Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 470 The Real Sending Off
"Close your eyes..."

"You must not have suicidal thoughts."

"it does not matter."

"After you atone for your sins, you can start over..."

……

Takahashi led Shiraishi outside the dialogue room.

It's called a "conversation room," but it was specially prepared for Kazuo Ishimoto. He received different treatment from the volunteer pastors and psychologists. This "conversation room" was converted from a key observation cell—it had no door, only iron bars, so the prison guards could keep an eye on what was happening inside at all times.

Beika Prison probably wouldn't dare allow Ishimoto to have unauthorized contact with other prisoners...

In particular, he is often asked to solve some tricky problems—such as prisoners with violent tendencies, self-destructive tendencies, or suicidal tendencies!
When the three arrived, they saw that while Ishimoto was persuading the prisoner, he placed his hand in front of the prisoner from a distance and told the prisoner to close his eyes. It looked like... a very "crooked" thing!

However, after Ishimoto gently comforted him and his hand trembled as if he were exerting his power, the latter actually shed tears, seemingly giving up the idea of ​​suicide.

and……

Shiraishi also knew this suicidal prisoner!
He killed the feminist, Kojiro Ebu, by using window cleaning and rock climbing skills to create a secret room. He killed her because her son, whom she had wrongly accused, committed suicide, and she showed no remorse, which made him want to kill her.

It's not surprising that he would have suicidal thoughts while in prison after avenging his family.

After all, he was already over fifty years old. Although he was only sentenced to fifteen years, his only son had died and his wife had long since passed away, so he probably had little will to live.

……

After receiving treatment, Jiang Bu cried his heart out and walked out of the consultation room.

"Hmm? Officer Shiraishi, please excuse my rudeness... Deputy Chief Takahashi, I'm sorry for causing everyone trouble." Jiang Bu came out and greeted Shiraishi.

Shiraishi simply nodded and said, "Don't do anything foolish."

then……

Another acquaintance walked over.

"Hmm? Officer Shiraishi... I'm sorry." Takasugi looked at Shiraishi with embarrassment, and then, at Takahashi's prompting, entered the interview room.

During this time, Ishimoto also saw Shiraishi, but at this time he only greeted him by bowing to Shiraishi through the iron fence.

Unlike Kojiro Ebu, who went in passively and made Ishimoto guess the questions himself, Toshihiko Takasugi started to talk about it directly—which is also the behavior of most people who are interviewed.

“You’re so young, and your sentence isn’t long, is there a problem?” Ishimoto asked.

"Mr. Ishimoto, are you...married?" Takasugi asked, deliberately bringing up a sensitive topic.

However, Ishimoto simply smiled and said, "Yes, I have a wife who has helped me a lot."

Anyone who didn't know better would never guess that his wife was using him as a cash cow, not only deceiving his feelings but also hiding the accounts from him, making him unaware that what was nominally his cult had long since degenerated into a money-making organization, and even... when the truth came out, she even tried to kill him to silence him.

Even during the interrogation, officers from the Mihana Police Station discovered...

The cult leader's wife was having an affair with two other cult leaders!
"Then... if, I mean if, you hurt her because of your own reasons, can you still be with her?" Takasugi asked hesitantly.

If it weren't Takasugi who asked this question, Shiraishi would have suspected that he was deliberately stabbing Ishimoto in the back.

Ishimoto remained calm and said, "Actually, my wife deceived me and made some mistakes and hurt me because of some worldly desires, but I believe she is also reflecting on her actions."

"Your question is difficult to answer, but I can answer it from another angle... If she changes her ways and still wants to be with me, I will forgive her."

"Is that so..." Takasugi's eyes immediately reddened.

"Close your eyes," Ishimoto said with a smile.

……

Shiraishi watched this scene, unsure where to even begin to criticize it.

Ishimoto, have you forgotten that while you were meditating, your wife and two other cult leaders were also comprehending another path? Have you also forgotten that when the truth came out, your wife tried to kill you to silence you?

and also……

Takasugi Toshihiko, you'd better not even think about whether you can forgive yourself... Sayuri has forgiven you, but you still want to be with Sayuri... I'm afraid Matsumoto will kill you first!

"Waaaaah, Mr. Ishimoto, she...she has forgiven me, but...I...I..."

