"That's right, it's me!"
But just as Fujino was about to make a move, Yamada Akio, who was locked in the cage, suddenly shouted, "The one who killed Dad was me! Please, don't hurt Mom anymore!"
"Akio! Do you know what you're saying?!"
Mrs. Yamada froze in place upon hearing this, then hysterically shouted at Yamada Akio, "Don't say such foolish things, Akio! Just endure it a little longer, and the statute of limitations will be over!"
"I don't want to live like this anymore!"
Yamada Akio knelt on the ground, propping himself up with his hands on his knees, sobbing, "I can't stand seeing you get hurt because of me any longer!"
"Akio!"
Mrs. Yamada seemed like a balloon that had suddenly deflated, the knife in her hand slipping to the ground with a clatter.
Seeing this, Fujino breathed a sigh of relief.
For a moment, he even had the illusion that he was the villain here.
After clearing his throat to ease the damn awkwardness of the situation, he solemnly said to Mrs. Yamada, "Don't you understand your son's feelings by now?"
"Shut up!"
Mrs. Yamada suddenly turned her head and shouted sharply, "I just wanted to protect him! I can't just sit by and watch him go to prison and ruin the rest of his life!"
Fujino let out a long sigh.
Silently admitting that his persuasive skills still weren't up to par, he then sternly said:
"Locking him in a dark, damp cage, forcing him to suffer daily under the torment of his conscience—is that your idea of protecting him?! Don't you realize that your so-called protection is even crueler than sending him to prison?"
"That's not true! That's not true!!"
Mrs. Yamada broke down, clutching her head. After a burst of anguished screams, she finally covered her face and burst into tears.
"Maybe… this is what they call twisted motherly love..."
Fujino slightly lowered his head and sighed softly.
As the sun set, though it was already nighttime, the mother and son who had hidden in the shadows for five years finally stepped back into the light today.
Fujino escorted the two of them to the police station and then returned to his home in Go-chrome.
Pushing open the door, a 100-square-meter room came into view.
Bathed in moonlight, the spacious room was fully furnished and even had a nearly 100-inch plasma TV hanging on the wall, yet the atmosphere still felt incomparably lonely.
"I'm back."
Fujino unconsciously murmured to himself, then dragged his tired body to the bed, sinking into the solitude that belonged to him alone.
[Congratulations to the host for completing the Haunted House Murder Case mission. Detective Reputation +50]
[System reward has been issued. A bounty has been issued]
[System equipment gift pack has been issued to your inventory. Please check, host]
A notification echoed in his ears, prompting Fujino to slowly sit up.
With just a thought, a translucent interface appeared in front of him.
Displayed on the interface were various grid-like slots, each containing different items.
The system inventory wasn't some kind of space where he could store things at will—it was a one-way logistics warehouse… Once an item was taken out, it could never be put back in.
Fujino glanced over the items and was soon drawn to an icon resembling a gift box.
[System Initial Equipment Gift Pack: Randomly draw one piece of starter equipment. Guaranteed blue quality]
After briefly reading the description, Fujino opened the gift pack.
Suddenly, a streak of light shot out from the box.
After a few seconds of surprisingly realistic animation, a wooden sword emitting a blue glow appeared before him.
"A wooden sword?"
Fujino murmured in surprise, and as he touched it with his fingertip, detailed information about the sword appeared:
[Okamoto Touka 0.01: A wooden sword crafted from black peach wood, consecrated by a certain master. Though it's made of wood, it's indestructible.
Appearance: A 1.2-meter-long black wooden sword. Normally in a reduced pendant form, but returns to full size when used.
Ability: Indestructible, but with limited offensive capability. Although it can't cause real physical damage to people, it can make them feel physical pain and leave lingering discomfort for a period. If the user has excellent swordsmanship, it's highly possible to knock someone out with a single blow.]
Fujino took the wooden sword and gave it a few experimental swings, and his first impression was that it was very light. Even with his untrained physique, he could easily handle it.
But from the feel of it, it didn't seem like a wooden sword at all—more like a blade forged entirely from steel…
After swinging it a few more times, almost smashing his plasma TV in the process, Fujino hurriedly put it away.
Once retracted, Okamoto Touka 0.01 shrank into a thumb-sized pendant and gently fell into Fujino's palm.
There was even a neatly tied red woven cord attached to the hilt.
Convenient, indeed.
"Feels like I've got one of those 'good luck' charms people wear in their zodiac year."
Fujino sighed softly, putting the pendant around his neck.
Gurgle gurgle!
At that moment, the rumbling of his stomach interrupted his thoughts.
He almost forgot—he hadn't eaten a single thing since waking up that morning.
As the saying goes, people need food to function. Eat first—everything else can wait.
Fujino fished out a packet of instant noodles from somewhere and lit the stove to boil water.
Moments later, a bowl of plain, supposedly filling instant noodles—according to the system's description—was placed on the table.
"Can this fill me up?"
Fujino muttered doubtfully, but after wolfing down the entire bowl... he changed his mind.
Though the taste was mediocre, comparable to cheap rations, it was indeed extremely filling.
Just one bowl left him feeling a fullness he had never experienced before.
"No idea how the system managed to find something like this... Doesn't make sense..."
Fujino murmured to himself, but then thought—what's the point of looking for logic in this? With a system like this, logic can go to hell. This wasn't science, this wasn't Conan logic—this was straight-up mysticism.
Satisfied and full, Fujino stretched out with a big yawn, his gaze drifting to the street outside as his mind wandered.
Yeah... he was pretty much adapted to life in this world now… including this ridiculous Conan timeline where today might be the 5th, and tomorrow suddenly jumps to the 20th.
The only real downside was that his body felt weak from overwork.
During the day, he hadn't fully adjusted yet, and after some intense activity, he blacked out and ended up in the infirmary.
After waking up, that violent yet beautiful literature teacher dragged him off to ask a ton of baffling questions… Luckily, Fujino brushed her off with a few vague answers, and it passed.
"Dad! Are you out drinking again?!"
At that moment, a girl's angry scolding suddenly echoed from next door, her tone gradually turning sorrowful: "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be struggling so much, and Mom wouldn't have left us…"
"W-Wait, Ran, let me explain—Ah!!"
That night, the drunken cries of a certain alcoholic echoed throughout Beika 5th District.
When the storm finally subsided, Fujino stood on his balcony, gazing at the detective agency across the street, sighing, "Another day of martial virtue thriving in the Mouri household..."