In Japan, Tokyo.
At the beginning of the year, temperatures hovered around freezing. Fine snow drifted down from the sky, and a thin layer of frost glittered like crystal.
The rooftops, windowsills, and balcony railings throughout the residential neighborhoods of Kita Ward were covered in a blanket of snow. The warmth of everyday life seeped out from behind each door and window, every household together forming this ordinary surface world.
Yet in the deeper hidden world that existed beyond the perception of ordinary people, a tear had opened not far from those apartment buildings and homes, inside a community park that occupied only a few hundred square meters and lacked any real sense of openness. From that opening blew a snowstorm born from human hearts, colder and more bewildering than the winter outside.
If a young girl were touched by that wind, she would shiver uncontrollably.
If a young boy were touched by it, dizziness would overtake him.
If a child happened to pass by, they would cry while clutching frostbitten hands, begging their parents to warm the lonely world within them.
The opposite of black was white.
Yet white taken to its absolute extreme could also become a terrifying thing—one so pure that it allowed no impurity to exist within it.
At this moment, a snow-white youth sat upon a park bench. His crimson eyes were wide with curiosity. Compared to an elegant long-haired ragdoll cat, he resembled a world-weary chinchilla Persian more closely—one whose fur was not meant to be casually stroked by strangers.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko slowly spoke.
"You weren't lying to me?"
Asou Akiya replied, "You've studied psychology, haven't you? Whether I'm lying or not, can't you tell for yourself?"
It was the perfect counterattack against a member of the so-called "scriptwriting group."
People who were overly confident always trusted their own judgment.
Then judge for yourself.
"I took the train here from Yokohama," Asou Akiya said, using his own experience to open the conversation. With a smile, he unlocked the invisible door that stood between them. "There was a bit of traffic congestion today since it's Saturday. My head was starting to spin. I spent the whole trip reading through your background information, and I realized that your life before the age of fourteen was surprisingly ordinary. You went to school like everyone else and followed all the rules. Didn't you ever think about running away from home? If not, then you're really someone who can endure loneliness."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko showed neither joy nor anger. However, when he was described as "ordinary," the fingers resting upon his knees twitched ever so slightly in a nervous reflex. His heartbeat skipped a beat.
"Can't endure it?" Asou Akiya looked genuinely surprised. "I merely called you ordinary, and that's already enough for you to find it unbearable? Haven't you realized it yet, after being protected by your family all this time?"
The black-haired young man carried the composed presence of a working adult. His features were strikingly handsome, and the words slipped from his smiling lips with effortless ease.
"You've been living inside a greenhouse."
In an instant, the indifference and emotional detachment that Shibusawa Tatsuhiko had maintained were shattered, and anger erupted across his face.
Those words were poison aimed directly at the heart.
You could call him cold.
You could call him arrogant.
But you could never call him incompetent or mediocre.
"Admit it, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko. You have never truly walked alone through the wilderness, starving and desperate, relying on your own hands to pick fruit covered in thorns." Asou Akiya was completely unafraid of him. "Draconia" was ineffective against ordinary people; otherwise, Natsume-sensei would never have recommended that he come meet Shibusawa Tatsuhiko. "Your birth was simply too fortunate. You've never tasted the hardship and suffering of fighting your way forward entirely on your own!"
The snowflakes settling upon Asou Akiya's shoulders had slightly dampened his expensive coat. He inclined his body politely and finally introduced himself.
"I haven't properly introduced myself yet. My name is Asou Akiya. My ability is 'High-Dimensional Observer.'"
Nearby, the government personnel assigned to monitor the conversation between Asou Akiya and Shibusawa Tatsuhiko were stunned.
An ability user?!
How was that possible...?
When facing someone like Shibusawa Tatsuhiko, who could separate abilities from their owners at any moment, the higher-ups should never have sent a precious ability user to make contact with such a dangerous target!
The anger on Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's face vanished instantly.
Instead, a faint, beautiful smile appeared on his lips.
That smile carried venom ten thousand times more poisonous than anything Asou Akiya had said.
"An ability user?"
Before coming here, Asou Akiya had considered countless possible approaches. In the end, he activated Version 2.0 of his strategy for dealing with members of the "scriptwriting group."
He should be grateful, really—even Ranpo had never personally experienced this version.
The method was simple: overwhelm the other party with information, establish a position of advantage, make them completely believe in you first, and then deliver a devastating blow to their confidence. Once the persona had been firmly established, any minor inconsistencies or flaws that appeared later would no longer matter. As long as the mistakes were not too serious and the two sides did not interact frequently at close range, the other party would naturally fill in the gaps with their own imagination.
