"Huh? Speaking of which, where is Ranpo and the others?" Naomi Tanizaki was the first to notice that two of the most important people were missing from the room.

This was not a party or celebration, it was simply a time for everyone to rest and relax together in the detective agency.

Just like the lunch break after a meal, this kind of daily routine is familiar to everyone.

But no matter what the reason is, as long as there are snacks on the scene, their Ranpo will never miss it.

But this time, Mr. Ranpo is missing?

At this time, Kenji Miyazawa had just come down from the rooftop. Hearing Tanizaki Naomi's question, he didn't think much about it and answered in a brisk tone: "Mr. Ranpo and the others are on the rooftop."

After saying this, Kenji Miyazawa swept around the room, walked towards Doppo Kunikida, and asked with a smile: "What do you want to talk to me about, Mr. Kunikida?"

"Ah?" Doppo Kunikida was stunned for a moment.

"Mr. Ranpo said you have something to talk to me about--" Kenji Miyazawa's voice is very special, with a unique texture. Unlike the fast pace of big cities, the tone of his speech is always the leisurely and leisurely tone cultivated by country life.

Hearing Kenji Miyazawa say this, Doppo Kunikida did not doubt the truth of it. After all, compared to that unreliable guy Dazai Osamu, Miyazawa Kenji is quite simple, and his thoughts are always straightforward.

Since it was said by Mr. Ranpo, it must be that no one else is lying to Kenji.

But he did not have anything to do with Kenji... In other words, will he need Kenji for something next?

Kunikida Dopo had just made this equation in his mind when he heard the voice of Naomi Tanizaki.

"Mr. Ranpo is the most important person in our detective agency! These snacks are specially bought for them--!"

As one of the people who often accompany Tokiwa in a daze, Naomi Tanizaki is also a girl who has always been sensitive.

She could see that the other Mr. Ranpo actually always felt somewhat isolated from this world. If he stayed alone, he would be immersed in a world that they could not touch.

Although the world that their Mr. Ranpo could see was also very far away from them... but Mr. Ranpo could be touched by them - this could not be used as an example.

Therefore, even if Mr. Ranpo had never asked for it, everyone in the detective agency had noticed this consciously or unconsciously.

- For example, Xianzhi's family certainly didn't know anything, but they were often reminded by Dr. Xie Ye that there were some cats and dogs on the roof recently, or that the weather was bad and it might rain heavily. If they didn't keep an eye on them, the vegetables would definitely be trampled by stray cats and dogs, or soaked by the heavy rain.

The former gave Kenji the idea of ​​building a fence, and the latter... Kenji, who was born in the countryside as a farmer, is much better at predicting the weather than them.

But Kenji has never denied this. Every time he keeps a simple and peaceful smile on his face, saying, "I know, I will pay attention", and then appears on the rooftop with crooked eyes.

"Mr. Ranpo" cannot be left alone. This is something that everyone has been doing tacitly.

And this time, although it is not a real banquet or gathering, if the "protagonist" disappears, it always feels like a foreshadowing of something.

This makes Naomi Tanizaki a little concerned, but she has never been the type to ask others to do something - she has always been the active one, just like her relationship with her brother.

So she smiled and suggested to everyone in the room: "Come to think of it, when the office was renovated, I found the tools we put away for the barbecue last time. They were not crushed and can still be used."

"Although there is no barbecue now, roasted marshmallows taste great!" Naomi Tanizaki pointed to the marshmallows in her hand.

"But marshmallows alone are still not enough. Prepare these first, and then let Mr. Ranpo roast marshmallows for fun. We will go buy other meats and vegetables, wash and cut everything, and it will be evening when we are ready. It's just the right time!"

Barbecue has always been very popular in Japan.

Naturally, no one would refuse Naomi Tanizaki's proposal. For various reasons, they would not refuse.

Yosano Akiko guessed the reason why Mr. Ranpo went to the rooftop, but it was just because of the two people's usual behavior. Yosano Akiko didn't expect what would happen on the rooftop at this moment. She just thought that Mr. Ranpo was just accompanying another person to be in a daze.

Because Toki has always been very calm, no matter what happens, he always maintains a positive mood.

Yosano Akiko thought it would be the same this time, and she also thought that everyone being lively and noisy would make Mr. Ranpo relax a little, so naturally she didn't think of refusing.

After she didn't say anything and the president didn't refuse, the matter was settled as a matter of course.

Then Kunikida Dopo suddenly realized. He remembered the weight of the barbecue grill and the pile of things. What Mr. Ranpo said was always correct. He must have something to ask Kenji, so he said to Miyazawa Kenji: "Kenji, can you please move the tools to the roof?" Miyazawa

Kenji blinked and nodded: "Of course."

Nakajima Atsushi also stood up and said, "I'll help!" Then he watched Miyazawa Kenji easily carry the barbecue grill, which was definitely not light, and fell into a strange silence. Miyazawa

Kenji turned his head in confusion: "Atsushi, what did you just say?"

"...No, nothing." Nakajima Atsushi covered his face. How could he forget Kenji's strange strength?

They carried a bunch of things upstairs in a mighty manner. The heaviest shelf was given to Kenji Miyazawa, so other small props, such as knives, forks and plates for cutting meat, had to be carried by others.

Fukuzawa Yukichi kept a serious face, but his aura was also very relaxed. He put his hand on the door handle, and when he was about to open the door, his movement stopped stiffly.

Kunikida Doppo, who was standing next to him, was a little confused: "President?"

"..." Fukuzawa Yukichi did not answer, but shook his head. He glanced at the group of people who were still chatting behind him. The tacit understanding of the detective agency was perfectly displayed at this moment.

