Chapter 12 The Seventh Day of the Main Body

Without any commissions, the work at the Armed Detective Agency is generally very easy... because there's not much work to do. Therefore, most of the time, the members of the Armed Detective Agency have very flexible hours.

During this free and leisurely time, Ms. Akiko likes to go shopping at the mall, Mr. Ranpo either eats snacks or buys snacks, and Mr. Kunikida... Mr. Kunikida doesn't seem to like to do anything in particular.

Are you going out?

Before I could even make a move, Edogawa Ranpo saw right through me.

"Yeah." I nodded and explained, "I slept for too long before, and I haven't seen Sakura and the others for a long time."

"Hmm." Edogawa Ranpo turned his head to the side. I didn't know what he was looking at, but I knew what he was thinking.

As I've said before, the ratio of geniuses to ordinary people in the world is pitifully low.

The sentence wasn't actually finished; there was another part to it—

But the ratio of geniuses to ordinary people I've encountered is very high.

Especially after I came to Tokyo.

It just goes to show that Tokyo truly lives up to its reputation as a major city; it's a breeding ground for talent... no, geniuses.

For example, Edogawa Ranpo, who is sitting next to me right now.

Although Ranpo always had a childlike mentality, he was undoubtedly a genius when it came to reasoning.

The "detective" in the Armed Detective Agency refers to Edogawa Ranpo.

How strong is Ranpo's reasoning ability?

He's the kind of person who, when the Kanto police encounter a problem they can't solve, will come to the Armed Detective Agency for help.

Isn't it! Absolutely! Impressive!

[Pride.jpg]

Just between you and me, thanks to Ranpo, I've become quite familiar with the police forces throughout the Kanto region.

"Are there enough snacks?" I asked.

"Enough." Ranpo nodded.

"Will there be any requests that require my help later?"

"No." Ranpo shook his head again.

very good.

Then there's no problem.

"I'm heading out now," I said.

He squinted at me and nodded obediently: "Mm."

Yokohama is a city with a high concentration of people with supernatural abilities, and also a city with very few curses.

Because of these two seemingly incompatible characteristics, I once naively wondered if curses were actually more vulnerable to supernatural abilities than magical power. [not really]

I spent less time in Yokohama than in Tokyo, but I am just as familiar with Yokohama as I am with Tokyo, and perhaps even more so.

My extensive network of online aliases throughout Yokohama has given me a deep understanding of the city, to the point that I can conjure up a map of Yokohama in my mind whenever I want.

Leibo Street.

Anyone living in Yokohama should know this place name.

Leibo Street originated from an explosion a few years ago. The explosion not only destroyed the buildings that stood there, but also blasted the original land into a crater several kilometers in diameter.

Leibo Street was originally just a wasteland, but at some point, people gradually gathered here and built houses, which eventually formed the Leibo Street we know today.

Leibo Street is what the locals call it; frankly, it's a slum.

The huge crater that appears before me now is Leibo Street, the place I just mentioned to Ranpo, where the child named Sakura and her friends live.

The interior of Leibo Street is very crowded, and every nook and cranny reveals a sense of backwardness and poverty.

This wasn't my first time visiting Leibo Street, so I didn't have to go through many twists and turns and found my destination easily.

"Brother Xiaozhi!" Saki was the first to see me.

She was sitting on the steps in front of the door, her hands supporting her chin as she gazed at the sky. With a slight downward glance, she saw me, and then suddenly stood up, her eyes suddenly filled with joy.

Sakura, all smiles, jogged towards me, her eyes sparkling: "You're finally here!"

I patted her head: "Long time no see. Are Kosuke and the others there?"

It's common for children in Leibo Street to live in groups. Sakura and her friends are a small group of five. Besides herself and Kosuke, there are three other children named Shinji, Yu, and Katsumi.

"Yes, I'm here." Sakura took my hand and led me back. "You haven't been here in a long time, little brother."

"I'm sorry, I've been very busy lately."

Upon hearing this, she suddenly winked mysteriously: "We also have something big going on recently. We've been waiting for you to come so we can tell you."

I was a little curious: "What?"

