A few days ago, a big request came in.
The granddaughter of Hatamoto Group's chairman was getting married, and Chairman Hatamoto Gozo asked me to read her fortune.
Chairman Gozo was a stubborn Japanese man who valued tradition highly.
Because of that, he had long believed in Japanese superstitions that had been passed down, so I had handled a few matters for his family before.
This time too, I took the request, and following the Hatamoto family's tradition, they were holding the wedding on an island owned by the family, so they had rented an enormous ship.
I was also on board that ship.
It was an interesting situation where my onmyoji work and the original story's incident overlapped.
"Jin-sensei, is there anything inconvenient for you?"
"There isn't.
I'm also enjoying being out at sea after a long time."
"That's good to hear."
Chairman Gozo was strict with his family members, but he treated me quite well.
It was probably because I had solved various family matters properly for him.
"Then, I'll be counting on you, Sensei."
"Understood, Chairman."
In the banquet hall prepared on the ship, I had the bride-to-be, granddaughter Nazue, and Takeshi sit in front of me, put on the onmyoji clothes my manager had prepared, closed my eyes, pretended to chant convincingly, and then placed my hands on both their heads to read their memories.
"Hmm..."
"Jin-sensei, how is it?"
Chairman Gozo asked me, curious about the result.
"The two of you have good compatibility."
"Oh~ Is that so?"
"However! I see multiple dark hands clinging to the husband's side.
This definitely means there is something that must be resolved.
If only that is resolved, you will be a good couple."
"Is that true!? Can you tell what needs to be resolved?"
"Well... The husband is tightly hiding those dark hands in his heart.
In cases like this, if he doesn't cooperate, it's hard to know."
At those words, Takeshi, the groom-to-be sitting in front of me, looked flustered and broke into a cold sweat.
"Young man, are you hiding something from me?"
"Chairman, there's nothing like that."
"You're not lying, are you?"
"Th-That's right."
Chairman Gozo trusted me absolutely, so he glared at Takeshi, who would become his granddaughter's husband, with suspicious eyes for a moment, then abruptly stood up and left somewhere.
"Takeshi, are you really not hiding anything? Sensei Jin's words have never been wrong."
Nazue, who would become his wife, also asked Takeshi.
"I-I really don't have anything."
"Alright, I won't ask anymore."
Nazue was a kind woman.
She trusted the man she was going to marry.
And so we took the ship and arrived at the Hatamoto family's island.
The wedding proceeded as planned, and it concluded with me wishing the couple good fortune.
Chairman Gozo kept making calls somewhere.
Now we were about to board the ship and head back when I saw Kogoro, Ran, and Conan pleading with the Hatamoto family members.
"We missed the boat, so please help us."
"Kogoro-san! Ran! Conan!"
When I called them, Kogoro and Ran called me back happily.
"Son-in-law!" "Jin!"
I spoke to the Hatamoto family members and got them on board.
Ran thanked me.
Hearing the story, they had come to Hatamoto Island for a trip but missed the boat back.
"If it weren't for Jin, we would've been in big trouble.
Dad got the boat time wrong, so we almost had to stay another day.
Thank you."
"It's nothing, this much is fine."
At that moment, Chairman Gozo saw me and Conan's group and was about to yell something in anger, but I immediately explained.
"I see.
Since they're the family of the person who will become Sensei Jin's wife... Then there's no problem.
And Sensei, come with me for a moment.
I have something to discuss."
Hearing that, Ran got embarrassed again, and Conan's expression obviously turned sour, but I just ignored it.
"Understood."
I followed Chairman Gozo into a room.
Then he handed me a large aluminum carrier case.
"Sensei Jin's words were right again this time.
This is the payment for this job.
If it weren't for Sensei Jin's words, things would have gone very wrong.
So I put in a little extra."
"Thank you."
I didn't ask anything specific about the matter.
People like this preferred that.
And I already knew the details, so there was no need to ask.
"As expected, it's Sensei Jin.
I'll be counting on you from now on."
"Understood."
I probably won't see him again.
Chairman Gozo is going to be murdered today.
He was a regular client who paid well, so it's a shame.
I went outside and immediately put the carrier into my inventory.
Then I rested for a bit, and when mealtime approached, I went down to the dining room and saw Conan's group eating with Nazue.
"You were already eating."
"Jin, you're here?"
"Son-in-law! You're here."
I sat next to Ran and ate.
Then Nazue asked Ran.
"Ran! Do you have a boyfriend?"
Hearing that, Kogoro answered instead.
"Hahaha, don't be surprised when you hear this.
The famous onmyoji here, Jin, is my son-in-law."
"Wow~ Really? So that's why you've been saying son-in-law, son-in-law."
