Yuji Kudo, the manga artist behind Detective Conan.

"The protagonist of my dreams... Marina, there's no such thing as a protagonist in reality. Everyone is the protagonist of their own life."

Yuko smiled and pried off Jintaro and Yata's hands from the girl's body: "A dramatic and eventful life isn't always something to look forward to."

"Nan Sang seems to have been through this before, does she really encounter situations like this often? That's great..."

Marina clearly wouldn't listen; she seemed lost in her own world. The girl yearned for the protagonists who shone brightly in stories, and could no longer tolerate feeling like a mere supporting character.

"Yuko-chan, I have a request!"

Marina was about to dogeza (bow down) in the blink of an eye, as if she had something very difficult to say that she wanted to ask Yuuko for help. This startled Yuuji, who was in disguise, so much that his legs went weak and he knelt down on the ground before Marina could do it.

[Grandma, stop messing around with your grandson!]

If Marina were to kneel down in front of him, even if his father didn't know, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. What if one day this grandmother wrote something in a notebook or something and left it for her son... Ouch, his butt started to ache.

"Ok?"

Officer Ito, who was walking at the front, heard a strange noise behind him, turned around and was stunned. He didn't understand why the girl wearing the clothes designed by the younger sister would bow so deeply to another girl.

"It's a conditioned reflex for me. When a cute girl asks me for help, I instinctively kneel down on the ground."

Looking at the dazed Marina, Yuko reached out and used her skirt for leverage, then suddenly stood up: "Tell me, if I can do it, I will definitely agree to Marina's request."

"Hmm, wait a minute, but I believe you, Yuuko. Let's end this incident quickly."

"Yosh, let me show you what a Japanese Sherlock Holmes is like!"

Seeing that Officer Ito had been waiting for a long time, Yuko immediately told him to go and observe the strange marks under the watch shop in the mountains, and then pointed to the other side.

"The reason why Kotoha Yotsuba suddenly disappeared in this alley is that the thing that disappeared has nothing to do with Kotoha Yotsuba at all. It was just something that the murderer deliberately folded into a human shape to disguise himself as Kotoha Yotsuba."

"It's the speculation you just mentioned..." Officer Ito pondered, stroking his chin.

“That’s right. The perpetrator first murdered Kotonoha Shitani in the watch shop in the mountains. In order to cover up the crime, she deliberately put the upper half of Shitani’s body into the clock cabinet that Mr. Kawasawa was repairing.” Yuko snapped her fingers: “Mr. Kawasawa, please tell everyone what happens if you cut off a person’s head.”

“Her blood would have sprayed at least two meters, so the watch shop in the mountains should be covered in bloodstains that can’t be washed off right now.” Dr. Kawasawa glanced at his wall clock.

"So this is why the murderer cut off the victim's head. It wasn't to kill the person, but to cover up the true manner of death."

Yuko gestured to her neck with her hand: "I was strangled. There are obvious bruises on my neck."

"So, Yuuko, you mean the murderer put Miss Shitsubi inside the clock to cover up his method of killing her?" Marina's eyes widened as she listened carefully to every word.

"The dismemberment was to cover the neck that had been repeatedly slashed, and because Kotoha was strangled beforehand, the murderer didn't need to worry about the blood spurting out from the neck." Yuko gestured for Kawasawa to continue explaining the professional knowledge.

"The spurting of blood is caused by the pressure exerted on the blood in the arteries by the heartbeat. If Kotoha had been beheaded about ten minutes after her death, there would have been no spurting of blood." Dr. Kawasawa lowered his head and moved away from Mrs. Oda and Yamanaka.

"Speaking of which, I think the three suspects should all know who the real murderer is." Yuko pointed to the mountain: "Perhaps that's not quite right. It should be that one just found out, and the other knew from the beginning."

When the crowd saw the girl's hand pointing towards the mountain, they scattered in an instant, moving away from her, including Oda and Kawasawa who were standing nearby.

"As expected, he's from the mountains. If I had known he was so ruthless, Mr. Kawasawa, we would never have doubted you!" Many neighbors comforted Mrs. Oda after greeting Kawasawa.

"You must be terrified, Mrs. Oda. It's alright, the murderer already knows." Many men also gathered around the beautiful woman.

"Hmph, you knew from the beginning which of the two was the real murderer of your fiancée, didn't you, Mr. Yamanaka?"

"..."

The scene fell silent immediately. You could see that the residents who had been surrounding Kawasawa and Oda in the alley had all frozen in their fake smiles.

(End of this chapter)