The Everyday Life of a Salted Fish Assassin in Various Anime Chapter 38

The problem was, by the time he found any clues, Jiang Hang might have already solved the case!

After an internal struggle, Conan decided he could accept a temporary compromise.

Then Jiang Hang punched him again.

"You're not putting any emotion into it, and it sounds disgusting," Jiang Hang said.

You're the one who told me to call you Big Brother, and now you're saying it's disgusting? Who's the truly disgusting one here?!

Conan grumbled inwardly after being punched again.

After finishing with Conan, Jiang Hang's expression turned serious.

"Then I'll ask you something. Of course, this is just hypothetical."

"Hypothetically, if a person killed her husband, with whom she had lived for decades, what do you think her motive would be?"

Chapter 90: Chapter 89: A Request from the Culprit

Conan was startled by Jiang Hang's "hypothetical."

He had only suspected that Ikemura Kimie and Katsuragi Sachiko might have had some connection, but he never imagined Jiang Hang would uncover something even more astonishing!

He stared wide-eyed at Jiang Hang. "What, Mrs. Ikemura wants to kill her husband?"

"I already said it's just hypothetical," Jiang Hang glanced at the flustered Conan, telling him not to speak so loudly. "This won't happen again. What's important now is dealing with the aftermath."

From Jiang Hang's words, Conan quickly realized that Jiang Hang likely already knew about Mrs. Ikemura's plan to kill her husband.

Even though he didn't know how Jiang Hang found out, since Jiang Hang stated it wouldn't happen again, and Diplomat Ikemura Isao was still alive and well... Could Mrs. Ikemura have originally intended to kill her husband in the study and then use the detectives to create an alibi?

Conan hadn't known the core of the problem before, but now that he did, he instantly figured out the method the perpetrator might have used.

"I thought you discovered some connection between Mrs. Ikemura and Katsuragi Sachiko... I didn't expect you to discover this..." Conan muttered, seemingly unhappy that he had gone in completely the wrong direction.

Hearing Conan's words, Jiang Hang's eyebrows twitched.

He knew Conan wouldn't speak carelessly. Since Conan felt there was a connection between the two women, perhaps there was something to it.

Jiang Hang had initially planned to send Conan back immediately, but upon hearing Conan's suspicion, he asked how Conan had noticed it.

Conan simply explained his thoughts.

"But looking at it now, it's probably because Mrs. Ikemura had something on her mind that she was so impatient with Miss Sachiko..."

As Conan said this, he retracted his previous guess. He then looked back at Jiang Hang.

"Anyway, how do you plan to handle this? Don't you usually call the police when you encounter something like this?"

"Can this be generalized? I'll figure out her motive first. Just leave this matter to me. You should hurry back to your Ran-neechan!"

After sending Conan back to the living room, Jiang Hang headed towards Ikemura Kimie's room.

It seemed she had indeed given up on killing her husband. Otherwise, during the time Jiang Hang was talking with Conan, that would have been her second opportunity.

Of course, Jiang Hang had been keeping an eye on her with Eagle Vision the entire time. It was only after seeing that she had no such intention that he spoke so much with Conan.

Ikemura Kimie was currently kneeling quietly in the tearoom.

Seeing Jiang Hang enter, she nodded slightly, gesturing for him to sit down.

"I thought my plan was flawless, but I underestimated you..."

"Tell me about your situation. I just asked the butler. Although you remarried back then, and Ikemura Takayoshi is the son of Ikemura Isao and his ex-wife, you've been together for twenty years. Why did you decide to do this?"

Ikemura Kimie sighed and began to tell Jiang Hang her story.

Jiang Hang quickly understood the twenty-year-old tale of resentment and love.

Twenty years ago, Ikemura Kimie's ex-husband, also a diplomat, was framed and imprisoned through despicable means by Ikemura Isao, his competitor. However, she was completely unaware of this.

Afterward, her life plummeted to the bottom. She was eventually deceived by Ikemura Isao's sweet talk and remarried him, remaining with him until now.

Originally, after so many years, she had almost forgotten about her ex-husband. However, not long ago, through an accident, she learned about the despicable methods Ikemura Isao had used back then. But her ex-husband had died unjustly in prison fifteen years ago.

After telling Jiang Hang her motive for murder, Ikemura Kimie seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

But Jiang Hang felt she was hiding something.

He had no evidence, but he sensed through his Advanced Disguise skill that she seemed to be deliberately concealing something.

"Is that all?" Jiang Hang asked.

Ikemura Kimie nodded.

"Yes, Detective. I've told you everything..."

But Jiang Hang didn't believe her. After Conan mentioned Katsuragi Sachiko, a suspicion had formed in his mind.

And now, he brought up that suspicion.

"Then I have one last question. You and Katsuragi Sachiko... why do you look so alike?"

