I'm a Firm Believer in Materialism

"Only one hundred and thirty years old..."

Everyone was speechless upon hearing this.

One hundred and thirty years old is not young, is it?

This is good enough to apply for a Guinness World Record...

"Is your household registration still valid?"

Fujino, standing to the side, seemed somewhat surprised.

If he remembers correctly, the so-called "Life Lord," who was the great-grandmother of the Shimabukuro family, had actually died long ago.

Surprisingly, that Life Lord's household registration was still valid.

It must be special treatment given by the village committee on the island, right?

After all, this is the backbone of the island's tourism industry to some extent. If it is found that the person is already dead on the household registration, then continuing to swindle money... no, to deceive people, is definitely not going to work.

"He's already 130 years old..."

Hattori Heiji sighed, his mind a bit of a mess.

To this day, he has not found any clues related to the kidnapping of Kadowaki Saori.

What we know now is that Kadowaki Saori lost the Arrow of the Dugong a week ago, and then started to fear retaliation from the mermaid... so she entrusted it to him and Fujino... and then she was kidnapped.

The only breakthrough now is through the Arrow of the Dugong...

So, he looked around curiously and asked Shimabukuro Kimie, "Excuse me, where is your great-grandmother now?"

"She is currently at the shrine imbuing the arrows she will be sending out at the festival later with magic... If you want to see her, you'll probably have to wait until after the festival."

After thinking for a moment, Shimabukuro Kimie immediately made up an excuse to appease everyone.

In fact, she is now the only one left in the Shimabukuro family.

And the great-grandmother of the Life Lord was also an impersonator she created using disguise techniques.

All this was to fulfill her mother's dying wish and ensure that the Mermaid Festival on this small island could continue...

"That..."

At that moment, Mori Kogoro suddenly remembered the rumor that Hattori Heiji had mentioned before about the old woman eating mermaid flesh.

Combined with the age of 130, it seems somewhat unreasonable.

He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Excuse me, Ms. Shimabukuro, did your great-grandmother really eat mermaid flesh?"

"Ah?"

Upon hearing this, Shimabukuro Kimie was taken aback, then blushed slightly. She couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Where in this world are there such creatures as mermaids? That's just a rumor!"

"What about the Arrow of the Dugong?"

Ran couldn't help but come over and ask, Kazuha Ran continued, "I heard that arrow is cursed. If it's lost, you'll suffer the wrath of the mermaids or something..."

"Actually, there's no such thing as revenge."

Suppressing her laughter, Shimabukuro Kimie explained earnestly, "My late mother once told me that the Arrow of the Dugong was originally called the Demon-Slaying Arrow, Omamori used to ward off demons and evil spirits. However, my great-grandmother lived a long life, so the people on the island just adopted the homophonous Arrow of the Dugong '... When handing over the arrow, I was afraid that those who couldn't live long would come back to cause trouble, so when handing it over, I would say that if they didn't believe in the power of this arrow, or if they lost it, they would be punished with calamities or something. But there's really no such thing..."

"Hmph, Junhui, the reason you say that is probably because you've never witnessed your great-grandmother's power, right?"

At this moment, a woman with a mature and sophisticated look, wearing a purple dress, white high heels, long brown hair, and two earrings, walked over and said in a slightly frivolous tone, "She must have eaten mermaid flesh... Just three years ago, a mermaid's corpse was found on this island!"

"Are you talking about the program that aired on TV three years ago called 'Undercover Investigation! The Truth About the Mermaid Corpse'?"

Ran thought for a moment, and then, unexpectedly, seemed to remember something, and suddenly brought it up.

"I think I've heard about that too..."

Kazuha thought for a moment and chimed in, "They probably found a strange corpse or something in the warehouse."

"You still remember things from so long ago?"

Fujino glanced at Ran with surprise.

As everyone knows, Ran's nickname is Three-Second Lan, because she generally only has a three-second memory.

Able to accurately recall reports from three years ago...

Fujino did indeed feel that Ran might be possessed by something.

"Of course I remember."

