"Say, Ran, do you know where Sonoko's villa is?"
Ran had just sat down when Fujino asked her.
Actually, Fujino had no idea where Sonoko's villa was.
Perhaps because she had been too excited, Sonoko had not given Fujino a map to the villa until the last day of school.
Now, Ran was probably his only hope.
"Actually, I've never been to Sonoko's forest villa either."
Ran gave an embarrassed little laugh. "But Sonoko did give me a map of the villa, so it shouldn't be hard to find, right?"
As she spoke, she took a map from the small bag behind her and began studying it carefully.
"Uh."
Seeing Ran like that, Fujino's mouth twitched imperceptibly.
He remembered that Ran seemed to have no sense of direction...
Meanwhile, while neither of them was paying attention, a short black figure darted out of the alley beside the Mori family home like a giant black rat and swiftly slipped into the Ford Taurus's trunk.
And so, although the destination was not actually very far away,
Fujino still drove the Ford Taurus through quite an arduous journey.
He even stopped at a gas station to refuel before finally arriving at Sonoko's villa.
Sonoko's villa stood in the middle of the forest, with a cliff in front of it and a sheer rock face behind it.
The entire four-story building was Nordic in style and appeared to be made entirely of locally sourced wood.
As for the furniture inside...
In a remote mountain forest like this, ordinary trucks could not even get in. Who knew how those rich people had managed to transport it all here?
"I really don't understand how rich people think."
Standing before the Suzuki family villa, Fujino gazed at the villa across the ravine and could not help complaining, "Building a villa in such a creepy place... aren't they afraid of attracting something nasty?"
All he could say was that he truly did not understand how rich people thought.
Those people with too much money and time always came up with bizarre, expensive ideas.
"Something nasty?"
Ran pursed her lips slightly, seeming somewhat curious.
She turned her head, froze for a moment, then suddenly pointed at the wooden bridge over the ravine. "Senior Fujino, look! It seems there's someone over there!"
Fujino followed the direction of her finger and saw a black figure slowly walking across the wooden bridge.
The person wore a black robe and a black tulip-shaped hat, looking extremely suspicious.
"Could that person be going to the villa too?"
The moment Ran finished speaking, the person turned around.
After staring at Fujino and Ran with a face covered in bandages,
he immediately quickened his pace, crossed the suspension bridge, and ran into the villa.
"How did that person suddenly appear on the bridge?"
Ran looked terrified. "He clearly wasn't there just now..."
"Maybe it was because of the bridge's curvature."
"Curvature?"
"We were standing far away, while he was crouching in the middle of the bridge. Our line of sight was blocked by the cliff along the edge of the wooden bridge, so we couldn't see him."
As he spoke, Fujino narrowed his eyes slightly and explained, "Once we got closer, he only needed to suddenly stand up to create the illusion that he had appeared out of nowhere. Movies use this technique often too."
"So that's how it was!"
Ran nodded rapidly, then patted her ample chest in relief. "I thought we had run into some kind of ghost or monster."
Bang!
At that moment, a dull thud suddenly came from behind them.
Ran's heart instantly tightened at the sound.
Turning around, she saw Conan leap out of the trunk, lose his footing, and crash face-first onto the ground.
Seeing Conan covered in dust from the fall, Ran asked in surprise, "Conan? Why are you here?!"
"Hahahaha."
Conan hurriedly climbed to his feet, dusted himself off, and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I wanted to go play at Big Sister Sonoko's villa too, so..."
"So you climbed into the trunk and secretly followed us here."
Fujino, who was beside Ran, turned around as well.
He stared speechlessly at Conan, who had somehow stowed away in the trunk without even Fujino noticing.
Good grief, had this brat gotten experienced at sneaking into trunks or something?
First trunks, then landing gear.
Was this kid a rat or something?
Why did he crawl into everything wherever he went?
"Conan, you can't do that!"
By then, Ran had already walked over to Conan. She first brushed the dust off his back, then lectured him, "Hiding in someone else's trunk is very rude... and it's also extremely dangerous!"
"Sorry, Ran..."
As he spoke, Conan put on a pitiful expression, like a wronged Shiba Inu.
At the same time, he glanced at Fujino from the corner of his eye.
His gaze was filled with wariness and a sense of crisis.
He looked exactly like a husky that had had its food snatched away.
Fujino really was awful.
He had actually brought Ran to this mountain villa for a private date!
Once I turn back into Kudo Shinichi, Fujino, you'll pay for this!
At the thought, Conan's little fist clenched slightly.
"All right, Ran. It's getting late. If we're late, Sonoko will probably nag us again."
As he spoke, Fujino glanced at Conan's foolish-looking eyes. "Since Little Brother Conan secretly followed us here, let's bring him along."
"Sorry for the trouble."
Ran sighed. "I don't know what's going on with Conan, but he's always so naughty around you, Senior Fujino."
"Maybe this kid just feels close to me."
Fujino's lips curled into a slight smile as he asked Conan meaningfully, "Isn't that right, Little Brother Conan?"
Conan shuddered.
Looking at Fujino's strange smile, he vaguely felt that the glasses on that guy's face were emitting an eerie pale glow.
"Hahahaha."
Conan laughed loudly and nodded, saying in a strange childish voice, "That's right! I like Big Brother Fujino the most!"
"That's why I say adolescent mental health education needs special attention."
Fujino leaned close to Ran's ear. "Especially high-IQ left-behind children like this whose parents have abandoned them. He already knows how to hide in other people's trunks and stalk them. What will happen when he grows up?"
As he spoke, his tone became increasingly serious. "Problem children as severe as Conan need even stricter supervision. Otherwise, as his issues gradually become twisted with age, one day he'll turn into a perverted maniac who endangers society..."
"A perverted maniac who endangers society..."
Ran swallowed and gave Conan a meaningful look.
Recalling all of the child's strange behavior, she nodded rapidly at Fujino.
Before you continue