Chapter 44: Resilience

Ase Narumi had already splashed gasoline across every corner of the community center.

He leaned quietly against the "cursed" piano.

Everything was finally coming to an end.

Although the Detective Mouri he had "invited" failed to stop him, wasn't his plan for murder ultimately halted by that police officer?

What a pity. Why wasn't there a police officer like this one when all those things happened back then?

"Father, everything here is finally over..."

Thinking to himself, he gently pressed a key.

He took a deep breath and pulled out a match.

"Is this really how it ends?"

A voice from the doorway pulled him out of his reverie.

"Inspector?!" Narumi looked in panic at the person standing at the entrance.

"Let's go," Kii said. "No more people need to die."

"No, there's no need," Narumi replied with a smile. "When I confirmed the truth from Village Chief Kameyama two years ago, I had already prepared myself.

"When he realized I was Ase Keiji's son, he was terrified and spilled everything—including the narcotics trade, the sheet music cipher, and the murder of my father. Then he suffered a sudden heart attack and died right in front of me.

"It was right then that I came up with this murder plan.

"Actually, every part of the plan should have been completely flawless."

"Is that so?" Kii retorted.

Narumi averted his eyes and did not answer.

"I have seen many criminals, and indeed, some can pull off what might be called a flawless crime. But without a doubt, there is a prerequisite: the ability to take another's life with a clear conscience and without the slightest hesitation."

"I had no hesitation whatsoever, Inspector," Narumi said, lowering his gaze to the piano keys.

"Really? If that's true, why did you send that invitation letter to Detective Mouri?"

Narumi did not answer.

"You could never take another's life with a clear conscience. Everything you've done up to now is merely a forced illusion, achieved by masking yourself in hatred," Kii replied. "Because you felt your revenge was complete, once the hatred faded, the final target for execution was yourself—someone you believed had hands stained with blood."

"Yes, my hands are already stained with blood." Narumi raised his head and finally met Kii's gaze. "Shouldn't someone like me meet this end?"

"I don't know," Kii answered. "I seriously considered letting you walk away."

Narumi looked at him in astonishment.

"Because I acknowledge the righteousness of what you did," Kii replied. "I have always believed that buried truths inevitably breed future sins, and this time is no exception.

"The root cause lies in the fact that past crimes were never brought to light in time.

"People often ask whether delayed justice can truly be called justice."

"I don't think it can.

"To the dead, truth and justice are forever too late. But to the living, they are not.

"That is why I am standing here.

"For the living you, the truth of the past came too late, but the truth of the present is not yet too late."

"The truth of the present?" Narumi murmured. "Yet, for a murderer like me, what truth could there be? Of course I've known about all the conspiracies all along."

"Making it known that the truth has been brought to light for the public—that, too, is a kind of truth."

Narumi stared at him in a daze.

"Come with me. It is still not too late," Kii said. "If you know that even taking revenge upon a murderer is wrong, how can you fail to realize that the same applies to passing judgment upon yourself, in private?

"Perhaps you understand that given your circumstances, the court wouldn't sentence you too severely, and you view that as an undeserved, incorrect forgiveness.

"Yet I want to say that the verdict of the law represents justice far better than your own personal notions ever could.

"You no longer need to live for your father, nor do you need to remain shackled by past sins.

"The truth will eventually be revealed, and all things of the past will inevitably scatter like smoke.

"It is time for this vengeance to end."

Narumi lowered the match in his hand, tears streaming down his face.

Kii walked over and helped him up.

He did not immediately reach for his handcuffs, but Narumi had already obediently held out his wrists.

As they reached the doorway, Kii saw Conan leaning against the wall, head bowed, light glinting off his glasses.

He said nothing, and Conan said nothing.

-----------------

On the boat ride back.

"Why did Doctor Narumi send that advance notice letter of murder to Dad?" Ran looked at Mouri Kogoro, who was dozing in his chair. "Maybe it was a challenge..."

"It's because he wanted someone to stop him from killing," Conan muttered, leaning against the ship's railing and gazing into the distance.

He recalled the sheet music left behind by Ase Keiji, which they had found at Nishimoto's place during the subsequent investigation.

Using the key to the cipher, he had easily deciphered the final message.

"Narumi, you must live on strongly, all by yourself."

However, it seemed Doctor Narumi no longer needed those words now.

Having lived through everything that happened on Moonlight Island, he had ultimately chosen to face life with strength.

"Is the truth revealed for the sake of the living?"

Conan could not help but whisper to himself.

"Conan, what are you saying?" Ran didn't catch it clearly, nor did she understand his previous remark about hoping someone would stop the murders.

"It's nothing!" Conan looked out toward the horizon.

"Nonsense, you clearly look like you know!" Ran grabbed Conan by the shoulder. "You little miser, hurry up and tell me!"

"Ouch!"

-----------------

The case on Moonlight Island had come to an end.

Kii returned to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Since the murder case also involved narcotics trafficking, it was by no means a small matter.

Still, Kii remained concerned about what Narumi's final sentence would be.

He really needed to find a good lawyer.

Yet in the world of science-based deductions, the ultimate representative of defense attorneys was Eri Kisaki. But since this case was unwinnable regardless of the approach—mitigation being the only possible goal—the will of the world would naturally reject assigning Eri Kisaki to the defense.

What a shame. Otherwise, going up against Reiko Kujo might have unlocked Eri Kisaki's defeat CG.

By comparison, those other scoundrels who committed murder and drug trafficking truly deserved no sympathy.

Let's hope Reiko Kujo brings her A-game.

Even with no urgent matters currently on his desk, Kii couldn't slack off right away.

The Moonlight Island case required a mountain of paperwork.

Miscalculation—he should have brought Takagi along so he could dump all the clerical work onto him.

Now it was impossible; he had to do it all himself.

Even knowing these procedures were entirely necessary, it was still terribly annoying.

No wonder slightly capable people in this world all loved becoming detectives; a life free from writing reports was simply too wonderful.

By the time he had finally finished writing and filing all the necessary reports, it was practically time to clock out for the day.

Then, the phone rang.

Oh come on, don't pull this right near the end of the shift. Please just let me go home.

After picking up, he felt slightly relieved.

Fortunately, it wasn't a call reporting a crime.

It was a relative from Yokohama.

His older cousin.