Conan: I'm Really Not the Manipulator

But he didn't hold any grudges. It was nice to have the opportunity to leave the office and relax outside.

He entered the elevator. Because there was no signal, he could not refresh the chat room page and could only view the records that had been loaded on it.

Nakano's biggest hobby is reading mystery novels. His favorite works are Agatha's Poirot series and Detective Kyoko series. He also joined the fan chat room of Hojo Touka.

As the work's method of committing crimes caused controversy, Kyoko switched to serialization within the group; in order to prevent black fans from causing trouble, Hojo Sensei screened the fans and kicked out all those who did not meet the requirements.

There are currently only a few dozen people in the chat room, and he is one of them. It is much deserted than in the past.

[84 Passerby: ...What cases do you like? I will try to publish those first.]

He was busy when Hojo-sensei brought up the subject and didn't see it until the next day.

At that time, Nakano thought he had missed the opportunity and was almost disappointed. Fortunately, he did not give up and quickly looked up other people's chat records. He found a like-minded person in the chat room and he happened to talk about his favorite case.

【Artemis: I prefer the Red Horse case. 】

The Red Horse Case.

The modus operandi of this case is almost identical to the famous Poirot case, the ABC murders.

They all took the strategy of hiding the woods in the forest - in order to confuse the police's investigation direction, they created a series of serial cases to cover up their real goals.

Nakano watched these two cases over and over again and could remember them by heart, so when he heard about the Red Hair Serial Murder Case, in which the identities of the several victims were unrelated and the only thing they had in common was red hair, his first reaction was that the murderer also used this method.

——Just find out who around the deceased benefited the most, and that person is the murderer.

However, when he told others about this idea, they didn't even want to listen.

"You are just a newcomer. We have more experience than you. We will thoroughly investigate the stakeholders of the deceased, so you don't have to worry about it."

"Novels are just novels, don't take them as reality."

That’s what the seniors said.

However, up to now, even though a special task force has been set up to investigate the case, there has been no progress.

In the narrow elevator, Nakano's mind was full of ideas, and he continued to think about the case in his own way.

If the murderer really had that intention, then who was his real target?

The bastard? The diplomat? Or...

...The murderer has only been warming up until now and hasn't really taken action yet?

Nakano's imagination continued until the elevator reached the first floor.

He walked out of the elevator and came to the outside of the Metropolitan Police Department. It was already dusk. The last rays of the sun were warm and dazzling, shining on his face and bringing him back to reality.

Nakano let out a long sigh towards the ground.

There was no point in thinking so much, no one was willing to listen to him. So he should just help the senior take his things up, pack up himself, and then go home.

"Nakano-kun!"

A familiar female voice called out and Nakano turned around. He recognized it as the voice of Hakubato-senpai's girlfriend, Kotomine China.

In the setting sun, the woman who came to visit her boyfriend waved to him repeatedly, her red hair as bright red as blood.

Chapter 93 Students on the Street

"I'm sorry to bother you again."

At the entrance of the Metropolitan Police Department, Kotomine China was carrying a bag of clothes and looking at her boyfriend's junior embarrassedly.

"No, it's just a piece of cake."

Nakano withdrew his gaze from her hair and smiled at her.

He took the things from her hand. The bag was heavier than he thought. He looked down and saw that the clothes were neatly folded and smelled the scent of soap. Some underwear was specially placed in another small bag.

How considerate... Single Nakano-kun felt a little jealous, then he remembered something and handed the bag he was carrying to her.

"This is what my senior asked me to give you."

What Nakano was holding in his hand were Baijiu's dirty clothes from the past few days. Baijiu was not very particular about this, and he threw all his jackets, boxer briefs and socks together. He told him to take them all back and wash them.

Kotomine China took it meekly without saying anything.

"If there's nothing else, I'll go back first." Nakano saw that she accepted it and was about to leave.

"Nakano-kun, please wait a moment." Kotomine China called him again.

"Anything else?"

"I want to know how Kazutsuki-kun is doing..."

Kotomine Jonah, who came with Kotomine China, stood far away and watched the two of them talking at the entrance of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Unlike her sister's patience, she was in a state of extreme irritability. She took out her phone to check the time, and found that the battery was running low. She immediately turned off the screen and put it back in her pocket, her expression becoming more and more impatient.

After an unknown amount of time, Kotomine China finally came back.

"Sorry Jonah, I kept you waiting," she apologized to her sister as soon as she returned.

"Who is this person? Where is the Baijiu people?"

Kotomine Joanna glanced towards the main entrance of the Metropolitan Police Department. "You came all the way here to give him something, why didn't he come down and get it himself?"

When her sister delivered the clothes just now, she kept staring at the door and didn't see Bai Jiu the whole time. Only the young and unfamiliar policeman came down.

