"It was Taku Itakura himself who brought it up. He said he'd recently developed some algorithm that improved computers' ability to comprehend complex calculations or something... I don't know exactly what he meant, but the demo he showed us was indeed extremely compelling."
"You three saw his demo too?"
"Yes..."
After asking about Taku Itakura's personal information, Mori Kogoro pondered for a moment without giving them an immediate answer.
It wasn't that this commission itself was especially complicated. Ever since becoming a private detective, Mori Kogoro had handled plenty of missing-person cases, whatever the reason behind them. It was a very common kind of job.
The main issue was that the clients this time were rather unusual, which made Mori Kogoro somewhat wary.
Although the three of them were looking for the same person, there was an implied competitive relationship between them. From what they had provided, the missing target, Taku Itakura, possessed some highly irreplaceable special technology.
That kind of situation was far more troublesome than a simple business relationship. Even if he accepted the job, he needed to carefully consider the approach and make adequate preparations.
"I more or less understand the situation. I'm fairly confident I can find Mr. Itakura, but the three of you..." Mori Kogoro looked up and examined each of them in turn before putting it politely. "Your relationship isn't one of simple cooperation. There are issues of contractual fraud between him and you regarding similar business agreements."
The three clients looked at one another. None of their expressions were relaxed, clearly confirming that Mori Kogoro had hit the mark.
"Because of certain cases, I may be better known than many of my peers, which can lead to misunderstandings. Let me make this clear: I have always been a private detective. Due to the