"I can't say yet," she said playfully, sticking out her tongue.

"Hmph." I turned my head away, feigning disdain.

Sakura led me into the house. The little girl put her hands on her hips and shouted, "Come on over! Little Zhi-gege is here!"

It's both funny and cute.

As soon as he finished speaking, Kosuke, Shinji, Yu, and Katsumi all rushed over.

The oldest, Kosuke, stepped forward and called out to me, "Edakawa Aru."

I tapped Kosuke on the head. "You have no manners."

"Oh!" he exclaimed, clutching his head. "We have something very important to tell you today."

Kosuke's tone was rather serious, but given his current appearance, it was somewhat comical.

I held back my laughter, coughed lightly, and tried to look serious: "What is it? Go ahead and tell me."

He looked back at Sakura, Shinji, Yu, and Katsumi, and finally at me: "Someone wants to adopt us."

"?" I was stunned for a moment, three parts bewilderment and seven parts shock, and subconsciously repeated, "Someone wants to adopt you?"

"Yes." They all nodded.

"Hey! What are you doing! Erikawa!"

Kosuke continued to rub his head, which I had hit hard on.

"Think about it carefully. Is that person really willing to adopt you? Or is he a human trafficker trying to trick you into selling you?"

This is too bizarre.

It's not that I don't believe anyone would be willing to adopt a child from the slums, it's just that the chances of encountering a human trafficker in a place like Lei Bo Street are much higher than with kind-hearted people.

If there were truly so many kind-hearted people and good deeds, Leibo Street would have been deserted long ago.

Sakura poked her head out from behind Kosuke: "Brother Kozue, we thought so at first too, but he really was willing to adopt us."

I frowned, still very uneasy: "When did that person say he wanted to adopt you?"

“It’s been half a month,” Sakura said. “We’ve been waiting for you to come and tell you, but you haven’t come.”

"..." Ah, well, there's nothing I can do about it.

I looked completely innocent: "I was really too busy before, Sakura."

She pouted: "You always say that, Brother Xiaozhi. I've never heard you say you're not busy."

The other children readily agreed.

I:"……"

Well, I didn't lie.

Being the clever person I am, I decided to avoid discussing this topic.

So I continued, "What's his name? What does he do? Is he reliable? Do you have his contact information or address? I'd like to talk to him."

Kosuke said, "His name is Oda Sakunosuke, and he says he is a writer."

Shinji added, "He must really be a writer; I've seen his articles in the newspaper."

"..."

? ? ?

What is that??

What did I hear?

Oda Sakunosuke?

"I don't have their contact information, but I've noted down their address. Wait a moment, I'll go look for them."

I stopped Kosuke, incredulous. "Wait, you just said, Oda Sakunosuke?"

"Yes." He blinked, his eyes full of confusion.

Goodness.

It turned out to be Oda Sakunosuke.

That's alright then.

“No need to look anymore, Kosuke.” I lowered my arms and said, “I’ve heard of him, Oda Sakunosuke, he’s a trustworthy person.”

I can hardly describe how I felt at that moment.

I'm happy for them, of course, but it's not just happiness. There are other feelings besides joy, but I can't fully sort them out yet.

“Saki, Kosuke, Shinji, Yu, Katsumi.” I very slowly scanned each of them one by one.

If my eyes were a recording camera, the footage broadcast would be a calm, slow-motion scene.

I forced a smile and said with satisfaction, "That's great."

Kosuke eventually found the note with Oda Sakunosuke's address and handed it to me: "Here. You can come and see us if you want."

"I know," I replied, but I also knew in my heart that we wouldn't see each other much more often in the future.

"Remember to study hard and make progress every day," I said. "Don't always think about playing; you need to study. Studying is the most important thing."

Among a group of little heads, Sakura was blinking her big eyes and staring straight at me, her eyes filled with the most genuine confusion: "But Brother Xiaozhi, you dropped out of school to work."

I was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.

I patted Sakura's head: "It's because I, Xiaozhi-nii, was so bad that I dropped out of school that I'm advising you all to study hard."

"if you can……"

"If possible, who wouldn't want to finish high school?"