Model worker and his little darling

"What are you saying? How can you take this as a prank?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he heard Inspector Megure's question, so Sato had no choice but to inform Inspector Megure of the situation at the scene.

Inspector Megure was shocked; the kidnappers hadn't gotten the money and had actually released the person.

At that moment, Takagi noticed that Kota's socks had left a trail of footprints on the floor after he came in, so he immediately tried to get information out of him.

It turns out that after leaving the prisoner's house, Kota wanted to return the Kamen Rider card to his uncle, so he went back. But when he got back, he found that his familiar uncle was gone, and there was an unfamiliar older brother in the bathroom.

This surprised Takagi, who then wore a somewhat insecure expression.

After thinking for a moment, he ran out without hesitation.

Seeing Takagi run away, Conan asked in confusion, "Where is Officer Takagi going?"

"He probably knows who the murderer is. I just saw him questioning Kota, so he must know something."

"Huh? You know who the murderer is? Why didn't you tell me?"

Heijiro looked at Sato beside him, and Conan suddenly realized what was going on.

Just then, the uncle turned on the TV, which was showing a World Cup qualifier with a score of 0-0. But the commentator was very skilled, constantly saying that the match was intense.

With the uncle's hint, Conan instantly understood everything.

So, for the sake of his younger brother's happy life, he began to give out insane hints.

After Conan's efforts, Sato successfully identified the culprit.

Thinking of Emoto Masafumi's unusual behavior, Sato's expression turned serious.

"You knew all along, didn't you? You knew that some of those lottery tickets were winning tickets. In fact, you already returned the winning tickets to him. But Mr. Rokuta, who was unaware of this, still broke into your house and kidnapped Kota because he couldn't find the lottery tickets."

"You judged from the situation that Mr. Rokuda was suspicious, so you suggested going to his house and saw that his mailbox was full of mailboxes. That's why you reminded him before you left, right?"

Masafumi Emoto nodded. "You're absolutely right. What does it matter? It was his lottery ticket after all. Besides, he's the only one who hasn't given up on music and has persisted until now. Officers, please let him go."

Upon hearing this, Sato firmly refused, saying, "Kidnapping is the most despicable act, comparable to murder. It is unforgivable, especially kidnapping for money."

The older man also gave him a lecture, saying, "The kind of dream that you have to achieve even if it hurts other people's feelings, although he is indeed very unfortunate, does not deserve sympathy."

After figuring out the situation, Sato remembered Takagi and peeked into the corridor.

"Officer Takagi, we're heading to Mr. Rokuta's house right now." Sato's voice rose considerably after finding Takagi missing from outside. "Seriously, what is he doing at a time like this?"

They had no choice but to call Inspector Megure and ask him to help arrest the man, but Inspector Megure regretfully said that he couldn't do it.

When they arrived at Rokuta's house, they saw Takagi sitting on the ground, covered in blood and panting heavily.

Seeing this, Sato immediately walked up to Takagi and asked, "Officer Takagi, what happened to the blood on you?"

Inspector Megure replied with pride, "No, that's the blood of the kidnapper, Rokuta. Takagi rushed in and saved Rokuta because Rokuta was attempting suicide by cutting his wrists in the bathroom. Luckily, he was discovered early, all thanks to Takagi."

Sato was shocked. "But how did you know he committed suicide?"

Takagi slowly explained, "I saw that Kota's socks were wet, which means he went into the bathroom. If Rokuta had been sober at the time, he would never have let Kota into the bathroom."

"Among the emails Mr. Emoto received, the only thing that he knew about the value of beforehand and would have made him want to sneak into someone's house to steal it back was probably lottery tickets."

"In that case, why didn't you tell me?"

"I...I'm not sure about my reasoning yet, so...let's just confirm it first."

Hearing Takagi say that, Sato felt a little guilty.

At this moment, they only had eyes for each other.

Pingqing quickly looked away; he'd been eating dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection) day after day.

Inspector Megure coughed twice. "I'll wait here for the search warrant. You can take my car back."

With the matter resolved and the child unharmed, both the uncle and Conan breathed a sigh of relief.

Ping Qing stared at the flashing police lights, his gaze gradually deepening.

The discussion surrounding the events of a few days ago has subsided considerably, and it seems that everything is now in the past.

Life may seem to have returned to normal, but undercurrents are surging beneath the surface.

……

Yamagata Prefecture.

It's snowing heavily.

