Chapter 31
“I’m truly sorry for not noticing the guest’s situation in time. May I escort you back to your room to rest?”
The lifeguard, who had rushed over, was covered in a cold sweat. He cautiously inquired of the girl sitting on the edge of the pool.
A large bath towel draped over her head concealed her expression. An’an gripped the corners of the towel and silently shook her head.
As the lifeguard was in a predicament, his shoulder was patted.
“I’ll take it from here,” said Amuro Tooru, who had gotten out of the pool a moment later.
He was dripping wet. His soaked white shirt clung to his skin, faintly revealing the color of his flesh.
The dripping water pooled at the blond young man’s feet. Amuro instinctively shook his head, sending droplets flying.
Like a big cat shaking itself dry after a bath… The corners of An’an’s previously straight lips curved. She lifted a corner of her towel and gestured for Amuro to bend down slightly.
“Let me help you dry off,” the girl said softly. Her voice was a little hoarse from choking on water, the ends of her words soft.
Amuro wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but his body reacted first. He obediently squatted down, his head lowered.
The towel rubbed his blond hair. The hotel’s towels had a faint scent of disinfectant, but what lingered in Amuro’s nose was the light fragrance of white peach.
The same scent as the ends of the girl’s hair.
A faint yet incredibly invasive scent. Amuro bit his tongue sharply. He looked up.
Her skin, so fair it was almost reflective, nearly dazzled the blond young man’s eyes. The thin straps of her swimsuit were wrapped around her pale neck. She was earnestly drying Amuro’s hair, ignoring the fact that she was also soaked to the bone.
“Mr. Amuro?” An’an’s face was a picture of bewilderment. “It’s not dry yet. Don’t move.”
Amuro, who had tried to stand up, was pushed back down by her hand on his shoulder. It was the first time he had personally experienced An’an’s strength. He suddenly understood what “plenty of means and strength” meant.
Time seemed to stretch, to be kneaded into a thread as thick as honey. Amuro’s soaked blond hair was towel-dried until it was half-dry. The towel was moved away, replaced by the girl’s restless hands.
“Just checking the humidity,” An’an said with a straight face. “It’s definitely not because it looks so fun to ruffle.”
Her pale face from the drowning finally had a bit of color after her mischief. Her rosy-cheeked face looked up, charmingly pretty.
“I believe you,” Amuro said, draping the towel back over the girl’s shoulders. “Let me take you back to your room to rest for a while, okay?”
The same words as the lifeguard, but the difference was that Amuro got a response.
The dark-haired girl stood up. She was wearing a two-piece swimsuit, a sliver of her pale waist visible beneath the ruffled top.
Amuro’s eyes immediately caught the clear finger marks on the girl’s side.
He had been in too much of a hurry when he had saved her, forgetting to control his strength.
I left a pretty bad mark… Amuro thought with regret.
“It’s fine, it doesn’t hurt.”
Noticing where his gaze had landed, An’an looked down and said dismissively.
Mr. Amuro had saved her life. There was no need to care about such a small detail.
More importantly, An’an’s gaze fell on the blond young man’s shoulder and quickly looked away, pretending nothing had happened.
He hadn’t noticed yet. His shoulder also bore her finger marks, and they were even clearer, even worse, as if they were the result of pinching, grabbing, and scratching.
I hope Mr. Amuro doesn’t look in the mirror after his shower today, she prayed silently. As long as he doesn’t take a mirror selfie, the evidence will be gone by tomorrow, and Suspect An will still be a very good citizen.
…
Amuro escorted the girl back to her room. He was soaked to the bone and needed to go back to his room to change as well.
Warm water streamed down the young man’s lean back. Amuro took a quick shower, and as he was drying himself off, he walked towards the bathroom door.
He passed the full-length mirror in the hotel bathroom. The blond Public Security officer glanced at it casually.
His footsteps paused. He silently took two steps back and stood in front of the full-length mirror.
Amuro raised his hand and touched his shoulder.
The evidence of the girl’s crime was clearly reflected in the mirror.
He finally understood why Edogawa Conan, whom he had just met in the elevator, had looked at him with an expression of “I want to say something but I can’t,” “respect,” and “blessings.”
“She’s quite strong,” Amuro said to himself.
He didn’t know what possessed him—perhaps it was a Public Security officer’s instinct to preserve evidence—but he opened his camera and took a mirror selfie.
…
“Achoo!”
In the room next door, An’an rubbed her nose.
Did I catch a cold after falling in the water? Why do I suddenly feel a chill, as if someone has something on me?
The girl sat cross-legged on the bed, blow-drying her hair. The hairdryer whirred, the hot air making her cheeks flush.
The water had been so cold. The feeling of her body temperature dropping was profound and clear. Her pupils had been filled with a cold, desolate blue, gradually losing their light.
