Case NOT Closed

“Komemon-san, are you here on business for my dad?”

Ran quickly snapped back to reality, recalling the incident on the subway about giving up her seat. It made her quite angry.

That incident had left a deep impression on her, and she had never encountered such an annoying person before.

“Get out of here; we don’t welcome you!” she said, trying to push Kensuke out of the store.

Kensuke, without any courtesy, simply slapped Ran’s hand away with a loud “smack.”

“Young lady, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m here to dine. This place looks like a third-rate detective agency; who would come here for business?” he replied.

“What did you say?” Ran fumed.

“This building belongs to my dad. I declare that you’re not allowed inside! If you want to dine, go somewhere else!” she exclaimed.

“Hey, hey, hey, young lady, haven’t you learned about the law?” Kensuke sighed and shook his finger gently.

“This ground floor was rented out by your family, right? According to the Japanese Civil Code, once a property is rented, the right to use that property has already been transferred. Only the people from this café can evict me. Got it? Unless you explicitly wrote in the rental contract that ‘no one with the name Kensuke’ is allowed to enter, you have no right to point fingers at me here!”

“You!” Ran pointed her finger at Kensuke’s face, her chest heaving with anger. She was so furious that she couldn’t even find the right words to say.

After the previous incident on the subway, she had learned about this person’s sharp tongue. Engaging in a war of words with someone who knew and practiced the law was like throwing eggs at a rock.

Fighting was even worse; this lawyer might counter-sue her.

“Please step aside, thank you!” She heard the annoying voice of the lawyer from across the street again.

Ran had no choice and angrily gave him a glare before reluctantly letting him enter the ground floor café.

“Sister Ran, this guy is not a good person!” Suddenly, Conan’s voice came from the side.

He appeared from behind a tree.

During this time, it was after school, and Conan, who was on his way home, happened to witness this scene. He hid nearby to eavesdrop.

“I see!” Ran nodded angrily and said, “Conan, in the future, try to avoid contact with people like him; or you would end up as a mean guy like him!”

Conan watched Kensuke in the restaurant with a furrowed brow.

He knew that this lawyer was not a resident of Beika Town and had come here specifically for dining…

With that in mind, Conan didn’t waste any time and sneaked inside.

Inside the restaurant, Kensuke entered and looked around. He didn’t see anyone he recognized, so he casually found a seat and ordered some dessert.

After about fifteen minutes, Masayoshi arrived.

Kensuke raised an eyebrow when he saw a familiar figure beside Masayoshi.

It was Haibara Ai, the little girl he had only met once before.

“Sorry for the delay; little Ai insisted on coming here no matter what,” Masayoshi said apologetically.

Next to him, Haibara Ai chimed in, “Uncle Masayoshi, I want a parfait and ice cream!”

“Don’t be so impolite, little Ai; call him Uncle Kensuke!”

“Okay, Uncle Kensuke then,” Haibara Ai reluctantly greeted.

She played her part well, pretending to be innocent.

Kensuke glanced at Ai’s seemingly innocent face.

He had no idea why she had come to Masayoshi’s place, but it was undoubtedly through deception, playing the role of a poor little girl to get a free meal and temporary shelter. It was probably related to a fallout with Conan and his group.

Soon, their dessert and coffee orders arrived.

Seeing the food, Ai didn’t say anything. She sat quietly and enjoyed her delicious ice cream.

Kensuke’s gaze no longer lingered on her. Without further ado, he began to speak.

“Alright, let’s get to the point. About what you mentioned on the phone, could you show me what you want to entrust first?” Kensuke said.

Masayoshi nodded and took out a document from his briefcase. “This is a lawsuit from Chiba Prefecture, and the party involved is a police officer from Chiba County who was arrested on suspicion of a murder case.”

Kensuke took the document and carefully read it. As he read, he suddenly furrowed his brow at a particular line.

“Is this another case that Kogoro Mouri solved?” he asked.

Masayoshi nodded, “Yes, I heard that the suspect in this case is a former university classmate of Mouri’s.”

“I see…” As Kensuke read through the document, fragments of memories slowly resurfaced. This case was also covered in the original anime series and was quite iconic, known as the ‘Kogoro’s Class Reunion Murder Case.’

“Well, this is interesting,” Kensuke remarked, his previously furrowed brow relaxing, and a slight smile forming.

“So, why don’t you take on this case? I heard they’re offering quite a substantial fee, around two million yen,” Masayoshi inquired.

“It’s quite a lot, since this case was solved by the famous detective Mouri, and there’s substantial evidence against the police officer who committed the murder,” Masayoshi explained.

Kensuke chuckled, as if he had heard something amusing. “Why are you talking such nonsense? How can you be so sure he’s truly a murderer just because of the evidence provided by a detective? Have you forgotten your own cases? And if you want to be a good lawyer, stop mentioning this thing called ‘conscience’ all the time. The law has never been about conscience, you know?”

Masayoshi hesitated for a moment, then let out a wry smile.

Though Kensuke’s words were harsh, he couldn’t argue with them.

“I’ll take this case,” Kensuke stated, gathering all the documents Masayoshi had provided and placing them into his briefcase.

“Just be clear on this; as I mentioned earlier, this case was solved by Kogoro Mouri, and there’s substantial evidence,” Masayoshi warned.

Kensuke remained unconcerned. “Your cases also have some so-called substantial evidence, and in the end, they were solved by me, weren’t they?”

Masayoshi gave him a deep, piercing look. “People like you are a truly scary bunch, as long as you’re paid enough, you don’t care about the nature of the case or where justice stands, well, not like I’m complaining, since I also benefit greatly from people like you.”

“You are wrong. Justice never stands on one side. It’s just a concept that some people like to preach, making it seem like justice has chosen their side,” Kensuke responded, making his trademark gesture by lightly shaking a raised finger and wearing an enigmatic smile on his face. “Strictly speaking, in this world, only the victors are considered just.”

Haibara Ai, who had been quietly eating her parfait on the side without speaking for a long time, lifted her head.

Her ice-blue eyes shimmered with a faint light.