The Phantom Thief of Heart! But Conan.

"Oh, so you're members of the Mystery Research Club. Since your club's advisor is Goro Akechi, you heard about this from him, right?"

"Yes, that's right. We are quite interested in puzzles in this kind of mansion, so when we heard Akechi-kun mention your commission, we wanted to volunteer to give it a try. As you know, Akechi-kun's commission fees are getting higher day by day... Oh, we don't mean anything else..."

They said it very tactfully, but Mamiya Mitsuru's eyes genuinely lit up.

Although Mitsuru Mamiya didn't know much about the Internet and SNS due to his age, he had heard a little about the fact that Goro Akechi was a famous detective and his price was inflated.

No one knows whether there is treasure in this castle, whether the treasure is just a joke from the elders, or whether it has lost its value with the passage of time.

Its value lies in a black box. Before it is opened, no one can assert its significance. This is also the reason why, even though they have lived here for so many years, no one in the Mamiya family has ever seriously invited any detective to visit their home.

It is still possible to fantasize about it before it is unlocked. If it is unlocked and it is found to be just some small gadgets that were quite valuable at the time, then their attaching so much importance to this matter will become a laughing stock.

After saying this, Shimabukuro Kimie no longer mentioned her request again and again. She just smiled and looked at Mamiya Mitsuru who was in a dilemma.

"…The situation of the Mamiya family is rather special. If you say that they are a poor family, that is definitely impossible. To be able to maintain such a large castle for so many years, their family background must be quite good. But if you think that they are a collector or a wealthy family with profound knowledge, then that is a bit of a compliment to them."

Asai Narimi, who was pasting photos on the whiteboard, calmly stated the basic character situation after Karasawa's processing and he understood it again, and summarized it this way.

"Their business is now completely entrusted to professional managers. The members who truly have the blood of the Mamiya family and can support the family have now alienated the main family, or simply died in the fire..."

"You are asking about that one. That is the noble young master, the only son of Madam and Master Zhenzhao."

Gardener Katsuo Tabata noticed their gazes and shrugged as if he was not surprised.

"It's hard to say about this matter. Anyway, he just happened to come home two or three days before the castle caught fire. My wife got married abroad and had been living abroad with Master Man. It was on that occasion that they suddenly returned home to visit relatives, and this incident happened. Since then, the two of them have lived in the house until today."

Katsuo Tabata's tone does not have any conspiracy theory meaning, but is full of sadness.

It was neither far nor near. The fire that happened four years ago seemed like just a blink of an eye to a middle-aged man of his age.

Overnight, the familiar masters and even servants were killed in the fire. This kind of shock may be difficult to understand for those who have not experienced disasters or rescue operations.

Katsuo Tabata was filled with emotion, otherwise he would not have mentioned this matter to this group of completely unfamiliar guests.

"Madam actually had two husbands. Master Zhenzhao died of illness six years ago. As for Master Man, he probably married Madam five years ago. Madam couldn't get over Master Zhenzhao's death at the time, and soon left Japan to go abroad. It was probably at that time that she met him... This courtyard was ordered by Master Zhenzhao before he died. It is said that it was built according to the design left by the old man..."

The few people who followed Katsuo Tabata to continue building the garden and visited the entire chessboard nodded repeatedly and exchanged tacit glances with each other.

The situation of the Mamiya family is really a bit complicated. Now in the entire castle, the only person who has the true bloodline of the Mamiya family may be Takato Mamiya.

Even the slightest bit of information revealed by a servant like Katsuo Tabata who has been living with the master's family for a long time sounds so wrong. There is a high probability that there is really something wrong with this family.

"Didn't you just say that the Madam has been living abroad for a long time?" Tang Ze, who had eaten his fill, responded at the right time, "Then their businesses should all be abroad, so why are they all living here now?"

"I'm not sure about that." Tabata Katsuo scratched his head. "I'm not very clear about the madam's situation. After all, she hasn't been back for many years. The Mamiya family has its own property in Tokyo. This place was originally used for family ceremonies or major events. Living in an old castle is not a convenient thing."

In fact, according to the year of construction, this entire castle should be a cultural protection building. It can't be any older. You can't expect the designers at that time to consider the lives of modern people and build a neat toilet for you, leave water and electricity circuits, and drill holes for network cables.

If you take a quick tour of castles in Europe, you will find that their toilets, to put it mildly, are similar in principle to those on airplanes...

"Oh, so the reason you refused us to come in before was mainly because you were worried that we would affect your cleaning." Asai Chengmi held his chin in thought and said, "After all, many of your buildings were added later. It must be very troublesome to deal with drainage and so on."

Katsuo Tabata coughed twice.

Asai Chengji understood what he meant.

Tabata Katsuo quickly glanced at Mamiya Nobuhito, who was squatting nearby and stroking a huge chess piece. To avoid being overheard by the master himself, he whispered, "The Mamiya family still has a few servants here, but it's hard enough just to serve Master Mitsuru, Master Nobuhito, and the old lady at home. Everyone is very nervous with so many guests suddenly coming to the castle."

"Don't worry, we won't occupy anything." Asai Chengmi smiled and pointed to the RV behind him, "We originally drove the RV out for team building."

"No, that's not what I meant..." Katsuo Tabata waved his hands awkwardly, then looked at the tower outside the main building and sighed, "Originally we had a very suitable place to receive guests. But it was burned down like that in the fire four years ago."

"Isn't that where your lady's bedroom is?"

"Yes, that was the Madam who flew all the way to Japan to celebrate the Madam's birthday after many years. The tower was specially renovated in modern times, and the facilities inside are more modern than the main building. The Madam lived there, but no one expected that she arrived in the middle of the night and the tower caught fire before dawn."

