Detective Conan: Birth of the Demon Child

"..."

Upon hearing this, Naoko Kuroe's expression changed slightly, and she said somewhat guiltily, "Of course I have never seen a mermaid in person."

Suzuki Seimei said with a look of disappointment, "Oh, is that so! You were so confident just now, I thought you had really seen a mermaid~"

"Although I have never seen a mermaid, I am certain that the Longevity Woman is a symbol of immortality, because..."

Naoko Kuroe suddenly realized what she was saying and swallowed back the words she was about to utter. She awkwardly changed the subject, saying, "I still have to prepare for the Dugong Festival, so I'll take my leave now."

Naoko Kuroe firmly believed in the rumor that the Old Woman had eaten mermaid flesh and thus achieved immortality because three years ago, she and two close friends had deliberately trapped the Old Woman in a fire to test this rumor.

To the astonishment of Naoko Kuroe and the others, the old woman reappeared unharmed the next day.

Inside the warehouse that had been destroyed by fire, a strange corpse consisting only of the upper body was discovered.

Therefore, from that time onward, Naoko Kuroe and the others firmly believed that the Longevity Granny was an immortal being who had eaten mermaid flesh.

As for the body found in the fire, Naoko Kuroe and the others believed it to be a real mermaid corpse.

Presumably, when the Longevity Granny discovered the mermaid's corpse, she didn't eat it all, but hid it in that secret warehouse.

Watching Naoko Kuroe's departing figure, Kogoro Mori couldn't help but ask with some confusion, "Who is she?"

"Her name is Naoko Kuroe, and she's Saori's best friend since childhood."

Hattori Heiji asked curiously, "Madam, who is that longevity woman he mentioned earlier?"

"The Longevity Granny is the main character of the Dugong Festival, and also the symbol of our island, that old lady from the island bag!"

"How old is that old lady?"

"I'm not too sure about that, but she's definitely over a hundred years old. Some people even say she's over two hundred."

The proprietress thought for a moment and said, "If you really want to know about the Longevity Granny, I suggest you go and visit the shrine on the island where the festival is held."

Furthermore, the old woman's great-granddaughter, Kimi, is also a close friend of Saori's, so perhaps she knows where Saori went.

"A shrine?"

After Ran and her friends finished buying souvenirs, the group rushed to the shrine on the island.

Because the old woman needed to prepare for tonight's celebration, she had no time to receive other guests. Therefore, the person in charge of entertaining Suzuki Seimei and his group was the current shrine maiden, Shimabukuro Kimie.

"Haha, those are all rumors! How could my great-grandmother have lived to be over two hundred years old?"

When asked by Kogoro Mouri and the others, Kimie Shimabukuro, dressed as a shrine maiden, couldn't help but smile and wave her hand, saying, "Actually, my great-grandmother is only exactly 130 years old this year. Just check the family register and you'll know!"

"One hundred and thirty years old?!"

When they heard Shimabukuro Kimie say these words so casually, Kogoro Mouri and the others were almost speechless.

One hundred and thirty years old is already quite exaggerated. How can a normal person live that long?

Suzuki Seimei moved closer to Shimabukuro Kimie and tugged at her left hand, asking, "Kimie-neechan, did your great-grandmother really eat mermaid flesh?"

"Ding! Congratulations on successfully checking in to Shimabukuro Kimie. You are rewarded with a [Substitute Doll], which you can claim at any time."

Upon hearing the notification sound, Suzuki Seimei's eyes lit up; the reward was quite good.

It just so happens that Suzuki Seimei was planning to use the [Substitute Doll] to create a legendary mermaid substitute, so it wasn't a wasted trip.

Looking at Suzuki Haruaki's cute little face, Shimabukuro Kimie couldn't help but reach out and pinch his cheek, saying, "Little brother, mermaids don't exist in this world at all. You have to believe Conan's teachings; those rumors are just made up by outsiders."

Because the longevity woman people talked about was actually Kimie Shimabukuro in disguise, she didn't believe in legends about mermaids at all.

If Shimabukuro Kimie's great-grandmother had really eaten mermaid flesh, she wouldn't have died of illness so many years ago.

After the death of Kimie Shimabukuro's great-grandmother, the old woman who appeared before people was actually her mother in disguise.

The reason why Kimie Shimabukuro's mother did this was to use it as a gimmick to promote the development of tourism on the island.

Unfortunately, one night three years ago, when Shimabukuro Kimie's mother went into the warehouse to find tools, she was burned to death in the warehouse by Kuroe Naoko and the others.

The strange corpse that resembled a mermaid was actually Kimie Shimabukuro's mother.

Before Shimabukuro Kimie's mother was burned to death, she called Shimabukuro Kimie, told her the secret of the Longevity Granny, and asked her to continue playing the role of the Longevity Granny to protect her beloved island.

It is precisely for this reason that Kimie Shimabukuro inherited her mother's last wish and became the third-generation longevity matriarch, holding the dugong festival every year in her capacity as the longevity matriarch.

However, what Shimabukuro Kimie didn't expect was that just a few days ago, her good friend Kadowaki Saori came to her for help because she had lost the Dugong Arrow. In her panic, she revealed the truth about the fire three years ago.

Chapter 284 Mermaid Version of Yan Ling Ji (Third Update, Please Vote)

He learned that his mother's death in the fire was not an accident.

Instead, it was only after his three best friends, on a whim, deliberately set fire to test whether the old woman was truly immortal that Shimabukuro Kimie was unable to control her urge to take revenge.

Especially when Saori Kadowaki kept pressing Kimie Shimabukuro about the location of the grave containing the mermaid remains found in the fire, wanting to eat the mermaid remains to gain immortality, she mentally sentenced Saori Kadowaki and the others to death.