Ran clearly missed Fujino's point and chuckled, "After all, that incident caused quite a stir back then, and many important people went. Besides, Sonoko kept talking to me about mermaids and such, saying that eating mermaid flesh would grant immortality, and she wanted to eat some too."

"So that's how it is."

Fujino nodded, finally understanding.

Thinking about it carefully, this is indeed the style of the Sonoko.

If that's the case, it's normal that Ran remembers this.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Fujino pondered for a moment before speaking, "I remember that the leg bones of that corpse had been shattered by the roof beams... that's why it looked like a mermaid corpse..."

"It wasn't smashed!"

Ebihara Sumi tried to argue further. "That was definitely a mermaid's corpse!"

"Alright, Kotomi!"

Shimabukuro Kimie turned to look at Ebihara Sumi, looking somewhat helpless. "That's just media exaggeration!"

Why do you say that too?

Ebihara Sumi gave a mysterious look. "You must have seen it back then, right? The shape of the broken bones was very strange, and there was that eerie..."

Shimabukuro Kimie looked at Ebihara Sumi, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

These three people are her childhood friends; in a sense, they are her childhood sweethearts.

Originally, she had no reason to kill these people.

But if it's for the murderer of her mother, even being good friends can't stop her from seeking revenge.

That's right, Ebihara Sumi, Kadowaki Saori, and Kuroe Naoko are the three people who killed their mother.

If it weren't for the fact that Kadowaki Saori lost the Arrow of the Dugong a few days ago and came to her for help out of fear, she probably would never have known the truth of the matter in her life.

Fujino also glanced at Ebihara Sumi.

As someone who loves spoilers, he naturally knew all this.

If he remembers correctly, this person should be the first victim.

Well, he'll probably proceed with the mermaid transformation project in the same order as before...

Fujino narrowed his eyes slightly and silently marked a target for his attack.

"Stop talking, Sumi. Some things are not suitable to be told to outsiders."

At this moment, a dark-skinned man Fukuyama Rokuro walked over, put his hand on Ebihara Sumi's shoulder, and stopped talking. Instead, he looked at the group and said, "I heard that you are police officers who came to investigate Saori's kidnapping. If you want to find any clues, I suggest you go to Saori's house."

"The mermaid's corpse..."

Hattori Heiji frowned, glancing at Fukuyama Rokuro and Ebihara Sumi as they left.

This is getting more and more complicated... and some kind of mermaid corpse has actually appeared.

However, we now have a clue: let's go check out Saori's house.

People of the same skin color are more reliable; everyone else is just gossiping and that's completely useless.

After thinking for a moment, he turned to Shimabukuro Kimie and asked, "Then, could you please take us to Saori's house?"

"Sure."

Shimabukuro Kimie nodded gently, "But we'll have time after the festival ends."

"By the way, what kind of activities do you hold at your festival?"

The two girls accompanying them were clearly not interested in the case. Ran leaned forward and asked Shimabukuro Kimie with curiosity.

"It's a bit like a lottery. We'll sell the number plates to the participants in advance, and then draw lucky audience members based on the numbers given by my great-grandmother to give them the Arrow of the Dugong."

At this point, Shimabukuro Kimie seemed to remember something, and took out two number plates from the pocket of her red dress, handing them to Kazuha and Ran: "I happen to have two number plates that the elderly couple returned this morning. Would you two like to try your luck?"

"Well?"

Ran and Kazuha were taken aback for a moment, "Is it okay?"

"Of course you can."

Shimabukuro Kimie smiled gently, "Perhaps this time you two will really be able to gain the ability to live forever."

After exchanging a smile with Kazuha, Ran took the number plate.

"By the way, Miss Junhui, where can I buy this?"

Fujino glanced at the number tags on Ran Kazuha's hands and suddenly mentioned it.

"Does Detective Fujino also want to try his luck?"

Shimabukuro Kimie glanced at Fujino in surprise, then chuckled and explained, "However, I don't have any extra number plates on me. If you want one, you'll have to go to the event venue where the festival is held on the island to buy one..."

Fujino shook his head. "If you're going to buy it, then forget it."

