“I’ve made up my mind to entrust you. Please help treat Hyakki. The person beside me has serious health issues.”

Clerk Haruno Kirako sat opposite, recording the information. Upon hearing this, she looked at Hyakki. Hyakki appeared fine on the surface, but he was wrapped in too many bandages, indicating a high likelihood of external injuries.

She refrained from making assumptions and asked as part of her duty, “May I ask what kind of health issue?”

 Expression turned slightly dimmer. “Organ damage.”

Haruno Kirako nodded and took note of it.

Beside her, Edogawa Ranpo couldn’t sit still and leaned towards Hyakki’s mask, ignoring deliberate or unintentional warning gaze. He blinked his green eyes and said objectively, “No matter how many times I see it, it’s still quite horrifying…” Speaking words that the members couldn’t understand, he took out his own rough grain snacks and placed them in Hyakki’s palm, as if sharing with a friend.

“You haven’t had breakfast, have you? These cookies are delicious and crispy. The president bought them for me!”

“Ranpo graciously shares half of them with you.”

This scene astonished Kunikida Doppo. Ranpo was quite possessive of his food.

His common sense prompted him to interject, “Wait! Ranpo, typically, patients who seek treatment from Dr. Yosano need to have their bodies examined, and it’s better to be on an empty stomach in the morning.”

Edogawa Ranpo turned his head and replied, “It’s unnecessary. Bandage-kun here will inform us of the situation.”

Dazai   took the opportunity to jokingly address Ranpo, “Why do you call me Bandage-kun after meeting this detective gentleman only once, when clearly he has more bandages?”

Edogawa Ranpo seemed pleased with the title and said happily, “Idiot, of course it’s because he wraps bandages to protect the easily injured muscle layer, while the significance of your bandaging is…”

Dazai , being called “idiot” for the first time, felt his eyelid twitch and promptly interrupted him.

“Detective, please respect the client’s privacy.”

“Hmph.”

Edogawa Ranpo snorted and then ignored the suicidal man, focusing entirely on enticing Hyakki. Under the spell of the food, Hyakki picked up the cookie and stared blankly at it, pinching it with his fingers, which caused some crumbs to fall. Finally, relying on intuition and experience, he understood the meaning of the food.

With Edogawa Ranpo’s reminder, Fukuzawa intentionally didn’t come out, making Hyakki willing to accept the other’s goodwill in the presence of harmless flames of life all around.

Just as Hyakki was about to push aside his mask to eat, Dazai  , who was conversing with the clerk, turned his head, emitted a growl, and ate the rough grain biscuit shaped like a little bear.

Edogawa Ranpo: “!!!”

As Dazai   ate, he commented, “These cookies are easy to choke on and not tasty.”

Edogawa Ranpo slammed the table and argued with him, “They’re not easy to choke on at all, you’re lying! I’ve never choked on them before; you just need to chew them up and swallow!”

Dazai   pulled up Hyakki’s hand, which had been touched by the other, and blew off the crumbs.

“Hyakki prefers things that he can swallow.”

“…”

Edogawa Ranpo wilted.

What the other said was true, indicating that Hyakki had also lost the ability to taste food.

Wait!

Edogawa Ranpo remembered his own ability and quickly put on the glasses given by the president.

“Let this detective take a look. Ability — Hyper-Deduction!”

The sudden announcement of this ability surprised Dazai  , and the people nearby were also stunned, not understanding why Ranpo was so proactive today.

“So that’s it, I understand now.”

Edogawa Ranpo, with half-closed eyes, calmly spoke.

Dazai   couldn’t help but find it a bit amusing. Wasn’t this ability a bit like cheating? To deduce Hyakki’s past right in front of him? Even he wouldn’t be able to gather much information!

The renowned detective, standing at a height of one meter sixty-five, rose from his seat. The brim of his hat pressed down on his unruly hair as his emerald-green eyes reflected the young man standing almost the same height as himself. Involuntarily, he bent down to ruffle Hyakki’s hair. “You did well, better than anyone else. Ranpo-sama sees it crystal clear.”

“—Your will to survive.”

Within the fragile human body lay a resilient spirit that refused to give up.

For this.

Even if this body were in hell, it would climb back to the human world to catch a glimpse of the paradise above the sky.

Then, Edogawa Ranpo turned to Haruno Kirako, who also served as the president’s secretary. “There’s no need to inquire further. Go directly and inform Dr. Yosano.”

“Ranpo, his eyes?”

Kunikida Doppo suddenly noticed a problem: Hyakki hadn’t blinked once!

“Idiot! Fool!” Edogawa Ranpo was displeased with their lack of reaction. “Haven’t you realized by now that he’s wearing a human face mask?”

“Behind his mask, there are no facial features! All his limbs are prosthetic!”

“…”

“…”

What horrifying revelation is this?!

“Moreover, it’s acquired, not congenital. He lost these organs after birth.” Edogawa Ranpo faced Dazai   and refuted the previous diagnosis made by instruments. “After birth, he was deprived of numerous organs: skin, both ears, both eyes, nose, tongue, sense of touch, limbs… Very purposeful organs, filled with malice. The ultimate goal was to divide his body and kill him.”

Dazai, thoughtful, had only one question: “Can he be treated?”

Edogawa Ranpo hesitated. Deduction is based on reality, not mere imagination. Under the “gaze” of Hyakki, as if sensing something ominous, he looked back. There was no pity, no fear, as if reading a tragic text through a glass display case, and the text formed the person before him, hollow except for a consciousness clinging tightly to the edge of this world.

He pushed up the glasses on his nose, closed his emerald eyes, and reverted to his usual half-closed eyes. “If he had been born healthy in this world and later lost his organs, then yes, he could be treated.”

Even he, self-proclaimed genius, felt a slight unease after confidently inviting people upon the president’s request.

No, Ranpo doesn’t feel uneasy at all!

There will be an opportunity!

The premise is that the cause of Hyakki’s physical disability falls within the realm of “common sense.”

With the president absent, Tanizaki Junichiro was slacking off. He had dozed off, only to be startled awake by the door of the reception room being opened. Startled, he sat up from his dream, exclaiming, “Is there an enemy?!”

Kunikida Doppo sighed, “No.”

His complexion wasn’t too good as he went to inform Dr. Yosano, while Haruno Kirako covered her mouth, lost in thought, and hurriedly left the office. “I’ll report to the president.”

The Armed Detective Agency was about to face the challenge of treating a… frighteningly severely disabled patient.