Saori Kadowaki, who has been missing for several days, was actually kidnapped and hidden by Kimie Shimabukuro. She plans to kill the three murderers of her mother after the Dugong Festival this year.

When Kogoro Mouri and his companions asked Kimie Shimabukuro about Saori Kadowaki, she instead took the opportunity to provide several highly misleading clues.

After learning about Saori Kadowaki's whereabouts from Kimie Shimabukuro, Kogoro Mouri, Heiji Hattori, and Conan began a serious search for more clues on the island.

Meanwhile, Suzuki Seimei and Haibara Ai followed Ran Mouri and the others, strolling around the island and enjoying the scenery.

After Suzuki Seimei and his companions had explored the island, they stayed at an inn on the island and planned to attend the dugong festival that evening.

Because Ai Haibara knew the truth about the old woman, she didn't have high expectations for the dugong festival tonight. Instead, she was completely absorbed in the joy of petting the bear.

Meanwhile, Suzuki Haruaki, who lived in the next room, was also busy, and began to use his mind to create the appearance of the third Stand.

When Suzuki Seimei thought of the creature "mermaid," the image of Yan Ling Ji immediately came to mind.

Although Yan Lingji is not a real mermaid, when she first appeared in the anime "The Legend of Qin", she gave the impression of being a living mermaid.

Therefore, Suzuki Seimei plans to create the third stand based on Yan Ling Ji.

Under Suzuki Seimei's mental control, the upper body of the [Substitute Doll] gradually transformed into a stunningly beautiful woman with skin as smooth as jade and an incomparably alluring charm, while her lower body became a giant fish tail covered in blue scales.

The combination of a jade-like beauty and a long, slender fishtail does not appear ugly; on the contrary, it appears exceptionally mysterious and alluring, revealing a unique kind of beauty.

After creating the third Stand, Suzuki Seimei immediately summoned Aizen and sent him secretly to the shrine on the island.

Kimie Shimabukuro's makeup skills are not much worse than Vermouth's and Yukiko Kudo's; she can be considered a talent who has mastered a special skill.

Instead of letting Shimabukuro Kimie commit murder herself to avenge her mother, it would be better to let Aizen avenge her and bring him under his command for his own use.

Since Aizen already has a lot of lives on his hands, it doesn't matter if a few more are lost.

Moreover, Suzuki Seimei didn't think the three women who killed Shimabukuro Kimie's mother were innocent.

The reason why Naoko Kuroe and her group set fire to Shimabukuro Kimie's mother was not because they had a grudge against her.

The three of them just wanted to test whether the Longevity Granny really had the ability to live forever.

This can no longer be explained by a prank or a joke.

It should be noted that the character played by Kimie Shimabukuro's mother, the longevity woman, was an elderly woman over 100 years old.

Didn't Naoko Kuroe and the others consider that if the old woman didn't have the ability to live forever, she would be burned alive in the fire?

To do something so cruel to a centenarian, Naoko Kuroe and her accomplices deserved to die.

"Clap clap clap..."

Just as Shimabukuro Kimie was preparing her makeup for the dugong festival that evening, a burst of applause suddenly came from outside the bedroom.

"Who goes there?!"

Shimabukuro Kimie's expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly turned around to look.

A man dressed in a black kimono, a white haori, and black-rimmed glasses appeared in her house at some point.

"Interesting, very interesting indeed!"

Aizen smiled slightly, adjusted his glasses, and said, "I never expected that the old woman people were talking about was actually a little girl in disguise."

"Who are you? Why are you in my house?"

Seeing Aizen's playful and amused expression, Shimabukuro Kimie's pretty face was filled with apprehension and wariness.

To prevent others from discovering her secret of impersonating a long-lived woman, Kimie Shimabukuro always closes her bedroom door when she puts on makeup.

But this strange man was able to appear in his house silently, clearly not an ordinary person who had accidentally wandered in.

"My name is Aizen Sousuke, and I am currently the captain of the 5th Division of the Gotei 13. You can call me Captain Aizen."

Aizen didn't seem to care about Shimabukuro Kimie's wary look. Instead, he smiled gently and said, "Your makeup skills are quite good, and your temperament is passable. I would like to invite you to join the Fifth Division."

"I refuse!"

Kimie Shimabukuro replied without hesitation.

Although the man named Aizen in front of her seemed very kind, Shimabukuro Kimie wasn't stupid and naturally wouldn't easily accept his invitation.

Putting aside the fact that Shimabukuro Kimie had never even heard of this organization, an organization named "Grim Reaper" doesn't seem like a legitimate organization.

"That's a real shame."

Aizen shrugged with some regret, then said in a somewhat amused tone, "I was planning to help you get rid of your three mother-killers after you agreed to join the organization!"

After all, those three were your best friends since childhood. Wouldn't it be too cruel to make you end their lives with your own hands?

"How...how did you know about this?!"

Shimabukuro Kimie's eyes widened suddenly. The truth about her mother's death in the fire was only known to the three culprits, including Kuroe Naoko.

Even Kimie Shimabukuro only learned the truth a few days ago from Saori Kadowaki, who accidentally let it slip.

"I know far more than you can imagine. This world is not as simple as it seems on the surface."

Aizen did not answer Shimabukuro Kimie's question directly, but said meaningfully, "For example, the reason why the legend of mermaids has been passed down since ancient times on the American island where you are now is not just because of your great-grandmother who has passed away long ago."

Long before your great-grandmother was even born, legends of mermaids had already begun circulating on this island. Do you really think it's just a legend?

"What...what do you mean by that?"

Upon hearing these words, Shimabukuro Kimie's breathing became somewhat rapid, and a startling conjecture arose in her mind.

Chapter 285 The Legendary Mermaid (First Update, Please Vote)