Chapter 390

Ran Mouri froze: "Huh...? Wait, I don't quite understand. Does it mean killing her from under the bed? We could have saved her when we saw her struggling...?"

Conan Edogawa already had a general idea in mind, but after Shinryu Samikawa filled in the gaps in the puzzle, he understood everything. Upon hearing Ran Mouri's words, he subconsciously replied.

"No, she was indeed poisoned when we entered the room! The struggle we saw was actually staged by the perpetrator under the bed! He did it to make it look like suicide..."

Kenji Hagiwara couldn't help but glance at Conan Edogawa again.

...This child is really too smart.

The bespectacled man paused for a moment, then admitted, "I killed him."

He wanted to stubbornly stick to his guns a little longer, since he hadn't been caught red-handed, which was much better than the worst-case scenario.

But he noticed the way Kanakawa Shinryu's gaze had swept over his shoes, so he knew that Kanakawa Shinryu did indeed have evidence that he was the murderer.

Because after he killed the person, in order to pretend that the person was still alive when they entered the house, he lay under the bed and stuck his legs out through the gaps in the bed frame—since it was a prop bed, there was only a sheet on the bed frame, so it was easy to do this—he wanted to pretend that the dead person was struggling, but he was afraid that kicking his legs would reveal that he didn't have nail polish on his feet... He doesn't wear nail polish! He really didn't think of this detail when he was making the plan!

In short, he temporarily applied some fake blood to his toenail and never had a chance to remove it. Now that he's being asked to take off his shoes, it will be irrefutable evidence.

He was seen crawling out from under the bed, and the evidence wasn't destroyed; a body search would reveal it... He kept acting earlier because he felt there was still hope, but now, the bespectacled man couldn't find any point in continuing to be stubborn.

Sonoko Suzuki was taken aback: "Why? Aren't you friends?"

The bespectacled man sneered: "Because she killed Qiaokou!"

Ida Kou was completely confused: "Are you talking about that friend of yours who passed away a month ago? Wasn't it suicide?"

"Yes! But even if it's a terminal illness, it doesn't mean you die immediately! He could have lived for a while longer! There are even cases in medicine where someone is given only a few years to live, but due to a good mood and diligent treatment, they lived for many more years... But that woman, when she expressed her suicidal intentions at the bridge, not only didn't try to dissuade him, but she encouraged him, and even told him to record his dying moments before committing suicide so she could refer to them..."

The bespectacled man said bitterly, "Hashiguchi, Hashiguchi probably committed suicide so quickly just to make her graduation project more realistic, feeling that her only remaining value was as material! Otherwise, she could still be alive now... Her parents wouldn't be so heartbroken, looking like they've aged a lot all of a sudden... So many people wanted her to live, but with that mindset, she could only hear negative things. If Anna hadn't said she wanted to see him die... If she had joined us in comforting him, saying she hoped he would live longer...! She was practically murdering him!"

The classmates who were planning the haunted house together were all shocked: "Huh? Really?"

"Of course it's true! She said it herself! And when they found the body at Hashiguchi's place, wasn't she inexplicably excited?! She even said she was looking for something, which was actually the video camera! She even boasted that she had watched the process of Hashiguchi's death many, many, many times..."

The students were all deeply shocked, and the onlookers from other schools remained silent.

...This is difficult to assess.

Encouraging others to commit suicide... this is not the way to pursue art! And for a criminal to kill again to avenge someone's suicide is also... neither of them are good people.

It was another day that brought no laughter. Date Wataru handcuffed the bespectacled man and left ahead of time, leaving Hagiwara Kenji to clean up the mess.

Kenji Hagiwara asked Shinryu Hatsukawa curiously, "Where did he come from?"

"The foot of the bed." Han Chuan Shenliu pointed with his chin towards the foot of the bed. "Actually, the passageway here is more spacious. I think it's more normal to go through from here. I don't know why they insist on going through the head of the bed."

Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki paused for a moment: "...Uh, is it because this place is closer to the door? We want to get there quickly and don't want to take a detour..."

But Mr. Hanchuan seemed unwilling to squeeze in with them, so he went around to a different area.

Kenji Hagiwara: "...So he actually found out about you too, right?"

Hanchuan Shenliu nodded.

Kenji Hagiwara could easily imagine the terrifying experience of a prisoner who, upon hearing footsteps from under the bed, assumed everyone was coming from that direction, only to be met with the horrifying gaze of Shinryu Kagawa as soon as he crawled out...

His lips twitched: "He can still keep acting, he has such a good mentality, maybe he should become an actor."

Conan Edogawa thought to himself, "Inspector Hagiwara! Is that all you wanted to say?!"

Mr. Hanchuan should really straighten out his attitude! It's not that we necessarily expect him to tell us everything as soon as he finds a clue, but at least don't act like you're not taking it seriously, like you're waiting for someone to put on a show for you!

As if hearing Conan Edogawa's thoughts, Kenji Hagiwara quickly said, "However, Fukami, next time something like this happens... I know you don't care, but don't play tricks on people. It's easy for criminals to lose their composure."

"...I'm no longer a police officer, so why should I care about the mental health of prisoners?"

"You didn't care when you were a police officer!!!"

Kenji Hagiwara made a strong retort, then regained his composure: "Could you tone it down a bit lately? The Metropolitan Police Department doesn't have many psychiatrists to begin with, and now that some are sick, we're already short-staffed."

Conan Edogawa: "…………"

Officer Hagiwara, is this the kind of reason you use to persuade him...?

However, Mr. Kankawa has been doing this for quite some time now. Even Inspector Megure allows Mr. Kankawa to tease the criminals, so it's understandable that Officer Hagiwara has no choice but to accept it.

Perhaps for the Metropolitan Police Department, as long as the case is solved, nothing else matters.

Moreover, it's not just the Japanese Public Security Bureau that's adept at illegal operations; as long as they aren't caught, it's common for other Japanese police officers to engage in such underhanded tactics.

...If it were someone else acting like this, Conan Edogawa would simply sigh and think that many people just treat being a police officer as a job rather than a matter of justice, which he would consider normal. But when it comes to Shinryu Samakawa, who has had contact with the organization and, upon reviewing the past, has remained unscathed for so many years, making him seem very suspicious, Conan Edogawa finds it quite subtle.

So when they went to the police station to give their statements, Conan Edogawa took the opportunity to ask Kenji Hagiwara, "Officer Hagiwara, is there any news about the organization that impersonated Manager Matsumoto?"

"This isn't under the jurisdiction of the First Investigation Division. Why are you asking this?" Kenji Hagiwara raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Mr. Mori tell you to ask this?"

"No, it's just that I'm curious... Well, after all, I'm a Kaito Kid nemesis, so I'm a little wary of people who can disguise themselves." Conan Edogawa skillfully made up an excuse. "What if Kaito Kid is actually part of that organization?"

Kenji Hagiwara replied, "Well... I don't think so. Kid's style is more high-profile, and Kid doesn't kill people. That organization even shot down Tokyo Tower."

At this point, Kenji Hagiwara frowned as he thought of Shinryu Hachikawa, who was being entangled with that organization.

If only that organization could be brought to justice sooner, he could finally have peace of mind. But if it involves many high-ranking officials in the Japanese political and police circles... sigh, troublesome.

Conan Edogawa remarked with feigned seriousness, "Mr. Hanukawa is amazing. He disrupted the mission of this organization and still acted like nothing happened, without any pressure at all."

“He’s always been like this,” Kenji Hagiwara said casually. “There’s probably nothing in this world that would frighten him, otherwise he wouldn’t have become a consultant for those people just for fun.”

"Huh? Isn't it because of making money?"

"He has never valued money much."

