Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

Just then, the butler's voice drew everyone's attention: "Miss!?"

Everyone looked towards the gate and saw that Akiko Tani, who had been kidnapped, had been brought back by the daughter of Detective Mori.

Following closely behind was the boy who was with Detective Mouri. He carried a bound man over.

"father!"

The moment she saw President Tani, Akiko let go of Ran's hand and rushed over.

Seeing the father and daughter embracing, Kogoro Mouri asked, "Ran? Tatsuno? What's going on here...?"

Before Xiaolan could answer, Longye deliberately said loudly, "Uncle Mori, based on your deduction, we found the kidnapper's hiding place and successfully rescued the little girl."

He paused, threw the prisoner off his shoulder, and continued, "We also brought this kidnapper back with us."

Upon hearing Ryūno's words, President Tani, who was standing nearby, led his daughter to Kogoro Mouri and excitedly grasped his hand: "Detective Mouri, thank you so much! Thanks to you, my daughter is safe and sound!"

While still puzzled, Kogoro Mouri immediately laughed heartily after hearing President Tani's praise, "It's nothing! After all, I'm a famous detective, hahaha!"

Seeing her father's arrogant demeanor, Xiaolan covered her face with her hands in shame.

After a while, Xiaolan walked up to Longye and asked softly, "Is this okay? Wasn't this the case you solved?"

"It's alright, it wasn't my doing anyway. Besides, I also hope that this case can help spread my uncle's name so that he can get more work."

“Ryūno…”

At this moment, Longye suddenly remembered that there was still one mole he hadn't dealt with.

He walked up to the housekeeper and said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "You seem quite surprised to see this kidnapper? Would you like to come to the police station with him for a cup of tea?"

Upon hearing Longye's words, the housekeeper's eyes widened, and she was clearly shaken.

Seeing her like this, Longye continued, "Uncle Mori must have noticed long ago that the time between the two kidnappings was far too short. It's almost as if it was planned."

The butler had just placed the young lady at a nearby restaurant, and the next thing he knew her, she was kidnapped? And the person who kidnapped her not only knew her, but also happened to know your family's phone number?

All of this points to the fact that there must be an accomplice among you! Housekeeper…that accomplice is you, isn't it?

Upon hearing Longye's suspicion, the housekeeper immediately retorted, "What are you talking about? How could I possibly be an accomplice of a criminal!?"

At this moment, everyone looked puzzled, and Butler Aso was even about to speak up to defend her.

Just then, Longye pulled out the prisoner's cell phone he had picked up earlier from his pocket and continued, "This is the prisoner's cell phone. I checked the call records, and there were calls to this mansion before today!"

"After we arrived, you were the first to answer the phone call from the prisoner, right? All told, from the time you answered the phone, brought it here, to the time the prisoner hung up, it was no more than 8 minutes. But the call log on this phone shows that the call lasted a full 15 minutes!"

"Excuse me, where did that time go? Housekeeper, could you please explain this?"

"..." Upon seeing the "evidence" that Long Ye presented, the housekeeper went limp and collapsed to the ground.

"Butler Sakurai, could it really be you..." President Tani looked incredulous.

After listening to the housekeeper Sakurai's explanation, everyone understood the whole story.

It turns out that she had recently been scammed by a male escort, spending all her money at a pachinko parlor recommended by him.

In an attempt to win back the money, she even borrowed a high-interest loan from a shady group.

But in the end, she gambled away all the money she had borrowed.

After overhearing the plans of the butler and the young lady, she decided to play along and conspired with the criminal to devise this kidnapping plan…

After hearing her remorseful apology, everyone present fell silent.

……

Shortly afterward, the police arrived at their location.

Conan also returned riding his puppy.

He was drenched in sweat from exhaustion. After analyzing the little girl's testimony and determining where the culprit might be, he immediately rushed out with the "Jumbo."

After eliminating several schools, he finally deduced the real location: Erqiao Middle School. However, when he arrived at the school's warehouse, he found it completely empty.

If it weren't for the obviously suspicious bundle of rope on the ground, he would have almost doubted whether his reasoning was flawed.

In the end, having gained nothing, he had no choice but to return to the client's mansion with the "jumbo".

After seeing that the little girl had been successfully rescued and the perpetrator had been arrested by the police, he gave Longye a deep look.

He understood that this case definitely wasn't solved by that drinking uncle.

……

On the taxi back

Before leaving, President Tani promised to give Kogoro Mouri a generous reward and to introduce him to his friends.

After hearing the news, Kogoro Mouri couldn't stop grinning the whole way.

