Chapter 168: The Last Hot Spring
Akikawa Kyousuke returned to his room and saw numerous missed calls and messages from Misaki Itakura on his phone.
He stepped out of his room and knocked on the door of the neighboring room.
Soon, the door opened from within.
Akikawa Kyousuke was met by the bespectacled agent.
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"What's going on? Why are you calling me so many times?"
"I thought you'd been killed again, Mr. Akikawa!"
Misaki Itakura sighed in obvious relief upon seeing Akikawa Kyousuke. After welcoming him into the room and closing the door, Misaki continued:
"What on earth happened? Why is there a case no matter where we go?"
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"If that kid from the Mouri detective family hadn't shown up, everything would've been fine."
Akikawa Kyousuke replied.
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"What happened this time? I just saw the police come to search your room, Mr. Akikawa!"
"Takeshi Furuzawa, the actor who played Masked Superman, was murdered, and I was named a suspect."
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"Wha—?!"
Misaki Itakura's expression froze in shock. Then Akikawa Kyousuke continued:
"The killer is the actor Shouichi Matsutani, who played that monster. I'm afraid we won't be able to continue this job."
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"Oh my god!!"
Misaki Itakura clutched his head in panic.
He suddenly felt like his artist's path to fame was growing increasingly bumpy.
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"Speaking of which, something strange happened."
Misaki Itakura said as he retrieved several boxes of bath salts from his suitcase.
"I originally thought of buying some bath salts as souvenirs for my mother and Miss Yoko, but for some reason, when the police searched my room, they spent a long time examining these bath salts."
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"Oh, that… Itakura-san, you should treasure those bath salts. They might not be available in the future."
"Huh? Why? Aren't there plenty of places selling souvenirs downstairs?"
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"I don't know the exact details, but it seems the killer relied on these bath salts to commit the murder this time."
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"Eh?!"
Misaki Itakura's expression was once again startled as he slowly looked down at the bath salts in his hand.
Immediately, a horrified expression spread across his delicate cheeks.
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"This… this thing isn't poisonous, is it? Thank goodness I haven't given them away yet!!"
"That's not exactly the case, but when mixed with certain specific substances, it seems they can produce poisonous gas.
Because the reaction is quite complex, it shouldn't cause harm if used normally."
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"I see…"
Misaki Itakura let out a sigh of relief after hearing that.
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"I suppose I can't keep working on this job. How about you let me give it to Sister Yoko on your behalf?"
Akikawa Kyousuke suggested.
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"Huh? Oh, alright then! I'll leave it to you, Mr. Akikawa!"
Misaki Itakura replied, handing one of the boxes of bath salts to Akikawa Kyousuke.
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Akikawa Kyousuke returned to his room with the bath salts and glanced at the list of ingredients on the packaging.
'It turns out to be magnesium sulfide.'
In Akikawa Kyousuke's opinion, Japan should ban the sale of bath salts containing magnesium sulfide or sodium sulfide.
Perhaps because these bath salts were produced by the Kosenan hot spring hotel itself, they had inadvertently evaded regulations and were being sold on a small scale at the hotel.
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However, with such a serious murder case occurring this time, it was likely the Kosenan hot spring hotel would face significant consequences.
This stage production had now lost two actors, so naturally, the promotional event between Kosenan and Masked Superman couldn't continue.
When the Kosenan staff announced the cancellation of the performance, the hotel's first floor was suddenly filled with the discontented cries of children.
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Meanwhile…
At a hospital in Hakone.
Kojima Motota, who had fallen into a coma after inhaling hydrogen sulfide, had woken up.
Because the concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the Masked Superman helmet wasn't high, Motota's life wasn't in danger.
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Still, the symptoms of hydrogen sulfide poisoning were causing him significant discomfort.
The doctor connected Motota to a ventilator.
High concentrations of oxygen could help mitigate the effects of hydrogen sulfide on the respiratory system and increase blood oxygen levels.
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After some time, Motota's expression softened considerably.
After thanking the doctor, the group of children climbed into Dr. Agasa's car to head back to the hot spring hotel.
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"Genta, do you have a better memory now?"
"How many times do I have to tell you not to touch other people's things?"
"Fortunately, the hydrogen sulfide in the helmet had almost completely leaked out. Otherwise, you'd probably be dead."
"Besides, that helmet was originally a display left at the scene. Grabbing it with your hands could destroy important evidence!"
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From the back seat of Dr. Agasa's Beetle, Conan leaned forward to scold Genta Kojima, who was sitting in the front.
"I see…"
Genta replied absentmindedly, then turned to Dr. Agasa in the driver's seat.
"Doctor, when can we get there? I'm hungry!"
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Conan: "…"
Conan sat back wordlessly, realizing Motota hadn't heard a single word he'd said.
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He then turned to look at Haibara Ai, who was sitting on the edge, focused on her phone.
Conan leaned over slightly to see the phone screen, which was positioned in front of Yoshida Ayumi.
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He noticed a familiar name—
Akikawa Kyousuke.
It turned out Haibara Ai was looking up information about the actor Akikawa Kyousuke online.
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Conan pulled out his own phone and sent a message to Haibara Ai.
Conan: [Haibara, why are you interested in that Akikawa guy?]
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Shortly after, Conan received a response.
Haibara Ai: [I'm not interested. I just feel like he seems familiar.]
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Conan: [I know why you feel that way about Akikawa.]
Haibara Ai: [Oh?]
Conan: [Don't tell anyone, but Akikawa is actually Ms. Yoko's biological brother. That's why you find him familiar.]
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Haibara Ai: [What? Ms. Yoko has a younger brother?!]
Haibara Ai sent Conan a shocked emoji, clearly just as surprised as he had been.
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Soon after, everyone returned to the hot spring hotel.
After eating a large meal alongside Motota Kojima, who had been starving all day, everyone returned to their rooms to rest once again.
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The next day.
Conan woke up early, eager to enjoy one last dip in the hot springs before heading back to Tokyo.
He got up quietly, left his room, and made his way to the men's changing area on the first floor.
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Just as Conan was about to remove his yukata, he caught sight of someone entering from the corner of his eye.
Curious, he glanced toward the door.
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He wondered who else, besides himself, would choose to bathe this early.
Then he saw none other than the actor, Akikawa Kyousuke, standing there holding his clothes, staring back at him with a bewildered expression.
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(End of Chapter)