Maiple 1

Kunikida and Katai’s Magnificent Days

Author: Asagiri Kafka
Translation: Maiple (@Maiple701 on Twitter)

In the afternoon, in a street where the smell of dinner being prepared drifted in the air from
somewhere, a carefree cloud drifted by in the sky above. At the corner of such downtown street,
in an old,tile-roofed Japanese house, so old that the structure was slightly slanted, there was
the sound of a sliding door being opened.

“It’s me Katai. I’m going in.”

Without ringing the bell or knocking, not even waiting for an answer, the name of the man who
barged in without permission was Kunikida. Pushing away the scattered wooden clogs with his
feet, he made space for his shoes. He took off his shoes and entered the hallway, creaking on
the floorboards without hesitation. Kunikida walked into the room where the master of this house
was. The resident of this almost ancient house seemed neither surprised or suspicious of this
sudden intruder.

“What’s in that bag Kunikida?” Seeing Kunikida enter, he asked carelessly.

“Apples.”

Kunikida answered, raising his bag. From his futon, Katai responded carelessly with
something that sounded like an “Oh” or a “Huh”. Kunikida looked down at the entire room. For a
moment he put on an expression that seemed to say ‘‘Your room is messy, as always’ and
‘Clean your room goddammit.” But Kunikida said nothing. That was because those things had
been said by Kunikida two thousand or three thousand times over. Kunikida liked tidiness. It
was more of an obsession than a simple liking though. How this room made the clean-loving
Kunikida take one glance and think ‘Oh well’ in resignation is a story too long and deep to tell
here.
Katai always claimed that,
‘Despite looking like this, everything is sorted in a pattern only I can tell. So messing up this
pattern means messing up my lifestyle’.

It was a somewhat logical reasoning. After cleaning Katai’s room twenty times, Kunikida finally
concluded that perhaps Katai was right. Since then, Kunikida had given up all attempts to
preach Katai of the benefits of organization and tidiness.

We must talk about the two.

 Maiple 2

Kunikida Doppo and Tayama Katai.

The two are Ability Users, who possess powers out of the ordinary. Unrelated to this is the fact
that they have spent nearly a decade as close friends somehow, forging an impenetrable bond.
It was not as if the two had formed their friendship through rigorous hardship, nor because their
Abilities were the perfect match for each other, making them inseparable partners. It was only
that they realized that they were spending the most time with each other next to the time they
spent with their families. At this point, neither of them remembered how they got to be friends in
the first place. Those who knew them thought their relationship was a peculiar one, while the
two saw nothing out of the ordinary out of it. Basically, they were that kind of relationship.
Kunikida gave up his observation of the room, and, without permission, went into the
kitchen. He took out a knife and started peeling his apples. Katai took his eyes off of Kunikida
and returned to his computer screens around his futon. On the many screens, countless strings
of letters and graphs unfolded, never seeming to stop. Katai controlled the horde of numbers
only with the movement of his eyes.

“What is it that you’re working on now?” Kunikida asked from the kitchen.

“Work,” Katai answered hazily.

Kunikida, having not much of an interest in his question or Katai’s reply, only responded,

“Is it so.” and went back to peeling the apples.

Neither of them spoke after that. Only the whirring sound of the cooling systems for the
computers could be heard. It was a common scene for the two. An everyday scene that had
been repeated hundreds of times.
Soon, Kunikida, with the apple cut into eight pieces on a plate, headed towards Katai.
Avoiding the everyday items scattered on the floor-- glasses, bottles of water, books, a garbage
basket -- he placed the plate next to Katai’s pillow. The apples were perfectly cut in eight,
identical to each other in size as if they were cut using a ruler. Katai glanced at this, and,
forgetting his first question to Kunikida, asked,

“So, what’s this?”

“Apples. The client of the last case left a whole bunch of these as thanks for solving the case.”

“Oh.”

He nodded. Kunikida returned to the kitchen, licking the apple sap on his fingers.
Catching a glimpse of the computer screen, he turned.

“What’s the new job you’re doing?”

 Maiple 3

“This? The usual one. I’m trying to hack into top-secret information of some international
enterprise.”

Kunikida examined the multiple screens for a while, then replied “Oh,” after a while and
nodded, returning to the kitchen. Nobody spoke for a while again. There was only the ticking of
the clock on the wall above in the silent room.

“Katai, the day after tomorrow’s the day for inflammable trash. It only comes around once a
month, so don’t forget it alright?”

