Both Ryoko Akagi and Conan outside the door were stunned by that kick. The child, who had been happily playing video games with a controller, was also startled by the commotion and poked his head out of the room, staring blankly outside.
"Ryoko?" Akagi Mamoru called out in confusion.
"Ah! Mamoru!" Ryoko Akagi snapped back to her senses. She stepped over the door panel pinning Uemura Naoki down, ignored his pained cries, and rushed into the room to hug the little boy. "You scared me to death! How could you just run off to play?"
"I left a note. School was closed today for the anniversary celebration, and Naoki said he'd bring me here..." Akagi Mamoru said, then excitedly pointed at the television. "Look, Naoki helped me clear this level! Nobody in my class has beaten it yet!"
Akagi Mamoru, utterly unaware that he had been kidnapped for several hours, was in high spirits. Conan sighed, walked over to Uemura Naoki, who was twitching on the floor, and prodded him. "Looks like he's still alive..."
Tangze casually moved the door panel aside. After confirming that Uemura Naoki would not be moving anytime soon, he reminded Ryoko Akagi, who was holding Akagi Mamoru and on the verge of tears, "You can call Mamoru's brother now. I'm guessing this guy never intended to hurt him either."
Before long, Hideo Akagi, who had been called to the sidelines by his coach, learned that his younger brother was safe.
The television in the living room was also broadcasting the match live. Clearly, Uemura Naoki had been following the game's progress all along.
Freed from his restraints, Hideo Akagi charged forth like a tiger unleashed, scoring two goals in a row amid the jubilant cheers of the fans.
The commentator's excited voice nearly cracked as he screamed himself hoarse over the thunderous roar: "Three to one! The Kicking Ace's divine might sweeps across the field! He has finally unleashed the power of the Divine Shot! Combined with that miraculous assist in the first half! This is Tokyo Aoyama Team's Kicking Ace! Hideo Akagi! The shining football prodigy!"
"Hmph, prodigy..." Uemura Naoki snorted as Tangze dragged him into the living room. "Yeah, he was always the prodigy. And I was just a talentless idiot who only knew how to work hard..."
Everyone turned to look at Uemura Naoki, who had been beaten so badly he could only sit on the floor, clutching the cast on his right leg. Faced with their stares, he no longer concealed the resentment in his heart and said bitterly, "Back on our high school team, our performances were about the same, but his popularity and signing bonus were both far higher than mine. I couldn't accept that. Ever since joining the Aoyama Team, I practiced day and night just to surpass him, to prove I was better! I was finally about to catch up to him..."
"Then, during a practice match, he shattered the bone in my right calf with a kick! I'll miss an entire season, and I don't even know whether I'll be able to recover!" Uemura Naoki furiously slammed a fist against his cast-covered right knee. "He did it on purpose. He had to have done it on purpose! Hahaha, the 'Golden Gemini'... Kid, you were right. I never planned to hurt Mamoru. I just wanted that genius brat to understand that he won't keep winning forever! The world won't always go his way!"
Conan's expression turned grave, settling into the standard look he wore when listening to a criminal recount their inner journey.
"Ryoko, call the police. Tell them to come take me away." Having vented his resentment, Uemura Naoki calmed down and stared at Hideo Akagi embracing his teammates on the screen. "If Hideo finds out I did this, he'll probably be shocked..."
"'Hideo, who do you most want to share the news of this victory with?'" The reporter conducting the post-match interview held the microphone before Hideo Akagi, who had brought victory to the team.
"'Ah, I want to tell Miss Ryoko and my little brother, and... my best partner and rival, Uemura Naoki.'" Hideo Akagi rubbed his sweat-soaked cheek a little bashfully. "'He missed the match because of his injury. I kept thinking that if he had been here, we definitely would have scored even more, right?'"
Tangze rose from the sofa without looking again at the stunned Uemura Naoki. He reached out and pulled Conan to his side. "Let's go, Conan. We've got nothing else to do here." Then he raised his brows and teased "Ryoko Akagi." "Miss Ryoko, I'm guessing Akagi isn't actually your surname, is it? You should wait until after marriage before considering changing your name, you know?"
"Ah!" Ryoko Akagi jolted at his words, her face visibly turning red.
On television, Hideo Akagi laughed heartily and waved a fist at the camera. "Get well soon! I'll be waiting for you on the field, Naoki!"
Conan kept looking back as Tangze dragged him toward the exit. Seeing Uemura Naoki collapsed on the floor in tears, muttering, "Idiot, moron...," he hesitantly asked, "Do we really not need to call the police?"
Tangze shrugged. "No one was really hurt anyway. Let the victims decide. Whether they report it or not is their choice. I'm not the type who pursues procedural justice. Sorry, little detective."
Conan opened his mouth to argue, but remembering that Tangze had been falsely accused, he did not know where to begin persuading him.
"Come on, hurry up," Tangze said, lifting the dawdling Conan with one hand. "If we don't run before they come to their senses, what if they make us pay for the door?"
That was the first thing you thought of? Conan's eyelid twitched as Tangze tucked him under his arm and carried him downstairs.
"Put me down!" Conan struggled free from Tangze's grip and landed on the ground. "I only look like a child. Don't actually treat me like an elementary schooler!"
"It's just more convenient this way..." Tangze coughed twice to suppress a laugh, then changed the subject. "You seemed pretty surprised that I didn't call the police."
"There probably aren't many detectives who would do that, right?" Conan said, crossing his hands behind his head as he followed Tangze toward the main street.
"That depends on how one sees things." Tangze shoved both hands into his pockets. "The café where I live is called Poirot's. You know that's also the name of a famous detective, right?"
"Hercule Poirot?" Conan, a mystery novel fan, naturally knew that classic character.
Tangze nodded. "Right. You've definitely read the famous Murder on the Orient Express, haven't you? What do you think of its ending?"
Murder on the Orient Express was one of Agatha's classic works. In it, Agatha innovatively devised a murder in which every suspect carried out one part of the crime, making everyone a murderer. It was a blood revenge by victims against a criminal whom the law had failed to punish, so after uncovering the full truth, Poirot chose not to expose it and let the murderers go.
Conan opened his mouth, feeling that this was a dangerous question. Tangze seemed to be implying that he was a detective like Poirot, one who cared only about truth and substantive justice. Such a person was certainly still a detective. After considering it for a moment, he cautiously said, "I don't entirely oppose Poirot's choice, but defining justice by one's personal standards is also an arrogance that disregards justice."
Tangze had not brought up life philosophies and values with Conan for no reason. He was laying the groundwork.
All kinds of cases would continue appearing around Conan. Some Tangze could stop using the methods of the Phantom Thief of Hearts, while others could be halted in time with the power of spoilers. But inevitably, there would be murder cases Tangze could not stop or did not want to stop. Giving Conan some mental preparation in advance could prevent many future arguments.
Tangze thought for a moment, unsure whether this world had a film adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express. He slightly altered a line from the movie and said, "I realized that the scales of justice cannot remain balanced forever. I'm learning to live with imbalance."
Before you continue