"Could it be that you suspect Boss Treasure? But why?"
Yin Kong said softly,
"You can treat it as some kind of intuition."
In truth, he had noticed long ago that after Kuroda Taro's death, a very obvious change had occurred to Boss Treasure.
The human-faced spider perched on his head had inexplicably leveled up three times, shooting from level thirteen to level sixteen. Even its name had changed from the utterly unremarkable [Head Spider] to [Soul Devouring Head Spider].
Yin Kong found it hard to believe that these changes had nothing whatsoever to do with the murder.
However, something only he could see obviously could not convince anyone, unless he had already raised Takagi and Sato's favorability to the maximum level.
But now that he had found an important clue, even a vague intuition was enough to draw the two officers' attention.
Sato pondered for a moment.
"I think Yin Kong's analysis makes a lot of sense... How about this? I'll call the archives department and ask the senior staff there to look into it. It may take some time, though."
The Late Arrival of the Protagonist
While Sato was making her call, Inspector Megure's interrogation on the other side was also nearing its end.
"In that case, Mr. Asamura Tsukasa, we'll need you to come back to the station with us for further investigation. Please cooperate."
Just as Yin Kong had initially guessed, the suspicions surrounding Yamagami Osamu, the chef, and Yazaki Nobuko, the waitress, were quickly more or less cleared.
Naturally, the pressure fell upon Asamura Tsukasa, the only remaining suspect.
"No, no, no! I've really been framed!"
This time, Asamura Tsukasa was completely panicking.
He had clearly realized that if he went with the police in front of him like this, the suspicion on him would likely become impossible to clear.
"No, Inspector Megure. I don't think this gentleman is the real killer. There must be someone else."
At that moment, a confident voice suddenly rang out from outside the shop, drawing nearly everyone's attention.
"Who is that?"
Having been interrupted, Inspector Megure naturally sounded displeased. He glared at the subordinate guarding the entrance.
"I told you to seal off the scene and not let unrelated people in, didn't I?"
"Of course, that doesn't apply when it's me—the High School Detective Kudo Shinichi, Inspector Megure." The next moment, a pair of high-school-aged youths pushed open the door and entered. The boy in front greeted Inspector Megure with easy familiarity. "After all, what could possibly stop a case from calling for a great detective?"
"So it's Kudo."
Inspector Megure was clearly an old hand. The displeasure on his face instantly vanished, replaced by the warm kindness of a friendly neighborhood uncle.
The one who could make his attitude change so drastically was naturally the high school detective praised by the newspapers as the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's savior, Kudo Shinichi.
The girl by his side was naturally his inseparable childhood friend, Mori Ran.
Yin Kong was somewhat surprised as he looked at the protagonist who had suddenly appeared.
If he had known the other man would make such a "heroic entrance," why had he gone through all that trouble analyzing the case?
Of course, what caught Yin Kong's attention most was the unusually conspicuous blue exclamation mark above Kudo Shinichi's head.
World Quest!?
He recognized the meaning of that blue exclamation mark almost at a glance.
Worthy of being the "protagonist"!
Honestly, Yin Kong would not have been surprised at all even if Kudo Shinichi had a golden exclamation mark over his head, representing a Main Quest.
Rather, the fact that it was only a World Quest made him hesitate.
After all, Genshin Impact's Main Quests were famously easy and gentle.
Those unvoiced World Quests, on the other hand, were all heavy hitters.
Yin Kong had no doubt that, in his current penniless state, rashly getting involved in a World Quest on the level of Enkanomiya or Sumeru Rose would probably get his entire party wiped out over and over.
He just did not know whether, after a party wipe in reality, he would have a chance to revive and choose a lower difficulty.
Of course, unless absolutely necessary, he would not lightly test that possibility.
It was worth mentioning that, aside from the exclamation mark above his head, Yin Kong also noticed a pure black crow perched on Kudo Shinichi's right shoulder.
Did this high school detective have a habit of keeping pets too?
