Chapter Two: Why Is Bourbon Here?

By the time Tang Ze finally struggled to arrive at Mihua Station, two hours had already passed.

Although Tang Ze was not Japanese before crossing over, he had stayed in Tokyo and had some psychological preparation for the hassles of riding the subway in Japan, as well as how labyrinthine Shibuya Station could be.

Yet, the heavily modified subway system in this Detective Conan world still confounded him. He completely underestimated the time it would take, and by the time he finally found the Poirot Café, it was already past two in the afternoon.

Logically, he was supposed to go to Teitan High School to complete his enrollment paperwork today, but with this delay, he probably wouldn’t even have time for dinner.

Silently mourning his faintly aching stomach for two seconds, Tang Ze pushed open the door of the Poirot Café.

There were still three or four customers inside, and two waitstaff were standing behind the long bar counter chatting with the guests. Upon hearing the door open, everyone turned their attention to Tang Ze simultaneously.

“!” Tang Ze looked up and his heart skipped a beat.

The long-haired girl on the left was gentle and kind—probably Azusa Enomoto, a regular waitress at the café in the manga. But the man on the right was unmistakably iconic: with his wheat-colored skin and short golden hair, any Detective Conan fan could instantly call out his name.

Why was Toru Amuro here?!

Seeing Tang Ze stand awkwardly at the door without moving, Enomoto scrutinized him carefully, her gaze moving from his school uniform to his unusual hair color and blue eyes.

“Ah!” Clenching her right fist and tapping her palm lightly, Enomoto suddenly realized, “You must be the high school student the boss mentioned, Mr. Tang Ze.”

Snapping back to reality, Tang Ze instinctively bowed and greeted them: “Sorry for the intrusion. Nice to meet you. I am Tang Ze, here to stay for a while. Please take care of me.”

His almost instinctive, perfectly polite greeting made Enomoto smile. He seemed a bit jumpy and nervous—like a reserved, socially awkward youth.

“Kind of cute, huh?” she whispered to Toru Amuro.

Amuro, who was also carefully observing Tang Ze, smiled warmly and waved. “Don’t be nervous. The boss informed us. I’m Toru Amuro, and this is Azusa Enomoto. We’re staff here. Pleased to meet you.”

Tang Ze looked at his sunny smile and silently adjusted his breathing to calm his elevated heart rate. He returned the smile and stepped inside.

Beneath his calm exterior, however, his mind was a storm of upheaval.

What was going on? Had the Conan storyline progressed much further here? By the time Amuro began working at Poirot Café, Shuichi Akai would have already become Subaru Okiya, right?

But he recalled glimpsing a newspaper headline on the way that read something like “High School Detective Shinichi Kudo Solves Another Case.” Shinichi Kudo was still active!

So what about Amuro then...?

This was bad. His boarding life was off to a very bad start from day one.

“We received your personal belongings yesterday and placed them upstairs,” Enomoto said, pointing to the wooden stairs beside the bar. “You can go upstairs to unpack and rest. If you need anything, just ask us.”

Assuming Tang Ze might be a bit socially anxious, Enomoto thoughtfully gave him a way to retreat from the attention of the customers.

“Thank you very much, but I’ve wasted so much time on the way. I might not make it to complete the enrollment. Could I get the boarding certificate first?” Tang Ze hesitated, unsure if they knew his true identity, so he politely used the word “boarding.”

What he really needed was a volunteer guardian certificate for the observation and protection period. Since Tang Ze was effectively a probationary offender, a volunteer guardian had to liaise with the school to provide proof of responsibility for his care and regular reporting. Only then would the high school accept such a hot potato.

“Certificate?” Enomoto echoed, seemingly confused about Tang Ze’s situation.

Amuro, however, took over: “Ah, a residence certificate? Leave that to me. The boss explained it to me. You’re transferring to Teitan High School, right? It’s not far from here. I can accompany you.”

Tang Ze looked into Amuro’s violet-gray eyes. From his smile, it was clear Amuro fully understood what Tang Ze had just said.

Glancing at the customers, Tang Ze whispered, “It’s still business hours. Is it okay?”

“No problem. I can handle it alone now,” Enomoto hurriedly nudged Amuro towards the door. “Mr. Amuro, please take him there quickly.”

So Tang Ze obediently stood aside, watching Amuro remove his barista apron, put on his coat, and head out the door, with Tang Ze trailing meekly behind.

In reality, Tang Ze’s hands gripping his commuter bag were nearly clawing through the fabric.

Goodness, this was unbelievable.

Enomoto probably thought Tang Ze only needed a proof of residence, but Tang Ze knew very well he required a guardian to interface with the school—something no one else could do.

So after all this, his temporary guardian wasn’t the mysterious café owner who hadn’t shown his face, but Toru Amuro?!

