"It's just some surface scratches. Nothing serious."
Fujino glanced at the marks on his arm. "A bandage should do the trick."
"I'll grab the first-aid kit," Haihara Ai said without hesitation, turning to fetch it quickly.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Ooka Momiji asked, her voice tinged with worry as she looked at Fujino. "You fell from that height just to protect me…"
"I'm fine, really," Fujino said with a helpless shrug, flexing his arm. "See? Still in one piece. No big deal."
"Come on, you're hurt like this and still playing tough? Just like back in the day…" Momiji's eyes softened with concern as she wiped a tear away. She pulled out her pink flip phone. "I'm calling someone to take you to a hospital…"
But after dialing, all she got was: *"Your call is out of service range. Please try again later."*
"Huh?!" Momiji blinked in surprise. "No signal?"
"Probably because there's no cell tower out here in the deep mountains," Haihara Ai said, returning with the first-aid kit. "Places like this likely still rely on landlines for communication…"
"Landlines…" Momiji's eyes lit up. "Wait, I saw a phone in the hall when we got here!"
"With things as they are, though, heading to the hall to make a call might be too risky," Haihara cut in. "Especially since we just found that dried-up corpse in the basement."
"The corpse…" Momiji's face paled as she recalled the scene, still shaken. "Could it really be like you said, Ai—a villager sacrificed or something?"
"That was just a joke," Fujino said with a light chuckle. "It's probably some local custom—like keeping a deceased relative hidden in the family villa. As for my injuries, seriously, they're no big deal."
"More importantly, let's get those wounds patched up," Haihara said, setting the kit down and pulling out a bandage. She glanced at Momiji. "Miss High-and-Mighty, give me a hand."
"Oh… oh!" Momiji nodded rapidly, a bit startled by Haihara's calm demeanor.
Honestly, ever since meeting this little girl, something about her felt off.
She didn't freak out at the sight of a corpse, and her composure was almost unnaturally steady.
Momiji couldn't shake the feeling that she was like a tiny adult.
But she didn't dwell on it.
No way a kid could actually be a shrunken grown-up, right?
That'd be absurd—and unscientific.
---
Though it was their first time working together, the two were surprisingly in sync.
Momiji handled the back, while Haihara took care of the arms.
Fujino had to deal with the lower half himself.
As they bandaged him up, Fujino quietly activated his Eagle Eye, keeping tabs on everyone moving around nearby—just in case someone barged into the guest room.
While watching, his mind drifted back to the secret room and the mummified corpse inside.
He couldn't pin down the cause of death yet—maybe burned, maybe beheaded.
The body was too charred to tell how long it'd been dead.
But one thing was clear: that corpse was definitely tied to some secret in Rokaku Village.
He didn't want to dig too deep just yet.
If it really involved the village, then—judging by the system's hint about a secret "hidden in Rokaku Village"—every single person here could be a suspect.
They'd already stumbled onto the body, which probably raised some eyebrows. Investigating further right now might get them chased down by the whole village.
He could handle himself, but Haihara and Momiji? Different story.
Without ruling out the chance the villagers had guns or worse, he couldn't guarantee their safety 100%.
Unless he struck first and turned this place into a bloodbath…
Which wasn't the outcome he wanted.
On second thought, since no one had made a move yet, they probably hadn't directly linked their basement break-in to the village's secret. Maybe they were just watching from the shadows.
Or maybe they didn't even care.
For now, his top priority was keeping Ooka Momiji and Haihara Ai safe.
The rest? He could come back and investigate later.
The system hadn't set a time limit, after all.
---
Soon, it was 9:00 p.m.
The pre-wedding banquet kicked off as planned.
Ooka Momiji slipped into a delicate pink gown. The hem stretched past her knees, and the chest was modestly covered—making her look smaller up top. The design screamed high-class event attire.
Wearing it here felt a bit like overkill—like riding a warhorse to walk a dog.
Haihara Ai rocked her black Lolita dress, still as cute as ever.
Fujino went full survival mode: black suit, bulletproof vest underneath, topped with a trench coat. Every life-saving layer he could stack, he did.
The group met up with Odagiri Jin and headed to the Clock Mansion's banquet hall.
The room was already packed with guests.
Besides the heads of the village's six mansions, a bunch of local bigwigs had shown up too.
The pre-wedding banquet officially began.
A door swung open nearby, and Tokita Wakaba stepped out.
She wore a finely tailored wedding dress, her delicate features half-hidden by a white veil over her short black hair. She held a bouquet of red flowers, but her expression was icy cold.
Behind her trailed a girl in a black evening dress.
Fujino felt a flicker of recognition…
On closer look, it was the same girl they'd met earlier—the one holding two crows when they asked for directions.
Next up was the groom, Renjo Hisahiko.
He wore a white hood styled like an old executioner's, leaving only his eyes visible. It oddly fit the village's creepy vibe.
With the bride and groom's entrance, the banquet officially kicked off.
But per the village's weird custom—where the bride had to spend the night before the wedding in the church—Wakaba greeted everyone, then left with the crow girl for the church at the village's center.
Before she went, she shot a glance at Odagiri Jin.
He looked flustered, unable to get a word out.
"Mr. Tokita, congrats!"
A man with a birthmark covering half his face grinned, cutting into his steak. He nodded at Tokita Juzo, sitting nearby. "Marrying into the Renjo family—the county's top moneymakers? The village's future's riding on you now!"
"Heh, oh, not at all!" Tokita Juzo popped a piece of steak into his mouth, chuckling awkwardly.
"Is this what they call a political marriage?"
Haihara Ai, sitting to Fujino's left, sipped her drink and scanned the room quietly.
