Chapter 16: Her promise is worthless compared to the bottom line

After accepting the rabbit doll handed to her by Chuuya Nakahara, Hayana Takanashi walked all the way to the office with it.

Her office is located on the lower floor where the top leaders live. Because the main building is higher than the cadre building, her office is located higher than the cadres' offices and is the second highest office location in the entire port mafia headquarters.

The port mafia is very rich.

They are so rich that since the last chief, money has been just a string of numbers to them.

Not to mention the series of new regulations implemented by this generation's leader Mori Ogai after he took over, coupled with the hardworking Dazai Osamu bringing unparalleled huge benefits to the port mafia.

Whether in terms of military force, financial resources or think tank, the port mafia at this time was unprecedentedly powerful.

Hayana Takanashi is very sure of this.

The decoration of her office is low-key and luxurious. Because she pays more attention to comfort, there is a row of large and soft sofas in the office area, with comfortable pillows on them.

Just as Hayana Takanashi entered the office, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Her voice was clear.

The door was pushed open, and a slender girl stood at the door, her eyes as pure as a deer: "Ms. Kotori Yu, the leader summons you."

Kotori Hayashi smiled at Gin, "I understand. Thank you for troubling Gin."

"You're welcome."

The girl called Gin, who served as Kotori Hayato's deputy, blushed and shyly retreated.

The fact that her deputy is often shy makes Hayana Kotori a little distressed.

Gin didn't get promoted on his own, she asked Dazai Osamu for it.

When I first met this girl, she was hiding timidly behind her brother Akutagawa Ryunosuke. Unlike her brother's fierce and violent expression, Gin's pure eyes were particularly unsuitable for the port mafia.

She is petite and fragile.

But the stubbornness deep in his eyes was particularly shining.

"Start from the bottom." Dazai Osamu said to Akutagawa Ryunosuke, "Let me see how long you can stand in front of me."

"Let me make it clear first, I don't have the habit of waiting for people for too long."

He spoke words of encouragement lightly and threateningly, his iris-colored eyes dark and deep.

As the older brother, Ryunosuke Akutagawa worked his way up the ranks under Dazai Osamu, so Gin probably has to do the same, right?

Hayana Kotori asked, "Can you teach girls?"

Dazai Osamu, who was only 16 years old, looked at the girl with resentment. The speed at which the dark expression on his face disappeared surprised Akutagawa Ryunosuke. He was even more shocked that the man in front of him who gave him the light in his life would show such an expression.

"Except for Hayana, I haven't had any contact with any other girls. It makes me very sad that you doubt me like this." He dragged out his words, and the grievance of being wrongly accused burst out like a flash flood.

"..." Pushing the boy's pitiful face away, Hayana Kotori asked him for silver: "Then leave it to me to teach you."

She didn't want such a pair of pure and stubborn eyes to be tainted with the darkness of the mafia.

Even if it is against the rules, people in high positions are always allowed to have their own little willfulness.

"If Hayana wants it, I'll leave it to you."

This was roughly what Dazai Osamu said at that time. It has been so long that Hayato no longer remembers it clearly.

The only thing I can remember clearly is the emotion conveyed in his eyes.

That kind of warmth and tenderness that is rarely seen in his eyes—a display of warmth and tenderness amidst silence.

"bite--"

The elevator door opened with a crisp sound, and Takanashi Hayana came back to her senses, sorted out her facial expression and walked out of the elevator.

The office of the leader of the Port Mafia is located on the top floor of the Port Mafia Center Building, overlooking the top of the entire Yokohama behemoth.

The security level is also the highest inside the building.

Inside the dim corridor, countless cameras capture information about people passing by. There are not only cameras on the ceiling of the corridor, but also many more deadly mechanisms hidden in the darkness behind the ceiling.

Not to mention that outside the door of the chief's office stood two burly men in suits, sunglasses, and holding machine guns.

Seeing the girl approaching from afar, the two burly men fixed their eyes on her.

Kotori Hayato stood in front of the heavy and complicated door of the chief's office without looking away. "Chief, Kotori Hayato is here to answer your call."

"Come in."

An elegant and magnetic male voice came from inside.

The burly men holding machine guns standing on both sides of the door pushed the door open, and Hayato Kotori walked in.

The chief's office was brightly lit, the digital remote-controlled curtains in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows were all raised, and the bright sunlight made the entire room warm.

Even with air conditioning, Hayana Kotori still felt the temperature was a bit high.

She walked over to the man sitting at his desk, a feather pen in hand, his head bowed as he worked on documents. She knelt on one knee and bowed her head. "Chief."

Alice was not here today, and the leader did not pester Alice like a pervert, which surprised her a little.

The rustling sound of the pen tip scratching the paper stopped.

