Hiiragi Eiji finished distributing all the cakes with a heavy heart; even while eating his own, he still hadn’t recovered.
[Dazai Osamu: Favorability 70] [Nakahara Chuuya: Favorability 100]
He found it truly hard to understand why both Dazai Osamu and Chuuya had simultaneously changed their impressions of him.
…Dazai Osamu aside, Hiiragi Eiji was already used to his favorability fluctuating slightly.
The problem was Chuuya. His favorability was clearly already maxed out; it was one thing that the “bond title” didn’t trigger, but how did his impression of him even develop in a negative direction?!
Also thinking about something similar was Nakahara Chuuya.
The red-haired youth carefully replayed everything he had done during this period. The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.
He should never have been an impulsive person, but ever since Eiji appeared, he had become abnormal. Whether it was using the alcohol to invite the other party to be his subordinate, or openly admitting this in front of Dazai Osamu.
…It wasn’t like he didn’t have other friends, but they just didn’t give him the same feeling that Eiji did.
Noticing that the entire auditorium had entered the childish balloon-stomping segment, Chuuya finally came back to his senses. He still wanted to invite Eiji to soak in the hot springs; this was a place he had specifically chosen, and the hot springs were naturally tested by him personally.
However, when Chuuya saw the light-haired youth leaning against the dining table eating cake, he suddenly hesitated.
He didn’t know what principle or what mood it was, but as soon as he thought about soaking in the hot springs with Eiji, he felt like his feet weighed a thousand pounds. He couldn’t take a step at all, and even his heartbeat was accelerating.
He could even feel the temperature gradually climbing on his cheeks.
Wait! This feeling is definitely very wrong, right!
Chuuya stood in place and took a deep breath. He intuitively realized that as long as he walked over to invite Eiji now, then this mood—which troubled him and which he could never quite get a grasp on—would be solved.
—As long as he walked over right now.
As Chuuya walked slowly, step by step, toward Hiiragi Eiji, Dazai Osamu, who had been observing the two, also made a move.
In this noisy auditorium, while everyone was still immersed in the joy of the trip, a very abrupt rustling sound of paper—one that made all the administrative staff present feel their scalps go numb—rang out.
Chuuya also keenly captured this ominous sound. As soon as he turned his head, he met Dazai Osamu’s pair of half-smiling auburn eyes. In his hand, it was no longer a plate holding cake, but a stack… of thick task reports.
Dazai Osamu looked at Chuuya with a rather regretful expression. Amidst everyone’s desperate or angry expressions, he leisurely announced a piece of bad news.
“I have a mission here sent by the Boss, which happens to be in Hokkaido as well. It needs us to complete it while on this trip.” He casually lowered the documents he was holding high and smiled slightly at everyone: “However, the order is work first, then hot springs, okay?”
He looked pointedly at Chuuya, whose expression had already started to become ferocious and uncontrollable. “So, we had better finish this mission quickly; otherwise, I’m afraid we won’t be able to make the plan of soaking in the hot springs.”
Chuuya stood in place and took a deep breath. He tried his best to endure, but more than ten seconds passed, and he still felt a buzzing in his head.
“Da—zai—!”
Beyond endurance, no need to endure.
The auditorium immediately fell into chaos.
“…That guy did it on purpose; he was definitely doing it on purpose!” Until the moment he was preparing to head to the mission location with Hiiragi Eiji, Chuuya was still simmering with leftover rage.
They had just come out of the hotel. Because he had smashed several tables earlier, Chuuya even had to go find the manager to compensate for the hotel’s losses.
It was also at this time that Dazai Osamu, as the person in charge of this mission, divided everyone into groups.
Combat personnel naturally had to go into the field, and some administrative staff with no combat capability, such as Sakaguchi Ango, had no way to stay in the hotel to enjoy themselves; they also had to obediently act as logistical personnel, providing assistance to the field teams at all times.
