The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

Page 161

"That escape king, the chat room manager's name, is Nishiyama Tsutomu, right?" Conan looked at Ara Yoshinori beside him and asked for confirmation.

"Ah...yes, that's right!" Upon suddenly hearing the name, Ara Yoshinori paused for a moment before quickly nodding.

When the child in front of him uttered that name, Araki already believed what the child said.

Because he could confirm that he had never mentioned that name in front of him.

"Sigh, that's just like what they said on the radio, then it must be true." Conan sighed and explained where he got the information, "I came back specifically to tell you this!"

Conan took a deep breath to ease his physical discomfort, and continued, forcing himself to endure the unease, "Because everyone is in danger right now!"

"What!?"

In an instant, after hearing what Conan said, the faces of the people in the living room turned pale.

"But how could we be in danger?" Naoko Kuroda asked, puzzled. She didn't quite understand what the fact that the escape king had died in his apartment had to do with them.

"Because of the message left on Mr. Nishiyama's computer screen after his murder—'One solved, Shadow Mage left this message.'"

"Shadow Mage?"

"What did you say!"

"How can this be!"

Now, the expressions on everyone's faces in the living room grew even more grim.

“Now that you mention it, it does make sense.” Tanaka Kiku Kei, who was standing to the side, seemed to have thought of something and rested his chin in recollection. “If it really was the Shadow Mage who killed the Escape King, then Hamano was also involved in the discussion when the two of them were arguing!”

"What!? We have to tell him right away, no matter what!" Mr. Araki Yoshino's expression became tense.

Since Hamano Toshiya hadn't come downstairs yet, everyone hurried upstairs to Hamano's room.

As Aragaki Yu passed by Tanaka Kikue, he gave her a meaningful look.

That look startled her, as if her secret had been exposed, and she panicked.

A group of people rushed to the door of Hamano Toshiya's room. After knocking and calling for a long time without success, they had no choice but to barge into his room, only to find it empty.

"Oh no, he's not here?"

Hamano Toshiya, who should have been in his room thinking about entertainment, has somehow wandered off somewhere.

Then, while everyone was searching around, Ran saw Hamano Toshiya lying motionless in the snow through the window that had been opened before they entered.

The terrain around the snowfield was open, but not a single footprint was left.

"This, how is this possible!" Conan gripped the railing, staring in shock at the scene in the snow.

Upon witnessing this scene, Takaki Doi, a medical student, rushed to Toshiya Hamano's side first. After picking Hamano up and feeling his carotid artery to confirm that he was dead, his face turned grim, and he hurriedly shouted to the people behind him, "Don't come any closer!"

Upon seeing Takaki Doi's serious expression, everyone unconsciously froze in place and stopped running forward.

Doi Takaki gently placed Hamano Toshiya back in his original position. After exchanging glances with Aragaki Yu, who was not far away, he turned to the group who had stopped and explained, "It's no use you coming here. He's already dead. Don't come any closer and disturb the scene!"

Chapter 199 Unbelievable Crime

"The scene?" The people present were clearly still in a daze.

Before Doi Takuki could explain anything, Conan, who had just run downstairs, spoke up to the group, saying, "You all see for yourselves, don't you? His body was more than 10 meters away from the villa, but all you saw around him were footprints left by Mr. Doi Takuki as he ran past..."

“But… if that’s the case!” Araki Yoshinori suddenly realized something at this moment.

Doi Takaki, who was squatting next to the corpse, squinted and continued what Ara Yoshinori hadn't finished saying: "Yes, this case is indeed a crime that a wingless human could not have committed... It's an unbelievable crime!"

"Yes, um..."

Conan was about to say something when Doi Takuki spoke first, leaving him no choice but to swallow the half-word he had uttered.

He stared in astonishment at Doi Takaki beside the corpse, then glanced blankly at Aragaki Yuu beside him, whose face remained calm.

He thought to himself, "This is really strange. Under normal circumstances—"

At this point, the person who would steal your innermost thoughts should be Yu Aragaki.

How come there's one more now?

Doi Takaki took out his cell phone. Although there was no signal in this place, it did not affect the use of the phone's camera function.

To prevent the scene from being accidentally damaged, he carefully took photos of the surrounding area, and then, after confirming that everything was in order, he cautiously retreated in the direction he had come from.

"How can this guy be so skilled?"

Conan was somewhat surprised by Doi Takuki's actions, but since he was keeping a close eye on the scene, he didn't notice any signs of him tampering with the scene or secretly destroying evidence, and he didn't suspect the guy too much.

……

"Why...why is it Mr. Hamano?!" Sonoko looked at Hamano Toshiya lying in the snow and trembled with fear.

“I don’t know either. The only thing I’m sure of right now is that he was strangled. The murderer probably used a thin rope or something to strangle him until he suffocated. Then, they moved him to this place in some way.” Doi Takaki casually handed the photos he had taken on his phone to Aragaki Yu, who was standing next to him. “And I think the murderer is probably in the vicinity of this villa!”

