Chapter 115. Youth is truly wonderful.

Have I been encountering a slightly higher number of detectives lately?

Tsukino and Chiya thought to themselves.

Well, actually, he only encountered two people in total. One of them was the dangerous "murder detective" Ayatsuji Yukito, and the other was a legendary detective who could solve difficult cases with just a glance.

If we assume that each of these two is equivalent to ten salaried but mediocre detectives, then by rounding up, Tsukino and Chiya encountered twenty detectives in just two days. How can that not be considered a high level of detective expertise?

But doesn't this kind of development seem a bit too natural now?

He eventually arrived at the coffee shop downstairs from the Armed Detective Agency.

Together with Oma Kokichi.

...and someone I'd only known for ten minutes.

Tsukino and Chiya were quite certain that Ouma Kokichi was indeed a socialite in every sense of the word.

At that moment, after Edogawa Ranpo warned him that "going now would only lead to nothing," the purple-haired boy's eyes lit up. He put his original plans aside and took the initiative to go and strike up a conversation.

Tsukino and Chiya were a step behind. After he followed Ohma Kokichi to the two of them, the two had already whispered to each other briefly and reached a consensus. Then, for some reason, they looked at the black-haired boy who had come a step later with a tacit understanding and stared at him intently.

Tsukino and Qianye: "..."

Suddenly, I had a bad feeling.

Then, without realizing it, things turned out this way.

The consensus reached between Ouma Kokichi and Edogawa Ranpo was that Edogawa could kindly explain his two sentences from earlier, but only on the condition that... a delicious afternoon tea?

As they were talking, another stranger, whom Tsukino and Chiyo didn't recognize, walked over, saying, "Mr. Ranpo, I've taken care of things over there. Now let's go back... Huh? Who are these two?"

Tsukino and Chiya knew that this person was probably also a member of the Armed Detective Agency.

Then, naturally, comes another simple explanation.

Although the club member's eyes showed a hint of surprise, his emotions were mostly filled with unconditional trust in Edogawa Ranpo.

Tsukino and Chiya only watched the interaction between the unknown employee and Edogawa Ranpo for a short while before they could tell that the person firmly believed that "Mr. Ranpo must have his reasons for doing things."

That's why, after learning about Edogawa Ranpo's ideas, he greeted Chiya and the others warmly without any hesitation. While showing them the way, he also learned in casual conversation that Chiya and the others were traveling during their vacation, and kindly recommended some good places to eat and have fun.

The Armed Detective Agency wasn't far from where they met... but their destination wasn't the agency itself, but rather the coffee shop downstairs. Although, in terms of distance, it didn't seem to make much difference.

"Mr. Ranpo, I'll go upstairs now...you..."

After successfully leading the three, including Edogawa Ranpo, to the target store, the employee hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"You remember..."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I know!" Edogawa Ranpo waved his hand, clearly understanding what the other party wanted to say. "Besides, even if I really wanted to eat too much, the boss wouldn't allow it, would he?"

It seems that the Armed Detective Agency has a good relationship with the members of this cafe, at least the manager.

Soon, the member went upstairs to the detective agency.

Although it was their first time meeting this famous detective, Tsukino and Chiya had already heard about his many exploits and seen the respect the other detectives had for him. Therefore, they had more faith in Edogawa Ranpo, who had previously said "there's no need to go again."

Because Tsukino and Chiya had been investigating strange events for a long time but came up empty-handed, and because he was a calm and easy-going person, he didn't feel anything was wrong when the plan was suddenly rewritten.

Even when they arrived at the Armed Detective Agency building, which they originally didn't want to get involved with, it was the same.

Every day, many ordinary people come and go from the detective agency, submitting cases and interacting with its members. The coffee shop is a place that everyone can visit.

So this level of situation is fine. He just wants to minimize the possibility of getting involved in trouble, but he won't deliberately avoid contact in the current situation.

and……

Recalling the abruptly interrupted investigation of "Okihori," Tsukino and Chiya felt nothing. Although Ohma Kōkichi had used this as one of the reasons for his trip to Yokohama, Chiya inexplicably felt that he didn't actually believe that they would encounter a real incident on this trip. Or more accurately, Ohma Kōkichi himself didn't have much expectation for this trip to Okihori.

