Conan nodded seriously, "I see..."
Having verified his suspicions, he was still surprised, not so much by the fact, but by the fact that Ichijō Mirai had told him about it.
"The organization knew that we were twins, so after 'Satan' lost contact for a while and I reconnected, they had doubts about my identity. I couldn't access many of the organization's secrets," Ichijō Mirai said in a serious and calm tone, as if it was the truth. "Even if I was very ruthless and 'Satan' when carrying out the mission, the twins were still suspicious. As long as there was a trace of doubt, the organization's most confidential matters would not be revealed to me."
"Until recently-"
"Almost all of the organization's members don't know the true face of the organization's leader, much less his age or gender, and his identity and whereabouts are even more of an absolute secret... This mission reveals his whereabouts, and it could be a trap."
It could be a trap to see if Ichijō Mirai is 'Satan' or not. If everything goes smoothly and nothing happens, it means that this outstanding member of the organization who has been missing for a while is indeed 'Satan' who fits the organization's cold-bloodedness level, and from now on, the organization can confidently and boldly assign important missions to him.
And if there was an accident and the police suddenly acted up, then... the organization could consider cleaning up the undercover agents.
Conan listened, his brow furrowed, and almost without thinking, he came to the conclusion that it was probably a trap.
Since it was a trap, there would always be bait to lure the prey. This time the bait was the leader of the organization. For the official forces that had been tracking the organization for a long time but had made slow progress, even if this was a poisoned pie, even if they knew that the leader of the organization would probably not show up in person but would be pretended by someone, there would definitely be other important members of the organization at the scene to make the pie more delicious, so they had to swallow it after careful consideration.
"No wonder you didn't tell me right away when you got the lead," Conan said again, and then warned, "You don't want to step into the trap alone, do you?"
Is that why you hesitated to tell him at first?
"I was considering whether to tell you, but I had already decided to cooperate with you before we met," Ichijō Mirai admitted frankly, smiling again, "but the way of cooperation may not be what you think-"
With the look of an elite police officer who has made a rational decision after much thought, he lightly stated his thoughts, "In fact, until now I have not passed this information to the police, nor to other undercover colleagues in the same situation who do not usually see each other,"
"In the former case, I intend to inform them three hours before the operation, and in the latter case..."
"I do not intend to pass on this information."
You can't put all your eggs in one basket, once you pass on the information, whether or not the other party cooperates with the operation, there will be an action, and the organization will be watching and examining it, and if it fails, the organization will be happy to kill them all in one fell swoop.
Ichijō Mirai looked at Conan and said with extra solemnity, "I would like to ask you to command the police."
Conan actually agreed with the saying that eggs should not be put in the same basket, although these 'eggs' are classmates, during the school years, they have all been on the news, it is a life-long friendship, according to reason, the organization has long been aware of it, directly according to the list of the number of heads to be cleaned up on the line...
It wasn't until he heard Ichijō Mirai's extraordinarily solemn, unbiased words about non-police and high school students, definitely making the best choice out of rational deliberation that he reacted with, "Hey?"
"Hey?!"
What, I'm directing a police operation, really? .jpg
Although he's smart and good at solving crimes, and was already famous at the age of a high school student, and was praised by the media and the public as the 'Savior of the Neon Police', but, but solving crimes and directing the police operation to arrest the key leader of an illegal organization aren't the same thing, right?!!!!
Do you really need him to do that?
We should let the police do it...
As he was about to express his surprise, Conan suddenly remembered the quality of the police he'd seen, so he opened his mouth, locked eyes with Ichijō Mirai, thought, and opened his mouth again, wanting to speak, but speechless.
The only thing left to do was to look at each other.
Ichijō Mirai was pleased that Conan was in agreement that the Neon Police were 'too useless to work', "I haven't touched the police in a long time, except for a few, and I don't know anything about them."
He thought that only criminals had this consensus, but he didn't expect that his partners in justice also understood it deeply and didn't spoil the useless police. Of course, tolerance is indispensable. He translated in the tone of the police to save face for his 'colleagues'. "During the operation, I will be with the people in the organization and I can't command. The commander of the operation must have a certain tacit understanding with me and be able to cooperate with me when some unexpected situations require temporary performance. There is no such person in the police for the time being."
