I'm in Detective Conan, but it's a chaotic battlefield.

He turned around and saw Xiaolan standing in the stream, her face full of disbelief.

.

Xiaolan was probably worried that if she didn't get out of the water soon, she might slip on her feet when she put on her shoes.

So she quickly got ashore, blushed, put on her shoes, and ran forward without looking back.

Chen Nuo followed behind her, and the two returned along the same route.

During the process, Chen Nuo explained several times that he had only wanted to drive away the insects.

Although Xiaolan smiled and said she understood, the suspicion on her face never disappeared.

The two then went to a shrine on the mountain to pray for blessings.

This shrine looks quite old, with the walls covered in the marks of time. However, it occupies a large area and has many side halls in addition to the main hall.

Passing through the red torii gate, you can immediately feel a strong sense of mystery.

It's the feeling that a fox spirit could jump out from the corner at any moment and talk to you.

Xiaolan also said that the fortune sticks here are very accurate, but she doesn't know if it's just a publicity stunt.

We arrived at the main hall.

With a devout expression, Xiaolan wrote her wish on a piece of paper, and after going through a series of complicated procedures, she put the wish paper into an amulet bag.

Chen Nuo didn't really believe in this stuff, so he acted somewhat perfunctorily.

"No, Daimon-kun also has people he wants to protect, right? Even if it's for someone important, you have to be sincere for the amulet to work." Ran looked at him earnestly.

Chen Nuo had no choice, after all, he had just been misunderstood and was still a little guilty.

So he pretended to be earnestly praying for blessings.

Xiaolan wrote on her wish paper about her parents getting along well.

Chen Nuo originally intended to write a prayer on a piece of paper, asking the gods to help him get rid of Gin, and also to deal with that troublesome woman, Sherry, at the same time.

However, worried about the risk of leaks, I decided against it after thinking about it.

Although the shrine has been in disrepair for many years, it is still quite spacious, with a rest area for tourists outside.

After he and Xiaolan came out of the main hall for prayer, they rested on the edge of the side hall.

A cat was sleeping on the edge of a bed. When it heard people approaching, it looked up at the two people and then continued sleeping.

Chen Nuo and Xiao Lan sat down in a spot where they wouldn't disturb the cat's sleep.

Xiaolan took off her shoes, placed her heels on the edge of the shoe, and rubbed the soles of her feet with her hands.

That's understandable. Walking in wooden clogs is tiring, and he had taken Xiaolan on many mountain trails. She must have been exhausted by now.

Two faint red marks had been worn on the snow-white instep, and the soft little feet were being kneaded into various shapes in her hands.

Is this really a foot that can kick a concrete pole and shatter it? It feels a bit unreal, Chen Nuo thought to himself.

"Is it pretty?" Xiaolan asked suddenly, her head down.

Chen Nuo: "What?"

"The moon," Xiaolan said, looking up at the sky.

"Ah...it's quite beautiful," Chen Nuo replied subconsciously, then followed her gaze to the sky.

But just then, a dark cloud covered their heads, and there was no moon in the sky.

"Compared to Ms. Miyano's, whose is better?" Ran inadvertently threw out another fatal question.

She stretched out her legs, and her fair calves emerged from under the hem of her bathrobe, her toes dangling from her wooden clogs as she gently swung them in the air.

Chen Nuo scratched his head and changed the subject, saying, "This amulet is really expensive. One costs me two weeks' worth of food."

Xiao Lan gave him a resentful look, but didn't press him for details and make things difficult for him.

"You must keep it safe, okay? I've heard that although the shrine here is dilapidated, it's very efficacious," she advised.

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "I know, I won't take it off when I take a shower."

"That won't do, it won't work if it gets wet."

Xiao Lan earnestly explained to him the proper way to wear amulets and the precautions to take.

At that moment, a couple walked through the torii gate at the entrance of the shrine, seemingly heading to the main hall to pray for blessings.

The two argued as they walked.

The argument apparently involved the girl wanting to go to Utsumoto Island, but her boyfriend thought going out to sea was too much trouble and chose the Japan's Greatest Night Festival, which was closer to home.

"Hakumoto Island, I've heard of that too. It seems like a lot of people are going there lately," Xiaolan whispered, watching the couple's retreating figures.

"You seem to know a lot about this."

Ran blinked: "Aren't all girls like that? Isn't Ms. Miyano the same?"

Chen Nuo said awkwardly, "She seems to be a bit special; she likes some strange things."