In conclusion, Tsukino and Chiya felt that Ohma Kokichi did not actually come to Yokohama because of the Okihori incident.

But would the idea that "I came for you" really apply to Ouma Kokichi? Although my intuition points to it... it would be a bit too narcissistic.

"Sorry to bother you."

Although everyone initially came to this coffee shop for other reasons, once inside, they didn't immediately discuss anything related to Okihori, but instead ordered food first.

Before long, a waitress with a smile came over with a tray full of various snacks and drinks and thoughtfully placed the food in front of each person.

"Then, please enjoy your meal."

Since they were already here, and people weren't going to just disappear, and considering what Edogawa Ranpo had said back then... Tsukino and Chiya decided to focus on enjoying their food first. —Since they weren't very hungry, he simply ordered a coffee and a soft pudding.

After Ayatsuji Yukito brought news last night that sounded like it was making the situation even worse, Tsukino and Chiya, who had initially felt terrible after hearing it, were now much calmer after fully digesting the information.

Hmm... the pudding is pretty good.

Tsukino and Chiya glanced around.

The people around them were all ordinary customers. Apart from Edogawa Ranpo and the previous member, Tsukino and Chiya did not see any other members of the Armed Detective Agency.

That makes sense. While difficult cases don't come every day, the Armed Detective Agency doesn't only take on cases that give even the police a headache. So, while the agency members aren't exactly overwhelmed with work, they're not so idle that they can slack off at will either.

No... there might be exceptions.

Why is this person so openly slacking off?

Tsukino and Chiya stared blankly at a man chatting and laughing with the bartenders. He was wearing a beige trench coat and had slightly curly short hair. Although only his profile could be seen from this angle, Chiya could still make out one of his iris-colored eyes.

The man and the shop assistant weren't speaking loudly, but they weren't deliberately keeping their voices down either. Given the shop's generally quiet atmosphere, Tsukino and Chiya were able to glean the man's identity from their conversation—he was indeed a member of the detective agency upstairs.

Then, as if keenly sensing Chiya's gaze, the man's affectionate look towards the shop assistant vanished instantly, and he glanced at the place where Tsukino and Chiya were.

"Huh? Are these two Mr. Ranpo's new friends?"

The man in the brown trench coat smiled and looked over at the two boys sitting opposite Edogawa Ranpo. As he walked towards them, he greeted them in a very friendly and amicable manner.

"Hello everyone. Oh... isn't this it!"

"It's you!" Wangma Xiaoji recognized him. "What a coincidence!"

"Oh, it's Dazai."

Compared to his colleagues whom he saw almost every day, Edogawa Ranpo was clearly more focused on the snacks in front of him at this moment, and simply greeted them to show that he still had colleagues who loved him.

The man known as Dazai acted very kind and friendly. In his previous conversation with the shop assistant, he seemed like a cheerful and humorous person, and appeared to be very easy to get along with.

only.

Tsukino and Qianye cursed.

Tsukino and Chiya had seen plenty of people who appeared harmless on the outside but were actually far from simple. Wasn't Ohma Kokichi, sitting next to them right now, one of them?

And this man... could he really be a simple and harmless person who met and got to know Ouma Kokichi in such a strange way?

Compared to Edogawa Ranpo, who made no attempt to conceal himself and showed some sharpness from the very beginning, Tsukino and Chiya were more wary of this young man who could talk so enthusiastically about suicide with Ohma Shokichi... although it wasn't obvious on the surface.

Tsukino and Chiya picked up their cups and took a sip of coffee.

He felt the young man with the surname Dazai's gaze shift back and forth between him and Ouma Kokichi before he smiled and said, "This must be the friend you mentioned who came to Yokohama with you during the holidays, Ouma-kun."

Although still very young, the young man, who had indeed entered adulthood, smiled and sighed, "Youth is wonderful."