Chapter 166: The God of Mold

The Kanagawa Prefectural Police took Shoichi Matsutani and Mayumi Motoki in for separate interrogations.

At the same time, to ensure thoroughness, the police confirmed that the hood of the Masked Superman, who killed Kenshi Furusawa, contained ingredients from the bath agent sold by Kosenan.

They then conducted an investigation on all residents living on the second floor.

Many tourists had also purchased the bath agents, but as Conan pointed out, most people bought these bath agents to gift to others or to recreate the Kosenan hot springs experience in their own baths after returning home.

No one would use Kosenan's bath agent in a Kosenan room.

This essentially confirmed Shoichi Matsutani as the prime suspect in the crime.

---

At the same time, forensic officers examined the suitcase used to dispose of the body but found no fingerprints on it.

Among the three suspects, only Mayumi Motoki's suitcase was large enough to fit inside another suitcase.

Furthermore, Akikawa Kyousuke's initial testimony revealed that Mayumi Motoki and Shoichi Matsutani knew each other.

Thus, the police identified Mayumi Motoki as Shoichi Matsutani's accomplice in the murder of Takeshi Furusawa.

---

Akikawa Kyousuke understood this well.

He knew Mayumi Motoki would react with hatred whenever anyone mentioned Takeshi Furusawa.

Sooner or later, the police would investigate Mayumi Motoki's interpersonal relationships and uncover crucial clues.

Not to mention, under the "prisoner's dilemma" interrogation style often used by the police, suspects would inevitably betray one another.

---

"Speaking of which, Kudo-kun, why don't you sneak in and listen to the police interrogating the suspects?"

Haibara Ai teased Conan in a low voice.

"How could the police allow a kid like me to be present during an interrogation?"

Conan responded helplessly.

---

"Oh, but if I recall correctly, the famous high school detective Kudo Shinichi used to have the privilege of observing interrogations."

"That may be true, but that privilege is reserved for 'Kudo Shinichi,' not for 'Edogawa Conan.'"

"Besides, regardless of the killer's motives, the fact that they chose to kill doesn't change.

The moment they decided to solve their problems through murder, everything had already become irreversible."

Conan said with a serious tone.

---

While Conan and Haibara Ai exchanged words in hushed tones, Akikawa Kyousuke, who had been cleared of suspicion, finally evaded police surveillance and approached the two of them.

Haibara Ai, noticing someone approaching, quickly stopped speaking and turned to look at Akikawa Kyousuke.

---

"Conan-kun, is the little boy who was taken away by the ambulance okay?"

Akikawa Kyousuke asked with a concerned tone.

"He should be fine. The concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the Masked Superman's hood wasn't very high, so Genta probably just passed out temporarily."

"Really? I thought it was something serious!"

Akikawa Kyousuke seemed genuinely surprised, reacting as though someone believed to be dead had suddenly come back to life.

---

"Haha, thank you for your concern, Kyousuke-nii."

Conan expressed his gratitude to Akikawa Kyousuke in a childish tone.

Meanwhile, Haibara Ai quietly observed Akikawa Kyousuke.

She listened to the exchange between him and Conan, feeling a growing sense of familiarity with the artist standing before her.

But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't pinpoint the source of this feeling.

---

Haibara Ai was confident in her memory. She was certain she had never come across the name "Akikawa" before.

After pondering for a moment, Haibara Ai suddenly asked:

"Excuse me, why didn't you take off your hood during the performance?"

"Eh?"

Conan and Akikawa Kyousuke were both caught off guard by her question.

---

"In that scene where the Masked Superman confronted the Evil Mask, you should have removed your hood, right?

I also noticed that the actor playing the Evil Mask looked confused when you didn't remove it."

Akikawa Kyousuke looked at the small girl in front of him, whose demeanor reminded him a bit of Sera Masumi, and asked, confused:

"Who are you?"

---

"My name is Haibara Ai. I'm just a regular elementary school student."

'Haibara Ai?!'

When Akikawa Kyousuke heard her name, a realization struck him.

---

'No wonder this girl's way of speaking doesn't match her appearance. It turns out she's in the same situation as that elementary school grim reaper.'

Akikawa Kyousuke had some impression of Haibara Ai.

But his understanding of her was limited to the fact that, like Conan, she had a mature soul hidden behind the appearance of a child.

---

Hearing Haibara Ai's question, Akikawa Kyousuke hesitated before replying:

"Because I always feel like nothing good happens when I meet Conan-kun, so…"

Akikawa Kyousuke didn't finish his sentence.

He seemed to realize his words might come across as disrespectful, so he quickly found an excuse to leave.

---

Conan: "????"

Hearing this, Conan was utterly baffled.

Meanwhile, after Akikawa Kyousuke walked away, Haibara Ai suddenly burst out laughing.

It seemed more than one person shared the same thoughts about him.

Wherever this disaster magnet went, people inevitably died.

---

"Haibara, have you laughed enough?"

Conan asked helplessly as Haibara Ai clutched her stomach, laughing uncontrollably.

"Kudo-kun, what's the deal? Why does that artist dislike you so much?

What happened between the two of you?"

Haibara Ai asked curiously.

---

Conan thought about it for a moment before replying:

"Besides this time, I've been involved in at least four or five cases with Akikawa. He's almost always the victim."

"Then it's no surprise that Kyousuke dislikes you."

"Any normal person would avoid you after experiencing so much bad luck."

Haibara Ai said bluntly.

---

"What does that have to do with me? Akikawa's misfortune is his own, okay?"

Conan retorted, clearly unhappy with Haibara Ai's comment.

"Do you mean, like Mouri Kogoro?" Haibara Ai asked.

"No. When it comes to Kogoro-ojisan, most of the time, it's other people who suffer.

But this Kyousuke... it's like he's cursing himself. He's so unlucky that he can't even hurt others, yet every criminal he encounters seems to want him dead.

He's almost died multiple times."

---

"Eh?!"

Haibara Ai's face showed a hint of surprise at this revelation.

She had assumed Akikawa Kyousuke's involvement in Conan's cases was purely due to bad luck, but she hadn't realized it was this severe.

---

"Kudo-kun, if coincidences happen too often, they might not be coincidences at all."

Haibara Ai's expression grew serious as she reminded Conan.

'They really are cousins. Their thought processes are too similar.'

Conan thought to himself, comparing Haibara Ai to Sera Masumi, then replied:

"That may be true, but as a detective, don't I also come across too many 'coincidences'?"

---

"Oh~?"

Haibara Ai's voice rose slightly.

"Then, Kudo-kun, are you admitting you're a Grim Reaper?"

(End of Chapter)