Conan: I've been linked to the tech tree system.

Suddenly a pleasant voice came from the side.

"Naoko? It's you." The proprietress looked at the person, clearly recognizing her very well.

Naoko Kuroe is a 28-year-old woman with a Dora hairstyle. "Because there are real cases in the world where people have become immortal after eating mermaid flesh."

"And that old woman of longevity, using the hair that grows from her mental power to make dugong arrows, can grant immortality to whoever falls into her hands."

"It's only natural that she would be so scared that she ran away from the island after losing such an important arrow," Naoko Kuroe said with a smile, and then walked away.

"Who is she?"

Kogoro Mouri found this person inexplicable.

“Naoko is Saori’s childhood friend.” The proprietress noticed his confusion and explained, “The old woman she mentioned is the main character of this festival, the symbol of our island, that old lady from the island.”

"I see... So how old is Mrs. Shimabukuro this year?" Hattori Heiji was also very curious.

"Well..." The proprietress wasn't quite sure either. "There are plenty of people who say she's between one hundred and two hundred years old."

"If you want to know, I suggest you go and see the shrine on the island where the festival is held."

"shrine?"

"Grandma Shimabukuro's great-granddaughter, Kimie, grew up with Saori, so she should be there too." The implication was clear: "Don't linger here and interfere with my business."

"How did we turn into a ball?" Hattori Heiji was speechless.

"Do you like this?" Before leaving, Toru Tono suddenly noticed that Shiho Miyano was staring at a dugong keychain.

He walked over and took a look. The dugong, which looked like a manatee, had its two nostrils open, and its expression was very vivid and lifelike. It was indeed quite cute.

"Boss lady, how much is this?"

He casually pointed to the key ring.

"The price is 2000 yen, but if you really want it, I can give you a discount and make it 1800 yen."

The proprietress smiled and announced prices that would make anyone's jaw drop.

Toru Tono finally understood why the islanders were so unwilling to lose the name "Mermaid Island." Who wouldn't want to hold onto such a lucrative business?

With a heavy heart, he paid the money and handed the keychain to Shiho Miyano.

"...Thank you." Shiho Miyano put it away, her expression unreadable.

"Speaking of which, do you really need a keychain?"

Toru Tono doesn't have the habit of carrying keys, so most of the doors in his house are controlled by smart locks. With biometric passwords, it's no big deal to leave the house empty-handed.

"None of your business," Shiho Miyano said, then walked out with her hands behind her back.

My steps were much lighter than when I came in.

“God Gold.” Tohru Tono was speechless.

......

American Shrine.

The shrine is located on the mountainside on the east side of the island. It is a small building, and perhaps because it is frequently repaired, it has a rather modern style and does not look as ancient as the islanders claim.

The stone lanterns on both sides of the approach path glowed in the thin mist, revealing a hazy color.

"How could my great-grandmother be 200 years old?"

Wearing a red and white shrine maiden outfit, Kimie Shimabukuro stood at the foot of the steps of the shrine's main gate, holding a white shrine maiden's hat for prayer or cleansing, and a wooden stick draped over her shoulder.

“Actually, my great-grandmother just turned 130 this year,” Kimie Shimabukuro said to the group of out-of-town detectives who didn’t know the truth. “You can find out right away by checking the household registration.”

She made a helpless expression and held the gohei back in both hands: "She just lived a little longer than the average person, and it caused such a commotion."

To utter such Versailles-like words so easily, she truly lives up to her title as a priestess.

If Toru Tono remembers correctly, according to a report released by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the average life expectancy of Japanese people is around 80 years, which is among the highest in the world.

What does 130 years old mean? An 80-year-old would be her grandchild, and the probability of her seeing her children or even grandchildren pass away is frighteningly high. In a normal family, this would probably mean six generations living together.

In short, it's absolutely outrageous.

Chapter 158 Shrine Maiden Shimabukuro Kimie

"This is enough to break a Guinness World Record, isn't it?" Conan's lips twitched, utterly speechless.

At that moment, Toru Tono suddenly felt Shiho Miyano nudge his side.

Looking to the side, he saw her whispering to him, "The last time we came here, it was this same Ms. Shimabukuro who hosted the ceremony."

"Of course! Otherwise, why not have a 130-year-old man come out and do it himself?"

"But the two of them have never appeared at the same time."

Toru Tono raised an eyebrow. Of course he knew that the real old lady Shimabukuro had died long ago. He even knew that Shimabukuro Kimie, as her great-granddaughter, was playing two roles, pretending to be a 130-year-old woman with limited mobility, in order to carry on her deceased mother's unfinished business.