Kunikida said to Katai as he cleaned up in the kitchen. Katai returned a “Hmph.” as he

stared at the screen. Whether he understood at all was unclear. There was the sound of the
fridge being opened.

“Woa, this potato has sprouts already. I told you to throw it away if you’re not going to eat it.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Also, your laundry’s still outside. It’s almost evening, take it in… Wait a minute, has it
been outside since I last came two days ago? I always take your laundry in because it bothers
me, but don’t tell me that you’re always expecting me to do so. Do it yourself this time.”

“Uh-huh, I’ll do it later.”

Katai didn’t move his eyes from the screen. Kunikida opened a foldable chair in the
corner of the room, sat on it, and ate his apples in silence. As he ate, he gave glances at the
clothes hanging outside. After eating three apple slices, unable to endure the urge any longer,
he walked to where the clothes were and started taking them in. He sorted, folded, and put them
in Katai’s drawers in the other room, as he always did. Kunikida returned to his seat and his
apples with a more satisfied expression.

“It’s getting colder, isn’t it?”

“Well, I guess so.”

“I’ll have to replace the stuffing for Yoshiko soon.”

Yoshiko was the name of the futon Katai was always curled up in.

“Uh, yeah.”

“By the way Kunikida… it’s pretty cold today, what date is it?”

“Huh?”
 Maiple 4

Kunikida, who had finished his apples, turned to him.

“Are you kidding me? It’s New Year’s Eve, December 31st. You should take more interest in
the outside world, Katai.”

“It’s not that I don’t care.”Katai scratched his head.

“I’m only waiting for the day when I have to care. Despite that, that day never comes, just that.”

“Your life is full of just waiting, isn’t it?”

“This futon is more than perfect for waiting.”

He scratched his head again.

“New Year’s Eve, isn’t it? Then I guess we’ll order some soba.”

“It’s too early, the sun’s not even down yet.”

“Too late, I already ordered.”

Next to Katai’s monitors for hacking work, a smaller screen hanging on the wall was
displaying “Order Compete: Soba x2”. Katai had used his Ability to directly control the
communication lines and had completed his order in a moment.

“... You ordered two.”

“...... You’ll stay and eat, right?”

“Of course.”

Kunikida took Katai’s empty dish and washed it. There was a desk in the corner of the
room, which by now was practically just a place for putting miscellaneous items. Kunikida
pushed away the contents on the desk to make a small space. There, with a strained
expression on his face, started to write, furiously. He had started working on where he left off on
his work again.
Katai glanced at Kunikida, but said nothing. Wrinkling his eyebrows, Kunikida uttered
things such as “That’s a hard one.” or “Now, how am I going to deal with this…”

“The Armed Detective Agency seems like hard work.”

Katai asked, unconsciously.

 Maiple 5

“What are you saying? We’re not busy.”

“Oh, I know. In the great Kunikida’s sacred notebook, it is written that ‘No matter how busy you
are, you should not go around saying so, as if it is something to brag about.’ Therefore, the
busier he gets, the less Kunikida says that he’s busy. But unfortunately, I can tell just from your
expression.”

Kunikida seemed perplexed, scratching his forehead with the end of his pen.

“Well… You’re right, the agency is short of members. It’s a good thing that the agency is
earning a reputation, but we’ve started to take on even more difficult cases now because of that.
Ranpo-san’s been upset for a while because of that. At this rate, the president might volunteer
to work on the cases himself. But if that happens-”

“... Happens?”

“Ranpo-san will call me ‘Useless’ and hit me over the head.”

Kunikida looked as if he was in pain from getting mochi stuck in his throat.

“Hm, that must be a difficult affair. I’ve never met the ever-famous Detective Ranpo, but I’ve
heard enough from you enough to guess who he’s like. If that happens, he’ll never talk to you
again.”

“Exactly.”

Kunikida sighed. Kunikida nodded, seeming dejected, which was unusual for him. Katai
stared at the top of his head as his drooped head with a thinking, serious look on his face. But
then said,

“But it’ll work out, right? Besides, not a single thing in this whole wide world can stop
Kunikida’s great ideals.”

“Definitely. I’ll manage this somehow.”

Kunikida declared, and returned to his notebook. Katai also turned back to his computer
screens.

“... Just say something, will you?”

He mumbled this as he buried his face in a pillow. He whispered this in a small voice, so
it did not reach Kunikida’s ear. Again, neither of them spoke for a while. Kunikida fiercely
scratching away with his pen was the only sound in the room. After some time, there was a
small “Ping!” sound from one of Katai’s computer screens.
 Maiple 6

“That should be it. My work for this year’s done.”