The atmosphere, which had originally been full of joy, instantly became gloomy under Dazai Osamu’s ruthless manipulation.
Everyone who moved out of the hotel seemed to have lost their souls and colors, becoming walking, human-shaped objects.
Hiiragi Eiji carefully observed the expressions on everyone’s faces and couldn’t help but sigh heavily.
After messing up like this, how many people did Dazai Osamu make enemies with…
He simply couldn’t think about it in detail.
It seems business management studies will have to be arranged for this guy as well.
Hiiragi Eiji raised his hand and patted Chuuya’s back, handing him the documents he had been holding for him. “Your copy.”
Although their tasks were in the same direction, their final destinations were different; Chuuya had to go to a further mission point.
…It was likely the furthest one among all the mission points. It was hard to say whether his rebellious stinky kid hid some selfish motives in there.
Chuuya instantly revealed an embarrassed expression. He had just been busy chasing after Dazai Osamu to beat him up and completely forgot about this mission document, “…Um, yeah, thanks.”
But strangely, all of a sudden, his mood improved.
He looked at Hiiragi Eiji’s attire; it was a very thick parka, without even missing a hat and scarf, and the whole person was wrapped up like a large, fuzzy ball.
“Eiji, how are you planning to get there?” Chuuya asked.
Hiiragi Eiji thought for a moment and said: “Our group is probably driving.” He looked at Chuuya, who had suddenly fallen silent, and then glanced at the motorcycle parked in the parking lot. He suddenly understood Chuuya’s thoughts.
Therefore, he exhaled a puff of white breath as if inadvertently and looked at the distant mountains. “However, the snow scenery here is so beautiful. If we could go by motorcycle, it seems it would also be quite good.”
Chuuya immediately raised his head. “I’ll take you.” The gloomy mood caused by all sorts of plans being disrupted instantly turned from cloudy to sunny.
Hiiragi Eiji immediately smiled, his brows and eyes curving. “Alright.”
Different from the atmosphere on Hiiragi Eiji and Chuuya’s side, Oda Sakunosuke, the only one present who had no reaction to this sudden mission, was standing calmly beside Dazai Osamu, waiting for him to finish allocating the final tasks.
When the remaining people were clear about their work, Dazai Osamu sighed lightly, “Eiji is still the most useful.”
Oda Sakunosuke glanced at him. “Then why not be in the same group as him? Aren’t you coordinating this mission?”
Dazai Osamu went quiet again.
Oda Sakunosuke understood that he didn’t want to go deep into this topic. He looked back at Hiiragi Eiji, who was standing beside Nakahara Chuuya, and suddenly remembered something. “Didn’t you say you already thought of the gift you wanted to give Vortex-kun? Was it sent out?”
Dazai Osamu was slightly stunned, then laughed happily. “Why would you ask this suddenly?”
Oda Sakunosuke looked around. Sure enough, everyone looked listless. “Just felt that, since the birthday party was suddenly interrupted, perhaps a gift is needed to express one’s apologies.”
“Apology…” Dazai Osamu rolled the word over in his mind. Soon, he raised his smiling face again. “But didn’t he say he would stay by my side forever? In that case, is an apology still needed?” Regardless of what he does, he shouldn’t leave, right?
“But you don’t believe it, do you?”
Dazai Osamu sneered but didn’t answer the question. “Odasaku, I originally thought that this sudden overtime was the gift I was giving Eiji.”
As he said this, he looked at Oda Sakunosuke, but discovered the red-haired man was only slightly surprised, then nodded with a plain reaction. “So that’s how it is.”
Dazai Osamu was eerily silent. A moment later, he muttered in a low voice: “…If it were Ango, he would have complained by now. However, I’ve changed my mind.” He revealed a cool, indifferent smile.
Coincidentally at this moment, the sound of an engine roaring came from behind the two. When he turned his head, what Dazai Osamu saw was the back of Chuuya and Hiiragi Eiji speeding away.
