Solving cases with Detective Conan's science? No, I'm a cultivator!

Seeing that Kogoro Mouri hadn't moved, Gozo Hiramoto asked, "Mr. Mouri, you..."

Conan jolted awake; Kogoro Mouri was still asleep.

"Brother Kitagawa, can you help Uncle Mori up?" Conan popped out from in front of Kogoro Mori.

Kitagawa Taki looked at Conan with amusement, then stepped forward to help Kogoro Mouri up.

Shoji Hatomoto stared at Kogoro Mouri suspiciously. He had thought "Sleeping Kogoro" was just a title, but he looked like he was really asleep.

Conan breathed a sigh of relief after managing to fool them.

This time, he finally revealed the truth before Kitagawa Taki, even though Kitagawa Taki had arrived at Ichiro Hiramoto's room to investigate earlier.

But he possesses crucial evidence.

Thinking of this, Conan's lips unconsciously curled up, and he looked at Kitagawa Taki with a smug expression.

Kitagawa Taki, however, was completely oblivious, making Conan feel as if he had punched a cotton ball.

After everyone had left the room, Shoji Hiramoto closed the door.

Sonoko was also waiting outside the door, while Ran was still comforting Natsue Hiramoto in her room.

“Taki, Mr. Kotake…”

Kitagawa Taki shook his head: "There really isn't one on the ship. According to what Ichiro Hiramoto said, it's probably very difficult to find one."

Sonoko sighed and said, "Oh, poor Miss Xia Jiang, she's only just gotten married and she's already encountered something like this."

After a moment of reflection, Sonoko looked at Kogoro Mouri and asked, "Why isn't Uncle Mouri awake yet?"

"do not know."

Kitagawa Taki smiled. With the effectiveness of the anesthetic injection, it wouldn't be surprising if he slept all night.

However, Dr. Agasa's invention was quite good; the anesthetic needle didn't leave any mark on Kogoro Mouri's neck.

……

Leaving aside the series of murders that occurred on the passenger ship in Kitagawa Taki's area.

Kitagawa Exorcism Office.

After finishing their dinner, Akemi Miyano and Ai Haibara each watched TV and read magazines, respectively.

Finally, Akemi Miyano spoke up.

"Shiho..."

Ai Haibara paused for a moment, then looked up at Akemi Miyano: "What's wrong, sister?"

Because of the need to conceal her identity, Miyano Akemi now mostly calls her Ai, and rarely uses her real name, Shiho.

"You...you've fallen for Taki-kun too?" Miyano Akemi gritted her teeth, deciding to go all out.

"Huh?" Ai Haibara dropped the book from her hands without even noticing, then said decisively, "How could I like a womanizer like him!"

Once the words were out, the pressure in her heart disappeared. Seeing her younger sister's contradictory expression, Miyano Akemi covered her mouth and laughed, "So you like him because he's not a womanizer?"

"No," Ai Haibara answered decisively, then asked, "Sister, why are you suddenly asking this?"

Akemi Miyano shifted her position and sat down next to Ai Haibara, gently ruffling Ai's wavy hair as she softly said, "Shiho, you don't need to hide it from your older sister. It's normal for a young girl to have feelings for someone, isn't it?"

"Sister..." Ai Haibara murmured softly, "He's yours..."

"My what? My husband?" Miyano Akemi smiled and shook her head, saying, "I just want to be with Taki-kun for the rest of my life and become his shadow."

"Shiho, do you understand what I'm saying?" Miyano Akemi placed her hands on Haibara Ai's shoulders and gazed intently into Haibara Ai's icy blue eyes.

"Sister...why are you being so...so humble!?"

When Ai Haibara saw Akemi Miyano's serious gaze, she felt even more sad.

Akemi Miyano's meaning was clear: she didn't compete or fight for anything, and she didn't mind that Taki Kitagawa had other women, even her sister.

But Ai Haibara would rather Akemi Miyano gave her a good scolding, as that would make her feel better.

Miyano Akemi seemed not to hear Haibara Ai's words and slowly said, "Shiho, do you know? If it weren't for Taki-kun, you might not even be able to see me now. I was really desperate back then, and he rekindled my hope."

"I couldn't believe I dared to lay a hand on Gin and Vodka. In the end, Taki-kun appeared and saved me." Miyano Akemi smiled.

"It was like destiny, at that crossroads."

Recalling their first meeting, Akemi Miyano wore a happy smile.

"elder sister……"

Ai Haibara hugged Akemi Miyano tightly and burst into tears.

She knew that if Akemi Shirano hadn't been there for her, with Taki Kitagawa by her side, she could have easily escaped the organization on her own.

Why are you crying?

Akemi Miyano gently stroked Ai Haibara's back.

She murmured softly, "My sister is very happy now."

