Multiple choice system: Conan World

"I could deduce that Chianti was the killer not through clues or special information, but by my own reaction..."

After hearing Akikawa Kyousuke's explanation, Sera Masumi was deeply shocked.

Initially, she thought Akikawa Kyousuke had been deceiving himself.

In truth, Akikawa Kyousuke had already picked up on the clues about the real murderer.

But she had never expected him to connect his mother's killer to the person trading with Koizumi Kunio based solely on a few words exchanged that day.

This level of insight and observation is simply terrifying.

---

"So, Ms. Sera, why did you come to see me today?"

Akikawa Kyousuke placed the cup he was holding on the table, looked at Sera Masumi, and asked.

"I have a few questions for you, Mr. Akikawa," Sera Masumi replied slowly, coming back to her senses.

"Initially, I wanted to ask how you knew Chianti was the real culprit behind the car accident."

"But you've already explained that, Mr. Akikawa," Sera said with a smile.

Suddenly, she had a premonition.

Perhaps Akikawa Kyousuke was far more skilled than she and Conan had anticipated.

---

She then asked, "Mr. Akikawa, how did you know the timing of the transaction between the organization and Mr. Koizumi?"

This was the question Sera Masumi was most curious about.

She had discussed it with Conan.

After all, it was impossible for anyone on their side to leak the secret.

So, Conan had concluded that the organization itself must have leaked the information.

'If Akikawa Kyousuke really obtained this information from the organization, then his source could become a major breakthrough for us against them,' Sera thought with anticipation.

---

But then Akikawa Kyousuke said:

"Please don't expect too much from me. I know almost nothing about that organization."

Sera Masumi was stunned.

In just one sentence, Akikawa Kyousuke had revealed her thoughts.

'How... how does he know what I'm thinking?'

As Sera Masumi reeled in shock, she hastily asked,

"Impossible! Only Mr. Koizumi and I should know this information.

Mr. Akikawa, you clearly knew the timing of the transaction between the organization and Mr. Koizumi, so you made preparations in advance."

---

Originally, Koizumi Kunio was scheduled to trade with the organization early in the morning, the day after the dismemberment case.

At the time, he had revealed this to Sera Masumi and Conan in private.

This was highly confidential information.

Sera Masumi believed that Akikawa Kyousuke, who knew this timing, must have had other ways of obtaining organizational intelligence.

---

"This matter is just like how I deduced that the woman with the tattoo on her left eye was my mother's killer," Akikawa Kyousuke said calmly.

"There's no need for special methods or channels. I simply deduced it by analyzing Kunio Koizumi's behavior."

"How is that possible?!"

Sera Masumi couldn't help but raise her voice, finding it unbelievable.

---

After leaving the monitoring room, she had gone directly to Akikawa Kyousuke to ask him how he and his mother were being targeted, which allowed Kyousuke to notice certain clues.

Though incredible, Sera Masumi felt this was still somewhat understandable.

But this time—

Akikawa Kyousuke had only seen Koizumi Kunio briefly when he was brought to the door of Koizumi's room.

The two hadn't even spoken face-to-face.

How could Akikawa Kyousuke deduce the timing of the transaction just by analyzing Kunio Koizumi's behavior?

This should have been two entirely unrelated matters!

---

"Because of the dismemberment," Akikawa Kyousuke said softly.

Sera Masumi frowned slightly, confusion flashing across her face.

---

"Mr. Kawasaki fell into rigor mortis while maintaining the posture of using a computer.

To conceal this, Mr. Koizumi dismembered his body."

"That's right," Sera Masumi nodded.

This was her own reasoning, and there was nothing wrong with it.

---

"Mr. Kawasaki died the day before the dismemberment case, during the poisoning incident in the morning.

Because of that poisoning, the police were drawn away.

This meant the killer only had time to commit the crime when the police took Mr. Koizumi for questioning in the morning and when he returned that evening."

"Since Mr. Koizumi returned and discovered Mr. Kawasaki in rigor mortis, it means Mr. Kawasaki had been dead for at least seven or eight hours.

Thus, Mr. Kawasaki was likely killed around midday on the day of the poisoning."

---

Sera Masumi nodded as she listened to Akikawa Kyousuke.

She had pinpointed the time of Kawasaki's murder between 1:17 p.m. and 1:29 p.m.

Unexpectedly, Akikawa Kyousuke, with just a brief description of the case, deduced a similar time range.

---

But she still didn't understand what this had to do with Koizumi Kunio's transaction timing.

Then Akikawa Kyousuke continued:

"Rigor mortis usually lasts 24 to 48 hours.

Considering the temperature, it should have begun to subside roughly 40 hours later.

In other words, if Mr. Koizumi only wanted to hide Mr. Kawasaki's posture, there was no need to go through the trouble of dismembering him."

---

"But wouldn't the smell of the corpse expose him?" Sera Masumi asked doubtfully.

The moment the question left her lips, she realized the issue.

---

She heard Akikawa Kyousuke continue:

"For most people, hiding the smell in a hot spring hotel might be difficult. Odd behavior could arouse suspicion.

But Mr. Koizumi is the owner of Kosen-an, and his room is private. No one can enter unless he allows it.

He could have easily masked the odor for 40 hours.

But he didn't. And I believe there's only one reason—

He couldn't wait for the rigor mortis to resolve itself."

---

Akikawa Kyousuke's calm voice thundered in Sera Masumi's ears.

She froze for a moment, completely stunned.

---

'Mr. Kawasaki was killed at midday during the poisoning incident. If rigor mortis lasted 40 hours, it would subside by the morning after the dismemberment.

Mr. Koizumi acted quickly, fearing exposure from the body.

Thus, the organization's transaction had to occur before the morning after the dismemberment.

This leaves only the night of the dismemberment case as the window for the trade.'

---

Sera Masumi completed Akikawa Kyousuke's reasoning in her mind, shocked.

'With no clues, no direct evidence, no surveillance footage, and no face-to-face conversation with Koizumi Kunio...

He deduced all this just by analyzing Koizumi's behavior?!

This man's skills are simply...'

Sera Masumi raised her trembling eyes, filled with awe, to look at the slender artist sipping coffee with a straw.

Her heart surged with turbulent emotions.

--

(End of the Chapter)