Chapter 157: Where is Doi Takaki?
Mountain Villa
A vast expanse of white snow stretched endlessly, heaven and earth blending into one.
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, blanketing the entire mountain forest in pristine white.
At a glance, the trees were draped in a thin layer of snow. The glistening crystals made this world, covered in its white coat, even more radiant and pure.
A sleek GTR sped off the main road and into the mountains, its engine purring softly with a rhythmic hum.
Ahead lay Natsukawa's destination—the mountaintop villa.
"I never expected Big Spender to be so handsome! We're really destined to meet like this. Come to think of it, when we were chatting in the group, I had no idea he'd be such a good-looking guy!"
Inside the car, Suzuki Sonoko beamed with excitement, feeling hopeful about this magic enthusiasts' gathering.
Big Spender was already so handsome—now she was eagerly anticipating meeting Red Herring, who was sure to be an elegant and dashing gentleman.
"I also never expected the Magician's Apprentice to be Sonoko-san," Natsukawa replied with a smile.
As expected of the heiress of the Suzuki Group—always ahead of the curve. Even though mobile phones had only recently become widespread, she was already attending offline meetups with online friends.
Inside the car, besides Natsukawa and Sonoko, were Ran, Conan, and Anya.
"Speaking of which, what's wrong with Conan-kun?" Sonoko asked curiously.
Squeezed between her and Ran, Conan looked deathly pale, wrapped in an extremely thick down jacket that made him look like a miniature sumo wrestler.
Ran shook her head in confusion. "I don't know either. When I got home at noon, Conan was already like this, but it doesn't seem like anything serious. His cold has gotten much better—he's just a bit pale."
Conan lay listlessly, leaning against the backrest with his eyes closed, trying to rest.
What a grueling morning.
Although Professor Agasa's hangover cure had counteracted the side effects of Natsukawa's folk remedy, the new side effects resulting from the combination weren't much better than simple diarrhea.
His once bright eyes were now incredibly cloudy, and he saw double. His legs were weak—Anya had to help him into the car. His head throbbed with pain, like the pounding headache of someone drunk, even though his mind was perfectly clear.
In short, while his cold was improving, he'd developed blurred vision, leg weakness, and migraines.
His immune system was repaired, but the rest of his body was malfunctioning.
However, this was barely acceptable for Conan, since a headache didn't affect his deductions—but a cold would!
The snowy terrain was difficult to traverse, and the uphill road forced them to slow down considerably.
Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of a suspension bridge.
"There's a suspension bridge ahead. The car can't cross—we'll have to walk. According to the map, it shouldn't be much farther."
The others nodded in agreement with Natsukawa's assessment.
Stepping onto the snow-covered ground, they crossed the precipitous suspension bridge, walked several hundred meters, and suddenly their view opened up dramatically.
"This should be it."
Looking at the isolated mountain villa before them, Sonoko, without any sense of danger whatsoever, happily rushed forward and rang the doorbell.
The door opened quickly, revealing a middle-aged man.
The man smiled the moment he saw Sonoko. "This must be the Magician's Apprentice, right? You're the only girl we're still waiting for, so there's no mistake."
"Huh?" Sonoko was stunned for a moment before replying, "But I've always pretended to be a guy in the chat room. How could you..."
"Hahaha, that's definitely related to your chatting style. We've known for a long time, and sometimes we even joke about it privately."
The young man behind the middle-aged man laughed. "If you really want to pass as a guy, only someone like Tanaka-san can fool everyone.
If I hadn't met her in person today, I would've always thought Red Herring was a man."
"Tell me about it!" The young woman next to him rolled her eyes. "Same with you. I always thought you were a woman, and we even discussed lingerie together."
"I'm the villa owner, Aragoshi Mitsuhiko—online name: Ventriloquist." After introducing himself, the middle-aged man gestured to the young man behind him. "This is Hamano Toshiya—online name: Escape King."
The young woman introduced herself next. "Online name: Fancy Liz. Real name: Kuroda Naoko."
"Huh, who's this?" Sonoko noticed another person standing further back. This was a young woman who looked somewhat elegant, and the beauty mark at the corner of her mouth added a touch of allure.
"Online name: Red Herring. Real name: Tanaka Kikue."
Tanaka Kikue craned her neck to look at the others behind Sonoko and asked, "Who are these people with you?"
Sonoko turned around to introduce them. "Oh, Ran is my best friend, and this is Natsukawa-san—'Big Spender' from the chat room. Conan-kun and Anya-chan are the kids we brought along."
Speaking of which, Sonoko wasn't particularly fond of children—bringing kids along could be troublesome sometimes.
"Big Spender?!"
The four people at the door exclaimed in surprise. Another person who'd been hiding their true identity.
Big Spender and Red Herring had joined the chat room around the same time, but their chat styles and real-life appearances were complete opposites.
Red Herring had been imagined by everyone in the chat room as an elegant gentleman and handsome man, but in person turned out to be a large woman.
Big Spender, on the other hand, had been more conventional in the chat room, spouting boastful nonsense like a typical online braggart, but turned out to be a handsome blond man!
Absolutely outrageous! Incredibly shocking!
"Everyone, it's a pleasure to meet you all." Natsukawa smiled and nodded, picking up the little girl. "This is my daughter, Anya. She's been begging to come along, but there's no one at home to watch her, so I had to bring her."
"It's quite alright, but I didn't expect Big Spender to already have a child." Aragoshi sighed and waved his hand dismissively. "The villa is quite spacious—even if a dozen more people showed up, it wouldn't be a problem."
"This is Sukama-san, my assistant. Just let him know if you need anything."
"Hello everyone. Please don't hesitate to ask."
Sukama was tall and thin, his bowl-cut hair covering his forehead. His gaunt face and gloomy eyes made people involuntarily uncomfortable.
"How scary!" Anya hid behind Natsukawa, peeking out with just half her head visible, her eyes as determined as a superhero about to defeat a monster.
"Don't worry about it. Sukama-san just looks intimidating—he's actually a very kind person."
Sukama nodded slightly, giving Anya what he thought was a gentle smile. "Then I'll go prepare the rooms."
After he left, the group chatted for a while at the entrance.
Sonoko remained excited throughout, her eyes darting around as if eagerly anticipating something.
"By the way, where's Doi Takaki?"
That was Red Herring's real name in the original chat discussions. Although the name wasn't particularly impressive, Sonoko was convinced he'd be a real heartthrob!
At least as handsome as Natsukawa.
"Uh..."
Aragoshi chuckled awkwardly, glancing at the other three chat room members behind him. He noticed they all had strange smiles on their faces.
"What's wrong?"
A voice suddenly came from the stairs opposite the main entrance, accompanied by the sound of approaching footsteps.
(End of Chapter)
[Support Goal: 500 PS → +1 Chapter]
[Support Goal: 10 Reviews → +1 Chapter]
Your review helps the story grow.
P1treon Soulforger (30+ chapters ahead)