Japan, Yokohama City.
There was always a group of mercenaries trying to sneak into the city.
Asou Akiya was so restless that he could barely eat or sleep. He couldn't afford to wait any longer, and after careful consideration, he decided to take the initiative.
As the head of the household, he couldn't very well let his wife and child see how anxious he was at home.
A man had his dignity to maintain!
He informed Randou, then shut himself in his study and began planning late into the night. Piecing together the timeline, he started going over everything he knew about the Mimic organization.
He is currently 24 years old, Chuuya is 12, and Mori-sensei is 29. They were three years before the Fifteen-year-old Twin Dark arc. In the original story, the Mimic organization arrived in Yokohama when Twin Dark were eighteen—six years from now.
Six years later, a group of "ghosts" who had fled the battlefield would band together under their commander, André Gide. His ability, Strait Is the Gate, was a 3D masterpiece. Its effect was the same as the ability of Dazai Osamu's friend, Oda Sakunosuke; both allowed the user to foresee danger several seconds into the future.
When the two abilities were activated simultaneously, they would create an Ability Singularity.
In the original story, André Gide wanted to force Oda Sakunosuke, a man who refused to kill, to pick up a gun and fight. To that end, he kidnapped the five orphans Oda was raising and had them blown up, driving the honest man completely insane.
In the end, the two of them perished together...
Asou Akiya drew an arrow beside André Gide's name.
[Oda Sakunosuke.]
Target No. 1 for diverting the disaster elsewhere.
Those two would definitely be able to take each other out.
However, he thought of the Boss Dazai from the IF timeline in the neighboring world, sitting there with the Book in his hands, and his heart softened.
He crossed out the name with his fountain pen.
He had already wronged little Shuuji; he couldn't wrong Dazai Osamu too. What if he had a counterpart in a parallel universe? Wouldn't that land him on Boss Dazai's blacklist?
"People ought to be a little kinder. Otherwise, you'll get what's coming to you. I don't want anyone holding a grudge against me."
Asou Akiya pressed the end of his pen against his chin and smiled faintly.
The last time he had been able to sit down and calmly work out a plan like this had been more than four years ago. Back then, he had spent three whole years laying the groundwork to save Arthur Rimbaud on the day of the explosion in the Suribachi City.
"Ok, let's start over."
"What kind of ending do I want to give André Gide?"
"One: drive him and his men out of Japan. Two: eliminate him and all of his men. Three: give him a new hope, and eventually have him return to France with his men?
The first is the easiest, the second could leave trouble behind, while the third is the hardest. France pinned the blame for starting the war without authorization on André Gide, then hastily wrapped up the aftermath of the war. Pulling off the third option would be no easier than getting the Japanese government to admit that Mori Ougai never planned the Immortal Regiment project and that the whole thing was the government's fault."
"It's difficult, but not completely hopeless.
Gide has managed to survive until now, forming a mercenary squad with his men and operating in the Middle East without being eliminated by France. Someone back home must have pulled strings to protect him."
"France has a relatively large number of idealists and pacifists, making it a breeding ground for humanism. Gide might be a warmonger in the Bungo Stray Dogs world, which would indirectly put him on the opposite side of the pacifists. So, in order to end the war, people from his faction were suppressed. Once the political struggle was over and the interests had been divided up, the victorious side naturally wouldn't want them rising again.
And the reason the war ended inevitably brings us back to the 'Seven Traitors.' Those seven ridiculously powerful ability users kidnapped the leaders of the major ability-using nations and used every means at their disposal to force them to sit down and negotiate, forcibly bringing that devastating ability war to an end."
"What we know is that France's traitor among the Seven Traitors is Jules Verne. His representative work in the real world is Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, a book practically every elementary school student has had to write a reading reflection on. In the Bungo Stray Dogs world, his ability is based on another of his famous works, The Mysterious Island, with its effects manifesting on an island. The fact that no one has managed to kill him yet doesn't mean France doesn't want him dead."