Seeing her father so happy, Ran took the opportunity to bring up Conan: "Dad, what about this child?"

"Hahaha! This kid just arrived and I got such a big case. Maybe he's my lucky star! I agree, let him stay at the office!"

"Great, Conan!"

"Thank you, Sister Ran and Uncle Mori!"

After saying that, Ran continued, "By the way, Dad, you and Conan must eat well at home. I'll check on you from time to time."

"Haha, no problem! The two of us will definitely... Wait, Xiaolan, what did you just say? What does that mean?"

"Huh? Didn't I tell you? I'm moving to Longye's house for the time being. Anyway, he lives alone there, so it won't be inconvenient."

Upon hearing this, Kogoro Mouri immediately turned and glared at Ryūno, his hair standing on end: "What?! You damn brat!!!"

"..."

Chapter 50 The Prelude to the Devil (Part 1)

Teitan High School

Class 2B

"Alright, that's all for today's lesson. ...By the way, Takeda-kun, could you please ask Shinichi Kudo where he is again? Why hasn't he come to class these past few days?"

"Good teacher."

……

After school, Longye and Xiaolan walked out of the school gate.

"Ryūno, let's have hamburger patties tonight!"

"That's wonderful! Xiaolan, I love you so much!"

"Honestly, what nonsense are you talking about! We're still outside, what if someone hears us?"

Seeing Xiaolan's shy expression, Longye let out a soft chuckle.

Hearing Longye's laughter, Xiaolan's face turned even redder, and she said angrily, "You're still laughing! Have you forgotten something?"

"Ah? What's the matter?"

"Huh? Didn't we agree to visit the art museum Sonoko mentioned this weekend? Since we didn't have time to go, she gave us the tickets, didn't she?"

Hearing this, Longye nodded: "Don't worry, I won't forget anything related to you~"

"You're here again?! Humph!"

Seeing Ran's face flushed like the warm sun, Ryūno stopped teasing her and changed the subject, saying, "Oh right, I almost forgot, the teacher asked me to ask Kudo about him after class."

Hearing Longye mention this, Xiaolan shook her head and said helplessly, "He's probably chasing some case again. Ever since he came back from America, he's always chasing cases. Teacher, really, you know all this, yet you keep asking me to inquire. Is he being hunted down by some evil organization?"

Upon hearing Xiaolan's words, Longye was startled.

Seriously?! They managed to fool me?!

He knew that at this moment, Kudo—no, Conan—was already preparing to go to school under Professor Agasa's arrangement—though it would be elementary school.

The thought of Kudo having to go through elementary school all over again filled Tatsuno with secret joy.

Hmph! What do you mean by "fortune changes hands"?

You're going back to elementary school too, to learn addition and subtraction by counting on your fingers!

However, he still said, "It's okay, Xiaolan. The teacher knows our two families live close by. I'll talk to him when he gets home."

"Oh, right! Longye, why don't you come with me to buy some meat? I don't think there's any beef left in the fridge..."

……

周末

Inside the art museum

Xiaolan pointed to a painting and exclaimed excitedly, "Longye, look at this painting! It's just like four universal angels! There are so many beautiful paintings here!"

After reading it, Longye couldn't help but nod.

Many of the paintings here are truly captivating. Moreover, these works genuinely evoke the atmosphere of the Middle Ages; it truly lives up to its name as a medieval art exhibition!

But why did he feel something was off? It was as if he'd forgotten something incredibly important…

After thinking for a while, he still couldn't remember, so he turned to admire the painting with Xiaolan.

Just as Longye and his companions were immersed in the medieval art atmosphere, a kind-looking old man with a long beard walked over: "You like the works here, don't you? I like them too!"

No, I should say, besides the paintings, I love everything here—the statues, the armor, the decorations… They're all like my children, so adorable!

Seeing the elderly man who had suddenly appeared, Xiaolan asked, "May I ask who you are?"

"Excuse me, I'm sorry for being rude. I am the curator here, my surname is Ochiai."

"Ah, so you're the curator here!" Xiaolan was visibly pleased after learning the old man's identity.

"Haha, sorry to bother you. There are usually not many customers here, and when I saw someone who really likes this place, I couldn't help but say hello. I hope I didn't scare you?"

Hearing what Director Ochiai said, Ryūno and Ran quickly shook their heads: "It's nothing, it's nothing!"

"Then I won't bother you any longer, you..."

--"curator!"

Before Director Ochiai could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a loud shout.

The moment Director Ochiai heard the voice, he turned around, and after seeing who it was, he greeted them in a low voice: "Mr. Manaka."