It was only during dinner at the restaurant that Suzuki Sonoko mentioned the intruder had a knife.
Conan immediately thought of the serial killer who murdered the brown-haired woman in the woods. Then he considered that if it was that culprit, sneaking in and rummaging through things might have been to find a camera. After all, Suzuki Sonoko had secretly taken many photos of couples; perhaps she had unknowingly captured something and become a target.
Suzuki Sonoko had already developed the photos; they were all pictures of couples.
Conan flipped through the photos but found nothing unusual or related to the killer or victim. He was puzzled and wanted to discuss it with Chi Feichi. However, after eating, Chi Feichi went back to his room briefly and then went to find Kyogoku Makoto. Conan had no choice but to follow.
Night fell, and the guests in the inn's restaurant had all left.
Kyogoku Makoto helped clear the dishes, brought them into the kitchen, washed his hands, and just as he came out of the kitchen, he saw Chi Feichi waiting in the restaurant. He was a bit surprised. "Senior Chi?"
"Find a place," Chi Feichi said directly. "I'll check the sprain on your foot."
"I just finished up. Let's go to my room." Kyogoku Makoto didn't expect Chi Feichi to be concerned about his foot injury. He was touched and didn't want to refuse Chi Feichi's kindness, so he led the way.
Only then did Conan remember that Kyogoku Makoto had twisted his ankle quite badly last night. To follow Suzuki Sonoko all the way like that showed quite some perseverance.
Entering the room, Kyogoku Makoto turned on the light, sat on the floor, and removed the bandage and splint from his foot, revealing a still somewhat bruised and swollen ankle. "It feels like it's recovering well. Should be fine in a few days."
"The blood stasis is dispersing a bit slowly." Chi Feichi took a look, grabbed the medicine box nearby, took out the medicinal liquor he had given, found two small Japanese sake cups, poured a cup of medicinal liquor, and handed it to Kyogoku Makoto. "Drink it."
"Ah?" Kyogoku Makoto was stunned, hesitantly taking the cup. In Japan, the law required one to be 20 years old to smoke and drink. "But I'm not 20 yet..."
"It's fine for treatment," Chi Feichi lowered his head and continued to pour liquor into the remaining small cup. "I have something to tell you."
Kyogoku Makoto hesitated for a moment, then closed his eyes and downed it in one gulp, coughing from the strong taste.
Conan watched from the side, unknowingly recalling the time Hattori Heiji tricked him into drinking Paikaru (white liquor).
Although one was tricked and the other was pressured, both were white liquor. What a coincidence.
But does white liquor really have no medicinal value?
He tried drinking Paikaru after that time but didn't turn back into Kudo Shinichi. Would that medicinal liquor work?
Should I... try the medicinal liquor?
Kyogoku Makoto coughed for a while, his dark face quickly turning red. Looking up, he saw Conan staring at the cup in his hand and reached out to block it.
Conan: "..."
Click!
The sound of a lighter drew their attention.
Chi Feichi used the lighter to ignite the liquor in the cup, then placed it next to Kyogoku Makoto's foot. The dancing flames illuminated a calm face.
Kyogoku Makoto had a bad premonition. "Senior, what are you doing?"
"Don't move, it doesn't hurt." Chi Feichi paused, feeling the conversation was a bit weird, but didn't think much of it. He squatted down, reached in, scooped out the burning liquor with his hand, and pressed it onto Kyogoku Makoto's ankle.
Kyogoku Makoto was so scared he almost jumped up. Seeing the flames extinguished by Chi Feichi's hand, he gritted his teeth and didn't move, wanting to cry but having no tears.
Although it didn't hurt, just felt warm, it felt like Senior was a witch doctor from the dark ages...
Feichi poked his head out of Chi Feichi's collar, curiously watching Chi Feichi scoop out the burning liquor with extreme hand speed.
Kyogoku Makoto: "..."
With that snake, it feels even more like a witch doctor...
Conan felt somewhat similar. Watching the fire dancing on Chi Feichi's hand gave him the feeling of using witchcraft to cure illness. He even associated it with the Rod of Asclepius, the medical symbol of a snake winding around a staff. Add a staff now, and it would look even more like it.
