Bab 107: Chapter 107: What Can You Do to Me? (45)
The criminal investigator walked briskly yet steadily toward Megure Juzo and saluted.
"Inspector Megure."
"Brother Toda, you're here. This is Ms. Oda. Please take her away."
Megure Juzo glanced at Oda Ema and said to Toda Kyouji.
"Are you going to use...handcuffs?"
Oda Ema, much more composed after her surrender, looked at the detective named Toda in a low voice.
She then noticed the man showing her a kind smile before speaking softly to her:
"Don't worry. Since Ms. Oda has shown a good attitude in confessing her guilt, there's no need to treat her as a criminal here."
Before leaving with Oda Ema, Toda Kyouji's gaze briefly shifted to Akikawa Kyousuke.
With a faint smile on his face, he escorted Oda Ema out of the leisure area on the second floor.
---
Did that detective just look at me?
The behavior of the detective named Toda caught Akikawa Kyousuke's attention.
For others, it might seem like a casual glance, but Akikawa Kyousuke doubted it was unintentional.
From the moment the detective entered the second floor, his gaze had been firmly set in this direction. He didn't even spare a second glance for Sera Masumi, who had solved the case.
But he had deliberately looked at him before leaving.
Could it be that he knows me?
Akikawa Kyousuke was certain he'd never interacted with this detective before.
Given the background of the original owner of his identity, it was unlikely there had been prior contact with a criminal investigator.
The only logical explanation was something he had done since traveling back in time that had caught the other's attention.
Was it the car accident or the Empire Theater case?
In the case of the car accident, two hidden factors came to mind:
One, the fabricated image of the culprit.
Two, the detective named Nakajima Takuto who erased the coerced confession recording.
Considering this, Akikawa Kyousuke reasoned that the police hadn't been able to close the case because more than one suspect matched the fabricated image.
As for Nakajima Takuto, Akikawa was confident the detective wouldn't reveal what had happened to protect himself, so there should be no problem on that front.
Which left the Empire Theater case.
Akikawa Kyousuke recalled what his agent, Itakura Misaki, had mentioned when The Lost City was being re-released.
---
Koichi Nishihara had attacked the police during his interrogation.
Akikawa Kyousuke was confident Nishihara Koichi had no reason to attack the police on his own.
Because Akikawa had altered the timing and method of the crime, Nishihara would not willingly confess.
Considering what Nakajima Takuto had done before, Akikawa speculated that Nishihara Koichi might have been coerced into confessing, leading to his anger and subsequent attack on the police.
It seems I've been implicated in his confession.
Akikawa Kyousuke assessed the situation.
Even if a detective suspected him due to Nishihara Koichi's confession, there wasn't much they could do about it.
But doubt and action were two different things.
"Though I might be overthinking this, if that detective truly recognized me, perhaps he was the one who pressured Nishihara Koichi to confess, causing the attack on the officer."
Akikawa Kyousuke wasn't worried about this possibility.
Nishihara Koichi's case, much like Takao Ohga's current predicament, had one key witness: the killer himself.
With Akikawa being the victim, the reliability of Nishihara's confession was weak at best.
Furthermore, the physical evidence—the murder weapon—had been destroyed by Akikawa.
Akikawa's act of worsening the killer's crime through self-inflicted harm defied normal logic, making it hard to establish motive.
In other words, even if the "God of Death Elementary Student" were here, convicting Akikawa Kyousuke would be impossible.
Let alone a mere detective.
Even if he knows the truth, what can he do to me?
Akikawa Kyousuke chuckled to himself, dismissing the thought of Toda Kyouji.
---
Outside the Harbour Royal Court Hotel
Kyouji Toda opened the rear door of the police car and gestured for Oda Ema to get in.
He then sat in the front passenger seat.
Another detective sat in the back with Oda Ema, cuffing her after getting in.
Oda Ema cooperated fully without any resistance.
"Ms. Oda seems to be in high spirits—neither afraid nor panicked."
Kyouji Toda, seated in the front, teased her.
"Yes, because I'm content now."
Oda Ema replied softly.
She had just confided everything she had done and felt to Hota Yoshitoki.
Though Hota Yoshitoki was shocked by the truth, he had also scolded Oda Ema for her foolishness in committing murder for such a reason.
Still, Oda Ema could see that Hota Yoshitoki did not resent her.
He only felt pity for her mistakes.
After confirming his attitude, Oda Ema no longer had any worries.
She had asked Hota Yoshitoki to promise not to witness the police taking her away.
As she recalled Hota Yoshitoki's deeply shocked expression, a faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
She felt far better now than she had during her earlier panic.
---
Meanwhile, the detective driving, Nakajima Takuto, glanced at Oda Ema in the rearview mirror.
Seeing her expression, a deep sense of unease crept into his heart.
Silently, he glanced at Kyouji Toda sitting beside him.
Toda still wore a kind smile, but his grip on the cuffs in his hands was so tight that they creaked.
Please stop smiling, Ms. Oda.
Nakajima Takuto thought anxiously.
"Ms. Oda, you're lucky to have fallen into my hands," Toda Kyouji remarked with a smile.
"The same goes for Takao Ohga."
---
(End of Chapter)
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone