54 Chapter 54

"I have to admit to you, A-Dun, I have hidden something from you. ... It wasn't entirely for the sake of planning. I had my own selfish motives. ... Believe me."

Sky Casino.

After successfully completing the plan and reuniting with Kunikida, Miyazawa Kenji looked around but couldn't find the person who was supposed to be there. He asked Kunikida Doppo in confusion, "Where did Mr. Oda go?"

"Oda? Oda hasn't come back?" Kunikida frowned, his eyes slightly widened. According to the plan, Oda Sakunosuke should return to him at the same time as Kenji. Could something have gone wrong?

A bad premonition quietly spread amidst the speculation. The only good news was that there were still two minutes left before the rendezvous time specified in the mission. They still had two minutes to hope that Oda Sakunosuke was just temporarily hindered by trouble.

The second hand moved forward step by step, and just when it was about to return to the starting point for the second time, Oda Sakunosuke appeared at the corner of the corridor.

Not injured, Oda Sakunosuke walked steadily and quickly to Kunikida Doppo's side.

"Mr. Kunikida, the mission has been accomplished."

Time was of the essence, so Kunikida Doppo didn't reply, merely nodding as if he'd heard. Mission accomplished, and Oda Sakunosuke unharmed, it was time to proceed with the next plan.

…

The mission is progressing smoothly. All we need to do next is get...

It's an alarm!

Kunikida Doppo quickly gestured to Miyazawa Kenji and Oda Sakunosuke to retreat, but even faster than them were the armed men from the casino—

"Mr. Oda, the manager asks you and your companions to meet in the reception room. Don't worry, all the chips have been recalled."

The strictly trained casino staff did not change the instructions they received from their superiors because of the resistance shown by Kunikida Doppo and his group after they were discovered after sneaking in. They politely gestured for invitation to the three people.

"Oda..." Kunikida Doppo, who still couldn't understand the current situation, looked at Oda Sakunosuke beside him, and Miyazawa Kenji also cast an inquiring look at Oda Sakunosuke.

Oda Sakunosuke nodded to the two men, and the three of them walked forward together with the attendants.

Back to one evening after Dazai Osamu's arrest, Oda Sakunosuke met Hyakube on the riverbank where Dazai Osamu often went ashore. The other party was not surprised and had no intention of hiding his intentions.

"Mr. Oda, do you remember? You once promised to let me make a request." Without paying attention to Oda Sakunosuke's reaction, Bailibian just continued to talk to himself, as if he didn't care about the answer at all, and as if he already knew the answer.

"...I need you to get the contact information of the person currently in charge of Sky Casino..."

Oda Sakunosuke looked at Bailibian who was standing in front of the sunset. The man in front of him probably didn't intend to talk to him for long, so he still carried the full basket of vegetables on his hand.

In the face of the brilliant sunset, even though he had tried to fit in with the occasion by donning an orange sweatshirt, the young man, dressed in only black and white, still looked lonely and out of place. Even the bright colors, after blending into the play of the sun, became part of the young man's background.

At that time, Oda Sakunosuke had just received the news that Dazai Osamu was imprisoned and the Armed Detective Agency was wanted. In the chaos, he had not heard of the name of Sky Casino.

But he still agreed.

After he completed the task, he connected the USB flash drive that Baili Bian handed him to a computer in the casino.

…

Is home just a house?

Does it have to be a specific location?

How can we convey the feeling of home?

The answers to these questions remain to be found, but what Bailibian can be sure of is that the casino manager on the other side of the screen really wants a home.

Otherwise he wouldn't be so easy to talk to.

…

See clearly.

For the first time, Sen Ouwai had such a clear picture of Bailibian's appearance in his mind.

Relying on the disguise of his special abilities, Baili Bian has never stopped controlling his image in other people's minds, whether it is his personality or appearance. Therefore, when people look at him, there is always a layer of fog in their eyes. They can recognize and distinguish him clearly, but it is not real.

This proves that he is indeed good-looking. Even if people only have a vague image of him in the fog, they still remember that he is good-looking.

Perhaps because of the bandage buff, Moriowa saw the shadow of Dazai Osamu on Bailibian's face - or maybe it was because of the saying "all good-looking people look the same".

Although the similarity in facial shape is true, the different straight hair and thin lips are also true. Especially those eyes, they are definitely not as pleasing as Dazai Osamu's.

Not only is the black and white combination too bright compared to the iris color, but there's also that terrible upturned tail of the eye, its line is too direct, lacking the natural warmth of the human form, so that when it looks at something, or even just glances at something, it feels offensive—like scrutiny, like an assessment of price.

