If one had to describe Duanmu Huai's current mood, Lorena's comment would explain it perfectly.
"Eh? Something happened again??"
Listen to that—this "again" is truly meaningful.
Moreover, this time there was no need to investigate whether some cultist was responsible.
The reason was simple.
The victim's corpse had been discovered at the rear cabin of the ship, and centered around his body was a strange circular magic formation drawn on the ground.
Yes.
This was definitely the work of cultists!
Looks like my reputation still isn't well known…
Looking at the corpse before him, Duanmu Huai silently sighed.
These cultists really had nothing better to do than constantly cause trouble for him.
Originally he was heading to the Fog City for the Jack the Ripper case.
Yet he hadn't even reached the destination, and he had already encountered two cases along the way.
If I were famous enough, wouldn't those guys turn around and run the moment they saw me? Why would they even commit a crime…
…Wait, that doesn't seem right either.
After all, even in Detective Conan, cases like this happened constantly.
Forget it.
Thinking about that now was pointless.
With that thought, Duanmu Huai withdrew his wandering mind and looked toward the corpse before him.
The victim was a passenger aboard the Full Moon Stars airship—Williams Ford.
Standing beside him were two women.
One wore a white coat and was the airship's doctor, Rose Barnett.
The other…
"Who are you?"
Duanmu Huai looked toward the other woman standing beside Williams' body holding a notebook.
Her clothing didn't resemble that of a noble lady.
Her physique looked more like that of a soldier.
And judging from her expression, she didn't seem to be someone very familiar with Williams.
"I'm Dort Fischer, the bodyguard hired by Williams."
Her reply was straightforward.
"You're the bodyguard? Then what happened when he was killed?"
"I'm not sure."
The bodyguard spread her hands helplessly.
"When I woke up this morning, I went to the restaurant to fetch breakfast for Williams. When I returned to the cabin, Williams was gone. I was about to go look for him when I heard a scream from here. When I rushed over, things had already become like this."
"Oh…"
Duanmu Huai nodded, then turned to the doctor.
"Did you find anything, doctor?"
Hearing his question, Doctor Rose quickly gave her answer.
"The victim's throat was cut. That's the cause of death. From the angle and direction of the wound, we can see the victim was facing the murderer at the time."
"Facing them? Then were there any signs of violent struggle on the body?"
"No."
"So the victim faced the murderer, had his throat slit, but didn't resist at all?"
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai frowned.
"I also find it unbelievable, but that's how it is. Though if you ask me, the strange part is the blood."
As she spoke, the doctor pointed at the blood on the corpse.
"His blood is almost black, and the coagulation level is far higher than normal blood."
"So we can't determine the time of death from that?"
"If it were an ordinary corpse, yes. But this corpse…"
Rose looked at the body and shrugged.
"Sorry, I might not be much help. If we want to conduct tests, there's no proper equipment here. We'll have to wait until we reach the Fog City police department for further examination."
At that moment, the captain also arrived at the crime scene.
After checking the situation, he sighed.
"Everyone, please gather together. I need to explain the situation."
No one objected.
After locking the room, they all went to the observation deck.
By this time, nearly everyone aboard—passengers and crew alike—had gathered.
As for the case itself, the situation was already quite clear.
The victim was Williams Ford.
He had been killed inside the smoking room, his throat slit.
Then the murderer used his blood to draw an evil magic formation beside the corpse.
The problem now was determining when he died.
Normally, autopsy indicators such as body stiffness and blood coagulation could narrow down the time of death.
But Doctor Rose had already said the victim's blood coagulated far beyond normal levels.
That meant conventional methods couldn't determine the time of death.
So instead, they began by determining when the body entered the smoking room.
According to testimony:
Early in the morning, the captain, the navigator Bart, and a passenger Arthur were smoking in the smoking room.
At that time, they saw no corpse.
And hiding a body was impossible.
The smoking room had almost no decorations—just a clean empty room with several ashtrays along the wall.
There was nowhere to hide anything.
Therefore, the likely timeframe was between 5 AM and 7 AM.