Katai stretched in his futon. A couple of documents were shown on the screen.

“So did you win this time, or lose?”

“Take a look.”

Katai pointed at the screen proudly. Kunikida tip-toed beside the futon, looked in, and let
out a “Huh.”

“This is… an outline for the merger contract between Misaka Trading and Madarame News
Agency. I heard that their management was rough, but a large corporation like them merging at
this point… On the day this gets released, the stock market is going to be in shambles up and
down.”

“Oh yes.”

“So you win this time again.”

“It’s an unreleased draft. If it was leaked, the losses would have amounted to several billion
yen. They’re lucky that it was me. I can just see the executives hopping with joy.”

Katai’s Ability allowed him to control electronics. He could use any electronic device in
front of him like his own arms and legs. Katai’s job is to sneak in and steal information from
corporate networks using his Ability. But no matter how much information Katai steals, he is
never reprimanded by the law. That is because the ones who hired him for the heist are the
corporations themselves. The corporations were worried that their countermeasures against
hacking may have a flaw in them, that their confidential information might be stolen by a
malicious hacker. Their concerns were especially deepened during management seasons like
now. That was why they hired Katai to hack into their own systems. If the systems keep him out,
then all is well, but if he does manage to hack in, they ask for a report on how the system was
broken into, and what vulnerabilities it had. Then they immediately fix those holes in the system.
Katai was trusted by many corporations because of his adept skills as a white hat hacker.

“How many days did it take this time?”

“Three hours I guess.”

Katai said as he glanced at the clock on the wall.

“One of the executives in the General Affairs division had his lover’s birthday as his password.
It was stupid of him, really. From there I contacted the Commercial Information division through
 Maiple 7

a fake email saying that my transceiver broke down and got them to assign me a new
passcode. At that point, every single computer terminal in the company is like my backyard.”

“Now that’s a tragic end for a multi-billion security system… I guess in the end, all errors are
human errors, huh?”

“Make my job easier though.”

A report was being written just by Katai staring at the screen - by his ability to control any
electronics within his sight - and soon the words “File Sent” popped up.

“So you finished this year’s work before me this time.”

As Kunikida sighed, there was a knock on the door.

“Our soba’s here”

Outside, it was already a winter night, the nightwind blowing sadly, clattering the
windows.
As they slurped on the soba, Katai talked about his job. He was going to donate most of
his salary again to charity. Katai had done so for a few years now. Leaving a few hundred
thousand yen for rent, living costs, and expenses related to his work, he donated the rest to a
random charity group. That was his way. He wasn’t doing this out of kindness or because he
had a noble heart. As proof, he always chooses the groups randomly, and never checks how
the money was used. The reason he did so was simply because of his belief that ‘Nothing good
comes out of having too much money.’

“That, was a fiasco.”

Kunikida remarked, slurping on his soba.

“Definitely. Showing off never works out for the better.”

Katai nodded, also slurping on his soba noodles while sitting on his futon. One day, a
few years ago, Katai got stuck in a double bind of ‘I hate going outside, but at the same time, I’m
bored of being in my house.’ Katai, after going slightly off the deep end, decided, ‘Oh I know! I
should become rich!’, a decision which Kunikida could not exactly comprehend. Katai went and
promoted his skills to every company. He took on hacking jobs with stipends by the billions, and
completed every single one of them, flawlessly.

As a result, he was nearly assassinated.

 Maiple 8

It was only a matter of time before Katai’s bank account, which had accumulated enough money
to flip the millionaire's list upside down, was known in the darker side of society, the side where
blood, violence, and the mafia ruled. Katai was a slightly known hacker even before he got rich,
but the way he became a sort of slave for those corporations for the sake of money, turned
many other hackers against him.
Hackers, by nature, are anti-establishment and against vested interests. Katai, who had
become a serf to the establishment, was to them a showoff and a traitor. As a result, fueled by
indignation, jealousy, and bandwagon mentality, a tsunami of cyberattacks flooded Katai’s
systems. Katai fought them head-on, resulting in what could only be called a Great Cyber War.
He wasn’t given even a moment’s sleep. Through the long, rough fight, Katai was physically and
mentally worn down.
But that was not the end for Katai, as the conflict extended into the real world. Ultimately,
a hitman broke into his house, which was the last straw for Katai. He gave up his bank account,
let go of all his assets, and left his house and went into hiding. (It was more like Kunikida helped
him move to the neighboring city)
Katai’s hatred towards underground society and the mafia stems from this hitman incident. Katai
did not want to see big money ever again, but if he took on cases for free, the market price
would come tumbling down, upsetting many others. Because of that, Katai only keeps what he
needs from his salary, and gives away the rest.

