Conan and Gin are both my brothers, what's wrong with meeting them once?

Chapter 408 Have you heard of the Twilight Villa?

The next morning, Kudo Kazuma woke up yawning at 10:30.

After washing up and getting ready, he found that Morofushi Kagemitsu was still there, and he couldn't help but stare wide-eyed with curiosity.

"Huh? Hiro, you're still here? Could it be that Amuro isn't in Tokyo right now?"

Morofushi Kagemitsu was both amused and exasperated: "Aso-kun went out early this morning. If I leave, who will cook for you?"

As he spoke, he went to the kitchen and brought out the food he had just prepared.

"If no one cooks for you, you won't skip meals again, will you?"

While helping to tidy up, Kudo Kazuma retorted, "It's not that bad. If I'm too lazy to cook, I can always go to the canteen at Base 4."

Morobuchi Kagemitsu shook his head with amusement.

While Kudo Kazuma was eating, Morofushi Kagemitsu placed an envelope on the table.

An envelope with a pure black background and the name of Kazuma Edogawa written on it in white calligraphy. There was no sender's name or stamp on it. If it weren't for its shape, Kazuma Kudo would have doubted whether it was an envelope at all.

He was puzzled: "What the hell is this?"

Morofushi Kagemitsu shook his head: "I don't know. I saw it in the mailbox by the door when Aso-kun left this morning, and I just brought it back for you."

Kazuma Kudo thought about the strange and unusual letters that Shinichi Kudo and Heiji Hattori often received at the Mouri Detective Agency, each representing a classic case. This one might be one too.

After all, he's a detective with a bit of a reputation.

After finishing his meal, Morofushi Kagemitsu cleaned up the kitchen and left.

Kazuma Kudo then opened the envelope and took out the letter inside.

Very good, the letter paper is also black, with yellow floral patterns outlining the edges.

Kazuma Kudo was speechless.

Black paper with white text and yellow flowers—who came up with this? Couldn't they have come up with something more down-to-earth? What kind of suspense is this?

"I've heard that you apprenticed under the famous detective Kogoro Mouri and possess exceptional intuition for solving cases. I cordially invite you to my humble abode for dinner and drinks..."

Before Kudo Kazuma could even complain, he noticed the address the letter invited him to.

"Twilight Villa?"

"hiss--"

Good heavens, isn't this the boss's golden castle?

Kazuma Kudo immediately sent a message to Gin using Bond.

"Brother, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. Could you come to my house?"

Twenty minutes later, Gin appeared at the Edogawa residence.

"what's up?"

Kazuma Kudo handed the letter to Gin for a quick look.

"Brother, you should know about Twilight Villa, right?"

Gin nodded slightly: "That's the boss's former residence. His mother left that villa to him. It's said that a huge treasure is hidden inside, but the boss has spent many years searching for it without success."

"Later, when the boss faked his death, this villa was given away. Decades have passed, and the villa has changed hands countless times, but no one has ever discovered any treasure."

He tapped the letter lightly with his fingers and chuckled, "Probably another greedy person trying to find so-called wealth. But why would they invite you?"

Kazuma Kudo shrugged: "Anyway, I am a detective in name only."

If he remembered correctly, several truly skilled detectives were coming this time, and Kid, Conan, and Hakuba Saguru would all be there. The only missing member of the three-quarters group was Hattori Heiji.

Gin raised an eyebrow at him: "You're interested?"

Kudo Kazuma shrugged: "I'm not only interested, I also know what the treasure is, and I even want to keep it for myself. Unfortunately, deciphering codes isn't my specialty... I can only rely on you and my brother."

Gin: "..."

If he heard correctly, Danpo wanted to take the treasure from the boss's old residence for himself, and he even wanted to take him with him.

"Hey bro, this is the boss's old residence! Aren't you curious? Oh, by the way, have you ever been there?"

Gin shook his head.

Kudo Kazuma thought that made sense.

The boss faked his death forty or fifty years ago. Gin is only twenty-nine years old now. When he joined the organization, Twilight Villa was no longer owned by the boss.

"Isn't that perfect? ​​Let's go check it out together."

Gin: "..."

Tired.

Sure enough, if Shinichi Kudo is so brave, how could his twin brother, Danpo, be so timid?

"Alright, it's settled then." Kudo Kazuma brought the fruit on the table to Gin quite attentively. "Brother, wait for me for a moment. I'll go to the car rental shop to rent a car, and I'll help you change your clothes later. It's not too late for us to go then."

