Part 3

Episode 32

"Thank you so much!"
"It's no trouble at all!"
Louisa Alcott, the Guild's strategist, was currently engaged in a bowing match with Junko Furuta, the ADA's opposite of a strategist.
The two spent nearly five minutes just thanking and apologising to each other, and it would have gone on for even longer, if Doppo and Osamu hadn't just walked in on them.

"Watcha' girls doing?" Osamu was the first to ask as he sat down in his chair and put his feet up on his desk.
"Hey, Furuta, isn't this woman a member of the Guild? What is she doing here?" Doppo sat down by his own desk.

"Poe-san used to be with the Guild, but he visits us all the time, I didn't think it would be a problem." Junko stopped the excessive display of politeness to look at Doppo, a little surprised by what sounded to her like his disapproval.
"It's not a problem, really, but what would a Guild member want with us?" he gave her a confidently apathetic look, reassuring her that he really had no objection to the stranger's presence.

"Ahh, I-I'm really s-sorry, I needed help s-solving a mystery, a-and I didn't know where else to go – " Louisa tried to keep her composure and failed miserably, she didn't actually mentally prepare herself to having to face three people at once.
"It's no big deal," Junko sensed her new friend's distress and jumped in to save her, "she just needed help with a murder case, and I – "
"Never turn down a case." Osamu and Doppo both said in unison with exasperated looks on their faces, "we know, we know."

"But this is such a huge help for us, Furuta-san, I don't know how to repay you..." Louisa then resumed her earlier stream of compliments and gratitude, and Junko went back to insisting that she's always happy to help and it was no trouble at all, and they once again entered an impossible loop that would have gone forever had Osamu not put a stop to it.

"Didn't the Guild dissolve after the Moby Dick crashed?" he tilted his head.
"W-well, e-everyone left, b-but, I wanted to stay with Francis-sama..." Louisa looked down at her feet, nervous and embarrassed.
"Wait, I thought that guy with the grape vines started rallying up members," Doppo tried to recall the exact details of the report he got from the police on the matter, but couldn't come up with anything more, "isn't he the new leader now? Or do you work separately?"
"So are there TWO guilds now?!" Osamu cried out, "I don't want to have to fight TWO guilds, having just one was already a pain!"

"I-I hope we never have to fight!" Louisa blurted out with the most confidence she could muster, "after all the help I got, I am forever in your debt! If you ever need our assistance with anything, I'll do whatever I can to lend you a hand!"

"Good job, Junko," Osamu snorted, "you signed a peace treaty with an enemy organisation that only has two members." he slow-clapped condescendingly.
"I'm not a strategist, Osamu-san," Junko shook her head with a soft smile, "I'm a detective."
"Still, if you're going out of your way to neutralise a potential threat, couldn't you have gone with an enemy organisation with just a little more strategic value?"
"Again, detective, not a strategist."

After a few final nervous and barely coherent mumbles Louisa gave the two males one last bow before Junko walked her out.

"Best regards to your boss!" Junko waved at Louisa as she left, then closed the door and mentally patted herself on the back for a job well done.

"You shouldn't let people take advantage of you, sweetheart~" Osamu mused, his eyes followed her as she returned to her seat.
"Like you're one to talk," Doppo couldn't resist hissing at him, "you're the one taking advantage of Furuta the most."
"In terms of sheer numbers, I believe senpai abuses his superiority over me significantly more." Junko commented.
"What? You're keeping score?" Osamu put his feet down and leaned forward, "how far behind am I?"
"He does have a 9 years advantage on you, it's not really a fair comparison."
"I bet I can beat him if I just work harder!"
"Work harder at taking advantage of Furuta?" Doppo hissed again, which did nothing to wipe the stupid look of determination off his partner's face.
"Of course!" Osamu cheered, "what kind of a lover would I be, if I didn't have a virtual monopoly on my beloved's time and attention?"
"Again, in terms of sheer numbers, you don't really have a chance to catch up with senpai." Junko clarified once more.
"Well, if I can't beat him at quantity, I bet I can beat him in quality!" Osamu jumped out of his chair with a mischievous grin, "FOR GLORY AND HONOUR!" he declared and proceeded to run over to Junko's seat, pick her up bridal style and nuzzle her neck affectionately while giggling.
Aside from flailing her feet a little bit and letting out a couple of panicked whimpers, she did nothing to resist him.

Doppo tried telling Osamu to let the poor girl down before she faints, and when Osamu stuck his tongue out and scampered away to sit on the couch with Junko still in his possession, Doppo expressed his urge to bash his head in with a lawnmower.

"Where are you gonna get a lawnmower, Kunikida-kun?" Osamu mocked, which Doppo kind of expected.
"...and where would you even put it?" Junko asked quietly, which Doppo kind of didn't expect.