41 Exclusive post from Jinjiang

◎“I will not agree”◎

43

Fyodor kept observing the kitten's expression.

Sure enough, when he recounted those cruel truths without considering her feelings, she was stunned, as if struck by lightning, a rare look of confusion appearing in her eyes. But soon, her gaze sharpened, and she stared at him, even letting out a sneer.

"What a boring trick." Kawakami Wakana looked at him and, surprisingly, a hint of disgust appeared in her expression. "With your level of skill, there's no need for such roundabout methods, is there? Or are you hoping that not only the head of the detective agency and the Mafia boss will be 'infected', but also my heart?"

"..."

Sure enough, as soon as he said that, his killing intent level jumped to 87%.

But now, Kawakami Wakana is no longer afraid of that.

“Fyodor,” she called Fyodor by his name for the first time, instead of “Fydya,” “Now that the teacher’s game has begun, I’ll give you two assignments as well.”

"First assignment: If, as you wish, the Armed Detective Agency and the Port Mafia fight to protect their superiors, plunging Yokohama into chaos, would you find it interesting or boring?"

"Second assignment: Regardless of your reasons for relentlessly manipulating people's hearts, imagine if one day you achieve your goal, will you feel self-satisfied or even more empty?"

"..."

I am currently in a supermarket in the evening. There are many other customers around, and some people have even noticed the tense atmosphere and are curiously casting their gazes.

Kawakami Wakana didn't believe Fyodor would dare to attack her under these circumstances, which is why she could so sharply spit out a series of daggers called words. She originally thought that hearing her words would anger Fyodor, and that his already frighteningly high killing intent would continue to rise, but the situation seemed to be different from what she had imagined.

Instead of increasing, Fyodor's murderous intent began to morph into a string of gibberish. This gibberish shifted and eventually coalesced into a number: 70%.

And the favorability rating... actually increased.

It rose to 75%.

However, Kawakami Wakana felt that there was no point in continuing to provoke Fyodor now, and he was unlikely to ask Pushkin to release his powers on his own initiative. So she simply tossed her braid, picked up her shopping basket, and left him behind.

Fyodor, however, seemed to be under some kind of supernatural power that rendered him unable to move. He neither spoke nor moved, and even his eyes seemed to have lost the ability to move, staring unblinkingly in the direction where Kawakami Wakana had left.

After an unknown amount of time, Gogol appeared behind her, holding the cane she almost always carried with her, and gently tapped Fyodor with it.

"What's wrong, Tuosijun? Did you make your girlfriend angry?"

After saying this, Gogol unusually shut his mouth instead of continuing to ramble on.

He noticed Fyodor's gaze.

His gaze was sharper than ever before when he had angered him, a look as if it carried a knife. But it was exactly the look he wanted to see—a look that seemed to have lost its soul.

Gogol: !

I have a feeling that things are developing in an interesting direction.

“It’s none of your business.” Fyodor coldly uttered these words, ignoring Gogol’s increasingly manic smile behind him, and left the supermarket directly.

Logically speaking, he could have taken Kawakami Wakana's words as nothing more than a "chicken soup for the soul," something that was neither painful nor interesting, and he didn't need to take it to heart at all. He could even have said a few words to mock her and make her realize how ridiculous her so-called retaliation was.

But Ruoyi's question, "When you achieve your goal, will you feel self-satisfied or empty?" made him feel as if he were in the deep sea, unable to see any sunlight. Even if he tried to struggle, he would only be filled with more seawater.

Fyodor found that he had to admit a fact.

he……

It seems that he was really hurt by what the kitten said.

The temperature in the Kanto region hadn't dropped in October. But walking on the streets of Tokyo, he suddenly felt very cold.

By the time Fyodor realized what was happening, he had started biting his nails again. Sometime during the day, a small section of his nail had been bitten off, blood was gushing out, and the stinging pain was clearly transmitted to his brain through his peripheral nerves.

But he seemed unconcerned, merely licking the wound on his finger, as if only pain could keep him awake.

Oh……

In any case, it seems that not eliminating Kawakami Wakai directly back then was indeed the right choice.

He was increasingly looking forward to what this cat, who claimed to be his god, would do next.

…………

In fact, Kawakami Wakana was also thinking about what she should do next.

Judging from the changes in Fei Jia's murderous intent, it seems that her words had some effect. But words are just empty words; they may be a temporary weapon, leaving lifelong scars on those who care, but they can be forgotten as soon as one stops caring.

She realized she needed to change her actions.

She had initially thought that with companionship and enough warmth, even Fedia could feel "alive" and no longer be lonely. But she was wrong.

What she had done before might have been nothing more than a “small favor” that Dazai Osamu would have considered insignificant.

Thinking about these things, Ruoyi unconsciously arrived home. The moment she got home, she picked up her phone and subconsciously found Dazai Osamu's contact information.

After a moment's hesitation, Ruoyi dialed the number anyway.

