The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

Page 41

"How could this be! My name?" Kubota, who was standing to the side, was startled.

“Although you wore armor to avoid being monitored, Mr. Masaka still recognized you when you got close,” Kogoro deduced.

"No, that's not right! It's not like that, there must be some mistake." Kubota backed away as the police officer approached.

"Then please tell me, where were you around 4:30 this afternoon!" Inspector Megure pressed Kubota for answers.

Kubota stammered, "I... I'm in the office, doing the work the director assigned me."

“Yes, I did ask Kubota to do something this afternoon,” Director Luohe explained on his behalf.

"Were you alone? Is there anyone who can prove you were in the office the whole time, or any other evidence?" Inspector Megure continued to ask.

"No, but I also have no reason to kill him!" Kubota argued with his last hope. "Why would I kill him?"

“There’s no need to hide anything anymore, Mr. Kubota,” Iijima interjected. “Your theft and sale of artwork has been discovered, and the owner is demanding huge damages from you, isn’t he?”

"No, no, I didn't kill him, it has nothing to do with me," Kubota struggled.

Just as everyone was questioning Mr. Kubota, Yuu Aragaki discovered that Conan was searching on the ground at the scene for the pen that the boss had discarded in the video.

It seems Conan has noticed something.

Meanwhile, the curator of Luohe Museum stood quietly in the corner, seemingly lost in thought.

While everyone was busy, Aragaki Yu casually walked up to Director Luohe.

He had a rather favorable impression of the curator.

Director Luo looked at the boy who had come to him, and at the strange look in his eyes.

At first, there was some doubt in her eyes, then a hint of surprise flashed across them, and finally she calmly asked, "What's wrong? Is there something you need?"

"I just have a few doubts." Aragaki Yu stood next to the curator, relaxed, and casually leaned against the wall behind him.

"What?" The curator didn't know what Aragaki Yu meant.

"You've practiced many times, haven't you?" Instead of explaining his doubts, Aragaki Yu asked again.

Now, the surprise in Curator Luo's eyes became even more obvious.

However, he relaxed and looked at the boy beside him, asking, "When did you find out?"

“I noticed it from the beginning, though I didn’t have any evidence.” Yuu Aragaki touched the snow woman that had curiously popped out of his pocket and explained, “You, who clearly cherish works of art, didn’t get angry when Kubota knocked off your helmet. I’ve been suspicious of that from the beginning.”

Director Luo smiled but offered no explanation.

Yu Aragaki continued, "Also, when Boss Masaka was writing the note, he made a lot of strange scribbling motions, and there were obvious scratches on the note. This is probably because the pen he used could not write at all."

Chapter 37 I admit... I am...

"These are all just your guesses! You've already said you have no evidence." Director Luo He wasn't worried at all.

“Yes, but evidence is something that can be found if you try hard enough. You definitely can’t dispose of the physical evidence in such a short time. I just don’t understand, isn’t art meant to beautify people’s souls?” Shinjuku Yu looked at Director Luo He, paused, and then continued, “And you, in the name of art, want to harm other people’s lives. Does art, in your eyes, suddenly become something so cheap?”

Director Luo He kept his head down, seemingly lost in thought, and remained silent.

“I don’t know what kind of people Masakazu and Kubota are, and I don’t know what your feelings are when you look at these so-called works of art.” Ignoring the curator’s expression, Aragaki Yu continued, “But I clearly saw your cold and cruel expression when Kubota was treated as a suspect.”

The curator glanced at Aragaki Yu with surprise, then stopped trying to hide anything and said forlornly, "Perhaps it was at that time that I truly became a demon."

“So this is divine punishment!” Aragaki Yu looked at the exhibition hall called Hell before him and couldn’t help but sigh, “Those stained with blood are destined to live in hell. So who exactly is destroying the sanctity of art?”

After saying that, Aragaki Yu stood up, no longer leaning against the wall behind him, and silently walked away: "No matter what, Director Luohe, this should not be a reason for murder."

"Wait!" Director Luo He suddenly called out to Aragaki Yu from behind. "Young man, it seems you're not only someone who truly appreciates art, but also an excellent detective!"

"A detective?" Aragaki Yu chuckled, pointing to Conan who was still searching for clues throughout the exhibition hall. "No, that guy is the real detective. As for me, I'm just an unknown Onmyoji."

"An Onmyoji?" Director Raho was taken aback when he heard Aragaki Yu's answer.

He thought Aragaki Yu was referring to how he had become an Onmyoji (a type of yin-yang master) who wandered between the human world and hell in order to save himself from falling into hell: "Hahahaha! Kid, you're an interesting fellow! I'll turn myself in, whether for you or to salvage these works of art that I've defiled!"

