After the battle…

The corrupt power was sealed back by “No Longer Human,” and the orange-haired youth collapsed.

Completed daily persecution of the King of Sheep (1/1).

Completed beating Hyakki (2/2).

Hyakki’s first reaction was to reach out his arm, wanting to catch the almost collapsing life flame. But Dazai, with quick eyes and hands, grabbed Nakahara by the back collar, pulling him up forcefully and giving him a burst of “life force.”

Nakahara retained consciousness but was physically exhausted, temporarily unable to move, held up by the back collar.

Damn, this black sludge.

He couldn’t glare at Dazai, who stood behind him “ambushing” him, weakly looking at Hyakki’s prosthetic hand. This time, compared to the last loss of control, it was much better. The aftermath was quenched by seawater, and with Dazai’s full preparation, he didn’t have to pay a huge price, but afterward, he continued to endure the fearful gazes of the residents of Leibo Street.

[Can I help you?]

[Hyakki.]

The goodwill of wanting to save someone could transcend the material world and reach the spiritual world.

Hyakki “stared” at him through the hollow eyes behind the mask, his closed-off soul touched by the kindness. He noticed Nakahara’s life flame further turning white in just a moment, shifting from pale to pure white. The human life flame emitted an unwavering resilience, tightly enveloping the core power of the demon, preventing the internal chaotic evil calamitous power from erupting, like a large rice cake with white skin and red filling.

[Are you trying to save me? You… specifically attacked me to make me defeat the demon?]

Hyakki was stunned by this speculation.

His foster father had reasons to help him; he was raised by him. “Dororo” also had reasons to help him; they had been together for so long, sharing trust as their bond.

Only this person’s entire dedication to him stemmed purely from kindness.

[Ah…]

In Japanese, how do you say “thank you”?

“Ah…”

Hyakki was anxious, a guttural sound escaping his throat as he clumsily expressed gratitude to this person with his damaged hand.

Dazai bent his eyes and said, “Nakahara, he’s thanking you.”

You’re welcome! If you have any more questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask.

“Thank you.”

With his head lowered, Nakahara heard Dazai’s relay and discerned the meaning inside, unable to contain a chuckle spontaneously leaking out. That scoundrel Dazai even helped others to say thank you together.

His body felt exhausted.

Yet his spirit was unexpectedly energized.

“Dazai, take me back to Leibo Street… I accept your and Hyakki’s gratitude.”

Nakahara’s bold statement caused Dazai’s fingers to tighten, as if he wanted to throw him to the ground.

But with Hyakki present, Dazai restrained his dark side here.

Keep~ calm~ and~ composed.

As if sensing Dazai’s emotional shift, Hyakki “looked” towards him. Even the eyeless white half-face mask couldn’t conceal the hint of puzzlement and anticipation he displayed.

[Dororo, why has the host of the demon turned white, but you’re still gray?]

“…”

Was Hyakki muttering under his breath again?

Dazai noticed that Hyakki was interacting with more people, showing more subtle emotional gestures. He wasn’t the “phantom youth” detached from the world as at the beginning anymore—all thanks to Nakahara!

“Hyakki, don’t mind him. Have you felt like something is growing in your body?”

With the cliff already collapsed, erasing traces of certain secrets, Dazai placed Nakahara on level ground and pressed a stone against his abdomen. Then, with renewed enthusiasm, he circled around Hyakki, pinched his hands and feet, and even poked his ears curiously. He couldn’t resist quickly removing the mask to take a peek and swiftly putting it back on.

Next to him, Nakahara lay motionless.

Hyakki: [Dororo, do you have any opinions on my face?]

Hyakki firmly believed he wasn’t hard to look at. Restoring his skin meant restoring his appearance, but having been estranged from normal human life for so long, he completely forgot that a face without eyes and a nose was specifically designed to be frightening.

[System seems to have pinged. I’ll go check it out. I have a feeling I won’t like what I see.]

Exploiting bugs is not the right thing to do.

But craving restoration, Hyakki, who had been missing organs for so long, nervously approached the external auxiliary system, praying that this sometimes functional system wouldn’t discover that he had vanquished a demon twice.

When good doesn’t work, and bad does.

A red warning window popped up on the system: [The system has detected that the intern has found a new bug, exploited a loophole in the Passage of Time, and repeatedly defeated the demon, seriously violating the requirements of the main quest.]

[Ah!!!]

Hyakki was horrified, clutching his head and crouching down.

【Confidentiality Level D, Intern ID ■■■■■, according to the regulations of the Passage of Time, SectionCrossing Department ■■■■■■, and the protective rules during the internship period, for your first violation of the main quest to play the protagonist and defeat the twelve demons in the “Dororo” world, your penalty is reduced by half. Please accept this penalty as a lesson.】

【System has issued (lowest level) Warning Penalty Package. Please accept.】

A black package appeared in the system’s “mailbox.”

He never expected the system, aside from automatic rewards, would also issue penalty packages—something nobody wanted!

【C-Can I just not open it?】

Hyakki decided to forget about it.

However, the online system couldn’t possibly allow him to evade penalty. Following the penalty package, a red package email, attractive in appearance, clearly outlined the rules for claiming it.

【Reward Package: Second discovery of bug, special reward (Conditions for opening: First open the penalty package.)】

Who designed these rules, some devilish employee?

Penalty first and then reward—deviously unfair, akin to a slap followed by a sweet treat, isn’t it?

Hyakki knew he shouldn’t claim it, yet he was tempted by the reward package for the bug. Last night, when he found the bug, it was a choice of three types of rewards, each particularly good. Though he knew the first reward was usually higher, there was no reason why the second reward should be worlds apart.

So… he claimed it.

Surely, the system wouldn’t give a penalty affecting the plot’s direction, discovered by the plot’s characters.

He made up his mind and mentally accepted the penalty package.

【Open the package?】

【Yes/No.】

Reluctantly, Hyakki chose “Yes” and awaited his penalty. The black package automatically popped up, no fireworks, no congratulations—just eerie Chinese characters arranged into a sentence.

【Detected that the intern is an underage male, and the original plot has not yet begun. Special penalty awarded.】