Conan Edogawa walked into the art museum holding Mouri Ran's hand.

This art museum was the place they didn't visit last time due to an accident. It seemed that after hearing about this incident, the director of the art museum invited Kogoro Mori to watch the competition. He said that this was a brand new competition and they would definitely be able to see many good paintings.

After a little consideration, Kogoro Mouri agreed, although Conan Edogawa had no idea where he got the artistic talent from and why he would go to watch an art competition.

Of course, it wasn’t really a competition. As spectators, they watched the award ceremony and the presentation of the works.

"I thought the competition would not be held this year," Suzuki Sonoko lamented. "It's not easy for the competition to go on despite so many things happening."

Conan Edogawa knew what Suzuki Sonoko was talking about.

After all, the news of the suicides of painters participating in the museum's competition had already spread on the Internet. Half of the participants died, and one was sent to a mental hospital. The museum was under tremendous public pressure, and finally the museum director came out and said that the competition would be cancelled if anyone else died.

Fortunately, no one commits suicide anymore.

The competition recruited other participants and re-rounded the number of participants. Now the competition has come to a perfect end, and only the awards are left.

After entering the art museum and finding his seat, Conan Edogawa poked his head to the side and saw a familiar person.

Hinata Hajime sat in a solitary seat, with no one on his left or right. He quietly looked at the blocked painting in front of him, with no emotion in his green eyes, as if he was just in a daze.

Edogawa Conan jumped down from his seat and ran to Hinata Hajime, "Hinata brother!"

"Conan?" Hinata Hajime looked at him with a smile in his eyes, "Are you here to watch this game too?"

"The museum director invited Uncle Mori, so I came along. Where's Brother Hinata?"

Hinata Sou thought for a moment and said, "I didn't receive an invitation, but I have some connection with one of the paintings here, so I came to take a look."

"I see." Edogawa Conan looked around and confirmed that it was almost time to start. No one sat next to Hinata Hajime, so Edogawa Conan asked, "Hinata brother, can I sit here?"

"Of course you can." Hinata Hajime said, "Don't worry, there's no one here."

Conan Edogawa ran back and said something to Mao Li Ran and the others, then ran to Hinata Hajime. When he climbed onto his seat, the award ceremony for this competition finally began.

There were not only spectators but also television stations at this award ceremony. The top three paintings were truly stunning, and each one was truly amazing.

Even people who don't understand painting can see that these paintings are very well done.

Edogawa Conan looked at the paintings, then he turned to look at Hinata Hajime, "Hinata brother, which painting are you here to see?"

“None of these.”

"Huh? Isn't it?" Edogawa Conan asked curiously, "The painting you valued didn't win the prize?"

Hinata Hajime shook his head. "It's normal that the painting didn't win a prize."

"Really?" Edogawa Conan blinked, "Brother Hinata likes a work that can't win an award?"

"Because there are flaws that cannot be ignored, and I don't like it either. I've already said that it's just a little bit of a source. This time I came here just to help him take a look." Hinata Hajime sighed helplessly, "No matter what, I don't have any artistic talent. When I paint, I can only mix all the colors together and turn them into black and gray."

"Is that so?"

The award ceremony ended, and just as everyone was getting up to leave, the curator suddenly asked everyone to stay for a while.

The gray-haired old man was wearing a well-tailored gray suit. He stood on the stage with a cane and said, "Don't leave yet. I want to show you a painting. Of course, it is not an award-winning work. If a certain gentleman hadn't asked me to do it, it wouldn't even be eligible to participate in the competition."

“But I want you to see this painting.”

Edogawa Conan opened his eyes wide, he intuitively felt that this painting was the one that Hinata Hajime had mentioned.

The old man walked up to them and pulled open a curtain. Soon, a painting appeared before everyone's eyes.

The scene was silent, not because everyone was shocked by the painting, but because everyone understood why the painting could not win the prize. Even the curator said that it was not eligible to participate in the competition in the first place.

Because this is a semi-finished product, and it has signs of damage and even footprints that cannot be wiped clean.

Even if someone has carefully processed it, the stains still remain on the painting.

This is definitely not a painting suitable for the competition. It is too badly damaged and it is only natural that it will be eliminated.

"What a shame." The old man looked at the painting. "It's really bad, isn't it?"

“But I can feel a lot of emotion in this painting. Looking at it, I feel like I am looking into the eyes of a soul who loves painting, even though it is incomplete and incomplete. So, even if it cannot win, I want to show it to everyone at this time.”

The TV station quickly turned the camera to the painting, and the bird in the cage and the stains on the painting were captured clearly.

"May I ask who painted this painting? I heard from the curator that this painting was sent in by someone with connections. Is this in accordance with the rules?"

