The Pirated Onmyoji of the Detective World

Page 147

Inside the bookstore, Yuu Aragaki, who had just finished selecting books and was about to pay at the cashier, looked in surprise at the bookstore's main entrance.

The bookstore owner, with a stern face, angrily chased a group of elementary school students out of the bookstore.

Yuu Aragaki looked at the scene with some surprise. He himself did not expect that he had just come to buy a book, but he would run into Conan and the other children of the Detective Boys here.

It seems they are involved in some case and are investigating something.

"These brats, I'm not that worthless! Why doesn't Natsume Soseki have his name printed on a ten-thousand-yen note?! Honestly!"

Even as the bookstore owner walked to the cashier to collect the money, he was still complaining.

However, when facing customers buying books in the bookstore, he still put on his kind and warm smile: "Thank you for your patronage, the total is one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven yuan..."

The bookstore owner's lips finally twitched when he saw the two thousand-yen bills that Aragaki Yu handed him, which bore a striking resemblance to his own portrait.

……

"Oh, that scared me to death!" Outside the bookstore, Ayumi Yoshida stood with her hands tucked into her pockets, a look of lingering fear on her face. She was clearly frightened by the bookstore owner's actions.

"I told you not to come!" The police officer who brought the Junior Detective Club to the bookstore said to them with a hint of helplessness.

"What's wrong with that boss?!"

"Hmm...it's really suspicious. I think Junya's brother must be locked up in this bookstore by him!"

Nearby, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya and Genta Kojima began whispering to each other.

ding dong~

"No, I don't think it has anything to do with this bookstore!"

As the bookstore's automatic doors opened, a familiar voice suddenly rang in the ears of the Junior Detective League.

The unknown police officer and the juvenile detective club: "???"

Ai Haibara: "!!!"

Everyone looked in surprise toward the source of the sound, only to see Aragaki Yusuke walking out of the bookstore, holding Conan by the back of his collar.

Conan, meanwhile, scratched the back of his head, looking at everyone with an awkward smile on his face.

"Although I don't know what Conan is sneaking around in the bookstore looking for, if you suspect that someone is hiding in the bookstore's warehouse, I can tell you that there isn't one."

Yuu Aragaki placed the Conan figure he was holding next to the members of the Detective Boys and continued with a smile, "Before, because I was looking for a book, the boss took me to the bookstore's warehouse, and there was nothing suspicious there."

"Oh, it's Aragaki-nii-san!" At this moment, Yoshida Ayumi also recognized the person's identity and ran to Aragaki Yu's side excitedly to greet him.

"Good evening, Ayumi." Yuu Aragaki smiled and patted her head.

When Ai Haibara, who was standing to the side, saw Yu Aragaki for the first time, a joyful smile involuntarily appeared on her face, but it was quickly replaced by an expression of doubt and surprise.

Her eyes widened as she stared blankly at Aragaki Yu, who was surrounded by the Junior Detective League: "This guy... how does he know everyone!?"

At that moment, Yuu Aragaki saw Ai Haibara standing behind him, looking at him in surprise, and winked at her in greeting.

"!!!"

However, Ai Haibara, like a startled rabbit, blushed slightly and looked away the moment their eyes met.

"Big brother Aragaki, what are you doing in this bookstore?" Next to Aragaki Yu, Yoshida Ayumi tilted her head and asked curiously.

"I came here specifically to see if there were any interesting books I could buy because I heard that this bookstore has many books that are rarely seen on the market."

While speaking, Aragaki Yu also showed the others what he had been holding in his other hand.

Both the observant Conan and Ai Haibara noticed the title of the book in Yu Aragaki's hand.

Ghost Blows Out the Light II

Ai Haibara: >>?(?o?o)??!

Looking at this book he had never seen before, Conan couldn't help but feel a little curious: "What is this? A new detective novel?"

……

"But this is too strange! If it's not this bookstore, then where exactly is Toshiya's brother being held?" Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko, having returned to the main topic, couldn't help but scratch his hair in distress.

"Yes! So where else can we find printing presses to print counterfeit money?" Genta Kojima was also racking his brains.

"elder brother……"

At this moment, Junye's worried expression became even more serious.

"Hmm?" The unnamed policeman next to him seemed to have thought of something. "If you need printing presses, I know the newspaper office in front of the station. They just got a very expensive printing press recently!"

"Huh? A newspaper!" Conan looked at the policeman in confusion.

“Yes!” The unknown policeman pointed to a spot not far away and said, “It’s the newspaper office on the third floor of that building next to the police station. I think that room was rented out about two years ago.”

"What kind of people come and go from there?" Conan asked the police.

"The editor-in-chief of that newspaper is a woman who always wears a black wide-brimmed hat. It's not a very big company!" the policeman explained to the group while gesturing to his head.

Conan: "!!!"

"Ah!" Upon hearing the police's description, the Junior Detective League all showed excited expressions.

The newspaper editor-in-chief mentioned by the police officer was exactly the same woman Junye had described!

