The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

"How is that possible! Heiji, your skin is clearly that dark!"

Thump~

Completely stunned, Hattori Heiji staggered to his feet under Hattori Shizuka's teasing gaze and helplessly argued with Ran, "That's a really hurtful thing to say! My skin color is inherited from my dad!"

Everyone: "..."

Seeing Hattori Heiji's frantic state, Aragaki Yu couldn't help but chuckle and casually took out his phone to snap a picture of the scene.

Added another photo to my favorites.

Osaka Kurotan.JPG

……

After saying goodbye to Officer Yokomizo.

The group chatted as they returned to the Mouri Detective Agency.

However, when they got on the bus, Kogoro Mouri and Conan were somewhat surprised when they saw Heiji Hattori and Kazuha's suitcases.

Finally, after some pleasantries...

Everyone finally understood the reason behind Hattori Shizuka's strange request this time—

Because he was worried about his son, Hattori Heiji specifically asked Mr. Shibata to arrange this scene, in order to take this opportunity to observe Kogoro Mouri's character.

"Now I can finally entrust Heiji and Kazuha to you with peace of mind!" Hattori Shizuka said with a smile to Kogoro Mouri.

At the same time, she didn't forget to glance at Aragaki Yu, who was following at the very back.

When she saw that Aragaki Yu had noticed her gaze, she winked at him playfully.

However, he quickly looked away and returned to his serious expression.

It was as if that expression had never existed.

Kogoro Mouri stopped in surprise, looking at Heiji Hattori and Kazuha with a puzzled expression, and asked, "Leave it to me? What do you mean by that?"

“That’s true.” Ran leaned down and looked at the luggage piled on the ground by Heiji Hattori and Kazuha, saying, “What’s wrong with you two? Why do you have so much luggage?”

"Huh? What's wrong! Didn't this little rascal tell you?!"

Hearing Ran and Kogoro's puzzled voices, Heiji Hattori, with his hands in his pockets, looked at Conan at his feet with the same confusion.

"Huh?!" This time, not only Kogoro Mouri and Ran were surprised, but even Conan's expression changed.

Conan looked up, his eyes wide, staring at Hattori Heiji, his mind filled with doubt.

Tell me? Tell me what?

Conan, who was being stared at by everyone, opened his mouth, about to explain that he knew nothing about it, when something flashed through his mind.

He froze on the spot, staring blankly at Hattori Heiji, and said, "Wh...what!? What you said last time was all true!"

……

Flocks of seagulls fly over the azure sea.

A cruise ship is sailing on the sea.

"You little rascal, you'd better trust me!"

On the deck of the cruise ship, Kogoro Mori leaned against the railing, admiring the boundless sea, and complained to Heiji Hattori beside him, "You rushed over here without a second thought, saying you had some case to handle in Fukui. Just because I agreed to come along doesn't mean I didn't have anything else to do!"

Heiji Hattori, leaning against the railing and adjusting his hat which was nearly blown away by the sea breeze, said, "Uncle, you didn't lose anything, did you? I paid for the trip anyway!"

Kogoro Mouri opened his mouth, about to mutter something, when a figure walked towards them from behind.

Heiji Hattori, who was leaning against the railing, immediately saw Yuu Aragaki walking towards him and Kogoro Mouri, so he raised his hand and waved to him.

Aragaki Yu nodded to Hattori Heiji, then smiled and said to Mori Kogoro, "But, Mr. Mori, I remember you were the one who very proactively held Shizuka's hand and told her to entrust everything to you without worry!"

"Uh... cough cough..." Kogoro Mouri, who had been mercilessly exposed by Yuu Aragaki, coughed awkwardly twice and quickly turned to Heiji Hattori beside him, saying, "Alright, which island are we going to now?"

It has to be said that Kogoro Mouri is very skilled at changing the subject.

Upon hearing Aragaki Yu's words, Hattori Heiji's expression clearly became strange for a moment. He glanced cautiously at Uncle Mori beside him before slowly explaining, "That place is called American Island. Although it's a small, isolated island, the people around here call it by another name."

While speaking, Heiji Hattori patted Conan, who was standing at his feet in a daze, and pointed to the small island directly in front of the cruise ship.

"That is to say, the island where mermaids live."

Chapter 454 Mermaid Island (2)

"An island where mermaids live?" Kogoro Mouri lit a cigarette and looked at Heiji Hattori with some suspicion.

Conan also looked up with some curiosity at the island that Hattori Heiji was pointing to, wondering why Hattori Heiji wanted to take them to such a low-class island.

The idea of ​​a mermaid-inhabited island is clearly just a rumor spread by the locals to attract tourists.

At the same time, Ran and Kazuha noticed the commotion and walked over.

