Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Page 266

Before Sano could speak, Itaguchi couldn't hold back any longer and finally knelt down with a thud: "I...I confess, I killed them!!"

Then, Itagaki began to recount his crimes with tears streaming down his face, and Sano watched this scene without showing any surprise.

...After all, Sano isn't stupid. Judging from Itagaki's behavior, he could easily see that the key to this case lay in the phone call.

I said it didn't matter, but that doesn't mean it really doesn't matter. It's just that the facts can't be changed, so there's no need to say more, but its importance is not insignificant.

To be honest, this case was much easier than Sano had imagined.

Chapter 285, page 284: Why can't it be reimbursed?

According to Bankou, the catching signals he trained John to use were, in order, a telephone ring, a bell, and finally his unique greeting.

Therefore, to solve this case, all you need to do is connect it to the "dog training" aspect and then find the relevant signals.

Since the middle and the two points following the three signals have already been identified, finding the preceding point is incredibly easy.

Especially since the edge of the board revealed such a large flaw.

Of course, if we only consider Itaguchi's methods of killing, this is indeed a near-perfect plan.

Unfortunately, this guy didn't expect that Maehara would bring back a girl, so the details of the entire incident could not be concealed or changed.

Another thing is that this guy cares too much about that dog.

If Sano were Itaguchi, he would deny everything, saying he knew nothing about training or signals, and that he had never taught the dog to pounce.

If you're not satisfied, go ahead and sue; there's no solid evidence anyway.

"...I was almost able to let this go, but who knew this guy would suddenly reappear, acting as if he doesn't remember anything about my son's incident at all, and not learning a single lesson, still bullying the weak. This kind of scum deserves to die!!"

Itaguchi tearfully revealed his true motive for murder, prompting Conan to immediately begin a serious moral education session with him.

...They actually said something like, "John guards the door of Bankou's son every day, but he uses him as a murder weapon. Isn't that too pitiful?"

Oh.

Sano snapped out of his daze and tossed a cigarette to Bankou.

"The case is the case. Although I feel you are a bit stupid, you are still worthy of respect for being this stupid. Although it is a bit late to take revenge now, you have fulfilled your responsibilities as a father. Both in public and in private, you have done your best."

Itagaki hurriedly took Sano's cigarette, his face, covered in tears and snot, showing a hint of confusion.

"What did you say?"

“I said you’ve done very well.”

Sano repeated his praise: "You have done right by yourself and by your son."

"...Sano?"

Inspector Megure, Conan, and the others stared blankly at Sano, somewhat at a loss. They hadn't expected him to "praise" a murderer.

Given Sano's personality, it was quite unexpected that he would do something that was almost comforting.

...Especially since Conan had just made a moral high ground accusation against Itagaki, Sano's actions are no different from betraying him.

"Now that the case is resolved, I'll be leaving."

Sano showed no intention of lingering and turned to leave.

Ai Haibara stared at Sano's back for two seconds, then followed. The trio of real kids hesitated for a moment, then followed, followed by Ran Mouri and Conan.

"...I'm not saying this to be mean, but the case is already solved, so why are you still following me?"

On the way home, Sano glanced at the group of people of all ages behind him and asked, somewhat speechlessly.

"No...we just wanted to thank Sano-nii."

The trio felt a chill run down their spines under Sano's gaze, but they still forced themselves to explain their reasons.

"Thank you so much, Sano-nii, for granting our request and helping us rescue John! Thank you, Sano-nii!"

With their loud voices, the trio successfully said what they wanted to say, and then bowed to Sano to express their gratitude.

What Sano called a "request" from the trio of kids was originally just something he would do on a whim, but the fact that these three little brats were making it so serious made him feel a little uncomfortable.

...Perhaps it was the influence of that clapperboard that caused his moral bottom line to rise temporarily, which is why he left those words at the end?

Sano touched his nose and hummed in agreement.

