In Conan, people have a brain option system.

Chapter 42 Reciprocity

The roar of the machine poured into his head like a torrent, and Akikawa Sosuke slowly opened his eyes.

The image you see is like a constantly moving camera screen, dragging with delays and overlapping images.

"not dead?"

Akikawa Sosuke remembered that he was hit on the head with a chair.

He thought he would die, but was surprised to find that he did not seem to be dead.

Akikawa Sosuke bit down fiercely on the tip of his tongue.

If you want to regain consciousness from a confused state, relying on pain stimulation is not the best way.

But it is the most effective means in the short term.

Accompanied by severe pain and the taste of rust gradually spreading in the mouth,

The delayed picture in front of Akikawa Sosuke's eyes finally froze, and the blurry picture became clear.

However, the scene he saw after waking up was completely different from the one before his memory was interrupted.

Akikawa Sosuke saw that there was a man lying under him.

An inexplicable fishy smell entered his nasal cavity, stimulating Akikawa Sosuke's olfactory nerves.

Simultaneously.

Only then did Akikawa Sosuke realize that he was holding a piece of two-strand hemp rope in his hand.

The middle section of the hemp rope was pressed under the neck of the man underneath.

Akikawa Sosuke had a premonition, and he used the back of his hands and legs to flip the man under him over.

After seeing the man's front face, Akikawa Sosuke laughed out loud.

This is not because it is interesting.

Instead, after Akikawa Sosuke understood the current situation, he laughed out of anger because of the extreme helplessness that arose in his heart.

"No pulse. The man is dead."

"There were obvious marks of strangulation on the neck, and there were also very obvious bleeding and bruises in the subcutaneous tissue near the marks."

"There was also congestion on the face and neck, as well as conjunctival hemorrhage, and the tongue was sticking out."

"It's obvious that this man was strangled."

Akikawa Sosuke determined the cause of death with just a glance.

The mere presence of strangulation marks on the neck is not sufficient to prove that the deceased died of strangulation.

But the state of the deceased's face, neck and conjunctiva,
There is a phenomenon of blood return obstruction.

Therefore, Akikawa Sosuke could be sure that the deceased died by having his neck strangled.

The fishy smell that filled the laundry room at this moment must have come from the incontinence of the deceased when he was strangled.

Identified this point.

Combined with the fact that I was attacked but did not die,
And the rope in his hand was still in a strangulation position.

Akikawa Sosuke was certain that he was being framed.

This scene is so similar to what I saw when I woke up after traveling through time half a year ago.

only.

This time the situation is even more vulgar and absurd.

Akikawa Sosuke turned his head and looked at the dryer in the middle of the room, which showed the words [42 minutes and 14 seconds].

"When I came into the laundry room just now, there were 64 minutes left, which means I was only unconscious for 22 minutes."

"I was clearly attacked on the head but I woke up in such a short time. This means that the person who attacked me was deliberately controlling the strength and only wanted to frame me from the beginning."

"Moreover, the other party was able to forge a crime scene in such a short time, which shows that they came prepared."

"He prepared the victim and the murder weapon in advance, selected the location and called me over."

As for who the real murderer is, this is also very obvious.

"Since the other party is so familiar with the structure of the Imperial Theater, it means that he must have stayed in the Imperial Theater for a long time."

Akikawa Sosuke recalled the attire of the man who attacked him.

"He deliberately wore a protective suit that could conceal his entire body features, as well as a motorcycle helmet and gloves, which means that he could probably be identified as long as he was seen wearing them."

"If they are theater staff, they can prepare a set of clothes in advance."

"The only reason he didn't do that is that he can't change his clothes at will."

"In the Imperial Theater right now, there is only one type of person who cannot change their costumes—"

Akikawa Sosuke thought to himself and looked down at the clothes he was wearing.

"That's the actor who has put on makeup in advance and is ready to perform on stage."

"In addition, when I was attacked by that person just now, I said that I could meet all his demands, but he didn't even respond."

"If they go so far as to cover up even the characteristics of their voice, then it's most likely a character with lines to speak."

"The fact that they were wearing a motorcycle helmet instead of a face mask suggests that they had to protect their facial makeup."

"Then it can only be the actors who appear in the third act and later scenes."

At this point, the identity of the murderer is self-evident.

