Case 3: Even though I Can Read Minds, But the Culprit Pulls So Many Miracles No One Believes Me When I Tell the Truth!
Our mind-reading detective, Oba Kanako, happened to be present at the scene of a sudden doctor collapse incident at a large hospital.
Beside the victim, who had fallen unconscious in an unusual position, there was a meaningful blue tea that had been poured. Was it an accident or an incident?
What message was the doctor, who had fainted while sitting in seiza position, trying to convey with his body?
In this abnormal space where mysteries beget mysteries, the mind-reading detective could read all the answers. But—eh, wait, the culprit’s miracles are piling up too much that no one’s going to believe this, are they!?
She had no confidence she could explain it well.
“Hey Koyomin, there’s that saying that idiots don’t catch colds, right? I think that’s a lie.”
“…Let’s hear it for now.”
“Actually, I tend to catch colds quite often in early spring. Oh? Could it be that intelligence has finally sprouted in me?”
“…Kanako, that’s hay fever.”
In the waiting room of a general hospital in Tokyo, Koyomin and I were killing time with such trivial conversation.
It’s not like we were suffering from any serious illness… though if you call stupidity a serious illness, I wouldn’t have anything to say about that.
“They’re late. It’s supposed to be just a simple examination, and we came pretty early too.”
“It’s a large hospital, after all. The examination itself won’t take much time, so let’s wait patiently until we’re called.”
Yes, the reason we came to the hospital today was to receive regular checkups.
Cyborg bodies and mind-reading abilities… our bodies, modified by the mad scientist Dr. Ataoka, could have anything happen to them at any time.
That’s why Naomi-san takes the precaution of bringing us to the hospital regularly for checkups. She has unexpectedly kind sides to her, that person.
Speaking of Naomi-san—
Kata kata kata kata…
She was frantically messing with her laptop in the waiting room. Completely ignoring the suspicious looks from the reception staff, she kept typing away—kata kata, click.
“Huh? Could it be work?”
When I asked what kind of work it was, Naomi-san answered with a straight face:
[“Obviously it’s surveillance, can’t you see?”]
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
“How would I know just by looking?!”
Koyomin and I were left speechless by her sudden surveillance declaration. What makes it worse is that this isn’t a joke—it’s her genuine intention.
Such an inappropriate word coming from a police officer caused even the usually composed Koyomin to panic and interrogate Naomi-san.
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to secretly photograph the nurses and sell the pictures to warm your pockets?”
“Of course not! That’d be a crime.”
Naomi-san looked exasperated, saying “What are you talking about?” Somehow, being looked down upon by this person doesn’t feel convincing.
“You said ‘surveillance,’ so of course I’d think it was in that direction! There’s no way I could tell just by looking, so please explain!”
Perhaps feeling wronged about being suspected of perverted activities, Naomi-san honestly showed us her laptop.
“It’s not that kind of thing—I’m monitoring headquarters.”
“Headquarters?”
The screen she pointed to showed detectives busily working away. She seemed to have set up cameras in multiple locations, allowing her to view the police work scene from various angles.
“Why would you do such a thing?”
“Something’s fishy about the internal movements. Over the past few years, people related to cases I’ve been pursuing have died in various ways, or evidence has gone missing. I get the feeling that my hand is being read and things are being crushed—”
After speaking at length, Naomi-san scratched her head.
“So I’m checking what kind of movements happen while I’m away. But is there anyone who would benefit from burying that case in darkness now?”
Muttering to herself, Naomi-san glared intently at her laptop again. This person has her own troubles too.
“People dying—that sounds quite dangerous.”
When the curious Koyomin asked about this, Naomi-san showed an unusually reluctant expression, then began speaking in a low voice so others wouldn’t hear. It’s really something when this person shows concern for her surroundings.
“The corrupt police executive [Hijikata Koshizou] who was lining his pockets with the Logic-related stuff committed suicide just the other day.”
“Suici—”
To my surprise, Naomi-san explained the details.
“He apparently drank some drugs that were confiscated from a case at his home and died of poisoning. There was also a suicide note in his handwriting. Based on the circumstances, the authorities ruled it a suicide—officially, anyway.”
“You say ‘officially,’ but isn’t there no room for doubt?”
To Koyomin’s pertinent question, Naomi-san clicked her tongue and wagged her finger.
“There are various things that don’t add up. The suicide note was hidden where it wouldn’t be easily found, and the poison was put in a wine bottle.”
Hearing about the bottle, Koyomin tilted her head.
“That’s strange. If someone were committing suicide by poisoning, they’d either put the drug directly in their mouth and wash it down, or if they were going to dissolve it, they’d use a glass or something.”
“Right? But the higher-ups seem to want to wrap it up quickly, so they processed it as suicide saying he was ‘mentally disturbed’… But even if he had drunk it normally, I wouldn’t believe it was suicide. The question is whether Hijikata was the type to take his own life over something like this.”
According to Naomi-san, this Hijikata was extremely strong-willed, and far from showing any signs of suicide, he had been taking a defiant stance of thorough resistance.
“That’s why I don’t believe for a second that it was suicide. The mastermind behind this case is definitely pulling strings from behind the scenes.”
“A mastermind—that sounds quite serious…”
Koyomin sympathized with Naomi-san, saying “My heart goes out to you.”
Naomi-san wrinkled her brow with a bitter expression.
“In this series of corruption cases, I’ve figured out that there are other main culprits besides that bastard Hijikata. There’s a terrifyingly cunning guy who doesn’t show his face… Well, whatever. If I squeeze information out of that Arima guy, I might get some information that leads to the mastermind.”
“Lawyer Arima? Huh? Why?”
I was surprised. Naomi-san made a disgusted face as she revealed Lawyer Arima’s misdeeds.
“That guy was apparently leaking confidential information from companies he worked with as a lawyer to Hijikata.”
“What? That person was doing such things?”
I was greatly surprised by this unexpected additional crime. How desperate must he have been?
“Apparently Arima was being threatened by Hijikata—if he didn’t want his involvement with the underground casino exposed, he had to leak customer information.”
“What would he do with the leaked information?” Koyomin asked.
Naomi-san answered the question with obvious disgust.
“Hijikata was apparently collecting blackmail material that way and getting companies to do him personal favors. The companies being used besides Logic—you can’t count them on one hand.”
“I see, so Lawyer Arima’s guilt gradually faded with each repetition, until he finally caused that suicide note incident.”
“He was probably planning to make a lump sum of money to pay off his debts, then flee overseas with the remaining money. Damn, putting on a serious face while being such a scoundrel.”
“…The topic about idiots not catching colds got blown away somewhere.”
“Ah, yeah.”
While Koyomin and I were feeling exasperated, a nurse called out with a smile.
“Ando Koyomi-sama, please go to examination room number one.”
“Oh, you’re being called, Koyomin. See you later then.”
“Yes, see you later.”
I lightly raised my hand and saw off my little sister as she headed to the examination room. I wonder if it’ll be my turn soon?
After a while, Naomi-san, who had been staring at her laptop, spoke to me as if remembering something.
“Oh right, while you guys were at school, I left a box at the detective office, so keep it safe for me.”
“A box? What kind?”
“I modified a high-end whiskey box—using it as a safe. It’s just the right size.”
I heard later that the box alone cost hundreds of thousands of yen—a luxury item. To modify it just because it’s “the right size”—that’s so like Naomi-san.
Naomi-san looked away from her laptop and grinned at me.
“There’s something important inside. It’s locked, so take care of it.”
“…It’s probably something troublesome, isn’t it?”
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