Outlaw in the World of Conan, Tokisaki Kurumi

However, Tokisaki Kurumi had no mood to appreciate the beautiful scenery unfolding before her eyes at this moment.

Rarely, Kurumi felt lost.

She didn't know how she should make a choice.

On one side was what Kudo Shinichi had to go through.

On the other side was whether the kind woman, Asai Seijitsu, should become a murderer with the blood of others on her hands.

With the sound of waves crashing against the cliff filling her ears, Kurumi felt as if she had fallen into a kind of 'void,' unable to be influenced by any external disturbances.

After a long while, Kurumi closed her eyes. In her heart, the scales, with Kudo Shinichi and Asai Seijitsu on either end, It seems the plan needs to change.

Kurumi's heart's scales had already tilted slightly.

Kurumi, who had always made profit her guiding principle, sighed.

At night, in a izakaya in the village.

Having specifically booked a small private room in the afternoon for her upcoming actions, Kurumi glanced at her watch and realized it was almost time for her appointment with Asai Seijitsu.

On the slightly old table were several bottles of wine, all of which Kurumi had her subordinates specially buy from the city in the afternoon.

Listening to the sounds of men talking loudly and bragging from outside the private room, Kurumi sat on the cushion, deep in thought.

"Doctor Asai? What brings you here?"

Kurumi, who had been meditating with her eyes closed, keenly heard a man's surprised voice from outside.

"A friend invited me, Mr. Aizawa." Asai Seijitsu's voice grew closer.

Immediately after, Kurumi heard footsteps outside the door and opened her eyes.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kurumi. I'm late." Having changed out of her usual white coat, Asai Seijitsu, who entered by opening the door, was now wearing a purple sweater, a black pencil skirt that accentuated her legs, and beautiful stockings.

She looked very feminine.

"It's nothing, Sister Seijitsu. I was the one who called you here rather suddenly," Kurumi said with a slight apology, smiling at Seijitsu. "Please, have a seat."

Seijitsu, with seven parts confusion and three parts curiosity on her face, noticed the unopened wine bottles on the table in the room.

"Huh? This wine?" Although Asai Seijitsu wasn't much of a drinker and couldn't recognize high-end brands, having lived in Tokyo, she could immediately tell that these wines, which she had never seen sold on Moon Shadow Island, were definitely expensive.

Seeing Asai Seijitsu's surprised expression, Kurumi smiled and said, "These are famous wines I brought from Tokyo. I don't think you can get them here on Moon Shadow Island, no matter how much you wanted to."

28 Only an idiot would do something like this.

Kurumi was right.

As an adult, Seijitsu had indeed drunk many kinds of wine when she lived in Tokyo. Since coming to Moon Shadow Island, she had found that most of the wines sold here were very ordinary, with affordable prices.

While Seijitsu could accept such wines, there was a clear difference in taste between the two.

Putting aside the topic of wine quality, Asai Seijitsu was more curious as to why Kurumi had suddenly invited her here instead of to the hotel or her clinic.

From Kurumi's every move and tone of voice, her seemingly polite demeanor didn't seem to come from an ordinary family.

Coupled with these good wines that even she felt reluctant to buy, Seijitsu became even more convinced that Kurumi must come from a prominent family in Japan.

"By the way, Kurumi, you didn't just invite me out for a drink, did you?"

Although Seijitsu was a little confused, she still asked in a joking tone.

"No~" Kurumi picked up a wine bottle and easily unscrewed the cap. As she poured wine into their glasses, she said, "These few bottles are exclusively made by my friends. Unlike those served in elegant establishments, these wines are more suitable for... occasions like this."

As soon as Kurumi finished speaking, the door to the private room was pulled open from the outside.

"Thank you for waiting. Here is the sukiyaki you ordered, miss. The rest of the dishes will be here shortly!" A smiling izakaya server placed a small stove on the table, followed by another server who brought a pot of ingredients and placed it on the stove, then lit the gas canister.

The ignited blue flame began to heat the bottom of the sukiyaki pot.

After the two servers left, Kurumi handed one of the glasses to Seijitsu, who was sitting opposite her.

"Huh? Is this beer?"

Noticing the color of the wine in the glass and the rich, frothy foam that looked like a milk cap, Asai Seijitsu didn't know what to say.

