บท 48: Chapter 75&76
Chapter 75: The Deal with the Armed Detective Agency
Having received a formal invitation, Tokisaki Kurumi stepped into the Armed Detective Agency's window from outside.
In truth, she never expected the Armed Detective Agency members to have the courage to invite her into their office. To them, facing such a disadvantage in numbers, shouldn't they be holding their ground, waiting for reinforcements? As long as they could wait for their members to return or for reinforcements from the Ability Specialist Bureau, their chances of survival would improve. However... even with a slight improvement in their chances, it would still be almost zero.
It seemed that Ranpo Edogawa had noticed this too and decided to negotiate with Kurumi. She didn't mind giving Ranpo a chance to speak. After all, she never truly intended to capture Atsushi Nakajima in the first place. The reason she had to act today was that Mori Ogai had given her a final deadline. To avoid causing friction with her cheap boss, she reluctantly came here.
At first, her plan was to stall until the Organization personally arrived in Yokohama to allow her to complete the secondary task. Moreover, if the Organization could come to Yokohama as she had planned, it would significantly help her with the main task. The fastest way to accomplish the main task and become Yokohama's Nightmare was to use the Organization's influence.
But now, the situation didn't allow her to continue slacking. Reluctantly, she had to abandon her first plan and switch to her second. She would capture Atsushi Nakajima, use him as bait to lure in the Organization, and then escort him to North America. Once in North America, she would defeat the members of the Organization.
Since the Organization wasn't coming, she decided to go to them. Although it would be troublesome and carry a lot more risk, she figured it was better than failing to accomplish the task altogether. As for the main task, she would figure out another way.
So, when Kurumi launched her attack on the Armed Detective Agency today, she wasn't trying to leave any leeway. But when Ranpo Edogawa made a proposal, she was willing to listen. If he could offer her a deal that benefited her, she wouldn't mind agreeing.
"Well then, Mr. Edogawa, what do you want to talk about?" Kurumi elegantly sat down in front of the members of the Armed Detective Agency. She ignored their weapons, asking calmly.
At the same time, she had prepared to switch with one of her clones. If this was a trap set up by the Armed Detective Agency, she would show them that tricks wouldn't work on her.
However, as she thought about it, the Armed Detective Agency wasn't like the Port Mafia, a black-and-white criminal organization that took killing as part of its daily activities. In fact, even in the plot, no one from the agency had ever been killed. Even the so-called "bad guys" in the story were treated as enemies rather than irredeemable threats.
Since that was the case, there was no real danger in her body showing up in person. So, she came herself.
"Nightmare, I'll be direct with you," Ranpo Edogawa's usual playful demeanor was absent as he spoke with a serious tone, his shoulders carrying the weight of his companions' lives. "Your goal is the North American ability organization, the 'Organization,' correct?"
Upon hearing this, Kurumi's eyelid twitched slightly. How did everyone know that her target was the Organization?
Mori Ogai had figured it out, and now Ranpo too. She thought she hadn't leaked too much information to them, but how had Ranpo deduced it?
Kurumi was speechless. She knew about Ranpo's abilities, but she hadn't realized he could figure it out to this degree. Ranpo Edogawa's ability, or what others referred to as his "ability," was called "Super Deduction." However, what the outside world didn't know was that Ranpo didn't actually possess an ability. He was the only ordinary person in the Armed Detective Agency, lacking any supernatural power.
Super Deduction existed but not as a supernatural ability. It was merely his natural talent.
Ranpo Edogawa was regarded as the greatest detective of the century, not because of his supernatural power, but because of his remarkable observation and deduction skills. In a world filled with anomalies, Ranpo was the anomaly.
"This guy's reasoning ability is practically a cheat," Kurumi thought. "Now I just hope he doesn't figure out that I'm a time traveler."
Suppressing her surprise, Kurumi nodded and admitted, "Yes, my goal is the Organization."
"Ever since Mori Ogai assigned you the task of capturing Atsushi Nakajima, you have not once carried out the mission. That struck me as odd. Now, you suddenly launch an attack because Mori Ogai gave you a final deadline, right?"
"As you said."
"You originally planned to delay until the Organization arrived in Yokohama to capture him, but now you have to change plans and grab Atsushi to lure the Organization members here, correct?"
"Pretty much, yes."
"Since that's the case, I have a better proposal."
"Let me hear it."
