Chapter 136: What! Your Brother Wants to Meet Me?
Gin, who was out of town on a business trip to raise funds, suddenly sneezed. His attentive subordinate Vodka immediately handed him a black overcoat.
"Aniki, although the rainy season isn't as cold as winter, the chill is still quite biting. Please wear an extra layer."
Gin nodded slightly, put on the black overcoat, lit a cigarette, and asked, "How are things going with Sherry?"
"Don't worry, I've found five peripheral members to escort her. Safety is guaranteed. They'll stay by her side at all times, ensuring Sherry has no chance to slip away or do anything suspicious."
"Are they reliable?"
"Reliable. These members have all been carefully vetted and are loyal. They only recognize me."
"Hmm?"
"They only recognize me and you, Aniki!"
"Good." Gin exhaled a long stream of smoke. "It's fine to let Sherry take a break from research for a couple of days. Recently, the funding situation in Japan has been insufficient to support the high research costs."
Vodka lowered his head somewhat shamefully. It was his incompetence as a younger brother that he couldn't solve this problem for his aniki.
"Aniki, there's progress regarding the Kamogawa base. This operation appears to be connected to the United States."
"The US? The FBI?"
A while ago, the Organization had launched a surprise attack on Shuichi Akai, eliminating several investigators. Akai had been unable to continue his undercover work in Japan because of this. Therefore, the fall of the Kamogawa base might be retaliation from the FBI.
However, how they obtained the information remained a mystery to Gin.
If there were undercover agents, all his codename members in Japan were under his watchful eye, and he hadn't identified anyone suspicious yet.
If there weren't any moles, the Kamogawa base was extremely well-hidden, making the possibility of discovery extremely low.
Vodka shook his head. "We haven't received precise information about the personnel involved, but we're certain the intelligence came from the US—most likely the FBI."
"There are only a handful of members in the Organization who know about the Kamogawa base. Who could it be?" Gin suddenly felt intensely irritated. The coat he'd just put on seemed uncomfortably warm.
"Could it be like Pisco suggested—that the people at the base made a mistake while disposing of evidence? Those peripheral members aren't always reliable. There's a good chance someone slipped up."
There weren't many codename members on the Japanese side, and Vodka believed they were all trustworthy. The brothers all spoke well of each other, and he refused to believe there was a traitor among them.
"Could it be Miyano Akemi? Maybe she's still in contact with Shuichi Akai."
Gin shook his head. "Even Sherry doesn't know about the Kamogawa base, so it's even less likely for a peripheral member like her sister to know."
Gin firmly believed there was a mole within the Organization, but given the current circumstances, he had no way of finding them.
But it was fine. One day the mole would slip up, and then he'd eliminate them in the most ruthless way possible!
Two days later, Sherry received her promised opportunity to go outside.
Because of Tequila's cryptic words, Sherry put on an elaborate act, meticulously checking the residences of every APTX-4869 victim on record, all to prevent Tequila from discovering her true objective.
However, she was clearly overthinking it. Natsukawa had no interest in monitoring her activities. The only thing that could capture his attention right now was his relationship with Yor.
Valentine's Day was approaching, and Natsukawa was filled with mixed emotions—both anxious and anticipatory.
After all, in Japan, it was customary for women to give men chocolates on Valentine's Day.
Natsukawa hoped that Yor would give him chocolates, yet he was simultaneously worried that the chocolates Yor made might have the same effects as her cooking.
After all, the ingredients themselves had been tested and were perfectly fine—the only problem was that Anya had spent an entire day in the hospital afterward.
The condition Conan and Uncle Mouri had been in only fueled his anxiety further.
However...
When Valentine's Day finally arrived, Yor's chocolates were no longer Natsukawa's biggest concern.
"What?! Your brother wants to meet me?" Natsukawa was genuinely shocked, an inexplicable tension rising within him.
He knew Yor had a younger brother, and he knew the man worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—he was aware of all this. But the sudden announcement of meeting Yor's brother still made him incredibly nervous.
After all, this was Yor's brother. Yor had no other family besides him, so meeting him was essentially the same as meeting the parents.
His current position as a Special Investigator for the National Tax Agency was decent—a respectable civil service position with equal social standing.
However, his family situation—divorced with a child—was a significant drawback.
He didn't know what kind of person Yor's brother Yuri was like, and he found himself deeply worried, spending the entire day mentally preparing to receive him.
Now he could only hope that Yuri was an open-minded and understanding brother.
"Yes, Yuri called yesterday asking about me, and I realized I hadn't told him about our relationship yet.
He got really excited when I mentioned you yesterday, and he really wants to meet you. Tonight is when he's coming over.
So, thank you for accommodating this on such short notice, Natsukawa-san~"
Yor smiled brightly. She genuinely wanted them to meet, to put Yuri's mind at ease about her situation.
"Wow, that's so cool!"
Anya danced with joy, hugging Bond and spinning around!
It wasn't that she particularly wanted to meet Aunt Yor's brother, but rather that Papa would prepare an enormous feast when guests came over—and that was what she looked forward to most!
Still, she had some expectations for Aunt Yor's brother too.
(^ω^)
After all, Aunt Yor was so kind. Uncle Yuri couldn't be too bad, right? She hoped he'd bring gifts!
Ayumi had said that her uncle always brought her snacks when he visited and gave her spending money every New Year. Who wouldn't love an uncle like that?
She'd love him too!
But Papa seemed a little nervous about the whole thing.
Well, what did that have to do with her? Papa was a spy, so his adaptability was probably just like Agent Twilight from Spy Wars—she believed he'd recover quickly.
Besides, she didn't have time to comfort him. She had to make chocolates with Aunt Yor today!
"We'll be going now~"
Yor waved goodbye, leading Anya away. She didn't mention to Natsukawa that she'd be making chocolates with Ran, only saying she was going out to buy some things.
After saying goodbye to Yor and Anya, Natsukawa sat on the sofa, contemplating for a long time before finally calling Franky.
What's most important in warfare? Intelligence!
And dating? It's also an intelligence war!
Meeting his future brother-in-law naturally required intelligence gathering. Only then could he understand what kind of person Yuri was and what his feelings might be.
"As quickly as possible, gather information about my brother-in-law. He's Yor's younger brother, works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and I need to know all his hobbies and recent work situation!"
"Wait, hold on! What do you think I am?! Some kind of personal butler? Do you think you're playing Batman or something, Natsukawa-san?
I need my own personal time too, you know! Look at what day it is today—Valentine's Day! Didn't I tell you I have a girlfriend?
Can't you be a little more considerate? Today is an extremely important date for me, and I'm leaving right now to meet her!"
(End of Chapter)
[500 Power Stones → +2 Bonus Chapters]
[10 Reviews → +1 Bonus Chapter]
Enjoyed the chapter? A review helps a lot.
P2treon: Soulforger (30+ advance chapters)