The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

“No rush, these two S-shaped hooks and the ring together must be someone’s SOS distress signal!” Yuan Tai emphasized loudly from the side.

"Hehehe..." Looking at the serious-looking group, Conan could only laugh awkwardly twice.

He couldn't believe that anyone would use such an unreliable way to ask for help.

Let's not even talk about whether anyone will notice something so inconspicuous.

Besides, if the hook and the ring are thrown out the window together, no one can guarantee that they will fall into a similar place.

If it's too far away, and passersby only see the hook or ring, it won't be able to serve as a signal for help at all!

Just as Conan looked at Yuu Aragaki, hoping that Yuu would offer some opinion that he shared,

But he found that Yuu Aragaki was looking at the "evidence" in his hand very seriously, as if he was thinking about something.

Seeing this, Conan's lips twitched involuntarily, and he thought to himself, "Hey, hey, hey! You don't actually believe what these kids say, do you?!"

Just then, Ayumi pointed to a building next to where they had just been standing and said, "It must have been thrown from a window of that building, but all the windows are closed now, so there's no way of knowing which apartment it came from..."

"So, we think someone must be imprisoned in one of the rooms in that building!" Mitsuhiko concluded at this point.

"It seems that it is indeed necessary to investigate." Under Conan's extremely surprised gaze, Aragaki Yu suddenly looked away from the hook and ring and looked at the building that Ayumi and the others were pointing to.

at the same time.

After touching one of the hooks, Aragaki Yu opened his palm and said to the children, "Moreover, judging from the lipstick stuck to the hook, it's likely that a woman had her hands tied and used her teeth to throw the hook and ring out the window."

"Yes."

Suddenly, Ai Haibara stood on tiptoe and took the ring from Yu Aragaki's hand, pointing to it and saying, "Also, this ring is engraved with M to A, and the date 1999.3.21. I think it must be a wedding ring. Judging from the size of this ring, the person who asked for help should be a woman with relatively thick fingers, and her husband's name and her name start with M and A respectively."

……

Just do it.

Since even Yuu Aragaki, whom the children considered extremely reliable, confirmed their guess, the members of the Junior Detective League became even more enthusiastic.

Because the building's doors are automatically locked, the doors cannot be opened from the outside without a resident's access card.

Therefore, following Yuu Aragaki's suggestion, Conan and the Detective Boys took advantage of a resident coming out to sneak into the building.

Even after the building's automatic doors closed again, Aragaki Yu showed no intention of following them into the building.

Ai Haibara, who had been following closely behind Yu Aragaki, was also left outside the door.

"Ah, Aragaki-nii and Haibara-san haven't come in yet!" Ayumi, who was already inside the building, saw this and seemed a little anxious.

Seeing Conan about to press the button to open the door, Yuya Aragaki quickly stopped him from outside the door, saying, "You guys can go inside the building to investigate. It's not really appropriate for me to go in."

"..."

Upon hearing Aragaki Yu's words, Conan's hand, which was reaching into the air to press the switch, froze instantly.

This guy……

I don't think he's really just playing with these kids.

Damn it, I was completely fooled by his serious demeanor!

Seeing the children's blank expressions, Aragaki Yu was about to explain something when Haibara Ai, who was also outside, spoke up first, "Aragaki-nii is right, he really isn't suitable to go in."

"what!?"

Upon hearing Ai Haibara's words, Conan was taken aback for a moment before quickly pursing his lips in exasperation, clearly realizing why Yuu Aragaki wasn't coming in.

However, Ayumi and the other children still looked puzzled, unable to understand why Aragaki Yu was staying outside.

Chapter 410 SOS (2)

“If it’s just little kids running around in this upscale apartment building, it might not be a problem, but if an adult is wandering around, the building’s security guards will probably come running before we even find the owner of this ring!” Ai Haibara explained to the children with a hint of helplessness.

"So...so that's how it is!"

The boys in the Junior Detective Club finally showed expressions of sudden realization.

"Don't worry, I believe that with your Junior Detective Club here, there will definitely be no problem!" Seeing the children's faces becoming hesitant, Aragaki Yu encouraged them with a smile.

"Besides, I'm waiting for you outside. If I find anything wrong, I'll come over immediately!"

Upon hearing Aragaki Yu's words, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta immediately perked up and nodded excitedly at Aragaki Yu, saying, "Great! Leave this case to our Junior Detective League, we'll definitely be able to solve it perfectly!"

