The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

Ryoichi Takahashi stood on the balcony.

While inspecting the wires binding the inflatable doll containing Chika's head, he mentally rehearsed the script.

Once he thought his plan was foolproof, he began to execute it.

As Takahashi Ryoichi entered the second-floor corridor and was about to descend the stairs, he glanced at the group of people playing cards at the table and silently sneered.

Then he suddenly turned his head, as if he had sensed someone outside, and shouted towards the dark window, "Who's there? What's out there!"

The others in the living room were taken aback and looked up at him, asking in surprise, "What's wrong?"

On the second floor, Takahashi Ryoichi feigned worry and fear, his voice trembling as he said, "Outside! There's a person in a black robe outside the window, with bandages wrapped around their face!"

While the others were looking out the window, Ryoichi Takahashi secretly moved to the window railing in the corridor.

In a blind spot for everyone, he untied the steel wire.

In everyone's view, only a black shadow could be seen holding Chikako hostage as it flashed past the window.

"It's Chika!"

"Chase!"

Conan took the lead, throwing away his playing cards and chasing after them, with the others following closely behind.

Only Yuu Aragaki remained seated, looking at the scattered playing cards on the table. After hesitating for a moment, he quietly tidied up the cards while waiting for everyone to return.

Just as Aragaki Yu finished tidying up the playing cards and had half a cup of tea left, the men who had chased after him returned, all pale-faced.

They had just witnessed a gruesome scene of severed limbs in the woods, and upon returning to find Aragaki Yu leisurely sipping red tea, those with weaker constitutions immediately ran to the toilet and vomited violently.

Conan also looked rather grim, and looked at Aragaki Yu, who was sitting firmly in his seat, with a puzzled expression: "Aragaki-nii, why didn't you come with us to chase after them just now?"

He was puzzled. Aragaki Yuya was clearly a victim of the bandaged man's attack, so why did he show no reaction or expression when he saw the bandaged man again?

To Conan's surprise, Yuu Aragaki gave a reply that took him by surprise: "Why did you chase after them?"

"He attacked you before!" Conan seemed even more furious than Yuu Aragaki, who had been attacked.

"So even if you chased after them, you still didn't catch the criminal, did you?" Aragaki Yu replied casually.

"You little brat! You were obviously hiding because you were scared!"

Having witnessed the gruesome death of his companion, and now seeing this guy hiding in the villa drinking tea with complete indifference and even a sarcastic attitude, Ota Masaru finally couldn't hold back any longer and exploded.

He clenched his fists, ready to rush forward and teach this clueless kid a lesson, but was held back by Ayako.

Conan, Ran, and the others looked at Aragaki Yu with some surprise, feeling quite puzzled.

In their minds, Aragaki Yuu is not that kind of person.

Seeing the somewhat chaotic scene, Aragaki Yu finally put down his teacup and explained, "What can a group of people do by chasing after a murderer who doesn't even exist? It's better to stay here and keep an eye on things to prevent anyone from cleaning up the traces left by their underhanded tactics."

"What did you say?!" Everyone was very surprised when they heard what Aragaki Yu said.

Only Ryoichi Takahashi's expression suddenly became somewhat unnatural.

He retorted to Aragaki Yu, "We all saw that bandaged man, he just lured Chika away from the window like that, threatening her!"

"It's true, Aragaki, I saw the shadowy figure of the bandaged man too!" Ran walked over to Aragaki Yu and reminded him.

She's even starting to suspect that Aragaki Yu might have suffered a brain injury when he was attacked by the bandaged man.

“Sometimes, what people see is not necessarily the truth!” Aragaki Yu said.

"Hmm? Aragaki-nii, do you mean that what we're seeing is actually a smokescreen set up by the real culprit?" Conan, who had been deep in thought, suddenly had a flash of inspiration and understood what Aragaki Yu meant.

From the very beginning, he suspected that the so-called bandaged man had been lurking in the villa, and might even be among the people present.

Because when Aragaki was attacked in his room, he discovered that the balcony outside Aragaki's room was dry while chasing the bandaged man.

There wasn't a single water stain.

This is enough to prove that the bandaged man did not sneak into the villa from outside while it was raining.

Yuu Aragaki gave Conan an approving look.

"How is that possible?" Sonoko still couldn't quite understand what Aragaki Yu meant. "That figure was clearly holding Chika hostage. If it was an illusion, how could that be possible?"

The others also looked at Aragaki Yu with suspicion, seeking an explanation.

"This problem isn't actually complicated. You just need to figure out one thing," Aragaki Yu explained to the group. "Why did you chase after that figure earlier?"

"Of course it's because we all saw Chika being kidnapped by that bandaged man!" Takahashi Ryoichi said, looking at Aragaki Yu.

Seeing that Takahashi Ryoichi looked somewhat anxious, Aragaki Yu gave him a meaningful look.

Ryoichi Takahashi, on the other hand, dared not meet Yu Aragaki's gaze, guiltily averting his eyes and unconsciously taking two steps back.

"So, you all thought back then that Chika was still alive, right?" Aragaki asked again.

"Of course!" everyone responded.

Only Conan's glasses flashed with a cold light at that moment.

"I see!" He understood what Aragaki Yu meant, and at the same time, he sorted out his thoughts in his mind.

