Afterward.
Mori Ougai successfully completed his onboarding and, after work, made a trip to the bank. Quietly, he checked the balance on the card.
The password was still the default, six zeros.
As for the amount in the account... It had one more zero than the password—Seven zeros!!!
Mori Ougai checked it three times.
Without hesitation, he slipped the card into an inner pocket and silently exclaimed that the mafia really was profitable! As expected of the Port Mafia's Analyst—the richest person in the entire organization!
"Being his direct subordinate means I don't have to take orders from the other Executives. That's not a bad deal."
"So this is what they mean by 'blind cat finds a dead mouse'?"[1]
Having mastered Chinese, Mori Ougai amused himself with the idiom in his head.
In a mood befitting someone who had become rich overnight, he headed back to the clinic. He planned to take Elise and Akiko out for a lavish meal to make up for the fact that he was too lazy to cook and constantly fed them instant noodles instead.
When he arrived at the clinic, he put on a smile, ready to greet his adorable Elise.
What greeted him instead was Elise rushing toward him in a panic, tears brimming in her eyes.
The blonde little girl grabbed the front of his white lab coat and cried out,
"Rintarou! Akiko is gone!"
Mori Ougai's expression changed drastically.
Forcing himself to stay calm, he demanded, "Where did she disappear from?"
Elise didn't argue with him and quickly explained what had happened. "I didn't go out today. I stayed in the clinic and watched the front for you. Akiko was in her room at first, but later I found that she'd gone into the room next door. The bars on the window there had been cut through, and she climbed out through the opening!"
Mori Ougai frowned.
"You didn't hear anything?"
Elise shook her head.
"It happened very quickly. I heard a little noise, but I wasn't sure what it was."
Mori Ougai went to the window Akiko had escaped through.
The dust on the windowsill had been wiped away, and the metal bars bore clean fractures where they had been severed.
Wearing white gloves, he reached out and touched one of the cuts.
The sharp edge seemed capable of slicing his skin.
He jerked his hand back.
"A sword."
A master swordsman could cut with a single stroke, splitting even the wind itself while leaving everything around it untouched.
The metal bars had been cut from both sides with two strikes.
The speed and explosive force behind the attacks were astonishing. What should have produced a tremendous crashing noise had instead been sliced through as easily as tofu, the bars falling away almost silently.
"Someone targeted Akiko. They scouted the area beforehand and took her while I was away..." Mori Ougai's gaze turned icy. When he reached the end of his conclusion, the words became difficult to say.
"...Akiko went willingly."
The little girl who had spent her days grieving in his clinic, withdrawn from the world and uninterested in everything around her.
He had taken her to amusement parks.
He had taken her to cake shops.
He had taken her to all sorts of places meant to cheer her up.
Yet she had always looked at the world with dull, lifeless eyes, as though even if he let go of her hand, she would never leave.
Mori Ougai had been deceived by that very obedience.
It wasn't that she hadn't wanted to leave!
She simply... hadn't dared reveal that desire in front of him.
Mori Ougai closed his eyes, suppressing the anger rising within him.
Then another thought occurred to him.
He had never been able to help Akiko open up while she was living in the clinic. Now that he was about to begin working for the Port Mafia, he would have even less time for her.
If someone out there could help Yosano Akiko lower her guard and accept the world again...
Perhaps her ability would return.
Akiko's greatest value lay in her supreme healing ability, Thou Shalt Not Die, capable of healing severely wounded people in an instant.
If tests had not confirmed that she had lost her ability, the government would never have left her in a sanatorium, much less allowed him to take her away without consequences.
Because the government, too, hoped that someone might one day help her to awaken the power of the "Angel of Death" once more.
Without that power, Yosano Akiko had lost her value.
"First, we find out where she went. Everything else can wait."
Anyone capable of taking Akiko from under his nose was certainly no ordinary person.
He was not prepared to go to war with an unknown enemy.
His opponent was hidden while he stood in plain sight.
The optimal solution was to increase his own status and strength.
Elise obeyed his instructions. The smile disappeared from her face as she nodded.
"Alright."
Mori Ougai gently patted the top of her head, a trace of coldness appearing in his eyes.
"Sorry, Elise. I was planning to take you out for something good to eat. Instead, we'll follow the route she used to escape and see if we can find any clues."
"Rintarou... are you sad?"
Elise rose onto her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Mori Ougai's neck, like a daughter clinging to her father.
For her, this was an exceptionally rare gesture.
Her personality had been "designed" to be loyal to Mori Ougai, yet she disliked him with all the stubbornness of a little girl.
"It's okay if you cry, you know. Elise likes you best when you're honest."
"...Pfft."
"Rintarou?"
"Ah, sorry. You're just too cute, Elise. I can't stay sad when you're like this."
"Stupid Rintarou! How can you tease me at a time like this?!"
"As long as I have Elise, I can keep living. You're the person I love most. As for Akiko leaving... well, then she's gone. It's not as though I can't live without her."
