Chapter 5: There Really Are People That Crazy
"Due to an unexpected incident, the Mystery Coaster at this park will be temporarily suspended. Please stay tuned to the official announcements for further updates!"
The moment the announcement came over the speakers, the smile vanished from Ran's face.
"Something's happened again, I guarantee it!"
She said it with complete certainty.
After all, every single time she went anywhere with that guy—whether it was a bus, a subway, or a plane, whether it was an amusement park, a restaurant, or out in the countryside—
One hundred percent.
Something bizarre would happen every time.
Not a single day was ever peaceful.
The two of them stepped off the ride.
A large crowd had already gathered up ahead.
In the middle, police tape had been stretched across the area.
Whatever was wrapped in the plastic bag—it was clearly a body.
And not just any body—a horribly gruesome headless one.
"Called it."
Ran muttered quietly.
"Oh, if it isn't Ran!"
"And who might this be?"
Inspector Megure looked the boy over with curious eyes.
Ran isn't with Shinichi—she's with a completely different, unfamiliar good-looking guy?
"He's our classmate, Higashino Makoto."
"By the way, Inspector—what happened here?"
Ran craned her neck forward, wanting to take a look.
"Don't look!"
Makoto grabbed her hand in an instant.
"He's right—you're better off not seeing."
"On the roller coaster just now, there was a…"
Inspector Megure gave a brief rundown of the situation.
The moment Ran heard the word "decapitated," the color drained from her face.
"Higashino-kun, thank you!"
A warmth spread through her chest.
Thank goodness Makoto had stopped her just now.
Because if she'd seen that…
That would have been terrifying.
She'd probably be having nightmares for days.
"By the way, how did you know?"
Ran asked curiously.
"The announcement over the park's speakers, all these police officers, the body bag—and that."
Makoto said, pointing toward the roller coaster not far away.
It was the one that had left before theirs.
In the middle section, a vivid patch of blood-red staining.
Even from ten-odd meters away, it was enough to make your blood run cold.
"Ah, I see!"
Ran blinked, eyes full of admiration.
His powers of deduction were sharp too!
He just wasn't the type to show off about it like that other guy.
"What impressive observational skills!"
Inspector Megure's eyes lit up.
Maybe Beika was about to gain yet another high school detective.
More help on the job—what a relief that would be.
Just park the squad car, stand off to the side.
Wait for one of those high school detectives to reason out the culprit, then slap on the cuffs and call it a day.
They do the work, he collects the paycheck.
The dream!
"Inspector, I found a bloody fruit knife inside the victim's girlfriend's bag!"
A young officer shouted excitedly.
The victim's girlfriend—sitting right beside him when it happened—with a bloody fruit knife in her bag.
The culprit, plain and simple, wasn't it?
Case closed, what a win!
The young officer could practically see it already—the promotion, the pay raise, marrying the superintendent's daughter, standing at the very peak of life.
"Aiko, I thought you and Mr. Kishida were so good together!"
"To think that you would actually…"
Hitomi—the gymnast whose hand Shinichi had grabbed—spoke in a flat, hollow voice.
"Oh, a crime of passion between lovers!"
"She actually killed her own boyfriend—what a cold woman!"
"He must've been cheating on her. Why else would a good girl pick up a fruit knife?"
"Cheating is a mistake every man makes—was killing him really necessary?"
...
The crowd around them erupted into noise.
A murder, a headless body, a bloody fruit knife, and the victim's own girlfriend as the suspect.
Any one of those keywords alone was enough to keep a clickbait account shocking the internet for seven or eight years.
"No—it wasn't me!"
"It really wasn't me!"
"I have no idea how that thing ended up in my bag!"
Aiko went pale with shock, frantically trying to explain herself, at a complete loss.
"Right then, the culprit's been found—it's that woman."
"We can wrap up here, can't we?"
On a sweltering hot day, a cold-faced man in a long black coat and black hat spoke with undisguised impatience.
"Yoshi!"
"Take that young lady back to the station for questioning."
Inspector Megure, with practiced ease, chose the wrong answer.
This veteran officer had long since grown accustomed to copying other people's homework—especially the homework of whichever high school detective happened to be nearby.
Whatever someone told him, he believed.
In that instant, it all clicked for Makoto.
This was why the crime rate in the Japan of the Conan universe was so absurdly high.
The police were useless!
"Hold on!"
Shinichi called out.
"Severing an adult man's head with a fruit knife in a matter of seconds—"
"Inspector, could you do that?"
Makoto cut Shinichi off before he could finish his detective performance and got to the crux of it first.
Who on earth could pull something like that off?
Wait—
There actually were people who could.
One after another, familiar faces drifted through Makoto's mind unbidden.
Ran, who could kick a door clean off its hinges. Kyougoku Makoto, who could catch bullets with his bare hands. Conan, who could send a soccer ball into orbit…
By comparison, severing a head with a fruit knife wasn't even that outrageous.
…
…
Higashino Makoto — Protagonist. Transmigrated.
Kudo Shinichi — High school detective. Series: Detective Conan.
Megure Juzo — Police Inspector. Series: Detective Conan.
Mouri Ran — Shinichi's childhood sweetheart. Series: Detective Conan.
…
…
Translated by CheapBiscuit.
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