"Ha ha……"

Conan rolled his eyes as he watched Ayumi and the others suddenly become energetic again.

He couldn't help but recall the various cases he had handled in the past; he had lost count of how many times these children had been the first to be eliminated.

"Thank you for your hard work!"

To Aragaki Yu's surprise, Ai Haibara, who was standing next to him, did not seem to intend to join Conan and the other children. Instead, she waved to them.

"Ah, Haibara-san?" The children who noticed Haibara Ai's actions were slightly taken aback, and Ayumi asked her in surprise, "Aren't you coming with us to investigate?"

"Me? Me?" Ai Haibara tapped her chin with her finger and thought for a moment before suddenly saying, "I just twisted my ankle, so I can't come with you guys!"

Aragaki Yu: "..."

Conan: "..."

Conan stared blankly at Ai Haibara, who was spouting nonsense with a straight face.

He had just seen Ai Haibara kicking pebbles idly by the roadside.

So now you're telling him he sprained his ankle?

Nobody would believe her!

(Yuki-onna: "...")

Good grief, so the two guys who just encouraged the kids to investigate aren't going anymore, leaving me to lead this group of kids in a crime-solving "game" again!

However, the Junior Detective Club members didn't suspect anything. Ayumi even looked at Ai Haibara with concern and said, "Then, Haibara-san, you should stay outside and rest!"

"Um, okay... okay, then thank you for your hard work, Yoshida-kun!"

Looking at Ayumi's innocent face, Ai Haibara suddenly felt a tiny bit of guilt.

……

Although they weren't going inside, Aragaki Yu still discussed with the children what they would do once they went in.

They need to look through the room numbers on all nine floors, from the first to the ninth floor, on this side of the street, to find the room where the couple's surnames are M and A.

After Conan and the Detective Boys turned around and ran upstairs.

"And then, what are you going to do?" Ai Haibara suddenly turned to Yu Aragaki and asked.

"Hmm?" Yuu Aragaki tilted his head and looked at Ai Haibara, who suddenly wanted to stay for some reason.

"Judging from your expression, it's clear you've decided that it's not as simple as just staying outside and waiting for them." Ai Haibara rolled her eyes at Yuu Aragaki and said, "Only those few guys would believe your nonsense. So, what's your plan?"

"Heh~"

Yu Aragaki reached out and gently tapped Ai Haibara's head. Girls who are too smart can be a bit annoying.

“If you just need to know and confirm the homeowner’s name and their house number, you don’t need to go door-to-door to check the homeowner’s house number.” Yuu Aragaki pointed to the convenience store downstairs in the building and said, “In buildings like this, the phone books of nearby public telephones usually have the phone numbers of the nearby residents and the names of the phone owners.”

"..."

Upon hearing this, Ai Haibara gave Yuu Aragaki a strange look and said, "Then why did you still let those kids go and check the house numbers?"

Yuu Aragaki naturally has his own reasons for this.

"Isn't this to cultivate their practical skills? The process of finding the answer themselves is often more important than the outcome of the event," Aragaki Yu said without batting an eye, offering the reason he had just thought of.

"Ah."

However, Ai Haibara wasn't buying it, though she just gave a light snort at Yuu Aragaki's wicked sense of humor.

"Besides, there are always situations where the phone book doesn't record everyone's information, so on-site inspections are still very necessary."

……

Soon, Yu Aragaki took Ai Haibara with him, claiming he was visiting a friend but had forgotten his house number.

I borrowed a public phone at the convenience store and looked through the store's phone book.

Of course, because he was carrying a little girl with him, the convenience store clerk did not suspect anything.

After casually snapping a few photos of the information in his phone book with his phone, Yuya Aragaki, realizing he still had some time to spare, picked out a few ice creams to kill the time while waiting.

It's so hot outside, and Aragaki Yu doesn't want to wait under the sun for the children to finish their investigation.

Noticing Conan and the Detective Boys coming downstairs, Yusuke Aragaki, carrying an ice cream, walked out of the convenience store with Ai Haibara.

To prevent the possibility of being unable to enter the building later.

Yuu Aragaki and Ai Haibara also joined Conan after he opened the automatic door and entered the building.

Wow, it's ice cream!

The children, who were already thirsty and hot from running for so long, exclaimed with delight when they saw the shopping bag handed to them by Aragaki Yu.

"Thank you, big brother Aragaki!"

Even Conan, after taking a bite of ice cream, showed a blissful expression, exclaiming, "Finally, I'm alive again!"