Holding hands with Elise as she smacked him in protest, Mori begged for forgiveness while continuing to search for clues.
Unexpectedly, although whoever had taken Yosano Akiko had clearly come prepared, they were remarkably brazen.
They hadn't gone out of their way to erase their tracks.
In the maze of alleyways, Mori and Elise found a number of footprints.
There were two sets.
One large, one small.
Two people.
The smaller prints belonged to a boy.
The larger prints had been left by someone wearing wooden sandals—likely an old-fashioned swordsman.
Akiko's footprints showed that she had stumbled after the smaller set, following the lighter boy as she ran.
Mori Ougai gritted his teeth.
These were clearly two kidnappers!
"Have you found a clue, Rintarou?" Elise asked.
Mori Ougai nodded.
"We'll need to investigate Yokohama's swordmasters as well."
It probably wasn't that person...
After all, the issue of the Skilled Business Permit had yet to be resolved. Would they really dare stir up even more trouble?
Mori Ougai had never met Edogawa Ranpo, and his conclusion, based on ordinary reasoning, was therefore flawed.
What Fukuzawa Yukichi could not do did not mean Edogawa Ranpo could not do!
Edogawa Ranpo shared his snacks with the little butterfly he had spirited away.
"Akiko, come eat something! Let's play hide-and-seek with all the grown-ups in the city together!"
Under the influence of his overwhelming confidence and infectious happiness, Yosano Akiko stared at him in confusion.
She couldn't understand how he could be so carefree.
"Aren't you… afraid?"
Mori Ougai was not someone to be trifled with. He would never let the two people who had rescued her go.
"There's nothing to be afraid of!"
Edogawa Ranpo stretched lazily, tugged the brim of his cap lower, and declared with effortless confidence,
"You're afraid of that doctor, right? You don't need to worry about him. His opponent is my guardian. We won't have to face him ourselves, and even if he does come looking for us, so what?"
Raising his voice toward the doorway, he called out,
"Fukuzawa-san! If someone restricts a minor's personal freedom, what should be done?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Fukuzawa Yukichi answered, "Knock them down and hand them over to the police!"
Edogawa Ranpo snapped his fingers with a flourish—a newly learned habit—then immediately rubbed his aching knuckles.
"Listen."
The boy's emerald-green eyes were very close to Yosano Akiko's.
Yosano Akiko found herself blushing without realizing it, but under the bright, energetic sound of his voice, she tilted her head and listened carefully.
What was she supposed to hear?
"Justice, you dummy! We're representing the justice of saving people!"
"Akiya once said that evil can never triumph over righteousness!"
No matter what one did, walking the grand and open path was more correct than relying on schemes and conspiracies.
That was why, after deducing Yosano Akiko's situation, he had chosen to snatch her away!
So what if he had?
If someone had a problem with it, they could come and defeat them!
Society's sense of right and wrong was on his side.
The righteous stood on his side.
He had already mastered the rules ordinary people lived by and could write novels that ordinary people understood.
Ranpo-sama is the World's Greatest Detective!
A simple rescue mission like this was easy!
After work, at the villa.
Standing before the sink, Asou Akiya washed his hands before dinner.
Soap bubbles foamed beneath his fingers.
He blew gently across the lather, watching with warm eyes as a few bubbles drifted upward and settled against the mirror.
There were aftereffects to killing someone.
They could be overcome, but they could never be ignored.
After killing the Boss who had once appreciated him and now wanted nothing more than to strangle him to death, Asou Akiya had experienced a powerful wave of negative emotions.
Later, through his conversations with Randou, he managed to regain his balance.
There was no way to make everyone like him. Not even stacks of ten-thousand-yen bills could accomplish that.
All he could do was revisit the events of that day over and over again, confirming that he felt no regret.
Each time he washed his hands, it was like reaffirming that conclusion.
Running water was so clean...
It's proof that even the darkest sins could be washed away by something pure.
Asou Akiya had fallen into a strange state of mind.
When he rubbed soap into a lather, he thought of Nishida Shibashi's ability.
When he saw delinquent youths outside with their flashy appearances, he thought of Kimura Semei and his dyed hair.
When he uncorked a bottle of red wine, the liquid inside seemed to become the blood that had flowed from Watanabe Yukisada's body...
Watching the man arranging the dinner table stare blankly at the wine bottle, the corkscrew still dangling in his hand, Randou walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist.
"What are you thinking about?"
Troubled, Asou Akiya replied, "Looking at red wine kills my appetite."
Randou raised an eyebrow. "Because it looks like blood?"
Asou Akiya blinked awkwardly, looking faintly embarrassed that his excuse had been seen through so easily.
Randou took the corkscrew from his hand and set it on a nearby shelf.
Then he returned, poured the wine into two glasses, and placed them on the table.
After all, they were the only two adults in the house who could drink.
