Nagumo Detective Agency
A certain wealthy man has sent me an invite to a dinner party.
A dinner party at an old villa in the middle of nowhere.
I feel a roiling in my chest.
Is it my intuition as a detective?
Or just baseless apprehension?
Invitation to a Social Gathering
This letter gives me the distinct odor of—
Yay! The old dude and I are stepping out! I can't wait!
...an incident—
Think I'll need my toothbrush? You taking yours?
...an inci—
Oh, I'm gonna take my own shampoo!
...an—
You ready, old dude?
You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?
Detectives These Days Are Crazy!
Murder at the Mansion of Screams
Murder
Isn't this super exciting, old dude?
Why?
I mean, how often do you see situations like this?
See, here's what I'm thinking.
An old mansion isolated from civilization by a rope bridge...
It wouldn't be a surprise to stumble across a corpse or two.
Your imagination's getting away from you.
This isn't TV. It's a dinner party.
Just the indulgence of some bored rich guy.
So this is it.
Old Nagasaki House, villa of the wealthy Kuroi Yasuo.
Also known as the "Mansion of Screams."
Apparently, there was a massacre here a long time ago,
and rumor has it, you can still hear the screams to this day.
Wow, talk about setting a mood.
Hello, and welcome.
Thank you for traveling so far.
Mansion Staff
Watanabe Kazuyuki
My name is Watanabe.
The dinner party has already begun. Please, come in.
A-All right, we'll do just that.
Right this way.
This promises to be a delightful evening indeed.
Okay, I can already tell you did it!
I get where you're coming from, but did what exactly?
I apologize. I am too shy to reveal my face.
And that's the mask design you chose?
Right this way, please.
Look at that burn! You got that while grappling with the victim, didn't you?!
Again, what victim?
Ah, the man of the hour has arrived.
The great detective, Nagumo Keiichiro.
Photo- grapher
Tahara Gou
Gotta be rough on you, having to play along with the old geezer's debauchery.
Movie Director
Shiraishi Megumi
Kuroi-san gathers people from all walks of life for a dinner like this every year.
Musician Oki Manabu
Wow, I remember you! You're the high school detective, Nagumo Keiichiro!
You two should stay the night, too.
Martial Artist
Hasegawa Masataka
Comedian
Hiro Saito
That mountain road is dangerous at night.
That guy in the hood looks shady, but I bet he's actually innocent.
Yeah, sure.
So how long has he been hosting these parties, anyway?
He's held them every year for fifteen years now.
Well, excluding three years ago, of course.
Three years ago? What happened then?
Nah, it'd be pretty insensitive to poke at old wounds.
Did something happen three years ago?
Mashiro!
Oh, I came down with the flu, you see.
That's such a lame reason.
Hey. S'been a while.
I'm glad to see you're all well.
You're...
Miyano!
Magazine Editor
Miyano Shigeru
What? Got a problem with me being here?
It appears everyone is here now.
Hold on, Watanabe-san! We were promised Miyano wouldn't be invited!
I-I'm so sorry. I completely forgot.
Aw, c'mon.
Don't be so cold, Megumi.
Keep my name out of your mouth!
I think something happened between those two.
Yeah...
Indeed.
Actually, they used to be married.
Oki-san?
They split up because Miyano got violent with her,
but then, they got into a nasty battle over custody.
They still fight like cats and dogs.
Why are you looking at me with eyes that say, "grown-ups are gross"?
I can't be around this man!
Watanabe-san, I'm borrowing the shower!
O-Of course.
I think she just set a massive flag.
It does sound like there's trouble ahead.
I agree.
Anyway, why don't we go ahead and get some food?
Sure.
Man, I'm so hungry.
I'm right here! How is it even possible for you to ignore me right now?!
Oh, sorry. You're here, huh?
I thought you were an Asunaro-shaped smudge on my contact lens.
Are you really that bad at lying?!
Well, if you must know, this is my second time attending this dinner party.
You'll take any opening to talk about yourself.
