Chapter 22 Under the moonlight, Ranpo and Fukuzawa argue in front of him...

Fukuzawa-sensei's faint smile made me suddenly want to squeal like a groundhog, and I only regretted not having a camera to capture this rare and beautiful moment.

Still feeling incredibly regretful, Edogawa Ranpo suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbed me by the back of the collar, and said in a childish tone, "Don't you dare pounce on the president!"

As he spoke, he lifted me off the teacher. Yoriichi ran over to stop him, saying, "Let go of the song! You'll hurt her!"

The quiet moonlit night suddenly became unusually lively because of the two of them, one big and one small, leaving me, suspended in mid-air, utterly dejected. Where were these two hiding before? What happened to their supposed time alone with the teacher? How long have they been eavesdropping?

"Ranpo, put down the song." Fukuzawa-sensei told Ranpo to put me down, then looked at the two children whose combined mental age was probably less than ten years old, his tone full of helplessness, "What are you two doing here?"

"I'm a little worried about the song." Yoriichi's honest explanation made me think to myself that he really is my friend, he's so good to me.

Edogawa Ranpo said matter-of-factly, "I'm worried about the president!"

This reason left me speechless. What could Professor Fukuzawa possibly be worried about? Surely he's not worried that I'll take advantage of him during our heart-to-heart talk?

Wait a minute! It's normal for Ranpo to have this concern if he can figure out my real age.

If he thinks that way, he's really worrying unnecessarily. Actually, I haven't thought that much about it. I'm only seven years old. Even if Mr. Fukuzawa is my type, I wouldn't be so crazy as to think I'm good enough. I'll definitely get a lecture from him. I don't want to ruin the good impression I've just made on Mr. Fukuzawa.

"Don't do that again next time." Ms. Fukuzawa couldn't bear to scold the two of them, so she quickly changed the subject, "The moon is beautiful tonight, let's enjoy it together."

This suggestion immediately invigorated me. I exchanged a lightning-fast, spark-filled glance with Edogawa Ranpo beside me, and we both unanimously eyed the spot next to Fukuzawa-sensei/the president.

The ideal spot was naturally where I had been sitting. I was just about to go back to my original seat when Edogawa Ranpo, taking advantage of being the first adopted child and the most senior in the family, directly took that spot and sat next to Fukuzawa-sensei. It made me really angry. Taking a child's seat like that was outrageous.

What's most outrageous is that after he sat down, he stood up and announced, "Lord Ranpo is going to get some sweets, so this seat is mine and nobody is allowed to take it!"

Since he's already said that, how can I continue to compete with him for this position? I can't leave Fukuzawa-sensei with the impression that I'm immature.

There's nothing I can do but put up with it, it's so infuriating!

Just as Ranpo went to get some snacks, I was thinking of taking up the prime spot on the other side next to Fukuzawa-sensei, but I noticed Yoriichi's warm-colored eyes were fixed on that spot, as if he really wanted to sit there.

But he didn't sit down. Instead, he looked at me and said, "Ge, sit here. I'll sit next to you."

My friends have all said that, how could I possibly sit there? Besides, I've already thought of a better spot in the center, and I no longer care about the one I'm fighting for.

I pressed Yoriichi down to sit next to Fukuzawa-sensei, saying, "You sit here!"

"Where should I sit, Uta?" Yoriichi asked with concern before I had even settled in. I immediately used my transformation jutsu to turn into a kitten and jumped onto Fukuzawa-sensei's lap, saying, "I'll sit here. Is that alright, sensei?"

I tilted my head up and asked in a cute way. Fukuzawa-sensei stared at me with sharp eyes, and his usually serious and solemn face showed an extremely rare look of struggle. He was probably trying to maintain his dignity as a teacher because I was a student, but he couldn't help but want to pet me because of my kitten-like appearance.

To fulfill the teacher's wish to pet the cat, as an understanding student, I naturally had to make the decision for him.

So I started rolling around on Fukuzawa-sensei's lap like a brat, meowing, "Meow! I don't care! I want to stay here! I want sir to pet me! Otherwise I'll cry!"

"I just can't do anything with you." Fukuzawa-sensei's helpless yet doting voice came from above my head, and his warm hand stroked my cat head, saying with great satisfaction.

Unfortunately, the teacher only petted my back fur; forget about my belly. Knowing the teacher's character, he wouldn't touch it again, which is a bit of a disappointment.

But it's already great now. I'm so comfortable being petted that I'm lying on my teacher's lap and meowing.

When Ranpo came over with a bag of snacks, what he saw was me sprawled out on Fukuzawa-sensei like a cat pancake.