She got it now—Wakaba's wedding was a straight-up arranged deal.
Not some grand power play, just a transaction of cash.
Typical marriage-for-profit stuff.
All about money and influence.
Capitalism at its finest.
"If it's a political marriage, that's one thing. This level of arrangement's just small-time," Ooka Momiji said, giving Haihara a deep look. "Honestly, I feel bad for Wakaba, but there's nothing we can do."
"Yeah, it's her family's business, after all," Fujino added.
"You kids aren't old enough to drink champagne, right?"
A voice cut through Fujino's thoughts.
He turned and saw a middle-aged guy with blonde hair—clearly mixed-race—rocking a black tuxedo.
"You're from outside the village, I take it?" The man smiled and introduced himself. "I'm Kazama Junya, the village representative."
"Mr. Kazama?" Fujino tilted his head. "From the Windvane Mansion?"
"That's right," Kazama Junya nodded. "I'm the head of the Windvane Mansion."
"I see…"
Fujino gave a small smile. "I'm Fujino. I'm here with friends for the wedding. This is my little sister, Haihara Ai."
Haihara nodded like a pro.
Ooka Momiji, left out of the intro, shot Fujino a pouty look before smiling. "I'm Ooka, Wakaba's classmate—and his fiancée."
"Fiancée?!" Kazama blinked, caught off guard. "Wait a sec, though—the name Ooka… I feel like I've heard it somewhere."
"You have?" Fujino raised an eyebrow.
Sure, the Ooka family seemed loaded—maybe even powerful—but famous enough to reach a backwater like this? Doubtful…
"Ahh—!"
A scream shattered his train of thought.
They turned and saw an old woman—dressed in a medieval-style gown, face wrinkled with age—yelling hysterically. "F-Fire… it's on fire!"
"Mrs. Kusanagi?"
A glamorous woman in a tight black evening dress frowned at her, puzzled.
"The church is on fire!"
The old woman's shout sent a chill through the banquet, faces dropping all around.
Fujino's eyes narrowed. Something felt off.
A church fire…
That corpse in the basement had been burned too.
Was there a connection?
Two maids from the Clock Mansion hurried over, ushering the old woman out.
"What's wrong with her?" Fujino asked Kazama Junya.
"She's Kusanagi Miko, head of the Ivy Mansion," Kazama explained. "Ever since her son died in a car accident five years ago, she's been like this…"
Before he could finish, the birthmark guy clicked his tongue, annoyed. "That crazy old hag still hasn't been shipped off to a psych ward?"
"Mr. Isshiki! It's a happy occasion—watch your mouth!" the glamorous woman snapped. "Especially with Mr. Renjo here from out of town. That's just rude!"
"The lady's Gotou Ran, head of the Tower Mansion," Kazama said to Fujino. "The guy with the birthmark is Isshiki Toroo, head of the Stained Glass Mansion." He nodded toward a quiet man in a black suit and round glasses, eating steadily. "And that guy over there stuffing his face is Kabuto Reizo, head of the Armor Mansion."
"Armor Mansion…" Fujino mused. "So that bridesmaid from earlier—she's his family?"
"Yep," Kazama nodded. "He's Kabuto Kiriko's dad. How'd you guess, though?"
"I ran into Miss Kiriko at the Armor Mansion's gate when we got here," Fujino said. "She helped point us in the right direction."
"Oh, really?" Kazama nodded. "That's rare. Kiriko's notorious for not talking to outsiders."
"Yeah, she didn't say a word—just pointed," Fujino agreed.
Pretty useless pointing, too.
The banquet was mostly a formality. After eating and drinking their fill, people split off to chat.
Everyone in the village felt… off.
The only one Fujino's group could really talk to was Kazama, the Windvane Mansion guy who seemed friendly toward outsiders.
After the banquet, Kazama led them to the hall's balcony.
"Is Wakaba in that church right now?" Ooka Momiji asked, peering toward it and glancing at Kazama.
"Yep, that's the one," Kazama said with a nod. "It was built ages ago, actually—by a missionary from overseas who came here looking for the 'Apple of Eden.' It's got about a hundred years of history."
"The golden apple from Eden?" Haihara frowned. "Like in the Bible?"
"Exactly—the forbidden fruit Adam and Eve ate in the Old Testament," Kazama said, thoughtful. "Thing is, no one's ever figured out what this 'Apple of Eden' they were after actually was."
"Maybe it's just a golden apple," Fujino said with a cryptic smirk.
Mention of the Apple of Eden made him think of *Assassin's Creed*—that mind-controlling relic from an ancient civilization.
But nah, even in this *Conan* world, that'd be too far-fetched.
Snapping out of it, he pressed Kazama. "So, about that fire the Ivy Mansion lady mentioned—what's the deal?"
"That was twenty-seven years ago," Kazama said, hesitating before continuing. "A pastor and his wife lived there with their seven kids—all burned to death in a fire. The tradition of the bride spending the night there before the wedding started because of that. She's supposed to wear her dress and repent for past sins…"
"What a weird custom," Haihara muttered.
"Definitely strange," Fujino agreed.
Fire. Corpse.
Things were starting to click.
Was that basement corpse one of the pastor's family from that fire?
But before he could say more, a sharp *clang* cut him off.
"Huh?" Kazama froze. "Why's it ringing now?"
"Another tradition?" Momiji asked, curious.
"No," Kazama shook his head. "The church bell only rings when someone dies…"
"Dies?"
Fujino's right eyelid twitched. Then, right on cue, a system chime echoed in his ear: *"New detective job task detected. Please check it out!"*
Fujino: "…"
*Yep. Someone's dead.*
(End of Chapter)