Upon hearing Akechi refer to the ransom demanded by the kidnappers as a "pathetic thirty million yen," both Inspector Kenmochi and Kindaichi looked as if they had been shot in the knee.

Admittedly, as a veteran detective who has reached the pinnacle of the non-professional group, Inspector Kenmochi's annual salary is actually quite similar to that of Akechi, who has only been with the company for a few years, both around 6 million yen.

But middle-aged men with families to support are certainly not as carefree as young people. The money that the whole family would need to save for five years without eating or drinking to earn is not something that can be described as "pitiful".

Yoruichi Toyama, who was not involved in the situation, knew that Akechi's words were referring to the annual budget of the Japanese police system.

It is said to be 3 trillion yuan, 100,000 times that of 30 million yuan.

It's likely that in this young master's eyes, the kidnappers would have to ask for at least a billion or two to be reasonable.

Anyway, even if they aren't extorted by outsiders, they'll still waste their time being sent to play with their prospective son-in-law by police like Inspector Nakamori.

The young master's face practically screamed it.

"Anyway," Inspector Kenmochi coughed, unable to continue the conversation, and abruptly changed the subject, "just to be on the safe side, we will definitely have to complete the ransom handover process as the kidnappers demand."

"The kidnappers made it very clear on the phone that they were demanding a total of 6 people to deliver the ransom, to be chosen from the scene at Cospa.

The uncle's English pronunciation made even Kindaichi frown.

But what followed left him even more confused.

"Um, in the activity, there's a 'Same Name Cop' event, right? The requirement is to select 6 people from these people who share the same name as members of the Shinsengumi. They are Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, Nagakura Shinpachi, Yamanami Keisuke, Niimi Nishiki, and Saito Hajime."

"Uh, what if there's no one with that name among the participants?" Kindaichi immediately questioned. "Can't we find someone else to replace them?"

"Don't forget, the kidnappers are likely still at the scene. If the police go to solicit help from citizens, they will be noticed very soon."

Inspector Kenmochi was quite experienced in this regard, and his tone was rather serious.

"No matter what, let's go and recruit some people first."

Seeing that Akechi nodded, Inspector Kenmochi immediately went out and called his subordinates to go to the "same name cosy" venue.

Akechi then turned his attention to Yoruichi Toyama.

"Yuanfang, what do you think?"

Yoruichi Toyama almost choked on her drink.

You learn so fast!

I never imagined that Mingzhi was a comedian whose talent was wasted on being a policeman.

If this continues, I should teach him to sing Taiping lyrics.

While internally complaining, Yoruichi Toyama still answered seriously:

"I suspect that there may be victims among this list of six."

According to spoilers, the murderer, the kidnapper who calls himself "Okita Souji," is also part of this group of six.

But Yoruichi Toyama couldn't say any more.

Without evidence, even if he directly identifies the murderer, he cannot gain people's trust.

Instead, it alerted the enemy.

Even so, Kindaichi, who had never gotten along with him, instinctively questioned him.

"How do you know? Some of those people... surely some of them have the same name, how could you be sure which one to choose?"

"That's probably... 'The Magician's Choice'."

...

When Inspector Kenchi returned to his office, he was followed by a large group of people.

They ranged in age from their 20s to their 40s, and were both male and female. The only thing they had in common was that they all wore Shinsengumi uniforms, with a large expanse of sky-blue haori with mountain-shaped patterns that was dizzying to look at.

"I didn't expect there would actually be an older man participating in cosplay!" Kindaichi muttered softly.

However, this time, Yoruichi Toyama and Akechi exchanged a glance and both felt that his criticism made sense.

After calling everyone to the office and having officers stand guard at the door, Inspector Kenchi explained the true purpose of the gathering.

This immediately sparked a wave of complaints.

"What?! Just because they share the same name, they're dragged into this kind of thing!..."

"We're here for a cosplay event, not to deal with kidnappers!..."

"Wait until tomorrow? No way, I have to go to work tomorrow!..."

"Anyone who wants to go can sign up! There are so many Saito Hajime now, aren't there? I'm definitely not going..."

"..."

Seeing people passing the buck to each other, Inspector Kenmochi began to get a little anxious.

However, since everyone in front of them were ordinary people, they couldn't forcibly conscript anyone.

Mingzhi stood quietly behind, his fingers habitually resting on his glasses.

Even magicians need assistants, right...?

Thinking it over, Yoruichi Toyama gently pulled Akemi's hand beside her and walked towards the group alone.

“I’m really sorry,” he said in a rather sincere and anxious tone, “but I want to clarify that the girl who was kidnapped is my sister.”

“She is only 7 years old this year. Because her parents are both abroad, I am her guardian.”

"It was my negligence that caused this to happen, and I am truly ashamed."

"But I have no other choice now. For my sister's safety, I can only beg you all!"

"Please, everyone, you absolutely must help me with this!"

As he spoke, he bowed deeply.

The crowd fell silent at this gesture.

Seeing this, Akemi immediately realized what was happening and quickly stepped forward.

"I...I'm that girl's older sister!" she said, her voice trembling with tears. "It's all our fault as older siblings that such a young sister has suffered such misfortune..."

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