Conan: The Mechanic

At 12:20 noon, in the office building of Achiba Athletic Park.

"Why are you here again?" President Azhibo was stunned after seeing their figures. "Is there any problem?"

"Actually, it's not a big deal. I still hope you can answer a question, Chairman." Hattori Heiji sat on the seat and explained his purpose this time. "You said last time that you didn't know where Nagoro Shikao was, did you?"

"Yes, I don't know," Azhibo said with an innocent expression on his face. "Didn't I tell you about this last time?"

"Because we went to Miss Ooka Momiji before," Chiba stared at President Achiha's eyes. "She told us that Mr. Nagoro Shikao once went to Ms. Satsuki for a private song card duel the day before your agreed duel time. According to Miss Ooka, his purpose seems to be to hope that on this day Prove his strength in the game, and then deliberately lose the game the next day, so that his disciples can leave the Nagoro Club logically and join a place that is more suitable for them. Excuse me, is this true?"

"..." Azhibo frowned. "No, I don't know. Even if he did leave, we didn't see him here. As for what happened on the way, you should ask them, not me."

"Mr. Achiha, are you so sure that you haven't seen Shikao Nagoro?" Kudo Shinichi raised his eyebrows slightly. "Can you swear that you never saw Mr. Nagoro Shikao before the game?"

"Kudou-kun," President Achiha stared at Kudo Shinichi with dissatisfaction written all over his face. "What do you mean by that?"

"You also know that Japan is an extremely developed journalism industry, and thanks to my connections, I also found a news report from Kyoto five years ago - there is a picture of you driving with your wife on the day of the game. Go to the contest president's photo."

The dissatisfaction and self-confidence on Azhibo's face immediately subsided, replaced by a little anxiety about not knowing exactly where he went wrong.

"You should still remember that you often have the habit of washing your car the day before the race to take a good omen for your wife's peace of mind during the race, right?" Kudo Shinichi spoke slowly, and this also Give President Achiha enough time to react, and express his reaction involuntarily.

Of course, this would not escape Chiba's observation range: President Achiha was clearly shaken.

"Looks like you remembered it too," Hattori Heiji took out a single-page newspaper from his sleeve, marked with the date of 1989. "Yes, why did you not wash your car as usual that time? Was it because you forgot by accident, or was it because you knew very well that Mr. Nagoro couldn't come?"

This question is quite radical, even accusing President Achiha of being responsible for Nagoro Shikao's death—or at least someone related to his death.

However, President Azhibo did not protest as strongly as a normal person would, instead he hesitated...

Is he guilty?

Just when President Azhiba was in a state of unease, Qianyu's figure suddenly enlarged in the corner of his eyes.

"!?" As if an overreaction had been triggered, President Achiha subconsciously dodged backwards, only to realize that Qianyu had just adjusted to a posture where she did not sit as far back on the sofa as before.

"President Azhibo, don't be so afraid, and I won't do you any harm." Qianyu put on the submissive attitude that young people should have when facing older people with status, and bowed her head slightly in front of President Azhibo. Respect. "But... pardon me, your gaffe is already visible to the naked eye, don't you want to make some explanation for [there is such a strong reaction to this matter]? If not, maybe the police really Will be aware of your unusual reaction that escaped the public eye at the time, and a real public investigation will be launched against you.

"In that case, it will be a great disadvantage for you and Satsuki Hui, the precious property that your beloved wife has devoted her life to."

"So, President Achiha," Kudo Shinichi was in charge of the final statement. "Do you really have nothing to tell us?"

"..." President Achiha's hands were twisted together restlessly, and the muscles in the throat twitched from time to time.

"Well, he actually did come to us," President Azhibo finally gave in and said to the three of them in a helpless tone. "He came to us and had a contest with Satsuki ahead of time."

"We know this too, but the question now is, why didn't Mr. Nagoro Shikao appear on the field the next day?" Hattori Heiji changed his sitting position.

"If you really want me to find a reason," President Achiha's expression relaxed a little. "You guys just said that Nagoro intends to prove his strength in this day's competition and release water the next day, right?

"But the problem is that on that day, he also lost - it was ugly, and he failed to prove his level at all. When I came home that day, I only saw Mr. Get out the door."

"Losing? Losing is ugly?" Qianyu frowned. "According to the results of our research, Mr. Shikao Nagoro's competitive level during that time was very good~www.NovelMTL.com~ Even in the confrontation with a number of celebrity challengers in the past two years, he has achieved little but She has a solid advantage and is not at a disadvantage in the confrontation with the incumbent celebrities. In comparison, Ms. Satsuki's record in those two years was relatively average - of course, I am not saying Satsuki girl... …”

"It doesn't matter, Nagoro was in good condition during that time, that's a fact," President Achiha didn't care about Chiba's offense. "However, you may not be very clear that the song card is a big game. Even if there is a certain gap between the strengths of the two sides, the weaker side may win by a big score because of the temporary good state or the other side's anxiety.

"Perhaps Nagoro is stronger than Satsuki, but he chose the wrong way to play - since Satsuki was the only one at home at the time, they used the tapes at home to compete. And Nagoro may be out of self-confidence, Or maybe he didn't think about it at all... All in all, he ignored the fact that Satsuki was already quite familiar with the tape used for the test, and was even able to memorize the sequence of many of the poems.

"Under such circumstances, Nagoro suffered a defeat that he may have never imagined.

"I thought, maybe that's why he didn't show up the next day? Since he's already lost the first game to prove his strength, there's no need to waste time in the second open game. Anyway, in terms of results, losing after the game there is the same result as losing without a fight. Maybe... Nagoro is such a person who lives more freely than anyone else, so he simply used the most extreme way of joking to welcome him. The final chapter of your own in the song card world?"

Several high school students looked at each other and finally nodded slightly.

Maybe... that's the truth.