“I’ve had enough of money.”

Katai mumbled as he drank the soup from the soba.

“All I need is this beat-down place and my futon, Yoshiko.”

“And your computers”

“Also that.”

Katai chuckled as he said that.

“Anyways, Kunikida, what are those ‘difficult cases’ that you’re struggling with?”

“What? Sorry, but I have to keep it confidential. I can’t tell it to anyone, even my best friend of
ten years.”

“You worry about that now? I even know about the family structure of your clients because you
tell me about them.”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“Ideals are fine and all, but you can’t live your life just on ideals. You have to find a balance
somewhere.”
 Maiple 9

“... What do you know about ideals?”

Kunikida sulked for a while, then uttered in a surrendered tone.

“I’m currently struggling with a case involving an anti-government group. They’ve destroyed
several facilities owned by the government and major corporations already. I’ve been trying to
find their hide-out, but I haven’t been able to grasp anything.”

“Hm, is it the ‘Azure King’ that I hear about so often nowadays?”

“That would be them.” Kunikida nodded.

“They’re an atrocious terrorist.”

A traitor to their country. Hiding their face with cloth from a blue flag. Finding and
arresting them had become a number one priority for maintaining national order.

“Either they or one of their associates possess an exceptional intellect. Because of them, we
haven’t found even a trace of the Azure King, even with the entire police force on the search.
Any attacks via electronics have also been futile. If there’s anyone who could defeat them-”

Kunikida looked at Katai, cutting his words short there.

“Then?”

“... Nothing.”

Kunikida took Katai’s bowl and washed it, leaving it outside for the delivery man to pick it
up. Then he searched around Katai’s bookshelves, picking out a random book to read. There
was silence between them again. Outside the window, fallen leaves shuffled against each other
from the winter wind. Neither Kunikida nor Katai seemed to be feeling anything about the
silence between them. In fact, they haven’t even realized that there is a silence between them.
The end of the year passed slowly, like honey dripping from a pot.

“Wait,” Halfway through the book, Kunikida raised his head.

“I almost forgot. I came here because I had something to tell you.”

“What?”

“I was going to tell you but I got caught up in our usual pace as we were eating the apples.”

“I thought you were only here to share them.”

 Maiple 10

“Well, there’s also that, but actually, the message is from the lady who sent the apples.”

“Hmph,” Katai suddenly put on a troubled expression.

“From that young lady?”

“Yes, that would be her. The apples are just a surplus from her message though- she wants to
express her gratitude for solving her case four weeks ago.”

“It’s been a month huh?” Katai sighed.

“If a fair lady had been more or less saved, then I guess being born with an Ability has some
perks.”

A month ago, a client appeared at the agency. She was like a flower, grown carefully in a
greenhouse her whole life, with no experience with the cruelty of the outside world. She had
graduated from a ladies’ school that year and had started working, but she had been troubled by
a stalker. Whenever she came home, it was clear that someone else had been there right
before her. Her sink was wet, and her dishes were in the wrong places. The room smelled of
cigarettes. When she tried to ride her bicycle in the morning, she found both tires deflated.
Letters disappeared from her mailbox from time to time. Silent telephone messages were often
left in her voicemail.
She called the police and had security tightened around her house. But the peculiar
occurrences did not cease, instead they increased, as if to provoke her and the police. The
problem was that she was the daughter of a famed man of wealth. Because of that her house,
her bicycle parking lot, and her mailbox was protected by a top-grade digital security system.
Without her iris, fingerprint, and her actual key, none of those would open.
Kunikida, who had been tasked with the case, thought of a plan, and put a letter with a tracking
device in the mailbox. If the culprit took it, they could track them down with it. But on the next
day, Kunikida’s letter was torn to bits and thrown to the ground. On top of that, cameras for
capturing the stalker when he snuck into the lady’s room was somehow hacked into, the footage
being swapped. When he found out about that, Kunikida was tired and at his wit’s end.
It was clear that the stalker had experience with electronics.
Unfortunately, no one was adept at handling hackers or electronics in the ADA. Of course,
identifying the stalker could be done before breakfast with Ranpo-san’s God-like observation.
But without physical evidence for more serious crimes, the only thing they could charge the
culprit with was trespassing and property damage, which would only carry light sentences even
if the culprit was found guilty. There was a chance that the culprit, overcome with convoluted
love and hatred, would take their vengeance upon the client.
The client was completely overwhelmed by the stress, damaging her health from the lack of
sleep. But if she were to be hospitalized now, she would be unable to escape the stalker.
With no options left, Kunikida said to her,
 Maiple 11

“He doesn’t usually take up jobs like this but...” and introduced Katai.

