Chapter 491 Detective Conan 57

Chapter 491: 491 Detective Conan 57

"How did things go with Vermouth?"

Haibara asked as soon as I got home.

"I’m not sure. She just said she’d report it to her superiors."

"Really? That’s unusual."

I didn’t think I needed to explain the yokai in detail to Haibara, so I let it go.

The next day, Vermouth visited the house. Since it was the weekend and I had no onmyoji work, I had just been lounging at home.

"Let’s go out. There seem to be a lot of people at your house."

"Sure."

We drove out in the Ranger like yesterday and talked over coffee at a nearby cafe.

"I reported it yesterday. But they treated me like a complete lunatic. I even got asked if I was on drugs."

Vermouth sighed as she said this, but I could fully understand. Without seeing it firsthand, it was hard to believe in things like yokai.

"I understand. That’s only natural."

"A personal question, but if yokai exist, does that mean gods exist too?"

"They do. I’ve seen them a few times myself."

"Does that mean there isn’t just one god?"

"Yes. There are land gods, death gods, plague gods, and so on, but what you’re asking about, Vermouth, is an omnipotent god like the Christian one."

"Yes, that’s right."

"Hmm... I think it exists."

When I gave a vague answer, she tilted her head as if she didn’t understand and asked again.

"What do you mean, it seems to exist? Does it exist or not?"

"In Japan there are onmyoji, and in the West there are exorcists and priests. I once saw a priest with no power at all repel an evil spirit with nothing but prayer. I don’t know the true nature of high-ranking gods in detail either, but there must have been a being that lent that priest its power. That’s why I said it that way. I’m not sure if that answers your question."

"I see..."

I don’t know why Vermouth was curious about God, but judging by her expression, she seemed to be agonizing over something serious.

"So what did your superiors say?"

"Ah, they said instead of recruiting you, they’ll just make occasional requests, so let’s stay on friendly terms. They also said the cash in the briefcase is just a token of goodwill, so keep it and they look forward to working with you. Maybe they thought my report yesterday was too absurd."

I didn’t know why that conclusion was reached, but I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. I had wanted to create a more solid connection.

Still, I didn’t show it and just spoke.

"So that’s how it is... Understood. Either way, I have nothing to lose."

"Oh right, there’s a tracking device in the briefcase. It’s attached to the inner left wall, so you can just remove it and destroy it. We installed it just in case, so please don’t take it too badly."

"I fully understand. It’s a lot of money."

"Then I’ll see you next time. Meeting you and learning about a new world was very interesting, but I have a lot to do, so this meeting will have to end here."

Vermouth stood up to say goodbye, so I also stood up, shook her hand, and said farewell.

"I also enjoyed talking with a beautiful woman. See you next time."

With that meeting behind me, I returned home and called Conan. Then, along with Haibara, I told them about the conversations I’d had with Vermouth.

"Whew... Should I call this a relief?"

Conan said that, but Haibara couldn’t drop her suspicion.

"It’s strange... That organization wouldn’t back off like this. And giving away that much money for nothing? No matter how I think about it, it’s strange. That organization never does business at a loss."

"It is certainly strange. But with Jin being so wealthy, maybe that’s the reason. They know they can’t win him over with a normal sum of money, so they might have done that."

"Really? Well, Jin is certainly very rich."

"That doesn’t mean Haibara is wrong. They might make an unreasonable request to recoup their investment. I don’t think we can let our guard down."

But I chuckled at Conan’s words.

"I’m not worried at all. I just got free money, so it’s only good. And I did a fortune-telling, and the reading said nothing bad would happen. So nothing will happen."

"Good grief, you’re so lucky... Well, we’ve cleared one hurdle, so we shouldn’t have to worry for a while. I’m going home now. If anything special happens, tell me and we’ll discuss it again."

Conan said that and went home.

I removed the tracking device attached to the briefcase of money, destroyed it, and put the money in my inventory. If I ever went abroad, I planned to deposit it in a bank and invest it, or use it when needed.

But that time came a bit sooner than expected.

Ring ring ring.

"Hello?"

-"It’s me, Chris Vineyard."

"What is it?"

-"How about going on a vacation to the Caribbean with me? It’s almost vacation time, after all."

"The Caribbean... So it’s a request."

-"Yes. I don’t know the details either, but they want me to find something. They said they want to see your skills too, so they want you to come along. Travel expenses, hotel costs, and the request fee are all covered, so I don’t see a downside."

"Understood. Let’s do that."

-"You’re not refusing? Since it’s far away, I thought you might turn it down at least once."

"I’ve been bored with the same routine lately, so it’s fine."

This was sincere.

-"Is that so? Alright. I’ll let you know once the schedule is set."

The call ended there, but I didn’t tell Haibara or Conan about this. I was curious about what kind of request it would be, and if I told them, they would obviously interfere.

A few days later, Vermouth contacted me with the schedule. It was two days after vacation started, which seemed like enough time to take the kids on a trip too.

"What?! You’re going to New York for vacation?!"

"Yeah, Morgan’s house is there. So we don’t need to book a hotel, and Morgan has a private plane, so we can go anywhere in America."

"M-Morgan has a plane?! I knew he went to America to get a license last time, but he bought a plane... Morgan must be really rich too?"

Then Sonoko, who was beside us, answered instead.

"Morgan invested in our company last time. I heard it was tens of billions of yen. Dad said that because of the large initial capital, the company’s business could proceed smoothly. He’s a major shareholder now."

"Tens of billions... major shareholder..."

Ran couldn’t follow the conversation at all when such an incomprehensible amount came up.

"But... Dad buying the yacht means there’s not much money left at home, so even plane tickets would be tight..."