To be honest, Conan Edogawa has acted like a child in front of Inspector Hagiwara more than once at crime scenes. Inspector Hagiwara, like Wataru Takagi, has accepted that Conan is not an ordinary elementary school student and cooperates with him most of the time, not treating him like a real child. They have a certain level of understanding, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to ask such a question, and Inspector Hagiwara wouldn't have told the truth.

Otherwise, telling elementary school students that a former detective did so many things just for fun would actually be a bad influence on them. They would always embellish the story, saying it was for the Metropolitan Police Department or for justice.

But since Kenji Hagiwara was still a friend of Shinryu Samakawa, Conan Edogawa didn't dare to ask too many questions. Once he got the answer he wanted, he decided to stop while he was ahead.

...As expected, Mr. Hanchuan became an advisor just for fun.

Furthermore, they obtained a new piece of information—Mr. Hanchuan has never valued money much.

For someone who comes from an orphanage, there is usually a difficult childhood, and this difficulty often has a great impact on a person... but there is not a trace of this in Han Chuan Shenliu.

When they first met, Conan Edogawa thought that Shinryu Samakawa came from a very good family and had received a high-quality education. He was shocked when he learned that he was an orphan. However, at the time, he thought that he had not observed carefully enough, or that Shinryu Samakawa was a very inspiring person who was one of the few people with a strong will who was not affected by such things.

It's just that many things that I didn't care about before, and thought there were reasonable explanations, all become doubts once I start to have doubts, unlike people who are born as orphans.

He prioritizes fun and enjoyment while downplaying other real-world issues. Despite being an orphan and having had contact with the organization at least seven years ago during his police academy days, he shows no fear of them, and the organization seems to have remained untouched by him all these years, with Gin's bullets only grazing past him without ever actually sniping him.

The more I think about it, the more plausible his wild ideas seem!

Evidence, evidence, no evidence. He's only good at writing novels. Maybe in the future, when it's proven that Mr. Han Chuan is innocent, he'll be ridiculed...

After answering Conan Edogawa's questions, Kenji Hagiwara finished taking notes and was about to leave work. He decided to invite Jinpei Matsuda and Shinryu Samakawa to dinner... What? The class president? Of course, the class president was having dinner with his girlfriend.

On the way to the restaurant, Kenji Hagiwara complained, "That Conan-kun, sometimes I really feel like he's not like a child, he even seems to be pretending to be one."

Matsuda Jinpei hadn't met Edogawa Conan many times, but he had the same feeling: "Indeed, it's almost as if Mr. Kudo has shrunk."

"Hmm..." Hanchuan Shenliu seemed to have something to say, but he held back.

Matsuda Jinpei turned to look at him abruptly: "Just say what you want to say! Don't always have to pick a provocative occasion to speak!"

Kenji Hagiwara, embarrassed, said, "That's just how he is. Aren't you used to it yet?"

"I've only ever met one person with such a terrible personality; it's hard to get used to."

Matsuda Jinpei said that he had actually gotten used to it long ago, and he just liked to make fun of Samikawa Shinryu.

Moreover, sometimes, just thinking about how Hanchuan clearly wanted to say something shocking to scare the others, but because he was unhappy with the occasion, he had to hold it in, and only when he finally found an opportunity did he quickly blurt it out, with all his messy inner thoughts hidden under that seemingly aloof face, and how the others were particularly in awe of Hanchuan because of it, imagining a whole bunch of random things... made him want to laugh.

He always criticizes Hanchuan Shenliu because he wants to see Hanchuan Shenliu break down. If he didn't consider Hanchuan Shenliu a friend, he wouldn't be interested in such things.

Hanchuan Shenliu remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "You promise not to tell anyone."

"...What's so serious about this?" Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow.

Kenji Hagiwara recalled the conversation and some details, and then said, "I'll go first, and you can judge whether my guess is correct."

Han Chuan Shenliu nodded.

"...Conan-kun, that's Shinichi Kudo, right?"