Ran got embarrassed and refuted.
"Dad, really... The fortune just came out that way, we don't know yet."
"Then it's certain.
Sensei Jin is never wrong."
"B-But the future isn't set, Jin even said..."
Kogoro cut off Ran's words and said.
"Puhahahaha, I want to marry her off quickly too.
Now that it came up, let's just set the wedding date..."
"Dad! I'm still a first-year in high school!"
The situation was amusing, so I just listened, and when I looked to the side, Conan had a face like he had chewed a truckload of those awful Devil Fruits.
"Jin! Don't just laugh, say something..."
Just then, a man's scream was heard.
"Uwaaaaaaah!"
Everyone in the dining room was startled by the sound and stood up.
"Wh-What was that!?"
"Isn't that the butler's voice?"
"It sounds like it's Father's room!"
The people in the dining room hurriedly got up and ran to the room where the sound came from.
Then, in front of Chairman Gozo's room, the butler was sitting slumped in the hallway, trembling with a shocked expression after seeing something.
Seeing that, Chairman Gozo's second son, Hatamoto Jouji, urgently asked.
"Butler, what is it!?"
Even after hearing that, the butler couldn't say anything, so we hurriedly went into the chairman's room, and Chairman Gozo was lying cold, dead with blood on his stomach.
As expected in times like this, Kogoro, being a former detective, quickly went in and checked Chairman Gozo's body.
"It's too late... He's dead."
"Grandfather!!"
Nazue tried to rush into the room, but I hurriedly stopped her.
"You mustn't go in.
The evidence could be compromised."
At those words, Kogoro also shouted loudly.
"Jin's right.
Nobody is to enter the room until I say it's okay!!"
Then the second son looked at Kogoro and said.
"By the way, who are you?"
I answered for him.
"Ah, this gentleman was a violent crimes detective and is now working as a private detective, Mouri Kogoro-san."
"I see.
But honestly, I trust Sensei more."
As expected, the Hatamoto people trusted me more.
"Let's trust him a bit more.
What a detective investigates can definitely be used as evidence, but spiritual matters are difficult."
"Ah~ That makes sense."
When I backed Kogoro up, Kogoro looked at me for a moment with a moved expression.
Then he started examining the body again.
"Hmm... Rigor mortis hasn't started, but the pupils have started to contract and the body temperature has dropped... Judging by that... It looks like he died 40 to 50 minutes ago."
As expected of a former violent crimes detective, he quickly deduced the time of death.
"Butler-san was the first to discover the body, right?"
"Y-Yes..."
"Where were you and what were you doing 50 minutes ago?"
"I was in the dining room preparing dinner the whole time."
At those words, Ran vouched for the butler's alibi.
"It's true.
The butler grandfather was busily moving around our table at that time.
Right, Nazue-san?"
"Yes, that's right."
Kogoro asked the butler again.
"When you found the body, was this room definitely locked?"
"Yes."
"Then how is the door locked?"
The butler showed the key he had and said.
"It's locked from the inside, and you can't open it from the outside without a key."
"Is there another key to this room besides that one?"
"No.
This is the only one.
The chairman entrusted it to me when we boarded the ship."
Kogoro thought for a moment and said.
"The window is closed and the entrance was locked... Coming in from outside would be impossible.
In other words, this room was a perfect locked room!"
I called Kogoro for a moment.
"Detective."
"Hm? Son-in-law, what is it?"
"Here."
I pointed to blood that had dripped on the door threshold.
"This is..."
'Kogoro is a detective too, so with this much of a hint he should figure it out, right?'
"Huh? Why is this dripping here?"
'Aigo...'
I held my forehead and shook my head side to side, and seeing that, Conan supplemented the explanation.
"If there's blood here, maybe he was killed when the door was opened."
"That's right.
The chairman was attacked the moment he was about to leave the room!"
At that moment, Nazue's sister Aki's husband, Tatsuo, questioned Kogoro and said.
"Then who locked the door?"
"Who could it be, haha...."
"Are you joking?"
At that moment, Nazue, not trusting Kogoro, clung to me and said.
"Jin-sensei, please at least use your techniques to find the culprit.
I beg you."
"That's right.
If it's Jin-sensei, finding the culprit would be easy!"
At those words, everyone looked at me.
I felt bad for Kogoro, but I had no choice but to pretend to use techniques.
"Sigh... Understood.
Everyone stay here.
I'll go get the tools needed for the onmyoji technique."
"Please."
I went to my room, brought an incense burner that could burn incense, some incense sticks, and talismans, and came back.
"The technique I'm about to perform is very difficult, so don't disturb me.
Everyone hold hands with the person next to you and watch each other to make sure no one interferes.
