Inside Yoko Okino's Apartment, the atmosphere had grown tense.
Police officers stood silently around the living room.
At the center of the room lay the body of Takeshi Fujie.
A knife buried in his back.
Blood pooled beneath him.
Inspector Megure looked at Haruki.
"You said you understand what happened?"
Across the room, Conan Edogawa stared carefully.
His mind raced.
He figured it out already?
Conan had just connected the final clue himself.
But if Haruki revealed everything first…
Conan wouldn't be able to guide the deduction the usual way.
Still—
More important than pride…
Was the truth.
Conan folded his arms quietly and waited.
Haruki stepped closer to the victim.
His voice remained calm.
"The victim, Takeshi Fujie… wasn't murdered the way it appears."
Megure frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Haruki pointed at the knife.
"If someone stabbed him from behind, there should be signs of struggle."
The officers looked around.
The room was perfectly clean.
No overturned furniture.
No defensive wounds.
Ran blinked.
"You're right…"
Haruki continued.
"And his facial expression."
Everyone looked closer.
The victim's face was strangely calm.
Almost peaceful.
Megure crossed his arms.
"So you're saying…?"
Haruki finished the thought.
"He committed suicide."
Gasps filled the room.
Yoko Okino covered her mouth.
"Suicide?!"
Kogoro scratched his head.
"That's impossible! The knife is in his back!"
Haruki nodded slightly.
"Yes. That part is unusual."
Then he pointed toward the balcony.
"But the scene was staged."
Conan's eyes sharpened.
Exactly.
Haruki continued explaining.
"The victim climbed onto the balcony railing."
Megure looked surprised.
"And stabbed himself?"
Haruki shook his head.
"No."
He walked to the balcony.
"The knife was tied to a cord."
He gestured to the railing.
"When he jumped forward… the knife followed his momentum and stabbed into his back."
The officers looked stunned.
Megure rubbed his chin.
"Then what about the locked room?"
Haruki pointed at the balcony door.
"It was never truly locked."
He gestured again toward the strand of hair.
"Someone entered afterward."
All eyes turned toward the door.
Standing there—
The neighbor.
A young woman trembling with rage.
Conan recognized her immediately.
The obsessive idol fan.
Haruki looked at her calmly.
"You entered after his death."
The woman shouted.
"Yes!"
Tears streamed down her face.
"I did!"
She pointed angrily at Yoko Okino.
"Because of YOU!"
The room froze.
She continued screaming.
"He loved you!"
"He ruined his life because of you!"
"He wrote that stupid suicide note!"
Yoko gasped.
"S-suicide note…?"
Megure looked shocked.
"There was a note?"
The woman nodded violently.
"He left it here!"
She pointed at the victim.
"But I tore it up!"
Everyone stared.
Conan finished the logic in his mind.
"So that's it…"
The neighbor had loved the victim.
When she found him dead—
She blamed Yoko Okino.
In rage—
She staged the body to look like murder.
Just to frame Yoko.
Megure sighed.
"So that's the truth."
The woman collapsed into tears.
Police officers gently placed handcuffs on her wrists.
Minutes later.
The case was officially closed.
Outside the apartment building—
Kogoro laughed proudly.
"Hahaha! Another case solved by me!"
Conan groaned quietly.
You didn't do anything…
Ran smiled politely.
But her eyes shifted toward Haruki.
"You figured it out really fast."
Haruki shrugged lightly.
"The clues were obvious."
Conan stared at him.
"Obvious?"
Shinichi Kudo rarely met people who solved cases at his speed.
Yet Haruki had done it calmly.
Without hesitation.
Without showmanship.
Just quiet logic.
Conan smiled slightly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Haruki walked away down the street.
Then—
DING
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
Mission Completed
Mission: The Idol's Secret
Result: Success
Rewards Acquired:
Skill Fragment
Micro Expression Analysis (2/3)
Bonus Reward:
Item Acquired — Evidence Scanner Lens
Another screen appeared.
[ STATUS ]
Name: Haruki Akizawa
IQ: 138
Observation: 97
Deduction: 91
Psychology: 81
Memory: 90
Skills:
Observation Boost (Lv1)
Skill Fragments:
Micro Expression Analysis (2/3)
Items:
Micro Camera Lens
Evidence Scanner Lens
Relationships:
Ran Mori — Friendly
Conan Edogawa — Growing curiosity
Haruki closed the interface.
But another thought crossed his mind.
The system hadn't triggered a Black Organization mission yet.
Which meant…
Something bigger was coming.
Back at the street corner—
Conan stood quietly watching Haruki leave.
Ran noticed.
"What are you looking at?"
Conan smiled innocently.
"Just thinking."
But inside—
Shinichi Kudo felt a new kind of excitement.
Until now—
He had always been the smartest person in the room.
But Haruki Akizawa…
Was different.
And for the first time since becoming Conan—
Shinichi had a rival detective.
Somewhere in Tokyo.
Inside a dark bar.
Two men dressed in black sat at a table.
One with silver hair.
Cold eyes.
Gin.
Across from him—
Vodka.
Vodka spoke quietly.
"We found something strange."
Gin exhaled smoke slowly.
"What?"
Vodka slid a photograph across the table.
A blurry photo taken near Tropical Land.
In the background—
A figure standing near the fence.
Watching.
Haruki Akizawa.
Gin's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Who's that?"
Vodka shrugged.
"No idea."
Gin stared at the photo silently.
Then crushed his cigarette.
"Find out."
Far away—
Haruki continued walking through the quiet streets of Beika City.
Completely unaware…
That the most dangerous organization in Japan had just noticed him.
End of Chapter 7