Are You Afraid of Snakes?

Fujino parked the motorcycle, slung the travel bag attached to the back seat over his shoulder, and looked into the yard through the fence.

The front yard of the courtyard is very spacious, and a stone-paved path extends to the entrance of the castle.

At the castle gate, a man in a brown suit with a middle parting and a double chin was talking to a woman in a black and white maid outfit.

To be honest, this was the first time Fujino had ever seen a maid since he came to this world.

Yeah, rich people really know how to have fun.

Why didn't he think of this approach when he was still a tycoon's son?

The path is flanked by lush green lawns, which are covered with decorative plants.

A man wearing denim overalls was pruning the green plants with a pair of scissors in his hand.

Judging from his skillful pruning of the plants, he must be the gardener of this villa.

The practice period lasted more than two and a half years.

Among the greenery, there are also several strange decorative statues, which are tall and exquisite.

Beside the statue, a young man with a similar middle-part hairstyle, wearing a light blue suit and a red shirt, was carefully examining it.

Fujino had seen these statues before; in his memory, they were Chess pieces, only enlarged.

These Chess pieces should be the key clues to deciphering the coded message in the letter.

However, it didn't have much effect on him, who was a spoiler addict.

If he remembered correctly, he could find the secret passage by simply turning a clock in a certain room.

"May I ask what brings you here?"

The gardener-looking man noticed Fujino standing at the gate, and then walked over and asked him in confusion.

"May I ask who you are?"

"I am Katsuo Tabata, the Tabata Katsuo here."

Tabata Katsuo introduced herself briefly.

"Is the esteemed gentleman at home?"

Fujino politely inquired of the gardener.

"So you're a guest of the distinguished young master."

When the gardener Tabata heard that Fujino was a guest of Mamiya Takato, he became much more enthusiastic.

He then turned around and waved to the man who was examining Chess pieces not far away, saying, "Young master, a guest has come to see you!"

"Guest?"

Mamiya Takato turned his gaze away and saw Fujino standing at the door.

Immediately, he walked to the door and said, "Detective Fujino, it's a long journey, I'm so sorry to have troubled you."

Mamiya Takato instructed the gardener to open the gate, and then led Fujino into the villa.

The two walked on the stone-paved path.

Mamiya Takato glanced around, and seeing that no one was around, turned to Fujino and whispered, "Detective Fujino, the reason I invited you here this time is not to find treasure, but to investigate the truth behind the fire that happened here four years ago."

"The fire four years ago?"

Although Fujino already knew that a fire had occurred here, he still pretended to be confused.

"That's right."

Mamiya Takato nodded and leaned closer to explain, "Four years ago, my mother returned from abroad to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. But on the very night of the celebration, a fire broke out. That fire not only took my mother's life, but also caused the servants and more than ten people who came to visit to perish in the flames."

"Is that the tall tower?"

Fujino pointed to the tall tower he had noticed since entering the gate.

"Yes, that's where my mother died."

Mamiya Takato turned his gaze over, "After the fire four years ago, I felt something was amiss and stayed here, but in four years, I haven't found any useful clues."

"Do you believe the murderer is still in this castle?"

"That's right, that's why I asked Detective Fujino to come here under the pretext of searching for treasure."

"By the way, what's this treasure all about?"

"I heard that was something my grandfather mentioned before he died."

Mamiya Takato explained, "He has left his most precious treasure in this castle, to be given to the first person to unlock its secrets."

"My esteemed guest, who is this gentleman...?"

Just as Fujino was talking to Mamiya Takato, a man with a middle parting walked over from the castle gate while chatting with a maid.

"This is my friend, Fujino."

Mamiya Takato gave a brief introduction.

"Fujino..."

Mamiya Mitsuru remained expressionless upon hearing the voice, but after a moment's thought, he seemed to remember something. "Could it be that you are the Great Detective Fujino?"

"He's just an ordinary detective."

Fujino said modestly.

"My name is Mamiya Mitsuru, and I am Noble's stepfather."

Mamiya Mitsuru's face remained expressionless, but his eyes betrayed his excitement. "My lord, your detective friend will surely be able to find the treasure left behind by my father-in-law."

"Um."

The nobleman simply nodded, a hint of hesitation in his eyes as he looked at Mamiya Mitsuru. "If we can find it, that would be best."

"By the way, weren't you two just talking about that tall tower?"