Katai immediately got to work. Three hours since he learned the client's name from Kunikida -
before he even met her- he had already located the stalker’s home. Katai had traced the
backdoor which the culprit had used to hack into the client’s security system. From there, he
found out the stalker’s workplace, where he was from, and even his bank account. Finding out
that the stalker worked for a major bank, Kunikida thought,

“A guy like him… he might be embezzling some money.”

Katai thought the same, and opened a backdoor to the stalker’s workplace phone. After
two days, he carefully accounted for the difference between the sum in the account books and
the actual sum sent by the stalker.
The total sum amounted to 18 billion yen. (16 million USD)
Kunikida quickly contacted the prosecutor's office and the police about this, and got
related companies to also make a move, persecuting the stalker in both criminal and civil court.
He was already of old age, so they managed to give him a sentence long enough that by the
time it ended he would be dead already.
The ADA’s image was untarnished, the client was able to return to her normal, ordinary
life, and Katai received thanks for his not-so-hard work. All was well for everyone

--Until now, that is.

Kunikida took out a white envelope from his bag.

“She wants to meet you and express her gratitude.”

“Hwaaaaaaaa???”

Katai rolled in his futon and tumbled out. Looking down at Katai, who hit his head on the corner
of the door and shaking from the pain, Kunikida sighed.

“Well, of course it would be like this...”

“I refuse!”

“You can’t. We’ve already said yes, and reserved a restaurant.”

Kunikida showed Katai his page in the notebook.

“I got some advice from Yosano-Sensei when I chose the place. It’s an European-style cafe
that’s popular for its elegant design. We scheduled for it to be at lunchtime. I suggested dinner
at a restaurant with a nice night view, but she scolded me, saying that ‘Idiot. It’s their first time
meeting.’ I don’t get why though…”
 Maiple 12

Kunikida seemed puzzled, but his words failed to reach Katai, who was in a state of panic.

“G… going outside!” Katai blurted out and rolled around on the floor.

“With… With a lady!” He rolled around again, this time in the opposite direction.

“T… Talking to people!” He changed directions again, and hit his head on the door, in the
same place again.

“It’s no use fretting over it. She really wants to meet you. She said, ‘I have to express my
gratitude to the man who saved my life!’ …… I’ve found out for the first time that highborn ladies
have a harder will than I imagined, once they choose to do something. She even put in a
request to the ADA to set up a date for her. Ranpo-san thought that was funny and said yes to
her.”

“Mmmmmmphhhhh!!!!!” In the corner of the room, Katai wailed.

“And most importantly… This is what is most important Katai. This date is something I want it
to happen, not because of anyone else. Katai…… when was the last time you spoke to anyone,
outside your room?”

“Does…” Katai gulped. “Does talking to the delivery guy not count?”

“Yes.”

“Then…… two months, no three… five months?”

“You idiot. It’s been three years eight months and 25 days.”

Kunikida sighed as he waved his notebook.

“And that was when you went to our senpai’s wedding, when you got cold feet and went home
just because the lady at the reception desk talked to you!”

“That’s because…… she asked me my name……”

“Well, she’s the receptionist! Oh my god… Katai, your lack of human interaction is abysmal.
Are you planning on becoming a hermit at this age?”

“Wait, no Kunikida! It hasn’t been three years! We went out last year, didn’t we?”

“Don’t count that in you idiot! That was when you suddenly said ‘I want to see the ocean’ with
dead eyes so I drove you there! All by our selves! Two guys! To see the ocean in winter!”
 Maiple 13

“Heh, it was mighty cold.”

“Cold? You ended up curling up in your futon in the back seat on your wireless device! I was
the only one who was cold! And it was just us and the sea!”

“The fact that it was just two guys at the sea must have been frustrating for you.”

“Can you at the least sound a bit more sorry!”