"But they're not printing counterfeit money, they're printing the town's intelligence magazine. There's no way they'd be printing counterfeit money right next to the police station!" the unknown policeman explained confidently to the group.

Then, he looked at the now completely dark sky, waved goodbye to the group of young detectives, and said, "That's enough, whatever you have to do, it's dark now, so stop playing this detective game and go home to sleep!"

"..."

The group watched the unknown policeman's departing figure, then looked at the newspaper office he had just mentioned not far away, and stood there stunned.

"Could this newspaper be..." Yoshida Ayumi muttered softly.

“But, Ayumi, didn’t that policeman just say that the newspaper office is right next to the police station? How could bad guys choose such a place as their base for printing counterfeit money? And what does this have to do with Natsume Soseki?” Mitsuhiko raised a different opinion.

"That's right..."

As soon as Ayumi finished speaking, Aragaki Yu looked at the newspaper office and said calmly, "Rinse your mouth on a rock and use the flowing water as a pillow."

"what!?"

Yoshida Ayumi and the others looked at Aragaki Yu, who had suddenly spoken, with confusion, completely unable to understand the meaning of what he had just said.

Chapter 178 The Teenage Freeloaders

"The story he told came from Soseki, which means strange."

"..."

Just as Conan was about to explain, he was forced to take a step forward and glanced at Ai Haibara behind him in surprise.

He was a little confused as to why this girl, who had been cold and silent the whole way, had suddenly become so proactive.

"Ahem..." Ai Haibara's face was slightly flushed, but she still continued to speak to the Detective Boys, "Normally, most people rinse their mouths by the water and sleep with stones as pillows, right? But those who go against the grain, aren't they the weirdos?"

Ai Haibara paused, noticing the slightly approving look in Yuu Aragaki's eyes, and her voice became much lighter: "Yes, generally speaking, to counterfeit money, one would choose a secluded or deserted place, but they deliberately chose the busiest station, right next to the police station. This behavior does seem very strange at first glance, but no place would be less likely to arouse suspicion. I think this is what Soseki meant, as Toshiya's brother intended to convey."

Amidst the shocked gazes of the Junior Detective League, Yuu Aragaki led the applause, nodding and smiling sadly at Ai Haibara, saying, "That's right. You know, sometimes the most dangerous place is also the safest place."

"Ai! You know so much! You're even more amazing than Conan!" Ayumi Yoshida excitedly ran to Ai Haibara's side, grabbed her arm, and exclaimed in exaggerated admiration.

Conan: "..."

"No, no, I just happened to see the meaning of that sentence." Under the eager gazes of the group, Ai Haibara seemed a little embarrassed.

She's starting to regret it now.

At this moment, even she herself couldn't explain why she had suddenly rushed to explain the meaning of Aragaki Yu's words.

“Then… my brother…” Jun also looked very expectant.

“That’s right!” Conan finally found a chance to speak. “That’s what I think too. Yes, if my deduction is correct, your brother should be working at that newspaper office!”

"Then let's hurry up and tell the police! The police station is right over there!" Upon hearing Conan's words, Genta Kojima clapped his hands and immediately suggested.

"No, I don't think that policeman would believe what we said. Even if Aragaki-nii was there, they would just think that he was fooled by our detective game!" Conan said after thinking for a while.

After Conan reached into his pocket and found his dead phone, a sudden idea struck him. He immediately looked excitedly at Aragaki Yu beside him and said, "That's it! Aragaki-nii, you should quickly call Inspector Megure. If it's Inspector Megure, he'll definitely believe what you say!"

However, Yuu Aragaki shrugged and said helplessly, "Sorry, Conan, I left my phone at home because I was in such a hurry to leave..."

"Damn it!" Conan was annoyed when he heard Aragaki Yu's words, but he immediately remembered that there seemed to be a public phone booth not far from here when he first came here!

Without thinking twice, Conan rushed towards the location of the phone booth he remembered, while turning back to the others and reminding them, "Hey, you guys, stay there and don't move!"

"Huh?" Ayumi and the others, who had been left behind by Conan, couldn't help but show expressions of confusion and anger as they watched him run off into the distance.

"Hmph! Conan is going to leave us behind again and go out to show off by himself!" Mitsuhiko couldn't help but complain.

"I wonder what Conan is going to do..." Ayumi couldn't help but look worried as she watched Conan's figure disappear into the distance.

"Maybe he's going to buy you oranges!" Upon hearing Ayumi's question, Yuu Aragaki blurted out the thought that was on his mind.

"Buy oranges?" Ayumi looked somewhat puzzled.

"Ah! It's true! I was just getting a little hungry!" Genta Kojima rubbed his stomach, looking very excited.

Mitsuhiko looked at Genta, whose stomach was growling, with surprise: "Genta, didn't you just eat a piece of bread on the way here?"

Yuu Aragaki looked at the three little guys from the Junior Detective Club in surprise. He never expected that they would actually take his joke seriously!