Phantom Thief of Heart!but conan

Chapter 908 The Significance of Investigating the Truth

"So, the theme of this puzzle has changed. Is it going to be educational?" Before the atmosphere gradually turned to gossip, Bai Ma cleared his throat and pretended that he hadn't heard anything. He smiled and said, "Why do I remember that the requirement given at the beginning was 'twists and turns'?"

It was obvious that he had no interest in responding to Hattori Heiji with sarcasm, or continuing to listen to his jealous stories with his childhood sweetheart, so he decisively chose the third option.

——Start directly with the next segment, forcing the production team to cut out all of Hattori Heiji’s nonsense during editing.

Tang Ze, who felt like he had been shot by an arrow for no apparent reason, nodded in agreement and continued, "That's true. The stories given by Miss Koshimizu and Mr. Hattori are both very interesting, but when the story ends up being about an educational detective, it kind of pales in comparison."

He really didn't want to continue discussing with Hattori Heiji.

Although Tang Ze felt that since no one present knew his true identity, no one would associate it with him, but Tang Ze himself couldn't help but make the connection, right?

The fictitious perpetrator, who is called the victim, is actually the real mastermind behind the incident... If I have to say, Tang Ze himself is a guy who is very good at fishing, and very good at fishing for detectives.

"Then I'll change my thinking a little bit." Hakuba shrugged and said lightly, "I actually understand your thoughts. As detectives, we must have experienced many cases that are suitable for adaptation into emotional puzzles. However, if we adapt some of them into jokes for the sake of gimmicks and tell them to others, it may be disrespectful to the deceased."

As he spoke, his eyes intentionally or unintentionally glanced at the TV station staff who were silently pretending they didn't exist.

Being on a variety show means being entertaining, which is something he had anticipated, but he still feels that some things shouldn't be so entertaining.

After saying this sarcastic remark, Detective Hakuba got to the point: "So, I'll pick a case that's not so closely related to murder. It might be a little dull. A couple who loved children went to visit the children in the orphanage almost every week. One day, they received a letter from the orphanage. It contained a thank-you letter from the children they sponsored. The next day, the two died in a traffic accident."

The ending, which has no connection with the previous part and has a sudden turn, fits the format of Turtle Soup very well. At first glance, the title does seem to be a slightly bland story, just as Bai Ma Tan said.

"Well, let me confirm first, it was a traffic accident. So, was their death an accident?" Although he was very dissatisfied with this guy suddenly interrupting his story, Hattori Heiji still touched his chin and started.

"No." Bai Ma Tan gave a very certain answer, "There is no doubt about this, because I found their last message. They are obviously aware of the fact that they are about to die."

"They left a message. They died the next day after reading the letter from the orphanage. Is their death related to the orphanage?" Nanatsuki Koshimizu pondered and asked according to the clues in the question.

"No." Bai Ma Tan's answer was still brief and powerful.

The expressions of the several people were different, but considering that this was a case investigated by Hakuba himself, no one questioned the investigation ability of this experienced high school detective.

He is not Shi Jin Runya. If he neglected his duties, his reputation would have collapsed long ago.

Tang Ze tilted his head, glanced at Bai Ba Tan's expression, and asked a question that was completely different from the previous one: "You specifically said that they are a couple who love children very much. A couple who love children very much, but have to go to the orphanage to see the children every week, don't they have children of their own?"

Bai Batan turned his gaze and met his, his expression slightly more serious: "This is really a crucial question. Yes, they have their own children."

She had her own child, but he was sent to an orphanage, and then died after receiving a letter from the orphanage...

Looking at it this way, the plot suddenly becomes quite complicated.

"That's interesting." Conan muttered, raising his voice, "Could it be that for some reason, they couldn't raise their children, so their children were sent to an orphanage, and they found out from the letters that something had happened to their children, and couldn't accept this fact, so they chose to die?"

"Impossible." Before Hakuba could answer, Hattori Heiji waved his hand, "If they really valued their children, but had to be separated from them for some reason, how could they not pay attention to their children? Hakuba said that they love their children very much, so they must be the kind of parents who regard their children as more important than themselves, and it is even more impossible for them to commit suicide."

