Conan: Chief of Rice Flower's Science Points

Chapter 492 Resurrection from the dead?
"It feels more spacious now that I see it... The high ceiling is also very comfortable." Shiraishi walked around the house and felt great. It must have been built by the original owner, a bourgeois, in the 1980s or 90s. The high ceiling made Shiraishi feel very comfortable.

With a building area of ​​nearly 900 square meters, it can easily accommodate three people, and there is also a small courtyard.

Although the previous owners moved out only a week ago, they obviously didn't bother to tidy up the yard, and... they didn't even live there for very long!
The surrounding area is somewhat desolate—this area used to be a wealthy neighborhood, but with the wave of bankruptcies in the 1990s, the business owners here died, fled, or were injured, and naturally, the amenities gradually disappeared.

Fortunately, this is still Beika Town, so it's quite convenient to drive here. It's just that the surrounding area is a bit quiet, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

Ayako was probably just imagining things, but she felt the house was somewhat "eerie"...

Seeing that Shiraishi seemed quite satisfied, Ayako couldn't bring herself to say anything discouraging. Instead, after looking through the rooms, she said with a hint of self-consolation, "I'd heard about demon researchers and all that... I thought there would be a lot of strange things, but it seems there's nothing like it!"

"Hmm? You mean those things from Amagi Makoto? Of course they're gone now, since they changed hands three times afterward, and... um..." Suwa said, hesitating slightly.

Suwa looked to be in his early twenties, dressed in a business suit, appearing polite and very professional.

Shiraishi then added, "Moreover, when the murder occurred, the murderer who broke into the house, for some reason, destroyed everything in the house related to demon worship or religion before he died, so there was blood everywhere."

Ayako:……

Shiraishi had read the case file of the murder, so of course he knew about it.

The killer's actions also sparked public debate...

Tomita Shunya himself was seriously injured after killing Amagi Makoto, but even so, he wandered around, causing blood to flow everywhere, which terrified the first person to discover him.

Hearing Shiraishi's explanation, Ayako became even more frightened...

Sensing Ayako's concerns, Suwa proactively said, "You don't need to worry. Considering the special nature of this house, we have prepared a special contract. You can get a full refund and return the house within three months."

"So thoughtful? But I don't need it, I think this place is fine." Shiraishi said, glancing at his side.

There are no ghosts in this house.

Chihiro told herself this!
"Hmm... it should look nice if we redecorate it," Ayako said, sounding slightly embarrassed.

But Shiraishi was in an even more awkward position...

"Renovating... Hmm, that's not urgent. Let's just do a simple job first, that way we can move over faster," Shiraishi said calmly.

after all……

Bai Shi now spends most of his salary on mortgage payments and a small portion on car loan payments, so he simply doesn't have the money to renovate!

Ayako was about to say that she knew a renovation team that wanted to "practice" and could do the renovation for free...

However, upon closer reflection, Shiraishi probably wouldn't believe such a reason, and... Ayako thought about it again and realized that this wasn't a bad idea—checking in quickly would allow them to discover problems quickly, so they could get a refund and check out!
Just then, Ayako's attention wandered for a moment, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure at the window...

what--

Ayako gasped in surprise.

Shiraishi and the others immediately looked over, and saw...

An ordinary middle-aged housewife was looking in through the window when she was startled by Ayako's exclamation and shrank back.

Everyone:...

“You must be Mrs. Kawaguchi who lives next door? How come…” Suwa recognized the old lady as well.

"I... Ah!" Mrs. Kawaguchi also screamed in agony.

Because she saw the white stone walking towards her.

……

Once the two had calmed down a bit, everyone invited Kawaguchi in as well.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see it clearly!" Ayako apologized sheepishly.

"It's alright, it's alright... It's my fault too. I saw the door was open and came in by myself, and... hahaha... I'm really sorry." Mrs. Kawaguchi looked at "Chief Beika" with some embarrassment.

As a member of the Beika family, she could recognize the Beika Director's face.

However, in a house that is rumored to be haunted, seeing such a huge object, the first reaction is certainly not to look at its face!
"I told you... these kinds of things are just people scaring people," Shiraishi said candidly.

Originally, nothing was wrong, but because of the "legend" here, the two of them were terrified.

