Chapter 43: The Legendary Haunted House

Thud!

Looking at the weeping Kazumi Takenaka, Toshihiko Takasugi felt dizzy and his mind went completely blank. He dropped to his knees in panic and despair.

"What... what on earth... have I been doing..."

At this moment, Toshihiko Takasugi finally understood why Sayuri Matsumoto had chosen to drink the lemon tea without saying a word, even though she knew it had been poisoned.

It was because Sayuri wanted to sacrifice her own life to put an end to the feud between him and her father.

The mere thought that he had almost caused the death of the person he loved most filled Toshihiko Takasugi with such agonizing regret that he wished he were dead.

Ever since his mother passed away, that childhood first love had become the most important person in Toshihiko Takasugi's heart. Otherwise, he could never have held onto those feelings for so many years.

Yet... yet he had actually...

"Inspector Matsumoto, the hospital just called. They said your daughter's injuries are not severe—just minor corrosion in her oral cavity. She can be discharged after a week of recuperation."

Just as Toshihiko Takasugi was on the verge of a mental breakdown, Wataru Takagi hurried in and brought everyone some good news.

"That's wonderful! Teacher Matsumoto is going to be fine, that's such a relief!"

"Thank goodness, thank goodness..."

Hearing Wataru Takagi's words, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief and cheered happily.

Toshihiko Takasugi, who had been on the brink of collapse from remorse, also wore a look of relieved release. With a gentle smile, he willingly raised his hands for the police to slip on the handcuffs.

Although Toshihiko Takasugi had not actually committed murder, he had indeed poisoned Sayuri Matsumoto, so a prison sentence was unavoidable.

Of course, how long Toshihiko Takasugi would spend behind bars depended entirely on the wishes of the victim, Sayuri Matsumoto. If she chose to forgive him, the legal proceedings would likely just be a formality.

After the police escorted Toshihiko Takasugi away, Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki took Seimei Suzuki and the others to the hospital to visit the hospitalized Sayuri Matsumoto.

More than half an hour later, the group finally left the hospital.

Stepping out of the hospital gates, Sonoko gently patted Seimei Suzuki's little head, lingering fear still evident on her face. "Seimei, you really played a huge role this time. If you hadn't realized in time that the lemon tea Teacher Matsumoto drank was tainted, a real tragedy would have happened today."

If Seimei Suzuki hadn't knocked the lemon tea out of the way, Sayuri Matsumoto's life might genuinely have been in danger. In that case, Toshihiko Takasugi would have become a murderer, and Kiyonaga Matsumoto would undoubtedly have lived the rest of his life in endless torment.

Now, Sayuri Matsumoto's injuries were minor, requiring only a week of rest before she could be discharged, and Toshihiko Takasugi had completely abandoned his thoughts of revenge after this ordeal. The two of them would likely be able to pick up where they left off in the future—a truly happy ending all around.

"That's right, Seimei is amazing~ I feel like he's even more impressive than a detective!" Ran Mouri praised him without reservation.

Facing the praise from Ran and Sonoko, Seimei Suzuki felt a little embarrassed. "It's nothing much~ I just happened to notice it by chance."

"This brat..."

Conan's gaze toward Seimei Suzuki grew somewhat complicated.

The longer he interacted with Seimei Suzuki, the more Conan felt that he didn't act like a normal child at all.

Had Conan not watched Seimei Suzuki grow up since he was a baby, he would have suspected that Seimei was just like him—someone who had shrunk after taking a mysterious drug, playing the part of a fake child.

Back in the dressing room, Toshihiko Takasugi had poisoned Sayuri Matsumoto's lemon tea right in front of both Seimei and Conan.

Yet Seimei Suzuki had managed to spot the problem with the lemon tea in advance, while Conan had only realized it afterward. This inevitably made Conan question his own existence.

Could it be that after turning into a child, even his observational skills had regressed, to the point where he couldn't rival the powers of observation of an elementary school student?

There is a saying: "The best warriors win without the fame of brilliant battles, and the best healers lack the renown of miraculous cures."

As a high school detective, Conan understood a very profound truth: solving a case is difficult, but preventing a crime from happening in the first place is even harder.

To prevent a crime beforehand requires not only exceptionally sharp observation but also a considerable amount of luck.

Conan had solved anywhere from eight hundred to a thousand cases over the years, but the ones he had successfully intercepted before they occurred could be counted on one hand.

Including the case of the Italian robber gang and today's incident, Seimei Suzuki had already prevented two crimes from taking place. It was truly difficult for Conan to believe this was something a mere elementary schooler could accomplish.

Of course, what Conan didn't know was that Seimei Suzuki had not only prevented these two crimes; the incidents at the amusement park, on the train, and on Tsukikage Island had all been averted by him beforehand as well.

However, Seimei Suzuki didn't feel particularly proud of himself. He knew he was able to stop these cases mostly because of his foreknowledge of the plot, combined with the system's prompts. Without those advantages, he would never have succeeded in preventing these tragedies.

...

Teitan Elementary School, Year 1, Class B

"I'm really not making this up! Last night, I actually saw a monster, right inside that old Western-style mansion in the fourth block," Ayumi said with an entirely serious expression.

"The old mansion in the fourth block? I think I've heard rumors about a haunted house over there too."

Hearing Ayumi's words, Genta chimed in with a spooky tone, "Word has it that five years ago, after the owner of that house was murdered by someone unknown, the place became terribly haunted."

Conan let out a helpless shrug. "Give me a break~ What era is this? You guys need to rely on science! Ghosts and monsters don't even exist, alright?"

"Conan is such a spoil-sport, humph!"

Seeing Conan's dismissive expression, Ayumi pouted unhappily, turned her head, and asked, "Seimei, do you believe ghosts exist in this world?"

"I think for things like this... it's better to believe they do just in case," Seimei Suzuki replied after a brief thought.

Whether ghosts actually existed in this world, Seimei wasn't entirely sure, but magic certainly did exist.

Kaito Kid's classmate, Koizumi Akako, was a witch who practiced red magic.

Furthermore, Seimei Suzuki himself was a reincarnator. Even if he were to encounter actual spirits and monsters, he would only be surprised rather than outright denying their existence.

"Seimei, how about we go explore that haunted house tonight? If we manage to snap a picture of a ghost, we'll definitely make the front page news again!" Ayumi suggested excitedly.

"Haunted house exploration?"

Hearing this, Seimei Suzuki was slightly startled as fragments of related memories stirred in his mind.

If he remembered correctly, there weren't actually any ghosts inside that haunted house at all; instead, it was home to a mother and son living in hiding. That pair should be the wife and son of the mansion's original owner.