In the world of Detective Conan, however, he was bound to the Naruto System.

Chapter 45: How can it not be considered a meeting?

Although his physique has gradually developed in a non-human direction, Akutagawa Hiko would rather live in a warm and bright villa than be exposed to the mountain winds outside.

Just as he was about to step onto the suspension bridge, he was pulled back by two enormous forces.

Akutagawa Hiko glanced back.

No, Ran is one thing, but a weak girl with both strength and speed is no joke. When did Sonoko become so strong? Is it because she has a fear buff and learned it from Conan?

Akutagawa glanced at Conan, who was also being held at his feet, and they exchanged a helpless look.

It's not that you can't break free, it's just that there's no need to.

Xiaolan was still clearly a little scared, her voice trembling: "Who is that? Why are they dressed like that?"

Sonoko was similar, but Akutagawa Hiko always felt that there was a bit of pretense in his fear: "Where did he go? He's not going to the villa too, is he?"

In order to get into the villa to rest as soon as possible, Akutagawa Hiko could only comfort him again: "Don't think too much about it. He's just dressed a little strangely. He didn't do anything bad. Maybe he's just showing off and got shy because we saw him."

Above the dimly lit mountain stream, a lone figure walks across a suspension bridge, the occasional gust of mountain wind rustling and lifting a corner of his cloak...

Thinking about it that way, it suddenly didn't seem so scary anymore.

And since this is Japan, this speculation is actually quite reasonable.

Once the tension in his arms eased, Akutagawa suggested they quickly cross the bridge and go into the villa to rest, a suggestion that was immediately adopted by the three equally exhausted individuals.

The howling mountain wind was even more pronounced in the mountain stream.

The girl, who had just been frightened and broke out in a cold sweat, tightened her clothes and quickly followed Akutagawa Hiko's steps onto the suspension bridge.

The suspension bridges in the Detective Conan world, while always at risk of being vandalized by thugs, are actually of decent quality, since they're built for wealthy people who want to use them.

The four of them walked across the bridge at different paces, and despite the whistling mountain wind, the suspension bridge showed no signs of swaying.

The person who opened the door was a squinty-eyed girl who looked about seven or eight parts like Sonoko Suzuki. She looked a little more mature than Sonoko, and her slightly curly hair was tied into a single ponytail with a hairband.

Unlike Sonoko's lively and straightforward personality, her first impression is one of gentleness and tranquility.

Upon seeing that it was his well-known older sister who opened the door, instead of some monster occupying the mountain villa, he warmly embraced her: "Sister!"

Ayako Suzuki smiled and hugged back, then welcomed everyone and looked at the three people who had come with Sonoko Suzuki.

Ran is often with Sonoko; I've seen her before. The cute little child at their feet is probably the child Sonoko mentioned who stayed at Ran's house.

As for the young man beside her, he was top-notch in terms of appearance and temperament alone, so it's no wonder that Sonoko couldn't forget him. However, Sonoko's chances of winning him over are probably slim.

"Everyone, come in quickly. It's cold outside, and you must be exhausted after carrying your luggage all this way up the mountain."

……

Once inside the villa, Ayako Suzuki, still wearing an apron, busied herself again. The huge villa had no servants, so the owners had to do everything themselves.

Akutagawa Hiko naturally wouldn't just stand by and watch. He wasn't very good at cooking, but he couldn't let the host do all the physical work.

Seeing that Hiko Akutagawa had stayed to help, Sonoko Suzuki naturally took the opportunity to say that she didn't want her sister to be busy alone and that she also wanted to stay on the first floor to help with the work.

Then, when she met Ayako Suzuki's teasing smile, she turned her head away somewhat guiltily.

When Ran Mouri saw that everyone had stayed, she originally wanted to help, but the space was only so big, and too many people would only cause trouble. Also, someone would have to carry the luggage to the guest rooms on the second floor.

So, pulling Conan, who had originally wanted to ask about the bandaged monster, along with luggage for four people, they effortlessly went upstairs.

When doing tasks that don't require much brainpower, Hiko Akutagawa always felt that chatting while working could improve efficiency, and that the atmosphere would be a little awkward if the three of them didn't say a word.

However, Akutagawa Hiko didn't need to start a conversation; with Suzuki Sonoko there, it would be quite difficult for the conversation to become awkward: "Sis, among the guests you invited, is there anyone with bandages wrapped around their face?"

"bandage?"

Ayako Suzuki thought for a moment and confirmed that none of her friends whom she hadn't seen for two years had any obvious disfigurement, except that one of them had gained weight. So she said, "No, no one's face is injured."

Upon hearing this, Sonoko Suzuki then asked, "Is there anyone who enjoys cosplay, or anyone who's particularly chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur)?"

This is a difficult question for Ayako Suzuki to answer. It's been two years since they last met. In such a long time, it's not impossible for her to develop a hobby of cosplay or even develop a liking for cross-dressing.

Before the group could exchange more than a few words, a scream that was different from usual but very familiar came from the second floor.

As one of the screaming duo, Sonoko Suzuki instantly realized who the scream came from—her best friend Ran Mouri!

Sonoko Suzuki hurriedly ran upstairs.

Ayako Suzuki, however, was not too worried. Being older, she could tell that there wasn't much fear in the scream.

Akutagawa looked up at the second floor and had a general idea of ​​the current situation. Of course, Ran was not in any danger.

In reality, unless you encounter heavy firepower, explosions, or natural disasters, when you meet Ran and Conan, you should be wary of thugs and murderers.

One is a weak woman with both Strength and Speed ​​at A level, and the other is a science-minded black technology warrior. They also have a character bond, and if one of them is injured, the other's attribute value will be greatly enhanced.

Trying to take them all down at once is like facing a wolf king and his wife head-on on the Green Green Grassland.

The reason Ran Mouri screamed was because of the three men that Ayako Suzuki had invited.

In short, just now, the three of them were changing clothes in the room at the same time.

And coincidentally, neither of them locked the door, and they happened to run into Ran Mouri, who had just come upstairs and didn't know which room it was, and Ran Mouri happened to see them all.

In her increasingly anxious and confused state, Ran Mouri opened three doors in a row and ended up meeting all of Ayako Suzuki's male classmates in the villa without really understanding what was going on.

To be honest, it's understandable that the other two weren't very vigilant and didn't lock the door, but the murderer who was about to commit the crime also forgot to lock the door.

Could it be that they felt something was off about him locking the door alone and being secretive?

Finding an excuse is better than letting people actually see your real body, right? Isn't that better than killing someone to cover it up?

Akutagawa Hiko fell into deep doubt about the intelligence of these incompetent and playful murderers...