Chapter 73: I hate mice.
Edogawa Conan initially believed that Morofushi Sora'aki was separated from his parents and older brother at a young age and then adopted. However, after seeing the dates in the newspaper, he realized the timeline didn't match up, so he asked again if he was their biological son.
Having a blood relationship doesn't mean they are biological children; they might be close cousins or other relatives. Indeed, Morofushi Sora'aki's answer was "not biologically related". However, even so, Morofushi Sora'aki stated that they were his only remaining "family".
Edogawa Conan had a gut feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it—it wasn't until he watched Morofushi Sora'aki's departing figure disappear and Mouri Ran uttered words that Edogawa Conan realized what was going on.
"Nozaki-kun is such a kind person." Mouri Ran said. "Even though he has never met or had any contact with the other person, and they are not even blood brothers, he still cares about the whereabouts of that older brother."
Upon hearing this, Edogawa Conan immediately realized something was amiss!
Based on his age, if this high school student who calls himself Nozaki Umetarou was adopted by his current parents at a young age, and if the newspaper reports that the couple in Nagano died and their 7-year-old son (Morofushi Hiromitsu) went missing, then Nozaki Umetarou was not yet born at this time.
After his birth, the only person he could possibly come into contact with was the "eldest son" (Morofushi Taka'aki) mentioned in the newspaper.
However, if Nozaki Umetarou had been in contact with his eldest son (Morofushi Taka'aki), he shouldn't have only learned about the missing child (Morofushi Hiromitsu) now.
Furthermore, even if someone wanted to find someone, based on the degree of kinship, it should be the "eldest son" mentioned in the newspaper who should be doing the searching, not Nozaki Umetarou. Or, shouldn't Nozaki Umetarou's first choice be to inquire with that eldest son (Morofushi Taka'aki)?
"Didn't Nozaki-kun just say that he doesn't want to disturb his two older brothers' lives? If we ask that older brother who lost both his parents and his younger brother about this, it might hurt him, right?" Mouri Ran guessed.
Edogawa Conan blinked: "Is that really true?"
"But Nozaki-san just said that he 'always knew he had an older brother', but his second brother should have disappeared after he was born, so why wouldn't he know about it?"
Twenty-two years have passed. Rather than a sudden curiosity and concern, it is more accurate to say that it was because of some recent unexpected event that Nozaki-san began to pay attention to his missing (non-biological) older brother.
When Mouri Ran relayed this request to Mouri Kogorou, he immediately refused: "Impossible, Ran, please refuse for me. I can't do this request."
Mouri Ran couldn't help but call out, "...Dad!"
Mouri Kogorou, unusually serious, said, "Ran, do you know what 22 years really means? 22 years ago, you weren't even born yet. Even now, it's very difficult to find a child who has been missing for more than 24 hours."
Mouri Ran is just too gentle and kind, but that doesn't mean she's immature. Of course, she understands how difficult this matter is.
After I revised my father's statement and relayed it to Nozaki-kun, he expressed his understanding, and the matter was dropped.
This was just an ordinary episode in their daily lives.
It wasn't until a later case that Edogawa Conan heard a keyword from the culprit that made his heart skip a beat.
"It was all those men in black who forced me to do this!" the prisoner roared in frustration.
This is an amusement park. Suzuki Sonoko invited Mouri Ran to come and play, and naturally, Edogawa Conan was also brought along.
During the trip, an explosion suddenly occurred. The case was solved after Edogawa Conan hinted at it intentionally or unintentionally. When the police asked about the source of the explosives, the culprit answered as follows.
Edogawa Conan was about to press for more information, but Inspector Megure beat him to it, "Black clothes?"
The culprit looked like he was about to speak, but just as Edogawa Conan was staring intently at him, he noticed that the culprit, as if he had seen something terrifying, suddenly swallowed hard and swallowed back the words that were about to come out.
Edogawa Conan immediately looked in the direction the culprit was looking, but apart from the onlookers, he didn't notice anything amiss.
The prisoner was staring at a couple. A very tall young man with medium-length hair, wearing a black shirt, was slightly bent over and talking to his girlfriend beside him. The girlfriend looked embarrassed and answered with a word.
A hint of a smile appeared in the young man's beautiful, droopy purple eyes. He then shielded his girlfriend from the surrounding crowd and left the spot.
The case is closed, and the onlookers have begun to leave; their actions are not unusual.
Aside from the fact that the young man was exceptionally handsome and easily noticed at first glance, there was nothing strange about him.
Edogawa Conan withdrew his gaze, gritted his teeth, and continued to observe that direction, but no matter how he looked, he couldn't see anyone suspicious!
The reason why Edogawa Conan is so sensitive to "black clothes" is because not long ago, he overheard a phone call from the man who caused him to become the way he is now.
On the other end of the phone was a young man who spoke in a flippant tone: [Seriously, Gin, don't you think the organization's rules are outdated and rigid—or rather, childish?]
[Huh? You're saying my two words have completely opposite meanings?] This wasn't said to Gin, and Gin didn't complain about it either, so there must have been someone else with the person on the other end of the phone.
[But I'm serious~ Look, the black clothes and the weird nicknames—seriously, if word got out, I'd suspect I was using a male escort's alias!]
[Besides, the requirement to wear black is ridiculous. Even if people in organized crime wear black suits, if you're dressed head-to-toe in black, everyone will suspect you're a bad guy! Of course, you don't count—even in a black suit, you're still the most handsome one!]
