Chapter 370

"Whether it's the Domoto Music Academy or this concert hall, the people most convenient to tamper with things are, of course, the staff."

Akaso Kaze said indifferently, "Especially this concert hall; to install explosives here, one must be intimately familiar with the structure of the hall and must be one of the staff members."

"As for being able to install sensors in specific organ pipes to trigger the bombs, ordinary staff couldn't manage that either. One would need to be familiar with both the organ pipes and the pieces being played in this performance."

Akaso Kaze turned to face the astonished Fuwa Takumi.

"There are 23 pillars on the outside of the concert hall, which means you installed 24 bombs. The first 23 will destroy the supporting pillars, and the final one will destroy the interior of the concert hall. Every time Mr. Domoto hits a flat note, a bomb will be triggered; there will be a total of 24 flat notes."

Akaso Kaze looked straight at Fuwa Takumi and continued.

"Miss Kabe Sozuko and Miss Akiba both possess absolute pitch and would easily notice the flat notes, causing your plan to fail. That is why you prevented them from participating in the performance, and even the organ tuner did not escape unscathed. Did you do all this just to make Mr. Domoto trigger the bombs himself?"

Fuwa Takumi's eyes narrowed behind his frames, and his blinking increased: "Why do you..."

Akaso Kaze faced the old musician and interrupted him without any courtesy.

A musician who plots to destroy a concert hall is not worthy of respect.

"Mr. Domoto gave up the piano and chose the organ, which he is unfamiliar with. If it were the piano, he wouldn't have failed to hear the difference in tone."

"The only person who knows Mr. Domoto this well is probably you, his partner of over thirty years, right? Suspecting you is not a very difficult matter."

"Yes, it is indeed only me... The only thing I didn't expect was that an Onmyoji would actually come to watch the rehearsal and even specifically bring Reiko over. I felt something was wrong just a moment ago."

Fuwa Takumi lowered his head, his face gloomy, his fingers clenched until they turned white.

"It’s all Domoto’s fault. Because of his selfishness, after I lost my wife and child, even my final musical career lost all meaning!"

"For these past two years, I have been waiting for today every single moment, in order to get rid of the organ that made him no longer obsessed with the piano, this Domoto Concert Hall, and the musicians and music fans from all over the world who came to listen to the organ performance!"

"Just as you said, I agreed to be the curator here because it was the most advantageous way to tamper with the organ and install the bombs. It’s a pity that I still ended up defeated by your hand!"

Fuwa Takumi gritted his teeth fiercely and suddenly pulled a handgun from his coat, pointing it at himself: "Lord Akaso, I know you are very powerful, but you shouldn't stop someone who wants to commit suicide. Now, I just want to see Domoto one more time."

"Mr. Fuwa," Akaso Kaze said, looking at Fuwa Takumi without paying attention to the muzzle of the gun, "why have you never considered whether Mr. Domoto might have had some hidden difficulties?"

"What?" Fuwa Takumi’s body froze.

"Isn't that what a partner is for? If it were me, the first thing I would think of is his hidden difficulties, rather than blaming everything on him."

Akaso Kaze tore open the final truth before Fuwa Takumi’s bewildered gaze.

"Have you really treated Mr. Domoto as a partner? To vent your own anger, you plotted so much, and even agreeing to be the curator of the Domoto Concert Hall was just to destroy Mr. Domoto. Don't you think Mr. Domoto is very wronged?"

Without waiting for Fuwa Takumi to open his mouth to refute, Akaso Kaze shook his head and walked away.

"The real reason Mr. Domoto chose to retire and give up the piano is actually your declining hearing; you can no longer accurately tune the piano, and there are frequent deviations in tone."

"Impossible!" Fuwa Takumi slumped on the sofa, unable to accept it, muttering excitedly, "I have absolute pitch! How could I..."

The door to the room suddenly opened, and several people walked in.

Leading them was Mr. Domoto.

He looked at Fuwa Takumi and sighed, saying: "Fuwa, you are no longer young. Miss Kabe Sozuko happened to hear the tone deviation on the piano you were responsible for tuning at the Domoto Music Academy before it was blown up, and she even sent a text message to Miss Reiko."

"I treated you as a partner for life, so I didn't want to find another tuner; I had no choice but to choose another instrument."

Inspector Megure looked at Fuwa Takumi, who was stunned and on the verge of a mental breakdown, and stepped forward to take his handgun.

Akaso Kaze walked over and put his arm around Akiba Reiko.

He suddenly felt something strange and looked down at Conan, who had appeared out of nowhere.

"Huh, you don't seem to have much of a reaction this time," Akaso Kaze asked.

Conan stared at Akaso Kaze with dead fish eyes.

"As for that, I’m already used to it. Especially after hearing that Reiko entrusted you with this, I just gave up. Coming to listen to your deduction is just to satisfy my curiosity."

Akaso Kaze couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Has the great detective Conan just given up?