……

Just as Conan had gathered all the clues, identified the real culprit, and was excitedly preparing to pull out his tranquilizer watch to aim at Kogoro, he discovered that the real culprit, Curator Raku, and the police were no longer at the scene.

"Are you... calling it a day?"

Finally, he learned from Xiaolan that not long ago—

Amidst the bewildered expressions of those present, Director Luo confessed all his crimes to the police.

Conan: ...

So, what exactly happened during my process of gathering evidence and solving the case?

……

On the way back, Conan deliberately slowed down and came to Aragaki Yu, who was lagging behind: "So, Aragaki-nii, why did Director Raho suddenly turn himself in just now?"

Along the way, Conan couldn't figure it out. He had all the evidence that could identify the murderer, but he hadn't made it public. So why did the murderer himself confess to the crime?

If the perpetrator was already planning to turn himself in after committing the crime, why bother with so many schemes and cover-ups?

At that time, everyone still believed that Mr. Kubota was the murderer.

Could it be that Director Luohe has really had a change of heart?

These points made Conan inexplicably unhappy.

In the dark.

Although there was no evidence, he always felt that all of this had something to do with Aragaki Yu.

"Hmm?" Aragaki Yu narrowed his eyes and looked down slightly at Conan beside him. "Conan, why are you asking me?"

"Hehehe, because I always felt that Aragaki-nii might know something!" Conan said, scratching the back of his head in a cute manner.

"I really don't know," Aragaki Yu replied directly.

(The snow woman in Aragaki Yu's pocket: Pshaw! As expected, not a single man can be trusted!)

“But…” Aragaki Yu suddenly changed the subject, “I’ve discovered something else, and it’s really interesting.”

"What?" Conan's glasses flashed with a glint of light, and then he looked up at Aragaki Yu with childlike curiosity, waiting for him to say something next.

"This matter still concerns you." Aragaki Yu's tone suddenly turned sinister.

Conan, who had been expecting to hear some secret, froze, then panicked: "Akira-nii-san, what...what are you saying...hahaha...what could possibly be wrong with me!"

“97 times…” Ignoring Conan’s awkward performance next to him, Yu Aragaki uttered a number.

"what?"

Conan couldn't understand what Aragaki Yu meant at first.

“Today, when the four of us were together, Conan, your gaze fell on us more than 170 times. Of those, your gaze fell on me 44 times, you secretly looked at Sonoko 13 times, and you secretly observed Ran 97 times… And, most importantly, when you heard the screams coming from the exhibition hall and rushed in, your first reaction was to look for Ran.”

Yuu Aragaki gave Conan a meaningful look before continuing, "Conan, do you know what this means?"

"Wh...what?" Conan, who had a guilty conscience, was startled by Aragaki Yu's words and for a moment did not question why Aragaki Yu could so accurately record the number of times he looked at him.

"Conan, there's only one possible reason why you're paying so much attention to Ran..."

Hearing Aragaki Yuna's calm voice, Conan was already extremely nervous, his hands tightly gripping the hem of his clothes, and cold sweat breaking out all over his body.

"Could it be? Has Aragaki Yu already discovered that I am Shinichi? Well, after all, no one would believe that a child would conduct various investigations at a crime scene like a detective..." Conan stared blankly at Aragaki Yu, as if waiting for him to pronounce a death sentence on him.

"So, Conan, you're a siscon, aren't you!"

"That's right! I am Kudo... Kudo?... Cough cough cough... What did you say!?" Conan, who was about to confess to Aragaki Yu, suddenly stopped speaking.

Yu Aragaki crouched down and patted Conan's head, who was standing there dumbfounded, and said, "Sigh, although everyone is free to like whoever they want, Conan, you're destined to never have a chance."

"I...I didn't..." Conan vehemently denied it.

Yuu Aragaki whispered in Conan's ear, "No need to explain anything, I understand you. I'm just like you, I used to peep at the older girl next door taking a bath when I was little..."

The Snow Woman, busy watching the show: (||?Д?)！ There's a pervert here!

Conan:? ? ?

…#%^……

That guy, Aragaki!

What are they saying?!

Conan, who was initially nervous about revealing his identity, now felt like a million alpacas were stampeding through his mind.

Is this kind of thing really suitable to talk to a (pseudo) elementary school student?

And what about peeping at older girls taking a bath?

Should I call the police at this point?

Conan emphasized again, "I don't have any feelings for Ran-neechan!"

"Hmm!" Aragaki Yu gave him a knowing look.

"Really! Brother Aragaki! Don't talk nonsense..."