Chapter 494
Heiji Hattori was quite puzzled. Usually, when Conan Edogawa called him, he always seemed quite helpless in the face of his invitations. This time, however, he was so enthusiastic... Could there be some kind of conspiracy?
For example, there might be some prank waiting for him... Although Kudo doesn't seem like that kind of person, who knows? He's fine in Osaka, but Kudo often sees Usui-kun in Tokyo. What if he gets influenced by bad company...
Heiji Hattori pondered for a moment, then cautiously probed, "Do you have some kind of plan with Bo Ye?"
Conan Edogawa was taken aback: "You knew that?"
Hattori Heiji exclaimed indignantly, "You actually conspired with Uso-ba to frame me!"
"Huh?" Conan Edogawa squinted, realizing that Heiji Hattori had probably misunderstood something. "Do I need to mess with you, Uso-ba-nii? Listen to what this is."
As he spoke, Conan Edogawa found the recording of the last time Heiji Hattori saved Kazuha Toyama, inadvertently shouting, "What are you going to do to my Kazuha?"
Halfway through the video, Hattori Heiji started screaming, "Enough! What do you want?"
"I was just asking," Conan Edogawa said innocently. "Usoba-nii is looking for a place to go on vacation, and you seem to have a knack for finding good spots."
Hattori Heiji couldn't help but remain silent for a few more seconds: "...Kudo, do you know what? You're starting to resemble Usui-san more and more."
Conan Edogawa couldn't help but exclaim, "That's really filthy!"
Heiji Hattori: "...? I'm going to tell Usui-nii."
Conan Edogawa, feeling guilty, said, "That's not what I meant... Anyway, think about it quickly!"
He didn't have much of a problem with Usaku Saiki, but for some reason, whenever Hattori Heiji said that he resembled Usaku, he subconsciously thought of Usaku's wicked personality and his own tormented inner turmoil.
Conan Edogawa thinks that Saiki Usaba is really good at messing with people's minds. Sometimes his jokes are even a bit too much. For example, after getting information about the organization from his parents, he dressed up in a black trench coat and pretended to be an organization member to scare him... With such a wicked personality, how could he have fallen to such a level!
Heiji Hattori was also feeling guilty. He didn't want the recording in Conan Edogawa's possession to leak out, especially not to be heard by Kazuha Toyama. So, he took advantage of Conan Edogawa's slip of the tongue to gauge the situation and, after getting a promise, moved on to the next topic.
"Speaking of places suitable for vacation that might also have cases... I thought of a hot spring inn, but it's not really a case, it's just that someone took some ghostly photos of it before, which is quite interesting, and I feel like it's the type that Brother Bo Ye would be interested in... But speaking of which, did Brother Bo Ye really ask you to find it? Couldn't he just ask me directly?"
Conan Edogawa gave an awkward laugh and explained, "It's a long story..."
He was a little conflicted, but Conan Edogawa still summarized the recent situation and told Heiji Hattori about it.
Hattori Heiji's lips twitched as he listened: "Are you sure Bo Ye will help you? Hasn't he always been against you getting entangled with the organization and kept urging you to go to America?"
Conan Edogawa closed his eyes in anguish: "I'm not sure either, but I have no choice but to believe it now! After all, Usopp-nii promised me! Even though his personality is a bit awful, he always keeps his promises!"
Hattori Heiji really hit the nail on the head! He's been wondering about this too these past few days!
But what can he do if he doubts? Considering Brother Bo Ye's reputation, he can only doubt and believe intermittently, waiting for the day when the truth will come out.
You can't make jokes like this at a time like this! Now is the time to see if Brother Bo Ye has any moral bottom line!
So, at Heiji Hattori's invitation, Kogoro Mouri took Ran Mouri and Conan Edogawa to a hot spring inn in Nagano Prefecture.
Since Heiji Hattori often invited the Mori family out to play, Kogoro Mori didn't suspect anything; he was simply unhappy.
Because this hot spring inn looked very ordinary, like the kind you see anywhere, and Hattori Heiji kept inviting them to drink a kind of kudzu root soup that he thought tasted very average, without saying anything about what else was going on.
Did he really travel all that way to this remote mountain just to drink this stuff?!
Kogoro Mouri was getting a little impatient.
Just then, new guests entered the restaurant, and a familiar voice rang out.
"You're here too?"
Kogoro Mori subconsciously turned his head and saw Saiki Usaku and his eldest disciple with a subtle expression.
Amuro Tooru's feelings were truly complicated. He was just accompanying Potts on a vacation, so why did he seem to run into this group of people everywhere he went? Is the world really that small?
With such a group of people prone to accidents gathered together, it feels like this vacation is likely to end in trouble.
Amuro Tooru naturally excluded himself from the category of accident-prone individuals—he felt that it was normal for him to encounter various accidents while infiltrating the organization.
The main issue now is how to explain it, since on the surface he and Usoya Saiki aren't actually that close...
"Usoba-nii!" Ran Mouri was quite happy to see familiar faces again. "You're here too? And Mr. Amuro... What a coincidence!"
"It's not a coincidence, he came with me."
Ran Mouri: "...?"
