Amuro had actually met Jiangxia before and knew he was part of the organization.
—As a full-time member, Amuro occasionally had use for peripheral members.
About a year ago, the two had crossed paths briefly during a mission.
Amuro remembered Jiangxia out of a crowd of minor operatives. So there was no reason for Jiangxia to not recognize a full-fledged member with blond hair, dark skin, and a distinctive look like him.
Which is exactly why Amuro thought Jiangxia was deeply suspicious.
Most peripheral members were terrified of them. So why would one voluntarily approach him for a part-time job—and then refuse to leave even after being clearly shown the door?
…Too suspicious. Far too suspicious.
In any case, no one walks out the door until Amuro gets answers.
Thinking this, Amuro narrowed his eyes with a classic villain-style sneer and stepped forward with a very persuasive gun in hand.
"Who sent you here? Are you a lackey for the police?"
Jiangxia: "…"
He had several issues with that sentence, but didn't know where to begin.
Still, he understood what Amuro meant. It was a warning.
—A peripheral member showing up uninvited on Bourbon's turf was already suspicious enough.
If Jiangxia couldn't give a reasonable explanation, Amuro could just shoot him right here and claim he was "a spy sent by the cops," and no one would bat an eye.
Peripheral members without codenames were cannon fodder's cannon fodder.
But that was fine.
There was a bottle of fake wine between them.
Chances of an actual shot? Low.
And Jiangxia had ghosts.
He wasn't particularly afraid of dying.
In fact, as a legitimate psychic who'd completed his "eighth grade syndrome" journey, he wasn't scared of being "killed by good people."
The souls of the dead always carried a trace of resentment—and it was highly directional. It pointed straight at their murderer.
And psychics, by nature, retained their spiritual abilities after death.
So in other words, anyone who dared to personally kill a psychic… had a hilariously high chance of getting their body hijacked.
Of course, switching bodies was very damaging to the soul. And ghosts tended to flee in the process too, since the contract weakened.
So psychics preferred not to die.
But Jiangxia only had one ghost at the moment. Not much to lose.
So right now, staring down a loaded gun, he wasn't nervous at all.
Besides, every time he ran into Gin, the guy pointed a gun at him for like half an hour. At this point, he was used to it.
Jiangxia stayed calm and said:
"No one sent me. I came on my own. I'm looking for a more stable source of income.
"During a past mission, I offended some local gangsters. They're scared to confront me directly, so they've been playing dirty. Every job I get ends up smashed within a week. After that happened a few times, no employer would dare to hire me."
Jiangxia sighed. "Now I can only work far away. But after travel expenses, I barely earn anything."
Amuro Toru, a veteran part-time jobber himself, listened with an increasingly complicated expression.
His reasons were different—he wasn't working for money, but to gather intel—but the struggle of getting work was all too familiar.
As Jiangxia spoke, he sounded strangely sincere.
Unknowingly, Amuro's grip on the gun loosened. This poor peripheral member… was too pitiful.
But as soon as Jiangxia stopped talking, Amuro snapped out of it.
"'The organization'...?"
"They hardly give me assignments anymore," Jiangxia looked down. "A codename member thinks I have psychological issues and shouldn't be stressed. So I'm not scheduled for much work. If I can't find a stable job soon, I'll have to sell the house my parents left me. But that's all I have from them…"
Amuro Toru: "…"
Is it really that tragic?
But… psychological issues, and no missions…
Amuro suddenly had a thought: could that codename member be… Sherry?
He had a soft spot for Sherry's mother due to some things in his childhood, so he naturally paid more attention to her daughter's situation.
He had heard that Sherry was quietly protecting a peripheral member.
If that person was Jiangxia…
Then this story was probably true.
Sherry was a researcher, not involved in enforcement. But her status meant that if she vouched for someone, that person would indeed be benched.
Amuro could imagine Sherry's good intentions. But judging from Jiangxia's current state… it didn't exactly help.
Maybe Sherry, who'd never wanted for money, just didn't realize this would be a problem.
