Solving cases with Detective Conan's science? No, I'm a cultivator!

Kitagawa Taki: "Yes, there is, but it might be dangerous."

Yukiko Fujimine didn't care at all, "With you here, what danger could there be?"

Kitagawa Taki: "Then I'll pick you up on Saturday afternoon, and we'll fly to Tottori Prefecture."

As for why it was in the afternoon, it's because there are only two flights from Tokyo to Tottori Prefecture on Saturdays, and the other one is too early.

Fujimine Yukiko was even more enthusiastic than Kitagawa Taki, "Taki, what kind of exorcism request is it? Is it a ghost?"

Kitagawa Taki: "It must be a monster. Have you ever heard of the Spider Fairy?"

"Spider Fairy? Never heard of her!"

Yukiko Fujimine had only ever heard of monsters like the Great Tengu and the Kappa.

Kitagawa Taki: "It's okay if you haven't heard of it, because I haven't heard of it either."

……

Yukiko Fujimine put down her phone and excitedly pumped her fist; finally, something exciting was about to happen.

She now only hopes that the monster really exists and that Kitagawa Taki really can exorcise spirits, otherwise it's pointless.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Saturday afternoon.

After Kitagawa Taki picked up Fujimine Yukiko, the two flew directly from Haneda Airport to Tottori Prefecture.

As it turns out, with Yukiko Fujimine by your side, the journey was anything but boring.

Throughout the journey, Fujimine Yukiko chattered on and on, behaving completely unlike someone whose son is already 18 years old.

More than an hour later, the two arrived in Tottori Prefecture.

Yukiko Fujimine asked, "How do we get to that place?"

“Puppet Ridge.” Kitagawa Taki’s gaze swept across the crowd of people waiting to pick up passengers. “Mr. Takeda will be here to pick us up.”

Soon after, Kitagawa Taki found the sign with his name on it.

Kitagawa Taki walked over with Fujimine Yukiko.

"Mr. Takeda?"

Ryuji Takeda had slightly curly hair and was wearing a blue casual suit.

"I am Kitagawa Taki, Mr. Kitagawa!" Takeda Ryuji looked on excitedly.

"And who is this?" Takeda Ryuji looked at the beautiful woman next to Kitagawa Taki.

Kitagawa Taki was about to introduce himself when Fujimine Yukiko beat him to it: "I'm Taki's assistant, just call me Yukiko."

assistant?

His previous assistant had already... cough cough...

Ryuji Takeda bowed slightly and said, "Hello, Ms. Yukiko."

The three then went to the parking lot together.

On the way, Takeda Ryuji exchanged pleasantries, saying, "Being able to invite such a famous exorcist as Mr. Kitagawa this time will surely solve the strange occurrences in my home."

Kitagawa Taki laughed and said, "Am I that famous? People have heard of me even in Tottori Prefecture?"

Tottori Prefecture is not close to Tokyo, about 500 kilometers away.

Ryuji Takeda said, "Actually, my whole family lives in Tokyo. We just happened to be back in our hometown these past few days. I never expected something like this to happen."

Kitagawa Taki's smile froze instantly, and Fujimine Yukiko couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

Unaware of their unease, Takeda Ryuji continued, "Three years ago, two murders occurred there as well, but at the time we all thought they were suicides. Now it seems they might also be related to the legendary Spider Fairy."

"We've arrived. Let's get in the car first, and then I'll explain everything to you in detail," said Ryuji Takeda, pointing to a black sedan.

After getting into the car, Kitagawa Taki asked, "What about those two murder cases?"

"She is my elder brother Shinichi Takeda's wife, and their daughter."

When this was mentioned, a look of sadness flashed across Ryuji Takeda's face.

Kitagawa Taki assumed that he was just saddened by the plight of his sister-in-law and niece.

Fujimine Yukiko, however, stared thoughtfully at Takeda Ryuji.

"First Misa passed away, then her mother followed her shortly after, and a few days ago Mr. Negishi died. When Misa and her mother were found, their bodies had become spider nests, and Mr. Negishi was even entangled in spider silk."

"This must have been done by the Spider Fairy. My elder brother demolished the ancestral hall without permission to build a warehouse, which is why he incurred the Spider Fairy's curse, and everyone connected to him is dead!"

When this was mentioned, Ryuji Takeda seemed to harbor some resentment towards his older brother.

This was a lot of information, and Kitagawa Taki was a little confused, so he said, "Mr. Takeda, why don't you tell me about Spider Fairy first!"

Ryuji Takeda composed himself and said:

"Legend has it that there used to be a beautiful woman in Puppet Ridge who looked like a celestial being. Whenever someone passed by, she would stop them and ask for directions—'Do you believe that heaven exists?' 'Do you want to go there?'"

"Passersby are often captivated by a woman's beauty, answering 'yes' without a second thought, and then disappear."

