Options system in my brain: Detective Conan

"The glory of Showa is reappearing today!"

"This weekend, Tokyo Big Sight will host a unique exhibition of Showa jewelry."

"The most legendary gems, exquisite and unique jewelry, and one-of-a-kind crafts will all shine here."

"Walk into the long river of history and feel the endless charm of Showa craftsmanship. Let us return to that shining era together."

In a hotel in Tokyo.

Sera Masumi, who had just finished taking a shower and changed clothes in the bathroom, walked out while wiping her wet hair with a towel.

"This seems to be Akikawa's next job."

'Why do I always feel that his career as an artist is not going smoothly? The jobs he gets don't seem to attract much attention among young people.'

Masumi Sera turned her head and looked at the promotional words playing on the TV screen accompanied by a Showa-style picture, and thought to herself.

In this hotel room that is announced to be occupied by only Masumi Sera,

there is a little girl who looks to be the size of an elementary school student with short wavy golden hair.

The little girl is currently sitting on a chair in the hotel room, typing on the computer keyboard.

The serious and focused look on her face as she operated the computer seemed somewhat out of place with her little girl appearance.

"So pure."

Hearing Sera Masumi coming out, the little girl who was typing on the keyboard suddenly called out.

"Come here for a moment."

"What's wrong, Mom?"

Still holding the towel in her hand, Masumi Sera walked towards the little girl.

This little girl, who is similar in build to Conan and looks to be no more than junior high school age, is actually Masumi Sera's mother, MI6 agent - Akai Mary.

Like Conan, Akai Mary turned into a child after taking APTX-4869.

Mary Akai noticed out of the corner of her eye that Masumi Sera was walking towards her. She suddenly reached out and lifted the hem of Masumi Sera's T-shirt.

Masumi Sera did not expect this.

When she reacted, the hem of her clothes had been lifted up by Akai Mary.

Her flat belly, which was suffering from severe subcutaneous bleeding and was now purple-green in color, was exposed to the air without reservation.

"It's over. I've been exposed after all."

Masumi Sera thought to herself somewhat awkwardly.

Then, she saw Akai Mary raised her head and looked at her with the same unique deep green eyes as her own.

Facing her mother's sharp gaze, Sera Masumi felt a little nervous.

But even so, she couldn't help but ask:

"Mom, how did you find out?"

"Before, after taking a shower, you would just come out wearing a vest and shorts. Since when did you become so refined?"

"Put on your T-shirt and pants in the bathroom before you come out."

Mary Akai looked coldly at her daughter, who looked more like a boy than a girl, and said in a deep voice.

"Tell me, what's the matter with this injury?"

"What have you been secretly investigating all this time, Masumi?"

While Masumi Sera regretted her carelessness, she also knew that she could not continue to hide it,

so she told Mary Akai everything that happened at the hot spring hotel.

When Akai Mary heard that her daughter was almost killed by Vermouth and her face was seen by Vermouth,

an extremely shocked look appeared on her delicate little face.

"Hey, mom, what's wrong with you?"

It was the first time that Masumi Sera saw her mother with such an expression.

"I didn't expect that both of us almost died at the hands of that Vermouth."

Akai Mary exclaimed after a moment.

The APTX-4869 that caused her to shrink was given to her "personally" by Vermouth.

"Actually, you don't have to worry so much, mom. Vermouth doesn't even know that I'm your daughter, right?"

Compared to Akai Mary who had a look of shock on her face, Sera Masumi did not seem that worried.

"It's just that exposing my appearance is a bit troublesome. I'm afraid I'll be hunted down by the organization soon."

Masumi Sera recalled Akikawa Ryoko, who had been hunted by the organization for more than ten years, and sighed softly.

"It may not feel that fast, but you have to be careful, Masumi."

Akai Mary said.

"Masumi, how did you survive Vermouth? Was it Kudo Shinichi who saved you?"

While she was thinking about the functions of the software developed by Vermouth's client, she also wondered why Sera Masumi was able to survive Vermouth.

"not really."

As Sera Masumi said this, he told his mother the whole story of how Akikawa Kyousuke saved him.

When Mary Akai heard that her daughter had been rescued, there was no expression of sudden realization on her face.

Instead, his brows furrowed even deeper.

"Who is this Akikawa Kyousuke?"

"Akikawa and his mother had been hiding from the organization, and last year his mother was killed by the organization."

Sera Masumi said.

"But if Akikawa's mother was killed so easily by Chianti, then how could Akikawa have such ability?"

"According to what you said, Masumi, Akikawa was able to identify the real murderer of Sera Masumi's mother based solely on Sera Masumi's reaction."

"And based solely on the way Koizumi Kunio dismembered the body, we were able to infer the time when the organization conducted the transaction."

"Besides, he deceived you, Masumi, and Kudo Shinichi after the car accident."

"If a child can have such abilities, how can her mother be simple?"

"But she was killed so easily by that Chianti."

Akai Mary said in a deep voice, feeling that there was something wrong with Akikawa Kyousuke.

"I am a little confused about this."

"But come to think of it, it's probably just Akikawa who's special."

Sera Masumi said.

"By the way, Masumi, you're going to investigate the truth of the car accident. Could it be that Akikawa tricked you into doing it?"

After learning about Akikawa Kyousuke's specialness, Mary Akai became keenly aware of this possibility.

She was a little worried that her daughter would be deceived by the artist who sounded very cunning.

"That's not the case. I went to investigate the car accident case out of my own will."

"But the one who gave me the general direction of the investigation was Akikawa's sister, Okino Yoko."

After listening to Masumi Sera's account of her private conversation with Yoko Okino in the hospital, Mary Akai instantly realized that something was wrong.

"It seems that Okino Yoko didn't tell you the truth."

(End of this chapter)