Chapter 106 You Say

If Edogawa Ranpo had looked at the one in Akai Shuichi's hand, he would have found that this letter was different from the other one. That one is exquisite and solemn, with bright colors and full of vitality, while this one is lighter, like a casual gift.

"This is..." Edogawa Ranpo looked at the background of the invitation and saw only a few floral patterns on it, with two lines of words written in a separate space in the middle.

“To Dazai Osamu:

Whatever a person wishes for is a star. You should choose one. ”

Edogawa Ranpo raised his eyebrows: "This is an opportunity to contact you. It's not to invite you to that world, but to let you contact him. Judging from what he said, he may be able to fulfill one of your wishes?"

"Huh?" Seeing that there was no danger, Nakajima Atsushi came over curiously and asked, "What did Dazai-senpai do?"

"A wish? Can you really wish for anything?" When Kenji Miyazawa, who had been out of the loop, heard the key words, he suddenly jumped over, his eyes turning into stars.

"No!" Dazai Osamu ruthlessly interrupted his fantasy. He smiled and said, "These are just some ordinary needs. If you go too far, he will beat you!"

"Ah..." Kenji Miyazawa, who wanted endless beef rice, had to give up his fantasy regretfully and retreated.

"Besides, I didn't do anything," Dazai Osamu said rationally. "Unlike others, I was taken there by his brother. He certainly wanted to compensate me, but I think this was also a reason."

Edogawa Ranpo said: "No matter what, this is a promise made by a transcendent. If others knew that you had this, they would probably plot against it."

"You have a point," Dazai Osamu said with a smile, "but my wish is nothing but a 'clean death'."

Everyone felt ashamed. Dazai jumped onto the steps, his hands in his pockets, half of his body immersed in the sunlight: "He probably won't fulfill my wish, and it would be troublesome for me to keep it, so I might as well give it to you, Ranpo. You are actually quite curious, right?"

Edogawa Ranpo was not surprised at all, but the others looked unpredictable. "I really want to know what the inside of those monsters looks like." Yosano Akiko sat quietly aside.

"Kyoka will probably like the town inside. The animal residents sound really interesting. However," Nakajima Atsushi lowered his head secretly when he finished speaking, "she seems to be ready to go abroad to look for those two women."

Although it has clearly passed, the mark left by the woman named Isabel on this city is still deep and difficult to erase. The resurrection of the people in the Leibo world is a fact, and it is a fact that cannot be erased no matter what excuses the authorities use. The ruins came back to life with the return of the dead, and the government allocated a large amount of funds to rebuild it. They had to do this because there was only one voice left in the entire city of Yokohama.

"That's good too," Dazai Osamu said, "It's better for people not to need support."

He waved his hand and said to Edogawa Ranpo: "I believe you can make the most of it!" After that, he went to his room, apparently to have a good rest.

…………

To what extent can a transcendent achieve? Edogawa Ranpo had not had this concept before, until this time when Dazai Osamu narrated his experiences in the Armed Detective Agency, Edogawa Ranpo realized that "changing cause and effect", "touching the rules", "creation and destruction"... these were the fields they were in, and they were completely different from ordinary psychics. And the one that Dazai Osamu met this time was probably one of the most difficult ones.

He thought he would have to wait a long time, but who knew that he would sense something was wrong that night.

The invitation card emitted a faint light on the table next to him, and then the faint red light came out from the invitation card and spread in an instant. The whole room began to change color, like peeling wallpaper, and he stepped into another world.

The beds and chairs around had disappeared, and red "rust" began to spread and grow, trying to give birth to a new population in this new world; the windows were pitch black and nothing could be seen behind them. The surroundings were eerily quiet and Edogawa Ranpo could only count his own heartbeats. He realized that he couldn't stay here any longer, so he quickly looked forward.

"I sense your determination." There was no figure, nor any monster. Only a voice suddenly appeared in his ears, grand and gentle, indifferent and cold. He said, "You want to find me."

He spoke with certainty, as if he could see through Edogawa Ranpo's heart.

Ranpo's heart was pounding, but he still maintained his outward calm. The former is for the great power of changing space in an instant, and the latter is his consistent narrative attitude. He found that this person did not ask about Dazai Osamu. Either he assumed that the invitation belonged to him and knew that it was sent by Dazai, or... he didn't care at all!

He didn't care who came to him for the request or what the request was.

