I was the fourth disaster in Yokohama and was loved by everyone.

Who would have thought that the reason your relatives and friends broke down a wall early in the morning was because of this?

However... there are indeed some situations that should be prevented from happening in the first place.

Rimbaud first calmed Verlaine down with a few words, then pulled Zhu Yu, who was quietly going through the plot, to look her over from left to right, and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that she hadn't been hurt by the flying stones.

Rimbaud's hand slid off Zhu Yu's shoulder and gently pinched the back of her neck, with just the right amount of pressure, like disciplining a disobedient cat.

"Please let me explain." His voice remained gentle, yet carried an undeniable firmness.

He then went on to explain several points in detail, advising her that even the closest male friends should not sleep together.

"What about same-sex friends?" Zhu Yu asked.

Actually, she wasn't impatient at all after being lectured by Rimbaud; on the contrary, she found it quite novel—hey, being taught common sense by an NPC in a game, what a nice detail in game design!

Upon hearing this, Rimbaud paused for a moment, then smiled gently.

"Of course... that won't work either."

In Rimbaud's opinion, [Kuzi] really lacked common sense about human society.

I do whatever comes to mind, focusing on the results and not caring about the process.

As long as she achieves her goal, that's fine.

I guess the reason I slept with Edogawa-kun this time was because he fell asleep and I didn't want the hassle of taking him back to his room, so I just slept with him.

In her opinion, there's nothing wrong with two people sleeping together; it's just to achieve the effect of "rest," so why care so much?

But... humans are creatures that can take an inch and then a mile.

This time it was Mr. Edogawa, a trustworthy person, so it's alright. But what if we encounter someone with ill intentions next time?

To prevent [Kuzi] from being scammed, it's best to take a "one-size-fits-all" approach.

Rimbaud lowered his eyes, took Zhu Yu's hand and walked towards the restaurant, while Verlaine walked on Zhu Yu's other side, silently following behind.

*

Before the group even entered the restaurant, they could hear mournful calls coming from inside—

"Karl~ Where are you, Karl!"

"Karl, come out quickly!"

A man wearing a long black cloak was seen bending over, searching for something. His pale cheeks were flushed with anxiety, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. A few withered leaves clung to his messy, slightly curly black hair, as if he had just returned from searching the garden outside.

Zhu Yu stared at the bangs covering his eyes and remarked that this NPC's design was truly unique.

If a player's bangs were that long, they probably wouldn't be able to see where they're going.

But it's fine when it's applied to NPCs, it's part of their character design (definitely).

The Fitzgerald family had already arrived at the restaurant.

Fitzgerald directed his bodyguards to search for Carl on the outskirts, while Zelda asked the maid to search the house. Isabel herself searched the dining room, calling out Carl's name as she went.

Noticing their arrival, Fitzgerald was about to make the usual polite gestures as a host and ask how they had slept the night before when his gaze fell on a certain furry creature that was obediently still in Zhu Yu's arms.

Fitzgerald glanced at the raccoon, then at Hill who was frantically searching for it, and fell into deep thought: "..."

"Karl!"

Edgar Allan Poe, a socially awkward man who always avoided noisy people and parties, overcame his psychological barriers and stepped out of his room to find his pet raccoon, Carl, who had disappeared after he woke up, just to bring his beloved pet back to his arms.

Based on the marks in the room, Carl opened the door and slipped out himself.

Although it wasn't stolen, he was worried that Carl might encounter some bad people on the road who might harm small animals.

He was worried, he was anxious.

He looked up—

Carl was in the arms of a girl he didn't know, staring straight at him.

It's Karl!

"Karl!" Overjoyed at finding his lost child, he broke through his usual social boundaries and rushed to a spot a few steps away from Karl, stretching out his hands to signal Karl to jump into his arms.

Unfortunately, Karl glanced at him, then hopped up onto the girl's sleeve with his little paws and nestled on her shoulder, remaining motionless.

“Karl…” He froze visibly, his face ashen.

Zhu Yu didn't understand why this new NPC rushed up and shouted "Karl" at her beloved pet #2.

You can't...

"No, its name is Gray Gray." Zhu Yu corrected the NPC's incorrect name, her eyes showing vigilance.

Just now, she came up with a name for her beloved pet No. 2, following the traditional method of "naming by color"—Grey.

Please do not name the player's pet without permission.

This is not good.

Chapter 170 Danger!

“Ah…is that so?” Po said with difficulty.

Seeing the girl's confident expression, Po began to wonder if he had mistaken the raccoon for someone else.

But... this raccoon looks exactly like Karl, with its size and expression!

"Wait, wait..." His words caught in his throat, he said haltingly, mustering his courage, "This thing on you... is my raccoon... named Karl."

"We've been raising them for a long time."

Zhu Yu: ???

Zhu Yu lifted the raccoon on her shoulder with a puzzled look and examined it carefully.

The name box above his head clearly displayed—【Karl (Grey)】.

The fact that the player's chosen name appears in parentheses indicates that this is not their real name. Therefore, it can be concluded that the player's pet #2 is probably, possibly, or perhaps—actually the NPC in front of them.

Dangerous!

The former owner of Pet No. 2 has come looking for them.

Zhu Yu really wanted to generously throw five million at this NPC and tell him, "Here's five million. Stay away from my Grey Grey. Don't contact me again."

Unfortunately... she couldn't bear to part with it (looking up at the sky).

