Model worker and his little darling

On the ship, Hirakiyo leaned against the railing, watching with great interest as Kazuha and Hattori bickered beside him.

"Why did you come along, woman?"

"We're attending your mother's friend's son's wedding in a couple of days, so my arrival is perfect timing. Besides, your mother asked me to check on how you've been doing in Tokyo these past few days."

"I'm fine. I've been staying at Pingqing's house for the past two days..."

Seeing Kazuha looking over, Hirakiyo quickly looked away, knowing it wouldn't be good if he was caught peeking.

As the wind was blowing, Conan pulled Hirai to a corner.

"Hey, Brother Heikiyo, recently Professor Agasa and I investigated that company called Supernova. Two people who were very famous under them suddenly disappeared. Their explanation was that they went abroad. Later, there were rumors that Dai Moroboshi returned to Japan, but no one knows if it's true or not. I suspect that these two people are also related to the organization."

Ping Qing looked at Conan with a smile, "Tsk, you've investigated quite thoroughly."

"There are two possibilities now. Either they were undercover agents whose identities were discovered by the organization and they were dealt with, or they were members of their organization who were sent out on a mission and made up an excuse that they went abroad. Which possibility do you think is more likely?"

Conan lowered his head and pondered for a while. "Half and half, I guess. And then there's Amuro Tooru. He's been on TV again recently, and his fame is growing."

Pshaw, Amuro Tooru is only newly famous in Japan; his sister has been famous for decades.

"Logically speaking, people like them should prefer to keep a low profile."

Do you think Amuro Tooru wanted to be famous? He was forced into it. Ever since Tooru became famous, he has to disguise himself even to go out. Sigh, I wonder what Tooru is saying about him behind his back.

“Conan, you don’t understand. When someone becomes famous, they can access more resources and make money. Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages. After becoming famous, their every word and action is watched, so they need to disguise themselves when they want to do their own thing.”

In a way, they're all the same. He also tries hard to gain favor with Conan and the Metropolitan Police Department, and then frantically smears Amuro Tooru, Jodie, and the others.

"Brother Pingqing, what would happen if that company disappeared?"

Pingqing looked at Conan and thought, "Wow, this kid's ideas are pretty exciting."

"Did you find anything wrong with that company?"

"No."

"Conan, I think it's better to maintain the status quo. If we lose this one, there will be another. It won't be so easy to investigate then."

"I was wondering what you two were whispering about behind my back."

Seeing Hattori leaning closer, Taira Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you flirting with Kazuha?"

"Brother Pingqing, don't talk nonsense. I have nothing to do with that woman."

Seeing Hattori stubbornly refusing to admit it, both Taira and Conan burst out laughing.

"Hey, Hattori, do you know what's going on with the letter saying the mermaid is about to be killed?"

"I don't know either. If Kazuha hadn't seen that letter, we probably would have missed it. I just tried calling the phone number that the sender, Kadowaki Saori, left, but I couldn't get through."

Actually, it's fine to miss it, but unfortunately I still couldn't miss it.

"Hattori, it's no exaggeration to say you're like an Osaka mailbox. Look, you've received another strange letter."

Hattori was speechless. Why did Taira no Kiyoshi always nitpick over these strange points?

"That place is called American Island, but the locals call it another name, 'Mermaid Island.' I've heard that there's a person on the island who ate mermaid flesh and became immortal."

"You mean the old lady who became a topic of discussion three years ago because of her immortality, right?"

Seeing that Conan also knew about that incident, Hattori nodded, "Yes, that's the one. It caused quite a stir at the time."

Ping Qing blinked. Immortality?!

A complete tragedy caused by the legend of immortality.

"I understand. You want to use your youth and beauty to tie Hattori down, right?"

Shh, they'll hear us if we speak so loudly.

Hearing Ran's teasing, Taira glanced at Hattori, but Hattori was engrossed in a discussion with Conan and had no idea what he had missed.

Soon, the group arrived on the island.

An older man said that Kadowaki Saori hadn't been to work for a few days, but she often went out to play, so everyone's attitude was still relatively optimistic.

After saying this, the uncle was about to take his leave. "Today is the day of our island's annual dugong festival. If you want to know anything else, you can ask at the shop where we work."

Pingqing was a little curious, so she looked up dugongs online. The results left her completely bewildered; they didn't look like mermaids at all.

The group then visited the local products shop where Saori worked, and found that everything sold in the shop was related to mermaids, which had become a unique feature of the island.

“Every year at the Dugong Festival, three lucky audience members are selected and awarded the Dugong Arrow, which is a talisman for immortality. Saori accidentally lost the Dugong Arrow she received last year, and she has been afraid for a week now, afraid that the mermaid will come to take revenge.”

The man was speechless. He was a staunch materialist and didn't believe in the existence of mermaids at all.

But then a female shop assistant interrupted, spreading rumors, "There really are mermaids in the world. There's an old woman on the island who lives forever by eating mermaid flesh—the Longevity Granny. The Dugong Arrow is made from her hair, so it also has the ability to grant immortality."

Ping Qing glanced at the woman and thought, "If you want to live forever, find an organization, take one A drug, and you won't grow up for twenty years."

"Why don't you go and take a look at the shrine where the festival is held? The great-granddaughter of the long-lived old woman, Kimie, lives there. She grew up with Saori and Naoko from earlier."

Having no other choice, the group headed towards the shrine.

"Sigh, we're being treated like a ball, being kicked around by everyone."

“Brother Pingqing, I feel the same way.”

As they talked, they arrived at the shrine. Taira looked at Kimie, who was a beautiful girl with excellent makeup and acting skills; she was a promising talent.

However, Asagi is a doctor and can be placed in a hospital. But where should Junhui be placed after taking her in?

Sigh, the girl hasn't even agreed to be with him yet. What's the point of thinking so much now? Maybe she just wants to go to jail.

He was a good boss who understood his subordinates. Asano Minami only acted after he agreed to work for him. Otherwise, there would have been another corpse at the community center that night.

When Pingqing came to her senses, there was another man and a woman in the courtyard, who looked to be about the same age as Junhui.

After talking for a while, the two left, and Xiaolan began to feel curious about the celebration.

“We sell numbered tickets in advance. If the number matches the one my great-grandmother showed, you can get the Dugong Arrow. It’s a bit like a lottery. This morning, a couple returned their numbered tickets. Would you two like to try your luck?”

Kazuha and Ran happily accepted the number plates.

Evening arrived quickly, and crowds thronged in front of the shrine. Amidst the gongs and drums, the longevity goddess finally appeared, and the festival officially began.

The old woman, with her small body, held up a long torch and lit the door behind her. Immediately, three winning numbers appeared on the door.

He then turned and left, and sounds of surprise and delight came from the crowd.

"I'm hit!"

"Xiaolan, I won too!"