No one understands the laws of Collider better than me.

Upon hearing this, Kitahara Masaki, Hattori Heiji, and Conan were all stunned. The three of them already knew that the program was fake, but now the person who invited them still allowed these two fake staff members to start the so-called mystery program. What was the purpose of this?

"Hehe, I'll take my leave now. I've figured out how this secret room works. Hmm... I'll demonstrate it in my own room later, so please come and admire my masterpiece then."

"Oh, I didn't expect you to think of that so quickly. If you don't pass, I won't fall behind."

"Wow, I still have no clue. You're really impressive, as expected of a representative from other places."

Meanwhile, the three people who were completely unaware that they had been tricked into coming to this island—Tokitsu Junya, Hakuba Saguru, and Koshimizu Nanatsuki—were discussing the case with great interest. However, for Kitahara Maki, it was now certain that one of these three was the mastermind behind it all.

It's another classic three-way choice. Kitahara Masaki looked at the three people and wanted Ai to help him look up their information, but he found that there was practically no signal on the island, and he couldn't even make a phone call.

Tsk tsk tsk—that's terrifying. Luckily, Kitahara Masaki had already made things clear to Vermouth, and the day after he arrived on the island, she came to pick him up by yacht. Of course, she knew Kitahara Masaki's location information.

Just as Kitahara Masaki was about to test the three people, Tokitsu Junya ran back to his room to recreate the secret room, while Kotani Renzo invited the others to the restaurant for dinner.

Just as everyone was taking their seats, Koshimizu Nanatsuki suddenly stood up and said she was going to the restroom. However, the drone that had been monitoring the lone person noticed that she had gone to the second floor.

Sigh—I haven't even started to exert my strength yet, and you've already revealed your identity.

The question of who was the mastermind behind the detective Koshien was actually answered by Kitahara Maki when Tokitsu Junya ran back to his room and actually started recreating the locked room.

Because if he were the mastermind, he wouldn't have any interest in recreating the secret room. The fact that Tokitsu Junya looked so confident and foolish through the window with a drone proves that he was just a high school student who came here to prove himself.

Then there's Hakuba Saguru, but that's even less likely. Just two days ago, Kitahara Masaki saw him on the news helping Scotland Yard solve a case, meaning he hadn't even returned to Japan two days ago. Even after he returned, when he was planning to participate in this detective tournament, his father asked Kitahara Masaki to make sure his son was protected. Incidentally, Hattori Heizo also called, saying he was entrusting his foolish son to Kitahara Masaki.

It can only be said that these two high-ranking police officers have been keeping an eye on their sons all along, and the reason they were able to come to this deserted island this time is because Kitahara Masaki agreed to the two uncles' request.

In short, through the process of elimination, only one person remains—Nanatsuki Koshimizu. From the very beginning, this girl's demeanor and the feeling she gave off didn't seem like that of a high school student, much less a high school detective.

Well, the more important thing now is to stop her from committing the crime. He also wants to ask this detective, who should be an adult, if he would be willing to join his crime investigation department.

When Kitahara Masaki arrived at Tokitsu Junya's room, he saw Koshimizu Nanatsuki holding a hammer. This hammer was taken from the toolbox that was in every room. However, Tokitsu Junya, who was about to be killed by the hammer, was still immersed in his own reasoning.

Snapped!

Just as Koshimizu Nanatsuki was about to smash down with his hammer, Kitahara Masaki grabbed his hand, and only then did the two of them notice him.

"Kudo! Let me go!"

"Sigh, why bother? Besides, I'm not Shinichi Kudo."

At this point, Kitahara Masaki removed the prop, and to others it looked like Kid changing clothes in a second, his appearance changed instantly.

"You are—Kitahara Maki!"

“Miss Koshimizu, your initial plan was probably this—to kill Tokitsu Junya now, then use him to complete half of the locked room mystery and leave, and then return to the restaurant to have dinner with the others, right? Unfortunately, in my opinion, this method is very crude. Why don't we sit down and have a good talk?”

Kitahara Masaki locked the door from the inside, pulled Koshimizu Nanatsuki down to sit, while Tokitsu Junya, who was already completely bewildered, stood there blankly.

"Officer Kitahara, how were you able to tell that I was the mastermind behind this fake program?"

