Edogawa Secret Love Handbook - Chapter 1

“Haha, I’m first again!”

Lingling Qianzi stood with arms akimbo, laughing triumphantly at the frustrated yet admiring faces of Genta, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko.

“Why is this happening?! Qianzi sleeps through every class!” Mitsuhiko grabbed his head in exasperation.

Qianzi chuckled to herself smugly.

Why? Of course it was because she wasn’t truly a first-grade elementary student anymore.

The situation was complicated, but to put it simply—she, a high school student, had become trapped in a game where she’d been shrunk down.

The game she’d been playing offered two initial factions to choose from, a character growth RPG.

One faction belonged to the dark side—the protagonist was a killer who needed to uncover their origins while leveling up, gradually learning about their organization, and incidentally raising a child from the Black Organization.

The other faction was the light side—the protagonist was a police officer who would similarly discover their origins while growing up, take down the organization, and also raise a child.

It wasn’t a particularly grindy game, with the key points being—gorgeous art style, diverse scenarios, and combat skills that felt realistic and cool in both handling and sound effects! The kids were all adorable too.

But!

Why was it that after getting trapped in the game, she became six years old, while her two “kids” turned into two not-at-all-cute towering men?!

Waving goodbye to the indignant Junior Detective League, Qianzi also waved at Conan and Haibara who stood aside, not participating in their rivalry. “See you tomorrow.”

Strolling along the cherry blossom path she took home every day, kicking restlessly at the fallen pink petals, Qianzi recalled the panic she’d felt when she first entered the game.

It was truly terrifying!

Because the moment she opened her eyes, she heard someone ordering her to kill.

Qianzi: Who? Me?

Although she still had all the protagonist’s skills from the game, she had no idea how to use them at the time!

The silver-haired man before her immediately looked displeased, and Qianzi had every reason to believe he wanted to put a bullet through her head.

Frantically searching for something to save her life, she desperately equipped a title she’d previously obtained—’I Am Your Father.’

…It actually worked.

Though Gin’s expression remained grim, at least he lowered his gun.

After muddling through a few more days in the organization, just when Qianzi felt Gin might not tolerate her much longer, a turning point came.

It seemed she wasn’t completely on the dark side path—the two identities had overlapped. Before long, she was extracted from the organization by her light-side “kid.”

The exact reason was unclear, but half a year ago, she became a proud first-grade elementary student.

At first, she worried she wouldn’t adjust, but after just two days at school, she realized her concerns were unnecessary.

She adapted perfectly! The kids were all adorable! During lessons, she could hide behind Genta and sneak a nap! School ended before 3 PM! Every day was just eating and playing!

Toru her “kid” wasn’t often home either, giving her plenty of pocket money!

Except for one thing—since she didn’t see her two “kids” often, she couldn’t complete tasks promptly. And their overall stats kept fluctuating unpredictably.

They always seemed to get injured in the middle of the night, frequently jolting Qianzi awake with the system’s alarm. She couldn’t even get angry about being woken up because she had to scramble out of bed immediately to frantically heal them.

……That’s why they should bring her along on missions. After mastering the skills befitting a protagonist, her combat abilities had become formidable.

What touched Qianzi most was their mutual care. Though Toru was the one who disturbed her sleep most often at night, he also worried constantly about her wellbeing. He made her wear a “Little Genius” smartwatch that allowed constant communication and location tracking, terrified of losing a six-year-old child.

Qianzi: Anyone who kidnapped her would be in for a world of hurt.

The watch had its downsides though. Whenever she played late with the Junior Detective League, Toru would always pester her to come home—really killing the fun when she was having a great time. Well, okay, she just wanted to keep playing.

Qianzi had completely abandoned her adult mindset. She was an elementary student now! She’d fight anyone who said otherwise!

As these thoughts crossed her mind, she arrived at the familiar front door. Pushing it open, she called out, “I’m home!”

To her surprise, an unexpected figure stood inside. Qianzi immediately lunged to hug his leg, shouting excitedly, “Toru-chan! I missed you so much!”

Wow, his last visit home had been half a month ago.

She desperately missed his cooking—she’d already tried every bento from nearby convenience stores.

Amuro Toru caught her steadily. “How strange. Just yesterday someone said they hated Toru the most… I wonder who that was.”

Qianzi, who’d thrown a tantrum last night after three consecutive calls interrupting her playtime with the Junior Detective League: “……”

Blinking guiltily, she tried to gaslight her guardian: “Who could that be? I have no idea.” Then she awkwardly changed the subject: “We got our test results today! I came in first place!”

Not a shred of shame about a high schooler competing with elementary students.

Let someone try to expose her.

Amuro pretended to be fooled, accepting her test scores. His violet-gray eyes flashed with pride at the perfect marks, though a hint of sadness quickly followed.

As expected from someone trained by the Organization…

But all emotions were fleeting, reined in too quickly for Qianzi standing beside him to notice.

“Then we should celebrate tonight with a special dinner,” Amuro encouraged. He desperately wanted Qianzi to experience an ordinary, happy life.

Clearly, studying like a normal elementary student was part of that.

At least she didn’t have to learn how to disassemble a gun in one second, memorize over a hundred bomb types, or quickly dislocate someone’s jaw.

From the moment he first saw Qianzi, Amuro had vowed to protect her.

If that person were here… he would have done the same.

“I want shrimp!” Qianzi raised her hand to order, interrupting Amuro’s reminiscence.

He smiled in agreement: “Of course.”

Watching Amuro’s busy back in the kitchen, Qianzi swung her legs from her chair.

In the nearly year since arriving in this world, Qianzi had fully mastered all the “protagonist” skills.

It was just ordinary actions like firing a gun, climbing through windows, scaling walls, sniping, or eavesdropping—nothing beyond normal skills.

The aroma of food wafted from the kitchen, and Qianzi swallowed her saliva while thinking about how she would deal with Gin’s side two days later.

She still had to return to the organization from time to time.

Gin had been somewhat aloof as a child, but as he grew up, he turned into a weirdo—barely speaking, just staring at her with that intense gaze.

Qanzi could only play the obedient card to brush it off… Was there anyone who wouldn’t feel guilty under Gin’s death stare?

Well, someone like Qianzi, who was already full of flaws, definitely would.

Though she didn’t know why Amuro Tooru, a guy from the “good side,” was currently in the organization, she trusted him completely. So:

“Tō-chan—I’m so hungry!”

Whining like this was perfectly fine.

Amuro, who was managing three pots at once: “……Almost done, just wait a little longer.”