Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Chapter 311 You won't compete with him for Eunice anymore?
“…When I first asked the police to testify against him,” Komura Hideji swallowed, “I just wanted to distract him a little. I never expected things to escalate like this.”

He raised his head, glanced at Inspector Samezaki with a flickering look, and then quickly lowered his gaze again.
“I’m in the same gym as Kuroki-senpai, and he’s always taken good care of me.”

When he spoke the last few words, his voice was almost inaudible.

“Yesterday afternoon,” Komura Hideji said, hunching over as if trying to shrink himself into his chair, “I was on my way home when I passed by that park and happened to see Matsuda Jotaro walking by. I didn’t think much of it at the time.”

“This morning, I went out for my morning exercise and passed by that park again. I saw police officers gathered there and said they had found a body.”

“I asked out of curiosity…” Xiaocun suddenly stopped and licked his dry, chapped lips.

Inspector Samezaki tapped the table impatiently with his knuckles, a sound that made Hideji Komura shudder, and he quickly continued speaking.

"After learning that the deceased was also a boxer and that the time of death was yesterday afternoon, I thought..."

Xiao Cun raised his head, a hint of shame flashing in his eyes.
"If we could tell the police about Matsuda Jotaro passing by yesterday and have them investigate him, maybe we could delay and affect him a bit..."

At this point, his shoulders slumped.

"That way, Kuroki-senpai can easily win today's final."

"I never expected the police would actually believe he was the murderer..."

Hideji Komura's expression was complex, showing both guilt and admiration.

"I never expected that even so, Matsuda Jotaro would still be able to win the match."

Inspector Samezaki, recalling their conversation in the car, asked, "Does Takeshi Kuroki know about this?"

“These were all my own decisions,” Komura Hideji shook his head. “Kuroki-senpai was unaware of them.”

"Is everything you're saying true?" Inspector Samezaki asked again, "If we find out you're lying again..."

"I'm telling the truth this time!" Hideji Komura quickly assured him. "If there's even a single lie, I... I'm willing to take legal responsibility!"

In the monitoring room, Inspector Megure angrily slammed his fist on the wall.

"That bastard! Because of his selfishness, he not only misled the police, but also almost ruined Matsuda Jotaro's efforts of more than ten years!"

It's more than just a decade of effort.
Lin Xiuyi vaguely remembered that in the original timeline, although Matsuda Jotaro was eventually cleared of suspicion, he missed the final.

He then believed that he was unlucky no matter what he did, so he not only quit his boxing career, but also started drinking heavily and became an alcoholic.

The father's change affected Matsuda Jinpei, who was still a child at the time, and also made him hate the police.

Fortunately, Matsuda Jinpei did not go astray, but instead chose to become a policeman.

His reason for doing this was that he wanted to climb to the top of the Metropolitan Police Department, become the Superintendent General, and then teach those muddle-headed police officers a lesson.

“Inspector Megure,” Lin Xiuyi recalled his previous discovery, “have Inspector Samezaki ask if Komura Xiuji saw anyone with engine oil on them near that park yesterday afternoon?”

Inspector Megure nodded and quickly relayed his words to Inspector Samezaki in the next room via his earpiece.

Upon hearing the question, Hideji Komura nodded without hesitation: "I've seen him before!"

"Are you sure?" Inspector Samezaki frowned suspiciously. "Think carefully before you answer!"

"I'm absolutely sure!" Hideji Komura sat up abruptly, gesturing with his hands. "Yesterday afternoon, after I saw Jotaro Matsuda..." He wrinkled his nose, as if he could smell that scent again.

"I brushed past a man who was a bit taller than me. He smelled strongly of engine oil, which left a deep impression on me."

"Inspector," Lin Xiuyi grabbed the microphone, his voice rising a few decibels in urgency, "ask him about what that person looks like!"

Inside the interrogation room, Inspector Samezaki repeated Hayashi Hideichi's question.

Hideji Komura tried hard to recall: "I remember that person seemed to be in a panic as he brushed past me, and because the smell of engine oil was so strong, I even turned around and glanced at him."

At this point, he suddenly smiled.
"I didn't expect to see it just then. He tripped over himself and almost fell."

"As for his appearance, he should have a round face, a lot of facial hair, and small eyes."

According to Hideji Komura, Inspector Samezaki had someone draw a portrait of the murderer, and then used it to investigate Yamato Takeda's network of contacts and the area around the park.

These tasks were no longer Lin Xiuyi's concern.

He and Matsuda Jotaro were driven back to the izakaya by Inspector Megure in a police car.

As soon as the two entered the house, upon seeing their father, Matsuda Jinpei, they excitedly ran over and jumped into Matsuda Jotaro's arms.
“Dad, I knew it. You couldn’t be a murderer.”

"Shuichi-san, has the case been solved?" Hagiwara Chisato asked as she walked over.

“Mr. Matsuda has been cleared of suspicion, and there are clues about the murderer, but they haven’t been caught yet,” Lin Xiuyi reminded him. “Before the murderer is caught, please do not leave Tokyo, Mr. Matsuda.”

"Why?" Kenji Hagiwara peeked out from behind his sister. "Hasn't it already been confirmed that Uncle Matsuda isn't the murderer?"

“Mr. Matsuda also met the murderer who argued with the deceased,” Hayashi Hideichi explained. “After the police catch the person, he may need to testify against him.”

"Dad went from being the murderer to a witness?" Matsuda Jinpei asked, tilting his little face up.

"That's about it." Lin Xiuyi smiled and ruffled the boy's fluffy curly hair.

“Shuichi-san,” Kenji Hagiwara suddenly tugged at Shuichi Hayashi’s sleeve, “Reiko-nee said you’re an advisor to the First Investigation Division, are you a police officer too?”

“Strictly speaking, no.” Lin Xiuyi thought for a moment.

"If all police officers were like you, Shuichi-nii-san," Matsuda Jinpei clenched his little fists tightly. "Then Dad wouldn't have been wrongly accused in the first place!"

“In that case, why don’t you become a policeman in the future?” Lin Xiuyi patted his shoulder gently. “If there are more good policemen, there will naturally be fewer muddle-headed ones.”

“Shuichi-nii-san is right,” Matsuda Jinpei nodded heavily. “I’ve decided, I want to be a policeman too. What about you, Kenji?”

"Me?" Kenji Hagiwara was taken aback. "What does this have to do with me?"

"We're best friends!" Matsuda Jinpei grabbed his friend's wrist with such force that Kenji winced. "If we're going to be police officers, we'll be together!"

Kenji Hagiwara couldn't refuse him, so he could only nod in agreement.

But then, the kid grinned mischievously: "Jinpei, you promised before that if Shuichi-nii-san helped Matsuda-san clear his name, you wouldn't compete with him for the title of 'One-san'?"

(End of this chapter)