This meeting had to make a stunning impact and leave behind an unforgettable impression.
It was not only an answer sheet to be handed in to Natsume-sensei, but also... an examination of the results of his own learning and growth.
The seventeen-year-old Shibusawa Tatsuhiko was far more difficult to deal with than the thirteen-year-old Edogawa Ranpo had been. There was no room for self-deception in him whatsoever. To fool him, one not only needed extensive knowledge and the ability to avoid revealing any flaws, but also the aura of a "kindred spirit."
Asou Akiya knew that Shibusawa Tatsuhiko looked down on ordinary people. He stood high above them, gazing down with cold disdain. To a certain extent, he resembled the person Asou Akiya feared meeting the most—
Randou.
Asou Akiya thought to himself: Before officially meeting Randou, I'll deal with this juvenile version of the White Qilin first. If I can't even fool him, how am I supposed to face a true French Transcendent in the future?
Having steeled his resolve, the black-haired young man's gaze toward the white-haired youth grew increasingly calm and composed.
Black and white stood in stark contrast beneath the falling snow.
They were two completely different kinds of people.
Yet at this moment, because of Asou Akiya's words, they had become "the same kind."
Mist drifted toward them from beneath their feet, curling around the two of them like a dream born of winter.
Watching the mist, Asou Akiya sighed with emotion.
"What a romantic effect. Mist that feels so elusive and intangible."
A pity that this world possessed no sky capable of embracing the mist.
Wrong franchise, Vongola.jpg.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's expression stiffened.
After activating his ability, "Draconia," he failed to see the black-haired young man within the mist-covered area. He withdrew his ability and discovered that the other party was still standing in reality, never having entered the space within the mist at all.
It was the first time such an anomaly had ever occurred.
Under normal circumstances, an ability user would disappear for a short while before ultimately dying at the hands of their own ability.
Against ability users, he had always been invincible, as though he were a human being who governed the very laws of supernatural abilities. Although he had never proclaimed himself a god, he firmly believed that if he continued to grow stronger, he would one day reach that unimaginable realm.
And so, no god would care about the empty rhetoric of a person destined to die within a few minutes.
"You aren't an ability user."
After a moment of silence, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko spoke, feeling as though he had been deceived.
His inner thoughts said:
[For an ordinary person to dare impersonate an ability user and deceive me—that is at least a refreshingly original idea. I should be merciful and view this farce with cold amusement. After all, the other party will never, in his entire lifetime, gain access to the world of the strong.]
In reality, however, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko was seething with frustration. His face remained cold as he repeatedly tested the mist-covered area, yet no matter what he did, he could not restrain Asou Akiya.
"You're wrong again," Asou Akiya said.
Crossing the invisible boundary that normally separated strangers, he sat down on the bench.
Beside him sat the seventeen-year-old White Qilin. Compared to his adult appearance in the theatrical version, he looked considerably more delicate, possessing a beauty that blurred the line between male and female. The mist churned more violently around them, and cool gusts brushed against the cuffs of their suit trousers.
"Shibusawa-kun, I'll call you that from now on." Asou Akiya drew up one of his long legs and cheerfully asked the youth, "Do you believe that every ability user can be affected by your power?"
"..."
"Once a person gains authority over life and death and begins to look down on ability users, arrogance naturally follows."
"..."
"What if I told you that abilities possess a hierarchy of priority? That lower-tier abilities cannot control higher-tier abilities? What if your ability simply isn't strong enough, which is why it has no effect on me?"
"...Priority?"
For the first time, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko truly listened.
His gaze shifted toward the man's face, astonishment appearing in his eyes.
That single piece of unheard-of information was enough to make him pay attention.
"That's right." Asou Akiya offered an example. "Let's suppose one person's ability can kill with one hundred percent certainty, while another person's ability can save people with one hundred percent certainty. If those two abilities were to collide, the result would be quite fascinating, wouldn't it? Of course, what exactly would happen falls into the realm of scientific research."
"Now, on top of that, let's make a second assumption."
"The killing ability comes with severe limitations and strict conditions. It cannot kill individuals whose life force exceeds a certain threshold. Meanwhile, the healing ability can save countless people at once, leaves no side effects behind, and can operate on a nationwide scale. In that case, the healing ability is obviously of a higher rank than the killing ability."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko understood immediately.
An ability capable of saving people on that scale was clearly something terrifying beyond measure.
Asou Akiya spoke like a teacher patiently explaining a lesson to a student.
