Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

Chapter 248 So you like girls who look innocent on the outside but are charming on the inside?

Not long after the people from Osaka University left, Inspector Megure drove Hattori Heizo to the izakaya.

As soon as he entered, Inspector Megure patted his stomach and exclaimed, "I'm starving, Lin-kun, is there anything else to eat?"

Hattori Heizo followed closely behind, his eyes still showing a mixture of fatigue and excitement from the investigation.

“There’s still some pork cutlet rice,” Lin Xiuyi gestured to Orikasa Midori to serve the two of them, while he himself sat down opposite Inspector Megure and Hattori Heizo. “Seeing how happy you two are, the matter must have been resolved?”

"Yes," Hattori Heizo tried to appear calm, but the smile he couldn't hide betrayed his feelings. "Nagashima Ruko has been rescued, and even the headmaster of education, Sakuragaoka, who murdered Kitamura, has been caught."

"Really?" Midori Orikasa put down the two steaming plates of pork cutlet rice, her eyes widening in surprise. "Is Nagashima alright?"

Inspector Megure picked up his chopsticks, wolfed down a few mouthfuls of rice, and then replied, "You were a little frightened, but nothing serious. After resting for a while, you should be fine."

"That's good," Midori Orikasa breathed a sigh of relief. "I was worried something might happen to her."

"We really owe a lot to Hattori today," Inspector Megure laughed and patted Hattori Heizo on the shoulder, almost knocking the pork cutlet he had just picked up from his chopsticks off his plate. "When you called me to ask at the supermarket if anyone had been buying large quantities of water and food lately, Hattori thought of that too."

"When he asked, the waitress not only nodded and said yes, but also described the person in detail. Hearing her description, we were certain that the person was Kitamura. However, the waitress did not know where Kitamura had taken the things."

"Where did you find this person?" Lin Xiuyi asked curiously.

“The waitress told us that there had been a rumor about a ghost recently,” Inspector Megure put down his chopsticks and looked at everyone mysteriously, “and that’s how we found Ruko Nagashima.”

"What does this have to do with ghosts?" Kogoro Mouri frowned, his fingers unconsciously stroking the stubble on his chin. "It can't be that Ruko Nagashima was kidnapped by a ghost, can it?"

Lin Xiuyi said thoughtfully, "It's probably because the criminals used the rumors of ghosts to keep people away from the place where they hide people?"

“That’s right,” Inspector Megure nodded. “I didn’t realize it at first either, but thankfully Hattori is smart and understood immediately.”

“The two of us rushed to the rumored haunted location, which was an apartment building ruin that had caught fire just two weeks ago,” Hattori Heizo continued, drawing a route map on the table with his finger. “We wandered around the ruins and finally found Nagashima Ruko in the basement.”

“That girl was really pitiful,” Inspector Megure sighed. “The basement was dark, without even a light. Nagashima Ruko was chained up, and food, water, and a toilet were placed next to her. When she saw us, tears welled up in her eyes immediately.”

"Following Lin Jun's advice, our police pretended not to have found anything and withdrew from the suburbs, leaving Hattori in the basement."

"After waiting for more than an hour, the dean of academic affairs at Sakuragaoka finally appeared," Hattori Heizo said, clenching his fist and a hint of excitement in his eyes. "As soon as he opened the basement door, I, along with the police officers lying in ambush outside, took him down!"

"What exactly happened in this case?" Eri Kisaki walked over. "Is it really like Shuichi said, that the school is organizing student prostitution?"

“It wasn’t the school, it was the dean of academic affairs and Kitamura who did it privately,” Inspector Megure sighed. “These two selected timid and unsociable female students at the school, coerced and lured them into prostitution, and pocketed most of the money they earned.”

“The female corpse found at the construction site was a female student who had just graduated from Sakuragaoka this year,” Hattori Heizo said in a deep voice. “After graduation, she wanted to get rid of Kitamura and his group, and a dispute broke out between them. Kitamura accidentally killed her.”

"Just then, Ruko Nagashima also started complaining that she didn't want to work anymore. Fearing that the matter would be exposed, the two of them simply imprisoned Ruko Nagashima, creating the illusion that she had run away from home. At the same time, they transported all her belongings and the female student's body to the construction site and sealed them with cement pillars."

"Kitamura and his men originally planned to release Nagashima Ruko after she gave in, but only a week later, the body inside the cement pillar was discovered."

