Phantom Thief of Heart!but conan

Chapter 1270 Who is accusing this official in the courtroom?
“I know this sounds pretty outrageous…” Koshimizu Nanatsuki anticipated his reaction and waved the envelope in her hand twice. “Take a look at this.”

Tang Ze took the envelope, looked at the large "To Koshimizu Nanatsuki" written on the front, and took out the letter inside with a subtle expression. Then he figured out what was going on.

The letter was written in a very polite and tactful manner, without explicitly expressing any dissatisfaction with Shinichi Kudo. However, the emotions were palpable between the lines.

The sender claims that he discovered a flaw in the reasoning of a murder case that Shinichi Kudo solved a year ago, and hopes that the recipient, Nanatsuki Koshimizu, can help him correct this error and reinvestigate the truth.

"Ah, I see. This is a side effect of that 'variety show'." Tang Ze paid a little attention to the other party's choice of words and understood the situation. "He thinks that you would intervene in this situation, right?"

That wasn't a real variety show, but a plan to find the real culprit with another layer of meaning. Thanks to Tang Ze's help, a real TV station got involved, and in the end, it was edited into a special variety show and broadcast to make the most of it.

Koshimizu Nanatsuki's goal is very clear: she is here to find the useless detective Tokitsu Junya who caused her friend's suicide. However, in the broadcast version, at the request of Karasawa and Koshimizu herself, the identity of her friend was blurred in order to protect the other party's privacy.

There's nothing wrong with doing this, but it weakens the strong subjective emotions involved, making the whole effect more like a fight show where righteous detectives find an incompetent person who has wronged someone, and collectively drag them out to make them apologize and repent.

“I don’t think this misunderstanding is the audience’s fault.” Koshimizu Nanatsuki shrugged, crossed her legs, and poured herself a cup of black tea. “The stylistics of Nichiuri’s editing are just too strong.”

Daily variety shows have always prioritized program effects; even if there are no effects, they will still leverage the charm of journalism to create program effects.

One of the biggest selling points of that episode was the diverse and distinctive personalities of the young detectives; Nichibuki focused its efforts on this aspect.

As a result, the uninformed onlookers, combined with Koshimizu Nanatsuki's heroic and dashing performance, and the fact that the mask she awakened was from the Robin Hood series, made her overall temperament stand out even more, naturally leaving a strong positive impression on people.

Nowadays, the title "Detective Prince" is more often used to refer to Nanatsuki Koshimizu. Goro Akechi's media image is closer to that of a sharp, insightful, and charismatic character, and he is called by a bunch of titles like "crime buster" more often.

Well, it's a good tradition that detective princes are women, and isn't it also a kind of tribute...?

“That’s true, but sending the letter here instead of Hattori or Mr. Mori speaks volumes.” Having finished reading the letter and figured out the situation, Tang Ze tossed it back onto the table. “This is hardly a kind gesture.”

Shinichi Kudo has been missing for a long time, but the Kudo residence has recently been occupied. If this person is really looking for Shinichi Kudo with the intention of exploring the matter, the first person to receive the news should be Subaru Okiya.

Even if it was assumed that no one was home, the letter should have been sent to Heiji Hattori or Kogoro Mouri. These two are now generally considered to be the detectives with the best relationship with Shinichi Kudo, and they are the only people who have been involved in some related news since he stopped appearing in the media.

As for their agency, neither he nor Koshimizu has any official connection with Kudo. If you really want to draw a connection, the most you might think is that they have Shinichi Kudo's private contact information because of that variety show, but that's about it.

Even Goro Akechi, the new number one detective who appeared immediately after Shinichi Kudo's disappearance, is considered by many to be a rival to Shinichi Kudo, a situation where two kings should never meet.

“Yes, so whether you want to give this to him or not is up to you.” Koshimizu Nanatsuki, who had made the same decision, pulled out another, smaller envelope and placed it on the table.

This time, the envelope was addressed to Shinichi Kudo, and it was stuffed into a large envelope along with the previous letter, clearly indicating that the recipient was asked to forward it to him.