"Alright, massage it gently yourself." Chi Feichi moved very fast. After applying the liquor, he placed the cup on the table aside and reminded him, "You don't have experience, don't try to burn it yourself; it's easy to get burned."
"Uh, okay..." Kyogoku Makoto pressed his ankle and found he really wasn't burned. It was just that Chi Feichi's cold face and terrifying posture throughout were a bit scary. "By the way, Senior Chi, you said you had something to tell me. What is it?"
"Continue following Sonoko tomorrow," Chi Feichi packed up the medicine box and stood up to put the two cups back in place. "Judging from your current recovery, be careful not to twist it again, and there won't be any lasting effects."
Kyogoku Makoto frowned, his expression turning serious. "Is it because of the person who attacked Sonoko tonight? Do you think he will act again?"
Chi Feichi nodded. Since Michiwaki Masahiko was willing to injure himself rather than give up, he would definitely attack Suzuki Sonoko again tomorrow.
"He shouldn't give up easily until he gets what he wants," Conan pondered, then suddenly looked up at Kyogoku Makoto. "Brother Kyogoku, where were you between 8 PM and 9 PM last night?"
Kyogoku Makoto was stunned. "Last night? I was following behind you guys the whole time."
"Then what about 7 PM today?" Conan asked again.
Kyogoku Makoto realized. "Little brother, you're not suspecting me, are you?"
"Your behavior is very much like a stalker. Some stalkers have special hobbies, like stealing the personal items of their target..." Conan gave Kyogoku Makoto half-moon eyes and complained.
In his heart, Kyogoku Makoto was the least suspicious.
Not considering personal relationships, he felt that with Kyogoku Makoto's skills, it was impossible to fail an attack and get bitten by Sonoko instead.
Of course, it was best to verify.
It was precisely because he didn't want the junior Chi Feichi favored to be the culprit that he wanted to find evidence proving Kyogoku Makoto's innocence.
Slap!
Kyogoku Makoto had been startled by Chi Feichi's Great Witch Doctor Technique earlier. After relaxing a bit, the alcohol slowly went to his head. He slapped the low table beside him, his face flushed red. "I absolutely wouldn't do something like stealing!"
Crack.
The low table split down the middle and collapsed with a boom.
Conan: "..."
Chi Feichi: "..."
"Uh... sorry," Kyogoku Makoto withdrew his hand, scratching the back of his head embarrassedly. "I didn't mean to. Probably because of the alcohol, I couldn't control my strength well... Around 7 PM today, I was helping in the kitchen. That little girl named Haibara Ai was right there. I introduced tonight's dishes to her. After that, seeing Senior Chi hadn't come over, I went upstairs to check the situation."
"Were you together the whole time?" Conan pressed.
Kyogoku Makoto confirmed, "The whole time."
"Going to the restaurant for dinner was a last-minute decision. I didn't notify Kyogoku before taking Ai there," Chi Feichi added.
Conan nodded. This could be cleared up just by confirming with Haibara Ai; lying was useless. He believed that with Haibara Ai's shrewdness, she wouldn't be fooled. And since Kyogoku Makoto didn't know Chi Feichi would send Haibara Ai over beforehand, he couldn't have hired someone to break into the room in advance to create an alibi. So Kyogoku Makoto's suspicion was cleared. "Now there are two people left..."
"Two people?" Kyogoku Makoto was puzzled. He had only been eyeing Michiwaki Masahiko.
"Yeah, one is Mr. Michiwaki. Brother Chi suspects him too, right?" Conan looked up at Chi Feichi, probing tentatively. "You noticed the second person too, right?"
"That scruffy bearded fat man," Chi Feichi said. "He was there when we ate at the beach house near the beach. After you went to see the crime scene, he immediately followed."
Actually, he remembered this plot. That man was a police officer tracking Michiwaki Masahiko. Tonight, Michiwaki Masahiko didn't stay at the inn restaurant for dinner, so that man wasn't there either.
However, Conan had already ruled out Kyogoku Makoto. If he ruled out another one and directly identified the real culprit, Kyogoku Makoto wouldn't have anything to do.