From Fei Jia's words alone, it was clear that the Armed Detective Agency was in a very bad situation; she was even prepared that Dazai Osamu wouldn't answer the phone. But the phone only beeped a few times before Dazai Osamu's lazy "hello" came through.

"Dazai..."

Ruoyi hesitated for a moment, but then spoke as if she had made up her mind.

"Perhaps you're right..."

Dazai Osamu: "What?"

Kawakami Wakana lowered her eyes.

“I want Fedia to not be lonely, I want him to ‘become human,’ but if I don’t consider the methods I use, what I do will only become a shackle between the two of us.”

“…” Dazai Osamu paused for a moment, then said as if stating a fact, “…Dostoevsky…”

“He’s not the kind of person who will accept kindness without question. But maybe giving him a little push would be more effective than any medicine.”

"For example, joining the Armed Detective Agency?"

"..."

Dazai Osamu neither confirmed nor denied, but simply left an address: "Yokohama Municipal Hospital".

"The president is currently hospitalized here. If Wakai-chan makes up her mind, she can come over anytime."

"good."

The next day, Kawakami Wakana got up very early. After changing and washing up, when she was about to comb her hair, she looked at her long hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. For the first time, instead of braiding it as she had gotten used to after growing her hair long, she tied it into a neat ponytail. After checking the route to Yokohama Municipal Hospital, she set off.

On the train, she specifically sent a message to Dazai Osamu. Dazai Osamu said that he and Edogawa Ranpo, a veteran of the detective agency, would be waiting for her at the bubble tea shop downstairs from the hospital.

Swaying on the tram, Ruoyi fell asleep without realizing it. She hadn't dreamt a thing all night, but now she dreamt of Fyodor.

She dreamt that Fedya wasn't some superhuman who had survived countless deaths for a thousand years, nor was he the leader of the "Rats in the House of the Dead," but just an ordinary person his age. He hadn't refused her suggestion to go to Moscow to find him; after clearing customs, she immediately saw the boy waiting for her at Domodedovo International Airport.

When I woke up, my eyes still seemed a little wet.

But since it had to come to this point, she had no way to escape it.

Upon arriving in Yokohama, Ruoyi swiped her card to exit the station while checking the navigation. Unexpectedly, just as she stepped out of the station, she suddenly heard a clear "meow." A calico cat walked to her feet and gently rubbed against her calf.

Ruoyi noticed that the calico cat didn't have any decorations around its neck, such as a collar or bell.

Could it be a stray cat?

Perhaps because she remembered Mimi-chan who had returned to Cat Planet, Kawakami Wakana went to a nearby convenience store to buy a cat treat for the kitten before continuing her journey to find her destination, which was about a ten-minute walk away.

But unexpectedly—

When she heard the meowing sound again, she realized that the kitten was right behind her.

She walked forward, and the kitten walked forward too. She stopped, and the kitten stopped too. Even when she tentatively stepped back, the kitten followed her back a few steps.

Kawakami Ruoyi: "..."

Last time it was Yumeno Kyusaku, and this time it's this calico cat. Is she... being pestered again?

A few minutes later, at the milk tea shop outside the hospital.

As soon as Dazai Osamu and Edogawa Ranpo stepped out of the store after receiving the call, they saw Kawakami Wakana put her hands together in an apologetic gesture.

"I'm sorry, this child keeps following me and won't leave."

As she spoke, she pointed to the calico cat behind her.

Neither of them had any objections.

Dazai Osamu simply nodded at the cat, while Edogawa Ranpo bent down and teased the calico cat by tapping its little nose.

"So," Edogawa Ranpo said, still engaging with the cat, "you came here to join the Armed Detective Agency, right?"

"..."

Kawakami Wakana didn't know where this decision would lead her and Fei Jia, but she still nodded solemnly.

“I see…” Edogawa Ranpo pushed up the brim of his hat. “Kawakami Wakai-san, right?”

"I can't comment on what the others in the detective agency think about this, but I can tell you for sure—"

"I will not agree."

[Author's Note]

Ruoyi: Come on, let's hurt each other!

Small Theater

Mermaid trope: Wakai calls the police

Kawakami Wakana ran to the Armed Detective Agency: What I want to say is, please don't be afraid.

Dazai and Ranpo: We are the Armed Detective Agency, we are not afraid, please speak.

Kawakami Wakai: Fei Jia lied to me!

Dazai: May I ask who Fedashi is?

Kawakami Wakai: Not any one of them, it's that Lucia rice ball Fega.

Edogawa Ranranpo's seaweed rice ball

Kawakami Wakai: It's not a real rice ball, it's a person.

Edogawa Ranpo added eyes, hands, and feet to the rice balls.

Kawakami Wakai: It's not personification of the rice ball; "rice ball" is just a nickname.

Edogawa Ranpo's nickname: Rice Ball

Kawakami Wakai: Where is she? I already said it's not a real rice ball, you can't touch or eat it.

Dazai Osamu took the paper and wrote the character "人" (person):

Kawakami Wakai:? ? ?