Stay away from Conan.

Osaka and Shimada Law Firms

When lawyer Shimada Kaoru saw the seemingly ordinary young man appear before him with the young woman with long blonde hair, Shimada Kaoru's expression froze for a moment.

Then, the man explained further to Shimada Kaoru:

“Attorney Shimada, as agreed, I have helped find Mr. Nishikawa’s child, this is Ms. Hanada.”

As the man further explained his purpose, Shimada Kaoru, Nishikawa Taijo's lawyer, couldn't help but feel helpless.

After all, from his perspective, this matter was somewhat strange...

Earlier, before the matter of finding Mr. Nishikawa Taijo's illegitimate son had been fully publicized, a young man approached me with a request he had made after communicating directly with Nishikawa Taijo. He stated that this man would be responsible for finding Mr. Nishikawa Taijo's illegitimate son, but he was required to do so discreetly, so this matter remained a secret to everyone except myself.

So, not long after, thanks to Mr. Nishikawa Taijo's use of the magazine to spread the message that he had planned to "find a reliable person to help him find his relatives," someone else came to him after deciphering the hidden information in the magazine, trying to take on the task of finding his illegitimate child.

Therefore, under such circumstances, Shimada Kaoru should have had no choice but to refuse this person who was actually the second to take on the commission. However, due to the agreement made directly between the previous man and Mr. Nishikawa Taijo, after this person secretly took on the commission, if anyone came looking for him after deciphering the hidden code, then everything would be as usual, and this person would also be allowed to take on the commission.

If, in the future, the person who later saw and deciphered the code ends up bringing back Nishikawa Taijo's illegitimate child before the young man who came before, then everything will be considered normal, and the commission fee should be paid to the person who came later.

However, if that's the final outcome, it would be easier to handle for Shimada Kaoru...

But the problem is...

Several days before today, when the new client brought this so-called Ms. Hanada to report back, or even shortly after the new client took over the case, the previous mysterious client who spoke directly with Nishikawa Taijo had already passed on a message to him—

"What Nishikawa Taijo is looking for is his illegitimate child with Hanada Kochi, born twenty years ago. She is a girl who is still alive and her name is Hanada Emi."

Thus, at the end of the message, the sender also attached a photo of this so-called "Hanada Emi," and the person in the photo was clearly identical to the young blonde woman standing in front of him...

In other words, although the person in front of us has found this illegitimate daughter, if this person is ultimately confirmed to be Mr. Nishikawa Taijo's daughter, then the original client who took over the case can also be considered to have found the target, right?
However, for some reason, the one who had already confirmed the illegitimate daughter's identity did not choose to immediately take her back...

Moreover, and more importantly, after that, he received a new message from that person. The content was somewhat complicated, but in short, it was a video recording of this person talking to Mr. Nishikawa Taijo.

According to the content mentioned in the video, there's no need for this person to bring back Nishikawa Taijo's illegitimate daughter, Hanada Emi. Instead, someone else will bring back this information and evidence to prove that she is indeed Nishikawa Taijo's illegitimate daughter soon. At that time, there's no need to mention the existence of the person who took over this task in advance. Just act as if everything is normal. Shimada Kaoru only needs to verify whether the evidence she brings back can really prove whether she is Nishikawa Taijo's illegitimate daughter.

In this situation, in other words, the decision made by Mr. Nishikawa Taijo, the person who initiated the commission and his own employer, was somewhat difficult for Shimada Kaoru to understand.

After all, when there are two clients, generally speaking, whoever completes the task first is considered to have completed it. So, logically, the one who ultimately returns with the illegitimate child should be considered to have completed the task.

However, judging from the outcome of the conversation between the previous person and Nishikawa Taijo, it seems that... while acknowledging the achievements of the later person, the previous person did not seem to have failed. In fact, in Shimada Kaoru's view, the previous person clearly had a deeper connection with Nishikawa Taijo.

Now, Nishikawa Taijo is in that private hospital, and even he can't freely contact the other person. So what about the one from before...?

How exactly did they manage to get in touch with Taijo Nishikawa so easily?
Shimada Kaoru felt there were many doubts about this matter, but for now, she was merely a legal advisor hired by Nishikawa Taijo. Ultimately, it was up to Nishikawa Taijo to make the decision regarding the distribution of her estate; she was just someone who had received a consultation fee and was running errands for her…

Therefore, without dwelling on the matter at hand, Shimada Kaoru naturally responded to the immediate situation:

"Thank you for your hard work. You got results so quickly and even found Mr. Nishikawa's illegitimate daughter... However, the final determination of identity still needs to be based on blood ties. You... understand?"

Thus, Shimada Kaoru had made her point quite clearly, and the man in front of her, as well as Hanada Emi herself, naturally had no objection to this. So, as agreed, at this moment, Hanada Emi needed to cooperate in the "DNA verification."

After that, we just have to wait for the verification results...

Not long after, the DNA test results came out, and the report showed that Hanada Emi was indeed Nishikawa Taijo's daughter.

Therefore, at this point, there was no objection. As agreed, Shimada Kaoru was to meet with Nishikawa Taijo to personally report the matter to him. However, for various reasons, the executor of this commission, the man, and the illegitimate daughter Hanada Emi herself were not to be brought along for the time being.

After all, Shimada Kaoru wanted to meet Nishikawa Taijo in person to confirm the attitude of his employer.

Before that, the DNA test results were also shared with the client who took over the case later. Although the client was not qualified to meet with Nishikawa Taijo, he contacted Shimada Kaoru again because of the DNA report.

But at this moment, the client provided Shimada Kaoru with another piece of information—

Regarding Taijo Nishikawa's previous car accident, it seems...

There are doubts.

Regarding this matter, the Osaka Prefectural Police seem to have some new developments...

Shimada Kaoru was surprised by this, but after thinking about it, he said he would tell Nishikawa Taijo about it.

Meanwhile, compared to the client, Hanada Emi, the illegitimate daughter, is currently in Osaka waiting for the outcome of everything.

At that moment, in her hotel room, she suddenly received a mysterious letter—

"To know everything about your origins, the Obon Festival, the Twilight Villa, the reckoning..." (End of Chapter)