Seeing Ranpo suddenly lunge at her, both Ringo and Yosano jumped in surprise.
“Ranpo-san!” Ringo leaned back instinctively, watching the great detective warily as he snatched away the bag of candy and pastries. She said with lingering shock, “You scared me to death!”
Yosano placed a hand over her chest.
“You startled me too.”
Ranpo’s mouth was stuffed with candy, making his words muffled.
“Sowwy—”
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” Although she said that, Ringo felt that Ranpo didn’t seem worried at all. She let out a small sigh before asking curiously, “Didn’t you just refuse to help me, Ranpo-san?”
Ranpo answered as if it were perfectly obvious.
“You never said you wanted me to help you eat candy.”
He’d let his guard down.
He’d even told Yosano that Ringo was definitely coming to ask him to find her boyfriend.
Who would’ve thought he’d actually guessed wrong?
Of course, he’d noticed she’d brought something with her. But he’d naturally assumed it was a thank-you gift. Even though he’d said he’d solve one problem for Ringo free of charge, he also knew she was an exceptionally polite girl. Even President Fukuzawa had commented on that. So the fact that she’d brought a gift hadn’t surprised Ranpo in the slightest.
Yosano chuckled from the side.
“My, my. So even the great detective Ranpo-san can misjudge things sometimes.”
After thinking about it for a moment, Ringo finally understood.
“Oh… Ranpo-san, did you think I was going to ask you to help me find my boyfriend?”
Ranpo chewed on his candy.
“So he’s not your ex-boyfriend yet?”
“I was planning to ask that at first,” Ringo admitted, scratching her cheek sheepishly. “But I changed my mind. These candies and pastries were originally meant for him and his friends, though. I hope you don’t mind…”
“I don’t mind at all,” Ranpo replied nonchalantly. “Why would I? Candy and pastries are innocent!”
“…There’s also some extra-spicy rice crackers in there.”
“…Secretly put those on the President’s desk.”
Yosano sat down beside Ringo, thoughtfully stroking her chin.
“So instead of asking Ranpo-san to find someone, you decided to give him all the candy and snacks you’d originally planned to give away?”
“Yes. Even if I shared them with my friends, we wouldn’t be able to finish them all. Since Ranpo-san likes snacks so much, I thought I’d give them to him.” Ringo smiled. “That way they won’t go to waste.”
After finishing the candy, Ranpo moved on to the cookies. He looked Ringo up and down before saying,
“I’m really happy you’re giving me snacks, but… do you really not need me to find your boyfriend?”
“Or perhaps I should put it another way,” Yosano said with a smile. “What made you change your mind?”
Ringo pressed her lips together.
After a moment of silence, she spoke softly.
“Because there’s no need anymore.”
“Huh?” Ranpo looked genuinely surprised. “You got over it pretty fast.”
He’d thought that, given Ringo’s personality, she wouldn’t be able to let go so easily. That’s why he’d assumed she’d ask him to find her boyfriend.
“I’m someone who takes things seriously, but I’m not an idiot,” Ringo said earnestly. “No matter what reason he had, disappearing without a word or any explanation already tells me that he doesn’t care about me or what I think. Since that’s the case, there’s no reason for me to go looking for him.”
“And…” She smiled faintly. “I’m not someone who refuses to listen to advice. My friend has been telling me these past few days that a boyfriend like that shouldn’t even make it to Christmas—that I should just break up with him. Even one of his coworkers came to see me today and told me something similar. This was my first relationship, and I really invested my feelings and my effort into it. But… a boyfriend like that definitely isn’t more important than my friends. I don’t want to disappoint the people who genuinely care about me, so… I’ll just let it go.”
Yosano had an overwhelming urge to pat Ringo on the head.
But remembering that the girl was rather shy and might feel uncomfortable, she restrained herself and simply said,
“It’s good that you can think that way.”
“No. Actually, I was still hesitating even on my way here. I only made up my mind right before I came in.” Ringo looked serious. “Because Ranpo-san also told me I should break up with that boyfriend as soon as possible.”
Ranpo munched on another pastry.
“It’s not too late to think that way now.”
Ringo nodded.
“Yes. I know.”
“All right!” Ranpo clapped his hands. “To celebrate little Ringo getting dumped, let’s throw a party!”
Ringo immediately looked horrified.
“N-No, please don’t!”
Besides, that reason for celebrating sounded way too depressing.
What was there to celebrate about getting dumped?
Yosano rubbed her forehead helplessly.
“If you do that, you’ll only make little Ringo uncomfortable, Ranpo-san.”
“Then… celebrate her getting rid of a jerk?”
“There’s really no need to celebrate!”
Ringo stayed at the Armed Detective Agency for afternoon tea with Ranpo and Yosano before saying goodbye and leaving.
As she walked out of the Detective Agency, she received a text from Momoi asking if she wanted to go out for yakitori that evening.
Ringo: Yes! (≧▽≦) Just the two of us, right?
Satsuki: Of course! My treat today. Order whatever you want~♡
Ringo: Satsuki, you’re the best! (。·w·。)丿♡
Ringo asked which restaurant they were going to.
