On shore, the innocent humans had no idea an shameless act of unfair competition was taking place beneath the water. Their ordinary fishing trip continued peacefully.
While Jiang Xia and Hattori Heiji were fishing by the lake,
several high school girls nearby were happily gathering things in the woods—not, of course, to help Hattori Heiji find earthworms, but to see whether there were mushrooms, wild game, or anything similar nearby. Accustomed to city life, they found the forest itself to be a captivating attraction.
At first, they remained wary of the "Villa Vandal" who might be hiding nearby, sticking carefully together and not daring to split up.
But as they walked, their vigilance inevitably waned. Drawn in by all sorts of things in the woods, they gradually spread out a little.
It was under these circumstances that Mouri Ran encountered a sneak attack from the dark figure's trap—and accidentally kicked a tree clean through.
However, the truth of it all existed only in the eyes of the dark-clad figure.
From Mouri Ran's perspective, however...
"Ran? What happened just now?" Toyama Kazuha and Suzuki Sonoko, startled by Mouri Ran's scream, came jogging over from different directions.
The two quickly joined Mouri Ran, nervously looking around for a possible enemy. "We thought we heard you just now."
Mouri Ran's face reddened as she said guiltily, "It was nothing. I just... accidentally damaged some flowers and trees."
Suzuki Sonoko looked back in the direction Ran had come from and saw a tree that had snapped in half, along with the fresh break on its stump. "..."
She stared blankly for a moment, then swiftly employed the Detective mindset she had learned from Jiang Xia and sensed something was wrong. "Why did you suddenly kick a tree? Could it be that tree also had..."