A few seconds later, he silently turned and walked in the other direction with Oda Sakunosuke.
“…Why is there such a fragile thing as emotion, and, I completely don’t understand it…” Dazai Osamu murmured low. He remembered that dream which had disappeared for a long time and never appeared again. What did everything in it represent? Was the emotion that once filled his chest really the kind of emotion he thought it was? “Odasaku, do you know?”
“I don’t know,” Oda Sakunosuke said. The red-haired man tilted his head and glanced at Dazai Osamu while having leisure time looking at the map. “But are you trying to understand love?”
Dazai Osamu’s footsteps paused slightly, then he burst out laughing. “So strange. Is this word so strange even to say out loud?”
Oda Sakunosuke ignored his reaction and continued: “Some people think love is sex, is companionship, is a kiss at six in the morning.”
Dazai Osamu’s expression became strange.
“But some people also think,” Oda Sakunosuke looked at Dazai Osamu, his voice calm, “love is wanting to touch but pulling back one’s hand.”
He tapped Dazai Osamu’s shoulder, who had already stopped in his tracks, without looking at the stunned expression on the other person’s face and those fluttering eyelashes. “This is written in a book; it only represents the author’s own point of view. If you feel it makes no sense, just forget it.”
I don’t know how much time passed before Oda Sakunosuke heard Dazai Osamu’s hasty footsteps running from behind.
At 3:12 PM, Mori Ougai received a reply email.
Mori Ougai pressed two fingers against his lips, patiently reading the entire report.
“…In the end, you still chose to go handle the task with Oda-kun?” Mori Ougai’s narrow phoenix eyes opened slightly. He looked at Elise beside him. “Looks like I guessed wrong, Elise.” The final words even carried a sigh of frustration.
Elise did not speak; she extended her finger and swiped up on Mori Ougai’s tablet.
At the very end of the report, a photo appeared.
Two groups of people bathed in the afternoon sun, heading in different directions. Only Dazai Osamu, who was trailing at the very end, looked back in the direction of the other group.
This photo was a long shot; Mori Ougai couldn’t clearly see whom Dazai Osamu’s gaze was actually focused on, but this was enough.
In the large office, Mori Ougai laughed silently.
At 4:33 PM.
Hiiragi Eiji’s mission went very smoothly, which gave him a glimmer of hope after he thought he might have no chance for the hot springs.
The others in the same group also looked at each other, as if they hadn’t expected this mission to be so simple.
In order not to make mistakes, before returning, Hiiragi Eiji carefully checked the requirements for this mission once again.
That’s right, it was to destroy a pharmaceutical factory that might harbor illegal drugs, and they were indeed at this address now.
…But was there no one guarding it? Except for being a bit far away, it really seemed like there were no special precautions.
Hiiragi Eiji had realized early on that this seemed to be another mission related to the initial port warehouse, but never in his wildest dreams did he expect Mori Ougai to send him all the way from Yokohama to Hokkaido.
“Vortex-sama… are we going back?” A male who was following Hiiragi Eiji asked in a low voice.
After frowning and verifying the mission instruction manual, Hiiragi Eiji nodded decisively. He smiled at the others and said: “The mission is complete. Thank you all for your cooperation; it was very smooth. Now we can go back and soak in the hot springs.”
Everyone cheered softly, then happily started packing up their things.
Hiiragi Eiji, who had boarded the return vehicle, sent a text message to ask about the situation on Chuuya’s side. Discovering that the other party was still working hard to destroy the drugs, he started to ponder how he should write his mission report.
Of course, not for the Port Mafia, but for the Metropolitan Police Department.
From the direction of this mission, the Port Mafia’s stance was very firm: they were to be completely opposed to the organization codenamed “Alcohol.”
Just when the hot spring hotel was close at hand, Hiiragi Eiji’s phone rang.