He had noticed it before. Ikemura Kimie was fifty years old, but from his Eagle Vision, her facial contours and some details around her eyes were almost identical to Katsuragi Sachiko's.

However, there were too many people who looked alike in the world of Detective Conan. If Conan hadn't specifically pointed out something suspicious, he might not have connected the two.

As expected, upon Jiang Hang's question, Ikemura Kimie's body trembled.

Her gaze towards Jiang Hang even held a hint of fear.

"I never expected you to see through it all. As expected of the 'Eagle Eye Detective' that Detective Mouri speaks of. I had originally planned to keep this secret forever..."

"Yes, Katsuragi Sachiko is my daughter. I had her with my ex-husband. After my ex-husband and I divorced, she was taken away by relatives on my ex-husband's side. I haven't seen her in twenty years... I didn't even know she had changed her name to Katsuragi Sachiko."

"In fact, the reason I know the truth of what happened back then is because Ikemura Isao strongly opposed Katsuragi Sachiko marrying into the Ikemura family. I felt something was wrong, and after repeatedly questioning him, I finally learned the truth from him." Ikemura Kimie's expression grew somewhat agitated.

"I am not a good wife, nor a good mother... but I know that my daughter and Takayoshi truly love each other. The grudges of our generation should not affect their future."

"But I also know that man, Ikemura Isao, would absolutely not allow them to be together... He's afraid that the ugly things he did back then would be discovered, jeopardizing his diplomatic career," Ikemura Kimie said slowly. "So, from that moment on, I started thinking about killing him. It's just that you ultimately stopped me."

"After doing this, I can no longer stay in the Ikemura family... so I will surrender myself to the police. But I hope you can keep this secret for me. I don't want Sachiko to know that her mother is this kind of person."

After speaking, she bowed deeply to Jiang Hang, indicating that she had nothing left to hide.

Chapter 91: Chapter 90: Heiji Hattori: I Haven't Made a Move, Why Did the Culprit Surrender?

Ikemura Kimie ultimately chose to surrender.

She must have had this idea after Jiang Hang stopped her.

But to be honest, it's not easy for the police to handle such a surrender.

You say you want to surrender?

Alright, what crime did you commit?

You wanted to kill your own husband, but because you were stopped, you gave up and came to the police to surrender?

In such a situation, most police officers would likely treat it as a joke. Some might even advise you to communicate more with your husband if you're having relationship problems, and if he has a tendency for domestic violence, they would conduct an investigation and mediation.

It wasn't until Ikemura Kimie stated that she had purchased potassium cyanide and was about to carry out the murder when she was stopped that the police realized the situation might not be as simple as it seemed.

Then, while Kogoro Mouri and his group were leisurely enjoying afternoon tea in the living room, waiting for dinner, Takagi Wataru arrived with a group of police officers to gather information.

Because no murder had occurred and the "culprit" had surrendered, Inspector Megure did not come. Takagi Wataru also had a bewildered look on his face as he arrived, seemingly not understanding the situation with the supposed "culprit."

However, when he saw both Jiang Hang and Kogoro Mouri in this luxurious and magnificent villa, Takagi Wataru realized that something was amiss.

This was the first time the combination of Jiang Hang and Kogoro Mouri had worked together since the Art Museum Incident.

These two detectives had been making quite a stir in Tokyo over the past month. One, the "Eagle Eye Detective," and the other, the "Sleeping Kogoro," had been involved in nearly half of the cases handled by their Criminal Investigation Department.

If these two continued at this pace, they might soon be collectively known as the "Twin Stars of Beika City's Detectives."

Now that they were joining forces again, it would be strange if nothing had happened.

As for Kogoro Mouri, he was somewhat confused when he saw Takagi Wataru arrive with a group of police officers.

"Officer Takagi, what is this about?" Kogoro Mouri asked, puzzled.

"Detective Mouri," Takagi Wataru greeted Kogoro Mouri and briefly explained the situation regarding the surrender call the police had received.

Then, to the astonished eyes of Kogoro Mouri and Heiji Hattori beside him, Takagi Wataru took Ikemura Kimie to give her statement and collect evidence.

"What's going on here..." Not only was Kogoro Mouri bewildered, but even Heiji Hattori, who considered himself a great detective, was stunned.

He thought that Kogoro Mouri's recent performance might be related to Shinichi Kudo, so he followed along, hoping to find clues about Shinichi Kudo from Kogoro Mouri.

As a result, after drinking afternoon tea here for half an hour, the culprit was going to surrender?

He initially reflexively suspected if this was a trap set by the murderer in advance, and prepared to reveal his identity as the "Great Detective of Osaka" to find clues at the crime scene and uncover the truth hidden beneath the surface.