"Years later, a puppeteer heard about this and made a life-size puppet and placed it by the roadside. The beautiful woman was indeed fooled and revealed her true form as a spider. The puppeteer seized the opportunity to kill the beautiful woman with flames. It is said that people later found that the spider and its little spiders had been burned to death in their nest."

"Later, fearing a curse, the villagers built a shrine there to worship it as the Spider Fairy, and the place was renamed Puppet Ridge!"

Chapter 157 When did this guy become so close to Mom?

After hearing the legend, Kitagawa Taki felt that most of the villagers were a bit stupid. It was one thing not to worship the puppeteer, but why did they worship a monster instead?

However, considering that Japan seems to have a tradition of worshipping yokai (supernatural beings), it's not surprising.

Yukiko Fujimine listened with great interest.

Kitagawa Taki looked at Takeda Ryuji and asked, "By the way, who is that Mr. Negishi?"

Ryuji Takeda explained, "My older brother is a puppeteer, and Akio Negishi is a puppeteer."

Kitagawa Taki nodded. Now that things were basically clear, the next step was to go to the location to begin the investigation.

……

The country roads were difficult to navigate and only allowed one vehicle to pass at a time. Before long, their car was blocked by a truck.

Ryuji Takeda said, "That's Yuzo's car."

Kitagawa Taki asked, "Yuzo?"

"Oh, it's my younger brother."

Ryuji Takeda muttered, "How did he get here?" as he got out of the car.

Kitagawa Taki and Fujimine Yukiko also got out of the car and went to check on the situation.

Unexpectedly, they saw Kogoro Mouri, Ran, and Conan in front of the car.

There was also a fat man and a blond, blue-eyed foreigner.

Conan and his friends were even more surprised when they saw Kitagawa Taki and Fujimine Yukiko.

"Old..." Conan almost shouted out, then quickly covered his mouth.

Yukiko Fujimine gave Conan an amused look.

Ran exclaimed, "Aunt Yukiko!"

Kogoro Mouri glanced at Yukiko Fujimine, then at Taki Kitagawa, his eyes wide with astonishment.

Yukiko Fujimine's face instantly fell, and her lips twitched as she said, "Ran, call me 'older sister,' not 'auntie,' be a good girl!"

Ran remembered Yukiko Fujimine's habit and hesitated, "Yukiko... Sister."

Yukiko Fujimine nodded in satisfaction.

Kogoro Mouri coughed and said, "Um, Yukiko, didn't you go abroad? When did you come back?"

Fujimine Yukiko said, "I just got back recently, and I came here with Taki to exorcise the spirit today!"

Conan stared at Kitagawa Taki with hostility. When did this guy become so close to his mother?

Neither Kogoro Mouri nor Ran found it strange that Yukiko Fujimine knew Taki Kitagawa, since Taki Kitagawa had stayed at Professor Agasa's house before, so it was normal for them to know each other.

Just then, Ryuji Takeda exclaimed in surprise, "Robert, what are you doing here?"

A foreign man named Robert smiled and said, "Oh, it's Mr. Long Er. I came back this time specifically to thank you, but I got lost on the way, so I stopped Mr. Yong San's car."

Robert pressed on, "By the way, is Misa alright?"

Ryuji Takeda's expression darkened: "Misa passed away not long after you left."

Upon hearing this, Robert turned ashen-faced and kept muttering, "How could this be?"

Ryuji Takeda knew that Misa and Robert had feelings for each other, and he couldn't bear to see Robert in his current state.

He said, "I invited Mr. Kitagawa to Puppet Ridge this time specifically to investigate this series of events."

Yuzo Takeda and Robert glanced at Taki Kitagawa.

“Mr. Kitagawa is a famous exorcist in Tokyo,” Ryuji Takeda explained, then asked, “Yuzo, who is this gentleman?”

Yuzo Takeda introduced, "This is 'Sleeping Kogoro' Detective Mori. He was invited by my older brother to investigate Mr. Negishi's matter."

Ryuji Takeda exclaimed, "That famous detective!"

Kogoro Mouri grinned from ear to ear and took the initiative to shake hands, saying, "Hello, I am Kogoro Mouri."

Ryuji Takeda shook hands with Kogoro Mouri. "Hello, I am Ryuji Takeda, the second son of the Takeda family."

Kitagawa Taki checked the time and said, "It's getting late, let's continue on our way!"

……

Because there was an extra vehicle, Kogoro Mouri and Conan no longer had to ride in the truck bed; they sat in the back seat of Ryuji Takeda's car.

Ran and Yukiko Fujimine sat in the passenger seats of their respective vehicles, while Robert had to sit in the truck bed.

Before long, the group finally arrived at the Takeda residence after a bumpy journey.

Kitagawa Taki and the others met their elder brother, Takeda Shinichi, and Takeda Ryuji's wife, Takeda Yoko, outside the house.