The Case Book of Arne (2026) s01e01 Episode Script
Those Who Dig Pits for Others Will Fall in Themselves
1
There are two types of people in this world:
those who like comics and those who do not.
I am, of course, one of the former.
Yes! The Wolf Man is back!
There are two types of people in this world:
those who believe in monstrous creatures—
the "nonhuman"—and those who do not.
I am
LOUIS HARTMANN'S FIRST CASE
Before I tell you which I am,
I, Louis Hartmann,
wish to share the story of my first case.
Yes?
What?
Louis.
Father?
This was my mother's.
The blood was drained from his body.
Hartmann was killed by
the grave-digging vampire.
No!
That's just a superstition!
Only real crimes happen in the real world!
But no normal human could kill
someone like this. Right?
Nor dig such a huge hole.
There's no such thing
as grave-digging vampires!
Stop, Louis!
Let me go! I said let me go!
You policemen never catch
the murderers, anyway!
And now look what's happened!
In that case, I
I will catch the killer myself.
In my mind, I could hear
the sound of a door opening.
PART 1: THOSE WHO DIG PITS FOR OTHERS
WILL FALL IN THEMSELVES
A new door opening for me.
SEVERAL MONTHS LATER
See you later, Father.
THE CASEBOOK OF ARNE
This is goulash.
It's a real rustic dish.
I guess you could call it home-style cooking.
It's one of our most popular dishes.
I hope you enjoy.
Adelina.
Oh, Odo. Going home already?
Gotta be up bright and early tomorrow.
Oh, that's right. Your father's
getting discharged.
The old man's insisting I go
pick him up from the hospital.
Well, why not? You should
take care of your folks.
Hello, Louis.
Making the rounds again today?
Yeah. It's been a month since the last case.
Well, don't burn yourself out.
If you passed out from exhaustion,
I'd never be able to face
your mother and father again.
Don't worry.
There's no way I'm stopping until
I catch whoever killed my father.
And that's exactly what's worrying me.
Anyway, I made goulash today.
You like it, right?
I'll bring you a bowl. Take a seat.
Listen, Louis.
Real crimes don't happen inside these.
They only happen in the real world!
You say that all the time, Father.
Do I say it that often?
Ya sure do.
Anyway, I want you to remember something.
Make a habit of paying attention
to the real world.
And I don't just mean watching.
I mean close observation.
Once you start doing that,
all the important clues will come into view.
Ever since the day my father was killed,
I never left the real world again.
The monsters and world-saving heroes
that always showed up in comics
disappeared from my life without a trace.
Lord Arne!
If we wait until there's another victim,
it'll be too late.
Also, the murderer could be a vampire!
Calm down, Lynn Reinweiß.
All this talk about the killer
being a vampire is just a silly rumor.
Still, there's a mass murderer on the loose
and we have to do something to capture him.
Don't you dare!
The Hartmann Detective Agency
is after that killer!
I'm going to catch him!
I must avenge my father's murder!
Avenge?
What can a couple of kids
like you do, anyway?
"Kids," you say?
What does that make you, then? An adult?
Or do you see yourself
as some kind of superhero?
I am
Louis!
He runs into someone and doesn't even
offer an apology? Such bad manners.
I'm so sorry about that.
But you have to understand,
Louis's father was the fifth murder victim.
He was a private detective.
Word around town is
he was closing in on the killer,
and that's why he was murdered.
Um
It's Louis, right?
Leave me alone.
Wow.
It's so beautiful.
It must take a lot of work
to maintain a flower garden this big.
Do the townspeople take care of it?
Miss Adelina does.
She's amazing, isn't she?
Not only does she manage a restaurant,
she also tends this huge flower garden.
Um, Miss Adelina told me about you, Louis.
I don't want your pity.
No, it isn't that.
It's just You and I are alike.
It happened to you, too?
I should've introduced myself earlier.
I'm an assistant at the Arne Detective Agency.
My name is Lynn Reinweiß.
The Arne Detective Agency?
No way. That other kid is a detective?
Yup. Lord Arne is head detective at our agency.
He's an extremely talented detective!
Which makes him my rival.
Louis.
Would you be willing to cooperate with us?
It will surely help us catch
this serial killer quicker.
I refuse.
I already told you
I'm gonna catch the killer.
Blumenstadt's toughest cases were all solved
by the Hartmann Detective Agency—
by my father!
I'm following in his footsteps.
I won't accept any help
or pity from anyone!
In that case, why don't we just
share information instead?
That way, you won't be
getting any help or pity.
We'd just be using each other
to reach our own goals.