Uncle Mori rubbed his shoulders. "Oh dear, my shoulder pain has been getting worse lately."

The driver laughed heartily, "Perfect timing! Our hot springs here are especially effective for treating shoulder pain."

Pingqing sat blankly in the back, looking like he hadn't woken up yet.

Not long ago, the uncle solved a case for a big boss, and the boss gave him a hot spring voucher as a token of his gratitude.

And so, the older man grabbed him and dragged him to the Kotoya Ryokan, famous for its therapeutic hot springs.

Looking out at the snow-covered world, I sighed softly. It was time to start the "locked room mystery" mode again.

While Uncle Mori and the driver were chatting happily, the sharp-eyed Conan spotted the cake box at a glance.

The driver said he bought it for a customer, a very famous writer.

Upon hearing the word "great writer," Ping Qing's eyes flickered. In this world of Detective Conan, it seemed that writers with some fame didn't all end up well.

After a long, bumpy journey, we finally arrived at our destination.

Following the landlady into the hotel, we saw that the lobby was full of people.

A woman wearing glasses recognized the man at a glance: "Detective Kogoro Mouri!"

Upon hearing the man's name, the man in the suit immediately stood up and handed over his business card. "It's an honor to run into Mr. Mori here. I'm Tokyo Ichi, a producer at Nichiri TV. Nice to meet you."

Then, she invited the man to sit down, saying, "This is Ms. Eri Akechi. We and Daigokan Publishing are looking to ask her to write a new play for us to release next spring."

Yasuko Yasuda, an editor at Udaikan Publishing, also gave a brief introduction to the plot: "This play tells the story of three young women who make their mark in their respective industries, so we plan to use the most active women in each field as the blueprint for this play."

"Therefore, we have specially invited three graduates from Ms. Raiko's alma mater, Odo University, to come here for a discussion. This is Ms. Shibasaki Asuka, a fashion model who is very active in Paris and New York."

The middle-aged man's eyes widened. "It's so beautiful!"

"This is Ms. Anzai Ema, an oil painter who won an award at the Tokyo Art Exhibition. And lastly..."

Before Osaka Tokyo could finish his introduction, Ran excitedly stepped forward and said, "You must be a singer-songwriter, Ms. Fukatsu Harumi. I'm your biggest fan."

Harumi Fukatsu was pleased to see that someone recognized her, but the two people next to her immediately started making sarcastic remarks.

"It's just that one song is popular, and there are actually fans."

"Singers who rise to fame one moment and then disappear the next are everywhere."

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Uncle Mori quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Each one has her own unique beauty, and all three of them are equally distinctive."

Ping Qing blinked. A TV producer, university editor, novelist, model, painter, singer…

They're all celebrities; this must be a big production.

It's a pity they ran into the Grim Reaper family.

After chatting for a few more minutes, the group followed the landlady back to their guest room.

Seeing the room filled with kimonos, Xiaolan asked curiously, "Madam, is there some story behind all these long-sleeved kimonos and sashes hanging everywhere in the inn?"

"Because every household in this area worships a kimono-clad deity, such decorations are very common here."

After getting ready, Heiji was dragged out of the house by Conan, just as Ran and Eri Akechi were talking together.

Upon hearing Ran mention that the local families worship the kimono-sleeve deity, Eri Akechi took the opportunity to tell a story.

"The kimono-sleeve deity also has another name, the kimono-sleeve Hannya. It is said that there was once a girl named Hana who lived in this place. One day, she saved a samurai, and the samurai gave her many long-sleeved kimonos in return."

"Out of jealousy, the village chief's two daughters framed her, and Xiaohua was executed. Taking advantage of the situation, the two sisters stole the long-sleeved kimono. On the night Xiaohua died, the two sisters were admiring the kimono when the lights suddenly dimmed."

"When the family arrived, the younger sister had died on the unfolded kimono, and the older sister had drowned in the pond in the garden. The villagers knew that Xiaohua died with her eyes open, so they built a shrine for her and regarded her as the guardian deity of the village."

Listening to the story, the group arrived at the shrine and found that Harumi Fukatsu was also there.

"This tree is called Kimono Sleeve Cherry. It is 500 years old. Every spring, the tree is covered with flowers, which look like a pair of beautiful kimono sleeves."

Xiao Lan asked in surprise, "Miss Chunmei, are you very familiar with this village?"

