Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Chapter 244 Assisted Diplomacy
"What's going on at Kyoto University?" Shizuka Ikenami asked, puzzled.

"I don't know," teammate Mikio Morizono said with a smug look on his face. "Anyway, whatever the reason, the fact that they have problems is a good thing for us."

“That’s true…” Ikeba Shizuka frowned slightly, looking in the direction of the Kyoto University Kendo Club in the distance, “but it’s still disappointing when an opponent you’ve prepared for suddenly fails to perform to their full potential.”

"You're still so competitive," Morizono Mikio shook his head helplessly, then waved to the stands next to the playing field.

Sitting there were two young people, a man and a woman, who were his friends who had come to watch the game.

"For me, as long as I can win, that's all that matters, especially in front of He Mei."

Just then, the teacher leading the team walked over with a smile: "Something's happened to the Kyoto University Kendo Club. Their ace, Hattori Heizo, went missing after attending the opening ceremony last night!"

Upon hearing this, the members of the Osaka University Kendo Club immediately became excited. Kyoto University was one of the few strong opponents in this Kendo tournament, but they didn't expect that this strong opponent would be eliminated before the competition even started.

Only Shizuka Ikenami was slightly disappointed. After hearing her teacher say last night that she would be facing Heizo Hattori, she was full of anticipation for this morning's match.

"Chibo, the original plan has changed. You'll be the first one to go on," the team leader instructed. "You're our first match, so you must win!"

"Yes!" Ikeba Shizuka nodded vigorously.

……

at the same time,

Hattori Heizo, along with Inspector Megure and two other officers, had arrived at the entrance of the apartment where Kitamura-sensei lived.

After they rang the doorbell, they waited for quite a while before Mr. Kitamura opened the door.

He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, his hair was messy, and he looked sleepy, yawning from time to time: "Sorry, I was just sleeping. Please come in."

"Ms. Kitamura, there are rumors circulating at school about your ambiguous relationship with Ruko Nagashima," Inspector Megure said, taking notes in his notebook while staring intently at Ms. Kitamura's face. "Do you have any explanation for this?"

“It’s just some rumors,” Mr. Kitamura waved his hand dismissively. “Nagashima Ruko is very talented in sports. I’ve always admired her and hoped that she could represent the school and win honors in competitions, which is why I took a little extra care of her.”

“But some students said they saw you taking Ruko Nagashima into an illegal clinic not long ago,” Inspector Megure questioned. “We investigated there and found that Ruko Nagashima had an abortion there.”

“That has nothing to do with me,” Kitamura-sensei quickly shook her head, trying her best to distance herself. “It was Nagashima who contacted me and said she needed my help, so I went there. I never expected that she went there to have an abortion.”

"Do you know who got Ruko Nagashima pregnant?" Inspector Megure pressed.

“This is Long Island’s private matter,” Kitamura-sensei said, spreading her hands innocently. “I’m just her teacher, how could I possibly ask about these things?”

“According to our investigation, two years ago, four female students from Sakuragaoka died one after another at the school,” Inspector Megure’s tone grew increasingly heavy. “It seems that you are also involved?”

"Officer, please watch your words!" Mr. Kitamura snorted unhappily. "The police have already investigated what happened two years ago. If I were the murderer, I wouldn't be here now."

Inspector Megure was somewhat speechless. Just then, Hattori Heizo, who had been pacing around the apartment, came over and asked, "Teacher Kitamura, have you been staying in the apartment since you were suspended yesterday afternoon?"

“Where else can I go besides here?” Kitamura-sensei pointed to the instant noodle bowl on the table, which still contained leftover soup. “I was in a bad mood, so I ate instant noodles for dinner yesterday.”

"I see, then we apologize for disturbing you," Hattori Heizo nodded, then took Inspector Megure's leave.

After the two walked a distance from the apartment, and presumably until Mr. Kitamura was no longer noticing, Inspector Megure asked in confusion, "I still have some questions to ask, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

“He lied,” Hattori Heizo explained seriously. “I just checked the trash cans in the apartment and found a supermarket receipt from an hour ago.”

"Where's the receipt?" Inspector Megure quickly asked.

“I was worried about alerting him, so I didn’t bring it out,” Hattori Heizo shook his head. “I remember the name of that supermarket very clearly. Judging from the address, it should be in the Beika suburbs.”

"What's he doing in the suburbs so early in the morning?" Inspector Megure's brows were furrowed into a deep frown.

