Ayanokouji’s Guide to Using Tools at Butei High - Chapter 10.1

Just as time does not stop flowing because the hands of a clock cease to turn, the work of the Armed Detective Agency does not necessarily come to a close just because the afternoon business hours have ended. For Nakajima, he still had to remain busy for another hour or two. Simply put, it was overtime.

It was currently 6:00 PM, and the cafe downstairs from the Agency had flipped its cloud-shaped walnut wood sign to the Closed side. The very last customer was the Agency’s newcomer, Nakajima Atsushi.

“Is there still a meeting afterward?“

Previously, Tanizaki was the one responsible for buying coffee, but now the task of coffee runs had fallen onto the newcomer.

Nakajima Atsushi was in the middle of carefully confirming the types and quantities of coffee purchased based on his notes when he was suddenly addressed by the cafe owner, giving him a subconscious startle.

“Uh… ah…“

Nakajima began to stutter as soon as he opened his mouth, looking at the cafe owner in a panic. His mind was filled with the thought that because he couldn’t even speak a sentence clearly, he would surely cause trouble for the owner, and the owner would definitely dislike him. However, he was met with the owner’s humble and gentle smile; Nakajima’s uneasy heart was comforted by this strength.

“Yes.“

“Hard work, then,” the owner said with a slight bow, the smile remaining on his face.

“Not at all, thank you for your hard work as well.” Nakajima nodded. Before leaving, he glanced back at the owner and found him still seeing him off, so he hurriedly gave a bow in return.

While stepping into the elevator, Nakajima Atsushi savored the conversation with the owner. That kind of mundane, everyday dialogue gave him a powerful sense of solace, blowing away much of the wandering lostness he felt from recently being kicked out of the orphanage and the cautiousness of being taken in by the Agency.

“He has started a new life.“

Once he truly realized this fact, Nakajima felt that the rising, jumping floor numbers in the elevator were a miracle, the opening door of the Agency was a miracle, and even someone complaining to him was an incredible miracle.

The corners of Nakajima’s mouth curled up unconsciously.

“To be called as slow as a ‘snail’ by Dazai and still be able to smirk foolishly?” Kunikida really couldn’t understand what was going on in this newcomer’s head. After shaking his head, he picked up a folder and said, “Take the coffee to the meeting room and get ready.“

Nakajima Atsushi hurriedly agreed: “Okay.“

The meeting room was currently empty, but the materials for the meeting had already been prepared. Upon entering, one could see several photos hanging on the whiteboard at the far end of the room, surrounding a single name in a ring: “Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.“

The surname ‘Ayanokouji’ was rare. The only person with the same surname one could think of was the Cabinet Minister Ayanokouji, who had almost become the Prime Minister of Japan three years ago. After that Minister Ayanokouji entered a mental hospital, a massive amount of scandal was exposed; in any case, his reputation was completely ruined. However, because Nakajima Atsushi didn’t follow current events, he only knew such a person existed and wasn’t clear on what the scandals were about.

The kanji for the name ‘Kiyotaka’ were not annotated with furigana, and Nakajima felt it was a bit difficult to read. After dwelling on the pronunciation for a moment, he focused his gaze on the youth in the photos.

The photos were printed from a mobile phone, so the resolution was a bit blurry, but it was clear it was a brown-haired youth around the same age as Nakajima Atsushi. He was dressed like an ordinary student and didn’t stand out much in a crowd.

If one had to say something, this youth’s skin was much fairer than others’. It wasn’t the pale or greyish-white of a sickly person, but rather presented an exquisite, snowy purity, to the point where the parts of his skin exposed to the air in the photos looked like they had been specially processed to have their brightness and clarity turned up.

Aside from the impression that the subject probably doesn’t go out in the sun much, the only thing Nakajima Atsushi could sense was that this person is very quiet and reserved. Rather than a scholarly air, it was more of a composed temperament.

