It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a cat. Taking advantage of a little free time, Rai ran back to the park where stray cats gathered.

In the past, when Lai was about to reach her destination, a kitten would suddenly pop out and stick to her feet, acting cute and cute. Its meowing sound was cute and healing.

But the cat I met today seemed to be a little frightened. When he came to find her, he jumped up and jumped into her arms. The whole ball formed into a ball and shrank back and forth towards Ley's chest. Look at it like this

, I thought there was some ferocious beast ahead that scared it.

"What's wrong?"

Rai stroked the kitten ball and soothed the exploded fur on its body.

"……Meow."

"Is there anything in the park?"

"Meow!!"

The cat's suddenly shrill meow seemed to deter Rai from continuing to explore the area ahead.

"Okay, okay, it's okay, let me go and take a look."

Rai's voice became a little softer, and she coaxed to Mao Maoqiu: "...This is not the first time this has happened. Why haven't you gotten used to it yet?"

"Meow……"

Rai continued walking in the direction of the park with a feeling. The environment of the park was very quiet. It didn't look like a place where cats gathered at all. The cold wind blew by, and a cool figure stood upright in the center of the park.

He was wearing a gray-green haori, a kimono, and a sword hanging from his waist. The classical samurai temperament exuded all over his body seemed incompatible with the modern urban painting style.

"——Mr. Fukuzawa?"

Seeing that it was him, Rai seemed to have guessed what was going on. With her peripheral vision, she glanced at a bunch of cat eyes hidden in the dark, and she couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "There is no one who hates cats to such an extent."

.

When he saw Rai, Fukuzawa Yukichi wanted to soften his facial expression and say hello properly, but it seemed that he had used too much force and his facial expression became even stiffer. To sum up in the words of a former colleague - he is now like this

The look is enough to scare a child to tears and give him nightmares at night.

Rai was suddenly stared at by Fukuzawa Yukichi with a more fierce look, "..." Did she come at the wrong time?

"...Long time no see."

Fukuzawa Yukichi finally spoke up. His majestic voice coupled with his inhumane and cold look would make people think of the stern dean’s rank that should not be provoked, although he himself may not have it.

It means to teach.

"How have you been recently?"

Yukichi Fukuzawa, who was not good at communicating with others, said hello very bluntly.

"Uh, um, not bad."

Rai recalled the first meeting with this gentleman, which was when he and Mori Ogai met earlier——

At that time, Rai was applying medicine to the injured cats when he heard the cats roaring with their teeth bared. Rai looked towards the source of the sound and saw Fukuzawa Yukichi using a very 'dangerous'

His eyes were fixed on her...the cat in her hand.

To be honest, Fukuzawa Yukichi's first impression on Rai was quite scary.

At that time, most of Fukuzawa Yukichi's body was hidden in the darkness, and his body still had a smell of rust that was very familiar to Rai, especially his eyes, which were the eyes of a killer.

Like a ferocious wolf that was biting its prey and ready to show its fangs, the cold texture of Fukuzawa Yukichi's body made Rai feel a little creepy.

The visitor was unkind. While she was wary of the other party, Lai couldn't help but wonder, what did she and the cats do to attract such a person?

Later, after the misunderstanding was resolved, Rai realized that this man, who had obviously done some dark work that could not be put on the table, would stand there and stare motionless - because... he wanted to pet the cat.

It seems that even a tough guy can't avoid the cute punches of cats. Unfortunately, even if this man who seems to be inaccessible has no bad intentions towards cats, and he still carries around small dried fish to feed cats, cats

The cats don't welcome him either.

"Will the cat be scared if you do this?"

Understanding that the other party was just passing by to see the cat, Rai suggested to Fukuzawa Yukichi: "Cats are very sensitive creatures. Sir, don't you realize it? Your eyes are like those of a hunter. Cats don't like it."

The feeling of being watched with the eyes of prey.”

After all, cats are arrogant creatures. Compared with loyal dogs, they prefer to occupy a dominant position in communication with humans. When they meet the two-legged beast they like, cats will not mind exposing their soft belly to give them a sip.

, when encountering something annoying, the cat won’t even bother to pay attention to it.

Fukuzawa Yukichi said nothing, but Rai seemed to be able to feel the grievances revealed by the corner of his mouth that was crooked by just one pixel.

"...Why don't you try to smile?"

Rai tried to help each other and the cats hiding behind him build a bridge to live in peace.

Fukuzawa Yukichi tried to smile, but Rai fell silent when he saw it. The cats became even more frightened when they saw it, and the bridge collapsed.

