i am just a student? in Conan world

A Cold Splash for the Detective

"Even so, we can't be sure who the culprit is just yet," Fujino-san said, stepping forward and pouring a bucket of cold water, metaphorically speaking, on Heiji Hattori's enthusiasm. "From the scene, the villain didn't leave any traces. Although the surrounding sea is currently impassable for boats, with everyone on the island being a suspect, the range is still too wide... If we just say the culprit is on the island, we still can't confirm who it is. For now, it's probably better to wait until Sumi-san wakes up and tells us what the culprit looks like, and any other clues. That would be more reliable."

"Yeah, that's true..." Heiji thought about it, and it seemed Fujino-san had a point. "But if that's the case, then the villain's identity can't be determined at all... If we have to wait until Sumi-san wakes up, that'll be at least tomorrow. If that happens, the culprit might have already vanished without a trace."

"Oh, right, you mentioned going to Saori's house earlier," Kimie Shimabukuro said, walking over and glancing at Benzou Kadowaki, who was still cradling a sake bottle. "Do you still want to go now?"

"Well..." Kogoro Mouri glanced at Benzou, a bit helpless. "That guy's had too much to drink. Even if we go ask him now, he probably wouldn't be able to tell us anything, would he?"

"Then, how about we go see Obaa-sama?" Conan-kun suddenly chirped in, sounding like any ordinary child. "I have a lot of questions I want to ask that old lady."

Heiji Hattori paused, a slight discomfort on his face. *Ugh, he still wasn't quite used to Kudou acting like a kid.*

"Hmm..." Kimie hesitated. She was confident in her disguise, but with several detectives present, she worried that meeting them face-to-face might expose her.

"Brat, what kind of questions could you possibly have?" Kogoro Mouri grumbled, yawning. "Let's just head back to the hotel. It's getting late, and I'm practically falling asleep."

"What's the big deal, Old Man?" Heiji, naturally, wouldn't let Conan-kun's plan fail. He chimed in, "I actually have some things I want to ask Obaa-sama too. After all, from what we know, the missing Saori Kadowaki and Sumi Ebihara, whose legs were broken, both seem to have some connection to the Mermaid's Arrow."

"Indeed," Fujino-san agreed. "Meeting Obaa-sama might lead us to other clues."

Kogoro Mouri pondered this, then turned to Kimie. "Miss Kimie, would we be troubling you?"

"It's no trouble at all..." Kimie had no choice but to agree. "Since that's the case, I'll take you to see my great-grandmother... but she's quite tired from tonight's festival, so I don't know if she'll agree to see you."

---

### A Glimpse into the Past

The Shimabukuro home was near the American Shrine, a typical two-story Japanese wooden house. It wasn't particularly new; in fact, it had a worn, old-fashioned look, as if it hadn't been renovated in years. Outside, a gentle rain was falling. The group sat around a low table, waiting for Obaa-sama.

"This house is really old-fashioned. I haven't seen one like this in years," Kogoro Mouri remarked, looking around the room.

"It seems they haven't made much money from the Mermaid's Arrow," Heiji Hattori said, glancing around too, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"What are you talking about?" Kazuha Toyama looked at Heiji, speechless, then explained, "Those lottery tickets only cost five yen."

"Five yen?" Heiji paused. "Euros or dollars?"

"It's Japanese yen!" Kazuha clarified. "At the festival earlier, I heard the island residents say that the price has been the same for a long time; it's never gone up."

Ran added, "They put 180 wooden tags in a wooden box, and after all the participating tourists draw them out, Obaa-sama then decides the winners."

"180 wooden tags, sold for five yen each... they only make about nine hundred yen in total, huh?" Heiji calculated, then looked around again. "No wonder it's so run-down; they're not making any money at all."

"Actually, they are," Fujino-san interjected. "While the wooden tags themselves don't make much money, if all 180 tags are sold, that means there will be at least 180 tourists. These tourists will need to stay and eat on the island, which helps stimulate the island's economy and brings in outside money."