Conan, however, was thinking something different.

He was thinking of a famous quote he had heard before.

If you can't resist, you might as well lie down and enjoy it.

"Attention, guests: smoking is strictly prohibited inside this concert hall. Please be sure to turn off your mobile phones during the performance..."

Near 5:00 PM, the Domoto Concert Hall was bustling with activity. The crowd entered the hall, and the auditorium was soon completely full.

Sonoko, Ran, and the others had also arrived.

"There are really a lot of people," Sonoko clicked her tongue, "It filled up all at once. Strange, where is Conan? The performance is about to start!"

Ran also said worriedly: "I haven't seen him either. Could he have run into some trouble?"

"Sorry," Conan finally found his way to the balcony side, "I accidentally got lost in the hallway."

"No way?" Kogoro Mouri said in surprise, "You can get lost even like this? You did that on purpose, right?!"

"The structure of this concert hall is quite complex, and other areas don't have signs like the entrance does. Uncle, stop making sarcastic remarks."

Conan glanced at his uncle and sat in an empty seat in the front row, looking at the stage below.

The performers and singers walked onto the stage one by one; in the very center was Akiba Reiko.

Because Akaso Kaze had saved the concert hall, and because he himself possessed powerful influence, Domoto could not refuse his request.

Thus, Akiba Reiko had successfully stepped onto the stage as she wished.

As for Fuwa Takumi, he had of course already been taken away by the police, and on the surface, it seemed as if nothing had happened.

Conan watched the performance and curled his lip.

So many things had happened without him realizing it, which made him think of the practice at Teitan Elementary School that day; perhaps Akaso Kaze had already known who the culprit was back then.

He really is a man who makes a great detective feel despair.

At 5:00 sharp, the concert began. Unlike the rehearsal, there were no flat notes this time, and the atmosphere at the scene felt much better; having an audience makes all the difference.

Akaso Kaze listened to Akiba Reiko’s singing, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from curling up.

He had listened to such a beautiful voice for a long time yesterday.

Akaso Kaze also had a deep understanding of its depth.

All in all, it was very wonderful.

Moreover, from now on, whenever he wanted to listen, he would be able to hear it.

Thinking of this, Akaso Kaze was very satisfied.

A few days later, Akaso Kaze received a strange request; the request actually came from Kaitou Kid.

Although the content of the request was stated above, Akaso Kaze decided to go over in person to ask.

In any case, he had long known that kid’s true identity.

7:00 PM, Blue Parrot Bar.

There were no customers in the bar, and Kuroba Kaito was discussing something with Jii Konosuke at the counter.

Ding-a-ling.

The copper bell at the door rang, signaling that someone had entered.

The two turned their heads and saw Akaso Kaze.

Kuroba Kaito’s body stiffened instantly.

"What made you think of asking me for help?" Akaso Kaze asked, getting straight to the point.

He really does know my identity.

Kuroba Kaito hurriedly put on an enthusiastic smile, which looked a bit fawning.

"Lord Akaso, why did you come in person? I was just planning to visit you to talk about the request."

"If you have something to say, just say it. I'll see if it's worth taking." Akaso Kaze couldn't be bothered to waste words with him.

Kuroba Kaito said hurriedly: "Actually, I am asking for your help because the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department recently received a notice letter from Kaitou Kid, but that notice letter was not sent by me."

Jii Konosuke, behind the bar, handed over a glass of whiskey and continued to introduce: "Actually, there have been people impersonating Kaitou Kid before, sending people to pose as Kid to steal their own jewels for insurance fraud or to market their own products..."

"However, this time, the fake Kid feels a bit different to Young Master."

Kuroba Kaito took a sip of the drink on the counter and said: "The person impersonating Kaitou Kid this time not only sent a notice letter to the police but also sent an invitation to Aoko."

"That silly girl didn't even participate in any lucky draw for this, yet she received an invitation for that place. It’s really quite suspicious."

"So I suspect it is a trap set by someone targeting Kaitou Kid, and they accidentally sent the invitation to Aoko."

Akaso Kaze nodded, indicating he understood the meaning behind Kuroba Kaito’s words.

This meant that the person impersonating Kid this time likely knew that Kaitou Kid’s true identity was Kuroba Kaito.

"I’m a bit worried that it’s a conspiracy by that organization," Kuroba Kaito said.

"Are you talking about the Animal Organization?" Akaso Kaze asked casually.

Kuroba Kaito’s eyes lit up; the Onmyoji really knows everything.

"Yes, that’s right. It was this organization that killed my father back then. They are looking for the life stone, Pandora, and my father was killed because he interfered with their plans."

"I’m worried that this time it’s a trap set by the Animal Organization; it’s very likely a test for me."

"But if I refuse the invitation, those people might do even more despicable things, and I don’t want Aoko to get hurt, so I have already agreed to go to that place with Aoko."

Akaso Kaze nodded, understanding the reason for this request.