Nanatsu Koshimizu knew she would never have another chance to kill Junya Tokitsu, so she hoped to find out when she had given herself away before being arrested.

"First, the clothes don't fit properly. Your school uniform is obviously too small, cough cough, too small in that spot. Then there's your demeanor. Whether it's your outfit or your ear piercings, you give off the vibe of a woman starting to mature, rather than a high school student still in the ivory tower. Finally, and most importantly, is your personality. High school detectives generally don't want to fall behind in reasoning and really enjoy the sense of accomplishment when solving cases. However, you're more like an adult, saying you're a novice before the reasoning competition even starts... In other words, your personality makes your role too incongruous. So, I felt something was off about you after your self-introduction."

"So it was from the very beginning, huh? As expected of a police officer, I couldn't hide anything from you."

Koshimizu Nanatsuki sighed, looking quite dejected.

"Alright, Miss Yueshui, since you asked me a question first, I'd like to ask you one too—why did you kill him?"

Kitahara Masaki pointed to the hammer that had been thrown back into the toolbox, and to Tokitsu Junya, who was surprised to find himself the victim.

"Hehe, because he killed my best friend! I don't know if you've heard of the Lavender Villa murder case. The young lady who died there clearly committed suicide, but this man said it was a murder! This led the police to keep questioning my friend, which ultimately led to her suicide! This man remained silent, probably because he knew his reasoning had significant flaws, so he didn't dare let the newspapers reveal his name, only leaving it as a high school detective's reasoning that led to the case being reopened."

"Oh—so how did you determine that he was that man?"

"My best friend left a message before she died, saying that a high school detective with strange speech was suspicious of her. So I found Heiji Hattori, Saguru Hakuba, and Junya Tokitsu, three people who all have accents or strange verbal tics, and brought them to this island. However, in the test just now, the first person to solve the puzzle was naturally that man. Because the answer to the puzzle was the same as the one at the Lavender Villa, which was not a method of murder, I immediately knew that he was the guy who dared not reveal his name and knew he was wrong but dared not admit it!"

After being exposed, Tokitsu Junya took two steps back, but after noticing that Kitahara Masaki was still there, he continued to put on a show of bravado.

“Officer Kitahara, you’ll protect me, right? I’m a minor [1].”

"Hehe, we'll see."

This guy is so flustered that he's even forgotten his usual pretentious "young master" catchphrase.

[1] In Japan, you are considered an adult at eighteen.

Chapter 204 gives you two choices

"The same locked-room trick... You mean the windows of the Lavender Villa were also modified like that? But that's just..."

The method used in the locked room mystery of Detective Koshien—which was just the location of the broadcast—was achieved by cutting short the screws on the window frame:

First, unscrew all the screws securing the window frame so that the window frame and glass can be removed as a whole. Then, use pliers to cut all the screws short and reinstall them onto the window frame. Apply woodworking adhesive to the window frame. Finally, reinstall the entire window from the outside.

At first glance, such a window appears to be fixed in place by screws, but because the bottom part of the screws has been cut off, the entire window is only held in place by adhesive, and the screws have not been turned to the bottom at all.

“My good friend works as a maid there. After the murder, I rushed over immediately and found no signs of murder at the scene. The screws on the window were also tightened, and it wasn't broken in half as the method suggested. The reason this idiot would discover that the window had been modified is because after the murder, Tsuchio Hiroki used this method to steal from there!”

Hiroki Tsuchio, the director? Turns out he was a thief, but he was discovered by Nanatsuki Koshimizu during a follow-up investigation, and she asked him to help her complete this 'Detective Koshien'.

"I understand. When the body at the Lavender Villa was first discovered, the windows were intact. A few months later, a thief converted them into a locked room. When Tokitsu Junya came to investigate, he noticed something strange about the windows and mistakenly assumed it was police negligence that prevented them from discovering this method, so he claimed it was a murder case. So, what about Kotani Renzo? What was he doing?"

Koshimizu Nanatsuki said bitterly:

"That old guy knew all along that the deceased, the young lady of Lavender Villa, had a drug habit, but he chose to conceal it during the investigation, saying he wanted to protect the young lady's dignity. Ha, protecting the dignity of a dead person is more important than proving the innocence of a living person. What a terrible joke."

