Chapter 324: Commission From Mermaid Island

"weekend……"

Hearing this, Fujino, who was cleaning up the mess on the dining table, paused.

Under normal circumstances, if you have just finished a two-day vacation, you should wait three days until the next weekend.

But this world...

Two days a day, three days or six days are even possible.

Well, here comes another surprise blind box opening event.

Fujino looked at Ayumi and guessed: "The weekend should be tomorrow, right?"

"Brother Fujino, what are you talking about?"

Ayumi blinked in confusion, "The weekend is obviously the day after tomorrow."

"..."

Well, I guessed wrong again.

A soft smile appeared on Fujino's lips, and he scratched the back of his head: "It turns out it was the day after tomorrow, I was so busy that I forgot about it."

"In that case, how about we go together on the weekend?"

At this time, Miyano Akemi walked out of the kitchen and heard the conversation between Ayumi and Fujino: "By the way, we haven't traveled for a while. It happens to be the off-season these two days, so we can close the door for two days to rest."

"Sister Mingmei, are you going too?"

"That's great!"

"It seems like it's our first time to hang out with Sister Mingmei too!"

The three children seemed very enthusiastic about going skiing with Miyano Akemi.

The cute and gentle big sister is always popular with the children.

Usually when they come to Snow King Ice City, they are not less taken care of.

In the eyes of the three little ones, Miyano Akemi is like a beloved teacher...

Fujino said nothing more and chose to agree.

It’s not bad to go skiing and relax…

But why does this plot feel a little familiar?

Well, that's about tomorrow.

Dr. A Li would catch a cold just because he stayed up late watching short videos...

If what he expected was correct.

…………

the next day.

The sky has just turned hazy and bright, and today is another refreshing spring day.

A day in the life of Fujino is simple.

At three or four o'clock in the morning, I would get up as usual, change into my sweatshirt and do morning exercises.

Sometimes I become a lazy person and skip the morning exercise session.

After morning exercise, it’s time to check emails…

After all, sometimes clients make requests through letters.

"Mr. Fujino, there is an email for you!"

Just when Fujino had just returned from exercising and was waiting for the letter, the postman rode his bicycle and handed over a thick brown paper envelope.

"Excuse me, Uncle Postman."

Fujino took the envelope, opened it, and took a look.

The letter reads:

【Fujino Douji's personal message

I'm about to be killed by a mermaid! Please help me!

Menxie yarn weaving: xxxxx]

In addition to the letter, there was also 50,000 yen in cash.

"Fifty thousand yen...is it a deposit?"

"It's a bit less..."

Fujino glanced at the deposit with a strange expression, sighed, and silently put away the money. Then, he looked at the content of the letter and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Isn't it just a mermaid?"

Logically speaking, such a joke-like letter should be regarded as a prank email...

After all, being killed by a mermaid or something is really outrageous.

But the mermaid, and Menxie Shaori.

This letter evoked some impressions on Fujino.

If he remembered correctly, this should be the plot on Mermaid Island.

Mermaid Island, to be precise, it should be 'American Island'. It is described on the envelope's sending address, but there is no detailed address.

Yes, it is the United States of America. Although it is a bit outrageous, it is indeed called "America", but this "America" ​​is not that America. It should be the beautiful United States, the country of countries.

To be honest, Fujino really doesn't understand what kind of abstract person he is that can come up with such an abstract name.

However, this name is not unfamiliar to him. He still remembers that a few years ago, it was famous here, saying that something like a mermaid was born.

After thinking for a while, he turned back upstairs, took out his notebook, and began to collect relevant information.

Soon, he found relevant reports.

The report says that on a small island in Fukui Prefecture, there is a ‘Mate’ with a lifespan of more than 130 years. In layman’s terms, it is the so-called goddess.

It was mentioned in the report that the goddess surnamed Shimabukuro once ate mermaid meat, so she was given the power of a mermaid and became immortal.

From this legend, the island spontaneously held a mermaid festival led by the goddess. Every time the mermaid sacrifice was performed, the goddess would randomly send out three "dugong arrows" as souvenirs.

Dugong arrows are tied with the goddess's hair. Those who hold such arrows will be blessed with immortality. However, losing this arrow will also bring misfortune.

