Living in Yokohama

At the top of this list of organizations, there are two names that Kunikida Doppo is extremely familiar with: the Armed Detective Agency and the Port Mafia.

Leaving aside the port mafia, Kunikida has never heard of a detective agency doing such a thing! ?

In fact, not long before Shirasaki joined the agency, the people in the detective agency had only faintly heard of a very valuable mobile treasure in Yokohama, and the specific name was only heard after Dazai Osamu joined the agency.

"...It seems that the detective agency has been used by someone." Kunikida made this judgment with an extremely serious expression.

This is by no means a trivial matter. You must know that it was two and a half years ago that Shirasaki was offered a reward. That is to say, at least two and a half years ago, their information was stolen, and Mr. Ranpo was in the detective agency. I didn't find out that the assets in the company were used for this kind of thing, and I didn't notice it for two and a half years.

"Ah, I'm afraid many of these nearly a thousand organizations are just like the detective agency, and they don't know anything about their participation in this reward offer," Tianshan Hanabou guessed, "If this is the case, maybe we can learn from this Let’s start with a few clues and find a way to withdraw this bounty.”

"I understand, Hanakou, thank you very much." After a few short answers, Kunikida hung up the phone and returned to the detective agency with his pockets in his pocket.

After entering the door, he subconsciously looked around and found Bai Saki who was answering the phone.

When she was not being hunted down, Shirasaki looked no different from an ordinary clerk in a detective agency, with bright eyes, but now she had a slightly embarrassed expression on her face, and apologized repeatedly to the other end of the phone: "... ...Okay, I'm very sorry to trouble you...Okay, yes, huh?...Sorry, it's just a colleague relationship."

After saying sorry several times, Shirasaki hung up the phone, sighed a long time, rubbed his forehead, showing helplessness on his face.

"What?" Kunikida asked, and then he reacted very quickly, "Did Dazai get caught again?"

Bai Qi smiled dryly: "Well, the cleaner in the park said that a person was fished out of the river... There was a business card of a detective agency in his clothes, so he tried to call."

"...Ah, I knew it!" Although Kunikida had predicted this situation when he guessed that Osamu Dazai would slip out and jump into the river, Kunikida still couldn't help complaining, "If you don't watch this, it will be too late." A guy who will cause trouble to others!"

...Forget it, now is not the time to talk about this, Kunikida pressed his glasses and took a breath, trying to suppress the anger in his heart, turned and walked into the president's office.

The president, Fukuzawa Yukichi, was drinking tea. Seeing him coming in, he was a little surprised: "What happened?"

Kunikida Doppo stood in front of him, and told everything that Tianshan Hanabou had investigated.

"...!" Fukuzawa Yukichi frowned, with a pensive look on his face, "...the members of the detective agency cannot have such sneaky people."

Kunikida Doppo thought the same way, but the problem was that it actually happened.

He glanced at the president's office. All the asset certificates of the detective agency are in the president's office. In that case, Mr. Ranpo will not be unaware.

Even if an unknown person just walked into the president's office and did nothing, Mr. Ranpo would not say nothing.

...But this proof has indeed been used by others.

Fukuzawa Yukichi made a decisive decision: "Call the members together."

Half an hour later, even Osamu Dazai, whose hair was still wet, sat in the meeting room.

Osamu Dazai stroked his hair pitifully: "Ah, it's all soaked, if there's a quick way to dry it—"

"..." Bai Saki completely ignored this hint, she looked curiously at the president sitting on the other side, "Is there anything important?"

In the last meeting, we still encountered 180 seven armed gang robbers, but it seems to be quite peaceful recently, there are no large-scale disturbances.

"Probably has something to do with Bai." Edogawa said casually as he lay down on the chair, "Kunikida's investigation has come to some conclusion."

"...Huh?" Shirasaki opened her eyes wide, "Is it related to me...?" She looked at Kunikida suspiciously, feeling a little ominous foreboding in her heart.

"Kunikida, it's up to you to explain." Fukuzawa Yukichi said.

"Yes." Kunikida stood up, pasted the printed list on the whiteboard behind him, and then highlighted the name of the Armed Detective Agency on it with a black pen, "I found this through the flower bag."

He looked at Bai Saki with a serious expression: "——The list of organizations that offer rewards to Bai Saki."

Shirasaki: ...

…………?Why? ? ?

