stonecrandall Page 53
Page 53
"Dream Box? What's that?" Xiaolan looked at the two of them in confusion.
"That's a tool used to kill dogs at animal shelters," Conan explained dejectedly.
"The dream box, does that mean letting the dog die slowly in his dream? That might be a good ending for John," Xiaolan said sadly.
"Sister Ran, the dream box isn't like that..." Conan instinctively wanted to explain.
But as soon as he spoke, he noticed Matsuda gently shaking his head.
Conan immediately understood Matsuda's meaning.
Rather than letting a kind girl like Xiaolan suffer after learning the truth about the dream box,
It's better to let her continue to have the misunderstanding about the Dream Box.
To be honest, letting a dog suffocate to death is indeed too cruel.
Matsuda couldn't stand it anymore either.
But a dog that bites must be put to death!
Matsuda wholeheartedly agreed with this.
If all else fails, you can always get some high-concentration dark chocolate or xylitol.
Being poisoned to death is at least a little easier than suffocating to death.
Just as Matsuda had made his decision, the system suddenly popped up a task prompt.
No way, does the system actually want to save this dog that killed someone?
Could it be that my system is also a dog lover?
This was Matsuda's subconscious thought upon hearing the system's notification tone.
In fact, if the system actually issued a mission requiring Matsuda to rescue John, he would definitely refuse.
Animals that kill people must be put to death; this is something Matsuda, as a human being, insisted on.
Although Matsuda also likes dogs quite a bit, he is not one of those dog lovers who regard dogs' lives as human lives.
Dog lovers can treat dogs like fathers, mothers, and fellow human beings, but Matsuda couldn't do that.
Besides, if a person kills another person, they are subject to the death penalty, let alone a dog?
Chapter 64 Reiko Kujo, who loves dogs
Fortunately, the system wasn't too bad after all.
"An anomaly detected, the spirit of a loyal dog."
John grew up in the Sakaguchi family and was Naoto Sakaguchi's best playmate.
"Eight years ago, Naoto Sakaguchi committed suicide because he was bullied by his classmates."
"From then on, Naoto Sakaguchi was no longer a member of the Sakaguchi family."
"But John never forgot his little master. He slept at the little master's door every day, waiting for his little master to appear."
"After Naoto Sakaguchi's father used John to kill the criminal who bullied his son, John, who was not accepted by human society, was also about to die."
"If the host can capture John's soul before John is executed, he can gain the loyalty of the dog-spirit John."
"If the host ignores this, John will be transformed into an ominous monster, the Dog God, after his death due to the resentment of the deceased."
"It can possess humans indiscriminately, causing them to hallucinate and die in a state of mental breakdown."
Since there is no place for John in the human world of the living, becoming a dog spirit and staying in the underworld is not bad.
Thinking of this, Matsuda looked at Conan and Ran.
"Don't worry, I won't let John leave this world in pain."
"You have a plan?" Conan asked in surprise.
"Well, don't worry about it," Matsuda said with a smile.
……
After the Metropolitan Police Department collected enough evidence regarding John's murder case, it handed it over to the prosecutor's office.
The other party was also an acquaintance of Matsuda, known as the Madonna of the prosecutor world, Reiko Kujo.
"We've received all the evidence. Yes, that's enough."
Reiko Kujo on the other end of the phone didn't seem to be in a good mood.
"so be it."
Just as Matsuda was about to hang up the phone, Kujo suddenly said,
"Officer Matsuda, that dog named John, shouldn't it be about to be executed?"
“Yes,” Matsuda nodded, “After collecting all the evidence, we notified the animal shelter, and they replied that John will be executed tomorrow.”
Although he had decided to take John's soul ahead of schedule, the Sakaguchi murder case was not yet closed, and John was still needed to gather much evidence.
Matsuda's plan was to wait until the prosecutor's office, specifically Reiko Kujo, confirmed that the evidence in the case was complete and accurate.
Matsuda then went to the animal shelter to steal John's soul.
"Well, Officer Matsuda, I'd like to go see John. Could you... come with me?"
"That's what Reiko Kujo said on the other end of the phone."
Going to the animal shelter was already part of Matsuda's plan, so he naturally wouldn't refuse.