“Gold. Like the sun,” An’an said, falling back onto the pillow. “His body temperature was so warm, too.”
She couldn’t swim and already had a fear of water. The drowning had infinitely magnified that fear. Her eardrums had been filled with a sharp ringing.
Even after being rescued, she had been in a daze. She hadn’t heard a single word the lifeguard said. Wrapped in a towel, she had only felt cold.
“But after seeing Mr. Amuro, I somehow didn’t feel so scared anymore,” the girl murmured to herself.
It was probably because the deep end, which was so terrifying in her eyes, was nothing to him.
Not only had he easily pulled her out, but he had also had the presence of mind to patiently comfort her.
Such a handsome and kind-hearted person. How would the earth revolve without him? It’s just putting on a brave face!
“By the way, why did the swimming ring suddenly deflate?”
An’an was completely baffled.
…
In the hotel’s security room, a man in a swimming cap and goggles was swimming back and forth in the pool on the screen. He swam a few laps with a calm expression, then got out and left.
In the deep end, the donut-shaped inflatable swimming ring rapidly deflated. The dark-haired girl fell into the water, struggling in panic.
The mouse clicked the pause button. The screen was frozen, half of it showing the drowning girl, the other half showing the man in the swimming cap, his head lowered, blending into the crowd.
“The killer from the escape room is still in the resort hotel. He wasn’t taken away by the police.”
The door to the security room was pushed open. A white light glinted off Edogawa Conan’s glasses. “Am I right, Mr. Amuro?”
The chair in front of the monitors swiveled around. The blond Public Security officer pinched the bridge of his nose and didn’t deny it.
Edogawa Conan had also been at the pool. He had witnessed the entire process of Amuro diving in to save the girl.
“You were too fast,” the detective commented. “It wasn’t like you were rushing to the rescue after discovering someone was drowning. It was more like your eyes were on her the entire time, so you were able to get there the moment something happened.”
This special concern was very strange in the detective’s eyes.
Think about the escape room. She didn’t need anyone’s concern or protection. A real killer in her hands would only be tormented to death.
Although the desire to protect someone has nothing to do with their fighting ability—for example, his desire to protect the black-belt karate expert Ran wouldn’t diminish just because she could punch a great detective into a pancake—but…
“Mr. Amuro and Miss Fan An are just neighbors, right?” the great detective deduced with confidence. “Your concern is not normal.”
The scratch marks on Amuro’s shoulder itched slightly. He touched them through his clothes, and the image of the girl’s fingertips digging into his skin flashed through his mind.
“Not normal?” Amuro retorted instinctively. “I think it’s a normal level of concern.”
Edogawa Conan, who was in the middle of his deduction, was speechless. “?”
Is there any point in telling a barefaced lie in front of a great detective?
I don’t get you adults.jpg
Edogawa Conan skipped the reasoning process: After some analysis, he had guessed that there was someone in the hotel who was very hostile towards Miss Fan An—without a doubt, it had to be Kinoshita Yatarou.
The great detective had tailed him the whole way, witnessing with his own eyes the entire process of a dignified killer being driven mad by Suspect An. His resentment was heavier than a ghost’s.
“There’s only one reason I can think of for Mr. Amuro not handing him over to the police,” Edogawa Conan said in a low voice. “He’s a member of the organization.”
An undercover Public Security officer in the Black Organization must not expose their identity. They could only let him go for now.
“Is the target Miss Fan An?” the great detective was still deducing, brainstorming.
A distillery member who was almost taken away by the police, and the first thing he does after escaping is to try to kill Miss Fan An. Such an obvious mission from his master.
“No,” Amuro said, his expression complicated. “It’s just a personal grudge.”
An’an was definitely not on the distillery’s kill list right now. Led by Vodka, half of the organization was watching the drama she was in.
Kinoshita had his own mission target. As for why his real target had no presence, you would have to ask a certain person who was a magnet for hatred.
Suspect An: Just breathing.
The Enemy: How hateful! How dare you provoke me!
“He was using someone else’s face before. We don’t know what he originally looks like,” Amuro said, staring at the monitor. “We can only add more manpower and wait for him to slip up.”
If they could catch him in the act in public, not even Rum could ask Bourbon to protect him.
However, Kinoshita was very clever. On the surface, he had infiltrated the hotel under the guise of a resigned police officer, but in reality, his true identity had also checked into the hotel.
Public Security couldn’t find him by process of elimination. They could only wait.
Additional plainclothes officers and cameras all over the hotel were on duty 24/7. Amuro and Conan spent almost the entire day in the security room.
Watching surveillance footage was a particularly tedious job. Only the occasional appearance of a familiar face on the screen could provide a little entertainment.
For example, Mouri Kogoro, who had had too much to drink and was cosplaying as Sleeping Kogoro in the pool.
For example, Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko, playing UNO with a group of people, their faces covered in white paper strips.