During those two hours, someone brought Williams—or his corpse—into the smoking room, slit his throat, and then used his blood to draw the magic formation.
Setting aside the murder itself, drawing the formation alone would take at least half an hour.
Based on current information, the confirmed facts were as follows.
Around 5 AM, Captain Carter and Navigator Bart, tired from night duty, went to the smoking room for a cigarette to wake themselves up.
There they encountered passenger Arthur, who also had a craving for a smoke.
The three smoked together for a while.
Then the captain and navigator returned to work.
Arthur claimed that after finishing his cigarette, he also returned to his room.
Then at around 6 AM, Williams' bodyguard Dort left the cabin to get breakfast for him.
Her statement was confirmed by Ethel, who was setting up tableware in the dining area at the time.
After about twenty minutes, Dort returned to the cabin with breakfast.
But Williams was gone.
Then another passenger, Fred Winston, went to the smoking room for a cigarette.
He discovered the corpse and screamed loudly.
The time was around 7 AM.
If bodyguard Dort's testimony was accurate, then after she left the cabin, Williams left his room for some reason, went to the smoking room, and was killed there.
Of course, that assumed her testimony was correct.
Since the doctor couldn't determine the exact time of death, another possibility existed.
Bodyguard Dort herself might be the murderer.
She could have killed her employer, then deliberately left to fetch breakfast as an alibi.
After returning, she could have dragged Williams' body into the smoking room next door.
Regardless, one fact was certain.
Williams was alive when he boarded the airship.
Everyone had seen that.
Which meant…
He was murdered aboard the airship.
Therefore the truth was obvious.
The culprit was among them.
Yes.
A very simple deduction.
Unlike the train earlier, escaping the airship was impossible.
On a train, theoretically someone could climb outside the carriages.
But on an airship flying ten thousand meters above the Atlantic Ocean, with sealed compartments—where could anyone go?
The airship's layout was also fixed.
At the front was a large rectangular observation deck and restaurant.
Sofas and tea tables were placed along the windows on both sides, while several dining tables sat in the middle.
Behind the observation deck were two doors.
The central door led to a straight corridor with no branches.
On the right side of the corridor were seven guest rooms.
On the left were three guest rooms, the crew lounge, crew quarters, and cargo hold.
At the end of the corridor were two doors leading to the medical room and engine room.
These areas were strictly restricted.
Only the captain could open them for repairs when necessary.
If one drew a simple layout, it would look like this:
Observation Deck — Room 1 — Room 2 — Room 3 — Room 4 — Room 5 — Room 6 — Room 7 — Engine Room
Observation Deck — Crew Lounge — Crew Quarters — Cargo Hold — Smoking Room — Room 8 — Room 9 — Room 10 — Medical Room
On side A, the seven guest rooms belonged to:
Duanmu Huai
Lorena
Four students from the Royal Graduate Institute
And the body discoverer Fred Winston
On the other side, the three guest rooms belonged to:
The victim Williams Ford
His bodyguard Dort Fischer
And Arthur Lansher
When the incident occurred, nearly all passengers were resting in their rooms.
Only the crew were working.
The captain was monitoring the course.
The navigator was in the crew lounge.
And only the maid Ethel was in the observation deck preparing breakfast.
According to her, only two people had visited the observation deck that morning.
One was Arthur Lansher, who arrived even earlier than she did and stayed the entire time.
The other was bodyguard Dort, who came to fetch breakfast for Williams.
Now everyone sat in the observation deck, forming separate groups and nervously watching one another.
No one present was stupid.
The thoughts Duanmu Huai had reached—they had reached them as well.
They didn't know who the murderer was.
But at least one thing was certain.
Keeping some distance from unfamiliar strangers was safer.
"Thud thud thud!!"
Soon after, hurried footsteps echoed.
Then the captain entered with a tense expression.
"Captain!!"
Seeing him, the maid Ethel quickly stood up from her seat in the corner.
"What's the situation?"
"The radio can't establish contact."
The captain's words made everyone's hearts sink.
"What happened? Is it the weather?"
"No… actually…"
Facing their questions, the captain hesitated.
But eventually he told the truth.