And everyone in the car seemed to have suffered from some kind of PTSD. The moment Hiiragi Eiji’s phone rang, everyone’s faces turned pale, even humbly praying that Dazai Osamu would act like a human.
However, things went contrary to wishes. When they noticed the sudden change in Hiiragi Eiji’s complexion, everyone realized that something bad seemed to have happened.
Sure enough, after hanging up the phone, Hiiragi Eiji immediately ordered the driver not to return to the hotel but to head toward Dazai Osamu’s mission location. After the tough-toned order, he turned to apologize and explain to everyone: “Sorry, something happened on Dazai-sama’s side, and we must go support.”
Therefore, the car that should have been driving back to the hot spring hotel rushed toward the mission point where Dazai Osamu was located like lightning.
“Di-did something happen?” Everyone noticed that Hiiragi Eiji’s complexion had become ugly.
Hiiragi Eiji was silent for a moment, then explained in a calm voice: “Dazai-sama’s mission location is a cargo ship. This is the most dangerous one of the five missions,” he organized his wording, “The drugs on that cargo ship are 99% likely to be our true target this time. Just a moment ago, that cargo ship automatically left the port, and a self-destruct program was activated on it; it has already passed through one round of explosions.”
Everyone in the car: “???!!!”
Someone asked weakly: “Th-then, what is the situation now?”
Hiiragi Eiji took a deep breath. To be honest, he was so anxious that his head was hurting.
Is he cursed by explosions?! Why are the people around him always involved in such emergencies!
The people sitting beside him watched helplessly as he applied force to his hand, and the phone made a sound of being unable to bear the load.
When Hiiragi Eiji raised his head, those habitually gentle amber eyes were already dyed with a layer of fierce light. “Others don’t have much of a problem, but Dazai-sama didn’t leave the cargo ship with the crowd and is currently trapped at sea. We don’t know if there will be a second round of explosions on that cargo ship, and we don’t know if the ship will continue to explode, so we must rush over to support Dazai-sama now.”
Three minutes later, when Hiiragi Eiji and his party rushed to Dazai Osamu’s location, they found a circle of people surrounding the shore, at a loss while facing a speedboat. After everyone discovered Hiiragi Eiji’s arrival, they were almost moved to tears.
“Vortex-sama—! Dazai-sama is still on the ship!” A male belonging to Dazai Osamu’s subordinates pointed excitedly at the cargo ship sailing toward the far sea. That huge cargo ship was carrying countless containers and was a very large container freight ship.
And behind the cargo ship, there were several lifeboats being rowed manually. Those people were probably the ones who boarded the ship with Dazai Osamu just now but escaped in time.
After the lifeboats were put down, they couldn’t keep up with the speed of the cargo ship at all. The gap between the two sides was getting larger and larger. Some people were shouting Dazai Osamu’s name with all their might, yet never received a response.
Rolling thick smoke was drifting slowly from above the cargo ship. Perhaps because the movement of the explosion just now was too loud, the shore was already full of port workers watching the fun. Presumably, it wouldn’t be long before the police would also hear the news and rush over.
“What’s the situation now? Since there are speedboats, why aren’t they being used?” Hiiragi Eiji asked in a deep voice.
In this cold winter, the person being questioned by Hiiragi Eiji was so cold that sweat was about to roll down his temples. “It, it’s malfunctioning! It’s been no more than ten minutes since the cargo ship just exploded… I have already asked people to look nearby for someone willing to sell a boat or speedboat!”
Hiiragi Eiji didn’t know how Dazai Osamu had arranged things, but according to Mori Ougai’s statement about the Port Mafia’s predicament, it might be inadvisable for them to cause such a big stir now. But he couldn’t care about that at all now. A bad premonition made him walk directly to the side of the person studying the speedboat engine.
If he hadn’t come down from the cargo ship even like this, presumably Dazai Osamu was truly trapped inside.