However, Kawaguchi disagreed, immediately saying, "No! There really is a problem here..."

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Shiraishi looked over curiously.

“Mrs. Kawaguchi…” Suwa looked at Kawaguchi helplessly.

Kawaguchi, however, spoke up, "You guys need to tell the truth! Otherwise, Chief Beika... well, Chief Beika might not be afraid of demons or anything, but what if she gets ambushed?"

Shiraishi:……

As a resident of Beika, Mrs. Kawaguchi's trust in the "Beika Director" has gone beyond reason and even beyond the realm of science.

Kawaguchi clearly believed there was something special about this place, which is why he came specifically to warn people when he discovered that "the real estate agents were trying to scam people into buying here again."

However, after discovering that the new owner of this place is Chief Mikasa, he is quite confident that Shiraishi can get his hands on the "things" here, but he is worried that... Shiraishi might be ambushed?

“Ahem, Mrs. Kawaguchi, are you referring to the case from back then when you say ‘the truth’? Don’t worry, I know much more about these things than they do…” Shiraishi spoke up for Ms. Suwa.

And that is indeed the case. After all, it was a case that occurred in Beika Town, and there are detailed case files in the Beika Police Station!

Upon hearing Shiraishi mention the case from two years ago, Kawaguchi shook his head and said, "No, I'm not talking about that... it is that... but..." After a few vague words, Kawaguchi said with certainty, "In short, that demon summoner is something else!"

"Why do you say that?" Shiraishi sensed that Kawaguchi probably knew something.

"I don't know anything about the murder case two years ago, but... I do know about the Tagikawa family!" Kawaguchi said confidently.

"Takigawa...you mean the previous owner? Because they felt uncomfortable here, they got a refund." Shiraishi had also learned about the previous owners.

After Amagi Makoto, none of the owners here stayed for long; for most of the two years, it was vacant. "No! It's not that simple!" Kawaguchi said firmly.

"Mrs. Kawaguchi..." Suwa said with a hint of helplessness.

"Hmm? Do you know anything?" Shiraishi asked curiously.

“Actually… they arranged a marriage for their daughter before she died!” Kawaguchi whispered to Shiraishi.

"A dead marriage?" Bai Shi was taken aback upon hearing this, then immediately asked with concern, "What exactly happened?"

This could constitute the crime of desecrating a corpse!
“At first, when I saw them decorating the house and displaying their daughter’s wedding photos, I thought they really had a daughter getting married. Later I found out that… the daughter of the Tagikawa family passed away more than ten years ago. They used photos of their daughter when she was a child to have someone create a composite image of her as an adult, and then they staged a wedding…” Kawaguchi explained.

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi breathed a sigh of relief—it wasn't the kind of arranged marriage he had imagined; it sounded like just a form of emotional support.

Holding a wedding for their deceased daughter at the appropriate age, even if it's a sham, is understandable given the parents' feelings.

At this point, only Ai Haibara became nervous—can you really create a composite image of someone's adult appearance using photos from when they were young? Is this even reliable?

It's best if it's not actually reliable!
"The hearts of parents are all the same..." Bai Shi sighed, not feeling that there was anything wrong with it.

Holding a wedding for the deceased in another house would feel a bit awkward, but in this house...

Given the state of the house, holding a fake wedding for the deceased feels like one of the more heartwarming things that happened in this house!

"Of course it's nothing! But..." Kawaguchi became anxious upon hearing this.

Under Shiraishi's probing gaze, Kawaguchi said in a slightly trembling voice, "But the problem is... about a week after that... I passed by his house once and saw... their daughter had come back!"

Ayako's expression had turned somewhat grim, while Ai and Mayoi... looked over with some interest.

"You're back? What...did you see?" Shiraishi pressed.

“It’s their daughter! She looks exactly like that composite photo of the future!” Kawaguchi said with certainty.

"Hmm... Is it transparent?" Shiraishi asked uncertainly.

Kawaguchi, Suwa:? ? ?

Seeing that Director Mika accepted the premise so quickly and even asked such a question, the two exchanged a few words.

However, Kawaguchi immediately said, "It's not transparent! It looks like a living person! After she saw me discover her, she immediately went back into her house... And the day after that, the Takigawa family started moving out."

