Conan still couldn't shake his unease about why Natsuyu had suddenly moved here.
He had never seen her around this neighborhood before. And yet, after that incident, she had appeared right beside him—almost too conveniently. She had also been present at the amusement park that day.
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
Could Natsuyu be connected to those men in black…?
With that thought in mind, Conan cautiously tested the waters.
"Sister Natsuyu… why did you suddenly decide to move here? Did something happen?"
"I came here to look for my brother."
Paimon's voice immediately popped up in Natsuyu's mind:
「Traveler, did your brother come to this world too?!」
Of course not, Natsuyu replied calmly.
I'm just making an excuse.
She hadn't been able to think of a perfect reason for moving here on the spot, so she borrowed the Traveler's original goal as a convenient explanation—one that also neatly justified why she had taken up detective work.
"Your brother?" Ayumi's eyes widened with curiosity.
"Did Sister Natsuyu's brother… go missing?"
"Yes."
Natsuyu's gaze softened. She lowered her eyes, deliberately avoiding Conan's scrutiny, and spoke with a trace of worry in her voice.
"A few years ago, I had an accident and fell into a coma for some time. When I finally woke up, I discovered that my brother had already been missing for a long while."
"People around me said that if someone disappears for that long, it usually means something bad has happened… but someone has been paying my hospital bills all this time."
"So I believe my brother is still alive. He just… can't show himself, for some reason."
She then explained her decision more fully.
"That's why I moved here. Someone told me they had seen my brother in Beika. And I became a detective so I could gather clues related to him."
"Sister Natsuyu, I believe you'll definitely find your brother," Ayumi said earnestly, trying to comfort her.
Being suddenly separated from family must be incredibly painful. Ayumi remembered how heartbroken she had been when she was separated from her grandmother—even though she knew they would meet again.
Sister Natsuyu must be even more worried.
"You'll reunite someday. I'm sure of it."
Sometimes, Ayumi really was like a little angel—polite, kind, optimistic, and always attentive to other people's feelings. Truly a good child.
Mitsuhiko and Genta nodded vigorously.
"That's right! Sister Natsuyu's brother will definitely come back safely!"
As he spoke, Genta elbowed Conan. "Right, Conan?"
Conan snapped out of his thoughts.
"Ah—yeah… that's right."
But even as he said it, doubts lingered in his mind.
This 'brother'… his disappearance doesn't feel simple.
Regular money transfers to the hospital? Could he have gotten involved in something dangerous—or illegal?
Mitsuhiko suddenly asked,
"Um, Sister Natsuyu, do you have a photo of your brother? If we've seen him before, the Detective Boys can help you look for him!"
Ayumi nodded eagerly.
"Yes! We can help too!"
"…I don't have any photos," Natsuyu sighed softly.
"After I was discharged from the hospital, I realized that all photos related to my brother were gone."
Even the photos?
Conan's suspicion deepened further.
"But my brother looks very similar to me," Natsuyu added calmly.
"If you ever see him, you'll recognize our relationship right away."
She briefly described the appearance of Aether, one of the Genshin twins.
Before they realized it, the plate of lotus pastries had been completely cleared.
Genta leaned back, patting his stomach.
"Wow, I'm so full… I don't think I'll even need dinner tonight."
"You ate way too much," Mitsuhiko scolded lightly before turning to Natsuyu.
"Thank you for today, Sister Natsuyu."
Seeing that it was getting late, the children stood up to say goodbye. Before leaving, they solemnly promised that the Detective Boys would definitely help her find her brother.
Paimon muttered skeptically in Natsuyu's mind:
「Traveler… lying to children like that—doesn't your conscience hurt?」
Natsuyu pressed a hand to her chest.
Of course… it doesn't, she replied without hesitation.
She didn't have much of a conscience to begin with—and it was better saved for something truly worthwhile. This was nothing more than a harmless white lie.
At worst, I'll just save them a few extra times when they get into danger.
And judging by the future… that would happen plenty.
That night, Natsuyu lay alone on her bed.
"Brother…" she murmured softly.
"It would be nice if I really had one."
She turned over—and soon fell asleep.
Late at Night — A Bar
One of the Black Organization's hideouts.
Though a bar should have been bustling at this hour, it was eerily quiet. Only a handful of patrons sat drinking silently, their gazes subtly drawn toward the tall man at the counter.
He wore a long black coat.
Silver hair cascaded down to his waist.
Even while drinking, he never removed the hat pulled low over his head.
"Boss," a burly man in black said beside him,
"Didn't expect that arrogant new guy the organization recruited a few days ago to actually be that capable. He's already produced some results in such a short time."
"Hmph."
Gin let out a cold chuckle, having anticipated this outcome.
"He's a renowned scholar from Y Country. If he were useless, the organization wouldn't have bothered recruiting him."
"At this rate," Vodka sighed,
"he might get a codename soon. He could end up being the fastest one in history."
Gin took a sip of his drink, neither agreeing nor denying it.
No matter how talented he is, he's still in the research division.
A pity I couldn't pull him into my operations team… someone with real skill is rare. Compared to him, my subordinates are all dead weight.
Thinking of capable fighters, another figure surfaced in Gin's mind.
"Vodka," he said suddenly,
"Cointreau is coming back."
"Huh?" Vodka was startled.
"Wasn't Cointreau handling operations in Europe? Why would the Boss suddenly call him back?"
"He requested it himself," Gin replied coolly.
"Said he was looking for someone—someone who doesn't even exist."
Cointreau was always searching for someone.
No age.
No appearance.
No concrete details.
Not even a clearly defined gender.
Years had passed without a single lead.
If Gin didn't know Cointreau wouldn't joke about things like this, he might have thought the man was chasing a hallucination.
Far Away — An Airport in M Country
A man prepared to board his flight.
He had golden hair—short in front, long in back, tied into a braid that swayed gently in the wind.
His eyes were clear and gentle, brilliant as he gazed up at the sky—
as if he had finally seen something he had been searching for all this time.
…Is that you?
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