Fukuzawa Yukichi felt that something was wrong.
Based on the instincts he had honed over years of dealing with nothing but trouble, this newly arrived young heir practically radiated a single message from every inch of his body—even from every trace of his presence:
I'm here to cause trouble for you.
Compared to the energetic and vibrant Ranpo, the youth walking straight toward them stood around one meter seventy tall. His snow-white hair fell in long, soft, fluffy strands over his chest. Combined with his pale complexion and white winter clothing, he looked less like a living person and more like a work of art sculpted from ice and snow by the hands of a master artist, so ethereal that he seemed almost devoid of human warmth.
The only splash of color on the boy was the blue ribbon tied beside his ear. About as wide as a thumb, it gathered two slender braids together like the stem of a blooming lily. The braided ends draped gracefully downward, each fine strand as delicate as a flower stem, giving him an unexpectedly pure, aloof elegance that was almost reminiscent of a refined young maiden...
Fukuzawa Yukichi narrowed his eyes.
He probably isn't dangerous... He doesn't look like someone trained in martial arts...
Then where is this overwhelming sense of danger coming from...?
The youth ignored him completely, his gaze fixed solely on Ranpo.
"Do you know why I've come?"
Edogawa Ranpo sized up the white-haired boy's proportions. From a distance, he had almost mistaken him for someone around one meter eighty tall. Fortunately, Ranpo-sama had exceptionally sharp eyes and hadn't been fooled.
"Something this simple? I could tell at a glance."
The moment Edogawa Ranpo spoke, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko knew he had not been disappointed. A faint light flickered in his cold crimson eyes.
"You're searching for someone like yourself. You believe I'm one of your kind?" Edogawa Ranpo adjusted his detective cap, wearing a smile brimming with confidence beneath its brim. "You must have investigated us beforehand. So tell me, who gave you the confidence to think that the world's greatest detective would acknowledge someone like you?"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko heard the provocation, yet he showed no sign of anger. He withdrew his unabashed stare from Ranpo before turning his attention to the silver-haired swordsman, who had picked up his sword again and now stood nearby like a bodyguard.
"Fukuzawa-dono, I ask that you do not interfere in the matter between him and me."
Fukuzawa Yukichi had just been about to step forward, but he quietly halted in place.
"What business do you have with Ranpo?" he asked in a deep voice.
"Have we not made ourselves clear enough already?" Shibusawa Tatsuhiko replied coldly to the ordinary man, restraining himself only out of respect for the other's status. "I am searching for someone of my own kind. I was told he possesses intelligence far beyond that of ordinary people, so I came to see for myself exactly what level he has reached."
Edogawa Ranpo immediately exposed the truth behind those words.
"Akita must've told you that I'm smarter than you!"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko refused to admit it.
"Before we've even met, no outsider is qualified to pass such a judgment."
Ranpo laughed mockingly.
"You're already wavering, and you're still trying to hide it from me? Pathetic! The moment you looked up all my information before coming here, you'd already lost to me!"
With unconcealed disdain, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko replied, "Has a country child become so full of himself just because he's gained a little fame? In all twenty-three wards of Tokyo, I'd never even heard your name. I only looked into you before coming because I wanted to know which forgotten corner you had crawled out of."
Ranpo raised his voice.
"Oh? So you're a rich young master from the big city? How impressive! Do you think you're better than everyone else in the world? After meeting Akiya, did your face still not hurt from getting slapped by reality?"
The muscles in Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's face twitched involuntarily, and his cheeks grew faintly warm as memories resurfaced of Akiya mercilessly stripping away his composed facade and dragging every embarrassing episode of his past into the open.
His gaze turned icy.
"He is he. You are you."
Ranpo planted his hands on his hips.
"The first time you met him, he patted your hair, braided it for you, and now you've come to see me wearing the very hair ribbon my guardian gave you. Your standards really are unbelievably low, aren't they?"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko replied, "You only say that because you've never received something like this yourself. You're jealous. What an ugly look."
With that, his mood visibly improved as he gently touched the blue hair ribbon beside his ear.
He knew it looked good on him.
