As Expected of You, Little Brother! Two Extra Chapters, 2k Total

Turning back to Fujino, he asked, "When you arrived, the door should have been locked, and the padlock should have been engaged, right?"

Fujino: "..."

That's true...

But why does this sentence sound so familiar?

Another suicide, huh?!

So you guys are all just here to slack off!

Fujino paused for a moment, then pinched the bridge of his nose.

Thinking about it, that makes sense.

In this situation, simply concluding it as suicide is the easiest outcome.

Continuing the investigation would not only be a thankless task, but it might also provoke public condemnation...

That's how it's said.

But he had a mission to complete, and he couldn't let this case turn into a suicide.

He sighed and said in a deep voice, "I don't think it was suicide."

"Well?"

Koichi Mito surprise, then pressed, "What you mean by that is..."

"I think this is a locked-room murder case."

Fujino glanced back at the padlock. "Both the padlock and the door frame have marks from being hit by a hard object. I think this might be because when the murderer was creating the locked room, they couldn't see the screws clearly because they were holding the screwdriver too tightly to turn the safety lock through the door gap."

"That's true..."

Koichi Mito leaned forward to take a look, then nodded, "If that's the case, then this method can indeed be used to create a secret room."

Fujino: "..."

You just realized that...?

Dude, did you even properly examine the crime scene?

Fujino silently complained to himself.

Turning back, I looked at the small tea table under the spot where Chizuru Bizen just hanged herself.

The Forensic Science Division experts believe that Mito Chizuru climbed up from here and hanged herself.

However, now that we can confirm it was a homicide, then what about this thing on the table...?

Thinking of this, Fujino turned to the Forensic Science Division officer in blue overalls beside him and asked, "Officer, are there any of Ms. Chizuru's toe fingerprints on this coffee table?"

"Advisor Fujino."

The police officer stood up and thought for a moment, "We didn't find the victim's toe fingerprints on this coffee table. Perhaps the victim committed suicide while wearing slippers?"

"But Ms. Chizuru wasn't wearing slippers."

Fujino was speechless for a moment, then looked at Chizuru Bizen beside him. "I've been paying attention ever since we entered the crime scene; she's always been barefoot."

"The marks on the door lock, and the lack of footprints—if that's the case, then Miss Chizuru didn't commit suicide; it was murder!"

Koichi Mito somewhat excited, but he wasn't worried about not being able to catch the culprit.

Within the police force, Megure and his gang, who get to meet the detective 'Imperial Brother every day, are the envy of everyone.

After all, solving a murder case is considered an achievement. Even if you don't get promoted, you'll still get a year-end bonus for solving a case involving the murder of a popular celebrity.

He straightened up for a moment, then turned to Fujino with some satisfaction. Overwhelmed with emotion, he couldn't help but utter that classic nickname. "As expected of you, little brother Fujino, you even noticed such a detail!"

Fujino: "..."

Is this even considered a detail?

You should be able to spot it if you pay a little attention, right?

It seems like anyone can be a detective.

We've become brothers again...

It's hard not to suspect that you guys, like Megure, have been spending too much time in internet cafes and lost your minds.

The restaurant of the hotel.

When the police arrived, Shinobu Shimon brought Arimori back from the mountaintop.

This case was classified as a murder.

Everyone in the hotel was called into the restaurant for questioning.

"Regarding Ms. Chizuru's death, I have a few questions for everyone present."

Koichi Mito stood in the middle of the living room and glanced around at everyone. "Mr. Shiromoto, it seems that your relationship with Ms. Chizuru is not very good. Last night you even had some arguments about topics such as divorce. Is that correct?"

"That's right, because the alimony she's asking for is just too huge."

Cheng Yuan lowered his head. "Our company's cash flow is not very smooth right now. If we pay her alimony, we may go bankrupt due to the huge debt burden caused by the broken capital chain of the projects we are developing."

"Besides, it seems that Mr. Miyabe from her company also has a conflict with Ms. Chizuru."

Then, Koichi Mito looked at Kota Miyabe: "I heard you wanted to remove Ms. Chizuru from the drama that's currently being filmed, but she doesn't agree..."

"I can't make that decision either..."

Kota Miyabe kept wiping his sweat with a handkerchief, looking very nervous. "Replacing her is the sponsor's demand. If we don't replace her, the sponsor will refuse to provide funding, and our entire crew is now at risk of having to stop filming."

"Both of you have financial conflicts with Ms. Chizuru... I see."

Koichi Mito moment, then narrowed his eyes as he looked at the two of them and murmured, "In other words, both of you are suspects in the murder of Chizuru-san."

"Hey, what do you mean by that?"

At this point, Shiromoto could no longer sit still. He stood up, looked at Mito, and questioned, "Didn't Chizuru commit suicide?"

"That's what I mean..."

Kota Miyabe also said in a panic, "Even if we have a conflict with her, we can't possibly kill her."

"Based on Advisor Fujino's reasoning, we believe that Ms. Chizuru did not commit suicide; the murderer must be someone very familiar with this hotel..."

Koichi Mito turned around and gave Fujino a subtle look of approval.

