Conan: Above all force, there is truth!

Although they had seen Conan's "long bump" many times before, this time it was the scariest.

If Conan's clothes hadn't remained unchanged, they wouldn't have been able to tell who he was.

Ayumi frowned, her voice filled with concern: "Conan, how did he get so many bumps again? His head looks all messed up, it looks like it hurts so much..."

Mitsuhiko and Genta couldn't bear it either, so they turned their heads away and closed their eyes.

"Damn it! That old hag is awful!!"

"Exactly! She actually hit Conan so hard!! Conan's still just an elementary school student!!!"

After speaking, the two looked at the "first wife" who was still unconscious, their faces full of resentment.

After hearing the three children's complaints, Mamiya Mitsuru and Mamiya Takato turned their attention to Conan.

Upon seeing the "horrible state" on Conan's head, the two widened their eyes and gasped in shock.

Mamiya Mitsuru pointed his finger at Conan's head, trembling and unable to speak.

At this moment, he completely believed what Longye had said. This old woman on the chair, capable of such cruelty to a child, definitely wasn't his mother-in-law!

The next moment, he looked down and around, as if looking for something.

Seeing Mamiya Mitsutoku looking around with his head down, Tatsuno asked with some confusion, "Mr. Mamiya, what are you looking for?"

Upon hearing this, Mitsuru Mamiya whispered, "The rope... I'm looking for the rope."

"rope?"

"I want to tie her up..."

As soon as he finished speaking, "Masaki Masaki" on the chair suddenly groaned softly, looking like he was about to wake up.

Upon hearing the noise, Mamiya Mitsuru visibly paused for a moment.

Everyone turned to look at "Masaki Masaki".

A few seconds later, Mamiya Masuyo woke up, clutching her head. She first looked around warily, then immediately turned around to run away.

"I say, don't you want to know where the treasure in the castle is hidden?"

Upon hearing Ryūno's words, Mamiya Masayo immediately stopped in her tracks, her eyes blazing with desire.

The three people standing nearby, including the Mamiya father and son and Mitsuhiko, also perked up their ears, becoming interested.

Seeing this, Longye didn't keep them in suspense any longer and led everyone directly to the castle hall.

Amidst the expectant and curious gazes of the crowd, Longye slowly said, "The riddle is those chess pieces outside the courtyard. Just observe the chessboard from the direction of the knight pieces, and read the white pieces in order: E, G, G, H, E, A, D."

"Put them together and it's EggHead. This word describes a bookish nerd who only talks nonsense, which is basically the lord himself."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the portrait of the magistrate.

Mamiya Masaki rushed to the portrait with shining eyes and began to examine it carefully.

Noticing her reaction, Longye chuckled and shook his head, inwardly sighing. Her reaction to the mere mention of treasure was so extreme. It seemed she had already become "possessed by evil."

A moment later, Mamiya Masuyo still couldn't find the hidden mechanism in the portrait, and she scratched her head in frustration like a monkey.

Everyone in the hall turned their attention back to Longye, waiting for him to reveal the complete answer to the riddle.

"Then, simply rotate the image according to the shape of the black chess piece..."

"Wow"

As Tatsuno spoke, "Masaki Masaki" in front of the portrait immediately rotated it excitedly. To her delight, a secret passage appeared before her, and she quickly climbed up it.

Seeing the fake Mamiya Masuyo climb up, Mamiya Mitsuru, who was next to Tatsuno, gritted his teeth and jogged after him.

Although he was somewhat afraid of the fake mother-in-law, who knows, that passage might hold the treasure he had always longed for!

At that moment, the greed for treasure overcame the fear in his heart, and a fierce little flame ignited in Mamiya Mitsuru's eyes.

Seeing the two rushing past one after the other, Genta followed behind them.

Longye and the others stood still and did not move.

Mitsuhiko looked up at Ryuno curiously, puzzled, and asked, "Ryuno-nii, isn't that person a criminal? Why did you tell her where the treasure is? Wouldn't it have been better not to tell her?"

Although Ayumi and Noble Mamiya, who were standing to the side, did not speak, they also had this question in their hearts.

Longye looked towards the secret passage, a slight smile playing on his lips: "To completely break someone down, you can't just let them feel despair. You have to first stir up their obsession with hope, and then make them face the despairing reality..."

Upon hearing this, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi tilted their heads and nodded as if they understood.

Mamiya Noble first lowered his head to think about the meaning of Ryūno's words for a while, then suddenly looked up at Ryūno with a somewhat unnatural expression.

Soon after, a wail of pain echoed from the secret passage.

……

half an hour later

Inspector Megure and the others who arrived at the scene already knew the whole story.

