The ADA headquarters was alive with laughter and clinking glasses, the evening sun casting a golden hue through the tall windows. Balloons bobbed near the ceiling, and a long table was set up with an elaborate spread of desserts—delicate tarts, colorful macarons, frosted cakes, and a chocolate fountain in the center. The celebration had been Fukuzawa’s idea—a rare party to recognize the agency’s recent victory. No one questioned the last-minute catering company, vouched for by a forged recommendation. Most of the members had already indulged freely.

Atsushi was laughing at something Kenji said, both of them with frosting on their faces. Naomi and Tanizaki were seated close, nibbling on matching cupcakes. Even Yosano had allowed herself a glass of champagne and a strawberry tart. Ranpo, however, had eaten half the table’s worth of desserts by himself and now sat back in a chair, swaying slightly with unfocused eyes. Dazai, reclining lazily on a couch nearby, had helped himself to a few macarons, his eyelids growing heavier. The first sign that something was wrong was Kunikida slowing mid-sentence, blinking slowly as if forgetting what he’d just been saying.

Kunikida: blinking, voice oddly calm “Was I… making a point?”

Yosano paused, turning toward him slowly, eyes unfocused. Naomi began to giggle uncontrollably, her voice airy and light. Atsushi was swaying, a dazed smile on his face, murmuring something about the stars being inside the room. Dazai sat up straighter now, blinking hard, the haze creeping in too slowly for panic but fast enough to concern him.

Dazai: low, sharp despite the fog creeping into his mind “Wait… this isn’t alcohol. Something’s wrong.”

A flicker of movement caught his eye. One of the caterers—now retreating quietly out the side door. That’s when it clicked.

Dazai: quietly, to himself “They drugged the desserts…”