It's just that not many people care about the mermaid festival. What really made this matter popular was the fire three years ago...

During the Mermaid Festival ceremony, a warehouse suddenly caught fire, and a body was found inside the warehouse.

It’s just that the skeleton of the lower body of the corpse is very strange. It has no legs, just like a mermaid.

But after police identification, the skeleton was indeed human.

Coupled with the legend on the island, this incident has attracted widespread attention from the society, and many media have taken a whiff of it. The incident of mermaids on the American Island has basically become a hot news.

If this had been put in the show Approaching Science, it would definitely have been filmed for ten episodes.

But later, as the popularity faded, this place was never mentioned by the public again.

But the name of the island, "American Island", and the mermaid legend are not the main point.

The main point is that a serial murder case will occur on this small island, and the victims include the client who is to be killed by the mermaid.

In Fujino's impression, the so-called 130-year-old witch and mermaid legend on Mermaid Island are actually just the women of the Shimabukuro family who have been pretending for generations.

The mermaid corpse three years ago was pretended by the previous witch, the mother of the current mermaid girl Shimabukuro Kimie.

As for why the corpse became like that... it has to start with the client this time, Kadokyo Saori.

At the Mermaid Festival three years ago, Kadokyo Saori and her two friends were full of expectations and prayed for the Mermaid Arrow to get the power of immortality.

But things did not go as they wished, and none of them drew it, so they were very depressed.

After getting drunk at night, they happened to see the warehouse that the mermaid entered.

In order to take revenge and confirm the mermaid's statement, they locked the warehouse and set it on fire.

The mother of the last witch, Shimabukuro Kimie, died in this fire. The fire burned for a day and a night, and only bones were left.

Because before she died, she called her daughter to let the mermaid festival continue, so this matter was not revealed.

As for why the body became like that... it should be an illusion caused by the falling beams in the fire.

And just recently, Kadokyo Saori lost the mermaid arrow.

After experiencing that incident that year, she has become a loyal believer of mermaids.

In order to prevent herself from being killed by mermaids in revenge, she ran to Shimabukuro Kimie for help, wanted to ask for help from the witch, and then told what happened that year, and wanted to eat the "mermaid's ashes" to get the power of mermaids.

She didn't imagine this out of thin air, after all, someone had tried this before.

As a daughter, Shimabukuro Kimie was very angry when she found out the truth about her mother's death.

She was extremely angry when she learned that Kadokyo Saori not only burned her mother to death, but also wanted to dig her mother's grave.

She was so angry that she killed Kadokyo Saori and the other two friends who participated in the arson with her own hands in order to avenge the revenge of the year.

"Feudal superstition kills people..."

Taking back his thoughts, Fujino took a deep breath and sighed in his heart.

It's just a pity for Kimie's mother. After she died, she had to be dug out and eaten.

It can only be said that this is all the sin of feudal superstition...

If there were no lies from the mermaid, nothing would have happened.

But since it has already happened, it can only be said that the three girls are really beasts.

"I don't know if her murder plan has started..."

Fujino thought for a while, and then took out the phone from his pocket.

He remembered that Hattori Heiji should also be involved in this case.

But after he received the letter, Kadokyo Saori had been killed.

I don't know if the plan has started now.

The call was quickly connected, and a young girl's voice came from the other end of the line: "Excuse me, who are you?"

The call was connected, it seems that the person is not dead...

Fujino then tightened his throat and said in a strange tone: "I am a mermaid."

"Ah!!!"

There was a scream from the other end of the line.

"Ahem."

Fujino coughed lightly and reintroduced himself: "I was just joking. I'm Fujino. You should have sent a letter before. The phone number is in the letter."

"Huh..."

The other end of the phone, Saori Menkie took a deep breath, calmed down, and then said resentfully: "Really, don't make such jokes, okay..."

"Well, sorry, I just think mermaids are fun."

Fujino said calmly: "But the letter also mentioned that you said you were going to be killed by mermaids. Can you tell me specifically what happened?"

"It's an arrow that can make people immortal..."

