Chapter 126: The Cover-Up That Makes Things More Suspicious
The peaceful temple welcomed six extraordinary travelers.
To be precise, four "ordinary" travelers plus two Grim Reapers on patrol.
The old monk was overjoyed—finally, travelers had arrived! He was going to make a fortune!
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached, and three more monks rushed out, all appearing to be around twenty years old.
"I am Abbot Tenei of Sannō Temple," the old monk introduced himself, then introduced his four disciples to the six travelers.
He then eagerly rubbed his hands together, his white mustache swaying from side to side as he revealed a wrinkled smile.
Combined with his straw hat and hunched figure, he looked like a sleazy old merchant.
"Six guests staying overnight—that'll be 60,000 yen total, including tonight's and tomorrow morning's meals. Who's paying?"
"That's quite expensive, isn't it?" Yor frowned, feeling like they'd stumbled into a tourist trap.
Another unscrupulous merchant?
"This isn't expensive at all," Monk Tenei said with a smile. "Sannō Mountain is isolated for dozens of kilometers in every direction, and the only place to stay is our Sannō Temple."
After saying that, he walked outside and pointed to the dark, cloud-covered sky. "Look at the sky—it's going to rain soon. Sannō Mountain becomes very dangerous during the rainy season. The ground gets slippery, and the mountainside becomes unstable. It's not suitable to descend in this kind of weather, whether on foot or by car."
BOOM!
A sudden clap of thunder seemed to punctuate Monk Tenei's words, and then a flash of lightning illuminated half of his weathered face.
"Besides, there's a legend of the Mist Tengu on Sannō Mountain. The Mist Tengu loves to attack travelers in the rainy mountains, especially ladies like yourselves.
"Children are also their primary targets—the Tengu especially favors children.
"And look, this gentleman is still intoxicated. I really don't recommend descending the mountain in this condition."
"A licking dog? Papa, what kind of dog is a licking dog? Is it like Bond? Should we get one too? Bond must be lonely guarding the house all alone."
"..."
"It's a Tengu, not a licking dog!" Monk Tenei corrected. "The Mist Tengu is a very dangerous yokai! How could we let you keep one at home? You know, the villagers nearby come to Sannō Mountain every year to worship the Mist Tengu for protection. Children shouldn't talk nonsense~"
Monk Tenei leaned closer to Anya and whispered quietly, "Be sure to hold onto your mother tightly when you sleep tonight~"
"Kyaaaa—!"
A sudden scream startled everyone.
Natsukawa turned around and saw Ran collapsed on the ground, staring in terror at the dark forest behind them.
Uh...
Monk Tenei hadn't managed to scare Anya, but he'd terrified Ran half to death with his perfectly timed lightning strike. She'd probably have nightmares tonight.
"Are you alright, Ran?" Yor helped her up, teasing gently. "You're too easily frightened. Abbot Tenei was obviously joking."
"N-no, look behind us! There's someone there!"
Ran was genuinely terrified. Just moments ago, when the lightning flashed, she'd seen a figure disappear across the bridge behind them.
But how could there be anyone else in the mountains at this hour? Combined with the eerie atmosphere, Ran felt certain they were being stalked by this so-called "Mist Tengu."
"I say, you six, why don't you stay here? Sixty thousand yen isn't expensive at all. The scenery at our Sannō Temple is quite beautiful."
Natsukawa didn't answer immediately, instead glancing back toward the bridge.
However, it was too dark, and the mist obscured their vision—they couldn't see anything.
Perhaps Ran was just seeing things out of fear.
A light drizzle had started outside, and it looked like the rain was gradually intensifying. A cold wind blew through, making everyone shiver.
"Alright!" Natsukawa nodded and pulled out six 10,000-yen bills from his pocket, handing them over. "If Sannō Temple can provide us with a pleasant experience, I'll donate another 60,000 yen to Master Ganjin's shrine when we leave."
Monk Tenei's eyes lit up, and he happily accepted the money. "Then naturally we won't give our guests a bad experience! There are only six guests tonight, and we'll provide the best service!"
Natsukawa suspected this guy might have been a hotel manager before becoming a monk, or perhaps he'd studied hospitality management in university.
The business acumen was strong, but he appreciated the service orientation.
As for the additional 60,000 yen later... well, that depended on whether Tenei survived the night.
Afterward, led by his eldest disciple Kannen, the group arrived at their rooms.
There were two rooms total—one for the three girls and one for the three boys.
Natsukawa rubbed his nose and frowned slightly. "Master Kannen, I can pay extra, but we need three rooms."
Kogoro Mori reeked of alcohol—it would be better to let him sleep in a room by himself.
Conan nodded vigorously. Uncle Mori not only reeked of alcohol but also snored incredibly loudly after drinking, which had tormented him for far too long.
Kannen smiled. "No need to pay extra—we have plenty of rooms available."
With that, Kannen gestured to Shūnen beside him to prepare another room.
As for Mokunen and Tonnen, they were assigned to cook dinner.
Tenei was the abbot, so he naturally didn't need to worry about these tasks—he just needed to wait patiently for dinner.
"Huh, what's this place?"
Anya peeked out from the doorway of a room in the corridor for a long time, then tiptoed over to unlock the antique door latch, pushed the door open, and went inside.
Conan followed with a curious expression.
A locked room? That's suspicious! Maybe some incident happened here before. That's a detective's intuition.
"That room!" Kannen's face changed drastically. "You can't go in there!"
However, the two little troublemakers showed no sign of obeying.
Kannen hurriedly followed them inside, and seeing that the two children were just standing in the room looking around without touching anything, he felt slightly relieved.
"Is there something wrong with this room?"
Uncle Mori was fast asleep, so Natsukawa had to investigate the plot himself.
"N-nothing. I'm just afraid the children will wander around. The temple is right next to the cliff, so there's still a certain degree of danger." Kannen's expression was strained, and he didn't elaborate further.
"Huh, Master Kannen, the wooden door here seems to be a different color than the wooden doors elsewhere." Conan asked with an innocent face.
"It broke somehow before, and we had a carpenter repair it."
Monk Kannen clearly didn't want to remain in the room any longer and waved for the group to exit.
Anya listened intently to Kannen's thoughts, then muttered under her breath, "Could someone have died here? Hanged from the ceiling? Didn't Master Shūnen just say that the Tengu would hang humans they capture from high places and strangle them with ropes?"
Kannen panicked even more, but since these were his benefactors, he forced an awkward smile and explained, "The Tengu is just a legend—a legend! Everyone should come to the main hall to pay your respects to Master Ganjin first."
With that, he ushered the two children out and carefully locked the door.
Conan, chin in hand, looked contemplative.
This Monk Kannen is clearly covering something up. Something definitely happened here.
It seems I'll need to have Professor Agasa investigate.
I wonder if this remote mountain temple even has a phone line...
[End of Chapter 126]
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