"Is this the end of the clue?!...... Ahh

Hattori Heiji punched the wall in annoyance. Compared with the Kansai boy who showed his feelings, the expressions of other people were not light, and no one would have imagined that the important person in this case, Lei Shan Xingxiang, would die like this.

"The clues of the case have lost important connections, and in this way, they can only start anew. ”

Liu Sheng had already recovered from Lei Shan's miserable death, shaking his head and saying with regret.

"No—maybe you won't have to go through the hassle of starting over. Nioh Masaharu still looked unfazed, and his eyes narrowed to hide his heavy feelings.

He played with his pigtails, his green eyes swept over the corpse under the sheets, "The death of this eldest lady has also revealed some unknown clues for us in a great way." ”

"You mean—" Heiji's spirits perked up, and a slight sparkle flashed in his blue-gray eyes.

"What do you think, Werewolf?"

"Ah, I have some ideas. Nioh looked at the red-haired girl leaning against the window, and a lazy smile hooked the corner of his mouth, "You say, this eldest lady, will she already know the murderer?"

"It must be so, yes!"

The Kansai boy struck his palm with his fist, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, "Not only is the eldest sister's clothes neatly hung behind the door, but there are no traces of a fight in the bathroom, let alone blood stains extending - it is impossible for the murderer to sneak into the secret room and disappear from the secret room so quietly!"

If he knew the deceased, this qiē would make sense. Yanagi nodded his head, but the confusion between his brows did not dissipate, "But even so, how did he kill the victim without alarming her, and leaving this room without leaving a trace?" I just looked carefully at the corridor, and there were no unnatural marks or traces of blood except for the blood that spilled from under the crack in the door—the deceased had had his carotid artery severe, and it stands to reason that blood would have spurted everywhere. ”

"Heh, the relationship between Lei Shan Xingxiang and the murderer is more than just acquaintance...... Nao opened his eyes, and his voice had a faint smile, "Yanagi-kun, don't forget the location of the crime - it's the bathroom." ”

"Ah...... Cough. ”

Liu Sheng suddenly thought of something, and coughed a little uncomfortably.

"That's it, people who don't have clothes on them are not afraid of blood splashing on their bodies, there are no large sprays of blood, and it is also because of the murderer's method of killing Lei Shan Xingxiang - she was probably killed when she was lying face down in the bathtub, and the blood naturally sprayed all the blood into the bathtub. As for the murder weapon—"

Nao lowered her hand on the windowsill and exhaled softly.

"Judging by the neatness of the wound of the deceased, it is probably a very sharp razor or something like that—such a thing would not be suspicious even if it appeared in the bathroom. ”

"The key now is, how did the murderer escape from such a secret room?" Heiji frowned, "The bathroom is closed, and although the window outside has glass, the window frame is completely sealed, and it is simply an ornament." ”

"There's one more thing I care about than that. ”

Nao turned his head and squinted at Hino Heizaburo, who was standing by the door outside the corridor at some point, and he didn't feel any sense of zài at all.

"Mr. Butler, was the lamp in this living room originally broken?"

"No, it shouldn't be, if there was any problem before, Miss Lei Shan's personality would probably have sued me a long time ago. The bearded man replied with a stiff expression.

Thinking of the character of the eldest lady of Lei Shan, the butler's statement was indeed correct - but in the blink of an eye, the young girl died, and when they thought of this, everyone's mood was a little gloomy.

It is the flowering season and her career is also on the rise, what is the reason why she killed the president of the small company, and finally lost her own life?

――In any case, it is inseparable from the mysterious "R.K".

"I'm going to take a look at Rintaro Kitajaw's room. ”

Dusting off the dirt from her cuffs, Nao's golden green eyes quickly flowed with a ray of light, and she said.

The chandelier made of crystal lit up, and the soft glow suddenly illuminated the room with a retro atmosphere.

Floor-length flannel blackout curtains, a huge hardwood desk, and a warm gold-edged decorative fireplace...... Kitajaw Rintaro's room seems to have a unique soothing effect, and the gentle light yellow light and compact and warm furnishings gradually calm the panicked and nervous mood of several teenagers.