"The dean of academic affairs wanted to kill Ruko Nagashima to eliminate future troubles, but Kitamura still wanted to control Ruko Nagashima to make money."

At this point, Hattori Heizo's face showed a look of disgust.

"This morning, the dean of academic affairs went to Kitamura's house to discuss this matter. He discovered that the police were watching Kitamura's apartment and knew that his accomplice had been exposed. In order not to implicate himself, he killed Kitamura, forged the suicide note, and created the illusion of a suicide in a locked room."

"Afterwards, he intended to go to the suburbs, kill Ruko Nagashima, and completely destroy all the evidence, but he saw that the police were investigating the only supermarket in that area."

"The dean of academic affairs simply hid on the only road leading there and kept an eye on the police's movements."

“After we pretended to evacuate, he thought the police had given up, so he drove to the ruins of the apartment building where the fire had occurred, and that’s when he was caught.”

“Two years ago, there were several cases of female students being murdered in Sakuragaoka. The police concluded that they committed suicide together,” Inspector Megure said with some embarrassment. “When we rescued Ruko Nagashima, she said that when Kitamura imprisoned and threatened her, he said that the four girls who died in Sakuragaoka two years ago were also killed by them.”

“So that’s how it is…” Midori Orikasa said with a complicated expression. “I originally thought Sakuragaoka would just be a bit chaotic, but I didn’t expect there to be so much going on behind the scenes.”

"Anyway, it's good that the case was solved. At least no more girls will be victimized in the future," Lin Xiuyi said reassuringly, then looked at Hattori Heizo, who was eating pork cutlet rice with gusto. "You were so focused on the case today, did you forget something?"

"You mean the kendo tournament?" Hattori Heizo shook his head helplessly. "If we miss it, we miss it. Even without me, our school's kendo club is a strong team. We shouldn't lose, right?"

“Then you’re wrong,” Lin Xiuyi pointed to the table where the two were sitting. “This afternoon, members of the Osaka University Kendo Club were sitting here celebrating their victory. They just left half an hour ago.”

"Uh……"

Upon hearing this, Hattori Heizo's chopsticks froze in mid-air, his smile instantly turning to ashes. The pork cutlet rice he had just enjoyed now suddenly tasted bland.

"This is terrible, I'm going to be cursed to death by them."

“Inspector Megure, why don’t you take him back later and explain the situation to your professors at Kyoto University?” Lin Xiuyi suggested. “After all, you saved a life. Your professors and teammates should understand.”

“That’s all we can do now,” Hattori Heizo sighed, his shoulders slumped like a deflated balloon.

On Saturday morning, sunlight streamed into the bedroom through the gaps in the curtains. Lin Xiuyi was still fast asleep in bed when Lingzi suddenly pulled him out of bed.

"The science museum's activities don't start until nine o'clock," Lin Xiuyi said sleepily, glancing at the alarm clock. "It's only a little past seven now."

"Ever since my brother took me to the amusement park and we witnessed someone jumping off a building on the way, we haven't gone out to play alone for a long time!"

Lingzi pouted, her big, watery eyes filled with grievance. After speaking, she exaggeratedly raised her hand and wiped away non-existent tears.

"Waaaaah, my brother doesn't like me anymore..."

"Okay, I'll get up!"

Lin Xiuyi chuckled and pinched his younger sister's rosy cheek, his eyes full of doting affection.
"Your fake crying is so fake!" "If I didn't fake cry, would Onii-chan want to see me really cry?"

Lingzi playfully stuck out her tongue, then held up the dresses she had brought into Lin Xiuyi's bedroom one by one in front of her.
"Onii-chan, which one do you think looks better?"

"You made me get up just to help you pick out a dress?" Lin Xiuyi covered her face helplessly. "How about that sky blue one?"

"Isn't this one too childish?" Reiko tilted her head, her little face full of struggle. "How about we go with the purple one? It'll look more mature."

"What do you mean by 'mature' when you're only eleven years old?"

Lin Xiuyi picked up the tiny purple dress, barely the size of a palm, and examined it with annoyance. The dress was extremely daring; the hem was so short it almost revealed the top of the thighs.
"Isn't this just a miniskirt? It exposes so much thigh. Don't these clothing factories consider whether their clothes are suitable for children?"

"I'm not a child anymore!" Reiko stomped her foot indignantly. "It's you who's so old-fashioned, Onii-chan! Lots of girls wear skirts like this now."

"I don't care, you're not allowed to wear this kind of clothing here," Lin Xiuyi said, crumpling the purple miniskirt into a ball and throwing it into the trash can without hesitation.

