The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

But he knew he couldn't admit his identity right now, otherwise all his efforts over the past few days would be in vain.

"No, no, stop talking! I don't want to hear it!"

Before Conan could finish speaking, Ran interrupted his attempt to comfort him by covering her ears and shaking her head, saying, "I don't want to hear those excuses anymore..."

pat~

A tear suddenly slid down Xiaolan's cheek and fell onto the dining table.

“Shinichi-nii, he said he would find a way to come back sooner or later, no matter what, so, so…” Conan lowered his head, his expression very serious.

This was not just a way for him to comfort Xiaolan, but also his truest feeling from the bottom of his heart.

"So, Xiaolan, what are you crying about?!"

"!!!"

Just as Ran felt a little strange because of Conan's words, a voice coming from the direction of the restaurant entrance immediately surprised them both.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Ran instinctively looked towards the door. Seeing Shinichi walking towards her, her eyes widened in surprise, "Shin-Shinichi!?"

Conan stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"Shin...Shinichi, how...how did you get here?"

Seeing Shinichi's teasing look at her tearful face, Ran felt embarrassed and hurriedly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Where else would I be if not here?" Shinichi rolled his eyes at Ran after hearing her words. "Didn't we agree to eat here?"

"But...but Conan said you answered a phone call and then..." Ran looked at Conan, who was also extremely shocked, and stammered as she explained.

"Huh? You mean this brat!" Shinichi walked over to Conan, chuckled, and lightly tapped him on the head before pulling the bewildered Conan aside. Then, he slowly walked over to Ran.

Under Ran's bewildered gaze, Shinichi suddenly pulled a bouquet of roses from behind his back and handed it to Ran, saying softly, "Actually, I received a call from the florist, so I rushed downstairs to get a gift! I didn't expect this brat to misunderstand!"

"Pfft~"

Upon seeing the roses that suddenly appeared before her, Xiaolan immediately stopped crying and started laughing, but then her face turned red.

However, she still tried to keep a straight face and said with some dissatisfaction, "Hmph, it's your fault for being so indifferent every time you hear about a case!"

Seeing the "apologize quickly and I'll forgive you" look on Ran's face, Shinichi smiled slightly and handed the bouquet of roses to Ran. "So, beautiful lady, please forgive me for the sake of these flowers that are as beautiful as you!"

"..."

Conan stared blankly at "Shinichi Kudo" talking to Ran, feeling as if a herd of mythical beasts were stampeding through his mind.

Who is this guy impersonating me now that I've turned back into Conan?!

More importantly, seeing Ran who had finally managed to stop being sad, Conan couldn't bring himself to tell her that the Shinichi in front of him was actually a fake.

Conan felt a little frantic, but also somewhat powerless, as if he had been cheated on but still had to thank the other person.

That's right, the Shinichi Kudo standing in front of me is none other than Yuu Aragaki, who was hiding in the toilet earlier.

As for why she arrived so much later than Conan, it's because Ai Haibara, after Conan left the restroom, still went and checked every single stall in the men's restroom.

Yuu Aragaki went to great lengths to prevent Ai Haibara from discovering him.

Only after Ai Haibara confirmed that no one had left the restroom did Yuu Aragaki finally have the opportunity to complete his disguise.

Also, the ability to transform into Shinichi Kudo is thanks to Conan's "Shinichi Kudo" clothes that he hadn't disposed of yet, which were hidden in the toilet.

Otherwise, Aragaki Yu would have had to worry about what to wear!

That's right, it's in Aragaki Yu's backup plan.

There wasn't even enough time to help Kudo solve the case ahead of time.

Then all I can do is help him "flirt with girls".

Since I've already impersonated someone once, I don't mind doing it again.

As for Shinichi Kudo's opinion, he's already back to being Conan, so his opinion doesn't matter anymore.

……

"Hey, why didn't you eat anything just now?" Aragaki Yu, disguised as Kudo Shinichi, pointed to the food on the table that hadn't changed at all since "himself" left.

"I..." Xiaolan hesitated for a moment, but was too embarrassed to say that she was worried the other person didn't have an appetite. "I'm actually not hungry..."

"Gulu~"

Xiaolan was about to explain when her stomach let out a loud growl.

"Ha~" Under Ran's angry and embarrassed gaze, Aragaki Yu couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, okay! I got it, Ran!" Aragaki Yu called out to the waiter not far away, trying to suppress his laughter.

"Hurry up and eat something! Even if you're not hungry, I've been working so hard and I'm almost starving!"

Then, Yuu Aragaki ordered quite a few more dishes without any hesitation.

This scene made Conan grit his teeth.

Because he knew very well that when it came time to pay for the items at the counterfeit store, he would definitely swipe his own card!

"hateful!"

"Oh, right, Conan, would you like something to eat too?" Ran finally remembered Conan standing beside her and turned to look at him gently as she asked.

"Um! Ran-neechan, I want..." Conan glared at his "Shinichi-nii" brother, who was smiling at him, and said through gritted teeth.

Since things have already come to this, he can only eat more good food to vent his dissatisfaction.

However, before Conan could finish speaking, Aragaki Yu interrupted him, "Oh, right, Ran, I just remembered, when I came up here, I saw Uncle Mori waiting impatiently in the parking lot. I think he was waiting for this kid, right?!"

