He ignored the fact that his abilities were stronger than most people in the Organization, he ignored that his understanding of Shiratori Midori was deeper than anyone else's, he ignored the possibility that actual clues might be hidden among these "bits and pieces" of miscellaneous items.
He did not want to admit that he was feeling apprehensive about returning home.
So he ignored the clues right before his eyes and went looking for others—simply because he did not want to see these 'Belongings' that proved Cider had already left.
It wasn't until he received the SMS from Nana that he saw the obscure clues left behind for the first time.
And those self-deceiving "he told himself" moments were finally exposed.
At this moment, he picked up those alphabet cards that had been around for many years, his index finger, tipped with thin calluses, brushing across their smooth surfaces.
He heard a faint sigh emanating from within his own heart.
After all the twists and turns of fate, it has returned to the starting point.
..
No matter how much his thoughts fluctuated, Gin eventually composed himself and began looking through the two handwritten letters.
These two English letters were far from standard; they appeared to have been written in a rush, or perhaps scribbled carelessly because the writer's mind was elsewhere.
Gin frowned, feeling that the handwriting looked somewhat familiar.
After only a few seconds of thought, considering that these were Shiratori Midori's belongings, he quickly realized that this was Shiratori Midori's handwriting.
So even after all this time, your handwriting still looks so familiar to me..
Even though I don't really care much about those who have passed away. (1)
These sighs rose from the depths of his heart. Gin composed himself, suppressing them for the time being, then flipped the letters over and began to compare them meticulously, attempting to find the similarities and differences between the two sets of handwritten letters.
He quickly discovered the anomaly.
Both sides of the two letter cards were the same color and had been hand-painted, but compared to the 'S' card, which had been meticulously painted on both sides, the 'I' card was a bit different.
In fact, both sides of the latter were also carefully colored, but in comparison, the color on the back did not seem to be applied as thoroughly as the front, so the thickness of the color was not as intense.
Gin picked up the I again, examining it against the Light.
A few seconds later, he frowned.
——Nana was mistaken; this chapter wasn't a capital I, but a lowercase l.
But here lies the problem: all these English letters are capitalized; why would a lowercase letter appear out of nowhere?
..
They stayed at Nana's place until dusk, Gin took the alphabet cards back with him, telling the Black-haired girl that he would come back for the rest of the things later.
Nana was clearly reluctant, but she understood the gravity of the situation and did not argue much; she simply looked at Gin with eyes nearly brimming with tears, pleading, "Can you really not tell me?"
Gin curled the corners of his mouth slightly. "I don't mind you investigating, but if your abilities are limited and you can't find anything, then do not dream of challenging danger."
The little girl lowered her head, looking unhappy.
Gin watched her looking dejected, his mood suddenly improved with a sense of mischief. He suddenly reached out to rub the Black-haired girl's head, curling his lips into a smirk amidst her bewildered expression: "Knowing too much is not good for you."
You all say that.." Nana muttered unhappily, before falling into a depression again. "Forget it, I have no right to judge others.
—After all.. I did the same.
..
Before Gin could study it for much longer, he heard the continuous ding-donging of his mobile phone's incoming call notification.
The Silver-haired youth frowned, after his finger swiped across the screen to unlock the password, a familiar name appeared on it.
Takao Haruki.
Gin raised an eyebrow: A reply so soon?
He pressed the answer button while tidying up the letter cards scattered on the table. The voice of the youth on the other end was just as familiar, even though they had not seen each other for some time.
"Hearing my voice, did you miss me?" Takao Haruki teased lazily, his voice soft and tinged with a hint of a smile.
"A guy who just got out of prison and is already busy wreaking havoc on the world comes to find me specifically; I am indeed quite moved," Gin retorted with a casual sneer.
How heartless.." the person opposite him laughed. "I even sacrificed my time playing games with Detective Little Brother just to come and see you.
Ha.. although I don't know how you reached that conclusion.." Gin replied dryly. "But I think that Detective Little Brother would be very moved if he knew.
Forget it, forget it." The youth brushed the topic aside quite readily: "I've already found the thing you asked me to investigate.
“..”
I have to say, GIN.." Takao Haruki enunciated clearly, a half-smile playing on his lips. "This truly is a very dramatic story; it has quite surprised me.
Gin thought for a moment and said quite sincerely, "That is truly unfortunate."
After a few rounds of bickering, the Silver-haired youth and the Hell Puppeteer agreed on a time for the deal, taking the opportunity to "warmly" inquire about each other's recent lives.
Not even three seconds after hanging up the mobile phone, another ringtone sounded.
