Oritis in the world of Detective Conan

"I never thought you would forget to bring your camping tent, Doctor."

"That's right, a good camping trip is ruined just like that."

Today, the novelist, the little girl, and the explorer were invited by Dr. Agasa to go on a camping trip with the protagonists. However, Dr. Agasa forgot to bring the tent, so they had to squeeze into the car and prepare to go back.

By the way, the prospector finally listened to the other members of the Embers Group and changed out of the mining director's clothes, and promised to wear it only on formal occasions.

"It seems we have to camp out in the wilderness today." Conan said sarcastically with his half-moon eyes.

"It's okay. Uncle Norton has great wilderness survival skills. We can set up a tent ourselves when the time comes." The little girl turned to the explorer.

"That's true, but it's too dangerous for so many children to gather together." The novelist quickly stopped the three children from continuing to fantasize about what the little girl said.

"Survival in the wild requires you to prepare all materials almost from scratch, which is completely different from camping," the explorer added.

Mitsuhiko: "Maybe there's a resort hotel or something nearby."

Ayumi: "Maybe there will be a big castle with a view of the lake."

Conan: "How is that possible?"

As soon as the words fell, Conan was slapped in the face. A beautiful blue castle located on the lakeside appeared before everyone.

Conan: Is this okay?

After getting off the car, the three children immediately looked at the castle excitedly in front of the gate. Yuan Tai tried to climb over the iron gate, but was caught by the butler.

Seeing this, Dr. Agasa hurried forward to explain. Just then, the owner of the castle, Mitsuru Mamiya, appeared. After learning that Dr. Agasa was a scientist, he happily invited everyone in and asked them to stay here for one night.

Then everyone saw the statue of chess pieces placed on the lawn trimmed like a chessboard in the yard.

"Wow, Alice, why don't you consider growing a lawn like this at home?"

"Yeah, yeah, we can play together then."

The novelist interrupted the three little ones and said, "Ahem, kids, we already have a fountain and a greenhouse in our manor. Adding a chessboard like this will affect the overall look of the manor."

"If you want to play chess, you can come directly to me and learn."

The explorer murmured sarcastically, "Oh, I see you're thinking of Miss Galatea's elephant-shaped graveyard."

"Who was it that was instantly defeated by the three consecutive attacks of the Sublime Form and then quickly caught up with the Legacy?"

"Don't you often get knocked down during observance? Stop mocking me!" The novelist retorted unyieldingly.

[Entomologist: Honestly, I don't know why you two insisted on going out together.]

[Composer: You really can make yourself miserable.]

[Explorer: Isn't this the unlocked ID power? Let's get familiar with the operation.]

[Novelist: I've read the criminal's profile this time, and honestly, don't I think he looks a lot like you?]

[Explorer: I'm not as stupid as her. I haven't solved a single puzzle in all these years.]

After asking the housekeeper, he learned that this seemed to be a puzzle left by the old master fifteen years ago. Four years ago, a fire killed more than a dozen people, including his wife.

The only people living in the castle now are the old lady who has some dementia, the son-in-law who just welcomed a few people into the house, the young master who is studying chess pieces, and the butler who is a servant who was hired not long ago.

As soon as they entered the hall, they saw the portrait of the old master hanging in the middle. The old lady pushed her wheelchair and started chatting with everyone.

After lamenting the passage of time, the lady asked the housekeeper, "By the way, who are these people?"

The butler hurriedly introduced them: "These are a scientist, a mystery writer, and a mineral miner. They are guests invited by the master."

"Scientists? Reasoning? That's great! I'd like you to study what kind of mystery my husband has buried in this castle." The lady's glasses reflected a villainous light.

[Explorer: They mentioned the Doctor and you, but not me.]

[Novelist: Stop complaining. Your identity has nothing to do with uncovering mysteries. Why would anyone care about you?]

[Explorer: Tsk.]

"Mystery? What mystery?" Conan became interested as soon as he heard there was a mystery.

Butler: "It is said that the old master left a message, 'I will give my most precious treasure to anyone who solves the mystery of the castle.'"

Conan then suggested going to the room that overlooked the entire chessboard.

While observing and recording the positions of the chess pieces, Genta and Mitsuhiko's antics caught Conan's attention.

"There seems to be a gap between the walls, right, little detective." The explorer came over and whispered in Conan's ear.

"And there's probably some kind of mechanism on the wall."

"How does Uncle Norton know so much?"

"Before I became a mining director, I had a very legendary experience." The explorer took Conan to the wall where a clock was hung.

"Ah, it seems that there are such mechanisms in many places." After saying that, Conan started fiddling with the dial.

The mechanism was activated with a click, and the two were caught off guard and thrown into the secret passage.

At this time, the protagonists did not realize that the two were no longer in their original place.

[Explorer: I came in, and it's full of dust.]

[Novelist: You can just go back to your old ways.]

[Doctor: Be careful not to make your condition worse.]

[Explorer: I know my limits, don't worry.]

"This castle is really not simple." Conan said as he turned on the searchlight on his watch.

"Want to explore together, little detective?"

"Well, Uncle Norton, you just said that you had a legendary experience before becoming a mining director. What was that experience like?"

"Since there's no one else here, I'll talk to you."

"My father was a miner, so naturally, I was a miner too."

"Life in the mines is tough, just like this secret passage: dark, cramped, and filled with dust."

“I thought this was it for the rest of my life.”

"But I got a map from an old miner that showed where the gold was."

"So I gathered my fellow workers and went to mine together."

"However, while using explosives, an accident occurred."

"That mine had experienced a meteorite impact, and its structure was already unstable. The secondary explosion caused it to collapse directly."

"I am the only survivor of that mining disaster, and I also brought back some rare treasures."

"Thanks to those treasures, I became rich and became independent from the dark underground."

"That guy Orpheus actually adapted my experience into a novel, The Thirteenth Gift. He even satirized me, the upstart, at the end, haha."

"It seems that Uncle Norton and Uncle Orpheus don't have a good relationship. Then why did you lend him money to buy the manor?"

"We've both been down and out before, and he wasn't a famous novelist from the beginning. As for our relationship? We're just bad friends."

"Huh? There seems to be something there." Conan trotted over and shone the light on it, and found that it was actually a skeleton.

"It seems that there are indeed many secrets buried here."

Just as the two were observing the skeleton, a dark shadow flashed past behind them.