Gin looked up at him: "Rent a car?"

Kudo Kazuma nodded: "Tonight, the Twilight Villa will definitely be packed with detectives. Do you understand what that means, brother? It means we're probably going to run into trouble. Who knows if someone will sabotage the car to prevent us from leaving?"

"Brother, you wouldn't want your beloved Porsche 356A to be vandalized, would you?"

Gin raised an eyebrow: "How did you know?"

Kazuma Kudo shrugged: "I've handled a lot of cases, that's all from experience."

Wherever Conan goes, a "snowstorm and seclusion" scenario unfolds. At the Twilight Mansion, there are no bridges to destroy or roads to block, so he can only sabotage cars.

This is perfectly normal.

Gin merely scoffed at this.

It's not hard to understand. Humans are driven by self-interest. If a treasure is found, some people will want a piece of the pie, while others won't want others to share it.

It was past 3 p.m. when Kudo Kazuma returned with the rented car and did Gin's grooming.

Gin, as was his habit, took some light-colored clothes from Kazuma Kudo and went to his bedroom to change, while Kazuma Kudo received a call from Conan.

"Ichima, have you ever heard of the Twilight Villa?"

"I've heard about it. Not only have I heard about it, but I also received a letter that looks like it's from the underworld. I'm all ready and planning to go there now."

Conan on the other end of the phone was speechless for a moment.

"It really is quite eerie..." he sighed before asking, "Since you also received that letter, would you like to come with us?"

"No need, I'll go with someone else."

"Who is it? Could it be Kid?" Conan was even more speechless. "This letter was sent in Kid's name, but it doesn't seem like his style at all..."

“No, that’s not it. Although Kid will probably be there too, I haven’t contacted him.” Kudo Kazuma tilted his head, giving his older brother a surprise over the phone. “My older brother, Kurosawa Jin, is going with me.”

Conan: "..."

Now that the cards are out in the open, are you not going to keep up the act anymore?

While Kogoro Mouri went to rent a car, Kazuma Kudo had already driven the rented car, accompanied by Gin who had changed into a light-colored outfit, and headed to the Twilight Villa according to the address given in the letter.

The weather was gloomy in the afternoon, and it even started to rain when they were almost there, which was exactly the kind of atmosphere needed when a murder case occurred in the world of Detective Conan.

Upon arrival, Kudo Kazuma parked his car in the yard, alongside the other two cars. He then took out two umbrellas from his system space and handed one to Gin.

Gin had become completely accustomed to the fact that he could conjure things up at will, and this behavior no longer surprised him in the slightest.

He casually took the umbrella from Kazuma Kudo, opened it, and got out of the car.

Then he heard Kudo Kazuma sigh, "This villa is so big, it must be at least a thousand square meters, right? It seems a bit difficult to take it away."

Gin: "?"

Did he hear it correctly?

What will Danpo take away?

So when this kid said "to take possession of," he wasn't referring to the treasure in the villa, but the entire villa?

That's fine.

He thought that the so-called "taking it for himself" meant taking it from the current owner of the villa, but it turned out that Danpo actually wanted to take the villa away.

Is this something I can take with me?

Seeing the obvious confusion on Gin's face, Kudo Kazuma shrugged: "Don't look at me like that, brother. What if I can't take him with me? That would be awkward."

Actually, there shouldn't be any problem.

Because he had just discussed it with the system in his mind and spent more than 400 points to expand the system space from 100 square meters in size and 3 meters in height to 2000 square meters in size and 30 meters in height.

This size and height are more than enough to house a twilight villa.

After the two went up to the second floor along the outer staircase, under Gin's complicated gaze, Kudo Kazuma stepped forward and knocked on the door knocker. A young woman with freckles on her face and wearing an apron opened the door.

The maid sized up the two men: "Are you Mr. Edogawa and your companion? Mr. Edogawa, didn't you come with Detective Mori?"

As she spoke, she glanced behind the two of them.

Kazuma Kudo nodded: "I came alone with a friend. Mr. Mori and the others will arrive shortly."

He then asked, "I see two cars parked downstairs. Did anyone arrive first?"

"Yes. Mr. Ogami Ikumi, Ms. Gunta Ikumi, and Mr. Hakuba Saguru have arrived. The three of them are currently touring the annex. You two can also take a look around first, or you can rest in the lounge."

