books44 Chapter 303 Izumo once had a peaceful daily life, until...
Chapter 303 Izumo once had a peaceful daily life, until...
"Brother Heimen? We've arrived."
Taking a deep breath of oxygen to calm his anger, Haruya Kuromon reluctantly opened his eyes: "Shinichi, don't bother me... let me sleep a little longer."
"Brother Kuromon, we've arrived in Izumo! Everyone's waiting for you!"
"..." Kuromon Haruya opened his eyes, fully awake, his face blank.
"Izumo? What are you doing here?"
If there is no homophonic ambiguity, these two characters should refer to Izumo City, Nejima Prefecture, the hometown of Hanzawa Masato... But what does "to" Izumo mean?
Heimen Yaoye rubbed his forehead, somewhat confused about the current situation. His last memory was of lying on the bed in the safe house, waiting to be summoned, then everything went black, and when he opened his eyes again, he was here—lying in the back seat of a Honda sedan. In the front, his two teammates were using the seat backs as shields, as if some monstrous beast was sleeping behind them.
"Of course it's a trip!" Conan glanced sideways, his eyes widening. "Are you alright? Did you sleep too long? Or did you get a fever again?"
"A fever?" The doubts only grew stronger.
Seeing him repeat himself like a machine, my playful intentions immediately turned into worry: "You don't actually have a fever, do you... No, your forehead temperature is normal."
Seeing that the team leader, who had been woken up, did not have a violent reaction, Fanze Zhenren breathed a sigh of relief: "Maybe it's... another form of morning grumpiness?"
...
After half an hour.
Carrying her own suitcase, Kuromon Haruya followed behind the group, turned off her phone, and finally understood what had happened.
According to the information left in the memo, after being summoned by Koizumi Akako, he helped complete the ritual. Due to unknown ritual requirements, he wanted to shield himself from Lucifer's detection, and thus lost his memory of the recent period.
Memory is the nourishment for personality development; through its continuity, people can judge whether their environment is real and credible. Frankly speaking, Kuromon Haruya would naturally not agree to such a request, but—
My dear top-ranked teacher, Hongzi, said she's willing to trade her treasured resurrection scroll (incomplete)!
The thought that he only needed to lose his memory for a short period of time made Kuromon Haruya hum softly, feeling incredibly happy.
"Oh dear, this is just the perfect opportunity! I was just wondering how to ask Ms. Akako about magic related to resurrection and soul summoning~"
The more enticing the promises made about Noah's Ark were, the more limited the actual technology that Kuromon Haruya possessed. If they truly wanted to revive Sawada Hiroki in the future as promised, precise physical regeneration technology and resurrection magic were indispensable. Now, both technologies were officially underway!
A light, cheerful tune drifted forward, and Suzuki Sonoko, arm in arm with Asano Minami, teased shyly:
"Looks like Kuromon is in a good mood! By the way, shop owner, you're also 26. You two wouldn't happen to be childhood friends or classmates, would you?"
A sweet girl nestled beside him, and Asahi covered his mouth and giggled, tapping her forehead as if she were a sister:
“Mr. Kuromon and I just happen to be the same age, but it’s so great to have met such nice people while working at Poirot.”
“Me (watashi)?” Sonoko Suzuki looked up as her hands, which were clasped together on her forearms, trembled.
In Japan, men and women have corresponding terms for referring to themselves. Women often use "watashi" or "atashi" to describe their feminine traits, while men often use "boku" or "ore" to describe their masculine traits. If you use the term for the opposite gender, you will be called a sissy or a tomboy.
Speaking of which, Manager Sami is a refined person who is particularly considerate of women's thoughts and ideas. He is clean, tidy, and particular about his appearance, and he always gives off a friendly vibe that makes him approachable and doesn't care about gender differences. Could it be... that he belongs to some special group of people?
Her eyes gradually widened, opening the door to a new world, filled with endless reverie.
Upon seeing her shocked expression, Asagi Shigemi froze, realizing something was wrong!
