Chapter 108
Usuha Izuki watched Hattori Heiji rapidly contributing suspicion values to him and couldn't help but feel somewhat emotional.
[A detective's mind really works fast. Look how much suspicion values he's contributed in just these few seconds—it's comparable to an undercover agent's paranoia. It's just a pity there are so few high-weighted detectives now. It wouldn't be worth making special trips to meet them just for these suspicion values.]
However, Kansai was a bit far, but Kudo Shinichi should be in Tokyo. He could find an opportunity to try that in the future.
Thinking of this, Usuha Izuki couldn't help but smile with satisfaction at the bright future ahead.
This smile, falling in Hattori Heiji's eyes, immediately made him feel even more pressure.
Although very intelligent, Hattori Heiji was indeed just an elementary school student now. Under pressure, his speculations became increasingly terrifying. However, considering that he had deduced this big brother had a mischievous nature, Hattori Heiji could barely hold on.
First, suspicions that the other party was the culprit couldn't be voiced—what if he really was the culprit and saying so provoked him?
But since he called it a "guessing game," it might just be that he wanted to continue playing deduction games with him. But to know who the culprit was so quickly... aside from the possibility that he was the culprit himself, he couldn't think of any other possibilities!
"Can't guess." Hattori Heiji carefully observed the surroundings, trying to find an escape route in case things went badly. "Why would you know?"
The silver-haired big brother was still smiling cheerfully, his tone also happily upbeat.
"Because I'm an armchair detective."
Hattori Heiji: "............"
Armchair detective—a type of detective who didn't need to investigate crime scenes, only needing to listen to others' accounts to solve cases. Usually only appeared in detective novels.
Hattori Heiji's brain first went blank for a moment. After processing this information, that feeling of being toyed with again surged up: "If you're an armchair detective, just say armchair detective. Why did you make it sound like..." you were the murderer!
"Sound like?" The other party tilted his head innocently. "Sound like what? What did you think I was going to say?"
Hattori Heiji's already dark face became even darker: "Nothing. Let's continue looking for clues."
How could he admit he suspected the other party was the murderer? The discrepancy was too large—he had his pride too.
Compared to being the murderer, armchair detective was indeed a more fitting answer for a deduction game.
It's just that playing such boring deduction games at such a serious time—this self-proclaimed Detective Conan's deduction skills might be decent, but his character seemed a bit...
"Huh? What other clues are we looking for?" The silver-haired detective looked puzzled. "Didn't I already say I know who the culprit is?"
Hattori Heiji: "......???"
He began questioning reality: "You're not joking?"
"What joke? I think I was very clear. I already know who the culprit is. I asked you to guess why I know, and the answer is 'I'm an armchair detective'..."
The silver-haired detective began to fall into thought: "Sorry, I overestimated your enthusiasm for deduction. It seems you don't know what an armchair detective is at all."
"I do know! I just don't understand how you know!" Hattori Heiji began speaking incoherently.
So it wasn't just a simple deduction game?! But he had just finished describing the scene situation. Even if he really was an armchair detective, wouldn't he need to think for a while?!
And armchair detectives only appear in novels, right? How could they exist in reality? This isn't scientific!
Hattori Heiji frantically contributed suspicion values while Usuha Izuki profited immensely.
Although he wanted to continue, Usuha Izuki really didn't want to make a statement to police, so he could only regretfully stop while ahead. Glancing at the culprit pointed out by [Universal Navigation], he directly began giving the answer.
"The culprit is that patrol officer who's still helping at the scene. This isn't a serial murder case—this time it's a copycat crime. The police are investigating in the wrong direction."
Hattori Heiji urgently pressed: "So how exactly did you know?!"
Usuha Izuki blinked: "I could tell at a glance. Because big brother isn't a good person either, I can see through who's a bad person at a glance."
Hattori Heiji's brain was already confused: "......Stop always trying to trick me like I'm a little kid."
But this guy had already said twice that he wasn't a good person, that he was a bad person. Would a normal person emphasize this so much?
Could it be that this guy's identity really was a bit...
"But you are a little kid. Last time you actively approached a suspicious stranger, and this time you directly followed someone you're not familiar with to such a remote place... If I killed you here, believe it or not, no one could find me?"
Hattori Heiji's brain froze again.
...Come to think of it, every time this guy said he was a bad person, it was when he wanted to teach him a lesson, when he was toying with him...
He couldn't help but look at Usuha Izuki with an indescribable expression: "Isn't your method of educating children a bit too rough? You don't need to pretend to be a bad person every time, do you?"
"What do you mean pretend to be a bad person! Don't I look like a bad person?"
"No." Hattori Heiji squinted and said, "You just look like a very strange person."
Usuha Izuki smiled and pressed down on Hattori Heiji's head: "You're still young. When you grow up, you'll learn not to judge people by their appearance."
Hattori Heiji: "............"
Why is this guy so obsessed with making him think he's a bad person?
Could it be he thinks villains are more charming? Could this be the legendary chuunibyou syndrome that hasn't passed yet...
"But is it really okay for you to keep arguing about this with me here?" Usuha Izuki messed up the child's hair. "Shouldn't you hurry and tell the police who the culprit is?"
"We can't be sure your speculation is correct yet." Hattori Heiji muttered, but his mind worked quickly, and his observation skills were stronger than many active police officers. Having been to several serial murder crime scenes, once reminded, he immediately realized something was indeed off—this time might really not be done by the same person.
