rambunctious lover

"What are you doing?"

Everyone was stunned, followed the prestige, and the one who appeared at the door seemed to be Edogawa Ranpo who had been missing for many days.

Renhu was the first to rush over: "Mr. Luanbu," he choked up, wiped the corners of his eyes with his hands, and couldn't hide his joy: "You're finally back."

Edogawa looked at him in disorder, and all the information about the boy flashed through his mind.

He raised his hand to smooth the short hair on the top of the boy's head, and smiled comfortingly:

"Aden, I'm back."

Atsushi Nakajima - the highly anticipated newcomer to the detective agency, who often picks him up to and from get off work.

With his head held high and his chest held high, Luanbu walked in front of people with confident steps.

Faces of all colors came into view, the only thing in common was the worry and joy on all faces.

He raised his head and smiled at the man in the camel-colored windbreaker:

"Dazai, what you're holding in your hand shouldn't belong to me?"

Osamu Dazai scrutinized him blatantly, and the eyes of the two met in the short space, not giving in to each other, sparks flying, and extremely quiet.

After a while, the former cadre of Hong Kong and Heiwei smiled as if nothing had happened, and handed it back to him together with the khaki envelope:

"Oh, what a coincidence. I was caught by Mr. Ranpo."

Osamu Dazai shrugged and said in an exaggerated tone.The ups and downs of the tone reminded Ranbu of a person.

Oh, no, it's a ghost-nightmare.

Edogawa Ranpo took the letter, and only glanced at the large characters on the envelope [To Mr. Butei Edogawa Ranpo].

He snorted inexplicably, pulled out the letter paper and stuffed it into his pocket, and threw the envelope casually on the desk.

Osamu Dazai glanced at him, but said nothing.

Soon, everyone in the club gathered around.

Edogawa Ranpo—a famous detective who meets once in 50 years, always the focus of attention.

Everyone was chattering.

Tanizaki Naomi: "Mr. Ranpo, where have you been all this time? I heard that there is no one in the apartment."

Tanizaki Naomi, although she is an ordinary human without supernatural powers, is as well-informed as a specialized intelligence collector.

"Ah, this. Generally speaking, he was stabbed and sent to the hospital for deliberate revenge."

Edogawa Ranpo deliberately said in a casual tone, but unconsciously caressed his back with his hand.

"Ah—" Tanizaki Naomi gasped.

Edogawa Ranpo smiled casually: "So I have to ask the president for leave. Is the president here?"

Atsushi Nakajima: "The president should be in the office."

Ranpo: "Okay, thank you."

He was about to walk away, and his eyes flicked to the man who was hesitating to speak and wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

Kunikida Doppo, the top righteous person in the detective agency, carries a notebook with the cover of "ideal" with him.

Ranbu nodded at him, and heard Tanizaki Naomi behind him say:

"Mr. Ranpo, shall I bring you a glass of iced juice?"

"OK……"

Edogawa Ranpo was about to agree, when the noisy summer wind brought a delicate breath, he immediately changed his mind:

"Please give me a cup of hot tea, thank you."

Naomi was stunned, and she murmured softly: "Really, it's very hot."

Even though it was the faint sound of mosquitoes and flies, the words did not fall into Ranbu's ears at all.

Perhaps it was due to his new status as a ghost, but...

At the cost of not being able to sleep in the sun, it is not worth the gain.

Luanbu wrinkled his nose in dissatisfaction.

"and many more."

Luanbu stopped in time, he turned his head, and of course it was Osamu Dazai's carefully calculated smiling face that came into view

"Mr. Ranpo, don't you want the envelope? Maybe you can see who sent the letter by looking at the handwriting."

Gee.

Edogawa Ranpo didn't dislike vigilant people, but if they affected his plans, it was another matter.

tap tap —

The footsteps were approaching.

The detective raced against time to walk up to Dazai, with a playful smile on his face:

"Could it still be a love letter to me?"

"Love letter? What love letter?"

The Patriarch of Bliss gently shook his golden iron fan engraved with lotus patterns, and walked into the gate of the detective agency without missing a second.

He met Edogawa Ranbu who was not far away, and the surprise that had been brewing for a long time climbed up his pale face.

