59 Jinjiang Exclusive

◎This chapter features the super A-level Ruoyi!◎

61

"What... what Armed Detective Agency...?"

When Kawakami Wakana heard her mother's words, she felt a sense of suffocation. But she quickly recovered, her tone as if she were listening to some unbelievable fantasy.

"Didn't I already tell my mom? I'm working at a sports equipment store now, and after I graduate in April, I'll go to work as a part-time physical therapist in the plastic surgery department of ○x Hospital—"

"Ruoyi," her mother interrupted her rambling.

“Ras has told me everything.”

"..."

Kawakami Wakana remained silent.

But an indescribable anger arose within me.

Excellent!!!

You're actually snitching? Are you a primary school student?

But it must be said that this kind of elementary school student-like tactic is indeed the most direct attempt by the big spender to stab her in the heart.

Ruoyi clenched her fists tightly, not even caring that her nails hurt the delicate skin on her palms.

What chilled Kawakami Wakana to the bone was that he still couldn't deduce from his mother's words what Fedia had actually said.

Did he simply acknowledge that she was a member of the detective agency, or... did he reveal the existence of his supernatural abilities, the fact that he himself was a supernatural being, and even the true nature of the Armed Detective Agency's work to her?

On the other end of the phone, my mother's voice was like a thunderclap.

"Ruoyi, you should refuse the job at the detective agency."

"..."

“From childhood to adulthood, whether it was learning volleyball or studying sports medicine, Mom has always supported all your decisions. If you say that some jobs are dangerous or require hard work, but someone has to do them, Mom understands.”

"But as a mother, you should understand, right? The one thing I don't want my daughter to become is to become that kind of person."

"..."

"I understand..." Leaning against the wall, Ruoyi gritted her teeth. "I'll consider it."

After saying that, she hung up the phone, found Feda's chat account, sent the message "Tonight, Chinatown, let's talk," and then returned to her seat.

"Wakai-san!" Naomi Tanizaki saw Wakai return and immediately stood up halfway and waved. "The beef bowl you ordered is served."

"I'm sorry." Ruoyi picked up her bag. "If you can't finish this, please pack it up and leave it at the dorm entrance. I have something to take care of..."

"...?"

Naomi Tanizaki and Akiko Yosano exchanged puzzled glances.

10 PM, Yokohama Chinatown.

Kawakami Wakana stood in front of a very conspicuous sign in Chinatown, rubbing her hands together and occasionally touching her nose, which was red from the cold.

She didn't know if Fei Jia would come, since although her message had been marked as "read," she hadn't received a reply.

But Ruoyi must wait.

Aren't you cold?

A cold, emotionless voice sounded behind her. Kawakami Wakana turned around and saw the familiar white hat in the neon lights of the night.

“Since you think I’m cold,” she looked up, “shouldn’t you put your coat on me? That’s what the male lead does in romance dramas.”

“But I’m not the male lead in a romance drama,” Fyodor said seriously. “Besides, my health would be terrible if I caught a cold.”

"It's going to be terrible..."

Ruoyi repeated his words.

"Are you saying this because you recently caused trouble at Dr. Blackjack's clinic, and Ryunosuke Akutagawa of the Port Mafia is still recuperating there, or is it because—"

"Are you afraid that if you get delirious again, you'll call for my mother?"

"...!"

Sure enough, as soon as he said that, Fyodor's Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes became unfocused.

Even now—

With a loud thud, Kawakami Wakana walked towards Fyodor, forcing him to retreat step by step until he was cornered against the wall, at which point she slammed her hand heavily against the wall.

"Tell me, what exactly do you mean by contacting my parents behind my back and telling them about the detective agency?"

Seeing the girl's assertive attitude, whether he had regained his composure or realized that he was now at a disadvantage, Fyodor's darting gaze finally landed on her.

"Aren't you pretty good now? Didn't you ask me to guess last time?"

"—Then Neko, this time you try to guess what I'm thinking."

"..."

"Guess what you're thinking?" Kawakami Wakana's tone was indifferent. "This is much more tiring than working for the Armed Detective Agency."

"But if you want me to guess, I can give it a try. Since you said before that you wouldn't use your trump cards too early, do you perhaps hope that I'll obediently leave the detective agency so as not to worry my family?"

"But what's the point of doing this to you?"

Ruoyi's fingers gripped the wall tightly. "Feijia, I don't care what you think, but even if I really leave the detective agency, I will never become a second Ivan by your side."

"Whatever you and my family say is your business. But I can assure you now that my family and friends will never be my weakness."

As she spoke, she took out her phone from her pocket and dialed her mother's number.

"Hey? Mom, let's make a deal."

“You and Dad, come to Yokohama and see for yourselves what the Armed Detective Agency does. If you still think it's dangerous and that I'm suffering, then I'll consider what you said.”

After saying that, he hung up the phone, opened the call log, and showed it to Fyodor as if announcing a victory.

"So she meant for you to resign." But Fyodor's expression showed no sign of being a defeated opponent.

"...?"

In the darkness, those empty eyes stared directly at Ruoyi. The corners of his lips seemed to be smiling, or perhaps it was just an unconscious upward curve.

“Neko,” he said, “how do you know that I’m doing this, just like your parents, to protect you?”

"After all, I am essentially just a mortal."

"...?"

The neon lights flickered, casting the face before her in alternating light and shadow. Kawakami Wakana tensed slightly, her hands, which had been gripping the wall, loosened.

