“I…”
“I know you don’t have any family left in Japan, but don’t be too sad.
Just rest easy and stay here with me.
You can pay back the money slowly, and you can even treat Miss Yuuko like an older sister,” Shouichi said.
*I could even be your father.*
“Sob…”
Ai swallowed her words.
*’Haibara Ai’ has no other relatives.
If I say I want to look for Kudou Shinichi, it would be far too suspicious.*
Ai buried her face in Yuuko’s embrace and cried.
*What should I do?
Do I really have to live in the house of an Organization member?*
*What if my identity is discovered?*
Ai felt like her life had plunged into complete darkness.
Exhausted from crying, Ai actually fell asleep right there in Yuuko’s arms.
Patting Ai’s back, Yuuko said, “Her health is just too poor right now.”
“Take her to the bedroom to rest for now.
I need to head to work,” Shouichi said.
“Understood, Mr.
Shouichi.”
With a new little money pit living in the house, Shouichi figured he’d better actually do some work.
Changing into a suit, Shouichi rode his motorcycle to work.
Not having a driver’s license was such a hassle.
Sumitomo Bank was a massive institution; what kind of bank employee commuted to work on a motorcycle?
“Good morning, Manager Shouichi.”
“Morning.”
“Good morning, Manager Shouichi.”
“Morning.”
Greeting the staff members he passed by, Shouichi arrived at his office and brewed himself a cup of coffee.
He turned on his computer and the radio to listen to the stock market updates, then lazily leaned back in his chair and started playing on his handheld game console.
“Hello, Shouichi speaking.”
“The money isn’t right.”
Shouichi sat up straight and asked, “What’s wrong with the money?”
“Why was I only able to withdraw four hundred million yen?” The voice on the other end of the line was freezing cold, and Shouichi could clearly sense his seething anger.
“That’s just normal overhead,” Shouichi said.
“Normal overhead?”
Gin sounded like he was ready to murder someone.
*Since when was the overhead this high?
If we lose this much every single time, what use does the Organization even have for you?*
“Ahem, the scandal about Sumitomo Bank laundering dirty money for the Yamaguchi-gumi was exposed not too long ago.
I have to be mindful of the optics,” Shouichi said.
“Besides, I just arrived in Japan and haven’t fully set everything up yet.
Once I’m fully prepared, the losses definitely won’t be this massive.”
“They better not be!” Gin sounded like he was grinding his teeth as he spoke.
*Eight hundred million yen turned into four hundred million.
Did this bastard actually go and pay legitimate taxes on it?*
“Don’t you worry about a thing,” Shouichi said.
After hanging up the phone, Shouichi let out a bored yawn.
There was no financial future in the criminal underworld.
They had spent all that time, effort, and manpower to rob a bank of one billion yen, only for him to directly scam them out of six hundred million anyway.
However, he could only pull this off once.
If he did it too many times, Gin would stop playing with him.
Taking a sip of his coffee and looking at the scenery outside the window, Shouichi was in a fantastic mood.
Sitting in his luxurious office right now, he had it way better than people like Gin who constantly risked their lives out in the field.
Still, even if he wasn’t going to be a full-time gangster, a little collusion was necessary.
Seeing on his computer that the price of copper had already dropped to 2,800 dollars per ton, Shouichi closed the laptop in annoyance.
That idiot was completely unreliable; the price of copper was definitely going to keep falling.
He slacked off at the bank for the entire day before clocking out to head home.
“What weird weather.
It was raining yesterday, and today there’s a massive snowstorm,” Shouichi said, shrinking his neck against the cold.
The scientifically illogical world of Conan was just like this.
There was nothing to be done about it.
One had to keep clothes for all four seasons on hand at all times, as it was entirely possible to experience spring, summer, autumn, and winter all within a single week.
After getting on his motorcycle, Shouichi put his helmet back down.
With so much snow on the road, it was definitely going to be slippery.
What if he crashed the motorcycle and hurt himself?
For the sake of his own safety, Shouichi decided to hail a cab.
“Hm?”
Shouichi suddenly noticed a green car parked by the side of the road.
The door was wide open, and the keys were even left in the ignition.
*There’s actually a wild car just sitting here?*
“Thank you so much for taking care of him.
I’ll be sure to repay you properly in the future.”
The plump Edogawa Fumiyo was currently expressing her gratitude to Ran and Mouri Kogorou.
“Um, Ma’am…”
“What is it, Ran?
Are you going to miss little Conan?
Don’t worry, I’ll have him write letters to you,” Edogawa Fumiyo said.
“No, it’s…”
“Are you having a hard time letting go?
Then go ahead and say a proper goodbye to the boy.”
“It’s that your car just drove off on its own, Ma’am,” Ran said, pointing at the vehicle speeding away into the distance.
“Huh?”
Edogawa Fumiyo turned around in astonishment, only to find that the car that had been right behind her was completely gone.
The only thing left in its place was a blank check.
“Where’s my car?!” Edogawa Fumiyo blurted out, utterly dumbfounded.
*My son is still in that car!*
“Lady, who exactly are you…
huh?”
After the car started moving, Conan had wanted to interrogate the woman about who she was and why she was impersonating his mother.
But when he turned his head, why was there a man in the driver’s seat?
*Is he that lady’s accomplice?*
“Why are you in my car?” Shouichi asked in return.
“Your car?”
Conan’s mind went completely blank.
*Isn’t this that lady’s car?
How did it become your car?*
Shouichi said angrily, “If it’s not my car, is it yours?
Spit it out, why is a brat like you in my car?”
“I…
I don’t know.”
Hearing Shouichi’s absolute certainty and furious tone, Conan started to doubt himself.
The man sounded far too justified.
*I was clearly sitting in that lady’s car, and she was just outside talking to Uncle Mouri and Ran.
Did I lose a chunk of my memory?*
*Damn it, could it be a side effect of that drug?
Did it cause me to just lose a segment of my memory?*
*What exactly did I do during that missing time?*
Conan was deeply troubled.
“Could you let me out of the car first?” Conan asked.
“No problem.”
Shouichi pulled the car over to the side of the road.
Before he could even open the door, a white-gloved hand knocked on the window.
“Hello there.
You are parked illegally.
Please show me your driver’s license.”
Shouichi rolled down the window and offered a shy smile.
The traffic officer also offered a friendly smile—right as she reached into the car and pinned Shouichi’s arm down.
“Open the door!”
Conan watched the scene unfold beside him in a daze.
*Weren’t they just checking for illegal parking?
Why is she dragging him straight out of the car?*
“You’re driving without a license again.
Spit it out, where did you steal this car from this time?” Miyamoto Yumi demanded.
“What do you mean ‘steal’?
You’re so uncivilized when you speak.”
Miyamoto Yumi couldn’t care less about being civilized.
She looked at Conan inside the car and asked, “Little boy, where did Shouichi steal this car from?”
“I don’t know,” Conan replied, his brain still failing to process the situation.
He hadn’t even had the time to think about what was currently happening.
Miyamoto Yumi asked, “Then what is your relationship with Shouichi?”
“I don’t know him.”
“Oh, I see!
So this time you’re kidnapping children too!” Miyamoto Yumi glared furiously at Shouichi.
She had heard that those guys from wealthy conglomerates tended to have rather perverted personalities.
“I’m innocent!”
*I didn’t do that today.*
*I did my kidnapping yesterday.*