When Ran took Akashi's small hand and led him back to the crime scene, the atmosphere remained tense.
Conan, ever the little detective, was still trying to steer Kogoro in the right direction.
"Uncle, uncle, look!"
He pointed at the statue.
"Saitō Musashibō Benkei died while still standing. Isn't that amazing?"
Of course, Conan wasn't just making small talk.
He was attempting to hint at a flaw in the estimated time of Yumi's death—he had figured it out!
But before he could go any further, Akashi suddenly interjected.
"You still haven't found the murderer?" He sighed dramatically. "That's way too slow!"
His blunt words stunned everyone, and all eyes turned toward him.
Jun Omura spoke up first, unable to hide his curiosity.
"Kid… are you saying you know who killed Yumi?"
Akashi nodded confidently.
"Of course. The murderer is right here."
Ran was just as surprised as everyone else.
How?
Akashi had only glanced at the body before she pulled him away.
How could he possibly know who the murderer was?
But Akashi did know.
He had simply been waiting to give Kogoro a chance to solve the case first.
Too bad Kogoro was utterly useless.
There was a certain etiquette when it came to solving cases—it wasn't something you could just blurt out.
Yet, here they were.
Hearing the boy's words, Kogoro stepped forward, frowning.
"Kid, don't talk nonsense."
His voice carried an air of authority, but it didn't faze Akashi in the slightest.
"We already examined Yumi's body," Kogoro continued. "Her time of death was estimated to be five o'clock in the afternoon."
"At that time, everyone was playing table tennis on the second floor. And you were downstairs."
"Everyone has an alibi. No one could have committed the murder!"
Akashi chuckled.
"There's a way to manipulate the time of death."
His eyes gleamed mischievously as he glanced at Conan.
"Isn't this kid always trying to hint at Saitō Musashibō Benkei's death?"
Conan froze.
Wait. What?
That little bastard just threw the spotlight onto him!
Hey! I didn't say anything! Stop making stuff up!
Seeing Kogoro's suspicious gaze, Conan quickly played dumb, pretending not to understand.
There was no way he was getting involved now!
Satisfied that Conan wouldn't interrupt, Akashi continued.
"If someone dies while engaged in intense physical activity…"
"The speed of rigor mortis accelerates significantly."
"That means Aunt Yumi didn't die at five o'clock at all."
"Her actual time of death was six in the evening."
The room went silent.
Yukio Ayashiro couldn't help but ask, "And what makes you so sure?"
Akashi didn't bother keeping them in suspense.
"Because of the gunshot."
The statement sent a ripple of shock through the room.
"The murder weapon was a pistol, and it was still in the victim's hand. There was no silencer."
"So why didn't anyone hear the gunshot?"
The realization struck like lightning.
Akashi answered before anyone else could.
"There's only one explanation—
"The shot was fired when the fireworks went off."
"The sound was drowned out by the explosions, so no one noticed it."
A heavy silence fell over the group.
Akashi glanced at Ran.
"When Sister Ran took us back to find Aunt Yumi, the fireworks had just started."
"That means… Aunt Yumi had just been shot."
Ran's breath hitched.
Her expression shifted from shock to disbelief.
"That can't be…"
A wave of guilt crashed over her.
If only I had gone back sooner… I could have saved her.
Akashi continued, his voice steady.
"And the only people who could have done this…"
His sharp gaze swept across the room.
"Are the ones who were in the hotel at the time."
"That means the suspect pool is limited to three people—Kazushi Nakamichi, Yukio Ayashiro, and Noriko Ayashiro."
"Uncle Mōri and Uncle Fatty both left early to save seats for the fireworks. That rules them out."
"Also, there were no visible burn marks at the muzzle, which means the shot was fired from a distance."
"That requires incredible marksmanship—hitting the temple with a single, precise shot."
"The Ayashiro couple are just ordinary office workers with no military or police training."
"And they were together in their room, taking a bath."
Akashi's lips curled into a knowing smirk.
"That leaves only one suspect."
He turned toward the man in question.
"Kazushi Nakamichi—an active-duty police officer."
The deduction sent chills through the crowd.
It all made perfect sense.
Everyone turned toward Kazushi Nakamichi.
The man with dark skin and bald head was now drenched in sweat.
Kazushi Nakamichi's face darkened as he snapped, "Kid, stop spouting nonsense. I didn't kill anyone!"
He folded his arms, trying to regain his composure.
"Does that pistol have my fingerprints on it?"
"Do you have any evidence?"
"And besides, what kind of 'Physical Activity' could Yumi have even done in this hotel?"
Akashi chuckled, shaking his head.
His grin widened.
