Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

"Speaking of the World Restaurant case, was it really that difficult? Rye, even you couldn't solve it. Did the murderer have to turn himself in to the police?"

Vodka, who was driving, suddenly interrupted the conversation.

"It's not that it's difficult, but rather that there's no evidence."

Gin answered on Sano's behalf—it seems that he had figured out the culprit's method based on just a few words in the report, but that was all.

Without concrete clues from the scene, it doesn't even qualify as reasoning.

only.

"Who says there's no evidence?"

Upon hearing Sano's words, Gin raised an eyebrow and glanced at the rearview mirror.

"That guy uses a revolver."

As soon as Sano said that, Gin immediately understood what he meant.

"I see, a newbie... But since there was a flaw, why didn't you say so? Or did you only realize this after he turned himself in?"

Faced with Gin's confusion, Sano calmly explained the Plague God's theory.

This prompted the Gin duo to unconsciously type a row of dots.

...If something has already become a fact, is it really something to cover up once?

Will it be useful?

How many people have died since Sano took leave?

In other words, while Sano was following Gin around, this plague-like constitution didn't seem to show any signs of trouble, otherwise... ha.

Gin would never allow this guy to stay within ten meters of him.

"On the other hand, it's one thing to encounter so many cases, but it's another to find out that so many cases are so difficult. It's just that you, Rye, are a cut above the rest. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't be able to solve the cases at all."

Vodka subtly flattered Sano, then asked curiously, "Hey, as a detective like Rye, is it really possible for a so-called perfect murder to go undetected?"

"You're overthinking it. The very existence of the word 'perfect' is simply to highlight imperfection."

Sano opened the window and threw away his cigarette butt: "There's an old saying in China: 'If you don't want people to know, don't do it in the first place.' Perhaps sometimes, due to various factors, there is indeed no evidence, but that doesn't mean that others don't know you're the murderer. Rather than calling it a perfect crime, it's more accurate to say that you simply exploited a loophole in the rules."

Vodka paused for a moment, then said, "Isn't this the same thing...? So, what do you think is the best way to ensure that you can find a loophole when you're killing someone?"

"It's very simple, just don't expose the core information."

Sano closed the car window and said, "There are many ways to achieve this effect. The simplest way is to simply prevent anyone from finding the body and destroy the evidence. That way, even if someone reports it, the case won't stand. At most, it will be treated as a missing person case, let alone anything else... Isn't that what Lord Gin has always done? Dumping the body in the wilderness isn't even safe. Sinking it into the sea, burning it, bombing it—the more you do, the more mistakes you make. Don't bother with fancy murder methods or fabricating alibis. Just use the most primitive, simplest, and most brutal method. That's the way to go."

Gin nodded imperceptibly, indicating that he also agreed with Sano's statement.

Cases must be handled according to the rules, as the saying goes, "innocent until proven guilty."

Whoever takes the initiative and provides the evidence will face greater restrictions.

The deceased, the murder weapon, the motive, even the suspect—any part can be manipulated. Why insist on focusing on the most risky stages?

They're just asking for trouble.

Rather than taking on everything, they plan to fully arm themselves.

It would be even more effective to simply place a metal plate on your chest to protect the vital areas.

"Furthermore, the closest to the perfect crime is the second, opposite path."

"Oh?"

Gin became interested: "What?"

"That is to let people die, but not kill them, or rather, not kill them with your own hands."

"Hired killer?"

Vodka's words were immediately rejected by Sano: "Wasn't it still you who ordered the killing? If that person is caught and then implicates you, and even has proof of the transaction, what's the point?"

"what is that?"

“In Japan, there is a kind of death called social death. Most people, once they enter this state, feel that they cannot go on living and commit suicide.”

Sano had barely begun speaking when Gin realized what was happening.

"Inducing suicide?"

"...It is indeed inducement, but we must never let the inducement become a reality. We can start with everything trivial around the target. With just a little change, we can lead him down a path of no return. Even if a god came, he could not say that this was the result of intentional inducement. We can even use the same method to make him kill someone, or have someone else kill him. It's all the same principle."

Upon hearing Sano's words, Vodka's face immediately showed astonishment.

Is it even possible to do something like this?

Gin frowned: "The world is a big place, and anything is possible. Perhaps we can't do it, but that doesn't mean others can't. It's just that this method sounds a bit too troublesome, and it must take a lot of time and effort..."

Suddenly, Gin paused and looked at Sano.

Can you do it?

Sano shrugged: "I don't know, I haven't tried it, it was just the result of a momentary lapse of concentration."

Gin narrowed his eyes subtly, but said nothing, turning back noncommittally.

……

Tokyo.

night.

Sano, who had slept the whole way in Gin's car, was full of energy and went off to do his own thing after completing a mission.

What are you up to?

Naturally, it's a new piece of experimental equipment.

As is customary, Sano first created a disguise for the new equipment.

She's fine in terms of looks and figure, but her main problem is her clothing and style.

Because a mask needs to be worn, regular clothes are definitely not suitable.

Perhaps due to stereotypes, Sano changed his clothes dozens or even hundreds of times, but he still felt something was off and uncomfortable. Finally, he settled on a set of clothes that weren't very comfortable.

kimono.

To be precise, it's a single-layer kimono, also known as a yukata.

She was wearing a pair of wooden clogs... mainly because flip-flops are more comfortable than these, but since she was wearing a kimono, she felt uncomfortable without them.

That's even stranger.

For the sake of visual enjoyment, Sano can tolerate this little inconvenience for the time being.

Let's see if we can adapt to it first. If not, then we'll change to something else.

Overall...

What Sano is probably looking for is the feeling of those priests at the shrine.

Chapter 523, Section 526: Young man, do you want to join the religion?

The kimono is pure black.

Sano wasn't sure if, normally speaking, there were all-black kimonos.

In Sano's memory, even kimonos with a pure black base color usually have patterns in other colors or obi (sashes) in other colors.

Used to harmonize visual perception.

However, the alteration of the clothes was entirely up to Sano's own wishes.

Let alone making some color changes, even if you stitch everything together, you'll end up with a hodgepodge.

And who can say anything?

Aside from his appearance, Sano didn't make many changes to his overall height and physique. His hair color was black with a hint of light purple, and the strands were much smoother and longer, tied into a small braid at the back of his head.

Through the holes in the black mask were a pair of squinting eyes.

That's right, it's the same as Akai Shuichi disguised as Okiya Subaru.

After all, as the old saying goes, squinty-eyed people are monsters.

In terms of kimonos, it just so happens that it coincides with Hattori Heiji's mother.

So, in this setting, Sano really did draw inspiration from Shuichi Akai.

Could this be considered a warning?

"I'm not someone to mess with, don't mess with me..." and so on.

However, if you look closely, you can see that the pupils beneath Sano's squinted eyes are actually purple.

...Not Sano's non-mainstream style.

Who made the fox eyes glow purple as soon as they were activated?

As for the appearance of this vest, there's nothing particularly special about it, if I had to say...

He's just handsome.

Being handsome is all that matters.

Okay, at first glance, it should seem gentle and kind.

The problem is that it's covered by a mask, so you can't see it.

Ok?

Wait a minute, something seems off.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Sano thought for a while and then typed a row of dots.

...Not only was the fox demon effect not obvious enough, but Sano also completely ignored the fox face effect, focusing all his attention on the fox eyes.

Of course, Fox Eyes should be the main force, and Sano is paying close attention to this thing.

That's right.

But not even glancing at the other effects is a bit much.