After discussing the script, everyone got ready. The three who went to the suspension bridge returned with the expected news: Hideyo Senzaki had been blown up.
"What?! You're saying Ms. Senzaki was blown up?!" Ikumi Soda feigned shock, looking at the group, her acting truly phenomenal. After all, being a detective approaching thirty, she'd surely seen a lot, and her acting skills had naturally rubbed off.
"Yeah..." Harushi Mogi, still unaware of the charade, nodded heavily. "The car was tampered with. As soon as the headlights were adjusted, it exploded."
"H-how could this happen...?" Ran stammered, clearly not used to acting. But this kind of reaction made her panic seem even more genuine.
"It seems that guy is serious now. If this keeps up, we might all end up dead." Fujino put on a serious expression and said gravely, "It looks like we have no choice but to split up now. If that guy places bombs in the hallway or something, we might actually all be wiped out at once."
Kaito, still in the dark, looked at Fujino's expression and suddenly felt immense pressure. In this situation, he no longer had any desire to keep acting. If worst came to worst, he'd have no choice but to reveal himself and use his hang glider to go outside and call for help.
"Alright, then us three girls will team up and form a 'ladies' army.'" Ikumi Soda crossed her arms, looking calm, and winked at the two beside her. "Besides, it'll be much easier when we need to use the restroom."
"Oh... Oh!" Ran nodded, and the maid beside her also followed Ikumi Soda, intending to leave the main hall.
"Dividing into male and female groups? That works." Harushi Mogi was very cooperative. Although he didn't know it was an act, his pretentious style was practically the same as acting anyway. He glanced around and then suddenly asked in surprise, "By the way, where's that golden-haired, pale-skinned young man from earlier? I haven't seen him since I got back."
"I don't know," Ikumi Soda said meaningfully. "Maybe he went to feed his hawk?"
"Then let's form a group and investigate this villa as well," Fujino suggested, turning around. "Maybe we can find some clues in this villa."
"I think Fujino-dono is right!" Kaito nodded, placing his hopes on Fujino. He had witnessed Fujino's abilities. You couldn't call it absurd; it was simply miraculous. Although it was a bit annoying, he still admitted that a small part of Fujino's abilities were slightly better than his. Like chasing that spider killer with a wooden sword...
"Hmm?" Conan eyed Kogoro Mouri suspiciously. Why does this Kogoro always feel a bit off? Conan's eyes narrowed slightly, and he kept his guard up, planning to observe further.
The group strolled into the hallway. Fujino looked around, using his keen senses to perceive his surroundings. Seeing no cameras or recording devices, he turned around and smiled at Harushi Mogi and Kaito: "Now we can discuss the plan for this time."
"Plan?" The two paused slightly, clearly not understanding what Fujino meant.
---
"Holy crap!"
"Holy crap!"
After hearing about the elaborate play that had been concocted earlier, both Harushi Mogi and Kaito were dumbfounded, sighing inwardly.
"You guys actually conspired to do something like this..." Harushi Mogi looked at Fujino, speechless. "Why didn't you wait until we got back to tell us...?" Honestly, he was a little disappointed that he hadn't been part of this grand scheme.
"That old woman will be back soon. By the time you arrived, she would have already been at the monitors," Fujino said. "If we didn't want the old woman to find out, we had to decide on the plan as quickly as possible. Speaking of which, both of you were also used by that guy."
"Sigh..." Harushi Mogi sighed. He had nothing more to say; this kid was right. But this whole conspiracy thing, why did it feel less like a detective's work? And why did Fujino feel more like the mastermind behind the scenes?
Kaito looked at Fujino, a strange suspicion glinting in his eyes, his thoughts quite similar. This Fujino guy was even more cunning than he had imagined! Staging a big show, deceiving the old woman, and even tricking the two of them along the way. And finally, using a kid to trick the old woman into revealing an escape method. Is this even something a human would do?! It's ridiculous! He'd always been the one doing the tricking, and yet today, he was kept in the dark for once... He felt a shiver, and all other detectives suddenly seemed boring.
"I just told you all about it, didn't I?" Fujino gave a sheepish smile, feeling indifferent. After all, he had predicted this plan. Even if he hadn't put on this act, these detectives probably would have pulled off something similar anyway. All things considered, you detectives were the ones who came up with these devious ideas!
---
Despite some dissatisfaction, the two decided to cooperate with Fujino and the others in acting. Although it was a bit late, at least the script and everything else was explained clearly. It was more of an outline than a script, really, and the specifics depended on individual improvisation. After all, in such a short time, Fujino couldn't just whip up several scripts for everyone to read.
After some preparation, the group arrived at the piano room in Twilight Mansion.
"I didn't expect there to be something like this here," Harushi Mogi said, hands in his pockets, looking at the piano in the center of the room. His tone was full of playful mockery, making his overall pretentious act even more convincing. Fujino glanced at him, feeling it was a shame he wasn't acting in those cheesy, over-the-top detective dramas.
Kaito, however, acted naturally, as he was always performing. Disguised as Kogoro Mouri, he leaned in, subtly discovering something. "It looks like these piano keys have been pulled or dragged by something!" he exclaimed in surprise.
"These must be hawk claw marks..." Harushi Mogi walked over, glanced at the keys, and pressed a couple. "It seems that young man came to this piano room before we returned."
"If that's the case, then we're a step behind them," Fujino said, his face grave, a cunning smile playing on his lips. "It seems they've discovered something and aren't willing to share it with us... Interesting."
"..." Conan watched Fujino's expression and felt a chill run down his spine. Is this really just an act? Or are you actually planning to kill everyone here?! It didn't look like he was pretending!
Shaking off his thoughts, Conan took a deep breath, recalled the script, and then, in his childish voice, exclaimed, "Oh my! It looks like there's something on the piano!"