I'm in Conan, I'm not a gangster

Chapter 384 Arrival at Mermaid Island (2nd Update)
The waves gently lapped against the pier as Shiraishi E and her group set foot on this mysterious mermaid island.

The salty sea breeze brushed against their cheeks, and the cries of seagulls echoed in the distance, making the three energetic girls cheer with joy!

"Let's find a hotel to drop off our luggage first." Shiraishi E looked around and pointed to a Japanese-style hotel with a sign that read "Mermaid Inn" not far away. The hotel was quite large, and there were restaurants and convenience stores nearby.

"Huh?" Heiji immediately frowned, put his hands in his pockets, and swung over, objecting, "Why stay in a hotel? We'll leave after the investigation, there's no need to stay overnight!"

As he spoke, he turned to Conan beside him and said, "Right, kid?"

Conan pushed up his glasses, nodded repeatedly in agreement, and said confidently, "Yeah, maybe we can finish the investigation in three hours."

His gaze swept over the buildings on the island, and he began to plan his investigation route.

Shiraishi E chuckled softly upon hearing this, a hint of amusement flashing in her eyes: "I like your confidence, but I don't like your autocratic ways."

"Hey! Hey!" Heiji grumbled, dissatisfied. "What do you mean by 'acting arbitrarily'? We're prioritizing efficiency, okay?"

Conan nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Shiraishi E casually pointed to the girls next to her: "It's your business if you want to investigate, but we're here on vacation."

He emphasized the word "vacation," and glanced at the large bags and suitcases in the girls' hands, saying, "You need to put your luggage down first, right? Otherwise, how can you have a good time carrying all this stuff?"

Heiji pursed his lips and pointed at the small backpack on Conan's back: "It's just a backpack, isn't it? Just carry it, right?" He patted his own lightweight backpack and said, "Look how convenient it is for us."

"Yeah! It doesn't bother me at all." Conan felt that carrying his backpack didn't hinder his investigation at all.

"So Heiji, you don't understand girls!" Kazuha, who had been watching the whole thing, interjected with dissatisfaction, hands on her hips and glaring at him angrily: "You guys don't understand the difficulties girls face at all!"

Xiaolan covered her mouth and chuckled softly, explaining gently, "That's right, we need to put our luggage away properly before we can find beautiful spots to take pictures... Carrying so much stuff will be tiring."

Sonoko held up her camera bag: "That's right! Besides, I brought three cameras with me!"

Heiji and Conan exchanged a glance, both showing helpless expressions. What could they do when they only had two votes? They could only follow their arrangements.

Upon arriving at Mermaid Inn, Shiraishi E pushed open the inn's wooden sliding door, and a faint, pleasant scent of tatami mats wafted out.

The proprietress greeted us warmly: "Welcome to Mermaid Inn!"

"We need two rooms," Shiraishi E said, gesturing. "One room for the boys and one room for the girls."

While checking in, Heiji muttered to himself, "Honestly, there could have been a much more efficient way."

Conan muttered to himself, "That's right, that's right."

After filling out the check-in forms and receiving their room keys, the group went upstairs, with men and women separating and entering their respective rooms.

Heiji put down his schoolbag and ran to the toilet.

Shiraishi E said speechlessly, "She said she didn't want to stay in a hotel, but the first thing she did after we arrived was to go to the toilet."

"Yeah...this guy really doesn't mean what he says," Conan chimed in with a comment.

After putting down his schoolbag, he plopped down on the tatami mat and started looking at the Mermaid Island tourist brochure he had picked up from the counter.

On the way here, he had already learned from Heiji that the other party had received a letter from Kadowaki Saori. When he called to inquire about the situation, the call was inexplicably disconnected midway, and he could no longer be contacted.

Now that we know the client's name, all we need to do is gather information on the island.

Thinking of this, Conan recalled the relevant information he had collected before setting off.

Heiji came out of the restroom, shook the water droplets off his hands, and said, "Hey, are you really not coming to investigate with us? With your abilities, you can definitely be a big help." Shiraishi E slowly waved her hand: "Spare me, it's not like I get a day off." He stretched and said, "Besides, I don't feel comfortable letting three girls wander around on a strange island."

Heiji stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up: "You're right! With you by their side taking care of them, Conan and I can concentrate on the investigation!" He almost let slip, so he quickly coughed to cover it up.

Shiraishi E glanced at him with a half-smile, pretending not to notice his slip of the tongue: "So, you can go and investigate the case with peace of mind."

Soon after, Heiji and Conan packed their things and left the hotel to begin their investigation.

After the two detectives left, Shiraishi E took out her phone from the recliner and enjoyed a rare moment of leisure while playing with it.

Then came a knock on the door and Xiaolan's clear voice: "Hui, are you ready?"

"They're here." Shiraishi E slowly got up and opened the door. The three girls had changed into light summer clothes, and each of them carried a delicate bag and a camera.

Sonoko said excitedly, "The landlady just said there's a traditional clothing rental shop on the island, and we want to go check it out."

Kazuha's eyes sparkled: "I heard the traditional costumes on Mermaid Island are absolutely gorgeous, it would be such a shame not to wear them for photos!"

Seeing the expectant expressions on the three girls' faces, what could Shiraishi E say? Of course, she took them there.

We arrived at a traditional clothing store called 'Sea House'. There were many tourists in the store, all of whom were choosing traditional clothing from Mermaid Island.

The upper body consists of a shell-patterned corset and a beaded shawl, while the lower body features a fishtail pleated skirt and a silver bell chain at the ankle.

These so-called traditional clothes don't look traditional at all; they're all designed around the concept of "sexiness."

After Xiaolan, Yuanzi, and Ye exclaimed "Wow!", they couldn't wait to go inside and start making their selections.

A sales assistant stepped forward and began to introduce the product, saying things like, "A mermaid amulet carved from miniature driftwood hangs from the waist," "The skirt is sewn with 800-1200 real fish scales," and "The headdress is a moon crown made from a luminescent jellyfish specimen."

Each outfit's fish scales are hand-sewn by the girls on the island, making each one unique!

Shiraishi E examined the real fish scales.

Good heavens, hundreds of fish scales are exactly the same, as if they were printed from the same mold.

He immediately concluded that these things must be mass-produced products from the factory assembly line!

In addition, the sales assistant mysteriously said things like, "When choosing clothes, you should close your eyes and touch them. Real mermaid costumes will call for the right owner on their own," which was just nonsense.

But you know what? Xiaolan and her fellow high school girls really fell for it. They all excitedly closed their eyes, searching for traditional clothing that suited them.

Shiraishi E really wanted to complain, "Do we really have to do what that sales assistant said?"

Aren't all these mermaid-clad men just womanizers and scumbags?

Every day, it calls upon different passengers to be its master.

However, he still held back.

When you're out having fun, the most important thing is to have a good time.

Shiraishi E simply found a place to sit down, so as not to listen to the salesperson trying to fool people.

However, he had barely sat down when someone approached him.

(End of this chapter)