The Victim Was Yamazaki Akiji

The Victim Was Yamazaki Akiji

The home of Yamazaki Akiji's friend, Iwata Daijiro, was a large Western-style manor.

The villa had a sizable garden, with cobblestone paths, green lawns, flower beds, trees, a pond, statues, and all sorts of other things. All in all, this villa was unquestionably a true mansion by Japanese standards.

It was still only afternoon. The evening banquet hadn't started yet.

Yamazaki Akiji took Shu Yunwen to Iwata Daijiro's bedroom to meet the owner of the villa.

Iwata Daijiro was a man in his early sixties. He was rather thin, sitting in a wheelchair with a cast on one leg.

According to Yamazaki Akiji, Iwata had injured his leg in an accident and hadn't recovered well, so he still used a wheelchair. Yamazaki also said that lately, strange "ding-dong" sounds could often be heard in Iwata's villa. The servants had investigated, but hadn't found anything, which had left Iwata somewhat frightened.

That was the main reason Yamazaki Akiji, his good friend, had asked for a "talisman" for Iwata Daijiro.

Unlike Yamazaki Akiji, Iwata Daijiro didn't trust so-called "spirit mediums." After exchanging only a few polite words, he said he had other things to attend to and told Yamazaki and Shu Yunwen to make themselves at home.

As soon as the two of them left Iwata's bedroom, Yamazaki Akiji apologized to Shu Yunwen. "Shu-san, I'm terribly sorry. Iwata was rather rude. Please don't take offense."

Shu Yunwen shook his head, unconcerned. "Please don't worry about it, Mr. Yamazaki. Also, if you have some free time, please show me around the villa. We might find something."

"Of course," Yamazaki agreed.

"Thank you for the trouble," Shu Yunwen said. At the same time, he grumbled inwardly that the Japanese really were far too particular about etiquette.

As he muttered to himself, Shu Yunwen recited a Sorcerous Curse. A few seconds later, he cast a spell, and a hazy veil seemed to settle over his eyes as he looked around.

Ghost Sorcery, Ghost Eye!

Like Misfortune Follows, this spell was an entry-level trick, a beginner's bit of sorcery. Its main ability was letting the caster see ghosts, spirits, and the like.

Among Ghost Sorcery spells, Ghost Eye was one of the least useful to a sorcerer.

Once a Ghost Sorcerer reached the entry level and became a beginner, he would naturally gain the ability to see spirits. He could use it without expending Sorcerous Power, turn it on or off at will, and had no need to cast a separate "Ghost Eye" spell. For ordinary people, of course, Ghost Eye was like having the ability to see spirits for a short time, and it was remarkably effective.

Shu Yunwen hadn't been practicing Ghost Sorcery for long. In truth, his body was no different from an ordinary person's, and he couldn't see spirits naturally, so he could only cast Ghost Eye on himself to make it easier to look around.

With Yamazaki Akiji leading the way, the two of them toured the villa. They found the fading soul of a stray cat, but nothing else.

The stray cat's soul was about to disappear and posed no threat at all. Even an ordinary person could have blown it away with a puff of breath, so it couldn't possibly have been causing trouble in the villa. After thinking it over, Shu Yunwen decided that this probably wasn't the work of ghosts or spirits, but of a person. As for why they hadn't figured it out...that had nothing to do with him.

In the lounge, Yamazaki Akiji was more respectful than before. "Shu-san, may I ask if you've found anything?"

The haze still clung to Shu Yunwen's eyes, making him seem much more mysterious to Yamazaki Akiji.

"No." Shu Yunwen shook his head. "The strange things happening in this villa probably have nothing to do with any 'strange beings.' Maybe someone accidentally made a noise or something..."

"I see..." Yamazaki Akiji sounded disappointed.

Seeing his reaction, Shu Yunwen couldn't help rolling his eyes. What's wrong with this guy? Isn't it better if there aren't any ghosts? If there really were some powerful vengeful spirit or evil ghost in this villa, Shu Yunwen might not be able to deal with it right now...

After a brief conversation, Yamazaki Akiji excused himself. Shu Yunwen stayed in the room to rest until evening, when the banquet finally began.

After eating a little at the banquet, Shu Yunwen was approached by several people who wanted to chat.

"Hello, Master Keqin. I never expected you to be here tonight." A beautiful middle-aged woman greeted him with great respect.

