The Greatness of Skipping Class

Tang Ze pressed himself against the wall by the corner, peeking out to observe the road in front of Maru's residence.

Neatly arranged grey shadows lined both sides of the street. They lay silently on the ground, bowing in silence to the palanquin being carried by several shadows.

Shadows are monsters that exist in the cognitive world. Ordinary shadows are attracted by the desires of the Palace's owner, manifesting certain cognitions and consciousnesses of the owner. Special shadows, like those of a Palace owner such as Maru Denjirou, are the concrete manifestations of their twisted personality, reflecting the person's true inner self and character.

In Conan's world, there are countless immoral murderers and deceased individuals. Tang Ze figured he already had a lot of room to maneuver just by utilizing the cognitive world.

The shadows kneeling all over the ground before him, and the samurai carrying the palanquin, were how Maru Denjirou perceived others.

The exquisite gold-lacquered decorations on the palanquin were dazzling. It seemed that in this old man's eyes, he was still something like a Shogun, a great feudal lord.

Ugly on the outside, ambitious on the inside.

Tang Ze shook his head and didn't enter the street. Instead, he followed the outer perimeter of Maru's building, looking for an opening.

Maru Denjirou's shadow was definitely in that palanquin. It was a shame Tang Ze hadn't awakened his powers yet; otherwise, he could have considered forcefully kicking down the door and finishing the job directly.

...Speaking of which, if we follow the original setting, wouldn't he need to be in a desperate situation, emotionally agitated, or something similar to awaken his abilities?

Tang Ze's footsteps became even lighter as he thought.

The more he thought about it, the more it felt like a trap. According to the plot, he would eventually awaken his abilities, so it was better to be cautious.

Maru's residence, transformed into a daimyo's mansion, became resplendent with painted beams and carved pillars. Patrols of samurai shadows moved in small groups. Tang Ze only found a suitable spot to climb over the wall into the courtyard after circling around to the rear side of the mansion.

Taking advantage of the moment when the previous patrol of samurai turned back, Tang Ze tiptoed towards the courtyard wall and reached out to grab the roof tiles, climbing up.

Not knowing how many guards were inside, Tang Ze didn't rashly cross the wall and land. Instead, he climbed onto a nearby rooftop, bent over, and moved to the highest ridge, cautiously peeking out.

His caution was justified. The entire courtyard inside was wide open with very few hiding spots. Every doorway in the mansion had shadows standing guard, and the upper levels of the main house even had archer units, vigilantly guarding the courtyard as tightly as a drum.

If he had just boldly jumped in, he would have been caught on the spot by now.

Why can such a small courtyard fit so many shadows! Are you playing Sekiro or something!

Despite his internal complaints, Tang Ze honestly crouched down and moved along the rooftop towards the main house, just like in a stealth game.

Twenty minutes later, Tang Ze, having successfully climbed onto the main house's roof, chose a suitable angle and peeked into the courtyard in front of the house.

Thank goodness this was Japan. Even a daimyo's mansion only had two courtyards.

If he had to climb through the Forbidden City, he wouldn't finish until tomorrow night.

This house was the most heavily guarded, with sentries at the door and ranged archers in the front pavilion. This was most likely where the Palace kept its treasure, meaning the place where the Palace owner's most precious possessions and the origin of their desires were located.

Is it because Maru Denjirou is that weak? Why did I find the core location in less than an hour?

Tang Ze mused, completely unaware that he had skipped entire sections of the Palace by relying on his stealth experience.

However, it was good that it was easy to find. Conan's world wasn't like P5, where you'd have ample time to clear a Palace. Maru Denjirou might suddenly decide to invite Mori Kogoro over tomorrow and then kill him, which would be awkward.

Considering this, not having awakened his abilities wasn't important for now. If he didn't go with the forceful approach, he could just send a calling card, sneak in again tomorrow, and figure out a way to steal the item, which would also achieve his goal.

It was better if he could avoid brute force. A Phantom Thief who kicks down doors isn't the real deal!

