People are in Conan, but Ace Attorney

Chapter 358 Magic, the cheers that lead to a reversal - Finale (3)

But the information that can be obtained from these photos is very limited.

Conan, who had not entered the Grand Inquisition since the beginning of the Cross Trial, of course did not know his situation.

That really doesn't give any useful evidence.

But now it’s different. There is no longer a hesitant and evasive witness beside Xiang Yuanguang.

Rather, they are the dead who have returned from the world of the dead and are eager for the truth.

"Is this the first time we meet or the second time? Haha, I feel like you're more approachable."

The genius magician Itagaki laughed.

He patted Xiang Yuanguang on the shoulder and took Xiang Yuanguang to look at the second backstage photo.

Itagaki Asaichi, who died five years ago, had the most miserable death among all the magicians.

The impact of the explosion of the explosive box brought fragments and almost made him into pieces.

One can almost imagine how cruel and tragic that kind of death was.

"…Is that so? I thought I was even more difficult to approach."

Xiang Yuanguang said in a deep voice, his eyes fell on the photo on the evidence table.

This photo shows a seemingly ordinary backstage area, but in the corner...

You can still see a corner of Kujuku Motoyasu's unique colored magic uniform.

"Mr. Xiang Yuan, did you notice that the color near the wall of the room is a little dim?"

"That's the curtain. Behind the curtain is a secret passage leading directly to the stage. Above the secret passage is the explosion box."

"I think Miss Miyoshi filmed this because she must have seen the situation in the secret passage."

The shadow of Itagaki Choichi touched his chin and said thoughtfully.

However, he then raised his eyebrows and spoke in confusion.

"But I placed some miscellaneous items behind the curtain in the secret passage so that other magicians wouldn't be able to see through it."

"Plus, I'll be the second-to-last performer, so I can be sure that everyone backstage is ours."

"But the sundries and staff in this photo are gone..."

"In other words, the staff were transferred away and the debris was moved away?"

After hearing what Itagaki Choichi said, he whispered to Minamoto as if talking to himself.

It is obvious that this case five years ago, like the one three years ago, was instigated by someone behind the scenes.

The removal of the debris used to conceal the truth and the disappearance of the staff members... probably had something to do with the boss.

Otherwise, Jiujiu Yuankang would definitely not have the chance to enter the secret passage and get stuck at the secret door and leave.

"...It seems that even the magic assistant may have become a driving force to a certain extent."

"Before the exploding box magic begins, no one can be sure what the means of escape are."

"Secret passages, curtains, obstacles, anything is possible. He won't do anything he's not sure of."

"That is to say, the magic assistant may have revealed the performance format of the magic in advance."

The hedgehog-headed man tapped his forehead lightly with his fingers.

And Itagaki Asaichi who was beside him had disappeared quietly at some point.

At this moment, Gui Yueying, who was standing at the prosecutor's seat, spoke softly.

"Now, prosecutors believe that they can start the trial of the murder of Itagaki Asaichi five years ago."

"Based on the evidence provided by Miss Miyoshi and the current case, the prosecutor believes that..."

"The two witnesses to the murder of Itagaki Asaichi should give their second testimony."

At this point, the spearhead of the objection had quietly been directed at the owner of the magic venue C and the magic assistant at the time in the witness stand.

The two were sweating profusely at this moment, thinking about the fate of the owner of magic venue D and the two magic girls.

They immediately looked at each other, and then the magic assistant at that time was pushed out as the first witness.

Seeing this scene, even the bald presiding judge realized that something was wrong.

If the two witnesses had nothing to hide in their hearts, why would it be like this now?
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
The gavel on the main seat fell, once, twice.

This immediately made Itagaki Asaichi's magic assistant tremble in his heart.

"Now, this court requires the witness to testify a second time about the case at that time."

"Please ask the defense to indicate where a second testimony is needed."

The presiding judge made a solemn announcement.