“Did you find out what the problem is?”
The middle-aged male who was the only one even tangentially related to an engineer answered nervously: “Mo-most likely it’s a loose connection.”
Hiiragi Eiji carefully observed the speedboat engine, then calmly confirmed that he didn’t understand it at all.
And at this time, someone shouted and started running back, seemingly having found someone willing to sell a boat.
Just when everyone was overjoyed, Hiiragi Eiji also took action. While everyone was nervously watching the person running back, he kicked the speedboat’s engine.
Isn’t it a loose connection? Can’t it start? Then give it physical therapy.
The entire speedboat trembled violently due to his sudden movement. The middle-aged male who was on the speedboat with him let out a cry, but a magical thing happened, because right after Hiiragi Eiji finished kicking, the speedboat’s engine actually let out a roar.
The middle-aged male stared at Hiiragi Eiji in a daze, and then was politely asked off the speedboat by him. Before everyone had time to react, Hiiragi Eiji was already maneuvering the speedboat, charging toward the direction of the cargo ship.
“Follow me with people later—but don’t get on the ship! You stay below to support me—”
His voice drifted further and further away, leaving only the people on the shore watching his swift and decisive back with stunned expressions.
Hiiragi Eiji drove the speedboat all the way past a group of people sitting in lifeboats. Someone took the opportunity as they brushed past to shout loudly: “In the control room—! Dazai-sama is in the control room—! The white building on the middle-back of the deck—”
Hiiragi Eiji glanced at the cargo ship and found that on the deck near the stern, there was indeed a white building about three or four stories high. When he finally reached the bottom of the cargo ship, he saw the hanging rescue ladder at a glance. Almost without any hesitation, Hiiragi Eiji grabbed the ladder, took off his cotton coat with one hand, soaked the cotton coat in the seawater, and also soaked the scarf he was wearing. After doing all this, he put both items back on his body.
The drenched clothes were put on, and the cold wind was piercing. Even with Hiiragi Eiji’s physical fitness, he was shivering, but it didn’t affect his agility in the slightest. He turned over and stepped on the ladder to climb up toward the cargo ship.
Long before he was on his way, he had already notified the system to accumulate power for him to lift his physical limitations.
But the situation this time was completely different from the time with Jinpei; not only below, but even in the distance, people were looking over here.
Moreover, according to his experiment last time, Dazai Osamu could not only neutralize all special abilities but could even neutralize ninjutsu as well.
Dazai Osamu had accidentally touched his Flying Raijin mark. When he touched it, that mark completely disappeared from Hiiragi Eiji’s sensing area.
Therefore, his rescue mission this time could only rely purely on his own physical fitness.
If not for the worry of being discovered by others, he would have instantly teleported to the cargo ship by now.
When Hiiragi Eiji finally stepped onto the cargo ship’s deck, he realized that nearly two-thirds of the containers on the ship had been destroyed by the explosion. He didn’t know what was inside, but a pungent smell rushed toward his face. In his ears, there were faintly indistinguishable dull sounds; presumably, there were still small-scale explosions inside the ship’s cabin.
The ground was pitted and bumpy, and from time to time, there would be several huge holes waiting ahead, but this had no effect on Hiiragi Eiji, who had lifted his physical limitations. He ran all the way to the cargo ship’s control room. The bad thing was that this small white building was surrounded by a circle of burning containers. Hiiragi Eiji’s heart sank immediately. If Dazai Osamu was really inside, then he was probably already suffocated by the thick smoke.
Hiiragi Eiji covered his nose and mouth with the wet scarf. He circled around and finally found the control room door. The moment his hand grasped the doorknob, his palm was instantly scalded. Yet, it was as if he couldn’t feel the pain. He exerted force with his hand and directly pushed the deformed door open with brute force from the outside.
