The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

When Inspector Megure's gaze fell on Conan, he couldn't help but sigh slightly.

It really is rice cake, Death God...

He was really used to Conan showing up at crime scenes.

Inspector Megure would probably feel a little uneasy if Conan or Mori didn't appear in a case he encountered.

So, does that mean that Mori or Aragaki are also here?

Inspector Megure couldn't help but look around, but he couldn't find them anywhere.

Okay, why aren't any of my buddies here?

"..."

Inspector Megure shook his head, dismissing the unscientific thought, and then asked the group seriously, "Okay, I'd like to ask you, did you see any suspicious persons before or after the explosion?"

"Ah, this..."

"No!"

Mr. Nakajima and the other two exchanged glances and shook their heads in denial.

Just when Inspector Megure was at his wits' end, he suddenly heard Conan's voice.

“Inspector Megure, I know him! I saw that dead man.”

"What? Are you serious, Conan?!" Upon hearing this, Inspector Megure's expression immediately became excited, and he leaned down to ask Conan.

"Okay!" Conan nodded obediently.

Then he stretched out his hand and started gesturing: "That was a very tall uncle. I think he might be from Kansai."

At this point, Conan seemed to suddenly remember something and immediately looked at Hideaki Nakajima beside him: "Oh, right, Mr. Nakajima, you saw that person too!"

"Huh?" Hideaki Nakajima hadn't yet realized what Conan meant.

"That's the tall man in black we bumped into in the hallway near the restrooms!"

"Wh...what!?" Upon hearing Conan's description of the deceased, Hideaki Nakajima's face visibly darkened.

But he quickly put on a surprised expression and said, "Oh, so it was that person!"

However, no one paid much attention to his fleeting change in expression.

"Why do you say he's from Kansai, Conan?" Inspector Megure asked curiously.

"Because that uncle was talking in the toilet before he died in the explosion. I heard him say—'Strange, it won't go in, hmm? Maybe there's no lock!'"

After repeating what he had said to Inspector Megure, Conan solemnly analyzed, "So I guess he must have been talking about the toilet door. Only people from Kansai would use that term!"

"I see!" Inspector Megure stroked his chin, analyzing the clues Conan provided. "If that's the case, does that mean the explosive device was planted near the toilet door?"

"Um...excuse me, may I interrupt for a moment?"

Just then, a middle-aged man with a large belly suddenly walked into the area.

Conan looked at the newcomer with some surprise, but he recognized the person at a glance—

He was the boss of these three people, the president of Mantiantang Video Games Company.

"President...President!?" Mr. Nakajima and the others were clearly startled when they saw their president run to this place.

After they came to their senses, they hurriedly greeted the club president.

"Hmm." The president simply nodded to them before immediately walking up to Inspector Megure and introducing himself: "Officer, I am Ishikawa, the president of Manten Game Company."

Inspector Megure nodded, indicating that he was aware of President Ishikawa's identity.

Then, under Inspector Megure's questioning gaze, President Ishikawa opened his briefcase, took out a letter, and handed it to Inspector Megure.

"Actually, I received a very strange letter three days before this event."

"Hmm?" Inspector Megure took the letter and muttered to himself as he opened the envelope, "What kind of strange letter is this?"

"what……!?"

However, after opening the letter and seeing its contents, he couldn't help but exclaim in shock: "This is a threatening letter!"

The letter contained text cut from newspapers in various sizes, piecing together messages threatening President Ishikawa to cancel the game's new product launch.

Inspector Megure, holding up the threatening letter, looked angrily at President Ishikawa and questioned, "Why didn't you notify the police when you received this letter?"

"Uh, I'm sorry..." President Ishikawa, realizing that his negligence had led to the explosion, explained sheepishly, "I just thought this letter might just be meant to scare me..."

Just as Inspector Megure was about to say something more, a forensic officer suddenly walked over and said, "Officer, we found this in the rubble!"

After receiving the evidence from the forensic personnel, Inspector Megure examined it closely and found it to be a key and a round, metal-like object: "This is a key, but what is this round thing?"

When President Ishikawa, who was standing in front of Inspector Megure, noticed what Inspector Megure was holding, he was clearly surprised, but he immediately raised the tag on his briefcase and pointed it out to Inspector Megure: "Oh, that's our company badge!"