When did you investigate this kind of thing?Why do you want to check this kind of thing?Why does it have the name Armed Detective Agency on it?And what is the list of organizations offering a bounty to her? ?Various questions flooded into Baisaki's mind, she stared blankly at Kunikida, momentarily speechless.

The expressions of everyone in the Detective Agency immediately became serious, and Xie Ye frowned tightly: "Having the name of the Detective Agency means that the Detective Agency has offered a reward...! But, this is impossible."

"That's right, a detective agency wouldn't do such a thing." Tanizaki Junichiro was also very serious, "Is this list really correct? Kunikida-senpai, this is a joke from time to time."

"The list is true." Edogawa Ranpo opened his eyes, and a cold light flashed, "However, it is also true that no one in the detective agency participated in this matter."

... But what is going on, even Edogawa Ranpo can only vaguely grasp a certain "thread end" from the messy ball of thread, without knowing the truth.

Osamu Dazai smiled: "I don't think this list is a 'fact'."

Edogawa Ranpo looked at him, and the eyes of the two met in the air. After a few seconds, Ranbu sat up straight and put on his glasses: "... Indeed, the list is true, but it is not the truth."

"Wh, what do you mean?" It is true, but it is not true, which makes Kunikida a little confused, "What is this list...?"

Edogawa ran his lips curled up, unceremoniously: "Do you need a detective to explain such a simple matter? What an idiot!"

"For the person who verified the assets, the person offering the reward has indeed issued the asset certificates of all the above organizations, in order to reward Abai," Edogawa Ranpo narrowed his eyes slightly, with a thoughtful look, "However, it was proved to be a fraud, and his source of funds came from another source."

Osamu Dazai continued to explain with a smile: "The person offering the reward chooses to make a fake to cover up the source of funds, which means that the person offering the reward himself cannot prove the existence of the assets, but the 250 billion US dollars is real and can be paid out... . . . it's incredible."

This is completely contradictory.

Since you can pay the money, why can't you give a proof, and even need to forge it?

This time, Kunikida Dopō got the point right: "That is to say, the other party's assets cannot be proven to exist, so as long as you confirm this with the website, you may be able to withdraw this reward... But, only the detective agency His testimony is probably useless."

After all, Shirasaki is now a member of the detective agency, and the detective agency's appearance at this time will inevitably make people feel that they are just covering Shirasaki.

"Except for the detective agency... oh, there is also the acquaintance of the port mafia," Yosano Akiko frowned slightly, then quickly skipped the name and looked down the list, "but look carefully Look, there are quite a few other familiar organizations, they definitely don't have the guts to get involved, and the information is probably stolen. If we unite with them, it should be fine... Baisaki, what's wrong?"

It was only then that everyone in the detective agency noticed that Shirasaki, who was the center of the topic, hadn't spoken all the time. He lowered his head and didn't know what he was thinking. Hearing Yosano's voice, Shirasaki trembled, as if crying: "... Why?"

Kunikida was stunned: "Why?...Do you want to find out the reason for this?"

Shirasaki: "..."

"Does this still need a reason?" Kunikida took it as acquiescence, and he almost took it for granted and asked back, "Don't you want to return to a normal life?"

Shirasaki: "..."

... What can she say?

Tell the people at the detective agency that she died once, so the pursuit is the price of her survival?

Tell the detective agency that even if the bounty is withdrawn, will the organizer still have other ways to get her back into the situation of being hunted down?

Tell the people at the detective agency that no matter what they do, it's just a waste of time?

"...Xiaobai," Dazai Osamu played with the bandage wrapped around his hand, his tone was very flat, "If it's just a question of 'do you want to return to a normal life', what is your answer?"

Shirasaki clenched her hands subconsciously, and then quickly let go: "...but——"

Kunikida put the notebook on the table and made a small noise, Shirasaki subconsciously looked over and met his serious eyes.

"Ah Bai," Kunikida walked to her side and squatted down, "I can feel that you are afraid, not fear of chasing and killing, but fear of 'change'."

"Indeed, the detective agency still doesn't know what happened to you, why you were hunted down like this, and what situation you will fall into after being changed."

He raised his head: "—but, I assure you, I will never watch you die. Everyone in the detective agency has solved countless cases that everyone thought was impossible to solve in the past few years. Same."

"Trust us, and trust you who have been recognized by the detective agency."

Shirasaki covered her eyes.

It's different, it's different from everything detective agencies have solved in the past.

But she tried to show a smile: "...I believe in everyone."