"Heiji-niichan got grounded, didn't he?" Conan blurted out the truth, barely stifling a laugh.
Fujino just nodded silently, giving Conan a thumbs-up. The kid was spot on. From his perspective, Hattori Heiji probably was grounded by his mom. When you thought about it, for someone like Hattori Shizuka, studies would always come first, not detective work. The Hattori family was full of police officers, so if detective cases got in the way of his studies, it would be seen as shirking his responsibilities. Honestly, Fujino kinda envied Hattori being reined in by his mom.
"Conan! Don't be so blunt!" Ran scolded Conan softly, then mused, "Speaking of which, it feels like our midterms are coming up soon too."
Fujino's smile slowly stiffened. "...Right."
Well, I laughed too soon.
Midterms. Fujino couldn't quite recall how many times they had exams in a year, or a semester. Just take the damn tests, I guess. For him, exams weren't hard at all; getting perfect scores was a piece of cake. The real challenge, though, was the biased questions. As a Chinese person, Fujino refused to answer those messed-up questions from that country. It was a matter of principle.
"By the way, where's the guy who invited us here for this detective game?" Mogi Harushi suddenly asked. "We're all here now, and he still hasn't shown up. That's just plain rude, isn't it?"
"Um, I'm not entirely sure myself..." The maid said quietly. "Even I haven't actually met the owner of this place."
"Didn't he give you the list?" Kuroba Kaito, disguised as Mouri Kogoro, couldn't help but ask. "And normally, as the maid here, you should know who your employer is."
"I only received that list when I was hired." The maid, Akie Ishihara, explained. "The pay here is very generous, and there were so many people applying for the job. But the interview room only had a computer, a dinner instruction manual, and the guest list. I was only hired because the computer screen simply displayed 'You have been hired.'"
"If that's the case, then you should at least know if the owner is male or female, right?" Kuroba Kaito, deeply invested in the person impersonating him, pressed on. "You must have communicated with that person, didn't you? They couldn't have just not spoken at all, could they?"
"Well, to be honest, I don't even know if the owner is male or female..." Akie Ishihara shook her head, looking a bit helpless. "We only communicate via email. Every time, I send an email, and they send one back..."
"What the...?" Kuroba Kaito was speechless. Being this secretive, and even stealing his identity... he really had no idea what this person was trying to do.
"Isn't that just more interesting?" Chigami Hideyo's interest was piqued. "A mysterious inviter, and this Twilight Mansion... even my old bones are starting to feel a thrill."
"Tch, looks like things are getting even more complicated." Mogi Harushi glanced back at the large door behind him, clicking his tongue. "To be honest, when I first saw those things upon entering, I already felt a shiver down my spine."
"What is that?" Ran leaned in to take a closer look.
What met her eyes were dark water stains on the brown wooden door. Not just on the door, but even on the golden doorknob, there were similar stains.
Fujino's eyes narrowed as he examined it, then he stated gravely, "Bloodstains revealed by luminol."
"Bloodstains?" Ran gasped, covering her mouth. "Fujino-senpai, are you kidding?"
"No joke." Fujino nodded. "These bloodstains are quite clear. They look pretty old, though. The amount of blood splattered must have been significant. From this quantity of blood, a penetrating gunshot wound, especially one that severed a major artery... that's hard to say."
"It's a penetrating gunshot wound. If my analysis is correct, the blood splattered on the door at a forty-five-degree angle. Besides these, there are traces like this all over this villa. It seems more than just one or two people died here."
Just then, a woman with a rare pure black curly hair tied into a ponytail at the back, a right-swept fringe, and emerald green eyes, looking quite intelligent, walked down the stairs. She was wearing a white lab coat over a red shirt and denim pants. She first sprayed something from her hand onto the staircase railing, then turned to Fujino and continued, "But today, I finally get to meet the real person. You're the high school detective, Fujino, rumored to be hired as a consultant by the Metropolitan Police. You've been making quite a name for yourself lately. And to be able to easily identify these traces with just your naked eye truly lives up to your reputation."
"Fujino's observational skills have always been terrifying..." At that moment, a cheerful voice came from the second floor. Everyone looked up to see a blonde Hakuba Saguru standing at the top of the stairs, smiling calmly. "I'd bet he could spot these traces even without luminol, which makes blood glow faint blue."
"Yo, Hakuba." Fujino raised a hand in greeting. "Didn't expect to see you here."
"It's more accurate to say our presence here was expected." Hakuba Saguru surveyed their surroundings. "After all, everyone present is a renowned detective..."
"Heh heh..." Kuroba Kaito eyed Hakuba Saguru with an exasperated look.
It's that show-off again.
As Hakuba Saguru slowly descended the stairs, a sudden flapping sound echoed from above. Looking up, they saw a black-backed, white-bodied hawk descending from the sky, landing on the railing beside the woman.
"A hawk?" The woman looked at the hawk beside her, slightly surprised.
"My apologies, did I startle you?" Hakuba Saguru waved his hand, and the hawk flapped its wings and flew onto his arm. "Watson has been with me since my time in England, so he's particularly sensitive to the smell of blood. He's been agitated ever since we arrived here."
"Watson..." Fujino looked up at Hakuba Saguru. "Are you a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, too?"
"Oh?" Hakuba Saguru seemed surprised. "Are you?"
"I'm not," Fujino retorted. "Naming a hawk 'Watson,' that must be you cosplaying Sherlock Holmes, right? I'd say only you Holmes fans would name your pets something like that."
Hakuba Saguru: "..."
Conan: "..."
Felt like I just got roasted.
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