Xingtetsu: You are not included in Elio's script!

Chapter 215: Another puzzle.

"Let me introduce you to several suspects in this case. Their identities are not complicated... First is the store clerk Ayou. He is a Pipisi and his height is not even as tall as Hanabi-sama's waist. He is often teased for this, which makes him become a little gloomy." The deputy sheriff explained.

"Then there's the wealthy businessman Zoro. He wants to join the Pinocchio business group and is in competition with Hanabi-sama. Perhaps that's his motive for murder."

"Finally, there's the gambler Zhong Shan. He once lost a bet to Hanabi-sama and had to hand over his heirloom. Perhaps because of this, he holds a grudge against Hanabi-sama."

"That's all the information. Do you need me to repeat it again?" asked the deputy sheriff.

"No need, I remember it." Black Swan stopped the deputy sheriff from speaking.

"Then the crime scene will be handed over to you." The deputy sheriff said, and then he and the sheriff made way for the passage behind.

As soon as Black Swan walked in, he saw an account book and picked it up: "There is an account book lying on the ground. I guess it was left there by Huahuo?"

"The name 'Qian Ketong' written on the title page is a person's name? A code name? It looks like the owner of this account book." Sambo also saw the name on it when he was next to Black Swan.

"This Qian Ketong should be the victim targeted by Huo Bi this time." said Black Swan.

"Huh...? There's a box?" Black Swan squatted down to check.

Then after thinking for a moment, he opened the box, and a tie lay quietly inside.

"The skit said that the victim was strangled to death. Could it be that this tie is the double-edged murder weapon?" Sambo said to himself.

"The label on the tie says 'For Lord Zoro', so it seems to be Miss Hanabi's personal item." Black Swan guessed.

"Isn't this how the word 'royal' is used?" Sambo's mouth twitched slightly.

"It seems to be the same as the first case. There are only these two pieces of evidence at the scene... the rest... must have been hidden inside by her again?" Black Swan looked around again and found no other evidence.

"Hanabi-sama doesn't want to disrupt the investigation!"

Hanabi's mask reappears.

"What a great phrase for 'not wanting to disrupt the investigation'. This Huo Huo is truly a good citizen who abides by the law. Then why doesn't she turn herself in?" Sambo asked.

Then Hanabi's mask suddenly moved and rushed towards Sambo.

Just when he was about to be hit, Sambo quickly put his hand out to block it, just hoping that it wouldn't hit his face.

But Hanabi's mask disappeared before it even touched him, as if it was just to scare him~

"Huh..." Sambo put down his hand, looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that there was no Hanabi's mask.

...

"It's a small bench, fairly normal, but there are two small footprints drawn on it... drawn with crayons." Sambo said as he looked at the bench in the puzzle room.

"The footprints are half the size of normal ones. They should be left by the Pipisi people." Black Swan guessed.

"Maybe it's just that this guy's painting skills are extraordinary. Tsk...what's that smell! Why is there a smoked fish on the ground?!" Sambo quickly covered his nose.

"Mr. Sambo, take a closer look... This is a top-notch "smoked red herring." Black Swan said jokingly.

"Help me, this joke is so ridiculous..." Sambo lowered his head.

"Even among the fools I know, Miss Hanabi's sense of humor is unique." Black Swan didn't seem to be teasing Hanabi.

"Have you seen many Masked Fools?" Sambo asked.

Black Swan shook his head: "Not many, maybe four or five. After all, I prefer memories that are bathed in the sun and make people feel warm and happy. They usually belong to kinder people."

"What is this clock..." Sambo asked puzzledly while looking at the big clock beside him.

"Open it and take a look." Black Swan suggested.

"So there was a ring stored inside. This could be evidence...why would it be necessary to put it inside the mechanism?" Sangbo expressed his confusion.

"Because this ring was found in the victim's mouth, we need to restore the scene." The sheriff explained.

“From the victim’s mouth…?” Black Swan frowned.

Suddenly, Sangbo discovered something and said quickly, "Hey, there is a line of words engraved on the side of this ring: "Zhong Shan's family heirloom"

"I have to thank you, Mr. Detective Assistant, but... this puzzle seems a little strange."

"Have you figured out who the murderer is?" Sambo asked.

"It's just some superficial intuition... Anyway, let's report to the sheriff." Black Swan said, and then looked at the sheriff beside him.

"Oh! God of Fun! I didn't expect Detective Black Swan to guess it so quickly? So what? Did you find the murderer?" the sheriff asked Black Swan.

"Let's just say so." Black Swan nodded.

"You are worthy of being called the Black Swan Detective. You are as alert as the nest of magpies on the roof of my uncle Frank's garage!"

"Good guy, I just changed the species of bird for you." Sambo looked at the black swan.

"Then may I ask...who is the murderer, and what evidence is there to prove that he is the murderer?" The sheriff asked with a changed tone.

"In my opinion, there should be no murderer in this case." Black Swan shook his head.

"What do you mean?" asked the inspector.

"The evidence is this tie, right?" The Black Swan took out the tie and asked it.

"Yes, that's right! Lady Hanabi stole Zoro's tie to see if it fit her... Who would have thought that Zoro had hidden an anti-theft device in the tie! As soon as Lady Hanabi put the tie around her neck, it began to shrink rapidly and strangled the poor lady to death! She also wanted to swallow the ring to keep her breathing unobstructed, but unfortunately... there was no way to save her!"

"What a tragedy! If it weren't for a detective like you who is so observant, the three suspects would have been wrongly accused!" The sheriff shook his head.

"Uh...isn't something right? This is too simple. Although the first case was not difficult, this..." Sambo said with a frown.

"As you thought, the conclusions pointed to by these evidences are not mutually exclusive. This must be... another prank of Miss Hanabi... Mr. "Detective Assistant", please identify a suspect as the murderer at will." Black Swan gestured with his hand.

"Oh, so that's how it is. Then... Sheriff, the murderer is Zorro and the evidence is the tie, right?" Sambo asked the sheriff.

"That's right, Detective Sambo! I didn't expect you could figure out the truth!"

Sambo continued, "Sir, the murderer is Ayou, and the evidence is the bench, is this correct?"

"Yes! God of Fun, how come I never realized that you have such wisdom!"

"So... there is no murderer at all? The evidence is the ring... Never mind, I just said it casually..."

"Oh my God! Mr. Deputy Sheriff, is he really a genius? He can easily solve such an unimaginable mystery!"

After hearing this, Sambo fell silent.

"Look, Miss Hanabi has given us a puzzle where all the options are correct answers." Black Swan spread his hands, indicating that the puzzle was already clear.

"Why take it so seriously? Lord Hanabi is a masked fool, not a masked genius. If you want challenging puzzles, please turn right out of the door and go to the Boshi Academy. We are only responsible for entertaining reasoning experiences!" explained the sheriff.

"Anyway! Since Detective Black Swan successfully solved this case, I will share Hanabi-sama's next puzzle with you two."

"Sure enough...there's no end to this. This is not a solution." Sambo looked at the Black Swan.

"Let's go, the game is about to end... This time, we will catch up with her." Black Swan said to Sambo.

...