"The radio seems to have been sabotaged."
"What?!"
Hearing this, everyone became restless.
Even Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow.
Now things are getting interesting.
"What should we do now?"
"Wait, what are we supposed to do?!"
Panic spread among the group.
Which was understandable.
After all, this situation was even more dangerous than a train or a snowbound mountain lodge.
On a train, if you felt unsafe you could force the driver to stop and then leave the train to survive in the wilderness.
In a snowbound lodge, you could either stay inside and wait—or venture outside and dig a shelter in the snow.
The survival chances might be small.
But they existed.
Here, however, they were aboard an airship over the Atlantic Ocean, ten thousand meters above the ground.
What could anyone do?
Jump out and feed the fish?
Or jump out and feed the fish?
Or jump out and feed the fish?
If you didn't feed the fish, did you even have another option?
"Detective sir, can you solve the case?"
The young student from earlier rushed over to Duanmu Huai anxiously.
Duanmu Huai thought for a moment, then shrugged.
"There are no clues at the crime scene right now. Unless we thoroughly examine the body and search the rooms, I can't say much."
Indeed.
Just as he said, the smoking room contained no clues.
Other than the corpse and the strange magic formation, there were only a few cigarette butts.
He wasn't Sherlock Holmes.
He couldn't deduce everything from cigarette stubs.
There was no murder weapon.
The killer had left no obvious traces.
How was he supposed to investigate?
I'm the God of Destruction and the God of Pleasure.
Not the God of Deduction.
That's not my department.
Honestly, Duanmu Huai preferred a more straightforward approach.
Wait for the enemy to reveal themselves—and then crush them with a single slap.
Like swatting flies.
Searching for flies yourself is exhausting.
It's easier to wait until one starts buzzing.
Once it flies, you immediately know its position.
Then you strike.
"Hmph. After all that talk, turns out you're not very capable after all."
Arthur sneered from nearby.
Because he had an alibi, he was currently the most arrogant person in the room.
After all, during the murder he had remained in the observation deck.
That gave him an early escape from suspicion.
"And who knows—maybe you're the murderer. You look like one."
"Hmph!"
Duanmu Huai's expression darkened as he glared at him.
Arthur was about to say more.
But the moment he felt Duanmu Huai's gaze, his breath caught.
His heart suddenly convulsed.
A freezing chill surged from his spine.
His legs went weak.
He collapsed onto the floor.
"Y–what are you trying to do?!"
"If I were the murderer, the first person I'd kill would be you—an arrogant idiot with a filthy mouth."
Duanmu Huai glared at him again, then withdrew his gaze.
Arthur didn't dare speak again.
He lay trembling on the floor, eyes wide with terror as he stared at Duanmu Huai.
At that moment, Doctor Rose stepped forward.
"This gentleman did not commit the murder. I can confirm that."
"W–why?"
"Simple."
Doctor Rose looked at the person who asked and explained calmly.
"According to my autopsy results, the murderer slit the victim's throat directly while facing him. Judging by the angle of the wound, the killer and the victim were roughly the same height."
Then she glanced at Duanmu Huai.
"…As for this gentleman…"
She silently sized him up.
"For him to do that, he'd probably have to squat."
"..."
Everyone looked at Duanmu Huai.
Then looked at Doctor Rose.
They gestured a bit…
Yes.
That seemed about right.
"Also, I examined the strange magic formation. It was drawn with fingers dipped in blood. Judging by the radius and size of the lines, the finger size belongs to a normal adult male…"
So…
It was understandable.
Hearing this, Lorena raised her hand curiously.
"So you mean the murderer is an adult male?"
"A normal adult male."
Because of medical precision, Doctor Rose added that extra word.
Then she glanced again at Duanmu Huai.
It was obvious whom that comment was directed at.
Thus, based on Doctor Rose's conclusions, several people could be excluded:
Duanmu Huai
Arthur
Lorena
The maid Ethel
The bodyguard Dort
And the two female students from the institute
That left the remaining suspects:
Two male students from the institute
The captain
The navigator
And the body discoverer Fred Winston
(End of Chapter)