"This is what an ability rank gap looks like. Under normal circumstances, barring unforeseen exceptions, there is no scenario where someone armed with a handgun can shoot through a tank and kill the person inside. However, the handgun can be upgraded. The bullets loaded into it can be replaced with increasingly advanced ammunition. Only when the weapon in your hands reaches anti-tank levels can you stand outside and kill the person within."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko replied coolly, "Are you telling me that your ability is ranked higher than mine?"
There was a trace of probing in his tone, along with a needle-sharp hint of mockery.
He didn't believe it.
Besides, his ability, "Draconia," belonged to the spatial-type category. Meanwhile, "High-Dimensional Observer" sounded mysterious and abstract, not at all like the sort of overwhelmingly powerful ability one would expect.
Asou Akiya merely shrugged.
"I know you won't believe me so easily."
He reached into his pocket and took out a pair of glasses. If he was going to put on an act, he might as well commit to it completely and play along.
He put on the black-rimmed glasses he had once used with Ranpo.
His dark eyes immediately became colder and more profound. Mist swirled all around him, as though serving as a backdrop for his ability. In an environment without the Illuminations to provide visual effects, he could only borrow Draconia's mist to decorate the scene.
"My ability can enhance my powers of observation, allowing me to perceive the truth of a person, an event, or even a piece of history from a certain unimaginable perspective."
Asou Akiya casually revealed the "secret" of his ability, unconcerned about it being recorded by the government agents monitoring them.
"Shibusawa-kun, what kind of food do you like?"
"..."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's eyelashes fluttered twice.
In his mind appeared the foods he enjoyed eating.
The meals his mother prepared for him at home.
Asou Akiya asked the question and answered it himself.
"Takenoko gohan."
Without giving the other party a chance to deny it, he immediately followed with a second question.
"Shibusawa-kun, what foods do you dislike?"
"..."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko remained silent.
"Pumpkin. Ginseng."
Once again, Asou Akiya's answer was unmistakably correct.
"...Does the government really monitor even this kind of thing?" Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's voice was icy. He still refused to believe that these answers had been obtained through observation.
"Shibusawa-kun, do you like demons? Ah, you do." Asou Akiya leaned closer to those crimson eyes that had not yet completely grown weary of the mortal world, forcing the other boy to meet his gaze. "Do you like the occult? Do you want to explore the dark and mysterious aspects of this world? Yes, you do. Unfortunately, magic doesn't exist in this world, which must be really disappointing for you. You prefer these elusive, intangible things, don't you?"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's pupils contracted slightly.
These were interests he had never revealed to outsiders.
In Latin, Asou Akiya chanted:
"Eloim, Essaim, frugativi et appelavi…"
(Oh Elloim, Oh Essaim! I implore and invoke you!)
A flush suddenly appeared on Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's cheeks.
It bloomed without warning like plum blossoms opening upon winter branches, vivid red against the endless white snow, impossible to miss.
His chuunibyou had been exposed.
He had privately recited incantations like this before, hoping to summon demons.
Observing Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's reaction the entire time, Asou Akiya revealed the faintest trace of a smile.
It became even more dazzlingly irritating.
Continuing in Latin, he said:
"To summon a demon, one must first obtain a black hen that has never laid an egg. Then, proceed to a crossroads where two roads intersect. In the dead of night, tear the hen into two pieces. After that, recite the incantation I just spoke while holding a cypress branch in your hand and kneeling while facing east. It is said that the devil will then—"
—These words originated from the Russian fairy tale The Black Hen, and were later referenced in the real-life Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's work Black Magic Notebook.
The real-life Shibusawa Tatsuhiko loved reading books of this nature and was considered a renowned "expert" in such fields.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko abruptly covered Asou Akiya's mouth.
"You don't need to continue."
A faint, cool fragrance drifted into Asou Akiya's nose.
As a member of the Shibusawa branch family, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko was exceptionally particular about every aspect of his appearance. Even his clothing had to be carefully selected and meticulously prepared. He wore his long hair loose because it looked beautiful, maintaining the refined appearance expected of someone from the upper class.
Behind his glasses, Asou Akiya remained perfectly expressionless.
His opinion of this "honest man" from the Bungo Stray Dogs world had risen considerably.
You actually tried it?
Appearances truly could be deceiving, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko!
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko quickly glanced toward the people monitoring them. After confirming that they probably could not understand what had just been said, the tension in his heart still refused to settle.
"How do you know that?"
Asou Akiya removed the other's hand from his mouth and replied,
"I don't know. I merely saw it."
