Chapter 288

Bo Yezaki glanced at the old woman who had ulterior motives.

While the other party feigned composure, Usakabe Saiki began the riddle: "I naturally have my reasons."

old lady:"…………"

What's your reason?! What did that look you gave me just now mean?! What do you know?!

Suspicion level up upp...

Not to mention the old lady, most of the people present were detectives. Upon hearing Bo Yezaki's vague answer, the level of suspicion they raised was so high that if the system hadn't already seen the world, they would have been laughing their heads off.

Even so, the system was as excited as a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar: [You walked for 20 minutes in the rain for nothing! It was totally worth it!]

Usoppō Saiki: [Don't even mention those 20 minutes!]

Ran Mouri helped explain the current situation and the people in the castle.

Needless to say, the invited Mori father and daughter, as well as Conan Edogawa, were introduced first by Ran Mori, who introduced the old lady.

“This is Ms. Chima Kazuyo.” Ran Mouri kindly smoothed things over. “Her car stalled earlier, so she came up with us. I guess that’s why she was curious about why you came over.”

Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow: "Huh? Senma Kazuyo? The armchair detective who's said to solve cases just by sitting in an armchair and listening to others narrate them...?"

Grandma Qianjian said with a smile, "It's not that exaggerated, it's all because everyone is so kind to you."

Ran Mouri then introduced the high school student next to her: "This is..."

"I can do it myself," the high school student said with a smile. "My name is Hakuba Saguru, a high school detective. Nice to meet you."

With him taking the lead, the others followed suit and introduced themselves.

“Harufumi Mogi,” said a middle-aged man with a chin like Shin-chan’s father, “and of course, a detective.”

He's a detective who's clearly a tough guy. When Conan Edogawa first arrived, he heard Mrs. Senma say that he was shot by the mafia in Chicago last week, which seemed like quite an exciting experience.

A woman with slightly curly hair said, "My name is Ikumi Gunta. I used to be a prosecutor, but now I'm just a detective."

Hakuba Tan immediately shared what he had learned: "There is also a Mr. Osaka Zhushan, who is known for his obsession with food and is nicknamed the Food Detective. Hearing that the chef couldn't come, he went to the kitchen to cook by himself. You will probably be able to meet him in a while."

As he spoke, he looked at Matsuda Jinpei and Kankawa Shinryu with a scrutinizing gaze.

He actually came for Phantom Thief Kid, but unexpectedly, he encountered this suspicious person before Phantom Thief Kid... well, he was too suspicious, so he felt that Phantom Thief Kid couldn't possibly be disguised as him.

This kind of temperament is really hard to imitate.

Matsuda Jinpei also introduced himself in this format: "My name is Matsuda Jinpei, this guy's driver. Sorry, I'm not a detective."

All eyes turned to Usaku Saiki.

Usoba Saiki remained unfazed: "Kanakawa Fukami is skilled at solving puzzles, as for detectives..."

Everyone waited patiently for the next installment.

"I can be a detective."

Everyone: "…………"

"So what if he's a detective..." Kogoro Mouri looked speechless.

—No, to be precise, the Kogoro Mouri standing in front of you now is actually Kaito Kid.

He heard about the banquet that was using his name to invite other people and wanted to find out what was going on, but he hadn't been invited.

So, at a gas station before he met Mrs. Senma, he knocked out Kogoro Mouri and disguised himself as Kogoro Mouri.

After all, because of Conan Edogawa, he felt that he was quite familiar with Kogoro Mouri, and he didn't need much investigation to disguise himself; his previous knowledge was enough.

Now he feels that he might not be too familiar with Kogoro Mouri either.

This Han Chuan Shenliu was clearly no pushover. His gaze was so sharp that Kaito Kid almost thought he had been discovered!

And this guy even said he "could be a detective"... Can you really "be" a detective? He's not Schrödinger's cat!

As a riddle maker who often poses riddles to others, Phantom Thief Kid has never disliked riddles and is always enthusiastic about deciphering codes and such. However, he now finds himself starting to resent riddle makers...

The maid led the newly arrived people to their rooms, while the others went to the living room to wait for the meal service.

After all, Matsuda Jinpei couldn't keep bending over and wiping his pants in front of everyone at the door, so he could only wipe them haphazardly with a towel. He could only take care of himself properly once he got to his room.

He rummaged through his suitcase and found new pants and socks to change into. He also wiped his shoes clean. Then he went next door to find Usaku Saiki and found that although Usaku Saiki had changed his socks, he hadn't changed his pants—he was using a hairdryer to dry them.

Matsuda Jinpei: "...Can't we just change into something else?"

Bo Yezhai said emphatically, "No, I think that judging from the weather and the atmosphere, if something is going to happen, it will definitely happen tonight. Maybe my pants will get wet in a little while. Let's leave it like this for now, otherwise we won't have enough spare clothes."

Matsuda Jinpei: "...???"

He stared at Bo Yezaki for a few seconds, his lips twitching as he asked, "Do you really think a murder will happen here?"

Although Shinryu Samakawa dislikes explaining himself and often says strange, ambiguous things, based on his understanding of Samakawa, Jinpei Matsuda basically believes that this attitude means there is going to be a case.

When they insisted on walking earlier, Matsuda Jinpei thought there was a certain probability that what Shinryu Sugawa said was a case of Sugawa Sugawa's paranoia, or a reference to a locked-room mystery—after all, it was normal to make such a judgment based solely on the environment without seeing anyone else.

