Before the matter of Ranpo's guardianship had even been settled, the calico cat's disguise had already fallen away.
Natsume Souseki's expression turned wonderfully complex after being exposed. Recalling how he had accepted the offerings, he was so furious he was practically ready to bristle and glare.
Noticing Asou Akiya's gaze, the middle-aged man reached up to touch the hair beneath his hat. The corner of his mouth twitched—those strands were interwoven with three different colors, something that could genuinely be called cutting-edge fashion in contemporary Japan.
"My hair color is natural! It's not calico coloring!"
"Mm-hm, I understand!"
Asou Akiya hurriedly reined in his overly triumphant air, careful not to stomp on Natsume Souseki's sore spot any further.
"You don't understand—" Natsume Souseki gripped his cane, clearly wanting to knock it against the young man's head. In what kind of setting would you dare bring this up? "Based solely on your powers of observation and analysis, you pass. However, in terms of conduct as a person—you fail!"
That single word, fail, rang out thunderously.
Asou Akiya sat up straight, accepting the rebuke. "Please instruct me."
Natsume Souseki suppressed his shock and regarded the young man he had observed for some time now, his smile stiff and insincere.
Kid, you still haven't been beaten enough by society.
"If I were to kill you," he asked calmly, "what method could you use to resist?"
"Uh…"
Asou Akiya let out an awkward, short sound, making no attempt to refute the question. It was like a water tank being drained while fresh water flowed in—when a teacher assigns homework, they never stop to ask whether it aligns with common sense.
For anyone to think through this problem, they would first need to infer one premise:
Just how much strength did Natsume Souseki possess?
In Japan, Natsume Souseki was revered as a legendary ability user, hailed as the "strongest" figure of the hidden world. How much substance that title of strongest truly contained was impossible to measure. In any case, Asou Akiya did not believe the man before him was a combat-oriented ability user. After all, the ability "I Am a Cat" was right there—calico cats simply did not have high combat stats.
Rather than calling Natsume Souseki a fraud, it was more accurate to say that he was carefully managing a persona, stabilizing Japan's ability-user world through his presence.
Japan was desperate for a powerful ability user.
From the original story—where Edogawa Ranpo single-handedly went to the Port Mafia and faced off against Nakahara Chuuya, only for Chuuya to fall straight into a trap—it was clear that the power of intellect had never been inferior to brute force.
In close combat, Natsume Souseki's physical skills could not be weak either; otherwise, he would not have been able to keep Mori Ougai and Fukuzawa Yukichi in check.
At his current middle-aged stage, Natsume Souseki was not only capable of fighting—he could think as well.
"I can't beat you," Asou Akiya stated frankly. "Resisting would be unrealistic. The only weapon I have is language. The cost of killing me would be too high—you wouldn't be able to bear it."
Natsume Souseki said irritably, "Do you have no sense of resistance at all?"
Asou Akiya replied dejectedly, "My hand-to-hand skills are average. I didn't bring a gun in order to meet you. Please be kind to a fragile person like me."
Natsume Souseki: "..."
Natsume Souseki felt as though he were looking at a second crooked sapling of a so-called "optimal solution," his gaze filled with disdain.
"If talent were likened to a diamond," he said coolly, "your hardness is far from sufficient."
"Isn't being bright enough acceptable?" Asou Akiya countered.
"Not enough!"
Natsume Souseki no longer bothered with affectation when speaking to him. Since the other party had already seen through him, there was no reason for him not to reveal a little of his true skill.
"Those who cling too tightly to reason are prone to friction with others."
Mori Ougai took a figurative bullet to the knee.
"Those who submit too completely to emotion will, in turn, be controlled by it."
Asou Akiya heard the words—lines originating from the novel Kusamakura—and committed them to memory with a faint sense of unease.
"Those who stubbornly insist on their own views will eventually walk themselves into a dead end."
Because he no longer wished to be an assassin, the "Silver Wolf," Fukuzawa Yukichi, had left the government behind and wandered at the very edge of his ideals' collapse.
These three precious lessons about life were offered by Natsume Souseki to someone he had only just met, a clear sign of how highly he regarded Asou Akiya. He had met countless people in his lifetime; he did not easily acknowledge someone without an ability, because such a person usually needed to display talent far more dazzling and outstanding than that of ability users in order to stand at the summit.
"Asou Akiya, you wish to become my student—but do you have a price you can afford to pay?"
"You do not."
"A pure and sincere heart that moves heaven and earth exists only in novels."
Natsume Souseki slid a business card with a phone number written on it beneath his coffee cup.
"As for Edogawa Ranpo's future, I think your personalities are quite compatible, so I'll entrust him to you for now… If you truly wish to become my student, I will give you three trials. First, guide Edogawa Ranpo onto the right path. Second, become a candidate executive of the Port Mafia. Third—I haven't decided yet. Complete the first two trials, the faster the better."
"When the time comes," he said calmly, "I will speak with you again about the problem you carry within yourself."
The great figure of the underground world cast a brief glance at the bite mark near Asou Akiya's collarbone, then left as calmly as drifting clouds, without a ripple of emotion.
Inside the book café.
Asou Akiya stared at the two cups of coffee that had long since gone cold. He remained silent for a long while, then suddenly covered his face, his whole body trembling.
He was laughing—laughing soundlessly. He understood it now. This time, he truly understood.
He had made it halfway down the path to becoming a disciple.
Natsume Souseki had an experimental plan known as the "Tripartite Framework," still unimplemented. At its core was the formation of three aligned forces—"Day," "Night," and "Twilight." In the future, these would respectively represent the Special Division for Unusual Powers, the Port Mafia, and the Armed Detective Agency. This plan was Natsume Souseki's ideal method of balancing alliances and resisting foreign incursions. Because its requirements were exceedingly strict, he had yet to find a suitable administrator. Today, however, Asou Akiya had risked everything to recommend himself, becoming the first candidate on the priority list.
If he were selected and successfully taken in as a disciple, he might one day come to represent Yokohama's "Night."
Of course, as a disciple of Natsume Souseki, he would retain the freedom to choose. Whether he worked in the light, the darkness, or the gray zones in between, he would receive Natsume Souseki's full backing.
This man's resources spanned both military and political spheres, his reputation thunderous—enough for any disciple to rely on comfortably for a lifetime.
"Three trials, huh…"
"So the script where Ranpo meets Fukuzawa Yukichi—Mr. Natsume doesn't plan to intervene. He's hinting that I should write it myself."
"Competing for the position of candidate executive means accelerating how fast I make money, while also watching my own safety. One careless step and I'm dead. That's the requirement for becoming Mr. Natsume's disciple…"
Asou Akiya took the card with the unfamiliar number from beneath the coffee cup and dialed it.
On the other end of the line came a steady, indifferent voice: "Hello, this is Fukuzawa Yukichi. Are you calling to hire me?"
All troubles seemed to resolve themselves in an instant, yet new ones were already lining up in the not-so-distant future, converging like an oncoming storm.
Asou Akiya let out a hoarse, suppressed laugh.
"No—sorry, wrong number."
Mr. Fukuzawa.
There's a mischievous, troublemaking cat here who urgently needs a well-grounded adult to straighten him out. We'll meet again next time.
Tomorrow, he would go with Randou to buy a little yellow rubber duck and a set of pajamas.
…
Kusamakura (The Three-Cornered World):
"Approach everything rationally, and you become harsh. Pole along in the stream of emotions, and you will be swept away by the current. Give free rein to your desires, and you become uncomfortably confined. It is not a very agreeable place to live, this world of ours."
— Natsume Souseki.