Hey, Asunaro, doesn't it feel like some kind of incident is about to happen?
Sorry. She's been talking like that all night.
No, Nagumo-sensei.
In fact, I have detected a faint whiff of mystery myself.
This food, for example.
You don't think it's poisoned, do you?!
I told them last year that I can't stand tomatoes,
yet the main dish is tomato-based.
Don't stand so close to me. I don't want people thinking I know you.
It's so weird.
With all these elements in place, there's no way nothing's gonna happen.
Like, we suddenly hear a scream or—
Was that Shiraishi?
The shower room is on the second floor.
What do we do, old dude?
What? You heard something?
Oh, come on! Get it together!
No, seriously, I can't hear high-pitched sounds.
This is the problem with old dudes!
Shiraishi-san! Shiraishi-san, please open the door!
No response.
Watanabe-san, do you have a master key?
It's in the basement storage.
We don't have time to wait around.
Sorry, door. I'm gonna have to break you down!
Oh, yeah, pretty sure I hurt my shoulder. Like, for real.
Ugh! Just stand back, old dude! Like, all the way back!
I'm sure she just saw a cockroach or something in the shower.
It's okay. I've simulated this over and over.
Even if I find a body, don't freak out. Don't panic.
Just try to preserve the crime scene.
The crime scene.
Don't look, Mashiro. You don't need to know this life yet.
Old dude.
C-C-Cockroach.
She really did just see a cockroach in the shower.
Oh, that gave me such a fright!
After all that wishing for an incident to happen...
Well, she is at a very curious age, after all.
Now, Mashiro-san, allow me to explain the tragedy that took place here.
This was once the home of Nagasaki Kanpachi, a man who attained great wealth through trade.
One day, a man with a grudge against Kanpachi broke into Nagasaki House,
and slaughtered the whole family with a billhook.
To ensure that none of his victims escaped, the man had cut the rope bridge,
the only thing connecting the house to the outside world, in advance.
Thankfully, the eldest daughter happened to be visiting a friend that day,
so she alone survived.
One stormy day, fifteen years ago...
...today.
That was nearby.
Look!
That's where the rope bridge is.
This isn't good.
If that bridge falls, there'll be no way to get in and out of this estate.
You don't mean...
This mansion will become isolated.
In other words, we'll all be locked in.
Old dude, let's go check it out!
R-Right.
Will they be all right?
Watanabe-san.
That story about the Nagasaki family massacre.
I've looked into it myself, and you're mistaken about one detail.
You said the killer cut the rope bridge,
but in truth, he burned it so that it would look like it had been hit by lightning.
What is the meaning of this?
I-Is that right? I was only reading the Wiki entry verbatim.
Oh, I see.
Looks like the bridge is fine.
I guess the lightning hit that tree.
But we should make absolutely sure.
Some sparks could've flown onto the bridge.
Hey, Mashiro.
Hang on a sec!
I feel like this support is a bit loose.
Ah.
Detectives These Days Are Crazy!
So far...
Nothing's really happened yet.
Nagumo-sensei! Is the bridge all right?
Everyone, please stay calm and listen to me.
I have good news and bad news.
First, the bad news.
The bridge is out. Because Mashi—
Say what?!
So we can't leave?
That can't be. How could lightning have taken out the bridge?
Uh, it fell because Mashi—
You gotta be kidding me.
I have a shoot tomorrow.
So what's the good news?
The good news is, uh, well...
Sorry. I said that because it sounded good, but there isn't any.
Anyway, we should all stay inside the house at least until the storm passes.
Well, this is a problem.
I get the feeling some kind of incident is gonna happen.
Indeed. I do feel a bit uneasy.
Clown
Ichijo Masami
Wait, wait, wait! And who are you?!
Who am I? I'm Masamin, of course.
Using a nickname right off the bat doesn't help. When'd you even get here?
Around the time he mentioned the flu.
So basically the whole time?! You could've introduced yourself!
Hey, Mr. Detective.
You said the bridge was out,
but was it really the lightning that did it?
Or did someone take it out?
