Chapter 169: The Decomposed Corpse

Since Akikawa Kyousuke is an important "eyewitness" in this poisoning case, he needs to stay in Hakone for one more day. He must wait until he goes to the police station to complete the transcription before returning to Tokyo.

For the past two days, Akikawa Kyousuke had chosen to shower in his room to avoid running into the primary school student and meeting an untimely death.

Today, however, Akikawa Kyousuke deliberately woke up before five o'clock, planning to bathe in the hot springs when no one else was around.

Unexpectedly, he ran into the primary school Shinigami once again.

---

Conan froze on the spot, staring at Akikawa Kyousuke for a few seconds.

Although Conan didn't believe Akikawa Kyousuke's streak of misfortune had anything to do with him, it was evident that Akikawa Kyousuke didn't think the same.

Based on Kyousuke's comments yesterday, Conan realized that this artist disliked him immensely.

In Kyousuke's eyes, Conan might as well have been the very source of his bad luck.

---

At that moment, the two encountered each other again in the empty changing room. Conan felt so embarrassed that he wanted to dig his toes into the ground to hide.

"Good morning... Good morning, Brother Akikawa~"

Conan greeted Akikawa Kyousuke in his childish voice.

In response, Akikawa Kyousuke gave him an exceedingly cheerful smile and replied, "Good morning."

---

Although it seemed a bit over the top, Conan couldn't shake the feeling that Kyousuke's smile, combined with his sharp features, could make countless hearts race in an instant.

'Why didn't this guy become an idol?'

'That smile alone, paired with his face, could instantly captivate any audience.'

---

Even as Conan muttered inwardly, the cheerful smile on Kyousuke's face sent chills down his spine. It reminded him too much of Sae Otani, the popular high school student Kyousuke portrayed on stage, charming his classmates with effortless ease.

Hurriedly removing his clothes, Conan dashed toward the hot springs with a towel.

Even if it was just a second earlier, all he wanted was to escape this suffocatingly awkward atmosphere.

---

Akikawa Kyousuke watched Conan leave, smiling all the while.

But as Conan disappeared from sight, Kyousuke's expression reverted to its usual somber and slightly brooding look.

Meeting the God of Death so early in the morning, Kyousuke felt certain that today was destined to be another unlucky day.

---

Just as Kyousuke finished bathing and was about to return to his room, a sudden burst of footsteps echoed from the direction Conan had gone.

"Brother Akikawa!"

The next moment, Conan's slightly panicked voice called out, and Kyousuke saw him running back into the changing room—completely naked.

---

"What's wrong?"

Kyousuke asked, noticing the frightened look on Conan's face. A sinking feeling began to settle in his chest.

"Hurry, come with me!"

Conan hastily threw on his yukata, tied the sash around his waist, and pulled Kyousuke toward the hot spring area.

---

As soon as they entered, the familiar smell of rotten eggs wafted into Kyousuke's nose.

But amidst the sulfuric odor, Kyousuke could detect a sharp, acrid stench—one that was unmistakably foul.

---

He knew this smell all too well.

It was the stench of decomposition, produced by bacteria breaking down tissue after death.

Kyousuke's bad feeling was confirmed once again, leaving him speechless.

'My perfectly fine day ended the moment I saw that primary school Shinigami.'

---

Even though he recognized the smell of a corpse, Kyousuke still pinched his nose and grimaced in disgust.

"What is that smell? Why is it so strong?"

"It's coming from over there!"

Conan pointed toward a nearby hot spring pool.

There, Kyousuke saw an opaque black bag floating in the bubbling water—suspicious, to say the least.

---

'The charming detective from before isn't here anymore, so you're expecting me to open the bag and check?'

Kyousuke could see through Conan's intentions at a glance.

Although Conan, as the protagonist detective in this world, undoubtedly possessed the ability to solve crimes, his current childlike form limited how much he could act on his reasoning.

And with Dr. Agasa absent, Kyousuke was the only adult left to handle the situation.

---

With a mix of hesitation and suspicion, Kyousuke approached the bubbling hot spring.

Reaching into the water, he grabbed the black bag and dragged it to the shore.

Even before he opened it, Kyousuke had a clear guess about its contents.

---

The smell of decomposition typically begins 12 to 24 hours after death.

Given the high temperature of the hot spring area, the decomposition process would have accelerated.

In other words, the bag in front of him most likely contained a corpse that had been dead for at least 8 hours.

---

But there was no way an adult body could fit into such a bag.

That left two possibilities:

The bag contained either the body of a child or the "partial" remains of an adult.

---

Kyousuke untied the bag, and his second guess was proven correct.

Inside the bag, he saw a severed upper arm and forearm, along with a right leg divided into a thigh and a shin.

---

As for why he could instantly tell it was a right leg but couldn't determine if the arm was left or right, it was because the shin was still connected to the right foot, while the forearm had been severed at the wrist.

Without being able to directly observe the radius and ulna, Kyousuke couldn't confirm whether the arm belonged to the left or right side.

---

"Ah—!"

Kyousuke let out a startled cry, dropped the bag, and stumbled back over ten meters.

When Conan looked inside, his face displayed an expression of utter horror.

He genuinely seemed like a frightened child, running toward the direction Kyousuke had retreated to.

---

'An arm and a leg together make up about 21%–24% of the human body's total weight.

Roughly estimating, the bag should weigh less than 15 kilograms.

Judging by the victim's time of death, the gases produced by decomposition—such as methane and hydrogen sulfide—shouldn't have been enough to make the bag float.

It must be that the killer accidentally sealed too much air inside while packing the bag, causing it to remain buoyant instead of sinking.'

---

'Does that mean the rest of the body is at the bottom of the pool?'

'Additionally, the killer must have been in a state of panic while disposing of the body, hastily sealing and discarding the bag.'

'But if that's the case, why would the killer bother dismembering the body in the first place?'

---

Kyousuke leaned against the wall, covering his mouth with one hand as if about to vomit.

While the appearance of the corpse sparked his curiosity, his thoughts kept circling back to the killer's mental state during the disposal.

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'When I threw the bag earlier, the livor mortis stains didn't shift, meaning the lividity had already settled.

Combined with the smell, the victim must have been dead for over ten hours.

The dismemberment targeted the humeroulnar joint, femorotibial joint, and radiocarpal joint—all "mobile" joints responsible for flexion and extension.'

---

'What was the killer's motive? Excluding eccentric behavior, could it be that the dismemberment was meant to conceal something?'

---

Behind his round-framed glasses, Conan's eyes remained fixed on the black bag from a distance.

While his thoughts raced, his small face still displayed an expression of terrified innocence.

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(End of the Chapter)