As she walked toward the station, she looked up the route on her phone.
While she was at it…
…she deleted Dazai’s contact information.
At the same time, Yosano stood by the window, looking down at the street below.
With her back to Ranpo, she said,
“That girl’s adorable. But… do you think she’s really gotten over it, Ranpo-san?”
Ranpo was currently on the verge of crying from the extra-spicy rice crackers.
Without even thinking, he answered,
“Not a chance.”
Where was his water?
So spicy, so spicy—
Yosano sighed.
“I didn’t think so either.”
“Little Ringo’s the kind of person who’s so earnest she’s almost stubborn.” Ranpo took a drink of water. “The fact that she’s changed her way of thinking at all is already a good thing.”
“That’s true.”
Ringo had already disappeared from sight.
Yosano left the window and returned to her seat across from Ranpo.
“At least she probably won’t get fooled by another jerk next time. But, Ranpo-san… aren’t you going to tell her what happened on Halloween?”
“There’s no need.” Ranpo tilted his head slightly. “The sooner she broke up with that ex-boyfriend of hers, the better.”
After saying that, he took another bite of the rice cracker.
So spicy—
“Ringo, are you done packing? We need to go—”
“I’m done! Coming!”
Standing outside Ringo’s apartment, Momoi watched as she hurried out, pulling her suitcase behind her.
Smiling, she said,
“There’s no need to rush. We’ve got plenty of time.”
“I just want to get home sooner.” Ringo stepped out of the apartment, carefully locked the door, and checked it once more. “My mom said she wants to see me as soon as possible too.”
Christmas was approaching, and winter break had begun.
Ringo and Momoi were heading back to Tokyo.
“So lucky,” Momoi puffed out her cheeks. “My mom never says things like that. She just told me I come home every vacation anyway, and I’m not a little kid who’s going to get lost. Oh, right. Did you lock all your windows?”
“Mhm!”
On the way back, Momoi cautiously asked,
“Ringo… are you free around New Year’s?”
“I think so,” Ringo answered uncertainly. “Why?”
“Well…” Momoi said seriously, “my boyfriend’s coming back to Japan this Christmas. I was wondering if you’d like to meet him. We could all hang out together.”
Momoi had carefully considered how to bring it up.
Even as she spoke, she kept watching Ringo’s expression, afraid that a single wrong word might remind her of painful memories.
After Halloween, Ringo’s ex-boyfriend had suddenly disappeared without a word.
Momoi had been so worried that she might not be able to handle it that she’d stayed with her every day for an entire week.
At first, Ringo had indeed been depressed and miserable.
But she seemed to have recognized what a jerk he really was and recovered far more quickly than Momoi had expected.
She hadn’t even cried!
“Really?” Ringo’s eyes lit up. “I’d love to meet him!”
“Then I’ll let him know!” Momoi instantly brightened. “Just tell me which day you’re free, and I’ll have him keep that day open~”
“You don’t have to go that far.” Ringo smiled warmly. “I should be free whenever, so just work around your schedules.”
“Okay!” Momoi nodded, taking Ringo’s hand. “Or you could just spend Christmas with us! I’ll introduce you to Kise!”
“N-No thanks!”
Momoi got off the train before Ringo.
After she left, Ringo put on her earphones and rested her chin in one hand as she absentmindedly watched the scenery sliding past outside the window.
She’d once been full of excitement at the thought of introducing her boyfriend to Momoi.
Although they had eventually met…
…things hadn’t turned out well at all.
She’d also noticed how careful Momoi had been when asking about it.
She should probably tell her she didn’t have to be so cautious anymore.
Osamu Dazai…
When that name surfaced in Ringo’s mind, it almost felt unreal.
She wasn’t even sure anymore whether she’d really dated someone by that name.
Lost in thought, Ringo nearly missed her stop.
Dragging her suitcase behind her, she hurried out of the station and looked around the roadside.
Before the train arrived, she’d texted her mother, who’d replied that her father would come pick her up.
But after looking around for a while, she still couldn’t find the family car.
Just as she was about to call her father, she suddenly heard a familiar voice calling out to her.
“Ringo—!”
She instantly looked up toward the sound.
On the opposite side of the street, Takeshi Yamamoto was waving at her.
Blinking in surprise, she watched him cross the street and stop in front of her.
“Big Brother Takeshi, what are you doing here?”
“I dropped by your house to deliver something,” Yamamoto explained. “Your mom said you’d be arriving soon. I wasn’t busy anyway, so I came to pick you up.”
“Let’s go.”
Ringo obediently followed him.
After they crossed the street, she watched him lift her suitcase into the trunk.
Closing it, he smiled at her.
“Don’t worry. I won’t damage it.”
“I wasn’t worried about that,” Ringo said hurriedly, shaking her head. “Thank you for coming to pick me up, Big Brother Takeshi.”
Yamamoto looked down at Ringo.
The two of them held each other’s gaze for a few moments before the black-haired young man suddenly reached out and gently ruffled her hair.
“Welcome home.”