A Genius In The World Of Conan

Chapter 25: The Period and the Starting Point

It took Kousuke Akikawa more than an hour to reach the apartment where the original owner and his mother lived, following the map provided by Midori Kuriyama.

The first thing that met his eyes was the mottled exterior wall with peeling paint.

The prominent black stains on the walls indicated that this building had clearly been battered by years of exposure to wind and rain.

According to Japan’s Building Standards Act, cheap wooden apartments were only allowed to have a maximum of two floors.

The room where the original owner and his mother lived was on the second floor—Room 202.

There was no automatic door lock at the entrance of the apartment, which was a standard feature for modern collective housing. This meant that anyone could enter the building freely.

The stairway handrails were covered in thick, reddish-brown rust, making them nearly impossible to grip.

The aged iron staircase let out creaks and groans as Kousuke Akikawa stepped on it.

This old, dilapidated building was doing its best to express the hardships of its tenants.

Upon unlocking the door and stepping inside, he was immediately met with a damp and stuffy atmosphere.

It was clear that the insulation of the apartment had long since lost its effectiveness.

The entire apartment—including the entrance, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom—was no more than 15 square meters, feeling like a sweltering steam chamber.

Surprisingly, despite having been searched by the Metropolitan Police Department, the room still appeared rather tidy.

It was nothing like the stereotypical image of a NEET’s home, filled with piles of garbage bags and instant noodle containers.

"Even though the original owner was locked up at home by his mother for a long time and had severe eating disorders..."

"Why does this place still feel somewhat lived-in...?"

"Except for the kitchen, that is..."

Kousuke Akikawa noticed that, aside from the relatively few kitchen utensils and seasonings, there wasn’t anything particularly strange about the place.

It simply looked like a residence belonging to someone with financial struggles.

"There’s even a TV and a DVD player—what a nostalgic sight..."

Looking at the old-fashioned CRT television with its bulky back and the DVD player sitting on top of it, Kousuke Akikawa couldn’t help but sigh.

He became curious—what kind of movies would a household like this watch?

Opening the cabinet beneath the TV, he found that most of the DVDs were encased in plastic covers, each labeled with numbers and the name of a rental store.

"So they rented these… and the content is surprisingly normal."

From foreign films to Japanese dramas, variety shows, and even idol videos, the collection spanned a wide range of genres.

Kousuke Akikawa couldn’t discern any particular preferences of the original owner or his mother.

"Idol DVDs, huh? This one isn’t a rental."

In the cabinet, he found a DVD case without a plastic cover. The packaging looked quite old.

The cover featured a photo of four young girls, with the title indicating the name of an idol group—Earth Lady Squad.

Beneath the image of a chestnut-haired, blue-eyed girl, Kousuke Akikawa spotted a somewhat familiar name—

Yoko Okino.

"Yoko Okino… I think I saw this name on TV this morning."

Kousuke Akikawa had an excellent memory. Even things he glimpsed briefly often left an imprint in his mind.

And in his memory, the Yoko Okino mentioned on TV that morning seemed to be described differently.

He turned the DVD case over to check the information on the back and discovered that it was a six-year-old disc. It suddenly clicked in his mind.

"No wonder the description was different—six years is enough time for an 'idol' to evolve into a 'national goddess'."

Kousuke Akikawa muttered to himself.

"Was the original owner a fan? Must’ve been a true devotee."

"Otherwise, they wouldn’t have kept this DVD through so many relocations."

Kousuke Akikawa wasn’t particularly interested in idols, but out of curiosity, he opened the case.

However, the first thing he saw wasn’t a round DVD disc—but a folded stack of papers.

A vague sense of unease crept over him. He pulled out the papers and unfolded them.

And with just one glance, his eyes widened in shock.

The contents on the papers were unmistakably familiar.

They were the same insurance contracts he had seen earlier at the Kisaki law firm.

