Conan: I've been linked to the tech tree system.

What kind of human observation log is it?

"...But perhaps it's because I've lived as a child for so long that my behavior is more childlike." After thinking for a moment, he added, "Maybe it can contribute to the progress of the APTX-4869 invention."

“That’s normal. Changes in living environment subtly influence a person, and it’s not within the scope of medication.” Shiho Miyano paused. “However, we can’t rule out the possibility that decreased physiological age might affect their way of thinking…”

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?"

Conan turned around from his thoughts and found Tohno Toru huddled together with his beautiful assistant, whose origins were unknown and who was said to be named "Ai Haibara," whispering something to each other.

His intuition told him that things were not going well for him.

Shiho Miyano noticed him looking over and calmly put away her "Human Observation Log".

"...The arrangement of the chess pieces is rather strange; perhaps there's some secret hidden inside?"

Toru Tono guides Conan, who has a "you guys have a secret" look on his face, to focus his attention on chess.

"Indeed... this arrangement is strange." Conan nodded in agreement. "I wonder who left it here. We can find a place with a panoramic view later and take a look; maybe we'll find something..."

I'm thinking about it again.

Tohno Toru raised his chin as if to say, "See, it's too easy to fool a high school detective."

Shiho Miyano turned away and ignored him.

Chapter 99 The Blue Castle Exploration Event (Part 2)

Inside the castle, three huge oil paintings hang in the hall directly opposite the entrance. In the center is the castle's deceased owner, the patriarch, while on the left and right are his daughter, who died in the fire, and his son-in-law, who had married into the family and died of illness earlier.

"They're all dead."

Tohru Tohru muttered in a low voice, feeling a little creeped out.

What kind of person would design a portrait of a deceased person facing the main entrance?

“They’re being so kind to us, and you’re being incredibly rude,” Shiho Miyano said, arms crossed, in a similarly low voice.

"I don't think so." Toru Tono, who knew the plot, naturally knew what one of the villa's owners—Mitsuru Mamiya, who had let them in—was thinking.

They simply believed that these people had the ability to help them solve the puzzle and find the "treasure" left behind by the old man.

Indeed, the cause of all the tragedies was the "treasure" left behind by the old man who had passed away long ago. In order to let everyone enjoy the fun of finding the treasure, he deliberately left behind a puzzle that no one could solve for a long time: "chess on the lawn".

Legend has it that whoever obtains the lord's treasure will receive inexhaustible wealth.

This naturally attracted the covetous eyes of those with ulterior motives.

This is why the fire four years ago, as the gardener described it, occurred, leaving more than a dozen souls unable to rest in peace.

As the second son-in-law, Mamiya Mitsuru naturally had his eye on the "treasure," which is why he enthusiastically invited the "top-notch scientists" to come in.

Others also coveting the "treasure" include...

“She often said, ‘Dad is just an intellectual who spouts nonsense.’”

An elderly woman in a wheelchair suddenly came out of the room, interrupting the gardener's introduction to the figures in the three oil paintings in the hall.

The old lady's face was covered in wrinkles, her skin was so loose and droopy, and her eyes behind her reading glasses looked like they were barely open.

Masaki Mamiya – the wife of the lord.

In reality, the real Mamiya Masuyo had long since died in the castle's secret passage. The person who now lives in her place is Nishikawa Mutsumi, who secretly infiltrated the castle and underwent plastic surgery to look like an 80-year-old woman.

That is, the real culprit who set fire to the tower.

The gardener, unaware of these past events, was still sweating profusely and apologizing for "reminding the First Madam of painful memories," before introducing the guests who had come that day.

After learning that Dr. Agasa was a scientist, the old lady showed the exact same expression as Mitsuru Mamiya, and the greed overflowing in her eyes was clearly captured by Toru Tono.

It has to be said that even among the various bizarre criminals in the world of Detective Conan, Mutsumi Nishikawa is the most insidious and greedy.

The simple conversation ended with the old woman feigning madness, pushing her wheelchair and using the words "hoping her daughter will come back soon" to mask her excitement about the possible news about the treasure.

"You seem to know something about this castle?" Shiho Miyano suddenly whispered in her ear.

"Hmm?" Tohru Tohru was somewhat surprised. "Why do you say that?"

“Intuition,” Shiho Miyano said with a smile, brushing a strand of hair that fell to her shoulder with her hand.

"...Do researchers also trust their intuition?"