"We, the Armed Detective Agency, want to know why the Organization has placed a bounty on Atsushi. I can take the liberty of handing him over to you, but in return, you must tell us which transport ship will be taking Atsushi and from which route. We will intercept it halfway and rescue Atsushi."
"Hm... That's not a bad plan. This way, I'll complete my mission, Mori Ogai gets the reward, and you rescue your 'beast,' leaving the Organization to bear the losses."
Kurumi nodded slightly, taking over Ranpo's words. "Once the Organization hears that Atsushi was captured, they'll be enraged and immediately rush to Yokohama. This way, my goal is also accomplished."
By striking a deal with Ranpo, not only would the Organization arrive in Yokohama just as in the original story, but Kurumi's initial plan could also continue without any setbacks. For her, this was a win-win deal.
The only thing to worry about was whether or not the Organization had paid the final installment of the bounty to Mori Ogai when Atsushi was captured. However, that wasn't Kurumi's concern.
"Once the Organization arrives in Yokohama, we could even team up to take them down. We just need to find out why they placed a bounty on Atsushi," Ranpo added. "And as for what you plan to do, it's none of our business. From then on, we'll leave each other alone. How about it?"
"I must say, while your reasoning abilities are exceptional, you also have quite the silver tongue," Kurumi said with a smile. "You've piqued my interest, detective. I'll agree to your terms."
Upon hearing Kurumi's words, the faces of the Armed Detective Agency members finally relaxed. They had managed to break out of this deadlock.
Of course, the deal still carried significant risks for the Armed Detective Agency. Whether or not they could save Atsushi entirely depended on whether or not Kurumi kept her word. But even so, it was still far better than the agency being completely wiped out.
"Now, everyone, let's finish today's battle," Kurumi said as she pulled out two flintlock pistols. Her clones also hovered in the air outside. "Are you ready?"
"Why?" Atsushi Nakajima couldn't help but ask. "Didn't we already make a deal?"
"Because Nightmare has to report back," Ranpo Edogawa answered. "The situation here must be monitored remotely by Mori Ogai. If we don't put on a show of fighting, it'll be obvious to him that Nightmare and we made a deal behind the scenes."
"Oh, I see now," Atsushi said, relieved. "So, it's just a performance, right?"
"Although it's a performance, I'm going to make it feel very real," Kurumi said, her smile turning chilling.
"With Dr. Yosano's ability being to restore near death individuals to full health, right?" She continued with a laugh, but her words sent a chill down everyone's spine.
"So, to avoid Dr. Yosano being overworked later, I'll take care of injuring you all until you're half dead."
Chapter 76: The Four Heavenly Kings of Clones, Adding Another Fierce General
"Everyone! Are you alright?"
By the time Dazai Osamu and the others rushed back to the Armed Detective Agency, the battle was already over.
Looking at the completely destroyed building before them, the three of them quickly ran up, their faces showing varying degrees of concern.
They had done everything in their power to arrive as quickly as possible. To make it in the shortest amount of time, they even asked Bandage Three to use her shadow to transport them to the detective agency.
Unfortunately, even though they had arrived in just five minutes, the battle had already ended in an overwhelming one-sided victory much sooner than they had anticipated.
Upon entering what had become an open-air ruin, they saw their fellow agency members sitting on the ground, their clothes torn and tattered.
"Are you all... okay?" Dazai Osamu asked, half shocked, half confused, as he looked at his teammates.
Although they looked battered, it seemed they were mostly unharmed.
Kunikida Doppo and Yosano Akiko seemed fine. Edogawa Ranpo, however, was lying motionless on the ground like a fish out of water. If it weren't for the faint rise and fall of his chest, Dazai might have thought something was seriously wrong with him.
"I almost died, but I healed myself." Yosano Akiko casually said, not caring that her body was nearly half exposed. "Nightmare wasn't kidding when she said she wouldn't show any mercy. She really didn't hold back at all."
"This is the first time I've been beaten so badly," Edogawa Ranpo said, lying sprawled out in the rubble with a melancholic tone. "Even my father never hit me this hard."
"Sorry, Boss, Atsushi was taken," Kunikida Doppo said, standing up and bowing apologetically. "We were completely overwhelmed by their numbers. We had no choice but to make this difficult decision to protect everyone's lives."
"Kunikida, are you telling me that to save everyone, you handed Atsushi over to Nightmare?" Fukuzawa Yukichi asked sternly, his expression severe.
"Don't be too harsh on him, Boss," Edogawa Ranpo said as he propped himself up to sit. "This was my idea. I made a mutually beneficial deal with Nightmare."
