Goodbye, Dad Number One

"System brother, do you know? Little Luo has been deceived."

The child shoved the reindeer hat onto his head, puffing out his cheeks, and said unhappily.

The system chuckled: [How is this deception? Little Luo, look who your father is!]

Of course, the child can't be sent there now. He's already found out that the killer of Xiao Luo is a member of the Mimic organization. If Xiao Luo goes there, she'll only be eliminated immediately.

The little girl crossed her arms, tilted her head back, and pronounced Edogawa Ranpo's name clearly and distinctly.

[Yes!] The system slapped its thigh. [Wasn't Edogawa Ranpo your father before? Did you wish for your former father?]

Xiao Luo fell into deep thought. It seemed to make sense, but something also seemed off. "But it seems like Xiao Luo is going to find Dazai-nii."

[Your brother Dazai is busy outwitting Gide from Mimic, he doesn't have time for you. Let's go, you're connected to this timeline, you can directly locate Edogawa Ranpo's position, go find him and play.]

"Go play with Daddy? Don't you need Daddy to call me Daddy anymore?" Little Luo seemed thoughtful, and obediently didn't say she was going again. She tilted her head and asked with a puzzled look.

The system was also taken aback. What did that mean? Why was Xiao Luo's father calling her "Dad"?

"Of course not," the system said, though it didn't understand. "Xiao Luo is already his daughter. Now she just needs to deepen their karmic bond with him."

"Together? Does that mean you're bringing Dad along?"

The system considered it for a moment: "It seems like this could be done?"

The detective agency's doors opened once more, and Kunikida Doppo, who happened to be nearby, subconsciously turned around and said with practiced ease, "Welcome, this is Armed Detective Agency... Little, Little Girl?"

Xiao Luo opened the door and stepped out to see a familiar blond older brother staring at her. After a second of thought, she turned pale: "Kunikida-nii-san!!"

Kunikida Doppo walked over with a delighted expression. "Little girl, it's been a long time."

Xiao Luo, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, cautiously took a step back and pressed herself against the door. "Brother Kunikida, are you busy? Are you going out? Great, I won't bother you anymore. I'm going to find Daddy now!"

The child seemed to have truly heard Kunikida Doppo's response, and finished speaking fluently to himself.

Kunikida Doppo was heartbroken and shocked. They were perfectly fine the last time they met, weren't they? Why was the child so hostile towards him now, and it hadn't even been that long…

How long has it been since I last saw Xiao Luo? Why haven't I thought about her even once in all this time?

Kunikida Doppo's thoughts faltered, and he remained lost in thought for a long time.

Seeing that things were looking up, Xiao Luo was overjoyed. She took off running, shouting as she went, "Daddy! Xiao Luo is here to play with you!"

Edogawa Ranpo, who was lounging in a rocking chair with his eyes half-closed, hadn't even opened them when he was struck hard in the abdomen.

Oh no! The young man's eyes snapped open. It was a critical hit; Xiao Luo had landed a critical hit.

The chair, which was originally swaying, was now being pushed from four legs to two legs by Edogawa Ranpo. The young man, who had extremely poor balance, never expected that someone would be so fearless as to pounce on him at this moment.

Squeak—, the chair scraped against the ground with a sharp ringing sound, and the little girl who had launched a surprise attack from the front fell into Edogawa's arms.

Amidst the shock of the crowd and the incredulous gaze of Edogawa Ranpo, he took a spectacular fall.

The young man, who had been struck hard on the back, stared blankly at the sky. The little girl in his arms then crawled out of his arms with a huff.

Little Luo asked in confusion, "Dad, why are you playing on the floor? The floor is dirty, get up quickly!"

Edogawa Ranpo, his face contorted in pain and on the verge of tears, looked at the little girl with a hint of disgust, as if she were some dirty child.

Edogawa Ranpo, tears welling in his eyes, cried out in grief and indignation: I will never forgive you! Absolutely not!!

*

Finally recovering from the sudden pain, Edogawa Ranpo lay pitifully on the sofa.

The child stood obsequiously to the side, carefully pouring a glass of water for Edogawa Ranpo. "Daddy, drink this."

Edogawa Ranpo looked at her small hands, which were full of water, and cried out in alarm as the little girl picked up the swaying hot water, "Put it down!"

Little Luo opened her big, confused eyes and said, "Dad, I just wanted to pour you a glass of water to apologize."

Edogawa Ranpo, with a serious expression, said, "This is my favorite little yellow duck cup; I only have this one."

I forgive you. Put it down quickly, or you'll get burned when you walk, and you'll break my cup.

Let's all take a step back, forgive ourselves, and forgive my cup.

Xiao Luo hadn't let go; she actually wanted to see if what Edogawa Ranpo had said would come true. The young girl looked at the young man on the sofa with a conflicted expression, hesitating.

Edogawa Ranpo exclaimed in terror, "Put it down! I'll take you to my workplace to see my abilities, but don't use my cup for experiments!"

Seeing that the little girl had finally put down her cup, Edogawa Ranpo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

We're saved.

He jumped to his feet, glaring angrily at the brat in front of him, "You—!"

The little girl looked at him with sparkling eyes, completely unaffected by what had just happened. "Daddy, when are we going out to play?"

Edogawa Ranpo was even more frustrated. He grabbed the child's chubby cheeks and rubbed them hard, muttering angrily, "If it weren't for Ranpo-sama seeing how unlucky you are, I wouldn't have taken you out for a walk!"

"Then let's go, let Ranpo-sama take you to solve the case!"