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

Shuichi Akai was somewhat aware of Kazuma Kudo's character.

So after agreeing to help, he proposed a deal.

"You said you'd exchange a message for my agreement, right? Can you tell me now?"

It wasn't that he didn't believe the veracity of the information Kudo Kazuma spoke of; on this point, Kudo Kazuma generally wouldn't lie.

But he doesn't believe in other aspects of Kazuma Kudo.

Who knows if he doesn't press the issue now, or if the kid will try to renege on his promise next time? Of course, he should ask first.

"It's not a big deal for others, but it's a big problem for you."

Kazuma Kudo pointed at Shuichi Akai: "You don't know yet, do you? Your mother is here."

Akai Shuichi: "?"

He suddenly began to suspect that the kid was lying to him.

"Believe it or not." Kudo Kazuma waved his hand. "I'll tell you where she is after I kill Kassasa. If all else fails, I'll go with you to find her."

Upon hearing what Kudo Kazuma said, Akai Shuichi suddenly remembered that quite a while ago, he had received a message from Kudo Kazuma that seemed to have been sent out when he was having a fit of madness and hadn't taken his medication...

"Are you sure you're not talking nonsense?"

Kazuma Kudo: "...Believe it or not, goodbye!"

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked away, but halfway there he suddenly remembered something: "Oh, right, since the rent hasn't been waived... the rent is due in a few days, so don't forget."

Although the timeline is a complete mess right now, and he doesn't know how much time has passed, it feels like more than a month has gone by.

Even if it hasn't been more than a month, he said it's time to pay, so it's time to pay. If Shuichi Akai doesn't pay by the due date, he'll bring Bourbon along to collect the rent.

The next day, Kudo Kazuma was awakened by the aroma of food.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Yukiko Kudo waving a small piece of pastry in front of him with a fork.

"Oh~ Shin-chan is awake? Your phone rang twice just now, it must be something, so you should get up and deal with it."

"Oh, I see."

Without thinking twice, he grabbed the small fork and devoured the small cake in one bite before finally reaching for his phone to check the time.

At 10:10, there were two missed calls from Yuki Tsugami and several Bond messages.

Looking at it this way, Mom is better than Gin and Conan.

Yes, ten times better than them.

He opened the Bond interface while complaining.

The latest message is from Yuki Tsugami, who said that the endorsement contracts with Yoko Okino, Kaoru Kusano, Yuki Takeno, and Terumi Hoshino have been finalized. He asked when he could arrange for them to sign the contracts and shoot commercials, and also asked who should handle this matter.

The remaining messages were all from Conan, mostly expressing his feelings about revisiting familiar places.

Things have changed, people have changed, you see a classmate but can only pretend not to know them, from a primary school student's perspective, your own school feels a little unfamiliar, and so on.

After a few words of reminiscence, he revealed his true intentions, asking him to inquire with Ai Haibara about when the complete antidote could be made...

Kudo Kazuma chose to ignore it directly and only replied to Tsugami Yuuki, saying that he already had a suitable candidate and that Tsugami Yuuki basically didn't need to worry about the skincare products anymore. He would just give him a bonus after the contract was signed.

After replying to Yuuki Tsugami, he scrolled through his friends list and sent a message to Kimie Shimabukuro, whose online name was "Human is Not a Fish".

[You've been training for this moment, so are you familiar with all the relevant information about the skincare products? Do you understand the entire process of shooting the commercial? The contract has been drafted. Just come with me when we schedule the signing. You'll also be responsible for the handover during the shoot. Is that alright?]

After Shimabukuro Kimie contacted him some time ago, he brought up the topic of skincare products with her—something he had already planned to do.

After all, neither Ai Haibara nor Haruka Haibara are suitable for handling related business, either in terms of their identities or their current physical age.

As for Professor Agasa, he's just a figurehead, giving him a chance to reconnect with Fusae Kinoshita. You can't expect Professor Agasa, an old man over fifty, to worry about a girl's skincare products every time, can you?

No problem, just let me know once the date is set.

After receiving the message from Shimabukuro Kimie, Kudo Kazuma slowly got out of bed.

After washing up, the mother and son went to Agasa's house.

After lunch, they would have to go and help Shuichi Akai with his disguise.

To Kudo Kazuma's dismay, Akai Shuichi arrived right on time, just as their meal was ready.

Moreover, this time he didn't even make up an excuse. He directly brought his stewed beef and potatoes to the table and sat down in a guest seat.

"I'm telling you, aren't you being a little too self-aware?" Kudo Kazuma was exasperated. "And besides beef stew with potatoes, can't you cook anything else?"

Shuichi Akai retorted confidently, "I heard from Professor Agasa that you're quite good at cooking, but you're just too lazy to do it?"

Ai Haibara just then brought over the dishes and, upon seeing Shuichi Akai, said rather unhappily, "There are no cutlery for you here."

"It's okay, I brought my own."

Kazuma Kudo: "..."

Aren't you being a bit too self-conscious?

Ai Haibara glared at Shuichi Akai with annoyance, then turned and left.

Only Kazuma Kudo and Shuichi Akai remained at the dining table.

Kudo Kazuma couldn't help but whisper a gossip: "Seriously, what's the point of you coming over here every other day? Can't you tell that Haruka doesn't want to talk to you at all?"

Ai Haibara at least occasionally says a few words to Shuichi Akai, but Haruka Haibara basically treats him like a stranger, ignoring him except for ordinary greetings. So what exactly is Shuichi Akai doing here?

"Even putting aside the past, they are still my cousins, so of course I have to protect them."

Shuichi Akai's argument was reasonable and well-founded, but Kazuma Kudo could only scoff.

Come on, if Ai Haibara didn't know how to make Drug A and its antidote, and didn't have a large amount of drug research data, it's uncertain whether Shuichi Akai would still be bothering them every few days.

While protection is one thing, whether this protection is truly as innocent as it seems is something only Haruka Haibara would not overthink.

In the past, when Shuichi Akai came to Ari's house for a meal, the Haibara sisters would usually be silent and sarcastic. However, today, since Yukiko Kudo was also there, they didn't show too much resistance to Shuichi Akai, and the meal was finally finished in a relatively peaceful manner.

After the meal, Kudo Kazuma helped Kudo Yukiko disguise Akai Shuichi, making him look exactly like Okiya Subaru.

Watching Shuichi Akai slowly transform into Subaru Okiya, Kazuma Kudo felt a pang of regret.

It's just that Yukiko Kudo's quirky sense of humor is something she doesn't usually show to people she doesn't know well, otherwise why would she have urged her mother to dress Shuichi Akai in women's clothing?

How can we let him handle such a dangerous situation alone?

Oh, you mean Conan?

He's just a primary school student right now, so there's no question of him being a social outcast, okay?