaolan.”

"of course not."

Gao Mo watched the man with the mustache leave dejectedly, smiled, and then sent a message to Xiao Lan.

After all, he's an old friend; we can't let the little mustache go astray.

(End of this chapter)