The other end of the phone, Saori Menkie's tone became a little unstable: "But I lost it not long ago. If I can't find it, I will definitely be punished and killed by the mermaid!"

"Uh... calm down . "

Fujino was speechless for a moment, then said: "I have investigated the specific situation. If I am not mistaken, the purpose of your commissioning me should be to find the dugong arrow, right?"

"That's right!"

Monkyou Saori said with certainty: "As long as I can find it, I can spend all my wealth! As long as I can find it!"

"Well..."

Fujino pondered for a moment and looked at the time: "Since it is a commission to find something, let's meet first. Do you have time?"

"Today!"

Monkyou Saori said hurriedly: "I just have to go to the dentist this morning, and I should be able to take the Shinkansen to Tokyo in the afternoon."

"Well, then let's meet in the afternoon. As for the address... choose the detective agency. I will text you the location later. You should know it."

Fujino sent the address, put the phone back, and took a deep breath.

He has a new understanding of religion, ghosts, legends and culture.

Sure enough, this thing makes money quickly.

A bunch of idiots giving away money.

But that's fine, it just so happens that you can seduce the other party to come over and make a fortune, and at the same time give him a good education.

…………

In a blink of an eye, the time came to afternoon.

"Dong dong dong!"

There was a knock on the door of the detective agency.

Facing me were two young girls.

One of the girls has soft long black hair, wearing a gray-black suit jacket and a pair of slim-fitting trousers, which highlights her slightly outstanding figure. She looks gentle and cute, and even vaguely looks like Miyano Akemi. Very similar.

The other girl had short brown hair, wore a white shirt, a blue knitted sweater, and khaki shorts, revealing her white thighs and a round frame on her cheeks. Glasses have an intellectual air to them.

"Miss Menxie Saori?"

Fujino looked at the two of them curiously and asked.

"Well... I am the Kadoko Saori whom I spoke to on the phone... earlier."

One side of Menxie Saori's face was red at this time. It seemed that she had just visited the dentist and was a little awkward when speaking.

She nodded, turned to look at the girl next to her, and introduced: "This is Jun Hui... who is coming to the dentist with me this time..."

"Hello, my name is Shimabukuro Kime."

The other girl bowed slightly and said hello.

"Well, please sit down."

Fujino invited the two of them to sit down on the sofa in the office and poured him a cup of black tea. However, after considering that Kabuto Saori had just seen a dentist, he poured another glass of water and handed it to them.

After all, we are now customers, and we should go where we should.

As for non-working hours...

Fujino sat on the sofa and turned his eyes to Kabuto Saori: "So, the thing you want to entrust me with this time should be to find that dugong arrow, right? According to my investigation, that arrow is said to be able to make people People can live a long life, but if they lose it, they will be punished..."

"That's right, it's that arrow. It suddenly disappeared a while ago. No matter how you look for it, you can't find it!"

Menxie Saori nodded repeatedly, very satisfied with Fujino's investigation of the origin of the arrow.

Fujino briefly asked what happened.

Men Xie Shazhi also quickly answered truthfully, fearing that she would not be able to find the arrow due to delays.

"Well, I almost understand the specific situation. If my guess is not wrong..."

Fujino crossed his arms and said, "The next step is to go to the island to investigate what happened, and then help you find the arrow... But before that, we still have to talk about the commission money."

"Of course there is no problem with the commission fee!"

Seeing that Fujino was already confident, Menxie Saori quickly said: "As long as we can help find that arrow, half a million yen is no problem."

"Shazhi..."

On the side, Shimabukuro Kimie whispered: "Let's forget it. It's just an arrow. It would be a waste to spend half a million yen to find it..."

"If I can't find it, I will be killed!"

Men Xie Shaori couldn't listen to the advice at all, she just grabbed the last straw and seemed unwilling to give up.

Shimabukuro Kime sighed upon hearing this.

In fact, she was not worried about her good friend's money.

Instead, he was worried about whether his murder plan would be exposed.

After all, standing in front of her was a famous detective who had solved many major cases, even destroyed several criminal organizations, and prevented several major disasters...

To be honest, this inhuman performance made her feel a little intimidated.

If we really go to the island to investigate...

She'll probably be caught soon.