Night had only just fallen, and the restaurant was growing more lively by the minute. Customers came and went without pause, and in the little bridge-and-stream display by the entrance, several koi drifted through the water.
“Time really flies... Oh, right, Yuki.” Hagiwara Kenji had already paid the bill. He asked casually, “Are you heading back on your own? I drove here, so do you want me to give you a ride?”
Matsuda Jinpei let out a snort of laughter, an unlit cigarette caught between his fingers. “Hagi’s driving is pretty good, actually.”
“Ah, yes, I know,” Yuki Mu said. Officer Kenji, the speed god of Mount Hagi.
After one meal together, whatever they might have been thinking inside, at least on the surface their relationship had grown a little closer. Yuki Mu still was not exactly warm today, but compared with yesterday, he was already much easier to approach.
And with Hagiwara Kenji around—a perfectly ordinary little social genius who could practically be called a woman’s best friend—the atmosphere was never allowed to go cold.
“It’s fine. Someone’s coming to pick me up later,” Yuki Mu answered Hagiwara Kenji’s earlier question, though the corners of his mouth dipped ever so slightly.
Hagiwara Kenji caught that “later” in his wording with sharp instinct. Naturally, he stopped what he had been about to do—pick up his belongings and leave—and said with a smile, “Then I’ll wait until the person picking you up gets here before I go.”
Those emerald-green eyes swept over him faintly, carrying a trace of hard-to-read schadenfreude. “No need to wait.”
“Hm?”
Yuki Mu said slowly, “...You won’t be able to leave anyway.”
Hagiwara Kenji raised a brow, just about to speak—
“AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!” A shrill, breaking female scream suddenly exploded through the entire restaurant. “D-dead—someone’s dead!!!”
That single cry was like dumping a bucket of blazing oil onto a fire pit. Boom—it set the entire restaurant alight. Murmurs mixed with fear and unease broke out everywhere, and the cheerful atmosphere shattered in an instant.
A little boy of about seven or eight hurriedly said something to his parents, then quickly ran toward the source of the scream. With practiced, natural movements, he performed a series of checks on the person lying on the ground. After a moment, he turned around, his childish face full of gravity and sorrow.
“—He’s dead.”
The woman who had screamed earlier sucked in a sharp breath, and her whole body went limp as she collapsed to the floor.
Yuki Mu’s gaze lingered for a moment on the dead man and the three people left at that table, then withdrew calmly.
The deceased was male. Of the remaining three, there were two women and one man.
...Ah. The moment he had seen that family of three enter earlier, he had more or less anticipated the current scene.
Shinichi had not turned into Conan yet... so most of Beika’s citizens probably had not fully trained themselves into having nerves of steel for this sort of thing.
Still.
This was Beika.
On the dark green-haired young man’s face was the thin chill of long familiarity. When the case erupted without warning, he was stingy even with an extra glance of attention. His expressionless face was, for one fleeting moment, filled with an almost cruel rationality.
【[Innate Skill] Detective Max activated automatically】
【Deceased → death by asphyxiation】
【Remaining ice cubes → poison (cyanide)】
【From left to right, the emotional states of the three companions: grief, disbelief → shock, suspicion, sadness → calm, sorrow, relief】
【The deceased was in a romantic relationship with the first woman on the left → was married to the first woman on the right → secret marriage (?) → cheating on both sides】
【There are signs of physical abuse on the woman on the right】
【The deceased is suspected of having ties to the Black Organization】
【......】
Wherever his gaze fell, no clue could hide.
—The truth surfaced almost instantly, with every clue and every piece of evidence laid bare.
By then, the situation at the corpse had already reached the point where Kudo Shinichi, still only an elementary schooler, was declaring, “There’s a bitter almond smell in the victim’s mouth. He died of cyanide poisoning.”
Yuki Mu: “.........”
Mm. The familiar formula. The familiar Beika.
He thought it over.
This thing called Recognition Level increased in relation to [Beika]. The target was not only Yuki Mu, the persona wearing Beika’s face, but also the city of [Beika] itself.
