Chapter 345 Bungo Stray Dogs and Boss Successor

The headquarters of the Port Mafia consists of five tall buildings. Its outline can be seen from every corner of Yokohama. It can almost be called a "landmark building" of Yokohama.

Nakajima Atsushi is not very familiar with mafia affairs, but Izumi Kyoka has stayed here for some time. As a member of the mafia who has a close relationship with Mafia cadre Ozaki Kouyo, she is much more familiar with certain things than Atsushi. With her around, Ozaki Kouyo will take care of the two of them to some extent.

This is why Dazai Osamu suggested letting the two kids attend the banquet on behalf of the Detective Agency and the proposal was not rejected by the president.

Currently, the Armed Detective Agency and the Port Mafia are still in a truce period. If the other side dares to invite them, they will certainly dare to accept the invitation. However, if they can try their best to suppress possible conflicts, they will not hesitate to do so.

After all, Dazai Osamu was once one of the cadres of the Port Mafia. After defecting for many years, even if the Mafia and the detective agency have acquiesced to this, it would not be good for him to show up at the banquet in a swagger.

Even with his eyes closed, Fukuzawa Yukichi could imagine how fake the smile on the face of his old fox-like opponent would be if Dazai Osamu really went there.

Although it turns out that Dr. Mori's smile is not very genuine, we should still not cause any more trouble for Yokohama.

"I thought it would be in a hotel..." Dun pulled at his suit awkwardly. He looked a little embarrassed. He turned his head and whispered to the girl beside him, "I didn't expect there would be a banquet hall in the Mafia headquarters."

Maybe it's because tigers hate being restrained, or maybe it's because he has never been exposed to such things since he was a child. Even though it's not the first time he has worn a formal suit to attend a banquet, Nakajima Atsushi always feels "I'm really not suited to this kind of occasion."

Compared to him, Jinghua, who was wearing a tube-top long dress tonight, looked very calm. The color of the dress transitioned from white to light orange from the chest downwards. Further down, the skirt was covered with a layer of white gauze, and the hem was embroidered with small white flowers. Upwards, she was wearing a translucent shawl and a light orange ribbon around her neck.

With her dark blue long hair that was undone and then re-tied up, and star-shaped rhinestone hairpins dotted in her hair, this young girl looks a lot fresher and more lively than before.

"Well, this building is dedicated to receiving guests. There are banquet halls of different sizes on many floors. The one we are in now is neither big nor small, and it ranks in the middle." Jinghua recalled and answered Dun's question in a low voice, looking serious.

"So that's how it is. Kagamika knows a lot, so amazing." Dun smiled and praised the girl beside him generously, then curiously changed the subject, "By the way, I've never seen the skirt Kagamika is wearing today. Did you buy it with Dr. Xie Ye? It's very beautiful."

Jinghua was stunned for a moment, then looked up and said, "Didn't Dun put it on my seat?"

Atsuya looked over in confusion: "It's not me...ah!"

The name and silhouette of a person who might have given Jinghua a skirt popped up in his mind, and he couldn't help but shudder with an expression of awe.

In that case, it's very possible that it was sent by Momiji-san from the Mafia, right?

Just like what Duncai guessed, the skirt that Kagamika was wearing was indeed specially selected by Ozaki Kouyo and then sent to the detective agency. This was also thanks to Dazai Osamu who reminded her in advance that the person coming to the detective agency tonight was Kagamika. Now, seeing from afar the clothes that she had carefully selected being worn by the child, Ozaki Kouyo felt a sense of satisfaction in her heart.

But Mafia is the host of the banquet tonight, and she needs to socialize with the guests, so she can't keep looking at the mirror flowers... What a pity.

Thinking of this, the red-haired woman in gorgeous kimono withdrew her gentle gaze from the girl, glanced at the boy next to her, and then focused her attention on the conversation.

"I heard that you have recently found the clues of the murderer in that case?" The person asking the question in front of Ozaki Momiji is a person in the government agency. "I wonder if Officer Ozaki can reveal something - we naturally trust you, but we have to explain to each other as soon as possible. What do you think, Officer Ozaki?"

As an officer whose main job is to deal with assassinations, Ozaki Koyo is actually very impatient to deal with these people, but the organization needs an external image, so she has to take the position because of her good looks and smooth handling of things.

She then smiled slightly, her smile not reaching her eyes: "Actually it's not very convenient to talk about those unpleasant things in such an occasion...but if Mr. Nakata wants to know, we don't mind telling you."

Yes, they had indeed discovered something, but it was absolutely impossible for them to tell the guy in front of them. Even Hongye was not very clear about the inside story. This was all thanks to the fact that Moriou had kept the news strictly blocked.

She only vaguely knew that under the instructions of the leader, the people below had recently started to investigate the two dead bodies - it seemed that they had found something on the dead bodies. She didn't need to know so much, as long as she knew that Lord Ouwai would always come up with the best solution for the organization.

Even so, she couldn't just say she knew nothing when dealing with these annoying politicians... Deals are supposed to be a give-and-take thing.

Different from this side, the two people on the other side are not very old. Dun is only eighteen years old, and Jinghua is only fourteen years old. They are both old enough to be called children. The only thing that attracts them in this banquet is the delicious food on the long table.

Before coming, Atsushi was worried about whether he would run into Akutagawa at the banquet. After all, the two of them were enemies and the other party was a member of the Mafia, so the possibility was very high.

But he hasn't seen Akutagawa's iconic black and white gradient hair so far, so he probably won't be able to touch it.

Thinking of this, he happily went to the long table with Jinghua to get food.

Just as he put a piece of cake into his mouth, Atsushi caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye. It was not Akutagawa but it looked very familiar. He looked up in subconscious surprise.

