The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

Page 348

"No, neither of those two possibilities are possible!"

The villager, Rokuro, who had just pulled the body up, squatted beside Miss Sumi's corpse, his face extremely grim. However, he still spoke up to deny what Shimabukuro Kimie had said, "The rope around Sumi's neck was a safety rope that was specially set up on the riverbank to prevent danger."

"Oh, is that so?" Kogoro Mouri then squatted down and began to examine the rope wrapped around Ms. Sumi's neck.

"I see. So, Miss Sumi lost her balance after walking to this riverbank in the dark. Although she managed to grab onto it, the current was too strong, causing the wooden stake to fall off. As a result, she was strangled to death by the rope that had fallen into the river."

Although even Kogoro Mouri felt that his reasoning was a bit far-fetched, in real life, anything is indeed possible.

Conan and Heiji Hattori exchanged a glance, and although they didn't say anything, they clearly disagreed with what Kogoro Mouri had said.

Although the river's current was rapid, it didn't seem to be so strong that it would cause people to scramble and get their necks tangled in ropes.

Then, the two of them looked in the direction of Aragaki Yu at the same time, only to find that he was also standing silently next to the corpse, seemingly thinking about something.

Therefore, it was only natural for the two of them to assume that Aragaki Yu also had considerable doubts about this.

Little did they know, the question that Aragaki Yu was pondering at that moment was—

Was the merman's crime an accident or murder...?

"However, since the village festival is held in the open space below the waterfall, why does Miss Sumi insist on coming to the forest at this time?" Hattori Heiji raised his question.

"I think she probably came looking for the mermaid's grave!"

Naoko, who was standing nearby, immediately offered an explanation.

"What!?" Kogoro Mouri and the others looked at Naoko in shock.

He was clearly startled by her words.

Unlike Shimabukuro Kimie's increasingly grim expression, Naoko explained calmly, "Because the mermaid's grave is somewhere in this forest! After the warehouse fire three years ago, the mermaid's bones were reburied here."

Although Shimabukuro Kimie's expression was quite unpleasant, she was secretly delighted.

Then, continuing from Naoko's words, she said, "That's possible. I think Kotobuki has indeed been very concerned about this matter all along!"

Chapter 466 Perhaps we should just hand over Senhime!

The "mermaid tomb" they mentioned naturally piqued the interest of Kogoro Mouri and his companions.

Naoko naturally had no idea that the person they burned to death in the warehouse three years ago was actually the "Longevity Granny" from back then, who was also the mother of Shimabukuro Kimie—Shimabukuro Naoko.

She firmly believed that the skeletons later found in that warehouse must have been the mermaid corpses that the Longevity Granny had hidden in the warehouse.

Meanwhile, in the back-and-forth conversation between Shimabukuro Kimie, Naoko, and Rokuro...

Kogoro Mouri and his companions finally gained a general understanding of what had happened three years ago and why the legend of mermaids was so prevalent on this island.

Initially, a year after the police investigation into the identity of the skeleton yielded no results, the shrine buried the remains.

But something unexpected happened.

Surprisingly, because some people believed that the "mermaid skeleton" was also an elixir of immortality, they secretly came to rob the tomb, wanting to dig up the mermaid's grave and take out the skeleton inside.

Left with no other choice, at the request of the "Longevity Granny," the grave was secretly moved to a certain place in this forest.

That's right, it's the place where Aragaki Yu, led by Hotaru, encountered the mermaid phantom.

"Who did she ask for help from?" Kogoro Mouri asked curiously.

However, when asked this question by Kogoro Mouri, Kimie Shimabukuro and the others present all shook their heads. "I don't know. I just heard her say that he is someone she can trust."

Upon hearing this, Aragaki Yu glanced at Shimabukuro Kimie without thinking, but that one glance startled Shimabukuro Kimie, who had accidentally met his gaze.

Shimabukuro Kimie looked away with a slightly flustered expression. For some reason, she felt that the boy named Aragaki Yu had a somewhat meaningful look in his eyes.

"Alright, whether it's suicide, homicide, or just an accident, we need to get Ms. Sumi's body down the mountain first, and then investigate after the police arrive." Looking at the dim night, Kogoro Mouri made the same decision.

Neither Heiji Hattori nor Conan raised any objections to this point.

Normally, the body should be left at the crime scene to avoid destroying any possible evidence during transport.

But it's getting late, and the surrounding area is a dark and gloomy forest. If we leave the body here, some birds and beasts might come out of the forest and damage Miss Sumi's remains.

Therefore, taking Miss Sumi's body down the mountain can be considered the wisest course of action at present.

The task of moving the body naturally fell to Mr. Lulang, the most robust man present.

Heiji Hattori volunteered to stay by Rokuro's side to prevent him from falling while moving the body because he couldn't see where he was going.