He paused, then continued, "However, this kind of local event isn't a long-term solution. After all, the festival only lasts for two days out of the year. If they want the entire island to escape poverty and truly prosper from nothing, they need to rely on sustainable, unique industries."

"Unique industries, economic flow, outside money... what does all that mean?" Heiji Hattori clearly didn't quite grasp what Fujino-san was saying. As a high school student and a detective, he wasn't really concerned with things like economic development policies.

"It means that the Mermaid Festival on this island can't make long-term money for everyone on the island. They need a continuously profitable industry to make the whole island wealthy, like seafood or something else. As for the Mermaid Festival, it's really just a bonus," Conan-kun said, glancing at Heiji. "You didn't even understand that?"

"How would I understand such things?" Heiji pouted. *Why would he, a high school detective, think about things that politicians ponder?*

*Wait, weren't those two also high school detectives?*

---

### A Mysterious Encounter

*Thump-thump!*

At that moment, heavy footsteps echoed from outside the door.

"What's that sound?" Kazuha Toyama murmured, a little confused.

Just as she turned her head, the sliding door to the room opened. An aged old woman appeared in the doorway. "What do you children want from this old woman?"

Everyone was startled. Fujino-san's eyes flickered, and he immediately saw through her disguise. Yes, this old woman was Kimie Shimabukuro in disguise. Her disguise was excellent, showing only her front, concealing any tell-tale signs of her kneeling and slowly moving forward.

"Um, Grandma," Conan-kun was the first to recover and couldn't help but ask, "How exactly does the Mermaid's Arrow choose its winners?" This was the question on his mind. The people who had encountered trouble recently all seemed to have some connection to that Mermaid's Arrow, first Saori Kadowaki, then Sumi Ebihara. Conan-kun believed there had to be a connection between these two incidents.

"Well, it depends on the situation..." Obaa-sama's voice was very old, showing no hint of a young girl. She smiled, revealing a gap where half her teeth were missing. "Sometimes, I use horse racing numbers as the lottery numbers."

"Great-grandmother, the bathwater is ready!" Kimie Shimabukuro's voice suddenly called from the hallway.

Obaa-sama turned her head, looked, then turned to leave. "If you don't have anything else, I'm going to take a bath and go to sleep."

"Wait!" Conan-kun clearly hadn't fully understood things and wanted to call out to Obaa-sama. But before he could say more, Obaa-sama cut him off, turning to Kazuha Toyama. "That young lady with her hair tied up."

"Are you talking about me?" Kazuha paused.

"Yes," Obaa-sama said, looking at Kazuha with a profound gaze. "The Mermaid's Arrow was originally a treasure arrow used to ward off evil. Once you let go of it, a demon will build its nest in you..."

"I did hear that this arrow is for warding off evil," Kazuha recalled what Fujino-san had said earlier. "But what does 'a demon building its nest' mean?"

Fujino-san nodded too. *This sounded a bit strange, didn't it? It reminded him of some odd plot points.*

Obaa-sama ignored Kazuha's question and simply continued her explanation: "If it's a man, they'll be dragged into the dust, becoming a heartless demon. If it's a woman, they'll be dragged into the water, becoming a voiceless mermaid... I advise you not to let it leave you."

With that, Obaa-sama, dragging her body and leaning on her cane, disappeared into the dim hallway. Everyone leaned forward, curious to see. Heiji Hattori, watching her aged back, couldn't help but scoff, "Her voice is hoarse, and her face is terrible. I don't think this old woman has much longer to live."