So that's how it is. It was a series of coincidences, coupled with the low intelligence of the local police, that led to the death of Koshimizu Nanatsuki's friend.

"Hey, I'm innocent! The police could have easily tested the screws to see how rusty they were and know they were only recently cut, but they blindly listened to my suspicions and kept interrogating a woman. Isn't that a dereliction of duty?"

"Shut up first."

Kitahara Masaki naturally understood Koshimizu Nanatsuki's desire to avenge her friend, but now he very much hoped that this adult female detective could join his Crime Investigation Division, so he said:

"Honestly, under current laws, there's no way to punish this irresponsible high school detective. Even if there were, he'd probably escape punishment by using his status as a minor. So I'm giving you two options—"

Koshimizu Nanatsuki had assumed that Kitahara Maki would be as righteous and incorruptible as he was portrayed on television, but she now realized that this was not the case.

"The first option—you go and kill him now, and you'll be charged with murder and imprisoned for at least ten years. The second option—I can ruin his reputation and punish all the police officers involved. In the end, I'll invite you to join the Metropolitan Police Department's new department this year, the Crime Investigation Division, which I will be in charge of. However, once you choose this path, you cannot use any violence against him. Okay, think it over carefully."

Koshimizu Nanatsuki and Tokitsu Junya were both stunned. They never expected Kitahara Masaki to say such 'evil' words. Neither of these paths seemed like the kind of path a police officer would suggest. Normally, there should be a path that would lead to a happy ending for everyone, or at the very least, an option that would promote the spirit of justice!

"Hey, Officer Kitahara, what are you saying? Do you know what you're saying?"

"Of course, I originally planned to investigate afterward to see if things were really as Ms. Koshimizu said, since I'm quite suspicious. But after seeing your performance, I understand that it is indeed the case. You little brat really ignored other possibilities and overlooked the time allotted for the evidence to be presented. I can't let a high school detective like you create more wrongful convictions."

Tokitsu Junya stumbled back several steps and crashed into the wall, completely panicked. He never expected Kitahara Masaki to have such a terrifying side.

"No, no, no!!! You can't do this! I'm a minor! Don't you feel ashamed that a police officer like you is bullying me?! Once we get back to the city, I'll immediately find the media and expose everything you said! If you don't want that..."

"Go ahead, it's fine, go ahead. After I reopen the investigation, the evidence collected by the police station will clearly prove that your reasoning is wrong, and your flawed reasoning drove someone to their death. After that, do you think anyone else will believe everything you say? Do you have any evidence that I said these things? Heh, you have nothing. There are only three people in this room right now. Instead of threatening me, why don't you go and beg Miss Yueshui for forgiveness?"

Kitahara Masaki could have knocked out Tokitsu Junya and then forced Koshimizu Nanatsuki to join his department, but that would have been too risky. So he's using rhetoric now—getting Tokitsu Junya to pressure Koshimizu Nanatsuki.

Sure enough, Tokitsu Junya really thought that Kitahara Masaki had shown him the right path, and he actually apologized to Koshimizu Nanatsuki.

Hahahaha————

Kitahara Masaki laughed inwardly. This fool had really done her a great favor. After seeing the arrogant high school student bowing and apologizing, Koshimizu Nanatsuki's desire to kill him gradually diminished. She was seeking revenge for her friend, but now she clearly saw a path—a path that would cause her even more pain than killing him.

"Officer Kitahara, I choose the second path. I want to see this man utterly disgraced!"

"Ah—I have received your request, Miss Koshimizu. Please rest assured, we will handle things perfectly once we return."

After reaching an agreement, the two went out together, no longer paying attention to Tokitsu Junya.

When the two of them returned to the restaurant, everyone was surprised as to why Shinichi Kudo had become Masaki Kitahara, and even more surprised by the way Nanatsu Koshimizu looked at Masaki Kitahara.

Hakuba Saguru, the only one who didn't know the show was fake, stepped forward and asked what had happened.

"Ahem, Mr. White Horse, please understand that you are the son of the Superintendent General of Police. If someone were to kidnap you... then my disguise as Shinichi Kudo was a last resort. Please understand. In short, this entire 'Detective Koshien' program is not real."

"Not real? You mean this is a fake show someone put together to bring us high school detectives together?"

