Model worker and his little darling

Upon hearing the butler address Yuga Kyosuke as young master, the group all expressed their confusion.

"Actually, the housekeeper, Mrs. Tsukumo, used to work at Uncle Kyosuke's house. She only came to work here after that incident 30 years ago. It was because of that incident that Aunt Chiba, who was already frail and sickly, took care of Uncle Danjiro day and night and died from overwork."

"Miss Lianxi, where is your mother?"

"Two years before my grandfather's birthday, my mother divorced my father and went back to her parents' home. So that year, my aunt Yongmei celebrated my grandfather's birthday at the party, using the Storatibalios that had been sealed away for 30 years."

Faced with this complicated family relationship, everyone was having a bit of a headache.

“My father once wanted to use this violin to enter a competition, but the strings broke several times, and he was eliminated. My third aunt wanted to play this violin on the show, but she inexplicably developed a high fever before the show started. My third uncle, who was going to a concert abroad, developed severe tendinitis while practicing.”

After hearing Lianxi's explanation, the group finally understood why the instrument had been sealed away for 30 years.

Anyone who touches this instrument is doomed!

The commotion subsided temporarily, and Conan suddenly remembered the unfortunate piano that they hadn't had time to put away because of the fire, and it was still on the table.

“That’s impossible. I put it in the storage room right away. You don’t think I’m the kind of useless housekeeper who would leave something lying around knowing that strangers walk around the house.”

Uncle Mori scratched his head awkwardly.

Ping Qing's lips twitched. What kind of talk was that? They had no interest in the zither.

When Death appears, it's natural that he's more interested in other things.

Firefighters came over and explained the cause of the fire: "This time it shouldn't have been arson; he fell asleep with a cigarette on. The fire started near the ashtray, and even the door was locked from the inside. So it was a sealed room, and it's impossible for someone to have set it on fire."

"Finally, you should be careful with cigarette butts in the future, and it's best not to smoke them at all."

Back in the main house, the uncle drew a family tree of Lianxi's family and began to analyze the case.

"If this is just a coincidence, it's terrifying that an accident has happened on the same day for three consecutive years. In my opinion, it would be best if Mr. Ichiro stopped holding birthday parties starting next year."

Seeing Uncle Mori skillfully light a cigarette, Conan's eyes widened, remembering how he had just told the firefighters a few minutes earlier that he wouldn't smoke anymore.

I humbly accept the criticism, but I resolutely refuse to change it.

Upon hearing this, Yuga Kyosuke said softly, "There's nothing I can do, because my uncle has lung cancer, and the doctor said he only has six months to live."

At this moment, the stern housekeeper informed everyone that the birthday banquet was canceled and that the two elderly people had already gone to rest.

"I see. Since it wasn't a premeditated crime, we'll take our leave."

Uncle Mori felt it was not a good place to stay, so he stubbed out his cigarette and prepared to leave.

Seeing the uncle's actions, Conan found the cigarette butt that Genzaburo had used in the ashtray. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind, and he grabbed Hirai and ran towards the annex.

Upon arriving at the scene, they found two unburnt cigarette butts in the ashtray.

Conan stared at the cigarette butt, a slight smile playing on his lips. This wasn't an accident; it was murder.

"What did you find?"

The middle-aged man who followed them was puzzled to see the two standing there without saying a word.

Conan took out a cigarette butt and handed it to Uncle Mori. "I think someone deliberately set the fire. This is a cigarette butt that Mr. Genzaburo left in the main house. Take another look at the cigarette butts left at the scene."

The middle-aged man stroked his chin. "The cigarette brands are the same, there's nothing suspicious about it."

Xiao Lan had a sharp eye and immediately spotted the key point: "It's a bite mark."

"You mean someone wanted people to believe that the fire was caused by the deceased carelessly not extinguishing his cigarette before going to sleep? But this room can only be locked from the inside, so I think it must have been that he was suddenly overcome by sleepiness when he was smoking his last cigarette."

“That makes sense, but…”

Just as Conan and the old man were having a heated discussion, Hirai quietly stepped forward.

"Don't you guys think something's strange? We all saw how big the fire was at the annex; the building was burned to such a state, yet there are still two cigarette butts left near the point of origin. These cigarette butts shouldn't burn that long, right? Is it possible that someone put them in later?"

