Chapter 371: The Jet-Black Mysterious Train 13
Cointreau studied the man sitting across from him. Okiya Subaru wore a perfectly crafted mask of confusion, though the subtle tension in his posture betrayed his true thoughts. Given their opposing stances, the man clearly felt no need to voice a retort. A faint, knowing smile touched Cointreau's lips.
"You are in disguise."
Subaru parted his lips, ready to offer a mild-mannered deflection, but Cointreau cut him off before a single syllable could escape.
"Of course, a simple disguise doesn't automatically prove you are Shuichi Akai. I recognized you from your combat habits. We have crossed paths before. Even though you were completely in control just a moment ago, the second an emergency struck, your subconscious reactions were identical to his. And, as it happens, my eyesight is exceptionally sharp. I saw right through you."
Faced with Cointreau's absolute certainty, Okiya Subaru—no, Shuichi Akai—realized that playing the fool was a waste of breath. He abandoned the mild-mannered facade. The perpetually narrowed, friendly slits of his eyes slowly opened, revealing a sharp, piercing gaze underneath.
"Truly worthy of the codename Cointreau," Akai said, his voice dropping its artificial softness. "A figure once considered even more elusive than the thousand-faced witch, Vermouth. I never managed to catch a glimpse of you during my years embedded in the Organization. Looking back, it is quite a pity."
"There is nothing to regret. Aren't we sharing a rather fateful meeting right now?" Cointreau chuckled, the sound low and relaxed. "Besides, we will have plenty of opportunities to cross paths in the future."
"Oh?" Akai's tone deepened, carrying a dangerous edge. "I didn't expect a high-ranking executive like Cointreau to be so idle after leaving Europe. Wandering around Japan aimlessly doesn't suit you. Or perhaps..." His sharp eyes locked onto Cointreau. "...there is something—or someone—here that has caught your attention?"
"A bit of both, I suppose," Cointreau replied breezily. "Those two children... Conan Edogawa and Ai Haibara, was it? They are quite special, aren't they?"
He caught the microscopic shift in Akai's gaze—a momentary tightening of the pupils. Cointreau smiled knowingly. "It seems you are already aware. I certainly didn't expect that after time stopped for Vermouth, the Organization's researchers would stumble upon something so miraculous."
He leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his hand. "Rejuvenation. Reversing the clock. Even if it is currently an exceptional anomaly, the fact that there is more than one successful case proves that the process can potentially be replicated. Tell me, if the Boss were to discover this little secret, what do you think would happen?"
Cointreau simply watched Akai, posing the question with a tone of dark curiosity.
Akai lowered his gaze, his expression hardening into cold stone. He had clearly run this exact, horrifying scenario through his mind the moment he deduced the true identities of the shrunken detective and the runaway scientist.
"He would spare no expense," Akai stated, his voice flat and devoid of warmth. "He would deploy every available Organization member to capture them alive. They would be forced into laboratories, chained as test subjects, and the researchers would squeeze every last drop of value from their flesh and blood."
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Cointreau brought his hands together in a slow, mocking applause. "Perfectly said."
Without missing a beat, he threw out another question, his tone turning razor-sharp. "Then let me ask you this: if the FBI brass learned the absolute truth about Shinichi Kudo and Sherry, do you honestly believe their fates would be any different?"
Akai paused. The silence stretched in the rattling train cabin.
"No," Akai finally admitted. "But given the international influence of Yusaku and Yukiko Kudo in the United States, they would be 'persuaded' to voluntarily contribute to the development of biotechnology."
"Heh." A cold sneer broke across Cointreau's face. "It seems you understand the hypocrisy of your own side perfectly well. In that regard, the suits pulling the strings at the FBI—and other intelligence agencies—are far more sinister than a criminal like me. At the very least, I have never once craved the agonizing curse that is eternal life."
Akai shifted his gaze, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Masumi Sera. The teenage detective was lying quietly on the carriage bench, still unconscious but breathing steadily. After confirming his younger sister was unharmed, Akai turned his full, intense focus back to the man sitting across from him.
"What is your actual intention in telling me all this?" Akai demanded, his tone measured but probing. "It sounds as though you, a high-ranking executive, do not align with your Boss's vision at all."
Cointreau tilted his head, looking mildly amused. "There is no need to fish for information. I can tell you directly: I hold zero loyalty toward the Boss. That lack of allegiance is precisely why you and those two children have managed to run around right under the Organization's nose multiple times without being wiped out. You didn't think it was just pure luck, did you?"
Akai remained silent, his mind racing as he processed the implication.
"As for my intention..." Cointreau leaned back against the plush seat. "It's quite simple. I want to use you to deal with the Boss."
Before Akai could voice the inevitable questions, Cointreau pressed on. "I know your ultimate goal is to completely obliterate the Organization. But let's be brutally honest—that is a pipe dream. You don't truly comprehend the terrifying depth of the Organization's foundation., Shuichi Akai, you should be well aware that if you actually pushed to wipe us off the map, the first people to oppose you would be your own superiors."
Cointreau's eyes darkened. "Aging and death. Those are the Organization's two absolute trump cards. If given the chance to escape those two inevitabilities, very few people in power could ever refuse the temptation."
Akai's expression barely shifted. He absorbed the grim reality of Cointreau's words without letting it shake his resolve.
"So, Cointreau," Akai said, his tone laced with absolute certainty. "You want to seize power from the Boss and take the throne for yourself."
Cointreau neither confirmed nor denied the accusation. He simply offered a vague, noncommittal smile. "Perhaps."
In truth, Cointreau had zero desire to become the kingpin of a massive, shadowy criminal syndicate. The position was painted with a massive target, highly dangerous, and offered nothing of actual value to him. If he took over, he wouldn't even be able to take his younger sister on a simple vacation without a swarm of clueless agents and rival factions watching their every move.
His actual plan was far more pragmatic. He intended to use the absurdly good luck of this world's 'protagonists' to eliminate the specific obstacles within the Organization that threatened his and his sister's peaceful future. Once the dust settled, he would completely eradicate all research data related to human experimentation—they had absolutely no need for such twisted science anyway.
After that, he would wash his hands clean, transition into the legitimate business world, and naturally 'part ways' with the syndicate's more unsavory departments.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]