Conan: The Romantic Daily Life of a Ghost Detective

His eyes squinted slightly when he smiled, which gave him a kind and honest appearance.

Xiaolan breathed a sigh of relief: "That scared me to death. I thought it was that bandaged weirdo."

Ai Haibara didn't say anything, but she was clearly relieved.

Wen Shui suddenly said, "Can you two please let me go? It's very hot, and my arms are sweating."

Ran and Ai Haibara then realized that not only had they been holding onto Wen Shui's arm the whole time, but they had also used all their strength to bury Wen Shui's arm in the valley.

The two jumped to the side at lightning speed, creating a long distance between themselves and the warm water.

Xiao Lan blushed and said, "Who, who cares?"

Ai Haibara, having subconsciously chosen the same way to survive as Ran, showed a rare shy expression and said coldly, "I... I was just afraid you'd be too slow to react and get hit, so I wanted to pull you away."

This explanation is too far-fetched; Detective Usagi won't believe it, Wen Shui thought to herself.

Then he noticed that Hiroki Kakutani was looking at him with genuine surprise.

The other party didn't seem to understand the situation.

Ignoring his somewhat offensive gaze, Wen Shui asked with a smile, "By the way, Brother Kakutani, why did you climb up the tree? Was it just to scare us?"

“How could that be? I’m not that bored.” Hiroki Kakutani pointed to the thick, ancient tree behind him and looked up. “I’m setting up an automatic camera on the treetop.”

"Set up a camera?" Xiaolan asked curiously, coming closer to join in.

Ai Haibara remained where she was, turning her back to everyone, probably discussing with Usami whether her explanation was reasonable.

Hiroki Kakutani nodded: "That's right. In my university film club, I was in charge of photography. Currently, I work as an editor at a film magazine, and I also take some photos and post them on my blog."

"I finally managed to come here during the holiday, so of course I want to take lots of photos and videos to take back with me."

I heard it's going to rain tonight, which would be a good chance to take some rare photos. I've already set up several cameras nearby; all I need to do tonight is use this setup.

As he spoke, Hiroki Kakutani took out several remote controls from his pocket.

It should be used to control camera equipment.

Wen Shui nodded: "I see. Did you see Suzuki Sonoko and a little boy wearing glasses around here?"

“No, this tree is one of the tallest in this forest. Once you climb up, your view is completely blocked by the other trees,” Hiroki Kakutani said. “By the way, what was that bandaged monster you were talking about?”

"It's a strange person we just saw; he was covered in bandages..."

Warm water explained it simply to Hiroki Kakutani.

Hiroki Kakutani's expression changed slightly: "Then let's hurry back to the villa and ask Ayako what's going on."

"Brother Kakutani, you seem scared too?" Ran's blunt words made Hiroki Kakutani blush.

"This kind of deep mountain forest is very eerie; you never know what strange things might appear," Hiroki Kakutani said, looking around at the dense forest.

Afterwards, Hiroki Kakutani asked Onomizu and the others to wait for him to put the rope away before returning to the villa together.

He seemed genuinely afraid of the bandaged monster, muttering things like, "I need to find someone to come with me tonight to turn on the camera."

After walking with Hiroki Kakutani through the woods for about ten minutes, Onmizu saw a wooden suspension bridge appear before her.

The suspension bridge is made of ropes and planks, and below it is a bottomless valley.

Two sturdy wooden stakes stand at the bridgehead for support, and judging from the wear and tear on the ropes and wood, the bridge must be quite old.

Walking on it is swaying back and forth, feeling like a "swinging bridge" in an amusement park, giving you a sense of tension that you might fall off at any moment.

While crossing the bridge, Wen Shui noticed that Ai Haibara was walking slowly at the back.

She seemed to still be recovering from the shock, so Wen Shui walked over and held out her hand: "Hold my hand, that way even if you fall, at least you'll have someone with you."

Ai Haibara gave him a complicated look.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Xiao Lan, who was walking ahead, frowned upon seeing this. She then slowed her pace, trying to prevent the suspension bridge from swaying.

Upon reaching the open space opposite the suspension bridge, Onami noticed that Ai Haibara's palms were quite sweaty.

Those delicate, soft hands, as smooth as mutton fat jade, felt slippery when pinched after being soaked in sweat, which was very relaxing.

"It's ready," Ai Haibara whispered to him.

Wen Shui then let go of her hand and turned to look at a Western-style villa with gray and white as the main colors standing not far away.

The villa's decor is somewhat retro and looks quite old, but you can tell that it was built with high-quality materials and a very thoughtful design.

Moreover, the presence of such modern architecture in these deep mountains and forests has an absurd and magical feel to it, as if one has stepped into a fairy tale world.

This also reflects the strength of the Suzuki Group.

Because Ran was worried about Sonoko Suzuki and Conan's safety, she ran into the villa as soon as she crossed the bridge.

"Sonoko! Sonoko, are you back?"

From afar, Xiaolan's voice could be heard coming from the villa. A short while later, she let out a scream:

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were changing clothes..."

Wen Shui couldn't help but rub her forehead.

It seems that although the motives behind the events are somewhat different, Ran still accidentally saw the real physique of the murderer, Ryoichi Takahashi.

Although Ran hasn't realized this yet, Ryoichi Takahashi can't just ignore it, and he will launch one attack after another against Ran.

As Wen Shui and Shu walked towards the villa, they pondered whether or not to expose the murderer's identity.

