Chapter 45: The Dog with a Broken Spine (2.5k)

Raindrops slipped through the gaps between the leaves and splashed into the puddles below, sending ripples outward.

The screams echoing through the forest were quickly drowned out by the pouring rain, as if they had never happened at all.

The torrential downpour soaked Fujino's clothes, plastering them to his body.

Accumulated rain weighed down the brim of his fishing hat, running in streams down his temples.

Fujino stood silently where he was, staring at the strange figure before him for a long time before slowly stepping forward.

He pulled back the bandages wrapped around the man's face, revealing Takahashi Ryoichi's familiar, honest-looking features.

"You've got such an honest-looking face… how could you do something like this?" Fujino let out a quiet sigh. "But I suppose you are honest in a way. If someone wrongs you, you kill them. If it were me, I wouldn't even grant her the mercy of death—she wouldn't get to die even if she wanted to."

…

"Ryoichi?!"

The people inside the villa were all shocked when they saw Fujino dragging the unconscious Takahashi Ryoichi back inside.

"What did you do to Takahashi?!" Hiroki Sumitani glared at Fujino, his voice sharp with accusation.

"What did I do?" Fujino's expression showed clear impatience. "This guy is the masked freak who attacked me and Ran earlier by the villa. Didn't you realize?"

"I… I did see someone like that earlier…"

"Now that you mention it, why was this guy dressed up like that?"

Looking at Takahashi, still wearing the black cloak and lying motionless on the floor, the crowd started whispering in confusion.

"Maybe it was just some prank or something…"

Sumitani tried to make excuses for Takahashi but immediately turned his accusations back toward Fujino. "Even so, you didn't have to beat him up like this!"

"Man, you are a saint, aren't you?" Fujino snorted lightly in contempt.

This middle-parted hair simp, he'd seen right through him from the beginning.

A hopeless people-pleaser.

Without another word, Fujino subtly reached into his inventory and summoned something.

Boom!

With a dull thud, a massive axe slammed down onto the floor in front of everyone.

The sight of the large battle axe caused everyone to instinctively gulp nervously.

Fujino narrowed his eyes, locking them onto the face of the spineless nice guy, and spoke in a low, cold voice: "Do your little pranks usually involve sharpened battle axes?"

"If I hadn't reacted in time just now, I'd probably be dead!"

"This…" Sumitani took two steps back, his expression twisting as he stared at the giant axe lying on the floor.

"But… but why would he attack you, Fujino?!" Conan suddenly voiced the key question, turning his sharp gaze toward Fujino.

"Me? How would I know?" Fujino shook his head, then glanced at the unconscious Takahashi. "Why don't we ask the man himself?"

Moments later, a bucket of cold water was dumped over Takahashi, shocking him awake.

Soaked to the bone, he flailed upright for a moment before scanning his surroundings. Seeing himself surrounded by people, his strength gave out and he collapsed weakly to the ground.

"Why the hell did you attack Fujino-senpai?!" Sonoko was the first to speak up.

This time, because it concerned her beloved senpai, her tone involuntarily rose with righteous fury.

"What… what are you people talking about? I don't understand what you mean!"

Realizing his secret had been exposed, Takahashi simply started playing dumb.

"Still pretending? Really?" Fujino sighed deeply, lifting a hand to adjust his fishing hat, gently brushing his fingers across its brim.

Time to let the locals witness the terrifying might of the spoiler king.

He wasn't even sure how powerful this hat's "self-destruct" plot-reveal effect would be.

With that thought, the corners of Fujino's lips lifted into a faint, amused smile.

"You attacked me because you wanted to kill me, didn't you?"

"Don't talk nonsense! I don't even know you! Why would I want to kill you?!"

"You don't know me… sure. But I saw your figure."

"You wanted to kill me to keep your little secret from being exposed—that you've been disguising your appearance."

That statement instantly caused the entire room to focus their attention on Takahashi.

It was only now that they realized something strange—

Takahashi Ryoichi wasn't overweight at all.

He had a lean, athletic build, maybe even slightly muscular.

With all those eyes staring at him, Takahashi's expression quickly collapsed into despair.

"Killing someone just to hide their real body type—that does sound far-fetched…" Fujino continued thoughtfully. "But what if that's just one part of a larger murder plot?"

He narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, pressing his attack: "You wanted to kill me to keep your whole murder plan from being exposed, didn't you? Your real goal is to secretly kill someone in this villa!"

[Fishing Hat Effect Activated]

"You're right! I was going to kill that bitch Chikako Ikeda!!" Takahashi suddenly roared, practically spitting the words out in fury.

At that moment, the "honest, reliable" Takahashi was gone. His face contorted in hatred, his ferocity making everyone present feel cold dread.

Ayako was so startled by his transformation that she instinctively took two steps back.

"Takahashi…"

"That bright, cheerful girl—Dunko—she suddenly killed herself, and you people didn't even think it was strange?!" His voice was hoarse, trembling with rage. "One day in the club office, Dunko secretly showed me the novel she'd been writing."

For a brief moment, tenderness flickered across his twisted face: "Her eyes were filled with light back then—she dreamed of becoming a real novelist."

"But soon after… that cheerful, vibrant girl hanged herself!"

His expression darkened again, and he turned his gaze toward Chikako Ikeda, eyes full of venomous hatred: "I didn't understand why at first… but then I saw that bitch's 'Azure Kingdom', and everything became clear!"

"'Azure Kingdom'?!" Ayako furrowed her brows, her fists clenched tightly. "You mean… Chikako…?"

Before she could finish, Takahashi shouted angrily, cutting her off: "That bitch's debut novel—it's almost identical to the plot of Dunko's 'Blue Kingdom'!!"

"But that doesn't necessarily mean Dunko killed herself because of it! And even if she did plagiarize, Dunko could've filed a complaint—"

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!!"

Nice guy Sumitani tried to speak up again, but Takahashi charged forward, grabbed his collar, and slapped him across the face with a heavy crack.

"You think Dunko didn't try to report it?!"

"But because of that bitch's social standing at school and her ties to the committee, Dunko's complaint was completely dismissed—she wasn't just disqualified, she was humiliated!!"

Sumitani covered his burning cheek and turned his face aside, not daring to meet Takahashi's eyes.

Takahashi shoved him aside and looked around with misty eyes: "The day Chikako accepted her award… that was the day before Dunko killed herself. She called me that night—told me she'd never trust anyone ever again…"

...

Silence.

The entire room was deathly quiet.

Everyone wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come. Their throats trembled slightly, but nothing came out.

They all knew—

Ikeda Chikako had held considerable influence at school.

What Takahashi said… made a disturbing amount of sense.

"Miss Ikeda, don't you think you owe everyone an explanation?" Fujino's calm voice finally broke the silence, drawing all eyes toward Chikako.

Ayako's expression filled with sorrow as she looked at Chikako. "Chikako… did 'Azure Kingdom' really plagiarize Dunko's work?"

"SHUT UP!!"

Chikako's face twisted with fury as she suddenly snapped at Ayako.

All her former scholarly arrogance was gone.

What remained was like a dog with its spine broken, baring its teeth wildly in desperation.

Seeing the looks of disgust and horror on everyone's faces, she instinctively took two steps back, shouting: "Are you seriously going to believe him—just his word alone?!"

"'Azure Kingdom' is MY original work! Besides Takahashi, who else even knows about this supposed plagiarism?!"

"You're going to accuse me of stealing from a dead girl? That's laughable!!"

Ayako frowned deeply, lowering her voice: "Chikako… isn't that going too far…?"

(End of Chapter)