The situation inside the control room was also very bad. It was very choking here, and all kinds of precision instruments seemed to have been destroyed by the explosion. The tiny electric currents jumping out from them from time to time made Hiiragi Eiji’s heart leap with fright, fearing that they would trigger new explosions.
Hiiragi Eiji immediately began to search for Dazai Osamu’s figure. When he arrived at the third floor inside the control room, he finally saw Dazai Osamu leaning against the wall. The area around him was a mess. It seemed he had gone through a round of explosions; even the huge transparent glass of the control room had been shattered, and large pieces of glass debris fell all over the console and the ground.
Dazai Osamu’s condition also looked very bad. The black overcoat he was wearing was gone; he was now only wearing a light-colored wool sweater that was almost unrecognizable due to being smoked by the thick smoke. A bright red color was printed on his arm.
His only eye exposed was closed tightly, and even his bandages were covered with black dust.
Hiiragi Eiji threw himself in front of him, anxious to the point of burning. Who would have known, the moment he leaned in, Dazai Osamu’s pair of auburn eyes slowly opened.
Against the reflection of the fire outside the control room, his eyes were also stained with a touch of orange-red.
The emotions in his eyes were complex and indistinguishable, and the expression on his face became very strange after genuinely seeing Hiiragi Eiji.
He seemed to want to speak, but started coughing violently the moment he opened his mouth. Hiiragi Eiji hurried to squat in front of him, taking off his wet scarf to protect his nasal cavity. Perhaps because Dazai Osamu hadn’t choked in too much smoke, he was still able to speak intermittently, “…Why did you come? Didn’t I tell that bunch of guys not to tell you?”
“Naturally, I came to save you,” Hiiragi Eiji answered distractedly. At this moment, no matter what he said, it wouldn’t make Hiiragi Eiji angry.
After all, Dazai Osamu’s current appearance was truly too miserable.
Thinking this way, Hiiragi Eiji lowered his head to carefully inspect the injuries on his body. It was likely he was splashed by glass shards during the explosion, leading to many small wounds on his body.
As for serious injuries, other than the large cut on his arm, there really weren’t any others.
Hiiragi Eiji let out a heavy breath in his heart. He raised his hand and tore his own shirt into cloth strips, preparing to do an emergency bandage for Dazai Osamu’s arm, but as soon as he raised his head, he met Dazai Osamu’s increasingly bright eyes.
“…Save me?” Dazai Osamu repeated the word softly.
Next, Hiiragi Eiji saw a smile suddenly appear on his dirty, cat-like face. Although half of his face was covered, his expression at this moment was truly too different from usual, and he was smiling too brightly, making it impossible for Hiiragi Eiji to ignore.
But this also made Hiiragi Eiji suspect that Dazai Osamu’s brain had been affected by the explosion, leading him to be somewhat delirious right now; otherwise, how could one explain why he could still smile so happily under such circumstances?
Perhaps Hiiragi Eiji’s shocked expression was too obvious, and Dazai Osamu’s smile gradually stopped. He pulled the scarf covering his nose and mouth down, revealing a somewhat confused expression, “…So, I shouldn’t have smiled?”
Hiiragi Eiji didn’t understand Dazai Osamu’s meaning, but this didn’t hinder his actions. He lifted Dazai Osamu’s injured arm and wrapped the wound circle by circle.
Then, he heard Dazai Osamu say in an extremely weak voice: “But, when normal people are protected and rescued… they should all show a grateful smile, right?” From beginning to end, he didn’t look at his own wounds but stared fixedly at Hiiragi Eiji, as if he wanted to catch something from his current expression, “Sorry, I really can’t experience that feeling, so I could only smile in the way I understood.”
Finally, a crack appeared on Hiiragi Eiji’s serious and anxious expression. He felt his heart pierced by Dazai Osamu’s words and his expression at this moment.
He hadn’t expected to get such an answer. Although he had long known that Dazai Osamu’s growing environment was different from normal people, after deeply feeling this difference, he still felt sad.
