"I have an appointment with a friend...... "Teiji Moriya repeated thoughtfully, looking at a few people again, "I see, that's a pity." I'm sorry, I had a good communication with that little girl last time, and I couldn't help but care about it. As for the question you just mentioned, I would be rude to ask, should I include those who are in competition......

The startling answer just now finally made the group of adults present stop paying attention to his behavior of running around the house—although the two police officers and Mori Kogoro were more or less smiling—Conan, who had temporarily escaped the gaze of Teiji Moriya, breathed a sigh of relief.

He insisted that he should come with them, just to further confirm his conjecture, if Moriya Teiji paid too much attention to him, then he would lose room to operate.

Hiding his figure behind the couch where the Twilight Police Department and the others were for a while, and after confirming that Teiji Moriya's attention had completely taken away from him, he tiptoed out of the reception room and observed the terrain left and right for a moment.

He remembered that the last time he came here, the exhibition room was in this direction......

After identifying the location for a while, he quickly found the room where Teiji Moriya had led a few people to visit last time, slipped in the door on tiptoe, and turned on the light.

The room he had seen a few days ago had once again appeared in front of him.

After looking around briefly and making sure that there were no cameras or anything like that, he quickly walked over to the photographs he had briefly scanned when he first arrived.

The photographs in the exhibition room are arranged in chronological order of the year in which the buildings were built, and the first photograph shows several houses that were bombed one after another.

He looked up, carefully compared the photos, and quickly came to a conclusion.

Sure enough, these buildings are as he expected, and at first glance they are indeed very symmetrical classical designs like this house, but a careful comparison of architectural details shows that they are not absolutely symmetrical!

He frowned and thought for a moment, then turned his head to look at the other wall, which belonged to the late works of Emperor Moriya.

From the Sumida Canal Bridge onwards, the style of Teiji Moriya's work remains the same, but there is no trace of any compromised details such as for the sake of functionality, or perhaps limited by the architectural regulations of private residences.

Could it be that this is the motive of Teiji Moriya?

"Don't be too ridiculous, I say......" Conan narrowed his eyes, feeling a pang of uncontrollable anger, "is it for this ridiculous reason?" ”

After confirming it repeatedly, Conan, who became more and more convinced of this, couldn't help but have the same guess as Asai Narumi.

If he remembers correctly, Teiji Moriya's father, who brought the first wave of fame and shadow to Teiji Moriya, did not follow the principle of absolute symmetry in terms of architectural philosophy, but preferred to absorb the different ideas on both sides and not be an old-fashioned fundamentalist.

Could it be ......

————

"Not surprised." Looking at the "memories" in front of him in the form of a photo gallery, Asai Narumi stared at the huge photo at the end and tugged at the corners of his mouth.

In keeping with temple conventions, the photographs do not record the events of the past in a completely realistic style, and neither Moriya or his parents are dressed in clothes that closely resemble the sculptures in the courtyard, that is, the English costume style of the Tudor period.

This is a period of exaggeration and flamboyance in the style of clothing, which makes this huge set of black and white photographs like oil paintings, and the picture is extremely tense.

Therefore, although there is no explanation for the photo, he quarrels with his parents, and his emotions explode, and after several times of disagreement with his father in his career, he unexpectedly went to the extreme.

In the last huge photograph, it is composed entirely of black and white, and there is a trace of color in the picture.

A bright red color lit up in the second hand of Emperor Moriya, who lowered his eyes coldly.

An elegantly shaped metal lighter.

This is also the only one in this group of photos with a label, and what is written on it should be the name given to them by the master of the hall of Emperor Moriya.

"Nirvana?" Asai Narumi read it out, but he couldn't control his expression and sneered, "This is the one he got from this fire?" ”

"I think he probably didn't do it in the first place to get fame and fortune out of it. But when he really made this extreme choice, he suddenly found that he had lost the authority that was pressing on his head, and with his father's fame to protect him, he really stood out. Tang Ze walked up to him, looked at the only bright color in the picture, and gave his guess.

"Moreover, although the black and white picture does not look so obvious, it can still be seen from this set of photos that the images of his parents are not human." Kimie Shimabukuro gave her opinion, "They are all similar to the other shadows in the temple, 'sculptures'. ”

"Still, no surprises." Asai nodded.

————

“…… I think that Professor Teiji Moriya, from a very young age, should have been recognized by his father as having the talent and talent of an architect. Cruel speculation swirled on the tip of his tongue, and Conan pursed his lips, still not uttering the pure conjecture.

In the fire 15 years ago, no matter how he analyzed the psychology of the suspect, deep down, he believed that Teiji Moriya was the murderer, and he had long lost the possibility of investigating and collecting evidence, and the prosecution period of the case did not allow him to make extraneous branches.