But what if I give you a false lead?
Then I, Lynn Reinweiß, swear on
my name as Lord Arne's assistant,
to shout, "You're lying!"
and call you out on it.
Fine. But I'll only share information.
HARTMANN DETECTIVE AGENCY
When we first caught wind of this case,
we immediately started investigating
to see if there had been similar incidents
in nearby towns and villages.
But we didn't find a single one.
These "grave-digging vampire" murders
have only been happening in this village.
That tells us the killer must have some reason
for committing these murders here.
And there's one more thing.
The killer's primary objective is to steal
large quantities of human blood, Louis.
Lord Arne, why would someone
want to steal so much blood?
How should I know?
The blood is the reason the killer
is called "the grave-digging vampire."
Yes, but what could the killer
be doing with all that blood?
Do you have any thoughts on that, Louis?
Probably to drink.
Not because the killer is a vampire,
but because he's a human
who believes he's a vampire.
Are you trying to suggest
vampires don't really exist?
Of course they don't.
Only real crimes happen in the real world.
Ooh, me!
What is it, Lynn Reinweiß?
I also believe the killer's not a vampire.
Yeah, because they don't exist.
Please just hear me out.
Lord Arne and I went
to the morgue this morning,
and asked to see the 11th
and most recent victim's corpse.
There were absolutely no vampire-like
bite marks anywhere on the corpse.
This is my first reason for believing
the killer is not a vampire.
The second reason is the massive amount
of blood stolen by the killer.
The killer must use his great strength to
squeeze his victims dry and collect their blood.
But blood collected that way would
most likely contain a lot of impurities.
We know that vampires
have very refined tastes,
so they definitely wouldn't enjoy
drinking contaminated blood.
Therefore, the theory that the killer
is a vampire is 100% implausible!
That theory being grounded
in the assumption
that supernatural creatures like vampires
exist already made it 100% implausible.
But still
If you've got other information to share,
go ahead and spit it out.
The victims were all large men.
Their ages, jobs, marital status,
and interests were very different,
but they all had similar body types.
So the killer chose larger men
because they would provide more blood?
The murders were all committed
between late night and early morning,
and the killer always deliberately targeted
the victims when they were alone.
The killer must've had some way
to get info about them.
Considering he's able to commit such
a unique kind of murder in just one night,
the killer must be either one very large man
or multiple men working together.
That's some impressive
investigating and deduction.
I am Vincent Hartmann's son, after all.
That's all the information I have.
Oh? I thought after we shared information,
we might have tea together.
I don't have time for that.
I'll just keep investigating on my own.
Ever heard the saying, "To refuse Lynn's
generosity is to accept a thousand deaths"?
Nope.
Well, now you have. Haven't you?
I-I get it.
Here you go.
Cocoa?
Miss Adelina told me how much you like it.
Here you go.
With marshmallows?
Of course!
Yippee!
Louis.
After we solve this case,
why don't you come with us?
Lord Arne is an amazing detective,
so I'm sure you'd learn a lot from him.
Hey. Quit trying to recruit
more assistants for me.
Her generosity is one thing that makes
Lynn so charming, you know.
Of course, I don't mind if you
want to think about it first.
I'll think about it.
Okay.
Oh. This is tomato juice.
Tomato juice is
It's bright red, just like blood!
Don't you think?
So if you pretend it's blood
when you drink it
you start feeling like a real vampire!
Louis.
Huh?
I smell blood on you.
And that gets me so excited!
Still, if I had it my way,
making it a little less pulpy
Oh. It must be this.
I know there's something else.
and a little more watery would make
the fantasy even more realistic.
What is that?
My mother's favorite handkerchief.
My father was holding it when he was killed.
He must have loved your mother very much.
Make a habit of paying attention
to the real world.
And I don't just mean watching.
I mean close observation.
Hartmann was killed by
the grave-digging vampire.
But no normal human could kill
someone like this. Right?
That tells us the killer must have some reason
for committing these murders here.
Nor dig such a huge hole.
Yes, but what could the killer
be doing with all that blood?
The killer must be either one very large
man or multiple men working together.
It was those two.
Louis, something terrible's happened! Louis!
Odo is dead?
Yes. He took his own life.
But why?
It gets worse.
There was a suicide note that said,
"I am the grave-digging vampire."
But he—
Louis, perhaps now your father
can rest in peace.
Louis?
So you were the "grave-digging vampire"
after all, Miss Adelina?
And last night, you murdered Odo,
your accomplice.
Goodness, Louis.
What in the world could you mean?
You made it look like Odo committed suicide
so you could pin all the blame on him.
