"Mai, did you really kill Urata?!" Yota Mitani couldn't wrap his head around it.
She usually seemed so gentle; how could she do something like this?
"Yes. I was indeed the one who poisoned him."
"With his behavior, he wasn't qualified to be a doctor at all." Mai Kogami's expression darkened slightly.
"W-Why would you say that..." Yumi Noda looked confused.
"I think you all know that he intended to present a paper at this upcoming conference." Mai Kogami let out a long breath.
"That's right."
Yumi Noda and Yota Mitani looked at each other and nodded simultaneously. They had discussed this matter before.
That paper was very likely to help him advance a step further in his career.
"However, there was a patient whose condition was sufficient to overturn the theory Urata himself proposed. And that patient was staying in our hospital at the time."
"It was just unexpected that the patient's condition suddenly deteriorated, and they simply died."
"It was as if they never existed." As Mai Kogami spoke, her anger grew, and her gaze became incredibly sharp.
"Could it be that Urata...?" Yumi Noda thought of a terrifying possibility.
"Exactly. Urata prescribed the wrong medication to that patient, causing their condition to deteriorate rapidly. His goal was simply to protect his fragile, rotten theory."
Mai Kogami clenched her fists.
Last week, after Ayako Ninagawa voluntarily broke off her engagement with Dr. Urata, the two of them had gone out drinking together to drown their sorrows. It was then that Mai Kogami learned of this from the mouth of a dead-drunk Kohei Urata.
"'Someone like me, who holds the power of life and death over others, was actually played for a fool by a girl ten years my junior.' That was exactly what he said."
"I have to praise you. Well done!" Tsuneo smiled and said this right in front of the police.
Hypocritical guys like that are hard to catch, even for me.
Counting every last one of them, they should all be killed!
Supported!
"Tsuneo-kun..." Inspector Megure glanced left and right, warning him not to say such things in public.
Aside from the police and those involved in the case, there were still many high school students in the hall. He shouldn't speak so recklessly.
"Thank you. I told him back then that a doctor who toys with human lives like him would definitely face retribution." Mai Kogami revealed a relieved smile.
"Then, was the medicine bottle we found in Mr. Urata's car also prepared by you?" Takagi asked.
"Yes. I put that in the glove compartment as well. I also deliberately hid his driver's license just to mess with his head."
"It's just that my luck today really wasn't very good."
Mai Kogami looked at the detectives present one by one.
The Sleeping Famous Detective, the dark-skinned high school detective from Kansai, and the one who praised her for a job well done...
And that sudden rain shower...
With Mai Kogami confessing her motive, the case finally came to a close. Inspector Megure took the suspect back to the Metropolitan Police Department first.
The students who had come to the hall to watch the play also began to leave in twos and threes.
"Tsuneo-niisan, if you knew that doctor's secret, what would you have done?" Hattori looked at the repairman.
"If I ran into that kind of trash, I'd generally throw him directly into Tokyo Bay," Tsuneo said after a pause.
"No matter what reason you have for killing..." Conan wanted to argue.
"No matter what reason you have for killing, you must not get caught!" The repairman nodded and said.
Getting caught is miserable. You might not even get enough to eat.
"I think I'll write a detective romance play next time. It'll definitely be a hit!" Sonoko seemed to have a burst of inspiration and started writing something again...
...
The next day.
Nighttime.
Professor Agasa's house.
"It seems the Culture Festival yesterday was very lively," Ai said as she turned off the TV, which was reporting on the poisoning case.
A large group of reapers had been summoned there. It was lucky for Teitan High School that no major explosion had occurred.
"Yeah. They were selling all kinds of food." Tsuneo nodded.
Although the taste might have been a bit lacking, those high school students really had a lot of variety!
Ai: "..."
Was I referring to that?
All you know is eating!
" hasn't this arsonist been caught yet?" Professor Agasa looked at the newspaper and asked.
It was already the fourth arson attack.
"An arsonist..." Tsuneo felt that this kind of thing would likely fall onto the famous detective's head in the end.
After all, that was just 'Ke-xue' (Conan-science)...
"Why? Are you going to put on a mask at midnight and go catch him?" Ai went back to reading her fashion magazine; many new products had been released recently.
If this arsonist gets targeted by the Dark Knight, they'll be truly unlucky.
"I heard that someone died near the scene of the fourth fire," Akemi said to the group, patting her sister's head.
The police hadn't released details of the investigation, so it was impossible to determine if the deceased was related to the arsonist.
"There will probably be a fifth and sixth fire soon. You should be careful when going out at night recently," Professor Agasa warned the sisters.
This arsonist seemed to have some strange objective, but it was hard to put a finger on it.
If the death near the fourth fire was related to him, then his danger level had just gone up a notch.
While Tsuneo and the others were idly discussing the serial arson cases...
Elsewhere, Ayumi, who was shopping with her mother in the shopping district, saw a strange person.
"Very good. Grow up quickly, my child. Burn even brighter. Use your claws of flame to your heart's content and leave your mark!"
A man in a trench coat struck a match, lit it, and slowly walked out of a pitch-black alley.
"One spot left. Once that's done, the eve of the celebration will be complete. At that time, this corrupt city will be engulfed in the crimson lotus of flames."
"This grand carnival is about to begin."
The man held down the hat on his head, muttering to himself as if no one else was around, his words interspersed with laughter that sounded eerie.
Ayumi, who had just bought an Action Kamen gashapon from a machine on the street using her pocket money, stood at the door with a strange look on her face, watching the man get into a car and leave.
"Ayumi, it's time to go back!" Ayumi's mother walked out of a nearby shop and waved.
"Okay!" Ayumi took her mother's hand, looking back three times at the direction the man had left.
The mother and daughter hadn't walked far when flames roared into the sky from the alley behind the shopping district.
The fifth arson case had occurred.
However, judging by this arsonist's lines, his 'Chuunibyou' (Eighth-Grader Syndrome) had likely reached the terminal stage...
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[pat*eon*com/DaoistRoeoNQ]
Thank you so much for your support!!!