The unscrupulous detective in Conan

Chapter 1443 Senior, do you want a villa?
"how so?!"

"Why are they all IOUs?!"

"Even the old house has been mortgaged. What is the old man thinking?"

The three men looked at the huge pile of IOUs and all looked like they had just eaten shit.

Upon hearing this, Fujino glanced back at the group and said coldly, "So, do you still want to inherit this pile of assets?"

Upon hearing this, the three people immediately wore strange expressions.

Under Japanese inheritance law, inheriting property also entitles you to inherit debts.

However, Yaguchi Kuemon's estate consisted almost entirely of debts, and his fixed assets were almost all mortgaged. In other words, he could only inherit the debts and could not inherit a single penny.

Even if they are insolvent, they still have to repay the remaining debts.

Fujino couldn't help but click his tongue: "What, not saying anything now?"

"How do you feel about getting your father killed because of this pile of debts?"

Knowing they were in the wrong, the three men were speechless.

If those three ingrates hadn't come to steal, perhaps that old man Yaguchi Hisaemon could have lived a long time. At over seventy years old, he could easily have lived another ten or eight years in the world of Detective Conan.

Unfortunately, all three of them are ungrateful bastards.

Even after the old man died, he was still thinking about his inheritance. After the IOU was found, he even blamed the old man.

Fujino sighed inwardly for a moment, then stopped paying attention to the three humanoid creatures.

These three humanoid beings, of course, will not be captured and imprisoned; if they are taken away, it will only be for taking a statement.

If they really want to send him in, they can just call out for obstructing law enforcement and throw him in for a few days without any problem.

Fujino was too lazy to bother arguing with these three humanoid creatures; it would be a waste of their time to even offer a greeting.

Moreover, the absence of their father was the greatest torment for these three humanoid beings.

People like this, who are ambitious but lack the ability to succeed, act without thinking, and fantasize about becoming successful and reaching the pinnacle of life, often run away from their families to start their own businesses, only to accumulate more and more debts.

They don't need to worry about it; in a year or two, they'll all end up in prison as cellmates.

…………

"Ms. Ooka, I'll call it a day now..."

Have a great time!

Having finished dealing with the case, Ayanokouji gave a polite greeting to Ooka Momiji and then prepared to leave the scene in a hurry.

He really didn't want to stay in this place any longer.

But before he could leave, Fujino suddenly called out to him, "Inspector Ayanokoji, is there something you've forgotten?"

"...?"

Ayanokouji paused upon hearing this, turned around, and was filled with doubt.

He tried hard to think, but couldn't recall anything else he had forgotten.

Fujino wasn't surprised to see this and reminded him, "I remember, when I came to Kyoto before, I lent Hattori Heiji an iron rod and gave it to your Kyoto police..."

"An iron rod?"

Ayanokouji pondered for a moment upon hearing this, and after thinking about it carefully for a while, he remembered that there was indeed such a thing.

Upon seeing this, Fujino brought up the matter: "Speaking of which, you haven't returned that iron rod to me yet. Can you return it now?"

"..."

Ayanokouji's mind started racing, and after recalling the events, she realized that there did indeed seem to be such a thing.

Ayanokouji was momentarily speechless: "You're really concerned about an iron rod?"

"Isn't it just an iron rod?"

"Why did it take you so long to remember?"

Seeing Ayanokoji's expression, Fujino knew that the other party had completely forgotten about this matter, and said calmly, "That iron rod is worth five million yen. If you can't find it, just compensate us according to five million yen."

Ayanokouji Fumimaro: "..."

By the way, didn't you say it was worth a million last time?

How did it get to five million so far?

Is this extortion so blatant?

Ayanokouji felt a bit tricked.

Hearing this, Ooka Momiji, who was standing next to her, frowned slightly, then tilted her head and asked, "Is that so?"

"That's true."

Ayanokouji immediately responded, feeling somewhat aggrieved.

It's just an iron rod, isn't it?

Why is Ms. Ooka even asking for a piece of iron?

However, he wasn't lying; he did indeed have an iron rod with him.

He replied with a forced smile, "We're still investigating the iron rod, but it shouldn't be needed now. I'll go back and look for it."

“No rush.” Fujino smiled broadly. “If we can’t find it, we can just pay five million yen in compensation. After all, the price of the raw materials for that iron rod has gone up recently.”