At her words, Shu Yunwen realized she had mistaken him for his cheap father, Shu Keqin.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. My name is Shu Yunwen, and my father was Shu Keqin. But he's already dead."

"Is that so?" The middle-aged woman looked disappointed and surprised. "But your face..."

Shu Yunwen could only explain, "It's because I practice spirit-exorcism techniques. That's made me look a little older, but I'll recover in time."

After he sent her off, another person came over, just as respectful as the first. "Hello, Master Keqin. I never expected to run into you here. People said you were dead..."

"My father really is dead. My name is Shu Yunwen. It's a pleasure to meet you." Shu Yunwen explained again. "My face looks so old because I practice my family's spirit-exorcism techniques. I'll recover in time."

"Is that so? Please forgive my rudeness."

Before long, Shu Yunwen had sent six people on their way. Each of them had left him a business card before departing. They were probably part of the network Shu Keqin had left behind.

"Shu-san, were those people just now your father's friends?" Yamazaki Akiji had appeared from some corner or other.

Shu Yunwen nodded. "Oh, it's you, Mr. Yamazaki. They all mistook me for my father."

"That's understandable," Yamazaki Akiji said with a smile. "After all, Shu-san, you really do look a lot like Master Keqin."

After chatting with Shu Yunwen for a few minutes, Yamazaki Akiji suddenly glanced at his watch. "I'm terribly sorry, Shu-san, but I have something else to take care of. Please excuse me."

"You're too polite, Mr. Yamazaki. Please, go ahead."

After Yamazaki Akiji left, Shu Yunwen stayed in the banquet hall a little longer, then stepped outside. He asked a servant to prepare a room for him, told them not to disturb him, and asked them to let him know when Yamazaki Akiji left. Well, he still had homework from his teacher to do.

The miserable life of a student.

Just as he finished his homework, Shu Yunwen heard police sirens outside the room.

He looked out the window and saw several people getting out of a police car outside the villa and hurrying inside.

Shu Yunwen froze, opened the door, and waved to a servant in the hallway. "Hello. May I ask what happened? I saw a police car from my window..."

"Ah, hello, sir." The servant quickly bowed. "Something happened. It seems one of the guests was murdered."

"Someone died?" Shu Yunwen's eyes lit up. "Take me to see!"

For him, a dead person was practically a freebie! And it looked like the victim had been murdered, too.

The servant shook his head. "N-no, I can't. The police said nobody was allowed near the scene until they were done."

All right, that really was the most common thing the cops said.

They had to protect the scene and preserve the evidence!

"Heh..." Shu Yunwen shook his head helplessly and began reciting another Sorcerous Curse. He cast Ghost Eye and started searching through the villa himself.

About two minutes later, Shu Yunwen found the room where the victim was. The police had already cordoned off the area.

Not far away, Iwata Daijiro sat in his wheelchair, looking devastated and furious. "Inspector Megure, please make sure you catch the murderer and avenge my good friend Yamazaki!"

Yamazaki?

Shu Yunwen froze, then asked a bystander beside him, "Hello. Do you know who was murdered?"

"Ah! I heard it was Yamazaki Akiji, the general manager of Hachiryu Bank..."

So it really was Yamazaki Akiji who had been murdered?

"Make way! Let me through! Let me through!" Just then, someone called out from outside. A few seconds later, a young man in blue squeezed his way over. When he turned and saw Shu Yunwen, he looked surprised. "Shu-san? W-what are you doing here?"

"Why shouldn't I be here, Student Kudo? Uh..."

Shu Yunwen answered with a smile, then suddenly froze as a thought occurred to him—

Wait! Something about this scene felt off!

The Grim Reaper, Kudo Shinichi; the perennial supporting character, Inspector Megure; old Mr. Iwata Daijiro, sitting in a wheelchair with a broken leg; and the victim, Yamazaki Akiji, general manager of Hachiryu Bank...

Damn! Why did this feel like the case at the beginning of Detective Conan?

The murderer seemed to be...

Shu Yunwen turned his gaze toward Iwata Daijiro, still sitting in his wheelchair and looking utterly grief-stricken.

Hmm...

This guy was a pretty good actor!

PS: Yamazaki's identity has been revealed.

That's right, he was the guy who got killed at the beginning—the one who didn't even get a photo of his face after death...