Chapter 288: Is There an Adult Version of a Mermaid Costume?

The next evening, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and the sound of muffled thunder rolled on endlessly.

Outside Ebihara Sumi's house, many villagers stood together, waiting to enter and offer incense.

A scream suddenly came from behind the house.

Conan and Hattori Heiji ran over upon hearing the sound.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

A villager pointed to the front and said with a hint of fear, "There's someone there!"

Everyone looked forward, but all they saw was pitch black!

Suddenly, a series of lightning bolts struck from the sky.

Under the illumination of this series of bright lightning flashes, they saw a person on the fishing net between the courtyard and the sea, their hands tied to it, their head hanging low, kneeling on the ground.

Conan and Hattori Heiji looked at the person on the fishing net, their expressions changing and becoming solemn.

"That person is... Miss Kuroe Naoko?!"

Hattori Heiji walked over, reached out to touch Naoko's neck, and shook his head with a complex expression.

"Damn it! Miss Naoko has no pulse; she's already dead!"

"Hattori, look, there is a strangulation mark on the deceased's neck, and her pupils are dilated, she looks in pain, and her tongue is sticking out a little. She must have been strangled to death!"

Conan carefully observed the condition of the deceased.

"That's right." Hattori Heiji nodded, pinching his chin.

"Looking at how she was tied up, it's unlikely she was tied up first and then strangled. The murderer should have strangled Miss Naoko first and then tied her to the fishing net. But it's strange, why would the murderer tie the body to the fishing net after killing her?"

Hearing Hattori Heiji's words, Conan narrowed his eyes and then said quietly: "Perhaps it's because the murderer wants to turn her into a mermaid?"

"Turn her into a mermaid?" Hattori Heiji was stunned, then couldn't help but look at Naoko's feet, asking in surprise: "Conan, what kind of joke are you making? What turn her into a mermaid?"

"Have you forgotten?" Conan turned to look at Hattori Heiji.

"Yesterday, Akaso-san said that Bikuni ate the meat of a captured mermaid to gain immortality. Doesn't her current appearance look a lot like that legend?"

"What?" Hattori Heiji was stunned, his expression changing drastically.

"I remember the legend the Longevity Hag told about the Dugong Arrow is that once the Dugong Arrow is let go..."

Before Hattori Heiji could finish, Conan's low voice came from the side.

"The monster will nest in the owner's body. If it's a man, he will be buried in the earth and become a heartless demon; if it's a woman, she will enter the water and become a speechless mermaid."

"The murderer must be using this legend to kill, which is why they deliberately set up the body like this, right?"

After carefully investigating the scene, Hattori Heiji pondered while pinching his chin.

"On the ground here, besides the footprints left by our slippers, there are some strange fan-shaped marks, giving the feeling as if they were swept out by a fish tail."

Conan stared at a mark on the ground.

"Here you can clearly see the mark of an arrow, plus there are traces of fish-tail-like walking on the ground, and the traces go all the way through the fishing net and into the sea."

"Is the murderer trying to make us misunderstand that it's a mermaid that came ashore?"

"Yes! Judging by the current situation, that's indeed the case. And to make it realistic, that guy actually scattered quite a few fish scales next to the fish tail marks."

Hattori Heiji stared at some scattered fish scales on the ground and curled his lip.

"I say, isn't that murderer looking down on us a bit too much? Does that guy think we would be fooled by such a small trick?"

Conan walked through the fishing net, looked at the fish tail marks leading to the sea, and chuckled.

"If you ask me, the murderer just wore pants with a fish-tail-like bottom, walked along the tide line to the fishing net. After killing Miss Naoko, they walked away along the tide line and scattered some fish scales along the way."

"Come to think of it, Miss Naoko's Dugong Arrow is also missing. Was it taken by the murderer?"

Behind them, Shimabukuro Kimie's voice suddenly sounded.

"Saori, she also suddenly disappeared after losing her Dugong Arrow. Could she also..."

Listening to Shimabukuro Kimie's words, Conan and Hattori Heiji looked at each other and nodded together.

"We previously speculated that there is a high possibility that Miss Saori has met with misfortune!"

Just as Conan and the others finished speaking, an auntie on the island immediately said: "What are you talking about! If you're talking about Saori, I saw her near the Mermaid Waterfall yesterday!"

"Me too, me too!" a middle-aged man chimed in from the side.

"I also saw her from afar wandering around in the forest near the waterfall. That person had dyed hair, wore glasses, and was wearing the blue clothes that Saori often wears. There's absolutely no mistake!"

Conan and Hattori Heiji were both stunned.

Hattori Heiji said in surprise: "Really? Then this situation is a bit strange."

Conan pondered for a while and asked: "Miss Shimabukuro, does your island have adult versions of mermaid costumes?"

"Adult versions?" Shimabukuro Kimie was confused.

"Haha, what he means is, is there that kind of costume that big sisters wear in adult movies..." Hattori Heiji said with a wicked smile.

Shimabukuro Kimie's face immediately turned red.

Damn it! Hattori, you're setting me up!

Conan was so angry he wanted to vomit blood.

He rolled his eyes and chuckled: "Yes, that's exactly it. Brother Hattori wants to try wearing one."

Huh?

Hattori Heiji was dumbfounded.

"N-no, this kid is talking nonsense. I never said that!"

Shimabukuro Kimie turned and ran away.

Hattori Heiji punched Conan on the head, and a big bump immediately appeared.

"What are you doing!"

The two started bickering.