"The state of one's face and voice doesn't determine how long a person lives." Fujino-san squinted, observing Obaa-sama. He could discern the signs of a poor complexion and a hoarse voice, even with his own knowledge of disguise techniques. The mask Kimie Shimabukuro had created was truly exquisite, perfectly replicating everything from the hair to the teeth, making it look incredibly lifelike. However, the coloring for the face wasn't quite right. While it had a few flaws, it was still a top-notch disguise. Compared to that Kid the Phantom Thief, he couldn't say who was better. He was also curious about where Kimie Shimabukuro had learned her disguise skills.

"How was your talk?" A little while later, Kimie Shimabukuro, having changed her clothes, hurried back into the room and asked the group.

"Sigh..." Heiji Hattori sighed helplessly. "We barely exchanged two words."

Conan-kun nodded from the side, also a bit disappointed. At least he now knew that the selection for the Mermaid's Arrow had no actual relation to one's identity. In that case, this lead was a dead end...

"That can't be helped," Kimie Shimabukuro smiled. "My great-grandmother is very old, and sometimes she just doesn't like to talk much."

"Since that's the case, let's head back quickly!" Kogoro Mouri yawned, looking at his watch. "It's almost ten o'clock; if we don't go to sleep, we'll be staying up late again."

"You're right," Fujino-san nodded, standing up. "Thank you for everything today, Miss Kimie."

"It's nothing," Kimie Shimabukuro smiled politely. "Would you like me to walk you out? The rain is quite heavy outside, so taking two umbrellas back might be a good idea..."

After everyone had left, Kimie Shimabukuro watched their figures disappear into the rain, letting out a silent sigh of relief. The reason she hadn't said much was because she was afraid of being recognized. After all, "the more you speak, the more you err," especially in front of a room full of detectives. As for the legends she spoke of, about building nests and such, she had actually intended them as a hint for her next target. However, it seemed that "Little Black" would help her take care of it. But she wasn't relying entirely on Little Black. Breaking a leg certainly felt satisfying, but just breaking a leg didn't feel like enough. If Little Black didn't act next time, she planned to do it herself. While it wasn't very honorable, pinning the blame on Little Black was certainly a good option.

---

### Little Black Strikes Again!

*Flash forward to the next morning.*

Overnight, Sumi Ebihara had regained consciousness. Upon hearing the news, the group, along with Naoko Kuroe and Kimie Shimabukuro, headed to the island's infirmary.

Inside the American Island village infirmary.

"Waaaaah!" Sumi Ebihara, her face pale, lay slumped on the bed, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Sumi-san..." Ran peeked through the half-open door at the weeping Sumi Ebihara, hesitating.

"Her emotions are very unstable right now," Rokuro Fukuyama, who had been attending to her, glanced inside, then looked away. "Medical facilities on the small island are limited, and we can't provide more advanced medical care at the moment... However, according to the doctor, even if she were to go to a hospital on the mainland, the outcome would be the same. Her legs can be saved, but she'll likely be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life."

"How could this happen..." Ran frowned, casting a sympathetic gaze at Sumi Ebihara.

"Did she see who it was, though?" Heiji Hattori was about to say something when he was nudged by Kazuha's elbow. "Baka Heiji, how can you ask her something like that at a time like this?"

Heiji was a bit exasperated. "I was just trying to catch the culprit!"

"Actually, she did describe the person," Rokuro Fukuyama hesitated, then said, "It's just that she seemed too emotional, speaking nonsense... For example... a mermaid, completely black and unidentifiable."

"Completely black and unidentifiable?!" Conan-kun and Heiji Hattori were both shocked, as if a lightning bolt had struck their minds. They had initially thought that the cases of Saori Kadowaki and Sumi Ebihara had no connection. After all, one was in Tokyo, and the other on this small island; it was hard to imagine them being related... But now it seemed, it was the same culprit.

*It's Little Black again!*

"Could it be that person again?" Kimie Shimabukuro, quick to adapt, feigned thoughtfulness. "The one who kidnapped Saori last time was also someone who was completely black and unidentifiable."

"It seems that way," Fujino-san nodded. "The culprit in both these cases should be the same person."

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