Bo Yezaki gestured: "To avoid not being able to eat well when I'm out, I hired him to be my chef and come along. After all, you know how delicious his cooking is."
Ran Mouri: "Uh...it really is delicious, but..."
But is that why you brought Mr. Amuro to Nagano when he clearly has other work to do?
This behavior is even more arrogant and domineering than Sonoko, the heiress of the Suzuki Group!
Although she knew that Brother Bo Ye was unemployed and living off his savings, she never expected it to have come to this!
However, thanks to her biased view of Usuiba Saiki, Ran Mouri hesitated for a moment before accepting it.
Heiji Hattori and Conan Edogawa knew what was going on, but Kogoro Mouri had a lot to say: "You're not taking leave every few days just to make extra money off others, are you?"
Amuro Tooru replied politely, "No, it's just that Usaku-kun gave too much this time."
Conan Edogawa: "…………"
How could the Japanese Public Security Bureau be swayed by mere money... Usopp must have gone to great lengths to achieve his goal.
Kazuha Toyama was simply happy to see an acquaintance: "So, Uso-chan, you came here because you think this place is really good?"
Usoya Saiki: "Ah? No, I came here because I heard this place is haunted."
Kazuha Toyama & Ran Mouri: "..."
The two girls, who were afraid of ghosts, froze instantly.
Kogoro Mouri asked in confusion, "What ghost story?"
Usoya Saiki pulled up a chair and sat down: "You don't know? Wait a moment, let me search for the photos..."
Hattori Heiji spoke up promptly: "Uh, I have photos here."
Yuanshan and Ye's sinister gaze fell upon him: "You knew all along!?"
Knowing she's afraid of ghosts, why did you bring her here?!
Bo Yezaki comforted him, "Don't be afraid. There are no ghosts in this world. It must be a person in disguise."
Amuro Tooru chimed in, "Having a photo doesn't prove anything; it might be photoshopped."
No sooner had he finished speaking than someone next to him couldn't help but interject: "No, this photo was taken with traditional negatives that are difficult to process, and it has been authenticated. The items in it are genuine!"
Heiji Hattori was taking out photos when he heard this, so he put the photos on the table: "It's said to be genuine, but you can't really see anything clearly... it's just a blurry image."
Usoya Saiki nodded in agreement: "That's right, at this level, it's impossible to say for sure that they're not human."
The man became anxious: "Is it possible for a human to run across a pool of water?"
"Water surface?" Ran Mouri couldn't bear to look at the photo. "That thing ran across the water?"
The man said, "Yes, it's on the hot spring at this hotel. Look, he's carrying a big scythe on his back..."
Usaka Saiki picked up a photo and looked at it: "Hmm... are you sure the pool below is a hot spring?"
“Of course, I’ve already compared them,” the person said. “And the main reason I came here this time is to also take a picture of the Kamaitachi… A monster with a huge scythe, it’s most likely a Kamaitachi, right?”
Usakata touched his chin: "I don't think that's the point."
The others looked at him with suspicion: "Then what's the key point?"
"The key question is... why are people allowed to bring cameras into the hot springs?"
Bo Yezaki frowned deeply: "The security at this hotel is terrible. Could someone have installed surveillance cameras to spy on us? I want to call the police."
Everyone: "………………"
Ah, this... does seem to be a problem...
The person who interrupted awkwardly explained, "Someone probably took the photo after the hot springs were past their designated bathing time... Oh, and I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Nakazato Taigo, a contributor to the magazine that published this photo..."
"But after it was published, readers kept sending letters to protest, saying that the magazine used fake photos, so it had to try to prove that the Kamaitachi really exists, right?"
A woman wearing glasses emerged from behind Taigo in the middle, her tone provocative and sarcastic: "And the photos were sent along with a bunch of candid bathhouse photos... It's ridiculous."
Others: "..."
It really was taken secretly!
After the woman finished speaking, she turned around and introduced herself: "I'm from his magazine's rival, here to stop fake news. Don't believe him. Their magazine will do anything for sales."
Amuro Tooru picked up the photo and looked at it: "Just looking at the photo, it's true that you can't tell anything... but this alone can't prove whether anyone else has seen the so-called Kamaitachi."
"I've seen it!"
Another unfamiliar voice chimed in, showing just how popular this topic really is.
This time, it was a child who interrupted, also the child of the owner of this hot spring inn. So, since Amuro Tooru hadn't pulled up a chair like Usui Saiki had, he gently squatted down and asked, "Did you really see it? When? What was the scene?"
The child said, "I saw a weasel run across the water! I tried to chase after it, but I was like I was under a spell and couldn't move, and then I drowned... When I woke up, someone had already pulled me out... I really saw it!"
Although it sounds quite realistic, it's just what a child says, so the authenticity is bound to be questionable. It can only be said to provide some supplementary information.
Usoba Saiki blinked and said, "Since there are so many detectives here, it would be a waste not to have a competition. How about we see who can solve the mystery of the Kamaitachi first?"
Conan Edogawa was deeply moved.
Bo Ye, you're really helping us out!
But why is it that Brother Bo Ye has always been unwilling for him to get too involved with the organization?
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Conan: That's some filthy language!
Thin leaves: ? ? ?
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