The Phantom Thief of Heart! But Conan.

"Eh? Really?" Hearing his words, Qian Heling showed a confused and shocked expression, "When I went to the police station to take a statement, no one collected these things..."

Everyone else present nodded unconsciously and looked at Conan who said the shocking words.

"No?" Conan showed a somewhat bewildered expression. After a moment, he scratched his cheek and said, "But this is what my uncle told me..."

Conan was one of the family members who came to Kyoto with Kogoro Mouri. Of course, everyone present knew who the uncle he was talking about was.

The others present looked at each other and did not respond.

If it was the case investigation situation revealed by Maori Kogoro, then it might be true...

"Ah, maybe what Ms. Chiga said is not true. After all, based on the evidence we have, the murderer is most likely a man." Hattori Heiji patted his head, revealing an embarrassment and a headache. "After all, this case is still under investigation..."

He didn't say anything extra, but the meaning was clear.

What the little boy said was true. The police may have taken the opportunity to ask them to go to the police station to cooperate with the investigation and collected their fingerprints and DNA as evidence.

Although this is not a formal evidence collection, and no one will recognize this process in court, as long as the identity is locked and the person is arrested, the results will be the same when formal samples are taken and compared.

The key is to find out who the murderer is. As long as the murderer is identified, the procedure can be completed later.

"...Oh, you actually have such crucial information." After a moment of stunned silence, Mizuo Harutarou picked up his tea again. He was quite calm and even managed to say a few compliments, "You've got the evidence that can directly identify the murderer. You're worthy of being the famous detective of Kansai, Hattori-kun."

"No, no," Hattori Heiji smiled sheepishly. "It's probably because the murderer wasn't careful enough. When he attacked us, he might have been in a panic because he was being chased, and he accidentally fell. I found some clothing fibers and helmet fragments. Although it's difficult to directly identify a person with trace biological evidence, it's also very time-consuming, but it's much better than being in the dark..."

Nishijo Taiga, who was drinking tea with his head tilted back to hide his expression, paused for a few seconds before slowly and calmly putting down the teacup.

"That's amazing. It's hard to believe that Mr. Hattori had such a dangerous encounter with the murderer..."

"Yeah. But that's the most optimistic scenario. Extracting trace evidence is incredibly difficult, and it could take as long as a month." Hattori Heiji sighed sincerely. "I've even kept some of it myself, just in case the samples I submit for testing don't meet the standards and contaminate the original evidence. Also, if we have samples that can be directly compared, we don't need to use such complex technology."

What he said was half true and half false. This wave was mainly to cooperate with Conan and put pressure on the murderer.

They did find a lot of trace evidence at the attack site, but making use of it required technical and financial support.

At present, Osaka Prefecture has no intention to cooperate.

The suspects haven't even been screened yet. What's the point of spending millions just to sift through trace amounts of evidence? This is a last resort, after all other options have been exhausted. It can't be used at this stage.

Even if you are willing to spend money, it is still unclear whether they will work and whether they can definitely identify the murderer.

Instead, it would be better to save these fibers. If the clothes the murderer wore that day are found at his place, it would be a better option to directly compare the fibers. This is much more reliable than waiting for the laboratory to come to a conclusion.

But the murderer certainly didn't know these things.

From the perspective of an experienced criminal whose identity has not been exposed for many years, it is indeed impossible to predict the boundaries of technical means in the field of criminal investigation. This trick is definitely effective.

"Oh, by the way, I came to see Mr. Mizuo today to learn about Noh masks." Before anyone else could press the topic, Hattori Heiji smoothly changed the subject. "The members of the Genji Hotaru all use Noh masks to cover their faces. This is the only information we have about this bandit group. As a Noh actor, you should know more about this area. Do you have any clues?"

"Clues and such... I haven't paid much attention to these things before. However, if we must discuss it, their masks are indeed special." The topic returned to a logical and controllable range, and Mizuo Harutarou's expression relaxed a lot. "Actually, generally speaking, Noh masks don't cover the entire face."