"You have an incredibly successful boyfriend, so what’s there to worry about? Of course Jin will pay. I’m also invited, and Morgan said he’d buy my ticket."

I nodded and confirmed Sonoko’s words.

"Sonoko is right, of course I’ll pay, so don’t worry."

"But is that really okay... I already receive so much help, I feel too sorry..."

"I said this before, but taking care of the person who will become my wife is natural. Ran, just apply for ESTA and bring your passport."

At those words, Ran’s face turned rapidly red.

"Goodness... Don’t say things like that at school, it’s embarrassing."

Indeed, Ran was quite overwhelmed this time too.

’Being kind is good, but it’s also tiring in its own way.’

Ran kept being like this, so it was a bit awkward. The purpose of earning money is to have fun and play freely, but if things continued like this, I couldn’t use it with peace of mind.

Anyway, I let them know I’d be going to America first to handle a request from a Korean resident, and booked plane tickets for everyone. Of course, everyone was in first class.

But that night, Conan contacted me. He must have figured out that we were traveling to America.

-"Hey! Why didn’t you include me?! I’m telling you to book my plane ticket right now!"

"Did you forget about Osaka?"

-"That was..."

"That was what?"

-"Ha... fine, fine! No matter what happens, I’ll stick with the group!"

"Good, you promised. But isn’t your family rich? Can’t you book your own plane ticket? And isn’t your father in America?"

-"We’re relatively well-off, but I feel guilty... Because of me, a lot of money was spent in America, and my mother is in Japan too, so I can’t just ask for money so easily... And my father is in Los Angeles, which is the complete opposite side from Manhattan."

Conan must have his own circumstances.

I sighed and said.

"I’ll ask Ran to send you a plane ticket, so pick it up."

-"Okay..."

So vacation began, and Vermouth and I met at the airport and headed to America.

"This is my first time on an overseas work request."

"Really? Your parents are American, so you must have been to America often. Have you been to the Caribbean?"

"I’ve been, but mostly only to islands in the Bahamas or British territory."

"Well... other places don’t have very good security."

It wasn’t so much that security was bad, but that most of the beautiful islands were taken by the British.

It took us 18 hours to arrive in Miami, and after resting a bit, we took another 3-hour flight to the Virgin Islands.

"Whew... Long-distance flights are really tiring. Ah, there they are."

Looking where Vermouth pointed, I saw two men in black—none other than Gin (the organization member) and Vodka. I never expected to see them here again.

"Long time no see, Gin, Vodka. I didn’t expect you two to be here."

"So this is Jin the onmyoji. I came to verify all that ridiculous talk about yokai, and I was also curious whether you could find something we gave up looking for before."

"Both of you are named Jin, so it’s hard to call you. One is a codename and one is an actual name. So how about calling you ’Absinthe’? We don’t know yet whether you’ll be an inspiration or a poison to us."

"Absinthe... Well, not bad."

"Is that alright? Jin?"

When Vermouth asked me that, I agreed.

The Black Organization always assigns alcohol names as codenames—men get spirits, women get cocktails or wines. So it seemed they’d given me a codename too. But it wasn’t a codename I liked. The sound of it wasn’t very pleasant.

"First, take me to the hotel. I’m tired from coming so far."

When Vermouth said that, Gin and Vodka silently started walking ahead. We followed them to the hotel. It wasn’t a very large hotel, but it was right in front of the beach, had a strong resort atmosphere, and the facilities were decent.

"Not bad."

"We’ll start work tomorrow, so you should rest well."

Gin left those words and went off somewhere with Vodka. They were probably staying at a different hotel.

"Let’s unpack and rest too."

"Sure. But that man called Gin earlier was incredible. I’ve never seen someone with so many vengeful spirits attached. He’s definitely not someone who’s lived a normal life."

"Well... that’s true."

Vermouth didn’t mention anything more about Gin. I couldn’t tell if it was to keep secrets or simply because she didn’t want to talk about it.

We unpacked, ate, and then went to the hotel pool to swim.

"Wow! Jin, your body is no joke. I saw it in ads, but it’s incomparable to the real thing."

"I’ve always trained in the swordsmanship passed down in my family. Vermouth, you’re beautiful too."

Vermouth came out in a bikini, and she certainly had a good figure. She must have taken good care of her skin as an actress, and her moderately toned muscles looked good. On top of that, she had a not-too-excessive voluptuous chest, making her body exactly my type in many ways.

"If you keep staring like that, it’s a bit embarrassing."

"Oh, my apologies."

Her body was so good that I must have stared too long.

"From what I’ve investigated, you have a girlfriend. Is it okay to look at another woman like this?"

"I have nothing to say about that, but I can’t help my eyes going to a beautiful body."

"Really? Well... I couldn’t take my eyes off your body either, Jin."

We swam lightly to relieve fatigue, then came out and had a drink each while enjoying dinner.

"You’re still a student, but you’re very good at drinking?"

"I drink secretly sometimes. Didn’t you do the same in your school days, Vermouth?"

At my words, Vermouth chuckled.

"That’s right. I did too. It brings back old memories. I used to gather with friends and drink heavily. Those were good times..."

"Oh, it’s already this late. Let’s go in and rest. There might be a lot to do tomorrow."

"Yes, let’s."

I went into my room, showered, lay on the bed watching TV, when suddenly Vermouth came into my room wearing only a robe and slowly began to remove it. It was a clear signal, so I didn’t refuse, and we spent a passionate night together. It was a bit ironic to have my first experience with Vermouth in the Conan world.

"Hah, hah... You’re not a first-timer. And what is this ecstatic feeling? I’ve never experienced anything like this before. You’re not just big—your technique is amazing..."

My accumulated skills? Vermouth seemed quite surprised.