Nearby, Conan, watching Aragaki Yuu holding his phone, tried to jump up and down, hoping to see the photos on the phone, but Ran, who was always watching his condition, grabbed him and pulled him away: "Conan, you're not fully recovered yet, you can't move around like that!"

Conan, nestled in Ran's arms, blushed instantly and momentarily forgot to struggle.

"Please, you're not saying the murderer is among us, are you?!" Everyone panicked immediately after hearing Doi Takaki's deduction.

Doi Takaki chuckled憨厚ly: "Heh, I didn't say that."

"But we're the only ones here right now!" Tanaka Kiku looked around nervously, as if worried that someone might suddenly jump out.

"No, I think there should be one more person." After handing the phone to Conan, who had been staring at him expectantly, Aragaki Yu suddenly spoke up.

"What?" Everyone looked at Aragaki Yu with surprise and doubt.

"Have you all forgotten? It was Shadow Mage who was supposed to be at your magician enthusiasts' gathering tonight!" Aragaki Yu looked at Tanaka Kiku Kei beside him with a smile on his lips. "Of course, that is, assuming that such a person actually exists."

Tanaka Kikue: "!!!"

She noticed that her own reflection was in Yuu Aragaki's clear, jewel-like eyes, as if he had seen through everything.

Moreover, his words seemed to have a hidden meaning.

For a moment, Kiku Tanaka's hands trembled involuntarily. She hurriedly gathered her hair behind her ears to block Yu Aragaki's view, and her heart was filled with inexplicable panic.

Since everyone's attention was focused on Aragaki Yu, no one noticed Tanaka Kiku Kei's slightly unnatural movements.

“This…that makes sense!” Mr. Araki Yoshinori suddenly realized, “There were indeed words like this left next to Mr. Nishiyama’s body, which was found in his own room!”

Whether from the cold or fear, Naoko Kuroda couldn't help but shrink back, her voice trembling as she said, "So you mean... that guy is just waiting somewhere to take our lives?"

"What a joke!" Under Aragaki's gaze, a somewhat guilty-looking Tanaka Kikuji pretended to be annoyed and stormed towards the villa.

"What are you going to do, Ms. Tanaka?" Everyone looked at Kikuko Tanaka, who had turned and left, with confusion.

"I'm going back! Since there's a murderer in this villa, I'm leaving now!" Tanaka Kiku said angrily, and judging from her heaving chest, she was indeed very dissatisfied.

Tanaka Kiku's actions earned Aragaki Yu's silent praise.

It has to be said that this woman's acting skills are far superior to Conan's.

If it weren't for the fact that he recalled a lot of things based on the information he gathered while he was in the room watching over Conan, he would have almost been fooled by this woman's acting skills.

"No, you can't go back!" Conan, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up. He reluctantly broke free from Ran's embrace and said with a serious expression, "When I returned to this place, the only suspension bridge had already been burned down!"

After hearing Conan's words, Araki couldn't help but look towards the suspension bridge, though he couldn't see it due to the distance: "What did you say!? Without that suspension bridge, we have no way to get down the mountain!"

Naoko Kuroda, who was standing nearby, suddenly recalled the situation of not being able to make a phone call in the villa: "Could it be that the phone line was also cut by the murderer?"

At this, everyone's expressions turned ugly.

"That means we've all been completely isolated from the world below by this murderer."

Accompanied by the cold night wind, Aragaki Yu's words, devoid of any emotion, sent chills down everyone's spine.

Sonoko clung to Ran's arm, trembling even more.

Of course, Xiaolan's complexion wasn't good either. She was barely able to control her legs and was trying her best to stop them from trembling.

Chapter 200 is truly despicable!

Back in the living room, everyone fell silent.

After all, everyone knows that the murderer may be lurking nearby, or even someone close to them.

In the silence, Sonoko Suzuki suddenly spoke, looking lost and disoriented.

"It's all my fault..."

"Huh?" Xiaolan looked at Yuanzi with some surprise.

“Because in the very beginning, I was the one who chose Mr. Hamano to perform for the entertainment!” Sonoko lowered her head in self-reproach. “If Hamano hadn’t been alone in the room, he wouldn’t have been killed. He was murdered because I chose him…”

Ran was a little stunned, unaware that Sonoko had been invited to assist with the magic trick.

The others around also lowered their heads, unsure how to comfort the girl who was caught in self-blame.

Just as an eerie atmosphere descended upon the scene, Aragaki Yu suddenly spoke up, "No."

Everyone looked up at Aragaki Yu with some surprise, but they assumed he was trying to comfort his companion, but since he couldn't come up with any other words, he could only say this.

Sonoko felt a warmth in her heart as she looked at Aragaki Yu's gentle expression. Although it was just two words spoken in a flat tone, the firm denial of her mistake made her feel quite at ease.

Sonoko's girlish heart, even in this moment and environment, is deeply touched by the simple name of Aragaki Yu.