The amber soup rolled in the pot, bubbles appeared, and the spicy smell of ginger floated in the air, which was a bit pungent.

Munechika used a tasting spoon to scoop up a shallow layer of the soup and tried drinking it. It was warm and spicy. He paused and added a large piece of sugar into it.

For some reason, Dazai Osamu gave him the impression that he was afraid of hardship.

It's late at night and I'm not sure if I've eaten anything. If not, it would be nice to have something sweet to drink.

It didn't matter anyway, and it was sweeter and easier to eat, so Munechika put a little more.

“Wow~(╯▽╰ )It smells so good~~”

Hearing footsteps behind him, Munechika turned around.

Dazai walked to the door and looked inside. He happened to meet Munechika's eyes and paused, "Why are you looking at me like, 'You actually made it out alive'?"

Munechika: …= =.

Shouldn't we?

Munechika turned his gaze away and turned off the fire. He scooped out two bowls. Since Dazai Osamu was here, he didn't need to carry them. He just casually placed them on the table: "This is yours. If you want more sugar, put it in yourself."

After saying this, he walked straight past Dazai Osamu and walked out.

I knocked on the door and entered Nakahara Chuuya's room. The curtains were already drawn and there was a night light on in the room. The warm light seemed particularly cozy. The owner of the room was leaning against the head of the bed, flipping through a book with a calm expression on his face. His ochre hair was draped over his shoulders, but one could still find traces of a little irritability between his eyebrows.

Munechika could tell at a glance that he was very tired at the moment, so he didn't want to disturb him anymore. He put the ginger soup on the table, reached out and twirled the ends of Chuuya's hair, feeling relieved.

"After you cool down, drink a little and go to sleep. You are very tired now."

Nakahara Chuuya came back to his senses and saw that Munechika had softened his brows. He thanked him softly. He did not refuse Munechika's care, nor did he think there was anything wrong with Munechika taking care of others.

This is "Nakahara Chuuya", who subconsciously prioritizes Dazai Osamu's safety. Knowing Dazai Osamu's dog-like temperament, he would not believe it unless he was captured and enslaved.

Plus, he has his own limits, and sometimes he can't stand it and gets worried. So it's no surprise that he's so skilled at taking care of people.

Of course, worrying about Dazai Osamu is like falling into a black hole.

He would never do that.

Nakahara Chuuya: "By the way, the mackerel's coat is hanging on the window. Take it with you when you go out."

Munechika was stunned for a moment, then he realized that Dazai Osamu, who had just gone to the kitchen, was wearing a shirt and a vest.

"Okay." He replied, holding his coat.

Go out. I saw Dazai Osamu sitting on the long sofa in the living room, drinking soup in a leisurely manner.

Munechika hung his coat in the living room first, then walked forward, naturally touched Dazai Osamu's cheek with the back of his fingers, felt the warmth, and asked.

"Still cold?"

He felt that he was not as cold as before, and his pale face had warmed up a little, but it was still a little lower than normal body temperature. The body temperature of Dazai Osamu in Munechika's "memories" had always been a little cooler, so he was not sure whether this was a normal body temperature for Dazai Osamu.

Dazai Osamu was stunned for a rare moment.

"If you're still cold, you can use my bathroom. A shower with hot water will make you feel much better." Munechika sat on the sofa and randomly picked up a book from the small bookshelf next to him. "If you need anything to talk to me about, drink the soup first."

"...Oh." Dazai Osamu responded muffledly, and his thumb holding the bowl accidentally touched the cheek that had just been touched. The bowl just happened to cover his somewhat strange expression, and he drank the soup in one gulp.

Fortunately, ginger soup usually cools down quickly, otherwise it would have been scalding.

Munechika, who hadn't even opened the book yet, was stunned.

"Ahem, it's like this." Dazai Osamu put down the bowl and used a dry cough to attract Munechika's attention, with a serious look on his face.

When Munechika saw this, he was so angry that he quickly put the book down and waited to hear what shocking news Dazai Osamu was going to reveal.

Dazai Osamu: "There is a detective club building today, and Ranpo-san wants to invite you to go."

“…”

“…”

The two looked at each other, and Munechika said expressionlessly: "That's all?"

“No more.”

"What about the various reasons you mentioned before?"

Hearing this, Dazai Osamu's expression became resentful, and he looked at Munechika with eyes full of reproach, "It's all Chuuuya's fault! Yesterday afternoon, Ranpo-san mobilized the members to look for you, but they couldn't find you after searching everywhere you might be! Who would believe it if I told others that I even searched the bottom of the river and couldn't find your shadow!"

Munechika: “…”

No, you're not really just entering the water normally?

"Mr. Ranbu said that if he couldn't find you, he would hide all my bandages!"

Although, well, Ranbu-senpai does know where your bandages are.

"As the last hope of the detective agency, I resolutely took on this responsibility."

That doesn't have to be the last hope.

After hearing that he hadn't gotten to the point for a long time, Munechika couldn't help but say, "So you mean, this is the reason why you were hanging upside down outside the window in the middle of the night.

Is it the reason? "

“No~ Actually, I calculated with my fingers and guessed that Chuuya would secretly sing today, so,” Dazai Osamu shook his phone and laughed arrogantly, “I recorded it, hahahahaha——”

Then you saw that the beam at the top was too tempting, so you tried hanging yourself upside down, right?

Munechika ignored the thought that flashed through his mind, and felt a chill on his back. He rushed over and covered Dazai's mouth with his hands, whispering, "Keep your voice down, the living room and bedroom are not well soundproofed!"

If you are woken up by noise, I will settle the matter with you.

“Mmmmm——!” Dazai Osamu didn’t struggle. When he saw Munechika looking at him, he winked at him.

Munechika gave him a suspicious look, then stepped back and released his hand.

"Don't worry, I'll sleep soundly after staying up all night like this, so there's no need to worry about waking you up."

"…Then you should keep your voice down too!" Munechika said as he put the logic of Dazai Osamu's actions together.

He knew that when he was lost, usually no one could find him, but he didn't stay lost forever. After he met Chuuya, he became more stable.

And to put it bluntly, Dazai Osamu knew that he and Nakahara Chuuya had met Mori Gugai together, and he could probably guess Mori Gugai's reaction. So it was not surprising that he knew he was living in Nakahara Chuuya's house, so if he really couldn't find him, it wouldn't be difficult for him to go and find out Nakahara Chuuya's whereabouts.

Dazai Osamu guessed that Nakahara Chuuya would sing quietly at night, which can only mean one thing.

——When Munechika was singing at the bar counter, Dazai Osamu was there.

It is impossible for people to guess the ending without any clues. Even the reasoning of the predecessors of Ranbu was to restore the past of the person from various details and predict the person's thoughts, so as to know what the person was about to do.

At this time, Munechika also thought of the good idea that Dazai Osamu had said when he was hanging upside down outside the window.

He knew that Dazai Osamu was so smart that he was almost a demon. He always saw the world too clearly, so he saw everything good and bad. As the saying goes, wisdom will hurt you, and it is hard to say whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Although he had some guesses, he still looked into Dazai's eyes and asked.

"What was the good idea you mentioned then?"

Dazai calmed down and laughed: "Chuuuya obviously guessed it, but you still want me to say it out loud?"

"Of course I know how to get you back."