"If you can draw to this level, I can also invite you to participate in the competition." The curator smiled and said, "I welcome everyone who wants to work hard on painting. As for asking for help, yes, someone asked me to do it. He hopes that I can accept this painting. It doesn't matter what the result of the competition is, as long as I can participate. As for the author of the painting, he didn't tell me."

"It was my decision to show it in the end."

The old man said: "I will encourage every soul that loves to paint."

"Brother Hinata?" Edogawa Conan looked at Hinata Hajime beside him.

"Ah, it took a lot of effort." Hinata Hajime was a little embarrassed. "I thought I could see it in the exhibition during the competition, but I didn't expect the curator to take it out and display it separately."

"Did Brother Hinata draw this?"

"Of course not. I told you I can't draw." Hinata Hajime said with a smile, "The one who draws is a shadow."

"shadow?"

"Yeah." Hinata Hajime leaned back in his chair, looking at the painting on the stage, and said softly, "But even a shadow has things it wants to do and wants to leave a mark in this world, just like Conan wants to be the best detective, and he also wants to be the best painter."

Edogawa Conan understood Hinata Hajime's meaning very well. This painter was unable to publish under his own name for some reason.

So I asked Hinata Hajime to help.

Should we say that Hinata Hajime is too enthusiastic or that the other party really asked the right person for help?

But as expected, Hinata Hajime is a policeman who makes people feel at ease.

…

In the mental hospital, Akagi Eito was sitting in the room watching the live broadcast. When he saw the painting, an indescribable emotion flashed across his eyes.

Akagi Eito's situation is different from others. He has multiple personalities, but no aggressiveness or self-harm tendencies have been found so far. Even though he was hospitalized for treatment, he was allowed to communicate with the outside world. Although the time was not much, it was enough to watch the live broadcast.

"What a weird person." Akagi Eito murmured, "He knew I was the murderer who killed so many people, but he couldn't use the law to deal with me, but he still helped me to this extent."

"The Holy Father?"

Yes, no one would know that he was the one who killed the person. After all, even he himself had never imagined that there would be such a thing in this world that could cause someone to commit suicide through video. Even the video traces would be erased. Even if everyone knew that he was suspicious, they could only send him to a mental hospital without evidence.

This is a case that will not be solved, and he is a murderer that will not be dealt with.

At this moment, Akagi Eito felt his hands shaking. He raised his hands and saw that his fingers were trembling.

The treatment in the mental hospital was indeed effective. The effect was so strong that the connection between them became deeper. If they continued, perhaps one day they would be able to completely merge. Although it was unknown how long it would take, for now they would occasionally feel the real world when they could not control their bodies.

He gave a malicious smile and his voice was sinister and terrifying.

"Are you scared now? Don't you know clearly? The deaths of those people were not simple."

"Only someone like me who regards painting as my life can achieve that level."

"Yes, I am a murderer, and the guy who forced me to kill is you."

Akagi Eito's hands trembled even more violently. He couldn't help but started laughing, then walked to the white bed and lay down.

He looked at the white ceiling, the smile gradually disappeared from his face, and finally only empty silence remained.

Hinata Hajime is a weirdo, he is simply a fool. He took the painting that had long become like trash to the art museum for entrustment, carefully wiped off all the scratches and dust, and he didn't know how much effort he made before the art museum accepted it, even though it was not signed and was even a half-finished product.

But he finally left his mark on this world.

Akagi Eito pressed his arms against his eyes, and the crystal clear liquid quickly soaked his white hospital gown.

So, he was grateful to Hinata Hajime.

"What a strange policeman," he murmured softly, "Since it's like this, I'll give you a gift."

"We're even."

When Hinata Hajime walked out of the art museum, he received a call from Inspector Megure.

On the phone, Inspector Megure told Hinata Hajime that Akagi Eito committed suicide in a mental hospital.

He had never shown any aggressiveness, and both his main and secondary personalities actively cooperated with the treatment. He had no self-harm tendencies. Even the nurses who were taking care of him did not expect that he would suddenly commit suicide. By the time the doctors tried to save him, it was too late. His blood stained the bed in the ward red, and in his hand was a utility knife that he had hidden at some point.

Hinata Hajime listened to what Inspector Megure said. He looked to the side and a golden fragment of hope was circling around him, like a happy elf, making happy sounds.

During the phone call, Inspector Megure suspected that the case of the painter's suicide was not over.

In everyone's eyes, Akagi Eito was the victim of that case.

But only Hinata Hajime knew that Akagi Eito was the murderer of that suicide case, and now, he has become the last victim.

People who are born for dreams will eventually leave with their dreams after paying a price.

Perhaps this is the best ending.