After a long while, Ai Haibara finally stopped sobbing.

Akemi Miyano took a handkerchief and wiped away Ai Haibara's tears, then smiled and said, "Shiho, now you're really acting like a little girl!"

"Sister..." Ai Haibara was a little embarrassed. She had just acted like a spoiled child. If she hadn't been told, no one would have guessed that she was already twenty.

"Speaking of which," Miyano Akemi said with a sly smile, "it's a good thing that you and Taki are together!"

"Sister, you..." Ai Haibara was at a loss for words, both amused and exasperated.

"Think about it, this way we can be together forever, and with your personality, Shiho, you probably wouldn't be interested in anyone else, right?"

Ai Haibara turned her head away and uttered a few words: "He doesn't need me."

"It's not a matter of good or bad." Miyano Akemi pointed a slender white finger at Haibara Ai's head.

Ai Haibara stammered, "Besides, I'm still in this state, and I don't know when I'll be able to recover..."

Akemi Miyano suddenly realized that she had gotten used to Ai Haibara's state; this was actually the root of Ai Haibara's inner conflict.

"Shiho, how is your research on the antidote progressing?" Miyano Akemi asked seriously.

"Without supporting research data, progress is very slow right now," Ai Haibara said with distress. "It will probably take a long time before a real antidote is developed."

Miyano Akemi pondered, "How about this... when Taki-kun comes back, I'll talk to him and see if he has any ideas!"

Ai Haibara hesitated, "Can he handle something like this? Besides, I don't want him to risk getting data from the organization."

Miyano Akemi said, "Of course I don't want to either, but if there are difficulties, you should speak up. Otherwise, how will Taki-kun know? Taki-kun has so many amazing abilities, maybe he has a solution!"

Ai Haibara nodded thoughtfully.

Chapter 231 Uninvited Guest

The next morning.

After assisting in the investigation of the serial murders on the passenger ship, Kitagawa Taki returned to the exorcism agency.

When he went upstairs, Akemi Miyano was sitting at her desk dealing with a backlog of letters.

"I am back!"

"Taki-kun, you're back!" Miyano Akemi heard Kitagawa Taki's voice, looked up, and smiled broadly.

Akemi Miyano tried to get up, but Taki Kitagawa pressed her back into her seat.

Kitagawa Taki leaned on Miyano Akemi's shoulder and whispered, "Thank you for your hard work, Akemi!"

“No.” Miyano Akemi shook her head and took Kitagawa Taki’s hand.

The two enjoyed a moment of tenderness.

Then, Akemi Miyano smiled and said, "Taki-kun, we've received a lot more detective-related requests lately!"

As she spoke, she picked out a stack of letters from the table.

Kitagawa Taki picked it up and glanced at it a few times, then joked, "Looks like we'll have to change our name to Kitagawa Exorcism Detective Agency from now on."

"Hehehe..." Miyano Akemi's eyes curved into crescent shapes.

“I’ve turned down all these requests for you.” Miyano Akemi knew that Kitagawa Taki wasn’t interested in them.

Kitagawa Taki replied, "Okay, Akemi, you go and rest. I'll handle the rest."

Akemi Miyano did not refuse and said, "Taki-kun, there's something I'd like to ask you..."

Before Miyano Akemi could finish speaking, Kitagawa Taki interrupted her, "Stop, stop! Didn't we agree that Akemi, you don't need to be so polite with me?"

Akemi Miyano stuck out her tongue playfully. "I was wrong."

Kitagawa Taki nodded in satisfaction.

"Actually, Ai's research has encountered a problem and is progressing very slowly, so I wanted to ask Taki-kun if you have any solutions?"

Kitagawa Taki stroked his chin. When he asked Ai Haibara before, she didn't say that. She said things were going well.

This girl always keeps things to herself; that's not good.

The key to this problem is that he actually has a solution. He remembers that as long as you catch a cold and drink some strong liquor, you can temporarily recover.

Although I don't know the underlying principle, I think we can use this to study the antidote.

Seeing that Kitagawa Taki was still thinking, Miyano Akemi assumed that he was having some kind of difficulty, so she said, "If not, it's okay, it'll just be a little slower."

"What are you thinking about?" Kitagawa Taki ruffled Miyano Akemi's hair.

Miyano Akemi's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed with delight, "Does Taki-kun have a solution?"

Kitagawa Taki said, "Yes, we do have them, but we can't use them now. We have to wait for the right opportunity."

He can't be so devilish as to directly give Ai Haibara a cold, can he?

Miyano Akemi exclaimed excitedly, "It's okay, I knew you could do it, Taki-kun!"

"Haha, of course!"

"Then I'll go up first!" Miyano Akemi was going to tell Haibara Ai the news.

"okay."