And Kensuke Kumimon, who was originally in charge of Itagaki Asaichi, gently ran his fingers through his hair.

He was confident of winning the lawsuit from the beginning, so he naturally knew what was fishy here.

Although as a legendary lawyer he doesn't know any magic tricks, his logical reasoning is not bad.

"To lawyer Yuan, the magic assistant concealed the secret passages in Itagaki Asaichi's magic performances."

"Are you the one who should ask this, or am I the one who should ask? I think it would be faster for you to ask."

Although Gu Meimen does not agree with Xiang Yuanguang's code of conduct, he recognizes Xiang Yuanguang's strength.

After clarifying the target, within just a few minutes, he pried open the mouths of all the parties involved and obtained key testimony to reverse the case.

This is something he cannot do without building up momentum in advance.

"Then leave it to me."

Xiang Yuanguang's hand suddenly grabbed the backstage photo and then projected it onto the big screen.

Everyone here saw what was in the photo—the almost empty backstage room.

If there wasn't a bright color visible at the corner, some people might think it has nothing to do with the case.

But how could this be unrelated? This was the evidence submitted by Sanhao Mazi!
Boom!
The hedgehog-head's hand slammed down on the steel evidence table.

His eyes were as sharp as a knife, piercing straight into the psychological defenses of Itagaki Soichi's magic assistant.

"Witness, the defense requires you to answer, why did you tell Jiujiu Yuankang——"

"What will Itagaki Asaichi's exploding box escape magic show look like!?"

This question was sharper and more frightening than the look in Yuan Guang's eyes.

The moment he heard the accusation, the magic assistant's body trembled.

What? The defense lawyer actually asked him directly why he told Jiujiu Yuankang about the magic?
How did this guy know... this? Could the dead person have crawled out and told him?
But even if the dead were to come back to life, Jiujiu Yuankang would never say anything that would be detrimental to him!
His thoughts almost came to a standstill in the face of the surging momentum, and he was hesitant to speak.

In the end, he still stumbled out the words that were the most wrong thing he should have said in his life.

"I...I didn't do that. You are slandering me by saying that!"

Rub rub rub.

The heart lock instantly wrapped around the magic assistant.

At this moment, Xiang Yuanguang's eyes became even more terrifying.

He thought he had shown enough strength in the recent Keisuke Tsuruoka case.

But I didn’t expect that someone would dare to lie in front of the center of the strange storm!

"What you just said is all bullshit!"

Instantly, the defense lawyer disappeared from the evidence table and appeared in front of the testimony table.

His hands had already slammed down on the steel surface of the witness stand, creating a deafening noise!
His angry eyes were fixed on the magic assistant behind the testimony stand.

And at this moment, the strong wind seemed to come late, with the source of light as the center, turning into wind and blowing in all directions.

But the scene this time was particularly strange. The only people who could see this scene were the people in the witness stand and the defendant's dock.

There are also people working in the legal profession standing in the defense, prosecutors, and chief seats in the courtroom.

"… This is incredible… Can this be called magic?"

The presiding judge swallowed and became more convinced that Xiang Yuanguang was the great magician.

Even Kuroba Kaito, who was sitting in the dock, had a strange look in his eyes.

He used to wonder how this guy performed his magic.

There are no magic props, but there is a high degree of freedom——————

But now, he understood.

This guy is a magician in disguise. He cannot be treated with common sense at all!
"Whatever your reason, you did it, no doubt about it!"

I looked at the magic assistant in front of me who was almost unable to stand due to the strong wind and could only hold on to both sides of the testimony stand to stabilize his body.

Xiang Yuanguang directly fired back at him again, criticizing him without any hesitation.

At this moment, the strange storm intensified again, almost blowing up all of the magic assistant's hair.

But in the eyes of the audience in the gallery, it seemed as if a funny magic comedy was being performed in the Grand Court.

Everyone was blown by the invisible storm, swaying left and right, unable to open their eyes, but it was so real. It was as if they were really facing an approaching storm!

