Pokémon Detective Case Files.

In her everyday state, Zhu Lan showed no airs of a champion and greeted the other party in a calm tone.

However, upon seeing the person approaching, the black-clad steward instantly became alert, involuntarily narrowing his eyes. He remained polite, though his hand instinctively dropped to his side, but he didn't reach for the Poké Ball hidden beneath his black butler's uniform.

"Are you perhaps the Sinnoh League's Cynthia Champion?"

"Yes, we were commissioned by the Alliance to conduct an on-site investigation of this mansion with Miss Officer Jenny. May I ask your identity?"

The man in the butler's uniform replied, flattered, "I really can't address you as 'sir.' I'm just Mr. Hayden's bodyguard and driver. Oh, Mr. Hayden is that guy from Zhuqing City..."

"The founder of Hayden Pharmaceuticals, we've already heard that name from Mr. Medan. And what about your own name?"

"The company has regulations for security personnel like us," the man said hurriedly. "We can't reveal our real names while on duty, to prevent malicious people from using this against us. You can just call me Aying."

"Are you all this professional?" Officer Jenny muttered to herself.

Zhu Lan nodded in satisfaction: "Okay, Mr. A Ying, it's a pleasure to meet you. Where is your employer now?"

"The master is discussing something with Mr. Meidan."

Manager Aying glanced towards the second floor, then, as if realizing she had broken some taboo, quickly looked away and added—

"However, my employer did not want anyone to interrupt their conversation."

"Is it a private meeting? That makes sense. Master Meidan instructed the maids to entertain the guests before noon, so it must be something very important to discuss."

Zhu Lan glanced at the tightly closed door in the center of the second floor, then her gaze returned to Steward A Ying in front of her.

"Mr. Hayden and the owner of the Meidan Mansion may be conducting some important research in the mansion, but we are not interested in that. What we care about is the Forest Mansion itself. Mr. Aying, do you know anything about the history of this building?"

"To be honest, I don't know..."

The man, who was either a butler, a bodyguard, or a driver, scratched his head.

"Well, I basically oversaw the construction of this building."

"Huh? This isn't right!" Officer Jenny almost jumped up.

"Didn't this mansion appear in the Hundred Generations Forest more than a hundred years ago? We asked Miss Nagisa of the Hundred Generations Gym, and the legend of the haunted mansion in the forest has been circulating since the very beginning of Hundred Generations City. Could it be that we've come to the wrong mansion? Or are you actually an old monster who has lived from a hundred years ago to the present?"

"How could this be?" Aying gave a wry smile.

"This Forest Mansion is indeed the haunted mansion that has been rumored for a long time. However, the staircases, floors, and interior decorations you see now were almost all built by the master two years ago."

"You mean this Forest Mansion was renovated two years ago?"

The champion of Bamboo Orchid frowned with some concern.

The house has undergone renovations, which means that the original architectural details have likely been demolished or altered, and it's uncertain how much of the mythological significance remains. Furthermore, after this major renovation, Officer Jenny's plan to investigate traces of Akatsuki's past life is likely to be completely ruined.

"Oh dear, it took a lot of effort when Mr. Hayden ordered us to renovate the mansion discreetly."

As if oblivious to the Sinnoh Champion's predicament, the black-clad steward continued speaking to himself—

"The master's requirements were extremely demanding. In addition to the complete renovation, we could not destroy the surrounding forest that could conceal the mansion, nor could we change the basic interior furnishings. On top of that, we had to add a basement to the mansion. If the company hadn't sent a sufficient number of Pokémon to help us airlift materials and stabilize the foundation, it would have been an almost impossible task."

"But it was eventually completed, wasn't it?"

Officer Jenny looked around at the neatly decorated interior of the Forest Mansion and clicked her tongue in amazement: "They even moved a large number of computer equipment into the basement."

"Yes, that was also purchased to assist Professor Medan in continuing his research."

The manager proudly puffed out his chest—

"In the end, we perfectly achieved Mr. Hayden's intentions, completing the mansion within three months. While preserving its exterior, we renovated the interior to a clean and habitable state. According to the master, our Forest Mansion combines wildness with the refinement of man-made structures, representing the ultimate form of a cabin in the woods, truly a magnificent work of landscape art. Alas, it's a pity that a section of the exterior wall has been demolished by someone; otherwise, you could see the mansion in its perfectly hidden state… Should we suggest to the master that we transplant a few ancient trees here?"

"No, no, there's nothing to regret, no need to make such a fuss." Officer Jenny was embarrassed.

Supervising the renovation of the mansion didn't seem to be part of the security personnel's job, and when Aying was assigned to work there, he wasn't asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. Therefore, seeing how interested Cynthia Champion from the Sinnoh region and Officer Jenny in her police uniform were in this matter, Mr. Aying naturally shared everything he knew, boasting about his great achievements.

"So, the real owner of this building is actually your employer?"

