Conan: I'm just an ordinary novelist

Chapter 222 Mermaid Legend

Over there, Kogoro Mori wants Miss Kimie to help take them to Monkyo Saori's house.

The latter said that she would have to wait until the celebration was over and she was free.

When Yun Xianhe had finished fooling Conan, Jun Hui gave Xiaolan and He Ye each a wooden card for the lottery.

After saying this, Shimabukuro Kimie left.

Yun Xianhe, who stayed where he was, glanced at the dark sky and asked casually:

"Let's go to Miss Menxie's house next?"

"Yes, Xianhe, you just asked the store owner for the address."

Hattori patted his shoulder.

“That’s very thoughtful.”

Seeing that Yun Xianhe seemed to be staggered by the slap, the others looked at Hattori Heiji with some disapproval.

Hattori, who forgot to control his strength, withdrew his hand awkwardly and walked out of the shrine first.

"By the way, Xiaolan, if you and Heye are bored, you can walk around the island. We will come to find you when the celebration starts in the evening."

"May I?"

The two people, who had long thought of taking a look nearby, brightened up when they heard this.

Yun Xianhe grabbed Hattori Heiji and signaled him to express his position.

The latter glanced at He Ye's expectant eyes, coughed lightly and nodded:

"Of course, but you have to be careful."

"Hayi——" Xiaolan responded obediently.

"Well, seriously, Heiji, what's with that tone of yours? I'm not a child."

Kazuha on the side looked at Hattori Heiji with half-moon eyes.

The latter responded with the same expression and made the usual comment:

"Stupid, you have to be careful when you are in an unfamiliar place. And we still don't know what happened to Miss Menxie's disappearance. What if there is a perverted killer on this island?"

"Really, Heiji, you just like to scare me. With Xiaolan and I's skills, no matter who he is, we can beat him away. On the contrary, you guys who don't have much fighting power should worry more about yourselves!"

Yun Xianhe who has ‘no fighting power’:?

Kazuha made a face at Hattori and walked away with Xiaolan.

Maori Kogoro, who was standing next to him, glanced at the remaining people and patted Yun Xianhe's shoulder solemnly:

"Kumi boy, I'll leave Conan and that Osaka boy to you."

"Hmm? Uncle Maori is going back to rest?"

"Ahem! Well, I got up a little early this morning. I feel like I'm a little seasick."

When he said this, Kogoro Mouri held his forehead as if he had a headache.

Yun Xianhe realized that the other party was just looking for an opportunity to escape, so he did not expose him and instead told him to have a good rest.

In just a short while, only three people were left there.

Hattori Heiji glanced at Yun Xianhe who had been looking at the sky, and Conan who was standing next to him with his head down in deep thought, and reached out to grab the two of them:

"You agreed to accompany me in investigating the case."

"Haihai, I'm just wondering if I should wear an extra coat. It might be windy in the afternoon."

Upon hearing this, Hattori looked up at the sky, then at the frail Yun Xianhe, and was about to take off his coat and give it to him.

"No, no, no, I have it."

Conan who just flipped through the other person's bag:? ?

The little detective was silent for a while as he watched Yun Xianhe take out his coat from his bag.

He pulled the backpack away from the other person's hand and carefully searched it inside and out.

Where is it hidden?!

"Conan, what are you looking for? Oh, is it the sandwich from before?"

"..."

Yes, where did the sandwich go? He didn’t see Yun Xianhe eating it!

Realizing that the other party might be curious, Yun Xianhe reached out to take back his bag and rubbed Conan's head twice:

"Only someone who knows magic can see the truth of a magician's bag."

"...Didn't you say I was a magician before?"

"You're not old enough, so it doesn't count now."

The hero's tone was quite sincere.

Besides, the saying "people who are still single at the age of 30 will become magicians" is just a legend in a small world.

Conan won’t be single until he’s 30...right?

Hearing this, Conan snorted speechlessly, turned around and walked out of the shrine.

"What magician's backpack?"

Hattori Heiji, who was confused by what he heard, looked at the two of them, and then glanced at the bag in Yun Xianhe's hand.

Isn’t it just a common backpack on the market?

If you have to say what's eye-catching about it, it's probably the big goose ornament hanging on the side, right?

Thinking of this, Hattori glanced at Conan who was walking out with his hands behind his head:

"What happened to that guy?"