This wasn't clearly directed at Gin on the other end of the phone. As the conversation veered off course, Gin became visibly impatient and shouted, [Glenturret!]
Just then, the man called Glenturret chuckled and said, [By the way, Gin—the background noise over there is really loud. Are you in the parking lot?]
Then, Edogawa Conan couldn't listen anymore.
However, this phone call that he dared to eavesdrop on actually gave Edogawa Conan a lot of information.
First, this organization is large and complex enough—after all, developing such a drug requires substantial funding. Although Gin initially intended to use the drug as poison, unexpected events occurred…
Secondly, according to the intelligence we have so far, the members of this organization all wear all black clothes, and their code names are most likely related to alcohol.
Edogawa Conan wasn't very knowledgeable about alcohol, so when he got home that day, he searched for the name of the drink and found what seemed to be the most suitable one...
Glenturret is a Highland whiskey with an alcohol content of 43.4%.
Damn it! The clue was right in front of us, but we were still one step away! Edogawa Conan clenched his fists, but his face was adorned with a sweet tone as if he were pouting at Mouri Ran.
"Ran-neechan! I need to go to the restroom!"
"Do you want me to take you there?" Mouri Ran asked.
"No need! I know the way!" With that, Edogawa Conan waved his hand and ran towards the restroom.
Although he said he was going to the toilet, Edogawa Conan only stood in front of the sink and washed his face with cold water. Calm down, calm down, there must be something he'd overlooked.
With this thought in mind, Edogawa Conan was about to turn back when he unexpectedly ran into the "girlfriend" he had just seen at the scene.
The woman with long, flowing hair was on the phone; the young man with medium-length hair was not beside her at that moment.
Edogawa Conan didn't pay much attention at first, but just as they passed each other, he heard the woman say, "Oh, what a pity, Reiko, do you know? I just met a man of extremely high level!"
"What? He was the one who started the conversation with me first! I wasn't that proactive... But we were almost there, but then he got a phone call and left."
"Hmm... I'm not sure. I only vaguely heard the name of some kind of alcohol mentioned on the phone. Maybe it was some kind of date at a bar? But then again, that guy doesn't look like someone I could handle—he's definitely a seasoned player!"
"But I'm still so sad. It was such a good opportunity, I wouldn't have lost out if I slept with him once!!", the shawl-wearing woman complained. "I've decided! Let's go for a drink tonight! I want a Glenturret!"
"I don't know what kind of wine it is, but this is what I heard—let's just consider it a tribute to my hundredth first love!"
Edogawa Conan stopped abruptly, took a deep breath, and immediately adopted a flustered expression, like a child, as he approached her: "Hey! Big sister, have you seen a cute dolphin keychain?"
When the woman apologized and said no, Edogawa Conan said, on the verge of tears, "Waaaaah, that was a birthday present my sister gave me... The last time I saw it, I also saw you and your boyfriend... I was wondering if you two might have found it..."
The woman with long, flowing hair was clearly a kind-hearted person. She explained, "That person isn't my boyfriend... but he might have seen him—he went that way. Why don't you go ask him, little friend?"
Edogawa Conan burst into laughter through his tears: "Thank you, big sister!"
The childish expression on Edogawa Conan's face vanished the moment he turned around. This was an amusement park; it wasn't unusual for a child like him to run around like that, and it wouldn't attract any attention.
One ran, the other walked, and Edogawa Conan finally caught up with the medium-length-haired youth before leaving the park. But just as he was about to give chase, Conan was suddenly pulled around a corner and his mouth was covered!
Edogawa Conan instinctively tried to struggle, but then he heard the person holding him down say in a somewhat familiar voice, "Shh—someone's coming."
Edogawa Conan's pupils contracted, and just then, he heard footsteps coming from the other side. If he had chased after them, he would have definitely run into someone head-on!
The young man with medium-length hair stopped in his tracks and said with a smile, "Hey, long time no see, Scotch~ Are you here for a date at the amusement park too?"
"A date? If it refers to a date that invites you to hell, then you could say that." another gentle, unfamiliar male voice said.
"Haha, you're still as playful as ever." The middle-aged man with medium-length hair complained, half-jokingly, "Seriously, I was supposed to just keep him from revealing the secret, why do I have to clean up the mess now?"
"After all, there was a slight mishap," Scotch replied.
Edogawa Conan was pressed tightly against the person holding him, his ear very close to the chest of the person behind him. Therefore, while he could hear the loud pounding of his own heart, he could also hear the steady heartbeat of the person behind him.
At that moment, the two people who were chatting suddenly went silent. The one who was most likely from Glenturret suddenly said, "By the way, Scotch, do you know what Glenturret's most famous rumor is?"
Scotland: "What is it?"
"It's a cat!" Glenturret looked around the corner and smiled. "In the past, many distilleries kept cats to keep away mice that stole their food. A cat named Towser, who guarded Glenturret, set a Guinness World Record for catching mice during its nearly 24-year lifespan."
"Why are you suddenly bringing this up?" Scotch asked.
"Haha, so I actually really hate rats too... Ah, did I steal Gin's line? I meant rats in a biological sense, you know? They're just too dirty!"
Edogawa Conan stopped breathing at that moment. If he hadn't been held tightly behind him and had his mouth covered, he would have suspected that he would have screamed out loud.
As the footsteps drew closer, Edogawa Conan almost felt his heartbeat match the increasingly heavy footsteps.
Large drops of sweat condensed into a single drop that slid down and landed on the hand of the other person who was covering his mouth.
"Tap—" The footsteps stopped.