Even the Grim Reaper's Here-Can Murder Be Far Behind?

In Fujino's memory, Twilight Mansion was a vast manor built deep in the mountains.

Inside the estate stands a massive castle-like building. What appears to be just a villa actually conceals a vast amount of gold beneath its brick and stone exterior...

That's right, a lot of gold.

Fujino didn't know exactly how many there were.

All I can say is that after the exterior walls of that villa peeled off, the inside was all gold.

It's not impossible that the main structure was built entirely of gold.

However, in his memory, the Twilight Mansion never mentioned whether it was made entirely of gold...

"If it were all gold, that would be terrifying. A building that big, if it were all gold, would be worth at least hundreds of billions..."

Fujino pondered for a moment, then nodded, "Perhaps we can go and investigate sometime."

Meanwhile, in Kyoto, in a large courtyard.

The courtyard features a retro-style interior layout in the center, with a lotus flower carved on the wall at the entrance. The design consists of leaves in the shape of wheat ears on both sides.

An elderly man with white hair, dressed in a black kimono, sat quietly behind a wooden table in front of the patterned wall. Through his reading glasses, he stared intently at the green light on the screen, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Chieftain!"

At that moment, a young man in a black suit walked in. "I just heard from the Metropolitan Police Department that the young clan leader has solved another case."

The old man was surprised for a moment, then his brows gradually relaxed. He looked away from the computer screen, took off his reading glasses, and rubbed his eyes. "He solved another case?"

"I remember it was less than two days after that matter was explained, right?"

The young man glanced at his watch. "It hasn't even been three days since I became a consultant."

"It seems my eldest grandson never gets a break..."

The old man rubbed his chin. "I never expected that our Fujiwara family would produce such a talent."

"The young clan leader is indeed always very busy."

The young man chimed in, "But it is precisely because of this that his personal strength is better demonstrated."

"Ahem!"

The old man coughed lightly. "That kid doesn't have the surname Fujiwara anymore, there's something wrong with how you address him."

"I'm sorry... it was my oversight."

The young man lowered his head and immediately changed his words: "It should be Master Fujino."

"..."

The old man was speechless for a moment. "We're all family, calling him 'young master' is a bit awkward, isn't it?"

The young man said in a serious tone, "As a member of a collateral branch, and moreover, young master Fujino is a generation older than me, this should be the case according to the Kujo family rules."

"Actually, you can't always focus on that kid; take a look at yourself more."

The old man gave the young man a meaningful look. "Never mind what others say, at least I think you are qualified."

"Chieftain!"

The young man repeatedly said, "The main family still has the eldest grandson, and at the very least, uncles and elder brothers. How could we, the members of the branch family, possibly be qualified..."

"Well..."

The old man sighed softly, "Your generation has been sheltering under the big tree for too long, and you've all become crooked and skewed... Among your peers, you're one of the more capable people, but you're still a dogmatist."

Upon hearing this, the young man coughed awkwardly, "Patriarch, there's really no need to worry. In my opinion, the young master is fully capable of shouldering this responsibility. Among our generation of peers, none are more capable than him... Moreover, the young master has a very close relationship with the eldest granddaughter of the Ooka family..."

"That child Little Maple..."

The old man pondered for a moment upon hearing this, "Let me think... about when Hanako visited the Ooka family during her trip back to Kyoto?"

"Our Fujiwara family has always been relatively weak in politics compared to other families. If young master can unite with the Ooka family..."

The young man paused for a moment, then continued, "We will also gain considerable influence in the political arena. In this way, under your leadership, young master, our Fujiwara family may be able to return to its former glory."

"The old tea conversations are all in the past."

The old man waved his hand helplessly, "Don't think too much about it. Just go with the flow. The new era belongs to you young people. It's not good to be nostalgic."

"I will heed the instructions of the clan chief."