It's a good laugh, don't laugh again next time.

...Some people seem to be born with a cat-hating constitution.

With the help of the enthusiastic little girl, after trying many times to no avail, Fukuzawa Yukichi had given up. He gave the dried fish to Rai, "Can you help me feed them?"

"Okay."

The small dried fish was placed on the palm of Lai's hand. The cats finally stuck out their tongues and took it away without dissatisfaction, wagging their tails happily and started eating.

Fukuzawa Yukichi, who was keeping a certain distance, saw such a scene, his eyes softened. Seeing such a tender side of the man, the corners of Rai's mouth raised slightly. This was not a very gentle smile.

Although he was still rejected by cats, Fukuzawa Yukichi would occasionally pass by here later.

When Ley was there, he would hand the food he brought to Ley and ask her to distribute it to the kittens. Then he would stand at a distance that would not scare the cats away and quietly watch the big cats feeding.

Such a heartwarming picture of a kitten.

After going back and forth, Rai and Fukuzawa Yukichi became familiar with each other, the kind of relationship where they exchanged names, chatted as friends in the park, and had nothing to do with each other outside the park.

If Rai wasn't in the park, Yukichi Fukuzawa wouldn't have stayed here long if he passed by. He put the dried fish on the empty ground and left with a wave of his sleeves. When Rai came over, he would

You will see a group of stray cats looking confused at the snack bags packed with dried fish.

However, today, Fukuzawa Yukichi seemed to have been waiting here for a long time. If he hadn't been impressed by the man's face, the stray cats would not just hide wherever they could. After Rai came, the stray cats obviously relaxed.

In one breath, they all ran out of their hiding places, seeking a sense of security next to Rai while staring at this man fiercely.

"Mr. Fukuzawa, is there something wrong?"

Fukuzawa Yukichi came and went without a trace, but Rai was certain that he himself probably didn't have much free time, allowing him to stay here alone for too long.

"I'm here to wait for you."

Yukichi Fukuzawa got into the topic directly.

"wait for me?"

Ley tilted his head in confusion.

"Um."

Fukuzawa Yukichi said: "Before, due to some matters at work, the place where I was placed still had some procedures to settle. At that time, if I made a promise that was beyond my ability, I would really be living up to it.

Responsible behavior. But it’s different now——"

"Can I invite you to work in our detective agency?"

"Um?"

Rai blinked his round eyes, "Sorry, I don't quite understand. Can Mr. Fukuzawa please explain it in detail?"

From Fukuzawa Yukichi’s perspective——

Ley herself is no different from the stray cats in her hands. She always appears alone in deserted parks, keeping company with cats. Although some mysteries about this girl have not yet been solved, it has never been known from her relationship with her.

In that comfortable relationship, Fukuzawa Yukichi could clearly feel that this was a child full of love for the world.

Treating stray cats gently, bandaging their wounds, and playing with them... Even though we cannot speak the same language, the girl can always soothe the cats' emotions just right.

Just watching the warm scenes of her getting along with stray cats is a rare moment of comfort for Fukuzawa Yukichi.

She has a pair of eyes that are as pure and transparent as Ranpo. She can see through all the disguised illusions in the world. When communicating with her, you don't have to worry too much about complicated things.

Unlike Ranpo, this girl has very strong empathy and affinity. When interacting with people, she can grasp the most appropriate sense of proportion without offending the other person. Under Fukuzawa Yukichi

It seems that, like Ranpo's super reasoning, this ability is even rarer than superpowers.

Especially now, Yokohama needs this kind of energy that can soothe the soul.

"Armed Detective Agency, I haven't seen Mr. Fukuzawa for a while, so it turns out he is busy with this matter, so do you want to invite me to be a detective?"

After hearing the identity of the other party as the "President of the Detective Agency", Rai suppressed the doubt that "it doesn't look like it" in his heart and continued with a normal expression: "But to be honest, I don't have any talent for solving crimes."

"It's still in its infancy. The detective agency already has a detective responsible for solving cases. I just wanted to ask you if you could do some auxiliary work for him."

It's rare for Fukuzawa Yukichi to say so many things, but I don't know if he realizes that he is actually doing the dirty work of soliciting child labor.

"Because I... and the two current members are not very good at communicating with customers, so when making entrustments... there will always be some troubles that don't need to be solved."

Lai could faintly hear some sadness in the tone of his words.

...I guess the trouble caused by communication is not small.
To be continued...