I'll tell you in advance, this is a technique that summons a spirit, so don't be surprised.
Then I'll begin."
Everyone held the hand of the person next to them tightly and watched nervously.
I held up a talisman, burned it, closed my eyes, and chanted in Sanskrit.
"рджреБрд░реНрднрд╛рдЧреНрдпрд╡рд╢ рдорд╛рд░реЗ рдЧрдП рдЖрддреНрдорд╛, рдХреГрдкрдпрд╛ рдореЗрд░реЗ рдкрд╛рд╕ рдЖрдУред рдЕрдиреНрдпрд╛рдпрдкреВрд░реНрдг рд░реВрдк рд╕реЗ рдорд╛рд░реЗ рдЧрдП рдЖрддреНрдорд╛, рдХреГрдкрдпрд╛ рд╕реАрдзреЗ рдЖрдХрд░ рдЕрдкрдиреА рд╢рд┐рдХрд╛рдпрддреЗрдВ рджреВрд░ рдХрд░реЗрдВред..."
Then the smoke rising from the incense began to seep into the chairman's body, and then smoke rose from the body and took on a human form.
It looked exactly like a soul leaving the body.
This was a fake spirit show I made convincingly by using my ability and ability to precisely manipulate the smoke.[Telekinesis][Control]
"Kyaah~!"
"Th-This can't be!"
"Don't move!!"
The human-shaped smoke slowly walked past me as I was chanting, pointed directly at the culprit, Chairman Gozo's daughter Mariko's only son Ichiro, and then slowly dispersed and disappeared.
"How could this..."
"This doesn't make sense..."
"Grandfather..."
I stopped chanting and pretended to breathe heavily.
"Huff huff huff... Did you see?"
"Y-Yes, we did.
Jin-sensei, are you alright?"
"Sigh... Yes, it's a very high-level technique, so it's exhausting."
People hurriedly grabbed Ichiro.
"You! You're the culprit!"
"Why on earth would you do this!?"
Ichiro hesitated for a moment and then said.
"There's no evidence that I did it! This is a scam!"
Then Conan picked something up from the chairman's room and showed it.
"Mister, there's a piece of bread crumb here?"
Seeing that, people said puzzled.
"No, why would there be bread crumbs there... Father only eats Japanese food..."
"That's right! I've seen Ichiro use bread to erase when he draws!"
As more and more unfavorable testimony kept coming out against Ichiro, Ichiro finally sat down on the floor and confessed while crying.
"Hic hic... I was in love with Nazue.
So I begged Grandfather to let me marry Nazue."
"What!!!???"
Everyone listened to the story in shock.
"But Grandfather wouldn't even consider it and said he couldn't give precious Nazue to someone like me, and then right away, as if to show off, he married Nazue off to Takeshi."
"Then..."
"And then he said to me, 'Abandon dreams that can't be fulfilled quickly.'
So I... couldn't forgive him!"
It was an absurd incident of loving a cousin.
The Hatamoto people decided to lock Ichiro in a room until the ship reached land.
I went to Nazue's husband Takeshi, advised him to tell Nazue the truth he had been hiding and ask for forgiveness for lying.
Then Takeshi thought for a moment, said that would be best, and went to Nazue to ask for forgiveness.
Takeshi was the son of a company president who had his company taken by Chairman Gozo and committed suicide from the shock.
In the original work, Takeshi suffers after being framed for this incident, but since I stepped in, that didn't happen.
Seeing that Takeshi and Nazue lived happily in the original work, it seemed he had truly fallen in love and had given up on revenge long ago.
I was eating with Conan's group, and Conan wasn't eating, just thinking seriously, then asked me.
"Big brother, do ghosts really exist?"
Conan looked like his common sense was crumbling.
"Yeah, they exist."
Ran also looked uneasy, probably shocked by the spirit show I performed.
"I saw something like that for the first time.
I'll never forget what happened today..."
"Don't worry too much.
Normally, ghosts have a hard time affecting people who have physical bodies.
Unless it's a ghost or youkai that's lived for thousands of years."
"Then, youkai exist too?"
"Yeah.
That's why people like me exist."
"I see."
"There are things in this world that aren't just what you can see."
At those words, Ran shivered and said.
"Ugh... I suddenly got scared."
"Hahaha, if a ghost appears, call me.
I'll protect you."
"Okay, I definitely will."
And so we arrived on land, handed Ichiro over to the police, and Kogoro explained things to the police again this time.
This time it took quite a while, and he tried somehow to explain my contribution, but the police looked like they couldn't believe it.
Since Ichiro being the culprit didn't change, we finished the investigation safely and said goodbye to Conan's group before arriving home.