“I see… So you saw the daughter of the Tagikawa family who died more than ten years ago return? But that was just like the so-called composite painting… Could it be that it wasn’t a composite painting at all, but a painting based on that lady?” Shiraishi asked matter-of-factly.

However, Mrs. Kawaguchi still shook her head in the face of Shiraishi's "very reasonable" speculation.

“Impossible. When I first learned about the deceased marriage, I was chatting with the Takigawa couple. They told me that the photos of their daughter were created by Tokiwa Group using software that hadn’t been officially released yet. They were very grateful to Tokiwa Group… Oh, and I think there was some news about it,” Mrs. Kawaguchi said.

"That..." Ai muttered to herself.

"Huh? Ai, you know?" Shiraishi looked over immediately upon hearing this.

"Hmm..." Ai said, pressing her phone and then handing it to Shiraishi. The news page that opened on the screen was a soft advertisement for "Tokiwa Group's technology helps bereaved couples realize their dreams."

Indeed, Tokiwa Group recently developed software similar to "predicting what children will look like in the future," which is exactly the kind of thing that needs to be "storytold."

As for why Ai Haibara remembered this kind of news? Well, that doesn't need an explanation...

If this software is really useful, we'll have to be extra careful from now on!
Suwa, looking at the news photo of the couple holding "their daughter's wedding photo," said, "That's right, that's the Takigawa couple..."

It seems that the source of these "photos predicting what they will look like when they grow up" is actually quite convincing.

Regardless of how good the software is, at least Tokiwa Group wouldn't go so far as to create a composite image of the Takigawa couple's "daughter after she grew up" based on a "real person," would they?

So, the person Mrs. Kawaguchi later saw at his doorstep was...

"Kuro... um... you said before... Amagi really does summon demons at home... to resurrect the dead, right?" Ayako said, grabbing Shiraishi's hand on the sofa, and she didn't care about calling him "Kuro" in front of everyone, clearly she was very shaken!
“That’s right, but of course it’s fake. He was also punished for desecrating a corpse, and... he’s already dead now.” Shiraishi shook his head.

"There is no magic in the world that can bring the dead back to life," Chihiro Ayasato said with certainty.

Apart from Shiraishi and Mayoi, no one else could hear it, and Chihiro was speaking to her sister!
Mayoi became very excited after hearing Kawaguchi's words and looked at her older sister expectantly...

However, Chihiro was much calmer than her sister.

“That’s true… but I can’t be wrong! It really is… exactly the same! Chief Mika, you… should also be careful.” Mrs. Kawaguchi was still certain that “there’s something special about this house.”

Despite not believing in any "resurrection of the dead," Shiraishi still expressed his gratitude for Mrs. Kawaguchi's concern and said that they would be neighbors from now on!
Clearly, Shiraishi had no intention of cancelling his booking.

……

After the house viewing, Ayako, still somewhat uneasy in the passenger seat, asked, "Kuro, about the Takigawa couple... do you want to look into it?"

"Huh? This... a missing person case is one thing, but on the other hand, what is there to investigate..." Shiraishi felt that there was no way to even file a case for this matter—it wasn't like anyone had been disgraced, and even if the neighbor wasn't lying, it was still "an extra person".

Besides, they've already moved away...

Shiraishi calmly said, "Alright, don't worry. Even if Mrs. Kawaguchi isn't mistaken, she's probably just a relative of the Takigawa family, which is why she looks a lot like your daughter. You won't have much of an impression from just one glance, and people tend to fill in the gaps in their imaginations at times like this."

Shiraishi understands very well that, given Kawaguchi's current mindset, words like "exactly the same" cannot be taken seriously. As long as they are "somewhat similar," she will later imagine them to be "exactly the same"!
Originally, Shiraishi didn't take this matter to heart, treating it merely as an amusing anecdote.

Until Monday when I went to work...

In the corridor, Yuan Xing hurried past Bai Shi, only managing a quick greeting: "Good morning, Director!"

"Huh? Wait a minute... what's that in your hand?" Shiraishi noticed the "documents" in his hand out of the corner of her eye and immediately called out to him.

Although he didn't know what case the documents were for, Shiraishi had seen the first "painting" displayed there just two days ago...

It's the portrait of their daughter that the Takigawa couple were holding in the news!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)