"Oh—" Tong Mo sighed, and wiped away the tears that didn't exist with his wide kimono sleeves: "Mr. Ranpo, you are finally back, this... is the blessing of the gods."

The corners of Luanbu's eyes jumped wildly because of Tong Mo's clumsy acting skills:

"Yes, God bless."

Or it is more appropriate to say that it is the great kindness and virtue of Master Oniwu Tsuji.

Pooh.

Tong Mo glanced curiously across the khaki envelope in Dazai's hand that no one cares about.

"This is……?"

"It's my love letter to Mr. Ranpo."

It was obviously a joke that could be seen through at a glance, but Tong Mo believed it to be true, or he did it deliberately.

because……

The Patriarch of Bliss turned up his volume in astonishment: "What? Osamu Dazai, you actually wrote a love letter to Mr. Ranpo? Let me see it!"

He half-truth, half-fake, jokingly went to snatch something from Osamu Dazai's hand.

Edogawa Ranpo did not speak, he seemed to be a spectator outside the situation.

Tanizaki Naomi finally arrived late, and the green tea in her hand was steaming.

On this scorching summer day, rather than hot tea, it is better to say hot tea, the kind of temperature that will make the other party scream if it is turned over on someone's body.

Edogawa Ranpo smiled to himself.

"Miss Naomi, please put the tea on my desk. I'll drink it later."

"Okay, Mr. Ranpo." The girl frowned, hesitated for a while and said, "Mr. Ranpo, you can just call me Naomi. Why are you so polite all of a sudden?"

Osamu Dazai, who was being entangled by Tong Mo, looked up at Ranpo.

Immediately afterwards, there was a bang!

"Oh! Be careful!"

Following Tanizaki Naomi's scream enough to blow over the roof, the tea in her hand finally poured on Tong Mo impartially.

This considerate move undoubtedly saved two people at the same time.

Osamu Dazai witnessed Tong Mo frantically wiping the tea stains on the kimono, gloating inappropriately.

until……

"Dazai, your neck...?"

Only then did Osamu Dazai realize that his neck had been cut by a fragment of a ceramic teacup, and blood was flowing out.

"Oh, it wouldn't be romantic to die because of an accident like this."

In fact, he had discovered his wound a long time ago, but he just didn't want to deal with it.

The annoying Tong Mo made him lose another great opportunity, just like when they first met.

Osamu Dazai twitched the corners of his lips, and saw Ranpo Edogawa walking into the president's office alone.

And who cares about that khaki-yellow envelope that has been soaked in tea and even the lettering is smudged.

"Mr. Dazai, shall I treat your wound first?"

Tanizaki Naomi said with trepidation.

Seeing her fearful look, Osamu Dazai couldn't help sighing.

Silly girl, it's not your fault that the tea was spilled.

"It's okay, Naomi. Being scalded to death is also a new attempt."

Tong Mo smiled harmlessly: "Are you saying you want me to die, Osamu Dazai?"

Naomi: "..." (hand shakes)

Inside the President's Office

Fukuzawa Yukichi folded his arms and stood by the window.

"So the suspect who hurt you has been caught?"

Edogawa Ranpo was looking at the blue rose planted in clear water on the table, and he proudly puffed out his chest:

"Of course." He grinned and showed a row of neat and white teeth: "There is no one I, Edogawa, can't catch."

"Really?" Fuzawa smiled indulgently: "What else do you want?"

"President, during this period of time, I want to apply to come to work on cloudy and rainy days. Because my wound has not healed yet, sweating on sunny days can easily cause inflammation."

Fukuzawa Yukichi was silent for a few seconds: "Understood."

Dear president of the detective agency, neither the sudden disappearance nor the appearance of a detective seems to be able to disturb his inner peace.

Luanbu's eyes turned to the flowers on Fuzawa's desk again, and he asked without warning:

"President, I heard that there are no natural blue roses in this world, is it true?"

"I don't know, I don't know much about flowers. It was sent to me by Osamu Dazai one day."

"Oh, then I'll go first."

After finishing speaking, Edogawa limped away while supporting his battered waist.

click —

He was about to turn the doorknob when suddenly—

"Random steps." Fukuzawa Yukichi suddenly called out to him: "No matter what you want to do, I hope you can come back safely."

