Chapter 1
Fukuzawa Yukichi had received an ostentatious invitation from one of his former clients to go on a cruise destined to the Philipines. Naturally, he was going to decline but this decision got shut down by his employees once they got wind of it. “You never take days off, President. This vacation could do you a lot of good.” His in house medic Yosano had reasoned. “Yeah, what better than a cruise to help you relax as you reach your twilight years.” Dazai said airily. His co-worker Kunikida launched across the table to grab him by the collar and berate him because “Fukuzawa-san is not that old!”
Fukuzawa eventually relented even when he suspected that the main reason his employees were so gung-ho about him leaving was so that they can goof and slack off without him being around, nonetheless he put both Kunikida and Yosano in charge of holding down the fort while he was gone. As he had made plans and cancelled arrangements, Edogawa Ranpo came barging in, unceremonious as always. “Hey President, I heard you were gonna go on a cruise. You mind if I tag along?”
Fukuzawa was confused by this request. Ranpo had been his ward since he was fourteen and head detective since he was eighteen and if there was one thing he knew about Ranpo, it was his notorious distaste for travelling due to his poor sense of directions. He didn’t hate it, but he would take any opportunity possible to avoid it. So him wanting to tag along to a cruise was definitely out of the ordinary. “Is there a case you’re supposed to be working on?” Fukuzawa asked.
“None at all. I’m totally free and completely bored so why shouldn’t I come on a cruise?” Ranpo replied. Fukuzawa shook his head and returned his attention to paperwork. “Assuming you’re not going to be bored being at sea for 2 weeks.” He replied. “Psh, I’ll be fine. Ships have arcades and waterparks now. So can I go?” The invitation did hold an option of a Plus One and it would be beneficial to have the detective somewhere he could monitor him. He sighed a weary sigh that Ranpo just knew meant he was considering to give in. With a beaming smile, Ranpo chimed “Thanks President, I knew you’d see things my way!” and walked out the office. He’s handled Ranpo for just over 12 years, he could handle 2 weeks.
Ranpo wasn’t completely honest about not having any pending cases with him when Fukuzawa asked. But he didn’t really see the need for it anyway. It was a protection request from some super rich heiress lady who was dealing with a stalker and she needed proof for grounds on a restraining order and was offering an obscene amount of money for the job. Ranpo wasn’t interested so he snuck it into Kunikida’s In tray. Honestly speaking, Ranpo’s not really been feeling the thrill of the chase lately, every case landing on his lap either mundane or open and shut. People just weren’t being killed and kidnapped in interesting ways anymore. He kept this to himself however to avoid another lecture from Kunikida about the ‘Sanctity of Life’ or whatever. Sometimes he was half tempted to start a super secret crime spree of his own but it wasn’t fun solving cases he already knew the answers to.
And that’s why a cruise sounded perfect. A break from lazing at his desk to go laze out at sea, plus cake just tasted better at the ocean anyway, something about the salt sea air. He had swiped the itinerary off Fukuzawa’s desk and saw that the final destination was Hong Kong with stops in the Philippines. The ship itself looked pretty fancy too, boasting of 2 indoor pools and a waterpark as well as a whole shopping district. Ranpo wondered if Fukuzawa missed the money he used to rake during his body guarding gig if he could get deals like this. He went back to his desk to continue slacking off till three as his pending assignment sat heavily a desk away.
They were on port that following Wednesday and boarding the cruise ship with a slew of several tourists. Ranpo was wearing beach shorts with a loose shirt and a Hawaiian shirt Dazai got him a few years back that he got from a tourist trap for his birthday. Even Fukuzawa has ditched his usual yukata for more a casual yet reserved outfit. Fukuzawa didn’t want Ranpo to wander around before they got settled so he led them to their rooms, separate but opposite each other. Ranpo naturally dumped his belongings before leaving, resolving to unpack when he came back later that night. As he bounded down the corridor, Fukuzawa caught him by the collar.
“Before you run off, remember that we’re supposed to be meeting the client who invited us here and the captain for dinner in the executive lounge at 9:30pm, don’t lose track of time.” “Alright, alright I got it.” Ranpo replied dismissively as he pulled away. “Dinner with bigwigs at 9:30, don’t be late, got it. Just go have fun playing shuffleboard or visiting the cat café or something.” “There’s a cat café?” Fukuzawa asked. “Third floor.” Ranpo said over his shoulder as he walked away.
Ranpo’s had his eyes set on the waterpark and it turns out, so were pretty much the rest of the patrons, making it feel more like an extreme community pool with slides more than anything. He had fun regardless, being nearly drowned by boisterous kids and all. He then went to the snack bar for a blueberry sundae as he relaxed and dried off in the afternoon sun.