Fujino: "..."

Can you please not take credit for this kind of thing?

Is he implying that if the murderer has a grudge against him, he should seek revenge on me?

Turning back, Koichi Mito continued to address the crowd, "The murderer is very likely in this hotel. If possible, I would like to ask the people in the restaurant to tell me where Ms. Chizuru was between one and two o'clock when she died."

"Mr. Cheng Yuan and I left the hotel around 10 a. m. and didn't leave the lakeside until we returned at 7 p. m., but..."

Kota Miyabe glanced down at Shiromoto and frowned. "However, Mr. Shiromoto left for a while halfway through."

"I left because I forgot to bring my lunch."

Hidehiko Jomoto explained, "After I came back at 12:30, I ate in the hall. I finished eating around 1:30 and then went back to the lake to fish. The two sisters can vouch for that."

Upon hearing this, Mito turned her gaze to the Shimo-Kasa Sisters: "Is what he said true?"

"That's right. We were cleaning the room all morning. When Mr. Shiromoto came back at noon, we brought him a bento box."

The Shimo-Kasa Sisters sat on the sofa, clearly frightened by the second murder they had witnessed. Holding each other's hands, they nodded in unison and said, "After seeing Mr. Shiromoto off, we watched TV in the living room for a while, and then we went to prepare the ingredients for the barbecue tonight."

"Have either of you been to Ms. Chizuru's room?"

After thinking for a moment, Mito asked the two sisters.

"No, Manager Arimori instructed us not to disturb Ms. Chizuru."

Honami spoke first, and then Minaho continued, "So the two of us didn't bother Ms. Chizuru."

"Hmm, oh, I see."

After staring at the two sisters for a moment, Koichi Mito nodded blankly.

I was also startled by the way the two sisters seemed to have a telepathic connection and were in sync.

He withdrew his gaze and looked at Hidehiko Jomoto suspiciously. "Did you go to Chizuru-san's room back then?"

"I did go to her room, but that was limited to knocking on the door."

After listening to the other party's explanation, he thought for a moment, then turned to look at Arimori and Shinobu Shimon sitting next to him. "What were you two doing during that time?"

"After leaving the hotel, we went to the top of a nearby hill and didn't come back until 7 p. m. We were together the whole time, but Guangxing's car engine broke down and I just went to pick him up."

Shinobu Shimon said something, Arimori immediately chimed in, "As for that, Detective Fujino and the others can prove it for us."

Upon hearing this Koichi Mito looked at Fujino and asked in a low voice, "Detective Fujino, is what they said true?"

"Yes, that's about right."

Fujino nodded, glanced at Arimori, and narrowed his eyes slightly. "They did spend the whole day with us on the mountaintop, but they were a little late coming back because the engine broke down."

"If that's the case, the only suspects should be the Shimo-Kasa Sisters and Shiromoto."

Mito frowned upon hearing this, feeling somewhat uncertain as well.

So he turned to his younger brother beside him and asked in a deep voice, "Brother Fujino, what do you think?"

"I don't think the Shimo-Kasa Sisters are suspicious. They only came here recently and have no conflict with Ms. Chizuru."

Fujino thought for a moment and ignored his younger brother's way of addressing him, "If Shiromoto wanted to kill someone, he shouldn't have used such a clumsy method. He could have done it at home. Doing it here would just attract too much attention."

"Hmm, if that's the case, then the murderer might be someone else entirely."

Mito nodded, agreeing with Fujino's statement.

Suddenly, as if he remembered something, he looked up and asked abruptly, "Mr. Arimori, I just saw a door at the end of the hotel corridor. That should be the emergency escape door, right?"

"That's right, our hotel has those emergency escape doors on every floor."

Arimori paused for a moment, then continued, "However, those are all automatic locks, which can be easily opened from the inside, but to open them from the outside, you need our hotel's master key. But the master key is in my hands today, and no one else has handled it."

"If that's the case, it must have been done by someone inside the hotel!"

At this moment, Kota Miyabe suddenly stood up and said with great confidence, "Those two sisters must have copied the master key. They must be the murderers!"

"No! We didn't do anything!"

Suddenly becoming murderers, the Shimo-Kasa Sisters felt a sudden sense of panic.

"This guy..."

Fujino glanced back at Kota Miyabe.

This guy always looks like he has Kidney Deficiency.

How come it's working so well now...?

Are you bullying a little girl?

"It's still impossible to determine who the murderer is!"

But before Fujino could speak, Mito said first, "Even those without a hotel can easily enter one."

"For example, when Mr. Shiromoto came back upstairs to question Ms. Chizuru, he could have opened the emergency escape door from the inside, blocked it with pebbles or something, and then returned to the scene under the pretext of going out to kill her."

As he spoke, he looked at Miyabe and said in a deep voice, "If you team up with Mr. Shiromoto, as long as you hide in the trunk when you come back, he will open the door first, and you can enter the hotel, kill Ms. Chizuru, and then drive away."

"This guy's reasoning ability isn't bad..."

Fujino glanced at Mito, looking somewhat surprised.

Surprisingly, this guy's reasoning was quite reasonable.