Outlaw in the World of Conan, Tokisaki Kurumi

Denyama chuckled sheepishly, rubbing his double chin.

"So, that leaves just you, Mr. Kō," he said.

Following the current line of reasoning for solving the case, only Kurumi and the university student Kō Yūichi remained as potential culprits for the method of murder.

As the university student struggled to climb over the door, Kurumi looked at the body and then at the dagger in the evidence bag held by the forensics team. Something felt off.

"Oh? Did the professional killer notice something?"

Conan, who had been observing Kurumi, asked when he noticed her thoughtful expression.

Although he considered himself at odds with Kurumi, Conan put aside his prejudice now that he knew she wasn't the perpetrator in this case.

After all, with a murder having occurred, if the killer couldn't be apprehended quickly, Conan worried they might get away with it.

So, he leaned in close to Kurumi and asked in a low voice.

"I have some ideas, but I'll need more clues to confirm them."

Ignoring Conan's teasing, Kurumi didn't want to waste any more time.

As a professional killer, Kurumi put herself in the killer's shoes to analyze the situation.

"I don't think the killer was motivated purely by greed; they intended to kill the victim."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"It's simple. If the killer just wanted money, why go to all the trouble?"

"All the trouble? What do you mean?" Conan asked, confused by Kurumi's question. "Didn't the killer knock out the victim beforehand... Wait! Is that what you mean?"

A lightbulb went off, and Conan suddenly understood what Kurumi was implying.

"Exactly," Kurumi said, nodding at Conan's quick grasp. "If the killer only wanted money, they could have hidden by the bathroom door, waited for the victim to enter, and then threatened them with a knife to go into the last stall. Even if the victim resisted, they could have just stabbed them. So, why would the killer bother strangling them first?"

"Furthermore, I believe the victim didn't actually die from the stab wound to the heart, but from mechanical asphyxiation – being strangled. Of course, that's just one possibility."

"It's possible the killer strangled or knocked out the victim, and then intentionally stabbed them in the heart to stage it as a robbery-murder."

As Kurumi explained this, Conan had another question.

"But how did the killer get the victim's body into the locked stall? Did they throw it in from above?" Noticing the gap above the door, Conan mentally calculated the height and realized it was just enough for someone slender to climb over.

But if that were the case, another problem arose.

When the body was discovered, the dagger wasn't in the victim; it was lying nearby. If the killer had done as Kurumi suggested, the dagger shouldn't have been on the outside.

Unless...

Noticing the realization dawning on Conan's face, Kurumi smiled.

"That's right, it's just as you're thinking," she said, patting Conan's head. "But to confirm, I need to see that dagger. So, I'll leave this task to you!"

Annoyed, Conan brushed Kurumi's hand away and grudgingly agreed.

"Uncle, can you let my sister take a look at that weapon? She has some ideas she wants to verify!"

Shifting the responsibility back to Kurumi, Conan asked the forensics officer.

"I'm sorry, little boy, but that's a very important piece of evidence!" the forensics officer refused firmly.

Seeing Conan's predictable failure, Kurumi decided to focus on the highest-ranking official present.

That would be the ever-busy Inspector Megure.

Meanwhile, Inspector Megure had just learned from an officer that Kō Yūichi, the university student, had a rope on his desk. He had already marked Kō as the prime suspect and was preparing to take him to the station for questioning.

"No, that's just a rope I use to tie up my books and notebooks! I didn't kill anyone!"

Ignoring Kō Yūichi's protests about the rope, Megure was about to order him to be taken away when he heard Kurumi call his name.

"Inspector Megure, I have a personal thought."

Turning to Kurumi, Megure asked with some confusion, "Miss Tokisaki, what is it?"

"It's like this: I believe if I can see the dagger, I can confirm the killer's method. Besides, I don't think Mr. Kō is the killer."

Hearing someone defend him, Kō Yūichi looked at Kurumi excitedly, hoping she could convince the confused detective.

Upon hearing this, Megure was greatly surprised. "Is that so? Miss Tokisaki, are you confident?"