"Ryūno, then who exactly is this imposter 'Mamiya Masuyo'?"

"Since she deliberately set fire to Mrs. Mamiya four years ago, she must have been someone Mrs. Mamiya knew well. For example, the housekeeper at the time—Mutsumi Nishikawa. You could try to investigate from the perspective of plastic surgery."

"Oh? That's right! How come I didn't think of that? Thank you so much, Brother Longye! By the way... what are you doing here?"

Seeing Inspector Megure looking at him with a serious expression, Tatsuno immediately understood his subtext—you've also been infected with the Grim Reaper Disease?

Thinking of this, Longye lifted Conan, who was still asleep on the chair beside him, and laughed, "I came here camping with Conan and the others."

Inspector Megure glanced at the unfamiliar child that Tatsuno was holding up, then looked around and said, "I knew it, he was with Conan... Huh? I don't see him here?"

Inspector Megure looked around but didn't see Conan. Instead, he saw Mitsuhiko and his two companions. He scratched his head in confusion.

Logically speaking, the child would always wander around himself and the crime scene.

Could it be... that the child has changed their personality?!

Seeing this, Ryūno waved the Conan in his hand and chuckled, "Inspector, isn't Conan right in front of you?"

"What?! This strange-looking head shape... cough, this child with the peculiar head shape is Conan?!" Inspector Megure was stunned as he looked at the "strange child" in Tatsuno's hands.

Mitsuhiko and the other two immediately stepped forward and began to complain to Inspector Megure about the crimes of "fake Masaki Masaki".

After listening to the children's testimonies, Inspector Megure turned to look at Conan, his eyes filled with sympathy and anger.

"This despicable criminal, how could he be so cruel to a child?!"

Chapter 171 Disguise and Acting Skills

The next day

Conan yawned and slowly opened his eyes from the bed.

"Ugh, what a nightmare~ I dreamt that I entered a secret passage and was attacked from behind."

"It's all true, Conan."

"Nani?!"

The sudden sound made Conan's eyes widen, and he sat up abruptly.

He then noticed that Mitsuhiko and the other two were standing by the bed, smiling at him.

Seeing that Conan had finally woken up, Ayumi exclaimed with delight, "You're finally awake! You've been sleeping for so long! If it weren't for Ryuno-nii saying you were alright, we would have taken you to the hospital~~~ Let's go eat, you must be hungry too, right?"

Conan glanced at Ayumi and the others with a puzzled look, then finally remembered what had happened last night. It wasn't a dream, but reality!

Before Conan could think any further, a piercing pain shot through his head, and he immediately clutched his head and collapsed onto the bed.

"Ouch!!! Why does it hurt so much!!!"

"..."

Ten minutes later, Conan, supported by Ayumi and the other two, walked toward the restaurant with a grimace.

For the first time, he found walking to be so painful. Not only did his head ache, but he was also starving.

Pain, hunger, weakness...

If it weren't for Mitsuhiko and the other two supporting him, he felt he wouldn't even have been able to walk to the restaurant.

In the restaurant

Seeing Conan and the others walk in, Ryūno immediately waved: "You're finally here! Hurry up and eat breakfast~~ Especially Conan, you didn't eat last night, so make sure you eat a lot~~ After you finish eating, we'll set off!"

"Okay, Ryuno-nii!" Seeing how much Ryuno cared about him, Conan felt a warmth in his heart.

Although Takeda always made fun of him when they were kids, he's actually a really good guy!

……

Shortly after

Castle gate.

Mamiya Noble looked at Ryūno gratefully: "Thanks to your help, I can finally put my mind at ease. From now on, I plan to go abroad to continue my studies and move on with my life!"

Mitsuru Mamiya scratched his head and smiled, "Although I was indeed disappointed when I learned that there was no treasure in this castle, as I said before, after living here for so long, I have really come to like this castle."

Next, I plan to renovate this castle and stone tower. I'll invite you again after the renovations are complete!

Ryūno smiled and shook hands with the two, then led Conan and the others into the car.

In the car

Conan covered his head while looking out the window at the scenery.

Through the conversation just now, he roughly understood what had happened after he was knocked unconscious.

Although there were still some doubts, he didn't think too much about it, and there was nothing wrong with Takeda's reasoning.

Thinking of this, Conan couldn't help but sigh.

What a pity! If only Takeda had enjoyed deduction as well!

If Takeda also enjoys deduction... and Hattori joins in, the three of them could have a deduction contest!

—"A Koshien of Mystery, Featuring Three Detectives"

Just thinking about that scene is incredibly exciting!!!

But Takeda was so engrossed in his love life that he had no desire to become a great and glorious detective.