novelaction Chapter 328 We, the descendants of the Karasuma family, are all about deceiving and cheating each ot
Chapter 328 We, the descendants of the Karasuma family, are all about deceiving and cheating each ot
Conan, wishing he could just slam his phone shut, turned around and met the stares of everyone in the hall. He quickly and sweatily held up his phone to try and salvage the situation: "It's not a mystery novel! In my opinion, the Kamen Rider stage play definitely used some unreleased high-tech special effects, ahahaha!"
Unable to move any further, Conan squatted down with a bitter face: "Dad, explain this to me in detail!"
Seriously, how can there be such complicated blood relationships in real life!
Kuromon Haruya could be his cousin, but it wouldn't matter if it was his great-grandfather's generation or even further back, but it couldn't be the generation above him!
No man could accept that his best friend, who was on equal footing with him, was of the same generation as his father!
"Calm down first, here's what happened." Kudo Yusaku carefully selected the details before telling the story of Kuromon Yoya being his aunt's adopted son. "Aunt Michi is related to the Kuromon family and adopted him out of pity, so Kuromon is indeed of the same generation as me."
...Shinichi? Shinichi! Are you still listening?
Shinichi Kudo's fingers trembled slightly as he pressed the hang-up button. He closed his eyes tightly, hoping it was just a nightmare caused by an overdose of anesthetic—but unfortunately, it wasn't.
The heavy weight in his hand was no longer a mobile phone, but an electronic Pandora's box, constantly releasing devastating news that shattered his worldview!
"hiss--"
He raised his hand to wipe his face, rubbed his aching temples, and concluded, "So the world-famous magician Kuroba Toichi is my uncle, and that Kuroba Kaito is my cousin?"
Yusaku Kudo was somewhat surprised: "Oh, you've already met Kaito?"
"Hmm...it looks quite unique."
He had intended to call him arrogant, but remembering that his cousin had lost his father, he swallowed his sarcasm. However, it was probably a consensus that the two had felt their personalities clashed from the moment they met.
"In that case, I'll have to ask you properly." Conan put one hand on his hip, standing on a smooth stone bench in the bamboo grove. "Is there anything else you're hiding from me?"
"This doesn't mean I kept it from you alone."
The brothers concealed many things from many people; how can that be considered acting alone?
"But considering that it's a matter between the older generation, and Dao Yi was with you when you were a child... I felt there was no need to bring it up again."
"Kuroba Toichi was with me when I was a child..." Conan frowned, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly realized. Eight years ago, Kuroba Toichi died in an accident while performing an escape magic trick!
No wonder... No wonder when I was nine, my parents suddenly went abroad for several months without saying a word, and didn't return until I was almost ten years old.
Oh, so he went to his own brother's funeral!
Hearing his son remain silent, Kudo Yusaku realized that his tactic of playing the victim to silence him had worked, and his smile grew even more cunning in a sorrowful tone:
"Let's not talk about this. Although Kuromon is your cousin because of adoption, it's still just adoption. We don't have the Kuromon family's genealogy, and we don't know the exact generational relationship between you and him."
Of course, to prevent secondary trauma and unnecessary trouble for him, it's up to you to decide whether or not to tell him.
Given Yusaku Kudo's understanding of his son, his first reaction to such a problem would always be to confront it rather than avoid it. No matter how unwilling Shinichi was about the uncle-nephew relationship, he wouldn't hide such a significant matter from his friend, and by stating that "there is no Kuromon family genealogy," he pointed Shinichi towards another path of investigation.
—In this way, the investigation of Kuromon Haruya is no longer an instruction from Kudo Yusaku to his son, but rather Conan takes the initiative and explores it on his own.
Sure enough, Conan muttered dejectedly, "Of course I have to tell him... Kuromon lost all his family, I have no right to keep it from him."
During the days spent by Ran's side, just watching her smile radiantly in the sunlight was enough to torment Shinichi Kudo. Not only that, but keeping it a secret from Ran, the Detective Boys, and the rest of the time already took a great deal of effort. Conan had hoped that Ai Haibara could ease his burdens, but instead, she was unusually cold. Their relationship plummeted after the accidental injury to Ran, and they barely even communicated anymore.
If he still has to keep it from Kuromon... Conan can't imagine how he'll get through the rest of his life.
“Alright, then I’ll leave this matter to you. There’s one more thing.” Kudo Yusaku changed the subject. “I suspect that the Kuroba family in Tottori might have connections with the organization, and I’m currently investigating. It just so happens that I’m not very familiar with Aunt Michi, so could you ask Kuromon for me if he has any leads?”
Instead of claiming that Heimon Yōya might be related to the organization's scientists, it would be better to shift the focus and simply say that there are problems within their own organization, and see what information he can reveal.
"...Wait, are you saying our family might be connected to the organization?!" Conan was at a loss for words.
"No, this is just a minor connection. I have other possible clues, but revealing too much will only disrupt your train of thought."
"If that's the case, why don't you ask Brother Heimen yourself?"
"Of course it's because you two are the closest!" The old father's reason was frank and reasonable. "But after I'm done here, I'll probably take some time to go back to our old house in Tottori, Japan. I'll see if you're interested in coming along."
"Hmm..." Conan's mind was filled with complicated feelings. "Okay, is there anything else?"
"Speaking of which, besides the alchemical potion you told me about before, has anything else been unusual in Japan lately?"
Conan glanced at the television screen, where an orange-haired passerby in a bartender's uniform was passionately supporting one of the mayoral candidates. He shook his head and said, "That's it."
After finishing their business, the father and son, whose family ties weren't particularly mushy, exchanged a few casual pleasantries and then hung up the phone, leaving Conan to act as the messenger in this complicated relationship.
Brother Kuromon, what will your reaction be if you find out about this...?
Conan once again recalled the stoic restraint he felt when he discovered Kuromon Haruya being coerced by Gin in the private room, and was forced to relive the painful past in the alley. With heavy steps, he approached Kuromon Haruya:
"Um, Brother Kuromon..."
"Oh! Conan, you've come at the perfect time!"
Haruya Kuromon, who had been eavesdropping on the entire conversation using the listening module on Conan's phone and was extremely controlling, saw his distressed expression and her eyes lit up. Without saying a word, she shoved the phone into his arms: "Quickly help me figure out how to distribute these little people!"
"You start playing video games as soon as you wake up?" Conan said with a hint of disdain, glancing down at the screen.
Several middle-aged, Mediterranean-looking characters with varying stats and special skills are bouncing around in a grid. Above them are several positions labeled "XX Police Superintendent," "XX Deputy Mayor," or even "XX Minister" that need to be filled. It looks like a typical simulation management game.
Conan glanced at them a few times and picked out a few middle-aged men from the "Land of Beverages" organization's talent pool: "Alright! I didn't know you liked playing this kind of game!"
"It feels a lot like going to work, but it's still fun to play around with occasionally." Kuromon Haruya squatted to the side, commenting casually, his smile gradually deepening: "It also lets you feel a sense of participation in building the organization!"
Using the world-class super AI Noah's Ark to retrieve and enhance data, you can manipulate Japanese politics with just a few taps on your phone—this fun "management game" is only available to the Karasuma family's direct descendants; most people can't play it!