Chapter 214 The Third Player

Ah... I remember now. It was the gift he gave to Rimbaud, a pot of red camellia.

Saikai Haruto's thoughts jumped: Come to think of it, he should go to Editor Maeda's place tomorrow and bring Kurumi back.

Rimbaud nodded hesitantly.

"Excuse me, Mr. Mochizuki." he said.

"I haven't thanked Lan Tangjun for looking after my house for the past few days." Xihai Qingdou smiled and opened the door casually.

Rimbaud followed him in, glanced at the fireplace in the room, took off his coat naturally and hung it on the hanger at the entrance, then pulled out a chair and sat at the dining table, looking surprisingly well-behaved.

The time that Haruto Nishimi has moved here is not long but not short either. Although the two of them do not spend much time together as neighbors, when it comes to "eating", Rimbaud has come over to "eat for free" quite a few times. After a long time, it doesn't feel unnatural anymore... It's no exaggeration to say that sometimes he even feels more comfortable than at home - because the cooking skills of "Mochizuki Kaoru" are really good, Rimbaud thought, at least much better than his own.

Two people, one wearing a kimono and the other wearing a heavy winter coat, sat together and ate in silence. No one made any sound. They ate at a moderate pace and their movements were extremely natural. The two seemed to have a strange tacit understanding, which looked inharmonious yet strangely harmonious.

Neither Rimbaud nor "Mochizuki Kaoru" were picky eaters. After dinner, Rimbaud got up consciously and went to wash the dishes.

Xi Hai Qing Dou nodded with satisfaction in his heart - that's right, this is why he likes to invite Lan Tangjun from next door to have dinner together - he hates washing dishes.

Even if there is a dishwasher, people still hate what they should hate. So Lan Tangjun is really a good person.

But while Rimbaud was cleaning up and washing the dishes, Saikai Haruto was not idle. He sat on the chair for a few minutes in a daze, then stood up, slowly picked up the spray bottle, and went to water the flowers - he had slept for ten days, so naturally the flowers and plants at home had not been taken care of for ten days. Although they were not dead, some of them looked a little wilted.

"Mr. Mochizuki, did you encounter any trouble today?" asked Rimbaud.

"No." Xihai Qingdou turned slightly, without stopping watering the flowers with his hands. He pondered for two seconds and shook his head without changing his expression.

"Although my skills are average, I still have the ability to protect myself, so I haven't run into any trouble. Lan Tangjun asked this, did you run into anyone?"

"When I came back just now, I seemed to see someone nearby...but the other person hid very quickly, so I couldn't find him." Rimbaud hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly.

"I'm not sure why the other party came here, whether it was a coincidence or intentional, but judging from the fact that he was able to evade my tracking so quickly, he should not be an ordinary person, so please be careful, Mr. Mochizuki... Although the other party does not seem to have any malicious intentions, Yokohama is always not so safe."

He looked up at Xi Hai Qing Dou, his expression calm but with a hint of apology. Lan Bo has a pair of golden eyes similar to "Yu Yuan Chi Qiu", but unlike "Yu Yuan Chi Qiu", these golden eyes are darker in color, and most of the time they are filled with emptiness and fatigue, like a traveler trapped in a maze who keeps searching but can't find a way out, but when he looks into someone's eyes, it's easy for people to let down their guard.

Of course, Xi Haiqing Dou could also understand the meaning of his words.

Truth and temptation.

So he looked at the other person calmly.

"Lan Tang-jun, do you mean that the other party might be coming for you? Or is it that some important person has moved in recently?"

There was just the right amount of doubt on his face, his eyes were neither dodging nor evasive, and there was no trace of nervousness or fear. Instead, he seemed to not care. He looked as frank as he could be, and he even made a little joke.

"If they're targeting me... the only valuable things I have on me right now are the flowers and plants in the yard. They shouldn't be a flower thief, right?"

Ah, after all, he is just an ordinary novelist now... It's not that his manuscripts are coveted by others, right? It's normal for him to have such thoughts.

Xihai Qingdou thought seriously in his heart.

Rambo's thoughts were diverted for a moment, and he hesitated for two seconds in a strange way: "This... doesn't necessarily rule out the possibility that the other party also has a hobby of growing flowers? Or maybe he is a crazy fan of yours, Mr. Mochizuki, and wants to take a peek at the manuscript."

After all, there is really no shortage of strange people in Yokohama.

Now Xi Hai Qing Dou also fell silent.

You know what, this kind of thing might make people laugh in other cities, but in Yokohama, Japan's "magic city", it can only be called normal. All kinds of strange people may appear in the city of Yokohama.

"However, Mr. Mochizuki's guess is possible... After all, the turmoil of the port mafia in the past few months has not completely passed. It is also possible that I am involved with Mr. Mochizuki." Rimbaud sighed softly.

"That shouldn't be the case. Even if it's the Mafia, unless there's a second person like the former port Mafia leader, it won't implicate me... But, anyway, I'll just move those flowers and plants into the room for a while." Xihai Qingdou said solemnly.

"As for my manuscript, it probably doesn't have that much appeal...ah, after all, I haven't saved any manuscripts recently."

