i am just a student? in Conan world

At that moment, Hattori Heiji was thinking along the same lines, though his focus was still on things like magic.

Lost in thought, he glanced sidelong at Conan.

Truth be told, he was pretty curious about how it felt for Conan to shrink like that.

It's not like he hadn't asked before, but every time, he'd just get a cold glare or something…

*Yeah, it's gotta suck.*

After all, his physical traits were those of a seven- or eight-year-old.

If it were Heiji, he'd probably lose it.

But what really grabbed his attention was that organization… the fact that they had something capable of shrinking people.

In his eyes, any organization that could pull off something like that had to be downright terrifying!

"Gotta hand it to Kudo—this guy sure stirred up some serious trouble," Heiji muttered to himself, sinking back into thought.

Since there was already a shrinking case right in front of him, and combining that with what was just said, he couldn't help but dig a little deeper.

If a shrinking drug like that existed, then what Fujino mentioned—magic, monsters…

Even Miss Witch—could they actually be real?

And if witches were real, then mermaids like Miss Mermaid *had* to exist too, right?

At that thought, Heiji swallowed hard, his curiosity peaking to an all-time high.

"That Fujino guy…"

With that in mind, Heiji—who usually didn't buy into ghosts or gods—started to waver. He turned to Fujino, dead serious, and asked, "Hey, do you think Miss Witch really exists in this world?"

"Huh?"

Fujino blinked, looking at Heiji, caught off guard.

"*HUH?!*"

Toyama Kazuha, on the other hand, stared at Heiji like he was an idiot.

As his childhood friend, she couldn't quite wrap her head around why Heiji was asking Fujino about Miss Witch…

But it definitely wasn't for anything good…

"You dumb black chicken!" Kazuha huffed, her tone and expression a bit sour. "Didn't you say you don't believe in weird urban legends like that? Why're you suddenly so interested?"

"Ahem! I'm just curious, that's all!" Heiji's dark face flushed slightly with embarrassment—good thing it wasn't noticeable. "Yeah, just curious! If something like Miss Witch really exists, we'd have to rethink how we solve cases from now on!"

"Miss Witch, huh…"

Fujino rubbed his chin, unsure how to respond.

Witches *did* exist, objectively speaking.

At least, he'd seen one with his own eyes and even had some so-called talisman stuck on him.

But his materialist mindset had brushed it all off.

Still, if he told this kid that Miss Witch was real, Fujino had a feeling Heiji would grill him endlessly.

Feeling it was too much hassle, Fujino just shrugged, looking a bit helpless. "I don't know. I've never seen one myself. As for magic, whether it exists or not, I've got no clue. But probably not. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here playing detective—I'd be an alchemist, clapping my hands to make gold or hand-crafting CPUs."

"Yeah, that makes sense…"

Heiji rubbed his chin, not diving deeper into it, though his curiosity about mermaids sparked a bit more.

---

Time flew by, and soon it was the evening of the Dugong Festival.

As the sky darkened, visitors seeking arrows poured into Usa Shrine in droves.

Drumbeats echoed in their ears, and three bonfires flickered in the evening breeze in front of the shrine's entrance.

"It feels like my heart's pounding!" Ran said, clutching her number tag, a thrill of excitement in her voice.

"No kidding," Kazuha agreed, gripping her own tag. "I wonder if we'll be the ones to draw those three arrows."

The drumming softened, and two men dressed like Onmyoji pulled open the shrine's sliding doors.

Inside the spacious shrine, a woman in a miko outfit—identical to the one Shimabukuro Kimie wore—sat in front of a yellow folding screen. Before her was a wooden staff wrapped with a white cloth at the tip.

The woman raised the staff, turning to face the crowd.

Her face was painted white, adorned with golden ornaments, and her nose was strikingly long, with a few faint blemishes. Clearly, this was Meisama.

The crowd's eyes lit up with anticipation upon seeing her.

"So *this* is… Meisama?" Conan muttered, eyeing the old woman curiously, his brows furrowing. She wasn't quite what he'd imagined.

"She's so *small*," Mouri Kogoro piped up, glancing at her and grumbling.

"Probably because she's old—she's shrunk," Fujino explained. "People get shorter with age… though her arms do seem a bit off."

They were indeed off. If you assumed she was someone disguised as an old lady, it made a lot more sense.

In fact, the miko outfit wasn't just the same style—it was the *same one*.

Fujino knew this old woman was Shimabukuro Kimie in disguise.

Gotta say, the Shimabukuro family's makeup skills were impressive.

She could pass for Belmod or even Kid the Phantom Thief, maybe even better…

After all, Kid couldn't hide his height, but this Miss Miko had nailed that part too.

"Yeah, I get that," Heiji said, rolling his eyes. "But the legendary Meisama? I thought she'd be some mystical figure. Turns out she's just an old lady with heavy makeup."

He'd expected some extraordinary vibe from the supposedly long-lived Meisama, but she was just a slightly plump, unattractive old woman.

Kinda disappointing.

"Hm?"

His comment caught the ears of those around him, and they shot him unfriendly looks.

"Er…" Heiji clammed up, realizing his mistake.

After all, everyone here had bought number tags for the draw.

Talking smack about Meisama in front of her loyal believers was not the move.

Under everyone's gaze, the figure raised her staff and slowly walked to the shrine's entrance.

She held the staff near the bonfire, lighting it, then used it to ignite the paper covering the wooden door.

As the flames touched the paper, words formed by fire appeared before the crowd.

"No way!" a shocked voice cried from behind. "I actually won!"

Fujino turned to see Ebara Hisami, the woman from earlier, clutching a small wooden plaque, beaming with excitement.

Truth be told, it had little to do with luck.

