Giving both parties a chance to re-choose.
Edogawa Conan could clearly hear Ren's detached tone. To him, Ren felt a bit pretentious, even acting from too lofty a height.
There was a definite air of a charlatan in the way he spoke. It was very much like a seer, deliberately speaking in half-truths and leaving things vague.
Edogawa Conan didn't think there was anything inherently wrong with that. After all, that's what seers are supposed to do.
But what made him feel uncomfortable was that the person had already identified the deceased and the murderer, yet still insisted on playing the role of a riddle-spewing prophet.
Still, Conan temporarily put aside this discomfort. After all, everything Ren said was based on a kind of divination that he found hard to believe.
He couldn't get too emotional about what the other party said, especially since it was all rooted in divination. Predicting both the deceased and the murderer in advance—wasn't that a bit too strange?
Judging by how openly Ren was speaking, it was easy to guess his intention—he wanted to change the fates of both the deceased and the murderer.
It was just that Ren brought up the subject in a roundabout way, giving the deceased and the murderer the chance to change their own fate, instead of directly naming them.
Perhaps this too was a form of offering them a choice.
Edogawa Conan could probably understand Ren's approach, but he felt that doing it this way might ultimately lead to a fixed outcome that couldn't be changed.
"Not revealing the name... is that also to give them room for redemption?"
Kogoro's mind, which had already been racing, quickly caught on to the reason why the boy in front of him was being so indirect.
Ren didn't deny it. This was also his way of offering them a chance to choose. At the same time, he began to put away the tarot cards laid out on the table.
"Mr. Mouri, you can treat my words as a joke or as a revelation. But I believe that forcing others to make choices is meaningless. Only by truly changing oneself can one alter a predetermined fate."
"It's a pity, but I believe Mr. Mouri has lost the opportunity to get answers through questioning. The moment I revealed the content of the divination, the deceased and the murderer should have already made up their minds and will no longer speak about their situation."
"If you want to change the fate of those two people, Mr. Mouri, you'll need to invest more time. Maybe you can talk to your old classmates, but I suggest you gain enough understanding to judge if someone is deliberately hiding something."
"Oh, right, a piece of advice for Mr. Mouri. Don't look for clues purely from a detective's perspective. Sometimes the clues you uncover might lead to fatal consequences. The only way to change someone's fate is to confront the person directly and speak clearly."
As he spoke, Ren had already packed away all the tarot cards. They vanished from his hands like a magic trick.
After giving those reminders, Ren stood up from his seat and gave a slight nod to Omura Jun, who had just made way for him.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Omura Jun finally came to his senses and subconsciously returned the gesture.
"Let's go, Ran."
"Okay. Dad, I'll come back later."
As Ren finished speaking, Ran, who had been pressing her father down into his seat, immediately followed after him.
The two of them quickly walked out of the hot spring hotel. Ran didn't speak until they were completely out of sight of the building.
"Ren… the deceased is Aunt Yumi, right?"
"Yes. Was it the sound of her heartbeat?"
"And her breathing. Aunt Yumi's pupils shrank, and she bit her lip tightly when she heard your words. The changes were subtle, but noticeable."
Ran had confirmed the deceased's identity almost instantly from the rapid heartbeat.
But what shocked her more than the deceased's identity was who the murderer was.
"The murderer is Uncle Nakamichi?"
Ren nodded slightly.
"Then… Uncle Nakamichi and Aunt Yumi have been in love for the past 18 years?"
Ran gasped in disbelief. Her tone was full of confusion.
"Does Uncle Nakamichi know about Aunt Yumi's mental illness?"
Ren shook his head gently.
"He doesn't know."
"He doesn't? They've been dating for 18 years and he still doesn't know Aunt Yumi has mental problems?"
Ran couldn't believe it.
Ren smiled faintly, holding Ran's hand.
"Ran, if something like… an almost-violation happened to you in the past, would you tell me about it?"
"Of course... I wouldn't… ah!"
Ran instinctively tried to hide her own past trauma, and her subconscious answer made her realize something.
"So Aunt Yumi has been hiding her past from Uncle Nakamichi?"
"That kind of thing is the greatest stain on any woman's life. Even if she managed to fend off the attack in the end, how could she speak of it? It's a scar. Even if it heals, it still leaves a mark."
Ren understood this far too well.
After experiencing something like that, a woman can't speak of it lightly, not without emotional baggage.
Ran couldn't help but ask:
"Then does that mean, if you help them talk it through, Aunt Yumi and Uncle Nakamichi's ending might change?"
But that hope was quickly shattered by Ren's cold response.
"It's impossible to change. The outcome has already been decided. The moment that man made up his mind to settle things once and for all, there was no hope left between them. And just now, the last bit of hope that woman had was completely shattered. She can no longer face him."
Ran was struck hard by the harsh truth in his words. But she also understood that what Ren said had doomed the two to a path of no return.
After Ran calmed down a little, Ren continued the conversation.
"For 18 years, she gave everything to the relationship. But the resentment he feels now is just as deep. Eighteen years of unreciprocated love pushed him to give up. And right after he gave up, the fiancée he'd just been engaged to for half a year received a threatening letter."
"She rejected his proposal. After he gave up on his own, his current fiancée was threatened. Whether she has a mental illness or not, that man's patience has already reached its limit."
"This isn't either of their faults. It's fate that created this situation that can no longer be undone."
From an outsider's perspective, neither the man nor the woman had done anything wrong. But the events that occurred between them led to an irreversible outcome.
"The fate of separation cannot be changed. But the fate of one dying and one being imprisoned—might still be."
(To be continued.)