"Rum," Conan repeated, "I know."
His gaze hardened, and he replaced the key target with Rum: any police officer, or detective, who had experienced the three bloody cases ten years ago, and the period of terrifying silence, would absolutely want to arrest the culprit of that rampage.
Ichijō Mirai: "Okay."
"Come on," he looked at Conan with the eyes of a kindly king handing out dragon slaying quests to his knights, encouraging and honest, "I know very little about Rum, except that he sounds like a male in his forties or fifties, and you're going to have a hell of a time trying to track him down, even more so than you did with Gin."
Then slowly shook his dangling carrot, "But Rum's position in the organization is higher than Gin's, once you catch his clue, it's not far from the organization's secrets."
Having bitten the carrot, Conan would not let go and nodded seriously, "I'll try my best to track it down!"
So Ichijō Mirai smiled at him again, soaked a towel in alcohol, and wiped his forehead thoughtfully, "I believe you'll try to track it down, and I believe you can do it."
"From the first time we met, I had a feeling that you would become a bright and shining star of criminals."
It will also be the brightest and brightest criminal nemesis Ichijō Mirai has ever seen, the
The Morning Star's forehead was hot.
Through the wet towel, Ichijō Mirai's palm could feel a rolling heat, he could not help but think for a few seconds to go downstairs to fetch a raw egg to try the temperature on the little Morning Star's head, and then serious, "You're running a fever, don't get too emotional."
"You're in a hurry, did you find something?"
Someone's trying to commit a crime.
The hot forehead was wiped by the towel felt very comfortable, Conan did not resist, while raising his head to match the towel, he answered: "There may be a murderer who wants to commit a murder in the villa."
"There's still someone missing from the party, isn't there? That person died, just a few days ago, and I assume that the murderer is in the villa."
This time, he wasn't nearly as shocked as he'd been at the beginning, and was relatively stable, even peeking at Ichijō Mirai's expression, "Mr. Mirai isn't surprised... you knew about it, didn't you?"
Then he thought, "Did you know there was something strange in the villa from the time of the drawbridge?"
That's why I asked you at the door.
But if you knew, why didn't you... Well, the killer hadn't acted yet, there was no murder, and the gasoline on the drawbridge wasn't solid evidence in the case, it was just speculation, and that kind of speculation can only be told to someone close and trusted, and preferably with the power to do so.
Until then, Conan didn't fall into that category.
"Well," he convinced himself, taking the towel with some haste, "I'll do it myself."
It was fine to be taken care of by someone who didn't know, but Ichijō Mirai already knew he was a high school student, and to be taken care of again would be to act like a child.
"Did Mr. Mirai find the person who poured the gasoline?" Conan wiped the hot sweat off his body with a towel, his eyes were getting dizzy again, and his voice was slurred, "Once the murderer intends to do it, it might be too late to stop him."
Stopping crime is the business of the criminal's nemesis, not the criminal.
"I've got an idea," Ichijō Mirai replied neutrally, "I've got a rough idea of who the murderer is, and unlike Mr. Killer, who also committed the last murder at the isolated villa, this time the murderer is someone who doesn't want to hurt others and has a clear goal of killing."
Of course, it's just a reluctance, but if he had to kill someone else in order to kill his target, the murderer probably wouldn't have hesitated too much.
He didn't say that, he just said, "It's possible that, like the last case, there's an unknown connection between the murderer and the victim, and if we don't find out the murderer's motive, I'm afraid that if we stop it once, we'll have it twice, or three times."
But there's no time to find a motive.
The killer seems to be in a hurry and will probably strike before the little criminal nemesis recovers from his fever debuff.
The best time to do it would be tonight.
"Hey," Conan said, "a targeted killing..."
"Mr. Mirai," Ge said as he wiped his face with a different towel, covering the lower half of his face, only carefully peaking out his eyes, "you seem to be-" he said.
He was hesitant: as if, not so much against 'the murderer who deliberately murdered the dead'.
But as a detective, as a police officer, how could Ichijō Mirai not be offended?
So as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Conan took them back, "Okay."
"Ms. Mouri's gone down to dinner, she should be up to see you in about ten minutes," Ichijō Mirai said, 'by the time you're done, it'll be about ten o'clock,' he said.
