Chapter 23: Just a Shade Less Than Holmes

Genta Kojima was startled by the ugly look on Katsuo Tayen's face.

"Ah, I'm sorry," Dr. Agasa quickly explained, "We were just passing by and saw such a magnificent castle, so we thought we'd come and take a look. If it's not too much trouble, would you mind if we came inside for a tour?"

"Get lost, all of you!" Katsuo Tayen continued, his temper flaring. "We don't welcome outsiders here!"

"What's the matter now?" Mitsuru Mamiya stepped forward, asking with a blank expression.

Mitsuhiko couldn't help but whisper, "That uncle looks so haggard..."

"Mhm," Ayumi nodded.

Mitsuru Mamiya, bearing dark circles under his eyes and a pale complexion, thought: *Children are lucky; they don't have so many worries.*

When Kaito Kuroba left, he had felt relieved, thinking life might... perhaps... possibly... maybe get a little closer to normal.

Instead, the two of them had promised to call, but neither did. On the other hand, Dr. Fukuyama from the Aoyama Fourth Hospital kept calling to inquire about Chi Feichi's condition—and in such excruciating detail that he had practically developed a fantasy disorder from all the lies he’d had to make up.

When people did return, the house remained unsettled. Snakes were slithering everywhere, and the occupants were silent as ghosts.

In the last two days, he and Chi Feichi had exchanged only a few sentences:
"Why are you so quiet today?"
"I talked too much when I went out the other day. I have no desire to speak for the next couple of days."
"Ahem, that snake is running around the castle all day..."
"It's exercising its food. Wild hamsters run at least twenty kilometers a day. If they stay in cramped cages without exercise, they get restless, bite people, chew the bars, and become difficult to care for. Over time, it even affects the texture of the meat."
"..."
"But I'll tell it to try not to scare anyone."
"That's good then..."
"If I cause you any trouble or inconvenience in the future, you can tell me directly."
"Uh, right..."

His attitude was polite, but facing that cold face and eyes as emotionless as a snake's, Mamiya often found he couldn't bring himself to voice his complaints.

For the past two days, he had been caught in a cycle of agonizing over whether to leave, being unable to part with the castle's treasures, and worrying about how to communicate with Chi Feichi or how to fob off that doctor next time. He was anxious, suffering from insomnia, and had a splitting headache.

"Master Mamiya! This brat, who clearly needs more exercise than a hamster, broke in without asking!" Katsuo Tayen pointed at Dr. Agasa. "And this old man with the vacant expression said he wanted to come in for a tour..."

"Vacant expression?" Dr. Agasa retorted indignantly. "Excuse me, I'm a scientist!"

Genta Kojima muttered, "And what does 'needs more exercise than a hamster' even mean..."

"He means you need a snake... no, that's not important," Mamiya realized, stepping forward, his eyes burning as he stared at Dr. Agasa. "You're a scientist?"

Dr. Agasa introduced himself, "My name is Dr. Agasa, and I'm a moderately well-known inventor."

"Then your brain must be much sharper than the average person's, right?" Mamiya felt as if he had found a savior, his entire demeanor brightening. "Please, come in! By the way, it's getting late. Would you like to stay the night?"

"That would be incredibly kind of you!" Dr. Agasa quickly replied.

Dr. Agasa and the Detective Boys successfully entered the courtyard, with Katsuo Tayen leading them on a tour.

"...However, Young Master Kiyonin and Master Mamiya have lived here ever since. It's as if they've been possessed by something..." Katsuo Tayen looked up and saw Chi Feichi standing quietly at the doorway in a black tracksuit. He took the initiative to explain, "Young Master Chi! This is Dr. Agasa, a scientist friend of the master. He's brought these children here to visit today."

Chi?
That surname wasn't common...

Conan's expression stiffened. He looked up slowly, and sure enough, the familiar figure he had seen just two days ago came into view. He couldn't help but turn toward Ai Haibara.

*If this guy is investigating me, he's bound to appear around me...* That's what Haibara had said before, right?

Ai Haibara hadn't expected to run into Chi Feichi here either. She was stunned for a moment, but remained calm under Conan's strange gaze. Although their camping trip had been planned for a while, getting lost here was completely accidental. It was impossible for anyone to have predicted it; it was pure coincidence.

Conan realized this, too, but he still chuckled dryly. Haibara really was a bit of a jinx to run into this guy even here...

"Big Brother Chi Feichi!" Ayumi, who had been surprised by Conan's reaction, recognized him and ran up the steps with a delighted smile. "Why are you here too?"

Chi Feichi softened his tone. "Oh, it's Ayumi. I'm staying here for a while."

Seeing that Chi Feichi remembered her, Ayumi was overjoyed. "Last time I asked that nurse if I could visit you, she said children couldn't go alone. Then my mom promised to take me, but when we went to the hospital a few days ago, the doctor said you had been discharged..."

Conan was still confused.
*Wait, how does Ayumi know Chi Feichi?*
*Hospital? This guy just got out of the hospital?*

"My name is Ai Haibara," Haibara stepped forward. Her expression was calm, though there was a hint of awkwardness in her tone.

