Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Fang Zheng sat silently in the chair, watching "Sleeping Kogoro" deduce, without saying a word.

Just as he thought, after getting the hint from Fang Zheng, Conan almost immediately found the culprit and cracked the murder method.

The coroner indicated that the death time of the corpse should be around one o’clock in the afternoon, and at that time in the hotel were only Kogoro Mouri, the Shimokasa Sisters, and Mr. Shiromoto, who returned for a rest. However, the murderer was not among them; in fact, the real murderer went to the plateau with Fang Zheng—Manager Arimori!!

And his method of the crime was quite peculiar. In fact, Manager Arimori did not kill Chizuru Bizen immediately. He used the excuse of checking the doors and windows, went to Chizuru Bizen’s room after Fang Zheng and the others left, then knocked her out, and quietly took the unconscious Chizuru Bizen to the bus he was driving.

Then until noon, he used the pretext of preparing lunchboxes, returned to the bus alone, and choked Chizuru Bizen to death, making it look like a suicide—well, he literally sent Chizuru Bizen a lunchbox.

Then in the afternoon when they returned to the hotel, he again used the excuse that his car’s engine had a problem, letting others go first, after which he swiftly took out the pre-prepared glider from the bus (yes, during his self-introduction, Manager Arimori mentioned that both he and Miss Shimomura Shinobu loved playing with gliders), then flew with Chizuru Bizen’s corpse from the plateau all the way back to the hotel.

Then he brought Chizuru Bizen’s corpse from the balcony back to her own room, staged the suicide scene, and then left through the main gate, using the external security lock to create the illusion of a suicide locked room.

After that, he secretly snuck into Miss Shimomura Shinobu’s car trunk, then called Miss Shimomura Shinobu, saying his car couldn’t be fixed and asked her to drive to pick him up. Upon arrival, he took the opportunity when Miss Shimomura Shinobu and Ran were not paying attention to quietly climb out from the trunk, pretending he had always been at the plateau to meet with them...

"I can’t understand..."

Listening to Conan’s deductions, Little Ai looked gloomy, and Fang Zheng nodded as well.

"Right, I think the same."

He understood why Little Ai was like this; it was quite simple, people like Little Ai and Fang Zheng prefer using scientific and logical thinking to deduce everything. They instinctively reduce unreasonable factors and try to control situations as much as possible.

Like the method Conan mentioned, it actually has too many loopholes. For instance, what if someone followed Manager Arimori to prepare the lunchboxes? What if someone was curious and checked the bus to find the unconscious Chizuru Bizen? What if Manager Arimori was seen flying back to the hotel with Chizuru Bizen’s corpse? What if the wind changed direction since temperatures drop at night, and there can be strong winds between the mountains?

Even after returning to the hotel, there would be various errors, like if Miss Shimomura Shinobu checked the trunk or if Manager Arimori was seen climbing out of the trunk?

There are too many uncontrollable factors. If it were a scientific experiment, with the nature of Fang Zheng and Little Ai, they would prefer as few uncontrollable factors as possible. Otherwise, it’s better safe than sorry, right?

This kind of crime method is just like rolling dice, with a fifty percent chance of success and failure, but the problem is that it bizarrely succeeds every time...

Thus, that’s why Fang Zheng always lets Conan handle the deductions, because he simply can’t understand, let alone believe that these whimsical crime methods can successfully work every single time...

What leaves the two speechless even further is that the definitive evidence against Manager Arimori was the powder from the Highland Butterfly on him, because this powder also stained Chizuru Bizen’s corpse, thus indirectly proving that Chizuru Bizen was not left in the hotel.

However, thinking carefully about this would make someone feel speechless. After all, Manager Arimori, you’re about to commit murder, shouldn’t you clean up all traces on you as much as possible beforehand? Plus, the butterfly powder fell on Manager Arimori’s shoulder when they just reached the plateau in the morning, yet Manager Arimori didn’t kill Chizuru Bizen until the afternoon.

Even a normal person would have cleaned off this bit of powder thoroughly long ago, so why is it still there—what kind of nonsense is that?

Is there something wrong with your head?

"Don’t ask."

Facing Little Ai’s gloom, Fang Zheng remained calm.

"Asking means Conanology."

This isn’t scientific at all, but it’s very Conanology, and that’s enough.

Fang Zheng and Little Ai can explain science, but they can’t explain Conanology, only Conan can explain Conanology.

That’s why he’s the protagonist.

And after confirming the evidence, sure enough, Manager Arimori broke down and started explaining his motive—turns out Manager Arimori’s brother once knew Chizuru Bizen while attending university in Tokyo and even dated her for a while, yet at that time Chizuru Bizen only used him as a backup and a simp. Gradually, Arimori’s brother couldn’t satisfy Chizuru Bizen’s monetary demands anymore, eventually even mortgaging the inheritance left to them by their father, which included this hotel, to the bank for money to win Chizuru Bizen’s favor.

