After the police escorted—no, carried—the culprit away, the mother and daughter's reunion continued without much interruption. Seeing the harmonious atmosphere, Tang Ze smoothly handed Conan back to Ran Mouri, letting her take him away at once.
"Eh, wasn't Conan here to read with Tang Ze? If he goes back like this..." Ran Mouri felt a little guilty toward the neighbor who had volunteered to help look after the child.
"It's fine. I was the one who wanted to sneak out for coffee... Actually, Conan learns kanji pretty quickly. He should be able to finish this one by himself." Under Conan's anxious gaze of Oh no, where did that book come from? Is this going to expose me?, Tang Ze reached into his bag and actually pulled out a book.
Conan took it and looked. It really was a mystery novel, and one quite suitable for younger readers: Edogawa Ranpo's The Fiend with Twenty Faces.
Conan could not help staring at Tang Ze's flat commuter bag for a while.
...What exactly did Tang Ze keep in that bag? Since Conan had met him, the things Tang Ze had taken out of it included, but were not limited to, water, glasses, notebooks, books, bandages, and spare clothes—the hooded sweatshirt Tang Ze had worn earlier had been brought by him, and he had just changed out of his stained pants and handed them over to the police...
Tang Ze, were you Doraemon?
Tang Ze naturally noticed Conan's stunned stare, but merely smiled without saying anything.
Where else could the book have come from? It had been The Great Thief Arsène, borrowed from the Shujin Academy high school library in his save file. For some reason, once he took it out, it had turned into The Fiend with Twenty Faces. Still, they were basically the same thing—good enough to fool people.
"Have fun," Tang Ze said, raising his half-full latte in salute. "I'll continue enjoying my coffee."
Watching the reluctant Conan get dragged away by Ran Mouri, Tang Ze let the gentle smile fade from his face and once more met the gaze of the man silently watching him from across the street.
Tang Ze would not ordinarily leave these main characters for no reason, but while waiting for the police to take Jusan Tono away, the corner of his eye had suddenly caught the unwavering stare of a long-haired man.
Tang Ze had once again spotted Shuichi Akai following him, and from the man's utterly unconcerned, motionless stance, he sensed that Akai wanted to speak with him.
Tang Ze had already more or less deduced that Shuichi Akai's undercover identity had not yet been exposed and that his current assignment was connected to Tang Ze Zhao, but having him come right up to him was still unexpected.
Unless some unforeseen development had forced him to risk contacting Tang Ze directly.
After slowly sorting out his response, Tang Ze unhurriedly finished the coffee in his cup. He secretly checked his tarot cards on the system map, confirmed that Tooru Amuro had not followed and Conan had gone far away, then stepped outside and headed toward Shuichi Akai.
Shuichi Akai, who had long determined that Tang Ze had noticed his tail, was not surprised by his choice. He turned in advance and walked into the parking lot, waiting for Tang Ze to follow.
"How should I address you?" Tang Ze asked as soon as he stopped before Shuichi Akai.
Shuichi Akai did not answer immediately. Instead, he first studied Tang Ze's face carefully.
Tang Ze had not inherited his mother's blond hair and green eyes. He looked more like the Miyano sisters; perhaps the blue of his eyes was even paler than theirs, taking on a cool, icy-blue hue beneath the sunlight.
Under the pressure of those eyes, he could not help smiling.
"You may call me Rye. Or you may call me Shuichi Akai."
Tang Ze did his best to control his expression and keep his shock from showing.
He had actually stated his real name outright, along with his Organization codename. Even at the most optimistic estimate, Tang Ze had thought he would hear something like "Hiroshi Morohoshi" at most.
Then Shuichi Akai's next words shattered Tang Ze's expression management.
"Or you can call me brother." Watching Tang Ze's reaction, Shuichi Akai delivered the last line of his opening. "Your uncle and aunt—your parents—died more than two months ago."
Tang Ze involuntarily took half a step back, his mouth slightly open and his pupils shaking.
Huh?! Brother?!
Wait a second, hold on—something was wrong. This script was wrong. Let him sort this out; it was a little messy.
His father definitely did not share Akai's surname, and Shuichi Akai had just said "aunt," which meant...
...Tang Ze Zhao's mother, Tang Ze Leona, had the maiden name Sera?!
Good grief. No wonder a perfectly normal high school student had suddenly been persecuted until his life fell apart. So he was on the Sera family line—what a whole family of bad luck!
Shuichi Akai's understanding differed from the real reason behind Tang Ze's shock, but he believed he understood completely. He gave the lightly trembling Tang Ze no time to react and continued, "During the eight years your parents were away from you, they worked at a research institute belonging to a secret organization. They were controlled for a long time, and for your safety, they had no choice but to leave you alone in Japan.
"They remained wary of the Organization, concealed the core results of their research, and from the early stages of the project, had specialized lawyers build a solid patent barrier around their work. By the time the Organization realized what was happening, it had already lost its opportunity to monopolize several formulas and technologies...
"This bought your parents, and you, eight years. But now things are different. Akira, you are in grave danger." Shuichi Akai quickly stated his ultimate purpose. "Come with me. Japan is where this organization has infiltrated most deeply. Your life is at risk at any moment if you remain here. I have a way to get you out of the country. Leave with me, as soon as possible."
One thunderbolt after another left Tang Ze almost unable to respond.
Why were they persecuting researchers again? And why was the persecuted researcher another member of the Sera family?
In this patchwork world, the Sera family had gained another sister. She was also a researcher, was also targeted by the Organization, and was also gone...
Tang Ze covered his eyes with a trembling hand.
Should he start building a better relationship with Professor Agasa now? He was truly afraid that in the near future, he would get knocked out by a single drug, then show up at Professor Agasa's house in the body of an elementary schooler and proudly join the first grade at Teitan Elementary...
"...I guessed it." Tang Ze's heart was in turmoil, and there was little acting in the tremor of his voice. "Two months ago, I should have guessed."
The Tang Ze couple's deaths were something Tang Ze had already largely concluded. The memories left behind by the original owner were like a filing cabinet covered in locks, only gradually unlocking when triggered by keywords. Yet even from the fragments he had obtained so far, Tang Ze Zhao's trial had been extremely suspicious.
The Tang Ze couple and Tang Ze Zhao had not seen each other for many years, and they were not close, but their love for their son was obvious. They had not voluntarily missed his upbringing; they simply had no choice.
For something as serious as a trial, the couple could never have merely handed the matter to a lawyer and stopped asking about it.
With Shuichi Akai's confirmation, the two matters most likely had a causal connection. The Tang Ze couple, deeply entangled with the Organization, died. Tang Ze Zhao, stripped of their protection, soon encountered a false accusation, was isolated from the environment he knew, and handed over to the control of two Organization codenamed members.
As for those two codenamed members being two bottles of fake liquor, all that could be said was that the Organization had not wanted that either. It was an unexpected delight for both sides.
Tang Ze lowered his hand and pressed on, "What does 'Rye' mean? What is that organization? How did they die? And how did you learn about my parents?"
Before you continue