It seemed like some entertainment was being prepared in front of the main house's door. Tables and blankets were set up in the courtyard, and samurai shadows were constantly bringing plates in and out, arranging them on the tables.

Tang Ze focused his gaze. The plates were filled with gold, silver, and treasures. Stacks of paper money were piled into neat triangles, along with small hills of gold dust and pearls. The sight was dazzling.

It was fitting for a loan shark to act this way.

As Tang Ze was pondering and looking around at the house structure, calculating a suitable route for theft, the samurai below simultaneously turned their heads towards the entrance and bowed.

Tang Ze immediately retracted his head, pressing himself tightly against the side wall, only peeking with one eye.

Maru Denjirou had returned.

This was Tang Ze's first time seeing the true form of this Palace owner. Maru Denjirou, over fifty years old, wore a richly patterned Nara ceremonial robe and a crown. He swaggered in, surrounded by samurai.

He walked to the table and sat down, casually picking up a few jewels from the golden cups and plates. He called out, "Where are the new servants? Bring them here."

The kneeling samurai responded in unison. Soon, several people in shackles were dragged in, linked together by chains.

These people were not in shadow form; they had clear features.

Tang Ze recognized the man he had bumped into that afternoon among them, easily identifiable by his thin face and mustache.

It seemed they were all Maru Denjirou's debtors.

These were not real people but cognitive existences generated within the Palace by the Palace owner's cognition, like NPCs modeled after real people, capable of reflecting the Palace owner's thoughts about them.

In Maru Denjirou's eyes, anyone who owed him money was clearly his prisoner and slave.

These people were dragged and forced to kneel on the ground in front of the table. Samurai shadows holding trays stood beside the people who had fallen all over the place, waiting for Maru Denjirou to inspect them one by one.

Maru Denjirou paced over to the first tray, picked up a necklace, and tossed it. He said contemptuously, "Too light. At your age, you can only offer such collateral? You scum are a waste of societal resources. Chop off his hands as punishment."

After speaking, he put the necklace directly into his sleeve. He kicked the struggling old man beside him, and the samurai next to him immediately swung their swords towards the old man's hands.

Amidst the old man's piercing screams, Maru Denjirou calmly walked towards the next person.

"A worthless handicraft. Are you blind to offer it as collateral for 1 million yen? You clearly don't need these eyes anymore!"

"Huh? You're trying to fool me with this trash? You, go chop off your head and put it on the tray. Use your life as collateral!"

"A broken sword as an heirloom? You're a desperate pauper. I'll sell the sword and consider it your interest!"

The originally clean courtyard soon turned into a bloody execution ground. Some victims lay on the ground, lifeless, while others writhed in pain, clutching their severed limbs, creating a deeply unsettling scene.

"What a hellish scene... Is a moneylender's heart this bloody?" Even though Tang Ze knew these weren't real people, but rather puppets created from the Palace's owner's memories, the brutal spectacle still made him frown deeply.

Maru Denjirou should be a wealthy man with substantial assets by now. It seemed that besides amassing wealth through low-level tactics like seizing collateral, his greater purpose was likely to watch people struggle in pain, to see them beg before him.

What a pervert. No wonder he could create a Palace.

"Can't even find any decent collateral. Are all police this poor?" Another piece of trash talk from Maru Denjirou reached Tang Ze. Tang Ze looked at the person in front of him, his heart clenching.

A tall man in a police uniform sat on the ground in disarray. The samurai shadow beside him held no tray, but instead dragged a little girl who was bound tightly.

The man being shoved had shackles on his hands and, after a few struggles, couldn't get up. His right leg was gone, the pant leg empty.

"Fine, since your daughter is quite attractive, I'll reluctantly accept her." In Maru Denjirou's tone, this person's collateral was clearly the little girl. "Anyway, he's already a cripple who can't stand. I'll grant your wish. Chop off his other leg too."

Tang Ze's temple throbbed, and he dug his fingers hard into the roof tile beside him.