"Yes, Hattori is right." Hakuba nodded, praising him for the first time, "You do have some insights into relationships. You are right. Parents who truly love their children will know that they will be their children's retreat and support. Even if it is for the sake of their children, they must persevere."

Tokatsu Junya waited for a few seconds and found that the scene was silent. He turned around and saw Hakuba Tan staring at him, then he realized that it was his turn to speak.

Well, he had been silent for so long that he almost forgot that he was also a participant. It was all because of that troublemaker elementary school student.

"Well, let me think about it." Shi Jinjun scratched his hair and said dryly, "I have heard that parents whose children are lost or separated from them by trafficking are more inclined to help orphans they meet, because they hope that their children are still alive somewhere in the world, and hope that someone can treat their children so well. They pay attention to the welfare home, isn't this the case?"

"Yes. This is indeed a very common situation. That's why I noticed the thank-you letter from the welfare home at the first time." Bai Ma Tan gave an affirmative answer.

Hearing Tokitsu Junya's voice, Koshimizu Nanatsuki cast a cold glance behind his sunglasses.

This is a very formulaic conjecture, but it is very reasonable, which shows that Shi Jin Runya is, after all, a person with normal IQ.

Of course, his problem wasn’t his IQ, but his morality and character.

"Well, if that's the case, their deaths are ultimately related to their children." Hattori Heiji thought, "Could it be that the letter contained some inappropriate information, causing them to be stimulated in this regard and have an emotional breakdown?"

"No, they are very calm people. According to the information I have found out, their children are almost adults and have been separated from them for a long time. They must be very resilient to have persisted for so long." Koshimizu Nanatsuki, whose main attention was still on Tokatsu Junya, first looked down on him seriously before continuing with the next round of questions: "It seems that their deaths are inextricably linked to their 'children'. Since their deaths have nothing to do with the orphanage, I guess the situation may be a little more complicated than I intuitively think. Could it be that their children were kidnapped, or that they could not meet their children for special reasons, and some of the contents of those letters made them discover the truth, so they committed suicide in the end?"

This guess is slightly more than a reasoning, and contains a lot of subjective emotions and speculations, but Bai Ma Tan unexpectedly nodded.

"Sure enough, this kind of problem can only be understood and judged from a female perspective." Bai Ma Tan smiled, "Yes, this is almost the truth of the case. At least, it is the truth of the case that I investigated."

"That's really unexpected." Tang Ze looked at him and said suddenly, "I thought British families rarely had such a restrained style. Or is it because I have not been to the UK often and have misjudged the British people?"

Bai Ma Tan looked at Tang Ze deeply and shook his head gently.

"Okay, I admit that I took advantage of your intuition a little bit. Yes, this is not a case that happened in the UK. This is a case that I encountered when I was traveling abroad in Northern Europe while completing my studies. Coincidentally, it was before I came to Japan."

Tang Ze's words gave him a good introduction. The rhythm of his description was the same as the previous two people, and he successfully entered the storytelling mode.

"It was not my turn to intervene in this case. After all, I am not a local. I just stayed there for a few days to complete my thesis. But the identity of the deceased couple is unknown. The police have no records of their entry and exit. What is certain is that they have lived in the country for more than three months. From the few personal belongings left behind, it can be inferred that they are a couple from Japan. This is why the police found me to investigate the case. I was the only Japanese they could find at the time, and they needed someone to act as a free translator for them."

Bai Matan spread out his hands, said a humorous sentence with a slightly British style, and then began to tell the main point of the story.

"After I got their stuff, I started to investigate along these clues. Since there were almost no interpersonal relationships, it was difficult for the police to determine whether they committed suicide or were murdered. The most records I could find about them in the country were that they would go to a church regularly. The reason was not because of faith, but because the church had a special charity hall that was used to help and adopt orphans, and it served as a certain welfare institution. So I followed this possibility and continued to investigate..."

