Forget Friendship at the Sight of a Pretty Face, Pah!

"Become a monk?!"

Sonoko understood now and exclaimed in surprise.

'You're only just realizing it?'

Fujino glanced speechlessly at the startled Suzuki and silently muttered a complaint in his mind.

Then, he looked at the earnest old abbot, frowned, and seemed puzzled.

This is both wisdom and Buddhist light, just to make him 'enter the Buddhist gate' and become a monk?

Does Teng have a Buddha-like aura, making him suitable to be a monk?

What I'm saying is, how can someone who has killed someone have a halo around them?

Is it possible that the Buddha's light was a killing aura?

"Abbot, what do you mean by 'destined connection'?" Ooka Momiji asked, puzzled.

The abbot remained with his hands clasped together, his tone unusually sincere. "The Fujino soared into the sky. The moment I saw him, it was as if the Buddha himself had appeared. If he were to enter my Buddhist sect to cultivate, his light would surely illuminate the world, bringing peace and blessings to all beings..."

Fujino stopped the old abbot. "Forget about becoming a monk, if you have any Omamori or anything, just take them out, I'll buy them."

Although it's not the same world, it's the same formula. Fujino is all too familiar with this line.

That's how those bald monks in my past life fooled people, saying things like you have a connection with Buddha, and that buying a peace charm will bring you peace and safety.

If the price isn't too high, most people will buy it to avoid feeling discouraged. But usually, these bald monks sell ridiculously expensive items, costing several thousand dollars each. If you don't buy it, you're cursed... It's truly discouraging.

"Since Fujino has no intention, it is not appropriate to force him."

The old abbot, Enkai, sighed, "If you want the temple's Omamori, I will personally fetch it for you later. You don't need these material possessions."

Fujino looked at the old abbot with a regretful expression and paused for a moment.

They're not selling Omamori... what kind of scam is this?

Suddenly, he remembered his profession: [The Boundless High Monk]

One of the passive abilities of the Boundless High Monk, [Innate Buddhist Cultivator Physique], makes other monks feel a sense of closeness to him. There's also a crossed-out part: [and hopes that you can convert to Buddhism as soon as possible].

It looks like this passive skill was triggered?

Thinking of this, Fujino realized that he might have misunderstood the old abbot, and then said, "Actually, it wasn't unintentional, it was just unnecessary. In Buddhist practice, everything in the world is a form of practice. Since it is all practice, what is the difference between practicing inside a temple and practicing outside a temple?"

The old abbot, Enkai, was taken aback upon hearing this, but then a glint of insight appeared in his eyes. "So that's how it is... It was this foolish monk who was attached to appearances."

Fujino glanced at the old monk who seemed to have attained enlightenment and changed the subject. "But speaking of which, it seems that your temple has a request to find Mouri-niisan this time. Could you tell me what the request is?"

"Let's talk about this at the temple."

Ryūen walked over and led everyone into the temple behind him. "I wonder if any of you have heard of our temple's main Buddha, the Medicine Buddha?"

"I've heard of that."

Following behind, Ooka Momiji replied, "It should be a secret Buddhist statue that is consecrated only once every twelve years and opened to the public, right?"

Mori Ran chimed in, "I've heard about it too, and I'd like to pay my respects this time as well."

"The public worship will take place the day after tomorrow."

Ryūen sighed, "But the Medicine Buddha statue is not in the temple. It was stolen eight years ago, which is why I asked Mr. Mori to come here..."

As he spoke, he walked to the cabinet in the center of the temple entrance, opened it, and revealed two Buddha statues enshrined inside. "The one on the left is the Moonlight Bodhisattva, and the one on the right is the Sunlight Bodhisattva. The empty space in the middle was originally where the Medicine Buddha was placed."

After giving a brief explanation, he closed the cabinet. "I originally planned to call the police directly, but the abbot stopped me. He said: 'If there is a connection, the Buddha statue may be found again; if not, then so be it.'"

"He really is easygoing..." Mori Kogoro couldn't help but remark.

Fujino nodded in agreement, showing his consent to his older brother's words.

Generally speaking, if a Buddha statue is stolen, you should call the police.

But this is the opposite of what was expected...

It's safe to say that something sinister is going on. If he didn't know better, he would probably suspect that Abbot Enkai was stealing from him.

However, in his memory, the host of the Enkai was not the real culprit.