“Researchers are also women, and women more or less have a strong sixth sense—and the so-called sixth sense is not entirely nonsense, but has a scientific basis.”

"First, the so-called scientific evidence has not been fully proven, so it's too early to say it exists; second, your hunch is wrong."

"Is that so?" Shiho Miyano said noncommittally.

Tohno saw that she didn't believe him and wanted to fight back, but Conan quietly pulled him aside.

"Hey, ask that guy if he can take us to a room where we can see the chess pieces on the lawn perfectly?"

Conan whispered in his ear, like a child telling a secret.

"Why? Can't you go and tell them yourself?"

"...You're an adult, so your words carry more weight than mine when I'm still a primary school student."

"I'm telling you, even if you go back to your original form, you're still just a high school student, right? You're not as reliable as me anyway."

"Yes, yes, yes..." Conan said helplessly, "Then please, reliable adult Tono-nii, go and fulfill my request."

"You should have said that earlier."

Toru Tono walked back and stopped the hardworking gardener who was about to go back to mowing the lawn, asking him if he had any rooms with a good view.

“Yes, there is…”

The gardener thought for a moment, then led them up to the third floor.

......

Upon arrival at our destination, the view was indeed excellent, allowing us to clearly see the placement of each chess piece on the lawn.

The Junior Detective League members were laughing and joking around, while Conan was seriously gesturing in his notebook, and Toru Tono and Shiho Miyano were watching him from the window.

"Did Ran Mouri really not find out about him like this?"

Shiho Miyano raised a question.

"Uh..." Tohru Tono also wanted to know the answer to this question.

He revealed so many flaws, yet he always managed to get away with it... Maybe Xiaolan already knew the truth, but her high emotional intelligence was just waiting for him to confess?

Considering Xiaolan's personality, it seems unlikely.

"Maybe he was a really good actor when he was at the Mouri Detective Agency, taking baths together and stuff... he seemed more like a real kid?"

"Take a bath together?" Shiho Miyano raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, it's quite normal to bathe with children."

"I see. So he turned into a kid and stayed at his childhood friend's house to take advantage of her." Shiho Miyano nodded, her liking for Shinichi Kudo dropping by 100 percentage points.

It's already completely negative.

"You can't say that. For Ran's safety, this is an unavoidable sacrifice," Toru Tono offered a brief explanation for Conan.

"You think this is normal?"

"This is abnormal, we must resolutely resist it." Toru Tono didn't want to be labeled a pervert.

"Heh." Shiho Miyano sneered.

Tohru Tono suddenly tapped lightly on the wall leaning against the window, changing the subject.

"Have you noticed that this place is hollow?"

"Huh?" Shiho Miyano paused for a moment, looked at him suspiciously, and then walked over and knocked on his door as well.

"dong dong"

The sound entering the ear is indeed different from that of a solid brick wall; it has the sound of an air column vibrating.

"You were observing the wall next to us while we were talking?"

"I am quite good at multitasking."

Shiho Miyano nodded thoughtfully. "No wonder you can cross-dress as a high school girl without being discovered. It turns out you have the potential to be a girl."

"What's the point of this?"

"You who say there is insufficient evidence for the existence of 'sixth sense', don't you know that one of the most important pieces of evidence supporting this view is that in ancient times, women who were responsible for gathering fruit were more capable of diverting their attention to observe their surroundings than men whose primary task required focused hunting?"

"Is that right?"

"The so-called inventors of the new era are indeed nothing more than ignorant and opportunistic fools."

"Please apologize to the other hardworking inventors, and to our neighbor, Professor Agasa!"

Chapter 100: Blue Castle Exploration Incident (Part )

Walking to the next room, there was an old-fashioned wall clock hanging on the wall next to the room above.

Tono tiptoed and managed to reach it.

"A secret passage?" Shiho Miyano, who was following behind him, was somewhat surprised when she saw his actions.

"Probably. Isn't unlocking a watch by turning the hands a common feature in many movies?"

He answered casually, then spun the clock hands around and around.

"click"

At one point, the sound of unlocking was heard from inside the wall.

Without warning, Toru Tono, who was holding onto the wall for support, lost his balance and almost fell forward.

He stomped his foot on the floor to steady himself as he leaned forward, only to find that his arm had been grabbed by a backward force.

"Thank you," he said to Shiho Miyano as he turned around.

"Let's go in and take a look. I didn't expect there to be a secret passage here."

Shiho Miyano walked nonchalantly into the dark secret passage. "Does the owner of the castle know?"