Chapter 490 Detective Conan 56

Chapter 490: 490 Detective Conan 56

I worried Haibara might be startled again, but this time she was only a little tense and sat quietly.

"So you’ve sent one more person in the meantime, Vermouth."

When I said that to Vermouth, she was surprised.

"As expected of a great onmyoji."

"What brings you here today?"

"I have something to discuss, so I’d appreciate it if you’d clear the area."

At those words, I signaled Ran and Haibara. They nodded and briefly returned to the mansion through the back door.

Vermouth watched them leave the room, then got straight to the point.

"I’ve come to recruit you. The person who bid on the mansion at the auction is very interested in you."

As expected, the Black Organization was trying to recruit me.

I thought for a moment and answered.

"Hmm... I don’t know why you want to recruit me, but I refuse."

Then Vermouth opened the briefcase she had brought and pushed it toward me. It was full of 100-dollar bills. It looked like at least 7 million dollars (9.3 billion won).

"How about a salary like this? It’s all cleanly laundered, so there won’t be any problems."

"This looks like about 1 billion yen. That’s what I could earn in three or four months."

Actually, including my AI investments, I earned far more than that, but I didn’t mention that part.

"And you know, don’t you? That I no longer need money."

"I suppose so. With the money from selling the mansion last time, you could live in luxury for the rest of your life. So we’re not asking for much either. Just that you prioritize our requests. Of course, we’ll pay separately for the work."

"Hmm..."

I had no choice but to consider it. The conditions were excellent, and it could breathe new life into my free time. It was also something Conan would surely enjoy. But I was worried Haibara might make a fuss. Besides, I had no idea what kind of requests the Black Organization would bring.

It was certainly an attractive offer in many ways, but it wasn’t easy to accept.

"Given the amount of cash you’re offering, the identity of that person and the purpose of the requests must be a secret."

"Yes, even if you accept, I’m afraid I can’t tell you."

As expected.

"How long will you be staying in Japan, Vermouth?"

"That depends on you, Jin. My only task is to recruit you."

"So you have some time, then. If you have nothing else to do, enjoy a week of vacation."

"So you’re saying you’ll think about it for about a week and then decide?"

"Yes. I think I need some time to think."

At those words, Vermouth nodded in acknowledgment. Even if they offered a lot of money, anyone could see this was a strange recruitment offer.

"I understand. Then let’s meet in a week. And that cash is tiring to carry around, so I’ll just leave it with you."

"Very well."

Leaving the cash with me could mean many things, but the biggest reason was probably that carrying a briefcase full of cash was tiring and dangerous. Besides, a wealthy person like me had no reason to steal the money, and even if I spent it, they could just recruit me as planned.

After Vermouth left, I checked the briefcase full of cash with my [Eyes]. As expected, a tracking device was attached. So I couldn’t put it in my inventory—I teleported to a secret space in my mansion, left the briefcase there, and returned to call Ran and Haibara.

Haibara looked extremely curious, but since Ran was there, she didn’t ask right away.

Anyway, after finishing my onmyoji work that day, I walked Ran back to the Mouri Detective Agency and briefly told Conan what had happened.

"Wh-what!?"

Conan was as shocked as expected.

"It’s hard to talk here, so follow me home for now."

"A, alright."

The reason I told Conan was to get his help persuading Haibara. I knew Conan would definitely agree.

"You’re finally here. So what did you talk about with Vermouth? Bringing Conan along means it’s not a normal matter."

I told them exactly what happened with Vermouth. Both of them looked surprised and began thinking seriously for a while.

"Recruitment... It’s a problem that Jin is too outstanding. So what are you going to do?"

"I’m not sure. I’m still thinking. That’s why I called you both—to hear your opinions."

When I said that, the two gave opinions completely opposite to what I expected.

"I’m against it. It’s too dangerous. In a way, Jin, you’re a third party. No matter how desperate I am to expose the Black Organization, I don’t have the conscience to push a third party into danger."

Conan surprisingly took the opposing side. But unexpectedly, Haibara was in favor.

"I’m in favor. Now that you’ve caught their eye, there’s no escape. I think refusing would actually create a bigger problem. That organization doesn’t hesitate to kidnap the people closest to you to threaten you, or to hold something over you as leverage. That’s their way."

Haibara thought for a moment, then spoke calmly.

"Thinking about it that way, the most dangerous ones are Ran and me."

"That’s..."

"So pretending to cooperate moderately while pocketing the money might actually be safer. Jin, your situation is fortunate. The fact that they’re treating you this well is proof that they value you highly. So they probably won’t try to use force unless absolutely necessary."

Haibara didn’t know the internal details of the Black Organization in full. But having spent a long time with them, she knew better than anyone how they operated and what characteristics they had. So Haibara was advising that rather than taking this situation emotionally, we should handle it in the most realistic way possible.

