Episode 1174: The Glassy Water's Surface (Part 1)
Scenario: Lawyer Hiroki Oi receives a request from his client, Kanta Tsuji, to investigate the mysterious death of Takeshi Yamaoka, which was said to be caused by the curse of Urashima Taro two weeks ago, and now he entrusts the case to the Mouri family.
On the train to Kyoto Prefecture, where the client is, the Mouri family is discussing the plot of the Urashima Taro fairytale. Urashima Taro is a character who was brought down to the Dragon King's palace by the sea turtle he had rescued earlier to be the main guest of the gratitude party. However, when he returns to the village, several centuries have passed, and all of his friends and family have died.
But one question remains for Ran’s perception: What is the curse of Urashima Taro?
Upon arriving, they begin to hear Tsuji's account of the events two weeks ago: While searching for his missing friend Takeshi Yamaoka with a fisherman named Hironobu Matsuyama; and the head priest of the Urasawa Shrine, Akihide Kamikawa, the three heard a seemingly familiar melody related to the curse of Urashima Taro, and then they discovered Yamaoka's body on a boat with his hair seemingly turned white due to the curse.
Tsuji suspects that one out of the following four people must have killed Yamaoka (He himself is a suspect as well, but there is no reason for him to suspect himself if he didn’t kill him anyways): Matsuyama, Kamikawa, Miku Nishino, and Yamaoka’s ex-girlfriend, Hitomi Togashi. So the Mouri family begins asking them:
- Even though Matsuyama often quarrels with Yamaoka about fishing issues, Matsuyama understands that Yamaoka simply cares about the city, and therefore, he has no reason to be the murderer at all. In addition, he mentions that the island with no population is actually forbidden to enter as it has also been considered sacred ever since the Edo period like the guardian of the other islands, this is because it has protected them from waves and has a shrine for the fisherman who died at sea. And when he is asked if he suspects someone to be the murderer based on conflicts, Matsuyama suggests Nishino for unknown reasons to us.
- Nishino states that she has no conflict with Yamaoka; it’s just that he is her former brother-in-law. So what happened to Yamaoka’s brother?
- Togashi states that she and Yamaoka used to date, but they broke up due to the atmosphere of the island divided by the fishery and tourism, even though it is not as fierce as the Romeo and Juliet story.
- And finally, Kamikawa tells them about the robbery that happened before the death of Yamaoka, as some stolen property was also seen along with the corpse, and he expresses his surprise when they haven’t been informed that Nishino is attempting to kill Yamaoka following the latter’s word before his death. Then he mentions Yamaoka's brother, who mysteriously disappeared 4 years ago on a fishing trip. At the funeral, he did not believe the desperate words of Nishino and suspected that she was the one behind his death.
While the Mouri family is on their way somewhere and is discussing whether Nishino is the culprit, considering the many suspicions pointing to it, the three have been alerted by someone’s watchful eyes, so they begin discussing a countermeasure and learn that the stalker was Togashi. In reality, she only wants to help them, but Kogoro tells her it is too dangerous for her, and advises her to give up on the case. After the three of them left, she mutters that he should have considered the possibility that she might be the culprit because she wanted to get revenge on her ex-lover. Still, she sees another suspect acting similarly to her.
Around dinner time, Conan calls lawyer Hiroki Oi to ask more about the victim and learns that he died from a type of frog's neurotoxin, and that at the two times the two brothers were claimed to die, Nishino was reported by her subordinates to be at her workplace. During dinner, Conan asks Tsuji about Nishino's rumors, to which he replies that the whole city knows that she has a grudge against Takeshi. He also mentions that the reason Takeshi and Matsuyama quarreled was that Takeshi did not want to participate in aquaculture to ensure a stable supply, which ultimately turned out to be a great success. The reason he suspected the head priest was that some stolen property was found with the body.
Then, somehow, Togashi gets Kogoro's number and starts calling him. However, when she reports about a suspicious person saying something like "destroy evidence" to a wall, she is silenced by the suspicious person, interrupting the call between the two. Not the unexpected, but no one expected, the unfortunate girl was silenced forever before she could inform the detective.
A while later, Inspector Ayanokoji (with his chipmunk, Maro, as usual) arrives at the crime scene thanks to a boat from the Kyoto police, much to Conan's contentment.