Gin: ……
He unlocked his mobile phone again for no reason, another familiar name appeared on the communication interface.
What a coincidence. The Silver-haired youth thought to himself with a sneer: They're all running into each other.
..
This time, the person on the other end of the call was Heine.
The moment he heard his voice, even knowing it was a coincidence, Gin couldn't help but experience a strange sensation.
He shook his head to shake off that feeling of guilt—the person on the other end couldn't see his actions anyway, his voice remained as calm as ever: "What is it?"
"It's nothing, really.." Heine spoke sweetly, a tone that gave Gin goosebumps while simultaneously putting him on high alert.
As expected—
“I just came to tell you some news.” The blue-eyed man stretched lazily, let out a yawn, walked slowly toward the window of his Villa.
His tone was so natural that it stood in stark contrast to the content of his words: "It seems Borse is in trouble."
Gin frowned immediately.
It seems there was a slight issue with his mission in the UK with RYE.
Hearing that name, Gin's brow twitched instinctively.
Although he did not yet know the details of what had happened, Gin instinctively felt that Akai Shuichi must have played a part in this.
..
And so it was.
Ever since he had taken Bourbon from Vermouth, Gin had assigned Borse to work as a partner with Rye on missions.
Both of them were highly skilled; even though their experience was not yet extensive, they were more than capable of completing missions at their current stage.
—If that bottle of Fake Liquor doesn't cause any trouble.
Due to his vigilance toward Akai Shuichi, the missions Gin assigned to the duo were all located in various countries across Europe. This would inevitably force the two to travel far and wide, would also ensure that while Akai was fighting on the front lines, he would be unable to conduct in-depth investigations in any single location.
This kind of promotion, which on the surface was meant to let them familiarize themselves with various places, was a source of unspoken hardship for an elite undercover agent with ulterior motives.
So, he showed great concern for the health of his colleagues who were constantly on the move, took the opportunity to use a few little tricks to force them to take a "vacation."
Normally speaking, given Borse's abilities, he wouldn't fall into a trap so silently without leaving a single trace—this was also why Gin had specifically assigned him to be Akai's partner, but unfortunately, who could blame the location being the UK?
Gin glanced at the mission report that was supposedly completely flawless, then let out a long, heavy breath.
He said to Heine expressionlessly, "Tell Borse to go to Italy to lie low and get some proper rest for a while."
Italy.. so that was his way of asking him to look after things for a while.
Heine's eyes flashed, a bright smile appeared on his face. His gaze drifted through the window toward the green trees in the courtyard; the leaves swayed slightly in the wind, but their vibrant color reminded him of another shade of cold green. "What's in it for me?"
That person was still speaking to him.
Gin closed his eyes and said in a heavy tone, "I'll consider it a favor I owe you."
"Deal." The slender Black-haired youth smiled, accepting the condition with crisp decisiveness.
..
So many things had happened in a single day that even with Gin's boundless energy, he couldn't help but feel a bit mentally exhausted at this moment.
The Owl in the room was flapping its wings in a playful, joyful manner, but Gin had no interest in it. He set down his mobile phone and began to reflect silently on the series of events that had occurred recently.
Rubbing his temples, Gin felt as if he had overlooked something.
-----------------------
Author's Note: (1) When Gin heard the news about Kudo Shinichi, he said something like, "I don't remember the faces of dead people."
..
When I was writing the previous chapter.. the comments clearly hadn't even reached 3,400..
Alright, this chapter is a two-in-one.
Yesterday's chapter was a makeup for the day before yesterday's update, this chapter covers yesterday and today's updates, there is also a bonus chapter from the comments.
The next chapter will likely be released quite late. If you are sleepy, just go to sleep; there is no need to wait. Mwah~
..
Thanks to cc Little Angel's Grenade! Thank you, Little Angel, love you, mwah~
Chapter 71 Chapter 67 Akai Shuichi didn't notice his..
The next time I saw Akai Shuichi was on an afternoon.
The black-haired, green-eyed youth sat somewhat lazily inside Starbucks, with an Americano to his left; his simple shirt and trousers revealed his powerful, long limbs.
His posture appeared relaxed and casual, yet his temperament carried a hint of coldness and maturity. Even in the somewhat bustling Starbucks, he was quite eye-catching, causing many girls to steal glances at her.
Gin did not attract much attention when he entered the door.
As an assassin, hiding one's presence is a mandatory skill—it is fine to be eye-catching in daily life, but if one remains that conspicuous during a mission, they might as well prepare to meet their end.
But right now, it wasn't during a mission.