The room fell silent immediately after these words were spoken.

Conan looked at the dark walls around him and for a moment felt that there was some truth to what Hirai had said.

"If such a person existed, what would their purpose be? Wouldn't it be better to burn everything?"

Upon hearing this, the firefighters felt it necessary to explain, "Since we started fighting the fire, we haven't seen anyone come here. It shouldn't have been brought in later."

Ping Qing shrugged. "I don't know about that. After all, the table was burned, but the cigarette butt was fine. It's really strange."

"But I'm worried that this might be a serial killing spree."

Conan's words shocked everyone present.

"You can't just say things carelessly."

"Thirty years ago, Mr. Danjiro was killed during the robbery. His English name begins with D. Two years ago, Mrs. Eimi accidentally fell from the building. Her English name begins with E. A year ago, Mr. Shoto fell from the balcony and died. His English name begins with F. Tonight, Mr. Genzaburo was burned to death. His English name begins with G."

Upon hearing this, the uncle immediately agreed with the viewpoint.

"Perhaps, as this brat says, there's more to the story."

Following the alphabetical order, everyone immediately began to worry about Renxi, whose name starts with H.

After analyzing the situation, Pingqing thought of a bartender who had lost his sense of taste.

Sawaki Kohei came and gave it a thumbs up!

Hearing the uncle's analysis, Lianxi remained relatively calm, "It's probably just a coincidence, hehehe..."

At this moment, the butler brought up another matter, "But tonight's requiem... it's really a headache."

"A requiem?"

"Because in our family, whenever a relative passes away, someone from the family is chosen to play a requiem."

Seeing that Renki was unwilling, Yuga Kyosuke decided to step in himself, "Let's all listen together, it's very rare to hear Yuga Kyosuke perform live."

"Almost all the musical instruments are kept in another building; now only the piano and that one remain."

Kyosuke Haga waved his hands repeatedly, "Please, don't ask me to use the Storativalius, I tremble just thinking about it. Besides, if I use that harp without permission, Aunt Ayane will probably be in trouble."

After saying that, he got up and went to the car to get his own piano, the only keepsake his father had left him.

Everyone was a little curious as to why Stolatibalius would be involved with the old lady.

The butler sighed, “For the lady, that Storatibalius is like her son. Because the young master often played that lyre in front of the master when he was alive. From then on, every time the clock struck midnight, the lady would take out that lyre to remember the young master.”

Meanwhile, upstairs in the storage room, the old lady was clutching her violin tightly, just as the housekeeper had said.

Her expression quickly broke down, and she felt an unfamiliar touch on the 'son' in her arms.

Soon, Haga Kyosuke was also ready.

After opening the window, he leaned against it and began playing a requiem.

The melodious violin music drifted up to the storage room above. The old woman, who was squatting next to the smashed violin, suddenly raised her head, followed the sound, and slowly walked to the window, her expression gradually becoming frantic.

I opened the window and stepped onto the chair.

Accompanied by bursts of zither music, he fell down behind Haga Kyosuke.

"what--"

After taking his pulse, the middle-aged man shook his head regretfully.

Conan looked grave. The old lady's name started with an A, not an H. The order of death wasn't alphabetical; why was that?

Upon arriving at the storage room, the door was locked from the inside. There was also a chair by the window, making it seem as if the old woman had jumped down herself.

After taking a few steps, I found a broken violin on the ground.

Soon, Inspector Megure arrived at the scene with the First Investigation Division.

That evening, the Shirakawa family home was unusually lively.

Fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, one after another, without stopping.

"This is a real headache, Mori-kun. You're such a grim reaper, you always cause trouble wherever you go."

"What are you talking about? This is purely a coincidence! Inspector Megure, besides, cases will happen no matter where you go. This is the fate of a great detective."

Inspector Megure rolled his eyes. "In that case, I advise you to stay home."

Inspector Megure sighed heavily as his gaze shifted to Heikichi, who emerged from behind. He knew it; Heikichi had indeed caught the virus. These two had been appearing at murder scenes every day for the past few days.

Hearing the sigh, Hirakiyo blinked. His previous operation had been intended to improve his standing with the Metropolitan Police Department. But now it seemed to have only made Inspector Megure see him and the old man as Grim Reapers even more.