Oh no! For the past few years on Moonshadow Island, I've been dressing up as a woman, joking around with the girls, and calling each other "sisters"! As soon as Sonoko put her arm around him, Asahi smoothly switched to the mode of shopping and gossiping with his "sisters," completely catching him off guard!
Sonoko Suzuki isn't that perceptive, but if the young detective and Uncle Mori knew, they might immediately associate it with Asano Minoru!
In short, let's just let this topic pass by for now.
Asagi gave an embarrassed smile: "Oh dear~ I'm sorry, Sonoko-san looks a bit like my sister abroad, so I subconsciously switched to talking to her." As he spoke, he lowered his gaze affectionately, and Suzuki Sonoko gave a handsome, slight smile. "Everyone's almost gone, shall we hurry up and catch up?"
Sonoko Suzuki blushed instantly, becoming a lovesick, blushing envious Sonoko: "Okay! Let's go full speed ahead!"
......
According to the memo, there were seven people traveling together, including:
The three members of the rapid response team, Yoru Kuromon, Masami Asano, and Masato Hanazawa, were on "vacation" and conducting on-site reconnaissance as instructed by Gin. They had all received the organization's positioning devices yesterday, worn in the following locations: left wrist, neck, and inside the newly cast on their right foot, which did not appear out of place.
And there's the Mori father and daughter who's out for a break, Sonoko Suzuki who's looking for a good man, and Conan Edogawa, the culprit who keeps pestering her to go on a trip together, causing the number of people to keep increasing.
By the time the group arrived at their booked hotel, dusk was approaching. The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the rustic Japanese-style buildings in a warm golden light, gilding the wooden corridors. The verdant bamboo groves swayed in the breeze, adding to the poetic atmosphere. In the distance, the silhouette of Izumo Taisha Shrine appeared and disappeared in the twilight of the mountains, ancient and mysterious.
With the topic of girls as a starting point, Sonoko Suzuki quickly became acquainted with Asano Minami, and they were talking about something.
Upon reaching the hotel entrance, Fanze Zhenren put down the luggage he was helping carry and pointed to the more bustling streets to the east, indicating, "I live on the other side of town, so I won't be staying at the hotel tonight. I'll come back to find you early tomorrow morning."
"Huh? Doesn't Mr. Hanzawa live with us?" Conan tilted his head in confusion.
"It's rare for me to come back, so I wanted to go back and see my mother." Fan Ze smiled, his gaze unconsciously drifting towards the town, as if he were feeling nostalgic.
"My home address is xx, x-chome. If there is any emergency, please feel free to contact me or come to my house."
"Okay, leave this to us. If you're any slower, your wife will be calling you home for dinner!"
After a few jokes, Kuromon Haruya patted him on the shoulder, shoved him aside, and walked into the hotel with the others.
"Wow—this place is really nice!" Kogoro Mouri pushed open the door and looked around the spacious tatami room with satisfaction. "There's even a private courtyard. I can drink to my heart's content tonight! Wahahaha!"
"Dad!" Xiaolan tugged at his sleeve helplessly, "Don't be so loud, there are still guests in the other rooms..."
Conan put his hands in his pockets, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings, trying to find any clues related to the organization.
As the last to enter the hall, Masayuki had just put down his luggage when he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck and turned around abruptly—
Something seemed to flash by in the shadows at the end of the corridor.
He squinted, scrutinizing carefully... until a small squirrel darted out and disappeared into the grass: "Was it just my imagination?"
Meanwhile, deep in the bamboo grove in the hotel's backyard.
click
The thick bamboo pole, as big as a rice bowl, suddenly made a crisp sound. A hand with distinct knuckles gripped it and crushed it with sheer physical strength!
The drifting clouds obscured the moonlight, revealing its true form and illuminating the tall, robust figure in the shadows.
“Sami Minamoto, let me test your qualifications. If you dare to betray that person…” The man released his grip, bamboo shavings falling sparsely from between his fingers, “I will definitely not let you get away with this.”