"I've also heard that there's an old woman on that island who lives by eating mermaid flesh in order to achieve immortality!" Hattori Heiji continued, seeing that everyone had gathered together.

"I've heard of that too!" Xiaolan said excitedly. "You mean that old lady who caused a stir three years ago because of her immortality, right?"

“That’s right, that’s right!” Kazuha joined in at this moment, saying with great interest, “I came along because I hope to stay young and beautiful forever like her!”

"I see, you're trying to use your youth and beauty to tie Hattori down, aren't you?" Ran teased Kazuha with a smile on her face.

"Shh! I, I didn't!" Seeing Ran's mischievous grin, Kazuha blushed instantly.

Hattori Heiji, standing by the railing, didn't show any particular reaction.

It's unclear whether she didn't hear what Ran and Kazuha were saying, or if she was simply preoccupied with Conan.

"However, I've heard that the immortal old woman has only lived a long time, but she looks very old and frail," Aragaki Yu reminded Kazuha, who had overheard everything.

"What? Does that mean I can't stay young forever?" Kazuha blinked blankly, her little expression unusually cute.

"Yes, I think that's correct." Aragaki Yu nodded.

"Ugh, how could this happen..."

Upon hearing this, Kazuha immediately became dejected.

"However, I think that sometimes staying young forever might be a very painful thing!" Aragaki Yu muttered meaningfully as he looked at everyone.

Speaking of eternal youth, he suddenly thought of Vermouth, that woman.

Mermaid Island?

If I remember correctly, Ai Haibara and other members of the organization came here to investigate this kind of thing a long time ago in order to study drugs.

However, given Ai Haibara's and the others' abilities, it shouldn't be too difficult for them to discover the secret of the "immortal" old woman on this island.

As for Kazuha's talk about immortality, Aragaki Yu glanced at Conan with a hint of helplessness.

With this guy around, perhaps everyone in this world is immortal!

Of course, Aragaki Yuu's interest wasn't solely based on his connection to the long-lived old woman on the island; it was this that led him to accept Hattori Shizuka's invitation to accompany Hattori Heiji to Mermaid Island.

Instead, after hearing about Mermaid Island, the shikigami in Aragaki Yu's Yin-Yang Domain started clamoring to go and see the island.

Because they always felt that there might be their companions on that island.

Of course, the main reason is that Hattori Shizuka said that all expenses for this trip could be reimbursed by her.

……

"Hey, let me ask you something. The person who asked you to come here, they don't want you to find some kind of mermaid, do they?" Kogoro Mouri said with a cigarette dangling from his lips and a look of disdain.

Yuu Aragaki looked at Kogoro Mouri standing on the deck in his trench coat, and you have to admit, the way Kogoro Mouri's trench coat fluttered in the sea breeze actually looked quite stylish.

“No, quite the opposite.” Hattori Heiji turned to look at the sea and said mysteriously, “The letter of authorization only has a few simple sentences written on it, and it’s clear that it was written in a hurry.”

"Hmm?" Kogoro Mouri and Conan both looked at Heiji Hattori.

"It says on it—The mermaid is about to be killed, please save her!"

"You, you mean the mermaids will be killed!?" Kogoro Mouri couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Ran and Kazuha also looked over with concern.

Clearly, even after learning that eternal youth is impossible, they were still very interested in mermaids.

Conan, however, turned around somewhat bored, looked at the sea, and yawned. "What a boring prank..."

"What are you doing! Listen carefully, okay!" Hattori Heiji, seeing his friend's attitude, leaned close to Conan's ear and whispered a reminder.

"Come on, mermaids are the protagonists of fairy tales. Only an idiot would believe that!" Conan rolled his eyes at Heiji Hattori.

Hearing Conan's complaint, Hattori Heiji leaned on the railing and looked at Mermaid Island in the distance, whispering to Conan, "Actually, I don't believe in mermaids either. What I'm curious about is the letter the client sent. Although my name is on the envelope, the letter begins with something like, 'Dear Mr. Shinichi Kudo.'"

"Huh!?" Conan looked up in surprise.

"Aren't you going to thank me already!" Hattori Heiji said with a laugh. "I brought you along specifically because I thought that guy might have something to do with you!"

"Shinichi!? Hattori, you were just talking about Shinichi, weren't you?!"

Although Heiji Hattori's voice wasn't loud, Ran, with her sharp ears, still caught the key word.

"Huh? I, I mean..." Hattori Heiji turned around and looked at Ran's expectant face. He was stunned for a moment, stammering as he tried to explain, but couldn't think of a good explanation.

Left with no other option, Hattori Heiji turned to Conan for help, only to find that Conan also looked helpless.