Kousuke Akikawa hurriedly flipped through the contracts, his breath involuntarily hitching.

"No way..."

He never would have expected this.

This small idol DVD case actually contained three different life insurance contracts from different insurance companies.

All three policies had been taken out on the same date—August 22nd, three years ago.

The total death benefit exceeded 120 million yen.

However, what shocked Kousuke Akikawa the most was not the amount.

It was the name of the insured.

It wasn’t the original owner’s mother, Akikawa Ryoko—

It was himself.

<+>

Time flowed like water, and the days at home passed in a blur.

In the blink of an eye, four weeks had gone by.

During this period, with the help of the lawyer Midori Kuriyama, Kousuke Akikawa successfully claimed an insurance payout of 105 million yen.

According to Japanese tax law, inheritance is subject to estate tax.

However, tax authorities often turn a blind eye when it comes to life insurance payouts.

After repaying the debts inherited from his mother’s estate and settling the lawyer’s fees, he still had 96 million yen left.

Then, by completing a system task, he obtained a Recovery Card, which allowed him to heal any injury, illness, or poisoning.

Using the Recovery Card, he cured his liver dysfunction, which posed the greatest threat to his health at the time.

Finally, Kousuke Akikawa spent 900,000 yen to purchase a burial plot in a public cemetery near his rented apartment.

This was where he planned to lay the original owner’s mother to rest.

Today was the day he would bury her ashes.

After placing the urn in its final resting place, Kousuke Akikawa arranged the offerings and lit incense.

Then, he stood in front of the gravestone, closing his eyes and pressing his hands together in silent prayer.

A month ago, on the very day he first returned to his apartment, he had discovered three high-value life insurance contracts in the DVD case—all with himself as the insured.

This had instantly made the case from a month ago even more convoluted.

However—

‘Sorry… although it seems like the true cause of death for the two of you is still uncertain, I’m not a detective. I have no intention of digging deeper into the truth of your deaths.’

‘The story of Kousuke Akikawa and Akikawa Ryoko… can come to an end today.’

Kousuke Akikawa bowed lightly to the gravestone.

Then, he placed the bouquet he had brought in front of it.

Just as he was about to turn and leave—

He suddenly sensed someone watching him.

Kousuke Akikawa turned toward the source of the gaze and saw a person standing not far away.

The individual was wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a face mask.

It was late September, and the weather was still warm.

Dressed like this, the person looked extremely suspicious.

That said, their disguise was effective—

In this situation, it was nearly impossible to discern their identity or physical features.

Kousuke Akikawa furrowed his brows slightly and took a step toward the person, raising a hand in greeting.

"Excuse me, may I—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the person immediately turned and walked away.

But this very action made Kousuke Akikawa notice something odd.

‘Not the police, yet very concerned about being approached by the original owner…’

‘If it were just routine surveillance, they could have easily pretended to be another mourner visiting a grave.’

‘Running away like that only makes them more suspicious.’

—It was a mistake, one that revealed everything.

‘Not only do they not want me to approach them, but they also haven’t said a single word and have kept their hands in their pockets the entire time.’

‘Hat, mask, sunglasses, hoodie, long pants… dressed like this in late September, they’d look suspicious anywhere.’

‘And yet, they still chose to dress this way. There can only be one reason.’

After confirming that the person had vanished from sight, Kousuke Akikawa narrowed his eyes.

‘They think that if they expose even a single detail, I might recognize them?’

As he reached this conclusion, a wave of irritation washed over him.

Today was supposed to be the day he completely severed ties with the original owner’s identity and started a new life.

Yet, at this very moment—

He had run into someone who seemed to know the original owner quite well.

Fortunately, the other party seemed unwilling to be recognized by him. They had even gone to great lengths to cover themselves up and observed from a distance.

This meant that they had no intention of actively interfering with his life.

Well… probably.

Kousuke Akikawa decided not to dwell on it and turned to head home.

He had already found a new place to live.