"This Kitajaw Rintaro is really a guy with good taste. Hattori smacked his lips as he looked at the interior of the room.

"yes. Compared with some young people who like trendy products now, he can be regarded as a rare and stable person. ”

Yanagi nodded in agreement, but the words he said made Nioh Masaharu burst into laughter.

"Oh, Yanagi, although the meaning is no different, this tone is not like a junior high school student!"

"One another, Nioh-kun. Yanagi said meaningfully.

"Poof!"

“…… I mean, what the hell are you here for?"

Nao, who was standing in front of the bookcase, couldn't help but turn around and smash a hardcover book at the three passive teenagers, especially the white hair.

"Whoa...... Are you trying to murder?"

"Look at the words on it!" Nao rubbed the corners of her forehead, "Didn't you notice when you came before?"

"What?" said the smiling Nioh suddenly grimaced and looked down at the book in his hand.

On the metal trimmed primary leather cover, the title of the book "The Mountain of Evil Spirits" and the author's name "Yashanliao" are written in gilded letters, while in the corner of the spine, the letters "E・S・S" are written in inconspicuous small letters.

Obviously, this is where Nao got their attention.

"It's ......," the teenagers looked up in dismay.

"edokawashotensneaker......" a sneer escaped the corner of the red-haired girl's lips, "I'm afraid that's where that set of letter openers and lighters came from." ”

"I see, I thought I should have seen this 'e.s.s.s.' somewhere. ”

Yagyu raised his glasses, and the white light that flashed made people feel unusually reliable, "Edokawa shotensneaker, the full name is 'Edogawa Shoten Shonen Bunko', or 'E.S.S' for short, combined with the words R.K. Showa 63 E.S.S on the previous letter opener and lighter - presumably this is the souvenir that Kitakawa Rintaro got at the Edogawa Shoten Light Novel Awards held in Showa 63." ”

"I'm afraid it's not just a souvenir. Nao pinched his chin and thought, "This book is placed at the top of the bookcase, in addition to this "Mountain of Evil Spirits", there are other works by the author Yashanliao, neatly set - not only is it clean without a speck of dust, but there is not even a finger mark on the page, indicating that Kitaja Rintaro has hardly read it. This illustrates two possibilities: first, the purpose of the set of books is only to fill the bookcase, and second, ......"

"Second, this set of books was written by Kitaja Rintaro himself. ”

His gaze swept over the silver plate on the opposite wall, and Nioh Masaharu hooked the corners of his mouth to catch Nao's words, "It's placed here, and it has the same effect as the medals over there." ”

"Yayama Ryo, Kitaja Rintaro ......" Hattori Heiji read the two names thoughtfully, "Not only is the abbreviation R・K, but the meaning of this Yayama Ryu also means something." Raven Mountain is probably this cliff full of crows, and liao means dormitory, accommodation place...... Taken together, it just happens to be this 'Crow House'!"

"However, does this information have any effect on the detection of the case?" Yanagi frowned, "Regarding the 'R.K' on the murder weapon, we have already confirmed that he is Kitaja Rintaro, and from his hobby and the medals of the camping competition, we have also deduced how he hid...... But I'm a writer by profession, so it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the case, right?"

"The profession is ...... writer"

Nao chewed on Yagyu's words, connecting the clues in his mind, and was startled.

The shrunken lips of the charred corpse showed its teeth, the lighter that was left behind at the scene, and the dirt rubbed against the windowsill of the scene of the murder of Thundermountain...... Several clues were strung together in her mind, and a cool air spread up her spine.

She thought of some kind of uncanny conjecture that she had before.

If that's the case.

Nao pursed her lips and walked quickly to the desk, pulling the drawers open one by one in a somewhat rude manner under the surprised gazes of the others, and finally, casting her eyes on a few dipping pens in one of the drawers.

"Really...... Awful ......"

The red-haired girl pulled out a dipping pen with her white-gloved right hand. Looking at the marks on the barrel of the pen, her golden-green pupils shrank irrepressibly, and her face turned pale.

"It seems that we have completely fallen into the trap of the prisoners. ”

Nao muttered.

Outside the door she couldn't see, a pair of feet in black leather shoes were silently leaving.