Running a Patisserie Together

"You mean... this cat is actually a human?"
Kunikida Doppo's eyes widened. He had barely grasped what Dazai Osamu had just said.
The Maine Coon cat lay sprawled on the detective agency's desk, its tea-colored eyes silently staring at him.
"Isn't it obvious?" Edogawa Ranpo pondered slightly. "Just like that black cat is Dazai from another world, this cat must also be from the other side."
"That cat is Dazai?!" Kunikida Doppo exclaimed in shock. "And what's this about another world...? What exactly are you two talking about? This is far too strange!"
"With Li Nai around, nothing that happens is strange."
Dazai Osamu and Edogawa Ranpo exchanged a glance.
"Kunikida-kun, before we begin our discussion, there's a prerequisite—I hope that when you encounter matters related to Li Nai, you temporarily empty your mind, abandon any attempts to comprehend, and accept everything first before discussing anything else."
"You've never seen Li Nai with your own eyes, so this seems unbelievable to you," Dazai Osamu said lightly. "But the truth is... our time is running out."
"And trying to use common sense to understand everything related to Li Nai is just a waste of time." Edogawa Ranpo's voice deepened. "Kunikida, if you still find it hard to accept, there will only be one outcome..."
"—Mental collapse, falling into madness," Dazai Osamu said calmly.
Kunikida Doppo was stunned, his expression gradually becoming serious.
"You are a man who lives by internal order, Kunikida-kun. For you, facing Li Nai is extremely dangerous. You must think carefully about whether you want to risk your life to participate in what comes next... whether it's this conversation or the decisive battle that will surely come in the future."
Dazai Osamu looked at Kunikida Doppo, his voice steady, but the content exuded a chilling coldness that made one shiver.
"Because Li Nai still exists. Therefore, Yokohama can only become more chaotic, and more bizarre events beyond comprehension will appear one after another. Each one will be a heavy blow to the minds of ordinary people..."
Dazai Osamu's gaze shifted, leaving Kunikida Doppo's face, slowly sweeping over Atsushi, Kyouka, Yosano... and the other ordinary employees listening intently behind them.
"It's still not too late to retreat. Lock yourself in your room, try to minimize receiving information from the outside world, and perhaps you can maintain your sanity while awaiting salvation... or destruction."
Not everyone could endure chaos; escape was also an option. He seemed to be speaking to Kunikida Doppo, yet also to many others in the detective agency, to the vast majority of ordinary people, those with fragile spirits.
"So." Dazai Osamu's kite-colored eyes looked up, his gaze sharp. "What is your decision?"
"Does this even need to be asked?"
"I will forever be a member of the detective agency." Kunikida Doppo's gaze was firm: "Protecting the people of Yokohama—that is my responsibility."
Not a single person said they wanted to retreat. In everyone's eyes, there was a shared, firm light.
Oda-cat stood up, its cat eyes reflecting the resolute expressions on everyone's faces, its tail gently swaying.
Edogawa Ranpo, on the side, pulled down his cap, a faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
Dazai Osamu, meanwhile, offered a brief, fleeting smile.
"As expected of Kunikida-kun," he sighed.
Next, Dazai Osamu's expression became serious, and he finally began to get to the main point.
"The method for expelling Li Nai is still unclear, and our forces here are not yet mature enough. Even with an alliance with the Port Mafia, relying solely on us is still insufficient." Dazai Osamu said thoughtfully, "We need to try to unite all forces that can cooperate, and at the same time, find a way to expel Li Nai..."
"Let's consider that a long-term goal. Because if we only focus on that, before the goal is achieved, that cult could have already thrown Yokohama into utter chaos," Edogawa Ranpo reminded.
"Indeed, the cult cannot be ignored." Dazai Osamu frowned. "Stopping the cult's actions and curbing its expansion is the immediate urgent situation."
"Um, today when I went out, I heard that cult members have started parading in the streets..." Atsushi timidly raised his hand. "They seem to call themselves 'chaos believers,' and everyone is smiling incredibly happily..."
Dazai Osamu paused, his brows furrowing even tighter.
"This is the first time the cult has actively launched an operation, isn't it?" Edogawa Ranpo said calmly. "Before, they were just scattered organizations in various parts of Yokohama. Now it seems they have been completely unified."
"Because they have a 'Cult Leader'." Dazai Osamu's voice was icy. "The best immediate step is to deal directly with this person. But we don't have any information related to them..."
His words suddenly stopped because Edogawa Ranpo had picked up the remote control and turned on the TV.
"...Currently, this large-scale parade has become a hot topic of discussion among the citizens. As the expert just connected shared, this chaotic parade has brought immeasurable negative impacts to Yokohama."
"The massive parade has not only caused personnel shortages in various jobs and traffic congestion, but most importantly, their strange, mesmerizing appeal—"
The reporter, with dark circles under both eyes, looked ahead with great concern.
The TV camera moved, following the long procession of hooded figures slowly advancing, then zoomed out, sweeping over the crowds gathered on the roadside, all looking dazed, whispering to each other.
"Currently, Yokohama, apart from basic infrastructure, is almost completely stagnant. But apart from a few government departments implementing countermeasures, there has been no large-scale intervention."
The TV simultaneously split into several frames. Dazai Osamu narrowed his eyes, keenly noticing in one frame, Sakaguchi Ango frantically directing with a megaphone.
—No wonder no one came knocking to ask about the [Dice] incident. It seems the Special Ability Department is also overwhelmed and helpless right now.
"Does this represent a certain attitude from the government? What exactly is the purpose of these self-proclaimed chaos believers? Where is the end point of this journey? Our station's reporter will immediately bring you the latest news."
The reporter quickly ran forward, immediately holding the microphone in front of a person in the parade.
The camera zoomed in. The smile on the interviewee's face was so radiant it was frightening. And when a gust of wind suddenly picked up, the camera shifted, briefly revealing countless eerily identical smiling faces beneath the dark hoods.
"Hello, what would you like to ask me?" The interviewee's voice, surprisingly, pulled the reporter out of his daze.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I..." The reporter regained his composure, his voice inexplicably becoming more familiar, "Where are you all going?"
"Central Plaza—the plaza in front of the government building." The person pointed towards the government building in the distance. "Look."
The reporter exclaimed in shock: "On top of that... there's someone!"
The helicopter timely transmitted the image. It was hard to imagine that on the rooftop of the government building—a place representing authority and public power—there was actually a person standing.
Dazai Osamu suddenly stood up.
Edogawa Ranpo, meanwhile, stared intently at the blurry image, a complex expression in his eyes.
"Is that the Cult Leader...?!" Atsushi said in surprise.
That person also wore a hooded cloak. Even though the wind howled on the rooftop, their face and body were completely concealed.
Dazai Osamu suddenly remembered something and quickly made a phone call. As soon as the other side picked up, he spoke hurriedly.
"Chuuya!" Dazai's voice was urgent. "The person I asked you to find before—the one created from the 'Book'—have you found them?"
Unexpectedly, Chuuya on the other end gave an unexpected answer.
"Found him," Chuuya said.
"What?" Dazai Osamu was stunned. He instinctively looked up at the "Cult Leader" still standing motionless on the rooftop on the TV.
"We couldn't find him before because he ran into some cult members and was taken to the underground world," Chuuya rubbed between his eyebrows. "But then, that kid was scared witless by a bunch of lunatics, fainted on the spot, and was then taken to the hospital by someone inside. That's when our people spotted him on the way."
"...?" Dazai vaguely felt something was wrong, but still asked, "So where is he now?"
Chuuya on the other end cursed, his voice revealing suppressed anger: "Couldn't catch him! He was snatched away by a bunch of rats!"
Dazai Osamu's pupils suddenly constricted.
"Fyodor!"