Edogawa Ranpo's green eyes widened in indignation.
In this world filled with foolish adults and children alike, only his family had ever been able to see through him. Shibusawa Tatsuhiko was the first person who had actually dared to humiliate him like this.
Jealous? As if!
The first time he met Akiya, Akiya had patted his head too!
Fine, Ranpo-sama will accept the challenge!
"You, guy from Tokyo—state your name!"
"Shibusawa Tatsuhiko."
With every sentence they exchanged, neither side gave an inch. The confrontation grew sharper and sharper, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder.
Fukuzawa Yukichi felt as though the tension was stinging his nose.
Now he finally understood why Asou Akiya had told him earlier that he would need a favor today. So this was it—Akiya had deliberately brought another genius to meet Ranpo.
Caught in the atmosphere of one genius facing off against another, even Fukuzawa Yukichi was beginning to feel overwhelmed.
I really want to take a step back...
His feet, which had never retreated even in the face of formidable enemies, now felt strangely weak.
That's right. This had already become a realm beyond the reach of ordinary people. In the eyes of these two, the world was nothing but an endless torrent of information. As Akiya had once described it:
"When immortals fight, mortals can only stand by and watch."
No. I have to fulfill my responsibility as the adult here and keep an eye on these two geniuses who are far too clever for their own good.
Fukuzawa Yukichi knew full well that the moment he stepped forward, he would be walking straight into the abyss where this battle of wits would ignite, becoming nothing more than collateral damage in their intellectual duel.
Even so, he was genuinely afraid these two might escalate things until murderous intent entered the equation. The best possible outcome would be for one of them to emerge victorious. The worst... would be for both of them to destroy each other.
If his guess was correct, the surname "Shibusawa" belonged to one of Japan's Zaibatsu. Shibusawa Tatsuhiko was absolutely not someone a commoner like Ranpo could afford to recklessly provoke.
Without warning, Fukuzawa Yukichi saw Edogawa Ranpo and Shibusawa Tatsuhiko suddenly rush toward the interior of the library. Alarmed, he immediately followed after them, roaring inwardly:
You two need to know when enough is enough!
The library's collection was fairly extensive, but none of it was enough to catch Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's interest.
Edogawa Ranpo knew very well that Yokohama, compared to Tokyo, was still essentially a "backwater city." The frustration he had been holding in his chest still hadn't been released, and he urgently needed to stomp triumphantly on the belly of this white chinchilla-like opponent and assert his dominance.
Without hesitation, he declared, "Let's compete—Yokohama Municipal Library theft case!"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko immediately responded, "Very well."
Too easy!
Both of them thought the exact same thing at the same time.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko walked up to the service counter, intending to check the borrowing records and missing materials. But just then, he suddenly sensed the sound of a violent gust of wind behind him and turned back in surprise.
Fukuzawa Yukichi had arrived in time. Not wanting Ranpo to lose face, he rushed in behind him and unleashed a "vacuum strike"!
Ranpo's coat hem fluttered, his scarf lifted into the air, and he declared with an overwhelming aura:
"Ability—Super Deduction!"
"..."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko raised a hand to shield his eyes as the wind pressed against him, while the documents behind him flipped rapidly with a rustling sound. Five seconds later, he heard the other party announce with absolute confidence:
"I've already found the truth!"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko: "...???"
Ranpo continued, "I arrived five minutes earlier than you. I didn't go inside at first, but for fairness, I'll give you an extra minute to investigate the library!"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's expression turned pale. He said sharply in a cold voice, "Are you looking down on me?"
In the quiet library, Edogawa Ranpo declared arrogantly, "Yeah, I am looking down on you!"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko snapped, "You—!"
Fukuzawa Yukichi immediately intervened. "A competition must follow the rules!"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko shot both of them a glare, then turned back to the investigation, determined to uncover the truth within one minute. Under the pressure radiating from Ranpo, his mind began operating at an unprecedented speed. Unfortunately, the available evidence was insufficient. He had only two options—either abandon his elegance and rush into the library's lending section to search for more traces, or remain where he was, right beside Ranpo, and deduce the truth from there.