Click.

Looking at the heart lock shattered in front of him, Xiang Yuanguang slammed his hand on the table of the testimony stand without hesitation.

The extremely lethal force and speed even made the magic assistant's hands loosen subconsciously.

Afterwards, the storm blew him back repeatedly, almost causing him to fall to the ground.

"This photo looks like there's nothing there, but actually the entrance to Itagaki Asaichi's secret passage is right here."

“Although I don’t know when that stupid boss asked the staff to remove the cover of the secret passage.”

"But I guess it's most likely when the other magicians are almost done performing and are leaving."

"That is, the time period from the beginning to the end of the third-to-last magician's performance..."

The Hedgehog-head's voice was carried by the flowing wind into the ears of the owner of magic venue C.

The owner of magic venue C immediately showed a look of shock in his eyes.

Itagaki Chaoichi's magic assistant swallowed his saliva and said stubbornly.

"But what do these things have to do with me? How would I know when the boss cleaned up the clutter?"

"How can you just assume that I told Kujuku Motoyasu about the performance of escaping from the explosive box?"

Conan, who was outside the field, couldn't help but shook his head as he listened to the whistling sound of the wind coming from the headphones.

It is said that a similar situation also occurred during the previous secret trial in Shikoku.

But the legal staff who entered the courtroom said they saw nothing...

There might be some special mechanism in Xiang Yuanguang's magic. Some people can see it but some cannot.

(This question is very simple, you just need to do a basic process of elimination.)
(There are only three people who know about the exploding box escape, a first-time magic trick.)
(One is the magician Itagaki Asaichi, one is Itagaki Asaichi’s magic assistant, and the last one is the boss.)
(However, the probability that the boss knows about this is not high...)
(Because if Itagaki Asaichi was willing to tell his boss the principle of magic, how could there be no surveillance in the background?)
"Why do you assume that it was you who told Kujuku Motoyasu about the contents of the magic?"

"You are probably the only one who knows the details of the magic show of escaping from the exploding box!"

The magic assistant who stretched out his hand towards Genkou and pointed it in the air at Itagaki Asaichi.

"Are you still trying to say that the person who revealed the contents of the magic show was the owner of Magic Venue C?"

"But in fact, you and I both know that the boss has no idea what the magic show is about!"

"Otherwise, unless he has a hole in his brain, he would not have moved the debris at the entrance of the secret passage!"

"Otherwise, once Itagaki Chao returns and sees the debris at the entrance of the secret passage removed, he'll know right away..."

"The owner of Magic Venue C did something bad to him!"

Because Itagaki Asaichi was the second-to-last magician to perform, theoretically there was another magician who performed last backstage.

That is, the leader of the Miracle Magic Troupe, Kyujuku Motoyasu, is in the backstage.

If the debris is removed and Jiujiu Yuankang finds out something is wrong, the exploding box escape magic will be cracked!
At that time, the Miracle Magic Troupe will perform this magic in their own magic venue.

The boss will only lose customers who originally came to his magic venue for the exploding box escape magic.

Upon hearing this, Itagaki Asaichi's magic assistant's expression changed again.

In the end, he succumbed to the approaching storm.

"...Yes, Jiujiu Yuankang gave me some money and asked me about the content of my magic show."

"But, I didn't tell you the secret passage. I just told you the location of the explosive box before and after the explosion..."

The magic assistant sighed and told the whole truth.

"I don't know if Jiujiu Yuankang knew the location of the secret passage just by hearing this."

"Because the person hiding in the secret passage could be Itagaki Asaichi or it could be me."

"How could I possibly gamble with my life?"

Turning around, Xiang Yuanguang didn't look at the magic assistant again, but just said coldly.

"The person hiding in the secret passage could only be Itagaki Asaichi, because he is the magician performing the show."

"Only in this way can he move to another location through the secret passage after the explosion."

“To create that incredible magic show atmosphere.”

