The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

……

the other side.

Kogoro Mouri and his group finally arrived at the shrine on Mermaid Island.

It was only then that the group noticed that Aragaki Yu, who was lagging behind, had disappeared without a trace.

However, no one seemed overly worried about it.

After all, the road we came on was crowded with tourists.

If it weren't for Heiji Hattori and Conan watching over them, Ran and Kazuha would probably have gotten lost too.

Therefore, it's fortunate that only Aragaki Yu was lost.

(Aragaki Yu: "...")

After Ran confirmed with her phone that Aragaki Yu was alright, the group entered the shrine and found the shrine maiden, Shimabukuro Kimie, who was preparing for the dugong festival.

After the group explained their purpose, Shimabukuro Kimie, dressed as a shrine maiden, tapped her shoulder with her gohei (a type of shrine maiden's hat), looking rather helpless. "I mean, how can you people from big cities believe in this kind of thing!"

Seeing the somewhat embarrassed expressions on everyone's faces, Shimabukuro Kimie explained with a smile, "How could my great-grandmother be over 200 years old? She is actually only 130 years old this year. You can find out this by checking the household registration records."

Then, a troubled expression appeared on her pretty face. "Sigh, she's just lived a little longer than others, yet she's caused such a commotion."

"Of course!" Although she knew that the old woman was not over 200 years old, Xiao Lan was still incredibly surprised by her advanced age of 130.

"Hehe, I think this is good enough to apply for a world record..." Conan couldn't help but complain.

"Then may I ask where your great-grandmother is now?" Compared to how old the old woman was, Hattori Heiji was clearly more concerned about the matter he had been asked to discuss.

“Oh, she’s in her room right now!” Shimabukuro Kimie glanced at Hattori Heiji’s laryngitis and pointed to the rooms inside the shrine. “She’s currently praying fervently for the arrows to be sent out at tonight’s dugong festival.”

Kogoro Mouri, however, looked at Kimie Shimabukuro with a strange expression, and finally couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked, "Hey, tell me, did your great-grandmother really eat mermaid flesh?"

"Huh?" Shimabukuro Kimie was stunned for a moment, staring wide-eyed at Kogoro Mouri, before finally bursting out laughing. "How could that be! Because there are no mermaids in this world!"

(At the same time, Aragaki Yu glanced at the mermaid hiding behind the snow woman, cautiously watching him: "...")

"Huh?" Kogoro Mouri awkwardly scratched his head.

"These are all made up by other people!" Shimabukuro Kimie said with a smile.

"But... that dugong arrow isn't..." Kogoro Mori was still unwilling to give up.

Upon hearing this, Shimabukuro Kimie smiled and waved her hand, saying, "Actually, that arrow before only represented a cursed arrow that had been enchanted with an exorcism spell. It's just that the people on the island associated it with mermaids, so they named it after the dugong that lives in the sea. Of course, all of this was told to me by my late mother."

Hearing this, Xiaolan was slightly moved. "So your mother has passed away..."

“Yes.” When he mentioned his mother, the smile on Shimabukuro Kimie’s face suddenly dimmed. “Five years ago, my mother and father died at sea in an accident. 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, there must be a reason for that, right?" Kazuha seemed to remember the phone call from the client that Hattori Heiji had mentioned earlier, and her expression became frightened.

"There's no reason at all!" Shimabukuro Kimie said nonchalantly. "Saori and I took a ship to the mainland before, and nothing happened!"

When Kazuha heard this, knowing it wasn't a curse, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"What? You're on a boat with Saori!" Kogoro Mouri's eyes widened suddenly as he asked in surprise.

Hattori Heiji anxiously pressed, "When did that happen?"

Kimie Shimabukuro seemed startled by their sudden reaction and replied somewhat weakly, "Well... just four days ago. I asked her to accompany me to the mainland to see a dentist because there are no dentists on our island right now."

"Was Saori's mood stable at that time?" Kogoro Mouri asked.

Shimabukuro Kimie thought for a moment, then explained to Kogoro Mouri with a hint of helplessness, "She said she lost the Dugong Arrow and was terrified, fearing that the mermaid would come after her for revenge. I reassured her that these were just rumors and that nothing like that would ever happen, but she just wouldn't believe it."

"Heh, you're so naive!"

Just then, a clear, cold female voice suddenly came from afar.

Everyone turned around and saw a tall, long-haired woman walking towards them. "You say that because you don't believe in your great-grandmother's power at all."

Shimabukuro Kimie looked somewhat surprised when she saw the person who had arrived. "Somi?"

“She really does possess magical powers, and she did indeed eat mermaid flesh before, as you know! There was indeed a mermaid corpse three years ago, wasn’t there?” The woman called Sumi squinted at Shimabukuro Kimie and said.

It's easy to tell from the woman's expression that she seems quite interested in the mermaid's corpse as well.