Luanbu didn't turn around, his head was raised high, and his Adam's apple rolled visibly in a few steps.

"Of course, Mr. President. Because I, Ranpo Edogawa, is the backbone of the detective agency."

As soon as Ranpo walked out of the president's office, he heard Dazai Osamu's wailing:

"The arteries in the neck are the lifeblood of human beings. I have suffered such serious injuries. I want to apply for early retirement."

Kunikida looked up at him, and when he caught sight of Ranbu standing in the shadows out of the corner of his eye, he lowered his head hastily.

Seeing this, the detective walked towards the sofa by mistake.

He looked down at the ruddy Osamu Dazai from a high position, he felt a little regretful, and only when he got closer did he discover the faint smell of blood.

Luanbu swallowed his saliva calmly, sat up straight beside Osamu Dazai, and patted his thigh.

"Tong Mo is gone?"

Osamu Dazai stopped his feeble howling, and gave his colleague a sad look:

"Mr. Luanbu, you actually care more about Tong Mo than my life and death?"

"It seems that Tong Mo is gone." Luan Bu sighed regretfully: "After I was attacked by someone, I suddenly felt that people should have faith. When life is hanging by a thread, maybe the gods will bless you."

Osamu Dazai blinked suspiciously: "What did you just say?"

"I said, I'm going to join Tongmo's... Eternal Bliss Sect."

Osamu Dazai jumped up from the sofa, stretched out his hand to touch Ranbu's forehead, and said earnestly after a while:

"Mr. Ranpo, I think you should go back and rest, after all, your injury hasn't healed yet."

"Yes, I think so too."

Luanbu seemed to have been waiting for this moment for a long time, and the movement of getting up was very clean.

"Let's go first, bye."

When he went out, he happened to pass Atsushi Nakajima.

"Ah, by the way, A-Dun. I've moved, so I don't need to trouble you to pick me up and go to and from get off work. Yue Yan will take care of it. Thank you before."

He patted the boy's shoulder affectionately.

"Goodbye."

Edogawa Ranpo walked downstairs alone, past the evergreen tree-like café that apparently had no customers and could never close down.

It no longer plays songs by singer Tori.

The sky began to rain lightly at some point, and the detective hesitated for a while whether to hold an umbrella or not.

tap tap —

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor, gradually approaching.

A man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a small waistcoat appeared in the rain, and he called out breathlessly:

"Mr. Ranpo..."

He came after all.

Edogawa Ranpo walked out from under the eaves.

"Is there anything else you want, Kunikida?"

The man pursed his lips, his fingers clenched into fists, and there was a crisp click.

"Is the person who hurt Ranpo-san...a fan of Tori? Because Tori retired, did he intend to take revenge on you?"

Tori?

Who is that?

Onimai Tsuji never mentioned this one, and Edogawa Ranpo shouldn't remember it.

A detective stood there, deliberately distorting his features.He imitated the appearance of Osamu Dazai and called out hypocritically:

"Oh, sorry, my wound hurts again. How about we talk about it next time?"

Kunikida looked anxious: "Then I will send you...?"

"No need, you are the best employee in our agency, you can't be late and leave early."

After speaking, he limped away.

clatter clatter—

The raindrops danced freely on the road, the intersection was their stage, and the arrival of the headlights attracted their attention.

Edogawa Luanbu took out the clean letter paper in the pocket of his cloak, glanced up casually, smiled slightly, and threw it into the trash can beside him.

The rain gradually increased.

【hidden】

Edogawa came to the bar with random steps.

He politely declined the silver mask offered by the waiter, and walked in dignifiedly.

It was still early and it was raining. There were few people in the bar, but there was one person drinking alone at the bar.

"Cough cough." The man seemed to have choked on strong alcohol, bent over and coughed uncontrollably: "Cough cough, cough cough."

When the itching in his throat subsided, he turned around, an apologetic smile blooming on his pale lips.

Facing Shang Ranpo's scrutiny, he said neither humble nor overbearing: "I'm sorry, my physical condition can't drink freely."

The detective then saw clearly that what was placed in front of the man was a cup of special lemon tea.

"Long time no see," he said.