Well, yes, actually—
I knew it! Just as I thought!
The situation we find ourselves in now
is exactly the same as the Nagasaki family massacre.
What's the killer after? That's obvious.
He wants to hear screams ring all through this mansion,
just like on that tragic night so long ago!
This just took a very unexpected turn!
That's what you were about to say, right, great detective?
Huh? Um, w-well, I mean...
Precisely.
He went with it!
As Miyano-san says, the killer is trying to recreate the Nagasaki family massacre.
Just like fifteen years ago, he's taken out the bridge on a stormy night,
isolating the mansion. That's step one.
But why would he want to do this?
Well, um, I...
My assistant will explain.
What? Me?!
S-Since I didn't introduce myself before, I'm Mashiro.
Uh, the objective of the person who destroyed the bridge is most likely...
revenge.
She went with it!
Revenge? For what?
Most likely, against someone connected to the incident fifteen years ago.
Do you have some idea who that might be?
Yes, of course!
Hey!
S-Sorry, I couldn't help it.
What're you gonna do now? You're the one who took out the bridge.
But you're the one who started this whole thing.
Everything okay?
All Good
All good.
So yeah, someone connected to the incident fifteen years ago,
who holds some sort of grudge against someone here.
That would be...
for the high school detective, Asunaro, to explain, not me!
Huh?!
Well? Who's the bad guy?!
Ah, um...
Even amid the ear-piercing lightning, the culprit's desperate, frantic pulse...
is somehow easily heard.
He went with it!
The one who took out the rope bridge...
was you, wasn't it, Shiraishi-san?
M-Me? I don't know what you're talking about.
There was one survivor of the incident fifteen years ago, was there not?
The eldest Nagasaki daughter, fourteen years old at the time,
making her twenty-nine now, just like you.
Shiraishi-san, you are the survivor of that incident,
and you're here to avenge your family.
Am I wrong?
Huh?! Is he gonna get away with that?!
That's right. I'm the sole survivor of the Nagasaki family.
She went wi—wait, what?!
After the incident, I looked into the killer's background,
and learned something shocking.
The killer was a relative of Kuroi, the head of this household,
and he used Kuroi's influence to cover up his crime.
I couldn't stand for it.
I falsified my identity to get here,
so I could get closer to Kuroi and find an opportunity to kill him.
And today, I'd recreate the scene from fifteen years ago,
only this time, I'd be the one to kill him.
That was my plan, and yet...
Though I wasn't expecting the bomb I rigged on the bridge to go off so soon.
Wait, really?
Megumi.
I only hooked up with you because I wanted access to the media's information network.
I just have the worst luck.
Of all things, to think there'd be three detectives here...
Tell me, Mr. Detective.
Why do you people always just happen to be on the scene?
You've got it backwards, Shiraishi-san.
It's not that detectives are drawn to crimes.
We just have this useless fate that makes incidents drawn to us.
That's what detectives are.
He managed to wrap it all up so gracefully!
So how are we supposed to get home? The bridge is gone.
Yeah, thanks to you, remember?
Hey, you finally got to say it, old dude.
Everyone, I've come to pick you up.
Hey! Maki-chan!
Asunaro-kun, you have a helicopter?
Thanks, Maki-chan!
Will you be coming or staying, Master? You want to stay, right?
Uh, no! Why would that be multiple-choice?
Whoa, we're so high up!
Hey, Asunaro-kun.
What is it?
How'd you know Shiraishi-san was the killer?
Instinct.
That's all?!
Master's instincts are abnormally keen.
Well, you know, in cases like this,
the woman often ends up surprising everyone, right?
Uh, I guess?
Nagumo Detective Agency
That was actually pretty fun, huh?
What's wrong, old dude? You look so grim.
You didn't notice?
We never even saw Kuroi.
The host, absent from his own party?
Something's clearly off with that.
No, he was there.
What?!
Wh-Where? When did he show up?
When you were picking on that clown.
Zero presence!
Also, apparently, Shiraishi-san was mistaken about the whole thing.
