"Since this was my proposed activity, let's start with me." Seeing Saguru Hakuba nod in agreement, Natsuki Koshi ignored Jun'ya Tokitsu's expression entirely, snapped her fingers, and announced the start of the activity.
Rena Mizunashi, who had been waiting nearby, raised her hand, and cameras and other equipment quickly rolled forward from the rear of the deck.
Surrounded by cameras, Jun'ya Tokitsu, who was deeply resistant to the whole thing, had no choice but to swallow his anger.
The detectives didn't look kindly on him, but at least the staff remembered he existed. They handed him a chair, allowing him to sit across from Conan.
Though he was sitting at the kids' table, at least they now looked like equals. Natsuki Koshi nodded and began the first story.
"My experience is the least extensive among all of you, and I don't have that many cases to draw on, so I'll use this as an introduction. Hmm, the premise is this: 'A wealthy man lived in a villa on the outskirts. The scenery was beautiful and the climate pleasant, but less than half a year after moving in, his daughter committed suicide. Half a year later, a detective happened to pass through the area. Within a week of his arrival, the family's maid, butler, and gardener committed suicide one after another.'"
Natsuki Koshi wore a smile, her eyes curving pleasantly, but there was not the slightest hint of mirth in their depths. Instead, some deep emotion churned endlessly within them.
"That certainly is complicated and bizarre." Heiji Hattori rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, then offered the first guess. "Their suicides were all genuine, and this puzzle doesn't involve supernatural or fantastical elements, right?"
He didn't get many opportunities to play this sort of game—mainly because people around him didn't