Yin Kong looked around at everyone's reactions in confusion. While they were all discussing the famous detective's arrival, not a single person seemed to notice the strange crow.
So this was some kind of ghost or monster too?
Yin Kong quickly dismissed that guess.
Because almost the instant Kudo Shinichi entered the shop, the [Head Spiders] that had been freely scampering about inside with creaking noises all seemed to sense a natural enemy and scurried into the shadows in the corners.
Even the enormous level thirty-eight [Shadow Spider Queen] clinging to the ceiling withdrew the floating heads and girls scattered throughout the room, completely hiding herself deep within her nest as though she knew better than to provoke it.
More importantly, floating above the crow's head was not the blood-red color that represented a high-risk monster, but three blue words—
[Yatagarasu].
In the game, this meant it was a special NPC one could talk to.
Suddenly, [Yatagarasu] seemed to sense something and turned to look in Yin Kong's direction.
However, when it discovered that the one looking at it was merely an utterly ordinary human, it immediately lost interest. It leisurely preened its feathers while sweeping its gaze across the many ghosts and monsters in the shop.
At last, its gaze stopped moving and settled upon the [Soul Devouring Head Spider] atop Treasure Tsuruma's head, the one that had just gained three levels in a row.
The monster, which had only recently been riding high, was now trembling like a leaf.
"Inspector Megure, if Mr. Asamura Tsukasa had only run into the victim by chance, why would he have prepared poison in advance?
But if it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment act, why would he forget to dispose of something as crucial as the poison?"
In reality, Inspector Megure could not help hesitating when he heard Kudo Shinichi's question.
"But aside from Asamura Tsukasa, the others seem to have even less motive to commit the crime, don't they?"
Kudo Shinichi shook his head and explained with exceptional confidence.
"That may seem true on the surface, but the culprit has actually revealed a very important piece of information: he must have known very well about the grudge between Asamura Tsukasa and the deceased, otherwise he would not have chosen to frame him.
"He may even have predicted or learned beforehand that Mr. Asamura would come today, and he must have had direct contact with him. Only then could he have planted the poison in his bag..."
By this point, Kudo Shinichi's tone had become extremely excited and smug.
He could already feel that he was about to seize upon the flaw left behind by the culprit.
"So, Mr. Asamura Tsukasa, please think carefully. Who had the chance to put the poison into—"
But just as the high school detective was immersed in the case and fully enjoying his deduction, Sato suddenly ran over with several pages of faxed documents in her hand.
"Report! I found a crucial clue!"
"A crucial clue?"
Inspector Megure was initially somewhat inattentive as he accepted the documents, but after giving them a brief look, his expression became extremely surprised and serious.
Meanwhile, just as Asamura Tsukasa was trying hard to recall the suspicious people he had encountered that day under Kudo Shinichi's patient guidance, Inspector Megure approached with Officer Sato.
"No need to ask any further, Kudo."
Kudo Shinichi asked in surprise,
"What happened, Inspector Megure? I'm about to deduce who the killer is!"
"There's no need for that. We've already found a suspect who fits the criteria. It's the ramen shop owner—Mr. Treasure Tsuruma." As he spoke, Inspector Megure fixed his grave gaze upon the caught-off-guard Boss Treasure and asked in a deep voice, "Boss Treasure, may I ask whether you knew the sumo wrestler Oozora Gin, who committed suicide two years ago?"
"I see. I understand now!"
While Boss Treasure stood stunned, Kudo Shinichi also suddenly understood.
Although Inspector Megure's question seemed baffling to the others, it was enough for Kudo Shinichi to grasp the crucial thread.
First, as the owner, it would have been incredibly easy for Treasure Tsuruma to get Kuroda Taro and Asamura Tsukasa to participate in the competition.
Second, during the competition and while mediating their conflict, he had ample time and opportunity to come into contact with both men—more than enough to poison one and frame the other.
Finally, he had sufficient motive to kill and frame someone.
If I'm not mistaken, the evidence is right there—
At that thought, Kudo Shinichi's eyes instantly sharpened.