"Mr. Amuro?"

Isn't that blond, dark-skinned man in a waiter's uniform the same waiter I met at the Whirlpool Cafe this afternoon? Why is he here?

Dun couldn't help but think: What a coincidence.

After hearing his voice, the man looked over and it was indeed Toru Amuro.

"Hey, Nakajima-kun?" Amuro showed a surprised expression, then laughed, "What a coincidence, you are here to attend the banquet."

Atsushi nodded. “Isn’t Mr. Amuro already working at Uzumaki?”

Jinghua looked at the man opposite her quietly, and after a while, she frowned.

She did hear from Dun that a new clerk with excellent cooking skills came to the store downstairs...but why did this new clerk look so skilled?

Although he looked like he was just standing there normally, she had a feeling that no matter which direction she attacked, she would be blocked. In other words, there was no blind spot on this person for the time being.

Very strange.

"This is also my part-time job." Amuro Toru said with a harmless smile, "Actually I'm not really short of money, part-time work is just my hobby, is it weird?"

Jinghua suddenly froze.

The other party asked the last question while looking at her... It felt very strange. Was he asking her? After she had just had such a strange thought?

Having spent some time in the mafia, Jinghua was more cautious than Dun. She took a step back and hid herself behind the white-haired boy, looking like she was afraid of strangers. But Dun soon heard Jinghua's voice softened again: "Dun, I want to go to the bathroom."

Considering that the girl was more familiar with the building than he was, Atsushi didn't say anything and accompanied her. After watching Kagamika leave the banquet hall, he looked back in the direction of Amuro Toru embarrassedly and started chatting with the waiter who seemed to be very idle.

During the conversation, Dun learned that the other party had temporarily moved to Yokohama with his family. They had been in Yokohama for half a month. It was said that in another half a month, they would move out of Yokohama and go to another place.

...What kind of strange way of spending time is this? Are Mr. Amuro and his family traveling?

And, he once again felt what a coincidence it was that the case that Mr. Kunikida told him about in the afternoon seemed to be the first one that happened half a month ago.

Dun did not suspect Toru Amuro because of this coincidence. Instead, he had a very happy chat with Toru. This clerk who claimed to love part-time work was very knowledgeable and good at speaking. Dun always felt that the rhythm of the conversation with him was very comfortable. As they chatted, he seemed to have said a lot of things without him even realizing it.

The lights in the banquet hall dimmed at this moment. The two paused their conversation and looked towards the only place where the lights were still on.

The good-looking little tiger immediately recognized the man coming down the stairs - with a little blonde girl in his arm - as the current leader of the port mafia. He had seen him several times before when the detective agency and the mafia were in conflict.

The leader of the mafia seems to be called Mori Ougai?

Mr. Mori seemed to be about to speak when suddenly a scream came from the corner of the banquet hall.

“Someone’s dead!!”

Dun looked over in astonishment, his nose moving involuntarily twice, and sure enough, with the tiger's superior sense of smell, he smelled the smell of blood coming from that direction.

At the same time, Mr. Amuro, who was standing next to him, actually ran in that direction. Atsushi was startled and subconsciously followed Mr. Amuro.

Then he heard Mr. Amuro say to the guests surrounding the body: "I am a detective. Please make way."

…

Dun Zhen looked at the blond young man in surprise: Huh? Is this also one of your part-time jobs? !

—

Unbeknownst to Atsushi, Kagamika, who said she was going to the restroom, actually found a corner after leaving the banquet hall and sent a message to someone about the strange person appearing next to Atsushi.

The "someone" here specifically refers to someone who threw the banquet work to them after class - Dazai Osamu.

This was also what Dazai Osamu had specifically told her before he disappeared in the afternoon: to pay attention to all the strange people who would appear around Atsushi recently, and if they really showed up, to tell him about it.

Jinghua had never expected to find such a person that night... Is it a coincidence? I always felt that there were too many coincidences tonight.

She came out to find an excuse to send a message to Dazai Osamu, and after that, Jinghua was ready to go back. She didn't intend to leave Dun alone with that stranger for too long. If there was no signal in the Mafia banquet hall, she didn't even intend to leave Dun's side.

However, just as Jinghua turned the corner and came to the corridor leading to the banquet hall, she suddenly heard a conversation coming from the front, and some words in it immediately stopped her in her tracks.

"Killing them isn't the only solution, right?" the young and refreshing voice asked anxiously.

"Of course there is more than one way, but we don't have that much time. This is the best solution given by the boss. Do you sympathize with them? Or do you doubt the boss's ability?" Another voice sounded cold, but childish, like a little girl. "If you really think this is not good, you might as well go and protest to Gin directly."

The little girl sneered: "--Then I can go and ask the boss not to let you be killed by Gin."

"...Of course I know this!" The young man sounded helpless, "I just can't figure it out right now. After all, even if I already... at least they look like ordinary people, right? Of course I believe that Yue Ge, the only ones I don't believe are Gin and the others. If we act directly like this, Mr. Ranpo will definitely find them! That will be even more troublesome then."

"It's better if Gin doesn't hear this." The little girl's tone was teasing, but also like a reminder, "Don't worry, you said you believe in the boss, will he not consider the existence of Mr. Ranpo? The successor of the boss can't be too 'naive'."

The boy immediately went crazy: "Ahhh, I told you not to mention that... Shirley!"

"...Hehe, same here, don't call me by that name, heir."

Jinghua tapped the recording button on her phone twice to make sure that the previous conversation was recorded. At the same time, a solemn and slightly confused expression appeared on her face.

Those two people outside, do you know Mr. Ranpo?