Chapter 2

"I refuse."

"And please use honorifics when calling me by my name."

Rather than being confused, shocked or questioning, Kunikida Doppo cleanly rejected the white-haired girl's relationship more like a reflexive question and answer. ask.

Not even a second of hesitation or reaction time.

It wasn't until he flatly refused that Dazai Osamu's head, which had been heated up, seemed to calm down, and he finally realized what the white-haired girl had just said.

"Oh." The white-haired young girl who was rejected by the speed of light did not have any regrets. She just responded normally, and then turned her eyes to Osamu Dazai, who was considered perverted by Atsushi Nakajima, as if nothing was wrong.

"Wait, wait -"

Before she could speak, the shocked Nakajima Atsushi directly covered the mouth of the young girl next to him, as if he had anticipated what she was going to say.

"It's just for a meal, Eri-chan isn't going to do this -"

"And Mr. Dazai is still a self-shark maniac who doesn't have money to treat guests to dinner!"

"Hey!"

Nakajima Atsushi was so anxious that he didn't even think about it. Dazai Osamu, who was hurt by the hesitant complaint, covered his heart with a very disappointed expression.

He raised his head halfway, and when he was about to say something, his attention was attracted by the beam not far away.

"Oh, it's such a good beam~"

"Look, I said that, right?"

After hearing what the other party said, Nakajima Atsushi couldn't help but whisper in the ear of the white-haired young girl.

Eri nodded and swallowed her request calmly.

"Speaking of which, why did Eri-chan suddenly mention that she wanted to find someone to date?"

And this gesture was so skillful that it seemed as if she had said this to many people...

even though she had just attended a social university and had no formal experience. Although he was severely beaten by society, Atsushi Nakajima at least still has some common sense. For example, he learned from various novels and books that are not sure whether they are true or false. There are still many people with special quirks who like Eri-chan these days. It's a little girl's, and...

Nakajima Atsushi lowered his head and looked at the little girl. Although she looked a little bit dusty and embarrassed, her clean white hair should be very pure and beautiful, as well as her pair of red eyes full of magical charm. Hitomi is obviously very easy to attract some weird people...

As he thought this, he suddenly had the idea of ​​protecting the little girl, even though he and the other party had just met for the first time today, and the other party's life experience was also mysterious. Amnesia.

"Intuition?"

Eri blinked, with some doubts on her face.

"It seems that if I do this, my memory can be restored?"

"..."

Nakajima Atsushi didn't know for a moment whether he should complain about why Eri had such an intuition or whether this kind of behavior could really be done. Can people regain their memory?

"Eh... Intuition..."

Before Atsushi Nakajima could complain, Dazai Osamu, who had listened to their conversation, became interested. He poked Kunikida Doppo next to him with his elbow, "Eri-chan, this idea seems very interesting. It's interesting. They look a lot like our potential customers. "

"Potential customers are not a reason for you to avoid working today!"

Kunikida Doppo didn't have any ideas. Even after hearing Miyako Eri's words, he already had one in his mind. Many possibilities were listed in an instant, but none were as important as the commission they currently had at hand.

"This is a special commission given by the military. It's okay for you to fish for fish, but don't let me down at the critical moment!"

He said this, pulling Dazai Osamu and shaking him back and forth hard. , just about to scatter his bones.

"A commission from the military?"

Nakajima Atsushi was also a very curious person. After listening to the conversation between the two, he seemed to have some ideas in his mind.

When he heard that the two of them were members of the Detective Agency, which was considered the third most powerful armed detective agency in Yokohama, he looked at the amnesiac girl next to him and was very moved. She seemed to be planning to entrust Eri to a kind-hearted person. The detective agency members who treat themselves to a meal ask them to retrieve the memory of a white-haired young girl.

If possible...it would be even better if we could help him find a job that can fill his stomach at the same time.

Thinking this way, Atsushi Nakajima became more and more curious about the commission from the Armed Detective Agency, so he couldn't help but interject.

Who would have thought that just this curious talk would help him find a job where he could make a living.

"Ah, we are looking for a tiger. It is said that it has been making trouble nearby for a long time recently. Although there is no record of hurting anyone, the danger level is still quite high at present."

It is not a mission that needs to be kept secret, Kunikida Doppo easily told the commission he received from the Armed Detective Agency, but this commission made the expressions of the two people present change.

Unlike Nakajima Atsushi who suddenly fell to the ground and clearly showed fear, the white-haired girl was stunned for a moment after hearing the request. Her bright red eyes glanced at Nakajima Atsushi who fell to the ground.

This move was seen by Dazai Osamu, his iris-colored eyes narrowed, and then he smiled and stopped Kunikida Doppo's attempt to use force to force a confession, pulled Nakajima Atsushi from the ground, and held the fledgling youngster in a good manner. After taking the child away, Kunikida Doppo was asked to take the white-haired girl back to the Armed Detective Agency for one night.

When the other party roared, "I'm not a nanny," he nodded casually,

"Yes, yes, I know, Eri-chan, I'll leave it to you~"

"This guy is talking to himself!"

Kunikida Doppo said even though he was talking Dazai cursed Dazai for throwing Miyako Eri to him, but his body acted honestly according to the other party's instructions. He turned his head and looked seriously at the white-haired man who was sitting on the chair as quietly and expressionless as a doll. The young girl sighed with a headache.

"I'll take you back to the detective agency first, and then we'll see how we arrange for you."

It depends on Ranpo whether to send her to the police station first or ask Mr. Ranpo to roughly deduce the child's identity information before sending her home. Mr. mood.