He stared at Treasure Tsuruma's hands, waiting only for the man to resist stubbornly before presenting the irrefutable evidence that would settle the case.
"There's no need to ask any more, Inspector Megure. I confess. I did kill Kuroda Taro."
But what the high school detective had never expected was that he did not need to produce any evidence at all. Treasure Tsuruma let out a long sigh and directly admitted his crime.
All-Purpose Office Usagi Kichi
Looking at Boss Treasure kneeling on the ground, Kudo Shinichi felt as though his fully wound-up punch had ultimately struck cotton.
He admitted it just like that?
Where was his pride as a killer?
Though the murder had clearly been solved, the famous detective felt none of the usual satisfaction or sense of accomplishment that came with catching the true culprit.
Because he was shocked to discover that, apart from reminding Inspector Megure that the real culprit was someone else, he had had absolutely nothing to do with the entire process of solving the case.
Yet even Mori Ran failed to notice the disappointment of her childhood friend beside her.
"I only wanted them all to receive the retribution they deserved."
Boss Treasure began telling his story in a low voice.
Two years ago, Kuroda Taro, Asamura Tsukasa, and his nephew Oozora Gin had all been professional sumo wrestlers in the same club, and they had been close friends.
Of the three, Kuroda Taro was the oldest and the club's ace, while Oozora Gin was the youngest but also the most talented.
When he discovered that the younger Oozora Gin was gradually beginning to threaten his position, especially when they were competing in the finals, Kuroda Taro chose to frame him and destroy him completely.
"Actually, none of us thought someone had done it deliberately at the time. Even Gin himself only thought he had accidentally ingested some medication. He never suspected that bastard at all!
"It was not until two months ago, when a similar incident was reported and mentioned drugging, that I finally realized the truth.
"Furious, I went to confront that man. But he carelessly told me that Gin had chosen suicide because he was mentally weak, and that it had nothing to do with him..."
Boss Treasure's tone was filled with grief and indignation. Clearly, that was when he had truly developed the intent to kill.
As for why he framed Asamura Tsukasa, the reason was quite simple.
Asamura Tsukasa had actually known the truth back then, but when Oozora Gin had been unable to defend himself, he chose to remain silent.
"Because you were jealous of Gin's talent too, so you chose to stand by and do nothing..."
Clearly, in Boss Treasure's mind, although Asamura Tsukasa had not acted directly, he was undoubtedly an accomplice in driving his nephew to death.
The burly Asamura Tsukasa lowered his head in shame, completely unable to meet Boss Treasure's eyes.
Perhaps he regretted it now too.
If he had stepped forward back then, not only would his friend not have committed suicide, but he himself would not have ended up banned from competition as he was today, right?
Just as everyone fell silent, Yin Kong suddenly saw [Yatagarasu], perched on Kudo Shinichi's shoulder, spread its wings and let out a loud cry.
Upon hearing the cry, the level sixteen [Soul Devouring Head Spider] seemed to sense the arrival of danger as well.
It finally abandoned its "host" and crawled rapidly toward the [Shadow Spider Queen], as though only hiding behind its leader could make it feel safe.
However, even though all eight of [Soul Devouring Head Spider]'s furry legs were moving so fast they left afterimages, it was still pierced by a jet-black ray moments later.
That jet-black ray was naturally [Yatagarasu]. After passing through [Soul Devouring Head Spider]'s body, a small crimson crystal appeared in its beak.
After it swallowed the strange crystal, [Soul Devouring Head Spider] immediately scattered into the air like a popped balloon.
However, compared to the contented [Yatagarasu], Kudo Shinichi himself did not look nearly as pleased.
Although Boss Treasure's story was indeed deeply lamentable, failing to make a grand showing and demonstrate his superb deductive abilities still left him feeling as though something was missing.
"This time, it's all thanks to Kudo again—"
After signaling his subordinates to take Boss Treasure and Asamura Tsukasa away, Inspector Megure habitually began thanking Kudo Shinichi.
Before you continue