The Eerie Foreigner's Mansion

After a bumpy two and a half hours, the jeep finally arrived at another relatively smooth dirt road.

This dirt road is built around the mountain, with clumps of weeds growing on both sides, creating a relaxed and pleasant rural atmosphere.

"Call..."

After getting off the bus, Fujino stretched and let out a long sigh of relief, feeling much more relaxed.

Two and a half hours!

Do you know how he spent those two and a half hours?

It's pure torture...

This trip was truly awful.

"You've really worked hard."

At that moment, Odagiri Susumu suddenly walked over, handed a bottle of water to Fujino, and said with a grin.

Fujino: "..."

Fujino looked at Odagiri Susumu, his eyes narrowed. He didn't know what Odagiri meant by "hard work," but he felt that Odagiri was a bit annoying.

"Luckily, we came in a Jeep this time. If it had been a regular car, it probably would have stalled by now..."

Fujino took the water bottle without ceremony, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, then looked at the little red jeep behind him and sighed.

But suddenly, he frowned.

Jeep...

Shouldn't we normally drive a regular car when we go out?

Or was this Jeep something he had prepared in advance...?

They came here to carry out Murder Plan or something.

Thinking of this, Fujino Odagiri Susumu: "By the way, did you rent this Jeep?"

"Yes."

Odagiri nodded and explained with a light laugh, "I heard Wakaba say before that the roads in her hometown are terrible, so I rented this Jeep before coming here. My car is just an ordinary family car, and I doubt it can withstand this kind of rough treatment."

"Is that so..."

Fujino nodded upon hearing this, realizing that he had been overthinking things.

Encountering murder cases all the time can certainly make people tense.

He can think of murder in anything...

"Fujino- kun!"

Just then, Ooka Momiji, who was standing by the cliff looking at the scenery, suddenly shouted to Fujino, "It seems we've arrived at Rokkaku Village."

"Have we arrived?"

Fujino was surprised for a moment, then stepped forward and saw a village in a valley appear before him.

The valley is wide and covered with lush trees. From the scattered houses, it can be seen that this is a village.

In the very center of the village is a church-style building, with a six-pointed star formed by roads dividing the surrounding trees.

There is a villa at each point of the six-pointed star, and each villa is exactly within a small triangle, connected to the entire village by the road that divides the six-pointed star.

Apart from the trees, the spacious area inside the hexagram only contains these seven buildings, while the houses of other people are built a little further away from the hexagram.

The houses there looked like ordinary Japanese-style houses, a stark contrast to the villas inside the hexagram...

It felt like a strict hierarchy, like the Foreigner's Mansion where 'foreign masters' lived in their humble days years ago...

Judging from the shape of the six-pointed star, it's easy to see that this is Rokkaku Village.

"Are even the villages hexagonal?"

Ai Haibara followed behind Fujino, and upon seeing the six-pointed star pattern, she couldn't help but remark, "It really does match the name of this village exactly..."

"The village must have been called Rokkaku Village because the hexagonal building must have been there first."

Ooka Momiji said, "It's quite common in Japan to name a village after itself based on its unique characteristics."

"But why would there be something like this in the deep mountains?"

Odagiri Susumu also came over at this moment, "Could it be to perform some kind of strange and mysterious ritual?"

"You're overthinking it... Compared to some mysterious ritual, I think this six-pointed star is more like a crop circle or something..."

Fujino glanced at Odagiri speechlessly.

Why do these teachers, who look relatively young, all seem so immature and childish?

To be honest, he couldn't imagine who would be so bored as to create a six-pointed star on the ground.

Could it really be because of some strange ritual?

While anything is possible in the Conan World, this is just too outrageous.

He thought that this six-pointed star was probably something like a crop circle, designed to attract tourists to the village.

However, after glancing around, he decisively abandoned the idea.

This remote place is so bad that it's unlikely to attract any tourists. If an ordinary person were to go there once, they'd probably be half dead.