Even Nakajima Atsushi, who had just joined, blinked blankly and looked at Fukuzawa Yukichi in confusion.

When the door was closed, they could not hear anything, but when Fukuzawa Yukichi slightly opened the door, the sound on the rooftop was easily captured by them.

No one would be unfamiliar with this sound, but no one would be familiar with this sound.

They have heard Mr. Ranpo laugh, they have heard Mr. Ranpo complain, they have heard Mr. Ranpo chattering about how stupid they are, they have heard Mr. Ranpo arrogantly pointing out their mistakes - in the hearts of all the members of the detective agency, Mr. Ranpo should be the one standing at the highest point, with a smug and proud smile on his face, saying that he is the best in the world.

Nothing can defeat Mr. Ranpo - this is the consensus of the detective agency.

No matter what happens, as long as Mr. Ranpo is there, all difficulties can be solved. No matter what the enemy is, no matter what the bad thing is, no matter how powerful or difficult it is to solve, they cannot compare to Mr. Ranpo's wisdom.

This is the trust that Edogawa Ranpo has slowly accumulated in the life of the detective agency as he solves those difficult cases again and again.

——No one has ever seen Mr. Ranpo's tears.

But why... why at this moment, can we hear Mr. Ranpo's cry for help?

["I'm so scared..."]

How could Mr. Ranpo be scared? They have never seen fear or terror in Mr. Ranpo. Because there has never been any problem that even Mr. Ranpo has difficulty solving. Mr. Ranpo is confident, as if all negative emotions have nothing to do with him.

["My hands are shaking..."]

Mr. Ranpo's hands have always been the steadiest. Everything is within his expectations. Nothing has ever exceeded his imagination - but why, would he need to pick up a weapon?

["I have to hold him back..."]

Why is Mr. Ranpo standing at the forefront? ! As the think tank of the detective agency, he only needs to stand at the back and the safest position to command them...!

The incomplete words coming out of the other party's mouth at this moment have left deep marks in their hearts.

Mr. Ranpo has never been a god. He also has times of fear, and he also has times of confusion. But they all ignored this.

But the reason for this idea is not just their reason, but more because of Edogawa Ranpo for everyone, for the trust of everyone in the detective agency - just like what Edogawa Ranpo said in the future when he knew that he was not a superpower.

[Ordinary people can't beat superpowers. Even so, I will defeat you. ]

[Because - my partners all think I am invincible. 】*

The child-like crying made everyone in the detective agency fall into silence. They wanted to comfort the child, but they understood better than anyone else that the partners and everyone the child mentioned were never them.

The child worked hard to protect everything around him and paid a lot of things that they could not imagine. Except for Mr. Ranpo, no one was qualified to be with the child at this time.

[“…I want to be with everyone.”]

This wish was extremely childish, but it made people feel a kind of despair deep in their hearts—it was such a simple wish, such a simple thing that they could do at any time!

For the child, it was an expectation that could no longer be seen, achieved, or realized.

After all, even Mr. Ranpo...then what about others? What about those “everyone” who protected Mr. Ranpo!

No one dared to think about this question carefully.

However, after the last sentence was really spoken, the fact that had been deliberately ignored by everyone in the detective agency was finally revealed.

On the day when Ishikawa Takuboku came to the detective agency, too much information was exposed - just fragmented memories, and they had Doctor Yoseno who could cure everything by dying, so they ignored the truth intentionally or unintentionally.

Until now, it was revealed by the person himself.

[“I don’t want to die at all...!”]

Ah, who would let Mr. Ranpo, who they respected and protected, encounter the danger of death!

The detective agency has always adhered to the principle of whoever is good at something, do it. Just like no one would ask Kenji Miyazawa to use his brain.

If they were here, how could, how could... they let Mr. Ranpo go through all this...

The child wanted to live, he was asking for help, he was scared.

- But, they could do nothing at this moment.

The originally happy and relaxed atmosphere completely disappeared, and no one could say a word at this moment. Fukuzawa Yukichi grabbed the handle with such force that he almost pulled the door down, and the veins and blood vessels on the back of his hand were so tight that they almost burst.

...Ah, it seems, it was really pulled down.

Nakajima Atsushi looked at the door handle that Fukuzawa Yukichi had pried off in horror, and subconsciously raised his head to look at Edogawa Ranpo who was standing on the rooftop. Edogawa

Ranpo glanced at them calmly, not surprised at all that they were here.

Before they had time to feel embarrassed, Kenji Miyazawa narrowed his eyes again, holding the barbecue grill in his hands, and said with a smile: "Thank you, President, for opening the door. I'm holding the tools in both hands. It's not very convenient."

"It's just right. Mr. Ranpo, you are all here - Naomi said we can roast marshmallows!" Kenji Miyazawa was like a wolf who didn't see Shi Wu, and his attitude was no different from usual: "This is a big city. When I was in the countryside, I never tried to roast marshmallows!"

"If even marshmallows can be roasted, then can ice cream be roasted?"

Naomi Tanizaki took a deep breath: "Of course you can! Kenji, you haven't tried it, right? It's just that it's called fried ice cream! The roasting speed is too slow, and the ice cream might melt-"

"Wow! Is it really possible?"

The original atmosphere was broken instantly. Listening to such a daily conversation, Shi Wu couldn't help laughing. He hid his face in Edogawa Ranpo's shoulder so that no one could see it.

Then he spoke softly in a sullen and somewhat hoarse voice: "I want to eat grilled ice cream."

"Sure." Edogawa Ranpo nodded happily, "Then leave it to Atsushi!"

"Huh?! Me!" Atsushi Nakajima widened his eyes in disbelief.

The author has something to say: Shi Wu: I'm a little curious about the taste of grilled ice cream.