As long as the case in front of him can be confirmed, it will be enough to press the death of Emperor Moritani, and there is no need for too many conspiracy theories.

After taking a shallow breath, he continued, "Living up to this expectation, Professor Teiji Moriya has indeed made a name for himself in the industry after he was in his 30s, and his career has taken off completely since the Sumida Canal Bridge won him the Newcomer Award. ”

"That's why I said it, why should an architect, a good person, destroy his work......" Kogoro Maori shook his head in disagreement, still failing to accept his logic, "Especially the canal bridge, you didn't say it, it was the starting point of his career, what reason is there to destroy it." ”

"That's an interesting question. After that, Professor Teiji Moriya continued to receive various commissions and produce new buildings, but an idea slowly came to mind. No, perhaps, that's what he had in mind from the beginning. Pinching the voice changer, Conan pointed at the phone's earpiece and threw out the conclusion categorically, "'I'm going to eliminate some mistakes, including those I made when I was younger.'" That's right, Professor Moriya. ”

Under the gaze of the police and detectives, Teji Moriya raised his eyebrows gloomily, and did not respond to the voice on the phone.

"I didn't make it to the appointment, but Professor Moriya's tea party was really impressive, wasn't it? I heard from Kitagawa-kun that you mentioned that architects are responsible for their work for the rest of their lives, so it is important to stick to the idea of the concept from a young age. ”

Hiding in the shadows outside the door, Conan carefully observed Teiji Moriya's expression, and then, as expected, caught a slight twitch in his expression when he mentioned Yusuke Kitagawa by his own name.

Obviously, Kitagawa Yusuke's personality and style of speaking are really a one-hit killing existence for characters like Teiji Moriya who like to maintain the so-called "decent".

After a few seconds to suppress his smile, Conan continued, "You are now in the exhibition room of his work, please take a closer look at the houses and buildings where the fire and explosion occurred in his works. Look closer, the bridge that earned him his first honor......"

The favorite architect died, and now his meal replacement house has collapsed, and Renzaburo Shiratori is the quickest to react.

He turned his head at the first moment, accurately found the photos of the buildings, carefully observed the bridge for a moment, and soon let out a crush cry: "...... These houses, as well as this bridge, are not absolutely symmetrical! ”

"Looks like you get what I mean, Officer Shiratori, they really aren't absolutely symmetrical buildings. Perhaps it was the request of the client, or perhaps it was the building standard law at the time, which made Professor Teiji Moriya at that time forced to choose a compromise. ”

As he continued to tell, Conan gave a slightly self-deprecating smile.

Generally speaking, even people with personality disorders who lack normal empathy and cannot properly integrate into society will rarely suddenly embark on the path of crime, and the vast majority of serial criminals with mental illness have trauma formed in childhood, which is the so-called type that has grown crooked from the roots.

But their crimes often do not start when they are young, but after they completely leave the campus environment and join social life, because of a certain point, they are "activated".

And it was him, the detective, who "activated" Teiji Moriya.

Of course, the perfectionist Professor Moritani could not accept such a compromise, which he regarded as a shame on his artistic path, and he could not tolerate this situation after a smooth life. Then, he encountered the biggest Waterloo of his life, and this shadow finally angered him completely. ”

When Teiji Moriya heard this, almost instinctively, he looked at the corner of the room, the display case covered with bright red flannel.

The policemen, who had been gradually persuaded by Kudo Shinichi and showed an attitude towards the suspect, also noticed his movements and quickly walked towards it.

Conan waited for their exclamation as they untied the curtain as he lowered his head and flipped through the cards in his hand.

A familiar red and black background, a familiar flame-like logo.

"Bingo, little detective, the answer is correct, congratulations."

"It's boring enough." Covering the earpiece, he muttered, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but leak a smile.

Once in a while, it's also fun to see the letters of these strange thieves in advance.

————

"It's almost 10 o'clock......"

Mao Lilan adjusted his sitting posture to relieve the pressure on his lower back caused by sitting for a long time, and muttered a whisper, looking around at the not too many people around him.

Because it is a midnight movie, unless it is a movie fan who has great expectations for the movie, or a moviegoer such as a fan of a certain starring role, it is easy not to choose this time period.

However, because it is a love movie, there are also many young couples who have similar ideas to her, sitting in pairs in the waiting hall, and the greasy atmosphere is about to overflow.

Although there is still a period of time before midnight, if you can't be there on time at this time, will that guy really be able to make it to the appointment on time?

Or is it that at this time, I can finally wait for a belated explanation?

Just when she looked at the couples sitting nearby, the big screen in the theater that was playing the promotional videos of various films suddenly stopped slightly.

After listening to it for a while, the sound effect, which had become part of the background white noise, suddenly stopped, and the people in the audience quickly reacted and looked in the direction of the screen.