"I haven't worn that dress yet!" Lingzi glared at her brother angrily, then suddenly covered her face and chuckled as if she had just thought of something.

"What are you laughing at?" Lin Xiuyi looked at her sister, completely bewildered.

"My brother doesn't let me wear miniskirts because he doesn't want other boys to see my thighs and doesn't want me to be taken advantage of."

Reiko blushed slightly, put her hands on her hips triumphantly, as if she had discovered some major secret.
"Onii-chan, you don't need to explain, I understand everything. This is... oh right, you men's possessiveness!"

Lin Xiuyi rolled her eyes, completely helpless against her precocious younger sister.

He was about to ask Lingzi to leave so he could change his clothes.

Unexpectedly, the girl suddenly blushed and pulled several pairs of panties from her pocket, placing them on the bedside table: "Onii-chan, which of these do you think looks best?"

"Do you think you should ask me this question?" Several veins popped out on Lin Xiuyi's forehead.

“Pants aren’t skirts. I only wear them at home for my older brother to see, so of course I have to ask you,” Reiko said matter-of-factly.

Unable to argue with her and wanting to end the awkward conversation quickly, Lin Xiuyi could only close her eyes and randomly point to a line.

"Purple?"

Reiko blinked, then suddenly looked enlightened.
"Onii-chan, so you like girls who look innocent on the outside but are incredibly alluring on the inside?"

Lin Xiuyi, her face dark, picked up her little cousin without a word and tossed her to the door like a kitten: "I'm going to change my clothes now, you go change yours too. Don't forget to feed Wangcai something after you're done, dogs aren't allowed in the science museum."

"Where are my panties?" Reiko asked pitifully, clutching her skirt. "Onii-chan, you don't mean I have to go without panties, do you?"

"Here you go!" Lin Xiuyi grabbed the underwear from the bed and threw it to his little cousin, then slammed the door shut.

“This girl has been getting crazier lately,” Lin Xiu rubbed her forehead in exasperation. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have told her stories in the first place.”

After changing his clothes, Lin Xiuyi was about to go out when he suddenly noticed that the little girl's purple panties were still on the bed. He must have missed them when he grabbed them casually earlier.

Lin Xiuyi had no choice but to pick up the panties and prepare to go out and return them to Lingzi.

But when he left the room, Lingzi hadn't even changed her clothes yet.

Lin Xiuyi arrived at his younger cousin's bedroom door and was about to knock when the doorbell suddenly rang.

At this time, the only person who could be knocking on the door is Kogoro Mouri.

Lin Xiu looked down at the small piece of purple fabric in her hand and immediately felt overwhelmed.

He wanted to throw the panties somewhere else, but he was afraid that Kogoro Mouri would see them, so he could only stuff them into his pocket and brace himself to go open the door.

The door opened, and standing there was indeed Kogoro Mouri.

He was clearly dressed up carefully, his hair was combed meticulously, and he even wore cologne.

Just like Reiko earlier, Kogoro Mouri was holding several pieces of clothing, his face full of dilemma: "Shuichi, I'm going on a date with Ruri later, which one do you think will best show off my handsomeness?"

"Your handsomeness doesn't need clothes to enhance it, just pick any one," Lin Xiu replied absentmindedly.

"Of course I know I'm handsome, but today I'm going to Ruri's place, and I might meet her friends there," Kogoro Mouri explained. "Of course I have to dress up even more handsomely so that Ruri's friends will envy her."

"Envious of her?" Lin Xiuyi yawned, somewhat taken aback.

"Of course I'm envious that Ruri found such a handsome boyfriend like me!" Kogoro Mouri proudly flashed a set of white teeth and struck what he thought was a cool pose.

Lin Xiuyi looked at him speechlessly, then quickly began to carefully help him choose clothes.

It wasn't for Kogoro Mouri's sake, but for Ruri's. He didn't want Ruri to be looked down upon by her new friends.

After finally helping Kogoro Mouri choose his clothes and seeing him off, Lin Xiuyi was about to go find his little cousin when Wangcai, carrying its collar, came running up to his feet with a look of anticipation on its face.

"Want to see Pudding?" Lin Xiuyi immediately understood what the stupid dog was thinking.

These past two days, when he took Wangcai out for a walk early in the morning, he often encountered Orikasa Midori, who was also out jogging with Pudding.

The morning walk thus became Wangcai's biggest expectation every day.

(End of this chapter)