"Whatever this guy, Makoto Yata, is planning," Tang Ze picked up the unopened envelope and smiled with interest, "the situation will probably be different from what he expects..."

The problem is that, in terms of interpersonal relationships, the real Karasawa beneath the Akechi Goro costume is arguably the candidate with the best relationship with Shinichi Kudo among all the above candidates.

After all, although Hattori Heiji is a good friend, he is in Kansai, which is quite far away, while Karasawa has three times the number of interpersonal connections.

So the current situation is, who here is accusing this official?

“Yata Makoto…” Conan sat down on the leather sofa in Amuro's office, his face contorted in disbelief as he took the letter. “I vaguely remember him. How could this be…”

What's going on? What's wrong with this person?

Even if you have a problem with me, you should at least find a way to voice it. Why don't you call the police or write to the TV station?

Write to Amuro's office and complain to Koshimizu Nanatsuki and Akechi Goro. Listen to this, is this something a human being could do?

"You seem quite confident in your reasoning back then," Tang Ze said casually, blowing on his tea. "Don't you want to see how the letter points out your mistakes first?"

"Hey, I'm not like Tokitsu Junya, the kind of guy who gets all smug over a little praise." Conan, with his half-moon eyes, retorted irritably. "If I weren't confident in my reasoning and the answer, I would never have told the police, okay?"

"You do sound very certain," Tang Ze said, observing his expression with amusement. "So, the conclusion of that case is...?"

“One of the deceased murdered the other and then committed suicide. As for Mr. Yuta Makoto…” He lowered his gaze to the letter in his hand and sighed, “That’s a long story. Anyway, I understand he has his emotions.”

"So, you've decided to go back over there and take another look?" Tang Ze turned his head. "A follow-up call from a detective service? That's interesting."

Stung by the words "service" and "follow-up visit," Conan's eyebrows twitched uncontrollably: "That doesn't sound like a nice thing to say..."

The person speaking was smiling and their tone was gentle, but you could inexplicably detect a veiled sarcasm behind their words, as if they were implying, "You're not trying to erase your mistakes, are you?"

He didn't do anything, but it was still quite sarcastic. I really don't know if this counts as part of Goro Akechi's abilities.

"Do you really think I'm being sarcastic, or is it simply because of my position that you think I would target you?" Tang Ze's smile widened. "Everything needs evidence, especially in our line of work."

Conan rubbed his forehead, looking a bit annoyed. "I don't know if you're being sarcastic, but you're definitely trying to provoke me and join in the fun."

Kumail had previously made some assumptions about his abilities while sitting in this office.

At the time, Goro Akechi neither directly affirmed nor refuted his reasoning, but simply gave an ambiguous answer before letting him leave. Based on Conan's guess about Goro's personality, his reasoning must have hit the nail on the head, but there must also be parts that were wrong. Otherwise, Goro Akechi would definitely have given a clear affirmation or denial.

This person may not have been entirely well-intentioned in contacting them, but they still showed considerable respect for information and intellectual competition.

Based on this judgment, Conan felt that the inexplicable and persistent irritability he had felt since stepping through this door could only be caused by the other party, whether through words or abilities.

"They've already sent me a 'letter for help,' it's impossible for me to pretend I didn't see it, right?" Tang Ze raised his hands, putting on an innocent expression. "You're so confident in your past reasoning, so you're not afraid of being reinvestigated, are you?"

“…As long as you can convince Uncle Mori, I won’t object to you coming along,” Conan silently looked at the ceiling. “In exchange, stop torturing me.”

"make a deal."

Having achieved his goal, Tang Ze was satisfied and dispelled the debuff that had been piled on Conan's head.

In this regard, Conan's prediction was indeed correct. Although Conan himself certainly didn't realize it, he was indeed constantly provoking him.

"Hattori and Koshimizu came along too."

"Oh, so enthusiastic?"

"No, it's just that I feel if I only let you follow along, you'll definitely make everyone else look foolish..."

