The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

"Oh? You mean you want me to help you find the location where the Dragon God sank, is that right?"

Kogoro Mori also understood the intention of the village chief from between the lines of Mikami's words.

Village Chief Mikami chuckled and patted his head, flatteringly saying, "Hehehe, as expected of a famous detective! It's said that the Ryujin sank near Shikijima, and that batch of gold that has been missing for so long should also be hidden near Shikijima!"

“But even if those gold nuggets are found, they probably won’t belong to you, because they must be confiscated by the state,” Kogoro Mori said, finishing his drink in one gulp.

"Yes, although the gold will eventually be nationalized, our island will still receive a 10% commission," Village Chief Mikami explained with a smile.

"Hmm, maybe that's true!" Kogoro Mouri thought about it carefully, and it seemed that there was indeed such a rule.

"Then I'll have to leave this matter to you, Mr. Mori..."

"No way, I refuse!" Kogoro Mouri turned his head away, looking rather uninterested. "How could I, the renowned detective, do this kind of treasure hunting job!"

"What if you were to receive one-tenth of the profits from this island as your payment, Mr. Mori?" Takeo Mikami asked with a smile as he looked at Kogoro Mori.

"Then I would be more than happy to accept this commission!"

Upon hearing the word "reward," Kogoro Mouri instantly changed his attitude, putting on a broad smile as he looked at Village Chief Mikami.

Now that the deal was done, both Village Chief Mikami and Kogoro Mouri shook hands excitedly, their eyes blazing with excitement.

Upon seeing this, Conan and Ran both turned their faces away in unison, pretending not to recognize Kogoro Mouri.

Only Aragaki Yu watched the two passionate middle-aged men thoughtfully, considering how to find the location where the gold was buried before Conan discovered it.

Based on his memories from his previous life, he could only vaguely understand that this batch of gold was indeed hidden near Shikijima.

But he really couldn't remember the exact location at all.

Chapter 108 Naval Souls

Then, under the instructions of Village Chief Mikami, Kinoshita Goro described to everyone the events of the Ryujin-go seven years prior—

Roughly seven years ago, on a typhoon night, a tax-evading businessman was carrying a large sum of gold and preparing to escape abroad on the Dragon God ship, but an unexpected situation occurred, and he sent out a distress signal.

However, when the rescue team on the island arrived at the area where the Dragon God had sent out its distress signal, they could not find the ship anywhere.

In the end, only the ship owner's body was found floating at sea on the morning of the second day; nothing else, not even a single floating object, was found.

After Kinoshita Goro finished speaking, Village Chief Mikami concluded confidently, "But one thing is certain: that gold is still nearby!"

"I see. Then leave it to me, the great detective Kogoro Mouri! Ahahahahaha!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kogoro Mouri burst into confident laughter.

……

More than half an hour before the speech, many staff members had already started setting up the venue in the community center.

Standing outside the community center, Conan looked at the busy staff and, thinking of Ran taking care of the completely drunk Kogoro Mouri, couldn't help but worry, "Uncle Mouri, are you sure everything will be alright? Will we all end up embarrassing ourselves?"

"It should be... okay, right..."

Recalling Kogoro Mouri's frequent lapses in composure just now, Akemi Miyano smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"Don't worry, Conan, Mr. Mori is a famous detective, after all! He can easily handle this kind of small situation," Aragaki Yu reassured him with a smile.

"Heh..." Hearing Aragaki Yu's words, Conan couldn't help but roll his signature dead fish eyes, thinking to himself, "What a great detective! It's all thanks to me..."

"Hey, isn't that the naval archives on the island? Shall we go in and take a look?" Miyano Akemi, who was looking around, suddenly noticed a strange building.

With plenty of time before the speech began, neither Aragaki Yu nor Conan had any objections, so the three of them went into the Naval Archives together.

After looking around at the items in the museum, Aragaki Yu said, "It seems that most of the things displayed here are quite old."

Akemi Miyano also admired the various exhibits in the museum with great interest.

"Huh?! This is a general's armor!" Conan exclaimed in surprise as he stood before a magnificent suit of armor.

"That's interesting, isn't it!"

Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind the three of them.

The three turned around and saw that it was Mr. Kinoshita Goro who had suddenly walked in.

Conan looked at Mr. Kinoshita who had walked up to him and replied, "Yeah, there are a lot of strange things here!"

Kinoshita Goro said with a smile, "Yes, these are all precious cultural properties of this small island!"

He then drew their attention to an ancient painting on the wall and continued to explain the origins of these items: "About three hundred years ago, the navy, defeated in a battle, fled to this island. However, something unexpected happened: the island's inhabitants, blinded by the enemy's bounty for their heads, attacked the wounded navy. In the end, the navy had no choice but to retreat to a cave on the side of the island."

"And then?" Akemi Miyano asked curiously.

Kinoshita Goro paused for a moment before continuing, "I heard that they were all killed in the end, and since then, one ominous thing after another has happened on this island."