This host is truly open-minded.

"Eight years have passed like this, until five days ago, when our temple received a letter."

The Ryūen led everyone to a room on one side of the temple, made tea, and took out a letter from the pocket of his robe, handing it to Mori Kogoro.

"There was no stamp, no name, and no mailing address. It looks like it was stuffed into a mailbox."

"Once the mystery is solved, the location of the Buddha statue can be found."

Mori Kogoro took the envelope, opened it, read the contents of the first letter aloud, looked at the second one below, and couldn't help but complain, "But what is this drawing?"

"The fifth layer from the top should depict cicadas, tengu (a mythical dog), and goldfish, right?"

Conan leaned closer to take a look. "Those two things drawn below should be chickens, and a loach too."

"The second and third layers should have violets, a tengu, and Mount Fuji painted in the middle, and the one on the side should be an acorn."

Ran curiously leaned over to take a look, "But why is there a black spot between the goldfish and the loach?"

Sonoko stroked her chin. "It must be a stain that was accidentally dripped on while writing, right?"

Ran nodded, then hesitated and asked, "By the way, Dad, can you find a Buddha statue before the day after tomorrow?"

Mori Kogoro boasted, "Of course! I can solve these kinds of puzzles in no time!"

Sonoko suddenly spoke up at this moment, "Uncle, do you have any clues?"

Mori Kogoro, a little guilty, replied, "Of course... of course!"

Sonoko pouted. "It looks like there aren't any left."

Mori Kogoro, feeling mocked, retorted unhappily, "You make it sound so easy. How could you possibly figure out such a nonsensical code so quickly?"

"That's just because you don't have it, uncle."

Suzuki Sonoko crossed her arms and instantly transformed into Great Detective Sonoko, saying smugly, "I already have some clues."

Ran was surprised. "Sonoko, have you found any clues?"

"Um!"

Sonoko nodded and asked, "Look at the shelf in this painting, doesn't it look familiar?"

"Look familiar...?"

"It was when I went to Izu last time."

Sonoko explained, "Look at that shelf, doesn't it look like a shelf? And there's a tengu mask, a goldfish, a cicada..."

"I remember now!"

Ran for a moment, and then suddenly realized. "It's a fireworks festival. When we went to the fireworks festival in Izu last time, they had these things there."

As she spoke, she glanced at Ai Haibara's hair. "There are violets in here, which might be hair clips. After all, the hair clip that Ai is wearing is the prize she received at the fireworks festival last time!"

Ai Haibara silently touched her hair clip, somewhat confused about what these people were saying.

She looked at the contents of the painting, but still had no clue.

Considering that this wasn't Fujino's request, he decided not to think too much about it and decided to slack off.

"Oh, I see!"

Upon hearing this, Mori Kogoro pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized. "If it's a fireworks festival, then that means the Buddha statue is hidden in the place where fireworks festivals are frequently held!"

Upon hearing this, the Ryūen seemed to ponder, "If that's the case, then it is indeed possible, after all, there are indeed mudskippers at the fireworks festival..."

Conan: "..."

He looked at the crowd, who were gradually becoming convinced of his belief, with a deadpan expression.

To be honest, he couldn't quite understand how these people came up with the idea of a fireworks festival...

That makes sense, but why does he always feel it's a bit outrageous?

What's even more outrageous is that these people actually believed it!

"Um!"

Sonoko nodded, earnestly agreeing, "If you think about it that way, that must be it. That frame is the frame for the ring toss game, and the chicken is probably a toy, just like the dinosaur toy that Fujino- Senior gave me!"

"Um...?"

Upon hearing this, Ooka Momiji frowned, not thinking about the reasoning the others were making, but only noticing the key word—dinosaur doll.

She blinked, sensing something was off. She glanced at Fujino first, then at the smug Sonoko, a hint of suspicion creeping into her eyes.

Sonoko noticed the gazes lingering on her and was quite pleased with her two-birds-with-one-stone move.

To be honest, she never expected that she would be able to deduce this code by sheer luck.

Hmm, maybe she'll become High School Detective someday.

I've already thought of a nickname: Sonoko-sama, the Queen of Deduction!

As expected, I am a genius!

Sonoko felt a little smug and asked Fujino, "Fujino- Senior, do you think my reasoning is correct?"

Fujino: "..."

You single-handedly led everyone astray. What can I say? What else can I say?