Of course, that's one reason too.

However, Aragaki Yu knew that Hattori Heiji's main purpose in doing this was to monitor Rokuro's actions while he was moving the body.

However, just as Mr. Rokuro picked up Ms. Kogoro's body, he suddenly turned around, looked at Kogoro Mori, and said quietly, "If this is really a murder, then Kogoro, who chose to come here at this time without telling everyone, may also have a problem."

"Hmm?" Just as Kogoro Mouri and the others were wondering about the meaning behind Mr. Rokuro's words.

Naoko suddenly sneered, "Really, your fiancée just had an accident, and you're really heartless."

"His fiancée?" Kogoro Mouri looked at Ms. Naoko with a puzzled expression, then turned his gaze to Mr. Rokuro.

In response, Mr. Lu Lang explained expressionlessly, "That was a marriage decided unilaterally by our parents, and it has nothing to do with me! Besides, my father and mother have long since passed away, so this matter is even less valid!"

After saying this, without waiting for a reply from the others, Mr. Lulang carried Miss Shoumei's body and walked down the mountain without looking back.

It was clear that Mr. Lu Lang was very dissatisfied with this marriage.

……

When the group returned to the foot of the mountain, Xiaolan and Heye, who had stayed behind, had already made a call to the police.

Xiaolan was already quite adept at this kind of thing.

Therefore, Ran didn't need Kogoro Mouri or Conan to give any instructions; she had already done everything she could.

However, because the population of Mermaid Island is not large, there is no police station on it. And at this time, the sea near Mermaid Island is rough and the waves are high, so going out to sea rashly is likely to be dangerous.

Therefore, the police in Fukui Prefecture can only arrange for personnel to go to the island after the sea calms down.

Kogoro Mouri naturally expressed some dissatisfaction with this.

However, Heiji Hattori didn't think so. Instead, he optimistically said, "That would be perfect! In that case, the murderer won't be able to escape from this island."

Kogoro Mouri didn't take Hattori Heiji's words to heart. After all, in his opinion, it was still uncertain why Miss Kotomi had died in that place.

Next, Kogoro Mouri handed over Ms. Sumi's body to the island's residents, repeatedly instructing them to take good care of the body and absolutely not allow anyone to touch it without permission.

As Aragaki Yu watched Kogoro Mouri finish explaining everything to the islanders, he stretched and was about to go back to rest.

Heiji Hattori and Conan squeezed next to him.

Without any preamble, Hattori Heiji abruptly asked Aragaki Yu, "Hey Aragaki, have you discovered anything about this?"

Aragaki Yu: "..."

Seeing the serious expressions on Hattori Heiji and Conan's faces, Aragaki Yu even felt a slight wavering in his heart.

Maybe I should just hand Senhime over myself.

(At the same time, Senhime, who was stealing Kadokawa Saori from the warehouse according to Aragaki Yu's plan, suddenly shivered: "...")

Seeing Aragaki Yu's silent demeanor, Hattori Heiji didn't suspect anything.

They simply interpreted this as a sign of shame that Aragaki Yuu hadn't yet discovered any clues.

This is quite normal, since even Heiji Hattori, the high school detective, only felt that something was wrong with the matter, but had not yet found any useful clues.

Of course, Kudo, who had already exchanged opinions with him, felt the same way.

“Since the police can’t get here right now, this case will have to be handled by the three of us!” Hattori Heiji said confidently.

Chapter 467 The Curse (2-in-1)

Aragaki Yu: "..."

Hey, hey, hey, I haven't agreed yet!

Yuu Aragaki looked at Heiji Hattori, who had inexplicably dragged him into the "crime-solving trio," and felt somewhat speechless.

After all, he could be considered an accomplice of the murderous fish.

Are you really serious about asking me to solve a case?

However, Heiji Hattori was completely unaware of Yuu Aragaki's thoughts. Instead, he straightened his slightly crooked baseball cap and continued with a worried expression, "Moreover, I have a bad feeling that this incident may not be over yet. I feel that other incidents will continue to happen."

Aragaki Yu: "..."

Yes, you guessed exactly right.

Just as Aragaki Yu was lost in thought, Conan found the shrine maiden Shimabukuro Kimie and asked, "Can we go see the old woman now?"

Conan and Heiji Hattori also reached a consensus on this point.

If Miss Sumi's death was not an accident, then her death must be related to the reason she was in that place.

And now, all and only clues point to the mysterious mermaid tomb on Mermaid Island.

Even the mysterious disappearance of Kanojo Saori, who invited them to this island, is somehow related to this.

As for the mermaid tomb, only the long-lived old woman on this island knows the truth.

"Ah, of course!" Shimabukuro Kimie looked at Conan, the little boy who had found her, and was slightly taken aback, but did not show any nervousness.