He wanted a number plate, simply because he figured he might as well take it.

If you were to spend money to buy it... that would be a complete waste of money.

After all, Shimabukuro Kimie is the Life Lord; she can make whoever she wants win the lottery, so there's no such thing as luck involved.

If you want to go to the Kadokyo family, you have to wait until Shimabukuro Kimie has finished holding the festival.

During this time, the group didn't sit idle; they planned to explore the island first.

Because it was a holiday, the atmosphere on the island was very lively.

Along the streets of the town, there are still some scattered stalls selling small snacks.

For example, fish balls, Candy Apple, fried noodles, and the like.

"I really don't know if I'll be able to get that Arrow of the Dugong..."

Toyama Kazuha walked at the front, holding up her number plate with an expectant look on her face.

"Of course you can, Kazuha."

Ran smiled and said, "If all else fails, I'll lend you my luck. Maybe we can actually get an Arrow of the Dugong tonight."

"Thank you, Ran!"

He affectionately linked arms Kazuha Ran's.

"Okay, I was just saying."

Ran said helplessly, "How can you really lend out something as elusive as luck?"

"Maybe it really is possible."

Fujino, who was following behind, suddenly said, "After all, I feel that Ran, you've always had good luck."

"That's right! Sister Ran always manages to win some first or second prizes in the lottery."

Conan nodded in agreement. After hearing what Fujino said, he realized that Ran had always been quite lucky and could win all sorts of things.

"Hey, Kazuha, you don't actually believe that the Arrow of the Dugong can grant the ability to grant longevity, do you?"

Heiji, holding a bag of fish balls, glanced speechlessly at the two who were excitedly holding their number tags and looking expectant, and muttered, "How could something like this possibly come true? If there were magic, killing people would be incredibly easy."

Honestly, you should look at the Kudo girls around you instead!

This kid is one of the cases of shrinking.

Instead of wasting time drawing lots, you might as well ask this kid how he got knocked unconscious and shrunk.

"Of course, I don't really believe in achieving longevity either..."

Kazuha waved the number plate in her hand. "But it's better to believe it than not."

"Tsk..."

Hattori Heiji sighed and turned to Fujino, "So, judging from your expression just now, you seem to be interested in that Arrow of the Dugong as well."

"You don't believe me? I'm a staunch materialist."

Fujino looked at Hattori Heiji and said, "I just want to take advantage of it. Maybe I'll even get a souvenir or something. Of course, if it costs money, then forget it."

"Ha ha..."

Hattori Heiji glanced at Fujino, his face full of black lines.

Your materialism is just materialism in the literal sense, right?

"However..."

At this moment, Fujino pondered for a moment, then suddenly said meaningfully, "Magic, ghosts, or even monsters like mermaids might actually exist in this world, and they do exist objectively."

Fujino briefly recalled the witch, and felt a surge of curiosity about magic.

As a staunch materialist, Fujino did not believe in demons and monsters.

Of course, that was only in a virtual setting, where everything was fabricated.

In the Conan World, not only are there demons and monsters, but even magic exists in reality.

If it weren't for his firm materialism, he probably would have been kidnapped by the witch last time.

And flying around on a broomstick is so cool!

However, he was also a little curious: wouldn't riding that broomstick get stuck in his crotch?

"Ha?"

Hattori Heiji was taken aback, and asked in surprise, "You can't be telling the truth, can you?"

Who knows?

Fujino shook his head and didn't continue, "However, with the current level of technology, maybe in a few decades or a few centuries, humanity will be able to develop an elixir of immortality, and then we won't need to pray for such unrealistic things anymore."

"Hmm..."

Conan, standing to the side, was speechless for a moment.

These mournful words seem somewhat familiar.

Suddenly I feel like Fujino has been possessed by a certain loli.

They truly are a family living together.

However, he wanted to say that, let alone decades from now, the elixir of immortality that reverses aging is already in practical use!

To be honest, if you have the time to draw lots, you might as well go to that organization to ask for medicine.

The probability of becoming smaller is estimated to be higher than the probability of longevity from drawing lots.

He was a victim of the elixir of immortality...