The two agreed on a time to meet at the entrance of the Metropolitan Police Department. Matsuda got into Prosecutor Kujo's car, and they headed to an animal shelter in Tokyo together.
On the way, Matsuda noticed that Kujo looked somewhat sad and curiously asked her why she went to see John.
“It’s nothing really,” Kujo explained. “I was just looking at it and it reminded me of a dog we used to have when I was a kid.”
"Is that dog important to you? Did it save you from thugs, or does it wait for you at the station every day to come home?" Matsuda asked with a smile.
"In the real world, there aren't that many melodramatic stories!" Kujo glared at Matsuda with annoyance.
However, Matsuda's teasing brought a smile to her face.
"But that dog is indeed very important to me."
"It was my father's dog, a German Shepherd named Justice."
“Justice, that’s the same name as the murderer in this case, Sakaguchi Masayoshi,” Matsuda remarked.
“Yes, it is quite a coincidence.” Kujo nodded and recalled, “My father was also a prosecutor. He named his dog Justice, hoping that Justice would remind him to always uphold the position of justice in court!”
"Later, my father suddenly died of a heart attack while working overtime. I was just starting high school at the time. I was very sad during the period after my father's death, but justice was always by my side."
Kujo's face was full of nostalgia.
"Perhaps it was because seeing justice reminded me of my father's ideals that I later became a prosecutor as well."
"But justice passed away ten years ago, right when I had just entered the prosecutor's office."
After Kujo finished speaking with a touch of sadness, he realized that Matsuda didn't seem to be listening. Instead, he was counting something on his fingers.
"What are you calculating?" Kujo asked curiously.
"Ten years ago, you passed the exam and joined the procuratorate. You must have just graduated then, around twenty-three or twenty-four years old. Now, ten years have passed, and you should be..."
Just as Matsuda was about to announce the number, the car suddenly slammed on the brakes, and Kujo beside him gave a terrifying smile.
"...What do you want to say?"
"No, it's nothing..." Matsuda obediently sat up straight.
"Hmph, anyway, it's been hard on you keeping this old woman, who's over thirty, company!"
Prosecutor Kujo gritted his teeth and spoke slowly and deliberately.
"Thirty? You're thirty already? I thought you were only twenty-six or twenty-seven at most."
Matsuda feigned surprise.
Although Kujo knew he was lying, after all, she should have already deduced it from their conversation.
But seeing Matsuda's feigned surprise, she couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
Kujo's smile instantly lightened the previously somber and gloomy atmosphere in the car.
“…Thank you.” Kujo said softly, “Because of John’s case, I’ve been thinking about my deceased father a lot these past few days, and I’ve been feeling a bit down.”
"Smile more and maintain a youthful mindset; these can help prolong life," Matsuda stretched and began with his insights on health preservation for the elderly.
"Hehe, I know I'm not young anymore without you reminding me..."
Kujo said through gritted teeth.
Well, this time it really was a disaster... Matsuda chuckled dryly.
……
The two arrived at the animal shelter; it was Matsuda who had brought John there before.
The shelter staff remembered him and, upon seeing Matsuda and Kujo, immediately led them to the cage where John was kept.
"It doesn't seem very energetic," Kujo said, looking at John, who appeared somewhat dazed in the cage.
"Yes, it's been like this ever since Officer Matsuda brought it here," the staff member said helplessly. "According to the shelter's rules, animals about to be euthanized are usually given extra food for the first couple of days, but look at its food bowl..."
Matsuda and Kujo looked in the direction the staff pointed and saw a bowl full of dog food in the corner of the cage.
“We put these here when it came in, and it’s been more than a week, but it hasn’t eaten a single thing,” the staff member said, shaking his head. “If it goes hungry for another two days, it might starve itself to death without the dream box.”
Chapter 65 Seduction
"John..."
Nine squatted in front of the cage, looking sadly at the German Shepherd inside.
“It’s probably missing its owner,” Matsuda said, placing his hand on Kujo’s shoulder. “Eight years ago, its little owner disappeared, and now, even its owner is gone…”
“This might not be so bad for it,” Kujo sighed. “It’s better than it going into the dream box.”