My, you sound exhausted.
I warned you not to burn yourself out.
My father and mother showed me the truth.
You poor, confused child.
Your parents are both dead and buried.
When my father was murdered,
he was holding my mother's handkerchief.
On it, he left his dying message.
He knew I'd notice. He believed in me.
Louis.
If you water white flowers with a red liquid,
the flowers absorb the color
and the petals eventually turn red.
Whoever's dyeing the flowers red is the killer.
That's the message my father left for me!
I love everything about these flowers.
Except the color.
That's why I change them.
See? Doesn't this suit me much better?
But it's only the color of flowers!
Why would you do this?
Human blood is the best thing
to get the color I want.
So very bright red just like my own eyes!
You did get one thing wrong, Louis.
Odo wasn't my accomplice. A golem was.
I'm a golem-summoning witch, you see.
So that's how the graves
Farewell, Louis.
Arne?
I'll take over from here.
No He's a vampire?
I am no mere vampire.
Golem!
In the vampire world, there are nine
vampire kings who towered above the rest.
A very long time ago, in order to achieve
their goal of world domination,
those kings sacrificed their hearts
to summon forth a supremely powerful,
supremely dangerous vampire.
I am he—Lord Arne Neuntöte!
Vampires do exist.
So do witches and golems.
On top of that,
he, Arne Neuntöte, is a hero?
Father, this is the real world.
Louis!
Louis!
Louis!
Louis!
In my mind, I could hear
the sound of a door closing.
It was the sound of my brief life ending.
Golems!
I used my necromancer skills
so that you can finally
have your revenge, Louis.
TRANSLATION: MICHAEL ARNOLD
Why's it taking so long?
TIMING: HENRY LIN
EDITING: SMR
Well, what do you expect? The bus
only stops here three times a day.
QUALITY CONTROL: ELISABETH CRIS
TRANSLATION CHECK: ELIZABETH ELLIS
Fine. We'll walk.
What?
Come, Lynn Reinweiß.
O-Okay.
Ah. Slept like a log.
Oh, you're finally awake?
Don't you think you slept a little too long?
We had a lot on our hands here.
Huh? How the hell is that my business?
And now you're getting on my nerves.
And so, the Arne Detective Agency
solved another case.
But we have no time to waste.
There are still plenty of tough cases
just waiting to be solved by me and Lord Arne.
There are two types of people in this world:
those who like comics and those who do not.
I am, of course, one of the former.
Yes! The Wolf Man is back!
There are two types of people in this world:
those who believe in monstrous creatures—
the "nonhuman"—and those who do not.
I am
LOUIS HARTMANN'S FIRST CASE
Before I tell you which I am,
I, Louis Hartmann,
wish to share the story of my first case.
Yes?
What?
Louis.
Father?
This was my mother's.
The blood was drained from his body.
Hartmann was killed by
the grave-digging vampire.
No!
That's just a superstition!
Only real crimes happen in the real world!
But no normal human could kill
someone like this. Right?
Nor dig such a huge hole.
There's no such thing
as grave-digging vampires!
Stop, Louis!
Let me go! I said let me go!
You policemen never catch
the murderers, anyway!
And now look what's happened!
In that case, I
I will catch the killer myself.
In my mind, I could hear
the sound of a door opening.
PART 1: THOSE WHO DIG PITS FOR OTHERS
WILL FALL IN THEMSELVES
A new door opening for me.
SEVERAL MONTHS LATER
See you later, Father.
THE CASEBOOK OF ARNE
This is goulash.
It's a real rustic dish.
I guess you could call it home-style cooking.
It's one of our most popular dishes.
I hope you enjoy.
Adelina.
Oh, Odo. Going home already?
Gotta be up bright and early tomorrow.
Oh, that's right. Your father's
getting discharged.
The old man's insisting I go
pick him up from the hospital.
Well, why not? You should
take care of your folks.
Hello, Louis.
Making the rounds again today?
Yeah. It's been a month since the last case.
Well, don't burn yourself out.
If you passed out from exhaustion,
I'd never be able to face
your mother and father again.
Don't worry.
There's no way I'm stopping until
I catch whoever killed my father.
And that's exactly what's worrying me.
Anyway, I made goulash today.
You like it, right?
I'll bring you a bowl. Take a seat.
Listen, Louis.
Real crimes don't happen inside these.
They only happen in the real world!
You say that all the time, Father.
Do I say it that often?
Ya sure do.
Anyway, I want you to remember something.
Make a habit of paying attention
to the real world.
And I don't just mean watching.
I mean close observation.