Kunikida, after ranting at Katai, sighed and said,

“The point is… Katai you should go meet her. Be involved in society. You say that you’re
happy in your current condition, but what about the future? Are you planning on wither up in
your futon? With an intellect like yours?”

“It’s useless Kunikida. We’ve talked about this before.”

Katai pouted from the edge of the futon, glaring at Kunikida.

“And we’ve already come to a conclusion. My futon is my only world. This apartment is my
universe. I have no concern for the outside world, nor does the outside world care for me. Our
interests match. This is a sort of friendly nonagression treaty. The outside world and I have
chosen not to interfere with each other for our benefits, and exchanged a tight handshake over
it.”
“I know.”

Kunikida rested his chin on his hands.

“But Katai, what was it that was on your screen a while ago? A job worth over ten million yen.
So whether you want it to or not, the world will not leave your intellect and your skills alone. A
nonagression treaty is only a mere fantasy. Spending all your life curled up in a futon is just
unhealthy, unsanitary, and impossible.”

Kunikida crossed his arms and solemnly implored,

“Give up Katai. Give up and interact with society. Go meet her. Besides, don’t you feel
exuberant that a lady as beautiful as her has an interest in you?”

“Of course I am!” Katai burrowed into his futon as he blurted that out.

“That’s why I’m suffering so much! She’ll ridicule me! Look down on me! She’ll say ‘You’re
much less impressive than I thought.’ and sigh! I’m not that much of an oblivious idiot to not
figure that out! I’ve had enough of that!”
 Maiple 14

Katai flailed in his futon like a child.

“Humans learn from experience. Because of that I purposefully activate my learned

helplessness!”

Katai screamed from his futon.

“Without a doubt, her gratitude makes me happy, and the apples were very delicious. But I
won’t go to that lunch date! I won’t meet her! If she must, put up a photo frame in a seat, and
say thanks to that!”

Katai turned away from Kunikida in his futon.

Kunikida sighed deeply.

He knew that this would happen. It had been a long time since Katai decided to settle down as a
social hermit. Dragging him out required extreme horsepower. As proof, they had argued over
topics similar to this many times. Every time, the argument became entangled, going off-topic in
many directions, leading nowhere and without a conclusion. Kunikida completely understood the
difficulty of convincing Katai to go outside, going so far as to placing that difficulty to “An
exception to his ‘ideals’ on the basis of friendship.”

But there was something different in Kunikida today.

“But Katai, she’s not a spiteful demon nor a notorious criminal trying to deceive you. She’s a
pretty, young lady, and her impression of you is skyrocketing. Even I’m kind of freaked out about
it. And besides, that Ranpo-san says that she’s safe for you to meet. There’s absolutely nothing
to worry about.”

Katai was burrowed in his futon in silence.

He had implanted himself in it and refusing to come out. Dragging him out was not an
easy task, and Kunikida knew that from the start.

The first try was important. As long as there was a first try, then Katai could realize that there
are people outside that need him.

Kunikida wanted that first try to be that lady.

“Katai, be involved with the world. Make her your first attempt. Everyone wants you to.”

“Everyone, except for me,” muttered Katai from his futon.

 Maiple 15

“Kunikida, there’s an intentional fallacy in your argument.”

“A fallacy?”

“Exactly,” Katai replied with a sour expression on his face.

“Kunikida, you try so often to get me outside, but how can you prove that ‘interacting with
society’ is the right thing to do?”

“What?”

“What I’m saying is that, isn’t the fact that being involved in society and living among other
people is considered the norm, a twisted and absurd condition? Without any thought on the
existing preconditions for it?”

“Well…… about that,”

“Listen, Kunikida. Life in this world has been, from first place, ‘a struggle to survive’ and a
place where ‘survival of the fittest’ is the law. Don’t they air injured or young cows being hunted
by predators on animal documentaries? That’s what I’m talking about. What the predators do
isn’t evil. They’re just following the rules set out since the beginning of existence. In the natural
world, the stupid and weak ones are the first to go. There’s no sympathy for them.”

“Well, you’re right. That inclination towards survival led to evolution.”

Kunikida nodded.

To explain, when there are two nerds in a room, and one starts the conversation with a “Well, in
the first place…”, that conversation will, indefinitely, be on an overly exaggerated scale. This is
by natural instinct, so there is nothing anyone or anything can do about it.

