Winning is everything: Conan

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, the day of the second trial arrives.

The second trial was held at the Tokyo High Court No. 3.

Before that, the suspect in this case, Kazushi Nakamichi, and the relevant judicial personnel were transferred from Chiba Prefecture to Tokyo.

The first hearing of the second trial was scheduled to begin around nine in the morning.

Around eight o'clock, before leaving, Keisuke double-checked the information he had gathered with Ai.

"A pile this big?"

Looking at the mountain of documents in front of him, Keisuke turned to Ai, who was sitting behind the desk.

At that moment, Ai was still focused on typing on her laptop.

Although she looked a little gloomy, there was no denying that she was very serious about her work. Even now, she was still at it.

To maximize her role as an assistant, Keisuke Kumiko had used the remaining money to buy her an office laptop, an eight-core smartphone, a printer, and a series of storage tools.

"This is all the relevant information about Nakadashi Kazushi's classmates, including their families, jobs, and social relationships, as well as the families, jobs, and social relationships of their relatives and friends. Since they are key witnesses, I thought you might need it."

Ai adjusted the simple glasses on her face. She looked intellectual when she wore them while working.

"No, all of this is garbage."

However, Keisuke Kumiko shook his head, picked up the documents, and tossed them into the trash bin beside him.

"They're useless?" Ai raised her head slightly. "I thought you really needed them. After all, with your despicable and shameless personality, it's highly likely you'd do something disgraceful to the witnesses and the people around them."

"Thanks for the compliment, it's rare for you to think so highly of me," Keisuke Kumiko admitted generously.

Ai rolled her eyes.

Keisuke then explained, "If this were any other case, the things you collected might be of some use, but in this case, none of them will be needed."

"Why?" Ai asked.

Kumiko smiled slightly, looking very mysterious. "Because the same move can't be used twice against a Saint Seiya."

"What do you mean?"

"Just wait and see, observe and learn well."

"Tsk."

...

At the same time, at the Tokyo District Prosecutor's Office—

In her office, prosecutor Reiko Kujo was organizing the materials she would need for court later, assisted by her deputy prosecutor, Masami Ryusu.

That's right—today's trial regarding Kazushi Nakamichi was happening, and she would be Kumiko's opponent.

"Ms. Kujo, according to the schedule, this case shouldn't be yours to handle."

During this time, Ryusu Masami expressed his doubts.

"Why are you so determined to take it?"

"Because you don't understand Kumiko's character." Kujo Reiko shook her head.

"I've been around that guy for a while. He's a truly despicable person. He'll do anything to win and has no limits. Manipulating evidence is as easy for him as eating and drinking."

"That's right! He's a despicable bastard!"

Ryusu Masami thought about the trial he lost last time and nodded.

In the previous case, the two key pieces of evidence—the witness and the physical proof—were both manipulated by Keisuke Kumiko.

After losing, he had faced a lot of repercussions.

"I understand, so only I can defeat him," Kujo Reiko declared as she adjusted her appearance in the mirror, picked up her documents, and confidently walked out the door.

Ryusu Masami looked at her in admiration and quickly followed.

Aside from facing the undefeated queen of the legal world, Eri Kisaki, Prosecutor Kujo had never lost a case.

That was also why he had chosen to follow her.

...

"Someone's stealing! Who can help me?"

"Catch the thief!"

"Help! Ahhh!"

The streets of Tokyo were bustling, with people coming and going in an endless stream.

On the way to the High Court, as expected, Keisuke Kumiko encountered several crimes happening right before his eyes.

The city of sin—Tokyo, Japan—certainly lived up to its reputation.

Ai glanced at the crowd in the distance. Some of today's victims were truly unlucky. Some had been stabbed twice by thieves and were about to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment.

After thinking for a moment, Ai suddenly spoke.

"I actually have a question I've always wanted to ask you."

"Go ahead."

"Well, it's just that... you do this kind of thing often. Aren't you afraid that one day you'll end up getting killed, just like those victims?"

"Good question."

Keisuke looked at her.

Although Ai's face showed no expression, the concern in her eyes was obvious.

After spending so many days together, they had gotten to know each other well.

Ai was well aware of his personality, which others found terrible, and that he could unintentionally make some inexplicable enemies.

What Ai was thinking made sense.

But in reality, she was worrying too much.

Although the crime rate in this world was extremely high, the vast majority of cases—such as revenge killings, love-driven murders, plagiarism disputes, and the like—were committed by ordinary people like him.

Kumiko had a keen ability to observe people's attitudes. If someone harbored hostility toward him or approached with murderous intent, he would notice immediately and take precautions.

There was only one situation where he wouldn't be able to protect himself.

That was if a hitman, gangster, or some kind of evil organization used professional tools—such as a sniper rifle—to take his life without him realizing it.

However, the cost of hiring such people wasn't cheap and required certain connections. Typically, only the wealthy or those of high status could afford them. Given Keisuke Kumiko's current situation, he couldn't afford to offend such people.

So, for now, he didn't have to worry about what Ai was concerned about.

"I think you'll need a bodyguard in the future," Ai's voice came from the side, as venomous as ever.

"After all, for someone like you, we never know when you'll die, so we need someone to collect your body."

"Yeah, that makes sense. We'll talk about it when I have money."

Keisuke Kumiko nodded, looked at her, and sighed.

"Doraemon, you're so useless. You can't use powerful gadgets, you can't smash a Gundam with your bare hands, and you can't catch bullets with your bare hands. You can't even take on the job of protecting me, so now I'll have to spend more money in the future."

"What do you mean, Doraemon?!"

Ai was speechless and rolled her eyes.

"You're a grown man with no special skills, yet you want protection from a seven-year-old girl? How did you even come up with that?"

"Didn't I already say? I always thought you were eighty-eight years old."

"I've never seen someone as shameless as you. You've truly surpassed all limits."

"I've never seen a child as old as you. Could you be some ancient monster from Japanese mythology?"

"You're the ancient monster!"

"I'm so anxious! The angry expression of a primary school girl is so rare and ugly!"

"Not as rare as a simian-looking creature like you. I'm a hundred times prettier than you!"

(End of this chapter.)