Being in Detective Conan, being officially part of the organization is just too awesome!

"master!"

Upon seeing who it was, Shimabukuro Kimie immediately put down what she was holding, even though the mask was only one step away from being completed.

She jogged up to Lin Jiayou, her face beaming with a happy smile.

"You've finally come to see me!"

"Yes, I have some time today, so I've come to check on your condition."

Lin Jiayou didn't say much in response to Shimabukuro Kimie's enthusiasm, but simply nodded slightly.

Kimie Shimabukuro, however, didn't seem to care at all.

She understood deeply that her master was a person who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

He never says anything to your face, but he secretly arranges everything for you; he's an incredibly sweet guy...

Most importantly, Kimie Shimabukuro really enjoys the feeling of having everything arranged for her.

This made her feel that she wasn't alone, that someone was taking good care of her...

"great!"

Shimabukuro Kimie's smile widened, and she directly took Lin Jiayou's hand.

"It just so happens that I have a lot of questions I'd like to ask my master lately!"

As he spoke, he tried to pull Lin Jiayou towards the sofa over there...

Sherry, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but speak up after seeing Shimabukuro Kimie's oblivious behavior.

"Cough cough!"

Miss Miyano coughed loudly, trying to make the woman who was trying to steal her boyfriend notice her presence.

Upon hearing the cough, Shimabukuro Kimie turned around with a start, only to find Miyano Shiho with a dark expression...

"Eh?"

Kimie Shimabukuro gasped in surprise.

"Master, who is this little girl?"

Little, little sister............

Upon hearing Shimabukuro Kimie's title towards her, Shiho Miyano's face darkened even further, and the aura emanating from her grew increasingly cold...

"Ms. Shimabukuro, who is this...?"

Lin Jiayou was planning to introduce Shimano Shiho's identity to Shimabukuro Kimie, hoping to put Shirley's mind at ease.

Shimabukuro Kimie immediately interrupted Hayashi Chia-yu, feigning displeasure as she spoke.

"master!"

Why are you addressing me so formally?

"I'm your little apprentice! Just call me Junhui!"

"Um... Junhui, who is this...?"

Lin Jiayou's face stiffened, and he was about to continue speaking.

Shiho Miyano, standing nearby, could no longer contain herself.

This woman, this woman..........

She actually let Cherry call her by such an intimate name!

Most importantly—this woman still didn't let go of Cherry's hand!

My uncle can tolerate it, but my aunt cannot!

Shiho Miyano took a step forward aggressively, stood next to Chia-Yu Lin, forcefully grabbed Lin's other hand, and interrupted him coldly, saying,

"I am Cherry's girlfriend, and my code name is Sherry."

"Eh?!"

When Shimabukuro Kimie heard Miyano Shiho, whom she considered her 'little sister,' say such words, she was completely stunned, her eyes widening.

At the same time, she unconsciously loosened her grip on Lin Jiayou's hand.

Seeing Shimabukuro Kimie's 'sensible' demeanor, Sherry's dark expression, which had been sullen since she entered, gradually improved...

In stark contrast to Sherry was Kimie Shimabukuro's increasingly stiff expression.

She looked at Lin Jiayou expectantly, as if trying to verify the truth of the news...

Then, she saw Lin Jiayou silently nod...

Ugh--

A sigh escaped unconsciously from the depths of Shimabukuro Kimie's heart.

Even though she didn't know why she sighed, since she shouldn't have had any other feelings for her master...

Right?

However, as a shrine maiden who has been pretending to be an old woman of longevity for three years, she adjusts her emotions quite quickly...

"So it's Master's wife!"

Shimabukuro Kimie smiled sweetly again and bowed in the direction of Miyano Shiho.

"Hello, Master's wife!"

"I am Shimabukuro Kimie, the newest apprentice of my master. Please take good care of me from now on!"

"Well, give me more advice."

Sherry gave a very perfunctory reply.

The more she looked at Shimabukuro Kimie, the more annoyed she became, even though the other party had given her enough respect on the surface.

But..........

She actually pretended not to recognize me!

She used to call herself a little sister!

It's not like we haven't met before. Back on Mermaid Island, I was the one who went with Cherry!

The thought of this made Sherry extremely angry, and she simply couldn't muster any enthusiasm for Shimabukuro Kimie...

Seeing that the young 'master's wife' was very indifferent to her, Shimabukuro Kimie didn't say anything.

She still had a sweet smile on her face, but at this moment, she recognized Shiho Miyano.

Recalling her earlier words, which seemed to come as a first meeting, the shrine maiden already had the answer in her subconscious...

She couldn't help but smile bitterly at this.

Actually, it's not entirely Shimabukuro Kimie's fault.

For a moment, she genuinely didn't recognize our Miss Shirley.

On the one hand, it's been several weeks since what happened on Mermaid Island.

On the other hand, to Shimabukuro Kimie at the time, Miss Sherry was no different from any other passerby worshipper, except that she was prettier.

Therefore, Kimie Shimabukuro really didn't have any impression of her.

But Lin Chia-yu is different.

On the one hand, his master had a very aloof aura, which was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

This is why Shimabukuro Kimie was able to immediately associate the note with her master.

On the other hand, after arriving in Tokyo, she met with Hayashi Chia-yu again, which deepened her memory once more.

Therefore, it's actually quite understandable that she didn't recognize Shiho Miyano. It wasn't that she really had any issues with Ms. Sherry and was deliberately trying to intimidate her...

On the other side, seeing that Sherry was not treating Shimabukuro Kimie well, and that the two were staring at each other, Lin Jiayou couldn't stand it anymore.

"Cough cough,"

He coughed lightly twice, breaking the silence between them, and spoke calmly.

"Alright, enough with the nonsense."