Nakajima was thinking that if this person were a criminal, it would absolutely challenge his understanding of what a perpetrator looks like.

“Captivated, are you?” Dazai Osamu followed Nakajima’s footsteps into the meeting room and sat in the seat closest to the door.

Hearing Dazai’s teasing, Nakajima didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

If the photo were of a girl, Dazai saying such a thing would be teasing Nakajima. Now, the photo was clearly of a man, so the sarcasm in Dazai’s words was even stronger.

He was just wondering what this person’s identity was.

Nakajima honestly stated his thoughts, hoping Dazai wouldn’t continue to tease him.

“Who do you think he is?” Dazai Osamu held up a finger and said, “I’ll give you some friendly hints: A. Murderer; B. Fraudster; C. Arsonist.“

Seeing that all the options were inextricably linked to crime, Nakajima’s gaze toward the photo became filled with doubt and uncertainty: “This person doesn’t look like someone who would do bad things, right?“

“Why do you say that?” Dazai Osamu rested his cheek on one hand and looked at Nakajima Atsushi with interest. “Is it because you found some clue? Or are you just used to viewing everyone as a good person?“

People who haven’t lived in the dark world or had related experiences have a weaker understanding of the average person and a lower level of vigilance. Nakajima Atsushi indeed didn’t feel any malice from the person in the photo, which was why he was surprised such a person would walk the path of crime.

Seeing Nakajima stunned and not answering, Dazai realized Nakajima Atsushi was likely the latter type, comparable to Miyazawa Kenji in that regard. Thus, the corners of Dazai’s mouth turned up as he chuckled: “It’s not easy to become a great detective, Atsushi-kun.“

Nakajima Atsushi naturally wouldn’t think he had a talent for being a great detective after only a few days at the Agency. At this moment, he was more curious about one thing—Nakajima felt that Dazai Osamu could always casually point out thoughts deep in someone’s heart that they weren’t even aware of. This made him even more curious about what Dazai’s former job actually was.

When he joined the Agency a few days ago, they had played a game of guessing occupations in the first-floor cafe. He heard that if one guessed Dazai Osamu’s occupation correctly, they could receive a reward of 700,000 yen. Nakajima Atsushi was naturally still trying hard.

“By the way, Dazai-san, were you a psychiatrist or something like that before?” While asking, Nakajima noticed not a single ripple in Dazai’s eyes. He continued while the iron was hot, firing off consecutive questions: “Or were you a hypnotist? Or a policeman? Public Security!?“

Dazai Osamu looked at Nakajima Atsushi with a smile and made an “X” gesture with his hands: “Bzzzt, all wrong!“

“Can I have a hint?” Nakajima Atsushi began to want more clues. “Is it a common profession or an uncommon one? It’s not something very complex and known to very few people, is it?“

Just as Dazai Osamu was about to speak, Kunikida Doppo walked into the meeting room. He directly interrupted the conversation between Dazai and Nakajima. Kunikida not only hurried the questioning Nakajima back to his seat, but also placed his hand on the back of Dazai Osamu’s chair and dragged both the man and the chair to the very front of the room.

“It won’t do to try to sneak out in the middle of a meeting. Sit in the front row for me!“

Tanizaki Junichiro, who was entering the room, happened to witness this scene. He remembered that Kunikida used to be a mathematics teacher; this behavior of ‘placing restless students right under his nose to keep an eye on them’ made his past identity as a teacher even more vivid and distinct.

“Tanizaki, sit down quickly as well.“

Suddenly called out by Kunikida, Tanizaki immediately found a seat and sat down.

The central figure surrounding this meeting was Ayanokouji Kiyotaka—the person recommended by Tanizaki Junichiro. The person’s basic information had already been reviewed by the Agency’s president, Fukuzawa Yukichi. The participants included the lead interviewer “Kunikida Doppo,” the recommender “Tanizaki Junichiro,” “Dazai Osamu” (who could only make up for his excessive absences with overtime), and the newcomer “Nakajima Atsushi,” totaling four people.

