Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

Ran Mouri: "...?"

...What's going on? Isn't this police officer investigating Kadoya's case? Could there be other people involved in the case in this art museum, and he's here to investigate?
Sonoko Suzuki had no idea what Ran Mouri was thinking. She stared intently in that direction, and the other person seemed to sense her gaze and looked over as well. Upon seeing that it was them, he walked straight towards them.

"Ms. Mori, Ms. Suzuki, I never expected to run into you two."

Aoyagi Akimitsu walked up to them and stopped, greeting them.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Aoyagi."

Just moments ago, Sonoko Suzuki was excitedly gripping her best friend's arm, but now that the person was in front of her, she became gentle and ladylike. "And this is...?"

She noticed another man following behind Aoyagi Akimitsu, and her eyes lit up when she saw his face clearly.

Morofushi Kagemitsu glanced subtly at Ran Mouri beside her, then smiled politely at Sonoko Suzuki. “My name is Morofushi. I am honored to have been invited by Mr. Aoyagi to visit this art exhibition.”

He did not reveal his background or profession.

Ran Mouri stepped forward, looking hesitant, and asked, "Um, Mr. Aoyagi, do you know where Conan went?"

If it weren't for the unexpected incident this morning, Aoyagi Akimitsu would have brought Conan Edogawa to the art museum today; they even made a special appointment for a time that wouldn't be the same as theirs.

As it turned out, only Aoyagi Akimitsu came over, and Ran Mouri couldn't help but ask him a question.

Upon hearing this question, Aoyagi Akimitsu sighed softly:
“I had something urgent to attend to at the Metropolitan Police Department this morning, so I called to tell him that my trip would have to be postponed. I didn’t expect that when I finished my business and passed by the park near the Metropolitan Police Department, I would see him getting involved in a case again.”

He didn't elaborate on the specifics of the case; judging from his expression, the details were probably not very clear.

Ran Mouri immediately tensed up: "Is he injured?!"

“No, he was just the discoverer,” Aoyagi Akimitsu comforted him. “After what happened, I couldn’t bring him to the art exhibition anymore, so I sent him home after he finished giving his statement.”

He looked at Ran Mouri: "Not the Mouri Detective Agency. His parents are back, and his uncle and cousins ​​are there too, so I sent him to them. I think he needs the company of his family more than I, an outsider."

Ran Mouri froze, her hands, which had been clasped together in front of her chest in worry, tightened slightly.

Morofushi Kagemitsu noticed her subtle reaction.

Sonoko Suzuki said in surprise, "That kid has so many relatives? I didn't know that before."

Aoyagi Akimitsu explained, "They used to live abroad."

Sonoko Suzuki had only asked casually and didn't see anything wrong with the other party's actions, so she enthusiastically returned to other topics: "By the way, Mr. Aoyagi, since you're going to tour, would you like to join us...?"

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by something being handed to her.

It was a stack of exam papers.

Sonoko Suzuki: "..."

She stared blankly at the stack of papers, her gaze slowly moving upwards until it landed on Aoyagi Akimitsu's smiling face as he handed over the papers. A question mark filled her mind.

Aoyagi Akimitsu gazed at her blank face and said gently, "Thank you so much for giving me two tickets to the art exhibition. I've been thinking of giving you a return gift, but I wasn't sure what you would like."

"Perfect timing. I remembered that you're a high school sophomore this year, which is a time when you need to work harder on your studies, so I went and bought some test papers."

He paused, then added, "I specifically calculated that the total price of all these papers is the same as the price of a first-class VIP ticket for the first day of this art exhibition. To make up the difference, I even bought a few extra."

Boom——

Morofushi Kagemitsu felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck the high school girl in front of him, leaving her stunned and shattering the pink bubbles that had been forming on her face. Aoyagi Akimitsu, on the other hand, seemed completely unaware of what he was doing, his face still bearing a friendly smile.

……

"I didn't expect you to send me the exam papers."

After saying goodbye to the two high school girls, Morofushi Kagemitsu spoke to Aoyagi Akimitsu.

Just now in the park, Aoyagi Akimitsu refused his compensation, only making one request: that he accompany him to visit a nearby art exhibition, because his partners and colleagues who had originally made arrangements were temporarily unavailable.

Morofushi Kagemitsu wanted to refuse; with so much happening today, he had no mood to see this kind of relaxing exhibition. But Aoyagi Akimitsu said that was precisely why he needed to go and relax… By the time he came to his senses, he was already standing at the entrance of the art museum.

"For students, sending them exam papers is the best option."

"I can't help it," Aoyagi Akimitsu said, flipping through the brochure in his hand as he answered.
"Sending flowers, small gifts, or things that other girls might like is not acceptable; it's too impersonal."

As Morofushi Kagemitsu listened to his words, he thought of what Furuya Rei had mentioned to him before, about Aoyagi Akimitsu's past teaching experience at Minato Ward Junior High School.

"His college resume is fake, but he does have an absolute ear for music and is qualified to be a music teacher. Apart from that, the only good thing he has is that he knows how to keep his distance from the students."

The United States claims to prioritize the protection of minors, yet on the other hand, many places allow child marriage, and several states do not even have a minimum marriage age limit.

Given the already open social atmosphere, coupled with certain well-known issues in Japan that the Japanese government was powerless to address, and Aoyagi Akimitsu's own frivolous and dissolute temperament, Furuya Rei at the time always suspected that Aoyagi might take advantage of his position as a teacher to harass his students.

In the end, there was nothing. Aoyagi Akimitsu maintained a just-right distance from his students, taught his classes well, and had only one close friend in private: Kudo Shinichi, whom he met through mystery novels.

Speaking of good personal relationships...

Looking at Aoyagi Akimitsu's expression, Morofushi Kagemitsu asked meaningfully, "Speaking of which, Mr. Aoyagi, how did you meet that Edogawa Conan?"

Aoyagi Akimitsu looked up at him and asked, "Are you curious?"

"Yes, after all, that child is very smart." Morofushi Hiromitsu did not hide his attitude. "Conan solved one of the mysteries of today's kidnapping."

He didn't hide the case that happened today, after all, it was on the news, and Aoyagi Akimitsu had just admitted to going to the park, so he probably saw Eto's body with his own eyes.

“Being too smart isn’t good either. Solving a mystery cleverly, only to find a corpse in the end, isn’t a good experience for most people,” Aoyagi Akimitsu sighed softly. “Especially if it involves someone you know.”

Zhu Fu Jingguang: "..."

Aoyagi Akimitsu wasn't lying, but he couldn't tell whether the "acquaintance" the other person was referring to was Edogawa Conan meeting Eto Daizo during the beauty pageant, or...

"Here we are."

Aoyagi Akimitsu suddenly stopped and stood in front of a corridor.

Morobuchi Kagemitsu followed and looked over.

This art exhibition is divided into four parts: "Sky," "Ocean," "Earth," and...

"Ahead is the 'Hell' exhibition hall."

Aoyagi Akimitsu closed the manual, turned to Morofushi Kagemitsu, and smiled gently:

"—Let's go in and take a look." (End of Chapter)