That hesitation lasted only a single second.
He chose the latter without the slightest hesitation.
He would not take another step forward.
Edogawa Ranpo had solved it without moving from his spot.
A thin layer of sweat appeared on Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's forehead—an unusual sight. Using reverse deduction, he confirmed that there must be clues within the surrounding visible area that he had overlooked.
What was most infuriating was that Ranpo was counting down the time, deliberately increasing the pressure.
"Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven…"
One minute later.
At the very last second, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko said, "I understand now."
His hand rested on the service counter as his heartbeat returned to normal. Suppressing his agitation, he turned calmly to face Edogawa Ranpo and Fukuzawa Yukichi—still maintaining his proud and composed posture. Around them, the library patrons whispered among themselves, witnessing for the first time such an extraordinary way of solving a case.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko said, "The stolen items are out-of-print books, including works on architecture, literature, and calligraphy and painting. They are highly valuable collectibles. The person who stole them did so for money, not for their content. There is no borrowing record in the lending logs, which means this is an inside job. The books have likely not all been sold yet. If we check the staff dormitories, we should be able to find at least one volume that has not yet been moved."
Edogawa Ranpo, upon hearing the answer he gave, curled his lips and said, "Just say who it is directly."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko replied, "The janitor."
Ranpo immediately raised a smile. "Wrong…"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko continued without haste, "Everyone except the janitor is an accomplice. They have been stealing books from the library for years, replacing the original editions with ordinary printed copies. They sold out their professional ethics for just a few tens of thousands of yen." A faint trace of contempt appeared at the corner of his lips, quickly fading as he grew bored of expending any further emotion on such poor people. "The janitor is merely the scapegoat they collectively chose."
The moment those words fell, the janitor who had been cleaning nearby opened his mouth wide, his honest face showing a blank, stunned expression, like an ordinary person suddenly hearing that they had committed a crime one day and being completely dumbfounded.
Behind the service counter, the staff forced a strained smile and said, "Sir, that is defamation."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko toyed with a strand of hair near his chest, already weary of this simple theft case.
"No one can find the stolen items because everyone is an accomplice."
"Your new mobile phone, someone else's secondhand luxury watch, and those furtive glances you all keep throwing at me—none of those match what you are saying."
"How boring."
The one speaking those cold, cutting words was nothing more than a boy not yet eighteen years old.
Fukuzawa Yukichi felt that he should be praising him.
However, he glanced at Ranpo, who had solved the case in five seconds, and sighed. Ranpo was too outstanding, and the family that had raised him was even more outstanding, to the point that Fukuzawa had already become accustomed to being surrounded by monsters while considering himself ordinary.
Fortunately, heaven had given them excellent brains, but it usually did not grant them equally exceptional physical strength.
He tightened his grip on the sword once again.
As long as he could win, that was enough!
Edogawa Ranpo had indeed underestimated Shibusawa Tatsuhiko, looking down on him more than he should have—but would he ever admit that mistake? Of course not! This was merely the appetizer of the day, just giving the other side a little face!
Ranpo said something deliberately infuriating, "Not bad. Want me to lend you a handkerchief to wipe your sweat?"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko remained unmoved. "The library is just too hot."
Both sides, in their own way, had now elevated the other in their estimation, their caution rising to an equal degree.
A faint, almost delicate and cold smile appeared on Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's face.
"Are you also an ability user?"
"Huh?!"
That expression was clearly suspicious.
Ranpo touched his chin, quickly thinking through what might happen if Akiya encountered Shibusawa Tatsuhiko. Then he arrived at a very satisfying conclusion: Akiya would be fine, and since Akiya would never allow him to be placed in mortal danger, then nothing dangerous would happen to him either.
Ranpo remained calm.
Fukuzawa Yukichi, however, sensed something was off and stepped forward to stand in front of Ranpo.
"The case has already been solved. We can hand this over to the police."
From behind him, Ranpo said, "Fukuzawa-ossan, step aside. He's here to cause trouble for me. I don't think I'll lose to this guy."
Fukuzawa Yukichi thought grimly to himself: We don't know what kind of ability this person has!