"I'm here mainly to check on your learning progress."

As he spoke, he gave Shimabukuro Kimie a look.

The meaning was quite clear—

Hurry up and take me to see your results! What are you waiting here for?

Shimabukuro Kimie immediately snapped out of her daze, realizing what was happening, and nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, okay!"

"I have so many questions I want to ask you, Master! Your arrival is just in time!"

After Shimabukuro Kimie finished speaking, she led Lin Jiayou toward the sofa.

Lin Jiayou glanced casually at the tools and books on the table in front of the sofa and nodded to himself.

The fact that the book was turned to a relatively late page indicates that Shimabukuro Kimie had not neglected her studies during this period; in fact, one could say she had worked very hard.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to read two-thirds of a book in just one week.

"Tell me, how's your learning going?"

Lin Jiayou casually spoke to Shimabukuro Kimie.

Kimie Shimabukuro picked up the book, looking very happy.

"I've already learned so much from the first book!"

"I can also create all of those disguised face shapes mentioned earlier."

"What about speed?"

Lin Jiayou asked another question.

The speed at which a disguise mask is made is also very important. If a mask takes a whole day to make, it will not be of any help to the organization's many missions.

"The speed is a bit slow,"

Kimie Shimabukuro sighed.

"It will take me another hour and a half to make one mask."

"An hour and a half?"

Lin Jiayou's pupils contracted slightly, and his expression gradually froze.

Shimabukuro Kimie glanced furtively at her master's expression, sensing his dissatisfaction, and spoke with a hint of dejection.

"I... I've tried my best, using the fastest I can, but it still takes this long..."

"Ahem, actually it's already good enough."

Lin Jiayou coughed twice, and nodded with a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

He really didn't dare tell Shimabukuro Kimie that her production speed was already much faster than his master's first disguise back then...

There was no way around it; Shimabukuro Kimie already had a foundation in disguise techniques, and now with systematic training, she naturally picked it up much faster than Hayashi Chia-yu, who was learning from scratch.

"Eh?!"

Shimabukuro Kimie looked up in surprise.

"Really!"

"Master, please don't lie to me..."

"Of course it's true,"

Lin Jiayou gave her what he thought was a very 'encouraging' look.

"Keep up the good work."

"okay!"

"I'm full of energy," said Kimie Shimabukuro.

Lin Jiayou glanced again at the human skin mask that Shimabukuro Kimie had already half-finished making, and said to her,

"Is this the thirty-ninth example in the first book?"

"Yes!"

Kimie Shimabukuro nodded and quickly said,

"I've finished two-thirds of this mask."

"Um,"

Lin Jiayou nodded silently.

"You finish it now, and I'll watch from the side."

"no problem."

Shimabukuro Kimie gave an OK sign, then picked up the tools he had been using before and began carving the human skin mask again.

Lin Jiayou watched intently.

It wasn't that he doubted what Shimabukuro Kimie had said before, but rather that he wanted to see for himself whether she could accomplish it.

Lin Jiayou believed that Shimabukuro Kimie would not deceive him, at least not in the matter of learning the art of disguise.

After all, she had no reason to deceive herself; if she knew it, she knew it; if she didn't, she didn't. And she wouldn't punish her in any way.

If Shimabukuro Kimie was after those rewards, there was no need for her to tell such an obviously obvious lie...

The reason for watching her make the product was that Lin Jiayou wanted to observe whether Shimabukuro Kimie had any bad habits while making it.

Lin Jiayou is not a very meticulous person; he believes that any method that can be done well is a good method. However, he still needs to correct some habits that obviously affect efficiency.

He's a master after all, so he should at least fulfill some of the responsibilities of a master.

You can't just throw four books at your apprentice and leave him to fend for himself...

Lin Jiayou watched for almost twenty minutes.

During those twenty minutes, Shimabukuro Kimie worked very diligently on the mask, without stopping to say another word to Hayashi Chia-yu.

Lin Jiayou naturally didn't interrupt her.

Even Ms. Sherry, who had noticed Shimabukuro Kimie's discomfort since entering, was quietly watching from the side.

Sherry considered herself a sensible woman.

She can clearly distinguish between personal and organizational issues.

What Shimabukuro Kimie is doing at this moment is improving her abilities, which is what the organization and Cherry need. She would never deliberately cause trouble for her own selfish reasons.

I now hold the initiative; even if a struggle is necessary, it must be conducted honorably and fairly.

Before long, Kimie Shimabukuro had finished making the human skin mask.

The instant she finished, she wiped the sweat from her brow, then immediately turned to her master, casting an expectant glance at him.

"Master, I'm done!"

"Hmm, not bad,"

Lin Jiayou nodded slightly, his eyes full of admiration for Shimabukuro Kimie's talent and hard work.

"The production process and techniques are basically fine."

"Basically no problem?"

Shimabukuro Kimie's eyes lit up.

She was almost overjoyed to have gained her master's approval.

However, her inner rationality allowed her to restrain her impulse, and she immediately pressed for an answer.

"So, are there still some minor issues?"

"Um,"

Lin Jiayou nodded slightly.

Being humble and composed, and able to stay focused, is a very important quality for an intelligence officer.

He admired her in his heart, but Lin Jiayou didn't show it on his face. Instead, he continued speaking calmly.

"First of all, your overall structure shows that you have indeed read the book carefully and studied it in depth."

"Judging from your level of skill, this must be more than the first time you've made it today. You've probably done it twice and succeeded on the first try."

"Mmmmmmm!"

Shimabukuro Kimie nodded repeatedly, her admiration for Lin Jiayou growing even stronger.

Everything the master said came true!

"However, on this basis, you also need to pay attention to some details,"

Lin Jiayou continued,

"First, your production speed needs to be slowed down..."