"Huh? Is that so!" Ran was surprised for a moment, then looked at Conan apologetically and said, "Conan, you'd better go back quickly, or your dad will be worried about you!"

"!!!"

Conan stared in shock at the "Shinichi Kudo" before him, his composure nearly shattered.

He suddenly realized that the imposter in front of him was not even human!

It also……

That's just too much!

Chapter 498 The Strange Man, Battle

"Chase!"

On the suddenly deserted street, Koizumi Akako glanced at Aragaki Yuu and then made a solemn decision.

"Mm." Aragaki Yu nodded, and immediately led Yuki-onna and Yoto-hime, following Koizumi Akako who had already rushed in with a long scythe, into the desolate city before them.

It turns out that Yuu Aragaki, who had finally managed to appease Ran by disguising himself as Shinichi Kudo, had just returned home when he was suddenly teleported to his house by Akako Koizumi and taken out by her.

Seeing Koizumi Akako's anxious urging, Aragaki Yu was initially puzzled, until he was pulled into the teleportation array by Koizumi Akako, and then he learned from her that the mysterious "witch" had appeared again.

When Koizumi Akako and Aragaki Yu were brought to the vicinity of the area where the witch appeared by the teleportation array, they found the witch's traces in no time, as expected.

Just like last time, after chasing each other for a while, the two were once again led into that empty city.

"As expected, this is not a simple matter like an ordinary territory!" Koizumi Akako frowned and reminded Aragaki Yu after taking a few steps in the city.

"Be careful, what kind of guy attacked me in this godforsaken place last time!" Aragaki Yu nodded, while cautiously keeping an eye on his surroundings.

"That witch is definitely not that simple!" Koizumi Akako, carrying a scythe, skillfully used a nearby traffic light and a balcony to climb onto a three- or four-story villa, then looked around.

Looking out from this height, the silent city stretches to the horizon, indicating that the area is quite large.

Koizumi Akako glanced at the rooftop of the distant building, pondered for a moment, and thought that if she could get to that place, she might be able to find the end of this area.

Of course, there was another thing that gave Koizumi Akako a headache: ever since she entered this strange city, she could no longer pinpoint the witch's location. It was as if she had vanished, hiding in the city.

"!!!"

Just then, Koizumi Akako's eyes suddenly narrowed. She instinctively jumped off the roof of the house and came to Aragaki Yu's side, carefully observing the surroundings.

At the same time, Yuki-onna and Yoto-hime beside Aragaki Yu also tensed up, vigilantly protecting Aragaki Yu.

Looks like something's coming!

Sure enough, in the next second, accompanied by the sound of footsteps coming from all directions, several dark figures appeared around Aragaki Yu and Koizumi Akako, even vaguely showing a tendency to surround them.

"Is it an enemy?" Koizumi Akako stretched her wrist holding the scythe, and instinctively gripped a gemstone in her other hand, just in case.

“Yes, yes! It seems that the newcomers are… not friendly!” Aragaki Yu murmured as he watched the guys slowly emerge from the darkness. However, when the figures of those people were exposed to the light from the street lamps, Aragaki Yu was clearly stunned for a moment.

Because of these people, no, these suddenly appearing guys, even Aragaki Yu doesn't know if they can be classified as human beings.

They were a group of bizarre humanoids. Although they had similar body shapes to humans, they were like various strange and inexplicable monsters pieced together on human bodies. Moreover, the creatures around them were all different in shape, and it was basically impossible to find any two of them.

The creature that emerged from the alley resembled an upright-walking toad. It was enormous, but its limbs were short and thick. Its right hand was adorned with five sharp claws that looked like steel knives, while its left hand was even more exaggerated, replaced by something resembling the barrel of a Gatling gun. Its body was covered in scales that looked like iron plates, and on its head, which was identical to a toad's, hung a pale green tongue that was over a meter long.

Beside it stood a crocodile-headed, humanoid monster, its body massive, its muscles bulging like hard rock, each step shaking the earth. Its skin was sandy yellow, glossy, seemingly reflecting the surrounding light. Sharp claws adorned its slender fingers, appearing to be its hunting weapons. Below its waist was a thick crocodile tail, which swayed gently in the air.

Ahead of Aragaki Yu and Koizumi Akako, a knight in full armor slowly emerged. Even his face was completely covered by a mask. He sat steadily on a similarly armored warhorse, just like an ancient heavy knight. Only his scarlet eyes testified to his unusual nature. His gaze fell on Aragaki Yu and Koizumi Akako, as if searching for some kind of omen.

Behind them, a woman riding a strange motorcycle blocked their retreat. Although she was a woman, Yuya Aragaki could only tell her gender from her shapely figure encased in armor. She was also tightly wrapped in fiery red armor.

Then, a strange, slender figure with a white mask appeared from the side and behind. His eyes were not even visible on his face. Although the white mask was somewhat eerie, it was much more normal compared to his body. Parts that should not be human were segmented like the body of a praying mantis, and his arms were replaced by scythes as large as the mantis.

On the roof to the side, there was a creature with dragonfly-like wings and wearing insect-like armor, its compound eyes, like those of a dragonfly, staring intently in the direction of Aragaki Yu and Koizumi Akako.