The young man bowed slightly, then stood up and continued, "Regarding that matter, my investigation has not yet yielded any results... It's exactly the same as what happened to Miss Hanako back then. This time we found a breakthrough, but the investigation only ended with the driver... Judging from the methods used, it seems someone is exploiting the Fujiwara family's affairs..."

"I already knew."

The old man closed his eyes slightly. "The other party seems very cautious. The scoundrels hiding in the shadows always like to play tricks with so-called curses in dark places. If they don't show themselves, you won't be able to find them easily."

The young man hesitated and said, "Then when will the young master..."

"Let him gain experience outside."

As he spoke, the old man settled into a comfortable position on the tatami mat and lay down on his side. "A sapling that only receives shade can never grow taller. Only by enduring the scorching sun on its own and constantly climbing can it eventually grow into a new towering tree..."

The sun was shining brightly, and the sky was cloudless.

Time flies, and the sweltering heat of summer has returned.

In reality, they only arrested the arsonist and gave Shikano, who had robbed a bank eighteen years ago, a good talking-to the next day.

At noon, in the classroom of Class 2B.

Fujino sat by the window, his gaze fixed on the verdant treetops.

At this moment, he was pondering the matter of the Twilight Mansion.

He claimed he was going to investigate the Twilight Mansion, but he actually didn't know where it was.

All I knew was that it was a huge manor in Tottori Prefecture, with some ghost stories, several people had indeed died there, and the entire structure was made of gold. That was all.

The internet is not very developed yet, so it might be easier to find information about celebrities.

However, it would be quite difficult to use smart search to find such a remote and little-known villa based on rumors.

"Hey, Ran, have you heard?"

Just then, Sonoko's chattering suddenly caught Fujino's attention.

Fujino: "..."

Isn't this just a ready-made encyclopedia of rumors?!

At that moment, Sonoko was excitedly telling Ran a ghost story, "Speaking of which, there seems to be some terrible rumor circulating at the high school near us!"

"An incredible rumor?"

Ran looked at Sonoko with a puzzled expression, her eyes filled with confusion.

Although she was already well aware that her best friend was exceptionally well-informed.

But the mere mention of rumors about the nearby high school still left her feeling somewhat confused.

"It is said that there is a strange rumor on the stairs of the old school building."

Sonoko said mysteriously, "There are only twelve steps on that staircase, but if a student counts them, they will find that there are thirteen steps."

Ran asked in confusion, "Thirteenth level?"

"That's right!"

Sonoko nodded and wagged her finger. "Do you want to know what the thirteenth step is?"

Ran asked impatiently, "What?"

"Actually, those were the bodies of students who were thrown to their deaths..."

Sonoko continued, "Ever since that student fell to his death, his soul has remained there. Every time someone passes by, his soul appears and turns the stairs into thirteen steps."

"..."

Ran narrowed her eyes slightly, looking somewhat bored. "How boring."

"That's not the point, of course."

Sonoko glanced at Ran, feeling that this was expected, and then continued, "Actually, apart from this rumor, it's not just one, but seven. It is said that there are seven other rumors in that school. Once all seven rumors are gathered, the student or the person involved will mysteriously disappear."

"Disappeared without a trace?"

Ran was curious, but also a little scared. "Could those people have been killed by ghosts or something?"

"Hmm... I feel like it too."

Sonoko nodded in agreement. "I heard this rumor from my friend. Her friend mysteriously disappeared after hearing those rumors and hasn't been found yet."

"It's really unreasonable that you'd be killed just for collecting all the rumors..."

Fujino listened for a while, then slowly walked forward. "Unless there is some secret hidden behind those rumors, and those students who discovered the secret were all murdered to silence them."

He doesn't believe in ghosts or gods...

Even if there were ghosts, they wouldn't simply turn a living person into nothingness.

The mischief of ghosts and spirits is mostly caused by human intervention.

Sometimes, people are more terrifying than ghosts.

"I don't really know what happened; I've only heard about it."

Sonoko scratched her head. "But those people really did disappear... Oh well, it's just a rumor anyway."

