Investigation of Twilight Mansion

"So, this item's effect is similar to something like Stand User?"

Fujino stared at the details of the item, muttering to himself in confusion.

After regaining his composure, he thought for a moment and decided to try triggering the item effect of [Black Ghost].

"This thing should be similar to the way Soul Puppet is awakened..."

Following the instructions in his mind, Fujino activated the Black Ghost for the first time with a thought.

With a strange tremor, Fujino suddenly felt as if something was being peeled away from his body.

He looked down and saw that the shadow he had cast on the ground under the sunlight was beginning to separate from him in a strange way, growing darker and darker until it turned into a black hole.

Calling it a black hole is somewhat inappropriate.

After all, no matter how you look at it, this black hole is liquid.

"Gurgle..."

Suddenly, the black water surged.

"Um?"

Fujino was startled by the unusual movement of the black water.

Under astonished gazes, a black figure slowly emerged from the black water.

The black figure was not wearing clothes.

But there's nothing inappropriate for children.

After all, the Xiao Hei was completely black.

You can barely make out the body shape.

Even the sunlight around us seemed to be distorted.

"Stare..."

Fujino glanced at Xiao Hei, Xiao Hei glanced back at Fujino.

"How strange..."

Fujino and Xiao Hei stared at each other briefly, clearly sensing that the other was something that had been peeled away from them.

It felt a little strange, like looking at your own severed limbs.

And those eyes, that mouth—are you sure they're not the Xiao Hei from some murder scene?!

If there were some weird background music playing, it would probably look like a murder scene.

"The Soul Lotus is still the prettiest."

Fujino sighed, raised his hand, and clenched his fist.

Xiao Hei also raised his hand at the same time, making the same movement.

"Is the main function of the Black Ghost to detach its shadow from itself and solidify it?"

"This operating method feels a bit like that of Soul Puppet..."

"However, compared to Soul Puppet, this method of operation is somewhat strange."

Fujino shook his head and put Xiao Hei away.

After being released from control, Xiao Hei turned into a pool of black water and returned to Fujino's feet.

Having determined Xiao Hei's abilities, Fujino then turned his attention to his newly acquired Civil Engineering profession:

Civil Engineering Profession: Entry-level

Secondary profession skills:

Civil Engineer: (Provides the host with basic architectural knowledge)

Civil Engineer's Soul: Beginner (Any building constructed by the host will gain a +10% defense, +10% durability, +10% stability, and +10% building bonus)

"Civil engineering profession..."

Fujino stared at the job panel in front of him, his lips twitching slightly.

Judging from the stats on the panel, the Civil Engineering profession is another one that requires breakthroughs to unleash its potential.

But the civil engineering profession...

He wondered where he could get proficiency points since he wasn't a civil engineer.

However, a sudden inspiration flashed into Fujino's mind.

He suddenly remembered that there was a place where he could use his basic knowledge of civil engineering.

In the afternoon, in the mountainous area of Tottori Prefecture.

A white figure swiftly traversed the rugged mountain path through the forest.

The figure was incredibly fast, dodging surrounding obstacles with lightning speed, moving like a ghost.

During his rapid run, Fujino leaped up to the treetop, and then, what came into view was a magnificent villa built on the side of a cliff in a large forest.

"The address Sonoko gave us should be here. It's exactly the same as the picture, and not much different from what I remember..."

Fujino narrowed his eyes, silently watching the Twilight Manor not far away, comparing the information in his mind. "It seems that this should be the Twilight Manor."

The Twilight Manor is nothing special; it's a typical large Western-style mansion.

Calling it a villa is a bit inaccurate, as its size is almost like a castle.

But while it's called a castle, it doesn't actually have the shape of one.

Therefore, using "mansion" is the most appropriate way to describe it.

However, he was a little curious: since this villa was made of gold, was the foundation of such a heavy building also made of gold?

After all, this mansion was built on the edge of a cliff, and it looked rather precarious. If the foundation were not stable, it probably would have collapsed long ago due to its heavy weight.

Fujino looked away, not paying much attention to it.

In any case, in the Conan World, common sense no longer applies.

Golden villas built on the edge of cliffs and the like.

