Conan: Rice Flower Spring

Chapter 358, Section 352: The Strange Old Lady

As everyone knows, detectives in island nations have a very sophisticated fee system. Aside from Kogoro Mouri, if you ask around all of Tokyo, which other famous detective would be living on such a tight budget?
Kogoro Mouri was really at his wits' end. Every day, he would finally get a case, but either the client or the person he was investigating would die.

How long has it been since he properly and completely resolved a commission?

Leaving aside this oddball in the world of detectives, other detectives generally charge fees based on the nature of the case.

For example, the simplest case of finding a cat or catching a dog is one level of job. This type of job is generally a common "business" for ordinary detectives to make a living.

Above that is an infidelity investigation.

When it comes to infidelity investigations, the detective's fee structure becomes more flexible.

For example, traditional infidelity detection services only determine whether the client's partner is having an affair, and that's one level of pricing.

Obtaining evidence of your partner's infidelity comes at a different price.

If you want to obtain evidence that can be used in court and has legal effect, that comes at a different price.

Furthermore, the commission fee varies depending on the client's net worth—the fee for the same commission will naturally differ between the middle class and the wealthy.

After all, the difficulty of the commissions varies.

Besides these basic detective services, detectives in the island nation also have their own fee schedules for treasure hunting and mystery solving.

Especially for those involving treasure, in addition to the fixed commission fee, there will also be a share of the treasure.

Mamiya Mitsuru has been married into the Mamiya family for so many years, and it's not like he just heard about the "treasure" left behind by the patriarch. The reason he hasn't hired a detective all these years is because he doesn't want to share the profits with others and is waiting for a chance to get it for free, right?
You know what, he actually managed to snag this opportunity today.

Mitsuru Mamiya doesn't care what your consulting investigation company actually does, but since the company name has the word "investigation" in it, it should be able to be used as a detective, right?
That news just now couldn't have been given to Lin Longma for free, after all, there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Essentially, it was Mamiya Mitsuru who made Hayashi Ryoma owe him a favor, and he just made the repayment of that favor faster.

From Mamiya Mitsuru's perspective, his choice wasn't wrong—who even knows who Hayashi Ryoma is?
Even if you're this awesome in Tokyo, can you really be this awesome all the way to the mountains?
No matter what, getting the Mamiya family's treasure is the real deal.

"Alright! Since you trust me so much, Mr. Mamiya, I can help you look for it."

As Lin Longma spoke, he also gave Mamiya Mitsuru a heads-up: "However, this kind of treasure hunting is not our company's business. It's best to find a professional to do it."

If I can't find the 'treasure' left behind by Mr. Mamiya, then I suggest that Mr. Mamiya, you'd be better off hiring a detective.

"Understood, understood! Don't worry, Chairman Lin, I won't complain even if we can't find anything!"

Mamiya knew perfectly well that this was just an experiment; he had lived in the castle for several years without finding the so-called treasure.

Even if Ryoma can't find anything, Mamiya Mitsuru won't be dissatisfied.

That's the difficulty. If it were easy to find, would their whole family still be so obsessed with the treasure?
After Mamiya Mitsuru made his statement, Ryoma Hayashi said that he could go about his business, and the others could just wander around the castle by themselves.

Seeing this, Mamiya Mitsuru took his leave without hesitation and instructed the steward to inform all the servants in the castle.

They must try their best to meet any requests Lin Longma and his group have. If they cannot make a decision on their own, they must have the butler inform him immediately.

After Makoto and the others had completely gone far away, Ryoma Hayashi had his steward lead them to the best spot in the castle with the best view, so they could observe the chess game on the lawn in the courtyard.

Yes, there is a complete chess set in the castle courtyard, which was specially ordered to be set up by Lord Mamiya when he was still alive.

To this day, the chess set in the courtyard remains unchanged, only undergoing maintenance. Clearly, this courtyard, the lawn, and these chess pieces are the enigma left to posterity by Master Mamiya.

"This kind of thing..." Lin Longma stood at the window for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out. He was truly powerless when it came to dealing with radio waves.

His thinking simply couldn't reach the level of those detectives.

Fortunately, Ryoma's original purpose was not necessarily to solve the mystery left by Master Mamiya.

He waved to the member of the security department who had just made eye contact with him.

"Did you have something to say to me?"

“Yes, Chairman.” The security staff member nodded: “I just discovered a place that looks like the entrance to a secret passage over the tower ruins.”

There were just too many people watching us at the time, so I didn't check carefully.

"A secret passage? That makes sense." Lin Longma looked around; it was common for a castle like this to have several secret passages.

The fact that the castle has no secret passages is truly astonishing; one wonders how simple-minded the castle's owner must have been.

However, if there is a separate tower and a secret passage, then there must be one in this castle, right?
Thinking of this, Lin Longma instructed his subordinates: "You should also walk around the castle and check if there are any secret passages or entrances inside."

Remember to pair up, don't go alone. If everyone in this castle knows about Master Mamiya's treasure, then there might be someone watching us from the shadows.

If Lin Longma were unaware of the castle's treasure, he would most likely agree that the fire four years ago was an accident.

But now he has learned that the castle contains a treasure left by the patriarch for future generations.

Wealth can be very tempting, so it's hard to say what exactly was involved in that fire four years ago.

Just as Lin Longma was pondering the fire from years ago, he was strolling around the castle.

Suddenly, an aged voice interrupted Lin Longma's thoughts: "Who are you people?"

Lin Longma subconsciously looked ahead and found no one. Then, looking down, he saw the old woman sitting in a wheelchair.

Lin Longma looked at the servants following them; these were assigned to him by the butler to facilitate his investigation within the castle.

"This is the eldest wife, the wife of our master and also his mother-in-law."

"Madam, this is Mr. Lin's friend, Chairman Lin from Tokyo. He's currently helping Mr. Lin investigate the treasure left behind by the first master."

"Really?" Lin Longma suddenly noticed that the seemingly sickly Mrs. Lai suddenly became lively after hearing the maid's words.

"Then I'll leave it to you. You must let me know what he left us."

"Oh, and when my daughter comes back later, remember to have her come to my room right away. You'll see her soon!"

After saying these words, the old lady happily maneuvered her wheelchair away from Lin Longma.

"strangeness."

(End of this chapter)