"Will you talk or not?"
Fujino placed the photograph in front of Numabuchi Kiichiro, pointed his wooden sword at his head, and said fiercely, "Do you recognize these two people or not?"
"I... I really don't know..."
Hearing this, Fujino narrowed his eyes. "Count backward from one thousand by sevens!"
He raised the wooden sword in his hand and struck Numabuchi Kiichiro on the forehead.
"993... Oh!"
A succession of miserable screams echoed all around.
Once Numabuchi Kiichiro passed out again, Fujino splashed another bucket of cold water on him, forcibly reviving him.
"I advise you to honestly confess."
As he spoke, Fujino pressed the wooden sword against Numabuchi Kiichiro's chest. "Otherwise, the pain will just keep going..."
"I really don't know!"
Although he had already killed many people, Numabuchi Kiichiro still could not help shedding aggrieved tears.
Ever since a moment ago, this man kept making him state whether or not he had killed the strange man and woman in the photograph.
If he said he did not know, he would be subjected to a round of brutal beatings while also being ordered to continuously subtract seven starting from one thousand.
And what was even more absurd was that every single beating left no marks on his body.
The moment the pain caused him to faint, he would be doused with cold water and woken up again, and the cycle would repeat.
Not even prisons had this kind of torture!
"You don't know?"
Fujino frowned and shoved the photograph back into his face. "Do you recognize the people in the photo or not? Did you kill them or not?"
"I didn't... I really didn't!"
Numabuchi Kiichiro sobbed, "I've never even been to that place called Tokyo, let alone killed anyone. Let me go!"
Fujino stroked his chin upon hearing this.
After undergoing a bout of interrogation by him, this guy still had not confessed to a single thing.
This kind of situation generally had two possibilities.
One was that this guy's willpower was simply too resolute, keeping his mouth shut and stubbornly refusing to talk.
And the other was that this guy genuinely knew nothing at all.
Could it be that I really wronged this guy?
Fujino could not help thinking this in his heart.
Then came another round of greetings with the wooden sword.
Midnight... The screams in the forest had not stopped since nightfall, and those earth-shattering cries sounded utterly inhuman, like crows—intermittent, yet never ceasing.
"It looks like this guy really knows nothing at all."
Fujino put away the wooden sword, watched Numabuchi Kiichiro lying collapsed on the ground, and his mouth twitched involuntarily. "Damn it, could it really be that he didn't kill those people?"
Compared to the previous two possibilities, Fujino leaned more toward the first.
Yet the torture he had used just now was probably something even a spy could not have endured, right?
It seemed he really had wronged him.
However, this guy had genuinely committed murder before; there was no telling how many families had been torn apart because of him.
"Today's punishment will just be regarded as paying the debt for those innocent people who died..."
Fujino muttered, gazing up at the full moon in the night sky with a whirlwind of thoughts in his mind.
Early the next morning, Numabuchi Kiichiro, who was listed as a high-priority wanted fugitive by the police, was found at the entrance of the Kyoto police headquarters.
When discovered, his entire body was bound with red rope in a kikko binding, his crotch was wet, and he kept muttering incessantly:
"Batman! Batman! It really wasn't me, let me go!"
The police did not know what "Batman" and "I really don't know" meant.
They only knew that a serial killer had been caught, and their superiors would probably reward them handsomely for it this time.
Well, anyway, the result was still good.
That very day, Fujino took the Shinkansen back to Kyoto.
As for why he had disguised himself as Batman to interrogate Numabuchi Kiichiro, let's just say that his previous bomb-disposal feat on the Shinkansen was already far too dazzling.
If he were to also dispose of this alcohol company-wanted Numabuchi Kiichiro...
A towering tree in the forest would be broken by the wind.
Fujino still understood this principle.
Meanwhile, in a Japanese-style courtyard in Kyoto.
"As expected, I knew I wouldn't recognize the wrong person..."
The tea-colored-haired girl from earlier today was sitting by the wooden veranda of the Japanese-style building, staring fixedly at the report: Shinkansen Mega-Explosion! High School Detective Heroically Defeats Bomb, Saving the Lives of Everyone On Board... Her expression appeared somewhat excited.
A moment later, however, she suddenly frowned.
"He finally came to Kyoto, yet he doesn't even come to see me... My beloved, could it be that you've already forgotten the promise from back then?"
The girl spoke with great feeling, her cheeks puffed out, revealing the appearance of a resentful woman.
Could he really have forgotten?
Staring at the drifting red maple leaves, her gaze gradually grew hazy.
The newspaper in her hand slowly crumpled, and a dark mist of resentment seemed to fill the air behind her.
Beika Town, Mori family.
"Achoo!"
Fujino, who was currently drinking miso soup, suddenly sneezed, and the miso soup he had just swallowed almost sprayed out.
"Hey! Kid!"
Uncle Mori, sitting directly across the wooden table, scolded loudly, "Don't just go around sneezing casually while eating!"
"Sorry..."
Fujino lowered his head, wearing an extremely apologetic look.
"Senior, could you have caught a cold?"
Mori Ran did not blame Fujino; instead, she wore an expression of caring for left-behind children. "With the seasonal change between autumn and winter lately, it's right in the middle of flu season..."
"I probably caught a chill last night..."
Fujino muttered.
Recalling the batman-under-the-moon incident from last night, it seemed a little bit of water had splashed onto his body.
Could he really be catching a cold?
Talk about bad timing; he had only just recovered from a cold a short while ago.
"Fujino, you really are frail!"
Beside them, Conan, who had just polished off a bowl of rice, glanced at Fujino with dead fish eyes.
After yesterday's affair, his view of Fujino had somewhat changed.
At least he was not as annoying as he originally thought.
Only... how on earth did this guy end up running over to Ran's house for dinner?!
Suddenly, Conan felt a long-lost sense of crisis.
"How many times do I have to tell you, you need to call him Big Brother Fujino!"
Fujino meaningfully patted Conan's dog head once more.
Well, dog head wasn't an unfounded term of address.
Because from his feel of it, petting Conan was roughly the same as petting a Shiba Inu.
"Yes, Big Bro... big bro!"
Conan's mouth twitched.
In order not to expose himself, he would endure it!
Sooner or later, he was going to make this guy pay it all back with interest...
"Thank you truly very much for the hospitality... I've caused trouble for your family."
At the doorway of the Mori family, Fujino bowed to Ran. "If I were home by myself, I would definitely never get to eat such delicious food..."
"It's nothing!"
Ran waved her hand. "It's just making an extra portion along the way. If it's convenient for Senior Fujino, you can come to my house for dinner every night from now on!"
"Ahem..."
Hearing this, Fujino gave a light cough, feeling some awkwardness as he sensed the nearly distorted gaze of a certain vinegar-drinking king: "Well, wouldn't that be somewhat inappropriate..."
"Nothing inappropriate about it, Fujino Daidi!"
At that moment, Mori Kogoro, who was sitting over there watching television, suddenly chimed in, still clutching a beer bottle and looking thoroughly intoxicated.
Afterward, he slurred his words toward Fujino: "Old bro, my house is your house! Come whenever you want from now on! What do you mean, dinner? Breakfast is fine too..."
Before you continue