In the end, he decided to keep the news a secret for the time being.

Because his main purpose this time was to gather material, how could he gather material if he caught the murderer right away?

Moreover, in the original story, Conan protected Ran well even without knowing her whereabouts.

If Conan can do something, then knowing the plot in advance, he can naturally do it too.

Not to mention, protecting Xiaolan and fighting against the bandaged monster is itself part of the subject matter.

Wen Shui, Hiroki Kakutani, and Ai Haibara entered the villa together and changed their shoes at the entrance.

Xiaolan came downstairs at this moment, looking somewhat flustered: "I asked the people here, and it seems that Yuanzi hasn't come back."

Wen Shui: "Don't worry, there should be a landline phone here. Let's try calling again."

Hiroki Kakutani also comforted them, saying, "The phone is in the restaurant. Don't worry, I'll go ask Ayako."

As he spoke, he turned and walked towards the kitchen.

Wen Shui and the others arrived at the restaurant on the first floor. Although it was called a restaurant, it was not actually a closed room.

Standing in the restaurant, you can see the corridor on the second floor when you look up. Two wooden staircases connect the guest rooms on the second floor, and the restaurant as a whole gives people a very spacious feeling.

The surrounding decor is predominantly made of wood, with artistic oil paintings hanging on the walls, and even the lighting fixtures are designed in an artistic style.

Xiaolan walked to the landline phone, picked up the receiver, and dialed.

To Wen Shui's surprise, the telephones here were the old-fashioned rotary dial telephones, full of retro and mechanical beauty.

It's a bit cumbersome because you have to turn the dial pad on the phone every time you dial a number.

This is also a strange phenomenon that Wen Shui discovered after traveling to the world of Detective Conan; the technological level of this world is chaotic.

It features both the high-tech skateboard that Conan uses—lightweight and capable of racing cars—and the old-fashioned landline telephone that often appears in black and white movies, which is also widely accepted and used.

As soon as I dialed the number, I heard a crisp ringing sound coming from the corridor.

Everyone turned around and looked at the connection between the restaurant and the corridor.

Soon, Sonoko Suzuki appeared before everyone, holding Conan by the back of the neck. Wen Shui also noticed that the large red bump on Conan's head was considerably higher than before.

"Sonoko? I'm so glad you're alright." Ran dropped the microphone and ran over to hug Sonoko Suzuki.

"What could possibly happen to me?" Sonoko Suzuki glared at Conan. "It's all because of this brat. He insisted on chasing after that bandaged monster, making me wander around the forest for ages."

"Did you find that bandaged weirdo?" Xiaolan asked worriedly.

"No, he just disappeared."

Sonoko Suzuki shook her head and said, "But don't worry, Ran, I saw him trample on the flowers in the forest, so it can't be a supernatural event. I guess it's probably my older sister's classmate, trying to scare us."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hiroki Kakutani and a woman with a light brown high ponytail and a gentle demeanor walked over.

"Sonoko, I'm so glad you're alright. Kakutani said you were kidnapped by a strange bandaged man." Ayako Suzuki went over and grabbed her sister's hand. Her eyes narrowed into slits when she smiled.

Sonoko Suzuki blinked her big, watery eyes, which were completely different from her sister's, and asked in confusion, "Eh, isn't that person your classmate in disguise, sis?"

Ayako Suzuki: "How could that be? Everyone is resting in their rooms."

Upon hearing this, Xiaolan's face turned pale again.

"Strange, who is that? Could it really be a monster?" Hiroki Kakutani wondered.

"How could there be such a thing? Kakutani-kun, don't scare my sister and the others." Ayako Suzuki gave Kakutani a reproachful look, but her naturally squinty eyes and gentle voice made it difficult for anyone to feel any pressure.

Hiroki Kakutani scratched his head and grinned foolishly.

Ayako Suzuki said to Ran, whose face was pale, "Don't worry, it's probably a resident who lives on the other side of the mountain. He didn't show any malice towards you, did he?"

"No, he ran away as soon as he saw us," Sonoko Suzuki recalled.

"That's good……"

Afterwards, Ayako Suzuki led everyone to the long dining table in the living room. The table was covered with an intricately patterned tablecloth, and a vase was placed at intervals to decorate it.

Haibara Ai used the excuse of feeling a little carsick to go to her room on the second floor to rest.

Ayako Suzuki placed the brewed tea and snacks on the table: "You must be hungry. Have some freshly baked snacks to fill your stomachs."

Yuanzi grabbed a piece of cream cake as soon as she came up, saying while eating, "It's so delicious! There's so much cream, but it's not greasy at all. Did you hire that chef to make it, sis?"

Ayako Suzuki said helplessly, "This is what I baked. Don't you eat it often at home?"

"Is that so? Maybe I'm just too hungry right now." Sonoko smiled awkwardly, then asked, "By the way, sis, didn't you say you hired a super amazing chef this time?"

"About that..."

Ayako Suzuki smiled sheepishly: "The chef was delayed on the road because of a flat tire, and his signature dishes take a lot of time to prepare, so we probably won't be able to have dinner until the evening."

"Huh? I was really looking forward to it," Sonoko Suzuki said, rubbing her stomach.

"Have some snacks and tea first." Ayako Suzuki picked up the teapot to refill everyone's tea. "Didn't you say you were going to do some research for the Literature Club's journal? This afternoon, you can go for a walk around the neighborhood and look for inspiration."