Hayana Takanashi felt a clear gaze on her.

The leader's gaze was silent and quiet, infinitely inclusive yet as deep and heavy as a mountain.

"It's Hayana," Mori Ogai's eyes, bloodshot from a night of sleep, were rational yet calm, his voice elegant. "I called you up here so early in the morning because I heard about the misunderstanding that happened this morning."

"Did that bother you?"

"No, it's been resolved."

Kotori Hayato stood up and looked at the elegant man with the bookshelf as the background: "It was just a prank."

Mori Ogai: “I see.”

Kotori Hayato lowered her eyes and was not surprised by the leader's clairvoyance. In fact, nothing in this building could escape his ears.

Mori Ogai said, "Dazai-kun and Chuuya-kun are having a fight again."

"They have two completely different personalities, and disagreements are common." This was the official response from Hayato Hayato.

"Hmm." Mori Ogai nodded, stood up, and walked to the French window. He looked up at the endless blue sky and said vaguely, "Come to think of it, thanks to Hayana's mediation between the two of them, their relationship didn't become so bad."

"..." Hayana Kotori remained silent.

Dazai Osamu and Nakahara Chuuya were originally subordinates that Mori Ogai valued very much. Even if the two had different personalities, they would definitely stand together on major issues and care about each other's tsundere existence.

It has nothing to do with her.

"...You're too kind." She hated dealing with this the most.

"You are too modest."

"I heard that you have a very good personal relationship with Chuuya-kun and Dazai-kun."

"So - if you had to choose between the two of them, who would you choose?"

Hayana Kotori scratched her hair: "Uh... I don't have any thoughts of falling in love for the time being."

After her mother forced her to find a boyfriend, does the leader also want to introduce her to someone?

No!!!

The kid wants to stay undercover for two more years!

Mori Ogai, however, did not heed her inner cries. His voice was gentle, as if he was admonishing a stubborn younger generation who refused to listen: "Chuya-kun is a sincere and responsible person. He is tolerant and protective of his subordinates. His subordinates support and trust him very much. And Dazai-kun is smart and capable, and he has a good way of controlling his subordinates..."

"If it's him, with his current status and means, it won't be long before he even has the possibility of taking my position as leader, right?"

At this point, Mori Ogai's eyes had turned cold.

Kotori Hayato opened her eyes wide in astonishment, her heart filled with shock! The room, which had felt warm before, was now as cold as an ice cave.

She didn't understand why the leader was so suspicious of Dazai Osamu.

"Chief." She lowered her voice and said seriously, "Dazai Osamu can't."

"What is the reason for your judgment?"

"The leader's prestige to the entire organization is like the moon hanging high in the sky, unattainable and unmatched by anyone else."

"You are the only one recognized as the leader by Dazai Osamu." Hayana Kotori knelt on one knee again, "You are also the only one recognized as the leader by Nakahara Chuuya and I."

"My office is located on the floor below yours, which means I am your last line of defense. I will do my utmost to protect your safety. This is my duty, the meaning of my being here, and what I truly believe in."

"Don't be nervous, it's just a joke." Mori Ogai's voice became lighter. He lowered his head to look at the girl kneeling on the ground and spoke again in an almost teasing tone: "It's just that I didn't expect Hayana to be willing to vouch for Dazai-kun."

“…”

"Anyone who wants to take your place will have to walk over my dead body."

The girl made an accurate promise.

Hayana Takanashi's promise is enough to make people believe.

Since joining the Port Mafia, she has never broken her promise, and she will not allow herself to break her promise. This is something that few people in the entire mafia world can do.

The girl knelt down to show her loyalty to him and guaranteed him with her own life. The corners of Mori Ogai's straight lips curved up.

He knew she would do that.

He has always been very good at judging people.

Maybe Dazai-kun really has no intention of rebelling, but who knows?

He was gradually beginning to lose sight of the young man.

The boy's achievements continued to grow, and the darkness he had laid was something even he couldn't help but fear. If one day the boy took his place in order to get closer to death...

"Are you not afraid of trusting the wrong person?" Moriou's eyes were cold and focused.

“It’s not a question of whether or not to believe it.”

Hayana Kotori looked up, her eyes firm and filled with indomitable courage, like the brightest star. She was so confident that everyone was shocked. "I am sure that this will never happen."

"I am also willing to protect you with the only thing I can give you."

There was no emotion in Mori Ogai's purple-red eyes, and he was as calm as a sophisticated electronic device operating rationally.

The girl before him, while claiming to protect him with her life, was actually guaranteeing Dazai-kun with her own. If that was the case, perhaps he could rest a little easier.

In addition, the most appropriate time has not yet appeared.

"With Hayana's loyalty, I feel at ease." He said this in a gentle voice.

——Like deadly poison hidden behind honey.