Their goal today was to design the entrance exam.

According to Tanizaki, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was currently working various part-time jobs. If the Agency could offer a higher salary, he would naturally hope to secure the job opportunity. Besides that, his abilities were also needed by the Agency. Therefore, if Ayanokouji Kiyotaka joined the Agency, it would be a win-win for both parties.

Upon hearing that the other party was actually a potential newcomer, Nakajima Atsushi was instantly speechless. He subconsciously looked at Dazai Osamu, thinking to himself that he had been tricked by Dazai again. However, just as he put on a speechless expression, he saw Dazai Osamu staring blankly at the photo.

It looks like… it looks like Dazai-san knows this person?

Is it my imagination?

Nakajima’s thoughts also began to drift. However, Kunikida immediately began presiding over the meeting without a single waste of words, addressing Nakajima Atsushi directly: “Nakajima-kun, do you have any suggestions?“

Nakajima had thought he was just there as background noise in the meeting and hadn’t expected to be the first to voice an opinion. He thought for a while and said: “I think, how about doing it like my entrance exam last time? Where someone pretends to be a bad guy or something?“

“Director-act an accident?” Kunikida wrote Nakajima’s suggestion on the whiteboard and said, “Anything else?“

Seeing that his task was complete, Nakajima subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

Beside him, Tanizaki raised his hand and said: “By the way, actually, Ayanokouji is going to Fuyuki City for an internship for about a week? Starting tomorrow. Since Ranpo-san just happens to be going to Fuyuki City to investigate the serial killer, how about letting Ayanokouji go there to assist the investigation? Then Ranpo-san can also observe the test…”

Tanizaki’s voice grew smaller and smaller in the quiet meeting room.

“That’s a good suggestion.”

That way, as soon as Ayanokouji finished his internship, the entrance exam could also conclude, and he could join the Agency immediately. But the problem was, how could their great detective Edogawa be willing to take someone along?

Edogawa Ranpo would never be willing to participate in this kind of entrance exam.

The reason was too simple.

Kunikida could already imagine it for Edogawa—

“Boring, uninteresting, and can’t be eaten.”

Therefore, commissioning Edogawa Ranpo was impossible. Yosano couldn’t leave the Agency to go to Fuyuki City, and Kunikida needed to stay at the Agency to hold the fort. Tanizaki, Miyazawa, and Nakajima were still too inexperienced.

Kunikida subconsciously looked at the composed Dazai Osamu: “…”

Tanizaki also looked at his senior, Dazai: “……………”

Nakajima naturally followed their gazes to look at Dazai: “………………”

In the silent atmosphere of exchanging glances, Dazai Osamu let out a sigh and said, “Fine, since everyone relies on and trusts me so much, I will reluctantly, as everyone expects, go to Fuyuki City.”

“No, that’s not necessary.”

To agree so readily—there must be a catch!

Kunikida rejected him decisively.

“Dazai, you stay honestly in Yokohama for me.”

Dazai Osamu shrugged and said: “I never said I didn’t want to help. You’re the one not letting me help.”

Kunikida felt inexplicably as if he had fallen into Dazai’s trap. Just as he was about to say something, Edogawa Ranpo, whom he thought had already left work, poked his head into the meeting room doorway.

“Haven’t you guys left yet?”

“…Yes,” Kunikida asked in confusion, “Did you leave something behind? Ranpo-san.”

“Yeah.” Edogawa Ranpo paused and said, “Can I participate?”

Except for Dazai, the other three were shocked simultaneously: “Eeehhh—!!!!”

Edogawa Ranpo proactively offering to work overtime?!

Kunikida asked with deep concern: “Ranpo-san, were you criticized by the President?” Was he forced to participate in the meeting?

As soon as the words left his mouth, Edogawa immediately puffed his cheeks and retorted.

“I wasn’t scolded!”

He came of his own accord.