“I understand that you can’t forgive yourself, but… then try to atone for your sins,” Ishimoto said calmly.

"Waaaaah... Can I really do it?" Takasugi cried and hugged Ishimoto inside.

"You can definitely do it. You can talk to Dr. Wakui when you have time." Ishimoto didn't mind that he had snot and tears all over his face.

However, Shiraishi was already barely able to contain his urge to complain—what kind of precious thing is Wakui? Is he the bastard doctor who attacked his fiancée to cover up his taking kickbacks? Can he even forgive himself? Can't he just die first?

When Wakui was arrested, he was indeed "oT2". Dr. Goto, whose brain had lost its memory connections and only retained the purest emotions, saw Wakui in pain and went up to comfort him with his still incoherent speech, which could only be uttered one word at a time...

However, Shiraishi doesn't think that all "oT2" can be forgiven.

……

After crying, Takasugi left the consultation room. As he passed Shiraishi, he bowed deeply to him, but Shiraishi didn't say anything—"Bowing to me won't help. If Matsumoto wants to do something to you later, I don't know how to stop him."

Then Shiraishi saw a familiar face...

Upon seeing Shiraishi, the other person shuddered, seemingly... quite afraid.

When he saw him, Shiraishi was also surprised, because...

Bai Shi thought that he had either been silenced or taken away by the police!

Waki Kojiro, an outer member of the "Black Organization," was tasked with assassinating Councilor Itsuki during the assessment process to become a full member.

After the assassination attempt succeeded, he almost succeeded Itsuki Tani as a member of parliament as his secretary, and even gained the support of the Democratic Progressive Party...

However, Shiraishi saw through his plan and caught him red-handed while he was destroying the evidence.

and……

This guy was still not giving up until he was completely defeated. He was quite confident in his skills and even attacked Bai Shi—Bai Shi hadn't encountered anyone who dared to fight him one-on-one in a long time!

As expected, he was easily captured by Shiraishi and arrested with a bruised and swollen face...

Although the case was essentially due to this guy's political ambitions, and his joining the "Black Organization" was to leverage their influence and gain more power, it was still related to those "crows." Shiraishi thought that he would either be silenced or be specially detained by the police.

"How come he's in Beika Prison? Didn't the police come to ask for him?" Shiraishi asked, puzzled.

Upon hearing this, Takahashi replied in a strange tone, "The police did take him away before, but they brought him back later, saying he could be detained normally... Um, something happened afterward; someone deliberately went to jail to assassinate him, but he dealt with it himself, and that prisoner was also taken away by the police afterward." Shiraishi: ...

That's right, the fact that Riki dared to attack Shiraishi is purely due to overconfidence.

However, his confidence wasn't unfounded; he was quite skilled...

It seems the police used him as bait!

After being caught in the trap once, the "Black Organization" didn't want to send anyone a second time—after all, he was just an outer member who hadn't even earned a code name and had failed and been arrested during the "test."

Although these failed peripheral members are also hunted down, but...

If the "black organization" knew that the police were using him as bait, and that the "fish" had already been caught and that he was still in prison, then their desire to continue assassinating him would not be so strong.

but……

"What does he want to talk about? Isn't his purpose very clear?" Shiraishi asked doubtfully—isn't this just an ambitious person?
Yu Jian looked over and said, "By the way... why do you know all the criminals?"

Beika Prison isn't just for criminals from Beika!
"Wasn't this specially arranged by Deputy Director Takahashi?" Shiraishi said without batting an eye.

Takahashi: ...

Takahashi remained silent—this was arranged long ago; you were just here temporarily.

Inside the consultation room...

pat-

Ryakuya knelt down and cried, "Ishimoto-sensei, I want to play tennis!"

Shiraishi:……

A million alpacas are stampeding through Shiraishi's mind—"You want to hit a tennis ball at the head, is that your line?"
“It seems you’ve thought it through. Close your eyes…” Ishimoto said with a smile.

This was clearly not the first time Ishimoto had spoken with him; it's just that last time, Ishimoto hadn't "thought things through" yet...

……

After Li left, all the appointments scheduled for today came to an end.

Ishimoto also got up and came out...

"Officer Shiraishi, it's been a long time. I haven't been able to greet you in ages." Ishimoto greeted Shiraishi formally, as if they had met on the street rather than in prison.

