Detective Conan: Becoming a Tycoon in Tokyo! [15]

“Mouri-kun, is the culprit Sumitomo Shōichi?” Inspector Megure asked.

“No! It’s not him!”

Inspector Megure was taken aback—even you, so hot-headed and upright, have bowed to authority?

“The real culprit is Takeda-san’s son—Takeda Kazuo.”

“How is that possible!?” Takeda Kazuo shouted, panic rising. “How could I have killed my own father!?”

“Oh? Really?”

Mouri Kogoro’s voice deepened. “According to Mrs. Takeda, you put everything into copper futures. Recently the price of copper plunged from $2,800 a ton to just over a thousand. You must’ve lost everything.”

“If I’m not mistaken, you probably took out huge loans from the bank, right?”

Shōichi wiped his mouth and raised a hand. “Ahem, it was only a million dollars—Sumitomo Bank, actually. He borrowed it before I resigned.”

The nickname “Timely Rain” wasn’t for nothing—he liked to lend people money.

“It’s all your fault!”

Hearing Shōichi, Takeda Kazuo suddenly crumpled emotionally.

His voice ripped into a hoarse scream at Shōichi: “If your Sumitomo family hadn’t manipulated copper prices, how could I have gone bankrupt!?”

Frowning, Shōichi took a tissue and wiped the spit off his clothes.

“The copper price was already ridiculous. Any sane person would’ve cut their losses. You can’t blame others for your greed.”

Besides, I wasn’t the one who pumped the price up.

“Look on the bright side. You lost a million dollars, but Sumitomo lost billions—don’t you feel better?” Shōichi smiled and tossed the used tissue onto Kazuo’s face.

Can you stop spraying saliva everywhere when you talk?

He took another tissue Miyano Akemi handed him and patted himself dry.

Then he silently scolded his useless secretary—what kind of secretary lets her boss clean himself? Aren’t you supposed to help?

“You deserve to die! If it weren’t for you, I’d never have risked killing my father just to inherit his fortune!” Takeda Kazuo howled.

Conan, hiding behind Mouri, froze.

I haven’t even started deducing—why is he confessing already?

“No! I didn’t kill my father! I didn’t kill anyone!”

Rationality briefly returned; Takeda Kazuo switched to stubborn denial and insisted he hadn’t murdered Takeda Tarō.

But young Conan was hungry for a victory. He laid out Kazuo’s method step by step. After Takagi presented airtight evidence, Takeda Kazuo collapsed to his knees like a beaten dog.

Shōichi turned to the forensic expert. “By the way, what did you say in your autopsy report? I didn’t catch it.”

“The first shot struck a vital organ and killed Takeda Tarō instantly. The remaining shots were gratuitous—pure cruelty,” the forensic expert said seriously.

Inspector Megure’s mouth twitched.

Your tune changed awfully fast, didn’t it?

“Let’s wrap this up,” Megure sighed.
Leave sentencing to the courts. Finding the real culprit was impressive enough.

Shōichi strolled out of the villa, not the least bit bothered by being a suspect.

Why be angry about suspicion?
The person you wanted dead is dead—shouldn’t you be pleased?

“Akemi, transfer Takeda Kazuo’s debt at Sumitomo Bank into my name,” Shōichi told Miyano Akemi.

“I don’t know how,” Miyano Akemi admitted.

Shōichi waved his hand. “It’s fine—the bank people will show you.”

Miyano Akemi was speechless.

The bank will teach me how to transfer someone else’s debt straight into your account?

Shōichi continued, “As Takeda Tarō’s heir, Kazuo has the right to inherit the company shares. Help me acquire his company.”

“I don’t know how,” Miyano Akemi repeated.

“You can learn!” Shōichi said cheerfully. “Takeda Tarō is dead and the heir is in prison. The company will be in chaos. They just landed a new project—if they can’t finish it, they won’t get paid; without payment, employees won’t get salaries.”

“Think of those poor workers—Miyano Akemi, you wouldn’t want them to lose their jobs, would you?”

Miyano Akemi ground her teeth.

Shōichi patted her shoulder; she flinched away.

“For their sake, learn how to acquire a company, Miyano-san,” he said.

“I understand,” she said through clenched teeth.

He tried to pat her again; she dodged.

Are these really secretarial duties!?

...

Miyano Akemi learned fast.

Under expert guidance she transferred Takeda Kazuo’s debts and completed the takeover of Takeda Construction.

The acquisition sailed through. With the chairman dead, minority shareholders panicked; someone willing to step in was welcome.

Still, rumors spread.

People whispered that Sumitomo Shōichi had used zaibatsu power to forcibly seize Takeda Construction. Some said he shot Takeda Tarō in front of the police, then cooked up that absurd copper-poisoning story. Others claimed he’d framed Kazuo to tie up loose ends and threatened to kill anyone who opposed him.

Many believed it. A sleazy tabloid even ran the story.

Shōichi sighed and handed the paper to Ai. “What do you think?”

Ai skimmed the headline.

I think you’re a demon who deserves to be ripped apart.

“You’re a good person. They’re slandering you,” Ai said in a voice so saccharine she hated it herself.

Shōichi nodded approvingly and placed his hand on Ai’s fluffy head.

Take your filthy hand off me!

Ai roared inwardly but kept her cool, accumulating strength for the day she wouldn’t have to bite her tongue anymore.

“You like games, right? I bought you a costume today,” Shōichi told Ai.

“A costume?” Ai blinked, puzzled.

From his bag Shōichi pulled out yellow garments.

When unfolded, it was an emperor’s dragon robe.

“Don’t you like playing Jing Ke: Assassinates King Zheng? Last night you played Jing Ke. Today it’s my turn—I’ll be Jing Ke and assassinate you, King Zheng.”

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T/N: heh King Zheng was the First Emperor of the Qin Empire!!!!

This is a fan translation of 柯南：我在东京当财阀 by 倒霉的菜狗. Rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!