Finding Conan Edogawa seems like a hassle.

Not only does this guy charge his detective badge at the doctor's house, but even his cell phone. But even if he brings a mobile phone, there is a high probability that he will either have no signal or no power to turn off when he encounters something.

Tracking glasses are also of little use on this stretch of the road.

At the end of a paved road at the entrance, there is a long, deep staircase. So even if Conan's signal is near them, it doesn't mean that Conan is near them.

Thinking like this, by the light of Gray Yuan's mourning watch, Kaedehara stood carefully on the edge of the steps-

"Conan!"

Kaedehara shouted.

They were only delayed for two or three minutes.

And in this unknown environment, Conan is just a person and can't go far at all.

Conan really didn't go far.

He was thrown when he came in before, and after a while, he began to explore downward, and he almost fell down in fright when he heard a faint shout.

Steadied himself, Conan replied angrily.

"What did he say?" Gray Yuan said curiously.

Conan's voice was weak, and she couldn't really hear it.

"He said he would wait for us in front, and he was probably going to move on."

"Oh... It's kind of like him. ”

Since Conan is fine, the task of finding someone has become exploration, and the atmosphere is a little lighter.

Kaedehara walked in front and looked at the stairs with his watch, followed closely behind, using the light of his watch to look around to see what was in this hidden passage.

Soon she made a discovery.

"Kudo," Ashbara cried Kaedehara, "there seems to be writing on the stairs." ”

The words look like they've been engraved for a long time.

"That guy is pretending to be me... to seize the treasure of the castle..."

Gray Yuan squatted down, reading the words on the steps, and Kaedehara helped her illuminate.

"Treasure?" Kaedehara said.

The inscription is broken at this point.

"Hmm. Pretend..."Gray Plains mourned thoughtfully, "who could it be?" ”

"It's all people from the Manomiya family who live here, so if you want to pretend to be, you have to-"

"Don't say it! I'll think for myself. ”

“… Good. ”

Obviously, it is still a follow-up to Watson's topic just now, and Gray Yuan's interest in reasoning is at its peak.

The two of them stood up and went back to find Conan, and Gray Yuan also thought about the inscription just now.

She didn't have any ideas for a while... But for her, what Kaedehara said just now was an important clue.

First of all, the guy knew who the "I" in the lettering was referring to just by a glance...

That means that the clues are sufficient, and she has been with him all this time, so her clues should also be sufficient.

Secondly, although he didn't finish his words, she was able to roughly make up for the follow-up and know what he wanted to say.

There is no need to pretend to be a servant or the like, but to pretend to be someone from the Manomiya family, there must be no one in the castle who is very familiar with this person.

"Something to do with that fire four years ago?"

Gray Plains asked tentatively. If you think about it carefully, Kaedehara just listened to the conversation between the doctor, the gardener, and Mrs. Tai with her.

"Hmm."

"So the one who is disguised is Mrs. Tai? She's that old..."

Four years ago, Mrs. Manomiya returned to China to celebrate Mrs. Tai's birthday, and she was burned to death that night, which is also too coincidental. And if it's because I'm afraid that the "daughter" will tear herself apart, it makes sense.

However, it could also be a real coincidence. The only contact between Kaedehara and Mrs. Tai was that conversation, if he felt that something was wrong from here...

Gray Yuan mourned for a moment, "Oh... Are you suspicious of her because she knew about the passport size change? ”

"That's right."

"Can't it be seen in the newspaper or on TV, or someone else told her?"

Good question, I thought so too.

Kaedehara thought to herself, but said anyway, "She said she was used to the change. ”

Gray Plains mourned thoughtfully.

"And since that Mrs. Tai is a fake, then the one who engraved the words is the real Mrs. Tai." Gray Yuan Wai then reasoned, "And judging from the fact that she doesn't write her own name, only [I], the real Mrs. Tai should have not left for several years and stayed here." ”

"She's probably dead here."

……

After a little more walking, Conan had reached the bottom and came to a straight passage.

Holding a watch-type flashlight and shining around, Conan, who didn't notice the ground, tripped and fell on something.

When he looked over, he was momentarily shocked.

It was a skeleton.

And his hand was pressed against the skeleton's chest.

As he scrambled to his feet and began to concentrate on the skeleton, a voice came from behind him, startling him again.

"Judging from the degree of ossification, it should have been a while."

But the voice was familiar, and Conan was quick to react.

"Gray Plains! You scared me to death. ”

Conan breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and patted himself on the chest.

"Why did you two come so fast?" Conan then asked.

Glancing at Conan's hand, which had just examined the remains, Gray Plains took a step back with a disgusted expression.

"We have two flashlights and we can go faster than you." Kaedehara stood a few meters away and said, pausing, "So, did you find anything?" ”

"Hmm. Look-"

"The bones of this skeleton's feet are much thinner than the bones in other parts," Gray Hara replied by looking at the skeleton by the light of a flashlight, and Conan gave him a surprised look, "and judging by the sex and age of the bones..."

"This is the real lady, right?" Ash Yuan Wai concluded.

“… Huh? ”

As he spoke, a strange figure approached quietly.

……

The black shadow is the one who is disguised as Mrs. Tai by plastic surgery, the former maid Nishikawa Mumi. A person with great perseverance, pretending to be an old lady in a wheelchair for several years.

She had quietly followed the kid who had accidentally entered, intending to kill him with bricks, but she was startled by the shouts from above.

So she took advantage of her familiarity with the passage, left in the middle, took an iron bar, and went around to the rear.

She plans to get rid of all these unlucky kids here.

Although she can't see her face, the one standing at the back should be the stinky little ghost who scared her just now...

Thinking so, she skilfully whispered closer, then raised the iron rod from top to bottom and slammed it into the child's head.

Clang.

The sound of the impact made Conan and Gray Yuan look back subconsciously, and then they saw a picture that was enough to become a shadow of the ordinary elementary school student's childhood.

On the other side, the iron rod smashed into the air, and the inertia made Nishikawa Mumi stumble forward two steps and almost fell to the ground, and the iron rod also took off. However, she reacted quickly, and quickly turned around and picked up the iron rod again.

But only half of it was copied.

The iron rod that had just been lifted off the ground was stepped back by the child's foot, and the force of it made her free again.

In her gaze, the child pulled the iron rod back with his foot and held it in his hand.

"Is your attack over?"

One end of the iron rod was almost against Nishikawa's nose, and in her stunned gaze, the child spoke earnestly, looking eager to try.

"Then it's my turn next."

"No comment, right?

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(End of chapter)