In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

The award ceremony for the Edogawa Rampo Award has officially begun.

Everyone perked up, and Gen Chiya temporarily stopped thinking about Toka's strange reaction that morning.

On the television screen, a host first appeared. Similar to a regular program, he greeted the audience, thanked all parties, judges, sponsors, etc., and then began to talk about the history of the Edogawa Rampo Award and its status as the uncrowned king of mystery literature.

Blah blah blah, blah blah blah...

"...How much longer is he going to talk? Hurry up and announce the official results! Which book won the award?"

With ten minutes already gone, Rikka couldn't help but express the same helpless complaint as most of the other comments.

This is indeed quite grueling.

Now that the results are in, instead of getting to the point, the organizers are talking about irrelevant topics, which is making us very anxious while we wait.

"Be a little patient. There's only one chance a year to promote to the public like this, so it's understandable."

Gen Chiya tried to comfort her, and Rikka nodded helplessly.

Finally, after a few minutes, the host bent down, indicating that the opening remarks were over.

Upon seeing this, everyone in the living room unconsciously held their breath and focused their attention.

To everyone's surprise, he stood up again, took the microphone, and said, "Next, please welcome the president of the Japan Mystery Writers Association to speak to us..."

Rikka's eyes, which had just opened wide, drooped again. She sighed softly and said, "Looks like we'll be waiting for a while. I'm going to the restroom."

Just as she had expected, the president of the Reasoning Association said this, and then people thanked each other, and another ten minutes or so passed.

The number of viewers in the live stream has now grown to over 200,000.

There is indeed a reason why the award ceremony was arranged in this way.

Although the contestants themselves were annoyed by this suspenseful and drawn-out behavior, it was indeed effective in attracting attention.

And so, it came to 9:30, and finally, we began to get down to business—

The camera then pans to Edogawa Ranpo's judging committee, where members stand up one after another to announce and comment on works that, while not winning awards this year, can still be considered masterpieces.

The Mystery of the Circus Clown

Three manuscripts

The butterflies will eventually fall to the ground.

A withered, towering tree

【…】

The judges called out the name of each work.

The four girls in the living room felt a chill run down their spines.

They felt both relieved and worried.

Fortunately, because Qianye's novel has not yet been named, it still has a chance to win this year's Rampo Award.

The worry is that the current situation is crystal clear: it's all or nothing!

They either soar straight into the sky or plunge into the mud; they are two completely opposite extremes.

Finally, an elderly man with glasses and a refined demeanor stood up from his seat. The sign in front of him read "Shin Kunitake".

"Next, on behalf of the judging committee, I will announce the winner of this year's Edogawa Rampo Award as—"

His voice was slow, but each word was clear and pronounced heavily.

Rikka slowed her breathing and stood up.

Saeko stopped touching the bird and stared intently at the television screen.

Eriri unconsciously leaned forward and clasped her hands together at her chest.

Shiyu gently bit her thumbnail, her beautiful legs, encased in black stockings, swaying slightly.

At that moment, everyone subconsciously made their instinctive reactions in a tense situation.

Even Yuan Qianye couldn't help but change from leaning against the sofa to straightening his back.

"—The winning entry is: [The Astrological Murder Mystery]!"

As the winning entries were announced on the television, enthusiastic applause erupted in the audience.

At this moment, however, the living room of the Yuan family was completely silent.

After a few seconds, everyone else turned their attention to Yuan Qianye.

"You did it...you did it...ahhhhhh! Chiyo, you really won the award! The Edogawa Ranpo Award!"

Rikka got excited instantly and jumped over right in front of everyone else.

She had her older brother reach out and catch her, giving her a tight hug.

"Very good……"

Everyone felt a sense of relief.

Even Utaha and Eriri, who have always been at odds, looked at each other with a sense of harmony as Rikka laughed and shouted with excitement. All their grudges and dislikes vanished at that moment.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On the other side of the city.

Cafe.

Yukino and Touka sat side by side at the table, their heads close together.

Yang Nai's large-screen phone was placed on the table, and each of them wore a wireless earphone.

On the phone screen, the judges announced the winning work of the Edogawa Rampo Award.

Shihua's eyes flickered, as if a beautiful firework had suddenly bloomed within them. Coupled with her warm, spring-sun-like smile, even a slight glimpse of her beauty was enough to captivate a city.

She was so immersed in the joy of winning the award that it took her a while before she realized that her friend was staring at her with a rather amused look.

Shihua belatedly composed herself, coughed lightly, took off her headphones, and handed them back to her friend.

Yang Nai chuckled as she accepted the prize: "That's wonderful. Chiyo really did it. As far as I know, the Edogawa Rampo Award has been held for so many years, and the youngest winner so far is already twenty-three years old. Chiyo is so young this year. She's truly unprecedented and has made history."