This makes sense why his master would choose to hide this unique mark when in public - no one would like to be seen through by such a pair of eyes. A sharp arrow is more frank than a gentle knife, but no one would choose to point it at themselves until the last moment.

Unless that person likes to abuse himself.

He liked to display the ugly wounds that had just stopped bleeding and were being healed by platelets, with the inevitable yellow particles appearing, under the naked sunlight - the dust gave the light shape, allowing him to find the hottest burn scar or destroy himself.

"Chief Mori, I would like to borrow a piece of clothing from you."

The scalpel, pressed against his throat, had just been pulled from the pocket of his warm coat, still carrying Moriogai's own body heat. With the exception of his face, Bailibian now covered all exposed skin with bandages. The white shirt, a thing he had never worn before, made Moriogai, unable to move his eyes, feel as if he were back in a nightmare from years ago—the same nightmare in which Dazai Osamu had taken his scarf.

"Uh-huh."

The breathy sound emitted only from the throat ensured that the great leader would not be accidentally scratched by the ignorant young man due to the ups and downs movement of his Adam's apple.

The power of money never needs to be proven.

Bai Libian, who was riding on the spaceship he bought from Francis, quietly looked at the nearby sky. This spaceship, which was blessed with special powers, could allow him to appear in Europe at a time that no one could imagine.

Dazai Osamu did not ask him for help.

People should respect other people's choices, especially those you care about, such as friends, family, and... Dazai Osamu.

But that doesn't mean he has to do nothing, right?

Bandages tightly wrapped around the skin, a shirt one size larger chosen for ease of movement, simple and neat black pants, and a somewhat stuffy black windbreaker that had to sacrifice comfort for the sake of fit - why does Sen Ou Wai prepare such thick clothes when he stays in the office every day!

The forehead, deliberately hidden by the hair, showed no sign of a frown, but the eyes exposed to the sun still revealed the owner's dissatisfaction - this outfit was a bit of a stretch for Baili Bian, who always pursued comfort and rejected black, white and gray.

But there's nothing I can do.

Time is too tight.

If he didn't want to trouble Chuuya and the others to go through the process of writing a report, and had to return to Yokohama to stop someone's middle school dream before it left a psychological trauma on the children, he had to save all the time he could.

Changing clothes is obviously a part that can be omitted.

And it takes a lot of time.

At the beginning, Bailibian wrapped himself in bandages with the intention of bullying Dazai Osamu and using up all his stocks.

Although according to his guess, Dazai Osamu's plan, in addition to sending himself to prison, should also include some scenes of Hisasaku and Atsushi saving the world.

But this didn't actually make him that angry.

Even if this meant that Dazai Osamu would lose his freedom forever in front of the official organization, even if Hisasaku had to use his special ability again, even if Nakajima Atsushi had to show his strength to the enemy, even if uninvited guests might appear in his home...

But these are still within his acceptable range, and Yumeno Hisasaku really has no way to get rid of his special abilities, and Nakajima Atsushi should also start practical training. The others can be controlled with some small tricks.

But as he kept pestering her, he began to get a little angry.

Why is it different from when I was pestering Dazai Osamu?

Are bandages that difficult to wrap?

Why are there always uneven areas?

So where are the two children who were left in Yokohama now?

The curtains in the house were tightly drawn, every window was locked, and every secret passage was locked from the inside, not to mention the main door - it had lost the ability to be opened.

But there was no one in the house.

There is no basement either.

There was no one in the secret passage.

Because the magic of "home" had lost its effect when Bailibian left.

Such a change cannot be hidden from anyone. All forces that have paid attention to this house can easily detect this change - the house number can be found.

Baili Bian did not make a choice for them before he left. He left behind a lot of things, but he did not take the first step for them.

Leaving the house is neither a good nor a bad choice.

The right amount of disorder might give intruders some false tracking directions, but at the same time, the guardians, having lost the advantages of familiar terrain and relatively solid barriers, only have the only advantage left: uncertainty of location.

It is difficult to say whether Nakajima Atsushi and Yumeno Hisasaku finally chose to leave based more on rational analysis or emotional desire - especially since both of them have a stronger desire to protect their homes than others.

"Please note that while those flies that try to take advantage of the situation may be quite annoying, they are never the ultimate target you have to guard against..."

In the small safe house, Nakajima Atsushi and Yumeno Hisasaku each occupied a corner. Staring intently at the only two entrances and exits, he repeatedly replayed Bai Libian's instructions before leaving in his mind.

"...You have to deal with more than just what Yokohama already has... No matter how determined, noble, or pious he may seem, you have to focus only on his desires. That is his motivation, his weakness..."

【Author’s words】

Whenever a burning inspiration strikes, I open the comment section to cool myself down.