Amidst the enticing aromas wafting from Chinatown, she felt as if she could see Fyodor's pulse throbbing faintly in his neck, and Fyodor's face before her seemed to overlap with that of a man with a frighteningly red fever, murmuring and calling for his mother...

A few minutes later, Gogol received a text message.

[Tuosijun: When I had a fever before, you said I called for your mother and clung to your clothes, not letting you leave. Were you lying about this, or did you really experience or see something?]

"...?"

Looking at his phone, Gogol narrowed his eyes.

He switched his input method to Russian and typed slowly—

незнаю (I don't know).

…………

That night, Kawakami Wakana called her mother, purely out of anger at Fyodor, and acted recklessly to prove that her family was not her weakness.

Only after calming down did Ruoyi realize that she didn't know how to prove that "the Armed Detective Agency is not a place to die".

After all, the detective agency had recently helped the police find the location of a bomb.

Needless to say, she's an adult, not a three-year-old going to kindergarten for the first time. Parents don't need to confirm beforehand. Having to ask the company president to let parents tour the workplace just to start a job—it's laughable.

and--

Ruoyi rolled her eyes at Dazai Osamu, who was hanging a rope from the ceiling of the detective agency, and Nakajima Atsushi, who was hurriedly trying to stop him. She then looked at Tanizaki Naomi, who was rubbing against her brother's arm, and... Izumi Kyoka, who was underage.

“…”

A purple clay pottery fanatic, a brother-obsessed maniac, and someone who hires middle school-aged kids...

What an incredibly powerful cyber debuff!

Just the fact that she's a colleague might be a disapproval from her parents.

"What?" Dazai Osamu noticed Wakana, who had been staring at him, at that moment.

"Could it be that Ruoyi-chan has given up on Dostoevsky and is finally starting to consider whether or not to be with me—"

"..."

"Don't say that word!" Kawakami Wakana snatched the pen from Kunikida Doppo's workstation, acting like Dazai Osamu instead of Kunikida-san, who would have done the same if he were there.

However, the pen didn't hit Dazai Osamu on the forehead; instead, it got stuck in the rope hanging from his lamp. Ink dripped down, landing on Dazai's clothes.

The detectives' attention immediately turned to her. Atsushi Nakajima and Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, in particular, were seeing Wakana in such a rage for the first time and asked her what was wrong with concern.

However, Kawakami Wakai simply shook her head and said it was nothing.

“Wakana-chan,” Dazai Osamu jumped from the table back to the floor, grabbing Wakana’s arm, “You got my clothes dirty, can you help me clean them up in the bathroom?”

Amidst the puzzled and sympathetic gazes of the crowd, Dazai Osamu led Wakana to the bathroom before speaking:

"Don't you want your parents to see me hanging ropes in the office, or shouting that I'm going to commit suicide with the young lady—to hang myself?"

Seeing the slight flicker in Ruoyi's eyes, Dazai Osamu said with great pride, "That day you went shopping with Kyouka-chan and the others but suddenly left on your own. And today you've been staring at the president's office, as if you wanted to discuss something with the president. I guessed it."

"—For example, Dostoevsky told your parents about your time at the detective agency, and even deliberately exaggerated the dangers of the agency, in order to force you to leave the agency through them."

"..."

All I can say is—

As expected of Dazai-san.

A character with the same intellect as Fedia.

Dazai Osamu, however, remained smiling.

"If it's just about not making purple clay teapots in front of your parents, and not inviting your mother to commit suicide no matter how beautiful she is, I can do that. But Ruoyi-chan, don't you have to promise me something else?"

"Like telling me how Dostoevsky explained his purpose in doing so, or something like that."

"...!"

Kawakami Wakana's fingers twitched slightly.

She thought of what Fyodor had said that night.

"I'll think about it." She said, quickly wiping Dazai Osamu's clothes before opening the bathroom door.

At that moment, Edogawa Ranpo had just finished playing a game; the hero had successfully slain the dragon and protected the princess.

“Dazai-san…”

Ruoyi licked her dry lips and slowly said, "Do you think that dragons might sometimes be willing to play the role of a knight?"

"Only the evil dragon himself probably knows the answer to that," Dazai Osamu shook his head.

"—However, the Armed Detective Society has shown your parents that while this place may be dangerous enough, it is also safe enough to protect you."

As Dazai Osamu spoke, his eyes lowered.

I don't know if the only ones who need to prove this to her are Wakana's parents, or...

This also includes that "evil dragon".

[Author's Note]

Fei Jia: What? I've been pinned against the wall...?

Small Theater

It's still the same band joke from yesterday, haha.

Sigma seems to be the one everyone teases, but he's also the most diligent in practicing and the most worrisome. For example, he worries about Fyodor's health, whether Gogol has suddenly added strange tempos that weren't in rehearsals during performances, and so on. Ruyi doesn't require much worry, but since she's a couple in the band, whenever she has a conflict with Fyodor, Sigma has to mediate. (Sigma: I'm so tired.)

Guozi has a lot of freedom, even when performing. For example, she might suddenly improvise during a live performance, adjusting the melody or adding lyrics that weren't originally there.

Fyodor probably wrote all the original songs in the band, and Gogol and Joi both wanted to write lyrics (one just wanted to write lyrics for Fyodor's songs, and the other just wanted to express himself), but after they tried, Fyodor still handed them over to Sigma or wrote the lyrics himself.

Ruoyi is the second hard-working person besides Sigma. Why? Because of Gogol. After all, nobody knows what he'll do during a live performance, so a drummer is needed to guide the rhythm. This is why she and Gogol sometimes argue.

Then Fyodor and Sigma shrugged: Ducks, ducks