books44 Chapter 199 A Father's Love That Can Flexibly Extend
Chapter 199 A Father's Love That Can Flexibly Extend
As soon as she finished speaking, Ai Haibara herself was stunned, touching her mouth with a look of surprise on her face.
"...Hmm?" Kuromon Haruya smiled politely but with a hint of embarrassment, convinced that he must have misheard.
Unexpectedly, Ai Haibara frowned, staring at Haruya Kuromon with disbelief, muttering to herself for a long time before finally squeezing out, "Mom."
Haha, thanks for the invitation. I almost threw up when I was there.
Is there anything more irritating in the world than Shiho Miyano calling herself "Mom"? Oh, unless Elena Miyano is resurrected.
Suppressing a dull stomach ache, he walked to the bedside and tenderly patted the child's head:
"Ai, how are you feeling now? The doctor said you might have temporary aphasia due to the stimulation. If you can't speak, don't force it."
The girl pursed her lips unhappily, nodded under his gaze, anxiously pointed around, and then gestured towards herself.
"Are you worried about your identity at the hospital? It's okay, I know the doctors here."
"That's good, it seems we're safe now." Ai Haibara breathed a sigh of relief, touching her throat where she couldn't speak no matter what she did, and remained silent.
She couldn't remember anything that happened before she lost consciousness... She only remembered that something terrifying seemed to be strangling her neck, and the memory made her tremble with fear...
"But that's all in the past now." She looked around the ward and smiled gently. "Simple and common, yet it has a strange sense of familiarity, like a traveler returning to their childhood home—warm and reassuring... No wonder it was the place Brother Kuromon chose; it's just like the feeling he gives off."
'Mr. Hanzawa was also behind Kuromon; he must have been scared this time too. I was always a little wary of him because of his mysterious aura, but now it seems he's actually a very gentle person.'
Taking in Sherry's relaxed and carefree expression, Kuromon Haruya felt the touch of her palm and a bad feeling rose in his heart: Sherry's head feels pointy, could it be that she bumped her head and became stupid?
After some bumpy communication with Ai Haibara, the three of them finally reached an agreement on treating her themselves and sent Ai back to Professor Agasa's house before Conan arrived.
"...That's roughly how it is."
Hanzawa had already left. Kuromon Haruya took out the medical record that Kazeto had forged and handed it to the worried Professor Agasa.
They exchanged a glance, and without saying a word, they tacitly avoided mentioning the fact that she could speak, but could only call out "Mom".
"Fortunately, her thinking and communication were not greatly impaired, so the treatment is not difficult. Ai herself tends to use the excuse of 'temporarily unable to speak due to throat damage' to take a leave of absence for a while before returning to school."
As he spoke, he leaned closer to the two of them and whispered a reminder: "After all, it hasn't been long since that accident."
Professor Agasa knew this was a veiled reference to the accident where Ai was kidnapped by Pisco. When he learned that Ai was missing, he was genuinely terrified!
He nodded in agreement. Conan trusted Kuromon implicitly, and Ai Haibara herself was even less likely to disagree...
Gaining the trust of key figures on the Red Team is as easy as drinking water.
Kuromon Haruya inhaled slowly, his heels grinding methodically against the floor, trying to erase the arrogance that had grown in his heart.
'But arrogance is absolutely unacceptable; it is the foremost of the original sins, often causing those who think too highly of themselves to stumble and fall. Pride brings shame, humility brings wisdom—as the gentleman of this organization, I must always keep this in mind.'
"Our journey is still long and arduous, but step by step, we will eventually achieve victory." With green eyes shifting downwards, Kuromon Haruya leaned close to Conan, smiling with narrowed eyes: "Right, Shinichi?"
Imagining a successful future, Conan widened his eyes and nodded emphatically: "Yes!"
......
The diced yam and greens tumbled together with the blooming rice grains, and under the gentle heat, the porridge gradually softened, bubbling with tiny milky white bubbles.
Stir it gently with a spoon, and the thick juice forms a silvery thread. The aroma of grains and greens blending together slowly rises, making one's appetite whetted.
Three plates were arranged on the table in a row, and Kuromon Haruya brought a large bowl of cooked health porridge to the table:
"Lunch is ready. This time, I took into account the principles of medicinal cuisine in Chinese cooking."
The main dish was vegetable and yam porridge. I especially used the Chinese yam I bought in Chinatown, which is good for the spleen and stomach, and has a calming effect, perfect for Xiao Ai. The remaining three dishes were minced meat and egg custard, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and tomato and egg. The portions were small, just right for the few of us.
The dishes, with their appealing colors, aromas, and tastes, were laid out on the table. The combination of green, white, red, and yellow hues made Dr. Agasa swallow his saliva five times just by looking at them.
He rubbed his hands together, feeling embarrassed, and said, "You've gone to so much trouble, Mr. Kuromon, taking Ai to the hospital and helping with lunch!"
"It's alright, Doctor. After all, she was the one who got into trouble right in front of me." With only three chairs set up at the table, Kuromon Haruya looked around. "Speaking of which, where's Ai?"
"She was still a bit exhausted, so she went to bed first and asked us to save her a meal."
"Row."
Not dwelling on Sherry's issue, Kuromon Haruya picked up her chopsticks and looked at the two absent-minded people: "What's wrong?"
"Um...actually, I have a favor to ask. Shinichi's class is having a parent-teacher conference soon, could you please attend in Ai's place, Mr. Kuromon?"
"Parent-teacher meeting?" Kuromon Haruya stopped eating.
The word was so distant; he felt he hadn't heard it in at least several decades, and it was accompanied by terrible memories.
"Hmm!" Conan explained while chewing on a piece of vegetable leaf, "Our new homeroom teacher, Ms. Kobayashi, is a strict female teacher. She said that there will be a parent-teacher meeting in the fourth week of school, and everyone must have a parent present."
"And I'm just an old man, I don't know how to socialize with other parents. Ai doesn't take the initiative to socialize, so I want her to integrate into the class more quickly, so I can only ask you young people to help me."
Dr. Agasa stroked his gray, cauliflower-like hair, stepped down from his seat, and brought over a box: "Of course, I'm not asking you to work for nothing. This is my newly developed invention. I don't know if it's enough as payment."
"This is a retractable shoulder strap that I invented. Adjusting the values on the buckle can provide tension to help carry goods."
The lid pops open, revealing a plain black suspender strap inside. To the naked eye, the material appears no different from a regular suit suspender strap, closely resembling synthetic fibers.
But this very suspender strap, the moment Kuromon Haruya saw it, instantly reminded him of its illustrious war record. Don't let its simplicity fool you; in fact, it's a veritable treasure trove of battle trophies across all the theatrical films!
These include but are not limited to:
Tira has demonstrated his ability to perform a series of actions, from freefalling from elementary school students to submerged vehicles, electronic screens, and Ferris wheels, achieving a smooth and risk-free freefall from a height of 1,000 meters. He has also used his helmet as a slingshot to shoot down a helicopter piloted by Gin.
Seeing that he didn't react, Professor Agasa sighed and reached up to touch the lid of the box: "Yeah, I'll just let Shinichi use this useless thing, but..."
"I accept."
"Huh?" The doctor didn't react for a moment.
Kuromon Haruya stroked the back of his hand, cupped Professor Agasa's face, and repeated earnestly and affectionately, "I'll accept this request. Don't worry, Professor, leave the parent-teacher conference to me. I'll be happy to help you."
If one day he could actually shoot down Gin's helicopter with a soccer ball or something else, just like in the movie...
We won't lack fun for at least a hundred years!