Chapter 30 Fifteen Years Old (Part Six)

Following that day, Yokawa Rei heard that Nakahara Chuuya had joined the Port Mafia.

When she learned that Nakahara Chuuya had betrayed her, she was furious and vowed to teach those ungrateful little lambs a lesson, but he stopped her.

"Never mind, it's all in the past."

"The former king of sheep said with a sigh."

It was because he failed as a leader that he suffered this ordeal.

What kind of leader is one who makes his subordinates doubt him?

"Even so, I would never like them."

Yaochuan muttered angrily, took off the blue bracelet from his wrist and stuffed it into Nakahara Chuuya's hand.

She didn't want to keep anything that symbolized the sheep.

The better her relationship with Chuuya Nakahara, the more her willful and childish nature becomes apparent.

Especially with his indulgence.

"Okay. I'll give you something even better later."

His eyes flickered slightly as he put the bracelet in his pocket, still showing no intention of throwing it away.

He had known before that this bracelet was rough and unattractive compared to the other bracelet on Yao Chuanling's wrist.

At that time, Chuuya Nakahara was thinking that he would buy her even prettier ones in the future.

The moment he saw Yao Chuanling, he felt that she should be carefully nurtured with gold, jade, and brocade.

"Chuuya, it's so good to have met you. I'm so lucky!"

Yao Chuanling was filled with gratitude.

She found the fragment that had fallen among the sheep.

That day, Chuuya Nakahara rarely unleashed the power of his hand, and she discovered the clue.

Combining his special ability "In the Turbid Sorrow" and Araha-toku, the answer is obvious.

Yao Chuanling couldn't help but feel smug.

As expected of her! A clever, beautiful, kind, and adorable elf.

"ah……"

He hadn't gotten used to Yao Chuanling's direct attacks yet, and he lowered the brim of his hat, too embarrassed to turn his face away.

"Meeting you was actually my good fortune."

"It was Chuuya Nakahara, who was fifteen years old," he said softly.

Only she stood firmly by his side.

These words drifted on the wind, carried on and on, until they reached the elves' ears.

Yao Chuanling quickly covered her ears.

She has always been a high-attack, low-defense player and is not good at receiving straight shots.

"I have to go now, I have to go."

My ears feel a little hot.

Butterflies flutter in her heart.

She ran to the riverbank in the blink of an eye, as if fleeing.

The surface of the Tsurumi River shimmered, its current gentle. A light breeze caressed her face, and Yokawa Rei slowly lowered her hands from her ears.

She jumped up and down, her joy undeniable.

She and her friend were going in opposite directions.

Something was floating closer and closer in the river. Yao Chuanling looked closely and realized it was a person. The clothes looked familiar.

Kind-hearted citizens who dared to help pulled him out of the water.

"Oh, it's Miss Ling."

The boy, soaking wet, lay on the grass, speaking in a flat tone.

"Isn't it inappropriate to interfere with other people's decisions?"

He turned his face away, not wanting to see her.

He failed to die again...

Dazai Osamu closed his eyes listlessly.

"It hurts, it hurts!"

His eyes, which had just closed, suddenly opened wide again.

Yao Chuanling punched him in the stomach.

She still remembers the eavesdropping incident and is just waiting to beat up Dazai Osamu the next time she sees him.

What a coincidence!

"Stop listening to me."

She threatened with a stern face, "If I find out, I'll beat you up every time."

Yokawa Rei mimicked Hibari Kyoya's cold expression.

She had perfectly imitated the disciplinary committee leader's extremely intimidating demeanor.

Dazai Osamu couldn't dodge it, and instead, he ended up with several cuts on his face from the grass.

There was a bruise on the corner of his mouth.

"Yaochuan Ling!"

The angry and embarrassed boy glared at her fiercely.

No matter what, she can't hit him!

Anyone can glare at someone.

Yao Chuan Ling glared back at him.

Their eyes met, and the emotions in his eyes were laid bare.

The elf started laughing as he watched.

She was overjoyed and accidentally bumped her head on his chest.

"Yaochuan Ling!"

Dazai Osamu called her name again.

He was furious!

The port mafia treated him with utmost respect, and Mr. Mori and he mutually exploited each other. Chuuya Nakahara was interesting, but unfortunately lacked common sense, always being manipulated by him.

He reached out to push her away.

"Dazai Osamu."

Yao Chuanling pressed the bruise on the corner of his mouth and smiled happily with her eyes crinkled.

"You're finally showing your emotions."

In the sunlight, her face was clear and vivid.

Upon hearing this, Dazai Osamu deflated, and his hand, which was about to push her away, froze.

cut.

Yao Chuanling always moved on from such matters once they were over. Having vented her anger, she no longer held a grudge.

The bandaged brat was beaten hard by her. The elf's eyes moved slightly, and a green light appeared in the palm of his hand.

"it's useless.

Dazai Osamu hesitated again before he could finish speaking.

Two unexpected things happened to him in one day, and both were related to Yao Chuanling.

His special ability, No Longer Human, can nullify the abilities of others. Logically, Yokawa Rei's special ability should be useless against him.

unless……

Hahahaha. Oh dear.

He laughed until his stomach hurt, rolling around on the grass.

That's interesting, so very interesting.

She has quite a few secrets.

Yokawa Rei, unaware of Dazai Osamu's special ability, poked his forehead.

"What are you laughing at?"

She asked.

She wondered if she had damaged his brain.

