Conan: Science Cartoonist Kudo Yuji

"So, you want me to go to Hokkaido to look for the treasure hidden by Fujiang, and the treasure seems to be related to the sword of Hijikata Toshizo in their family collection?"

Kuroba Kaito folded his hands and said matter-of-factly, "It seems that the sword is no longer in Fujiang's hand."

"Not all of them, to be exact."

Minami Masamune walked under the desk, took out a wooden box from the drawer, and to Kuroba Kaito's surprise, pulled out a Japanese short sword with an orange handle.

"Oh! So you have one in your hand, old man!"

Kuroba Kaito carefully took the sword thrown by Minami Masamune and found that the sword's guard was an irregular oval shape. Although the blade was inserted in the middle of the guard, one side of the guard was solid and the other side was empty, and the empty part had an angle of about 36 degrees.

Kuroba Kaito pulled the blade out of the scabbard with force, swung it up and down, and listened to the sharp sound of the blade cutting through the air. He exclaimed that this was indeed an excellent sword.

"Although it's a bit short, at least it's much better than the swords used by those guys in our school's kendo club."

"Really? It's a pity that this one is a fake."

"Eh!"

Kuroba Kaito froze in place in embarrassment. He began to suspect that the old man must have deliberately not told him the information about the fake sword just now, just to see him make a fool of himself.

Unfortunately, he is Kuroba Kaito.

"Is that so? I originally thought that a Japanese painting master like Mr. Nan would definitely not use fake things." The magic boy pretended to be regretful and put the knife back into the sheath, shaking his head and clicking his tongue.

"Hey, kid, I'm going to chop you up."

The old man only made a simple threat to stop Kuroba Kaito from doing this annoying thing. He said that he had seen this knife at an auction before and was attracted by its peculiar shape, but he would not spend a lot of money to buy a knife that was completely useless to him.

"So when I returned to Kyoto, I asked a friend I knew to help me find a master forging Japanese swords, and I used half the auction price to make this fake one."

At least half of the premium on the knives at auction is due to historical reasons, and another part is that the quality of the knives was considered top-notch in the past, so they can be sold at that price.

With the progress and development of forging technology over the years, the fake knife in Mr. Nan's hand is probably far superior to the real one.

"I give you this knife so that you can use it to find the real trace. I found out that two of the knives that were auctioned are still in the hands of the Fujiang family."

Nan Zhengzong put his hands behind his back and said, "Also, Fujiang is now going through the acquisition process with Suzuki, but they don't seem to have the intention of selling the sword to Suzuki."

"Do you want to find the treasure yourself?" Kuroba Kaito nodded. Minami Masamune said it so seriously that he was indeed a little worried.

"Don't worry, I will let Dequan go with you, and you can ask him for help if necessary."

"That doesn't matter. I still have a problem that bothers me. If I don't solve it, I definitely won't be able to go to Hokkaido with peace of mind."

Nan Zhengzong's eyes lit up, and then he raised his eyebrows: "What's the matter?"

"It's just school. Anyway, I'm going to have to take at least a week off for this mission, and I don't have an excuse to take such a long vacation."

"Oh, if you hadn't mentioned it I really hadn't thought about it. After all, my children don't have to go to school for the time being." The word "child" in Nan Zhengzong's mouth made Heiyu Kaito's mouth twitch twice. The pride in that tone gave him a strange illusion, that is, the old man seemed to be mocking him for worrying about studying.

[My children are so good at studying that they don’t need to go to school!]
That should be what it means, right?

[Your child is in junior high school, but I am in high school! ]

"It's okay. Isn't the Hokkaido National Kendo Tournament about to start? I'll contact the Education Committee and ask them to give me a short holiday."

Kuroba Kaito was fine, but Hakuba Baiko, who had been standing nearby, walked over and attracted the attention of the old and the young.

"Then, old man, you called me along, is it..."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Nan Zhengzong pinched his chin and stared at Bai Ma curiously: "I know there are swordsmen with superpowers, but this is the first time I've heard of magicians."

For him, it was not difficult to find out about the Koizumi family. It was also easy to deduce what happened to Hakuba Tan, it was nothing more than a curse or something.

"Hey, does the old man know anything about the supernatural?"

"Kazuma has a friend named Mine Raizo. He always told him that his family is a descendant of Princess Otohime of the Ryugu Palace, and that they inherited the blood of the Dragon King. There are also powerful swords stored in the house."

"That's just an ordinary Chuunibyou!" Kuroba Kaito held his forehead and sighed, "Don't believe everything, old man."

"Well, the boys who stay at their house can make friends with tigers, frogs, and vultures."

That's just a simple beast tamer, right? !
Kuroba Kaito suppressed the urge to complain, snorted and stopped talking.

[Baodao, when you come back from Hokkaido, let's go and have a look. ]

"I remember Kazuma's friend told me that there happens to be a hot spring in Hakodate, Hokkaido that can remove the curse. You should go there with the boy."

"Huh? I'm going to take Hakuba with me?!"

Kuroba Kaito pointed his finger at himself and stared at Minami Masamune in disbelief.

"Of course, you two are friends."

"Who is friends with this cocky detective?"

Nan Zhengzong narrowed his eyes: "She went to help you yesterday, although she didn't help."

"That being said..."

Kuroba Kaito turned his head to look at Hakuba and found that she was covering her chest with her hands.

[What's wrong with that cute look, Hakuba!] (End of this chapter)