Using a mysterious yet cheerful tone, he whispered conspiratorially to the youth who had finally stopped maintaining his lofty facade.
"Books like those... I read them during my own adolescence as well."
"..."
A direct hit on Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's darkest teenage embarrassment.
In a gentle voice, Asou Akiya continued:
"Shibusawa Tatsuhiko, there was a foreign scholar who believed that a curse is the act of one person's will surrounding and suppressing another person's will, and that an incantation is a conquest of the mind and spirit. You were once conquered by demonology and the occult. They fascinated you beyond measure. You wanted to experience worlds that existed beyond this world and beyond the stars themselves. You longed for demons or succubi to come and tempt your body..."
As Shibusawa Tatsuhiko listened to him dissect his inner self, every sentence struck with surgical precision.
His face stiffened.
The embarrassment was becoming so overwhelming that it nearly drowned his soul.
A teenager's skin was far thinner than an adult's.
He instinctively wanted to move away, to retreat beyond the range of this "ability's" observation.
Asou Akiya had no intention of allowing that.
After coming this far, how could he possibly let him escape?
The combat skills he had acquired through the Port Mafia enabled him to suppress the current Shibusawa Tatsuhiko, who was still inexperienced in hand-to-hand combat.
The black-haired young man directly reached out and placed a hand upon the long hair of this thoroughly ruffled cat. He lifted a strand between his fingers. The snow-white hair looked remarkably like the appearance of someone in the final stages of leukemia.
Well.
This was a two-dimensional world, after all.
"I saw your future—"
"You will become increasingly arrogant, increasingly lonely, and in the end, even at the moment of your death, you will still fail to truly understand yourself."
Asou Akiya said,
"There is a child in my family. His intelligence surpasses yours. If you don't believe my words, then go find him. He is the kind of kindred spirit you've been searching for."
As he spoke, he braided two sections of Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's hair into neat plaits. Using blue hair ties meant for a young girl, he fastened them beside the boy's ears, giving him an unexpectedly playful appearance.
Faced with this utterly unforeseen behavior from the man, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko did not resist.
The braided strands tugged lightly at his scalp.
For some reason, that slight pull gave him a sensation of being alive.
After Asou Akiya withdrew his hands, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko could not help but reach up and touch his newly braided hairstyle in confusion.
This person...
What exactly had this man seen through?
"Understand... myself?"
"Yes."
Asou Akiya pointed at Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's chest.
"There's a hole here. No matter what you use to fill it, it never becomes full. And if you ignore it, the tear will only grow larger and larger until it completely swallows you whole."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko stared at him without blinking.
In a soft voice, he asked:
"Can you fill it?"
Little by little, he began to believe in the power of High-Dimensional Observer.
No.
Rather than believing in the ability itself, he believed in the sharp pain produced by the other man's analysis of him. It was a strange sensation—one that somehow brought him pleasure.
Asou Akiya answered:
"No."
"You need to learn how to love."
Taking out the book he had brought with him, Asou Akiya placed it onto Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's lap.
The book had only recently come off the printing press. It was not wrapped, and the strong scent of fresh ink still lingered on its pages.
"You need to seek out beautiful emotions. The way you treat this world is the way this world will respond to you."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko lowered his head.
The hair hanging beside his ears slipped down and settled across the surface of the book.
Printed on the cover was the title of the novel.
[Tears of the Muse]
Suddenly, a powerful intuition surged through Shibusawa Tatsuhiko.
This was a book written for him.
It was an inexplicable certainty.
Without needing to analyze the other man, he understood the unspoken meaning behind his words through instinct alone.
The answer was inside the book.
Asou Akiya added a slight embellishment to the purpose of his visit and said in a perfectly measured tone:
"The government asked me to come and guide you. Personally, I would also recommend that you join the Special Division for Unusual Powers. What do you think?"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko gently stroked the book in his hands. Looking up at him, he spoke a blunt truth in his usual detached tone.
"They want to use me."
Asou Akiya smiled.
"There isn't that much sincerity in the adult world."
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko fell silent once again.
Hypocritical officials.
Places built upon exchanges of interests and benefits.
When combined, they created a world where neither happiness nor freedom could be seen.
Asou Akiya rose to his feet.
Then he bent down and offered Shibusawa Tatsuhiko one final piece of advice.
"But they can give you power. Shibusawa-kun, you're too weak. The world you wish to see—you haven't even obtained an admission ticket yet."
"!!!"
"This world—"
Asou Akiya spread the fingers of one hand and waved it before Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's eyes.