At that moment, Mamiya Mitsuru suddenly said, "If you two are interested in that tower, it would be better if you didn't go in."

"Why?"

Upon hearing this, Fujino glanced at the tower again and joked, "Is it haunted?"

"That's about right."

Mamiya Mitsuru a mysterious tone, "About two years ago, a newly hired servant mysteriously disappeared in that tower. Before he disappeared, he told the maids here that he had discovered something good in that tower. After he disappeared, we immediately sent people in to look for him. Although there were signs of trespassing, we did not find him."

"It wasn't until four days later that the police found him in the nearby woods. He was already dead, having starved to death... After that, rumors circulated among the servants that a vengeful spirit in the tower might have killed him. After that incident, the tower was sealed off, and no one dared to enter it again."

"That explains why the tower was locked up."

Upon hearing this, Mamiya Takato frowned and asked Mamiya Mitsuru, "How come I didn't know about this?"

Mamiya Mitsuru explained, "You weren't at the castle at the time, so of course you didn't know about this."

"Travel..."

Mamiya Takato scratched his chin, pondered for a moment, and said, "It seems that is indeed the case. I did travel two years ago."

"In that case, I won't bother you any longer."

After saying that, Mamiya Mitsuru turned to leave, adding before he left, "Oh, by the way, remember to let me know when you find it. I also want to see what kind of treasure my father-in-law left behind."

But just as Mamiya Mitsuru was about to leave, Fujino suddenly called out to him, as if he had remembered something.

"Is there anything else?"

Mamiya Mitsuru turned his head in surprise.

"Mr. Man, are you afraid of snakes?"

Fujino Mamiya Mitsuru and asked curiously.

"Snake?"

Mamiya Fujino's expression turned strange after being asked these questions by Mamiya Mitsuru.

Considering that the other party is a detective, they wouldn't ask pointless questions for no reason.

He pondered for a moment before replying, "I'm not afraid of snakes. There are indeed quite a few snakes around this castle, but most of them are non-venomous."

"That's all."

Takato Mamiya Takato led Fujino into the villa.

Recalling Fujino's strange question earlier, he asked curiously, "Detective Fujino, what kind of test was that? Did he exhibit any unusual behavior?"

"No."

Fujino shook his head. "I just remembered some fun things."

"Fun things..."

Mamiya Takato was still very curious about what interesting thing Fujino was talking about.

However, he didn't think that much about it.

Push open the villa's gate.

The magnificent entrance hall comes into view, with a huge portrait hanging at the front. The portrait depicts an elderly man with white hair and a white beard, dressed in a suit, who looks very similar to Mamiya Takato.

On the walls on either side of the portrait, there are two smaller portraits. On the left is a beautiful noblewoman in a formal dress with long golden hair, while on the right is a young man full of energy.

"The one in the middle is my maternal grandfather."

Mamiya Takato looked at the huge portrait and remarked, "What do you think? Don't I look a lot like my grandfather?"

"Yes, it really does look alike."

Fujino nodded. "And those two people next to me are...?"

"Those are my parents."

Mamiya Takato glanced at the portrait on his right. "The person in that portrait is my biological father, Mamiya Sadaaki, who passed away six years ago... Shortly after his death, my mother married the man you just saw named Mitsuru abroad."

"Who is this important person?"

At that moment, an old voice came.

Fujino turned around and saw an old woman in a wheelchair, wearing a black hat, black round-framed glasses, with gray hair and an ugly appearance, who had appeared behind him at some point.

"This is my friend, Detective Fujino."

"Detective?"

The old woman exclaimed in surprise, then regained her composure and continued in her normal tone, "That's wonderful! I really hope this detective can help me solve my husband's mystery and find the treasure in this castle."

As she spoke, the old woman began to have another fit of madness, sliding away in her wheelchair towards a short distance, muttering as she went, "Where is my daughter?! Hasn't my daughter come back yet?! She clearly promised to celebrate my birthday..."

However, contrary to her outward madness, the old woman was secretly plotting how to eliminate Fujino before he discovered the secret passage.

It might be because she killed too many people that she had an innate bloodline suppression of detectives and police officers.

To be honest, she was a little scared when she found out that the guy named Fujino was actually a detective.

But then she thought about it again and she wasn't afraid anymore.

She's killed too many people over the years for the treasure, so killing a detective now won't matter much.