I'm writing a fictional immortality script in Detective Conan.

Chapter 206 Dracula's Villa: The Secret Passage

"By the way, Yuezi, you seem to be quite interested in those two young people. Are they acquaintances?"

"No, it's just that seeing Mr. Kuromon reminded me of you when you were young... Are you jealous?"

"Hmph, I'm quite confident in myself. I was just thinking, if someone like Torakura, who's obsessed with vampire relics all day long, can be commissioned, why not a scholar like me?"

"Great idea! I'll try to help you with the wiring tomorrow!"

With a casual pull of the pin, Kuromon Haruya got up with a dark face, grabbed one of Asano Shigeaki's ankles under his teasing gaze, stuffed them into Hamura's room, and tucked them in carefully.

When they went out again, Chengshi had already thoughtfully and reliably installed pinhole cameras all over the first floor: "They'll be very surprised when it gets light, won't they? You still have the same wicked sense of humor as always."

"You didn't stop me, did you?"

Yoruichi Kuromon shrugged and stretched.

That's the advantage of going on missions with Vienna: reliable, young, talented, capable but not overly cautious... and you can even have a little fun.

Haruya Kuromon: I hope that Keiji, who is still alive, won't come to me in a dream and hit me with his cello after he finds out that his son has become a cross-dresser and been corrupted (laughs).

Asagi Shinobu raised his head, looked around, and fixed his gaze on the only two conscious people present—

Kuromon Haruya tilted his head: "Now that Torakura has been dealt with, let's search upstairs."

"Vienna, what's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing." I just suddenly sensed that you had a bad idea.

Remaining cautiously, Asagi Narumi shook her head and followed the footsteps into the second floor.

Somewhat surprisingly, although Chianti described their response team of three as "in perfect harmony," in reality, this was their first two-person operation since Moonshadow Island, and also his first mission after returning from the end of his anti-drug mission.

He and the other two mostly communicated online, either listening to Kuromon share embarrassing stories that Hanze kept from others, or watching Hanze complain about Kuromon's reliability and his unexpected mishaps in places where he should be reliable, such as being afraid of ghosts, having a bad sense of direction, and being grumpy in the morning.

What piqued his curiosity most was the story of their chance encounter with Calvados and Sogrid—the description of "Mr. Blackgate's acting skills being so superb that it was impossible to tell."

'...Was it really unintentional that Mr. Kuromon postponed the interview this afternoon because he was afraid of ghosts?'

Completely unaware that his best friend was bursting with curiosity and wanted to expose his true identity, Kuromon Haruya was standing at the entrance of the second-floor corridor, racking his brains over the collection rules that were as long and cumbersome as a book written in heaven:

"If I complete the mission successfully, Gin might think I'm a talent for intelligence gathering and dump all these tasks on me. Just in case, I have to cause some trouble and let him know that I'm not suited for this line of work."

Near the stairs was Mrs. Etsuko's room, and Yoruichi Kurodo opened the door and casually surveyed the room.

The room, which is the home of the wife, is generally comfortable, but there is not a single item related to her husband among the furnishings, which suggests that the couple is not getting along or is cold towards each other.

"Hmm? This is..."

On the dressing table sat an open blister pack of sleeping pills. The cardboard box was slightly damp, indicating it had been purchased some time ago, but only a single adult dose had been used.

Apart from that, there was nothing unusual in the room. Kuromon Haruya stood by the window and looked out. The wind and snow had covered the rooftops and grass with a pure white, velvety finish, perfectly clean.

creak.

Turning around quickly, Asagi was leaning against the door, his face grave: "Something's wrong. Torakura Daisuke isn't in the room. He might have escaped."

"I'll come right away."

As soon as I opened the door, the cold, damp sea breeze seeped into my lungs through the seams of my clothes, making me feel refreshed.

Daisuke Torakura's bedroom—or rather, judging by the furnishings, "nest" would be a more accurate description—was in a state of utter disarray.

The French windows leading to the balcony were opened, and the dark red curtains fluttered freely in the wind and snow. Pulling back the curtains, there were many messy footprints on the snow on the balcony floor. Peeking around, there were also a few footprints on the roof near the wall, extending to the edge, below which was a dark cliff and ocean current.

Yoruichi Kuromon bit off his glove, stuck his left hand into the snowdrift, and went straight to the window, reaching into the blankets: "It's still warm, even quite warm, very warm... It hasn't been ten minutes since Daisuke Torakura left."

"There's still some vomit left on the bathroom floor. Judging from the contents, it's from tonight's dinner. It must have been left when he vomited on the toilet." Asagi Shinobu turned on the surveillance camera on the first floor and rewound it. "He didn't appear on the first floor either... Have you figured out which room he's in?"

Kuromon Haruya picked up the wine glass from the bedside and sniffed it lightly:

"Why do I say that? Judging from the traces, it is clear that Daisuke Torakura escaped Jingqi for some reason, dressed quickly, grabbed his belongings, and fled from the rooftop in a panic."

We should find a way to catch up and clean up the mess.

“Because we just discussed the rock climbing plan this afternoon.” Ma Shengshi lifted his foot and deliberately stomped on the snow on the balcony: “On snowy days, due to the humid climate by the sea, excess water will condense into an extra layer of smooth ice under the snow.”

"Even we might slip, so it would be even more difficult for Daisuke Torakura, an ordinary person who just twisted his back and has no training, to move. The footprints on the roof are too shallow yet very clear; unless he's a Chinese master of qinggong (lightweight martial arts), the only possibility is that he's faking it."

...And what I can see, you can surely see too, can't you?"

"Very accurate, then you must have also checked Doi's room?"

"Doi was sleeping soundly. I didn't give him any hypnotic drugs. Interrogation always requires a sober person."

Kuromon Haruya narrowed his eyes with pleasure, confirming in his heart that he had snatched a promising talent from his old friend: "It was the absinthe that suppressed the effects of the sleeping pills."

“His glass still held a strong anise aroma and green stains. To combat his insomnia, Daisuke Torakura had chosen absinthe, a drink known for its sleep-inducing properties, and his wife had thoughtfully added some sleeping pills. Under the influence of alcohol, the effects of the sleeping pills wore off quickly, causing him to wake up suddenly, feeling dizzy and nauseous, before realizing his wife was not beside him.”

"In a fit of rage and unease, he stared through the glass at the two people entwined in the living room, only to suddenly see two well-equipped shadowy figures take them down one by one."

He tapped the wall gently, inch by inch.

"Titanicang realized that we had ill intentions, but the blizzard might block the roads, so driving away was obviously not a good option. So he had a brilliant idea and decided to create the illusion that he had already escaped, but in fact he was hiding in the villa."

"As a man with a strong desire for control and profound authority, most rooms in Dracula's villa can only be locked from the inside, with the only one requiring an unlocked lock being the basement library. This allows him to check on things at any time, but on the other hand, it's far too insecure. So, it's very likely that..."

Clack.

With his middle finger hooking a switch, a crisp sound suddenly came from behind the huge life-size mirror, and then it came loose.

Turning aside the mirror fixed to the wall, a hidden door comes into view. A narrow passageway, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, extends into the darkness below, as if the abyss is extending an invitation:

"This vampire villa also has a hidden secret room."