“He didn’t go there early in the morning. I went to his bedroom. Although the blankets were spread out on the bed, the bedding was not warm at all,” Hattori Heizo said, stroking his chin. “But when he opened the door, he told us that he had been sleeping soundly in bed. If it were really as he said, the bedding could not have been so cold.”

“I suspect he wasn’t in the apartment at all last night, but was in the vicinity of the supermarket until this morning, when he returned to the apartment for fear of being discovered by the police.”

Looking at Hattori Heizo, who was speaking eloquently in front of him, Inspector Megure had a feeling that he was facing Hayashi Shuichi, and subconsciously asked, "What should we do next?"

“Send two groups of people. One group will go to the vicinity of that supermarket to investigate and see if anyone saw him last night,” Hattori Heizo thought for a moment. “The other group will monitor Kitamura’s movements nearby. He might go back to the place from last night.”

“Okay!” Inspector Megure quickly nodded.

He had just finished arranging two groups of people as required when he returned and saw Hattori Heizo frowning and staring at his watch.

"What's wrong? Did you forget something?" Inspector Megure asked with concern.

“It’s nothing, it’s my personal matter, and it’s too late now,” Hattori Heizo shook his head with some regret. “Although I missed the kendo tournament, Lin-kun is right. Compared to human life, nothing else matters.”

……

Teitan High School, during recess, the classrooms were noisy.

Seeing Lin Xiuyi sitting in his seat lost in thought, Eri Kisaki couldn't help but reach out and nudge him: "What are you thinking about? Are you thinking about that beautiful swordswoman from last night again?"

“I’m thinking about the Sakuragaoka case,” Hayashi Shuichi asked with a serious expression. “Eri, why do you think Nagashima Ruko got pregnant?”

"Why don't you know?" Eri Kisaki blushed slightly and glared at him, her eyes filled with a hint of reproach. "Don't you know what you did last night?"

“That’s not what I’m asking,” Lin Xiuyi laughed awkwardly. “I mean, who got her pregnant?”

“Boyfriend, huh?” Eri Kisaki said dismissively. “In a school like Sakuragaoka Junior High, which doesn’t value academics and lets students run wild, isn’t it normal for boys and girls to date?” “But when I went to Sakuragaoka the day before yesterday, Ruko Nagashima’s classmate said that she is aloof and rarely interacts with people,” Shuichi Hayashi pondered. “If she has a boyfriend at school, someone will definitely see him.”

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Eri Kisaki rolled her eyes at her childhood friend, clearly annoyed.

“As Midori had mentioned before, when she last found Nagashima Ruko, she was with three men and two women preparing to go to sing karaoke. This doesn’t seem like something a reclusive girl would do,” Hayashi Hideichi recalled. “The two girls were also wearing Sakuragaoka’s school uniform, and the men didn’t look like students, but rather people from the community.”

"I'm wondering if Ruko Nagashima is involved in compensated dating, or if it's not just her, but rather that many girls at Sakuragaoka School are doing this, and the organizers might be their teachers, like Kitamura?"

"Ruko Nagashima's pregnancy was a complete accident, which is why Kitamura took her to have an abortion."

“But didn’t you suspect before that Ruko Nagashima might still be alive?” Eri Kisaki retorted. “If her relationship with Mr. Kitamura was as you described, why would the murderer kill another innocent girl for Ruko Nagashima?”

"Besides, I still don't believe the teachers at Sakuragaoka would do such a thing. Even if they neglect their students and are somewhat irresponsible, they certainly wouldn't organize female students for sex work; that's a crime!"

At this point in time, Japan's economy is still booming and has not stagnated as it may in the future.

At that time, compensated dating was not yet too common, and since these men could easily make money, they naturally wouldn't be stingy with the goddesses they pursued.

Women these days have plenty of ways to extract money from men, so they don't need to engage in prostitution at all.

“Even if it’s just a guess, I have to remind Officer Sato and the others,” Lin Xiuyi stood up from his seat.

“Hey, class is about to start! It’s Murakami-sensei’s class, and she’s already getting annoyed with how often you’ve been taking leave,” Eri Kisaki reminded her with some concern. “Also, the school’s public phone booth is right at the main gate. If you go there to make a call, someone will definitely see you.”

"So what if I see it?" Lin Xiuyi waved his hand dismissively. "If Nagashima Ruko were still alive, compared to her life, even if I were scolded by Murakami-sensei, it would be a trivial matter."