The falling snow resembled fragments of starlight, slipping through the gaps between his fingers, as though allowing someone to glimpse the far side of the world.
"Is this big—and it's filled with countless, innumerable unknowns!"
There was once a scene in a film.
A wizard led a young boy into a mysterious magical world, unveiling a realm of wonders before his eyes. In that moment, everyone watching felt anticipation, amazement, and curiosity. It was as though life itself had opened a new chapter, and the once ordinary, unchanging world had suddenly become vibrant with color and unfathomable mystery.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko's heart had never beaten this fast before.
He felt as though he were that young boy.
And the person standing before him was like the wizard who had guided him through the doorway.
"You..."
Before Shibusawa Tatsuhiko could finish his question—
Asou Akiya had already turned and walked away.
With his back facing him, he casually waved a hand, apparently preparing to return and report to the government.
His throat hoarse and his thoughts in complete disarray, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko instinctively shouted at the top of his lungs:
"You still haven't told me! Where do you live?! And where is that kindred spirit you mentioned—?!!"
A lonely genius desperately wanted to grasp the single glimmer of hope he had finally found.
Just before getting into the car, Asou Akiya turned his head and replied:
"Yokohama City. Edogawa Ranpo."
With a sharp click, the car door shut.
Asou Akiya returned to the warmth of the vehicle. Rubbing his hands together vigorously until they warmed up, he then pressed them against his face.
"In weather like this, even a coat isn't warm enough. Looks like I need to buy a couple of down jackets. How careless of me—I actually forgot to consider down jackets!"
The driver: "..."
After a moment, the driver started the car and spoke with sincere admiration.
"You are truly incredible."
Leaning back against his seat, Asou Akiya looked surprised.
"What happened? Do you have clairvoyance or superhuman hearing?"
The driver shook his head. He had not heard the contents of their conversation. Other colleagues were responsible for monitoring that.
"This isn't my first time meeting Shibusawa Tatsuhiko. It's just the first time I've seen him..." The driver silently finished the sentence in his heart: ...lose his composure to such an extent.
On your very first meeting, you actually dared to braid the White Qilin of the Shibusawa family.
Back in the community park, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko remained seated on the bench in a daze.
The people assigned to protect him emerged from the surrounding area and approached him.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko said,
"I want a mirror."
A small hand mirror was promptly placed into his hands.
Looking at his reflection—the hair ties still adorning his braided hair—his expression darkened.
Muttering to himself, he said,
"The braiding is far too ordinary... and it's crooked as well..."
Suddenly, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko asked:
"Who is Edogawa Ranpo? Is he famous?"
The people protecting him were government personnel who also bore the responsibility of secretly monitoring him.
One government employee lowered his voice and answered:
"I've heard he's a detective with an ability who operates in Yokohama City."
Clutching the book tightly against his chest, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko lifted his face.
He looked like a spirit born from a snow-covered kingdom.
"And who... is Asou Akiya?"
"..."
"Answer me."
"He should be a... consultant who was temporarily brought in. He's not a government employee."
The government official answered somewhat awkwardly, unwilling to reveal that the man was affiliated with the Port Mafia.
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko nodded.
Rising to his feet, he did not bother brushing the snow from his clothes. Instead, he started walking back toward his home and said in an indifferent tone:
"Give me a few more days. I will consider joining the government."
The government official's face immediately lit up with delight.
"Understood! I will report this to my superiors, Shibusawa-san!"
Upon returning to the traditional Japanese residence, Shibusawa Tatsuhiko found Shibusawa Setsuko at home on her day off.
"Mother."
The moment that form of address left his lips, Shibusawa Setsuko stopped arranging flowers.
Still seated in seiza, she turned around and looked at him, her face overflowing with surprise and joy.
"Tatsuhiko, you're back?"
Shibusawa Tatsuhiko gave a detached nod and walked straight into the study, eager to begin reading.
"Don't let anyone disturb me."
...
How large was this world?
Once, when he was a small child, he had asked his tall father that question and received an answer meant merely to amuse and comfort a child.
The child had grown into a young man.
The young man had sought answers from demons, devils, magicians, and every mystery he could find...
Yet he had found nothing.
And today, at long last, someone had revealed to him a secret hidden behind the world.
So it turned out that he still lacked an admission ticket to enter the real world.
He had been looking at the sky from the bottom of a well.
The heart that had grown numb over the years suddenly sprang back to life.
He wanted to finish reading this novel.
He wanted to find his kindred spirits.
He wanted to explore those unsolved mysteries.