Looking at the three people standing outside the iron gate, Takato recognized them immediately—Shinichi Kudo, Ran, and Suzuki Sonoko!
He hadn't expected them to seek him out first.
Seeing the dessert shop bags in their hands, Takato roughly understood their purpose.
"Excuse us. My name is Ran, and I'm Shinichi Kudo's classmate."
Ran politely introduced herself.
"Hello, I'm Suzuki Sonoko, also their classmate."
Suzuki Sonoko followed suit.
"We heard that a new neighbor moved in near Kudo's house, so we took the liberty of visiting. This is a small gift we just bought; please accept it."
Ran showed the gift bag in her hand as she spoke.
Upon seeing this, Takato walked to the iron gate and opened it for them.
"Hello everyone, my name is Akechi Takato, and I'll be living here permanently from now on. Please bear with me."
Takato accepted the gift and said.
"If you don't mind, please come in and sit for a while."
"May we?"
Ran replied politely.
"Of course. However, I only just moved in yesterday, so I haven't quite finished unpacking. I hope you don't mind."
"How could we mind? It's our pleasure."
Ran answered flawlessly, and under Takato's guidance, the three entered the villa.
Passing through the entrance and into the main hall, they saw only a rectangular table with matching chairs; the rest of the space was empty, devoid of furniture.
"He really just moved in and hasn't unpacked anything yet."
Suzuki Sonoko said, a little speechless at the sight.
"Indeed, I really don't have much here, so please bear with me."
Takato said, pulling out a chair by the table and gesturing for the three to sit down.
"I only have barley tea. Is that alright?"
Once the three were seated, Takato went to the Kitchen, brought the large bottle of barley tea he had just bought and three new cups to the table, poured the drinks into the cups, and placed them in front of the three.
"Mr. Akechi, you're too kind."
Ran said politely, and the three of them didn't stand on ceremony, accepting the drinks Takato poured.
"Speaking of which, Shinichi Kudo, you're that famous "High School Detective", aren't you?"
Sitting down in a chair, Takato happened to be directly opposite Shinichi Kudo, looking at him as he spoke.
"Yes, that's right."
From the moment he entered, Shinichi Kudo had been surveying the structure of the villa without speaking. Now that Takato had directly asked him, he casually replied.
"By the way, Mr. Akechi, what do you do for a living?"
Ran asked.
"Judging by your age, could you be a university student?"
Suzuki Sonoko took over the conversation and said.
"To be honest, I'm also a Detective."
Takato replied to their questions, and this clearly piqued the interest of the three.
"Oh, Mr. Akechi is also a Detective!"
Shinichi Kudo said, with a hint of excitement at the challenge.
"Yes. To be frank, I also took over this villa from someone else. Before you arrived, I was wondering about the issues with this villa. Since Kudo lives next door, do you happen to know if there are any problems with this villa?"
Takato said bluntly. It was clear that Shinichi Kudo also seemed very interested in this villa, so he probably knew something.
"Huh? Mr. Akechi doesn't know?"
Ran was a little surprised. "About a year ago, there were rumors of it being haunted. But because this villa has been empty, no one really knows what's going on."
"Starting about a year ago, around midnight, strange noises would sometimes come from this villa, but about a month ago, those sounds stopped appearing. However, about half a month ago, I heard from Professor Dr. Agasa next door that the lights in this villa seemed to be on one night."
Shinichi Kudo added many details.
Takato shook his head, indicating he didn't know, and then told the three what he did know.
"So, theoretically, no one should have been to this villa for three years, but the hall here clearly doesn't look like no one has been here for three years?"
Shinichi Kudo summarized after hearing Takato's narration, "How interesting!"
"Conan, that's so rude."
Ran, seeing Shinichi Kudo say this, quietly reminded him.
"I feel the same way!"
Takato was not surprised by Shinichi Kudo's reaction and expressed the same opinion.
"Well then, Kudo, would you be interested in exploring this villa together?"
Takato suggested.
"I was just thinking the same thing!"
Shinichi Kudo excitedly stood up from his chair and began to inspect the various rooms. Ran, seeing this, immediately got up and followed him.
"Conan, isn't this too impolite?"
"What's wrong? Didn't he agree?"
Shinichi Kudo replied.
"But what if we really find out there's a ghost?"
Ran said, a little scared, leaning close to Shinichi Kudo.
"What's there to be afraid of? How can there be ghosts in this world?"
Watching the two act together, Suzuki Sonoko sighed, "Of course," with a helpless expression. Then, seeing Takato deep in thought, she didn't want to disturb him, so she also followed Kudo and the others, strolling around the villa.
At this moment, Takato was pondering what Shinichi Kudo had just said. Never mind the strange noises for now; since someone saw the lights on in this villa at night half a month ago, then someone must have definitely entered here!
Although the water and electricity for this villa had never been cut off over the years, if no one was inside, the lights couldn't be turned on. So how did an outsider get in? After all, the keys had always been in Lawyer Shimada's hands, and no outsider could access them.
It also couldn't have been a forced entry, as the doors and windows he saw when he arrived yesterday were all locked, and the keys he received could open the door normally.
Could there have been a master lock picker? But what would be the purpose of doing so?
This was also what Takato had always found strange: a villa that had been uninhabited for several years had been broken into. But there were no valuables to steal, nor did it look like anyone had temporarily stayed there. What exactly was going on?
"Ah!"
Ran's startled cry broke the villa's previously quiet atmosphere.
Hearing the sound, Takato quickly Ran towards its source.
Arriving at a room on the first floor, they saw a custom-made bookshelf, which was originally fixed to the wall, suddenly moved aside, revealing a deep, dark passage behind it. Ran and Shinichi Kudo stood at the side, looking somewhat surprised, with Ran even covering her mouth in astonishment.
"Sonoko, are you alright?"
Ran called into the passage.
"I'm fine."
Suzuki Sonoko's voice came from underground, which surprised Takato.
"What happened?"
Takato asked.
"Just now, when we were checking this room, Sonoko touched something, and this bookshelf suddenly moved, and then she accidentally fell down."
Ran explained.
"Kudo! Ran! This is a basement!"
Suzuki Sonoko seemed to have recovered from her panic and said.
"But there's no basement on the floor plan of this villa!"
Takato said, very surprised by what Sonoko said.