"You are just making up an excuse that you don't even believe in to deceive your own heart."

Click, click.

There was the sound of a heart lock breaking behind me, followed by the sound of someone falling to the ground.

The bailiff rushed forward to provide emergency treatment for the magic assistant.

Xiang Yuanguang turned his head to look at the owner of magic venue C in the witness stand.

"You have seen everything that just happened. I only have one question for you."

"Why did you ask the staff to remove all the debris at this time..."

"Should I ask you to speak, or should you speak up now?"

A businessman will not betray his own interests.

There is a proverb that says a businessman will sell a noose to hang himself if he gets a 200 percent profit.

The owner of Magic Venue C was already shaking physically at this moment, but he was weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Originally, he thought he was clean and had nothing to do with this case.

In fact, if Xiang Yuanguang had not mentioned this matter in the Grand Court.

He had even completely forgotten the brief transaction he had with Jiujiu Yuankang five years ago.

(Damn it, damn it, damn it... I was originally planning to improve the reputation of my magic venue.)
(But from this perspective, it seems that the situation will get worse...)
(Does he know the content of the transaction or does he not know the content of the transaction?)

(Should I say it now, or should I not say it…?)

Looking at the owner of magic venue C who is still hesitating and weighing the pros and cons.

Xiang Yuanguang's brows had already frowned quietly.

However, before the Hedgehog-haired man could open his mouth, Kumimon in the defense seat spoke up.

"It's better to tell me now, otherwise your image will be damaged when you ask Yuan Guang about it."

"A person who doesn't know he or she is being used is stupid, but a person who knows about it and doesn't say anything is evil."

"If you insist on not telling the truth, wouldn't that make you look stupid and bad? Do you like this reputation?"

Hearing the legendary lawyer's words, beads of sweat dripped from the forehead of the owner of Magic Venue C.

He finally couldn't stand the psychological pressure and spoke.

"That's right... Just when the third-to-last magician was performing, Jiujiu Yuankang found me."

"He said the magic props he brought were a bit complicated and he needed to clean up the clutter backstage."

"I didn't know that Itagaki Chaoyi had placed miscellaneous items at the entrance of the secret passage to cover it up..."

"Now that I think about it, maybe I did contribute to Itagaki Asaichi's death."

Having said that, it is clear that Jiujiu Yuankang is a suspect in the crime.

In the photos taken by Miyoshi Mako, the entrance to the secret passage with a curtain of a different color can be seen backstage.

You can also see the figure of Kujuku Motoyasu in a unique colored magic uniform.

In addition, he deliberately bribed the magic assistant to inquire about the content of the magic show, and asked the boss to clean up the debris backstage.

In other words, there is no direct evidence proving that Jiujiu Yuankang tampered with the door in the secret passage.

All evidence points to the deceased Jiujiu Yuankang.

"Finally, Your Honor, have you seen the surveillance footage of the stage and the photos of the flyers?"

"Kyujuku Motoyasu is just like the previous case of Keisuke Tsuruoka and Yoshiro Kinoshita."

"Standing at a magic show at a time when I shouldn't be there, watching a death magic trick being performed."

He said to Yuan Guang calmly but with restrained anger.

"In contrast, the subsequent cases of Teruo Takezawa and Hiroki Yokoyama had the same situation."

"Such a coincidence that occurs so many times can serve as special evidence of its inevitable occurrence, right?"

At this moment, looking at the fearful look on the witness stand, the presiding judge nodded heavily.

It was originally thought that these witnesses in the magician serial murder case were innocent people who were unaware of the incident.

But now it seems that every witness is the seemingly white feather that crushed the deceased.

"Just like the trial results of Keisuke Tsuruoka three years ago and Yoshiro Kinoshita fourteen years ago."

"This court agrees with the defense's argument and identifies the murderer of Itagaki Asaichi five years ago as..."

"The deceased leader of the Miracle Magic Group, Ninety-Nine Yuankang!"

(End of this chapter)