"Yes, Ms. Koshimizu will explain it to you next."

Kitahara Masaki's skill in lying through his teeth had reached its peak. Even though Hakuba Saguru was still somewhat skeptical, with Kitahara Masaki's endorsement, he could no longer doubt Koshimizu Nanatsuki's intentions.

Heiji Hattori and Conan were admiring Kitahara Masaki's flirting skills, and at the same time, they were also amazed that such a case had occurred a year ago.

Kitahara Masaki, the mastermind behind everything, hopes that Tokitsu Junya will commit suicide soon, which would make things much easier.

Chapter 205 A Happy Acquisition of a Deputy

Just before this strange trip became even more awkward, Vermouth arrived at the deserted island in her newly purchased yacht, just as she had promised Kitahara Masaki. However, her expression immediately turned cold when she saw Kitahara Masaki chatting with a young woman.

Kitahara Masaki made a few gestures to her before she looked at the female detective, who looked like a high school student, with great interest.

"Let's go, go back."

Kitahara Masaki was in high spirits. He had found an assistant who could help him share the burden of the case, and he had also found a pawn like Tokitsu Junya who was extremely easy to manipulate. This trip to the deserted island was a great success.

Everyone was amazed by the facilities on the luxury yacht. Excluding the restrooms, there were three other areas—a dining room, a living room, and a bedroom. The living room was filled with various electronic devices. Conan and Heiji Hattori had both learned the truth about the Lavender Villa murder case from Nanatsuki Koshimizu the previous night. This reinforced their belief that evidence must be absolutely flawless before it can be used as a clue in the investigation. They also deeply despised Tokitsu Junya for his cowardly behavior and basically didn't want to talk to him.

Hakuba Saguru then took out the ship's phone and asked someone to check if a case that initially appeared to be a suicide but later turned into a murder had actually happened a year ago.

"Young Master Bai Ma, once you've investigated and found out the truth, I hope you can tell your father the truth and have him punish the negligent police officers. What do you say?"

Hakuba Saguru, a high school detective who firmly believes in justice, naturally had no resistance to such a request and readily agreed.

Meanwhile, Tokatsu Junya, who wanted to commit suicide but didn't dare, huddled in a ball. After hearing Hakuba Saguru agree to Kitahara Masaki's request, he thought that the case he had deduced would definitely be brought up, and the media would definitely criticize him harshly.

Thinking of this, he unconsciously looked at Kitahara Masaki with resentment, while Kitahara Masaki was holding Vermouth and looking at the sea.

However, what Tokitsu Junya didn't know was that Kitahara Masaki, who had agreed to let him board the ship, had been observing him out of the corner of his eye. For Kitahara Masaki, who had been in danger for many years, the resentful look was too conspicuous, and even Vermouth noticed it.

"Shinichi, shouldn't we get rid of him?"

Vermouth whispered in his ear.

"No need. The best outcome would have been his suicide, but the current situation is the second best outcome. Someone like him who enjoys basking in the adoration of the masses will definitely seek revenge once his true colors are exposed. And when he seeks revenge, he will certainly attract a lot of attention and draw many people to him."

“Oh, people who resent the identity of ‘Kitahara Masaki’ will appear around him. He is already a clear pawn, but he himself has not realized it yet.”

"That's right. By then I'll know just how many people are plotting against me. At first I was worried that he might be hiding his emotions, but it seems I overestimated this high school student."

This is why Kitahara Masaki was willing to let him off the hook. Just like Judy, they were both people Kitahara Masaki used to cast a long line to catch a big fish.

Back on shore, Kitahara Masaki immediately took Koshimizu Nanatsuki to Someya Hotaru and asked the reporter to write a report about high school detective Tokitsu Junya's misjudgment of a case that led to the suicide of an innocent person. The beautiful reporter was very unhappy with Kitahara Masaki's approach of only coming to her when he remembered her, but since he had once said that he would give her an opportunity to do an exclusive interview with Kaito Kid, she still wrote a report in the way Kitahara Masaki wanted.

The report was quickly published in the magazine. Previously, the media had overhyped the high school detective, but now a detective who caused someone's death by making a wrong deduction has appeared. Everyone started to gossip, and the media flocked to the Lavender Villa and the local police station, with everyone asking if it was true.