She casually put the raccoon back on her shoulder, then abruptly ended the conversation, plopping down in a chair at the dining table.

Skip this part!

The people present all knew what was going on, so they all took their seats to see how the matter would develop.

Breakfast was served one after another at the butler's instruction, and Ranpo arrived at that moment.

The moment he stepped into the restaurant, his gaze swept across the entire space like a dragonfly skimming the water, and his steps paused subtly for half a second.

Then, he cheerfully plopped down in the only empty seat, completely ignoring the tense atmosphere on the table, and grabbed the nearest milk cup and took a big gulp.

The Fitzgerald family values ​​communication among family members and engages in appropriate conversations at the dinner table. Therefore, even when guests are present, Fitzgerald does not deliberately remain silent and successfully enlivens the atmosphere at the table with just a few words.

Even Po, who was initially very uncomfortable with the presence of strangers, relaxed and absentmindedly ate his breakfast while glaring resentfully at the heartless Carl.

Perhaps unable to bear the owner's intense gaze any longer, as everyone was heading to the living room after breakfast, Carl kicked off with his hind legs and crashed into Po's arms like a small cannonball.

The impact nearly knocked Poe to the ground, but fortunately he had been keeping an eye on the raccoon's movements and wasn't caught off guard.

After taking a few steps back, Poe hugged Carl, who was finally no longer pretending not to recognize his owner, and almost burst into tears of joy.

"Ugh~ Karl..."

He was happy, but Zhu Yu was shocked.

My beloved is rebellious, and has broken my heart.

Zhu Yu began to consider the possibility of eliminating the NPC and reclaiming Huihui.

"This raccoon is different from your cat," Ranpo said, leaning closer and offering a friendly reminder. "If you raise it the way you do, [Kuzi], it'll easily die."

Her method of raising animals?

Zhu Yu recalled how she raised Mimi.

The food was all taken from her backpack, so whatever she ate, Mimi ate too. As for where to stay, don't pets automatically appear in the player's residence? She didn't care about Mimi's whereabouts at night; it was a pleasant surprise if she came, and not surprising if she didn't.

Of course, she is a responsible owner and occasionally takes Mimi to fight to improve Mimi's level.

Currently, Mimi, a single cat, can easily take on five adult men.

After briefly explaining how she raises Mimi, Zhu Yu confidently patted her chest and declared that she would definitely raise Huihui into "the raccoon among raccoons" and make her a majestic "King of Raccoons".

Poe, who had been eavesdropping quietly, was startled and clung tightly to Carl, his eyes filled with terror.

Carl is just a raccoon! How could a raccoon possibly take on five adult men single-handedly?

This horrible guy is not only terrifying himself, but even his pet is terrifying... Ugh, Karl~

Po was caught in a bleak storm on one side, and Luanbu's next words successfully made Zhu Yu feel guilty and shift his gaze.

"You don't believe what the famous detective says?" Ranpo narrowed his eyes dangerously as he looked back, as if he would cause a scene if Zhu Yu said "yes".

hiss--

You really can't completely disbelieve what Ranpo, the NPC, says.

Ranpo and Dazai are among the few NPCs for whom she doesn't need to explain anything to them; they understand what she's doing on their own.

They can even predict her actions.

Who knows, the player made a promise to meet the two the next day, but forgot. While randomly exploring the map, the sudden appearance of NPCs along the way created a chilling atmosphere—especially when the two mentioned whether the player had forgotten their promise...

Ranpo will angrily make her promise that it won't happen again, while Dazai will smile maliciously and say something that will make the player break out in a cold sweat.

Even more frightening is that after completing the incident of accidentally standing up Dazai, the number of paperwork tasks that players hate the most will surge.

(crying loudly)

To test whether this phenomenon was accidental or inevitable, she tried reloading her save several times and choosing a different direction to go, but she still ran into them!

Other NPCs don't do this.

"Are you challenging the famous detective again? The famous detective won't lose! He's found you."

"Hmm... Are you deliberately hiding to see if I can find you? You naughty KOKO-chan, you can't escape~"

How...how do they even know what the players are thinking...?

Highly intelligent NPCs are terrifying.

Zhu Yu became obedient and dared not underestimate the words spoken by these two.

Now, Ranpo has offered words of dissuasion again, and Zhu Yu stares at the raccoon, lost in thought.

Your level is low; the NPCs present are probably only strong enough to defeat Isabel, so you're quite weak. Because you're weak, you might accidentally bump into something and your health bar will drop to zero, so you have to be very careful...

After thinking it over, she realized she came here to play games, not to support some kind of ancestor.

My desire to raise a raccoon instantly faded.

"Besides... raising this raccoon is expensive~" Ranpo added casually, "Anyway, you just like its appearance, so letting that Sakae-kun keep it won't stop you from going to see it."

After a smooth and persuasive conversation, Zhu Yu was successfully convinced.

With a solemn expression, she stroked the raccoon's head: "Grey, this is the last time I'll call you by that name."

"From now on, you are Karl." Sorry, Karl, players should just stick with Mimi.

You're terrible.

His name was originally Karl!

Poe internally refuted this, his expression numb.

He had known Fitzgerald for a long time and had frequent contact with the Fitzgerald family.

After Fitzgerald learned that he was also participating in the "detective competition," he invited him to stay at the mountain villa.

The hotel where the contestants were staying was bustling with people, which he didn't particularly like, so he agreed.