A voice full of electronic sound quality, which fell into Maorilan's ears but was somewhat familiar, played out of the speakers.

A rainbow-colored ripple jumps in the center of the screen.

"Good evening, everyone who is watching this video."

At the same time, not only the theater where Moriran is located, but also the large screens in various business districts in Tokyo, including the televisions that are playing various TV programs in commercial houses, and public televisions in public places, have all been cut off from the original picture and connected to this inexplicable sound.

"Please allow me to briefly introduce myself, my name is Noah's Ark, and I am also the Ark of the Monster of the Heart's Thieves, please advise."

"Noah's Ark ......" secretly didn't sleep, and Ayumi Yoshida, who was watching TV at the bedroom door, was stunned for a while, and her eyes slowly lit up, "It's Noah's Ark!" ”

"Today, a terrible murderer has attacked many public places, and although with the efforts of us and the detectives, everything is normal and no major damage has occurred, but we cannot foresee whether there will be more casualties, and we cannot tolerate such a vicious person to be crowned with a monkey and enjoy the honor that does not belong to him."

Accompanied by Noah's voice, the scene of the explosion in Greenland Park and the scene taken from the railway monitoring and maintenance personnel looking for a bomb are cut in.

At the end of the picture, next to several bombs that had been defused in advance, fireworks exploded, and several words composed of flames jumped out.

In the next second, it was converted into a very clipping-style English letter, which jumped in the center of the picture.

「We know who you are.」

"Unfortunately, we have not been able to wait for the prisoner's confession and confession, so we will read his guilt here-"

The fireworks are fireworks, and the teasers burst out with the burst of gunpowder, and after an animated transition, slide into the center of the frame.

At this time, the original electronic synthetic children's voice was replaced by several male and female voices of varying heights and voice-changing treatment, and the words on the teaser letter were recited in unison.

"Arrogant, rude, and unruly sinners who try to judge the world by their own standards, His Excellency 'Emperor Moriya'......"

————

「…… You have walked into darkness without looking back, and you have chosen the most extreme path, and you have all the crimes against the lives of others."

The policemen and detectives, who had no idea what was going on outside, watched in amazement as the curtain slid down and what was exposed.

Directly in front of the glass case is a nameplate made by Teiji Moriya himself for this work, "The new town of my dreams, Seishitama City".

In the glass case, the delicate white building model is illuminated by the light, showing the beauty of classical sculpture.

But what really surprised them was the teaser letter sandwiched in the glass case.

The tall building in the center of the Seishituma City Planning Model and the park fountains on either side were used as pedestals to hold the cards, and the red and black paper was firmly stuck there.

- I don't know if it was to deliberately provoke Moriya Teiji, or if it was inserted diagonally.

"The artist's philosophy of pursuing perfection is self-restraint that comes from the heart and sees it in action, and is an upward asceticism and torture, which should never be used as an excuse to harm others.

Your dark and paranoid desires, we will uproot them."

"The Monster of the Heart, Respect ......" Shiratori Ren Saburo, who couldn't help but read it, muttered the final payment, turned his head, and stared at the stiff face of Moriya Teiji.

Although the police have never officially admitted the existence of the Monster Bandit Group of Hearts, nor have they seriously shown their acceptance of their judgment, internally, the Monster Bandit Group, which has never missed a move so far, is indeed a beacon that effectively marks criminals.

So at the moment of turning around, Ren Saburo Shiratori had already taken out the handcuffs, and just waiting for Teiji Moriya's next reaction, he was ready to start reading the lines of arrest.

Outside the door, Conan, who had foreseen this scene in advance, turned the card in his hand and shrugged his shoulders.

Well, although I can't quite understand the strange sense of ritual of this group of people...... But today's out, maybe it can also be regarded as the result of providing them with some clues.

After all, he still has a joker locator in his watch, which can essentially be seen as a moving vision of a group of thieves......

The detective, who thought of his pathetic position, shook the postcard-sized paper card twice with some sadness, but as soon as he got the answer, he was ticked by the marking teacher and checked a wave of results, and he couldn't help but be a little happy.

Hey, I always feel as if I've been completely manipulated by that guy......

However, then again, his impression of Joker is more like an exceedance of force and skill than a rogue, so the vigilante who is completely flexible and refers to him as a monster thief is mainly due to his own insistence and indeed mysticism.

When will they, like Kidd the Monster Thief, engage in this kind of skillful placement?

————

The well-known technical director stared at his TV set that had been cut off, and let out a very angry sound.

"How can there be such a simple and rude direct kidnapping of the communication towers of the whole of Tokyo to make themselves famous! Ah, I absolutely, I can't be caught messing with them! Damn, hurry up and finish the broadcast, don't affect others watching TV! ”

(End of chapter)