After a short rest, it was four or five o'clock in the afternoon.

As soon as the car entered the village, it arrived at the door of one of the six villas in the village.

It was a three-story white villa with four towers at its four corners, making a total of five towers including the one on top of the building.

This type of building is more like a castle than a villa.

However, this villa is not Wakaba's home.

Because the villa's entrance clearly displays the name "[Tower Mansion - Five Towers Home]".

The car continued driving into the village and soon arrived at the second villa.

The second villa is a mansion-like building, covered in ivy. The sign reads "[Ivy Kusanagi Family]", but it's not Wakaba's house.

Continuing on, the group soon arrived at the entrance of another villa.

This villa is the [Armor Mansion - Kabuto Family]. Although there are two imposing armored figures holding long spears and gleaming silver armor at the entrance, and many crows are perched on the roof, it is obviously much simpler than the previous two villas.

Fujino did notice some patterns in the names of these villas.

The name of each villa is related to its theme.

In addition, a six-pointed star is hung at the entrance of each villa, and each one is missing one point.

The first villa is missing its upper right corner, the second villa is missing its lower right corner, and this one is missing its bottom corner.

Based on the pattern, the vanishing angle should correspond to the location of the villa.

It is indeed a rather subtle way of providing guidance.

It just felt a little inexplicable to him.

"By the way, where exactly does Wakaba live...?"

Odagiri Susumu parked his car in front of the Armor Mansion and scratched his head impatiently.

Fujino glanced at his somewhat anxious expression and could understand it...

It's normal to be anxious when your girlfriend is getting married.

However, the groom was not himself.

Turning her gaze away, Fujino asked Ooka Momiji, "By the way, Momiji, besides the map of Rokkaku Village, did Wakaba include any more detailed location information in the invitation she sent you?"

"There is none left."

Momiji shook her head and took out the invitation from her pocket. "On the invitation, she only said that her home is in the Clock Mansion, but she didn't mention the specific location."

"The Mansion of Time?"

Fujino thought for a moment and continued, "If it's named after a mansion, then her house should be one of these six villas... I think we should ask someone about the location of the Clock Mansion, just in case."

"Hmm, I think that's a good idea."

Ai Haibara nodded in agreement. "Searching one by one like this isn't a solution."

Is anyone home?

Odagiri Susumu the first to get out of the car and shouted into the villa, but received no response for a long time.

"Could it be that the owner isn't home?"

Fujino twitched his chin.

Come to think of it, they hadn't encountered anyone else since they arrived in the village...

This is quite unusual when viewed within the context of a village.

As he pondered, Fujino turned around and saw a girl standing behind him.

The girl wore a white shirt, a beige knitted sweater, and a black skirt. She had long black hair with bangs, and her appearance... gave off a blank, wooden, and aloof feeling.

Strangely, she was holding two black crows in her hands at that moment.

What's even stranger is that the other party's behavior was far too ordinary, like an NPC in a horror game.

It has a kind of Chinese horror feel to it.

Fujino: "..."

Girl: "..."

Crow: "Coo-coo..."

"Well?!"

The others also realized what was happening, and when they turned around and saw the girl, they were all startled by the eerie atmosphere.

Fujino remained calm and composed, showing little surprise.

After a brief silence, he stepped forward and asked the girl in a friendly tone, "Do you know how to get to the Tokita family's house?"

The girl narrowed her eyes, gave Fujino a cold look, then raised the hand that was holding the crow by the neck and pointed in a certain direction.

Crow: "Coo... coo coo coo..."

Fujino glanced in the direction the girl was pointing and saw the road leading to the next mansion.

It feels like I'm pointing to nothing.

It was impossible to get any useful information from the girl.

Helpless, Fujino and his group could only watch and figure it out.

However, since she has already pointed out the direction, it can be basically confirmed that the Tokita family is among these six villas...

Although we didn't get the specific address, at least we knew that the other party was in one of the six villas, which was still useful information.

