A Genius In The World Of Conan

Chapter 11: [Choice 2 Completed]

‘The original mother’s name was Ryoko.’

‘it means the original mother's full name is Akikawa Ryoko.’

In Japan, it’s common for women to abandon their maiden name after marriage and take their husband’s surname.

So it’s not unusual for a child to share the same surname as their mother.

‘It turns out, the cause of the accident wasn’t the car directly hitting the guardrail, but rather a sudden brake by the original mother, which caused a rear-end collision and led to the car losing balance and crashing into the guardrail.’

Kousuke Akikawa recalled the events that happened after he woke up.

The car’s body had crashed into the left guardrail, and the windshield was covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

‘No wonder the police couldn’t get any reliable eyewitness reports. It seems the rear window shattered during the rear-end collision, obstructing visibility.’

'And since the car hit the left guardrail at a tilted angle, it means the impact came from the rear right side, or perhaps the original mother was turning the steering wheel to the left at the time.’

‘This way, the driver’s seat would have been blocked by the car’s body, and the cars behind wouldn’t have been able to see the person in the driver’s seat!’

‘This can be used to create the appearance of a third party committing the crime.’

Kousuke Akikawa played the role of a naive child who had made a terrible mistake and was caught.

As for why he acted genuinely panicked, as if he really had killed someone, instead of calmly denying Nakajima Takuto’s accusations—

It was because—

‘Police—or rather, humans—all behave the same way.’

‘Once they feel they have the upper hand, they can’t help but press their advantage.’

‘When they become overconfident, their judgment weakens, and they’re more likely to expose flaws.’

Imagine this scenario:

At this moment, Nakajima Takuto, convinced that he’s dealing with a child who doesn’t know how to lie, with a low mental age, and who has fully trusted him, suddenly sees this child coldly deny involvement in his mother’s death without any emotional reaction.

Nakajima Takuto would immediately suspect that everything up to that point had been an act.

After all, to the current police officers, Kousuke Akikawa was already as good as a murderer.

The only way was to make Nakajima Takuto believe his judgment was correct and that Kosuke’s psychological defenses had been breached.

Then Nakajima would take the stance of a victor and continue to press the attack.

‘If I ask him directly, he definitely won’t answer honestly.’

‘But if I present an incorrect idea, people often reflexively refute it.’

That’s why, even though Kousuke Akikawa knew the original mother died from stab wounds, he claimed she died from crashing into the guardrail.

As expected, Nakajima Takuto, believing he had the upper hand, immediately refuted him.

Before this, Kousuke Akikawa had no knowledge of the car accident’s details.

But now, in his mind, he had pieced together a clear and complete image of the accident that occurred on the national highway.

"Are you still trying to fool me? Ryoko-san wasn’t killed immediately after the car accident! Stop pretending—you're the one who killed her, aren’t you?"

Hearing Nakajima Takuto’s question, Kousuke Akikawa noticed that his tone suddenly became more forceful.

‘Strange, he’s already asked this once before, and now he’s repeating it? That’s too obvious.’

Kousuke Akikawa realized that Nakajima Takuto had repeated the line, "Stop pretending—you killed Ryoko-san, didn’t you?"

Coupled with the sudden change in tone, the purpose was clear.

‘He's started recording.’

Kousuke Akikawa thought to himself.

From this point on, he would have to speak very carefully.

If he got caught on tape during this fishing attempt, it could be used as evidence against him, which would be a significant loss.

‘That said, his statement was oddly confident. How do the police know the original mother was still alive after the car accident?’

Kousuke Akikawa didn’t know when exactly the original mother had been stabbed.

According to Nakajima Takuto, the original mother suddenly slammed on the brakes while driving on the highway.

Kousuke Akikawa’s first reaction was that the "self" sitting in the passenger seat had suddenly stabbed his mother, who was driving, with a knife, triggering the subsequent events.

‘Another unknown piece of information,’ Kousuke Akikawa thought. Then, putting on an appearance of tearful indignation, he stammered and accused Nakajima of speaking without evidence.

Moments later, his confusion was resolved—

Nakajima tugged open his hospital gown, pointed at his left shoulder, and exclaimed, "You wanted evidence, right? This is your evidence!"

However, after saying this, Nakajima seemed to realize he had accidentally revealed too much and refrained from elaborating further.

But even this much was enough for Kousuke Akikawa to piece together the full picture.

‘Left shoulder? Evidence tied to the original mother’s death after the car accident?’

‘Ah, I see—it’s the seatbelt marks.’

‘It seems the original mother had seatbelt marks on her shoulder, while I didn’t. This indicates that at the time of the accident, the marks hadn’t formed yet!’

‘In that case, the seatbelt marks on the original mother’s body must have been caused during the struggle after the accident!’

‘Not only was she killed, but the stabbing itself occurred after the accident!’

Realizing this, Kousuke Akikawa felt a rush of relief.

Since transmigrating into this situation, nothing had gone his way—until now. Finally, luck was turning in his favor.

‘If the original mother was stabbed after the accident, it means she didn’t brake suddenly because the original self attacked her with a knife.’

‘Neither the police nor the detectives seem to have figured out the real reason for the sudden braking.’

‘Isn’t this a perfect opportunity to fabricate the existence of a third party who caused the crash, stabbed the mother, and then fled?’

Kousuke Akikawa knew well that Japan didn’t have an extensive network of surveillance cameras.

In a country where over 99% of traffic violations depend on police catching offenders in the act, it would be easy to invent a third party who caused the accident and then escaped after committing the stabbing.

Moreover, he didn’t need to create a flawless scenario as if committing the perfect crime.

He only needed to establish the possibility of a third party and ensure the police lacked concrete evidence to pin the murder on him.

As for the police being unable to find this third party?

That would simply be a failure of their own abilities.

Ding!

Suddenly, a familiar, crisp mechanical sound echoed in his mind.

In front of Kousuke Akikawa, translucent blue text appeared—visible only to him.

[Choice 2 Completed]
[Reward Granted: Physique +3]

A strange sensation swept through Kousuke Akikawa’s body.

He could clearly feel his physical condition improving as if his previously frail body had been revitalized.

‘This three-point boost to Physique is much better than I expected,’ he marveled internally before refocusing on the detective in front of him.

‘This detective has provided nearly all the information I need. Now, there’s only one last—and most crucial—thing left to ask him for help with.’

At long last, he could stop enduring the intense nausea that had plagued him ever since taking his first bite of food in this body.

The discomfort wasn’t an act. It stemmed from the original owner of this body having a severe eating disorder.

"Ugh—!"

Kousuke Akikawa’s face turned pale as he clasped his hand over his mouth, his cheeks suddenly bulging.