"It seems Lawyer Shimada does know some things."
Takato smiled.
"So, Mr. Akechi, just to be safe, how much do you know?"
Shimada Kaoru asked.
"I was thinking, is Mr. Nishikawa trying to find his illegitimate child, and is his current child, Nishikawa Hiroaki, against it?"
Takato briefly explained.
After listening, Shimada Kaoru nodded silently.
"That's good enough."
Shimada Kaoru said, then rose and took a stack of documents from a safe, placing them on the coffee table between them.
"However, rather than Mr. Nishikawa Hiroaki being against it, it's more accurate to say that Mr. Nishikawa Taisei himself hasn't made up his mind yet."
Shimada Kaoru sorted through the documents, spreading two of them in front of Takato. Both were wills.
"In fact, Mr. Nishikawa made two wills. One states that all his inheritance will go to Mr. Nishikawa Hiroaki, while the other divides the inheritance equally between Mr. Nishikawa Hiroaki and the possibly existing illegitimate child."
"If that's the case, what was Mr. Nishikawa's intention in publishing the cipher?"
After hearing Shimada Kaoru's narration, Takato felt that his previous thoughts might have deviated from the truth.
"This was actually an idea Mr. Nishikawa brought up when I was drafting his will. At the time, he might still have been conflicted about whether to really find his illegitimate child, especially since his current child, Mr. Hiroaki, is still resentful about his affair with an actress twenty years ago. And compared to a possibly existing illegitimate child, perhaps the child he has lived with for nearly forty years is the one he truly has feelings for."
Shimada Kaoru said with a sigh, "But he also said at the time that when he decided to look for this illegitimate child, he would leave a clue in a magazine he invested in. If someone could use this clue to find me, then he would decide to commission that person to find the illegitimate child for him."
With that, Lawyer Shimada pulled out an agreement from the stack of materials and placed it in front of Takato.
"However, the premise is that Mr. Hiroaki must not know before a definite conclusion is reached through investigation."
Looking at the commission agreement in front of him, Takato pondered, "What if the final result is that this illegitimate child doesn't actually exist?"
"Everything will follow the agreement. As long as definite news about his illegitimate child is found before Mr. Nishikawa passes away, then the remuneration mentioned in the agreement will be given to you."
Shimada Kaoru replied, then added a few more sentences, "If this illegitimate child exists and is alive, find out where he is; if he is dead, find evidence of his death; if he was never born, please also find corroborating materials."
Takato listened and thought, "So, I need to thoroughly investigate everything about his illegitimate child before Mr. Nishikawa passes away?"
"Exactly. If Mr. Akechi is sure you want to accept this commission, please sign the agreement."
Shimada Kaoru said.
Takato stared at the agreement and asked, "Then may I ask, what happens if I don't complete the commission?"
"There will be no consequences."
Shimada Kaoru answered indifferently.
"Then how much remuneration will I receive if I complete the commission?"
Flipping to the end of the agreement, then looking at Shimada Kaoru, Takato asked. After all, he still remembered that the challenge mission mentioned "wealth can be obtained," which was also the reason Takato chose this challenge.
Shimada Kaoru placed the remaining materials on the coffee table.
"If you complete the commission, this property will be yours. This is a property Mr. Nishikawa purchased in Tokyo in his early years, but since Mr. Nishikawa spent most of his time developing in Osaka, this property has been abandoned for many years."
Takato took the material and looked at it. It was a villa located at 2-20 Beika Town, Tokyo—Beika Town 2-chome? A somewhat familiar place name.
"Then I have one last question. Are there any clues regarding the search for Mr. Nishikawa's illegitimate child?"
Takato was clearly tempted by the commission's reward, but still intended to ask all his questions first.
"Mr. Nishikawa once gave that actress a 6-carat blue diamond. This is the only clue Mr. Nishikawa mentioned. However, since that actress left, there has been no news about this blue diamond."
Takato was not surprised by this result. If there were really any obvious clues, logically, twenty years would have been plenty of time to find them. Thinking this, Takato finally signed the agreement.
Watching Takato sign the agreement, Shimada Kaoru said, "Mr. Akechi, I will remind you again, you must find a conclusion before Mr. Nishikawa passes away, and during this period, you must not let Mr. Hiroaki know about this matter, otherwise the commission will fail. Of course, even if it fails, it will not cause any loss to Mr. Akechi, because Mr. Nishikawa is only trying to find his illegitimate child with a 'let's see' attitude."
Takato nodded to show he understood, then got up and prepared to leave—a 'let's see' attitude, huh?
"Lawyer Shimada, what do you think of Mr. Nishikawa's car accident?"
When he was almost at the door, Takato suddenly stopped and turned to ask this question.
"That can only be described as... an unfortunate accident. After all, after the Police investigation, they only said it was an ordinary traffic accident."
Shimada Kaoru replied.
"Alright, then I'll take my leave now."
Takato said, walking out of the Office and leaving Shimada Law Office.
A rich man who was always conflicted about whether to find his illegitimate child immediately launched a plan to find him after a car accident. It just feels like this matter isn't that simple.
Sitting on the train to Tokyo, Takato thought to himself—it seems the search for the illegitimate child must be sped up!
But is the only clue that 6-carat blue diamond?
Speaking of gems, in this Detective Conan world, isn't there a gem expert in Tokyo? But, although he knew where he was, how to contact him was a problem.
Speaking of which, why hasn't the new stage of this challenge mission appeared? In games, a new stage prompt would immediately pop up after completing each stage, right?
Could it be that he hasn't completed it yet? But after finding Lawyer Shimada Kaoru, it has already been confirmed that the person who left these numbers was Nishikawa Taisei, right? Or does it not count if he doesn't meet the person himself?
Thinking this, Takato shook his head. The text at the time only said "find out who left the numbers," and did not say "meet" the person. It seems it might be because of the real-world event, making it impossible to directly enter the next stage like in a game after completing one.
So, Takato, idle on the train, flipped through the newspaper he bought at the station before boarding to pass the time.
But soon, an article caught Takato's attention—"Kaito Kid Appears Again! Collector Saeki Tadashi Receives Mysterious Calling Card!" And in the report, the content of the calling card was fully displayed:
"It is spring now, time flies fast."
"In summer, on the vast continent, tears are the only water source."
"And when the dewdrop falling on the grass shines white,"
"When the exiled divine child hero passes through the zenith,"
"I shall take the tears of moonlight. —Kaito Kid has arrived."
After reading this report, Takato's panel reappeared before his eyes!
"Stage Two: Find the rich man's illegitimate child. The only clue is a gem. So why not ask a gem expert? Solve Kaito Kid's cipher, try to contact him, and see if you gain anything."
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