"You really are a cop, huh? You'd know all the tricks."
He then tilted his head playfully.
"As for 'physical activity', isn't it obvious?"
"Table tennis, of course!"
Akashi smirked.
"I wonder… did you remember to wipe off the fingerprints on the ping pong racket?"
His voice was almost teasing, but his sharp gaze locked onto Nakamichi.
"I recall that modern fingerprint analysis can separate individual prints and even determine the sequence of touches."
He paused, letting the tension settle before delivering his next blow.
"If I'm not mistaken, the two sets of fingerprints on the rackets in the game room belong to you and Aunt Yumi, right?"
"But that's strange, isn't it?"
Akashi's voice took on a feigned innocence.
"You clearly said you went to take a shower after playing ping pong with Uncle Mōri."
His smile faded.
"So why were you playing again with the victim later? You didn't even have time for that."
He tilted his head.
"Doesn't that contradict your own alibi?"
Kazushi Nakamichi's expression twisted.
His face paled as beads of sweat formed on his forehead, trickling down.
Damn it!
He never entered the table tennis room again after leaving earlier.
And lifting clean fingerprints from a racket wasn't easy…
Akashi folded his arms and continued.
"As for your motive—well, that's for the police to figure out."
He shrugged.
"They can check your calls, texts, and messages. I'm sure they'll find something interesting."
"That's their job, not mine."
Kazushi Nakamichi looked utterly defeated.
If Akashi kept going, he'd bring up the fingerprints on the window frame, the footprints on the eaves, and even the bloodstains inside his bathrobe.
Each piece of evidence would be enough to pin him down.
The truth was simple—he was the only one who could have committed the murder.
There was no escaping it.
When all the impossible possibilities are eliminated, whatever remains—no matter how improbable—must be the truth.
Jun Omura, his face flushed with fury, stepped forward and grabbed Nakamichi by the collar.
"Nakamichi! You bastard!! Did you really do it?! Why? Why did you kill Yumi?!"
Kazushi Nakamichi sneered, his lips curling bitterly.
"Why?"
His voice trembled with anger.
"Because that woman ruined my life!"
His hands clenched into fists.
"I have loved her since college—for eighteen years!"
He let out a hollow laugh.
"Eighteen years! Do you know how long that is? How many eighteen years do we even have in a lifetime?"
His voice cracked as he spoke.
Then, without warning, he grabbed Omura and threw him to the ground in a shoulder toss!
A shocked silence fell over the room.
No one had expected this outburst.
Noriko Ayashiro hesitated before speaking.
"If you loved her that much… why didn't you just marry her?"
Kazushi Nakamichi turned to her, his expression contorted with resentment.
"You think I didn't try?"
He let out a bitter laugh.
"I proposed to her three times.
"Three times! And she rejected me every single time!"
His voice grew more heated.
"She never loved me. She just wanted to marry rich!"
His breath came in ragged gasps as his emotions boiled over.
"She strung me along while secretly dating other men!"
"To her, I was just a safety net—a backup plan!"
The anger in his voice was palpable.
He shook his head.
"So I finally decided I'd had enough."
"I told her we were done. I moved on, went on blind dates, and even got engaged to a wonderful woman."
His voice lowered, filled with bitterness.
"And just when I was finally free… she came back."
His fists trembled.
"She started sending threats. Bloody photos. Letters full of venom—all directed at my fiancée!"
His eyes darkened.
"What was I supposed to do? Huh? What else could I do!?"
His voice cracked as he turned to Kogoro.
"Tell me, Mōri. If it were you, what would you have done!?"
With a wild look in his eyes, Nakamichi lunged at Kogoro!
But Mōri barely flinched.
In one swift motion, he grabbed Nakamichi's arm, using his own momentum against him, and flipped him over his shoulder.
Nakamichi crashed to the floor.
Kogoro's voice was steady as he looked down at the fallen man.
"If it were me…"
He exhaled.
"I wouldn't choose to kill."
His expression hardened.
"No matter what happened, I could never understand or sympathize with a murderer."
Lying on the floor, Kazushi Nakamichi finally fell silent.
His rage had burned out.
His shoulders trembled—whether from exhaustion, regret, or something else entirely, no one could tell.
Akashi observed him with a strange gleam in his eyes.
And then—
A sudden rush of Yin energy surged through his body.
His small frame shivered from the sensation.
It felt… incredible.
Then—
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Yin Energy +3000! Current Yin Energy: 22,120!]
Akashi's heart pounded.
More than 20,000 Yin Energy!
That means… I can transform into my adult form twice!
Excitement flickered in his gaze.
His lips curled into a smile.