"If Gide kills Verne, making up for his 'sins' with his contribution, and proves to the world that he has avenged his homeland, that should be enough to let the French head of state vent his anger. They might even consider how to take him back.
All of the above, however, is equivalent to dreaming, given Gide's strength.
That only means France might be willing to take Gide back. The price would just have to be rather steep."
Asou Akiya was completely lost in his own wild train of thought, unable to pull himself out. In fact, he had begun to feel that the first two options—driving Gide away or simply killing him—were far too poor by comparison. They offered hardly any challenge at all.
He had two trump cards in his hands, one of them a trump card capable of tearing through the entire plot. How could he possibly be afraid of the Mimic organization?
What he was afraid of was...
Whether Arthur Rimbaud had him in his heart.
"Never mind all that. You two absolutely cannot meet!" Asou Akiya shook his head, erasing his needless worries from his mind as he wrote a new plan on the paper.
[Operation: Save the Mimic Organization.]
"Several possible ways for France to take them back—
One: Kill an enemy of France.
Two: Have Gide become a powerful ability user.
Three: Make enough money for France that they can be persuaded to compromise for the sake of profit.
Four: Expose the truth and let the French people learn about Gide's situation. That would directly offend the faction within the French government that wants Gide eliminated. Even if Gide returned, he'd probably still be in trouble.
Five: Obtain a priceless treasure, such as the Book or the Shell, so that France would be willing to send people to bring them back in order to secure it.
Six: Find French individuals or factions willing to help Gide..."
To clear André Gide and his soldiers of the disgrace of being branded traitors—that was Randou's wish. It would also directly cut short the eighteen-year-old Dazai's Dark Era storyline, giving Oda Sakunosuke a chance to live.
For this reason, Asou Akiya spent the entire night thinking about it, worrying himself into losing several strands of hair.
At most, the Mimic organization would get into a fight with the Port Mafia.
On the international stage, though, they were far too weak!
The next day, he didn't wake up with his head on the desk. Instead, he was sleeping in his bedroom, with a chinchilla curled up beside his pillow, snoring softly.
In the early hours of the morning, Randou had used the spare key to unlock the study, moved him to the bed, and let him sleep there.
When he opened his eyes, he found the French beauty sitting on the bed, flipping through the notes he had written.
Quite a few sections of the notebook had been blacked out, and some pages had even been torn out. Randou couldn't see all of Asou Akiya's thoughts, only the parts he had been willing to reveal.
Randou said excitedly, "Akiya, you're planning to help Gide?"
Asou Akiya answered weakly, "I'm still thinking about it. I haven't come up with anything yet. I've thought so much my head hurts."
Randou tucked the notebook under the pillow, then used both hands to massage Akiya's temples.
"It won't hurt anymore. I'll give you a massage."
If this was what Akiya called "haven't come up with anything yet", then what did that make someone whose brain was completely blank? Randou clicked his tongue, once again growing depressed over his own intelligence. Why was he only the second-to-last smartest person in the household?
"Akiya, do you still have to get up and go to work?"
"Yes."
A simple breakfast had been laid out on the dining table: milk and bread, utterly unremarkable.
The family of four took their seats. Edogawa Ranpo ate his bread, his eyes repeatedly drifting toward Asou Akiya. His fake ability, Super Deduction, was already in full operation.
Nakahara Chuuya asked with concern, "Akiya-san, you seem really tired."
Asou Akiya drank his milk and said, "Call me Dad."
Nakahara Chuuya hesitated for a second. He still wasn't used to calling Akiya "Dad" in front of his biological "Mom," Randou. He looked toward Randou, who firmly said today, "Listen to him."
Nakahara Chuuya corrected himself. "Dad."
Asou Akiya looked at him and Ranpo, a strange glint flashing through his eyes.
He had found the answer!
If one brain wasn't enough, then he'd simply find a few more external brains to use.
He had practically gathered the entire scriptwriting team from Bungo Stray Dogs. It was time to put all those brain cells to work!
