Conan: Death is Watching Me

Chapter 347 The Hotel for Stargazing

Located deep in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture, Tento Ryokan is so remote that it wouldn't be surprising if you said it was the dead end. There are bare forests everywhere, not a single house in sight, and this dilapidated ryokan is the only thing in the entire area.

However, this place is quite famous among astronomy enthusiasts, and indeed, some people have found new comets here.

It once generated a lot of buzz, but because nothing was discovered afterward, it quickly faded away.

When Gao Mo parked his car in the overgrown yard, there were already two cars parked next to him, both with license plates from Tokyo.

"Is this Mr. Agasa?"

At the entrance, a middle-aged man with a long face wearing an apron came out to greet them after hearing the noise.

"We've been waiting for you for a long time..."

"I'm Kido, here in place of Professor Agasa. He couldn't come today because of something else."

Gao Mo followed the long-faced man to the counter to sign the registration book.

There were three guests in front of him.

They are Nonomiya Etsuko, Mikami Heihachi, and Futakawa Hajime.

Are there any other guests?

"Yes, but they're not at the hotel right now."

The long-faced man always squinted and spoke somewhat woodenly.

"I'm Tiantu, the owner of this hotel. Feel free to ask me anything you don't understand about celestial observation. The best observation spot here is the hill on the path behind the hotel; you can check it out later. Also..."

The long-faced man pulled a black shoulder bag from under the counter as he spoke.

"If needed, we can also rent out binoculars here for 5,000 yen."

"I have to pay extra?"

Gao Mo opened his wallet.

Fortunately, he had a lot of cash with him.

This boss doesn't seem as dull as he appears.

Is there anything to eat right now?

"There are only some snacks available. Dinner will be served at 8 p.m. Of course, if you are hungry, I can cook some noodles for you."

"Do you have eel rice?" Genta asked, standing on tiptoe.

"How could there be eel rice?"

The long-faced man's forehead went black. Before he could say anything, he saw a bald, middle-aged man with glasses carrying binoculars and a shoulder bag come back outside.

"Mr. Yu Shang? Didn't Mr. Futakawa come back with you?"

“Oh,” the bespectacled man, with a thin face and a mustache, suddenly snapped back to reality upon hearing this, “I parted ways with Erchuan this morning because I wanted to look for a new observation location.”

"This is Mr. Mikami Heihachi, the editor-in-chief of an astronomy magazine. He was the one who found a new comet here a year ago. That's quite remarkable."

"Haha, not at all."

The bespectacled man chuckled and looked at Gao Mo, who had brought the child.

"Who is this?"

"I am Kido Takamori. I brought the children here today to observe celestial bodies, but we are all laymen."

Gao Mo's expression was subtle.

The moment she saw the old man, the notebook projection was triggered, and a new last wish appeared—[Help me tell Etsuko the truth—Kono Masao, an astronomy enthusiast].

"Kito Takamori?"

The bespectacled man muttered to himself.

"That name... seems familiar? Were you an actor before?"

“That’s all in the past,” Gao Mo laughed. “I’m the owner of a detective agency now.” “Detective agency? Owner?” The bespectacled man’s eyelids twitched, and his expression became somewhat unnatural. “That’s quite a career change, haha.”

"Do you know someone named Kono Asao?" Gao Mo asked, turning to his boss.

"Asao?"

A beautiful woman with curly black hair, reeking of alcohol and carrying a bottle of liquor, stumbled into the entrance hall and grabbed Gao Mo excitedly.

"You saw Ma Xiong? Please tell me where he is. I want to apologize to him. I really can't live without him..."

“Miss,” Gao Mo finally managed to push the curly-haired beauty away, “I’ve only heard about Kono Masao from someone. What’s your relationship with him?”

“She is Kono’s fiancée, Nonomiya Etsuko,” the shopkeeper sighed. “She was one of my juniors, just like Kono. She used to stay at my place often, but after they had a fight a year ago, Kono disappeared.”

"Where did Ma Xiong go?" the curly-haired beauty cried, drinking her wine. "Why did he send me an invitation but refuse to see me? Doesn't he forgive me yet?"

“I’m sorry to have made you laugh,” the boss shook his head. “She seems to have received a letter from Kono last week, but when she came over she couldn’t find Kono, so she just kept drinking.”

Then the boss looked at Gao Mo and asked, "Why did you suddenly ask about Kono?"

“Yes,” the bespectacled man said, equally puzzled, “Did you receive an invitation too? I wonder what it says? We met him briefly a year ago, and we both happen to be astronomy enthusiasts, but Mr. Kido…”

“Of course I received it too,” Gao Mo nodded calmly. “Actually, someone commissioned our detective agency to investigate, saying that Mr. Kono Asao may have been murdered a year ago.”

Ai rolled her eyes discreetly beside her.

That's nonsense. She manages all the firm's correspondence and commissions. There's no such commission.
But how would Kido know the name "Kono Asao"?
Ai observed the bespectacled man with a slight sweat on his forehead from behind.

I think I saw something just now.

"May I see the contents of your invitation?" Gao Mo asked the bespectacled man. "Perhaps it can provide clues about Mr. Kono."

"Of course."

The bespectacled man's forehead was covered in even more sweat, but he still pulled out the invitation from his pocket.

"Our invitations all had the same content, hiring a detective or something... It's probably someone's prank."

Gao Mo accepted the invitation.

It is printed text.

The gist of it is that they have made some new discoveries within the year, want to hear opinions, and are willing to cover the accommodation costs.

The signatory's name is "Kono Asao".

"Were there other people here a year ago?" Gao Mo asked, looking up.

"I don't think so?" the bespectacled man shook his head. "I remember there were only a few of us back then."

Gao Mo also asked the boss for the register to check.

The person who sent the invitations was definitely not Kono Masao, but the other party knew these people from a year ago...

Gao Mo turned his gaze to the long-faced boss who was standing to the side with his eyes narrowed.

If Kono's fiancée wasn't acting, then it's highly likely that the boss was the one who did this.

Were the relevant personnel specifically brought in because Kono's body was discovered?
Gao Mo glanced at the group and quickly formed his own guess, especially when he saw the projected text appear on the bespectacled man's body—[Get the detective away quickly].

There's probably more to the story about this editor-in-chief discovering the new comet a year ago.

However, detectives cannot rely solely on guesswork. No matter how confident they are, assumptions and empiricism are never advisable.

Let's do an actual investigation then.

After the bespectacled man left, deep in thought, Gao Mo asked the boss to prepare food for Yuan Tai in the kitchen, while casually asking, "You were the one who contacted them, right? I've checked the register. If they haven't returned in the past year, the only one who could have contacted them suddenly is you, and it's highly likely that you've discovered something."

The long-faced boss stiffened slightly but did not respond.

However, Gao Mo already had the answer in his mind: "Let me think, why did you specifically ask me to scout out that place you mentioned?"
For laymen like us, there's no need for such professional site selection, let alone just taking kids to observe celestial bodies. You can actually see them from a hotel, and it's much safer.

There's something wrong with that observation point, right? Like, the body of Kono Masao, for example.

(End of this chapter)