The wine bottle clearly looked like it contained whiskey or something similar, but who would have thought that what was poured out was actually beer?

What kind of idiotic manufacturer is this?

Seeing Seijitsu's expression, Kurumi knew what she was thinking.

"It's just their little quirk," Kurumi thought, recalling the eccentric ideas of the old man who was connected to the Organization, and the reviews of his products after they were released to the market.

Although that person wasn't very reliable when it came to design, his craftsmanship in brewing wine was indeed unique.

This was why he could make a living without being particularly profitable.

Kurumi's tone sounded a bit awkward, "But you can't judge this wine by its appearance. Its taste and flavor are top-notch in the market."

Hearing this, Asai Seijitsu took a small sip.

When the room-temperature liquid entered her mouth, Asai Seijitsu's face showed a surprised expression.

"The taste... it's really good!"

Even without the palate of a wine connoisseur, Asai Seijitsu, as an ordinary person, could already feel from the taste that this beer not only had a true bitterness, but within that bitterness, she could sense a rich mellowness, a truly satisfying aftertaste.

Asai Seijitsu sighed with genuine emotion.

Seeing the white beer foam clinging to the corners of Asai Seijitsu's lips, Kurumi suppressed the wicked thoughts that arose in her heart and said with a smile, "Right? After all, this is also the proud creation of that master."

Hearing Kurumi's words, Seijitsu became even more curious about what kind of family Kurumi came from, to have friends who knew such a master craftsman.

However, Seijitsu knew that it was best not to inquire about this question at her current standing.

A few minutes later, the cooked sukiyaki emitted a rich aroma.

And all the dishes Kurumi had ordered were served.

"By the way, Kurumi, why did you suddenly look for me?" Recalling Kurumi's unrefusable attitude when she spoke to her that afternoon, Seijitsu was a little curious.

After all, they had known each other for less than a day, and they shouldn't be that close.

Although they did share the common point of both being from Tokyo.

"Regarding this question..." Kurumi pondered for a moment before stating the excuse she had already concocted.

"There are some things that are difficult for me to say, because they involve certain matters." Kurumi, who had transformed into a riddler, began to lead the conversation: "In short, on this island, you are the only person I can trust right now, Sister Seijitsu."

Although Asai Seijitsu didn't know the meme "Riddler, get out of Gotham," Kurumi's ambiguous words left Seijitsu confused, while also making her heart itch with curiosity.

But more than that, there was an indescribable feeling.

A feeling of both nervousness and a hint of happiness.

"Are you perhaps a detective investigating a case, Kurumi?" Asai Seijitsu asked tentatively.

"A detective?" After draining her glass of beer in one gulp, Kurumi looked at Seijitsu, who had stopped her chopsticks and was staring at her, and said, "In a way, you could say that, but I'm not a detective."

'I'm the one who trips up detectives,' Kurumi thought to herself.

Hearing Kurumi say she wasn't a detective, Seijitsu didn't know whether to be happy or disappointed.

"Then why did you say you could only trust me here?" Seijitsu asked. "Moreover, if you were looking for me to gather information, wouldn't it be even less safe here?" As she spoke, Seijitsu gestured outside, where the still noisy sounds indicated the general chaos: "Like eavesdropping?"

"No," Kurumi smiled and shook her head. "Precisely because it's here, our conversation won't be overheard."

As soon as she said this, Seijitsu guessed the reason.

It was precisely because it was so noisy outside that even if someone wanted to eavesdrop, they probably wouldn't be able to hear anything.

"Besides, because we are both from Tokyo, in a way, we are like fellow townsfolk meeting, so we naturally have many common topics."

"Especially since we are both women."

Although she knew it was true, Seijitsu still subconsciously lowered her voice: "Then what do you want to know, Kurumi?"

Seijitsu, who was extremely curious about Kurumi's identity, really couldn't figure out what Kurumi was investigating by coming here.

"Investigating... an arson case..." Kurumi said in a low voice.

"Clatter!" The chopsticks in Seijitsu's hand fell onto the table.

When Kurumi finished stating her purpose for coming, Seijitsu's eyes widened instantly, her expression filled with disbelief as she looked at the beautiful girl before her.

29 Temptation Like a Devil

Everyone has secrets.