Edogawa Ranpo suddenly had a deeper understanding of the word that Dazai Osamu used to describe that person - "quasi-god".

I don't know if it was the state of mind created by being lonely in the world, or if this was just his nature, but this new transcendent combined gentleness and ruthlessness in himself, thus constructing a paradise where he imprisoned himself from the world. Being able to control himself, endure endless loneliness, and accept separation from his family while possessing this power, he undoubtedly lives up to the evaluation of "saint" given by the Secret Service Department.

But this doesn't mean he is not dangerous. His special ability itself is the most terrible danger in this world.

With this information flashing through his mind, Edogawa Ranpo laughed and said loudly, "I do want to seek your help. It seems that Sir Elliot cast a 'magic' on that invitation card, which can sense the owner's mood."

"It can only detect the strongest thoughts. It's just a derivative application of some supernatural powers," the voice, that is, Elliot, said lightly, "and it can only intercept the part related to me. It's a little trick."

Ranpo didn't really care about that. He just wanted to find a topic to talk about. He continued, "Do you know the current situation in Yokohama?"

"You mean 'resurrection'?" Elliott asked.

Sure enough, this transcendent always knew what was happening outside. He did not stop growing, but instead made himself mature on his own initiative.

Ranpo shook his head. "What has happened cannot be changed. Although we have tried to stop it, the witch's means of prying people's hearts are too clever, and her actions are too decisive. She has never had a reputation before, so we fall behind step by step. Of course, failure is failure, and we have nothing to say. I am talking about the current situation of several parties in Yokohama City."

"You tell me," said Elliott.

"The Red King and the Green King are fighting, and the conflicts are getting more and more intense. As the actions of their followers become more and more intense, the two kings are also ready to fight. The Blue King sent his subordinates to Yokohama. Although he wants to stop the fight, he is only one person, while the other kings have two."

After a pause, Edogawa Ranpo said decisively: "Yokohama City must not become the next Kanagawa, and the disaster of falling swords will never happen in Yokohama City!"

"Well, you say," Elliot responded.

Edogawa Ranpo said calmly, "Under the might of the two kings, the foreign organization 'Combination' still did not give up. The white whale they came on is still on the open sea. They are secretly searching for news about the 'Book'. Their actions are known to the forces of the two kings, so the two forces who have confirmed their target are even more unwilling to leave. They divided Yokohama into several parts, monitoring, holding each other hostage, fighting, and confronting each other. They regard this place as a battlefield for the 'Book' and are searching here from top to bottom—"

"This request is not worth my entering this battlefield." Elliot was not moved by his emotions.

Edogawa Ranpo laughed. When he laughed, his bright green eyes showed infinite cunning, which attracted people's attention. He said, "Of course I know this. What happened here has nothing to do with you."

"This matter is ultimately a matter of the 'book'," said Edogawa Ranpo, holding his head back. "Yokohama City itself does not have the power to protect it. Everyone knows the principle of 'a treasure in the hand is a crime'. However, this news was originally spread in a very small area, but a woman opened Pandora's box, and since then, everything has gone out of control."

Elliot thought for a moment and asked, "What do you want to do?"

"I'm not going to cause trouble for that woman," Edogawa Ranpo said. "So many countries are chasing her, and now she hasn't been found. She has completely disappeared. She means something special to Yokohama. Although she has caused trouble, more people are grateful to her. And we can't completely regard her as an enemy..."

Elliot listened quietly. Edogawa Ranpo briefly recounted what happened that day. Then he asked gracefully.

"Did you notice that during that process, there was a person who disappeared from the beginning to the end?"

"..." Elliot didn't say anything.

Edogawa Ranpo didn't take it seriously. He continued, "While they were frantically searching for the 'book', the three parties were also constantly searching for someone who was equal to them."

"The traces of the 'Book' are elusive, but someone has seen it, even if it's just one page." Edogawa Ranpo said calmly: "Not only did he see it, he also used that page on his own sword of Damocles, that is," he lowered his voice, his eyes like the abyss, "the shadow among the kings, the new generation who drove out the cruel king, the first one to limit his own kingship and take the initiative to test the stone slab-"

"Colorless King!"

Elliot was finally shocked. He didn't understand when the original body got these titles, but then he thought about it and felt that except for the last one, the others still made some sense. He glanced at Edogawa Ranpo and knew that he must have been connected to the Onbashira Tower to know certain things. He shook his head in his own space, and then conveyed the information to his original body.