It was all Shimabukuro Kimie's deliberate arrangement.

Fujino wasn't sure if her murder plan was still in motion.

But either way, he'd have to act soon.

"What about you, Ran-neechan?" Conan asked, looking up at Ran curiously.

"Ugh," Ran said, checking her number tag with a sigh. "Didn't win…"

"Didn't win, huh?" Conan frowned, a bit surprised.

Normally, Ran would've been the one-in-a-million lucky winner in a situation like this.

Was he overthinking it?

"Ran!" Kazuha suddenly shouted.

Her hands trembled as she showed Ran her number tag. "I actually won!"

"Huh?" Ran blinked, clearly stunned.

She hadn't expected her earlier joking comment to actually come true.

"The draw results are final!" the two attendants announced, using fire extinguishers to put out the flames on the door.

Shimabukuro Kimie removed her disguise, still wearing the miko outfit, and stepped forward, her tone solemn. "Please proceed to Mermaid Falls. The Dugong Arrows will be officially awarded to the winners in one hour!"

After the festival wrapped up, the group planned to head back to the island.

"An hour from now, huh?" Kazuha said, a bit disappointed, but then she turned to Ran with gratitude. "Thank you, Ran!"

Tying it to Ran's earlier comment about lending her luck, Kazuha genuinely believed Ran's "luck" had helped her win the Dugong Arrow.

"It's all *your* luck, Kazuha," Ran said with a smile. "I was just joking earlier."

"No way," Conan muttered, giving a deadpan look.

Could luck really be *lent* like that?

"But immortality doesn't sound all that great," Heiji said, recalling Meisama's appearance and picturing Kazuha in her place, shivering at the thought.

"Hmph," Kazuha shot him a look. "Don't worry, Heiji. After you kick the bucket, I'll make sure to pick up your bones. No way I'm letting wolves drag you off in the wilderness!"

"Haha… that's a bit much, don't you think?" Heiji said, exasperated. "This arrow granting immortality? I don't buy it. Even if Miss Witch were real, she'd be more believable than this."

"But in terms of utility, I think it might have some use," Fujino chimed in, thinking it over. "Shimabukuro-san mentioned the arrow was originally called the Demon-Breaking Arrow. I've heard of it… just rumors, but supposedly it's a treasure for warding off spirits. Its power changes based on the user's emotions, and at its strongest, it could even pierce through buildings."

"Huh?" Kazuha said, surprised. "Pierce buildings? That'd take some serious power!"

"It's just a rumor," Conan cut in, rolling his eyes. "A tiny arrow piercing buildings? But if we're talking about longevity, I don't think it's great either. If it means ending up like Meisama, that's not exactly appealing. Being stuck in a body like that every day? Sounds like a nightmare."

"Exactly. Longevity for the sake of longevity is meaningless," Fujino agreed, glancing at Ran and Kazuha, lost in thought.

Longevity depended on what kind you meant.

If it came with eternal youth and a body that didn't decay, that'd be fine.

But just living long, unable to die, while your body suffered daily?

That kind of longevity was worse than none at all.

In this world, though, you probably didn't need an arrow for that.

Conan could probably live to a hundred without breaking a sweat.

"Let's drop this for now," Heiji said, yawning as he glanced at the disappointed crowd leaving. "We've got an hour before they hand out those arrows. Let's head back and rest up."

"What, already?" Kazuha said, deflated. "I heard the night market here's supposed to be awesome."

"And they've got some great beer!" Conan added. "Mouri-ojiisan would love it!"

"Beer?" Kogoro rubbed his chin. "Well, that's worth checking out!"

"Hey, hey!" Heiji shot Conan an exasperated look.

This kid was *definitely* doing it on purpose.

After a long day of investigating, Heiji, who'd slept well that morning, was starting to feel the fatigue.

Meanwhile, Ran, Conan, and Kogoro, who'd pulled an all-nighter, were oddly wired, their sleepiness gone.

"If you're that tired, just head back and sleep," Kogoro said, glancing at Heiji. "The rest of us are gonna check it out."

"Fine!" Heiji sighed. "I'm hitting the bathroom first…"

"Me too!" Conan raised his hand.

"I'll go too," Fujino said, hands in his pockets, following along.

"Might as well…" Kogoro muttered, scratching the back of his head.

---

In the forest near the shrine, night had fallen, and faint moonlight spilled through the trees, illuminating the dim woods.

A shadowy figure darted through the forest, eyes glinting with an eerie white light, scanning the surroundings.

Soon, he locked onto his target.

A woman in a purple dress, long hair flowing, wearing white heels, and clutching a wooden plaque.

"Found her…" the figure, Kuro, muttered, a strange smirk curling his lips.

He pulled an electric stun baton from beneath his cloak.

*Zzzzt!*

After testing the baton to make sure it worked, Kuro switched it off, gave it a couple of taps, and charged toward the woman.

---

Elsewhere, Shimabukuro Kimie stood by a large tree in the forest, gazing up at the full moon.

She was waiting for Ebara Hisami.

The woman in the dress, her childhood friend, who'd won the Dugong Arrow.

After much thought, Kimie had decided to go through with her murder plan.

Without Menso Saori's body to fake her own death, the plan had changed.

But it was too late to turn back now.

Besides Menso, Ebara and Kuroe were also after the mermaid, scheming to eat its bones for immortality.

It was almost laughable.

Her murder plan had gone so smoothly it was unreal.

She couldn't believe how easy it was.

All she had to do was tell those two that if they won the Dugong Arrow, she'd reveal the mermaid's body's hiding place, and they came running.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Kimie grew angrier the more she dwelled on it, but with a soft sigh, she let it go, chuckling to herself.

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