Harumi Fukatsu looked at the big tree in front of her, her eyes filled with nostalgia.

“I have a senior from university who loves cherry blossoms, and she's the one who told me the story of the cherry blossom tree. I came here specifically because I was thinking of her.”

Conan wasn't interested in that topic, but the small shrine nearby caught his attention.

Pingqing took a closer look and found that there was a pile of paper figures inside, including two brand new ones.

"The people here say that if you come here to worship in the middle of the night wearing a long-sleeved kimono, the kimono sleeve god can avenge you. The paper dolls inside are offerings from those who come to worship."

After listening to Eri Akechi's explanation, everyone's attention fell on the two newly appeared dolls.

Ping Qing raised an eyebrow slightly. This was a big order, and it was going to wipe out two people at once.

Xiao Lan, who was always afraid of ghosts and spirits, turned pale. The uncle quickly comforted her, "Xiao Lan, I think it's probably just someone deliberately causing trouble. Don't think too much about it."

Having seen the snow scenery and heard the stories, the group began to walk back.

Conan turned his head and saw that Pingqing was still standing in front of the ancestral hall without moving. "Pingqing-nii-san, what's wrong?"

Pingqing calmly withdrew his gaze, thoughtfully stroking his chin. "Isn't it said that the kimono-clad spirits avenge people? I'm thinking about how many dolls to put in. Do you want to put two in too?"

Conan: ...

As expected, Taira no Kiyoshi remained as neurotic as ever.

If it were truly useful, this place would have been packed with tourists long ago.

"Brother Pingqing, you actually believe such a legend?"

"What if?"

Conan rolled his eyes at the self-righteous Hirai.

Pingqing rubbed Conan's big head. "Conan, you're rolling your eyes more and more often. Is there something wrong with your eyes?"

Conan slapped away Hirai's hand and caught up with the main group, with Hirai following behind with a smile.

Back at the hotel, Conan discovered another shrine.

After hearing that a kimono-clad sodish was enshrined there, Xiaolan became even more frightened. "Dad, I feel something's not right. Could you please go and take a look?"

Having no other option, the uncle went to check, only to find that there were no paper dolls in the ancestral hall.

Seeing this, Xiaolan felt much relieved. "Oh, that's great."

That evening, Harumi Fukatsu came to the door.

“During my junior year of college, a girl was accused of selling illegal drugs on campus. Although she denied it, drugs were found in the locker room.”

"To prove her innocence, she jumped from the school building. Her name is Suzuka Sakurako. She's the kind upperclassman I mentioned to you under the cherry blossom tree in her kimono. She would never do such a thing. Mr. Mori, please, please reinvestigate this matter."

The middle-aged man sighed, "This happened five years ago, that's too long..."

"At the time, there were rumors that the mastermind was someone else, but the fathers of these two women were very influential, so no one in the school dared to come forward to testify against them. These two women were Anzai Ema and Shibasaki Asuka."

"what?"

The middle-aged man stared at Harumi Fukatsu in shock.

"Asuka Shibasaki is the daughter of Congressman Shibasaki, and Ema Anzai is the daughter of the president of Anzai Global Construction Company. The two of them often clash with Sakurako. Please, Mr. Mori, you must help me."

After listening to Harumi Fukatsu's explanation, the righteous uncle immediately agreed.

It was getting late, so the group decided to go for a soak in the hot springs.

Xiaolan discovered that the women's bath area was booked out from 10:00 to 11:00. With no other option, she and Fukatsu Harumi played ping-pong first, and would talk to each other when the time came.

Soon, it was 11:30.

As they reached the door, Xiaolan noticed a paper doll. She touched it and looked at the group with a puzzled expression. "It's so cold."

Upon picking it up, Xiaolan noticed that the paper doll was wearing a mask, which startled her so much that she threw it away immediately.

Suddenly, the atmosphere became tense.

Looking at Hannya's mask, Conan suddenly remembered something. "Uncle, Brother Pingqing, please open this door quickly."

The uncle violently broke down the door, and Conan rushed in to find Shibasaki Asuka wrapped in a kimono, her body submerged in the water.

Upon seeing this, the man jumped into the water, exclaiming, "Oh no, I've been stabbed in the chest!"

Seeing Shibasaki Asuka's death, Conan immediately thought of the legend of the kimono-sleeved Hannya, which involved two sisters who died.

So she ran to the lobby and saw Eri Akechi and the others still discussing the script.

Where is Ema-san?