"Maybe it's the rebellious phase."

"what?"

"Well, maybe it's puberty?"

"Brother Xianhe!"

Oh my, the little detective is getting angry.

The three of them arrived at Menxie Saori's house in a noisy manner.

Not surprisingly, no one was home.

The three people who could not obtain any other clues for the time being stood at the door.

Hattori looked at the tourists and locals rushing to the shrine and sighed deeply:

"This kind of commission where you can't find the person is really the most troublesome."

"Hmm - most likely in a pub or something like that. Didn't the waiter say at the beginning that Miss Saori's father was an alcoholic?"

Bored Conan lightly kicked the pebbles at his feet and nodded after listening to Yun Xianhe's analysis:

"The key point is the content of the letter. It is more like a notice letter than a commission letter. And what is the mermaid who will be killed referring to?"

"It may be a pseudonym for someone."

Hattori Heiji on the side added a sentence, and thought casually:

"Just like what that crazy woman said just now, that longevity lady has magical powers and has eaten mermaid flesh. The mermaid in the letter might be referring to that longevity lady."

"Does that mean there might be a murder on this island? Or does Miss Saori feel she is in danger?"

When it comes to the issue of human life, Conan's expression gradually becomes serious.

After running around half the island and not getting any more clues, Hattori stretched his body and said helplessly:

"Well, do you think that letter is just the other party's fantasy? He might have hired a detective because he was afraid that the legendary mermaid would come to seek revenge on him."

"Stupid, if that were the case, the other party wouldn't have said 'The mermaid is about to be killed'."

"You are the idiot! Stupid worker, stupid Conan brat!"

The two of them exchanged a few words.

Yun Xianhe, who had been silent for a long time, supported his chin with one hand and said something as if unintentionally:

"Who knows, maybe this is the mermaid's cry for help?"

"Huh?" x2

Seeing the two of them looking at him at the same time, Yun Xianhe spread his hands:

"I was just saying this casually. Did you notice how greedy those people were for mermaids, or for immortality?"

Upon hearing this, Hattori and Conan were silent for a while.

Conan guessed something and felt cold sweat on his back:

"They don't want to...eat the mermaid's flesh, do they?"

"There is a legend that if a human who has eaten mermaid flesh does not turn into a monster, then the human has inherited the mermaid's special qualities."

Recalling the legend of a certain small world, the brave man told the story:

"Those who are lucky enough to survive can breathe freely in the water, grow fish tails when they enter the sea, and even feel the magical powers of mermaids."

Yun Xianhe thought of something and smiled sarcastically:

"For the mermaids' powerful magic, for the conquest of the ocean... for immortality."

"The humans who believed the rumors stabbed their fellow survivors with daggers."

"After all, compared to mermen who can be killed at will and are hard to find, humans who haven't yet 'shown merman characteristics' are the best choice."

Conan and Hattori were so frightened by the situation described by the other party that their faces turned pale.

The little detective's expression was stiff, and he tentatively denied it:

"It's a lie..."

The passers-by were less than two meters away from the three of them.

However, the lively atmosphere seemed to be completely isolated from the outside world by the boy's cold voice, leaving only the cold wind of the cloudy day passing through the hall.

The brave man lowered his eyes and subconsciously raised his hand to his heart.

The heart of this body was as smooth as before, and the hideous wound branded on the soul was perfectly hidden.

[“I won’t go ashore. Those guys who eat everything look too scary. The sea doesn’t like such dirty souls.”]

The clear blue eyes of a little guy flashed through my mind.

When the other party looked over, the brave man seemed to see an entire ocean covered in sunlight.

The little guy noticed that his words might be a bit offensive and quickly explained:

[“But you are different, Cloud! Um—you are just like the clouds in the sky reflected in the water, white and bright!”]

The little guy flicked his beautiful tail.

Seeing the hero smile, he propped up his upper body with his hands on the reef and proposed again in an excited tone:

[“How about Yun Duo, you come live with me in the sea! There are lots of delicious food in the sea!”]

The brave man smiled as he remembered something, and squinted his eyes at the dark sky above his head.

The heart of the body of this world is intact.

The scars left on the body of that world were also left in the ocean along with the mermaid's little pearl.

As for the scars left on the soul from the beginning...

I guess I can only be cured after I go back.

“Legends are lies.”

But humans believed it.