"Of course," Kurumi replied with a confident smile.

The bathroom wasn't very large, so Kurumi's words naturally reached everyone present.

Among them, the burliest man, though his expression remained unchanged, showed a flicker of panic in his eyes. He unconsciously touched his left middle finger, where a roll of white bandage was wrapped around it.

"Alright, since Miss Tokisaki is so confident," Megure agreed to Kurumi's request and had the forensics officer hand her the evidence bag.

Looking at the blood-stained dagger in the bag, Kurumi's smile widened.

Even Conan leaned in beside Kurumi, eager to hear her analysis.

"Inspector Megure, if this dagger were the murder weapon, the amount of blood sprayed after the heart was pierced would indeed be significant, which is why there's so much blood on the hilt of this dagger."

"However, it's precisely this point that makes me find the dagger strange."

"Strange? What's strange about it?" Hearing Kurumi's analysis, Inspector Megure and Conan looked at the dagger.

"Wait, there are no marks on this!" Inspector Megure suddenly realized.

"Yes, there are no traces of blood on this knife that have been covered up or wiped away. This means the killer wasn't holding the handle when they pulled the dagger from the victim's body." Speaking to this point, Kurumi pointed to the junction of the blade and the dagger's hilt. "Here, I found irregular marks. The flow of blood around this area is very smooth, as if this part was previously wrapped with a rope or cloth."

The area Kurumi pointed to was very small, so small that one would overlook it if not looking closely.

It was only visible because Kurumi possessed eyes with an A-rank precision, along with two other pairs.

"This means the killer wrapped this part with something beforehand and then used it to stab the victim."

"As for why the killer did this... I think after killing the victim, they didn't pull out the dagger immediately. Instead, they first created the illusion of a sealed room and then dropped the body in from above the door panel."

Kurumi spoke while observing the expressions on the faces of the other two.

When she saw the panic and evasiveness in the eyes of the tall Denyama, Kurumi no longer felt like analyzing.

"However, instead of me, an outsider, explaining, why don't we have the killer come out and tell us themselves?"

With that said, Kurumi looked at Denyama, who was trying to retreat towards the door.

77 You Exposed Yourself Before I Even Spoke? (Second Update)

Under Kurumi's provocative and mocking gaze, Inspector Megure and Conan turned their attention to Denyama.

"Miss Tokisaki, are you saying Denyama is the killer?" Inspector Megure asked vigilantly, watching Denyama retreat. The man's obviously guilty demeanor made the inspector's expression turn grim.

His facial muscles twitched slightly from tension and panic. Denyama glared fiercely at Kurumi, simultaneously searching for an escape route.

Kurumi found such clever tactics utterly unimpressive.

Especially to a professional like herself, they were riddled with flaws.

Kurumi remained silent, simply staring at him.

Under her gaze, which felt like scarlet eyes, Denyama felt as if all his secrets were exposed to the petite and beautiful girl.

"It seems we don't need to investigate further..." Conan said helplessly, looking at Denyama. He had expected to put more effort into solving this case and felt a bit frustrated.

"You wretched woman!" The fear and panic of facing legal judgment instantly transformed into boundless rage within him.

Knowing he could no longer argue his way out, he used his muscular body to shove away the police officers trying to restrain him and roared as he charged at Kurumi.

Denyama, completely blinded by rage, had lost all reason and judgment.

All he wanted now was to take this woman who exposed him hostage and escape.

With his robust and tall physique, Denyama possessed explosive power.

His furious charge, filled with momentum, made those around him hesitate to intervene.

"Careful!"

Roaring, he pushed aside Inspector Megure, who was blocking his path. Denyama, now only a meter away from Kurumi, seemed as if he could grab the slender girl with just a reach.

But... was it really going to be that easy?

Facing Denyama's ferocious charge, Kurumi didn't even consider summoning King Crimson.

To outsiders, the composed Kurumi at this moment appeared frozen in fear, showing no reaction.

Kicking Conan aside to avoid him, Kurumi, feeling she could finally unleash her power, had a glint of excitement in her eyes.

