Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Sano raised his hand to block Maeda Satoshi's whip kick, intending to take the opportunity to find an opening, but he still underestimated the opponent's strength. After staggering back two steps, he himself revealed an opening.

However, it doesn't matter, Sano can also use this opportunity to counterattack.

At worst, it's just a matter of exchanging injuries, no big deal.

However, just as Maeda Satoshi's attack was about to come and Sano was about to withstand the attack and counterattack, another sound of something cutting through the air suddenly broke into the battle.

"what!!"

Ran Mouri roared and launched a flying kick, forcing Satoshi Maeda to withdraw his attack and dodge.

...In fact, it wasn't just Sano who discovered Maeda Satoshi's true identity; even Ran Mouri did the same.

Even without the karate moves Maeda Satoshi displayed after chasing out of the elevator, his reaction speed in the face of Sano's sudden sneak attack was enough for Ran Mouri to guess.

The Dark Duke before us is a karate master from the Izu Detective Club.

This was a huge blow to Ran Mouri.

Earlier, when introducing Sano and Maeda Satoshi to each other at dinner, Ran Mouri had mentioned that the other was a senior and idol she greatly admired.

Even if it weren't for Satoshi Maeda, would Ran Mouri have chosen to learn karate?

They are all the same problem.

Therefore, when she realized that her idol might have gone down the path of murder, Ran Mouri seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown, and her eyes stung with tears.

Even though her mind was in complete chaos, when Ran saw Sano make a mistake and Maeda was about to succeed, she couldn't care less about anything else.

Perhaps the Dark Duke in front of her is indeed Satoshi Maeda, or perhaps not, but Ran Mouri only knows one thing: this person is most likely the murderer who killed Ehara, and now he is plotting something and intends to attack Sano.

Protect Sano and capture Duke Dark Night. If the other party isn't Maeda Satoshi, then it would clear his name. But if it is...

Then the only option is for the other party to go to prison to atone for their sins!

Ran Mouri recalled the answer she received when she asked Shinichi Kudo what to do if her friends or family members became criminal suspects.

However, they did not notice that Maeda Satoshi's attack had already arrived after he dodged.

...Of course, Maeda Satoshi never intended to do anything to Sano and Ran Mouri; his actions were purely instinctive.

Sano grabbed the stunned Ran Mouri with his backhand and pulled her back, causing Satoshi Maeda's attack to miss. At the same time, he turned around and delivered a side kick, forcing his opponent back.

"Calm down!"

At Sano's deep reminder, Ran Mouri instantly snapped back to her senses. While cursing herself inwardly, she also responded with a deep breath. Without saying anything more, she began to cooperate in the next attack, launching a siege on Satoshi Maeda.

Even Maeda Satoshi became flustered when facing attacks from Sano and his companion simultaneously.

Ran Mouri kicked Satoshi Maeda to dodge, and Sano seized the opportunity to deliver a powerful swing that sent Maeda staggering backward.

When Maeda Satoshi tried to defend and counterattack, Ran Mouri stepped forward again, forcing him to turn his attention back with three punches, and then Sano launched a sneak attack.

Satoshi Maeda wanted to focus his firepower on one person.

If he could eliminate one person first, Maeda Satoshi's pressure would undoubtedly be much less, but he would have a hard time encountering Sano, whose agility is at its peak.

Even when Sano is "eager for credit and reckless", Ran Mouri will block the attack for him or directly attack Maeda Satoshi to "rescue Zhao from Wei".

However, if Maeda Satoshi sets his sights on Ran Mouri, the ever-watchful Sano makes him feel a chill run down his spine. Even if he seizes the opportunity when the opponent cannot "kill him with one blow," he can still provide support very quickly.

This prevented Maeda Satoshi from "killing him with one blow".

In the end, it's like sinking into a quagmire, getting deeper and deeper.

...Perhaps it was because he stopped practicing karate after the karate tournament that Maeda Satoshi not only had a hiatus but also regressed a lot.

Or perhaps it's simply a difference in talent.

Satoshi Maeda is indeed far inferior to Makoto Kyogoku.

Ran Mouri is quite strong, especially in terms of offense and defense, while Sano takes the opportunity to launch surprise attacks or draw Maeda Satoshi's attention so that his teammates can attack.

In addition, Sano also needs to use his advantages to help Ran Mouri when things are not going well, which is considered a support and roaming role, or more accurately speaking.

The two should be considered to be supporting each other.

However, Sano was responsible for more of the tasks.

Although this was the first time the two had cooperated in actual combat, Sano possessed an abnormal "control" ability. It might be a bit rough for him to cooperate with Ran Mouri, but if he took the initiative to cooperate with her, it would be much better.

That would make them seem very capable.

So, after being used as a punching bag for a minute, Maeda Satoshi, who was facing a mixed doubles match with two other players, was pinned to the ground and his mask was forcibly removed.

Sano and Ran Mouri, who had been watching the whole thing, along with Conan and the others who were beating up "Duke of the Night," were all stunned when they saw Maeda Satoshi's face under the mask.

Only Akiko Sayama, seemingly taken aback, appeared to also possess a degree of understanding.

...What's going on? Doesn't Akiko Sayama know that the Dark Duke is actually her fiancé, Satoshi Maeda, in disguise, and that she only has a guess because of the fight just now, but isn't sure?

