Chapter 42: Problem Child Conan

"By the way, Ran, do you know where Sonoko's villa is?"

As soon as Ran sat down, Fujino asked her directly.

The truth was, that Fujino didn't know exactly where Sonoko's villa was.

Maybe Sonoko had been too excited about the trip, but up until the last day of school, she still hadn't given Fujino a map of the villa.

Now, his only hope was Ran.

"I've never been to Sonoko's forest villa either."

Ran chuckled awkwardly, "But Sonoko did give me a map of the villa. It shouldn't be too hard to find, right?"

As she spoke, she took a folded map from her small backpack and began carefully studying it.

"Uh…"

Seeing Ran's serious expression, the corner of Fujino's mouth twitched imperceptibly.

If he remembered correctly… Ran was terrible with directions…

At the same time, while neither of them noticed, a short, shadowy figure darted out of the alley next to the Mouri residence like a sneaky black rat, quickly slipping into the trunk of Fujino's Ford Taurus.

And just like that, even though the distance to their destination wasn't very far…

Fujino still ended up embarking on quite a long journey in his Ford Taurus.

He even stopped for gas halfway through before finally arriving at Sonoko's villa.

Sonoko's villa stood alone in the middle of the forest, with a cliff in front of it and sheer rock walls behind it.

The whole structure was Nordic in style, four stories tall, and seemingly built entirely of timber sourced from the local area.

As for the furniture inside…

Deep in this mountainous forest, regular trucks couldn't even get through. Who knows what method those rich people used to haul everything in here?

"Rich people's hobbies are beyond me."

Standing in front of the Suzuki family villa and gazing at the building across the ravine, Fujino couldn't help but complain, "Building a villa in such a creepy place… Aren't they worried about attracting something… unclean?"

He just couldn't understand the mindset of the wealthy.

Those spoiled, idle rich always managed to come up with perverted and costly ideas.

"Unclean things?"

Ran pursed her lips slightly, seemingly curious.

As she turned her head to glance around, she suddenly froze and then pointed toward the wooden suspension bridge in front of them. "Fujino-senpai, look over there—I think someone's on that bridge!"

Following her gaze, Fujino looked toward the bridge and saw a black figure slowly walking forward.

That person was wearing a black robe, and a dark tulip-shaped hat, looking utterly sneaky and suspicious.

"Don't tell me that guy's headed to the villa too?"

As soon as Ran finished speaking, the person on the bridge suddenly turned their head.

Their face, wrapped entirely in bandages, locked eyes with Fujino and Ran for a moment—

Then, they quickened their pace, darting across the suspension bridge and disappearing into the villa.

"How did that person suddenly appear on the bridge?"

Ran's expression was filled with unease. "I didn't see anyone there just a moment ago…"

"Probably because of the curvature of the bridge."

"Curvature?"

"Just now, we were standing far away, and that guy was crouching near the center of the bridge. The cliff edge at the sides of the bridge blocked our line of sight, so we couldn't see him."

As he explained, Fujino narrowed his eyes slightly and continued, "Then, as we got closer if he suddenly stood up, it would create the illusion that he just 'appeared' out of nowhere. This trick is often used in movies."

"I see!"

Ran nodded like a pecking chick and patted her well-developed chest in relief. "For a second there, I thought we'd run into a ghost or something."

Bang!

At that moment, a dull thud suddenly came from behind them.

Ran's heart skipped a beat in alarm.

Turning around, she saw Conan tumble out of the trunk, landing flat on his face in the dirt.

Seeing Conan now covered in dust, Ran blurted out in surprise, "Conan?! What are you doing here?!"

"Hahaha…"

Conan quickly climbed to his feet, patting the dust off himself, and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I… I wanted to go play at Sonoko's villa too, so…"

"So you climbed into the trunk and followed us secretly."

At this point, Fujino turned around as well.

He stared at Conan—who had somehow smuggled himself into the trunk without even him noticing—with a look of helplessness.

Good grief. This brat's getting experienced at stowing away.

First the trunk, next the landing gear of a plane—what's next?

Was this kid part rat or something?

Why did he like crawling into places so much?

"Conan, you can't do things like this!"

By now, Ran had already walked over to Conan's side. After brushing the dirt off his back, she began lecturing him, "It's really rude to hide in other people's trunks, you know… And besides, this kind of behavior is really dangerous!"

"Sorry… Ran-neechan…"

Conan deliberately put on a pitiful, aggrieved expression, looking exactly like a puppy who'd been scolded.

At the same time, his peripheral vision darted toward Fujino.

His eyes were full of vigilance and threat awareness.

He looked exactly like a husky who'd just had its food stolen.

Damn that Fujino guy…

Taking Ran to some mountain villa for a secret rendezvous?!

Just wait—once I turn back into Kudo Shinichi, I'll make you pay!

Thinking of this, Conan unconsciously clenched his small fists.

"Alright, Ran. It's getting late. If we're late, Sonoko's gonna nag at us again."

Fujino casually glanced at Conan's resentful little expression and added with a faint smile, "Since little Conan here sneaked over, we might as well take him along."

"Sorry for the trouble."

Ran sighed helplessly, "I don't know what's going on with Conan lately. He's always so mischievous whenever you're around, Fujino-senpai."

"Maybe it's because this kid's fond of me."

The corners of Fujino's lips curled upward as he leaned closer and asked Conan meaningfully, "Isn't that right, little Conan?"

Conan shivered at his words.

Looking at Fujino's strange smile, Conan could almost see a ghostly white glow emanating from behind that pair of black-rimmed glasses.

"Hahaha…"

Conan laughed awkwardly and nodded, putting on an exaggerated childish tone, "That's right! I like Fujino big brother the most!"

"And that's why I always say—mental health education for adolescents is extremely important."

Fujino leaned toward Ran and whispered seriously, "Especially for kids like this—left-behind children with high intelligence who've been abandoned by their parents. They're already sneaking into people's trunks. Who knows what they'll escalate to next?"

His tone became increasingly grave, "Problem children like Conan need strict supervision. If this continues unchecked, with psychological issues piling up, one day he'll grow into a full-blown sociopathic maniac…"

"A sociopathic maniac…"

Ran gulped at Fujino's words, then turned to look at Conan with a thoughtful expression.

Recalling all the odd behaviors this child had exhibited, she couldn't help but nod at Fujino like a pecking chick.

(End of this chapter)