“And so time passed, and primitive earth was filled with us biped humans. And here humans
came up with an idea, the opposite of ‘take or be taken.’ The fallacy that everyone should ‘be
kind to everyone’. Of course, if everyone was kind to each other, then that would be the same
as being treated kindly by everyone. It’s a wonderful idea. But that doesn’t change the fact that
it’s a fallacy. Because in the end, the outside world is not ‘kind to everyone’.”

Kunikida listened to him silently. There was a serious look on his face.

“The world is still half a ‘take or be taken’ world. The weak are fated to perish, and it is their
fault when they do. The ones who are exploited are in the wrong. Using the weak as a stepping
stone is the way of nature. Quite a lot of people who think so lurk in society. In this case, blindly
believing that everyone should ‘be kind to everyone’ will only get you stepped on by those who
 Maiple 16

‘take’. In the end, the idea that the weak should be saved is failed by logic. On top of that-- Look
at me, I’m absolutely on the side that gets stepped on.”

Katai spread out his arms as he said that. Kunikida had no reply.

“I don’t know how to see through people with malicious intent, nor can I fight back to violence. I
don’t have the wit to say anything back when someone ridicules me. I’m a shabby, pitiful man.
But…… even for a person like me, I have will and knowledge, thus I plan my own strategy to
survive. And this is my strategy”

Katai stuck his arm out of the futon and pointed at it.

“I will run away into this futon, where no one can interfere. Because I fear other people. I fear
this world that commands me to collaborate with others. Fear stems from the unknown. I fear
what possibilities other people may be carrying. I don’t wish to cower from possibilities and
what-ifs.”

“But there are people who are kind.”

“True, people like you and the people at the ADA. Perhaps that lady too. But that isn’t enough
for assurance. You should know that better than everyone else. How many names of people,
who were beaten down just because they were weak, have you written in that notebook of
yours?”

“Well, uh…” It was Kunikida’s turn to be taken aback.

Criminals, terroists, illegal organizations.

Kunikida had listed those who had fallen victim to their unscrupulous, unlawful ways in
his notebook.

“People like me who reject society are called ‘failures’, and ‘outliers from society’ and criticized
because of that. But this a conclusion I’ve come to through a logical survival plan. Kunikida, I
know that you are in a lone fight to fulfill your ideals -- to create a world where everyone can ‘be
kind to everyone’. It’s a noble actl, and I support it. But reality is still far away from that ideal
world. Then, isn’t a world where ‘outliers from society’ can survive fairly normally -- proof that
the world is ‘kind to everyone’?”

Even Kunikida could not argue against that immediately.

Katai was right. Katai refused to go outside because of his own logical consistency. It was
equivalent to his life philosophy. No matter how much he layed out words or arguments, those
could not overturn Katai’s life philosophy. If he stepped in without realizing that, he would never
be able to take back what he did.
 Maiple 17

But,again, today, there was something different in Kunikida.

“But despite that,”

Kunikida opened his mouth after what seemed like a very long time.

“Despite what you just said, you should go outside. That’s how you should be.”

He had no arguments left, no words to use, no colorful eloquence to convince him.

But Kunikida was an idealist. On top of that, he was carrying a much heavier weight this
time.

“Katai, I have a good idea. Why don’t you-”

He had no good ideas. Katai stared at Kunikida with eyes that seemed to say, ‘What
kind of idea could you have besides this?’ Eyes that thought Kunikida didn’t have a plan, but at
the same time anticipating what kind of plan Kunikida did have.

Kunikida uttered his next words without confidence in them.

“-Join the Armed Detective Agency”

Katai had a surprised look on his face.

Kunikida also had a surprised look on his face.
In a dirty, Japanese-style room, two men of good age looked at each other with blank
looks on their faces.

“Wh-” Katai was the first one to speak up.

“Uh, you, I, uh… you’re asking me this now? After all this time?”

“Uh, uh-huh. Now, after all this time.”

Kunikida nodded solemnly. Honestly, he had no idea as to what he would say a second later.

“Sure, I’ve never asked you to join the agency. But with your skills, you can play an active role
in it. Not only that, you’ll have plans to go outside. The agency is a nest for eccentric people, so
you wouldn’t stand out. You’re actually more on the boring side compared to them.”

“…… Am I being praised for that……?”

“Katai, These kinds of things are the result of effort.”

 Maiple 18

Kunikida kept speaking quickly like those migrating fish that die if they stopped
swimming.

“If you get the habit of going to work every day, you’ll have a balanced lifestyle. You’ll look
presentable at the very least. You’ll have the backing of having a proper social position. Plus,
you’ll get a mafia-proof workplace!”