Bai Ma Tan paused here and turned his eyes obviously towards the camera.

As if he was concerned about being in front of the camera, his next message was obviously vague. He did not reveal all the content of his investigation, but only briefly described: "What happened next is the truth of this mystery. They are engaged in a special industry, their identities are sensitive, and it is inconvenient for them to go out casually. Therefore, they have been separated from their children for many years, and can only comfort themselves by helping the children in the welfare home. They received a letter from the welfare home that day, but found that a photo of a new child was sent with the letter. The child looked almost exactly like their child, and they immediately understood that this was a threatening letter. In order to protect their children, they chose to die even though they knew the attack would happen..."

Bai Ma Tan sighed softly and spoke slower.

"I investigated the truth for the local police, but when I read the report, I felt deeply guilty. I seemed to have found out a lot of things, but it seemed that I had not found out anything. I did not know their true identities, and I did not know where their children were, or whether they were safe now. Therefore, I had no way to judge whether their sacrifice was meaningful. In fact, because of that message, in the end, the case was judged as a suspected suicide traffic accident. The driver was not fully responsible, but only assumed secondary responsibility. The compensation was fully borne by the insurance company, but in the end, because the identity of the deceased was unknown, the compensation was also left unresolved."

As he spoke, he slowly lowered his head.

This state could not be considered as depression, but compared to his usual confident and flamboyant style of behavior, his current state could definitely be considered as being depressed.

"Since we are going to do this for educational purposes, I will elevate it a little bit." After reorganizing his emotions, Bai Ma raised his head and summarized what he had just said. "In this case, what I investigated may be the truth. However, in the end, this truth not only did not help the victim, but invisibly, it may have become an accomplice to the perpetrator. Is the purpose of a detective to seek the truth or to pursue justice? When the two conflict, how should a detective deal with it? I think this is probably a difficult problem that will accompany me throughout my life."

Conan, who was slightly moved by the deep feelings of the deceased in his description, suddenly sat up straight after hearing his last sigh: "No. I don't think so."

The truth must lead to justice. If the two go against each other temporarily, it is not the fault of justice or truth. There must be something else that caused greater harm and regret. Seeking the truth is the duty of a detective.

"Indeed, your investigation did not yield the expected results, which means that the investigation is not over yet." Nanatsuki Koshimizu sat up straight and said solemnly, "The fog still exists. Your investigation has only come to a temporary end, and this is not the full picture of the truth."

"If I were you, I would probably try my best to find out the identity of the victims, find their children, and find the real murderer. Your journey has just begun, Hakuba." Hattori Heiji said as he leaned out from under the parasol and patted Hakuba's shoulder to comfort him.

Tang Ze looked at the detectives who suddenly became enthusiastic, then looked at Hakuba's expression, and couldn't help laughing out loud, temporarily destroying the comic atmosphere of this young man.

"How do you know he didn't do that?" Facing the gazes of several people, Tang Ze picked up his cup and gave the most obvious reasoning, "As mentioned before, the police believe that the deceased is a Japanese couple. Hakuba Detective is the son of the Hakuba Superintendent. He can only know their identities if he returns to Japan, right? He is indeed on his journey."

"You know me well, Akechi-kun." Hakuba shrugged, and the hand that Hattori Heiji had placed on his shoulder trembled imperceptibly. "Yes, that's why I came back to Japan. I guess this trip won't be easy, and I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to balance my studies, so I just transferred back."

"That's what I was saying. This is how a police officer's son would think."

"Now I look like a real detective. I almost got outshined by the elementary school student..."

"Hey, hey...isn't there..."

The atmosphere became warm and relaxed again. Tang Ze brought the glass to his mouth to cover the corners of his mouth which were almost stretched into a straight line.

There was so much overlapping information that it was beyond coincidence and Tang Ze couldn't help but think about it.

So, is this the real reason why Hakuba Tankai transferred back to Japan?

Hakuba Detective, is the detective who investigated the accidental death of his parents and had no choice but to come to an unexpected conclusion under the blockade of the organization?

(End of this chapter)