…Just one step too late. I got spotted.
Hattori Heiji clenched his fists, annoyed.
It wasn't like he'd made any noise—he was completely silent. Jiang Xia had been focused on the innkeeper, back turned the whole time. But the moment Hattori tried to sneak off, Jiang Xia somehow… noticed. That freakishly sharp sixth sense of his again.
If Jiang Xia hadn't seen him, Heiji could've just dipped out quietly. No shame. But now that he'd been caught, leaving would look like he was running away on purpose. And that stung.
The prideful high school detective from Osaka, who'd rather die than be embarrassed, wrestled with himself for a bit. In the end, he reluctantly decided to stay. Fine. I'll stay. And if Jiang Xia invites me to Tokyo later, I'll just say no. Something like "I like Osaka better." Yeah.
Anyway, Heiji reassured himself, Kazuha is a girl of principle. Even if Jiang Xia stares at her like Kudo does, she's not the type to go gallivanting with him like Kudo's girlfriend.
Ran Mouri, who had been listening nearby, turned around and saw Jiang Xia already standing at the doorway—with Hattori Heiji.
Curious, she walked over to greet them.
But the moment she got close, she was hit with a wave of mixed, indescribable emotion radiating off Heiji's face.
Ran paused, confused. Then casually glanced at Conan, who was in full tiny detective mode nearby.
She looked back and forth between the cheerful Jiang Xia and the weirdly brooding Hattori Heiji. Why did Heiji look like someone had stolen his rice ball? What happened between them? Hopefully Jiang Xia wouldn't be affected…
…
Boss Hiroyuki Kanaya wrapped up his grand lecture about the event rules and handed out massive stacks of 1000 Sherlock Holmes Questions to the guests.
Only those who scored 990 or higher and submitted before dinner tomorrow would qualify for the second night's deduction showdown.
"And if you don't reach 990—" Boss Kanaya's friendly smile dropped like a guillotine. His voice turned cold. "Get out of my hotel. Amateurs don't belong here."
The guests were stunned. Sure, they were confident in their deduction skills, but the cutthroat tone still made people grumble inwardly.
Only Hattori Heiji's eyes lit up faintly. Honestly, this sounds kind of fun…
But before the thought even finished forming, he felt Jiang Xia's eyes slide over to him, calm and faintly judging.
"…Tch." Heiji quickly smothered his enthusiasm and grumbled, "That's… really strict."
But to be fair, Boss Hiroyuki Kanaya was extremely strict.
Hiroyuki Kanaya continued, "Cheating equals zero points. Also, surveillance and eavesdropping devices are installed in every room. I trust you'll keep that in mind when answering."
Then an assistant came around with a basket, collecting everyone's reference books and phones. In return, each person got a room key.
Jiang Xia handed over his regular phone without issue. But the organization-issued phone? That one quietly stayed with him.
…
It was getting late. After dinner, Jiang Xia headed to his room. He'd originally planned to game a bit before bed, but after a moment of hesitation, he picked up the 1000-question packet instead.
Not because of the cameras—Boss Hiroyuki Kanaya was bluffing. This was still a hotel, after all. Fake cameras were just to scare off cheaters. They got slapped on during special events like this and removed afterward to avoid complaints from regular guests.
So Jiang Xia didn't care about being watched. He just figured that if he turned in a blank sheet, it'd draw more attention than it was worth.
…
The night passed quickly.
The next day was the official exam period.
Coincidentally, it was also the day the Detective Boys were heading to Dr. Agasa's mountain villa for their "treasure hunt".
After lunch, Jiang Xia glanced at the time and figured the group was probably arriving soon.
So he left his main body lying in the room and had one of his puppets—powered by the tengu—manifest in a nearby forest and fly toward the villa.
He'd only heard a vague description of its location yesterday—asking directly would've seemed too convenient.
Originally, Jiang Xia thought that a lone villa in the middle of an uninhabited mountain would be easy to spot. Just take to the skies, fly a couple loops, and voilà—problem solved.
But when he got to the summit and looked down…
"…Huh."
There were villas. Everywhere. Spaced out every few hundred meters. From Jiang Xia's bird's-eye view, it was basically villa soup.
Why do people love building villas in places like this?
Hipster culture?
No wonder the Detective Conan universe is overflowing with "Snowy Mountain Villa" murder cases. Maybe it's just how they roll here.
A minute ago, Jiang Xia thought finding the Doctor's villa would be as easy as spotting a penguin in the snow.
A minute later, he realized it was more like picking out a specific bear from a pile of polar bears.
...Is this even doable?
Standing on the windy mountain peak, Jiang Xia wrapped his puppet's wings tightly around himself, shielding from the bitter wind like a weathered old bird.
The cold world. The cold routine. Only the fluffy wings had a bit of warmth left.
He'd left Xiaobai with his main body—just in case he needed to cut the feed fast. The tengu was busy maintaining the puppet's form.
Jiang Xia turned to look at Miyano Akemi, riding on his shoulder like usual. "Can you sense any murderous intent? Or your sister?"
Akemi closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment… then opened them and gave him a helpless, watery QAQ expression.
Sigh. Message received.
Too far. No connection.
Looks like he had to search manually.
Jiang Xia sighed, leapt from the cliff's edge, and glided toward a villa with a steep, attic-like roof. He vaguely remembered Agasa's uncle's villa being that style.
…
It got dark around noon.
Jiang Xia switched back to his main body briefly to grab food, downed a ghost mint to stay functional, and finally—finally—spotted Dr. Agasa's distinctively ugly Beetle car parked out front of one of the villas.
The woods were dense enough to hide aerial movement, but the area near the villa had thinner tree coverage.
Jiang Xia scouted the area, then landed a bit further away.
Since there were multiple people inside, he opted for stealth—switched to Miyano Akemi's puppet and crept up silently.
It didn't take long before Jiang Xia's gaze froze on a figure in the villa window.
A stranger was lurking there—a middle-aged man in casual clothes, with a shiny bald-kappa haircut and a suspiciously pointy chin. Basically a cartoon villain brought to life.
And right now, Villain-san was peeking into the villa with a gun in hand and a disturbingly gleeful expression.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 23/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:1/10*