He stood up, took down a Noh mask hanging on the wall behind him, placed it in front of himself, showed it to them briefly, and then began to explain.

The reason for this design is complicated. To put it simply, Noh uses the differences in masks to express characters and emotions. This performance style generally does not choose to completely cover the face, but only covers the face. The area around the face, including the chin and neck, will be exposed. Some masks even reveal part of the mouth to allow the performer to perform.

After all, it is a performing art, and the role of the actors cannot be ignored. Head movements are also an important means of conveying emotions and content. Completely covering them with a mask will affect the communication of the performance.

In addition, Noh masks are very valuable heirlooms for Noh families like Mizuo. Apart from stage performances, they will not be used easily, let alone lent to others.

"So, the mask used by Genji Hotaru is a specially customized style. It is very special and not easy to copy." Hattori Heiji summed up the key point.

"That's right. Formal masks, like these, can't have very large eye holes for the purpose of expressing the character. The performer's field of vision would be severely limited. If the members of Genji Hotaru also used this type of Noh mask, it wouldn't actually be a very good choice." Mizuo Harutarou nodded in agreement.

No matter what kind of criminal it is, covering the face is to hide the identity, but if this thing greatly affects the crime itself, then it is not worth the loss.

In other words, they either bought special custom models, or they often acted like blind men groping in the dark when committing crimes...

"I see." Hattori Heiji suddenly realized, "Now I feel more confident. Thank you for your explanation."

"You're welcome." Mizuo Harutaro had a smile on his face and felt relieved in his heart.

Now that he has said so much, he should be able to clear himself of suspicion, right?

If he really was a member of the Genji Hotaru—regardless of the fact that his family background made it unnecessary—he should have chosen a disguise that had nothing to do with his identity, rather than dressing like Nomatsu, which easily reminded people of his family.

Conan held the teacup and observed the other people present while drinking tea, and he felt much more at ease.

After all, they were discussing a new murder case, and the possibility of the murderer being present at the scene could not be ruled out. Although these three men were most likely here to meet Qian Heling, the atmosphere was still not lively, and everyone's expression was very heavy.

Obviously, Hattori Heiji's fishing remarks worked. Combined with the fact that the murderer had reasons to attack him, the other party must have fully understood the urgency of the matter.

Well, with such pressure, no matter who the attacker is, he will have to think about attacking Hattori Heiji again, the sooner the better, right?

----

"Then I'll drop you off here. Goodbye."

"Thanks for today. Bye."

Accompanied by Chiga Suzu, everyone who finished the meeting said goodbye and left, parting one by one at the intersection. Soon, only Conan, Hattori Heiji, and Chiga Suzu were left.

Chiga Suzu is worthy of being a geisha who grew up in a teahouse. The gentle, beautiful and quiet temperament she possesses is a very standard Yamato Nadeshiko. Even though her appearance cannot be called a stunning beauty at first glance, with the blessing of this temperament, it is easy for people to like and yearn for her. No wonder Gion regulars like Mizuo are so attentive to her.

Hattori Heiji observed the brightly colored kimono on Chiga Ling from the corner of his eye. The more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed to him. He casually asked, "Does Miss Chiga live in the teahouse?"

"Yes, that's right." Qian Heling, with a gentle smile on her face, nodded in response, "Are you two living in Sannoji?"

Generally speaking, there aren't many accommodations available for tourists in temples, but the situation is different for these detectives.

Since Sannoji invited people, even if it was just to save accommodation costs, it should have arranged for Kogoro Mori and others to stay in the rooms in the temple.

"Our words..."

Hattori Heiji waved his hand and was about to explain when he was interrupted by a slap from Conan.

"Yes, we are going to Shanneng Temple."

Qian Heling smiled and nodded, raised her hand and sang the handball song while counting, and quickly pointed out the position.

"Rokkaku-dori, that means it's only six blocks away. You live very close to it, so it's a good choice if you're traveling to Kyoto."

Hattori Heiji's eyes widened slightly, obviously thinking of his first love whom he missed eight years ago.

