Inspector Megure hurriedly asked, "Is that true? You already know who the culprit is? Then who is it? And what was the method?"
Natsuyu didn't keep them in suspense.
"The culprit is Curator Ochiai."
Mouri Kogoro and Inspector Megure both turned toward him in shock.
Ochiai himself looked surprised—but not panicked. He calmly asked,
"Miss Natsuyu, if you say I'm the murderer, then what evidence do you have?"
Natsuyu explained:
"First, all the artworks that might have been splattered with blood on the wall where the victim was found had been removed in advance. That shows the culprit deeply cherished these works and didn't want them damaged.
"Second, in the video, there's a moment when Mr. Manaka receives a note from behind. His expression shows surprise. Then he takes a pen, scribbles something, throws the pen away, and crumples the note. I also saw that pen at the scene—but its tip was retracted. I don't believe someone facing imminent death would carefully retract a pen tip after writing. That means the pen was swapped."
At that moment, an officer found the note the victim had thrown away. Written on it was the name 'Kubota.'
Natsuyu continued without waiting for questions.
"This note was written by the culprit. Since the pen was switched, and the one found at the scene can write normally, it means the original pen couldn't write at all."
She then asked Inspector Megure to examine the name on the paper closely—there were faint scratch marks where the ink hadn't appeared.
"That's where the victim tried to cross it out. He realized the pen didn't work and threw it away in anger. Pens like that are only used by museum staff. In other words—the person who had a pen that couldn't write is the one who switched them. And that person is the killer."
By now, Conan fully understood the method.
If the culprit wanted to frame Kubota, the only person who could do so—while also ensuring Kubota lacked an alibi—was the curator himself.
Natsuyu walked up to Ochiai and extended her right hand.
"Then, Curator… may I see whether your pen can write?"
His hand trembled as he produced an identical pen. He no longer tried to deny anything.
"This young lady is right," he said quietly.
"I did everything to get rid of that selfish demon, Manaka."
Then he turned toward Kubota.
"And framing Kubota was to punish him for secretly selling the artworks I regarded as my own children."
Lisa let out a soft sigh and walked over to the painting Divine Punishment.
"This is exactly like the scene in this painting," she murmured.
"The knight slays the demon—but is also corrupted by it. In the end… the dragon slayer becomes the dragon."
"Yes," Ochiai laughed faintly.
"No matter how much I prepared, I still couldn't escape the eyes of those who see the truth."
He then looked at Lisa standing before the painting.
"Miss Lisa, you're right—the dragon slayer becomes the dragon. But when you said that, you sounded… nostalgic. Were you thinking of someone? Of course, if you don't want to answer, that's fine. It's only my personal curiosity about similar fates."
Lisa hadn't expected the question, but she smiled.
"I was thinking of a… friend. He, too, was tainted after slaying a demon dragon. He was deceived and manipulated into doing terrible things. But luckily, his friends never gave up on him—so he didn't truly become the next monster."
Ochiai nodded, feeling a strange sense of comfort.
"That's good. Your friend was fortunate—he still had a chance to turn back. Haha… as for me, my destination is probably prison. But I don't regret it. If I could choose again, I would still kill that demon."
And just like that, the case came to an end.
Inspector Megure took Ochiai away and reminded the others to come to the station later to give their statements.
Seeing how hungry Mouri and Conan were—and that it was already too late to cook—Natsuyu invited them to eat at the restaurant on the first floor of her building, since it was on the way.
Ran initially wanted to refuse, not wanting to trouble them—but between her father and Conan's eagerness, and Natsuyu's insistence, she eventually agreed.
On the way, they talked about what had happened at the museum.
Mouri asked curiously, "Miss Lisa, that story you told about your friend slaying a demon dragon—that was exaggerated, right?"
Ran looked at her expectantly.
"Is there really such a thing as a dragon in this world?"
Conan, hands in his pockets, rolled his eyes.
Of course not. Dragons are imaginary.
Still… Ran really is cute—believing in something like that.
"It's real~" Lisa said lightly, meeting Ran's hopeful gaze.
"Eh?! There really are dragons?!"
Conan nearly slipped.
No way—she's kidding, right?
"Pfft—just teasing." Lisa laughed.
"What I meant was that my friend was hurt while protecting people, then tricked into doing bad things. But someone never gave up on him, and he regained his freedom. It's a happy ending, isn't it?"
"Yes… it is." Ran smiled, both relieved and touched.
It's so much better than an ending like today's.
Mouri thumped Conan on the head.
"See? I told you there's no such thing as dragons. Kids really overreact."
Hmph… says you, old man. You were just as shocked.
Kids really have no human rights…
Natsuyu walked beside Lisa and whispered,
"Lisa… were you talking about Dvalin?"
"Oh my~ you figured it out, little cutie."
"It was obvious. 'Slaying a demon dragon'—that can only be him."
...
Conan slowed his pace slightly, quietly drawing closer to Natsuyu and Lisa. He couldn't hear clearly, but caught fragments:
"Dvalin…"
"slay…"
"dragon…"
"Venti…"
Dvalin… is that the friend Lisa mentioned? And slaying a dragon—what kind of metaphor is that? Who is Venti? And how did Natsuyu know? They just met, didn't they?
The questions kept piling up.
And with each one, Conan grew more certain—
One day, he would uncover the secrets hidden within them.