***

Fyodor bent down, carefully observing the unconscious person in front of him.
The young man with delicate features lay supine, his long, chaotic white and purple hair splayed on the ground. Clear tear stains were still visible at the corners of his eyes, and his eyelashes trembled uneasily, as if even in his unconscious state, he couldn't escape the torment of nightmares.
"...As above." Hawthorne bowed his head, saying in a deep voice, "I killed all the Port Mafia members and brought him back here."
Fyodor stood up, his deep purple eyes showing contemplation.
It was very logical. Even if that page of the book was fake, it still had to adhere to the basic rules of [The Book]. Previously, to ensure safety, he had added many restrictions, and now it seemed they had worked effectively. It was a wise and gratifying decision.
An ordinary person with a blank memory, suddenly stepping into that kind of "conference," their nascent, fragile mind directly collapsing under the strong impact, leading to unconsciousness... Very logical.
But he always felt something was off. Could everything really be so smooth?
—After all, it was Li Nai's item.
While he was thinking, the young man's eyelashes trembled more and more distinctly, and his eyeballs under his eyelids also began to move—he was about to wake up.
"You've worked hard, Reverend." Fyodor spoke.
Hawthorne knew this meant he should retreat and said nothing more, immediately disappearing into the shadows, leaving the space to the two of them.
The young man's eyelids fluttered, slowly opening. His empty pupils, unable to focus, unconsciously reflected the face of the person before him.
"You're awake."
The man in the soft fur hat, with pale skin, smiled at him, asking in a polite and gentle voice, "What is your name?"
The young man blinked blankly, his unfocused pupils slowly regaining clarity.
"Sigma... My name is Sigma." He clutched his head. "Why can't I... remember anything...?"
It was true. Fyodor observed coldly, making his judgment. Had he lost his memory again during unconsciousness due to the immense shock?
He was slightly relieved. Following the original plan, he extended his hand towards Sigma.
"Sigma-kun." Fyodor smiled gently, "Do you want a home?"
Sigma looked up at him, a strange glint in his eyes. He raised his arm and slowly placed his fingers on that pale hand.
"...Of course, I do." Sigma mumbled, his expression dazed. "For this, I am willing to pay any price."
Fyodor raised an eyebrow, took his hand, and pulled him to his feet.
"Then, let me introduce you to our other companions first."
Sigma followed Fyodor deeper inside. The ventilation windows here were very high and small, reinforced with thick iron bars. Sigma walked slowly, short bursts of light flashing across his eyeballs, then quickly disappearing like flowing water.
He subtly looked up, gazing at the sky outside the ventilation window. Then, in the light...