This pot is so big, black, and shiny; he and the uncle couldn't possibly carry it.

He then walked over to Inspector Megure and started shifting the blame, not wanting Inspector Megure to think of him as a jinx or a death god.

“Officer, this has nothing to do with us. This family has a complicated situation; something happens every year, but this year the situation is more serious.”

Upon hearing that such incidents occur every year, Inspector Megure became serious.

Seeing this, Pingqing briefly recounted what he had seen and heard that day.

After learning about the perplexing situation in the family, Inspector Megure looked at the middle-aged man and asked, "So, what do you think was her motive for suicide, Detective?"

Taira no Kiyoshi: ...

As expected of Inspector Megure, he so hastily confirmed it as a suicide case.

The middle-aged man gave an awkward smile, "Well, I haven't..."

The butler adjusted his glasses. "I think this must be related to the violin."

So he led a large group of people to the storage room, only to find that the priceless violin had been smashed to pieces.

Seeing everyone's panicked expressions, Inspector Megure rolled his eyes. "What's wrong with that? It's just a broken violin."

These words were too much for the man to bear, and he rushed towards Inspector Megure.

"Don't you know? That's a legendary piano worth hundreds of millions. Moreover, Mrs. Ayane always regarded it as the alter ego of her son, Mr. Kaguya. She must have been so distraught when she saw it was broken that she wanted to jump off the building."

The man's words implied that he had already prepared a reason for his suicide claim.

However, Conan held the opposite opinion: "I don't think so. Look at these new scratches on the table. The old lady must have smashed the violin hard."

Seeing Conan jump out to oppose him, the uncle praised Inspector Megure, saying, "Come on, Inspector Megure isn't someone who hasn't seen the world. How could Mrs. Ayane possibly break such an important piano?"

Inspector Megure's lips twitched; how was he supposed to respond to that?

Conan smiled sweetly, "That's what I think too." Then he changed the subject, "If this is a real piano..."

"ah!!??"

Conan pointed to the violin on the ground with his little finger, "Look at this label inside the violin, it says GA. If it were made by Antonio, the abbreviation should be AS."

Seeing Conan's arrogance, Uncle Mori glared at him fiercely, thinking, "You annoying brat."

At that moment, Master Ichiro pulled a koto out from beside the bed. "Ayane actually hid it inside the bed, really."

Conan panicked when he saw that the real item had been found.

“When I first entered this room, I checked the bed and didn’t see anything. Someone must have secretly taken back the violin that was switched with a replica before. It must be someone who was behind me who was able to put the violin on the bed.”

Master Ichiro looked at the zither in his hand and said calmly, "In that case, you can check the fingerprints on it. But I'm afraid there will be a lot of my fingerprints on it."

According to reports, Yuga Kyosuke, Renki, and the butler all said they had touched the zither, and their fingerprints were on it.

Just as Inspector Megure was having a headache, Uncle Mori came over and started egging him on.

"Officer, it doesn't matter who switched it now. Now that the real item has been returned, we don't need to take that kid's nonsense to heart."

Conan rolled his eyes. "But this case is really strange."

"What's strange about this? This room is a locked room, the door to the storage room is locked, and there's a chair by the window. No matter how you look at it, it's suicide. This is not a serial murder case at all."

Inspector Megure was shocked to hear the words "serial murders".

Although he was disgusted, the uncle still repeated Conan's reasoning.

"According to this kid, the names of the people who died in this family 30 years ago are arranged in the order of D, E, F, G. But the name of Mrs. Ayane, who died after Genzaburo, starts with A, so there is no connection between them at all."

This led Xiaolan to discover the problem: "Does it mean we should arrange them using musical scales? C, D, E, F, G, A, B are the seven notes of the C major scale."

"So, next up is B."

The butler adjusted his glasses. "That's Jin Qu Hongsheng. I think the next B refers to me. Now that I think about it, when I first came to this family 30 years ago, the master once said that if you were also a member of this family, the people in this house could go through a cycle from C to B."

Ping Qing raised an eyebrow; coincidences were everywhere in the world of Conan.

No wonder they come from a musical family; even their names are extraordinary.