Ranpo slit his own throat.

The last remnant of his humanity—

—was kindness.

Blood splattered, staining Hyakki’s pupils with red that trickled down his cheeks, leaving him both bewildered and moved. The golden flame extinguished with a sudden breeze, gentle for a moment as if human, but his death added no red stain of murder to Hyakki.

Ranpo chose to die willingly, helping a pitiful child in the face of inevitable death.

If death could carry the meaning of salvation, then it was worth it.

[Ah…]

[Dead.]

[It died just like that? Life… why is it so fragile…]

Hyakki’s heart felt empty, telling him that this non-human life had died because of him.

Dororo had helped him, helped him… kill the opponent.

[Main Quest: Defeat the Twelve Demon Gods (3/12).]

The update on the main quest progress from the auxiliary system was horrifying. Whether human or non-human, as long as the energy met the standard and the attributes matched the broad definition of a demon god, it could be included.

Others’ lives were just numbers.

“Dororo…” This was wrong.

“Hyakki, do you feel like you’re getting your organ back?” Dazai had already let go, habitually finding a napkin to wipe his face.

Hyakki couldn’t feel happy, depressed, not immediately eager to open the system’s reward package.

Seeing this, Dazai took his hand and led him away.

Bai Lan followed.

Behind them, Nakahara crouched down, his expression complex, as he prepared Ranpo’s corpse.

In the Port Mafia’s bathroom, Dazai helped Hyakki clean his prosthetics. The black-haired boy sat in the bathtub, one gray-brown eye removed, leaving a hollow in his face. After washing off the sticky blood, Dazai reinserted the eye into its socket, turned on the shower above to rinse the dust off his body. Throughout the process, Hyakki didn’t say a word, lost in a continuous daze.

Dazai poured out some shampoo, massaging Hyakki’s long hair. He restored Hyakki to a clean state, demonstrating his skill in caring for others, yet unable to erase the shadow in Hyakki’s heart.

[This is wrong… wrong…]

Killing others for organs, they were not demon gods who took organs.

[Of course, it’s wrong.]

In a brief pause between Hyakki and Dazai, Kusuo’s voice entered Hyakki’s mind.

Hyakki’s heart leaped: [God!]

[Call me Kusuo, no need to use ‘God’ so casually.] Kusuo dismissed the title, [You’ve been with… this person for so long, haven’t you noticed anything off?]

Hyakki looked at Dororo’s life flame, still a soft misty gray.

[Dororo is much stronger than I imagined.]

That was his heartfelt sentiment.

Kusuo was silent for a moment, sensing the formidable power of a romantic filter, then spoke.

[It’s not about strength, it’s…]

In the room, Dazai finished his bath a moment later, walking barefoot on the carpet, tossing the removed bandages into the trash. His fluffy brown hair, damp with water, clung to his ears, looking almost black. With a gentle expression, he approached Hyakki, his face exposed without the bandages, eyes moist with a warm light.

He placed a towel on Hyakki’s head, noting his still-wet long hair, “Dry your hair.”

Hyakki took the towel, silently rubbing his head.

[Kusuo?]

[If the person you like isn’t as good as you think, would you accept that?]

Dazai Osamu sat by the bed, wrapping bandages around himself.

Layer after layer, he wound them around his pale, scarred body, from his neck to his shoulders, then from his shoulders to his chest, abdomen, and arms, covering his exposed skin with white bandages, concealing his suicidal past.

A person who does not treat himself well, who does not dry his hair, always keeps an eye on Hyakki’s condition.

[Kusuo, is she the best for me?]

[…Yes.]

Even the detached Kusuo could not lie.

Dazai was the best to Hyakki, having paid the highest price without ever asking for anything in return.

Hyakki paused his mechanical hair-drying movements and abruptly sat closer to Dazai, placing the towel on his head. Dazai’s dripping brown hair quickly became messy under Hyakki’s care.

Dazai had not been injured in the battle, protected well by Hyakki, and his face had been free of scars for a long time.

He squinted his eyes, enjoying the semi-automatic service from the puppet.

“Is Hyakki taking care of me?”

—He’s worried about you.

Hyakki told Kusuo: [I can’t imagine someone who’s the best to me. If Dororo lives a happy life, she’s so gentle, she must be very good to her friends and family. On the other hand, if she hasn’t experienced the happiness that ordinary people deserve, she would be like my adoptive father… giving me an extraordinary amount of affection.]

These things, Hyakki was not as oblivious as one might think, hence his lukewarm attitude towards his “father-in-law.”

[Dororo and I are both lonely, unable to trust others, and she longs for love too.]

A puppet can provide reassurance and companionship.

[I love her.]

Just as Dororo most loved Hyakki, he gave all the space in his heart, except for his adoptive father’s, to her.

Kusuo was speechless. Aside from not guessing the gender correctly, he got everything else right.

[Hyakki, when do you plan to return to your world?]

[After I say goodbye to Dororo.]

Unable to hear, unable to see, Hyakki traced Dazai’s face in the darkness.

He inexplicably understood Kusuo’s concern. The latter worried that Hyakki wouldn’t be able to accept Dororo’s identity in reality, not revealing the name or true face. The god of the second dimension was truly kind.

Dazai chuckled and started to wrap the bandages around his eyes.

Looks didn’t matter anymore.

[Kusuo, as the godly being you are… I beg you, help me convey my feelings to her. After I defeat the demon gods, I will definitely come back. I won’t abandon her.]

[No matter how many pure white flames there are in this world, my Dororo is her.]

[I only want her.]

This firm and powerful declaration echoed in Kusuo’s ears.

Kusuo repaired the cup he accidentally crushed, looking at the water left on his hand, [As you wish.]

Can time change, and can other things be restored together?

As long as there is the will.

Next time Hyakki asks him for Dororo’s name, he would say the person’s gender is male, named Dazai.