Ayanokouji Fumimaro: "..."

Good grief, you've already come up with an excuse, haven't you?

This guy definitely planned to use the iron rod to trick me all along.

Ayanokouji felt a pang of sadness: "Why did we leave that iron rod behind?"

"Even if you keep it, you can just return it to the other party after the case is closed..."

But upon closer reflection, Ayanokouji felt a bit helpless. He figured that if it happened again, it would be the same. He hadn't really taken this out-of-town detective seriously anyway.

Such evidence is usually considered to have been confiscated by the police.

Who would have thought the other party would bring this up specifically?

Even if it's brought up, just give a perfunctory reply and let it go, and keep dragging it out.

But now that Miss Ooka is standing next to her, this is going to be troublesome...

Helpless, he could only reply, "Don't worry, I'll have my colleagues in the evidence department look for it carefully when I get back."

"Thank you for your help." Fujino smiled politely. "By the way, that iron rod is made of very precious and special material. It even has markings on it. It's very important to me, so please take good care of it."

"OK……"

Ayanokouji gave a forced smile, but inwardly he was cursing.

The other person's words were clearly directed at them, blatantly saying, "Don't just buy any random one to fool people..."

Ayanokouji felt offended.

After all, he really did think about just buying an iron rod and making do with whatever he could find.

"It seems that this won't work now."

Ayanokouji felt helpless and unsure whether the iron rod the other party was made of was actually marked or made of some special material.

Now, he only hopes that his colleagues in the evidence department won't throw the iron rod away as scrap—if there's really no other way, he'll just have to pay compensation.

Fujino watched Ayanokoji leave, naturally in a good mood. He was the kind of person who held grudges.

He certainly hadn't forgotten the time he was called into the police station for questioning after defusing the bomb in Kyoto.

As for the iron rod...

It was the other party who handed it to them.

It would be a bit unreasonable not to disgust them a little.

If you find it, great; if you don't, you'll just have to pay a penalty...

A loss of one million is really a bit of a loss; losing five million or something would be more acceptable.

…………

After Ayanokoji Fumimaro left, the group did not rush to leave the villa.

Everyone was in the lounge and naturally had no idea what had happened at the Yaguchi family's residence.

Fujino briefly explained the Yaguchi family's affairs, and everyone's expressions varied.

The sentimental Ran Mouri couldn't help but sigh: "Poor Mr. Kuemon, treating them like this, and yet..."

Sonoko Suzuki, bursting with a sense of justice, immediately became indignant and slammed her hand on the small table: "That's right! They actually treated their father like this for money!"

Ooka Momiji didn't seem particularly moved, simply saying, "It's quite common for people to be hostile to each other over inheritance."

“I’ve heard of many even more outrageous things…”

"It's common for siblings to kill each other in the struggle for inheritance. The fact that they didn't kill Mr. Yaguchi with their own hands is actually quite restrained."

Sonoko Suzuki was certainly aware of what Momiji Ooka was saying.

Her family is well-off and such a thing wouldn't happen to them, but that doesn't mean she hasn't heard of such things happening in wealthy families.

Although, for a young lady like her, this kind of thing should be quite normal.

But, being naive and innocent, she couldn't help but spit out, "But, those ungrateful, heartless bastards are simply utterly devoid of conscience!"

“Wolves are actually more compassionate than they are.” Ai Haibara suddenly spoke up at this moment, and then explained with a cold little expression: “Wolves are a highly social species. When they are young, they are well protected by their parents. When they grow up, the young wolves will also take on the responsibility of the pack. Even when the old wolves are too old to hunt, they will not be driven away but will be cared for by the pack.”

"Only when the population is in trouble will the old wolf leave alone to make a final contribution to its offspring."

As she spoke, she shrugged helplessly: "Comparing them to wolves is actually a bit of an insult to wolves, and it's the same with dogs."

"Ai-chan, you know so much!"

Everyone realized that Ai Haibara was cursing without using any profanity. Ayumi blinked beside her and then said, "But the dog and wolf seem very filial to you, Ai-chan!"

"Ayumi wants to be a dog and a wolf too!"

Haibara Ai:"……"

What kind of talk about tigers and wolves?
This kid seems a little slow-witted.

Ai Haibara looked at her silly child who wanted to be a little she-wolf and felt a wave of helplessness.