Conan, who had been observing the situation, recalled the briefcase that Tequila had been carrying: "So, that tall man, Tequila, was also carrying a briefcase like that back then."

but……

Why is that guy, Tequila, carrying that kind of briefcase?

Conan was extremely puzzled.

He clearly remembered that the tequila was from the same box he had retrieved from the storage area.

Chapter 289 Brother Aragaki, Though Late, You've Arrived

"But the force of that explosion is truly astonishing!" Inspector Megure remarked, examining the insignia in his hand. "It even flattened this kind of metal plate!"

"Hmm?" After hearing Inspector Megure's words, Conan looked at the iron plate that Megure was holding in mid-air, but suddenly noticed that there seemed to be something strange about the full-heaven symbol.

"Inspector Megure, don't you think there's something wrong with this metal plate?"

Just as Conan was observing the metal plate in Inspector Megure's hand, a familiar voice came from outside.

"what……!?"

"Brother Aragaki!?"

Everyone looked in the direction from which the sound came, and saw Aragaki Yu suddenly walk into the scene with Sonoko and Ran.

"Excuse me, Inspector Megure." After apologizing to Inspector Megure, Aragaki Yu glanced meaningfully at Conan and said, "I heard there was an explosion here, and Ran hasn't been able to find Conan, so I was wondering if Conan might be here."

"Ah!" Seeing everyone's eyes turn to him, Conan awkwardly scratched his head. Just as he was about to explain something, Ran, who walked up from behind Aragaki Yu, lifted him into the air.

"Conan! How could you run around like that and disturb the police's investigation! Do you know how worried I was about you?!" Ran glared angrily at Conan, whom she had dragged in front of her, and scolded him.

"No, no, Ran, actually Conan he..."

Inspector Megure was about to offer an explanation for Conan, but when he noticed Ran's fiery aura, he wisely swallowed his words.

After giving Conan a somewhat apologetic look, she awkwardly turned her gaze elsewhere.

"Conan, my condolences..."

"Hehe... Ran-neechan, yes, I'm sorry! I really know I was wrong!" Conan, fearing a punch from Ran, hurriedly apologized as well.

He blinked hard, looking at Xiaolan in a coquettish manner.

That innocent little face seemed to be filled with the message, "I won't do it again next time."

However, Ran seemed to be used to Conan's expression and did not believe Conan's assurance.

"Oh, right!" Seeing that his cuteness hadn't worked, Conan decided to quickly change the subject. "Big brother Aragaki, what's wrong with that piece of metal?"

"Yes, yes, Brother Aragaki, what exactly happened!"

At this moment, Inspector Megure finally remembered the important matter and looked at Aragaki Yu with curiosity.

He wasn't angry at Aragaki Yu's sudden appearance; on the contrary, he was overjoyed.

After all, as long as my brother Aragaki arrives, it means I won't have to work overtime anymore.

Seeing that Aragaki Yu seemed to have discovered something, Inspector Megure secretly clenched his fist in excitement.

awesome!

My own younger brother, though late, has arrived!

"Don't you guys think this metal symbol is strange?" Since Inspector Megure asked, Yuu Aragaki naturally continued his previous topic and explained, "Why is this metal symbol flattened outwards?"

Aragaki Yu pointed out the suspicious parts of the metal plate mark directly.

"!!!" Conan immediately realized something after hearing what Aragaki Yu said.

Inspector Megure and the others, however, still looked at Aragaki Yu with confusion, completely failing to understand his meaning.

Isn't it normal for metal sheets to bend when hit by an explosion?

Seeing everyone's blank expressions, Yuya Aragaki had no choice but to continue explaining: "Since this metal symbol is attached to the outside of the briefcase, if it had been hit by an explosion from the outside, it should have been flattened inwards."

"In other words, this state would only occur if the explosion originated from inside the briefcase."

"Wh...what!?" Inspector Megure's eyes widened as he stared in shock at Yuu Aragaki. "Aragaki, you...you mean the bomb wasn't planted in the toilet, but in the briefcase!"

The others also showed expressions of surprise upon hearing these words.

Two people even turned pale instantly.

However, because everyone's attention was focused on Yuu Aragaki at the moment, no one noticed that something was wrong with them.