Anyway, as long as it's among these six villas, finding it is only a matter of time.

After passing the Isshiki family's Colored Glass Mansion and the Wind Direction Mansion, the group finally arrived at the Tokita family 'Clock Mansion.

The architectural style of the Tokita family's house follows the same pattern as the previous villas, with a huge clock embedded in the white marble roof, echoing its name Clock Mansion.

Furthermore, there is a six-pointed star at the top of the clock.

Following the same pattern, this six-pointed star is missing its top point, which is exactly symmetrical to the location of the Armor Mansion we just passed.

"It still came down to a long detour..."

Odagiri Susumu of the car, looked at the bend in the road they had just passed, and said speechlessly, "If I had known this was the Clock Mansion, I wouldn't have turned that way."

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Fujino chuckled softly, "After all, we didn't know the Clock Mansion was here..."

With that, he stepped forward and knocked on the door of the Shitian family.

A short while later, the door was slowly pushed open a crack.

A man with gray hair, a middle parting, and an extremely pale face, giving off an eerie feeling, revealed half of his face.

The man's eyes widened, and he shouted at the people outside the door, "Who are you?!"

A moment of silence. "..."

Apart from Fujino, the others were all terrified by the old man's incredible facial expressions.

"Hello, I am Wakaba Ooka Momiji, Wakaba's classmate."

Ooka Momiji regained her composure, politely introduced herself, and then smiled as she pulled an invitation from her pocket, "We received an invitation to her wedding, please let her know."

"Invitation?"

The man's eyes remained large, and he didn't even blink. His face was expressionless and cold as he said, "You've got it wrong. My daughter's wedding is nothing..."

"Dad, I'm the one who called them over."

At this moment, a woman's calm voice interrupted the man from continuing.

Fujino looked up at the sound and saw a girl with fair skin and short black hair walking towards him.

The girl had a cold expression, wore a blue and green kimono, and had a kind of Hell Girl vibe.

'She must be Shida Wakaba...'

From the information revealed in the other person's words, Fujino immediately guessed their identity.

But I felt something was off about the other person's behavior.

Although he didn't know this girl named Wakaba, he felt that she was exactly the same Wakaba the girl who had just given him directions with two crows in terms of temperament.

It felt icy cold, a little eerie...

"How rude of me..."

Although the man's eyes were still wide open, his attitude changed drastically, and he invited the group into the villa.

The Clock Mansion Tower is just as luxurious as the exterior. In addition to the luxurious decor, there are several maids in kimonos either busy or waiting nearby.

"Wakaba".

"Momiji..."

Ooka Momiji stepped forward and greeted Wakaba.

But before they could exchange more than a few words, Wakaba waved to the old woman beside her and said, "You must be very tired after such a long journey. Go and rest first... Aunt Xue, please take good care of our guests who have come from afar. Go to the guest room and put down your luggage."

"Wakaba!"

Odagiri Susumu until now, suddenly spoke up, as if he had been mentally prepared for something.

Wakaba was taken aback by what she heard, but she didn't reply. She simply turned and left silently.

The surrounding maids were also drawn to the sound and all turned their gazes toward Odagiri Susumu.

The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat tense.

"Gentlemen, please follow me."

The old woman broke the silence and addressed the group, saying, "The young lady is currently handling matters related to her wedding. Please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality."

"But..."

"Let's go."

Fujino pulled Odagiri Susumu, and the group followed the old woman.

To be honest, he was still somewhat speechless about Odagiri.

This guy really has no idea what's going on.

They dared to say such things even when these servants were still around...

I really don't know that the so-called servants are the biggest blabbermouths?

Led by the old woman, the group arrived at several guest rooms and were assigned rooms.

"Speaking of which, before I leave, there is one more thing I would like to ask of you all."

Before leaving, the old woman looked at the group with a mysterious expression and said in a deep voice, "Please do not wander around this mansion. If you forget this and encounter any misfortune or unforeseen events, this mansion will not be held responsible."