Therefore, even in such a critical moment, he couldn’t help but gently pat Dazai Osamu’s head. With so many injuries, it must hurt a lot, right? He had to quickly take Dazai Osamu out.
Thinking this way, Hiiragi Eiji silently covered half of Dazai Osamu’s face with the scarf again. Just as he was about to carry Dazai Osamu onto his back, this seemingly weak black-haired teenager suddenly gripped his wrist.
Hiiragi Eiji’s right palm was facing up, and the scald mark on his palm was obvious. It took a long time for Dazai Osamu to withdraw his gaze from it. Discovering he no longer had any intention of resisting, Hiiragi Eiji immediately carried him on his back and walked quickly down the broken stairs.
To his surprise, Dazai Osamu’s situation seemed not as bad as he imagined, because the arm he was using to wrap around him was very powerful. If Hiiragi Eiji’s muscles weren’t extremely strong, he might not have been able to bear it.
The moment Hiiragi Eiji carried him out of the control room door, Dazai Osamu, who was lying on his neck, suddenly said softly: “Next time, I will definitely be very careful.”
The sudden sea breeze made Hiiragi Eiji, who was soaked through, shudder, but what made his scalp feel like it was about to explode even more was that he seemed to understand the hidden meaning in Dazai Osamu’s words.
Sure enough, the next second he heard Dazai Osamu laughing low, “I will be very careful not to let you get hurt again.” His words carried a disturbing emotion.
Hiiragi Eiji was almost uncontrollably tightening his hands holding his two legs, but released them immediately upon realizing it. His current strength was too great; fortunately, he noticed it early, otherwise, he was worried Dazai Osamu’s legs would break.
“…You did it on purpose?” Hiiragi Eiji calmed his mood and asked this.
Dazai Osamu started laughing again, but soon, his physical strength was insufficient to support such behavior, so he stopped, “Yeah.”
Didn’t he say he wouldn’t leave him? Even if it was on purpose—
Suddenly, Hiiragi Eiji, who had been stagnant at the control room door, moved again; he continued to carry Dazai Osamu on his back and ran rapidly toward the edge of the deck.
This silent and indulgent behavior made Dazai Osamu, who originally wanted to say something, lose his voice immediately.
And Hiiragi Eiji felt he was also undergoing a great test.
He wanted to put Dazai Osamu down on the spot and give him a punch of “fatherly love as heavy as a mountain”—see if he would dare to use himself to make a joke next time, while also being unable to stop himself from reflecting on his own behavior.
Was his behavior inappropriate somewhere? That was what led to Dazai Osamu having no trust in him, and even not hesitating to use himself as a bet, just to see whether Hiiragi Eiji would, as he said, protect him no matter what.
“…Why did you pull me?” Dazai Osamu’s tiny voice, which seemed to scatter with a blow of the sea breeze, appeared again.
This senseless sentence was easily decoded under Hiiragi Eiji’s “good father” radar.
“Because, I feel that you seem to not want me to let go.” Whether it was from his usually extremely contradictory behavior, or the wish written on the system control panel—the bond of life—they were all telling Hiiragi Eiji that he needed something to tie him down.
Dazai Osamu suddenly tightened his grip on Hiiragi Eiji’s neck, “Are you not afraid?”
Hiiragi Eiji was silent. Indeed, he was not afraid. Even if this cargo ship blew to pieces, he had the confidence to let Dazai Osamu survive, but he himself really couldn’t say. But he had never feared death.
As if knowing his answer, Dazai Osamu sneered, “Yeah, Eiji, you are never afraid.” His fuzzy head rubbed slightly against Hiiragi Eiji’s neck, “How could you be afraid? You are like a guy who has no future and no past, only existing in the present.” His auburn eyes looked at the burning container on one side.
“You have no hobbies, no past of your own, as if everything is fake.” But what made Dazai Osamu hard to understand and feel anxious about was that such a guy only made him feel a strong sense of reality when saying he wanted to protect him.