As the manager explained, the policewoman became increasingly concerned about the issue of inheriting the ownership of the mansion.

"After the mansion was completed, it was given to Professor Meidan. This kind of building in a remote forest is not even considered real estate, let alone having much room for appreciation. It seems that for a wealthy person like Mr. Hayden, giving it to a partner was just a casual thing to do."

“The founder of Hayden Pharmaceuticals certainly has the capital to be so capricious,” Officer Jenny nodded. “But the key question is, why would that big entrepreneur specifically come to such a remote forest to rebuild such a dilapidated mansion as a gift for a friend?”

"That's beyond my control as a mere manager," A-Ying shrugged, remaining noncommittal.

“I have a question, Mr. Aying.” Zhu Lan, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked, her gray eyes turning toward the wooden staircase leading to the second floor.

"Was the painting hanging on the stair railing purchased after the renovation?"

"Of course not," the butler replied matter-of-factly.

“My employer is a rather strict perfectionist. Since he required us to completely preserve the appearance of the building’s interior, how could we possibly add new decorations on it without permission? All the furnishings in the mansion were inherited exactly from the Mori Mansion a hundred years ago.”

At this moment, everyone's attention was focused on the painting hanging next to the stairs.

It was a half-length portrait of an unidentified man. For some reason, the painter chose to use reddish tones to depict the eyes in the portrait.

Officer Jenny felt a sense of foreboding – when she passed by the staircase before, she didn’t think there was anything unusual about the painting, but now, as she looked at it more closely, it seemed increasingly eerie.

It felt as if those eyes held a crimson and insane world hidden within them...

Click—

Just as the atmosphere in the hall was becoming a little strange, a large door on the second floor suddenly opened.

The door that opened was not to the main room in the center, but to the door on the right—the guest room where Miss Venetian was staying.

"It's not good, the big thing is bad!"

For some reason, it was the maid, Qi Na, who came out of the door, with the short-haired owner's daughter following behind her, looking bewildered.

Both girls were pale.

"We were in the room and we heard a very heavy pounding sound against the wall! It sounded like someone was calling for help!"

Qi Na cried out to Zhu Lan in a terrified voice, her voice almost trembling with tears.

Chapter 275 No Wind or Rain at Night

Before the people still on the first floor could react, the maid had already moved to the front of the owner's room and anxiously knocked on the door.

"Professor Medan! Mr. Hayden!"

Bang, bang, bang. The heavy wooden door banged repeatedly, sounding like ominous, restless bells and drums in this twilight.

At this time, Zhu Lan, Jun Sha, and Manager A Ying also went up the stairs to the second floor.

"Mr. Medan, are you alright? Miss Vinnie and I heard strange hammering sounds coming from next door. If you're alright, could you please answer?"

Zina's loud shouts echoed for a long time in the empty mansion, but no one in the room answered.

"Could it be... that something has happened?"

Seeing that Zina had knocked on the door several times without an answer, Venetian turned pale with fright and began to stammer, "There's no way Dad and the others couldn't have missed the knocking. This is definitely not normal. This isn't the time to respect their privacy. Why don't we... why don't we open the door and go in?"

The maid nodded vigorously and tried to turn the handle on the outside of the door, but she heard a click and encountered unexpected resistance.

"Oh no, they locked the door from the inside! Why is that? Hey! Professor Medan! Mr. Hagrid! Are you alright?"

Zina pounded on the door again, the death knell-like pounding even more violent, a deafening sound that could be heard by anyone in the mansion. Even Neil, in the room on the left, was startled and rushed out to check what was happening.

However, the two people inside the door still did not respond.

The door to the secret room is like a despairing seal, completely separating the inside from the outside into two worlds.

"What, what should we do..."

Venetian stamped her feet helplessly, then looked around pleadingly at the others gathered outside the door. After scanning the room, her gaze finally settled on Officer Jenny in her police uniform. Looking at the dark blue uniform that represented the Alliance's credibility, a glimmer of hope finally appeared on the curator's daughter's panicked face.

Officer Jenny, expressionless, stepped forward, twisted the handle herself, and shook her head.

"The door is indeed locked from the inside. Ms. Zina, is there a master key or similar item in this house? Or, is there anyone here who has a Psychic or Ghost-type Pokémon that can unlock doors or pass through walls?"

“The master key is usually kept by Mr. Medan himself, either in the curator’s room or on the curator’s person. Either way, we have no way to get it now,” Zina replied dejectedly.

If they could get it from Meidan now, they wouldn't have to bother opening the door.

"My Windball hasn't learned the wall-penetrating technique yet..." Professor Medan's assistant, Neil, scratched the back of his head and shook his head as well.

Officer Jenny didn't show any disappointment. Instead, she looked past the crowd in the front row and at the Sinnoh Champion who had come to the Forest Mansion with her.

"Although Venusaur's Ghost-type moves can easily break the lock, it's best to let it rest a bit more before dark since it just had an intense training session with Gastrodon yesterday. Hmm, Roserade could try using 'Psychic'."