After turning the corner, the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes wafted over, and Sano's eyes immediately lit up: "Oh, they sell roasted sweet potatoes!"

"Then I'll treat everyone to a meal, as a celebration that John won't be treated with drugs."

Sano glanced at Ran Mouri, thought for a few seconds, and then waved his hand, saying, "Never mind, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll treat you."

"Hey?"

The group watched with some surprise as Sano took money out of his pocket.

"Is...is this really okay, senior?"

Ran Mouri leaned close to Sano and asked in a low voice.

"Yeah, it's okay, someone will reimburse me anyway."

After paying, Sano watched the shopkeeper take out sweet potatoes and casually replied.

"to reimburse?"

Ran Mouri scratched the back of her head in confusion, but Sano stopped explaining.

...After all, strictly speaking, Sano is currently on a mission, so wouldn't it be reasonable to reimburse him for some food and drink expenses?

Otherwise, even if Sano's moral standards inexplicably rise, he would never be willing to pay out of his own pocket to treat these kids to roasted sweet potatoes.

Sano took the roasted sweet potatoes from the owner and distributed them to the people present.

This made Conan, whose expression was somewhat complicated, breathe a slight sigh of relief.

...Because of Sano's praise of Itaguchi earlier, Conan was inexplicably worried that the other party might be secretly dissatisfied with him. In the end, he was still given a portion of the roasted sweet potato.

Am I overthinking things?

The group continued on their way.

There was no extra conversation; they were just focused on peeling the skin off the roasted sweet potato until a perfect, large section of the plump, golden-yellow, oily sweet potato flesh was revealed.

He then opened his mouth and swallowed a large mouthful. The sticky, soft meat was chewed until it was mashed, causing the aroma to instantly fill his entire mouth and even escape from his nose.

The chubby boy, Genta, ate the fastest, swallowing a whole sweet potato in just four or five bites. He then licked his fingers and looked longingly at the roasted sweet potatoes in the hands of the others.

...It's probably better not to ask others for it. It's rare that Sano-nii seems to be in a good mood today. If I'm too greedy and upset him, things could get really bad.

Yuan Tai shrank his neck.

However, Ayumi suddenly stopped and exclaimed as she passed a small bridge spanning a river, "Ah, that's the dog that Sano-nii fed the other day!"

"Ok?"

The group immediately stopped and, following the direction Ayumi was pointing, saw a black greyhound pawing at the grass.

"That's true."

Apart from Ran Mouri, everyone else present had seen the black dog before. Its appearance could be described as rather unique, so they all recognized it.

"...Senior, shall we go say hello to it?"

Although Ran Mouri didn't know the situation, she could basically guess what was going on from these few words, so she tentatively asked Sano.

"Um……"

Sano stared at Kuro, who was frantically digging at the grass by the river for a few seconds for some reason, and then shouted.

"Hey! Little Black!"

After Sano called out, the people next to him looked at him with some surprise and confusion.

"Little black?"

"Did you name it, Sano-nii?"

"Have you gotten this familiar with this dog already?"

Hearing this series of questions, Sano calmly nodded: "I guess so. I ran into it a few more times after that, and over time, I gave it a name."

"I see……"

The others nodded thoughtfully, but Ai Haibara pointed expressionlessly in the direction of the river: "However, it doesn't seem to... hear your voice."

Ok?

Sano paused for a moment, then looked up and saw that Kuro was indeed still digging in the dirt.

"...Little Black!"

Sano called out again, but Kuro still didn't react. Frustrated, he called out twice more, each time louder than the last, but unfortunately—

Xiao Hei still didn't react.

"..."

The group of people all cast strange glances at Sano.

Although no one spoke, Sano fully understood the doubt behind their gazes—

Are you really familiar with this dog?

...Damn it, how could they be so disrespectful?

Sano's lips twitched, and he shouted one last time, "Hey, you stupid dog over there!!"

"Ok?"