Amuro felt a little helpless. First crushes really do make you soft…
He looked at Jiangxia and asked in a not-so-subtle hint, "So… this person told you to take fewer jobs, but didn't give you any support?"
The implication: Have you tried telling Sherry this? She'd probably help.
But Jiangxia gave him a strange look.
"She did give me money. But I'm a man. How could I let a woman support me?"
Then he glanced at Amuro, hesitated, and added faintly, "You're not… like that, are you?"
Amuro Toru: "…"
Why did he feel like an invisible pot labeled "King of Soft Rice" was slowly floating toward him?
A vein pulsed on his forehead. "I was just asking."
Obviously he wasn't encouraging people to eat soft rice!
He just thought it was normal for someone to give pocket money to the kid they were looking after.
But now that he thought about it… Sherry was also a minor.
Getting supported by a girl your age… no wonder Jiangxia refused.
Being a minor is so inconvenient… And now he was stuck dealing with two of them at once.
Now that Sherry was somehow dragged into this, Amuro calmed down a little.
But he still found something odd. "Even so… what's that got to do with you coming to me for a part-time job?"
Jiangxia caught the subtle softening in Amuro's tone and explained:
"I accidentally saved a little girl who was kidnapped. Her dad gave me a reward. After that, I realized that being a private detective might be a good fit for me.
"But I don't have a legal guardian to sign paperwork. So I can only work as an apprentice under someone else."
"At that time, I happened to see your ad in the detective directory."
As he spoke, Jiangxia pointed to the Detective Handbook on the coffee table.
"Out of all the offices listed, yours is closest to the Metropolitan Police Department."
"That makes it harder for troublemakers to wreck. Even if someone does come looking for me, the police would show up quickly. So I figured it was worth a shot."
He looked at Amuro with an expression that clearly said, I believe in you. You've got this.
Amuro Toru was silent for a while.
He picked up the Detective Handbook and flipped through it.
Sure enough, his office was listed.
He didn't even remember when he submitted the ad.
Amuro didn't need clients. If things ever got bad, he could apply for funds through the organization.
He only posted ads from time to time to maintain the existence of the "Amuro Detective Agency" as part of his cover.
After all, as an undercover agent, he couldn't become a famous detective like the others. But he could still use the office name to get involved in cases.
He just never thought that this tiny gesture would attract a part-timer looking for a job.
Normally, Amuro wouldn't have cared.
But right now… Jiangxia's situation was really dire.
And a good chunk of that seemed to be Sherry's fault.
Amuro had been cared for by Sherry's mother when he was a kid.
Now that her daughter's actions had directly led to this pitiful state…
He couldn't just walk away.
Especially since Jiangxia, despite being in the organization, hadn't turned to crime. He was honestly trying to work for a living. He'd even saved a child.
This kid… might actually be kind of useful.
Amuro wrestled with himself for a while, then finally lost to his red-side conscience.
He sighed and looked at Jiangxia.
"You can intern first. I'll pay you the normal hourly wage. But if you mess up and cause trouble for the organization… you know the consequences."
Jiangxia blinked.
He'd actually prepared several more rounds of persuasion.
He hadn't expected things to go this smoothly.
Could it be… that the red side in this world has more conscience than I thought?
Either way, mission accomplished.
Jiangxia nodded seriously. "Understood."
Glossary for This Chapter:
Soft rice – A slang term (from "eating soft rice") meaning a man being financially supported by a woman, usually with emasculating or parasitic implications. Used here jokingly.
Pot – Slang for blame or trouble, usually undeserved, as in "an invisible pot landed on his head."
Peripheral member – A lower-ranked member of the Black Organization who doesn't have a codename; cannon fodder basically.
Ghosts / psychic – Jiangxia has spiritual powers and can interact with ghosts, a unique fanfic element. He sometimes uses this as an edge in the otherwise logic-driven Detective Conan universe.
Red side – Refers to the "good guys," i.e., law enforcement and those secretly working against the Black Organization.