After becoming a chaotic daughter

In the end, Edogawa Ranpo failed to directly shut out the "insurance salesman" who shocked him.

——Because the other party knocked on the door.

bang bang,

A very light but very clear knock on the door sounded behind Luanbu, and he even felt that he felt the slight vibration when the security door was knocked.But he knew that it was just his illusion, after all, the other party was just "knocking on the door" normally, not "slamming on the door" or "knocking on the door".

"Excuse me, is anyone there?"

A woman's questioning voice came from outside the door, gentle and non-aggressive, as if she was just an ordinary young woman walking by the side of the road.

He blocked the door without moving half a step, raised his arms in a random step, and made a big "X" to Kunikida, indicating that the other party must not make a sound, and someone outside found out that someone was in the club.

Kunikida Doppo was very puzzled.

He didn't understand what Mr. Ranpo was doing, but he couldn't explain it. Out of his trust in "respected Mr. Ranpo", he remained obedient and kept silent, planning to wait for the "insurance salesman" outside. Party member" to leave, and then ask Luanbu what is going on in detail.

bang bang,

Someone knocked on the door of the detective agency again, and a woman's questioning voice sounded slightly raised: "——Is Mr. Edogawa in?"

Accompanied by the woman's inquiry, Kunikida Doppo's complexion changed subtly.The last time the detective agency was approached by a strange woman like this was four days ago.At that time, a young lady in her twenties came who also knocked on the door softly to ask questions, but the door was blocked and she couldn't get in.

It was Osamu Dazai who blocked the door at that time.

The person who knocked on the door was a "missing woman" who was "betrayed by her feelings" by Dazai.

"Dazai-kun... Is Dazai-kun here? Come out and see me?"——The young woman's weeping voice seemed to be still in my ears, if it wasn't because she left behind the door of the detective agency before she left If a time bomb is dropped, Kunikida will definitely feel that the other party is a poor woman who is as delicate and delicate as a dodder, and is willing to help her beat up Dazai to vent his anger.

But now, what is the situation?

Kunikida is a person who easily reveals his thoughts in words and deeds—of course, only when facing his companions—after all, he is a very "upright" person, both "upright" and "straight".Therefore, after some subtle thoughts popped up in his mind, his gaze towards the "respected senior" suddenly became erratic, and his expression changed unpredictablely.

I can see Kunikida's random steps thinking about something: "..."

— Throw it away!Throw it all away!immediately!immediately!A tenth of a second!Throw him all those totally wrong ideas!

Edogawa Ranpo just wanted to pry Kunikida's head open and dump all the thoughts in Kunikida's mind into the non-recyclable trash can.How could such a mess be possible!He's not that guy Dazai who is merciless and can't figure it out!

He wanted to say Kunikida, "Are you an idiot!", but as soon as he uttered a sound, people outside would find someone in the room, so Ranpo could only swallow the words in his stomach aggrievedly, and waited outside The person who has left is gone, and then teach Kunikida what it means to "respect a famous detective"-even if you just think bad things about him in your head!

As he thought so, he heard the knock on the door again behind him.

As long as you don't respond, you will leave in about one or two minutes.

Ranbu deduced this result in his heart, and only waited for the other party to knock on the door twice, because no one opened the door, so he returned with a sigh in vain.

——This is normal progress.

However, the famous detective frowned, suddenly realizing that things were not simple.Just as he suddenly felt something was wrong, a young man's bright voice sounded from outside the house.

"Huh? Did you come to the detective agency to make a commission?"

Kenji, who finished taking care of the "greenhouse vegetables" on the rooftop, came back and seemed to be about to enter the house.

"Ah... yes, but it seems that no one is in the club." The woman said kindly.

"Is that so? Maybe everyone just went out. ... But it doesn't matter, I have the key! Please wait a moment, I will open the door!"

"That would be great, thank you very much."

The conversation stopped temporarily, the sound of the key being inserted into the lock, and the sound of the doorknob being pressed, but it was only halfway through, and then it got stuck.

"Hmm...why won't you open it...? Could it be that the lock is broken?"

"This is really a coincidence... It seems that today is not convenient, so I will visit another day."

"Ah, please don't mind."

Kenji outside the door seemed to stop the woman who wanted to say goodbye and leave, Edogawa Ranpo suddenly felt a sense of crisis welling up in his heart, and his extremely clever brain issued a loud warning of "beep beep!" But the lack of exercise of the body can not smoothly keep up with the speed of the brain, the reaction is still a little late.

--boom!

With a loud bang, the door of the detective agency was knocked down in one piece by the boy outside.

"Please come in! I'll find a maintenance worker to turn the door back later! ——Ah, Mr. Ranpo! Mr. Kunikida! You are all here!" Holding the thick alloy anti-theft door slantedly in his hand, The smiling face of the blond boy was as bright as the sun, and he waved energetically to greet the two people in the room.

Edogawa ranpo felt that he was not "spirited" at all when he avoided the door panel that was photographed horizontally. When he saw the woman standing behind Kenji, he felt that his spirit was even worse. It's the kind of "not good" that it's best to let him ask for leave to go home and close the door to sleep.

If he asked for leave to go home, he wouldn't have to face this "client".

He can also pick up Nanako from school in the afternoon, take Nanako to the park to play for a while, and then go out to eat sukiyaki together before going home. In this case, he will not have to meet this "client", nor will Nanako It's time for this "unknown aunt".