"Hmm... But what if I take their request and people get hurt? This looks no different from participating in a crime."

"Is this the time to worry about others? We’re the ones about to be in danger."

Conan, hearing that Ran could be in danger, silently agonized seriously. I suppose Conan’s mind was complicated too.

Then Haruka knocked.

"Um... it’s dinnertime, what should we do?"

"It’s already that late. Let’s eat first."

"Then I’ll get it ready."

We began eating without a word. Then Conan quietly spoke.

"I think you should just do it. Buy some time for now. That seems best."

Conan must have been really worried about Ran. So both of them ended up in favor.

"Sleep over. There might be surveillance. Let your mother know."

"Got it."

So a week passed, and Vermouth visited again. So I signaled Ran and Haibara to go back to the mansion.

"Did you enjoy your vacation?"

"I just slept a lot at the hotel. It was nice to have a peaceful rest for a change. So what have you decided?"

"I have yokai sealed away, so if I need to check or reinforce the seals, I may not be able to prioritize your requests. If that’s still acceptable, I’ll take it."

At those words, Vermouth was surprised.

"Y-yokai really exist?"

"Of course. The world isn’t only what you can see."

"...I don’t know whether to believe this or not..."

"Do you have some time today? When work is done, how about a date with me?"

At those words, Vermouth thought for a moment and said.

"Alright. Let’s do that."

Vermouth rested at the mansion while we did our onmyoji work.

After finishing work and cleaning up, I asked Morgan to walk Ran home, then drove Vermouth in the Ranger toward the Jukai Forest near Mount Fuji.

"This is that famous suicide forest."

"You know it."

"The Jukai Forest in Japan is very famous."

"That’s true. Anyway, please stay close behind me so you don’t get lost."

"You’re saying we’re going into the forest at this hour?"

When I said we’d enter the forest in the evening, Vermouth seemed reluctant.

"Since you don’t believe me, I have no choice but to show you. You need to know what kind of work I do, don’t you?"

"I-I suppose so."

We parked the car in the Jukai Forest parking lot and walked deeper into the forest.

"Sometimes you might see the corpses of people who made bad choices, so please don’t be startled."

"Okay..."

After walking for a while, we arrived at a clearing. In the clearing was a small shrine, and around the shrine, shimenawa ropes were strung like a fence.

"This is the place."

When I said this was it, Vermouth looked around and said.

"What’s supposed to be here? I don’t see anything except a small shrine."

I gently placed my hand on Vermouth’s shoulder.

Then she could see a girl standing inside the fence.

The girl was covered in blood. In her hands were several ropes, and from each rope hung people with missing body parts, writhing in pain. And the girl was grinning at us.

Blood was dripping from her torn mouth, but the girl smiled as if it were nothing, watching us. The sight felt like a monster in human form rejoicing at finding us, creating an eerie atmosphere just by looking at it.

Vermouth seemed shocked by the sight, stepped back, and eventually sat down on the ground. As a result, my hand fell from her shoulder, and the vision disappeared with it.

"Wh-what was that..."

"A Hikiko-san. She was severely bullied at school and died tragically. It seems it was so unfair to her that she first acted as a vengeful spirit, then devoured many souls and people in this forest and became a yokai."

"That can’t be..."

I helped Vermouth to her feet.

"Let’s leave the forest for now. The negative energy here is too strong to stay long."

"A, alright."

Vermouth seemed quite spooked by what had just happened, sticking close to my back as she followed.

We walked for a while again and finally made it back to the parking lot.

"Let’s go to a nearby cafe for a bit. I think you need to calm down."

"Sure."

We went to a nearby cafe and drank coffee. Vermouth calmed her trembling heart while drinking coffee, then began pouring questions at me.

"So the work you do, Jin..."

"It’s protecting people from things like that. What you just saw is only one of the seals our family has protected for generations."

"I see... What happens if a seal is broken?"

"Naturally, many people would die. Among the seals we protect, there are things incomparable to the Hikiko-san you just saw."

"I-is that so?"

"So no matter what happens, protecting the seals is the top priority. Let me tell you in advance, if those things get loose, the first people they’ll target are people like you. If you have many vengeful spirits attached to you, there’s plenty to eat. There’s no better feast for swelling their own power."

"I see..."

Hearing this, Vermouth began to think seriously.

"This isn’t something I can decide on my own. I think I need to report it to my superiors."

"Very well. I’ll drive you back."

"Thank you. I’ll take you up on that."

I drove Vermouth back to her hotel and returned home.

Actually, everything I showed her was an illusion created with my [Sharingan] ability. The reason I showed her this was to let the organization know that the place they were trying to step into was by no means easy, and at the same time to create excuses I could use.

’I wonder if I scared her too much.’