"I never realized your feelings for the Boss ran this deep."
"Ahem, it's not as good as you're imagining..."
"Objection overruled. I'm not listening to your nonsense, Akiya. Want to hear my solution?"
"Hm?"
"Drink. Forget all of it."
Randou raised his wine glass and clinked it against Asou Akiya's. Amid the clear chime of glass meeting glass, he half-sat on the edge of the dining table.
"Tomorrow, you'll see him sitting in the Boss's office again, enjoying his authority."
"When you put it that way, that's true."
Accepting the advice, Asou Akiya took a sip of wine.
Randou poked right at his sore spot. "You are just too soft-hearted. Your neck doesn't hurt anymore, so now you're letting your imagination run wild."
Asou Akiya pulled a miserable face. "How could it not hurt? My voice has been hoarse for days."
"Hasn't anyone in the organization found it strange?" Randou asked.
"People who don't know me well think I've caught a cold."
Randou found that amusing and pressed further.
"And the people who do know you?"
Asou Akiya coughed a few times, his throat still uncomfortable, then swallowed.
"Oh, they just assume we've been doing a bit of throat exercise. A little private fun between us."
Randou froze.
His wine glass nearly slipped from his hand.
A flush instantly spread across his snow-pale cheeks. Even flustered and indignant, the Frenchman somehow sounded as though he were whispering sweet words.
"How can you say something like that?! You're slandering me—I absolutely did not!"
Crossing over the table in one stride, Randou grabbed the red scarf concealing the bruises and finger marks on Asou Akiya's neck and yanked it aside.
Parting his lips, he bit lightly at the side of Akiya's neck, trying to imitate a vampire yet not daring to hurt him.
"Honestly! You've only ever let me do that a handful of times. When have I ever hurt your throat?"
Asou Akiya patted Randou's back. Despite the hoarseness in his voice, it remained gentle.
"They'll only envy us."
Before he had truly gotten to know Randou, Asou Akiya used to boast endlessly, telling his colleagues all sorts of exaggerated stories about his interactions with the French beauty.
Only after he had actually won this person's heart did he realize that some things were better left unsaid.
If they could be spoken aloud so casually, they were probably just jokes.
Outside, Asou Akiya no longer shared details of their relationship so freely.
Even so, he had already made countless people jealous.
Everyone in the Port Mafia knew that Sub-Executive Asou had been dating a French lover for years.
Not a single person suspected the male Randou.
They met during the day.
Their eyes would meet.
As long as they alone understood the sweetness hidden within those exchanges, it was enough.
Resting his head on Akiya's shoulder, Randou perched on the end of the long dining table. His body was graceful and relaxed, elegant as a mermaid trailing seawater and romance wherever he went.
"Akiya, there are no more obstacles ahead of us."
Whether they formally rose to the top no longer mattered.
Asou Akiya had become the true power behind the Port Mafia, while the old Boss was now their puppet.
Whatever drama played out upon the stage, Randou sat below it with his chin propped in his hand, watching with enjoyment and amusement. He savored the secret that belonged to the two of them alone, his gaze following the reflection of his lover cast upon the stage.
Lowering his head, Asou Akiya kissed him, passing the mouthful of red wine between them. The faintly tart fragrance of fruit mingled on their tongues.
"Sounds good. Next time we meet in my office, you can take a nap there during lunch. I'll have your favorite blanket ready…"
The black-haired young man with Asian features held his French beauty in his arms, his hand slowly sliding down the other's back as though he were trying to catch a mermaid's tail.
"Akiya-san! Randou-san! I'm home!"
At the entrance, Nakahara Chuuya came charging in like a little bull returning from school, his voice ringing through the house. He was drenched in sweat from playing basketball after classes, full of energy and ready to head home, take a shower, and eat dinner.
"..."
"..."
Hearing Chuuya's footsteps pounding up the stairs, Asou Akiya calmly released Randou and positioned himself in front of him, shielding the man still perched on the dining table while urging the person who was practically melting into a recline to get down.
Randou said resentfully, "Who's more important, me or Chuuya and Ranpo?"
Faced with such a deadly question, Asou Akiya replied awkwardly, "Of course it's my darling!"
"Really?"
Randou looked unconvinced.
Asou Akiya kissed him reassuringly. Randou was jealous even of children. As expected of a real-life advocate of remaining single and childfree—even with amnesia, he was still a "big child" who wanted to be pampered and doted on.
Asou Akiya scooped the stubbornly table-bound Randou into his arms.
"My wife can stay, but my son can't!"
For a young man who had once been single, the desire to have a wife outweighed everything else!
You don't need to ask. But if you do, the answer is simple: I've coveted your body and soul for years. Four years ago, when faced with a choice between two options, I chose you!
Arthur Rimbaud, thank goodness you lost your memory!
Otherwise, I never would have had the chance to sleep with you!
[1] Stumbling into good fortune by accident.