"Nakano-kun is Kazuki-kun's junior. He is in a meeting and can't leave. The task force has been very busy lately." Kotomine China explained for her boyfriend.

"Busy? He..."

She spoke louder and louder, and Kotomine China hurried forward to hold her arm, interrupting what she was about to say: "Okay, you are hungry now, right? I will treat you to a meal at the nearby commercial street."

Kotomine Joanna was suddenly pulled by her sister. She looked at her blankly and couldn't say the rest of the words.

……

The sun gradually sets, and the whole world is bathed in its afterglow. Even though there are crowds of people nearby, it still looks decadent and lonely.

Kotomine Joanna walked in the crowd, and one step behind her, Kotomine China followed closely behind her.

The scene in front of her reminded Kotomine Joanna of the time when they were little and played in the small park near their home until dinner time, and then walked home hand in hand. She couldn't help but smile.

As they got closer to the commercial street, more and more people came around. Some people noticed the sisters, and many of them looked at their red hair.

The recent serial murders suspected to be targeting red-haired people have caused panic in the entire Tokyo.

Even the usually open-minded Kotomine couple told their two daughters not to travel too far and to be home before eight o'clock. If they have to work overtime, their father should pick them up. Kotomine and Joanna have also heard many kind reminders or gloating ridicules from their colleagues in the company.

Kotomine Joanna didn't care about the stares. She just habitually kept her sister behind her and waited for the green light at the intersection together.

"I have to call my parents and tell them I'll be back after dinner so they don't have to wait for us."

While waiting, Kotomine China took out her cell phone. It was a flip phone with a Kamen Ultraman pendant hanging on it.

"Sister, what are you going to buy later?"

Kotomine Qiao Na asked casually.

She came out today to accompany her sister. Just as her parents were worried about them going out at night, she was even more worried about her frail sister going out alone, and insisted on coming to accompany her.

Kotomine China hesitated for a moment, holding the phone that she hadn't yet dialed.

She observed her sister's expression, met her gaze, and spoke carefully.

"Next week is Kazuki-kun's birthday, I want to buy him a birthday present..."

"..."

As soon as these words came out, Kotomine Jonah's face turned dark.

……

Kotomine Jona doesn't like Hakubato.

One could even say that she hated him from the bottom of her heart.

Her sister loves him wholeheartedly, but he is very perfunctory to her. Since they have been dating, her sister has been the one who has given everything. The only gift he gave to her sister was a Kamen Ultraman pendant on her cell phone, which he got from a gashapon machine.

Moreover, Kotomine Joanna could see that Bai Jiu was not a person who could settle down peacefully.

He looked down on everyone. He would find all kinds of "reasons" to explain why he was stronger than him, and he would look down on those who were weaker than him without hesitation. But at the same time, he particularly hated others looking down on him.

He was very violent, narrow-minded and vindictive. Even some insignificant things would be remembered for a long time. He had secretly glared at her more than once.

He also particularly likes to pretend.

Just like this time, they said they had to work overtime every day to investigate the case, but in fact they could go home every few days, and everyone had to have rotation days off to ensure that they had the energy to deal with the criminals - she had interviewed many police officers before and knew their internal work processes.

Bai Jiu's long-term stay in the Metropolitan Police Department this time is indeed for the purpose of investigating cases, but more importantly, it is for his superiors and colleagues to see how hard he works, and for his own image.

Finally, and most importantly, there was something wrong with his eyes.

——The way he looked at her sister and everyone else outside was not the way he looked at a living person.

Just like men looking at model games on the shelves, women looking at expensive shoes and bags in the window, and otakus looking at beautiful girl posters on the wall...

Maybe there might be a hint of liking in it, but that was completely the look one uses when looking at a dead object without life or personal will.

It gave her the creeps.

"..."

Kotomine Joanna clenched her fists at her sides, but quickly and weakly let go.

What she could easily see, her sister who was immersed in love could not see.

She is a reporter. She has met all kinds of people, from police officers with an overly strong sense of justice to the masterminds of major criminal cases. She has even received threatening letters because of her reporting. Her world is a completely realistic world with good people, bad people and ordinary people.

But my sister is different. She is a girl cartoonist and the group she comes into contact with the most are young girls with simple minds. In addition, she has been in poor health since childhood and her family has always protected her, so she looks at people more simply and trusts others easily.

But their personalities are opposite. The elder sister seems gentle but is actually stubborn, while the younger sister seems strong but will compromise step by step.

She couldn't persuade her sister at all.

"…Then let's go to Mantiantang and have a look. I heard from several colleagues that a new game was recently released there, and it has a very high praise rate."

Kotomine Joanna took the initiative to give her opinions, but her voice sounded forced out. She had been impulsive since she was a child and was not very good at controlling her emotions.

"Okay, let's go check it out after dinner." Kotomine China agreed.