"What! A mermaid's corpse?" Kogoro Mouri and the others present were clearly stunned when they heard this.

Chapter 460 Dugong Celebration

"Three years ago, wait a minute, could this be the one that was reported on TV back then..." Xiaolan seemed to realize something, and her expression changed slightly.

At this moment, Kimie Shimabukuro's expression also turned ugly.

She hurriedly interrupted Xiaolan, "Actually, those are just exaggerations by the TV station!"

"Hmph, you're lying through your teeth!" Sumi said, squinting her eyes.

Then, in the next second.

Shoumei suddenly opened her eyes again, her expression becoming extremely strange. "You clearly saw it too, the way the mermaid's bones were broken, it's just too bizarre."

"Sumimi, stop talking!"

However, at that moment, a stern voice rang out from behind Sumi.

At the same time, a dark, strong hand pressed down on Sumi's shoulder, reminding her to stop.

"Rokuro?" Shoumei turned around in surprise to look at the man behind her.

The man called Rokuro glanced at Shimabukuro Kimie subconsciously, then looked at Sumi and explained calmly, "It's better not to say many things in front of outsiders."

"And you guys," Rokuro then said to Kogoro Mouri and the others, "if you're here to find Saori, you should go to her house to find out what's going on."

It's clear that Rokuro doesn't really welcome these people bothering Shimabukuro Kimie.

"However, that's only if her drunkard father welcomes you first."

Finally, before Rokuro turned to leave, he didn't forget to turn back and give Kogoro and the others a cold reminder.

"Isn't anyone worried about her safety?" Hattori Heiji muttered, rolling his eyes as he watched Rokuro and Kotobuki leave.

Shimabukuro Kimie glanced at the group and then smiled wryly, saying, "It's because Saori used to argue with her father and run away from home all the time, so everyone's used to it."

"If it's alright, could you please take us to Saori's house?" Kogoro Mouri suddenly asked.

"Of course! I'll be free after the celebration."

Kimie Shimabukuro readily agreed to this.

"Hey! By the way!" Hearing the words "festival," Ran and Kazuha, who had been following behind, finally had a chance to interject, asking curiously, "What do you guys do at the festival?"

Shimabukuro Kimie glanced at the two girls who had come closer and explained with a smile, "We sell some number plates to the guests attending the festival in advance. As long as the number matches the one my great-grandmother showed, you can get the Dugong Arrow."

Noticing the two girls' increasingly interested expressions, Kimie Shimabukuro couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, so it's kind of like a lottery competition! Speaking of which, why don't you two try your luck?"

After saying that, Shimabukuro Kimie suddenly took out two number tags from the sleeve of her shrine maiden outfit and handed them to Ran and Kazuha.

"Huh?" Ran and Ye stared at the number plate in Shimabukuro Kimie's hand, slightly taken aback.

“An elderly couple returned their number plates this morning, so I have two left,” Kimie Shimabukuro explained casually.

"I think you should not disappoint Ms. Shimabukuro Kimie's good intentions."

Just as Ran and Kazuha were hesitating, Aragaki Yu's voice came from the side.

"Aragaki!?"

Upon hearing this voice, everyone turned around in surprise and saw that Aragaki Yu, who had previously "gone missing," was slowly walking towards them.

"While whether you hit the target or not might still depend on luck, who knows, maybe you'll also be able to draw the Dugong's Arrow and, like in the legends, live forever and stay young forever?"

After saying that, Aragaki Yu also shifted his gaze from Ran and Kazuha to Shimabukuro Kimie.

"..."

When Shimabukuro Kimie heard Aragaki Yu's words, she was clearly taken aback, because the boy in front of her had actually said what she wanted to say.

As Aragaki Yu slowly approached, Shimabukuro Kimie's expression was somewhat strange.

However, upon closer inspection, this young man is actually quite handsome.

However, his gaze made Shimabukuro Kimie feel a little uncomfortable.

It wasn't that she felt the other person was harassing her, but the boy's clear eyes seemed to see through everything, which made Shimabukuro Kimie feel a strange sense of panic.

Upon hearing Aragaki Yu's words, the two girls hesitated for a few seconds, then smiled at each other and stepped forward to take the number plates. "Miss Junhui, then we won't stand on ceremony."

It's clear that women can't resist the allure of eternal youth, even knowing it's a lie.

……

Night slowly fell.

As the thunderous drumbeats sounded, several torches in front of the shrine's altar were already ablaze with flames.

At this time, both the island's residents and tourists from afar gradually gathered at this place.

Kogoro Mouri and his companions followed the crowd to the front of the altar.

"Wow! I suddenly feel so excited!" Hearing the powerful drumbeats, Kazuha tightly gripped the number plate in her hands and whispered to Ran beside her.

"Yes!" Xiaolan exclaimed with a smile as she watched the grand celebration performance.