A few minutes later, with Nakahara Chuuya and Edogawa Ranpo watching curiously, Asou Akiya began handing out extracurricular homework. He passed each of them a printed sheet of paper.
"Chuuya, Ranpo, I've got a little homework assignment for you. I don't care who you contact for help or whether you work on it by yourselves—" This was his way of finding Chuuya some outside help. "Just give me your answer three days from now."
Edogawa Ranpo glanced over the contents and fell into thought.
Nakahara Chuuya was stunned. The question on the paper was way beyond elementary school level!
["This is a thinking exercise. There's a group of soldiers who were made scapegoats by a certain faction and saddled with trumped-up charges of treason. They've fled overseas. How can they get their government to accept them again and clear their names?"
"Given 1: Their financial resources are limited, and they are adrift in a foreign country."
"Given 2: Their average combat ability is extremely high, and their overall strength is comparable to that of an underworld organization."
"Given 3: They desperately wish to return home and are willing to pay any price to make it happen."
"Write out a reasonable solution."]
Nakahara Chuuya's thoughts ground to a halt.
Can I ask Ranpo to write a little extra so I can copy it?
Edogawa Ranpo folded the paper, slipped it into his pocket, and said with a cheeky grin, "No."
"Akiya, this is what's been bothering you for the past few days, isn't it? Ranpo-sama will use his ability to figure it out for you. Go and get some rest."
"I'm going to work, not rest."
"What's the difference?"
"Cough."
Asou Akiya was completely stumped by Ranpo's retort. He waved a hand dismissively.
"As long as you can figure it out!"
Randou looked on expectantly. "Ranpo-kun, do your best."
Seeing that they weren't expecting anything from him, Nakahara Chuuya felt a little helpless. But then Asou Akiya looked over at him and said in a tired yet gentle voice, "Chuuya, you need to learn how to make use of your strengths. You're not alone, everyone around you can be an extension of your brain; You can discuss things with them."
Chuuya's first thought was to ask his companions from the group, now renamed "The Sheep", for help. His second thought was...
I can't even come up with anything myself. What makes me think those guys can?
Seeing Chuuya frowning deeply in thought, Asou Akiya held out his hand.
"Chuuya, give me your phone."
Nakahara Chuuya obediently handed over his phone after unlocking it.
Asou Akiya opened his contacts, made a few changes, and then returned the phone to him.
Chuuya took one look at the changes and sucked in a sharp breath.
"Whoa."
"What is it?"
Edogawa Ranpo immediately leaned over, poking his head over like a curious cat to see what Akiya had changed.
Chuuya's contact list had been transformed into this:
[External Brain No. 1] Asou Akiya
[External Combat Specialist No. 1] Randou
[External Brain No. 2] Edogawa Ranpo
[External Combat Specialist No. 2] Fukuzawa Yukichi
[External Brain No. 3] Shibusawa Tatsuhiko
[External Brain No. 4] Kudo Yusaku
[External Brain No. 5] Kudo Shinichi
The rest were Chuuya's friends from the Sheep or his teachers at school. All of their prefixes were the same:
—[External Little Assistant]
Nakahara Chuuya burst out laughing, suddenly enlightened.
"I understand what Dad means now!"
Find people to help him!
If he wasn't exceptionally smart himself, then he'd go find exceptionally smart people to help him!
He scooped up the Chinchilla that had been running circles beneath the table and excitedly ran out the door, ready to spend his summer vacation looking for people to help him.
Edogawa Ranpo, meanwhile, hit the nail on the head.
"If the little orange cat keeps this up, isn't he going to give up thinking altogether?"
Asou Akiya spread his hands. "You have to give him a little cheat code."
Life is hard. Even the muscle-brained types needed a few clever people to have their backs.
Asou Akiya took Randou's hand and kissed it, using his own lack of combat ability as an excuse.
"My cheat code is Randou."
Randou smiled sweetly.
You give me wisdom, and I'll use my strength to protect you. Isn't that wonderful?
Akiya.
There's nothing more handsome than you when you're saving someone.