The outcome, of course, was that the simp got nothing, and Chizuru Bizen still dumped him, and after that, Arimori’s brother died in an accident during glider flying due to mental confusion, causing the bank to repossess the hotel, which was then sold to someone else. Because that person was old friends with Manager Arimori, they agreed to let him stay here.

Initially, Manager Arimori didn’t want to kill Chizuru Bizen; he invited Chizuru Bizen to meet last night, hoping Chizuru Bizen would offer incense and apologize to his brother, but in reality, the simp neither dies a good death nor is even cared about, and facing Manager Arimori’s request, Chizuru Bizen responded with "How is that my business, that person fell in love with me on his own, I didn’t ask him," which then triggered Manager Arimori’s murderous intent, ultimately deciding to kill Chizuru Bizen...

How to say, both the simp and the gold digger got the end they deserved.

Just that Manager Arimori is a bit pitiful.

Having such a wasteful brother is quite unlucky for him.

Of course, Chizuru Bizen also deserved it for her actions, and Fang Zheng expressed no sympathy.

Since the culprit has confessed, naturally, the next step is to follow procedures, arrest, and conclude the matter.

Mr. Shiromoto and the president were also gloomy because one lost a wife, another lost an actor under such reasons for murder, and one can imagine how many people would curse Chizuru Bizen once the case is revealed.

Green tea b****es aren’t welcome anywhere.

As for Miss Shimomura Shinobu, she’s also in a tough spot. She’s the main chef at the hotel, but just a chef. Now with a murder case, and the manager being the criminal, the hotel might shut down completely, and she’ll be unemployed.

The same goes for the Shimokasa Sisters, who, strictly speaking, are worse off than Miss Shimomura Shinobu, because this is their second time...

After solving the case, Conan dusted his pants and left, without thinking about cleaning up the mess he left behind. From a certain perspective, it’s no wonder that he and Ran are destined never to be together.

Just calculate how many families you’ve ruined, left homeless, closed down and unemployed. With all this karma, you want to have a happy romance?

Impossible!

Dream on!

It shows that heaven is fair after all.

Everyone left the hotel, and it was then that Fang Zheng found the Shimokasa Sisters.

"Miss Shimokasa."

"Is there something you need, Mr. Fang Zheng?"

Upon seeing Fang Zheng, the twins quickly perked up and asked, while Fang Zheng simply smiled at them.

"May I ask, what do you plan to do next?"

"... ... ..."

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s question, the Shimokasa Sisters showed a crestfallen expression, shaking their heads silently.

"If you don’t have anywhere to go next, would you consider being maids at my house?"

"Eh?"

Upon hearing this, the twins looked up at Fang Zheng in surprise.

"Is that okay, Mr. Fang Zheng?"

"Of course, I value your professionalism highly."

Fang Zheng wasn’t merely taking pity on them; the sisters really excel at maid skills. Take the Masked Mansion, for example, the dinner they cooked was quite good, and despite the size of the house, they kept it very tidy.

Although Fang Zheng initially wanted Akemi Miyano to be his maid, she now acts more like his secretary, traveling for work and negotiating deals all day long, leaving no time for maid duties.

With Little Ai turned into a child, there’s no expecting her to clean the house, so these matters are best left to the professionals.

"Is this really alright...?"

However, the Shimokasa Sisters quickly asked worriedly again.

"Mr. Fang Zheng, you know, there was that incident at the Western Mansion where we previously worked, and after that, we had to ask a friend for help to find our current job. Yet, now this happened..."

Upon saying this, the Shimokasa Sisters began to feel uneasy again, and it’s understandable. After all, working at two places consecutively where murders occurred might make them wonder if they’re cursed or have attracted misfortune.

"Relax, it’s not your problem."

Seeing the worried Shimokasa Sisters, Fang Zheng chuckled and shrugged.

"If blame should be assigned, blame Kogoro Mouri. You may not know, but they’re the real jinx; wherever they go, people die. You’ve just seen them less. I encounter them often, and I’m used to it. In fact, when I saw them at the hotel, I had a hunch things would go awry... So you see, it’s not that you have any issue, it’s just bad luck that you’ve run into the Grim Reaper twice."

"I see..."

With that explanation, the sisters finally relaxed considerably, and Fang Zheng nodded, taking out a business card.

"Anyway, you’re always welcome to come; here’s my business card. If you get dismissed, just call me."

Seeing the card Fang Zheng handed over, the sisters quickly took it, then exchanged a smile, lowering their heads towards Fang Zheng in unison.

"Thank you, Mr. Fang Zheng."

"Don’t mention it."