Chapter 332: Conan Kidnapped
Venti's words hung in the air, prompting Vodka and Kir to exchange a fleeting, commiserating glance. They nodded in silent, heartfelt agreement, mentally shedding a tear for their own suffering. Wasn't that the absolute truth? In all their years operating in the shadows, they had never encountered someone as impossibly abrasive as Glenlivet. There were moments when they genuinely fantasized about slipping a lethal dose of poison into the Wanderer's drink, if only to finally shut him up. Suddenly, even Gin's icy, murderous aura felt infinitely more tolerable. At the very least, Gin didn't constantly spew such venomous, biting mockery.
"As for his mother," Venti continued, a playful lilt in his voice, "she happens to be the Inazuma Department Head. You could say she's an old friend of mine. Alas..." He sighed dramatically. "It's just a pity she hasn't the faintest clue how to raise children."
The topic seemed to ignite a spark of genuine amusement in the bard. Venti set his wine glass down on the polished table, leaning forward with the eager energy of a gossip.
"Didn't I mention before that my Department Head Proof was unceremoniously snatched away by Signora? Well, you probably don't know this little secret, but the Inazuma Department Head's Proof went missing as well. And who took it?" He gestured grandly toward the scowling young man across the room. "Wanderer himself! Through a delightful mix of coercion and bribery. What a remarkably 'filial' child, wouldn't you agree?"
Venti shook his head, letting out another exaggerated sigh, completely ignoring the murderous, darkening expression creeping across Glenlivet's face. He waved a hand dismissively and pressed on.
"However, I must admit the Inazuma Department Head's personal capabilities far exceed my own. Losing her Proof barely caused a ripple in her operations. She remains the absolute, undisputed ruler of the Inazuma branch, and her subordinates follow her every command with terrifying loyalty. Unlike me, of course." His shoulders slumped in mock despair. "Hardly anyone in my own department even remembers what I look like these days..."
He finished his tale with a long, mournful sigh, lifting his glass to drain the remaining amber liquid in one smooth gulp. The empty glass clinked softly against the table. For a fleeting second, his emerald eyes grew unfocused, staring blankly at the polished wood as if lost in centuries of memories. Then, just as quickly, the melancholic spell broke. He snapped back to his usual cheerful self, his fingers habitually wrapping around a freshly poured glass. He brought it to his lips, taking a slow, appreciative sip.
Kir shot an imperceptible, sidelong glance at Glenlivet. Strangely, a sense of twisted relief washed over her. If this guy was ruthless enough to extort and rob his own mother, it was perfectly logical that he would casually backstab his temporary collaborators. It wasn't personal; he was just universally awful.
Gin, however, remained entirely unmoved by Venti's theatrical display of emotion. His cold, predatory gaze stayed locked on the bard. He only cared about extracting actionable intelligence. If Venti's story was accurate and unexaggerated, it merely confirmed that this so-called Department Head was a useless figurehead who couldn't even maintain basic authority over his own subordinates.
"It sounds like Glenlivet's background within your ranks is solid enough," Gin drawled, his voice a low, gravelly rasp. "So how exactly did he end up severing ties with your Teyvat Organization?"
The moment the question left Gin's lips, the temperature in the room seemed to drop. Glenlivet, having clearly reached the absolute limit of his patience, refused to sit there and be dissected any longer. The legs of his chair scraped harshly against the floor as he shoved it back. Completely ignoring the startled looks from Vodka and Kir, the Wanderer turned on his heel and strode out of the room, the heavy door clicking shut behind him without a single word of farewell.
"Big Brother..." Vodka muttered, turning a questioning look toward Gin, silently asking if they should stop him.
Gin didn't even blink. His icy green eyes remained fixed on Venti, waiting for the answer. Understanding the silent command to let the volatile asset leave, Vodka swallowed his words and sat back upright, stiffening his posture.
"Didn't I warn you that the Fatui possess an atrocious reputation?" Venti chuckled, waving his hand in a dismissive arc. His tone was light, blending truth with casual evasion. "They have a nasty habit of screwing over their own people. The Fatui's Doctor played a rather cruel trick on Wanderer, forging a deep-seated grudge. After that little betrayal, he had absolutely zero desire to continue working for Snezhnaya. And since the other regional departments maintain terribly strained relations with the Fatui... well, naturally, he had nowhere left to go within the organization."