"But you can."
It's not about understanding.
A police cadet goes undercover right after graduation, and doesn't return for nearly a decade, can the rest of the police force reach a tacit understanding with him in the final operation? Of course.
And it's often easy to reach a tacit understanding.
Whether it's a police officer who has been undercover for almost ten years or a police officer who is the commander of a major operation, they are all excellent police officers with excellent abilities, who share the same goals and philosophies, and who often make the same decisions as police officers in case of accidents.
But only if the police are good and capable...
The strength of the Japanese Police...
If Ichijō Mirai was really an undercover agent, he would have chosen to trust Conan between 'an adult colleague who is dying of a disease that is getting worse with time' and 'a high school student who has excellent ability and experienced reflexes'.
Because of his experience, Conan understood Ichijō Mirai's choice perfectly, and after a subtle pause, "...Ok, I'll contact the police as Kudō Shinichi."
If he's going to command, he can't step in.
The police can take orders from a young and famous high school student, but they'll never listen to a kid on the sidewalk.
After saying that, without pause, Conan followed up with, "But I'm going to be near where you're operating."
He stared into Ichijō Mirai's eyes, "Since this is a protection mission, I'm sure that the unknown chief won't be wandering around, and must have something important to take care of, at least on the surface, right? The destination is fixed."
"Where? I'm going to be in the neighborhood when the operation is taking place, not in a place where there's no danger, listening to the information you're sending over and communicating with the police, judging what's going on from afar and directing it."
Saying cooperation, but giving him a command job, isn't that putting him in a safe command room away from the battlefield?
The police can't get too close, and it's likely that only a few outstanding people will be able to disguise themselves as ordinary citizens and approach, otherwise with the strength of the police, the organization will probably find out...
It's a surprise.
So there's a time lag between the police action and their arrival at the scene, and that time lag is when Ichijō Mirai is at his most dangerous, facing the Organization alone.
It's dangerous.
For Conan, it's also an opportunity: by being there, he'll be able to make a more direct judgment, and even if the mission fails, he might be able to pick up on something noteworthy and reversible.
And: "It's just as dangerous if I go or if I don't go, isn't it?"
Conan said, "You've been in close contact with us lately, and if the organization is concerned about you, they'll definitely see us, and they might kill us afterwards."
That's a very convincing argument.
It's just a bit unconvincing coming from Conan...
Ichijō Mirai said, "You know that too."
He watched Conan.
After a few seconds, the police officer, who had a bright future ahead of him, but had spent many years in anonymity in the darkness, smiled with a mixture of helplessness and relief, "Good."
He said gently, "They can't imagine that the children passing by will be the iron handcuffs that will arrest them, and it's also convenient to direct the police action at the scene."
"Then we'll really have to work together, good luck with the operation."
Ichijō Mirai extended his hand.
This time, instead of the attitude of 'I trust you, we'll work together, but you'll be protected', it was the attitude of 'we trust each other, we'll work together, and we'll act together'.
Conan is relieved, and reaches out to pat Ichijō Mirai's hand, "Good cooperation."
"Pleasure working together," Ichijō Mirai smiled, ending the conversation on a good note, "We've been gone long enough, we should get back or they'll worry."
As he walked towards the front stage, he said, "The organization usually tells the executors the details of important missions when they are about to start, so I'll contact you then."
Is it 'them'?
There's no need, there's really no need, if you want to say 'I'm afraid she'll be worried', just say it, there's no need to say 'they', it's too redundant.
Conan glanced at Ichijō Mirai and didn't say anything.
When they returned with the drinks, Suzuki Sonoko had been waiting for them for a long time.
Children are often the most impatient of beings, and Dr. Agasa had already taken them to the sledgehammer line, while Mouri Korogō had gone to meet his client, taking Mouri Ran with him on his way out, saying that 'a great detective can't afford to be without an attentive assistant'.
Considering the world of the two of us, Mouri Ran went along with him, and before he left, he and Suzuki Sonoko nibbled on each other's ears for a while, briefly discussing the possibility of playing the age-restricted programs, and logically sending Conan, who couldn't play, back to the children's group.
Suzuki Sonoko was impressed, and as she waited alone, she was clenching her fists and weighing the art of language.