The instant Denyama's large hand was about to touch her neck, Kurumi elegantly sidestepped to the left. Her light black skirt swished through the air in an elegant arc.

"The momentum was good, but the accuracy was a bit off..."

As they brushed past each other, Kurumi calmly evaluated the man attacking her.

"Boxers! Boxers!"

Using her body's sudden burst of power, Kurumi's raised right leg delivered a solid knee strike to Denyama's abdomen.

A dull thud echoed. Coupled with the unexpected blow to his stomach, Denyama, who had been full of momentum moments ago, only managed to let out a "Gack!" before losing his balance and falling heavily to the ground due to inertia.

Watching Denyama clutch his stomach, unable to make a sound from the intense pain, Kurumi looked at him as if he were a clown, finding him amusing.

Around them, the police officers and others, witnessing the girl of Kurumi's size and stature effortlessly take down the burly man, and with a calm expression that showed no hint of panic or nervousness, were stunned into silence.

"Amazing!"

Hearing the exclamations from the crowd, Inspector Megure, snapping back to reality, sternly shouted, "What are you all standing around for! Restrain the suspect!"

"Ah... Yes, Inspector!"

Hearing their superior's command, the officers took out their handcuffs and efficiently cuffed Denyama, who was completely defenseless.

After ordering the officers to tie Denyama up securely and take him away, Inspector Megure said to Kurumi with lingering fear, "Miss Tokisaki, that was too dangerous just now! You should have dodged immediately!"

Inspector Megure, thinking of the force that even he couldn't withstand, worried that if it had been applied to Kurumi, she would have been injured. His tone was filled with concern.

"Thank you for your concern, Inspector Megure." Kurumi thought highly of Inspector Megure, who was a dedicated worker.

Therefore, her attitude towards him was noticeably more amiable.

"However, he was still too weak, just a lot of brute strength." Kurumi patted her knee, not because it hurt, but because she was worried about getting something dirty on her stockings.

In Kurumi's opinion, Denyama had only slightly better physical fitness.

He probably couldn't even beat Vodka in the Organization.

"On the contrary, Conan, if I hadn't kicked you away just now, you'd likely be the one lying on the ground right now." As she said this, Kurumi glanced at Conan, who wore a heavy expression.

"Oh right, Miss Tokisaki, you're so skilled! Do you also practice karate?" Inspector Megure recalled that Mouri Ran, Mouri Kogoro's daughter, seemed to be just as formidable.

"Karate?" Kurumi shook her head. "No, I study other martial arts."

Hearing this, Inspector Megure's face lit up with understanding.

"No wonder Miss Tokisaki is so confident. It seems you come from a prestigious background!" Based on Kurumi's earlier analysis and her agile, formidable skills, Megure felt a sense of awe for the younger generation.

The case concluded when the culprit confessed.

Leaving the restroom, they returned to the booth in the main hall where Mouri Ran and Sonoko were sitting. Unlike Kurumi, who was clearly in a much better mood, Conan, who had been silent all the way back, felt exceptionally conflicted.

So powerful. Is this the strength of an Organization member? Conan cast a solemn glance at Kurumi's retreating figure, suddenly realizing the Organization was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

"Classmate Tokisaki! Conan!"

Seeing Kurumi and Conan finally emerge from the restroom, Mouri Ran, who had been worried about them, finally felt her heart ease.

"Tokisaki, how did the police find out that man was the culprit in the restroom just now?" Sonoko, with her straightforward personality, had already started addressing Kurumi by her surname.

"Well~" Kurumi grinned, looking incredibly pleased. "Of course, I'm the one who provided the clues to Inspector Megure!"

Hearing Kurumi say this, both girls looked at her in astonishment. "Really?"

"Of course, it's true. Don't you think so, Conan?" Kurumi patted Conan's head a few times, nudging him out of his daze.

Noticing the veiled threat in Kurumi's words, Conan, snapping back to reality, quickly nodded in agreement. "That's right! Big sister Tokisaki is really amazing. She found the clue right away!"

As he said this, Conan put on a standard fake smile.