Sano received a notification that a mission was completed, and immediately set his sights on the second mission.

Find the real Duke of the Night and ensure his imprisonment.

To put it bluntly, the goal is to solve Jiang Yuan's case.

However, Sano currently has no evidence whatsoever, and he even knows that Akiko Sayama has an alibi... Of course, if we consider that this guy is the murderer, it's hard to say whether that alibi is true or false.

The fabricated alibi had no flaws.

That leaves only one possibility—Ehara didn't actually fall from his own room, but was thrown from the room where Akiko Sayama's case occurred.

The problem is that, given the location of Akiko Sayama's room, it's impossible for her to have dumped Ebara at the spot where the bronze statue is on the first floor.

What kind of technique is this?

...While Sano was pondering, Ran Mouri, upon seeing Satoshi Maeda's face, didn't show much surprise, only disappointment.

"why?"

Faced with Ran Mouri's "questioning," Satoshi Maeda remained silent, only shaking his head.

Seeing this, Ran Mouri and the others had no choice but to notify the police.

Chapter 350, Page 349: Akiko Sayama, the Great Wind Magician

"Dudu-"

Suddenly, Sano's phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at it. It was a message from Amuro Tooru, or more accurately, Bourbon.

...Actually, Sano had two cell phones in his pocket.

Furthermore, each phone also contained two SIM cards, one corresponding to Sano's main identity and the other to various aliases, so that people who "knew" him could contact him.

After opening the text message, there were only a few pictures. Apart from the first one, which was a long text description summarized from the intelligence database, the rest were photos taken as "evidence" during the "intelligence gathering" process.

Sano calmly reviewed the intelligence and confirmed the true identity of the Dark Night Duke: it was Akiko Sayama, and she was all alone, without any other teammates.

In other words, did Maeda Satoshi know about this and want to take the blame for his fiancée?

No wonder he suddenly showed up on his own initiative.

Sano didn't speak up rashly, but let the direction of the case become clearer and clearer—after all, Maeda Satoshi had already confessed.

He killed Jiang Yuan and went to the place where the body was stored. He knocked out the police guarding the body, stole the Dark Night Duke's clothes, and planned to commit a second crime. However, he did not expect to run into Sano and his group as soon as he opened the elevator.

Then he was caught on the spot or something.

Conan didn't actually believe this claim.

There are still many doubts in this case, but Maeda Satoshi has already confessed. Conan can't stop the police from closing the case unless he can provide enough reasons to prove that the other party is not the murderer, but... taking the blame for someone else?

Conan was suddenly startled, and various clues began to piece together on their own.

But a crucial step is still missing, along with even more vital evidence. Damn it, the case is progressing too fast; there's no time left...

Just as Yokomizo Sango was about to take Maeda Satoshi away, and Conan was so anxious that his brain was about to overheat and burn, Sano, who had been keeping an eye on Sayama Akiko out of the corner of his eye, finally spoke up and said, "He is not the Dark Night Duke."

"……what?"

Everyone present was stunned and looked at Sano: "What does this mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything."

Sano looked at Akiko Sayama: "So, are you still planning to remain silent and let your fiancé take the blame and ruin your life?"

"What!?"

Upon Sano's questioning, everyone present immediately stared wide-eyed at Akiko Sayama, whose swollen face instantly turned deathly pale.

"Wait, wait a minute! What are you talking about? I'm the Duke of Dark Night, aren't I? I've already been caught red-handed. What does this have to do with Mingzi?!"

Satoshi Maeda started yelling... This karate expert's acting skills were really not good. Sano didn't even bother to pay attention to him and kept looking at Akiko Sayama: "If you confess on your own initiative, you might be able to get a confession plot."

"Oh."

Akiko Sayama laughed: "That idiot, if he hadn't acted on his own, my perfect crime wouldn't have been ruined like this."

Since the matter has already been discussed, there is no need to say more.

Akiko Sayama readily confessed to her crimes. As for her motive, it was because Ehara, as a "hacker," had always relied on illegitimate means to make money, and thus, by chance, she caused her brother to commit suicide.

So Akiko Sayama used the "Duke of the Night" as bait to lure out Ebara, and then carried out her murder plan. As for the method...

That's a bit too outrageous.

Jiang Yuan was indeed thrown from her own room by Akiko Sayama, but the reason she landed in that place where she shouldn't have was because of the "wind" there.

That's right, the wind.

It is said that unusually strong winds blow here every summer.

The wind gets stronger as you go up.

Akiko Sayama then deliberately booked the tour group's rooms on a high floor, so that even if something of human weight were thrown from her room, it would successfully deviate significantly from its trajectory, thus creating an alibi.

Hmm, that's a very Ke Xue-like technique.

Sano tried to accept this logic, but in the end he couldn't help but mentally complain.

Is this guy some kind of great wind mage?

While Sano was speechless, Akiko Sayama, after rambling on for a while, turned to Satoshi Maeda and launched into a sarcastic remark... probably hoping to make him give up and stop wasting his time on her.

Despite Maeda Satoshi's earnest statement that he would wait for the other party—given his actions, he could not be considered an accomplice, at most a cover-up, and some other additional crimes, and he would probably not be imprisoned for many years.