When Beika’s citizens used poison to kill people, they really did love choosing cyanide...
For once, Yuki Mu felt a little eager to try something.
—Later, maybe he should see whether it was possible to set up the world’s largest cyanide processing plant in Beika.
After all, inorganic and organic cyanides were both widely used in industrial and agricultural production, especially in electroplating.
So whether it was for killing people and stealing goods, or for manufacturing and work, it was all extremely useful!
At that moment, one of the men who had, like Yuki Mu, remained very calm in the restaurant from the start of the incident until now paused for a moment. Standing off to the side, he seemed to hesitate, but in the end he still stepped forward slightly and interjected with polite restraint, “Kid, are you sure this was cyanide?”
Kudo Shinichi lifted his face and instinctively sized up the man who had spoken.
Black hair, blue eyes, a Westerner, and so handsome he could have held his own even in Hollywood. Beneath his ordinary clothes, the muscular strength hidden in his body looked astonishing...
After sketching out that surface-level analysis, Kudo Shinichi turned back and glanced at his father—Kudo Yusaku, who in his mind, and in truth, stood at the ceiling of human intelligence. Seeing him smile and give a subtle signal, Shinichi suppressed his curiosity and nodded to the man. “There’s a bitter almond smell.”
For a split second, something in the man’s eyes turned slightly strange, though his face remained calm.
The man was Bruce Wayne, who at this point had not yet become Batman. He had left his hometown of Gotham and was traveling the world, learning every skill he could.
Even Bruce, who had likewise unlocked detective skills, found himself feeling a little confused.
...Were children solving cases the current trend now?
The police had not arrived yet, so after obtaining the consent of the victim’s companions, Bruce also stepped forward and performed a brief examination of the body.
“...I didn’t smell bitter almonds.” Bruce’s voice was low and steady. As he rose from his crouch by the body, his fingers rubbing together slightly, he continued, “Most people in the world actually lack the receptors needed to detect the smell of cyanide.”
“That bitter almond smell comes from hydrogen cyanide released when cyanide reacts with moisture in the air. If the dose is small, there may be no noticeable odor at all.”
He had originally thought the child’s line of reasoning was a little too fast, to the point of seeming somewhat rash. Deduction was the kind of work where logic and clues had to lock together step by step; a hair’s breadth of error could send everything completely off course. That was why he had volunteered to examine the body again.
...Though it seemed the kid had actually been right.
After finishing that explanation, Bruce gathered his thoughts and paused slightly. Not yet the future darling of Gotham who could spin sweet words effortlessly, Bruce said, a bit stiffly, “...Still, kid, you’ve already done better than the vast majority of people your age.”
Yuki Mu watched everything from the side with great interest, his arms folded across his chest, the fingers resting on his sleeves tapping again and again.
Bruce Wayne...
One of the protagonists of the world of [Gotham], the city of crime.
A little Conan-style shock for the honored guest who had come all this way!!
On the surface, Yuki Mu still wore an indifferent expression, but in truth he was watching the exchange between the older and younger detective with considerable enjoyment.
Then—
“Yuki.” Matsuda Jinpei, who had not spoken much during this meal, suddenly opened his mouth. Without his sunglasses hiding them, his dark eyes seemed especially piercing. “What do you think about this case?”
“Hm?”
Matsuda Jinpei said bluntly, “I want to hear your thoughts.”
...Tch. Right after this guy said, “You won’t be able to leave anyway,” a murder had happened.
Matsuda Jinpei did not believe for a second in that nonsense about it being “fortune-told.”
The only explanation was that Yuki Mu had already noticed the signs of the murder case—maybe even the truth of it.
Matsuda Jinpei restrained himself and stopped his hand from reaching for his cigarette.
Forget it. Even if Yuki Mu really had noticed, he had no obligation to step in and prevent the murder from happening.
Matsuda Jinpei’s voice had not been loud, but in the present setting it was more than enough to draw attention.
Little Kudo Shinichi blinked and looked over. “Big brother, did you notice something?”