But this was the most fake part. How could there be love and hate without a reason.
“What exactly do you want to get through me?” Dazai Osamu whispered behind his back like a delirium.
What about after getting it?
These words, which were almost accusations, immediately made Hiiragi Eiji understand Dazai Osamu’s thoughts. He was so smart; after such a long time of observation, it was easy to discover the abnormality of Hiiragi Eiji.
As a visitor from another world, with no past or future, he naturally only focused on the present in this strange world.
Even in order not to recall the parting of the past, he subconsciously avoided missing the people of the past, only stirring up a few ripples in the trivial moments. He had been preparing for new partings.
Because the parting of the first world was too tragic, ever since he knew he had to face such a situation every time, he seemed to have consciously separated himself from the world. He became an existence that, although possessing a heart of flesh and blood, was incompatible with the whole world.
So in Dazai Osamu’s heart, was he a person who gave him no sense of security? The more they interacted and the more they understood each other, the more Dazai Osamu would feel that he was a liar.
He was indeed a liar with an agenda.
Hiiragi Eiji finally brought Dazai Osamu to the edge of the deck. The rope ladder was by his feet.
As if knowing that he couldn’t wait for Hiiragi Eiji’s answer, Dazai Osamu brought Hiiragi Eiji another piece of bombshell news, “Eiji, I detonated the final bomb. If we die together here, that will be the real forever.”
Just when Dazai Osamu’s emotions started to be tainted with that inexplicable excitement, Hiiragi Eiji finally lost his patience. He put Dazai Osamu down from his back. Without giving the other party a chance to react, he gave a crisp, heavy hand chop on Dazai Osamu’s head.
This force made the bandage-freak stagger and fall to the ground. When he covered his head and looked up at Hiiragi Eiji, his auburn eyes were full of incomprehension and blankness.
Hiiragi Eiji squatted beside him and said seriously: “The forever I mentioned is not this short instant. Sorry,” he gently patted Dazai Osamu’s head, “I indeed hid many things from you; it was my fault. But if you want to know, I will tell you all.” Including his past, including his purpose.
It was not for completing a task, but—
“Don’t use such extreme means again. I will be very concerned and very sad. You can try to trust me once.”
Hiiragi Eiji looked straight into Dazai Osamu’s eyes without avoidance. Perhaps because of the light, he felt there seemed to be a dampness permeating them, but it soon disappeared with his blinking.
Almost the moment Hiiragi Eiji’s words fell, a violent explosion sounded from the head of the cargo ship.
Fire filled the sky, and surging heat waves rushed toward the two.
The aftermath of the explosion caused the two to fall toward the sea.
The feeling of weightlessness made one so afraid, but at this moment, Dazai Osamu unexpectedly discovered that he was not very afraid; someone was hugging him tightly.
Both warm and safe, as if it didn’t matter if he fell into a deep sleep in such an environment.
The distant fire was getting further and further away from him. He was getting closer and closer to the hope of survival.
With a “splash,” the two fell into the ice-cold seawater amidst the exclamations of the crowd waiting below the cargo ship.
Those who had rushed over on boats they bought stayed below the cargo ship according to Hiiragi Eiji’s instructions. They quickly started the rescue after the two fell into the water. When someone took off their clothes and was about to jump into the sea, Hiiragi Eiji popped his head out from the sea. Beside him was Dazai Osamu, who was closing his eyes as if he had lost consciousness.
Amidst the excited cheers of the crowd, Hiiragi Eiji, with the help of others, pushed the half-unconscious Dazai Osamu onto the boat panting, and then he was also pulled up by the people on the boat in a flurry.
After Hiiragi Eiji climbed into the small boat, Dazai Osamu struggled to open his eyes. Even though his field of vision was pitifully small, he still had to find the existence of that person.
Almost upon seeing this look of his…