At the critical moment, Takato finally made it, pulling Kana Mizuguchi back just as she was about to jump off the cliff.
However, this was almost the most exhausting run he had ever experienced in his memory. Takato was now breathless and utterly spent. He had pushed himself to the limit out of an urgent desire to save her, but now that she was safe, his body felt as though it was falling apart. Yet, Takato still endured his near-collapse and stood there, holding onto Mizuguchi Kana—after all the hardship to get here, at least the outcome was good.
Looking at the young man who had suddenly appeared, Mizuguchi Kana was very surprised, but seeing his panting, struggling appearance, she quickly realized how desperately he had run to save her.
"Why?" she whispered instinctively.
"Why did you save me?"
Mizuguchi Kana instinctively asked this question.
Hearing such a rhetorical question, Takato, on the contrary, breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that the Female student probably no longer had thoughts of suicide. Seeing this Female student, who had met a tragic end in the original timeline, now alive and well before him, Takato felt that everything he had done was meaningful.
"Does saving someone need a reason?"
Takato retorted, answering Mizuguchi Kana's question with a question of his own.
This answer caused Kana Mizuguchi to lose herself for a moment. But soon, the memories of reality flooded back, and as soon as she thought of her plight, the Female student fell into despair once more.
Seeing her expression, Takato released her hand, gently patted Kana Mizuguchi's shoulder, and began to comfort her.
"Don't worry, everything will be alright."
This comfort seemed to open the Female student's tear ducts, and she couldn't help but squat down, covering her face, and crying loudly.
She thought of how, ever since that High School Detective arrived, almost everyone around her looked at her as if she were a criminal, and the Police had interrogated her non-stop, trying to force a confession out of her. And now, Takato's appearance was like the only light in her dark life.
"Why! Why doesn't anyone believe me! I'm really not the murderer! Really not!"
The young girl cried out, saying the words she had always wanted to say.
She was just an ordinary Female student, working as a maid, not understanding deduction, unable to argue. Her only Detective friend was not by her side. She was helpless, pushed to the brink.
"I know you're not the murderer. Therefore, you don't need to cry for this, nor do you need to seek death. An innocent person is innocent. You don't have to pay the price for someone else's mistake."
Takato said, extending his hand to Mizuguchi Kana, "So please stand up and live well."
Looking at Takato's outstretched hand, Mizuguchi Kana stopped her tears, but still hesitated, not daring to get up.
"But the Detective and the Police said they found evidence, and the Police won't let me go!"
"Since you're not the murderer, then the truth of the matter has another reason. Don't worry, leave the rest to me. I will help you clarify everything!"
Takato actively reached out and pulled Kana Mizuguchi up.
Standing up, Kana Mizuguchi wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and carefully looked at the handsome man in front of her, "Excuse me, who are you? Why are you helping me?"
Hearing this, Takato hesitated slightly, then showed a confident smile.
"Akechi Takato! He is a Detective!"
At this moment, Takato made a decision—to use his full name, adopting the surname of the Famous Detective 'Akechi' from the novel—to live in this world as Akechi Takato!
"De... Detective?"
Perhaps remembering that her current predicament was also caused by a Detective, Kana Mizuguchi began to hesitate when she heard Takato's self-introduction.
"That's right. Not a half-baked one who can't wait to show off after finding just a few clues. A true Detective thoroughly investigates the facts, never wrongly accusing an innocent person!"
Takato saw Kana Mizuguchi's worries and said so.
Looking at Takato's firm gaze, Kana Mizuguchi chose to believe him.
The two returned to Lavender Villa together, and it was from Kana Mizuguchi that Takato learned the butler's name, Renzo Koya.
When Renzo Koya learned that Takato was also a Detective, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. His expression, which had been impatient when he first saw Takato, became somewhat amiable.
Seeing Renzo Koya's reaction, Takato could probably understand that he still felt some remorse for choosing to remain silent despite knowing the truth, which led to Kana Mizuguchi being suspected. He was naturally happy to see a new Detective come to help Kana Mizuguchi clarify the situation. He just hadn't expected that in the original plot, the Police never fully uncovered the truth, instead pushing Kana Mizuguchi completely into despair.
It must be said that most of the Police in the detective conan world are helpless with cases that require a little brainpower, relying entirely on the Detective to clean up. But if the Detective himself is unreliable, then it's too dangerous. It's one thing for a case to end up unsolved, but if it becomes a wrongful conviction, the impact would be huge.
Takato symbolically walked around the villa, checked things, and then told Mizuguchi Kana and Renzo Koya that he already knew the truth and asked them to notify the Police to come over.
Renzo Koya felt this speed was a bit unreliable, but Kana Mizuguchi had already chosen to completely trust Takato, so she called the investigating officer to come over.
Soon, the Police arrived.
Looking at the people who came, Takato confirmed that he truly didn't recognize any of the Police from Shikoku; he had no impression of any of their names, but that wasn't important.
The leading officer came into the villa, looked at the three people present, and then looked at Kana Mizuguchi, "Why have you called us here now? Is there something you want to tell us?"
"No. It's this Detective, he has uncovered the truth about the young lady's death, and specifically asked me to notify you."
Kana Mizuguchi said, still a little afraid, looking at the officer.
"Detective? Why is there another Detective?"
Looking at Takato, the officer said with a distrustful look, "The previous Detective has already found decisive evidence. Why is another Detective coming now?"
"Was that really decisive evidence?"
Seeing the officer's gaze, Takato deliberately retorted with a challenging tone.
"What did you say?"
The officer was getting a bit impatient.
"Officer, do you know why I specifically came to this Lavender Villa?"
Takato began to explain, "I read the reports about the case. The Police conducted a detailed investigation around the locked room crime scene six months ago and found no clues. Why did a Detective passing by six months later find something?"
Saying this, Takato took out a severed screw that had fallen on the ground outside the locked room's window and handed it to the officer.
"The evidence that Detective found was this, right?"
The officer took the severed screw, looked at it, and nodded, "That's right. It is this. Because this was found, it was discovered that the screws originally fixing the locked room's window were all cut, and the window was actually glued to the frame, so the locked room itself doesn't hold up. Is there a problem with that?"
"Of course there's a problem!"
At this point, Takato deliberately raised his voice, "Why didn't you Police discover it then?"
He glanced at the Police present, then fixed his gaze on the leading officer.
"Is it because you are incompetent?"
Like a rhetorical question, yet also like a taunt, Takato said this.