Chapter 36: Delivered Right to His Door! Mizunashi Rena
Soon, after two soft knocks, an extraordinarily pretty young woman stepped into the room, microphone in hand.
Her delicate face was done up in light makeup.
Her long hair was gathered into a single ponytail draped over one shoulder, giving her the air of a gentle, homely housewife next door.
Below her gray women's blazer, she wore an unremarkable pair of wide-leg trousers, giving off a conservative, buttoned-up impression—like a career woman who lived and breathed nothing but work.
But the pale lavender blouse underneath carried a playful lace trim, hinting at another side of her entirely.
Mizunashi Rena!
News anchor for Nichiuri TV.
And, at the same time, a mole the CIA had planted inside the Black Organization, codenamed Kir.
Later, she'd also become an informant for the FBI, feeding them intelligence on the organization.
It was safe to say that this woman standing before him carried one of the most complicated identities of anyone around.
"Higashino-san, thank you so much for agreeing to this exclusive interview with Nichiuri TV."
"If I'm intruding on your rest, please forgive me!"
Rena set a bouquet of flowers down by his bedside.
She looked around for somewhere to sit, only to find there wasn't a single spare chair in the room.
These past few days had brought all sorts of visitors—reporters, well-wishers, star-struck fans—far too many of them.
Makoto had simply had every chair in the room carried out, so none of them would have an excuse to overstay their welcome.
"Sit here."
Makoto patted the edge of the bed.
"This..."
"All right, then."
Rena's pretty face flushed faintly as she bit her lip and sat down on the edge of the bed.
In an instant!
The man in front of her—the national hero who'd saved over a thousand lives—was now less than half a meter away from her.
She could even make out the faint rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.
"Makoto, I'll get going now."
"See you tomorrow!"
Ran shut the door behind her and left the room.
In this sixty-square-meter VIP room, only Makoto and Rena remained.
Makoto pushed himself up slightly.
Rena, beside him, hurried to tuck a pillow behind his back.
"Should I call you Mizunashi Rena? Or Hondou Hidemi? Or maybe..."
"Kir?"
Makoto looked the beautiful woman over and reached out a finger, tilting her chin up with playful ease.
In an instant!
Her lightly made-up, delicate face went white as paper.
Her scarlet lips trembled faintly.
It was a long moment before she managed a single sentence—"Who... who are you?"
"Higashino Makoto!"
"Just a kind citizen who happened to save over a thousand lives!"
Makoto said with a smile, picking up Ran's chicken soup and taking a few sips.
He had to admit, Ran really was cut out to be someone's wife. Her cooking might not rival some Michelin chef's, but it carried a warmth all its own.
Unlike the calm, composed Makoto, Rena looked visibly agitated.
Her chest heaved violently as she drew in ragged, heavy breaths.
Her eyes stayed locked on him, a flood of images flashing through her mind.
She kept trying to speak, but nothing came out, as if she were still struggling to find the words.
That one opening line from Makoto had already thrown every one of her plans into disarray, scrambling her thoughts completely.
After a long while, she finally managed her second sentence—"What else do you know?"
"Everything you know, I know."
"Everything you don't know, I know that too."
"For instance..."
Makoto paused there, without continuing.
Instead, he picked up a pen and, on a sheet of hospital autograph paper, wrote down two words—"Gin," "CIA"!
"Gulp!"
Rena swallowed hard.
Her cat-like blue eyes went wide in an instant.
She could barely even breathe.
"Y-you..."
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Rena tried to keep her voice steady, forcing a mask of composure onto her face.
"I have Gin's phone number."
"He gave it to me himself—that day, on the Shinkansen from Beika to Kyoto."
Makoto took out that business card, spinning it idly between his fingers like a playing card.
The name "Kurosawa Jin" printed on it, along with a string of digits that were unmistakably a phone number, sent the star anchor of Nichiuri TV into full-body trembling.
She could barely even stay steady on the edge of the bed.
She kept inching further and further to the edge, as if she might bolt and run at any second.
'He knows everything!'
Even the fact that she was a CIA mole—he knew that down to the last detail.
Worse still...
He had that man's phone number—could reach that terrifying man whenever he pleased.
If...
If that man ever found out...
Rena's face had gone completely white; she didn't even dare finish the thought.
Her mother had passed away ten years ago.
Her father, also a CIA mole, had died four years ago protecting her.
And now, her only remaining family was her little brother, Hondou Eisuke, still in high school.
If Gin found out, it wouldn't just be her who died—her only brother wouldn't escape it either.
And it would be an ugly death.
A truly ugly one!
That organization never once tolerated a single traitor.
And right now, Higashino Makoto—this national hero of Japan, a man countless people worshipped and admired—
Held her and her brother's very lives in the palm of his hand.
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Higashino Makoto — Protagonist. Transmigrated.
Hondou Hidemi — Undercover girl. Series: Detective Conan.
Mouri Ran — Shinichi's childhood sweetheart. Series: Detective Conan.
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Translated by CheapBiscuit.
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Throw those power stones here, lemme catch them!
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