As a precaution, he cautioned, "Don't go out looking for clues. In your current condition, if the murderer finds you, you'll be overpowered before you can alert the others."
"Ms. Mouri would be devastated if something happened to you, wouldn't she?"
Conan: "..."
The towel was still covering his face, but his eyes seemed to be popping out: I didn't say anything about going out at night to look for clues, did I?!
"Not out loud, but I know detectives," Ichijō Mirai smoothly flicked Conan's forehead, "And in case the killer comes looking for Ms. Mouri and Ms. Suzuki while you're out looking for clues..."
He didn't say any more, he stood up, "I'll go down and tell Ms. Mouri that you're awake, and bring a cup of hot water by the way, would you like some sugar?"
Conan shook his head, "No."
"Uh-huh," Ichijō Mirai responded, turning his head to walk a few steps away before inquiring absently, as if remembering something, "By the way, how did you know I was a police cadet?"
Conan was stunned and took off his towel, "Huh?"
It's not a secret, is it? Ichijō Mirai said so himself.
He was about to answer when he heard Ichijō Mirai add, "Not literally, there's a difference between a police cadet and a police cadet."
There is a difference between claiming to be a police cadet, actually being a police cadet, and being a police cadet that you can trust with your life.
With Ichijō Mirai, Conan's attitude was clearly the third, and after remembering who he was, he immediately put his trust in him.
Why?
...Because of Suzuki Sonoko.
Conan was tempted to answer: there were many reasons, and a large part of them was because of Suzuki Sonoko.
If Ichijō Mirai's rescue of Suzuki Sonoko was a Hollywood movie, Suzuki Sonoko would be a movie theater, disliking her image of Mr. Brave Police Officer in front of almost everyone's eyes.
After meeting Ichijō Mirai again, the number of times she mentions Ichijō Mirai rises even more, with at least one 'Mr. Mirai' and a specific example of 'Mr. Mirai is so handsome' every day.
Conan, on the other hand, is probably the one who is forced to rewatch the movie over and over again.
He's developed a reflex to hear Ichijō Mirai's name and associate it with 'handsome', 'great', 'nice', 'Suzuki Sonoko', etc. But it's a difficult thing to say.
But it's a reason that I can't say out loud, so: "Because, because you're admired by the police officer brother."
"After the last case, a police officer's brother came to me to ask about you," Conan said, "he was one of the officers who took Ran's and my statements, Kazami, and it wasn't very obvious, it was a euphemism for asking us questions about you, but it seemed obvious to me, and he,"
He paused for a moment, caught up in his memories, "He seemed to adore you, Brother Mirai, and every time we mentioned 'Mr. Mirai', his eyes would light up, and light up, and light up, and light up again..."
Kazami Yūya, on the other hand, is a serious police officer when he's not hearing about Ichijō Mirai and the murder.
The contrast between the two is so stark, it's hard for Conan not to be impressed.
"That Mr. Kazami was Mirai's senior in the police academy," He inquired as he ran his hand over his hot forehead, taking a good look at Ichijō Mirai's appearance, and recalling Kazami Yūya's appearance, "a senior?"
Conan wasn't sure how old Kazami Yūya was, but judging by her appearance, he thought she must be a senior much older than Ichijō Mirai.
"I overheard, ahem, I overheard him on the phone with the other officer's brother," he spoke up again, reminiscently, 'like he was reporting about you to his supervisor, 'Hi!' It was so loud..."
In Neon, bosses and subordinates are always bowing and responding loudly, and police officers are no exception.
"I seemed to be sweating a lot, so I wiped it off with a handkerchief for a long time after I hung up...then I suddenly got energized by saying your name, Brother Mirai..."
The name reading was: 'Hoo, Kazami, have the courage to say no to your boss's unruly demands! Take a cue from Mr. Mirai! He's the perfect underdog! And he always makes Mr. Furuya look bad with just a few words!'' .
So, when you hear Ichijō Mirai's name, your eyes light up again and again, is it because Ichijō Mirai is the nemesis of your evil boss?
Conan didn't understand, but he was shocked.
Ichijō Mirai: "?"