She likes to research strange medicines for her boyfriend to take.

"I see." Xiaolan didn't dwell on the topic any longer. She curled her legs up again, burying her chin between them. "I really want to go to Utsumoto Island too."

Another awkward silence ensued.

Xiaolan then realized that her words seemed to imply something to him, and she quickly explained, "No, that's not what I meant. Actually, being here is already very good, being with you... Ah, that's not what I meant either..."

In her panic, she almost blurted out the truth. Wouldn't it be strange to confess her feelings at a time like this?

Xiao Lan held the hem of her bathrobe with her two small hands, stammering for a long time without being able to explain clearly.

“If there’s a chance, we can go together,” Chen Nuo suddenly said.

Xiao Lan removed her small hands from her face and stared blankly into his eyes.

.

Shiho Miyano and her sister spent half a day strolling around the stream filled with fireflies, and then went to the shrine on the mountain to draw fortune slips and pray for good luck.

They chose almost the same route as Chen Nuo and his group.

However, since Shiho Miyano had set off earlier than them, she chose to rest in a side hall located further inside.

Therefore, the two groups did not meet.

After resting for a while, Shiho Miyano and her sister walked out of the side hall of the shrine side by side, intending to return to their hotel and buy some late-night snacks along the way.

She held the amulet she had just acquired between her fingers, and linked her other arm with her sister's, humming a cheerful tune as they walked.

Akemi Miyano smiled and said, "The fortune slip says you'll soon meet a guardian angel who can change your destiny. You'd better keep your eyes open and don't let him get away."

Shiho Miyano pouted: "I don't need any guardian spirit, my sister is enough."

When she drew a fortune stick earlier, it said that she would soon meet a guardian deity who could change her destiny, and that this would be a major turning point in her life.

However, Shiho Miyano believes this is likely a marketing tactic by the shrine.

How could there possibly be such a thing as a guardian deity in the world?

However, she would carefully keep this amulet close to her body, because it contained her wish to live happily with her sister.

Akemi Miyano: "How can that be? Your older sister can't stay with you forever. You'll have to get married eventually."

"I don't want to. If I have to get married, I'll marry my older sister," Shiho Miyano said coquettishly.

"How can you be like this? I want to get married too!" Mingmei looked at her helplessly.

Shiho Miyano thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll marry the person my sister likes. Someone my sister likes can't be bad, and that way we can live together forever."

Akemi Miyano was startled by her sister's bold idea.

How could two sisters marry the same person at the same time? That's just too absurd!

Seeing her sister's strange expression, Shiho Miyano laughed and said, "I was just kidding. I won't steal your man."

Miyano Akemi pretended to be angry and said, "Seriously, if you keep doing this, I'm going to steal your guardian angel away."

"Here you go, I don't like that kind of thing."

Shiho Miyano doesn't believe in gods at all. She came here to pray more to experience the life of an ordinary person with her sister.

She didn't believe that a guardian angel would actually descend from the sky and rescue her and her sister from the clutches of the Black Organization.

Rather than placing one's hopes on illusory deities.

Shiho Miyano prefers to keep the initiative in her own hands.

For example, we might place our hopes on those two "free-range" white mice.

If we can extract enough data from Conan Edogawa and Goro Daimon, we can develop a drug that can shrink people.

She could then elope with her sister and no longer have to worry about being hunted down by the organization.

Thinking of this, Shiho Miyano recalled how Goro Daimon had suddenly come to the festival and sent her photos to deceive her.

Although she didn't know why the second lab rat had suddenly come here, she guessed that it must be because the other's body had undergone some kind of change that she hadn't noticed.

When I get back this time, I'll give him a full medical check-up, Shiho Miyano decided.

Also, we can't let the number one guinea pig go; let's find another opportunity to knock Conan unconscious.

Just as she was thinking, Shiho Miyano suddenly paused.

Ok?

The guy sitting not far away at the shrine entrance looks a bit like her guinea pig.

After taking a few more steps forward, Shiho Miyano rubbed her eyes and looked closely—and sure enough, it was him.

Damn it, why did they follow us all the way here?

Shiho Miyano slowed her pace and frowned in thought.

She didn't want to meet Chen Nuo under these circumstances, because she hadn't even told her sister Mingmei about her plan to secretly research drugs, let alone about her fake boyfriend.

It might be complicated to explain if we meet in person.

However, the spot where Chen Nuo and Xiao Lan were sitting was blocking the way she and her sister had to take to get back.

If you walk like this, you're bound to bump into it.