"Forget about greetings, you can't exactly keep quiet about it anyway," Bai Shi teased. "You can't come out anyway, so of course I can't send greetings!"
Upon hearing this, Ishimoto smiled and said, "I'm relieved that you're still healthy."

"That's even more obvious..." Shiraishi retorted.

Ishimoto, meanwhile, looked at Shiraishi's left hand with some confusion, as if there was something there.

Shiraishi knew exactly what he was looking at...

That's right, Aya also came out just now and watched Ishimoto's conversation with the other prisoners.

……

Then Shiraishi looked at Takahashi and said, "Deputy Director Takahashi, would it be alright to arrange a private room for Ishimoto and me to talk?"

“Eh? Well… of course you can.” Takahashi was taken aback when he heard this—according to the rules, of course it was not allowed.

Even when prisoners meet with their families or lawyers, prison guards must be present.

but……

Ishimoto's situation was special, and he had no intention of overturning the verdict. Moreover, given Shiraishi's status, he probably wouldn't have hesitated if it weren't for Mitsurugi's presence.

However, when Takahashi looked at Mitsurugi, he saw that Mitsurugi had a straight face and was pretending not to see or hear anything, so he agreed immediately.

Shiraishi really needs to talk to Ishimoto alone, or rather... talk to him together with Ayari!

That's right, Shiraishi just realized it too...

Ishimoto's "thoughts" have indeed overflowed!
This undoubtedly demonstrates that the individual possesses "supernatural abilities".

Ayari could see it even more clearly...

If we were to categorize it within the realm of "magic," Ishimoto's abilities would undoubtedly be closer to those of a "spiritual medium" than those of a "Red Witch."

This is purely a mental ability, without any offensive or other magical power...

The only effect seems to be to soothe the target's psychological "trauma"—this trauma may be some psychological shadow, or it may be a distorted desire that people spontaneously form!

"This is far more powerful than our 'psychic' abilities of psychological probing and intimidation. Judging from the performance of the three before, this is not just spiritual healing... it can even suppress evil thoughts and strengthen one's righteousness again," Ayari commented.

"Did he really not have any supernatural abilities before?" Ayari asked Shiraishi, puzzled.

She had obviously heard about this "false mind ability user" as well.

"No, he was just using microwaves to fake it before, but... I guess his current ability is also related to his previous experiences. He himself was convinced that he had Nen abilities before," Shiraishi replied confidently.

When investigating the "Bitter Love Society," Ishimoto certainly didn't have any special abilities. Shiraishi guessed that Ishimoto's current abilities were probably awakened after he went to prison.

Shiraishi was just thinking the same thing...

Indeed, during his time at the Kuaikai, Ishimoto firmly believed that he had the ability to "send thoughts" and was determined to use it to help others.

The reason the "Cult Leader's Wife" chose him was because Ishimoto had a heart that cared for others and a compassionate spirit, which couldn't be faked. That's why she asked Ishimoto to be the "Cult Leader" while she stayed behind the scenes.

Indeed, Ishimoto was unaware of what his wife had done; however, if we look at it from another angle...

Ishimoto's state at the time was very much like "magic"—he firmly believed that he had done it!

Of course, it didn't actually achieve the effect of "magic" at the time; it was just his own wishful thinking.

However, Shiraishi did see a training method, or rather, a way of awakening "wild superpowers," in the "Red Magic Inheritance."

That is, you start with "magic". When the "magic" technique is exposed and you can no longer believe in "magic", you will naturally lose the ability of "magic". However, there is another possibility: a small number of "magic" superpowered people may turn to real "magic" ability after their confidence is broken and they lose their "magic" ability!
Because "magic" requires absolute belief that "this is magic" or "this is something I did scientifically," it cannot be considered a normal form of spiritual practice. It is usually only "wild magicians" who awaken to this kind of realization...

As for Ishimoto...

What happened before couldn't really be considered "magic" at all, since his "belief" was completely wrong. However, the contrast between this "belief" and the "breakdown" was the same.

Perhaps that's why he truly awakened an ability similar to what he understood as "sending thoughts," which wasn't a physical effect like microwaves, but rather a genuine interference on the spiritual level...

(End of this chapter)