"Excluding the actors who appeared in the first and second scenes, there was only one actor who I had a conflict with—"

"Nishihara Koichi."

Akikawa Sosuke narrowed his eyes and made a judgment. Although he had identified the murderer, Akikawa Sosuke was still confused.

"But if we say it's a conflict, it's just jealousy towards Yoko Hino and the two disgusting words I said to him in person before."

"Is there really someone who would decide to kill someone and frame them just because of this kind of friction? Is there something wrong with their brain?"

"Or did he originally have a grudge against the deceased, and he was upset with me so he wanted to frame me?"

On this point, Akikawa Sosuke is more inclined to the former.

Because from the murderer's perspective, he will definitely consider the issue of suspicion after committing the crime.

If the deceased really had a deep grudge with Koichi Nishihara, then even if he was the prime suspect, he would definitely be suspected.

If it seems that Nishihara Koichi's only purpose is to put the blame on himself.

The deceased had nothing to do with him, which actually reduced his suspicion.

This is very similar to the situation of exchange killing.

Doing so can conceal the motive and purpose of the crime.

Therefore, Akikawa Sosuke judged that

It is very likely that Koichi Nishihara killed an unlucky guy who had nothing to do with him just to put the blame on himself.

"There was no obvious dispute between the two of us in the theater, so it is impossible that he spared my life because he was worried about being suspected."

"It can only be that he feels that simply killing me is not enough to satisfy his anger. He must beat me into a murderer and disgrace me to satisfy him."

After realizing this, Akikawa Sosuke couldn't help but curse "idiot" in his heart.

The reason why Nishihara Hiroshi and his group committed the crime was ridiculous, and the reason why he spared his own life was even more ridiculous.

But Akikawa Sosuke is not a policeman.

He didn't care about Nishihara Koichi's purpose of killing or the reason why he spared his life.

All Akikawa Sosuke cared about was that Nishihara Koichi attacked him and tried to put the blame on him.

*bite*
A clear mechanical sound that had not been heard for a long time rang in Akikawa Sosuke's mind.

The translucent azure blue font appeared before my eyes again.

[The dead man was strangled, the murder weapon was in his hand, and you have identified the real murderer. What choice will you make? 】

[1. Admit that you are the murderer]

[Reward: Feature Card x1]

[2. Tell the police everything and bring the real culprit to justice]

[Reward: Skill Card x1]

"I heard before that the great detective Maori Kogoro will come to watch the stage play today."

"That means there's a high chance that the Shinigami Elementary School student is also here."

"Then I just need to tell the truth about my situation and play the role of an innocent victim, and the Death God will naturally find the real culprit."

Akikawa Sosuke thought as he looked down at the dead young man beneath him.

He reached out his hand and moved the dead man's head through his clean sleeve, checking the marks of strangulation.

It was noticed that the strangulation marks were located higher on the victim's neck and the angle of the strangulation marks was vertical.

In other words, the deceased was not strangled to death while lying on the ground.

Instead, he was strangled from behind while he was standing or sitting.

This is inconsistent with the fake crime scene that he is currently experiencing.

"It's such a crude way of framing others. It could have been done more perfectly."

Akikawa Sosuke commented in a low voice.

Akikawa Sorasuke believed that with the ability of a Shinigami elementary school student, he could also see clearly that the real murderer was not himself, as he could tell the truth at a glance.

All you have to do is tell the whole story, and the real murderer will naturally be punished.

“But, it’s not fun.”

"That's how you get caught by the police."

Akikawa Sosuke understood.

It is very difficult to get the death penalty for killing someone in Japan.

What's more, he also judged that the deceased was most likely someone Nishihara Koichi didn't know.

This will further affect the outcome of the judgment.

Once Koichi Nishihara is arrested, as long as he insists that he acted on impulse, Japanese law will protect him.

Even his act of blaming himself could be said to be a sign of his repentance.

In order to break his protection, the murder case must be "bad" enough.

"To thank Mr. Nishihara for his 'gift', I will give Mr. Nishihara a gift in return in the same way."

"Reciprocity is a traditional virtue."

Akikawa Sosuke thought to himself, looking at the third option that appeared in front of him, and at the same time, the corners of his mouth began to rise involuntarily -

[3. Falsifying clues, changing the facts of the crime, and putting the blame on the real murderer again]

[Reward: Physical Fitness +5, Recovery Card x1]

(End of this chapter)