Actually, apart from Hakuba Saguru, Kudo Kazuma had never heard of any of them, but that didn't stop him from nodding as the maid introduced them.

After that, he dragged Gin along to visit the Twilight Villa.

It's no wonder it's the former residence of Karasuma Renya. Every room and every item in the room, from large furniture like sofas, beds, and cabinets to small decorative ornaments, bears the small Karasuma family crest.

The two had only walked around halfway when Kudo Kazuma noticed car lights approaching again under the dim sky.

"Let's go out and take a look, bro. It's probably Conan and the others."

Gin remained noncommittal, then followed Kudo Kazuma, grabbed an umbrella, and went outside.

Two cars stopped in the courtyard one after the other. Looking down from the stairs, the people in the first car didn't get out, and it was unclear what they were doing. However, Xiaolan was the first to get out of the second car, opened an umbrella, and ran towards them.

"Ichima, uh... Mr. Kurosawa?"

When Xiaolan saw the two standing together, she was briefly puzzled, but then asked somewhat shyly, "Yizhen, do you know where the restroom is?"

Kudo Kazuma pointed out the direction, and Ran immediately ran inside.

After the two went downstairs, they saw a middle-aged man in a suit and top hat get out of the car in front of them and speak to Kogoro Mouri, who was touching his car.

"Please don't touch my woman, okay? It took me five years to get this shrewish woman. If other men touch her with their dirty hands, I can't handle her throwing a tantrum."

Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, Kudo Kazuma turned to Gin and muttered under his breath, "Look at him, bro. You don't love your car enough, do you..."

Gin didn't say anything, but kicked him.

Conan, who had been keeping his eyes fixed on Kazuma Kudo and Gin, couldn't help but give them a half-moon look when he saw this.

Kogoro Mouri couldn't help but chuckle.

Although he didn't hear what Kudo Kazuma said clearly, he saw that Kudo Kazuma was being beaten up.

His smile drew everyone's attention.

Kogoro Mouri was a little embarrassed and quickly changed the subject: "Ichishin, what are you saying? You've made this gentleman unhappy."

This time, Conan, Kazuma Kudo, and Gin couldn't help but glance at him again.

Conan and Kazuma Kudo exchanged a glance and guessed that the Kogoro Mouri in front of them was probably Kid in disguise. After all, he didn't even recognize Kurosawa Jin, so how could that be?

Can we blame Kidd for not doing his research beforehand?

It's true that Kogoro Mouri had only met Kurosawa Jin a few times, and Kazuma Kudo had only seen "Kurosawa Jin" once on Mermaid Island. No wonder Kid didn't recognize Gin, let alone know that they were relatively familiar with each other.

Besides, even Conan didn't expect "Edogawa Kazuma" to be acting with "Kurosawa Jin" before making the call, let alone Kid who was unaware of it.

Kudo Kazuma didn't expose him in front of others, but just coughed lightly and said, "This is my older brother whom I recognized outside, Kurosawa Jin."

"So it was Mr. Kurosawa."

Kaito Kid's version of Kogoro Mouri shook hands with Gin, but his gaze involuntarily drifted to Conan.

Kudo Kazuma has found an older brother outside, tsk tsk, does his own brother know?

Noticing Conan's somewhat wary and resentful gaze, Kid nodded to himself.

Hmm, it seems they know.

A mischievous thought crossed his mind, and he immediately raised his hand and pressed it against Conan's head: "Kid, Kazuma is your older brother, his big brother. Shouldn't you call him big brother too?"

Conan: "..."

He wanted to kick his younger brother.

Kick the other younger brother!

Why should he call Gin "Big Brother"?

Are you kidding me?

But his younger brother chimed in, "Well, logically speaking, Conan should call him 'big brother'."

Conan: "..."

This is so annoying, let's destroy it!

"I'm going to find Sister Xiaolan!"

He said this as he opened his small umbrella and ran upstairs.

"That brat!" Kidd, oblivious to his own exposure, explained to Gin and the other two, "and the kid's even embarrassed..."

Kudo Kazuma nodded, suppressing a laugh, and the group went upstairs.

Only Gin glanced up at the small figure running upstairs.

When they didn't know each other's identities, he did find it annoying to be called "brother" by a little kid.

However, after they revealed their cards to each other, he found it somewhat interesting to have that fake brat call him "big brother."

For no other reason than seeing the frustrated and conflicted expression on that kid's face, which so closely resembled Danpo's when he was a child, he felt...

Indeed, that's quite interesting.