Conan: The Romantic Daily Life of a Ghost Detective

Ayumi: "Warm water brother is so amazing! He can always serve the exact same ball as Ai."

"Indeed, I feel that's about the level of professional players." Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya also admired Wen Shui a bit.

Ai Haibara cleared her throat and said to Wen Shui in a condescending tone, "One more time, until Genta can completely master this technique."

Wen Shui glanced down at the tennis ball box, then raised her hand to signal to Haibara Ai and the others, "There are no more balls. We've used them all up."

Ai Haibara put down her racket, turned around, and picked up the Junior Detective League's walkie-talkie from the stool: "Conan, why aren't you back yet? Are you slacking off?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Conan came running in from the side of the tennis court, carrying a bunch of chilled drinks and ice cream.

"Coming, coming! Why are you in such a hurry?" Conan's face was covered in sweat; he had clearly run all the way back.

Ai Haibara said sternly, "We've run out of balls. Don't forget your main task today is to retrieve them."

"understood."

Conan put down the drink he bought, turned around and picked up a shopping cart with a frame, and began to pick up the tennis balls that had fallen on the ground around the edge of the court.

The reason Conan and Nuku were punished with this job is that they accidentally messed things up when they were shopping in Shizuoka Prefecture not long ago.

In order to take photos with Yukiko in the pine forest, Wenshui paid for the items and then left them to Conan to handle.

Conan initially planned to take a taxi to deliver the items back to their hotel, but on the way, he heard a news report on the radio in the car about the recent hotel murder case.

Eager to solve the case, Conan simply handed the package to a courier at the nearby post office, asking them to send it back to Beika Town.

As a result, the training process was delayed due to the high cost of shipping and the slow delivery time.

When they returned, they were ganged up on by the Junior Detective Club and given a beating.

As for Wen Shui, he was relegated to being a sparring partner and serving machine because he couldn't contact Ai Haibara no matter what he did.

If nothing unexpected happens, Wen Shui and Conan will have to act as sparring partners before the Junior Detective League's official competition.

While Conan was retrieving the ball, Wen Shui also put down her racket, went over, grabbed a bottle of ice-cold cola, and took a big gulp.

Ayumi took a small bite of her creamy ice cream and said with a smile, "By the way, Girls' Day seems to be coming up soon..."

The kids started talking about Girls' Day dolls.

Wen Shui sipped his water while listening to the kids chat.

Girls' Day?

If I remember correctly, there seems to be a case in the original Conan manga that is related to Girls' Day.

Wen Shui sensed the presence of the case.

Chapter 239 After exercising, Ai, covered in sweat, smelled especially sweet.

Girls' Day is celebrated on March 3rd every year. The custom is to bless and pray for young girls, and to ward off disasters and difficulties for the children in the family by worshipping Girls' Day dolls.

Simply put, it involves placing dolls that conform to local customs on a tiered altar, typically with seven tiers.

The types of dolls include emperors, empresses, palace maids carrying wine jugs, musicians playing flutes and drums, as well as ministers and servants, etc.

而且要在2月底到3月3日之前就要摆好，而且必须要在3月3日当天收起来才吉利，否则会让女孩将来嫁不出去。

However, Wen Shui felt that these kids were probably not interested in whether they could get married or not; they just liked the feeling of being celebrated as the center of attention.

However, it seems that Ai Haibara's current size would make it more auspicious to display a Girls' Day doll.

Wen Shui wondered if he should get a few chibi-style Gin and Vodka figurines to ward off evil spirits for Ai Haibara.

I feel that replacing her with her older sister, Akemi Miyano, wouldn't be a bad idea either.

"Speaking of which, that Girls' Day doll I saw in the shopping street yesterday was really beautiful," Ayumi said with a longing look on her face.

Genta Kojima took a big bite of ice cream and said while chewing, "But Ayumi, I remember you already have a very pretty Girls' Day doll, don't you?"

Mitsuhiko and Ayumi immediately glared at Genta.

Ai Haibara also looked at Genta with a reproachful expression, seemingly aware of the inside story.

Suddenly isolated, Genta looked bewildered and turned to his older brother, Wenshui, standing beside him for help. But Wenshui couldn't quite remember the details of the case either, so he looked at Ai Haibara next to him.

In the end, Mitsuhiko stepped forward, ran to Genta's side, and lowered his voice so that everyone except Conan, who was retrieving the ball, could hear him: "Genta, you haven't forgotten, have you? Last year, it was you who broke Ayumi's doll's neck!"

Genta suddenly realized that he had accidentally broken Ayumi's doll last year: "Hehehe, I forgot about that. I'm sorry, Ayumi."

Ayumi's expression did not improve after Genta's apology; she remained immersed in her own little world.

In an attempt to bask in the warmth of the case, he proactively interjected, "But, shouldn't there be places to repair those dolls? After all, I've heard that some dolls are even more expensive than a regular apartment."

This custom has been passed down throughout the country for many years, just like pasting couplets during the Spring Festival, every household participates.

However, because the spirit of craftsmanship is highly valued here, the Girls' Day dolls are all handmade by artisans. This has naturally led to a competitive atmosphere and the emergence of collectors of Girls' Day dolls.

Dolls made by famous masters for the Girls' Day festival are often bought by wealthy people and speculators at a very high price.

There is even a counterfeit industry chain that specializes in imitating genuine products made by master craftsmen to pass them off as genuine.

Faced with Wen Shui's doubts, Mitsuhiko couldn't help but sigh: "There are indeed places that can repair dolls, but when the repairman was repairing the doll that Ayumi sent, he accidentally cut his hand, and the doll's face was covered in blood."

Finally, after much effort, they managed to cover the bloodstains with paint, but then the neighbor's dog, "Pipi," ran over and snatched the doll away, mistaking it for a toy.

As Mitsuhiko spoke, his tone suddenly shifted to that of someone telling a horror story.

He paused, then said in a somber voice, "When we finally found the doll, it was disheveled and covered in bite marks. Most importantly, the paint the repairman used to cover the bloodstains on the doll's face had been rubbed off. The blood-covered doll looked like a cursed puppet; just looking at it sent chills down your spine."

"I... I remember now," Genta said, his face filled with terror. "Later, Ayumi's father said those dolls would bring bad luck to their family, so he sealed them away..."

Genta was halfway through his sentence when he noticed Ai Haibara standing with her arms crossed, looking at them with a cold gaze.

“Those dolls aren’t cursed. Pippi just treats them as good friends…” Ayumi said in a low voice, then her shoulders suddenly trembled slightly.

Finally, he covered his eyes with his hands and burst into tears.

Genta and Mitsuhiko panicked and rushed over to apologize to Ayumi. Conan, who was some distance away, also dropped his stroller and ran over.

Wen Shui was speechless. Could it be that the Junior Detective League was about to have another internal conflict?

No way, he's trying to piggyback on the case.

However, Wen Shui soon noticed that Ai Haibara's expression didn't seem as angry as she had imagined; instead, her eyes revealed a faint sense of helplessness.

Could it be that... Ayumi was faking her crying?

The thought of warm water had just crossed Ayumi's mind when she suddenly put her hand down and gave Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Conan, who had run over, a bright smile: "Hehe, just kidding."

"Huh?"

Everyone's faces immediately darkened. Conan accidentally stepped on a tennis ball and fell flat on his face on the tennis court.

"Well, this is something Ai and I learned," Ayumi said with a smile. "Actually, later, Pipi's owner said he would give me all the Girls' Day dolls from his friend's house. Those dolls are even bigger than ours, with seven layers!"

Genta: "Seriously, you made me drop my ice cream on the ground before I could finish it."

"Alright, Genta," Mitsuhiko advised. "By the way, Ayumi, can you manage to arrange all those dolls by yourself?"

Ayumi smiled confidently: "No problem, I've been practicing recently. As long as I can remember the order in which to arrange the dolls and arrange them all at once, the owner will agree to give me all of them."

While the group was having a pleasant conversation.

Wen Shui walked up to Ai Haibara and whispered, "Can't you teach the kids something good?"

"Mind your own business?" Ai Haibara was actually a little speechless. "This is one of the ways girls protect themselves in critical moments. After all, Ayumi isn't as capable as Ran, who can defeat criminals by herself. And no detective can guarantee that they'll always be there for her."

Ai Haibara is clearly mocking Wen Shui, and her words are dripping with jealousy.

Warm Water completely ignored this sensitive topic, because no matter what she said, it seemed impossible to satisfy Ai Haibara.

So he simply refocused his attention on faking tears: "I think this skill might be very useful in critical moments. Why don't you go back and teach me how to fake cry?"

"Teach you?"

Ai Haibara frowned slightly, quickly realizing Wen Shui's true intentions.

"Dream on! Who, who would fake crying in front of you?!" Ai Haibara took a step back, crossing her arms. "Pervert! I really don't understand what's going on in your head anymore. Can't stockings satisfy your desires anymore?"

"Don't mention stockings, what if someone hears us?" Wen Shui quickly covered Ai Haibara's mouth with her hand.

"Ow~"

Without any hesitation, Ai Haibara used her still-growing teeth to bite and tear at Wen Shui's hand in a childish voice.

Of course, Ai Haibara wouldn't really kill him, nor does she have the abyss-like maw that Ayumi can instantly incapacitate a criminal. In Wen Shui's opinion, this is just a unique way for the little kitten to hide her shyness.

Aside from getting covered in his saliva, it doesn't cause much harm.

It wasn't until Conan walked over that Ai Haibara stopped "lecturing" Wen Shui, and then skillfully took out a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe Wen Shui's hands.

To outsiders, this might seem a bit strange. Why was he so angry just now, but in the blink of an eye, he became as considerate as a newlywed wife, gently cleaning his body, which was covered in saliva and teeth marks, with warm water.

Ai Haibara explained to Genta and the others that she sometimes wants to act cute too.

The explanation given to Professor Agasa, Conan, and even Wen Shui, who knew her identity, was that they were worried Wen Shui would secretly eat her saliva, which would be too easy for that guy.

As for the truth, only Ai Haibara herself probably knows.

Conan was already used to this. He went straight over to ask Ayumi why she was crying earlier, and after learning the truth, he looked at Ai Haibara with a helpless expression.

"Oh, right, after our training, come with me to get those Girls' Day dolls," Ayumi suddenly said excitedly. "It'll be a good opportunity for you to see just how beautiful those dolls are."

Genta and Mitsuhiko were a little reluctant because the training was already very tiring.

All they want to do now is go home after their training for the day, lie in bed, eat ice cream, and read comic books. They bought the latest Kamen Rider volume several days ago, but haven't had a chance to read it because they've been busy with tennis training.

However, I did offend Ayumi just now, and although I explained it clearly, I still feel a little embarrassed.

The two of them then looked at Conan with expectant eyes.

Conan didn't really want to go. He wasn't interested in the Girls' Day dolls, and he was already exhausted from being punished to fetch balls for those kids. But thankfully, Wen Shui was there to suffer with him, which made him feel a little better.

But Conan was a thousand times unwilling to waste the entire afternoon.

However, the moment he cast a look at Ai Haibara as if to request to leave the group, she firmly rejected him.

So Conan, Genta, and Mitsuhiko all looked at Wen Shui, hoping she would intercede on their behalf, since it seemed only Wen Shui could persuade Ai Haibara once she became stubborn.

Ai Haibara had already sensed what the three kids were thinking, but she opened her arms to Wen Shui and said, "You don't need to think about it. Brother Wen Shui has a case to handle this afternoon, so let's go with Ayumi to look at the Girls' Day dolls later."

In other words, Ai Haibara would probably have made up an excuse to go back to the lab to research an antidote.

But she had heard of the tradition of Girls' Day dolls, even though she had grown up in the Black Organization.