Fujino was also quite helpless, so he could only change the subject and ask, "By the way, what do you guys think of this yard?"

Everyone was puzzled upon hearing this, not quite understanding why Fujino would suddenly bring it up.

Ooka Momiji narrowed her eyes, realizing Fujino's intention.

So she was the first to respond. She glanced around and said calmly, "The roof is covered with blue tiles and the walls are white. The style should be from the Edo period. The courtyard looks to be about 1,000 square meters. There is no decoration or vegetation, just a bunch of hydrangeas. The courtyard is quite large. If you take good care of it, it will be quite nice."

She paused, then turned her gaze to Fujino and asked, "Fujino, do you want to buy this place?"

Fujino responded and explained, "Yes, I plan to buy a house in Kyoto, decorate it nicely, and come here for vacations when I have time. It's not good to always stay in hotels, so I'm thinking of having a place to stay."

"Is that so?" Upon hearing this, Ooka Momiji narrowed her eyes and began to ponder.

Fujino plans to buy a house here, so he probably wants to come and visit whenever he has free time.

If you come here for vacation, you'll definitely get to spend a lot of time together.

I'll definitely come and stay here someday...

If we lived together, who knows what might happen!
Ooka Momiji thought for a moment, her mind already filled with pale yellow bubbles.

Just thinking about what might happen here in the future, and the fact that someone had died here, she said repeatedly, "Fujino-kun, if you want a yard, I'll give you one. You don't need to consider this haunted house."

“Our family lives in Kyoto, and we have quite a well-established house in a very good location.”

"There's no need to buy anything here."

Fujino: "..."

As expected of the eldest daughter of the Ooka family.

You can just casually offer a house as a gift, right?
Fujino sighed helplessly at the young lady again, then explained with a helpless smile, "I'm just living off a woman!"

Ooka Momiji smiled, her face beaming with a gentle smile: "Others might want to be kept men, but I won't let them. Only Fujino-kun can be kept men."

"Ahem!"

Sonoko coughed lightly at this moment: "Fujino-senpai, do you want a villa?"

Haibara Ai:"……"

Damn it, why are you two starting to give away villas and yards?!
Please consider my feelings!

Ai Haibara felt a little resentful and wanted to express what she could give Fujino.

Just thinking about it, she realized she really didn't have anything good to give away, and she herself was still staying at Fujino's house, so she felt a sense of loss.

However, she quickly changed her mind and thought, "But now Fujino and I live together, we're practically inseparable. If they want to send it, then..."

"Well, it's still a good deal for me and Fujino."

Ai Haibara thought to herself for a moment, and suddenly felt less upset.

There's even a sense of satisfaction from getting a good deal.

Fujino was quite helpless in the face of this strange scene, and quickly waved his hand to interrupt the two of them: "Alright, I just wanted to take advantage of them, it's not that serious."

"Take advantage?"

Ooka Momiji was puzzled for a moment.

Fujino explained, "Well, taking advantage... Mr. Yaguchi is already dead. Before he died, he owed money because of his three sons. Debtors don't die and their debts are wiped out. After death, the property under his name will be auctioned off first through the court, the bank, or the debt company to make up for the debts."

“Even if the house has been mortgaged, you don’t need to go through the bank or the court; you can just talk to the debt company directly.”

"This place is quite close to downtown Kyoto, and the surrounding environment is also quite nice. Normally, a location and size like this would cost several hundred million to acquire, but someone just died here, and it was also mortgaged, so the price will definitely be halved."

"If we were to negotiate, we could even reach an agreement on the land price."

"I see..." As a young lady from a prestigious family, Ooka Momiji naturally wouldn't consider such things. Things like haunted houses were simply not within her scope of consideration, so she wouldn't even think about them.

Now that Fujino has reminded me, I can understand Fujino's thoughts.

In the world of Detective Conan, houses where murders have occurred are usually very cheap.

Whether it's an apartment in the city center or a villa in the suburbs, it's the same: if one person dies, cut them in half; if two people die, cut them in half again.

In Tokyo, as long as you don't have to worry about haunted houses, living in a downtown apartment for 10,000 yen a month is not a dream.

In Kyoto, where housing prices are lower, houses like this, especially those where someone has recently died, are common.

It really only takes the land price to acquire it.

(End of this chapter)