BWDC:SDDK Chapter 21: The Naturally Evil Bat Brat!
"Huh? I remember you... you're that, that one guy..."
Mouri Kogoro stared at the mysterious coffee-clutching man sitting in the backseat, his face contorted in shock. He pointed a finger, stammering "that guy" repeatedly, but his memory just wouldn't click.
If the person in the backseat hadn't been Ren Ichimonji, but rather a Black Batman from some mysterious alternate universe, Mouri Kogoro would likely be tasting a Bat-fist that no man could endure right about now.
"Dad, it's Mr. Batman," Mouri Ran leaned in from the passenger seat, whispering a soft reminder.
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Kogoro's head. He clapped his hands and shouted, "Ah! So you are Batman!"
The words had barely left his mouth when he froze. Something felt wrong. He sat there like a crashed computer for about ten seconds before suddenly exploding.
"Wait! What do you mean Batman?! There's no such thing as Batman in this world, hey!"
"Ran, have you been secretly reading superhero comics with that brat lately?"
Ran blinked, startled. She had assumed her father remembered Mr. Ichimonji from before. It took her a moment to realize her mistake.
Ah, she had introduced him wrong. She should have used his name, but she accidentally used the nickname...
Ran hurriedly tried to fix the situation. "Dad, it's not like that! I said it wrong just now. This is Mr. Ren Ichimonji!"
"We met Mr. Ichimonji back on the Queen Selizabeth. Don't you have any memory of him at all? Even I remember him!"
What memory? Ren Ichimonji? Doesn't sound like a local name, Kogoro thought, stunned.
Thinking back carefully, there was indeed a guy holding a coffee cup on the ship. However, Kogoro had been so focused on his unconscious daughter that he hadn't spared a glance for the mysterious coffee man. By the time Ran woke up, the man had already disembarked.
No wonder he looked familiar but impossible to place—they really had only crossed paths once on the Queen Selizabeth!
"No, well... Mr. Ichimonji, are you also going to Mr. Nagamitsu's estate this time? I'm going because of a request..."
"I have one too," Ren smiled, reaching out to ruffle Conan's hair.
He really did have a request. What, was Conan's request not a real request?
Hearing this answer, Kogoro had no choice but to shrug and drop the subject. Fine. Even though that brat Conan always disappeared the moment they reached a crime scene, he usually knew what he was doing. If they were going the same way, a hitchhiker was fine.
However, if Nagamitsu Michio said he never commissioned this "Mr. Batman," Kogoro wasn't going to be responsible for the return trip—this job required staying at least one night at the manor. Kogoro had no intention of driving back and forth for a stranger he'd met once. If he did that, he wouldn't be able to start his actual business until seven or eight at night.
Click.
The key turned. As a veteran driver, Kogoro skillfully started the engine, and the car began to move smoothly.
Watching the scenery blur past like flickering shadows, Conan, sitting in the back next to Ren, asked curiously, "I say, Batman, aren't you worried that Mr. Nagamitsu will just kick you out? Aren't you worried I won't be able to let you stay and you'll have to walk back?"
Ren: ?
Was he joking? Walk back? He was a "Supreme Little Bat," not the Red Death. Why on earth would he walk?
He didn't catch a ride just because he thought Conan could handle it. Even if Conan failed and the chairman insisted on sending him away, it didn't matter—Ren could just ask Hattori Heiji for help.
In the world of Conan, the characters didn't look exactly like their manga counterparts, so Ren couldn't recognize everyone at a single glance. But someone as distinctive as Hattori Heiji was a different story.
No joke, in the entire Conan universe, the only person who wore his hat backward 24/7 was Hattori Heiji. If Nagamitsu Michio wanted him gone, he'd just get Hattori to vouch for him.
What? Why would Hattori Heiji help him?
Well, let's just say Batman always has a contingency plan. Ren had plenty of ways to make Hattori speak up for him.
The car drove on, gradually leaving the main urban areas of Tokyo. The surroundings began to blur. Ren narrowed his eyes, a thought suddenly occurring to him.
I've left the Beika area, but I'm still within Tokyo. Will the "vicious events" here count toward my security missions?
The answer appeared almost instantly in his vision as a system screen manifested.
[Detection: A vicious event threatening Gotham City's security has appeared nearby!]
[As Batman, you have a duty to maintain Gotham's peace. Please arrive at the scene quickly and apprehend the criminal before they escape, or stop the crime while it is in progress!]
[Difficulty: Medium. Reward: 50 Points upon completion!]
Ren: ?
So the range of "Gotham City" isn't just limited to the Beika district?
His heart settled instantly. If the system issued a mission, the reward was guaranteed. Once they arrived, he'd scan the villa for any "Model Citizens of Beika," identify the players, and then wait for the item refresh at midnight to drag the culprit out and give them a beating.
The reason he planned for midnight—rather than solving it immediately—was that information might be too scarce to stop the crime before it started, even for Batman. Furthermore, if there were multiple crimes happening at once, being without his gadgets would be dangerous.
Better to play it safe.
Plus, he could snag a free meal from the Nagamitsu family. Ren was actually quite curious about the situation at the Nagamitsu household. Surely the head of the house wouldn't pull some grand summoning and serve him a "Leaf's End" meal, right? It probably wasn't that ridiculous.
"We're almost there, Mr. Ichimonji. Check if you've got all your things."
Kogoro's voice drifted back from the front. Toward people he didn't know well, he was still somewhat polite.
If they were close, Ren might have already become the "Naturally Evil Bat Brat" in Kogoro's mouth!
End of Chapter
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium