Great Mangaka

"What? Very, very, very popular?"

At noon, Aika, who had just finished an interview, laughed upon hearing the driver's words: "Tanaka, don't joke."

"Master, I'm not joking." Tanaka wiped his sweat and said: "If you don't believe me, I'll take you to see it later. This issue of Weekly Shōnen is selling like hotcakes. It's selling like crazy!"

It's really strange: the driver took Aika to the car and muttered to himself while driving. The situation last time was almost the same. Will Weekly Shōnen surpass Weekly Boutique?

After driving about 500 meters, he stopped the car: "Master, look outside."

Aika looked out the window. It was a bookstore. Several students who had just left school ran with their heads soaked in sweat. They exchanged a few words in front of the counter. The cashier waved his hand, and the children with backpacks hurried away.

"Those children should be here to buy Weekly Shōnen, but this bookstore is sold out,"

the driver explained.

Aika, a little stunned, shook her head: "No, I'm going to ask."

She put on sunglasses and a hat, got out of the car, and entered the bookstore.

"Miss, do you have Weekly Shōnen for sale here?"

"Sorry, it's sold out." The employee smiled slightly and said: "Sir, you can go to other stores and take a look."

It was indeed sold out! Aika was stunned. Is this issue of Weekly Shōnen that popular? She returned to the car and asked the driver to drive around a few more times. She discovered that most bookstores were sold out, while the few large ones that still sold them had very crowded queues.

It was noon. There were still people queuing to buy magazines. And these people didn't seem to care at all. Everyone had a look full of anticipation.

"One, two... a queue about ten meters long, no!"

Aika found it incredible. Normally, magazines are more crowded in the morning. Why is there such a long queue at noon?

"Master, this morning I bought a copy of Weekly Shōnen." At that moment, the driver took out a magazine from the side and smiled: "First, let's find a restaurant to eat. Master, you can take the opportunity to read this magazine."

"Okay." Aika reached out to take the magazine. She told the driver to find a nearby restaurant. She had an interview later and didn't have time to go home for dinner.

The car started again, and Aika fixed her gaze on the magazine in her hand. The magazine was still unopened and had a thin film on the outside. After tearing off the film, Weekly Shōnen's cover appeared before her, which gave Aika the feeling of glimpsing something astonishing.

"This image..."

The cover showed a girl with short, shoulder-length curly brown hair, with an oval, wise face, and the same age as the newspaper. She was an elementary school student. But Aika couldn't be happy. The girl in the image wore a black vest, yellow-brown shorts, and a backpack. She was dressed very ordinarily, and any mangaka could draw her.

However, despite her ordinary attire, she shone with a miraculous attraction under Mirai-sensei's pen.

"Why?"

Aika asked. She felt drawn, but she didn't know why. Every stroke of the image seemed very ordinary, and she could do it too, but when combined, the artistic conception of the image was completely different, and the girl seemed to be alive.

With her hands behind her back, she looked at her, and there was a sense of life. Her simple face and the slight sadness in her eyes vividly reflected her. Although she hadn't read the story's content, Aika believed that this elementary school student was unusual.

Her demeanor possessed a maturity that an elementary school student did not, but that maturity was not perceived in her attire, as if it arose from nothing, formed by the charm emanating from the image.

Aika had studied painting and knew that the best paintings were not those with majestic techniques, but those with simple strokes that showed a fascinating artistic conception. That kind of painting was even difficult to copy. Even if it was copied stroke by stroke, its artistic conception would disappear.

Mirai-sensei... he certainly could achieve it.

"Why doesn't he become a painter?" Aika lamented in her heart. This was the talent she had always dreamed of, but why would Mirai-sensei, having this talent, become a mangaka?

There's only one difference between a mangaka and a painter, but the connotations are completely different. In present-day Japan, the status of painters is very high. A renowned Japanese painter receives better treatment than a city leader.

"Master, how about this Matsuda-ya restaurant?"

At that moment, Tanaka interrupted Aika's thoughts.

As soon as she woke up, she realized she had been staring at the cover for six minutes. The car stopped. There was a medium-sized restaurant on the street, and people were going in and out.

"Okay." Aika put on sunglasses, took Weekly Shōnen, and entered with Tanaka.

"Welcome!"

The receptionist didn't recognize him. She accompanied them to find a table. The restaurant seemed to be very famous. There were no private room seats, so they could only sit in the aisle.

"Tanaka, go order!"

As soon as she sat down, Aika ordered, eager to take out Weekly Shōnen and read it.

Her first work was an adaptation of "The Detective Sherlock," which was defeated by Detective Conan, so Aika was very familiar with the latter. She read all the Detective Conan manga and had no difficulty reading them afterwards.

However, the beginning of this issue of Detective Conan was very strange. The first episode was titled "Transferred Student," and this student was the girl on the cover: Haibara Ai. Her behavior was surprising upon appearing. When the teacher assigned seats, she first sat next to Conan.

"..."

Seeing this, Aika frowned slightly. She felt that Haibara seemed to know Conan. The subsequent plot further confirmed this conjecture. This girl ignored others and looked at people coldly, but in many details, she had a different perspective than Conan.

Undoubtedly, she knew Conan;

Aika had confirmed it, and she was very curious. This character was very well drawn, cold and mysterious, and she faced a case as soon as she appeared. In this case, Haibara's performance was surprising. Her intelligence was comparable to Conan's, and she was also very brave.

Especially at the end of the case, when Conan kicked down the criminal's gun. Haibara picked up the gun without hesitation, clenched her fists, and shot at the criminal. Although she missed, the bullet grazing his face also scared the criminal.

Aika was surprised. She took the gun and shot. Not to mention Haibara's outstanding performance elsewhere, just with this decisive bravery, she can leave a deep impression on readers. In reality, not even some police officers dare to shoot lightly. This girl is too powerful!

"Is she really an elementary school student?"

However, this character is still very mysterious. Aika flipped through the last few pages.

In the manga, the protagonist, Conan, sent Haibara back, and on the way, they were about to say goodbye.

"aptx4869...",

Haibara suddenly uttered this phrase. To Conan's surprise, she told him that was the name of a drug.

"It's the name of the drug they gave you...".

"The Black Organization ordered me to manufacture that drug... I drank it too. It's a mysterious poison. Due to the sudden effect of the cellular self-destruction program, except for nerve tissue, all cells, such as bones, muscles, internal organs, and body hair, have degenerated to childhood."

When the manga reached this point, Aika's eyes widened, and her heart filled with anxiety.

Potion? This is the biggest suspense in "Detective Conan". The high school detective became an elementary school student thanks to a mysterious potion: Conan. This suspense has always kept readers interested, but there hasn't been any progress for a long time.

However, this new female character...? Did she really say she also drank that potion?

Could it be that...?

"No! There won't be such a novelty!"

Aika's mouth was dry, and she was afraid to keep reading. If Haibara wasn't joking, this character's fate would cross paths with Conan's, which would undoubtedly cause a huge stir among readers.

"My name isn't Haibara...".

The manga's plot continued to unfold. In the alley, the student had her hands behind her back and a cold smile: "My name is Shirley, this is my code name in the Black Organization...".

"What? Surprised? Kudo Shinichi?"

In the last scene, Conan's eyes widened in shock. "Detective Conan" was interrupted at the most critical moment.

"Chapter break!"

Aika almost jumped.

"Who is the mysterious girl? We'll continue in the next issue."

However, she stared at the words blankly. Indeed, this Haibara was not an elementary school student. She drank medicine and became smaller like Conan, which could also explain all the previous abnormal behaviors.

Conan had always faced the threat of the Black Organization, but he hadn't expected a girl who had also become smaller to appear at this moment!

Even Aika couldn't deny how interesting and exciting the plot was. Detective Conan returned to the main plot!

"Ahhh!"

Aika asked herself, clutching her head. What about the subsequent plot? What about the subsequent development? What's going on? Three consecutive episodes have introduced a girl, and this girl, Aika, still doesn't understand her true identity, whether she's an enemy or a friend!

If she's an enemy, it means Conan has been discovered by the Black Organization and will enter the most dangerous state in history. If she's a friend, what's her purpose? What exactly is the Black Organization? The main plot of Detective Conan will be further sublimated!

This is an almost divine turning point! Furthermore, Aika has a premonition that this turning point will not disappear like Kaito Kid. This Haibara Ai will be the center of the future plot. She is the second heroine!

The appearance of a new heroine will undoubtedly allow Detective Conan sales to continue to increase.

What worries Aika even more is that she doesn't know how Mirai-sensei will carry out the next plot. No one knows, and the importance of this role has not yet been revealed.

Mirai-sensei's ambition is evident.

Want to know what's next? Easy! Buy the next issue of Weekly Shōnen!

- - - - - - - - - -

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