But the answer he eventually received from the police was that no one had actually been harmed from beginning to end; the original intended culprit had suddenly given up on the murder due to someone's intervention and voluntarily surrendered?

What kind of situation was this?

Heiji Hattori was shocked. In his entire career as a detective, he had never encountered such a bizarre event.

According to the basic detective playbook, shouldn't there first be a murder case, then he, the detective, would call the police, collect clues at the scene, and then wait for the police to arrive and watch him showcase his skills, finally concluding with him solving the mystery, identifying the killer, and bringing them to justice?

For the first time in his life, Heiji Hattori doubted his own value.

Who am I? Where am I now? Why is it that before I, the great detective, have even made a move, the criminal has surrendered on their own?

Watching Heiji Hattori contemplating his existence, Conan let out a soft snort of disdain.

What a narrow-minded fellow. Once you get used to Jiang Hang's style, you'll become accustomed to the incredible maneuvers that often happen around him.

However, while looking down on Heiji Hattori, Conan forgot that not long ago, he himself wasn't much better.

While Heiji Hattori was lost in his existential crisis, Conan ran over to Jiang Hang and asked him a question.

"As expected, it's your style. What was her motive?"

"Because of love, and years of deception," Jiang Hang said simply. He left the rest for Conan to figure out for himself. He had promised Ikemura Kimie to keep her secret, so he would let it remain buried.

Then he corrected Conan's words: "I didn't call the police; she surrendered herself."

Conan didn't quite understand why Jiang Hang emphasized this point. To him, there seemed to be no difference between the two.

"There's a big difference. The former requires me to make a choice, while the latter is her own choice," Jiang Hang looked at Conan. "I've always disliked multiple-choice questions, so most of the time I'll choose the easier option. But there are occasional exceptions."

Jiang Hang didn't say what he would have done if he had been the one to choose, because the current outcome was already the best.

Conan somewhat understood Jiang Hang's meaning. He looked at Ikemura Kimie, who was giving her statement, "Indeed, this is best for her. Crime prevention and voluntary surrender, the circumstances aren't too serious. Even if she were to be sentenced in court, she wouldn't have to spend much time inside."

"Moreover, her husband is a diplomat. For the sake of his reputation, he would likely take the initiative to suppress this matter," Conan said. If Ikemura Isao, as the "victim," was unwilling to escalate the situation, the police might not even file it as a criminal case but handle it as a civil matter. At most, Ikemura Kimie would be detained for a few days and then released.

Of course, once this matter is over, divorce or other disputes will no longer be the concern of detectives like them.

However, listening to Conan's words, Jiang Hang shook his head.

"No, Ikemura Kimie chose to surrender herself precisely to blow this matter out of proportion. This is her 'final revenge' against that man, Ikemura Isao."

"The wife of a diplomat developing murderous intent towards her husband, regardless of whether the diplomat himself has issues, this incident alone is the biggest scandal. As long as Ikemura Isao's competitors aren't fools, they will definitely seize this opportunity to kick him while he's down."

"I wonder what Ikemura Isao will think when he wakes up from his dream to find such a huge upheaval in his own home. Perhaps for him, losing his current position is more desperate than death."

Thinking this, Jiang Hang couldn't help but smile and look at Conan, "But there's one thing I can be sure of: your future father-in-law lost a client because of me today, and he won't get dinner either. He'll definitely scold me severely when we get back."

Chapter 92: Chapter 91: If You Can't Speculate, Are You Really a Great Detective?

Conan, his face flushed, once again denied that Kogoro Mouri was his future father-in-law. So, Jiang Hang shoved him directly into Ran's arms.

At least, when Jiang Hang did this, there was no sign of reluctance on Conan's face.

After dealing with Conan and feeling Kogoro Mouri's less-than-friendly gaze, Jiang Hang gave him a slightly awkward smile.

However, Kogoro Mouri wasn't really bothered. Knowing what was important, even though his attitude seemed bad now, he might still grumble to his daughter about Jiang Hang being "unscrupulous" later. But he wouldn't take it to heart. If Jiang Hang visited again and brought him a bottle of wine, the man would probably be calling him "brother" again.

In contrast, it was the other members of the Ikemura family who had rushed over upon hearing the news, their gazes making Jiang Hang more uncomfortable.

Ikemura Takayoshi still couldn't believe that his stepmother, with whom he had lived for twenty years and with whom his father had never had any major conflicts, would want to kill his father!

Ikemura Kimie was currently being questioned by the police, and Jiang Hang, who had stopped this tragedy, was the only one who knew the whole story.

If the police hadn't held him back, Ikemura Takayoshi might have gone to question Jiang Hang about what he had done.

Jiang Hang could understand that as a son, he would be emotionally agitated by the major upheaval in the Ikemura family.

Besides, being a detective was precisely this kind of profession.