For example, Suspect An, sneaking around the back kitchen like a thief, making three trips.
Edogawa Conan: “Why doesn’t she just sleep in the back kitchen?”
Because stolen food tastes better, Amuro answered in his heart.
This was An’an’s twisted logic. It was specifically manifested in how she would pretend to casually wander by the kitchen door while Amuro was cooking, distracting him with conversation while secretly reaching out with her chopsticks.
A person who loved to cause mischief.
But she was a favorite of the chefs. You could tell just by watching the surveillance. The girl was eating and taking food to go, her bulging cheeks stuffed with the new dishes the head chef was trying out, the kind that ordinary guests couldn’t get.
She had knocked on Amuro’s door halfway through, wanting to share some snacks with him. No one had answered. An’an had lowered her head and sent a text message.
[Sh♂aking♂ly D♂licious, Ex♂clusive♂Tr♂asure, Hot, Guaranteed Satisfaction, a secret to be shared only with you, come find me if you’re interested (dog with a rose in its mouth.jpg)]
Amuro, who had received the text, was speechless. “…”
The fact that her messages had not yet been marked as spam was proof of how pure and precious the neighborly friendship in Beika Town was.
“Nothing unusual,” Edogawa Conan said, rubbing his sore eyes.
Mouri Kogoro was still cosplaying as Sleeping Kogoro in the pool. He had become a landmark, with a long line of guests waiting to take photos with him.
Next to the UNO game, a few mahjong tables had been added. A group of people were clacking the tiles, their eyes red with the thrill of the game.
The wild boss An, wandering in the hotel’s back kitchen, was chatting and laughing with the head chef. She was holding a clean take-out box. Edogawa Conan guessed it might be Mr. Amuro’s late-night snack for tonight.
Everything was normal.
Until darkness suddenly fell.
“What’s going on? A power outage?” Suzuki Sonoko pulled the white strips off her face. “Manager—go see what’s wrong!”
A faint commotion arose from the crowd. Suddenly, the lights came back on.
“It was probably a tripped breaker,” Mouri Ran said. “The power’s back on.”
The sudden power outage had disrupted everyone’s mahjong game. It was getting late anyway, so they decided to break up and go back to their rooms.
Mouri Ran and Sonoko rushed to the pool to carry the sleeping Kogoro. In the security room, Amuro and Conan quickly checked the surveillance footage.
No bloodstains, no bodies.
“Have the hotel prepare a complimentary snack for every guest as an apology for the power outage,” Amuro ordered. “During the process, check if anyone is missing.”
Someone immediately ran to do it. Most of the guests happily accepted the free snacks. A small portion of people even more happily accepted more than one.
“Is Mr. Amuro’s portion for me too?” In room 414, the dark-haired girl poked her head out. “What a coincidence. I also packed a lot of delicious food for him.”
Amuro and Conan were acting alone under the guise of a detective fan club meeting. An’an didn’t suspect anything and asked the waiter to hand over the packed box.
“It feels so good to be remembered,” Conan said mournfully in the security room.
He was also eating the hotel’s food, but the portion in Amuro’s hand was clearly a special from the head chef. It was so annoying.
The dish An’an had called “Sh♂aking♂ly D♂licious” lived up to its name. Amuro ate while wondering if he could ask the head chef for the recipe.
He had heard that the Suzuki Resort Hotel had hired a head chef who had graduated from Totsuki Academy.
(T/N: A reference to the elite culinary school from the anime/manga “Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma.”)
Amuro also wanted to share with Conan, but…
He embarrassedly held up his phone, showing the text message that said “[a secret to be shared only with you].”
Amuro explained, “After all, it was a gift from An’an. It would be rude to share it with others without her permission.”
Edogawa Conan silently ate his rice.
No need to explain to me. I’m not a part of your play.
The search of the hotel continued for some time. Half an hour later, a plainclothes police officer rushed in.
“One of the guests is unreachable,” the plainclothes officer said, handing over the person’s registration information.
The missing person was a man in his thirties, staying in room 501, alone.
Edogawa Conan: “Could he be the killer’s target?”
It was logical. Perhaps they had guessed wrong before. Kinoshita hadn’t checked into the hotel with his real identity. He had hidden somewhere, and after killing, had quietly left.
Amuro picked up the missing person’s registration information.
He stared at the photo on the file for a few seconds, then suddenly walked to the surveillance console, grabbed the mouse, and rewound the video to a few hours ago.
The paused screen was split in two. Half was the drowning dark-haired girl, the other half was the man in the swimming cap, his head lowered, blending into the crowd.
The swimming cap and goggles covered the upper half of his face, but the lower half was barely visible.
Amuro placed the missing person’s photo next to the man in the swimming cap. Edogawa Conan’s pupils shrank.
The person who had disappeared after the power outage… was the killer.