“Are you a host of a shopping TV show or something ……?”

“In addition to that, the place where you’re going to have lunch with the lady is close to the
Agency. You can just drop in on the way home from work. What, just pretend you’re meeting a
client. Then you shouldn’t have any problems. Most importantly,”

There was a momentary pause in Kunikida’s words.

“With your abilities, you can definitely play a major role in the Agency.”

A silence fell between them.

Katai took off his glasses, wiped them on a cloth that was lying there, and put them on again.

“Is that your final conclusion?”

“Yes.”

Katai thought for a while, then he spoke again with his chin resting on his hands.

“But we have a serious problem here Kunikida. I know how the entrance exam for the agency
works, from listening to your complaints.”

“... Shit.”

The Armed Detective Agency has a separate, secret entrance exam from the normal
exam. An experienced member of the agency determines whether the new member has the
mentality fit for being a part of the agency as they work for the agency. The existence of the test
must be hidden from the newest member because of its purpose.

“Well… we could think about it this way.” Kunikida managed.

“If you’re going to join, the one to conduct the test is probably me. And I know that you’re
suitable for the agency. Therefore, you’ll pass the test in advance.”

“I doubt it,” Katai replied, tilting his head.

 Maiple 19

“Besides, you avoid shady things like the plague. Like exam results being influenced by
personal connections.”

“... Shit.”

Katai could easily predict what Kunikida would say from years of knowing him. Katai
lazily gazed at Kunikida, who sat there in silence with a bitter expression on his face. Katai then
smiled wryly and stood up.

“I’m going to the bathroom.”

He said, and walked down the hallway. Kunikida sat there, frozen in the same position.
Katai leaned on the wall in front of the bathroom at the edge of the hallway for five
minutes. Then he opened the door, flushed it, washed his completely clean hands, and walked
back in, yawning.
“God the bathroom’s cold this time of the year.”
Katai snuggled back into his futon.

“So have you changed your mind Kunikida?”

Kunikida was glaring at the wall with his arms crossed.

“No.”

He said so with hard determination in his voice. Five minutes had passed, but Kunikida’s
resolve had not wavered. That meant that it would never waver.

“All right. I’ll join the agency.”

“...... What.” Kunikida looked at him round-eyed.

“What?” Repeated Kunikida.

“Well, don’t act like you’re surprised. You’re the one who suggested it in the first place.”

Katai was calm as he said this.

“You have a point in what you just said. I’ll go outside. Even if it leads me to cold winds, the
gaze of other people, and waking up early in the morning, the things I consider hell…… I can’t
refuse if it’s for you.”

Kunikida looked at Katai, then at the futon, then at the front door, then at his notebook,
and then at Katai again.
 Maiple 20

“Are you, serious?”

“Why are you surprised when you suggested it in the first place?”

“But I, you, no matter how much or how long I told you, I...”

Kunikida twisted his neck in confusion.

“Anyhow, it’s a good thing that you made up your mind. I guess…… I’ll bring the paperwork
that you’ll need before you change your mind. Don’t move from there! I’ll be back in thirty
minutes.”

“I won’t move. I’m really good at that.” Katai chuckled.

As Kunikida left the room, furiously flipping through the pages of his notebook, he
stopped.

“Katai.” He turned, and said in his most serious face,

“Thanks for the help.”

He left as he said that. Katai hazily stared at the door Kunikida had shut. Then, sneering
at himself, said to no one in particular.

“Of course.” Katai smiled to his friend who had just left.

“I can’t be in a place to help you if I don’t do something like this.”

In the far distance, the temple bells of New Year’s Eve started to toll. The night was
growing late.

The world was not just a cruel, harsh place, as long as they had each other. That, the two knew
more than anyone else.

In addition: Katai came out of his room and joined the agency. But his tendency to be a
shut-in remained. He took over the kitchenette at the agency, laid his futon there, and started
living there. Kunikida was deeply embarrassed by this, and the other agency members, half-
fearful but half-amused by this, depended on Katai, the “God of the kitchenette”, when
electronics-related problems occurred. When those problems were solved, they laid out
offerings such as bean-jam buns and tangerines. As a result, Katai gained three kilograms.

In another addition: On his lunch date with the fair lady, Katai fell down due to dyspnea.
He woke up in the hospital, but the person sitting beside him was also the fair lady, therefore his
 Maiple 21

heart stopped and wandered between life and death for three days. They are apparently pen
pals now.