Conan: The Magician of the End of the Century

Chapter 287 The Failed Witch

An hour later, Ishino finally arrived near a deserted forest on the outskirts of Ekoda with the help of satellite positioning sent by Naia.

Since the road at the entrance of the forest was designed like a maze where it was easy for people to get lost, Ishino parked the car outside the forest and chose the most violent cracking method, adhering to the principle of the shortest line segment between two points and directly ignoring it. The physical body opened the way and soon passed through the forest and arrived in front of a mysterious castle that looked like a certain "Scarlet Devil Mansion".

Looking at the gloomy mansion in front of him, Ishino stepped forward and knocked on the simple wooden door without any care. Not long after, a middle-aged housekeeper who looked exactly like the devil's servant in the movie opened the door and asked: "Is this Sir, what brings you here?"

"Hello, Mr. Butler, my name is Ishino. I am a friend of Miss Koizumi. I came to visit her today because of something." Ishino answered truthfully.

"It turns out to be Mr. Ishino, please come in quickly!" The moment he heard Ishino's name, the butler's originally small pupils shrank even smaller, and then he put on a flattering smile and welcomed, "Miss Anko is here Please wait in the living room for a while while you are bathing. If you need anything, just ask."

Ishino nodded slightly when he heard the words, and then followed the other person into the house, sat on the sofa in the living room and began to look at the decoration style of the mansion.

Looking at the European medieval-style furniture, murals and carpets all around, Ishino felt as if he was really in a witch's manor. The mysterious and simple atmosphere was indeed quite stylish.

Just when Ishino was carefully observing the various decorative details in the room and getting inspiration for the dessert design, he saw Anko, who was wearing a burgundy nightgown and holding a head of long burgundy hair that had not been completely dried. Under the urging of the housekeeper, he reluctantly walked along the stairs towards the living room.

"Mr. Ishino, welcome to my humble home. I wonder why you came to see me so late?" After arriving in front of Ishino, Hongzi greeted him obediently, but her eyes were evasive, as if she was a thief. appearance.

Seeing that Hongzi Wanru was like a little girl who had done something wrong and was discovered by her elders, Ishino immediately understood that what the other party had done before was not malicious, so he took out the two brooches from his pocket and said straight to the point: "Miss Koizumi, I am Come and ask about the brooches you gave to the children yesterday, please answer truthfully."

"Could it be that any of them were injured because of this?!" Hearing the other party mention the brooch bluntly, Hongzi thought of the group of owls that chased her after getting off the car in the evening, and her heart suddenly pounded and she apologized quickly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to..."

"Don't worry, the children are not injured." Seeing Hongzi's sudden panic, Ishino immediately spoke to comfort him. At the same time, he also keenly noticed the scratch marks on the other's wrists from the bird's claws, and continued to ask, "But can you Can you please explain why these brooches attract owls?"

Hearing that the children were not injured by the owl attack, Koizumi Anko breathed a sigh of relief, and then explained with shame: "To be honest, I don't know why I attracted those owls..."

Speaking of this, Hongzi said a little coyly: "Originally, I just wanted the children to like me immediately, so I made a perfume that can make users like each other, and put it on myself and those brooches. I just put some on it." "I just don't know which step went wrong. After being exposed to the air for a day, this perfume seemed to produce some kind of smell that humans can't smell but can attract owls, so I really didn't mean it. of!"

"I see. I didn't expect Miss Koizumi to make such a magical perfume. I wonder if you have any extra that you can show me?" Seeing that Anko's attitude was sincere and not lying, Ishino couldn't help but respond to what he said. Perfume creates curiosity.

"Of course it's okay if you want to see it!" Koizumi Hongzi immediately turned around and went to the underground laboratory after hearing this. Not long after, she returned to Ishino with a small glass bottle with an exquisite shape, pointing to the fact that there was still half of it inside. The pink liquid boasted, "This is it! This is a magical perfume I made using the witch's secret recipe passed down from generation to generation."

"But it's a failure, right?" Looking at Hongzi with a proud face, Ishino complained mercilessly.

Ignoring Hongzi, who looked a little lonely, Ishino carefully observed the glass bottle in his hand, then opened the bottle cap and smelled it gently. There was indeed an elegant but refreshing fragrance that hit his nostrils. He admired in his heart that he didn't expect another The witch lady in the world view turns out to be a genius chemist here.

Thinking of the wizards and witches who were persecuted during the witch hunts in the West hundreds of years ago, Ishino immediately understood that Koizumi Hongko was probably one of those who had mastered cutting-edge chemistry and medicine knowledge at the time, but was slandered as heretics by the church. Descendants of human beings, so they can master some mysterious formulas unknown to ordinary people.

If the ancient secret recipes that Hongzi mastered were combined with the modern medical chemistry theory that Xiaoai was good at, what kind of magical sparks would the two collide with? Ishino couldn't help but be full of curiosity about this kind of thing.

Thinking of this, Ishino looked at the somewhat wilting Hongzi, smiled, nodded and encouraged: "Although there are still some flaws, it is already very good to be able to achieve this step. I am very interested in investing in your research, I don't know Xiaoquan Are you interested in cooperating, Miss?"

Seeing Ishino extending an olive branch to her, Koizumi Hongzi suddenly cheered up again, her eyes shining and said: "That's great! My mother has always said that if I can't produce results again, it will ruin the reputation of our witch family. , they will cut off the little money I use for research, and even drive me out of the house. If I can get your sponsorship, Mr. Ishino, then there is no need to worry!"

"When I develop a magic product that shocks the world one day, I must make my mother look at me with admiration, oh~oh~oh~!" At this point, Hongzi, who was a little carried away, couldn't help but let out her signature smile. The old housekeeper on the side couldn't help but put his forehead with one hand when he saw this.

Ishino didn't care about Anko's natural exaggerated reaction, but asked a question that interested him: "But why do you purposely use this kind of perfume? No matter how much you like Kaito, there is no need to do it. Are you going to this extent to please our family?"

Faced with Ishino's sudden question, Hongzi, who was immersed in beautiful fantasies just a second ago, suddenly blushed and hurriedly waved her hands to deny: "Who, who would like that kind of annoying guy! I am not I just want to please the children for his sake!”

(End of this chapter)