Oh no, is he going to try and cling to her?

"You have to compensate me."

A solitary person who lives apart from the world is actually better at observing and understanding people's hearts than an ordinary person, not to mention that this person is inherently interested in people's hearts.

Dazai Osamu was able to grasp the nuances perfectly, half-pouting and half-complaining: "It hurts so much when you hit me."

He lowered his eyes, as if he had suffered great pain and injustice.

Yaochuan Ling felt a little guilty, but then realized that it was Dazai Osamu's own doing, so she became self-righteous.

"Who gave you permission to eavesdrop on me? How can you blame me?"

—Don't feel sorry for Dazai; he's easy to fool.

The above advice comes from Rimbaud.

Rimbaud stayed in the port mafia for a long time. Although he had little acquaintance with Dazai Osamu, he could always hear rumors about him.

Lambo, who was working at the shop, was inexplicably worried.

Having only met him a few times, he felt that Dazai Osamu was unfathomable. Could it be said that he was indeed a disciple taught by Mori-sensei?

"Come on, let's go get some sweet water."

The unfathomable, ruthless apprentice blinked, clearly intrigued.

His tone rose when he said "sweet water," and it sounded so sweet.

"good."

Upon hearing "sweet water," Yao Chuanling's mouth moved faster than her brain, and she agreed without hesitation.

Oh.

She was taken to a bar, and Dazai Osamu, as if familiar with the place, ordered her a glass of cider.

Yao Chuanling held the glass and gently swirled it.

The mint leaves floating on the surface of the liquid swayed with the waves, and the round ice cubes revealed a small part of the iceberg.

The apple's sweetness ferments slightly, releasing a hazy, spicy aroma.

In her childhood memories, she had smelled this spicy aroma on Abe no Seimei, and the cunning teacher would always secretly drink it behind her back.

She remembered that when the teacher wasn't around, she secretly dug up the jar he had hidden under the tree and drank it.

What happened next?

The elf drank and pondered, then slowly closed his eyes.

I'm getting a little sleepy.

But Dazai Osamu wasn't lying to her; it was sweet and strangely delicious.

In the last second before her consciousness began to fade, Yao Chuanling insisted on finishing the remaining liquid at the bottom of the cup.

"Miss Ling?"

On the contrary, as soon as Dazai Osamu picked up his wine glass, he saw that she looked dazed.

He stood calmly in front of her, not having touched a drop of alcohol, perfectly sober.

Those withered, tree-like eyes stared at her for a long time.

Yao Chuanling wasn't flushed from the alcohol and seemed perfectly fine. Hearing him call her name, her eyelashes fluttered, and she struggled to open her eyes to look at him.

That was a look in her eyes unlike any other, like a lamb yearning for its young, as if she saw only him in the whole world.

A withered tree comes back to life.

Like Pandora being lured to open her box, Dazai Osamu was drawn closer until those eyes could only hold his face.

He whispered softly in her ear.

The delicate aroma of cider enveloped the two of them.

"It's a little black cat struggling in the mud, a crab with its shell peeled off."

The wine glass fell to the ground, and she instead cupped his face in her hands, her expression gentle and earnest.

Cider is indeed intoxicating; even he was intoxicated.

After leaving her, Dazai Osamu thought with regret.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked such a stupid and useless question.

He felt a little irritated.

At first, he intended to ask her about her secret, but he ended up asking a trivial question instead.

Leaning against the wall at the bar entrance, feeling the cold wind blowing, Dazai Osamu stared at the image on the "Lupin" sign, his inner turmoil churning and bubbling.

Is it really unimportant?

A voice was asking him.

Upon seeing him, most of the Mafia members hurriedly left, leaving only a few scattered individuals to have a drink.

It's supposed to be a bar, but it's unusually quiet.

"It's not advisable to go out today."

Dazai Osamu returned and found her still sitting motionless in her seat, her eyelids slightly closed, like a well-behaved student dozing off in class.

Upon closer inspection, there are some differences.

Normally, Dazai Osamu would definitely have noticed it, but unfortunately, he was in a state of unease, and these minor details were difficult for him to perceive.

"Little troublemaker."

He didn't notice, and instead reached out to close her eyes.

Hidden beneath her eyelids, her pupils turned a pale red vertical line—that was the reason Abe no Seimei wouldn't let her drink alcohol.

Fortunately, the cider had a low alcohol content and wasn't as strong as the peach blossom wine from back then, so the elf sat there obediently and blankly.

Dazai Osamu picked her up in his arms, weighed her in his arms, and found that she was much lighter than he had imagined.

How come you don't gain weight at all when you can eat so much?

"Mr. Guangjin, I'll be going now."

Anran sat calmly in the corner, watching them. Even when he was called out, Hirojin Ryūrō calmly toasted him from afar.

Being older and an outsider, he saw things much more clearly than Dazai Osamu.

"Dazai Osamu, you're finished."

After he left, Hirojin Ryūrō placed the wine glass on the table and finished up for him.

He got tricked before he left; serves that kid right for suffering this fate.

Dazai Osamu didn't care what Hirotsu Ryūrō thought; he was carrying the drunkard back to their lodgings.

In places unlit by streetlights, the moonlight illuminates the path ahead.

It turns out her hair wasn't the color of the sun, but the color of the moon.

"I still prefer the moon."

He looked up to admire the moonlight.

The sunlight was too dazzling, but the moonlight was different; it was neither too strong nor too weak, just right for him.