Winning is everything: Conan

"Well, this is what happened..."

Conan had been feeling quite troubled during this period and wanted to find an opportunity to talk to someone.

Seeing that Haibara Ai was asking about it, he let out everything that had happened recently regarding Sakaguchi Masayoshi's lawsuit, including what Keisuke had told him, and recounted it all to the two people present.

"I can't agree with what that person said!"

Conan seemed to be holding back his anger.

"A detective's job is to find the truth, to ensure that criminals receive the punishment they deserve, and to clear the names of those who are truly innocent. As long as things remain within a reasonable scope and no one is harmed, what's so wrong about doing something that the law doesn't allow?"

"I see, so this is what's been bothering you lately..."

The more Haibara Ai listened, the more interesting her expression became.

She looked Conan up and down with her ice-blue eyes, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

"I think what that person said makes sense. No matter what the detective's goal is—whether it's finding the real culprit or saving people—one thing is different from another. No matter the reason, a crime is still a crime and should be judged by the law. Isn't that what you always say?"

"I—I was just..."

Conan blushed. He had wanted to find someone he could talk to.

Although Haibara Ai usually seemed like a cheerful person, he hadn't expected that she wouldn't take his side in this matter.

"What I did was legitimate! I remember that in law, there's a concept called emergency justification."

After thinking hard about it, he finally came up with this explanation.

"Looks like you're not omnipotent! Or did Hawaii not teach you specific laws?"

The curve of Haibara Ai's lips became more pronounced.

"That's right. The law is a vast system. If you could learn it all, then those who have spent over ten years studying law must be too pitiful, don't you think?"

"...What do you mean?"

Conan frowned at Haibara Ai's teasing words. He had been feeling a bit uneasy for a while now.

"Article 37 of the Japanese Penal Code: Emergency measures taken out of necessity to protect one's own or others' life, body, liberty, or property from imminent danger will not be punished if the degree of harm caused does not exceed the harm one seeks to avoid."

Haibara Ai recited the Penal Code fluently, as if she were reading from a book.

There was a hint of mischief in her eyes as she looked at Conan.

"Pay attention—it's 'inevitable'! Kudo, which of the things you did could be called 'inevitable'?"

"...!"

Looking into Haibara Ai's eyes and hearing her words, which seemed to be mocking him, Conan suddenly realized what was bothering him at that moment.

"Haibara, turns out you and that guy are the same kind of people!"

Conan stood up and waved his hand somewhat aggressively.

"Alright, stay out of my business!"

He jumped off the chair with a huff, walked toward the door angrily, and slammed it shut.

"Shinichi!"

Dr. Agasa called out quickly from behind him, but Conan didn't even turn around.

"This kid..."

Shaking his head, the doctor sighed.

"He's obviously seventeen, but in some things, he still acts like a child. Ai, don't be angry, that's just how he is—he's not very smart about certain things."

Haibara Ai stared in the direction Conan had left.

Actually, she had only wanted to make a joke first and then change her words to comfort him. After all, it was rare to see Kudo like this, and teasing him was just her usual way of talking.

But she hadn't expected him to be so sensitive, and the comforting words she had been about to say died in her throat before she could speak them.

After a moment, Haibara Ai shook her head.

"Forget it, doctor. I don't belong here anyway. I'll move out after a while and won't cause you any more trouble."

"Ah..."

Seeing the hint of disappointment in Haibara Ai's eyes, Dr. Agasa opened his mouth but could only let out a long sigh in the end.

…

I have to admit that Keisuke had been feeling a bit irritable these past few days.

As soon as he woke up in the morning, he would check his phone, look at his bank account, then immediately step out of his room to check his mailbox.

After breakfast, he would check his phone and bank account again, then his mailbox.

At lunch, he would repeat the process.

In the afternoon, he would do it all over again.

He had done this dozens of times throughout the day.

"Where is the one-million-yen check you promised me?"

Keisuke Kumiko slammed the mailbox shut outside his door.

He had checked it multiple times over the past few days, but there was no check and no bank transfer. The commission Masayoshi Sakaguchi had promised seemed to have been completely forgotten.

So, after about a week, Keisuke couldn't wait any longer.

His wallet was already stretched to its limit, and without more money, he probably wouldn't be able to pay rent this month—let alone buy the new Nintendo Switch game The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which was coming out next month. He had been looking forward to it for a long time.

"Is he really going to pay up? Or is he trying to get out of his debt?"

Regardless of the reason, Keisuke decided to go to Beika Town again and ask Sakaguchi Masayoshi in person.

After taking the train for dozens of minutes, Keisuke got off and walked for a while before arriving at his destination—Sakaguchi Masayoshi's house.

From a distance, there was a commotion outside the house.

Workers could be seen going in and out, moving furniture, while Masayoshi Sakaguchi was giving directions at the door.

"Mr. Sakaguchi, what's going on?"

Keisuke walked up to the house and looked around for a moment.

Seeing the person who had suddenly appeared in front of him, Sakaguchi Masayoshi was slightly stunned, then smiled.

"So it's you, Attorney Kumiko. As you can see, I'm hiring movers."

"Are you planning to run away and avoid paying your debt?"

Kumiko spoke bluntly.

"I have the contract you signed at the beginning. According to what's written, if I take you to court, I think you'll end up paying even more."

"No way, Attorney Kumiko, I have no intention of not paying my debt," Sakaguchi Masayoshi said with a wry smile.

"It's just that I've been dealing with a lot recently and was too busy to handle everything at once, so your case got delayed. Don't worry, I'll pay you every last yen I owe today."

Keisuke Kumiko nodded.

"I thought so. A little over a million yen—how could our esteemed Attorney Sakaguchi not be able to come up with it?"

He paused.

"So, what exactly happened?"

Keisuke Kumiko looked at the movers.

"Judging by the situation, are you planning to sell this big house? Are you having financial troubles? Have you been sued? If someone's suing you, don't hesitate—come straight to me. I'll give you a 20% discount for being an old client!"

"No, that's not it."

Sakaguchi Masayoshi shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and then said,

"I want to sell this house and give part of the money to Maehara Tsuyoshi's family as compensation for killing their son."

"..."

Keisuke took a step back and looked Sakaguchi Masayoshi up and down for a while.

After a long moment, he let out a deep sigh.

"How can there be a fool like you in this world? Is it that you don't have enough money, or has that little devil convinced you again and awakened your pitiful empathy? Please, that's the enemy who killed your son!"

(End of Chapter)