Dang it!!
You know how to hit where it hurts!!
"Who's a half-baked detective!"
Conan, who was once again shut down by Haibara's comment, couldn't help but recall what happened yesterday, and his temper flared. "Even if Officer Senichi is better than me, calling me a half-baked detective is just too much!"
"Hi, hi, detective, just keep working hard~" Haibara casually waved her hand, leaving Conan feeling frustrated.
Just then, the noise from nearby caught everyone's attention.
They turned to the source of the noise and saw a middle-aged foreigner in his fifties with grayish-white hair and glasses surrounded by a group of reporters.
"Dr. Agasa, is that foreigner surrounded by people the ones responsible for the animal show we watched earlier? Mr. Randy Hawk?" Mitsuhiko exclaimed with excitement when he saw the foreigner.
"Ah, it looks like it." Dr. Agasa nodded and said, "I heard he was born in Oklahoma, in the United States, made his fortune in oil, and started raising a lot of animals due to his interests.
His son, Paul, and daughter, Annie, have also inherited their father's interests and now organize animal shows all over the world.
His recent hobby is visiting local zoos whenever he goes to a performance venue, but no matter where he goes, he doesn't bring bodyguards.
When asked by reporters, he replied, 'As a cowboy, I have to protect myself.' There should be a photo of him in the promotional booklet I received."
"I found it, it's really him!" Ayumi flipped to the last page of the promotional booklet and saw a photo of a person who looked almost identical to the man currently surrounded by reporters.
"Mr. Hawk, we heard you're donating half of the proceeds from the show to zoos around the world."
"You come back to Japan after three years, do you have anything to say?"
"Mr. Hawk, please say something!"
Facing the frenzied interviews from the reporters, the foreigner in front of them repeatedly denied that he was Hawk, but the reporters thought he was joking, and before long, they had him in a difficult situation.
"Can you give me a break?!?" (English)
The man in front, harassed by the reporters without listening to his explanation, became furious and yelled directly at the group of reporters.
It was this furious shout that instantly caught Conan's attention.
"The tough cowboy image has been shattered in an instant," Dr. Agasa said, watching the frustrated man ahead with a sympathetic smile.
"Reaping what he sowed..." Haibara coldly observed, "He arrogantly claimed he didn't need bodyguards, and now he's facing the consequences!"
"Well, it's not entirely his fault. It's more like an unfortunate situation..." Conan smiled and said, "So, shall we go rescue this cowboy who's surrounded by a bunch of cattle? Queen's Cowboy!"
Afterward, Conan ran straight toward them and shouted a name that had just come to mind in front of the numerous reporters.
Naturally, this shout caught the attention of the reporters, and they inquired with curiosity, Haibara assisted by explaining that the man was Dr. Agasa's friend and an English teacher by profession.
Then, while the man looked bewildered, Conan said he wanted to have a meal together, pulling him out of the encirclement of reporters.
"Thank you!! I'm really grateful! If it weren't for you guys, I don't know when I would have been able to break free!!"
After listening to the explanations from Conan and the others, the middle-aged foreigner proficiently expressed his gratitude in Japanese, then said somewhat helplessly, "Because we look so much alike, I'm often mistaken for Mr. Hawk, which has caused me a lot of trouble!"
"Well, why not disguise yourself when you go out next time..." Genta suggested while scratching his head.
"That would give people the feeling of trying to hide something," Haibara commented casually. "Then it'll be even harder to explain."
"By the way, since you're here, does that mean you came to watch the animal show?" Mitsuhiko asked.
"That's right! Because this animal show is simply amazing!" The foreign middle-aged man took out a pendant from his pocket as he spoke. "And I came to Japan for another reason—to buy this!"
"Oh, it's a white lion pendant! We have that too!" Ayumi exclaimed with delight when she saw the pendant he took out.
"But these popular pendants should be available for sale everywhere, right? There's no need to come all the way to Japan just to buy one," Haibara couldn't help but comment on the man's excited expression, which resembled that of a child showing off.
"Of course, it's not what you guys are looking at. See, it says 'The Animal Show Watch Paul & Annie' on the front," he said as he turned his pendant around, revealing the words 'in Japan' on the back.
"Ah... so this pendant is a limited edition item..." Conan understood the sales tactic of the seller as soon as he saw the inscription on the back.
"But today has really been unlucky!" Taking the pendant that Conan handed back to him, the middle-aged man couldn't help but sigh. "I had plans to meet up with a friend, but then this happened... Have you seen a man with long hair?"
"It seems not... because there are so many people here to watch the performance," Dr. Agasa pondered and ultimately shook his head.
"By the way, what did you mean when you said he was the 'Queen's Cowboy'?" Haibara looked at Conan and asked, "Is that related to you discovering he wasn't Mr. Hawk?"
"Oh, that..." Conan smiled and explained, "I knew it when I heard him angrily utter that English phrase. Back then, his pronunciation of the word 'Can' wasn't in American accent but in the international phonetic alphabet, which is British-accented! However, Mr. Hawk is a cowboy from the southern United States, and it would be very unnatural for someone like him to speak with a British accent."
"Now that you mention it, it seems that's the case..." Dr. Agasa, listening to Conan's words, rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Mr. Hawk on television is a straightforward character, and he has a strong accent..."
"Besides, Uncle's similarity to him is mainly in the hairstyle and beard. If you look closely, there are actually many differences between the two." Conan smiled at the man. "Just like how you can't distinguish the appearance of Asian people, we can also mistake someone based on hair color and skin color, especially considering how much you look like Mr. Hawk..."
"Oh! Your deduction skills are really amazing!" After listening to Conan's reasoning, the man couldn't help but be impressed, then pointed to himself and introduced, "I'm James Black! And you?"
Upon hearing the man's question, Conan finally uttered a line that hadn't had a chance to appear in a long time:
"I'm Conan Edogawa, a detective!"
--------------------------------
🙏🙏Please consider supporting this translation project by becoming a P@treon member, if possible!
Your support is greatly appreciated!
Available on my P@treon page for just $4!!
Early access to the following translations:-
⭐MCU: Druid's Adventures (MCUDA) - 96 advance chapters & 3 Chapters/Day
⭐Famous Police Detective in Detective World (FPDDW)- +161 advance chapters & 2 Chapters/Day
⭐Marvel: Little Genius (MLG) (⭐COMPLETE⭐) - Total Chapter 450
p@treon.com/Lightreaper457
--------------------------------