Huh?
That stuff about the Nagasaki family massacre and Kuroi covering it up was all a mistake.
Everyone in Shiraishi-san's family is alive and well.
So it all worked out peacefully in the end.
It really was just me being anxious for no reason.
No, I'm not just imagining this roiling feeling in my chest.
There's still a hidden darkness behind this case.
Mashiro, we're going back to that mansion.
Huh? To do what?
You know what.
To find the last piece we need to solve this case.
There was no piece to find,
and the roiling feeling in his chest was just age-related reflux esophagitis.
Huh? He should be around here.
I got mine near here.
Did he run away?
Uh, no, I'm right here.
Ah, there he is!
Got ya, Bikajuu!
Hey, watch it!
What the hell are you guys up to? I've been right here the whole time.
Yay, I caught him!
Sensei, have you really not heard of "Mokemon GO"?
The hell is that?
Bikajuu
Lightning
A smartphone app that uses GPS functionality in conjunction with AR
to allow players to hunt Mokemon in the real world.
Sorry, but my Español is a bit rusty.
I was speaking the same language I always do, Sensei.
It took him a whole month to learn how to take pictures with a phone.
It'll probably take him until the next total solar eclipse to learn this.
That's not for another ten years.
I'm not that stupid.
Pardon me.
Is my master here?
Hey, Maki-chan! Long time no see!
Um, it's good to see you again.
Maki-chan, I'm not using my camera.
Hey, Maki-chan, guess what? I caught a Bikajuu! Isn't that awesome?
Huh?
C'mon, Maki-san's not gonna get it if you just start talking about this "Bikajuu."
Sure she will! All young people know about it! Right, Maki-chan?
O-Of course! I just love B-B-B-Bikajuu!
Me, too! What's your favorite thing about it?
H-How it goes so well with white rice, I guess?
What the heck is "Bikajuu," anyway?
Since when did that kinda creature exist?
She's not in high school?
'Scuse me! Another draft beer, please!
And some stingray fin!
Just how old is she?
Maki-chan and the Generation Gap
I'm doin' my best, too, ya know.
But youth culture changes so fast nowadays.
Mm-hmm.
Master doesn't even know what a beeper is.
Can you believe that?
Mashiro didn't even know what a telephone card was.
Small
Items
Small
Items
Small
Items
A-hup.
Small
Items
Small
Items
Small
Items
"Telephone card"? What's this?
Telephone Card
What, you don't even know what a telephone card is?
O-Of course I do! I'm a heavy user, in fact!
Okay, you can have that one. Try it out.
H-Hello?
Why are you taking a burst shot? Jerk!
It's just so unbelievable, I couldn't help it.
Yeah, kids these days don't know about telephone cards.
I once asked Master if he knew how to use one...
What a silly question. You seem to think I'm a fool.
I do, yes.
Waiter!
Yes?
Tell the chef today's meal was fantastic as always. And...
can I pay with this telephone card?
Pardon?
It showed me just how quickly time has flown by,
and then I got depressed.
Is this what they call a "generation gap"?
Maki-san, you might want to call it for the night.
I know, right? Today was so much fun.
I'm so glad I got to talk to you, Nagumo-sensei.
I'm just glad I could be of help.
I'm surprised, though.
I didn't know you were older than Mashiro and Asunaro-kun.
Oh, crap!
And you can drink even more than me.
I-I can't drink alcohol.
Huh?
Th-This is, um, high-volume barley tea.
But you're not a minor, right?
I-I'm, uh, twenty-mrmmff years old.
Mrmmff?
I've never heard of telephone cards or beepers.
And I love Bikajuu.
Next Time
Welcome to the World of Grown-Ups
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{1i1\fnCourier New\b1\4a&H00&\i1\bord3\shad0\fsp-0.5\fs45\an9\pos(358,28)\c&H000000&\3c&H000000&\t(30,265,\3c&HFFFFFF&)}A Midsummer\h\h Thriller
A Midsummer\h\h Thriller
Mashiro and the Agent from the Stars