【…】

【Nanako will not see you either. 】

Edogawa Ranpo thought in his heart with some annoyance.

Just like Nanako didn't want him to see this ordinary-looking young woman, Edogawa Ranpo didn't want Nanako to see this person, and he didn't want to see this person himself.

— but he is "Dad."

Nanako is a child, and a child can "hide" in the face of difficulties, but her father cannot.

Dad is an "adult", and the task of an adult is to help children solve "difficulties", just like being a detective is to help ignorant people in the world solve incidents. "Famous detectives" and "ignorant people" are a very special kind of "adults" and "children", while "father" and "daughter" are the most common, normal, and most natural "children" in the world. adults" and "children".

So he has to help Nanako solve "difficulties", which is also the most common, normal, and most natural "reason" in this world.

The premise is... the woman with dark eyes in front of her should really be called the "difficulty" that Nanako has to face.

—— Relatives who are related by blood, should that be called a "difficulty"?

Edogawa Ranpo cannot be confirmed.But even if it was a "difficulty", it should only be his difficulty, not Nanako's.

"I came to visit the detective agency because I heard that there is a special famous detective here, Mr. Edogawa Ranpo."

The woman in a long dress sat in the middle of the double sofa, lowered her eyes slightly, half covered her dark eyes that were as silent as a dry well, her eyes fell on the tea table in front of her, and she didn't meet the eyes of the people opposite her. .

——This is an action dictated by habit.

Edogawa Ranpo subconsciously raised all his attention, and his brain, which is more powerful than the "supernatural power", peeled off all the information collected by the senses, analyzed the information behind every detail, and made them become Become a "chip" that you may be able to use, tearing out a path to the "correct ending" like a sharp knife in a difficult situation.

Avoiding sight is not because of guilt or anxiety, but because I am used to communicating with people in this way.I'm used to communicating with people like this because... those eyes are different from most people's.

Because it is completely black, there is not even the change in the depth of the eye color that should exist in normal eyes. From the pupil to the edge of the pupil, they are all the same tone, which looks extraordinarily "lacky".Being watched by such a pair of eyes, it is easy to give people a feeling of being "spyed" and "penetrating", which in turn causes anxiety in the bottom of their hearts.

Nanako also has such a pair of eyes, which are as dark as the most silent night before dawn, she can't see anything, and she can't feel any vitality, just like a lifeless puppet.

But when Nanako was talking, she would always stare at each other with such a pair of eyes, with no expression on her small face, and no ups and downs in her tone, so she appeared serious and rigid.

The whole person is like a doll, so it doesn't seem that there is any difference in the inorganic eyes of the doll.

Edogawa Ranpo searched for differences in his heart, from eyes, to hair, to facial features and body shape.It seemed that he was not comparing Nanako with the woman in front of him, but a kitten and a dog. No matter how you looked at it, they were completely different in his eyes, from head to toe, not even a hair Same.

"Mr. Ranpo is indeed a famous detective that is hard to find in the world." Kunikida pushed his glasses, opened the notebook in his hand, and was ready to record what the other party said at any time, "Then this lady..."

The woman thoughtfully followed his words, and gave a surname. I don't know if it's her husband's surname or her own surname. In short, it's a very common surname in Japan. Walking on the street and shouting, at least one of the ten passers-by One will turn to look at you.

"Okay." Kunikida called her again politely, added her last name before the word "Madame", and asked, "So did you encounter any trouble?"

The woman pondered for a few seconds before she said, "Perhaps it can't be called trouble."

Kunikida: "...?"

Stopping her slightly relaxed back, the woman's face took on a serious look, and she said in a calm tone: "I hope that Mr. Edogawa... can find someone for me."

He propped his head in disorderly steps, sat crookedly on the sofa with an unmotivated look, didn't answer a word, just looked at her lazily, his long and narrow eyes were drooping and half-narrowed, almost as if he was Dozed off, as if not listening to what the other party was saying.

The woman didn't show any concern, she just watched Luanbu sitting diagonally across from her, both in tone and expression, were as calm as ever.

"Mr. Edogawa...can you find me, where is my sister?"

She asked Ranpo calmly.

A few seconds passed, but Luanbu didn't answer the call, he just maintained that loose posture, sitting motionless with his face on his back.

Kunikida at the side vaguely felt the unusual aura surging in the air, and he thought that Ranpo didn't seem to want the "client" in front of him to come in at first, but Kenji who just happened to come back hit him by mistake After tearing down the door, they "had to" lead the woman into the reception room.

——This really doesn't look like Mr. Ranpo's style.

Kunikida thought so in his heart.

According to Ranpo's "solipsism" style of acting, if someone he doesn't like, he will directly and clearly express "you are really annoying!", even for high-ranking officials who cannot be offended, his The most "tactful" level is to slip away on one's own, and don't bother to pay attention to even a word from the other party.

No matter what kind it is, it is crisp and neat, as simple as breaking the chocolate in half with a "click", and it will never be stuck in a situation like it is now.

Kunikida was still secretly speculating what was going on, whether he should find an excuse to decline the client's request first and send her out, but before he could find a suitable reason, he heard a sudden sound beside him. Ranbu calmly replied.

He said to the woman, "She is dead."