Chapter 63 Evil Spirit Curse
The dark-skinned boy stood at the gate of a wealthy family's house, peered inside, and rang the doorbell.
An elderly man who looked like a butler came out and asked, "Sir, may I ask who you are?"
"My name is Hattori Heiji. I have something I'd like to ask Mr. Haneda for help."
"Unfortunately, the master and madam had to go out on an urgent matter and won't be home today. Why don't you come again tomorrow?"
"Huh?" Heiji was dumbfounded. Just as he was hesitating whether to give up and leave empty-handed, another young man appeared.
"What happened?" the man asked as he approached.
Heiji recognized the man as the famous shogi player, "Taiko Meijin" Hideyoshi Haneda.
He learned from witnessing Amuro Tooru's fangirling in Nagano that day, and carried on the fine tradition of the fake fan, excitedly shouting through the gate: "Taiko Meijin, I've finally met you!"
Hideyoshi was somewhat embarrassed. Since making a name for himself in the shogi tournament, he had encountered many fans. But a male fan as enthusiastic as this dark-skinned boy in front of him was truly rare.
"Does this young man also enjoy shogi?" Hideyoshi asked.
To be honest, Heiji's knowledge of shogi is like his experience in love: you can't say he has none, but he doesn't really have much either.
However, not wanting to leave empty-handed, Heiji decided to shift his investigation focus to Hideyoshi, replying readily, "Of course I like him! I'm a huge fan!"
Hideyoshi smiled slightly and said, "Since I have some free time today, how about we have a couple of rounds?"
Heiji never expected that this famous Taiko would be so approachable. But there was no turning back now, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.
Heiji entered Hideyoshi's room, sat down in front of the Go board, and racked his brains to recall everything he had learned in his life.
"Losing is inevitable, I just hope it won't be too humiliating."
Even though Hideyoshi gave way three steps first, Heiji was still quickly defeated.
Hideyoshi sensed something amiss and asked, "What brings Hattori-kun to see his adoptive father?"
"Well..." Heiji scratched his head, and seeing that he couldn't hide it any longer, he simply came out and said, "I am a detective, and I am here to investigate a cold case from 17 years ago."
Hideyoshi sighed wistfully, "I didn't expect so many people to be interested in my sworn brother's case."
"Have any other detectives been here recently?"
“Not detectives, but all sorts of other people, coming for all sorts of purposes.” Hideyoshi asked, looking directly into Heiji’s eyes, “So, Hattori-kun, what is your purpose in coming here?”
"I came for the truth."
Hideyoshi smiled with satisfaction: "This is the best answer I've ever heard."
"I think most of the others came here, more or less, because of that Black Swan Heart, right?"
How did you know?
Heiji, of course, wouldn't say that Conan told him, but instead replied, "Hasn't this already made the front page? But I'm very curious, why would Mr. Haneda be willing to keep such a cursed gem?"
"curse?"
"Don't you know, Taiko? Many people associated with the Heart of the Black Swan have met with tragic ends. The ship carrying the jewel sank in a shipwreck. The famous American actress Sharon Vineyard wore it in her last film, but she passed away not long after. Even Ms. Amanda Hughes, who was a victim in that case along with your sworn brother, was a collector of the Heart of the Black Swan..."
Hideyoshi shook his head: "Hattori-kun, I think we both know: in the end, the Black Swan Heart is just a stone. It has no life and no consciousness. Its beautiful appearance and mysterious curse are just labels that people have forcibly attached to it. What really caused all this tragedy was not this gem, but natural disasters and man-made calamities, the instigators behind the conspiracy."
"So, do you have any clue as to who the instigator is?"
"I'm just a shogi player. Isn't it more reliable to leave things like solving cases and mysteries to detectives?"
Heiji adopted an attentive listening posture, and Hideyoshi pondered for a moment before saying, "Then I'll start from the beginning. According to my adoptive father, my adoptive brother's trip to the United States to compete 17 years ago was just a pretext. His real purpose seemed to be related to that Ms. Amanda, but he never revealed the specific reasons. Over the years, the police have never been able to find out the truth."
"Back then, the Heart of the Black Swan was in Amanda's hands, right?"
"Yes, but not in the United States, but in one of her mansions in England. After Amanda died, her heirs didn't want the gem, so it was auctioned off."
"It was sold to a wealthy American businessman. This man was madly infatuated with Sharon, so he later lent the Heart of the Black Swan to the actress to make a movie."
"Hattori-kun's preliminary preparations were quite thorough!"
Heiji smiled sheepishly, thinking to himself: Actually, I didn't collect this information.
Hideyoshi continued, "Last month, a strange package suddenly arrived at our home. Inside was that gem, along with an anonymous letter. The sender claimed to be a friend of my late brother, and said in the letter that it was a birthday gift for my adoptive mother."
"That's strange! Has that friend sent anything before?"