"Ah, of course, if I ever meet those people, I will try to talk to them first, and then inform you, Lan Tangjun."

...Would a normal person talk to the other person first? It seems normal...?

And Mr. Mochizuki really, as always, has no correct understanding of the "charm" of his own manuscript.

"Thank you, Mr. Mochizuki." Rimbaud nodded to him and lowered his eyelashes quietly.

It was no secret that Rimbaud worked for the Port Mafia, at least not to his neighbor. A few months ago, the Port Mafia clashed with the Takase-kai, and the former leader of the Port Mafia passed the throne to the current leader, the former leader, Doctor Mori Ogai. Although few people in the Port Mafia knew the inside story, and "Mochizuki Kaoru" should not have known about it, it was no secret to Saikai Haruto at all - after all, half of it was promoted by his other alias, "Habuchi Chiaki", the "Cointreau" of the Black Organization.

Whether it was the death of the leader of the Takase-kai or the promotion of Mori Ogai, the Black Organization - or rather, "Cointreau" was involved, so he knew the inside story very well.

After the new leader of the Port Mafia took over, the turmoil in Yokohama was not over yet. Whether it was the internal cleansing of the Port Mafia, the internal turmoil of the Takase-kai, or the restlessness of other organizations, the turmoil in Yokohama lasted for several months. It was not until recently that it gradually stabilized, but there are still some remnants and those who want to fish in troubled waters.

And as one of the "lucky ones" who was promoted after the new leader took over, it seems reasonable that Rimbaud was targeted by someone with ulterior motives?

...Speaking of this, I wonder how Pasetto is doing now?

Saikai Haruto's thoughts drifted for a moment.

Passito is one of the undercover agents that the organization planted in Yokohama three years ago. He has been undercover in the Takase-kai and the Port Mafia, and is now working as an intelligence agent for the Port Mafia under the alias "Akito Imai". A few months ago, he was "given" to Mori Ogai as one of the witnesses of his promotion by Cointreau. He is also the friendly representative of the organization to the new leader of the Port Mafia. He is also a poor undercover agent suspected by Furuya Rei, Cointreau, and even Mori Ogai... He is a real member of the organization, but he is suspected of being a traitor and was wrongly killed.

Poor Passetto would never have thought that not only Canada and Bourbon were undercover agents, but also Scotland, Rye, and even Cointreau... and he, who was wrongly labeled a suspected traitor, was the real member of the organization surrounded by undercover agents. Xi Haiqingdou mourned for him in his heart.

Before Cointreau left Yokohama, he revealed Passetto's identity and sent him to Mori Ogai as a tool. Not only did he know this, but Passetto and Furuya Rei also knew about it... or it could be said that almost everyone in the organization knew about it. After that, he never heard from Passetto again.

Of course, Xi Haiqingdou thought, if some people are smart and others cooperate, then the gang will have a chance of survival... although it is also possible that it is just a spider thread hanging in hell. Of course, it depends on what choice they will make. The remaining possibility is nothing more than "death" - after all, only the dead can best preserve their lives.

Although he wanted to find out where Passetto was now, after thinking about it, Saikai Haruto gave up - whether it was "Yuen Chiaki" or "Mochizuki Kaoru", there was obviously no reason or need to investigate.

What's more, as a novelist who had retired long ago, all he knew about the port mafia came from his neighbor Rimbaud. He knew nothing about the "inside story", so he had even more reason to check on Passeto's current situation.

After figuring it out, Xi Haiqing Dou was stunned for a while, until he heard the sound of Rimbaud leaving, he waved to him in a friendly manner and continued to water the flowers.

Rimbaud stood up and reluctantly left the warm fireplace. He shuddered, wrapped his coat tightly around himself again, glanced at Saikai Haruto who seemed to be still immersed in his own world, and left quietly.

This spur-of-the-moment attempt seemed to be as fruitless as before.

Or, in other words, until now, his temptations had failed just like every other temptation before.

Or was it that all his unfounded guesses were wrong, and he was really just an ordinary novelist, an ordinary Yokohama resident?

Rimbaud returned home, turned on the light in the dark, lit the fireplace, opened a book on the bookshelf next to the sofa, turned to the page with the bookmark, sat on the sofa, read in a daze, his fingers unconsciously stroking the pages of the book - it was obvious that he did this often.

The corners of the book were slightly curled, as if it had been read countless times. The name and author of the book were prominently printed on the cover - "Amnesia" by Kurumi Mochizuki.

This is the first work of "Mochizuki Kaoru" that won the Edogawa Newcomer Award. The story revolves around a patient with amnesia, and the prototype of the protagonist with amnesia is from Rimbaud himself - this is what "Mochizuki Kaoru" told Rimbaud before writing this novel.

This is also Rimbaud's favorite book among all the works of "Mochizuki Kaoru". He knows the story in it so well that he can recite it by heart.

His unfocused gaze fell on the pages of the book, but Rimbaud's thoughts once again drifted to other places.

Mr. Mochizuki, "Kaoru Mochizuki".

Intuition and reason are intertwined. Because of the inexplicable appearance of a stranger nearby and a sudden temptation, Rimbaud is once again caught in a struggle after a long absence.

——No, his intuition told him that this time, maybe it would be different from before.