The members of the Phantom Thieves, who had already anticipated this, nodded in unison.

That made things right.

The eldest daughter of the Mamiya family, the only one who could be officially verified to be a member of the Mamiya family, died within a few hours after arriving here.

Now in this entire castle, there are definitely fewer members of the Mamiya family than servants.

Katsuo Tabata naturally had no idea what the guests in front of him were mumbling in their hearts, as he was still immersed in the sad atmosphere of the past.

"Not only the lady, but also her friends who came with her to celebrate the birthday, and the dozen maids and servants who served the madam, were all busy in the tower, cleaning the rooms and receiving guests. Originally, most of the family's bedrooms were there. Only those of us who had only worked at home for a few years, and the madam who had caught a cold and was resting in the annex, escaped..."

"What about Mr. Mamiya Mitsuru? Didn't he stay with his wife either?" Shimabukuro Kimie interrupted, temporarily interrupting his endless recollections.

"Oh, he was feeling a little unwell at the time. When he heard that the lady had called a doctor, he followed them to the annex and just happened to escape the fire." Katsuo Tabata thought for a moment and replied.

"That's it..."

Katsuo Tabata listened to their subtle tone and, even if he was slow to notice, he realized that everyone's thoughts were drifting in that direction, and he couldn't help but laugh.

"I know this sounds too strange. At the beginning, many servants in the family also privately suspected that there might be something wrong... However, this matter is difficult to fake. Although the lady has not returned to China for many years, when she remarried, she sent her wedding photos back home for her family to witness. Master Man's appearance is also very distinctive and can be recognized at a glance. As for the noble young master..."

A few people happened to stagger to the front door of the main building, and Katsuo Tabata pointed into the hall through the open door.

The deep and dark main hall of the castle lacked sufficient light, and the huge portrait looked particularly gloomy under the lamplight and candlelight.

"Young Master Noble looks so much like Old Master. Anyone who sees this painting will not doubt Young Master Noble's bloodline."

“Indeed…”

"Then over there are the Madam and Master Zhen Zhao. There used to be some older portraits, but after they died they were replaced with their portraits, and the old ones were put in the archives."

"Oh, she's a beauty."

"You can tell by looking at the noble young master's appearance, right? If you insist on saying there's something strange about it, I'm really confused as to why the noble young master and his group settled down in Japan after that."

Katsuo Tabata finally started talking behind their backs when he said this. He looked around carefully, then moved closer to them and lowered his voice.

"I heard that the lady was involved in some incident abroad and returned to the country, saying that she was here to celebrate her birthday, but in fact she was seeking refuge, so they sold all their overseas properties as quickly as possible and brought them back..."

Several maids who were sweeping the hall caught a glimpse of Katsuo Tabata talking with a group of unfamiliar guests, so they came over and interrupted him.

"Tabata, stop gossiping. If the master hears you, he'll be angry again." A maid interrupted righteously, then changed the subject, "Because that's not the case at all. Madam, when she was abroad, she visited a church of a certain religion, and the church's priest told her that she was cursed and was about to meet with an accident. That's why she came back in a panic for help. The one who was burned to death with her, what was her name, Kurokawa or something? She was a very famous fortune teller abroad."

"You're talking nonsense." The other maid raised her eyebrows as she kept talking. "How could she be a fortune teller? I once heard Master Man mention her when he was drunk. She was his mistress who had an affair with him..."

"Ah? How is that possible? Master Man is a son-in-law who married into his wife's family. How can a son-in-law let his mistress go back to his wife's family home with his wife..."

"How is it impossible? I told you, I heard that the mistress was pregnant, but the wife didn't know. They planned to secretly give birth to the child and then murder the wife abroad, and then bring the child back as the wife's posthumous child. So when they came back, there was a fire."

"You're not being reliable. What's the cost-effectiveness of setting fire as soon as they come back?"

"No, it's also possible that Master Man was waiting behind the scenes and caught them all in one fell swoop. After all, it was an accident that the noble young master and the lady survived. If the timing of the fire had been more clever... Although it was a family business, the castle was completely in the name of the master. Later, he inherited it to the lady. The lady's will said that the house was to be left to her eldest daughter. If it weren't for this accident, Master Man and the young master who knew nothing at the time would have inherited the estate, right?"

"What you said is really ridiculous. The Madam is already this old, and the Madam's health is not good. If she returns to the country and waits a few years, won't she have everything? Why is it necessary to do this?"

"Why not? If it's a normal inheritance, the inheritance tax would be so high. Do you know how much the inheritance fee for this castle is? It's this amount! If the madam is unwilling to pay the money, the house will most likely be taken back by the city government and turned into a tourist attraction, but the income won't go to the family at all."

"That's even more unreasonable. No one will take over this castle, and the profit from doing so is too small."

"Why is it unreasonable? There is no profit in the first place, but isn't there a legend about the treasure left by the great master? What if this is something left by the Russian royal family and was accidentally discovered by the great master..."

The two maids and Katsuo Tabata became more and more engaged in the conversation, gradually leaving the group of guests aside and entering into their own conspiracy theory debates, chatting away with quotations from classics.

Judging from their expressions, they are no longer trying to convince each other, but have entered into a state of arguing about worldviews. They are completely engaged and focused, forgetting everything else.

Everyone in the Phantom Thieves nodded in unison, their expressions like a group of badger-like creatures that had eaten their fill of melons.

"I now understand why they were not in the annex at that time." Asai Chengshi said softly, "After all, he is the master of the house, and he is not a fool. He would not leave such a servant next to his master bedroom. He would not be able to sleep like that."

"I feel the opposite." Tang Ze blinked and said softly, "I seem to have guessed what the cognitive space here is like."

A closed environment, rumors, and the fear of what others say. This is where I have to work on my P4!