The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

"Heiji Hattori is saying that Kudo might also go to the island for something this interesting!" said Yuu Aragaki, who was watching the show from the sidelines, with a look of not wanting to miss out on the excitement.

"What!" Ran exclaimed excitedly upon hearing that Shinichi Kudo might be on the island. "Heh heh, that Shinichi guy is on the island too!?"

However, judging from her unconsciously clenched fist, her feelings were more than just excitement.

Conan: "!!!"

After hearing Yuu Aragaki's fabricated words, Conan was stunned when he saw Ran's expression.

My heart was filled with panic.

Damn it, what is this person even saying?!

Chapter 455 The Snow Woman Gets a Beating from the Demon Sword Princess

On the other side, Kogoro Mouri looked at Heiji Hattori and asked, "Have you contacted the client to confirm this matter?"

Heiji Hattori nodded. "Yes, the letter that was sent to us by Saori Kadoya did indeed include her contact number on the envelope for us to use in communication."

“But…” Hattori Heiji’s expression suddenly turned serious as he said this, “When I tried to contact them a second time, the call was no longer going through, and when I tried to contact them a first time, the call was immediately cut off as soon as it was connected.”

"Oh? It was cut off?" Kogoro Mouri looked at Heiji Hattori with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, I still remember the voice that came from the other end of the phone very clearly." Hattori Heiji lowered his head, his tone becoming low.

"What's that sound?" Aragaki Yu became interested at this moment, walked to the railing of the deck, and leaned his upper body out towards the sea with both hands on the railing.

Seeing this, the Demon Blade Princess, who had been perched on Aragaki Yu's shoulder, also jumped down from his shoulder with great interest and stood firmly on the railing at the edge of the deck. She then sat down obediently, gazing at the sea while swinging her little feet.

On Yuu's other shoulder, Yuki-onna, seeing Yoto-hime's dashing appearance, also gave up her plan to float down and jumped over like Yoto-hime.

However, perhaps because she was used to floating, the snow woman who jumped down lost her footing for a moment. While staggering on the railing, she subconsciously grabbed the demon sword princess next to her.

Because of this hasty grab, the unsuspecting Yaodao-hime was pushed by Yuki-onna towards the sea.

The panicked Yuki-onna, clinging to Yoto-hime's arm, also fell into the sea.

Fortunately, the little tengu, who was not far away, was quick-witted and managed to grab the two of them just a second before they were about to fall into the sea, and struggled to fly them back to the deck.

Snow Woman: "Hehe..."

Yaodao-hime silently stood up in front of Yuki-onna.

Snow Woman: "???"

Yaodao-hime draws her sword.

Snow Woman: "!!!"

Aragaki Yu: "..."

Looking at the demon sword princess chasing and beating the snow woman on the deck, and the timid Hotaru and Kaguya who wanted to go up and break up the fight, Aragaki Yu felt a little ashamed.

At the same time, Hattori Heiji also spoke up, "Besides the sound of the waves, there was only the sound of a woman moaning."

For some reason, everyone suddenly felt that Hattori Heiji's voice had become incredibly sinister.

"No way, could it be that person turned into a mermaid!" Ran and Kazuha, who were standing to the side, were clearly frightened by Hattori Heiji's words.

"Hmph, how could that be!" Kogoro Mouri scoffed at such an unscientific idea. "I think that woman probably met with some misfortune at sea. After all, I've heard that there are often storms in this area."

Upon hearing this, Conan's expression finally turned serious.

Hattori Heiji looked at the island getting closer and closer, and shook his head slightly. "It seems that we'll have to wait until after America Island to find out what really happens."

……

Mermaid Island, Community Center.

"What?" Kogoro Mouri looked at the staff member in surprise. "You mean Ms. Saori Kadowaki is currently missing?"

"Yes," the staff member behind the counter nodded and explained, "He hasn't been to work for about three days."

Following behind Kogoro Mouri, Heiji Hattori stroked his chin, muttering with a somewhat grim expression, "Counting back three days from now, that's exactly when that letter arrived home..."

However, the staff at the community center didn't seem to care too much about it. "But the neighbors are wondering if she might have taken a boat to the mainland for a trip."

At the same time, two people passing by behind the staff urged him anxiously, "Mr. Kobayashi, it's time to go!"

"Okay, I'll be right there!" The staff member called Kobayashi said to the two behind him before turning around and apologetically saying to Kogoro Mouri, "Sorry, I still have to go to the island to prepare for the festival."

"What kind of celebration?" Kogoro Mouri asked, somewhat puzzled.

Kobayashi smiled and said, "Today happens to be the day of our island's annual dugong festival! Of course, if you want to know anything else, you can go to the local products shop on the corner and ask the owner there."

……

"I think she must have gone to play in the countryside! Let's not think too much about it!" Kogoro Mouri said nonchalantly on the way to the local products store.