However, before he could ask again, Tang Ze's words, which were as light as gauze, "one-size-fits-all crystal shoes", rebuffed the question he was about to blurt out.

...Not to mention that the handball song is not an accurate anchor that can directly find people. Even if it is, I have never met the little girl. I just watched her sing for a while.

If you met someone eight years ago, you might still have some impression of them. But if you ask a girl who was in elementary school eight years ago if she remembers which afternoon and where she sang a certain song...

This sounds a bit perverted. Who can remember it?

But Chiga Suzu is actually 19 years old and lives in Gion, not far from Sannoji Temple.

If it was the Gion Festival that day, the children living in Gion would definitely be out playing, so it would be quite reasonable to see them...

Hattori Heiji was struggling when Conan slapped him again.

"Hey, what are you doing? Even if you're the attacker..."

Even if the attackers decided to strike, they wouldn't have chosen to do it in broad daylight on a busy road like this one. That would have been too blatant.

No matter how skilled the attacker is, he wouldn't have the courage to do that.

Before he could finish his words, Hattori Heiji raised his head and swallowed the next words.

Toyama Kazuha, holding the arm of Mao Lilan, walked over from the other end of the road. She narrowed her eyes slightly, looked at him for a while, and then looked at Chika Suzu who was standing beside him, with a somewhat dangerous expression.

"Heiji," she quickly put on a deliberately bright smile, "are you done yet? What a coincidence. Wanna get lunch together? Or did you already have a lunch date with that beautiful lady and forget we even existed?"

As she spoke, she naturally moved closer and squeezed between Hattori Heiji and Chiga Ling without saying a word. With an unstoppable momentum, she put her arm around Hattori Heiji.

Hattori Heiji, who was still thinking about his "first love in Kyoto", felt inexplicably guilty for a second, but quickly adjusted his state of mind and retorted in a bad mood: "What do you mean by appointment or not? We are here to investigate the case. Aren't we ready to go back?"

"Really?" Yuanshan Heye narrowed his eyes. "Why do you look so lost in thought?"

His eyes are almost glued to her kimono and he can't take them off, yet he claims to be seriously investigating a case...

Thinking of the crystal bead that Hattori Heiji always carried with him, Toyama Kazuha's heart began to alarm, and the hand holding his arm immediately began to tighten.

Xiaolan's theory makes sense. He doesn't even know the other person, he just unilaterally and arbitrarily developed unnecessary emotions.

If he really did find his first love, it's likely that this hazy, dreamlike feeling would soon fade away, becoming a kind of nostalgia and complex that could be jokingly dismissed...

But whenever she thought of that scene, she couldn't control the bitterness and subtle unwillingness in her heart.

Why? Why was she the only one who had to take the plunge? Couldn't Heiji figure it out on his own? What if the feelings really developed?

Thinking of this, her fingers tightened a little more.

"No, I just happened to be asking Ms. Chiga about the nursery rhyme." Hattori Heiji, who was a little bit overwhelmed by being pinched, curled his lips, "Right, Conan?"

He waited for a few seconds, but to his surprise, his good brother, who should have spoken up to help him, remained silent.

Hattori Heiji glanced at Conan strangely. Conan just looked at him with a subtle expression for a while, then rolled his eyes and motioned Hattori Heiji to look forward.

When Hattori Heiji raised his head again, he saw Karasawa walking behind the three girls, wearing the yukata he had just received in the morning and wearing wooden clogs.

After being treated as a model and posing for a long time, Tang Ze, who was just looking for entertainment, looked at the scene of Bai Xue in front of him with amusement. His eyes moved from Toyama Kazuha's face to Chiga Ling's face, and soon an expression appeared on his face that seemed a little familiar to Conan and Hattori Heiji.

The look of someone who's ready to have some fun and find something to do for them.

Looking at Tang Ze's outfit, the handball song rang in his mind again at an inappropriate time. Hattori Heiji recalled that strange dream: "..."

What kind of weird dream is this, where I have to choose one from three...