Therefore, he stopped listening to Aragaki Yu and, taking advantage of the others' attention being on Aragaki Yu, ran upstairs to verify his own idea.

Yuu Aragaki certainly noticed Conan's actions, but he did not stop him.

He simply picked up the black tea beside him, took a sip to clear his throat, and continued to explain to the others present: "What if Chika was already dead back then? Or what if she had already become the way you saw her in the woods?"

Chapter 46 The Messenger of Justice

Ryoichi Takahashi: !!!

Xiao Lan exclaimed, "How is this possible?"

Upon hearing Aragaki Yu's words, the faces of everyone around him turned deathly pale once again.

"Why not?" Aragaki Yu said helplessly, "Did you guys rush outside and chase him into the woods the moment you saw the shadowy figure?"

After thinking for a moment, everyone nodded. At the time, they hadn't thought twice before following that hot-headed kid out.

At this moment, Ran noticed that Conan was no longer visible in the hall. She was worried that Conan might wander off and get attacked by the bandaged man: "Aragaki, Sonoko, haven't you seen Conan?"

Seeing Ran's anxious expression, Yuu Aragaki quickly made up a reason to comfort her: "Ran, don't worry, I saw Conan go to the bathroom just now."

Then, he changed the subject and continued, "Since everyone chased after them immediately, and the shadowy figure, as you said, had kidnapped Chika, it's unlikely they could have outpaced you by much. So think about it, did you hear any screams nearby when Chika was being killed?"

"This...it doesn't seem like that." Xiaolan thought for a moment, but still felt something was wrong. "Maybe the murderer covered Chika's mouth, or drugged her!"

Yuu Aragaki shook his head and continued, "That's just one aspect. The most crucial point is..."

"Time!" However, before Aragaki Yu could finish speaking, a voice came from the second floor.

Everyone looked up at the sound and saw Conan leaning out of the second-floor railing, saying to the people in the hall, "Brother Aragaki, you mean the culprit didn't have enough time, right?"

Seeing Conan's confident and excited expression, Aragaki Yu realized that Conan must have solved all the mysteries.

"Hmm!" He nodded, confirming Conan's answer, and then explained, "It only took about ten minutes for everyone to enter the woods and find Chika's dismembered remains. In such a short time, it's impossible for the murderer to have completed the murder, dismemberment, and disposal of the body."

"So... what we saw back then..."

“That’s right, what you saw was just a smokescreen that the murderer wanted you to see!” Aragaki Yu nodded affirmatively.

"So that means?!" Suddenly, everyone's eyes turned to Takahashi Ryoichi, whose face had turned pale, in shock.

They remembered that it was because of Ryoichi Takahashi's prompting that they turned their heads and noticed the dark figure outside the window.

They could hardly believe that Takahashi Ryoichi, who looked so honest and kind, would do such a thing.

"You...you all...why are you all looking at me like that? You don't believe this guy's nonsense, do you?" Under everyone's gaze, Takahashi Ryoichi seemed a little uncomfortable.

He forced a smile and argued, "Besides, I had no reason to do that! Moreover, I was in the hall at the time, and I ran out after you. I didn't have time to bring Chika's body into the woods."

“If, as I said, all that was brought into the woods was Chika’s head, then it would have been easy to take it away!” Aragaki Yu said quietly, looking at Takahashi Ryoichi, who was still trying to argue.

Now, Ryoichi Takahashi's face turned even paler. Powerless, he staggered backward, opened his mouth, but found himself speechless.

"So, all of this was your plan and arrangement, wasn't it?" Aragaki Yu said again.

"None of this is true. Even if it were just Chika's head, I couldn't take it out! You all saw it, right? I wasn't holding anything in my hand! Where's the evidence?" Takahashi Ryoichi tried to make a final stand.

"You hid her head under your clothes, didn't you?!" Before Aragaki Yu could say anything, Ran suddenly remembered something and pointed at Takahashi Ryoichi with a horrified expression.

She finally realized what had been making her feel strange all along.

abdomen!

It's Takahashi Ryoichi's belly!

Xiaolan can now clearly recall that she was looking for a room when she accidentally opened Takahashi Ryoichi's door and saw his bare upper body, which was not as obese as it is now when he is dressed.

Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines, recalling the scene of Takahashi Ryoichi carrying Chikako's head under his clothes as they ran into the woods.

"Moreover, there are obvious traces of steel wire fixing on the balcony, windows, and railings on the second floor!" Conan, who was still on the second floor, added, "At that time, everyone except you was in the lobby on the first floor, so you were the only one who had the opportunity to operate the mechanism."

At this point, Ryoichi Takahashi could no longer defend himself; he seemed to have lost all his strength, and his eyes were devoid of light.

He collapsed to the ground immediately.

"Why!" Hiroki Kakutani, still incredulous, grabbed Ryoichi Takahashi's clothes and angrily questioned him, "Why did you kill Chikako! Weren't we best friends?"

Upon hearing this, Takahashi Ryoichi snapped out of his daze. He flung Kakutani Hiroki's hand away, stood up, and said indignantly, "What kind of friend is this! Yes, I killed that bastard Chikako, but it was all for Atsuko..."