Toka does not intend to deny this: "Chiya has always been like this; he has always been excellent."

"We have to celebrate with him properly when we get back. Winning this mystery novel award is much harder than winning the Jade Dragon Flag competition. You know, in this competition, his opponents were all adults of different ages." Yang Nai said this while keeping a close eye on Toka's facial expressions.

Shihua stirred her coffee: "No need, he has many friends, someone will celebrate for him."

Yang Nai gently poked her shoulder: "You said yourself that we're friends. The value of family can't be replaced by friends, right?"

"As for the celebration, Mom can arrange it later. I don't need to think about it too much." Shihua shook her head, clearly not wanting to discuss the matter any further.

Seeing this, Yang decided to stop while he was ahead.

However, she brought up the very topic they had discussed during their last special meeting: "Shihua, you said before that you had someone you liked, but you stopped talking to them halfway through because your mother sent you a message asking you to come home. You happen to have time this time, so could you tell me what happened in detail?"

Shihua remained calm and showed no weakness, replying lightly, "I've never talked to you about this topic before. The last time I talked to you was about my friend. She didn't understand what love was, nor was she sure if she had fallen for someone, so she asked me. But I don't have any experience in this area either, so I just chatted with you for a bit, that's all."

Okay, whatever you say goes.

"I didn't know you had such a good friend besides me, Toka, that you could discuss such private topics with each other."

"You're underestimating me. Everyone has a few friends."

"It was just a casual remark, don't be angry. Whether you really like someone or not is easy to figure out. Just date for a while and see how it goes. If it feels right, then continue. If it doesn't, then just break up cleanly." Yang Nai said this seemingly unintentionally.

Toka glanced at Yono, and seeing nothing amiss on her friend's face, she felt a little relieved: "You make it sound so easy. My friend's situation is complicated. If we do what you say, it will definitely cause a lot of trouble in the end."

"Troublesome matters?"

"Yes, estrangement, breakdown, even mutual hatred, and we can never go back to the relationship we had before," Toka said softly.

Yang sighed, "You seem to know quite a lot about... your friend's situation."

Shihua took a deep breath and shrugged calmly: "Otherwise, friends understand each other, that's the foundation, isn't it?"

"I'm a little jealous. Toka has such a close friend she can talk to about anything. Even though Toka, you've never taken the initiative to talk to me about this kind of thing."

"If it doesn't exist and I'm not interested in it, then there's no need to talk about it. Just like you, Yang Nai, you have so many suitors, but I've never seen you show any interest in dating anyone, and you've never talked to me about this kind of thing either."

“Because there really isn’t one,” Yang Nai blurted out.

Toka looked at her helplessly: "Yono, you and Yukino are sisters, but your personalities are completely different."

"Ok?"

"During the New Year period this year, you were clearly confessed to by someone who came to your door, weren't you?"

Yang couldn't help but smile.

It did happen during the New Year.

A narcissistic male classmate from the same school somehow got her home address and came to her house with gifts and flowers to wish her a Happy New Year, while also confessing his feelings for her.

My dad had a cold face the whole time, while my mom managed to maintain a smile out of politeness. In the end, for someone who didn't realize he was only causing trouble for others, she coldly and ruthlessly told him to leave.

"You heard it from Yukino?"

Shihua shook her head: "I heard it from Qianye."

“Hey, my little sister really tells Chiyo everything. But it’s no wonder, they’re friends, they’re close, and they’ve been inseparable since childhood. I wouldn’t be surprised if either of them confessed first, or even if they got married right after graduating high school.” Yang Nai rested her chin on her hands.

Shika silently drank her coffee without saying a word.

Yang looked at Toka and for a moment revealed a scrutinizing gaze that seemed to see through his friend's heart, but it vanished in an instant.

She maintained her usual nonchalant, lazy smile: "Shihua, I have a suggestion for your friend. Since you can't make up your mind to be together, and you're hesitant and full of worries, why not be more open-minded and choose to give up, just like me?"

"Look further ahead. There are so many good men in the world. When you go to university and enter the workforce, you'll definitely have even better choices. Mature, sensitive, and gentlemanly men are far better than these immature kids we encounter now."

Shihua looked out the window, her gaze unfocused, and it was unclear whether she had heard anything. She simply nodded slightly and said, "Thank you for your suggestion. I will pass it on to her next time we meet."

At this moment, the two men who had been staring at them for a long time finally got up and came over.

Before they could even speak, Yang Nai grabbed Toka's shoulder and pressed herself against her, her face beaming with a smile, striking first.

"Sorry, my darling and I are on a date and don't want to be disturbed~"

The two men's expressions shifted, and they left without saying anything, their faces showing embarrassment.

"Yang Nai..."