She had only learned Chi Feichi's name because Conan told her after he returned. As it turned out, everyone else seemed to know it, and she was the only one in the dark...
*Does this guy hate me or something?*

Chi Feichi nodded. "The name on the parcel wasn't wrong. Yes... I am Chi Feichi."

Mentioning the parcel immediately mollified Haibara.
After all, he hadn't forgotten to send her a gift while he was in Osaka...
Thinking of this, Haibara's tone softened. "Yoshida-san said you were in the hospital before. Were you sick?"

"I suppose you could say that," Chi Feichi said calmly. "The Aoyama Fourth Hospital."

"Aoyama..." Haibara recalled what kind of facility the Aoyama Fourth Hospital was, and she immediately understood why Chi Feichi had specifically mentioned the name.
That hospital... it was quite unique.

Conan was frozen in place as all the clues in his mind connected.
If it was the Aoyama Fourth Hospital, then the strange behavior Haibara had told him about—Chi Feichi knocking out his companion—made sense.
And being mysterious and cold-faced wasn't particularly strange for a patient there.
So, had his suspicions all this time just been him overthinking things?

Genta Kojima saw that the others had suddenly gone quiet and scratched his head. "What's wrong with you guys? What about the Aoyama Fourth Hospital?"

"Ahem," Conan's mind was still a bit of a mess, but he didn't forget to explain. "The Aoyama Fourth Hospital admits patients with mental and psychological illnesses that affect their daily lives—like severe depression, mania, schizophrenia, or catastrophe syndrome—patients who might cause harm to themselves or others."

Moreover, the Aoyama Fourth Hospital was known for its strict management and responsibility. Admission required thorough examinations; if a patient didn't need to be hospitalized, the hospital wouldn't agree to it—they didn't allow people to exploit loopholes. Similarly, to be discharged, one had to undergo examinations and obtain the doctor's approval, confirming the symptoms had subsided enough to live in the outside world.

Thinking about it this way, it was even less likely that Chi Feichi was a member of that organization.
There was nothing worth scheming for in a psychiatric hospital; it wasn't worth the risk for an organization member to go undercover, risking infection or the possibility of never getting out.
And could the Aoyama Fourth Hospital be compromised?
That was impossible. Since its founding, the Aoyama Fourth Hospital had maintained an excellent reputation for over sixty years, never having been involved in any scandals.

Genta Kojima looked weakly at Chi Feichi, only to be met by his indifferent gaze. Scared, Genta took two steps back, his face pale. "Then this big brother is a mental patient!"

"Genta!" Dr. Agasa scolded, his expression becoming serious. "Mental illness is just like physical illness. When you're sick, you feel terrible. You need to see a doctor, take medicine, and stay in the hospital to recover. That's perfectly normal, isn't it? Our bodies can get sick, and our minds can, too. There's nothing to be surprised about."

Genta Kojima was intimidated by Dr. Agasa's stern demeanor, but he still said weakly, "But in the shows my dad watches, the patients in mental hospitals are always so scary..."

"Big Brother Chi isn't scary at all! He helped Ayumi pick up her ball the other day, and besides..." Ayumi looked like she was about to cry, her voice softening. "And when I was passing by the park the other day, I saw Big Brother Chi sitting alone under a tree. Two hours later, when I walked by on my way home, he was still sitting there by himself. I thought he must be so lonely, with no family to keep him company, and being sick is really hard, no matter what kind of illness it is..."

"Ayumi..." Mitsuhiko didn't know what to say to comfort her.

"Besides, Big Brother Chi's deductive skills are amazing," Conan said, clasping his hands behind his head and feigning nonchalance. "Two days ago, I went to a mountain villa with Ran and Sonoko and encountered a murder case. He solved it. He's only just a little bit behind Sherlock Holmes."

"Only a little bit behind Sherlock Holmes?" Mitsuhiko was surprised.

Genta lost his panic, exclaiming, "If even Conan says that, he must be a really amazing person!"

*These people...*
Chi Feichi lowered his eyes slightly. Dr. Agasa's moral compass was unexpectedly upright, and the other kids were actually quite likable. He called out, "Alright, let's go inside. Just like Dr. Agasa said, there's no need to be too afraid. But if you encounter dangerous people, you should still run away; don't just blindly rush in. That's true whether someone is a patient or not."

The three children said:
"We're not afraid of bad guys!"
"Because we are..."
"The Detective Boys!"

Chi Feichi remained blank-faced. With that attitude, the name "Death-Seeking Detective Boys" would be more than fitting...

Mitsuhiko didn't forget to add, "Just like the Baker Street Irregulars in Sherlock Holmes, and we accept any case!"

Dr. Agasa followed behind, smiling like a jolly man.

Katsuo Tayen also smiled, feeling the resentment he had been harboring for some time dissipate quite a bit. After entering, he began introducing the portraits hanging on the wall, recounting some of the past. "Back then, Master Sadaki, who married into the family, respected the Great Master, who was a historian. But the mistress was very dismissive and often said to Master Sadaki..."

"She often said, 'Father is just an intellectual full of twisted logic,'" Masayo Mamiya appeared from behind the group, pushing her wheelchair. "Isn't that right?"