While Venti and Gin continued their tense exchange of questions and answers in the dimly lit bar, another drama was unfolding across the city. The group tasked with escorting Kei Kenzuka safely back to her residence had finally arrived at their destination.
Throughout the entire car ride to Kei's apartment, Conan had kept his head bowed, his oversized glasses hiding the intense, calculating gleam in his eyes. His mind raced, continuously dissecting the chaotic events that had just transpired at the Mouri Detective Agency. The official narrative was riddled with glaring inconsistencies. Was the man who had taken Miss Kenzuka hostage truly a suicide? The angle, the timing—it all felt wrong. But if it wasn't suicide, why was there absolutely no gunshot residue found on Miss Kenzuka's hands or clothing?
He slowly lifted his gaze, peering through the shadows at the back of the passenger seat where the woman sat in silence. One thing was absolutely certain: Kei Kenzuka was hiding a mountain of dangerous secrets.
The moment they stepped out of the vehicle and approached her front door, Conan deployed his most reliable, childish tactic. He crossed his legs, hopping from foot to foot while loudly complaining that he desperately needed to use the bathroom. Cornered by the young boy's sudden emergency, a visibly helpless Kei Kenzuka had no choice but to unlock her front door and allow the entire group inside.
The interior of the apartment was an absolute disaster zone. Clothes, papers, and random debris were strewn across the floor in a chaotic jumble, suggesting a frantic search or a deeply disorganized life. In the corner of the living room, the television screen glowed brightly, still left on. The evening news anchor was currently broadcasting a live report detailing the very hostage situation that had just concluded at the Mouri Detective Agency.
Ran pulled her smartphone from her pocket, intending to dial her mother, Eri Kisaki, to assure her she was safe. Before her thumb could hit the call button, the screen lit up with an incoming call from Masumi Sera.
Ran answered quickly. On the other end of the line, Masumi's voice rang out, laced with heavy anxiety as she frantically asked about the hostage situation at the agency. However, Ran frowned, pressing the speaker closer to her ear. Masumi's voice sounded strangely distorted, her words breaking up into intermittent, static-filled fragments that made it difficult to understand her.
Standing nearby, Amuro caught the distinct sound of the electronic interference. His casual demeanor vanished in an instant, his sharp eyes narrowing. He immediately recognized the specific frequency distortion. The room was bugged. Without a word of explanation, he closed the distance between them, reached out, and decisively ended the call on Ran's phone.
As Amuro lowered his voice to a whisper, quickly explaining the presence of eavesdropping devices to a bewildered Ran and Kogoro, Kei Kenzuka seized the opportunity. Muttering a flimsy excuse about needing to pack a few essential belongings, she slipped away from the group and quietly exited the living room.
She moved swiftly down the narrow hallway, her hand reaching for the doorknob of the front entrance. Just as she prepared to make her silent escape, a sharp, childish voice called out from behind her. It was Conan. The unnervingly bold boy had trailed her, loudly insisting that he needed to follow her to grab something he dropped, using a perfectly crafted pretext to block her exit.
Back in the living room, Kogoro, Ran, and Amuro remained entirely oblivious to the tense confrontation unfolding by the front door. Following Amuro's lead, they began a careful, silent sweep of the apartment. It didn't take long to uncover the truth; they found a staggering number of miniature listening devices planted under tables, behind picture frames, and inside light fixtures.
But the bugs were only the beginning. As Kogoro moved a heavy piece of furniture near the closet, he noticed a large, dark suitcase shoved into the corner. A faint, sickeningly sweet odor wafted from the zipper. When Amuro carefully pried the luggage open, the three of them froze in absolute horror. Crammed inside the tight space was a human corpse, its flesh already beginning to decay and emit a foul stench.
The gruesome discovery snapped Kogoro back to reality. He spun around, his eyes scanning the messy living room, suddenly realizing the chilling truth. Kei Kenzuka was gone. And worse, Conan was missing right alongside her.
A sharp buzz vibrated in Kogoro's pocket. He yanked his phone out, his blood running cold as he read the sender's name: Kei Kenzuka.
The text message was brief and ruthlessly clear. She explicitly threatened Kogoro, warning him that if he dared to contact the police, she would kill the boy without hesitation. However, if he strictly followed her upcoming instructions, she promised to release Conan unharmed by tomorrow afternoon.
Attached to the bottom of the chilling ultimatum was a photograph. It showed Conan slumped over in a passenger seat, deeply unconscious, an empty juice box resting near his limp hand.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]