Chapter 32 Eleven Days of Part-Time Work

Dazai Osamu will not retract his assessment of Edagawa Ora that day for the time being.

He was truly calm when he spoke to the young boy, but his flaw was that he was too calm.

Dazai Osamu identified Egawa's excessive calmness as a flaw.

He and Edakawa were actually far from being close; the number of times they had met so far could barely be counted on one hand.

But for a Port Mafia executive who possesses the ability to calculate and manipulate people, the lack of familiarity with interpersonal relationships hardly prevents him from seeing something in Edakawa's eyes and inner self.

It's obvious that there's a gentle side to Edakawa.

Dazai Osamu wasn't entirely dismissive of gentleness; after all, one of his few close friends, Oda Sakunosuke, also possessed a natural gentleness.

However, Osamu Dazai believed that Ori Edagawa's gentleness was somewhat distorted. Gentleness that can feel the misfortune of others is warm, but if that gentleness brings misfortune, then it is the most tragic.

It's utterly pathetic and disgusting.

"Even in this situation, you still calm down and apologize for your rudeness?" He narrowed his eyes, looking down at me with the air of a superior. "How pathetic, Lord Ori."

"There's no need to deliberately mock me, Mr. Dazai."

Dazai Osamu clicked his tongue softly.

Therefore, he concluded that this excessive calmness was a bad thing.

He didn't like Nakahara Chuuya, but he didn't dislike Nakahara Chuuya's sometimes irritable temper.

If Chuuya Nakahara possessed this absurd level of composure, Osamu Dazai would only want to shoot him even more.

Of course, the above only shows the attitude of a certain bandage spirit, and whether it can break down Nakahara Chuuya is still questionable.

“This is far from being intentional, or so you say.” Dazai Osamu leaned against the counter, fiddling with a small, slightly melted ice ball in his other hand, the light separating the shadows from his body.

He looked up, and the shadows cast by his wispy bangs fell into his eyes. "It's just a simple and straightforward statement of the truth."

The surrounding air felt as if it were soaking in icy liquid, cold and still.

This was the most confrontational exchange he had ever had with Edakawa since they met.

But as just said, Dazai Osamu did not show the slightest bit of murderous intent.

Even now, with the situation even more tense than when he sometimes negotiates with some illegal organizations, he remains certain that Edakawa poses neither a threat nor a danger.

He won't do anything outrageous.

Edakawa lacks a sharp, aggressive edge. He's always been more inclined to defend than to attack.

"It is not a good habit to easily judge others as pitiful based on pity."

"That's why I never do it lightly."

"..."

"..."

Finally, Edagawa realized that the topic had gone too far, and he said, "Mr. Dazai, you didn't come to see me to talk about these things, did you?"

He was most wary of Dazai Osamu's rhetoric.

After all, this man often has a magical ability to manipulate other people's thoughts when he talks, and it is very easy to be drawn into his rhythm.

Dazai Osamu went along with him, saying, "But if I asked you why you have so many different identities, would you tell me?"

Of course not.

They both thought the same thing.

Dazai Osamu understood that Egawa's silence was not just directed at him; if he wasn't mistaken, Egawa hadn't told anyone.

If it weren't for the gaps revealed by "No Longer Human," he would have been excluded from the truth and would have waited for the next person who might discover the facts.

But who would notice?

"Or, think about it the other way around, you should thank me for discovering your secret."

"I would be even more grateful if you could pretend you didn't know, Mr. Dazai."

"Why?" Dazai Osamu asked, noticing a slight furrow in Egawa Aru's brow, but he remained unfazed and continued, "If I had pretended not to know anything, I wouldn't be here now, and we wouldn't have had that conversation just now. Why choose to hide? Just because all of this fits your definition of what's reasonable?"

"Or, haven't many people said things like, 'You're a good student' or 'You're a good subordinate'?"

"But you are definitely not a good companion."