Case NOT Closed

Kensuke’s sarcastic words felt like a soul-searching interrogation.

Conan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his lips felt as heavy as lead, and he couldn’t utter a word.

Because… This guy was right.

Sometimes, he did indeed use his child’s identity to investigate crime scenes and people involved in cases. Many of these methods, upon closer examination, were on the verge of breaking the law.

“We don’t have any malicious intentions!” Ayumi opened her arms to protect Conan, glaring at Kensuke with anger.

“We, the Detective Boys, have solved many cases so far. The previous department store robbery, the Italian gang of robbers, the library poison case, they were all solved thanks to us, the Detective Boys!”

“That’s right, we’ve always been doing good deeds!”

“We’re always helping people in need, and we don’t ask for any rewards!”

The other two children, Mitsuhiko and Genta, chimed in, protesting strongly as they stared at Kensuke.

“Oh? You’ve always been doing good deeds, huh…” Kensuke chuckled.

In this idyllic courtyard, he slightly spread his legs, extended his right index finger, and pointed heavily towards the ground beneath his feet.

“So, kid, tell me, what place are you standing in right now?”

His voice echoed in the small courtyard, startling a flock of birds.

He emphasized his words, especially the phrase “what place,” which caught the children off guard.

The children lowered their heads, looking puzzled at the ground beneath their feet.

Mitsuhiko was the first to react and quickly said, “We just followed the adults in here…”

“Mitsuhiko, stop!” Conan, with a solemn expression, interrupted his friend.

“Let’s go.”

He shook his head and glanced deeply at Kensuke, then turned and walked towards the gate leading out of the courtyard.

The three children exchanged glances and quickly followed his footsteps.

“Conan, why did we leave?”

“Yeah, we didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Don’t you understand yet? We just entered someone else’s private property without permission and even mocked and insulted the owner of this land. Regardless of what the man did before, we violated someone else’s legal rights…”

The voices of the children faded as they moved farther away.

In the distance, Conan turned around once more, as if trying to engrave Kensuke’s appearance firmly into his memory.

Kensuke shrugged, locked the door of the house with the key, and then locked the courtyard gate. He too left the premises.

Conan’s likability had plummeted to its lowest due to their recent confrontation.

The level of agreement had dropped into negative numbers, and the progress bar was even lower than the likability bar.

This represented the relationship between him and the core members of the protagonist group. Unless something significant happened, there was hardly any room for reconciliation.

However, it didn’t matter.

Kensuke believed that he and these people, including Conan, were not on the same path.

There was no need to establish any good relationship with them. As he mentioned earlier, the closer he got, the more troublesome matters like clashes between red and black would arise.

Stepping outside the property, Kensuke checked his watch. It was almost five o’clock, and he was just in time for his appointment with the witness, Sanae Sugita.

He glanced back at the inside of the property, where the German Shepherd was still lying on the ground, wagging its tail enthusiastically in his direction.

Just now, he had thought of a brilliant plan. A plan that would eliminate any possibility of failure in this lawsuit.

…

Mihara-cho Station, Boston Italian Restaurant.

This was an elegantly decorated restaurant with warm-toned chandeliers overhead and neatly arranged tables and chairs made of walnut wood. It exuded an antique charm.

Of course, dining here didn’t come cheap.

A plate of pasta that cost less than a thousand yen outside was nearly double the price here.

“Don’t be polite, order whatever you like, this meal is on me.”

Kensuke waved his hand casually—after all, he wasn’t the one paying for this meal.

“Really? In that case, I won’t hold back!”

The young woman sitting across from him suddenly looked lively. She quickly ordered several expensive dishes from the menu and even opened a bottle of champagne.

“Order whatever you want, and if you can’t finish it, you can take the leftovers.”

Kensuke smiled at her.

With her beautiful face, off-the-shoulder outfit, extremely short skirt, manicure, necklace, pearl earrings, and an aura of materialism exuding from head to toe, this kind of woman could gather a crowd like ants if she threw a stack of bills on the street.

“Kensuke-san, are lawyers like you all so handsome and wealthy?”

While waiting for the food to arrive, Sanae threw a flirtatious glance at Kensuke, her eyes filled with seduction.

Kensuke acted as if he hadn’t seen it, picked up his glass of champagne, and took a sip.

“Sanae-san, let’s discuss the business at hand first.”

“Oh, okay.”

Sanae pouted slightly in disappointment.

Takeshi had already died, and she naturally wanted to find a new benefactor, but unfortunately, the man in front of her wasn’t taking the bait.

Without further ado, Kensuke took an envelope from his bag and tossed it in front of Sanae.

She hastily took the envelope and opened it, her eyes lighting up in pleasant surprise.

Inside were five ten-thousand-yen bills.

“This is the agreed-upon service fee, and I’ve added an extra three thousand.”

Kensuke leaned back in his chair, relaxed.

As Sanae accepted the money, he clearly saw her favorability level, which had skyrocketed from one bar to three.

“No problem, I understand your intentions, Mr. Lawyer!”

Sanae patted her chest.

“When the trial takes place, I’ll do as you request!”

So, what could favorability be used for?

Of course, it was mainly for handling the transfer of witnesses in legal cases.

When a lawsuit is not going well for your side, witnesses are unlikely to stand by you for no reason.

Unless certain measures are taken.

Someone like Sanae was relatively easy to deal with. Kensuke was a lawyer skilled in understanding human nature, and he could easily see through her true nature.

People are emotional beings at heart, and there is no absolute rationality. Once favorability reaches a certain level, witnesses will stand by your side. Kensuke had verified this many times during his internship at the judicial training institute.

There are no witnesses that cannot be won over, only chips that haven’t reached their expected value yet.

Of course, Kensuke was still very cautious.

“My request? What request?”

Kensuke’s lips curled slightly.

“Sanae-san, I’ve come to ask you about the circumstances of the incident that occurred at the time. Please don’t misunderstand. The money I gave you earlier was just a service fee for meeting me this time.”

“Oh, I see. No problem.”

Sanae threw another seductive glance at Kensuke.

He ignored it.

“Now, I want you to tell me everything you saw and all the details of the situation at the time of the incident.”