Chapter 56: Confusing Right and Wrong

"Officer Megure! The murder weapon has been found! It's in Nishihara's bag!"

The police shout nearly caused Nishihara Koichi to have a heart attack.

"Weapon?! What weapon?! Rope?! How could that thing be in my bag?!"

"Could it be that Akikawa went into my room and put it in my bag while I was performing on stage?"

Koichi Nishihara is certain of two things.

That is, there is no way Akikawa Kyousuke could know he was the one who attacked him.

The only person who touched the murder weapon (two hemp ropes) was Akikawa Kyousuke.

Considering these two points,

That means Akikawa Kyousuke discovered he had been framed after he woke up, then secretly went into his room and put the rope in his bag.

Assuming Akikawa Kyousuke does not know he is the real killer, it means that Akikawa Kyousuke could only be "deliberately incriminating" himself.

After thinking this through, Koichi Nishihara quickly shouted:

"Impossible! How could there be a murder weapon in my bag!"

"This must be a trap! Someone must be framing me!!"

"Someone must have put the murder weapon in my bag while I was performing on stage!"

"Officer, you must carefully confirm this! No matter what that thing is, it can't be mine."

Koichi Nishihara shouted loudly:

However, when he saw the wet wig pulled out by the detective who entered his dressing room to check it,

the words he tried to explain got stuck in his throat.

"What is this?!"

"Wig?!"

Nishihara Koichi felt his brain start to become more and more confused.

He really couldn't understand what the relationship was between this wig and the murder weapon.

Apparently, he strangled the lighting engineer named Uesugi with a rope.

But why?!

The police officers and detectives in front of him seemed to have naturally found the murder weapon, didn't they?!

"Nishihara, this was found in your bag. Are you saying it's not yours?"

Megure Juzo asked Nishihara Koichi.

"I don't know! I've never seen this before!!"

"Someone must be trying to frame me!"

"Then, who do you think is trying to frame you?"

Sera Masumi asked at this moment.

"Akikawa Kyusuke! It must be him!"

Koichi Nishihara shouted.

On the other hand, Okino Yoko's eyes shifted slightly after hearing what Nishihara Koichi said.

"Although I don't know what happened specifically, weren't there two victims in this case?"

"One of the lighting engineers named Uesugi died, but Akikawa survived. Don't you think that's strange?"

Koichi Nishihara did his best to play the role of an innocent person who was framed, explaining to the police and detectives present.

"Then, may I ask you, Mr. Nishihara, why do you think Akikawa wanted to frame you?"

"He must be jealous of my success! I heard before that Akikawa only got last place in our company's internal training."

"That's not right, Mr. Nishihara."

Okino Yoko did her best to suppress the anger in her heart and said coldly.

"How do I remember that you just said a few minutes ago that you have a very good relationship with Akikawa-kun in private?"

Okino Yoko's voice was not loud, but it made Nishihara Koichi, who was still chatting and making up lies, suddenly stop.

"Yes, I also remember that Mr. Nishihara just said that Brother Akikawa is very happy because you guided him, Mr. Nishihara, and helped him successfully get the role. He often takes the initiative to approach Mr. Nishihara to ask questions about acting."

Conan added in his innocent voice.

"On the other hand, Mr. Nishihara, it seems you have not been satisfied since Brother Akikawa took your role."

Nishihara Koichi was speechless for a moment.

He really didn't expect that.

Not long ago, to prove that he didn't use a mobile phone against Akikawa Kyusuke, he gave a speech.

On the contrary, he denied the possibility of Akikawa Kyousuke framing him.

Sera Masumi looked at the sweaty appearance of Nishihara Koichi and said:

A beautiful smile appeared again on her delicate cheeks.

"Let me guess what this is all about."

"To pursue Miss Yoko, whom he longed for, Mr. Nishihara deliberately chose the same role as Akikawa for the audition."

"After Mr. Nishihara failed the audition, he began to resent Akikawa due to his inner humiliation."

"Due to Akikawa's special personal experience, he could not hear Mr. Nishihara's cynicism. Instead, he took Mr. Nishihara's words as guidance and thought that Mr. Nishihara was a very good person."

"So Akikawa, just as Mr. Nishihara said, continued to ask him for advice during rehearsals."

"But Akikawa didn't realize that his behavior was simply humiliating to Mr. Nishihara."

"Miss Yoko is aware of Mr. Nishihara's past. To prevent Mr. Nishihara from doing excessive things to Mr. Akikawa, she warned him not to have any more contact with Akikawa."

"But this incident further ignited jealousy in your heart, Mr. Nishihara, which ultimately led to this incident."

"Because judging by the intensity with which you attacked Akikawa, Mr. Nishihara, it is obvious that you attacked with the intent to kill him."

Nishihara Koichi grew increasingly shocked as he listened to Sera Masumi's reasoning.

He really didn't expect that Sera Masumi

could guess the entire story of the matter in such a short time with only a few words exchanged between him and Okino Yoko.

However,

When he heard Sera Masumi's last words,

he felt as if someone had hit him on the head with a hammer, and

suddenly his brain was dizzy.

"You're lying with your eyes wide open!"

Koichi Nishihara shouted at Sera Masumi.

"Fine, assuming I'm the killer, then why didn't I just kill Akikawa Kousuke and save his life in an unnecessary way?"

"Isn't this because Mr. Nishihara was about to go on stage and made a rushed move before fleeing without having time to confirm whether Mr. Akikawa was really dead?"

Sera Masumi asked rhetorically.

"Huh--?!"

Countless question marks suddenly appeared in Nishihara Koichi's mind.

Obviously, when he hit, he was afraid that Akikawa Kyusuke would be too seriously injured to wake up, so he continued to control his strength.

Now, when it comes to Sera Masumi's words, the question arises: Did I act in a hurry and have no time to confirm whether Akikawa Kyusuke was dead?!

It was clearly he who set up the blame.

Why do I feel like the detective in front of me, who is more handsome than the idol from my company, has more ability than I do to confuse right and wrong?!

"No, how serious was Qiuchuan's injury? Do you think the killer intended to kill him?"

Nishihara Koichi couldn't help but ask loudly.

"Several bruises and lacerations on the forehead, scalp hematoma, possible skull fractures, and symptoms of a concussion."

"The attack on Akikawa's head was so violent that the skull compressed the subconjunctival blood vessels, causing the blood vessels to rupture and resulting in subconjunctival hemorrhage."

The smile on Sera Masumi's delicate cheeks disappeared, and a cold light flashed in her only dark green eye.

"So, Mr. Nishihara, do you think this level of injury is not enough to judge that the killer had murderous intentions toward Akikawa?"

But after saying these words, the chill on Sera Masumi's face disappeared in an instant.

She turned cheerful and sunny again.

However, what she said immediately made Nishihara Koichi

feel as if he had fallen into an ice basement:

"But of course. For Mr. Nishihara, who likes to kill, this level of harm is nothing."

_(End of Chapter)_