She was staring at the fountain and mumbling, and as she did so, she intuitively looked sideways, saw Ichijō Mirai, and lit up with a bright, "Mr. Mirai!"
"Let's go to a haunted house!"
Her half-formed draft shattered in an instant, and she blurted out, "We can do it without Conan!"
Conan: "..."
His already heavy steps stopped, and he looked at Suzuki Sonoko, who was removing the third wheel in front of him, and then slowly looked up at Ichijō Mirai.
Ichijō Mirai didn't change his face, as if he had heard something normal, and after only a few seconds of thought, he agreed with a normal, happy, "Okay."
He didn't ask how Mouri Ran had left or where the children had gone, but simply held up the pile of drinks and desserts in his hand and teased, in a joking tone, "It just so happens that after a shock, you can get comfort from drinking drinks with sugar."
"Wow," said Suzuki Sonoko, who hadn't seen those things until now despite their size, "they've gone for a ride on the Big Pendulum and are now in line, the haunted house is less crowded, and we're coming out at about the same time, so we should be able to join in on the drinks!"
Finally seeing Conan, and Conan's beady eyes, her eyes wandered, and she smiled dryly, "Ahem, your friend is waiting for you over there, there's a big line, it's about halfway through, Mirai-san, go see him off, I'm going to the haunted house to buy tickets and deposit desserts!"
She slipped away.
"Haha..." said Conan, "you don't have to see him off, I'll go by myself."
He wasn't really a child.
Ichijō Mirai looked out for a moment, found a long line of people and Dr. Agasa under the sledgehammer not far away, and estimated that it wasn't too far, "Well, have fun today."
Success or failure, they probably won't be able to play as kids anymore.
Conan nodded and turned to go.
After a few steps, he turned back with some hesitation, "By the way, that..."
"...Actually, Mr. Akai told me something about you earlier, being a twin with 'Satan' or something..."
Ichijō Mirai showed a flickering expression of surprise, then realized, smiled, and returned what Conan had said a short while ago, "No wonder you're treating me strangely today,"
"I knew you'd picked up on it," Conan beaned his eyes again, hesitated for a few seconds, and straightened up, "but there's one more thing I wanted to ask."
The fact that he was able to say this out loud meant that he had once again put his trust in Ichijō Mirai, even if it was Ichijō Mirai who was a twin with 'Satan'.
Ichijō Mirai was in a happy mood, "What?"
Any more weird questions, just let them come, I've gotten through the hardest one!
"So," Conan asked, "are his ashes in 'your' grave?"
...What?
It was a bit cryptic, and it took Ichijō Mirai a few seconds to respond to what the strange and cold question was: are 'Satan's' ashes in 'Messiah's' grave?
Of course it was 'Kujō Mirai's' grave.
What kind of strange question is this? Why is anyone paying attention to it?
Ichijō Mirai took a long time before answering in a vague way, "Why?"
There's no way to answer such a question.
What if Conan's digging a grave?
Well, he's not Ichijō Mirai, so he's not that bad, but the police know exactly what's in the grave, don't they?
But if Satan's ashes weren't in the grave, what happened to them? According to the opening of FBI Newcomer, Ichijō Mirai was seriously injured in the fire and was hospitalized, so he didn't have time to dispose of Satan's body.
That's why it's better to avoid it.
Conan interpreted the vague answer as 'Yes, why?' He stuttered for a few seconds, and looked at Ichijō Mirai's bemused expression, "He was buried in your name, wasn't he? But, 'Kujō Mirai' was a police officer killed in the line of duty in a major accident, the cemetery should be... he..."
To have 'Satan' buried in such an honorable capacity...in a cemetery like that...surrounded by probably all the good police officers who unfortunately lost their lives...
Ichijō Mirai: "..."
Well, this doesn't seem to be a strange and cold question, but a rather serious one for a Tokyo person.
He shifted his eyes, thinking urgently, and didn't say anything at first.
Seeing his silence, Conan hesitated for a few seconds and had to follow up, "The fire..."
"Actually, he intended to die, didn't he?"
What?
Ichijō Mirai looked over.
"'Satan' died there," Conan looked at Ichijō Mirai, "because he wanted to."