"You mean... the legend of 'immortality' is man-made? This Ms. Shimabukuro personally disguised herself as her great-grandmother to continue this 130-year-old legend?"

He feigned surprise.

“That’s right. After we found out about these things, we evacuated from the island,” Shiho Miyano continued. “If there really is such a thing as mermaid flesh that can grant immortality, the organization’s boss must have been the first one to eat it.”

Tohru Tono shrugged, indicating that he understood.

"So, may I ask where your great-grandmother is now?" Hattori Heiji, somewhat annoyed at being passed around like a troublesome ball, asked Shimabukuro Kimie in a slightly unpleasant tone.

"She's in her room, praying fervently for the arrows that will be sent out tonight," said Kimie Shimabukuro with a matter-of-fact expression.

"So, your great-grandmother really ate mermaid flesh?!"

Kogoro Mouri was the one who cared about this the most among them.

After all, I've reached the age where I occasionally think about those things, so it's understandable.

"Huh?" Shimabukuro Kimie's expression froze as she looked at the "famous detective" in front of her who believed in such supernatural events, with a hint of surprise.

Then he couldn't stop laughing: "Of course not, there are no mermaids in this world."

She explained with a smile.

"But, isn't that Dugong's Arrow...?" Kogoro Mori was confused.

"Actually, that arrow used to represent a cursed arrow that had been enchanted with exorcism spells, but the people on the island, in order to forcibly associate it with mermaids, arbitrarily changed it into a dugong arrow that lives in the sea."

“This is what my late mother told me,” she added.

"So your mother has passed away," Xiaolan said in a gentle tone.

“Yes, she and my father perished at sea five years ago.” Shimabukuro Kimie said in a calm tone, as if she had long since stopped caring. “Even my grandparents disappeared when they went out to sea on a boat before I was born.”

"Ah, your family members all died at sea... Is there some reason for this?"

Kazuha asked curiously.

"There's no particular reason," Shimabukuro Kimie said, still smiling. "I went to the mainland by boat with Saori before, and nothing happened."

"What? You're on a boat with Kadokawa Saori?"

"When did it happen?"

Upon finally hearing a name that piqued their interest, Kogoro Mouri and Heiji Hattori immediately perked up and asked at the same time.

"Just four days ago?"

Seeing how excited the two were, Shimabukuro Kimie was a little puzzled.

However, I answered their questions first: "That time, I asked her to accompany me to see a dentist on the mainland—because we don't have any dentists on our island right now."

She expressed the islanders' helplessness.

"Was Kadokawa Saori's mood stable at that time?"

Kogoro Mouri's first task is to rule out the possibility that his client is deliberately being mysterious.

"I remember her saying that she lost the Dugong Arrow and was terrified, fearing that the mermaid would come back to take revenge on her."

“I tried to reassure her that such a thing would never happen, but she just wouldn’t listen.”

Shimabukuro Kimie recalled the scene and looked very worried.

As she was saying this, a woman suddenly emerged from behind the shrine: "You're still too naive."

"You say that because you don't believe in your great-grandmother's power at all."

A woman with hair that reached her waist spoke to Kimie Shimabukuro.

"Sumi?"

Kimie Shimabukuro turned to look at her.

Mermaid Island is pitifully small, and the two people of similar age are clearly acquaintances.

"She really does have magic, and she's eaten mermaid flesh before," Sumi said with absolute certainty, as if she had actually witnessed it herself. "You know, there was a mermaid's corpse appearing three years ago, wasn't there?"

"The body of a mermaid?"

Both detectives, Conan and Heiji, were startled.

"Ah, you're not talking about that one that was on TV before...?"

Detectives who only read mystery novels and solve cases are unaware of current events, but Xiaolan seems to have some recollection of this matter.

"Actually, that was just an exaggeration on TV," Kimie Shimabukuro interrupted Ran with a laugh.

As the great-granddaughter of the "long-lived woman who ate mermaid flesh," she seems to be the one who least believes in the existence of mermaids.

"Hmph, you're lying through your teeth," Sumi sneered. "You clearly saw it too..."

She made a horrified face. "The way the mermaid's bones were broken... it's just too bizarre."

"Alright, stop talking, Sumi." A hand was placed on her shoulder, stopping him from continuing.

When Sumi turned around, the owner of her hand was a man whose skin was several shades lighter than Hattori Heiji's, but still had a bronze complexion and a buzz cut.

"Lu Lang?"

I wonder which of my childhood friends has shown up.

“There are many things that are inconvenient to say in front of many people.” Rokuro said, turning his gaze to Tono and the others. “If you guys are here to find Saori, you should go to Saori’s house to find out what’s going on.”