"Because of the haunting of those naval ghosts!?" Conan suddenly remembered the rumors he had heard.

"Yes, so we set up a shrine in the cave in the hope of appeasing the souls of these fallen naval soldiers."

The mention of the word "ghost" made Akemi Miyano feel a little uncomfortable, so she stammered and asked everyone for confirmation: "This, these should all just be superstition! After all, how could there be such things as ghosts and spirits in this world!"

No, it really exists!

Aragaki Yuu silently felt indignant for Yuki-onna and the others.

"No, not entirely, not entirely now! Because many people have seen those wandering naval ghosts in the woods, seen them clad in armor roaming the forest, and from time to time, chilling wails can be heard coming from that eerie cave."

"what!"

Upon hearing Mr. Kinoshita's description, Akemi Miyano couldn't help but let out a soft gasp, then fearfully hid behind Yuu Aragaki, no longer daring to look at the exhibits that seemed to be possessed by ghosts.

Seeing Miyano Akemi clinging to his sleeve, looking around with a fearful expression, Aragaki Yu couldn't quite understand.

Why are these women, whether it's Ran with her extraordinary fighting skills, Sonoko with her immense wealth, or Akemi Miyano who has been in the organization for many years, so afraid of ghosts and monsters, these ethereal and intangible things?

They're all pretty cute, though.

Mr. Kinoshita smiled when he saw Akemi Miyano's expression. He had lost count of how many girls had been frightened by these rumors.

"I remember it was about five years ago when a group of university professors specializing in naval research came to this island to conduct research. They didn't ask the island's residents beforehand and went directly to the cave to investigate. But it is said that two or three nights later, they were attacked by the ghosts of the navy."

"An attack?" Conan asked incredulously.

Kinoshita Goro said with a regretful expression, "Yes, although we didn't go back to confirm it, those professors really disappeared without a trace. So now no one on the island dares to approach the vicinity of that cave."

[A cave haunted by the Navy?]

Upon hearing the story described by Kinoshita Goro, Aragaki Yu seemed to recall something, and thus involuntarily narrowed his eyes.

If that's the case, then if I'm not mistaken, the gold should be in that cave.

"No way! People still believe in these superstitions; no wonder they're laughed at!"

Accompanied by a sudden girl's voice, Mikami Suzuru's petite figure suddenly appeared before them.

"Xiaoling?!"

Kinoshita Goro seemed somewhat surprised to see her.

Mikami Suzuru ignored Mr. Kinoshita and continued speaking to the group: "My father told me that although those professors went to the cave to investigate, they didn't find anything at all, which is why they all went back after only a few days!"

As he spoke, he jogged over to Aragaki Yu's side, raised his arm and took Aragaki Yu's hand, saying in a coquettish tone, "Big brother, please don't listen to these kinds of stories anymore, come out and play with me instead!"

With that, she grabbed Aragaki Yu's hand and ran outside.

Fearing he might hurt the little girl, Aragaki Yuya could only give Miyano Akemi, who was hiding behind him, a wry smile before running out with Mikami Suzurin.

"Hey! Little brother Aragaki, wait for me!"

Seeing this, Akemi Miyano had no choice but to silently follow.

Only Conan and Mr. Kinoshita were left, standing in the exhibition hall, staring at each other with wide eyes, looking completely bewildered.

Watching the group run away, Conan felt as if he had missed something important.

Chapter 109 Explosion

Suzuka Mikami was pulling Yu Aragaki along as they were about to run from the back door of the community center to the back of the stage when, unexpectedly, the back door of the community center was suddenly opened.

Aragaki Yu, who had been keeping a close eye on his surroundings, quickly pulled Mikami Suzurin back around the corner.

A tall, thin man with disheveled hair cautiously peeked out. After looking around and finding no one nearby, he carefully walked out through the back door of the community center.

"Oh, you scared me!" Mikami Suzuka peeked out from around the corner and muttered as she looked at his back.

Seeing that Mikami Suzuru seemed to know the suspicious man, Aragaki Yuuya asked, "Who is he?"

“He’s a lighthouse keeper. All I know is that his name is Hamada, and he’s a strange person,” Suzuka Mikami replied.

"strangeness?"

Mikami Suzuru nodded and continued, "Well, because he doesn't usually interact with the people on the island, and he often goes to that cave that no one usually goes near. I don't know what he's doing in there."

"Is it that cave again? Looks like we need to find that cave and check the situation first."

As Aragaki Yu became increasingly certain that there was something wrong with the cave, he couldn't help but start making plans.

Under the watchful eyes of Aragaki Yu and Mikami Suzurin, the man named Hamada walked up the steps to the top of the embankment. Just then, another man also happened to walk by.

"Is that Mr. Uehara from the Dongdu Travel Agency? What's he doing here?"

Aragaki Yu looked at Uehara Yasuo's figure with some confusion.