Ability users possess powers of many different kinds, and it is very easy for them to trap others in unintended consequences. In Yokohama, they had encountered them relatively rarely, and so far no ability user had managed to expose Ranpo's disguise. Fukuzawa had always been quietly covering for him—feeling both regret and relief at the same time. Watching Ranpo so happily use his "ability" deduction to solve cases, and receiving the admiration of onlookers, he had absolutely no desire to imagine the moment Ranpo might be exposed.
It was too embarrassing.
If there was going to be shame, it might as well be his to bear alone.
Fukuzawa Yukichi stared intently at Shibusawa Tatsuhiko. Shibusawa, in turn, found him somewhat obstructive—how could there be someone inserted between his match with Ranpo?
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko spoke. "Fukuzawa-dono, it would be better if you did not use a sword. It is too weak."
To kill someone, no weapon is necessary—words alone could strike at the heart.
Fukuzawa Yukichi's fingers tightened.
The "past" he had suppressed began to surge up within him. It was precisely because he refused to kill those politicians who, while corrupt, were still acting for the nation in their own way, that he had left the government. Because of that decision, his former comrades had condemned him, saying he had betrayed the ideal of drawing his sword solely for the sake of the country.
Edogawa Ranpo stepped forward without another word, his emerald eyes cold, fully serious for the first time.
"This has only just begun."
"I solved the case in five seconds, while you took sixty. What exactly gave you the illusion that you've already won?"
How dare he attack his guardian—Ranpo the cat was angry.
From that point on, the accumulated cases in Yokohama became the arena of competition between Edogawa Ranpo and Shibusawa Tatsuhiko. The police department was practically overjoyed, enthusiastically sending them around in official vehicles.
However, as the level of competition intensified, innocent bystanders were also swept into the chaos. Any trace of a dark past they had was ruthlessly dug up. The atmosphere grew so oppressive that even the chief of the Yokohama Police Department began to feel fear.
"What on earth are those two trying to do?!"
[They want to kill each other.]
Fukuzawa Yukichi silently answered the chief's question in his mind. His own "dark history" had already been thoroughly dug up.
Right in front of him, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko—whose reasoning and analysis always lagged half a step behind, always a fraction weaker—had unstable breathing, his chest rising and falling noticeably. There was not the slightest trace of the joy he had once felt at the idea of meeting a "kindred spirit."
He understood.
Standing at the summit was lonely and isolated—that was the price.
He did not need an opponent who could defeat him. He did not need friends. In this world, it was enough for only one person to stand at the peak and look down upon everyone else.
"Out of twelve matches, you lost all twelve." Edogawa Ranpo laughed loudly, having fully gauged Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's level. "Although you're much better than that little orange kitten and that baby-faced Shinichi, you're still far from reaching Ranpo-sama's level! Your upbringing is terrible! Raised by a bunch of idiots like that, and you still think you can become smarter than Lord Ranpo?"
He lifted his head proudly and declared, "My father, my mother, and Akiya are all smarter than me!"
"I live in the wonderful world they built for me!"
"I am not lonely at all!"
That bright, carefree smile so full of happiness and satisfaction, deeply provoked Shibusawa Tatsuhiko.
He couldn't help but begin to question his own upbringing. Were his parents and teachers simply too foolish, unable to properly cultivate his potential after birth?
Why was he so alone, while this person was so fortunate, always surrounded by others of his kind?
Take it.
Take the source of this person's pride away from him.
If he obtained the crystallized "Super Deduction" ability, then he would be able to mock the other party. Someone who gained superior intelligence only through an ability was fundamentally unworthy of being compared to his own mind at all!
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko could no longer restrain himself, a thread of killing intent rising within his crimson eyes.
Fukuzawa Yukichi suddenly realized it!
"Stop!"
A hazy mist appeared beneath the white-haired boy's feet. The fog surged outward in an instant, engulfing the surrounding area and, in the blink of an eye, separating ordinary people from ability users with an invisible boundary.
He murmured softly:
"Draconia."
Within this fog-filled domain, be killed by your own ability, Edogawa Ranpo.
I will properly preserve your power…
Die…