Chapter 142: Sera's Apology

The next day.

Originally, today was supposed to be the day when a detective from the Metropolitan Police Department would visit Akikawa Kyousuke regarding the incident with Toda Kyouji the day before.

However, for some reason, the criminal investigators from the Metropolitan Police Department did not show up as scheduled.

Although Akikawa Kyousuke could not meet the detective, he once again found himself visited by the elementary school "Shinigami" students.

Today, Suzuki Sonoko brought several gifts and came to Akikawa Kyousuke's hospital room along with Mouri Ran, Sera Masumi, and Conan.

---

Knock knock.

Suzuki Sonoko lightly knocked on the door and received a response from Akikawa Kyousuke inside. She then opened the door to his hospital room.

"Mr. Akikawa, we're here to visit you…"

Suzuki Sonoko's voice was filled with energy as she greeted him.

But before she could finish her sentence, she noticed someone else sitting in Akikawa Kyousuke's room—Okino Yoko.

Her words faltered, and she swallowed the second half of her sentence.

"Miss Yoko?!"

Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Ran cried out in surprise.

Neither of them had expected the famous star Okino Yoko to be there, accompanying Akikawa Kyousuke.

"Miss Mouri, Miss Suzuki, hello," Okino Yoko greeted them with a warm smile.

She then stood up and approached Sera Masumi, who was still wearing her signature hat, as well as Conan. Bowing slightly, she expressed her gratitude to the two detectives.

"I heard from Mr. Akikawa that Miss Sera arrived just in time to save him. Thank you very much, Miss Sera."

"And Conan-kun, thank you as well. If you hadn't stopped Akikawa-kun's bleeding, he might have been in real danger."

---

"It's fine, really. I just couldn't stand Toda," Sera Masumi replied casually.

"Yeah, I just happened to learn some first-aid techniques for stopping bleeding from TV," Conan added modestly.

Because of Okino Yoko's sincere thanks, both Sera and Conan felt slightly embarrassed and responded humbly.

---

After exchanging brief greetings with Okino Yoko, Suzuki Sonoko placed the snacks she had brought on the small cabinet beside Akikawa Kyousuke's bed.

Then, along with Mouri Ran and Conan, she began to ask about Akikawa Kyousuke's condition with concern.

Sera Masumi, standing to the side, listened silently to their conversation while observing Akikawa Kyousuke.

---

Yesterday.

Sera Masumi had discovered three life insurance policies in Akikawa Kyousuke's name at his home.

This was a clue that had been overlooked when the Metropolitan Police Department searched the homes of Akikawa Kyousuke and Akikawa Ryoko the previous year.

This finding completely overturned her initial judgment about the car accident case.

---

Additionally, Sera Masumi learned that for a life insurance policy to cover suicide, it must have been in effect for more than three years.

This led her to conclude that Akikawa Kyousuke had originally planned to commit suicide on August 23 of the previous year.

This meant that the sleeping pills Akikawa Kyousuke had taken at the time were likely consumed voluntarily, not forced upon him as he had claimed.

Why Akikawa Kyousuke lied was a mystery that puzzled Sera Masumi.

---

Furthermore, the existence of these three insurance policies also raised questions in Sera's mind.

Based on the concentration of triazolam detected in Akikawa Kyousuke's system at the time, the doctor determined that he had ingested the sleeping pills after the car accident.

Thus, there were two possibilities:

---

The first was that these three insurance policies were actually signed by Akikawa Ryoko three years prior, with the intent of staging her son's death as a suicide three years later to fraudulently claim the insurance money.

If this were true, Akikawa Ryoko's plan backfired, leading to her being killed by Akikawa Kyousuke.

Subsequently, Akikawa Kyousuke ingested the sleeping pills prepared by his mother but survived by chance.

However, Sera quickly dismissed this idea.

---

Leaving aside whether Akikawa Kyousuke, with his physical condition, could have killed his mother who intended to harm him, if he truly acted in self-defense, he could have explained it as such.

There would have been no reason for him to lie.

Perhaps Akikawa Kyousuke's "childhood experiences" prevented him from understanding the concept of "justifiable self-defense."

But if Akikawa Kyousuke were truly that naive, he wouldn't have been able to erase the fingerprints from the murder weapon.

---

The second possibility was that these three policies were signed by Akikawa Kyousuke himself three years ago, intending to commit suicide on his twentieth birthday so that his mother could collect the insurance payout.

However, due to an "accident," Akikawa Ryoko was killed by a third party before Kyousuke could take his own life.

In the end, a devastated Akikawa Kyousuke decided to commit suicide but survived by sheer luck.

Though this explanation seemed far-fetched, it accounted for all the inconsistencies.

---

The reason Akikawa Kyousuke lied—

Was because he genuinely hoped the police would catch the real culprit who had murdered his mother.

The pristine dagger, devoid of any clues, further indicated the presence of a skilled third party.

---

As for what Kyouji Toda had said—claiming that Akikawa Kyousuke was a criminal genius and the true killer of Akikawa Ryoko—

Sera Masumi found no evidence in Akikawa Kyousuke's home to support Toda's claims, and she buried this suspicion deep within her heart.

After all—

All the evidence currently pointed to Akikawa Kyousuke being an incredibly unfortunate victim.

If she doubted Akikawa Kyousuke's words based on that bastard's accusations, it would be too cruel.

---

Moreover, Sera Masumi herself felt guilty for hurting Akikawa Kyousuke.

Now, having learned that Akikawa Kyousuke was likely a boy who had decided years ago to take his own life for his mother's sake,

Sera's remorse for doubting Akikawa Kyousuke only grew stronger in her heart.

---

'An apology isn't enough to make up for the mistakes I made against Akikawa. And my apology might hurt him further.'

'In that case, let me help you find the third party who killed Mrs. Ryoko.'

'I'll personally bring your mother's killer to justice.'

'I'll fulfill your wish.'

Sera Masumi gazed at Akikawa Kyousuke, lying in his hospital bed, with her deep green eyes and made a firm decision in her heart.

---

At the same time, an inexplicable sense of unease began to rise within her.

She felt as though she and Conan had overlooked something glaringly obvious.

---

Meanwhile—

What Sera Masumi didn't notice was that while she was staring at Akikawa Kyousuke,

Okino Yoko was also watching him intently.

---

(End of the Chapter).