But now that everyone has seen him, Han Chuan Shenliu's behavior might indicate that there's some undercurrent he hasn't noticed... which rapidly increases the possibility of something going wrong.

With that thought in mind, even though Usui Saiki didn't give a definite answer, Matsuda Jinpei's sense of responsibility as a police officer kicked in: "I'll go investigate..."

Bo Yezaki didn't stop him, after all, it would take him a while to dry his pants—he knew he wouldn't be staying here for more than a few days, so to save trouble, he didn't bring much luggage, only clothes and pants that he didn't plan to use, intending to wear one and throw the other away, so he wouldn't feel bad if he lost them.

When Usui finally dried his trousers and went to the living room, the others were already having a great time there.

Some were playing cards, some were playing chess, and some were even playing billiards.

"Mr. Kankawa." Conan Edogawa was the first to notice Usui Saiki enter and immediately greeted him, "Mr. Matsuda, aren't you with us?"

Because Matsuda Jinpei didn't mention he was a police officer when he introduced himself, Edogawa Conan subconsciously changed his tune as well.

Bo Yezaki replied, "He said he was going to wander around."

Conan Edogawa didn't continue asking questions—he had only intended to start a conversation with Shinryu Sakkawa casually.

Ever since he discovered that Hanukawa Shinryu was the advisor mentioned by the criminals, he has been struggling with how to define Hanukawa Shinryu.

Ai Haibara identified him as a member of the organization, but since Ai Haibara had never met Shinryu Samikawa in the organization before, and it was just a feeling, this is questionable.

The fact that Hanchuan Shenliu acts as an advisor to the prisoners with such impunity suggests that he must have some powerful backing.

He discussed this issue with Ai Haibara: "Do you think it's possible that he's cooperating with the Metropolitan Police Department, and that after a criminal consults with him, he immediately calls the police? So when the Italian robbery gang found the gold coins, the police arrived. It doesn't feel like a coincidence."

Ai Haibara had absolutely no liking for Shinryu Saikawa and wouldn't listen to such neutral statements: "According to you, that robbery gang only sent a Japanese person to find Shinryu Saikawa to decipher the code—do you think they would tell Shinryu Saikawa the meaning of the code?"

Conan Edogawa blushed: "Well... according to him, it's like handing over a coded message, and the other person deciphers it in a second..."

Ai Haibara rolled her eyes: "Yeah, so Shinryu Suzumiya has no idea what their code means, and the person's appearance hasn't been revealed either. Nobody knows he's the robber. How are you expecting Shinryu Suzumiya to call the police? 'I just deciphered a code, and I suspect there's something wrong with what I got after deciphering it. Please dispatch the police!'"

"Is it possible that he saw the other person and knew they weren't a good person, but a bank robber, and therefore guessed that the code represented the address of the stolen goods?"

Conan Edogawa was still trying to find an excuse, after all, Shinryu Samakawa's arrogance was too outrageous, and it was even more outrageous that the Metropolitan Police Department did nothing about it! If the Metropolitan Police Department would not only ask for help when needed, but Shinryu Samakawa would also take the initiative to report things, it would seem much more reliable.

Ai Haibara replied coldly, "According to you, you saw that person too, and you could tell at a glance that he was a robber?"

Conan Edogawa: "…………"

He did feel that something was off about the other person, but to say he could tell they were robbers was impossible...

Ai Haibara slammed her hand on the table: "In short, that guy is definitely suspicious! He might be an assassin from the organization! Stay away from him!"

Conan Edogawa is in pain because he feels he is solving a mystery that makes no sense.

Before he could figure it out or find a trustworthy police officer to inquire about Shinryu Samakawa's counseling of criminals, Conan Edogawa encountered Shinryu Samakawa here. After thinking about it for a moment, he felt that the sudden estrangement was strange, and decided to continue to treat him as before.

"Does Mr. Hanchuan know about what happened in this 'Twilight Mansion'?" Conan Edogawa asked. "Before you and Mr. Matsuda came in, someone mentioned something. If you don't know..."

Suddenly, amidst Ran Mouri's exclamation, Usakabe Saiki pulled a card from her hand.

"Is this guy asking for a substitute player?" The curly-haired woman sitting opposite Ran Mouri asked boldly. "This girl doesn't need one. She's incredibly lucky and has been winning all along."

"No, it's just these playing cards..."

With a forceful tug, Usoba Saiki tore apart what appeared to be a single playing card, revealing the culprit that had caused them to stick together—a pool of dried blood.

Ran Mouri couldn't help but scream when she realized that the card had just been in her hand.

Conan Edogawa quickly came over to comfort Ran Mouri, then suddenly sensed something and instinctively turned his head to look.

The young man with deep red hair and eyes rarely smiled, but he gently tossed the cards into the air, letting them spin back onto the table.

Conan Edogawa, who was very close by, heard his murmur, which was almost buried in the conversation of others.

"The old crow's golden nest..."

Conan Edogawa: "...?"

—What old crow? What gold?

--------------------

Bonus chapter for landmine!

.

Everyone: I am the detective

Matsuda: I'm not a detective

Han Chuan: I can be a detective

Others: ? ? ?

.

Conan now: What gold?

Conan, having solved the castle mystery: ...When exactly did he find out...?

Conan, who knows the organization's boss is Karasuma Renya: ?! ?! ?! !