Chapter 58: The Scientific World, Filled with Goodwill

"What Mr. Taro Sumitomo said is entirely correct."
"The bad guys are those foreign short-selling organizations."
Even though many people present probably lost a significant amount of money because of this, they swallowed their bitterness and shared a common hatred for the enemy.
If those short-selling organizations hadn't intervened, their copper wouldn't have been left stranded in their hands.
They certainly would have been able to offload the copper and make a massive fortune.
Even Heiji, who knew little about business, now clearly understood the predicament Mr. Takahashi was facing.
"Therefore, Mr. Takahashi truly committed suicide," Heiji said.
"Indeed! It seems the famous detective from Osaka and the famous detective from Tokyo have reached a consensus," Masakazu clapped his hands.
Once the two detectives reached a consensus, the police's opinion no longer mattered.
The case could now be officially closed as a "suicide."
Masakazu purposely walked over to shake Heiji's hand and said to him, "Thank you for clearing my name and not letting Takahashi's conspiracy succeed."
Heiji felt somewhat overwhelmed by Masakazu's formal attitude.
High school students were simply not accustomed to adult social etiquette in formal settings.
Heiji's feelings toward Masakazu were complicated.
Although all evidence now pointed to Takahashi's suicide, and Masakazu was merely the unlucky patsy framed by him, Takahashi had indeed been driven to his death by the Sumitomo Group.
The reason Takahashi committed suicide was entirely because of the Sumitomo Group.
This left Heiji with no favorable impression of the conglomerate.
Sensing Heiji's attitude, Masakazu said to him, "I also feel deeply regretful about Mr. Takahashi's situation, but his death was not caused by the Sumitomo Group's affairs.
Even if he hadn't speculated in copper, he would have speculated in something else. What destroyed him was his own greed.
Besides, how much money did he really lose? How much did the Sumitomo Group lose? We are far more pathetic than Takahashi."
Masakazu habitually shifted the blame away from himself while casting himself in an innocent and pitiful light.
Heiji remained noncommittal to Masakazu's remarks.
Regardless, he still intended to keep a wide berth around Masakazu.
Even if this current incident had nothing to do with Masakazu, what about those rumors from back in Tokyo?
They surely couldn't all be groundless accusations.
This was hardly a purely kind-hearted individual.
Masakazu sensed Heiji's alienation, but he didn't mind at all.
Do you really think you can distance yourself from me just because you want to?
As a detective, you carry "original sin" by nature; furthermore, your father is the Deputy Commissioner-General of Police, which loads you down with even more "original sin."
I am a man you simply cannot escape.

Heiji was unwilling to speak much with Masakazu and lingered near him for only a brief moment before walking away.
Haibara walked over with small steps and handed the camera to Masakazu.
"The photos are taken," Haibara said.
"Splendid. As a reward, you can hold me in your arms while you sleep tonight," Masakazu said, picking up the camera to inspect them.
Haibara twitched the corner of her mouth; this was hardly a reward.
She asked curiously, "Why did you take a group photo with Heiji Hattori?"
"I like taking photos with celebrities, especially detectives," Masakazu replied.
Looking at the pictures inside the camera, Heiji Hattori's face was captured very clearly, while Masakazu's face was turned sideways—it would need some blurring before appearing in the newspapers.
What satisfied Masakazu the most about this photo was that it even accidentally captured a blurry profile of Heizo Hattori.
Although it wasn't as astonishing as that photograph of Kogoro Mouri, it was already more than enough.
Haibara leaned closer to Masakazu and asked quietly, "Do you know much about chemistry?"
"That's right, though it's mostly limited to poisons and things of that nature," Masakazu answered.
"I see," Haibara nodded.
Her expression was rather heavy.
If Masakazu was knowledgeable about chemistry, attempting to poison him would become an extremely difficult task.
Following the suicide of Takahashi, the banquet obviously could not continue, and Taro Sumitomo's birthday celebration had to end right there.
Only a few people closely connected to the Sumitomo family remained behind to hold a simple, private celebratory gathering.
Taro Sumitomo came over to Masakazu and asked, "How did your conversation with Takahashi go?"
"Not very well. His attitude was quite hostile," Masakazu said.
Taro Sumitomo nodded.
That was entirely understandable. After all, he had gone bankrupt because of the crashed copper prices, so a lack of goodwill toward the Sumitomo Group was to be expected.
"So, you just killed him?"
Masakazu shook his head and replied, "How could that be? I've never even killed a chicken."
"Heh."
Taro Sumitomo did not believe a word Masakazu said.
Ninety percent of the suicides determined by the police were never genuine suicides.
Moreover, people were always more inclined to believe what they wanted to believe rather than official police reports.
Masakazu did not bother to explain.
He had long grown used to people misunderstanding him.
"By the way, Uncle, please introduce me to the people from the other news agencies as well," Masakazu said.
Takahashi's agency had been mortgaged to the Sumitomo Bank.
After Takahashi's death, the bank would undoubtedly auction off his assets, making it very easy for Masakazu to acquire them at a low price.
The world was indeed full of goodwill toward Masakazu.
Whatever he wanted to accomplish always came so easily.
Building a newspaper distribution channel from scratch was such a daunting task, yet he could acquire one with absolute ease.
And this was even without seeking any help from his family.
When he eventually became a multi-billionaire, he could write in his autobiography that his success was entirely due to his own hard work.
"No problem, but stop killing people all the time. Our Sumitomo Group has been passed down for hundreds of years; don't go ruining our reputation," Taro Sumitomo said.
Although murder could sometimes be a viable method of corporate warfare,
continually killing people was hardly a good thing.
Especially someone like Masakazu, who already had such a notorious reputation—it was simply too rare.
Masakazu nodded and said, "Rest assured, I conduct business purely on sincerity and will never tarnish the reputation of the Sumitomo Group."
Taro Sumitomo gave Masakazu a peculiar look.
Weren't all the insincere people the ones you ended up killing?
The suicide incident that occurred at Taro Sumitomo's birthday banquet quickly made the local newspapers in Osaka.
However, the reasons behind Takahashi's suicide were treated with deliberate ambiguity, stating only that he had incurred insurmountable debts.
As to why he owed money in the first place, not a single word was mentioned.
Nor was there any mention of Masakazu or Taro Sumitomo.
Instead, they heavily embellished whatever details could be reported, dedicating vast space to Heiji Hattori's investigative process and his tacit cooperation with Kogoro Mouri.
Masakazu merely glanced at it twice before tossing the newspaper aside.
It was no wonder print media would sooner or later be replaced by digital media.
Just what kind of writing was this?
Where were the three essential elements of journalism?
Mud-slinging polarization, emotional agitation, and manufactured controversy—not a single one was present.
Masakazu felt deeply grieved and indignant.
He felt as though his trip to Osaka was destined to rescue the city's journalistic industry.
"Mr. Masakazu, the people you invited have all arrived."
"Good, please show them in," Masakazu said.
As his words fell, several middle-aged men dressed in Western suits walked into the room.