He looked at Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji, as though confirming something. “Are you friends with the police big brothers? Are you a detective?”
Yuki Mu lowered his head slightly. “Those two are indeed police big brothers, but I’m not a detective.”
I’m Public Security. Bet you didn’t expect that.
He hesitated for a moment, but in the end still gently rubbed little Kudo Shinichi’s head.
...Kids really were adorable. Satisfying!!
The dark green-haired young man quickly withdrew the hand that had been making mischief in the child’s hair. His face remained calm and unreadable, giving away nothing of what he was really thinking.
“Are you sure you want me to speak first?”
He turned his head, and his gaze met that of Kudo Yusaku, who had been watching this side the whole time. “Or perhaps we could give the children a chance to practice a little.”
Bruce frowned faintly, but since he did not want to draw attention to himself any further, he said nothing.
...Even though more than a few female customers in the restaurant had been letting their eyes linger on his face and figure the entire time.
Kudo Yusaku pushed up his glasses.
This young man... if he remembered correctly, he should currently be a Public Security officer.
He smiled with good humor. “Sir, this is an active investigation. Although I would also like to let my child... hm, get some practice, when a case involves a human life, the sooner it is solved, the better, don’t you think?”
The implication was obvious.
If you can do it, then go ahead.
At that moment, Yuki Mu looked at the endlessly popping Recognition Level notifications in the system and felt fairly satisfied.
—Every little bit counted.
Not to mention that here there were Hagiwara, Matsuda, the Kudo family of three, plus Bruce—six characters with actual weight to them.
Under the gaze of everyone present, the young man’s eyes brightened slightly.
Then didn’t he have to make this one a little dramatic?
Although he had already deduced the truth by now...
Yuki Mu felt eager to give it a try.
What kind of effect would the newly unlocked skill 【Eye of the City】 have in actual use?
Yuki Mu: 【System, even if this needs a certain amount of Recognition Level, I’ve already seen through the truth anyway. Since it’s my first time using this skill, can you pull some strings and fudge the Recognition Level requirement a little?】
System: 【? I can try... It looks like it might actually work. You’ve gained some Recognition Level over the past two days, and the first time using a skill comes with a bit of beginner protection, so Recognition Level shouldn’t be a problem. But the side effect...】
【What kind of side effect?】 He weighed it for a moment. Mostly, the thing was that this skill looked really cool... and with six juicy targets right here, how could he not fleece them properly?
Out of the way! It was time for Lord Beika himself to put on a dramatic show! (bu)
The system fell silent for a moment. 【It’s a short-term physical symptom... You’d better take it easy.】
System: 【Although [Beika] can be counted as the script-planner type, basically all of its physical stats were assigned to Hawaii.】
Yuki Mu: 【. While I’m still immersively inhabiting the Beika persona, please do not mention [Hawaii] in front of me. Thank you.】
System: 【......Understood.】
The way city consciousness personalities formed was truly subtle...
Furuya, is that you, Furuya? (A strange stereotype has intensified.jpg)
His attention returned to the scene.
“All right.” The young man, who had already drawn every eye in the room, accepted Kudo Yusaku’s words with concise clarity.
“—The killer is you, Miss Tanimura.”
Miss Tanimura was the woman standing first on the right.
Practically without warning—
“Eh???” xN
Little Kudo Shinichi whipped his head around so sharply that the hair on top of his head bounced wildly.
I asked what clues you found, and you just named the killer outright???
As if sensing Shinichi’s stare, Yuki Mu lowered his eyes. His tone was calm, yet for some reason irresistibly compelling.
“I don’t say unnecessary things.”
The young Kudo Shinichi felt a shock too profound for words.
B-because he didn’t waste words, he skipped straight to closing the case the moment he opened his mouth??
Under everyone’s stare, the young man slowly walked up to Miss Tanimura. He rolled his shirt sleeves slightly upward, and the plain black earring at his ear caught the light with a faint gleam.
【Hidden Skill [Eye of the City] activated】
Across time and space...
—This city no longer has any secrets from you.