Once you start doing that,
all the important clues will come into view.
Ever since the day my father was killed,
I never left the real world again.
The monsters and world-saving heroes
that always showed up in comics
disappeared from my life without a trace.
Lord Arne!
If we wait until there's another victim,
it'll be too late.
Also, the murderer could be a vampire!
Calm down, Lynn Reinweiß.
All this talk about the killer
being a vampire is just a silly rumor.
Still, there's a mass murderer on the loose
and we have to do something to capture him.
Don't you dare!
The Hartmann Detective Agency
is after that killer!
I'm going to catch him!
I must avenge my father's murder!
Avenge?
What can a couple of kids
like you do, anyway?
"Kids," you say?
What does that make you, then? An adult?
Or do you see yourself
as some kind of superhero?
I am
Louis!
He runs into someone and doesn't even
offer an apology? Such bad manners.
I'm so sorry about that.
But you have to understand,
Louis's father was the fifth murder victim.
He was a private detective.
Word around town is
he was closing in on the killer,
and that's why he was murdered.
Um
It's Louis, right?
Leave me alone.
Wow.
It's so beautiful.
It must take a lot of work
to maintain a flower garden this big.
Do the townspeople take care of it?
Miss Adelina does.
She's amazing, isn't she?
Not only does she manage a restaurant,
she also tends this huge flower garden.
Um, Miss Adelina told me about you, Louis.
I don't want your pity.
No, it isn't that.
It's just You and I are alike.
It happened to you, too?
I should've introduced myself earlier.
I'm an assistant at the Arne Detective Agency.
My name is Lynn Reinweiß.
The Arne Detective Agency?
No way. That other kid is a detective?
Yup. Lord Arne is head detective at our agency.
He's an extremely talented detective!
Which makes him my rival.
Louis.
Would you be willing to cooperate with us?
It will surely help us catch
this serial killer quicker.
I refuse.
I already told you
I'm gonna catch the killer.
Blumenstadt's toughest cases were all solved
by the Hartmann Detective Agency—
by my father!
I'm following in his footsteps.
I won't accept any help
or pity from anyone!
In that case, why don't we just
share information instead?
That way, you won't be
getting any help or pity.
We'd just be using each other
to reach our own goals.
But what if I give you a false lead?
Then I, Lynn Reinweiß, swear on
my name as Lord Arne's assistant,
to shout, "You're lying!"
and call you out on it.
Fine. But I'll only share information.
HARTMANN DETECTIVE AGENCY
When we first caught wind of this case,
we immediately started investigating
to see if there had been similar incidents
in nearby towns and villages.
But we didn't find a single one.
These "grave-digging vampire" murders
have only been happening in this village.
That tells us the killer must have some reason
for committing these murders here.
And there's one more thing.
The killer's primary objective is to steal
large quantities of human blood, Louis.
Lord Arne, why would someone
want to steal so much blood?
How should I know?
The blood is the reason the killer
is called "the grave-digging vampire."
Yes, but what could the killer
be doing with all that blood?
Do you have any thoughts on that, Louis?
Probably to drink.
Not because the killer is a vampire,
but because he's a human
who believes he's a vampire.
Are you trying to suggest
vampires don't really exist?
Of course they don't.
Only real crimes happen in the real world.
Ooh, me!
What is it, Lynn Reinweiß?
I also believe the killer's not a vampire.
Yeah, because they don't exist.
Please just hear me out.
Lord Arne and I went
to the morgue this morning,
and asked to see the 11th
and most recent victim's corpse.
There were absolutely no vampire-like
bite marks anywhere on the corpse.
This is my first reason for believing
the killer is not a vampire.
The second reason is the massive amount
of blood stolen by the killer.
The killer must use his great strength to
squeeze his victims dry and collect their blood.
But blood collected that way would
most likely contain a lot of impurities.
We know that vampires
have very refined tastes,
so they definitely wouldn't enjoy
drinking contaminated blood.
Therefore, the theory that the killer
is a vampire is 100% implausible!
That theory being grounded
in the assumption
that supernatural creatures like vampires
exist already made it 100% implausible.
But still
If you've got other information to share,
go ahead and spit it out.
The victims were all large men.
Their ages, jobs, marital status,
and interests were very different,
but they all had similar body types.
So the killer chose larger men
because they would provide more blood?
The murders were all committed
between late night and early morning,
and the killer always deliberately targeted
the victims when they were alone.
The killer must've had some way
to get info about them.
Considering he's able to commit such
a unique kind of murder in just one night,
the killer must be either one very large man
or multiple men working together.
