### Chapter 46: The Good Citizen of Mihama - Batman
"Excessive? Where am I being excessive? A dead person is just a dead person!"
Ikeda Chikako's words became increasingly outrageous, as if she was trying to cover up her own guilt. "I think Takahashi has gone crazy to accuse me of plagiarizing that dead girl. He must be envious of me, that's why he's spreading these false claims!"
Seeing that Ikeda Chikako showed no remorse, Takahashi's mouth twitched with rage.
If this woman had genuinely shown remorse, he might have spared her. But seeing her attitude, it was clear she had to be dealt with—she had to die!
With a speed that took everyone by surprise, Takahashi lunged at Ikeda Chikako, grabbing her by the neck and choking her while shouting, "Die!"
"Takahashi! Stop it!"
The others finally reacted and rushed forward, pulling Takahashi's hands away from Ikeda Chikako's neck.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Ikeda Chikako crouched on the ground, coughing painfully.
Despite this, she still cursed Takahashi, "Murderer, this guy is a murderer!"
"How can we trust the words of a lunatic who dares to kill in broad daylight!"
Fujino watched Ikeda Chikako with a frown.
This woman truly deserved to die.
No, dying like this would be too lenient. He needed to come up with a way to make her life worse than death.
The chaos caused a sharp drop in the previously relaxed atmosphere of the villa.
After dinner, Ota and Tsukbone went upstairs to keep an eye on Takahashi Ryoichi. After all, with what had happened, they couldn't leave Takahashi alone in his room. What if he tried to kill again?
Meanwhile, Sonoko, Ran, and Conan went to Ikeda Chikako's room to guard her and prevent any extreme actions.
In the kitchen, only Fujino and Ayako remained.
"I'm really sorry, Fujino-kun. After everything you've been through, you still have to help with cleaning up."
"It's nothing."
Fujino handed a plate to Ayako, smiling lightly. "I actually find it quite easy to help."
"It's such a rare occasion to invite an old friend for a gathering... and then something like this happens."
Standing by the sink, Ayako looked despondent while cleaning the plates. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have held this gathering."
Fujino chuckled softly and comforted her, "It's not really your fault. If anyone's to blame, it's Ikeda Chikako."
His tone grew somber. "Since the day she plagiarized from the deceased, leading to the girl's suicide, the flames of revenge have been kindled."
"Even if Takahashi hadn't acted here, he would have eventually killed Ikeda Chikako. Fortunately, he attacked me first, preventing the tragedy from occurring."
"I really didn't expect Chikako to be that kind of person..."
Ayako nodded, clearly feeling better despite still being somewhat remorseful.
"If it weren't for you, we might have faced an irreparable tragedy today."
She turned to Fujino and bowed sincerely. "Thank you so much, Fujino-kun."
"Don't mention it."
Fujino waved his hand, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I was just doing what a detective should do."
"Doing what a detective should do?"
Ayako looked up, her eyes thoughtful.
...
The next morning, the group hurriedly left the villa. After all that had happened, no one wanted to stay any longer.
After dropping off Sonoko, Ran, and Conan, Fujino returned home. He was greeted by the system's prompt:
**[Congratulations to the host for completing the Bandaged Man mission. You have earned 50 detective reputation points and a 500,000 yen reward.]**
**[Current system balance: 1,100,000 yen]**
**[Reputation required for the next level of detective profession: 200 points]**
"Ikeda Chikako really deserved to die..."
Fujino murmured, feeling a tinge of regret. If not for his status, he would have happily delivered a few stabs himself.
With a sigh, he moved on and decided to do a ten-draw from the system.
**[Congratulations, host! You have obtained: Sleepy Red Tea x2, Original Manuscript of The Blue Kingdom x1, Portable Voice Changer (Blue), Temporary Ability Enhancement Card (Strength, Perception Enhancement; Duration: 1 minute) x2...]**
"The original manuscript of The Blue Kingdom?"
Fujino's lips curved into a smile as he looked at the items drawn from the system. "It seems this dog system doesn't like that woman either."
As Ikeda Chikako had said, proving plagiarism without any evidence that the original author was deceased would be extremely difficult.
But now, with the original manuscript of The Blue Kingdom, everything would be much easier.
In the world of the Neon financial conglomerates, they were not exactly polite to each other.
Business rivalries were common among the conglomerates, and exposing the scandals of competing companies was a routine part of corporate warfare.
"Perhaps I can profit from this?"
Fujino mused as he examined the original manuscript of The Blue Kingdom.
...
That night, in Mihama Town, 1st District.
A man in his thirties walked into a corner alley, carrying a briefcase under the night sky.
The man, named Goto, was a reporter for a newspaper. He wore a brown suit, a blue tie, and black-rimmed glasses. Despite working as a reporter for over ten years, he had never managed to break any significant news stories.
Most of his work involved writing eye-catching headlines, and his peers had already advanced to editor positions, while he remained an ordinary reporter.
He had planned to continue in this position until retirement.
But earlier that day, a phone call had reached his desk.
The caller claimed to be Batman, a good citizen of Mihama, and had information about a scandal involving the hit movie The Blue Kingdom.
Initially skeptical, Goto was convinced when he saw the evidence proving that the caller had genuine dirt on the film.
The newspaper immediately offered him 2 million yen for the information and promised to promote him to editor if he could report it.
The reason was simple: the newspaper's parent company was a commercial rival of the company behind The Blue Kingdom.
Of course, the caller claiming to be the good citizen of Mihama was none other than Fujino.
Fujino had been deeply impressed by Goto's previous article, "Fujino Tohji's Moonshadow Island Trip and the Island Doctor's Unspeakable Secret."
So, naturally, he reached out to him again.
"Did you bring the money?"
Fujino's voice was deep and distorted by the voice changer, sounding like Batman.
Goto looked at Fujino, who was wearing a Batman mask. His mouth twitched.
He had expected a mere pseudonym—Batman—but didn't anticipate a full Batman costume for the transaction.
"Yes, I have brought 2 million yen in cash."
Goto didn't think too much about it, pulling out the money from his bag and showing it to Fujino. "Cash for the manuscript."
Fujino also took out the copy of The Blue Kingdom manuscript from the system space and handed it to Goto.
After receiving the 2 million yen and confirming it with the system, Fujino nodded in satisfaction.
The system was essentially the best counterfeit detector in the world; fake money was recognized as blank paper and wouldn't be converted into balance.
"Pleasure doing business..."
Goto checked the manuscript, confirming it was the original of The Blue Kingdom, then paused before adding, "Batman from Mihama."
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*End of Chapter*