The Locked-Room Murder at the Lavender Villa

Inspector Matsumoto Kiyonaga stared at the phone he had just hung up, took a moment to settle the swell of relief that his daughter was safe, then walked over to Takasugi Toshihiko and bowed deeply, offering his apology for the mistake that had indirectly cost the young man his mother's life all those years ago.

Looking down at the man he had hated for so long bowing before him, Takasugi thought of Sayuri, and tears spilled from his eyes despite himself. A part of the hatred coiled in his heart finally, quietly, let go.

So seriously — why couldn't you two have just talked to each other ahead of time? Do neither of you have a mouth? Keeping ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠everything bottled up inside like that.

Xiayu grumbled inwardly.

Just then, she noticed Inspector Matsumoto walking toward her and couldn't help wondering what business he could possibly have with her at a moment like this.

"Miss Natsume, thank you truly for talking my daughter down. As for that request of yours — I will do everything in my power to help you find your brother."

That was just an excuse I made up!

Xiayu froze, awkward. Faced with the inspector's earnest, grateful eyes, all she could do was force a strained smile and thank him.

With that, the matter was more or less settled — and the wedding, presumably, was off. Not that Xiayu had ever doubted it. With Conan on the scene, how could any wedding possibly go off without a hitch?

Still, she was a little angry about the whole affair. She held it in as long as she could, but on her way out she couldn't resist turning back and slapping Takasugi Toshihiko across the face — honestly, what an idiot, too thick-headed to understand the situation and taking it out on an innocent girl!

Conan: "......"

Whoa, whoa — Xiayu, what are you doing? Slapping someone that openly in front of all these police officers?

He glanced around, utterly speechless — only to find that every officer nearby had reflexively averted his eyes, making it abundantly clear they intended to see nothing.

So even though everyone had agreed not to pursue the matter, the local police still harbored some resentment toward the man who had nearly gotten their colleague's — their superior's — daughter killed. Figures.

On the way home, Xiayu gave it some thought and sent Diluc a message, filling him in on everything that had happened that day.

What a stroke of bad luck, for the Takasugi Group to end up with an heir like that.

True, everyone had promised Sayuri they wouldn't breathe a word about today's events. But no wall is completely airtight, and with this many people in the know, the story was bound to leak out in one form or another — and when it did, the fallout would surely leave the Takasugi Group reeling.

And wasn't that the perfect opening for outside interests to step in?

Diluc's businesses and influence were concentrated in Country H for now, but Japan was where the story's main stage lay, and sooner or later they would need to get a foothold in some Japanese industries.

The Takasugi Group was about to be in trouble. Strike first while the iron was hot — move before the other conglomerates even heard the news and had time to react, and the biggest share of the spoils would be theirs.

Ah, but the Takasugi Group has already been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through so much... is it really right of me to kick them while they're down? Xiayu scolded herself for a grand total of three seconds, then went about her day as if nothing had happened.

Back home, she opened the System to check her quest rewards — and was surprised to find that there had been a World Quest today as well. And it was already complete.

She opened the quest description:

Time rewound to a little earlier that day.

Shikoku. The Lavender Villa.

"Miss Lisa, here we are — this is where I work now."

Noelle led ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lisa through the doors of the Lavender Villa.

Yes — this place was the identity Noelle had been given upon arriving in this world: a maid in the villa's employ.

From what she'd been told, the maid who had worked here before her had met with some misfortune, and Noelle had been hired on as her replacement.

Though she felt a little guilty about leaving a post she had only just started, the Traveler's side of things simply came first.

Fortunately, the villa's butler was an easygoing man. He hadn't made things difficult for her at all — he'd only asked that Noelle see her current term of work through to the end before she left.

Noelle was deeply grateful to the butler — a Mr. Renzo Kabutani. So when she learned that the reason her predecessor had met with misfortune was tied to a certain locked-room murder case involving the villa's young lady, she resolved to find the girl's killer before she left, as a way of bringing Mr. Kabutani some comfort.

But she was hopeless at detective work. All she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could do was gather what information she could and then find someone to help.

Noelle hated to burden the Traveler, who already worked so hard every day. As it happened, Lisa was free — and once she heard the story, she had volunteered to come along.

"This villa really is full of lavender everywhere, isn't it? Did the young lady of the house love it so?" Lisa asked, eyeing the sprigs tucked into every corner of the place.

"Yes. According to Mr. Kabutani, the young lady adored lavender," Noelle answered after a moment's thought. "And even after her unfortunate death, Mr. Kabutani never changed the custom — he still keeps lavender placed all around the villa."

"Then, Noelle, would you take me to see the room where she died?"

"Of course, Miss Lisa. This way, please." Noelle led the way with eager diligence.

"Tell me, Noelle — are you quite sure it's proper to bring an outsider like me straight to the crime scene?" Lisa asked, struck by the thought as they walked.

"Please don't worry, Miss Lisa — I already spoke with Mr. Kabutani about it," Noelle said, glancing back with a warm smile. "He was so pleased when he heard I'd found someone to investigate. He even said he hoped we might uncover the truth soon."

"Is that so?" A faint, peculiar smile crossed Lisa's face, and she murmured the words almost to herself.

At the door of the room where the murder had taken place, they ran into the butler himself.

"Mr. Kabutani!" Noelle greeted him warmly.

"Ah, Noelle," the butler — Renzo Kabutani — replied, then turned his attention to the woman at her side. "So this is the friend you mentioned, the one coming to look into things? Would she be a detective, then?"

"Heh — I'm no detective," Lisa said with an easy smile. "Merely a librarian. Noelle is so grateful for the kindness you've shown her these past weeks, Mr. Kabutani, that she went to the trouble of asking me to look into it."

"I — is that so." The butler's expression grew a shade uneasy. He had come over, in truth, only to see what sort of investigator Noelle had brought along. Now that he knew it wasn't a detective at all — just an ordinary librarian — some of the tension left his shoulders, and he soon excused himself and walked away.

Lisa watched his retreating figure, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. My, my... so the good butler knows his lady's secrets too, does he?

"Noelle — does this Mr. Kabutani care for the young lady very much?"

Noelle answered without a moment's hesitation. "Of course he does, Miss Lisa. Even after she passed, Mr. Kabutani insists that her room be cleaned regularly, and that everything be kept as close to how she left it as possible." With that, she opened the door.

"Miss Lisa, this is the crime scene from that night. If there's anything at all you need, please leave it to me."

Seeing how much Noelle longed to be useful, Lisa considered for a moment, then set her to searching the corners of the room, the space beneath the cabinets, and other such nooks for any clues that might be lying about.

Lisa herself went to the window and examined the doors and windows — the heart of any locked-room mystery.

And it was then that she noticed something: one of the windows wasn't actually sealed at all. It had merely been glued shut — easily pried loose. Which would mean that when the crime occurred, the room was never truly locked... and that the young lady had not taken her own life, but been murdered.