Daily Spy Life in the Detective Conan World

Chapter 694 Identifying the Real Culprit
The sky over Kyoto was shrouded in clouds, and the moonlight could hardly see through.

A masked woman dressed in magnificent black attire walks out from a famous Noh theater troupe in Kyoto.

She held the golden awl in both hands, and each time her high heels stomped on the ground, they made a crisp "thump-thump" sound, but the sound was very faint because she deliberately hid it.

At this moment, she was lost in thought, but when she occasionally encountered drunk passersby late at night, she would still reflexively avoid them.

Whether in Tokyo or Kyoto, drunken passersby are a common sight late at night.

These people are usually confused and can't even see the road ahead, so they naturally wouldn't notice a strange woman passing by.

"Although Mizuo Harutaro has some skill in swordsmanship, it is not up to par. According to Ayanokoji, the murderer is not weak in swordsmanship, and can even be considered extraordinary. It seems that he is not the murderer."

The woman is naturally Princess Joel of Thorns.

She learned about the home addresses of Harutaro Mizuo and Taiga Saijo from the police in advance.

Harutaro Mizuo was the first person she tested.

However, after some probing, it turned out that Mizuo Harutaro was just an average person with decent swordsmanship skills, and he had no chance to fight back against her.

His movements were slow, and his swordplay was rigid and lacked any fluidity. Compared to the six Genji members who were killed with a single strike, he was far from being able to kill them instantly.

And at this time.

In the Noh theater troupe's residence, Mizuo Harutaro's eyes were filled with tears, and his mouth was stuffed with a white-and-black cotton object, so he could only make strange whimpering sounds.

Those were his socks, the kind he'd worn all day and just taken off without washing them.

His mind was in turmoil.

Having just experienced the death of a close friend during the day and being questioned as a suspect for a long time, I had planned to go home and rest properly to prepare for the Noh performance the day after tomorrow.

Unexpectedly, just as he fell asleep, not only was there a knock on the door from the dead Sakura Masazo, but he also felt a chill run down his spine after waking up.

Because he heard strange footsteps.

That wasn't the sound of people in a theater, nor the sound of wooden clogs on the ground, but the sound of high heels.

Hearing such a sound so late at night, especially in the theater, and given the numerous ghost stories circulating within the troupe, it's no wonder I was terrified. What's more, the sound of high heels stopping right at my doorstep.

He was then subjected to inexplicable abuse, the details of which he does not want to recall at all. The socks stuffed in his mouth and the striped bruises on his face and body are enough to illustrate the problem.

The reason it's inexplicable is that the person didn't say anything, but just kept provoking.

What's infuriating is that the other party even threw him a samurai sword!

What's even more infuriating is that the opponent was wielding a golden cone less than half a meter long, while his own katana, which was over a meter long, hadn't hit it even once.

When Mizuo Harutaro accidentally recalled the scene from before, he felt extremely humiliated, his blood rushed to his head, his face flushed, and the smell from the socks hit him right in the head.

A wave of dizziness and weakness washed over him, and suddenly his eyes rolled back as he collapsed and fainted.

"Next up is Saijo Taiga."

"Since Mizuo Harutaro is fine, it should be him, right?" Joel stretched his body a little to warm up for the upcoming battle.

"Being able to easily deal with six Genji members might actually have some merit."

The thought of an exhilarating fight made the thorn princess's violent nature take over, and she couldn't help but quicken her pace.

Saijo Taiga opened a bookstore in a commercial district in Kyoto Prefecture.

This commercial street isn't geared towards entertainment or food, so it's almost deserted at night.

Under the dim streetlights, Joel soon appeared in front of Saijo Taiga's bookstore.

Based on available information, the first floor is the bookstore's sales area, while the second floor is where Saijo Taiga usually lives and sleeps.

Joel stood in the blind spot of the streetlight for a while.

Unlike Mizuo Harutaro, Saijo Taiga lives alone. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that Mizuo Harutaro has no connection with Genji Hotaru. Therefore, we need to be more vigilant when dealing with Saijo Taiga.

To prevent the other party from destroying evidence, Joel decided to first search the other party's house and then test the person in question.

The bookstore has a retro style, and the door is naturally a wooden door that matches the style. The ordinary door is no match for Joel. A thin needle is inserted into it, and a few seconds later, a soft "click" is heard, and the door is opened.

Joel entered nimbly and closed the door.

Even though the other person had already fallen asleep, she did not let her guard down, knowing clearly that she only had one chance and that she had to treat the other person as if they were a member of the Genji clan.

Xia Chuan is now racing against the winery; she not only cannot hold them back, but she also has to help them achieve tangible results.

Since the first floor is used as a store, Saijo Taiga would naturally not leave any clues about Genji Hotaru here.

Even in the dark, the constant stream of tourists can easily lead to accidents.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Joel set his sights on the second floor.

The layout of the first floor is simple, with bookshelves all around and dividing the middle into sections. After about ten meters of walkway on both sides, there is a wooden staircase leading to the second floor.