The white-haired girl stared at Dazai Osamu's back leaving Nakajima Atsushi for a long time, and did not respond to Kunikida Doppo's words.

The blond young man didn't care. The advantage of staying in Yokohama long enough was that he had seen everyone and experienced a lot of weird things. What's more, Osamu Dazai, an uneasy partner, had already made him nervous. I have been haggard for a long time and have no interest in exploring the inner world of the amnesiac little girl.

When he returned to the Armed Detective Agency holding the hand of the white-haired young girl, he happened to meet the social doctor Yosano Akiko who was about to go out for shopping. The handsome and beautiful lady with short dark hair saw Kunikida Doppo holding the little girl's hand. The strange expression on Shi's face was obvious, and the look in his eyes was also very surprised.

"Kunikida...didn't you say that you and Dazai went out today to track down clues about the man-eating tiger...Why did you suddenly come back with a child?" She even thought for a moment, "Could this child be a legend?" "The man-eating tiger in my life" was such a wonderful thought, but I couldn't help but shake my head when I looked at the clear eyes of the young girl.

I was still laughing at myself as to why I had such an idea. Could it be that I had read too many weird novels during this period and my imagination was too big?

"I picked it up on the road. We'll talk about this kid later. Dazai has a need."

Kunikida Doppo unfolded the small piece of paper in his hand, with a solemn expression on his face.

"This guy has caught traces of a man-eating tiger. He may need our support."

Although it was getting close to the end of the day and not all the detective agency members were present, as the core of the armed detective agency, the detective known as the world's number one detective Edogawa Ranpo was present, and the young man Miyazawa Kenji, who was born with strange powers, was also there. It would be about the same for these people to catch a man-eating tiger.

Kunikida Doppo originally planned to let Yosano Akiko look at the white-haired young girl, but before he could say anything, he heard the little girl next to him ask him in a sweet voice,

"Are you planning to kill Atsushi?

" ...What did you say?"

He didn't understand the white-haired girl's question for a moment. Kunikida Doppo reacted for a long time, but he still didn't understand the logic of the little girl's sudden question.

"Let Dazai deceive Atsushi first, and then Kunikida comes to his hometown to shake him..."

Kunikida Doppo could feel the hand of the white-haired young girl he was holding tightening. He lowered his head and looked at her very slowly. .

"So, are you planning to use Atsushi for a mission?"

"...What does that kid have to do with our commission? Why should we use him for a mission?"

Kunikida Doppo had actually realized something in his mind, but his mouth was too soft. I had a quick mind and asked this question casually.

"Kunikida, what's wrong with your brain?"

Hearing Kunikida Doppo still asking questions that made him laugh, another young man wearing a brown cloak who was sitting on the desk at the beginning said He jumped off the desk with a whoosh, picked up a beret of the same color from the coat rack, put it on, and walked up to him impatiently, with a look of disgust on his face.

"Isn't this little girl's meaning already obvious?"

"That guy named Dun is the man-eating tiger we want to track down, and in this little girl's eyes, we have become scheming and malicious. Sir."

The young man, who was obviously much shorter than Kunikida Doppo, deliberately bent down when looking at the white-haired girl and gave her an exaggerated villain smile.

"How about it? Did it scare you?"

"We are just such evil people!"

He said this. He originally just wanted to play a prank on the little girl in front of him who had lost his memory and had a lot of common sense problems. He just looked at it. After a while, he put away the expression of the villain that he learned from the TV series, and opened his originally squinted eyes, showing a slightly confused expression.

"What? That kid is actually?!"

After getting the hint from Edogawa Ranpo, Kunikida Doppo suddenly realized, but he quickly gritted his teeth again, "So that guy Dazai had guessed this a long time ago, but he still... Lure me back..."

He couldn't help but gritted his teeth, "Could it be that he went to the man-eating tiger specifically to kill that kid because he wanted to die?" It was outrageous, but it was not impossible if he thought about it carefully. The speculating Kunikida Doppo still had an indignant look on his face, "How far will this guy go as he pleases?"

He was not worried about his partner who was a fanatical suicide enthusiast, but was angry that the other party did not take the commission seriously.

Is this the love of colleagues that is different between the Armed Detective Agency and other organizations?

"Mr. Ranpo, Kenji, let's go!"

Kunikida Doppo's first thought was to catch Dazai Osamu's escaping bastard and give him a severe lesson. Next was the problem of the man-eating tiger.

For a moment, he didn't know whether it was better to hope that his annoying partner would die in the tiger's mouth or to successfully trick the silly-looking white-haired little tiger into lameness.

"Well, you stay here for now. The famous detective will be back soon."

Edogawa Ranpo seemed to have something to say to Miyako Eri, but he didn't know what to say at the moment. Hearing Kunikida Doppo's After calling, he quickly dug into his pocket, took out a lollipop and gave it to the white-haired girl, making a unilateral agreement with her.

"Let's talk about your problems then."

He said this, completely forgetting that just a second ago he was playing the villain in the other person's eyes.

Eri looked at the lollipop in her hand and remained silent for a long time.

"Eri-chan, my name is Yosano Akiko, and I am the social doctor of the Armed Detective Agency."

In the end, Yosano Akiko failed to get off work on time and go to the store she liked to make a crazy purchase. She saw that Edogawa was walking wildly. She seemed to have something in mind for the white-haired young girl, so she stayed behind voluntarily with a tacit understanding, preparing to talk to Edogawa before he returned from his wandering steps.

"Until we find out whether Atsushi is the legendary man-eating tiger and whether he has harmed other people's lives, we will not attack him. I can guarantee this."