"That's an excessive accusation. But it's okay, a little excitement is good. You're not afraid of embarrassing yourself, so why should I worry?"

Conan, clutching the letter he had written to himself and carrying his schoolbag, returned to the Mouri Detective Agency with a long face after being suddenly called away halfway home from school.

Regarding the information about Goro Akechi, Conan currently has no way of knowing whether the other parts given by Karasawa are true, but one assessment is indeed very apt.

He's such an annoying guy, it's hard to keep anyone calm. You can't help but wonder how he talks to people in the organization. Is he always this infuriating?
"Higashi-Oku Village?" Kogoro Mori frowned. "That's almost Saitama Prefecture. Is this kid the detective who's actually going all the way there to solve cases?"

"Where a case occurs is not something Shinichi can decide," Ran Mouri immediately defended him. "These kinds of cases are usually handled by the local police station or by someone who has been asked to go there. There's nothing he can do if it's far away."

Conan, standing to the side, really wanted to nod in agreement.

Contrary to his intuition, in fact, he received such requests quite frequently in the year or so after he became famous as a detective.

After all, the overall development of Higashi-Osui Village is not fast; it's basically a small rural place. The limitations of police resources are even greater than in the city. The police there have far less experience in solving cases than the officers in the First Investigation Division. It's perfectly normal for them to seek help from outside forces when they can't figure things out.

As for why they called in a high school detective who wasn't even an adult, instead of seeking help from higher-level police departments, that's because of the cost involved.

For more details, please refer to Hattori Heiji, who is from Osaka but travels all over Kansai.

Compared to higher-level departments that require favors to bring in and may need to be reassigned later, Shinichi Kudo is pure free labor. As long as the case itself can arouse his interest, he doesn't need to pay for transportation. That's how high school detectives are.

"Tch, I told you before, these detectives who just mess around all day are bound to cause trouble sooner or later." Kogoro Mouri snorted again, but he no longer objected to Ran Mouri's request to go and check out the situation together.

Shinichi Kudo is not in Tokyo, and now some people's accusations are subtly pointing to the truth.

Both morally and logically, they should go and check on the situation to prevent it from escalating into a bigger problem.

"It shouldn't be a big problem. I haven't heard Shinichi mention this case to me at all. If it were really a very important case, he would have heard of it before," Ran Mouri said after a moment of serious thought.

Like every high school boy, Shinichi Kudo has moments when he likes to boast.

For other boys, this might mean gaining the admiration of girls, academic achievements, or being pursued by them—worldly accomplishments. But for Shinichi Kudo, it's about deduction, being Sherlock Holmes, and the process of using intelligence to fight against others.

As his childhood friend who grew up with him, Ran Mouri knows his personality very well. If it were a really complicated case with many hidden secrets, there's no reason why Shinichi Kudo wouldn't mention it at all.

So this case is either a trivial matter, not worth mentioning, or the parties involved really have some major privacy issues that, out of the professional ethics of private investigators—even if it's done on a voluntary basis—are not suitable to be discussed.

"I hope so. Ah, I really should get away from Beika Town and relax a bit..." Kogoro Mouri stretched and slumped deeper into his office chair.

In addition to his regular work, he is also actively following up on Tang Ze's case retrial.

The children have completed their assigned tasks, and the busy work now falls to the adults who should step up. So, unlike the relaxed pace of their daily lives as high school students return to normalcy, he is busier than ever, so busy that he has a dreamlike feeling of returning to the past, as if he is being permeated with the atmosphere of his class.

Before I quit my job, I was a police officer and worked overtime all the time. I finally got a flexible working hour freelance job, but I'm still working overtime all the time. So, it was a waste of my time to quit...

“Let’s treat this as a serious matter.” Ran Mouri’s expression immediately turned serious. “Don’t think of it as a vacation.”

"Huh? Didn't you just say it wasn't a big problem..."

"No, I always feel that if you think this trip is for work, then there's a possibility of having some free time. But if you start by thinking it's for relaxation, then you really won't be able to relax..."

"..."

(End of this chapter)