Are you sure she's not Mouri-niisan's illegitimate daughter, or that she was switched at birth at the hospital or something?

After all, he had only ever seen this skill on Mouri-niisan so far...

Fujino sighed and said, "But it's really unrealistic if it's a place where fireworks festivals are held. I don't think it's a fireworks festival. These codes must have some other meaning."

At this moment Ooka Momiji withdrew her gaze and echoed, "That's right. There are many places in Kyoto where fireworks festivals are held every year, and the locations are not fixed. In addition to fireworks festivals, these events are also held at night markets."

"Oh, is that so?"

Sonoko frowned, muttering thoughtfully, "Thinking about it carefully, it does seem to be true..."

"You guessed wrong, didn't you?"

Mori Kogoro suddenly spoke up at this moment, "I told you, how could an amateur like you possibly figure out anything about such complicated codes!"

"What are you saying!"

Sonoko's little face twitched. "Didn't you just think it should be a place where fireworks festivals are held frequently?"

"You're the one who's interfering with me!"

"Alright!"

Seeing her father bickering with her best friend, Ran quickly changed the subject with an awkward smile, "Fujino- Senior, do you have any clues?"

"I don't have any at the moment."

Fujino shook his head slightly. To be honest, he had never been very good at using codes or anything like that.

Although I vaguely remember the case from the movie, I can't recall the exact details...

Fujino thought for a moment and looked at Ai Haibara beside him.

The cipher assistant shook his head helplessly, completely clueless.

The group thought about it for a while longer.

Suzuki Sonoko was the first to get restless. She stood up and suggested, "Well, let's leave the task of finding the Buddha statue to the old man who was commissioned. Anyway, he's an expert and he'll definitely find it right away. Let's go for a stroll around Kyoto."

"That's for the best, so you won't get in my way." Mori Kogoro nodded, staring intently at the code in his hand.

"Actually, I contacted Kazuha before I came here."

Ran chuckled and said, "I was originally planning to have her come and show us around, but I didn't expect that Miss Momiji would also be called over by Fujino- Senior... Tomorrow, we can go sightseeing in Kyoto together."

Conan suddenly asked, "Will Hattori come too?"

"I heard from Kazuha that Hattori seems to be busy with something and won't be coming along."

Ran looked at Conan and responded, then asked, "Conan, do you want to come along?"

"I'm not going!"

Conan responded in a childish voice, winked at Fujino, and said meaningfully, "Brother Fujino, how about we go fishing together tomorrow?"

"Fishing?"

Fujino narrowed his eyes slightly. "No, I'm taking Ai and the others to Kyoto tomorrow."

Conan: "..."

Wow, you were really decisive in refusing!

Didn't you see the hidden meaning in my words?

Conan felt he might not be being obvious enough, so he winked and continued to whine in his childish voice, "But I just saw it! There are so many kids fishing on the river nearby, I want to fish too!"

"It's a rare trip here, but fishing isn't very interesting."

Fujino patted Ai Haibara's head beside him. "Ai has never been to Kyoto before. She said she wants to see Kyoto."

Ai Haibara: "?"

When did I say that?

Ai Haibara, who was slacking off, looked puzzled and confused.

She looked up thoughtfully, drawn to Conan's strange appearance, and silently revealed a look of disgust before saying indifferently, "I want to see Kyoto."

Conan: "..."

Sometimes I really want to kick you both to death.

"Alright, Conan!"

Ran noticed something was off about Conan and smiled, "It's better to go fishing when we get back..."

"Okay, I'll go ask those kids later if I can come along."

Conan nodded regretfully, glancing at Fujino with a resentful look, thinking to himself: Fujino definitely did it on purpose!

Just now, combining the Buddha statue stolen eight years ago with the recent series of murders, Conan felt that the two things were related and must have been done by the Genji Firefly Bandit Group.

After some reasoning, he had already come up with a breakthrough.

Originally, without his Heiji companion, he planned to invite Fujino along, since he remembered that Fujino seemed to have been involved in the investigation of that case...

But he didn't expect to be rejected so easily!

And the excuse was that he took Ai Haibara and a bunch of girls to Kyoto!

Does a woman possess the fragrance of a detective?

I was thinking of you first, and you were thinking of a woman!

Bah! What a shameless scoundrel!

Conan sternly condemns Fujino and plans to secretly solve the case by himself.