Thinking this, Tang Ze lowered his head behind Amuro, staring intently at the shadow at Amuro’s feet, afraid to reveal any strange expression that might expose him to this perceptive fake Amuro.

It was over. Shinichi Kudo hadn’t even been blindsided yet, but Tang Ze’s liquor factory side was already showing.

Yes, definitely the liquor factory.

No matter what the true purpose of this undercover identity was, whenever he operated under Amuro’s social facade, it meant his surface-level role was that of a Bourbon organization member.

In the original storyline, Amuro started working at Poirot Café because Bourbon wanted to investigate the Mouri Detective Agency.

And Bourbon wouldn’t randomly become a guardian for a high school student at a café, which meant Tang Ze must have some connection to Bourbon, triggering this working-at-the-café plot early.

“You seem pretty nervous, Tang Ze,” Amuro suddenly turned around and spoke to the boy, whose head was bowed low enough to show only the top of his hair.

“Y-Yes, sorry,” Tang Ze replied softly, maintaining his socially anxious persona, lifting his head about thirty degrees, and fixing his gaze on Amuro’s sleeve.

Tang Ze’s memories of his previous life before these past ten years were hazy. Except for a few scattered fragments, he barely remembered his parents’ names, let alone what kind of personality Tang Ze had before.

Amuro undoubtedly knew more than the current Tang Ze. Given Amuro’s style as fake Bourbon, he wouldn’t casually engage him without thoroughly investigating Tang Ze’s entire family history.

Tang Ze decided to play along according to his understanding. After all, a kid wrongfully branded a former offender, even if once a social butterfly, becoming withdrawn was quite plausible.

Amuro still smiled gently, speaking casually and affably: “It’s okay, Tang Ze. I roughly understand your situation. Since the boss is often away from the country, I’ll be responsible for your guardianship for the coming year.”

Just as he thought.

Tang Ze fell silent briefly, choosing not to continue the topic. If he gave Amuro the lead, they would probably just go in circles with small talk. But guess what? He knew less than Amuro did.

He asked instead, “So, Miss Enomoto, or anyone else in the café, they all know, right?”

Though phrased as a question, Tang Ze’s tone was a resigned statement. His despondency made Amuro raise an eyebrow.

Being fundamentally a strict red faction member, Amuro was still caring towards sensitive youths. Seeing Tang Ze so wounded, he wouldn’t probe further but comforted him: “No, only the boss knows. You can live here with peace of mind. We will protect your privacy, so don’t worry.”

On the walk from the café, Tang Ze’s mind raced as he quickly settled on a persona for himself.

He began to embody this crafted character, letting out a self-mocking chuckle and speaking in a low, desolate tone, bluntly naming the term Amuro had been avoiding: “That’s right. If people knew a severely injured juvenile offender lived here, it would hurt your reputation and business, right?”

Amuro frowned. “No, don’t think like that, Tang Ze.”

“I’ll try not to cause trouble for anyone. Please rest assured,” Tang Ze continued, lowering his brows and keeping his gaze low despite raising his head. His long lashes shielded his bright blue eyes. “I’ll behave. Just one year is enough. I won’t be a burden.”

His utterly negative and self-abandoning demeanor made Amuro unwilling to pursue the questions he initially intended to ask, so he changed the subject to Tang Ze’s future school, Teitan High.

“Teitan High is also a renowned school in Tokyo with a high advancement rate. Transferring there isn’t a bad thing. It might even help with your future exams,” Amuro softened his words, shifting from talking to a high schooler to almost coaxing a child. “The student atmosphere here is very good. You can relax a bit.”

For the first time on the walk, Tang Ze raised his eyes and met Amuro’s gaze.

His lips moved slightly, seeming to disagree with Amuro’s assessment, but he said nothing, pressing them tightly together.

Tang Ze’s current thought was: just fool the outsiders.

Is there really such a friendly atmosphere in Mihua Town?

Really? I don’t buy it. Polite and civilized Mihua Town, huh?

This expression was one Tang Ze had already made on the train. When he forced his mouth into a tight smile, his cheeks puffed out slightly, still holding some baby fat. Though he was quite serious, others would only find him cute.

Tang Ze wasn’t deliberately acting younger; he simply hadn’t adapted to this new face and didn’t quite know how to use it.

But Amuro couldn’t resist reaching out to ruffle his hair.

“Relax. There’s nothing to worry about. That’s Teitan High School over there, very close.”

Following Amuro’s gesture, Tang Ze saw the “Teitan High School” name engraved on a stone across the street.

By the way, the protagonist of Persona 5 attends Shujin High, a pun because “Shujin” sounds like “prisoner” in Japanese, reflecting the protagonist’s fate as a captive.

Teitan High is also a pun—“Teitan” is a rearrangement of the word “tantei,” meaning detective.

Looks like puns are a lifelong fate.

Muttering this in his mind, Tang Ze obediently followed Amuro into this famous otaku landmark.