Chapter 24

"I can't shake the feeling that something's seriously off," Yuji Itadori said, relying on his animal instincts.

Megumi Fushiguro nodded. "It feels wrong. This definitely isn't a normal town." Seriously, what town was full of people so intelligent he couldn't even understand them?

"See?" Satoru Gojo suddenly said. "I thought I'd already given him too much credit, but it turns out I underestimated him."

An Xinyi really couldn't live without going utterly mad.

Ranpo Edogawa's ordinary life continued as before. Even though he occasionally had nightmares, they didn't affect his daily life.

He steadily cleared the game, too. Almost no stage could stop Ranpo.

One day, on his way home, Ranpo encountered two very strange people.

The two of them were speaking to Grandma Mizuki very cautiously, and they seemed so... frightened?

How strange. But Ranpo Edogawa paid them no mind. It was grown-up business anyway, and had nothing to do with a child like him.

Until the following day, when Ranpo encountered them again on his way home from school. This time, they even stopped him.

"You're not from Small Town, are you?" Ranpo frowned.

The two had already grown accustomed to the extraordinary intelligence of everyone in Small Town. They also knew why everyone here was so clever... because they were supposed to be that clever.

"That's right. I only recently arrived in town. Could you show me around, Edogawa?" Jiro Fujimoto said, putting on an amiable air. He had already asked around for Ranpo's name.

"...Honestly, you outsiders are so strange. You just want to ask about An'an, right? Why bother beating around the bush?" Ranpo waved a hand, ignoring Jiro Fujimoto's somewhat stiff expression. "If you have questions, why not ask the adults? I'm just a kid."

"An'an's over at the Town Mayor's Office. Go find her yourselves."

With that, Ranpo prepared to leave.

"Wait." Jiro Fujimoto wanted to say more, but suddenly felt countless gazes turn toward him. Cold sweat broke out over his body, and he no longer dared stop Ranpo.

"Captain, what do we do?" Matsuda was already trembling beside him. This town was far more dangerous than it looked.

"Let's go back first," Jiro Fujimoto said calmly.

Only after finally escaping those gazes did the two begin to talk.

"That was terrifying, Captain." Matsuda still hadn't recovered.

"Should we pull out for now?" Matsuda ventured.

"Don't forget we still have a mission." Jiro Fujimoto had no intention of backing down here.

"No matter what, we have to find 'Detective.'"

Clutching the flyer for "Weird Invasion," Jiro Fujimoto watched Ranpo walk away. Perhaps he had already found him.

"Wait, I'm not misunderstanding this, am I?" Nobara Kugisaki nearly jumped up. "If I'm right, those two... are Investigators?"

Then didn't that mean Peaceful Small Town was itself a paranormal entity?!

Satoru Gojo looked at her as though she were a dim-witted child. "You're so slow, Nobara. You only just figured it out?"

"...Drop dead, you lousy teacher!"

The others, who had only just realized it themselves, stayed silent.

"Wasn't it obvious at a glance?" Ranpo scoffed. "Are you all idiots?"

The Bungo Stray Dogs group glanced around at the highly intelligent masterminds surrounding them and felt their intelligence being ground into the dirt. Whatever. There was no point getting angry. They were used to it anyway.

The next afternoon, Jiro Fujimoto stopped Ranpo Edogawa again.

"Could we talk?" Jiro Fujimoto tried his best to seem approachable. Matsuda had gone to great lengths to secure this chance for them to speak alone.

"No." As far as Ranpo was concerned, getting home to eat An'an's cooking was what mattered most.

"Don't you want to know the truth? Are you content to spend your whole life living a lie? This place isn't safe at all!" Jiro Fujimoto couldn't stop himself from blurting out what he knew. "This isn't Peaceful Small Town. It's a paranormal entity! Apart from you and the mayor, nobody here is alive!"

Jiro Fujimoto told Ranpo everything he knew in one breath.

On April 1, 201X, paranormal entities descended upon the world.

