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

Chapter 395 Director Bei's Arrangements (2 Updates)
After the dugong festival ended, Shiraishi and her group returned to the inn along the stone path, their wooden clogs making a crisp sound.

Kazuha took out the Dugong Arrow for everyone to admire and was overjoyed that he had won the prize.

Back at the hotel, seeing the empty room, Kazuha frowned and said, "Strange, why hasn't Heiji come back yet?"

Although Heiji's words hurt her, it did not make her stop caring about Heiji.

This has become a habit for her over the years.

She said indignantly, "Not even a message, that's outrageous!!"

Ran took out her phone and checked the time; it was almost midnight. She said worriedly, "Conan too. I sent him a message saying we'd meet at the hotel after the festival. He didn't even check it."

Sonoko linked arms with the two of them and said casually, "Hey, don't worry, you two mystery fanatics must have found some clues in the case and lost track of time while investigating."

"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Seeing that it was almost time, Shiraishi E began to follow the plot prepared by Director Bay.

He pulled out his phone and quickly dialed Conan's number. A mechanical female voice came through the receiver: "The number you dialed is currently switched off."

Seeing this, Kazuha quickly dialed Heiji's number, but received the same answer as before.

"The phone is off?" She looked surprised, the blue light from the screen reflecting on her increasingly uneasy face.

Xiaolan gripped the hem of her yukata tightly, and began to worry: "Could something have happened?"

Sonoko also realized something was wrong and said, "No matter how engrossed they are in their investigation, they wouldn't all turn off their phones at the same time, would they?"

Shiraishi E put away her phone, her brows furrowing slightly, revealing a serious and cold expression: "You guys rest at the hotel first, I'll go out and look for it."

He said this and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Xiaolan suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his sleeve, saying, "I'm coming too!"

Sonoko and Kazuha immediately joined in, saying, "We can help too!"

"Instead of just waiting there, we should help look for it! Many hands make light work!"

Shiraishi thought for a moment. Since Vermouth said she would arrange everything, he didn't need to worry about anything.

“Alright.” He nodded, reminding them, “You must stay close to me and don’t go anywhere alone!”

The other three girls nodded repeatedly to indicate that they understood.

The four then began searching along the town's main road.

"Conan——!"

"Hattori Heiji——!"

Their shouts were carried away by the sea breeze, and the only response they received was the sound of waves crashing on the shore.

They searched the docks, beaches, and shrines, but couldn't find a trace of the two men.

"Heiji, could something really have happened to him? How are we going to explain this to Uncle and Aunt?" Kazuha was clearly anxious.

Just as Xiaolan Yuanzi was about to step forward to comfort her, a gentle female voice suddenly came from behind.

Are you looking for someone?

Everyone turned around and saw Shimabukuro Kimie, dressed in white robes and red hakama, standing under the torii gate of the shrine, her long hair gently swaying in the sea breeze.

Ran rushed forward as if grasping at a straw: "Miss Shimabukuro! We're looking for a boy with an Osaka accent and a little boy wearing glasses. Have you seen them?"

The witch tilted her head slightly in thought, and after a moment's recollection, said, "I remember that in the evening, they asked me for directions to the back mountain... Could they have gone in there?"

Shiraishi E glanced at Shimabukuro Kimie, but didn't say anything.

But he knew his guess was right.

Conan and Heiji were arrested last night, so how could Shimabukuro Kimie possibly have a chance to see them?

The only explanation is that someone made her say that.

Vermouth did indeed come into contact with Kimie Shimabukuro.

So, Heiji was the one she worked overtime with this morning?
That possibility can't be ruled out, after all, they've been on the boat all day and haven't gone into the water at all. "The back mountain?" Upon hearing this, Kazuha said impatiently, "Then let's hurry and go to the back mountain to find them!!"

The proposal was unanimously approved by the other three.

After a hasty farewell to Shimabukuro Kimie, the four of them climbed upwards along the winding mountain path.

The woods grew denser, and the moonlight was fragmented by the branches and leaves, scattering across the ground.

Shiraishi E held a flashlight, illuminating the path ahead.

The calls of various animals and birds came from all around, and the darkness on both sides, along with the occasional sound of something darting through the grass, filled the three girls with fear, causing them to unconsciously move closer to Shiraishi E.

Of the three, Xiaolan was the most frightened. She couldn't help but speak, breaking the silence: "Hui, do you think they might encounter any danger?"

Shiraishi E's steps did not falter at all: "Hattori Heiji is a famous high school detective in Kansai, and Conan is also very clever... They'll be fine."

"They probably discovered something, so they ran into the back mountain," Xiaolan quickly said, seeing that things were about to quiet down again.

"There's a sign up ahead." Sonoko noticed it and quickly asked Shiraishi E to shine a flashlight over it.

As soon as the beam of light appeared, everyone realized it was a warning sign prohibiting tourists from going to the back mountain.

"Huh? Wait! What's that?" Kazuha suddenly quickened her pace and ran to the front, completely unaware that the hem of her yukata was covered in mud.

She picked up a hat from the grass next to her and exclaimed, "This...this is Heiji's hat!"

"So they must have gone inside. Looks like we've come to the right place." As Xiaolan spoke, she clung tightly to Shiraishi E's arm.

"Let's go then." Shiraishi E didn't waste any words and gestured for everyone to go around the obstacles and continue into the back mountain.

After walking along the road for more than ten minutes, the group saw a villa in the distance.

“A villa? Maybe they’re inside! Maybe there’s no signal here, so they can’t answer our calls!” Kazuha suggested.

Seeing this, the group quickened their pace.

However, just as she was about to reach the gate, Shiraishi noticed something, shone her flashlight to the side, and found the ribbon in the grass.

He knew this was a message left to him by Vermouth, guiding his direction.

Shiraishi deliberately said, "This is Conan's ribbon... They didn't go through the main entrance."

This was not good news. The three girls, who watched plenty of movies, immediately understood what was going on, and their expressions turned rather sour.

The four of them then disappeared into the nearby bushes, stumbled along the path, and eventually reached the wall on one side of the villa.

The surveillance camera next to us couldn't capture what was happening here.

"There's a rope!!" Xiaolan exclaimed in surprise, reaching out to the wall beside her.

A rope was hanging from the wall.

Clearly, this was also a planned infiltration route arranged by Vermouth.

Sonoko suddenly realized, "Conan and Heiji must have gotten into the villa using this rope."

"These two guys are really audacious!" Kazuha couldn't help but complain.

Shiraishi Emi was amused; they provided the explanation themselves without her even having to say a word.

He forced a laugh and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, that's how it will be."

Despite knowing they wouldn't agree, Shiraishi E still said, "We don't know what's going on inside right now. How about I go in and take a look while you wait here?"

"No!! It's so dark here... Oh no, I mean, we've already come all this way." Xiaolan realized she'd blurted out her true feelings halfway through her sentence and quickly corrected herself, "How can we give up halfway?"

“Yes, yes! Come to think of it, I’ve never done anything like this before! I want to go too!” Sonoko said excitedly.

"Since you've all left, of course I can't stay here!" Kazuha didn't want to be left alone in this dark place!

Their answer did not surprise Shiraishi E. He nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll climb in and see what's going on."

(End of this chapter)