That Officer Kazami admires him?
He didn't feel it.
The last time we spoke on the phone, Officer Kazami didn't show any admiration, only a visible nervous stutter, not like he was admiring someone.
Then why did you say his name to cheer yourself up?
...Sounds sick.
Next time, I'll protest to the blonde who's having a good time and ask him to transfer the subordinate officer who seems to be having a good time as well.
Ichijō Mirai jotted down the protest on his memo, and checked the box 'Did Conan learn something from his useless classmates and subordinates because he trusts him so much? and checking the box of 'Did Conan learn something from his useless classmates and subordinates why he trusts him so much?
"I see, I see," he nodded calmly, not commenting on Officer Kazami, who had inherited his boss's style, only pausing for a few seconds to subtly inquire a question, "So-"
"...Do I seem like a good person to you?"
Even a man as brazen as Ichijō Mirai couldn't help but be subtle in his tone of voice when he asked that question.
Even though he knew that he was a good guy in disguise with no criminal record, it was normal for ordinary people to think that he was a good guy because they couldn't see through the disguise.
Like Suzuki Sonoko, who came to him with a big smile on her face almost all the time.
But didn't the vigilant detective see that?
Conan: "Huh?"
He didn't expect this question at all, and looked surprised and confused, as if he had heard 'Do you think 1+1=2 is right? "Do you think people die when they're killed? This kind of answer was so natural, so unnecessary to ask one more question, that even the answer was stuck for a few moments, "Yes, yes?"
"Not like that?"
Oh wait, besides the police, Ichijō Mirai's status as an undercover agent could be taken into account for various reasons.
Conan reacted for a few moments, and immediately answered in detail, "From the first time we met, even if I didn't know who you were, I was sure that you were a good person, or a good person who had the ability to take charge and had a bottom line."
Once he said, "I didn't spend much time with you, but Sonoko spent an extraordinary afternoon with you", revealing that Suzuki Sonoko was the hostage back then, and that she would probably become angry and turn into a fire-breathing dragon to hunt down and kill the informant, he could only say firmly, "After spending time with you, I'm even more certain of my own judgment."
And try to avoid the topic of hostage, "Sonoko guy said before that he thinks you are a person who 'loves human beings', so she likes you a lot."
"Even though that guy is unreliable, girls are generally more perceptive, especially to people they like.Ran also thinks you're a very kind and human-loving person, and has a crush on you."
That's why he didn't stop Suzuki Sonoko from fluffing up with love when Ichijō Mirai wasn't around, but he was being coy and difficult when Ichijō Mirai was.
He speaks firmly, and Ichijō Mirai listens in deep thought, uncertain for a moment: I... love humans a lot?
No, I don't think so.
Ichijō Mirai didn't think she hated humans.
However, he still had a certain degree of negative feelings towards humans, and considered himself to be a cold-blooded person who was more or less ruthless, otherwise he wouldn't have not tried to intervene in a murder case and just calmly waited for the victim to be killed and watched with a cold eye.
And what kind of compliment is 'loving people'?
It's like he's not human.
"What's wrong?" Conan watched Ichijō Mirai's somewhat subtle expression, thought for a moment, and responded, "Oh, you might find that kind of talk a bit exaggerated and odd,"
But from the point of view of the rescued hostage, it is possible to exaggerate such words as if Ichijō Mirai were a god.
Ichijō Mirai might not be able to understand Suzuki Sonoko if he didn't say that she was the hostage who was rescued, so Conan could only help Suzuki Sonoko out by saying, "People who are willing to help others, whether they realize it or not, probably have a sense of compassion for others. Mr. Mirai, you have helped a lot of people, so of course you love people."
Ichijō Mirai: "..."
You've helped a lot of people go to hell, haven't you? That's true.
He nods with a polite smile, "Yes."
No.
"I do love humans."
No, I don't.
"I wish you a speedy recovery."
Be normal.
"I'll see you later."
Closing the door behind him, Ichijō Mirai stood in the doorway for a moment before thinking, somewhat absently, "No."
He didn't dislike humans, at best.
Ichijō Mirai's attitude had been fixed from the time of his father's death.
It is definitely not an attitude of love.