Transmigrated into Conan, his ability is Rhodes Island

“Kimi, you can’t be so absolute.” At this moment, a short-haired young woman of similar age to Kimi walked over and interjected with a smile, “According to my father, a couple of days ago when he returned from fishing, he saw a figure playing the shamisen on the rocks by the sea. He was curious and went closer to check, but as soon as the figure got close, it quickly jumped into the sea…”

Shamisen? The mermaid legend is quite fitting for the occasion… Akihara’s lips twitched slightly, but he still showed great interest and began to pretend to deduce. “You just said your father saw a ‘shadow,’ but didn’t see the thing’s true form? That could also be someone deliberately creating a mystery…”

The short-haired woman seemed to know he would ask this, and a smile played on her lips. "No, no, no, my father is an old fisherman, and he's quite certain that it wasn't human, but some kind of marine creature. Because after it hurriedly fled, it left behind wet slime and fish scales on the rocks."

"Wow, it really sounds like a mermaid!" Akihara, a tourist from out of town, exclaimed, her eyes shining. "Which way is that reef? There's still some time before the mermaid festival tonight, I'd like to explore the surrounding area first."

Shimabukuro Kimie sighed. "Saori, why are you all like this lately... Never mind, Mr. Akihara, this is my friend Kadowaki Saori, and we're also alumni of the same university. Saori, this is Mr. Akihara, a very skilled doctor." It seems Shimabukuro Kimie wasn't informed of the specifics of the case on the ship, and that Akihara, who claimed to be a forensic doctor, was actually involved.

Akihara greeted her, then smiled and replied to Shimabukuro Kimie, "Ms. Shimabukuro, there are still many things in this world that are difficult to explain with modern science. If we could really discover mermaids that can prolong life, it would be a leap forward for modern medicine and a treasure for all mankind."

Saori Kadowaki's smile deepened as she saw Akihara standing on her side. So she stopped hiding it and said, "Go around that forest, follow the direction of Mermaid Waterfall until you reach the river's mouth, that's roughly where it is."

After thanking them, Akihara bid them farewell. Instead of going directly to the reef where the mermaid was supposedly discovered, he went to the hotel where Yamamoto Kazuo had stayed, as originally planned.

Upon arriving at the inn he remembered, Akihara pushed open the door and entered. This time, instead of the gloomy-faced owner, a woman in a kimono stood at the front desk.

While the other party was checking him in, Qiu Yuan asked, as if trying to make conversation, "Madam, do you own this shop by yourself?"

The woman didn't even lift her eyelids, her head down as she scribbled notes in her notebook, her voice indifferent. "Yes."

After she finished writing, she looked up and handed the room key to Akihara. "Third floor, the innermost room."

After receiving the package, Akihara didn't rush to leave. Instead, he scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, his eyes clear and sincere as he looked at the woman. "Sister, I'm sorry to bother you again. My three companions arrived here ahead of time, but they didn't bring their mobile phones, and I can't contact them for a while... Do you know if there are two men dressed in black staying here with a little girl?"

The woman stared into his eyes for a while, seemingly trying to confirm whether Akihara was lying. After a long pause, she replied in her still indifferent voice, "Next door to you."

Qiu Yuan thanked him repeatedly, took his room key, and went upstairs. It was peak tourist season, and the three-story hotel was packed. As he passed the second floor, he could hear people talking quietly.

Upon reaching the third floor, Akihara went straight to Gin's room, knocked symbolically on the door, and then yanked it open while calling out, "Is anyone there? I'm coming in."

Inside the room, Shiho Miyano was on the left, and Gin and Vodka were on the right. The three of them were sitting cross-legged on either side of a low table, staring intently at Akihara as he opened the door.

Qiu Yuan wasn't shy at all; he sat down at the low table, facing the door, as if he were already familiar with the place. He picked up the teapot and looked around. "Oh, don't you have any extra teacups?"

"What are you doing here?" Vodka asked first, realizing that if he didn't speak, his brother would shoot.

Seeing that there were no extra teacups, Akihara regretfully put down the teapot. "Oh, I live next door to you." He spoke matter-of-factly, as if he were just visiting a neighbor. "By the way, what's your mission this time? Tell me, maybe I can give you some advice."

Silence, an awkward silence. Vodka first glanced at Shiho Miyano across from him. She kept her head down and remained silent. Even when they were discussing the mission details, the young girl had only occasionally uttered a "hmm" to indicate that she was listening. He then turned to look at his older brother and found that Gin did not have the expected murderous intent on his face. Instead, he looked at him coldly and said, "Tell him."

Huh? Vodka was completely baffled. Brother, when did your temper become so good?

Akihara's alarm bells rang, and he yelled at the system to come and check if Gin had taken the wrong medicine. His earlier statement hadn't been a genuine attempt to help them investigate; he'd only wanted to rack up points with Gin before starting his own mission for self-protection. And Gin had actually agreed to tell him… Something was definitely amiss.

Vodka cleared his throat, deciding to stop dwelling on why his older brother's attitude had suddenly changed, and began his second explanation of the mission. Except for the part about "developing an elixir of immortality," he told Akihara everything else in detail.

Vodka, acting as his elder brother's mouthpiece, had said far too much today. After he finished speaking, he poured himself a cup of tea and also filled his brother's cup. Throughout this time, Akihara's eyes were glued to the teapot, never leaving it, making Vodka feel a little uneasy. He hesitated, then said, "If you really want some, you can use my cup..."

Akihara, who was pondering Gin's true intentions, looked up with a blank expression. "Huh?"

At this moment, Gin spoke up: "Su Dai, what are your thoughts on this matter?"

His tone was even calmer than usual.

Me? I think you people who went through nine years of compulsory education should have realized ten years ago that there is no Santa Claus anymore. Oh, I can't blame you, you probably dropped out of school a long time ago and joined the underworld... It's Karasuma Renya's fault for not doing a good job of literacy education within the organization.

But considering Gin's unusually polite manner, he decided to give him some face. Akihara swallowed back the words that flashed through his mind.

“I think we should follow the organization’s style, tie up the old woman now, and then leave by helicopter,” Akihara replied seriously.

Shiho Miyano finally raised her head and gave Akihara a shocked look, as if to say, "What kind of image does the organization have in your mind?"

Then she saw Vodka nod in agreement, thinking it was a great idea.

Was it my fault? Thirteen-year-old Shiho Miyano began to question the meaning of life.