"By the way, speaking of rumors, I actually have a rumor I'd like to ask about..."

Fujino brought up the main topic. "Speaking of Sonoko, have you heard a rumor from Tottori Prefecture?"

Sonoko blinked, looking somewhat curious. "Rumors from Tottori Prefecture?"

"Um."

Fujino nodded in response. "I heard a rumor from a client about a villa called Twilight Manor in Tottori Prefecture, but he didn't go into details. It's really intriguing, so I thought I'd ask you if you know anything about it."

"Tottori Prefecture, the Twilight Manor..."

Sonoko nodded upon hearing this, deeply empathizing with Fujino's sentiments.

She had encountered this kind of situation before, and it almost drove her crazy...

They only talk about rumors without providing details.

That's absolutely despicable!

Thinking of this, Sonoko racked her brains, frowning as she pondered, "The Twilight Manor in Tottori Prefecture... I think I saw it in a newspaper magazine before. It seems there was some tragic rumor about it, but that must have been a long time ago."

Fujino Kenjiro asked, "Is it still possible to find it?"

"Hmm... I'll go home and look for it. If I find it, I'll text you."

Sonoko glanced at Fujino's serious and curious expression, thought for a moment, gave an answer, and then continued, "By the way, do you have time tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow..."

Fujino thought for a moment after hearing this, "I don't have any work on hand, so I have the time."

"That's great..."

Sonoko smiled and then invited, "Actually, I was planning to go swimming with Ran tomorrow, but I feel a little unsafe for just the two of us girls to go. Fujino- Senior, would you like to come with us?"

Fujino: "Uh..."

Unsafe?

With a humanoid Tyrannomon by your side, how could you not be safe?

But then again, it's true that the humanoid Greymon can sometimes fail, and it can also lead to it being taken advantage of...

"Yes, I have time tomorrow. It's getting a bit hot, so swimming would be a good way to cool off."

After thinking it over, Fujino agreed.

Since Ran and Sonoko were going to the pool and had invited him...

So Conan should logically follow along too...

If even Shinigami Elementary School Student has arrived, how far away can a murder case be?

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he can directly break through in his detective career.

Nothing much happened at school in the afternoon, so after school, Fujino drove home.

However, before going home, he went to the city center to buy some things.

Akemi Miyano was wearing a white sweater, blue jeans, and an apron. She had just finished her work at Snow King Ice City and hung the apron on a rack by the door.

Upon entering the living room, his eyes were immediately drawn to the sushi on the dining table. "This is... high-end sushi?"

Akemi Miyano glanced at the exquisite sushi on the table and asked Ai, "Ai, what day is it today?"

Ai Haibara, now dressed in pajamas, sat on the sofa and shook her head. "I don't know either. He just gave me a new bag from Fusae, saying it was for a client..."

"The client who owed me money before settled a large sum of money as the final payment."

Fujino came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of large lobsters. "So I bought a lot of delicious food to celebrate."

Has the client made the final payment?

Akemi Miyano hesitated for a moment, glancing at the high-end sushi and then at the large lobster Fujino was holding. "Even so, this isn't quite extravagant..."

Ai Haibara couldn't help but ask, "How much is the final payment exactly?"

"Well... it's a pretty difficult case... the client requested confidentiality."

Fujino smiled and said, "Anyway, there's a lot of money in these final payments."

Yes, it's over 200 million yen.

After all, he has two hundred million in his hands... What's wrong with indulging in a little luxury?

Fujino placed the lobster on the table, then suddenly remembered something and asked Akemi Miyano, "By the Sister Akemi, how about buying a car?"

"Well?"

Akemi Miyano was taken aback. "Buy a car? Don't you already have one?"

"I meant I'll buy you one."

Fujino waved his hand dismissively. "After all, you usually need to purchase raw materials and go shopping with Ai. Buying a family car will definitely make things much more convenient."

"..."

Ai Haibara silently stood up, walked up to Fujino, and tiptoed to touch Fujino's forehead.