"Once I figured out the trick to the locked room, I understood one thing—Nakagawa, to execute this method, it could only be you, since you left later than Ayako!"
Takato explained, "You first used drugs to make Sonoko unconscious, then went out and created the locked room. After you and Ayako returned together, you made her a witness to the locked room.
Then you had her go out to get the key, allowing you to take Sonoko out. After that, you only needed to put the drawing board used to create the locked room back inside the room, and wait for Ayako to return with the key, pretending to open the door with the key. That's the entire process of this locked room disappearance."
After hearing this, Moemi Nakagawa fell silent, then suddenly said, "What evidence do you have?"
"The evidence is on the drawing board!"
Takato said, "Because of the paint on the staircase floor, when you put the drawing board down and picked it up, it scraped against the paint on the floor, leaving marks."
"However, once I understood all this, a new question arose—where did you take Sonoko?"
Seeing that Moemi Nakagawa had no intention of speaking, Takato continued.
"So you just asked me to look for her elsewhere to see my reaction!"
Moemi Nakagawa suddenly realized something and said in surprise.
"Exactly! I asked you to look for Sonoko elsewhere precisely to observe your reaction. If Sonoko were still hidden in the old school building, you definitely wouldn't dare to let me and Ayako search together. So now I'm certain, Sonoko is still in this building!"
Takato said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, once I realized Sonoko was kidnapped, I already called the Police. Now the Police are conducting a full search downstairs."
Facing this outcome, Moemi Nakagawa sighed deeply.
"I originally thought that with Shinichi Kudo not here, my plan should have been flawless. I never expected there would still be a Detective."
Looking at the Female student in front of him, Takato asked, "Actually, I have another question for you—was your plan from the beginning to kidnap Suzuki Sonoko?"
After reviewing the entire incident, Takato had a slight suspicion. To achieve a locked-room disappearance kidnapping, someone must prove that it was a locked room at the time. However, there were only two people in the art club today, and it was Ninagawa Ayako, not Moemi Nakagawa, who asked Suzuki Sonoko to come help.
Thinking this way, the final kidnapping of Suzuki Sonoko seemed very strange. Instead, it would be more logical if the original plan was to kidnap Ninagawa Ayako, and then find someone else to be a witness.
Hearing Takato's question, Moemi Nakagawa smiled indifferently.
"Detective, you are truly perceptive. That's right, I initially planned to kidnap Ninagawa Ayako, she is the daughter of the Beika Central Hospital director. I just didn't expect that the person she brought to help would be the second young lady of the Suzuki Group."
So, the purpose of the kidnapping was indeed for money?
Hearing this answer, Takato came to this conclusion, but it no longer mattered. At this moment, Inspector Megure had already brought the Police to the rooftop and took Moemi Nakagawa away.
"Ah! Brother Akechi! You did it!"
Inspector Megure greeted Takato, "We have found Miss Suzuki. She was hidden in a cabinet in the downstairs warehouse and is not in danger."
"Is that so? That's good."
Takato said, and at this moment, the settlement panel appeared before him.
"Reasoning complete, closing case"
"Case summary evaluation: S"
"Logic: S"
"Knowledge: S"
"Observation: S"
"Settlement complete, overall rating reached S, reward bounty 50, issuing additional reward, please choose:"
"Reward One: Defense Skill"
"Reward Two: Driving Skill"
"Reward Three: Professional Knowledge"
Looking at the long-awaited "S" rank evaluation, and the "Defense Skill" option that appeared every time, Takato frowned:
The first time, "Defense Skill" was an option in Reward Two, but ever since he chose "Hidden Clues" from Reward One, "Defense Skill" had consistently occupied the Reward One slot.
Regarding this situation, Takato had a faint guess.
After bidding farewell to Inspector Megure, Takato walked outside the gymnasium and found that the kendo match had already ended, and Hattori and Kazuha had just arrived.
"Darn it! This was a wasted trip!"
Hattori looked at the dispersing crowd from the match and couldn't help but sigh loudly.
"Not a wasted trip."
Takato walked forward with a slight smile, "Didn't you run into him?"
"Mr. Akechi!"
Seeing Takato walking over, Kazuha greeted him.
"How about it? Since you're in Tokyo, let's have dinner before you go back. My treat this time."
Takato said.
"No, let's not. We have school tomorrow."
Hattori refused, "This trip to Tokyo, being able to meet Shinichi Kudo, was not in vain. By the way, Mr. Akechi, how did you know I had met him?"
"Because Kazuha mentioned the name of the boy you met on the phone."
Takato said.
"You're truly amazing, Mr. Akechi, knowing who someone is just from a name."
Hattori couldn't help but praise him.
Afterward, Takato chatted with Hattori and Kazuha about the events they encountered today. After seeing them off on the Shinkansen, he returned home—now, he could make his choice with peace of mind.
This time, after careful consideration, Takato chose "Defense Skill" for Reward One!
"Name: Wrestling Skill"
"Due to the first completion of a Triple S evaluation, reward upgraded, unlocking the compendium"
"Name: The Hanged Man (Wrestling Skill)"
"Special effect: You can trip any object that touches "The Hermit (The Detective's Magical Trench Coat)" and weighs no more than 200 kilograms. After using this effect, it cannot be used again within 24 hours."
"Detective Rating: Assistant Detective"
"Bounty: 350"
Looking at the description of the "Defense Skill" obtained after the reward upgrade, Takato was momentarily stunned. Although the game "Bounty Detective" had a special reward for the first completion of a Triple "S" rank achievement, it only helped you unlock the full compendium of "special item". So how should this be understood now? There was no compendium-like interface appearing!
The so-called unlocking the full compendium of "special item" in the game meant that you could see all the special item in the game.
Could it be that this time it's a disguised form of unlocking the compendium? The "Defense Skill" and "special item" he now possessed seemed to have new names. The "Wrestling Skill" rewarded by "Defense Skill" became "The Hanged Man", and the "The Detective's Magical Trench Coat" was "The Hermit". Could it be that they are named after the tarot cards cards!
If this is understood as unlocking the compendium, does it mean that all special rewards are in this compendium named after tarot cards cards!
Then, what about the "Famous Detective's Monocle"?
Thinking this way, Takato pulled out the monocle from his pocket and looked at the star-shaped charm hanging at the end of its metal chain—could this be referring to "stars"!
To further verify his idea, Takato silently recited a choice, and then new text appeared before him:
"Do you want to spend 100 bounty to exchange for the special item "Wheel of Destiny"?"
Looking at how this function, which was originally for exchanging "Time Hourglass", had changed, Takato suddenly let out a seemingly frenzied laugh!
"Time Hourglass" is "Wheel of Destiny", "The Detective's Magical Trench Coat" is "The Hermit", "Famous Detective's Monocle" might be "stars", and even "Defense Skill" has become "The Hanged Man" with special effects!
So, can it be understood this way, that apart from clue-related rewards, all other additional rewards are these items with special effects—then, rewards like "Professional Knowledge" and "Driving Skill" are also something to look forward to!
He had underestimated this settlement panel!
...
Sorry for any translation mistakes, this chapter was hard to translate.