Those... things that cannot be told to others, only buried deep within the heart.

Asai Seijitsu.

This female physician from Tokyo was no exception.

Seeing the beautiful physician flusteredly pick up the chopsticks that had fallen on the table, Kurumi, who had transformed into an actress, showed a confused expression: "Sister Seijitsu, what's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing, just a little surprised..." Asai Seijitsu explained with a forced smile. "As for fires, Moon Shadow Island has had quite a few fires over the years, but none of them resulted in casualties."

"Except for..." Asai Seijitsu's tone became hesitant, as if she was wondering whether to mention that incident.

"It was the fire that killed the pianist Mr. Aso Keiji," Kurumi said directly, seeing that Asai Seijitsu was still trying to avoid the topic with a sliver of hope.

"!"

The sliver of hope in her heart was instantly shattered. As if her hidden thoughts had been exposed by Kurumi, Asai Seijitsu froze completely.

Pretending not to notice Seijitsu's obvious abnormality, Kurumi shifted her gaze to the fragrant sukiyaki on the table.

"I didn't expect you to be investigating this, Kurumi..." Asai Seijitsu seemed hesitant.

To prevent Kurumi from focusing her attention on her recent loss of composure, Asai Seijitsu deliberately feigned curiosity, subconsciously wanting to understand why Kurumi wanted to investigate this matter: "I don't really know much about the fire; it seems the villagers here are very tight-lipped about it."

"When you say the fire was arson, do you think there's something wrong with it?"

Kurumi glanced at Seijitsu, who, despite appearing calm, still showed signs of guilt, and cooperated by saying, "According to what I learned before, Mr. Aso Keiji and his family of three all died in the fire. Although the police report at the time said that Mr. Aso had gone mad and killed his wife and daughter..."

"No! That's not true!" Kurumi hadn't finished speaking when Asai Seijitsu suddenly exclaimed, "That's not true!" She then immediately realized her loss of composure.

Asai Seijitsu's heart pounded. She knew that because she hadn't held back just now, she wouldn't be able to explain anything if Kurumi started questioning her about why she reacted so strongly.

Just as she feared, Kurumi had clearly noticed her unusually intense reaction.

"Sister Seijitsu, do you know something?"

As Kurumi looked at her suspiciously, Asai Seijitsu was momentarily speechless.

It concerned her biggest secret, and Asai Seijitsu really couldn't bring herself to say it.

"No... to be precise, I'm not entirely clear on the inside story, but..." a sense of panic washed over Seijitsu.

Noticing Asai Seijitsu's slightly trembling body, Kurumi knew she couldn't push the other woman too hard.

"Although the police have closed the case on the deaths of Aso Keiji's family, however..." Kurumi hesitated, "While there are some things I can't conveniently reveal to you, Sister Seijitsu, I can confirm that the tragedy was indeed man-made."

"Furthermore, after investigating some drug traffickers, we learned that one of their routes originated from Moon Shadow Island."

"While we don't yet know who on Moon Shadow Island is involved in selling these things, when we combined that with Mr. Aso Keiji's identity as a pianist, we came up with a theory."

"Because Mr. Aso Keiji's profession allowed him to perform piano concerts all over the world, we suspect that these drug traffickers intended to use Mr. Aso to procure these substances from abroad and then sell them back in the country."

"As for the deaths of Mr. Aso's family, if our theory is correct, then those individuals must have been pressuring Mr. Aso. When he refused, they feared their crimes would be exposed, leading them to commit these murders to silence him."

Every word Kurumi spoke was deeply etched into Seijitsu's mind.

Her expression was so shocked that it seemed frozen on her face.

"Kurumi... who... exactly are you, and how do you know these things?" In her extreme surprise, Seijitsu forgot that her identity was merely that of a female doctor who had come here seeking a quiet life in the countryside.

Her words at this moment completely revealed that she, too, knew some of the inside story of the events that had occurred over a decade ago.

"Could it be that you're a detective, Kurumi?" At first, Seijitsu suspected Kurumi might be a police officer from Tokyo. But considering Kurumi's appearance, that of a high school student around fifteen or sixteen years old, she dismissed that idea and began to wonder if she might be a detective like the famous Kudo Shinichi.

Kurumi shook her head, denying it. "No, I'm not."