Kunikida adjusted his glasses as he flipped through his notebook, the pages filled with precise schedules and personal vows. The sounds of Yokohama’s busy streets faded as he focused, trying to refine his next plan for the Agency.

“I knew I’d find you here,” a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

Kunikida looked up to see Sasaki Nobuko standing near the park bench, her arms crossed and a knowing smile on her face. Her sharp eyes studied him, as if reading every thought behind his composed expression.

“You’re always buried in that notebook,” she teased, sitting beside him. “Are you planning world peace in there?”

Kunikida huffed. “If only the world followed logic and order, we wouldn’t need organizations like the Armed Detective Agency.”

Sasaki chuckled. “You’re still the same—so strict about your ideals.” She leaned forward slightly, watching his hands tighten around the notebook. “But ideals alone won’t change the world, Kunikida-kun.”

He turned to her, eyes steady. “And yet, without them, we would have nothing to strive for.”

A brief silence stretched between them.

She reached out, lightly tapping the cover of his notebook. “Just don’t forget to leave space for the unexpected. Not everything fits in a schedule.”

Kunikida exhaled through his nose, his lips curving into the smallest hint of a smile. “You sound just like Dazai.”

Sasaki laughed. “Then I must be making a good point.”

For once, Kunikida didn’t have a rebuttal. He simply closed his notebook, letting the conversation linger like an unwritten chapter in his life.