He had barely left when the school bell rang.

As Ms. Murakami Yui walked into the classroom, she glanced around and immediately noticed the empty seats.

"Where's Lin Xiu? Kogoro Mouri, Eri Kisaki! You two should know where he went, right?"

Kogoro Mouri looked completely bewildered, while Eri Kisaki was helping Shuichi Hayashi come up with an excuse.

Just then, a student sitting by the window suddenly shouted, "Isn't that the class monitor?"

Ms. Murakami walked to the window and, sure enough, saw Lin Xiuyi walking towards the school gate. She immediately leaned out and shouted angrily, "Lin Xiuyi, are you trying to skip class again?"

Seeing that Lin Xiuyi was ignoring him, the village teacher stomped his foot in anger: "You all study on your own first, I'll go and bring this kid back myself!"

……

Near Kitamura-sensei's apartment,
Hattori Heizo and Inspector Megure had been staking out the apartment for two or three hours, but Kitamura-sensei hadn't made a move and had remained inside.

During that time, only the academic affairs director of Sakuragaoka came, supposedly to discuss work-related matters with Kitamura-sensei.

After he came out, the police checked his identity but didn't pay much attention to it.

Inspector Megure couldn't help but yawn. He rubbed his eyes, his face full of exhaustion: "I didn't sleep well last night, and I don't know when this case will be over."

Although Hattori Heizo, who was standing next to him, had also barely slept all night, he was in much better spirits than Inspector Megure, and was currently deep in thought with a furrowed brow.
“Inspector Megure,” he suddenly asked, “was the person who went into the Kitamura apartment just now definitely the headmaster of student affairs in Sakuragaoka?”

“I’m sure,” Inspector Megure nodded affirmatively. “I saw him when I went to Sakuragaoka to investigate before. What’s up, Hattori?”

“I have a feeling that something is not quite right,” Hattori Heizo said, looking out the window. “It’s like I’ve missed something.”

Just then, a plainclothes police officer knocked on the car window: "Inspector Megure, we have news from Inspector Sato. Consultant Hayashi suspects that Ruko Nagashima may have been coerced into prostitution by a teacher at the school. The suspect is likely not alone; he may have accomplices at Sakuragaoka School."

"What did you say? Coercing prostitution?" Inspector Megure's eyes widened. "How could he..."

Hearing the officer's words, Hattori Heizo, who was sitting in the passenger seat, sat up abruptly: "No wonder I felt like I'd forgotten something! Inspector Megure, quickly send someone to contact the people investigating at the suburban supermarket and tell them to keep an eye on that dean of studies' whereabouts!"

After saying that, he hurriedly got out of the car and ran towards the apartment in Beicun.

After giving a few instructions to his subordinates, Inspector Megure hurriedly caught up with them: "You mean, that dean of academic affairs is Kitamura's accomplice?"

“It’s very likely,” Hattori Heizo said, his face full of self-reproach. “If Nagashima Ruko is really imprisoned by them, and they notice that the police are watching Kitamura, they might choose to silence both of them!”

Arriving at the apartment door in Kitamura, Hattori Heizo knocked loudly, but there was only silence inside, and no one answered.

He and Inspector Megure exchanged a glance, then together slammed the door shut.

A moment later, the apartment door was kicked open, and Hattori Heizo rushed in first, immediately seeing Kitamura-sensei hanging in mid-air.

He quickly lifted the person down and performed first aid by pressing on their chest.

Inspector Megure noticed the letter on the table, picked it up, and saw that it was Kitamura-sensei's suicide note.

It stated that he and Ruko Nagashima had long been having an illicit affair, and that Ruko Nagashima had even had an abortion for him.

Last Monday, after school, the two got into an argument in the office. Nagashima Ruko threatened to tell everyone about their affair. In a fit of anger, Kitamura accidentally killed Nagashima Ruko.

To cover up his crime, he took advantage of the darkness to bring Ruko Nagashima's body to the construction site and embedded it in a pillar with cement.

During that week, he was tormented by Ruko Nagashima's death. When the police discovered Ruko Nagashima's body, Mr. Kitamura could no longer bear it and decided to hang himself.

Inspector Megure quickly presented the letter to Hattori Heizo, who glanced at it and immediately judged, "This is fake. The strokes of the handwriting are not connected, and the sizes are all different. It's obvious that someone copied Kitamura-sensei's handwriting and pieced together this suicide note..."

(End of this chapter)