Nobody could explain where these things came from, but the moment they arrived, humanity fell from its position as the supreme species.

People died.

Walking down the street could kill you.

Staying home could kill you.

Hiding anywhere in the world could still kill you.

Once a paranormal entity set its sights on you, nowhere in the world was safe.

And paranormal entities could not die.

They also especially liked appearing in crowded places.

Countless people died. Even a major port city like Yokohama was nearly wiped out when an incomparably terrifying paranormal entity appeared there.

To survive these entities, humanity established the Paranormal Investigation Organization and dispatched Investigators, hoping to contain paranormal incidents before they could grow.

"Peaceful Small Town was created inside the paranormal game, the Grade S incident that wiped out Yokohama. An Xinyi was one of its survivors. Through certain means, he can make use of some of the paranormal game's powers."

Jiro Fujimoto's gaze was conflicted. "I've seen people in Peaceful Small Town who are already dead in reality. They were once the most outstanding Investigators, people I admired deeply... Perhaps it's a good thing that they can live here after their deaths. But you're alive. You belong among the living. It's too dangerous for you here."

"I admire An Xinyi's ability and courage in containing the paranormal game back then, but I don't agree with his methods. He put most of the paranormal entities contained by the organization into the paranormal game. That will help it grow. One day, he'll get everyone killed and destroy this world. Because humans can never truly control paranormal entities!"

Although An Xinyi controlled the paranormal game and had indeed imprisoned many paranormal entities, people in Jiro Fujimoto's faction believed that it would one day spiral out of control.

Just like the incidents that had proven this point at the cost of countless lives, anyone who tried to control paranormal entities and exploit them ultimately met a terrible end. And they weren't the only ones. After absorbing other paranormal entities, those entities became even more terrifying and difficult to deal with. Each had claimed at least ten million lives, and even then, containment wasn't guaranteed.

"And you, Ranpo Edogawa..." Jiro Fujimoto breathed rapidly, trying to calm his overwhelming emotions. "I have to admit, this is the one thing he's done right. The number of paranormal incidents you've solved ranks first in the world. You shouldn't be confined to the paranormal game. You should have been the very best Investigator, someone everyone looked up to."

"Come with me. Otherwise, when the paranormal game goes out of control, you'll be the first to die."

"He's only lying to you."

This was nothing but a lie, a false world.

Jiro Fujimoto told Ranpo everything, including the truth behind "Weird Invasion." The game was essentially a reflection of reality, and the incidents Ranpo Edogawa solved within it were also resolved in the real world... In other words, everyone who died in "Weird Invasion" had a real counterpart. Once they died, they were dead. They could never respawn.

In reality, Ranpo's code name was Detective. Although he had never appeared in person, he had still solved countless incidents. To the Investigators, he was a god.

Jiro Fujimoto and Matsuda had entered the paranormal game to bring Ranpo out. The Investigation Council had determined that the paranormal game was already beginning to go out of control. They had to rescue Ranpo, the strongest Investigator, at any cost, and free him from An Xinyi's control.

Jiro Fujimoto's words were deeply sincere. He truly had Ranpo's best interests at heart.

But... Ranpo lowered his eyes. This man certainly wasn't stupid, but he had overlooked something.

The NPCs were all real people, and couldn't respawn after dying. Then... what about the players?

Ranpo Edogawa suddenly smiled and gave a languid yawn. "That's a pretty good story, mister, but the great Ranpo is hungry."

"An'an's still waiting for me to come home for dinner, so I'm done listening to your story." With that, Ranpo Edogawa turned to leave.

Jiro Fujimoto hurriedly blocked his path. "I've told you so much! Why don't you understand?" he demanded urgently. "Leaving with me and returning to reality is what's best for you. This place is nothing but a lie! Don't you get it?"

"Mister." Ranpo Edogawa looked back and smiled at him, his eyes cold. "You're the one who doesn't understand."

"You're an Investigator who investigates paranormal incidents too, right?"

"Do you know who the other Investigators are?" After a moment of silence, Ranpo Edogawa suddenly asked.