Although he wasn’t particularly talkative by nature, he preferred lively environments with more people.

So, he rented a high-end one-bedroom apartment in Shibuya, Tokyo.

Not even ten minutes after returning to his old apartment, the moving company he had booked in advance arrived.

Following Kousuke Akikawa’s instructions, the movers carefully packed up the belongings he had decided to take with him and loaded them onto the truck.

Soon, everything was transported to his new home in Shibuya.

As for the old furniture and other items he no longer needed, he left them to be disposed of by the moving company.

However—

He still kept the original owner’s insurance contracts and the diagnosis report of the original owner’s mother’s schizophrenia, which he had found later.

<+>

A while later—

After settling into his new home, Kousuke Akikawa found himself walking along the bustling streets of Shibuya.

He planned to pick up some essential household supplies for his new place.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but think about what he wanted to do next.

Although he had lived two lifetimes,

This was the first time he truly had the freedom to decide his own future.

Kousuke Akikawa wanted to step away from dangerous work and pursue something more interesting.

Just then—

He suddenly felt someone tap his shoulder.

"Hey there, young man!"

Kousuke Akikawa turned around to see a man dressed in a business suit, looking every bit like a host club worker.

The man was grinning at him.

"Wow, you’re really handsome! Ever thought about becoming an entertainer?"

The moment the man got a good look at Kousuke Akikawa’s face, his eyes widened in amazement.

He had already noticed the young man’s extraordinary presence from behind, but seeing him up close—

His facial features were so sharp and well-defined, as if sketched by a fine pen—a striking blend of elegance and charm.

Hurriedly, the man handed him a business card.

"I’m Kubo Hiroshi, a talent scout from Wonderful!"

"With your looks, you’ll definitely be a huge star!"

Inside, Kousuke Akikawa felt nothing about Kubo Hiroshi’s blatant flattery.

He also didn’t like the idea of being scouted on the street like some random recruit.

So, he was about to reject the offer outright.

However—

Before he could even speak, Kubo Hiroshi, sensing his hesitation, quickly added:

"We’re not some third-rate agency! We’re Japan’s largest talent management company! You can look us up online!"

Curious, Kousuke Akikawa pulled out his newly purchased phone and searched for the company right in front of Kubo Hiroshi.

Sure enough, Wonderful was indeed the most powerful entertainment agency in Japan.

"You’ve definitely heard of Yoko Okino, right? She’s also from Wonderful!"

At the mention of the nation’s top actress, Kubo Hiroshi couldn’t hide his pride.

Ding!

A crisp mechanical sound echoed in Kousuke Akikawa’s mind.

A semi-transparent, sky-blue interface appeared before his eyes.

[You have received a sudden invitation from a talent scout. What will you choose?]

1. Decline the offer.
Reward: Agility +3

2. Accept the offer and become an entertainer.
Reward: Physique +3

‘In my past life, I was always playing a role, pretending to be someone else…’

‘And now, in this life… am I about to step into another career of playing different characters?’

He muttered inwardly.

‘But… it actually sounds kind of fun.’

As for whether becoming an entertainer so soon after clearing his name would attract suspicion from detectives?

Kousuke Akikawa wasn’t worried at all.

If the so-called “kid detective” ever analyzed his interrogation performance and figured out that everything he said was based on his acting skills and keen observation,

Then taking a public career path like this—

Which was basically the equivalent of exposing himself—

Would actually make him less suspicious in the eyes of a brilliant detective like Conan.

An idiot might find it strange.

But for someone truly intelligent, this move would actually make him seem less guilty.

Besides—

He wasn’t afraid of detectives.

Without solid evidence, even the best detective in the world couldn’t do anything to him.

A slight smirk appeared on Kousuke Akikawa’s lips.

He had made up his mind.

He nodded lightly at Kubo Hiroshi,

And at that moment, Kubo Hiroshi’s face lit up with pure joy, as if he had just won the lottery.