Chapter 19: Obedience Test

“The killer is not Mr. Shoichi.”

Shoichi watched blankly as Conan slipped behind the sofa and pulled out a bowtie.

He glanced left and right.

Finding that no one else seemed to notice anything unusual, he let out a yawn and began to play dumb.

“Mouri-kun, why are you doing this again?” Inspector Megure said helplessly.

When conscious, he pointed the finger at Shoichi. Then, with a magnificent turn, once he fell into his sleeping state, he would clear Shoichi's name.

“It was just a little joke before; now is the real deduction. Once all of you take off your coats, I will know who the killer is,” ‘Kogoro Mouri’ said.

Inspector Megure directed them to remove their coats.

Everyone took off their coats, even Akemi Miyano, but Shoichi remained unmoved, even tightening his clothes.

“It’s very late. What if I catch a cold from taking off my clothes?” Shoichi said.

Regarding the eccentric Shoichi, ‘Kogoro Mouri’ remarked, “It is fine if he doesn't take off his coat, because Mr. Shoichi and his secretary will absolutely not be the killers.”

Conan poked his head out from behind the sofa and glanced at the clothes they were wearing.

Then he said directly, “The killer is you! Mr. Ichishi!”

Immediately following, through Kogoro Mouri's mouth, Conan explained his method of murder.

“The reason you killed her is related to Yaeko's drowning accident two years ago, isn't it?”

The light reflected off Ichishi's glasses as he said excitedly, “Yaeko didn't die because of an accident! She was killed by Nikaido and Reika! They stole Yaeko's life jacket, and that's what killed her!”

Even after Ichishi admitted to the murder, Mitsui still could not believe that his daughter had been killed for such a reason.

“It must have been Shoichi who found you to kill my daughter, right!” Mitsui pointed at Ichishi and shouted, “You should just be a weak coward; how did you dare kill Reika? It must be that Shoichi gave you courage, right? Did he promise you something!”

“Enough!”

Ichishi shook off Mitsui and roared loudly, “You father and daughter are birds of a feather! Reika deserved to die, and you will surely be killed by others as well.”

Shoichi found their grievances and vendettas quite noisy.

He turned to Sato and asked, “Officer Sato, can you take me home? If I go home now, I should still be able to get some sleep.”

He glanced at his watch.

He suddenly remembered that he had resigned from the bank and didn't need to go to work.

In that case, he could sleep for a very long time.

Hearing Shoichi's words, before Sato could react, a furious Mitsui said, “You think you can just leave after committing a murder?”

Sato frowned and said, “Mr. Mitsui, Mr. Shoichi is not the killer.”

“That's because he has the police protecting him from within and a detective's henchmen protecting him from without! How could you possibly let him be the killer!” Mitsui said angrily.

He pointed his fury at Ichishi again.

“And this guy, willing to be Shoichi's pawn, even if it means going to prison for killing someone for him!”

With Shoichi's threat looming, Mitsui was now fully convinced that his daughter's death was Shoichi's way of threatening him.

Was this the retribution he spoke of?

With a light push from Shoichi, the old man Mitsui fell onto his backside on the floor.

Shoichi frowned.

He felt as though he were drifting further and further down the path of a villain.

Yet, he hadn't actually done anything.

Since that was the case, Shoichi let out a low chuckle and said to Mitsui, “Mr. Mitsui, those who do not repay their debts will face continuous disasters. I hope you remember this principle.”

Having said that, he left the villa, with Akemi Miyano following behind him with a complex expression.

Sitting on the floor, Mitsui's lips were pale.

That was definitely a threat.

If he didn't pay the money back, would they kill him too?

“Are you alright?”

Inspector Megure stepped forward to help Mitsui up, but Mitsui quickly brushed him off.

“Don't touch me!”

With a haggard expression, Mitsui pushed Inspector Megure away.

These people were all Shoichi's henchmen; they were all protecting him.

The influence of a major conglomerate was even greater than he had anticipated.

Furthermore, Shoichi's actions were too extreme.

If I continue to delay the construction payments, he will definitely kill me!

“Officer Sato? A private citizen needs the police to take him home; aren't you going to provide assistance?” the forensic doctor said, walking up to Sato.

“A private citizen?”

How did that guy have anything to do with being a private citizen?

Sato glanced at Inspector Megure; seeing him nod, she took the police car keys and walked out.

“Where is your home?” Sato asked with a frown.

As a police officer, helping a citizen get home was considered normal behavior.

“Take me to the company. The company is in ***,” Shoichi said.

He couldn't let Akemi Miyano follow him home; there was a little one at home that she must not see.

After dropping Shoichi off at their company, Sato did not linger and drove away immediately, having no desire to get entangled with this troublesome conglomerate heir.

Akemi Miyano whispered to Shoichi, “Did you really kill Reika?”

“The police haven't judged me guilty, so of course I didn't kill her,” Shoichi said.

Hard to say.

Akemi Miyano knit her brows.

She had followed Shoichi to collect debts from Mitsui, and she had heard with her own ears Shoichi say, "Those who do not repay their debts will face continuous disasters."

This might have been the desperate act of someone with no other choice.

But Shoichi was clearly not the type of person who was left with no choice, and Mitsui's daughter had indeed died while Shoichi was present.

Most importantly,

After leaving, Shoichi had even issued a threat to Mitsui.

*Those who do not repay their debts will face continuous disasters.*

She had a feeling Shoichi was going to keep killing people.

“Don't worry, I'm not a bad person. In all my life, I haven't even killed a chicken,” Shoichi said.

He reached out, intending to pat Akemi Miyano on the shoulder to make her believe him.

But Akemi Miyano tilted her body slightly, dodging his hand.

Akemi Miyano asked with a frown, “You... you aren't performing a compliance test on me, are you?”

“Of course not. How could you think that of me?”

Shoichi found it hilarious.

It was just a pat on the shoulder; how could it be such a simple compliance test?

Not only those who didn't know him, but even Akemi Miyano had a deep misunderstanding of him. He wasn't that bad of a person.

“Go rest early. When I have time, I'll let you see your sister,” Shoichi said with a smile.

As he spoke, his palm landed on Akemi Miyano's shoulder.

Akemi Miyano raised an eyebrow, resisting the urge to dodge.

“We'll continue to collect the debt from Mitsui tomorrow. I think he will pay,” Shoichi said.

“And if he doesn't? Will you make him face continuous disasters, just like you threatened?” Akemi Miyano asked, her brow furrowed.

“Of course not. If he doesn't pay, I'll just keep asking. There's nothing else I can do. As for that last sentence, you can consider it my curse upon him. What if something really does happen to him?”

(End of Chapter)