"A deal? With that demon?!" Bandage Three, who had been hiding in the shadows and had refused to show herself, suddenly leapt out when she heard Ranpo's words. "Have you lost your mind? A deal with Nightmare can never be a win win. It's always a win for her twice over!"
"In that situation, it was the best decision I could make," Ranpo replied calmly.
"Ranpo, no matter what kind of deal you made, never abandoning our comrades is the Armed Detective Agency's bottom line. Even you can't cross that line," Kunikida insisted.
"Don't worry, I never said I abandoned him."
Confused by their words, Edogawa Ranpo explained everything that had happened, including the details of his deal with Tokisaki Kurumi.
After hearing his plan, Fukuzawa Yukichi's grim expression lightened slightly.
Then, Dazai Osamu shared the information he had received from Bandage Three, and the team exchanged intel.
"Interesting," Edogawa Ranpo murmured, deep in thought. "Could Nightmare's involvement with the Organization be related to her past?"
Ranpo then looked at Tokisaki Kurumi, who was nearby. "Hey, do you know anything about that?"
"I've never had any contact with the Organization," Kurumi replied coolly.
"Useless," Ranpo clicked his tongue. "No wonder the main body doesn't see you as a threat at all."
"Nonsense! I am Nightmare's greatest enemy!"
"You're just delusional."
"How dare you say that!" Kurumi shouted, her voice rising.
The two of them began bickering like children, but the tense atmosphere slowly dissipated.
At least the worst outcome had been avoided.
At least they still had a chance to rescue Nakajima Atsushi, and none of the members had died while trying to protect him.
Though handing Atsushi over to Tokisaki Kurumi and the Organization had been a risky move, it was still the best option among the choices available.
Now, they only needed to wait for Kurumi to send them information on which transport ship Atsushi was on, and they could begin planning his rescue.
Until then, they could only wait patiently.
---
Meanwhile, two figures stood on a building opposite the Armed Detective Agency, watching the scene unfold in the open air detective office below.
Looking at the scuffle between Edogawa Ranpo and Bandage Three, one of them, a girl with black hair and a rose headpiece, couldn't help but comment, "I'm glad I was the second to be summoned; at least I didn't have to endure this."
"I heard from Clone One that Bandage Three went insane, and I thought she was exaggerating, but it seems it was really true," the other girl, dressed in pure white Lolita attire, said wistfully. "I'm fortunate to be the third to be summoned; I haven't had to deal with anything like this."
If Sakaguchi Ango were here, he would immediately recognize that the first girl was none other than the Nightmare clone, Eye Patch Three, whom he had once spoken to. And standing beside her was the recently summoned fourth king of clones, Lolita Three, summoned unexpectedly during the preparation for the upcoming battle with the Organization.
Lolita Three, unlike Bandage Three, had been fortunate.
The first clone summoned, Bandage Three, was still trapped in hell, while Eye Patch Three's work wasn't as grueling as Bandage Three's, but it was still more demanding than that of other ordinary clones.
As for Lolita Three, she had been free to relax, either playing cards with other idle clones in the shadow space or sightseeing in Yokohama and nearby cities. Compared to Bandage Three, who had lost her sanity under pressure, Lolita Three's life had been a walk in the park.
And because of this, she couldn't help but feel a little pity for Bandage Three when she saw her in her current state. After all, if she had been summoned first, she would have taken Bandage Three's place.
The thought of possibly being the one to act crazy among the detectives made Lolita Three shiver.
"Well, we can't talk to Bandage Three directly, but the good news is that we should be able to complete the main mission soon. Once the mission is completed, she won't need to play that role anymore," Eye Patch Three said, glancing at the scene below.
"We just need to wait for the detectives to intercept Atsushi Nakajima's transport ship and see how the Organization reacts," she continued.
"But it seems this guy still hasn't fully gained the trust of the Armed Detective Agency," Lolita Three hesitated. "So far, no one seems to see her as part of the detective agency, right?"
"That's true... After all, her mission is hellishly difficult. Let's give her some more time," Eye Patch Three replied.
"Why don't you help her out a little?" Lolita Three suggested with a sly grin.
"Me? How should I help?" Eye Patch Three asked, confused.
"Hehe, even though we're all individuals, it's always easier to see things from the outside," Lolita Three smirked, her fox-like smile playing at the corners of her lips.
"For example, you could do this..."
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