Ranpo's usually slanted eyes suddenly snapped open, revealing a pupil color similar to Fukuzawa-sensei's. He stared at me, hoping I would leave the center position he could never have.

I swished my tail and let him look me over nonchalantly, even lazily rolling on Mr. Fukuzawa's lap. I got the teacher's focused gaze as I wanted, which made Ranpo puff up his cheeks and lose his appetite for the snacks in his hand.

Aren't you envious? This is my special seat, a position even the world's greatest detective could never get in his entire life. With my cat-transformation skill, I'm the most pampered kid in this house!

I lay contentedly on the teacher's lap, no longer angry at all, because Ranpo, a club president enthusiast, was almost crying with envy, to the point that even snacks didn't taste good anymore.

I'm not worried that Ranpo will cause me trouble over this. He already reminded me that I'm human when I saw Fukuzawa petting the cat, but now he still allows me to lie on his lap as a cat. Ranpo should know very well what this means.

Most importantly, although Ranpo is usually quite willful, he must know very well how frustrated the president, a serious cat lover, is who can't pet a cat at all because of his cat-hating constitution. Now that he sees his president finally having a cat and his eyes light up with joy, he probably won't say anything to spoil the mood.

I guessed right. Ranpo stared at me for a while but didn't say anything. He sat down next to Fukuzawa-sensei and started munching on potato chips, sulking to himself.

But he didn't stay depressed for long. After finishing his potato chips, he casually remarked, "Today's case is a bit special!"

As expected, Professor Fukuzawa's attention was drawn, and he asked, "What kind of case is it?"

Ranpo tore open another bag of potato chips and said to himself, "It would be such a downer to talk about cases under such a beautiful moon. I don't want to mention that case related to the Port Mafia."

Seeing Ranpo acting willfully again, Fukuzawa-sensei, who was somewhat concerned about the case, immediately said, "After enjoying the moon, let's have a late-night talk by candlelight. I also want to have a good chat with Ranpo."

"After our late-night chat, we have to sleep side by side, or we won't talk at all." Ranpo said childishly, continuing to munch on his potato chips, which was quite willful.

"Alright."

Without hesitation, the honest and upright Mr. Fukuzawa agreed. Edogawa Ranpo immediately looked at me with the eyes of a victor, leaving me speechless for a moment.

We lost!

The two huge red words appeared in his mind, and he realized that he had completely lost to Ranpo.

Just as Ranpo could never turn into a cat and lie on the teacher's lap, I could never sleep with the teacher side by side. Although both are impossible, I still think that sleeping side by side would be a closer relationship.

Even though I'm the most pampered kid in this family, Ranpo will always be the one closest to Fukuzawa-sensei.

I concede defeat.

When this thought came to my mind, I suddenly realized that my previous behavior of competing with Ranpo for Fukuzawa-sensei's favor was quite childish. Sure enough, because I was using the body of a seven-year-old child, my mental capacity had also decreased.

Actually, I still really like Ranpo. His incredibly sharp yet childlike and pure heart is truly rare. I'm willing to work with the president to protect Ranpo's pure heart, which is untouched by any dust. It would also be quite fun to compete for his favor, wouldn't it?

"It's so nice to enjoy the moon with my teacher, meow!"

I nestled on Fukuzawa-sensei's lap and whispered softly, successfully receiving a loving pat on the back from head to toe. It was amazing.

While eating potato chips, Edogawa Ranpo said, "That's what I wanted to say: watching the moon with the president is the best."

Yoriichi gently tugged at Fukuzawa-sensei's sleeve and whispered, "I really enjoy moon viewing."

Fukuzawa-sensei's usually sharp gaze softened as he looked at the three of us, a warm smile appearing on his usually stern face.

Let's admire the moon again next time there's a full moon.

The three of us smiled happily and responded enthusiastically.

Me: "Okay, meow!"

Ranpo: "Then it's settled."

Yoriichi: "Hmm!"

Looking at us three adorable little ones, Fukuzawa-sensei couldn't help but reach out and pat Ranpo and Yoriichi's heads, making me cling to her clothes with my two front paws and meow anxiously.

When my cat finally got to enjoy Fukuzawa-sensei's head pat, it meowed and rolled around on my lap, super happy!

A note from the author:

In fact, Fukuzawa Yukichi is quite similar to Senju Tobirama in some ways. They both have silver hair, are very responsible, have serious faces but are actually very caring, and cherish their subordinates. That's why the female protagonist in the previous article, who was paired with Tobirama, said that Fukuzawa is her type and that she likes this type of person.