Translator’s Note: Again, sorry for the delayed upload. I will upload more to all of you. Thank you for the support. Muah muah!

【Dororo?】

His hand grasped at thin air as Dazai, across from Hyakki, slipped behind the chair.

Dazai joked, “Can’t catch me.”

Hyakki felt unwilling to let him escape, yet he couldn’t shake off the odd feeling that something was off about this “game.” Didn’t ancient TV dramas depict scenes where lecherous men chased after beautiful women like this?

Hyakki wondered, with a vague fantasy of Dororo’s face in his mind: She must be someone not particularly stunning, but rather lovely and cute.

This game of “hide and seek” had been going on for nearly two days. Dazai refrained from touching his prosthetic limbs during the day and maintained a distance while sleeping at night. There were still several beds in the clinic. Failing to catch “Dororo,” the boy who had been quiet suddenly burst into action. With a burst of energy, he lunged towards Dazai, aiming to grab “Dororo.”

Dazai anticipated this and effortlessly dodged in the opposite direction.

Mori, observing for a while, bored, propped his head up and said, “Dazai, this will hurt Hyakki’s feelings. He’s someone with a lot of insecurities.”

“I’m considering Mr. Mori’s interests!” Dazai kept his eyes fixed on Hyakki’s every move, thoroughly enjoying himself. He said, “If Mr. Mori is interested in the newcomers to Yokohama, I can’t let Hyakki touch my body. My ‘No Longer Human’ status would invalidate his ranking.”

Mori’s mind worked quickly, and a strange shadow crossed his weary face.

“According to your speculation, these newcomers aren’t from the Penggerei family?”

“Impossible for them to be Penggerei.”

Dazai casually responded to Mori, holding information from both the harbor’s underworld and the Special Ability Forces, making him one of the people controlling the script in this incident.

He was the mastermind behind the scenes, while Hyakki unwittingly guided the events to take an unexpected turn.

The strong aura around Hyakki had thrown the winds of fate off course.

The ending goes like this—

Rikodu Gaiki arrived in Yokohama!

With Mr. Mori joining them, Hyakki couldn’t catch Dazai anymore. He obediently sat on a restraint chair, two meters away from Dazai Osamu, with all his joints bound by restraints.

This process nearly cost Mori his life, as Hyakki didn’t hold back in his attacks against him.

Alice helped tie his feet.

She proudly declared, “Rikodu, I want cake!”

Rikodu, who had no money, readily paid for Alice’s cake, completely forgetting that they were living off instant noodles.

Dazai smirked imperceptibly. “Mr. Mori, aren’t you being less thrifty?”

Mori smiled blissfully. “Even if I cut back, I won’t skimp on a young girl. Young girls are treasures of the world.”

Just as Dazai was about to steer the conversation back on track, Mori added hastily, “Hyakki is also a treasure.”

With a hand resting on Hyakki’s tense shoulder, Mori Ougai, in his white coat, smiled. “When Hyakki’s sense of taste returns, I’ll treat him to cake. Don’t imagine me as an unforgivable villain. My goal is to protect this city, and Hyakki has made significant contributions to it as well.”

He knew what Hyakki was slaying?

Dazai understood the implication, acknowledging that Mori Ougai’s experience surpassed his own, deserving of the role of a mentor.

Though a scoundrel, he was quite a formidable one.

【Remove your hand!】

Hyakki exploded inside as the touch of the other’s hand felt like a blazing red flame pressing on his shoulder!

“Mori, if you don’t let him go, I might just get angry.”

Dazai said with a smile.

“Alright.” Mori ceased testing Hyakki further, regretting that this was someone his teacher had taken an interest in, and he couldn’t resort to more forceful methods. Hyakki, the information received by your eyes and ears may not always be true. Can you always correctly distinguish between good and bad as your heart tells you?

Hyakki breathed a sigh of relief for the distance, no longer caring about being immobilized.

Once again, he was troubled by the other’s identity.

Could they really be father and daughter?

During this time, Hyakki lived in the other’s house, ate their food, and not only was neither he nor “Dororo” harmed by the other, but they were also provided with a shelter from the storm.

Hyakki wanted an answer, looking towards “Dororo,” but struggled to find the words.

How do you write the word “father” in Japanese?

He couldn’t remember.

Oddly enough, he remembered “mother” because his foster father, Jukai, was as gentle as a mother, caring for him, carving beautiful masks and prosthetics for him…

Hyakki stopped struggling, reminiscing about Jukai, which led Dazai to misunderstand.

Dazai walked over, placing his hand lightly on Hyakki’s mask, mimicking Hyakki’s habit of touching his own face. Perhaps, in Hyakki’s heart, this gesture symbolized closeness.

“Hyakki, I’ll make it up to you in a few days.”

Dazai said for all to hear, with Mori Ougai, the only listener, watching them with a knowing smile.

“Be a good puppet.”

【Stay vigilant and don’t let Mori’s actions mislead you.】

“You’re only liked when…”

【I… kind of like you a little bit.】

His feelings were milder than a normal person’s liking for another, far from pity, merely stemming from the shared existence of being alive, a sentiment of not wanting to see you perish.

That’s how he saw it.

Dazai didn’t smile, but the pure white flame of life always had a softness akin to cotton candy.

What is it like to be touched by cotton candy?

Hyakki “felt” that indescribable delicacy and tenderness but couldn’t respond. His teeth clicked together in his fleshless mouth, emitting a surprising response to Dazai Osamu.

“Click.”

【I believe you.】

Even if he lost the ability to move and couldn’t see the world clearly, he was willing to trust the other.

—You are my Dororo.

The promise was fulfilled quickly. Before the third day arrived, the attacks in Leibo’s Street ceased temporarily, and people started inquiring about Hyakki’s whereabouts. Dazai and Mori bid farewell and rushed out, holding Hyakki’s hand.

“Mori, Hyakki and I will go see the strength of the outsiders for you!”

“…Ah, thank you.”

Mori waved.

Alice sat nearby, commenting, “They’re so enthusiastic.”

Mori Ougai’s intelligence indicated a connection between the newcomers and the Italian Penggerei, but the true identity of the assailant in Leibo’s Street remained unclear. He was curious about how Dazai planned to deal with this trouble.

“Dazai mentioned rankings. The most famous ranking in Italy is Taifu’s ranking. What could Taifu’s ranking and the assailant behind the attacks in Leibo’s Street be after?”

“Are they looking for Nakahara Zhong, or are they looking for Hyakki?”

The busy leader of the port mafia became interested, as Dazai had suggested, just watching would be enough.

He hadn’t reached the point of intervening yet.

In Leibo’s Street, Hyakki didn’t notice that he had come to a familiar place. He was completely focused on the hand he was holding, fingers intertwined, the pure white flame seeming to burn within his fingertips.

Dazai didn’t intend to be overly intimate. After some awkwardness, he couldn’t refuse Hyakki’s wish.

“Who taught you this? I’ve never held hands with a girl like this before.”

【Dororo’s flame looks so soft.】

【I want to take a bite…】

Hyakki realized his thoughts were wandering and pulled them back, realizing that, as someone without taste, he was daydreaming.

“Go look over there.”

Dazai adjusted Hyakki’s direction, letting…