Ran and Kazuha were clearly not focused on the commission; instead, they were curiously looking at the various shops along the roadside.

However, both Conan and Heiji Hattori kept their heads down and remained silent, clearly deep in thought.

“I don’t think so.” Noticing Kogoro Mouri’s somewhat embarrassed appearance because no one was paying attention to him, Yuya Aragaki continued, “If Saori Kadokawa really sent such a letter, she shouldn’t be able to leave this island during this time.”

"Then what do you think happened? Where could a perfectly healthy person go? Did she really fall into the sea?" Kogoro Mouri muttered.

"Let's ask the shop owner first," Aragaki Yu said, suddenly stopping in his tracks and pointing to the shop next to him.

It turned out that they had arrived at the local products shop where the staff member Kobayashi had mentioned, where the workers worked at the same shop.

"Besides mermaid amulets, there are also mermaid-shaped suspender clips..." Xiaolan looked at the dazzling array of trinkets in the shop with great curiosity. "Wow, this is the first time I've ever seen dugong pies like this. This island really is closely related to dugongs!"

"Hmm." Conan, who was being dragged along by Ran to browse the small shops, nodded helplessly.

"Hey! Heiji, what's a dugong?" Kazuha asked, tugging at Hattori Heiji's sleeve with a puzzled look.

"Oh, this is what is commonly known as a mermaid, a type of mammal that lives in the sea."

After receiving the letter of commission, Hattori Heiji naturally conducted some research on the relevant information and thus had some understanding of these things.

"In fact, they have also left their mark on southern Japan in the past. Since ancient times, dugong meat has been regarded as an elixir of immortality."

Chapter 456 The Legend of the Mermaid

"Oh? You mean the Dugong's Arrow?"

Just then, Kogoro Mouri's surprised voice drew everyone's attention.

Everyone looked over and saw Kogoro Mouri chatting with the proprietress of the local products shop.

“That’s right, it’s a talisman for immortality. Every year, three dugong arrows are given to the villagers at the annual dugong festival.” The proprietress shrugged and explained to Kogoro Mouri with a hint of helplessness, “Saori accidentally lost the dugong arrow she got a year ago, so she was very scared a week ago, afraid that the mermaid would come to take revenge on her.”

"There are no mermaids in this world!" Kogoro Mouri said dismissively, finding Saori Kadokawa's behavior hard to understand.

"No, there are indeed mermaids in this world."

Just then, a woman's voice suddenly came from behind Kogoro Mouri.

The people in the shop turned their heads in surprise and looked towards the door.

Suddenly, a short-haired young woman in her early twenties appeared at the entrance of the local products store.

She scanned the outsiders in the shop with great interest, but her gaze lingered on Aragaki Yu for a few more seconds when it landed on him.

So... so handsome!

“It’s you, Naoko.” The proprietress of the local products shop addressed the woman in front of her.

Seeing the handsome young man looking at her, the woman, whom the proprietress called Naoko, subconsciously revealed a sweet smile, "Because there is already a real case in this world of someone who ate mermaid flesh and achieved immortality."

Naoko nodded to the proprietress of the local products shop, then looked at Aragaki Yu and explained, "And the dugong arrow made from the hair that the old woman grew using her psychic powers can grant anyone the dream of immortality, no matter who it falls into!"

“Saori lost such an important dugong arrow, so it’s only natural that she would flee the island out of fear of the mermaid’s revenge.”

After speaking, without waiting for a response from the others, and after taking a few more glances at Aragaki Yu, Naoko reluctantly left.

If it weren't for the huge amount of work she still had to do, she definitely wouldn't want to leave like this.

"Who is this person?" Kogoro Mouri wondered, watching Naoko's departing figure.

The owner of the local products shop explained, "Naoko is Saori's childhood friend."

"Then who is this 'Longevity Granny' he's talking about?" Kogoro Mouri asked again.

"The main character of today's dugong festival..." the proprietress of the local products shop said with a smile, "is also the symbol of our island, namely that old lady from the island."

Although the proprietress was smiling, Yuu Aragaki noticed that when she mentioned the old lady in Shimabukuro, her eyes revealed not only pride but also an indescribable meaning.

"As expected..." Aragaki Yu muttered to himself.

"How old is that old lady?" Hattori Heiji asked the proprietress with a puzzled look.

Although Heiji Hattori had done a lot of research before coming to Mermaid Island.

However, there are many different opinions about the actual age of the long-lived woman on Mermaid Island.

There are many different versions of the story.

"Well..."

However, the proprietress of the local products shop also seemed a little hesitant about this question, and said uncertainly, "There are actually many people who say she is one hundred years old and others who say she is two hundred years old. If you want to know, I suggest you go to the shrine on the island where the festival is held to take a look."

"shrine?"