pdf-ebookys Chapter 141 Has the Organization's Spring Arrived?
Chapter 141 Has the Organization's Spring Arrived?
Outside the bustling shrine, citizens dressed in New Year's kimonos made their way toward the shrine with fresh looks. Playful boys and girls, local yakuza members in suits, and all sorts of people from Beika Town gathered here to seek a new year.
"There are so many people so early in the morning, the place is really popular!"
Click click click.
After taking another set of New Year's outdoor photos for Hiromi Taro, Kuromon Haruya put down his camera with satisfaction, raising an eyebrow and sighing.
Ran Mouri looked at the promotional posters erected next to the torii gate, while a life-size standee of Yoko Okino posed for photos with wave after wave of people.
"Ms. Yoko's drama series is currently airing, and as a filming location for the climax of the story, Mamegaki Shrine has been generating a lot of buzz lately!"
"Hahaha! That's the brainchild of my famous detective Kogoro Mouri and Ms. Yoko. It was no surprise that it was nominated for an Oscar!" When talking about his idol, Kogoro Mouri couldn't be serious for a second, and his tongue would stick out almost to the sky.
Conan glanced sideways speechlessly: If you had a thick skin like this uncle, life would be a lot easier.
That's right, this is the Beikazuki Shrine where the fox murder incident once occurred. (See Chapters 33 and 34)
A few months ago, Kuromon Haruya accompanied Uncle Mori to the film set and, unsurprisingly, witnessed the internal conflict within the crew: Anzai Morito, the cinematographer, was blackmailing Mamegaki Taeko, the heir to the shrine.
As an outsider, Kuromon Haruya had no intention of getting involved in the incident. However, the shrine's head priest, citing fate, specially gifted him the amulet he had carried for many years. In return, he stopped Mamegaki-san's criminal intentions.
However, if death calls for you to die at midnight, no one will keep you alive until dawn; those who commit heinous acts will naturally be punished. Under the influence of the shrine's guardian deity, Mr. Anzai ultimately lived up to his name, passing away peacefully in an "accidental fall and head injury."
Incidentally, Kuromon Haruya also managed to get a nominal position as a filming director by helping to coordinate some of Anzai's work.
Thanks to nature for its gifts (hands clasped in prayer)
"Isn't this Mr. Kuromon and Mr. Mori? It's a great honor to see you all again! Wishing you all a peaceful and happy New Year!"
An elderly man with a white beard, dressed in Buddhist robes, stepped forward, followed by a loving newlywed couple.
“Abbot Mamegaki, Happy New Year to you as well.” Kuromon Haruya bowed in return, and then introduced Hanze beside him: “Speaking of which, Mr. Hanze, your talisman was a gift from the abbot here.”
Upon hearing this, Master Fanze immediately bowed deeply and obediently, saying, "Thank you so much!"
"No need to thank me, it's all a result of fate."
Abbot Douyuan quickly helped him up. In terms of cause and effect, Master Fanze was also a benefactor who prevented his granddaughter from going down a path of no return.
After carefully examining Master Fanze's face, the abbot suddenly coughed and said, "Our temple is extremely effective in bringing good fortune and warding off evil. As the abbot, I strongly recommend that everyone visit and worship here. Highly recommended!"
The abruptness of this topic shift makes it hard not to suspect that he had something else in his words.
Indeed, when Abbot Mamegaki looked at this face, he couldn't help but sigh:
No wonder Mr. Kuromon specifically asked for a talisman. Given that Mr. Fanze's brow is black—no, his face is covered in black aura—if he doesn't seek some protection, he might get caught up in an incident while walking down the street one day.
"Huh? Okay, we'll go line up now." Fanze Zhenren paused for a moment, then took it as a sales pitch and nodded in agreement.
However, the head priest of his own shrine was not lying about its efficacy.
The film and television celebrities and presidents of Mihua are like leeks in fertile soil; before one crop is even harvested, another sprouts up. A few deaths or injuries during filming are considered acceptable natural losses in the industry.
During the filming of this big-budget TV series, only one male actor collapsed and one staff member died, and the latter died accidentally. Compared with the numerous murders in Beika Town, it's as if they were blessed by the gods!
Kuromon Yōya specifically suggested visiting the shrine because it was the only one that dared to manifest its power before him.
A new broom sweeps clean, so I'm here to draw a fortune stick and see if the mystical side has any different attitudes!
The line of people waiting to worship had already formed two long queues. The group of people, who were free today, were chatting and enjoying themselves while waiting in line.
Just as Kuromon Haruya was enthusiastically taking pictures of Hiromi Taro with his camera, Hanzawa Masato suddenly patted him on the shoulder, then pointed to Conan, who clearly had something to say, with a very complicated expression.
"What's wrong?" He acted as if he had been caught wetting the bed by his kindergarten teacher, looking guilty.
Before Hanzawa could answer, Conan pulled Kuromon Haruya along and pointed to the right side of the line: "Mr. Kuromon, look at those two suspicious people over there!"
Kuromon Haruya turned his head, and what he saw shocked him!
Three meters away from them, in the other side of the line, a man and a woman, two foreign-looking people in leather jackets, were queuing up and chatting occasionally—weren't those Cohen and Chianti!
He now understood why Fanze Zhenren had that expression.
"What's wrong with those two foreigners? Apart from their cool outfits, I don't see anything suspicious about them."
Conan pushed up his glasses and calmly laid out his points:
“Heimen, look at those two people’s hands. They are two people who cannot be identified by any blood relation in appearance, but they show similar protrusions in their knuckles and wrists. Their arm muscles are strong and powerful. They occasionally cast scrutinizing glances at the crowd around them, and their eyes unconsciously look at the nearby tall buildings—it’s just like a sniper looking for the best attack point.”
“I just made a bet with Mr. Fanze, and he doesn’t quite agree, so I’m asking for your opinion.”
Fanze looked on anxiously: The neighbor's brat was trying to kill my colleague, and he was asking how to stop him. He needed help urgently.
Kuromon Haruya exchanged a glance with him, and while observing the two men's behavior from head to toe, she actually discovered quite a few details that were not obvious.
"In this regard, I agree with Conan's guess about the sniper rifle." Conan had just shown a hint of delight when Conan changed the subject, "But it's only something worth paying attention to."
Kuromon Haruya tapped his chin, lowered his eyes, and patiently explained:
"Their physical characteristics do match those of a sniper, but Conan, you've overlooked something—after Europe relaxed gun control, many Western countries allowed citizens to own firearms, including sniper rifles, and shooting and hunting became a popular recreational activity. When I was studying in Italy, some people even carried AK rifles to the market to buy groceries."
"But..." He still felt that there were two details that were somewhat concerning, but he hadn't noticed them yet.
Did he get infected by Shirley and install an organization radar plugin on him too?
Knowing that this wouldn't convince Conan, Kuromon Haruya opened her phone's photo album again: "Speaking of which, I also saw them at the dumpling competition a few days ago! Look, the two people in Tang suits in the background of the group photo are most likely foreign tourists who are interested in culture."
Still holding stereotypes about criminals and simply believing that "liking Sherlock Holmes means you're a good person, and that codenamed members wouldn't be down-to-earth and engage in team building," Conan hesitated, nodded, and went to Ran's side to review the details himself.
With the crisis of suspicion temporarily averted, Fan Ze breathed a sigh of relief.
However, I've run into them twice in the last three days, and each time they were in pairs...
Kuromon Haruya leaned close to Hanze and whispered, "Those two, could they really be talking?"
First, there was the topic of Gin and Vermouth's relationship, which was arousing his old heart. Then, Chianti Cohen and his partner were suspected of dating... Could it be that spring has come to the organization and it's time to fall in love?