It was already evening by then. Hayashi Yoshiki and his group had landed on a rather desolate-looking island by boat. The sea and island und
It was already evening by then.
Hayashi Yoshiki and his group had landed on a rather desolate-looking island by boat.
The sea and island under the twilight of dusk, paired with the gentle sound of waves, carried a certain bleakness.
"Welcome. I'll be in charge of looking after everyone during your stay. My name is Renzo Koya. Pleased to meet you."
Just as Hayashi Yoshiki and the others set foot on the dock, a square-faced man was already waiting for them.
He squinted as he examined the group and gestured for everyone to follow him to the cabin on the island.
There were no objections.
The wooden cabin wasn't far from the dock. After passing through a wooded area, they came upon what looked like a rather exquisite wooden villa.
However, when Hayashi Yoshiki and the others arrived, they discovered that other people were already inside.
"Long time no see, Yoshiki-kun."
"...Hakuba?"
The handsome Hakuba Saguru stood up from the sofa.
Hayashi Yoshiki looked slightly surprised at the sight of him.
"Didn't expect to see you here."
Hakuba chuckled, visibly pleased. His gaze then shifted to the three other high school detectives — plus Conan, who didn't really count — and said,
"Five people… each representing the four cardinal directions. I see now — I must be the overseas representative."
Because the production team couldn't get in touch with Kudo Shinichi, Hakuba had assumed he was being invited as the East Japan representative.
Hayashi Yoshiki, however, smiled.
"But the issue is... I'm not a high schooler. Technically, I shouldn't be eligible to join this Detective Koshien event." (Koshien = Tournament)
"So, Mr. Director — mind explaining what's going on here?"
Hakuba turned to the director, whose hairstyle matched that of Professor Agasa.
Hiroo Tsuchio scratched his head.
"Well... how should I put it? We couldn't contact Kudo Shinichi, and Hakuba is hardly in Japan, and Hayashi Yoshiki seems not too fond of taking cases... We just sent out invitations to both of you on a whim. Never thought you'd both actually show up."
The others were speechless.
Heiji Hattori squinted at Hayashi Yoshiki, who didn't look embarrassed in the slightest.
"I mean, if you don't like taking cases, then why open a detective agency?"
"I did take a few cases at first. But after several exaggerated claims — some women came to me without any real cases — I ended up just passing them all to my assistant."
"…You've got it rough."
The others were rendered silent.
Although Hakuba Saguru seemed to have a lot more to talk about with Hayashi Yoshiki, Hiroo Tsuchio stepped forward again.
"Now that we have high school detectives representing the North, South, East, and West... well, Mr. Hayashi Yoshiki can be a special guest. Everyone, how about introducing yourselves first?"
"I don't mind, but aren't the cameras not set up yet? Is that okay?" asked the long-haired boy representing the North.
He had already observed when he entered — no cameras, no TV crew.
"The crew and the host will arrive tomorrow. I just arranged for all of you to come earlier," Hiroo Tsuchio explained.
"Alright then. My name is Natsuki Koshimizu, a third-year in high school, originally from Fukuoka."
She removed her headphones.
"I'm supposedly the South's representative, but I've only handled around a hundred cases. I'm still quite green, so please go easy on me."
"I'm Junya Tokitsu. Though I was born in Tokyo, I grew up in Hokkaido, so I'm the North's representative. I've been involved in about three hundred cases, with around two hundred fifty resulting in arrests or indictments...
Well, you know how it is. Some suspects flee, others... take their own lives," he added, casually.
"I'm Heiji Hattori, kinda well-known around Kansai. As for how many cases... hmm."
He began counting on his fingers.
"Well, ever since I passed the thousand mark, I stopped keeping track."
"O-One thousand!?"
Natsuki Koshimizu exclaimed in shock.
Heiji might have been boasting a little, but it wasn't far from the truth...
And that's exactly what made Hayashi Yoshiki begin to lose it inside.
—"These high school detectives have solved more cases than he's taken lives."
Hayashi Yoshiki couldn't help but think:
If even a high schooler can handle this many cases, maybe I really can be a little more reckless with my Death Note.
Even if Light Yagami came to this world and went on a full-blown killing spree, the crime rate might still not go down —
Because the crimes here were premeditated, not crimes of passion.
The culprits even actively sought out detectives to challenge them with elaborate tricks, betting on their inability to see through the deception.
Naturally, they would bet that Kira wouldn't see through them either.
Just imagining Light Yagami having to play detective himself and painstakingly investigate the truth before writing names down…
Hayashi Yoshiki found the thought unbearable.
"So you're Heiji Hattori, huh?"
Hakuba looked at him.
"I've heard a lot about you from my father. He says you're quite the sharp one."
"Your dad? How does he know me?"
"My father's the Commissioner General of the police. Funny coincidence — your dad is the Chief of Osaka Prefectural Police, right?"
"How many cases have you solved?"
Junya Tokitsu jumped in with the question.
Hakuba thought for a moment. Though his main turf was the UK, he said,
"In Japan... probably around five hundred."
"And you, Mr. Hayashi Yoshiki?"
Koshimizu looked at him curiously.
Under everyone's curious gaze, feeling out of place, Hayashi Yoshiki replied in a slightly quieter voice:
"About... twenty-something, I guess..."
"...Huh?"
Among these detectives with three-figure and even four-figure case counts, his answer came as a shock.
Junya Tokitsu even shot him a doubtful glance.
Though Junya Tokitsu, from Hokkaido, had heard the name Hayashi Yoshiki before, he didn't know much about him.
"Just twenty-some cases and you're that well-known?"
"Well... the publisher probably spent a lot on publicity to sell books,"
Hayashi Yoshiki replied frankly.
But the others didn't seem to agree.
"Even if Yoshiki-nii has worked fewer cases, he's definitely the best detective here."
Conan interjected.
Though no one took the word of a child seriously, the fact that Hakuba and Heiji also nodded along changed everything.
"That's right. Yoshiki-kun is the best detective I've ever met."
"…So this is Detective Koshien. Yoshiki, are you joining in too?"
Heiji scratched his head.
What's going on? Even these guys even acknowledge him?
Junya Tokitsu looked at the smiling Hayashi Yoshiki with newfound curiosity.