Chapter 286: The Mermaid That Vibrates

Above the Mermaid Waterfall.

Ebihara Sumi was clutching a numbered placard tightly.

Her face was filled with excitement!

She felt a sense of disbelief.

Just before the drawing ceremony began, Shimabukuro Kimie had actually approached her and made a promise.

As long as she could draw a Dugong Arrow, she could use it to trade for the exact location of the Mermaid's Grave!

Hearing this news, Ebihara Sumi was naturally extremely excited!

She was one of the culprits behind that fire years ago, and she was the one who had watched the Longevity Hag enter the shrine warehouse before lighting the fire!

Yet the next day, she saw the Longevity Hag appear before everyone as usual, completely unharmed!

From that moment on, Ebihara Sumi, like the other two, completely believed in the mermaid legend!

Especially after later learning that the Longevity Hag had taken a strange skeleton without a lower body from the warehouse and secretly buried it in an unknown place.

She became even more convinced that it was the mermaid skeleton that could grant immortality!

Thinking that she was about to obtain the mermaid skeleton and the power of eternal life, Ebihara Sumi could not suppress the excitement in her heart.

Immersed in her excitement, she didn't notice the figure slowly approaching.

Behind Ebihara Sumi, Shimabukuro Kimie walked over silently.

She took off her coat, revealing her fair body, and then looped the rope she had prepared around Ebihara Sumi's neck.

Feeling the threat of suffocation, Ebihara Sumi immediately woke up!

Her hands instinctively grabbed the rope around her neck, struggling desperately, and the placard in her hand fell to the ground!

Shimabukuro Kimie pulled her and jumped into the water.

Splash.

A huge fish tail rose from the water, slapping the surface.

Akaso Kaze, who was watching, couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

Shimabukuro Kimie's legs had actually turned into a fish tail!

Was she a mermaid?!

After growing the fish tail, Shimabukuro Kimie moved freely in the water.

She choked Ebihara Sumi's neck tightly and pressed her into the water.

Ebihara Sumi, however, showed a crazed expression.

Ignoring the rope around her neck, she greedily scratched at Shimabukuro Kimie's fish tail and even opened her mouth to bite it hard.

However, Shimabukuro Kimie's fish tail was very hard, and this bite only tore off a few fine fish scales.

In this madness, Ebihara Sumi gradually lost her strength and finally stopped moving altogether!

Shimabukuro Kimie pulled out a wooden stake by the river, looped the rope around Ebihara Sumi's neck, and dragged her to the middle of the river, letting her drift downstream.

She created the illusion that Ebihara Sumi had accidentally fallen into the water and was strangled by the fixed rope while struggling!

After finishing these things, Shimabukuro Kimie swam to the shore, dragged her fish tail with her slender arms, and climbed onto the bank with difficulty.

She lay on the bank, lifting her fish tail.

The large fish tail began to shake as if it were plugged into electricity.

During this shaking, the fish tail gradually separated and miraculously turned back into two slender, fair, long legs.

Watching this scene, Akaso Kaze fell into deep thought.

A living mermaid, and a beautiful one at that.

How should he deal with her?

Should he slice her, braise her, or something else?

It was truly an exciting choice.

One hour later, below the Mermaid Waterfall.

Rushing water fell from the sky into the pool, splashing countless droplets.

In front of the waterfall, the ceremony to award the Dugong Arrows was about to begin.

The villagers on the island had already set up a simple ceremonial area, with two bonfire stands in the middle, their bright light illuminating the surroundings.

Beside the ceremonial area, Shimabukuro Kimie was still dressed as a shrine maiden, standing with several other shrine maidens, confirming the Dugong Arrows.

The villagers held torches, maintaining order at the scene.

In the front row of the crowd, Conan curled his lip.

"Come to think of it, this Dugong Festival isn't really that interesting. If it weren't for waiting for Miss Kimie to take us to Miss Saori's house, I'd really want to go back to the inn, take a bath, and get some rest early."

Hattori Heiji pointed to the ceremonial area in front of the waterfall and said, "Wait a little longer. Miss Kimie has appeared; the Dugong Arrow award ceremony is about to start."

At the same time, Shimabukuro Kimie, standing in front of the ceremonial area, spoke:

"Welcome everyone to the Mermaid Waterfall to witness our awarding of the Dugong Arrows! Next, we invite those who drew the Dugong Arrows to come forward to receive them!"

Hattori Heiji curled his lip, took his placard, squeezed through the hemp rope used for isolation, and walked in front of Shimabukuro Kimie.

Immediately after, Kuroe Naoko and a drunkard holding a wine bottle also stepped forward.

Conan was stunned when he saw the drunkard, then muttered in surprise, "Strange, who is that man? Did he also draw a Dugong Arrow? Did I see wrong just now?"

Conan turned his head to look around.

It seemed he didn't see Miss Sumi.

Shimabukuro Kimie awarded the Dugong Arrows to the three of them and then said, "Now, please accept the Light of Paradise, you three winners of the Dugong Arrows!"

At the same time, the villagers setting off fireworks lit them, and a string of fireworks flew into the sky, exploding in the night sky and illuminating the pitch-black waterfall.

At this moment, Conan, Hattori Heiji, and the people nearby were all stunned.

"Wh-who is that?"

"How is this possible? Someone is hanging in the waterfall!"

Hattori Heiji, who was on the stage, hurriedly said, "Miss Kimie! Please stop the ceremony immediately; someone is hanging in the waterfall!"

"Ah, okay!" Shimabukuro Kimie also turned to look at the waterfall, hurriedly asked the villagers to extinguish the fireworks, and ran toward the upstream of the waterfall to check the situation.

In front of the waterfall, because of this sudden change, the crowd watching the ceremony became noisy, whispering to each other.

Ten minutes later, with the help of the villagers, the victim's body was finally brought down and placed beside the pool.

Around the waterfall, the crowd who had come to watch the ceremony had been evacuated.

Only Hattori Heiji, Conan, and others remained at the scene, along with Shimabukuro Kimie, other shrine maidens, and the villagers helping with the Dugong Festival.

Conan and Hattori Heiji began to examine the body.

Hattori Heiji muttered while checking.

"It really was predicted by Akaso Kaze; someone actually died."

"Conan, you really are a god of death."

Conan had black lines on his forehead. "Hey, he was talking about both of us!"

Hattori Heiji chuckled. "Don't say that. I haven't encountered so many murder cases on my own, but every time I'm with you, I basically run into cases with dead bodies."

"Conan, have you ever encountered a case without a dead body on your own?"

Conan opened his mouth wide, left speechless by the retort.

Come to think of it, every case he had encountered did indeed involve a death.

If he was lucky, several people would die in one case.

Could it be that I really am a god of death?

Conan couldn't help but feel suspicious.

"The deceased is Miss Ebihara Sumi, whom we met. Huh? What is this?"

Hattori Heiji looked at the deceased's mouth.

"Strange, why is there a fish scale on the deceased's mouth? Could it be that she accidentally swallowed it in the water?"

Conan frowned and looked over, his heart skipping a beat.

"Hattori, look closely at the deceased's hands."

"The deceased's hands had obvious scratching movements before death, and the index finger of her right hand was even scraped, leaving marks like those made by a sharp object, and the marks aren't shallow."

"Let's assume that if what she was scratching hard at the time was a fish, what does this fish scale mean?"