“This won’t work.” The policewoman, who had some knowledge of locked-room mysteries, sighed. “The power of ‘Supernatural Power’ is too overwhelming and cannot be precisely controlled. Moreover, it can only be used on objects within sight, making it useless in this situation. Let’s have the Flower Rock Monster instead…”

Click.

The sound of a hard object colliding suddenly rang out.

Roseredo, who had appeared in front of the champion at some unknown time, lowered her arm, and her red eyes under the mask smirked triumphantly at the policewoman.

"Looks like we've had some good luck this time." The Sinnoh Champion lifted the Poké Ball and put Roseradore back inside.

"..."

Officer Jenny's composed expression twitched slightly, then she gave instructions to the group with even greater indifference—

"Alright. Now that the door lock has been unlocked, let's go inside."

They simply pushed open the door and entered the owner's room, where strange noises were said to have been coming from.

The moment she opened the door, Officer Jenny immediately felt a strong sense of unease; a sticky, cold resistance traveled along her hand as she pushed the door open, creeping back into the officer's body.

How is this going?

Officer Jenny gritted her teeth, disregarding anything unusual, and stepped forward, using her shoulder to brace against the doorway, which felt like it was stuck in mud. She pressed her entire weight down on it and pushed hard, finally breaking through the inexplicable obstacle.

The door to the owner's room was now fully open, revealing the interior.

Everyone was immediately taken aback by the scene before them—

It wasn't because some inhumane and bloody crime had occurred in this locked room, but because a round-headed, humanoid Pokémon was angrily blocking the opened door.

His appearance resembles that of a gentleman in a tuxedo, with an extension on his top hat shaped like a snowflake, his mouth covered by a mustache, his shoes resembling tap shoes, and a walking stick made of ice in his gloved hand.

"The Ice-Treading Doll from the Galar region?"

Officer Jenny immediately recognized the elf before her. Then the resistance she had felt earlier—could that be…?

"Kro, Crocodile!"

The ice-walking puppet emitted a sound like rolling ice blocks, and its cane, made of ice crystals, spun and blocked the way between the group and the room. It was clearly guarding this place on someone's orders.

And looking past this Ice-type Pokémon, which is only 1.5 meters tall with its hat on, anyone can clearly see—

In the owner's room, the two professors and entrepreneurs who were originally thought to have met with misfortune, and who were even pounding on the walls and crying for help, were now sitting peacefully in the wooden armchair and the single sofa opposite each other.

Judging from their cheerful and friendly conversation, it's impossible for them to be associated with any violent conflict.

Especially Mr. Medan, this retired professor whose face was always etched with a stern expression, was now completely swept away, like a battlefield cleared of fog, replaced by an unprecedentedly sincere and hearty laugh. His old classmate Hayden, sitting opposite him on the sofa, was gesturing wildly, talking incoherently, which made Medan slap his thigh and laugh uncontrollably.

"I see, it's because of the sound."

Before even entering the room, Zhu Lan murmured to herself behind the group, seemingly already understanding the main reason for this farcical incident.

"Oh? How did you get in?"

Hayden caught a glimpse of the crowd blocking the doorway and immediately stopped talking to Meidan, nodding to the ice-walking puppet guarding the door.

"Kro~" The ice-walking puppet, like a comedian, made an exaggerated greeting, and with a flick of its finger on the side without the cane, the atmosphere in the room instantly underwent some indescribable change.

The people outside the door were baffled, but Officer Jenny could immediately feel that the cool, sticky resistance that had been pressing down on her completely disappeared the moment the ice-walking doll flicked its finger.

At the same time, Mr. Hayden's voice in the room became exceptionally clear—

"Aying, tell me what happened. Also, I want to know why the Sinnoh League police are here?"

I'm so sorry!

Before the steward, whom Hayden had called out, could respond, the maid following closely behind Officer Jenny quickly stepped forward, bowed her head, and apologized to Medan and Hayden—

"We heard strange banging sounds coming from the next room, so we assumed something was wrong in the owner's room. To our surprise, no one answered when we knocked, and the door was locked from the inside, so we started making a big fuss..."

"The door is locked?" Mr. Hayden looked surprised, as if even he didn't know what was going on.

"There's probably something wrong with this wooden door," Mei Dan said impatiently, waving his hand. He was clearly unhappy that everyone had interrupted his conversation with his old classmate.

"Occasionally, this happens. If you close the door too hard, it will automatically lock itself... Fashionable things are so unreliable. I have to carry my keys with me every day when I go out. By the way, you don't need to worry about Officer Jenny and the others. They just happened to come to this mansion at noon today."

"Them? By chance?" The entrepreneur looked clearly suspicious, sensing that his classmate's words contained many inexplicable elements.

"Heh, instead of all that, Hayden, you should explain why we can't hear the knocking first. I think Neil is practically wearing a question mark on his face."