That's some impressive
investigating and deduction.
I am Vincent Hartmann's son, after all.
That's all the information I have.
Oh? I thought after we shared information,
we might have tea together.
I don't have time for that.
I'll just keep investigating on my own.
Ever heard the saying, "To refuse Lynn's
generosity is to accept a thousand deaths"?
Nope.
Well, now you have. Haven't you?
I-I get it.
Here you go.
Cocoa?
Miss Adelina told me how much you like it.
Here you go.
With marshmallows?
Of course!
Yippee!
Louis.
After we solve this case,
why don't you come with us?
Lord Arne is an amazing detective,
so I'm sure you'd learn a lot from him.
Hey. Quit trying to recruit
more assistants for me.
Her generosity is one thing that makes
Lynn so charming, you know.
Of course, I don't mind if you
want to think about it first.
I'll think about it.
Okay.
Oh. This is tomato juice.
Tomato juice is
It's bright red, just like blood!
Don't you think?
So if you pretend it's blood
when you drink it
you start feeling like a real vampire!
Louis.
Huh?
I smell blood on you.
And that gets me so excited!
Still, if I had it my way,
making it a little less pulpy
Oh. It must be this.
I know there's something else.
and a little more watery would make
the fantasy even more realistic.
What is that?
My mother's favorite handkerchief.
My father was holding it when he was killed.
He must have loved your mother very much.
Make a habit of paying attention
to the real world.
And I don't just mean watching.
I mean close observation.
Hartmann was killed by
the grave-digging vampire.
But no normal human could kill
someone like this. Right?
That tells us the killer must have some reason
for committing these murders here.
Nor dig such a huge hole.
Yes, but what could the killer
be doing with all that blood?
The killer must be either one very large
man or multiple men working together.
It was those two.
Louis, something terrible's happened! Louis!
Odo is dead?
Yes. He took his own life.
But why?
It gets worse.
There was a suicide note that said,
"I am the grave-digging vampire."
But he—
Louis, perhaps now your father
can rest in peace.
Louis?
So you were the "grave-digging vampire"
after all, Miss Adelina?
And last night, you murdered Odo,
your accomplice.
Goodness, Louis.
What in the world could you mean?
You made it look like Odo committed suicide
so you could pin all the blame on him.
My, you sound exhausted.
I warned you not to burn yourself out.
My father and mother showed me the truth.
You poor, confused child.
Your parents are both dead and buried.
When my father was murdered,
he was holding my mother's handkerchief.
On it, he left his dying message.
He knew I'd notice. He believed in me.
Louis.
If you water white flowers with a red liquid,
the flowers absorb the color
and the petals eventually turn red.
Whoever's dyeing the flowers red is the killer.
That's the message my father left for me!
I love everything about these flowers.
Except the color.
That's why I change them.
See? Doesn't this suit me much better?
But it's only the color of flowers!
Why would you do this?
Human blood is the best thing
to get the color I want.
So very bright red just like my own eyes!
You did get one thing wrong, Louis.
Odo wasn't my accomplice. A golem was.
I'm a golem-summoning witch, you see.
So that's how the graves
Farewell, Louis.
Arne?
I'll take over from here.
No He's a vampire?
I am no mere vampire.
Golem!
In the vampire world, there are nine
vampire kings who towered above the rest.
A very long time ago, in order to achieve
their goal of world domination,
those kings sacrificed their hearts
to summon forth a supremely powerful,
supremely dangerous vampire.
I am he—Lord Arne Neuntöte!
Vampires do exist.
So do witches and golems.
On top of that,
he, Arne Neuntöte, is a hero?
Father, this is the real world.
Louis!
Louis!
Louis!
Louis!
In my mind, I could hear
the sound of a door closing.
It was the sound of my brief life ending.
Golems!
I used my necromancer skills
so that you can finally
have your revenge, Louis.
TRANSLATION: MICHAEL ARNOLD
Why's it taking so long?
TIMING: HENRY LIN
EDITING: SMR
Well, what do you expect? The bus
only stops here three times a day.
QUALITY CONTROL: ELISABETH CRIS
TRANSLATION CHECK: ELIZABETH ELLIS
Fine. We'll walk.
What?
Come, Lynn Reinweiß.
O-Okay.
Ah. Slept like a log.
Oh, you're finally awake?
Don't you think you slept a little too long?
We had a lot on our hands here.
Huh? How the hell is that my business?
And now you're getting on my nerves.
And so, the Arne Detective Agency
solved another case.
But we have no time to waste.
There are still plenty of tough cases
just waiting to be solved by me and Lord Arne.