Jiro Fujimoto hadn't expected that question. He considered it, then shook his head, his expression solemn. "Many of them volunteered to become Investigators. I only know some of them, not everyone. But they're all worthy of respect." They were people who risked their lives to explore paranormal incidents.

He couldn't help slipping into his memories. "Like the captain who trained me. If it weren't for him, I would have died on my very first investigation."

He unconsciously clenched his fists. "If I hadn't been so useless..." His captain wouldn't have died.

This man, who had remained rational throughout, began to tremble slightly, revealing the pain in his heart.

"I don't even know my captain's name." Most Investigators used code names.

Ranpo Edogawa smiled, with a malice completely at odds with his usual character. "Of course you don't."

His expression was icy. "Because more than eighty percent of investigation team captains share the same name. They're called An Xinyi."

They were also players trapped in this cycle, forever neither living nor dead.

With that, he shook Fujimoto off and walked straight away.

H-how was that possible?!

Jiro Fujimoto stood frozen, no longer even able to concern himself with Ranpo's departure.

What... had he done? This man, who had always held fast to his convictions, crouched down and cradled his head, falling utterly silent.

"He isn't really a bad person," Atsushi Nakajima sighed.

"That's right. He just has his own position." Akiko Yosano even agreed with him somewhat. "Their concerns are reasonable. An Xinyi's methods really are too dangerous."

"A wrong choice could kill so many people." The Armed Detective Agency's doctor looked desolate.

"So... Yokohama was wiped out?" Doppo Kunikida took off his glasses and wiped them, bitterness filling his mouth.

"Does that mean I've already reached the Sanzu River I've always dreamed of?" Osamu Dazai said delightedly. "But I had far too much company."

The brown-eyed man's voice sank. "Ah, I only wanted to head quietly into death on my own."

Even a lovers' suicide would only involve two people. Dying like this meant too many... so many that even Dazai couldn't ignore it.

"God, all I can say is that An Xinyi is completely insane." Chūya Nakahara covered his face. "I knew he was crazy, but not this crazy. What does he think he is, a recyclable resource?!"

Just thinking about it made Chūya Nakahara's skin crawl.

How many times would the players die? Even Ranpo Edogawa couldn't possibly clear every stage without losses.

And eighty percent of the investigation team captains were An Xinyi? That was far too terrifying!

Ango Sakaguchi pushed up his glasses. He regularly worked twelve-hour days, six days a week, or even around the clock, following the principle that if he never left work, he never had to go back, and if he never slept, he never had to get up. Yet even he had to admit defeat.

"He really... couldn't live without going utterly mad."

Why go to such lengths?

"That doesn't even begin to cover it." Ranpo Edogawa gritted his teeth. "He's a liar. A huge liar. He even fooled the great Ranpo. I hate him!"

Then he slumped again.

Truly, he hated him, yet envied him too.

Ranpo Edogawa practically ran home. The house was pitch-black, and panic surged through him. What would An'an think? There was no way she didn't know!

Ranpo opened the door and saw An Xinyi in the darkness. He seemed to have been sitting there for a long time, quietly waiting for Ranpo to return.

"I'm home," Ranpo greeted him as usual.

But An Xinyi didn't answer as he normally did. He simply watched Ranpo in silence with ink-black eyes as deep as still pools.

Ranpo, who feared nothing in heaven or earth, felt fear when he met those ink-black eyes.

He'd found out, hadn't he? Nothing in Small Town could escape An Xinyi's notice, so... he'd found out.

No. Absolutely not.

Ranpo panicked.

Please, I'm begging you. Whatever happens, you can't say those words.

"I lied to you." Those are the one words that must never come from your mouth.

Because... he could refuse to believe anyone else, but how could he refuse to believe him?

He wouldn't even be able to lie to himself!

Please. If this is a lie, then keep lying to him for the rest of his life.

In the end, Ranpo Edogawa was only an ordinary person. A cowardly, greedy, ordinary person.