Although it's illogical, it's very much in line with Detective Conan's style...

After silently complaining to himself, Fujino released Xiao Hei on a whim.

Despite it being dusk, the effect of the Black Ghost was not affected by the light.

Xiao Hei quickly solidified from a liquid state into a solid form.

Fujino took off his Assassin's Robe and draped it over Xiao Hei, then took out a white cloak from his Pocket Dimension.

After being fully armed, Xiao Hei's face was no longer recognizable.

Even its presence was overshadowed by the passive effect of the Assassin's Robe.

"Um..."

Fujino nodded in satisfaction, then pressed a switch on the cloak.

With a 'bang', the cloak transformed into a small Hang Glider that could be used by one or two people.

Fujino was driving Xiao Hei.

Xiao Hei is flying Hang Glider.

It flew straight towards the Twilight Mansion, past the red glow of the setting sun on the horizon.

Above the mansion, Xiao Hei cut off the power to the Hang Glider.

The Hang Glider began its descent in an arc, then came to a steady stop on the roof of the annex.

He stowed away his Hang Glider, then took out his Bat Grapple and quickly went to the courtyard of the annex.

The courtyard of the Twilight Mansion is very spacious, with no buildings, only a lush green lawn.

Xiao Hei looked around and quickly found an entrance, sneaking into the building.

The interior of the Twilight Mansion is very large, and most of it is decorated with gold.

It perfectly matches the characteristics of a golden house.

However, her temperament is inconsistent with the characteristics of a golden house.

It was eerie; bloodstains could be faintly seen on the ground and walls.

Fujino took a deep breath and began a detailed investigation of the villa.

There is currently one person living in the villa.

Based on the information gathered earlier, that person should be one of the two detectives who bought the villa, the gourmet detective Oogami Shuku Zen.

Aside from the collected information, Fujino also had some impression of this person.

If he remembered correctly, it was this guy who later conspired with another old lady, I think she was a detective named Chizen, to plot Murder Plan to kill several Great Detective.

In short, although he is a detective, he is also a potential psychopath.

As for the purpose, it was, of course, the treasure hidden in this villa.

He naively believed that the mansion held a treasure, unaware that the mansion itself was the treasure.

Of course, apart from Fujino, who's a spoiler, no one knows yet that this mansion is made of gold.

This can be considered an advantage of having access to information about food.

An hour later, Xiao Hei successfully completed his mission.

After collecting all the items used in the operation back into his Pocket Dimension.

Xiao Hei transformed into a pool of black water and returned from inside the mansion to Fujino's feet.

"Xiao Hei's effects are very suitable for infiltration operations..."

Fujino glanced at the shadow beneath his feet, which had turned slightly pale, and pondered for a moment.

Xiao Hei only has one hour to act.

An hour is enough time.

After use, the shadow will become somewhat whitish, and it will return to its normal darkness after five minutes.

Fortunately, this effect will not have any impact on him personally.

Having successfully completed the mission, Fujino changed into his Assassin's Robe and turned to leave.

This time, Xiao Hei discovered a lot of useful information.

With his knowledge of civil engineering, he quickly discovered the mystery of the mansion.

According to the investigation, the interior of this mansion is indeed made of pure gold.

A clock is hidden in one of the rooms in the hall kitchen.

The clock is connected to the mechanisms inside the mansion.

Once the clock is turned to the designated location, it will trigger a mechanism that will shake down the entire exterior wall of the villa.

This is probably why, in his memory, when Conan and the others left by helicopter, the outer wall of the mansion would peel off, revealing the gold inside.

If it weren't for Conan's meddling, in his opinion, without any external interference, the exterior walls of this mansion wouldn't peel off for at least several decades, or even a hundred years.

After all, they were all made of solid stone.

It is indeed hard to imagine that this kind of organization existed decades ago, or even more so in the last century.

But think about the mechanisms in the other villas in this world, and that Egg of Memories utilizes optical principles.

This little trick doesn't seem so surprising anymore.

"If that's the case, it might be a good time to buy up all the gold inside this villa at rock-bottom prices..."

Fujino walked through the forest, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

He was indeed very envious of the gold inside that villa.