“Never. My godfather also thought something was amiss, so he invited a jewelry expert, Tu Shi Xianren, to authenticate it. When Tu Shi Xianren first came to see it, he said it was very likely to be genuine, but he needed to study it further. However, when he came the second time, his tone changed, and he felt that it was more likely to be a fake.”
“I’ve heard of some appraisers who will call genuine items fake in order to induce the owner to give up the collection or sell it at a low price.”
“I also had this suspicion, thinking that the person might want to keep the gem for himself. My godfather thought I was right, so he wanted to hire another gem expert.”
"So, who did Mr. Haneda invite?"
Hideyoshi smiled mischievously: "Haven't we already made the front page headlines?"
"You actually invited Phantom Thief Kid to appraise treasures?!" Heiji was utterly shocked.
But upon closer reflection, it seems to make sense. Although the thief had a long history of bad behavior, he always managed to return everything in full.
Even if Kidd really does steal the Black Swan Heart this time, it won't be a loss for the Haneda family. After all, the jewel is practically free!
“We didn’t initially intend to do this. But at my stepmother’s birthday party last month, Master Suzuki learned about it. He was eager to buy the gem because he had once collected fakes and was ridiculed by Kid, and had always longed to obtain the real Black Swan Heart.” Hideyoshi paused here and narrowed his eyes, “And interestingly, Mr. Hajime changed his tune again, saying that he had absolutely reliable evidence to prove that the Black Swan Heart is genuine.”
"This expert's attitude is quite bizarre..." Heiji mused.
"Shortly after my godmother's birthday party, a mysterious woman appeared. She introduced herself as Wakasa Rumi and said she was my godfather's friend."
"Are you sure this isn't a fabricated friend?" Heiji retorted. "Or is that anonymous sender actually her?"
"Ms. Wakasa denied this, but she seemed very interested in the gem."
"Is this Ms. Wakasa someone I've never met before?"
"Yes, it's strange that neither my godfather nor godmother have any impression of her. In fact, although my godfather is a famous shogi player, he is quite low-key and has a very narrow social circle. My godfather and godmother know more or less about my godfather's friends. However, later, I don't know what means that woman used, but she quickly gained my godfather's trust. So this time, she was the one who acted on my godfather's behalf when lending the gem to Mr. Suzuki."
"Don't you usually live with Mr. Haneda?"
"No, I have my own place to live, I just came back to visit when I had some free time. Besides, I was preparing for the competition at that time, so I wasn't looking into the specifics."
"Thank you, Taiko Meijin, for providing me with so many valuable clues. I will definitely do my best to solve the mystery!"
"Then, I'll leave it to you."
Heiji walked out of the Haneda residence and took out his phone, which had been on a call, from his pocket: "Hey, how was it? Did you hear what I just said?"
The young detective on the other end of the phone replied, "Thank you so much! I'm so grateful for your help this time. I owe you a huge favor!"
"Seriously! What on earth are you doing in Nagano? Why do you have to get involved in such an old case just to catch a petty thief? Can you really handle this?"
"Hattori, you don't need to worry about me! Just take care of the people who need taking care of you." Before the other person could reply, Conan slammed down the phone, leaving Heiji glaring angrily.
At this moment, Conan is lying on his bed in his hotel room, lost in thought.
"Therefore, the breakthrough still lies with that woman."
Conan left his bedroom and took the elevator to the floor where Wakasa's room was located.
He gazed at the always-closed door from afar. He was unsure of the mysterious woman's identity or her stance. He had guesses, but none had been confirmed.
Conan pondered how much of a chance he had if he went directly to knock on the door.
After hesitating for a long time, the young detective finally abandoned this overly reckless plan; his current situation did not allow him to take such a gamble.
"What would you do if it were you?" Conan muttered to himself, recalling Amuro's teachings.
"Some things can't be done in a straight line."
"The goal is right there, but you can't just walk straight there. But if you go around in circles and come back, you'll have accomplished something."
"Let's go around in circles..." Conan returned to the elevator, frowning and deep in thought.
He used to be too used to a direct style of play, always going straight for the kill, even charging headlong into things, and didn't understand anything about roundabout tactics: "How exactly do you draw a circle to get back to your starting point?"
As the saying goes, the master leads you through the door, but the practice is up to you.
Conan is never lacking in talent; he may just lack a little inspiration.
"The elevator has arrived at the first floor," a sweet announcer reported.
Conan, who was lost in thought, suddenly realized that he was already in the lobby.
He shook his head and sighed, wanting to go back up to his room, but then he saw the Doctor and Ai walking over.
Ai looked at Conan, who was standing awkwardly in front of the elevator, and asked curiously, "Edogawa, are you going to the hospital?"
"Huh? I went there this morning."
"So what are you doing here?"
"Ah, I'm... I'm..." Conan stammered, unsure how to explain, when suddenly a brilliant idea struck him, and he jumped three feet high in excitement.
Startled, the professor and Ai took two steps back: "What's wrong with you?!"
But Conan, overjoyed, didn't care at all. He excitedly asked, "Haibara, would you like to go for a walk?"
"ha?"
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