She stepped lightly onto the wooden stairs. Unlike her uninhibited approach when facing Harutaro Mizuo, this time she chose to keep her voice down.

Each step in the high heels was silent, as if walking on soundproof material.

Soon, he arrived at the second floor.

The second floor is not complicated. Behind the stairs is the living room, and in front of it, there are three entrances in the corridor, leading to two bedrooms and a bathroom.

The Saijo Taiga residence wasn't large, but its layout was somewhat compact. Joel waited quietly at the bottom of the stairs for a while longer, trying to hear something.

After a moment, she shook her head: "Looks like she's asleep."

Once he was certain, Joel immediately went to the living room to begin his search.

The living room wasn't large, but it still took Joel more than ten minutes to finish. Compared to Xia Chuan, she was obviously much slower.

But there is nothing we can do about it.

After all, she wasn't good at this kind of thing. Every time she appeared as the Thorn Princess, it was to kill people. It was completely out of character for her to be conducting an investigation like this time, so it felt a bit awkward.

"It doesn't seem to have been found in the living room."

“Natsukawa said that members of the Genji clan should all have the ‘Yoshitsune Chronicle’ in their homes, and Sakura Masazo’s ‘Yoshitsune Chronicle’ indicates his identity. Perhaps if I find the ‘Yoshitsune Chronicle’ that indicates his identity in Yoshitsune at Saijo Taiga’s house, I can confirm his identity.”

Having determined his goal, Joel turned his gaze to the two doors in the corridor.

There's no need to check the restrooms.

The reason is simple: there's a lot of water vapor and humidity, so books are prone to mold if placed in the bathroom, unless the bathroom has never been used.

The Saijo Taiga family clearly does not fall into this category.

Of the remaining two rooms, one is Saijo Taiga's bedroom, and the other should be a study.

However, the police records do not indicate which room is the bedroom and which is the study, so you will have to check it yourself.

At this point, Joel was getting impatient with the dragging search, and with only two rooms left, Saijo Taiga was definitely in one of them. If she was discovered now, there was no need to worry about her destroying evidence; at a certain distance, she was invincible!
Unless the other person is faster than her!

This is obviously impossible!

Without hesitation, Joel placed his hand on the doorknob of the innermost room.

The door was opened silently.

Through the crack, a desk could be seen facing the door.

As the door widened until it was wide enough for Joel to pass through, he frowned as he stepped inside.

If I'm not mistaken, this room is Saijo Taiga's bedroom, but why is there no one inside?
The disheveled bedding on the bed and the still-warm teacup on the desk proved that the person was still there at least half an hour ago.

It must have been shortly before I arrived. Could it be that I left? Where did I go?
Joel's gaze fell on the window beside the desk.

There was a crack in the window, and upon closer inspection, one could see clear footprints on the windowsill.

Looking out the window, I could see the path leading to the back door of the bookstore.

"Going out in the dead of night and climbing through windows, I remember Saijo Taiga's parents died and no one cared about him, why would he do such a thing?"

Don’t do bad things, don’t be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door.

The other party is acting so suspiciously; there's clearly something wrong with them!
Since they just left, they obviously won't be back anytime soon.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Joel sped up the search and quickly found the hidden compartment in the bedroom closet.

Hidden in the interlayer was a dark, black pistol.

Obviously, ordinary people don't have handguns.

Then, in the study next door, another item was found that proved Saijo Taiga's identity was questionable, and it was also indicative evidence.

The Book of Righteousness

This copy of "Yoshitsune's Record" has a brand-new cover and belongs to the same edition and publisher as the one left behind by Sakura Seizo when he died.

After confirming these details, Joel quickly flipped through the pages again and found the characters "弁慶" in the bottom right corner of the last page.

"I've found you." Joel's face lit up with joy.

Confirming Benkei's identity is great news for Natsukawa.

Sure enough, if I hadn't been there, Natsukawa wouldn't have thought of visiting tourist attractions first, wouldn't have met Okita Souji, and none of these subsequent events would have happened.

Without contacting Kogoro Mouri, there would be no subsequent scene where he finds "Benkei".

After organizing and summarizing, all the credit goes to her!
This isn't just self-praise; even if Xia Chuan came, I'd still have to say a few words of praise.

"It's a pity that Saijo Taiga is no longer here."

Joel took out his phone to contact Xia Chuan, but then put it down after thinking about it.

At this point, either he's having a meeting with the distillery or he's already launched an operation. Xia Chuan must have codenamed members from the distillery around him. Contacting them in the middle of the night would easily arouse suspicion.

Not knowing when Saijo Taiga would return, Yoel finally decided to do something shady.

The book "Yoshitsune Ki" always appeared at the crime scene, and Joel suspected that this biography might have something special, so he inserted a patch positioning and transmitting device into the gap of the book's binding strip.

As long as Saijo Taiga doesn't go crazy and tear open the packaging, this location will definitely remain undiscovered.

That wasn't enough. After thinking for a moment, Joel placed a small listening device under the desk.

Having done all this and making sure he had left no trace, Joel quietly left.

(End of this chapter)