As she spoke, the owner of the mountain villa clasped her hands behind her back and tottered toward the forest as well.
Officer Sato stared at the scene in astonishment. "...?"
The keys at the front desk could just be taken casually? If she remembered correctly, there was more than one group of guests here.
And even the kitchen, a place that needed food safety measures, was open for anyone to enter? What if some murderer carrying poison slipped in by accident?!
"I was wrong. I actually thought the previous inn needed a thorough overhaul... Compared to this mountain villa, it was practically a model establishment."
As Officer Sato muttered, she could not help asking the old woman heading into the woods, "You're not going to catch a Japanese Wolf too, are you?"
The old woman stopped and turned around, slowly rolling her eyes. "Where would I find that many wolves? I'm going to visit my dead husband's grave—he's buried in those woods."
Mouri Ran looked at the tiny old woman uneasily. "Is it really all right for you to go alone? What if you run into a wild animal?"
The old woman snorted. "I've lived here for years. This mountain is like my own backyard. Besides, I'm not going alone—Saburo is coming with me."
Vermouth had been carefully surveying every detail of the mountain villa. Hearing that there was another Saburo, she pushed up her nonprescription glasses and confirmed the cast on this stage. "Saburo is your son?"
The old woman said, "If you insist on putting it that way, I suppose he is..."
As she spoke, she whistled toward the side.
"Woof! Woof!" The next instant, under Vermouth's wary gaze, a dog came running at the sound and happily dashed to the old woman's side.
Vermouth: "..."
The