After all, that's such a huge treasure trove of gold... it would be abnormal not to have any thoughts about it.

However, buying at the bottom is still a bit troublesome.

After all, the previous owner of this villa was Karasuma Renya.

If such a large sum of money is discovered, then the head of Karasuma Renya's Alcohol Company will inevitably take some action.

If he makes a move to be the first to act, the situation will become very dangerous.

However, this risk only exists if the Alcohol Company still exists.

After destroying the Alcohol Company, there will be no more worries.

He had just used his civil engineering knowledge to dismantle the mechanism inside the villa that connected to the clock.

Even if the clock's code is cracked now, what falls down is just a golden seed.

Even if you rack your brains, no one would imagine that the villa was entirely made of gold.

In this way, the villa project can be put on hold. The stones won't easily fall off, and there won't be any problems even after several decades.

In this way, we can make long-term plans.

The next morning, Teitan High School, Class 2-B.

After a two-day regular weekend break, a group of students were discussing the fun things that happened over the weekend.

Only Ran and Sonoko were unlucky; they even stumbled upon a case of murdering a wife for insurance money while going swimming on a rare weekend.

Fortunately, no one died, so we can treat our weekend outings as a detective game.

"It seems that Chie-nee is going to be discharged from the hospital this afternoon."

Sonoko suggested to Fujino and Ran, "Should we go to the hospital to see her after school?"

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

Ran nodded and pondered, "Although Chie-nee's emotions have stabilized, she really needs someone to be with her right now."

"Chie-nee... she actually ran into that kind of scumbag."

Sonoko sighed, "But thankfully Fujino- Senior was there, otherwise that bastard would have killed her."

"Actually, Ran also deserves credit."

Fujino thought for a moment and said, "She noticed that too. If it weren't for her suggestion, we might not have happened to be there when that guy poisoned us..."

No...

Ran chuckled and waved her hand, "We really have to thank Fujino- Senior for discovering that the main source was in the air conditioner. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to find evidence that that guy poisoned Chie-nee."

"So why are you all so sensitive?"

Sonoko quipped wistfully, "They all seem to be Great Detective, which is putting a lot of pressure on me."

"Brother Fujino!"

Just then, accompanied by a clear shout, the classroom door was suddenly pushed open.

"Um?"

Fujino was startled by the sound, and Ran and Sonoko also turned around to look. They saw a girl in a school uniform with a long black ponytail push open the door and walk straight towards them.

Looking at the girl in front of him, Fujino felt that she looked somewhat familiar.

Since you call him senior brother, he must be from the Konoha Kendo Hall.

However, he didn't recognize the other person.

He usually didn't pay much attention to the people in the kendo dojo.

Most of the time, he and Suwa Yuji practiced alone.

After all, for ordinary students, being beaten by him is likely to make them give up their hobby altogether.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "From the Konoha Kendo Hall?"

"Hmm, don't you remember, Senior Fujino?"

The girl was clearly stunned for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "We went together when we upgraded to the second tier last time."

"It seems like that's the case..."

Fujino thought for a moment, then nodded, confirming that he had indeed remembered his junior sister.

He remembered that the other person was very lucky and passed the test too.

"..."

We just competed together recently, how could you forget so quickly?

Or perhaps he simply didn't remember it at all...

Aoyama Motoko was speechless for a moment, then said, "Actually, this time, I wanted to ask Fujino- senpai for a favor."

"A commission?"

Upon hearing this, Fujino immediately became serious and asked, "Is it a detective-related request?"

"That's not it..."

Aoyama Motoko shook her head, hesitated for a moment, and didn't continue, "But..."

"Ring ring!"

Just then, the school bell rang.

"It's time for class..."

Aoyama Motoko pondered for a moment, then frowned. "In that case, please come to the Kendo Club after school, senior brother."

After saying that, she turned and left.

Only Ran and Sonoko Fujino left completely bewildered.

"Fujino- Senior, so you know her?"

After regaining her composure, Sonoko asked Fujino curiously.

"We know each other, but I wouldn't say we do."

Fujino replied, "I remember she should be a student at our kendo dojo. I think she took the last kendo exam in the same batch as me. Sonoko, do you know her?"