Three more sundaes later and he was walking off the brain freeze headache to head to the mall and buy souvenirs for Yosano as a peace offering for gallivanting off on a cruise without giving her ample warning. He finally settled on sundresses he knew she wouldn’t find tacky, some perfume and knickknacks for everyone else because let it never be said he wasn’t a generous and caring senior.
Next stop was the arcade where he went in with a mission to win as many cool prizes in the claw machines as possible, ending up with more plushies than he knew what to do it, fake hypno glasses that were hard to see with in the dark neon lighting in the arcade, some game cartridges and the main hauls being a buttload of mechanical toys. He liked to pick apart motors and moving parts in toys to mess around with them or use them in occasional repairs.
He was just craving some gummy worms when he went to the deck and saw the sky was a lot darker than he expected. He looked at his phone and saw it was just a few minutes to seven pm. Reasoning that was more than enough time, he went back to his room to dump all his stuff and get some snacks to have around in his room. Sure, he had his stash, but there was no harm in wanting to replenish it. Fukuzawa usually didn’t intervene directly in regards to his snacking, just giving offhand comments about dentist appointments or randomly handing pamphlets talking on the increasing risk of Type 2 Diabetes on his age group, but Ranpo usually just dismissed it as him fussing around like usual.
After getting more snacks from the mall area, he sat in his room exhausted and took out his Switch to play Animal Crossing for the next two or so hours. Somewhere along the line, he dozed off and woke up to the incessant buzzing from his phone. It was 9pm and he already had two missed calls and two messages. The latest one just told him to wake up and dress formally before heading to the lounge. After ten minutes of trying to sluggishly drag himself out of bed, he went through his suitcase to wear the black suit and tie he usually brought along for events like this, brushed the crumbs off his face and washed it to hide the face he had been asleep before making his way to the top deck.
After confirming his reservation under Fukuzawa’s name, he went inside. It looked both opulent and comfortable in a sort of quaint way and he could immediately tell why he had to dress up. The patrons looked the type to all own their individual cruise ships, all of them in expensive looking outfits and nibbling on hors d’oveurves served by dapper waiters in penguin suit tuxedos. He wasn’t easily impressed by wealth but he had to admit, the place looked swanky.
He spotted Fukuzawa’s yukata and walked over to a table where a jolly looking middle aged man was talking to him animatedly. When Ranpo sat down, his hand was immediately cased in a hearty handshake. “Ah, Ranpo-san, I’ve heard so much about you from Fukuzawa and the newspapers. My name is Miyazaki Kento, It’s an honour to have two esteemed detectives with us on this cruise.” The man commended. Ranpo didn’t have time to preen before he asked, “Two?” Miyazaki nodded towards a table not far from their own.
There was a man and a woman who seemed to be engaged in some sort of conversation if it could be called that, considering it looked more like the lady was talking at the man more than anything, judging by the small downturn of the man’s mouth, one he’s seen countless times on Kunikida when Dazai starts to prattle again and he’s too far to shut him up. The lady seemed quite old, somewhere around the sixties range judging from her grey hair and wrinkles set in her face while the man looked decades younger than her, though Ranpo could barely see his face at all. ”
“Yes, that young man over there is the author Edgar Allan Poe whose detective novels are quite popular back in America and Europe. He’s with Ozaki Mirio-sama, who’s another famous novelist but in Japan and more so of the romance genre. I’ve known Poe-san more for the cases he’s moonlighted in rather than his books, too macabre for me.” Edgar Poe, what an odd name. What were the odds of two detectives with similar sounding names sitting in the same lounge without prior knowledge of the other, as far as Ranpo knew? It sounded an awful lot like a coincidence and Ranpo never liked those at all.
The conversation easily gravitated away from the two authors and Ranpo got bored immediately. Since he couldn’t just pull up his Switch to play games, he settled for people watching. As his eyes scanned across the tables of patrons, he settled on one couple in particular. They both seemed to have dressed richer than anyone else, but in that subtle manner some rich people would do in order to avoid getting targeted. The lady in particular seemed incredibly familiar and Ranpo had to think in where he had seen her before. After mulling about it, he finally turned around to avoid being seen as he remembered her as the client he blew off. It would cause quite a stir if Fukuzawa found out about it so he might as well look elsewhere.
His gaze landed back on the author’s table, this time the two of them having glasses of dark red wine that glittered crimson when it caught the light. Keeping his eye on the detective author, he made as many observations about him as he could as far as he could see. The man seemed to look older than him but also not a day over thirty, despite his slight slouch when seated he carried himself with a grace that seemed more learnt in a perfunctory manner than naturally possessed, there seemed to be a gloominess about him, one that was more bone deep than being bored by a dinner partner. It didn’t take long for Ranpo to notice he was being watched in turn. He couldn’t see the man’s gaze, but he could definitely feel it, landing heavily on his person. He stopped staring back once the food got brought out but when he looked back, the man was facing away and talking to the woman. He dropped his gaze and went to tuck into the various dishes before him.