Now he really couldn't sit still. Regardless of whether they'd guessed the culprit correctly, at least the possibility of copycat crime had to be reported to the police, especially if the suspect was a patrol officer—who knew if he might take the opportunity to destroy evidence...
So Hattori Heiji dropped a "I'll go over first" and hurried back, then grabbed a detective he was familiar with and explained the situation.
The detective pondered: "Now that you mention it, indeed..."
"There's also a suspect, that patrol officer..." Hattori Heiji wanted to continue, but suddenly realized that the strange big brother hadn't explained why the patrol officer was a suspect. His own speculation should also be verified against the other party's answer, so he turned around, trying to find the person to see if he had followed.
But there wasn't even a ghost of him anywhere.
He called to ask where the other party was, only to find the phone was turned off.
Hattori Heiji: "......???"
No way—after a detective solves a case, don't they come to the scene to talk to the police?!
Standing in front of everyone, exposing the culprit's methods, then pointing out who the culprit is—that's supposed to be a detective's moment of glory! How could anyone dump this on a kid and just run away themselves?
Hattori Heiji had been toyed with so many times that he had stopped wanting to suspect the other party, but at this moment, the other party's strange behavior that went against detective preferences finally made him suspicious again.
...This strange big brother, could his identity really be problematic, making it impossible for him to see police?!
Usuha Izuki, who had fooled the child into solving the case and then secretly slipped away after harvesting suspicion values, planned to return to the hotel to rest.
Anyway, the Mobile Investigation Unit was on vacation now, so it would be fine if he returned to Tokyo tomorrow. He still needed to see if there were opportunities to squeeze more suspicion values from everyone on the Organization side.
Don't look at how easily Vodka had let him off earlier—that was probably just to get rid of him first. If investigating others turned up no problems, they'd still circle back to investigate him.
After all, he really was very suspicious!
Usuha Izuki felt he had really worked hard this time. If Vodka didn't give him more suspicion values, it would be very damaging to his enthusiasm.
Usuha Izuki enjoyed himself at the hotel while Vodka and Gin didn't return until late at night.
Hearing movement next door, Usuha Izuki went to knock on the door.
Vodka guessed it was Usuha Izuki outside and didn't really want to open the door, but considering that continuous knocking might attract unnecessary attention, he could only painfully open it: "Stop knocking..."
"Good evening." Usuha Izuki wasn't polite either. Coming in, he immediately asked, "How did the investigation go?"
Vodka: "Mm, we found an undercover agent."
Usuha Izuki fell into an eerie silence: "......Whose?"
"Can't say whose person it was—someone who worked for money, but he did have connections with the Horikawa Group."
Usuha Izuki: "Huh???"
Vodka was still dissatisfied: "Sure enough, we can't find people locally. The only one transferred from the local area who was responsible for intelligence indeed had connections with local yakuza... Intelligence group people are really all cunning. It's understandable to have to deal with local forces to obtain intelligence, but taking money is another matter entirely."
"......Did he confess?"
"Maybe Big Brother's interrogation yesterday was too intimidating—when we found him, he had already committed suicide."
Usuha Izuki: "......Is it possible he was innocent and I'm actually the traitor? He already had contact with Horikawa Group people—why would he need to make that anonymous call?"
Vodka also looked at him: "That anonymous call wasn't made by him. Maybe it was to clear his own suspicion, so he had someone else do it... And if he was innocent, why would he commit suicide? When I called him, I initially just wanted him to explain whether he'd taken a bit too much money. His suicide... hmph."
System complained: [That person really was a traitor, but though he took money from both sides, he didn't dare leak any of the Organization's intelligence... He probably felt he couldn't explain himself clearly and was afraid of Gin, so he just chose suicide...]
[Coward! Why die?! He should have lived well and insisted he didn't leak information this time, making Gin and Vodka continue suspecting others! Dying like this is just getting in the way!]
Usuha Izuki mentally harshly criticized this person who failed more than he helped, then persistently asked Vodka: "This guy might be someone's scapegoat, thrown out to divert everyone's attention. I still think the traitor is among the remaining people."
Vodka naturally knew this principle: "I know, so everyone who participated in this operation is still under suspicion and needs to be investigated. But there were only so many people total, and we've already confirmed one traitor... The probability of more traitors among the rest will be smaller."
Usuha Izuki said: "When you find one cockroach, there might already be a whole family feasting at your place. Maybe all the remaining ones are traitors."
Vodka: "......"
Heh, trying to slander me and Big Brother again! I won't listen to your nonsense!
"Speaking of which, if others are being monitored, what about me?" Usuha Izuki asked.
Vodka: "......Are you looking forward to it?"
Usuha Izuki's eyes widened: "Of course, I've always wanted to know what it feels like to be secretly investigated!"
Gin, who originally didn't want to pay attention to this side, still sneered and interjected when he heard Usuha Izuki's words: "Vodka, treat everyone equally. Don't give Botanist special treatment."
After all, this guy really was very suspicious. He'd long wanted to know what this fellow did in his daily life and why he could never be found.
Since Gin said so, Vodka naturally could only agree: "Fine."
System got excited: [You're going to be monitored?! At least starting tomorrow, don't forget you still have to work... Should you buy the Body Double Puppet now?! If you don't buy it soon, the price will go up!]