Follow-up and fireworks festival

The events at the port Mafia didn't have much of an impact on Tsurumi Kawaru. The only thing that made him a little unhappy was that the cafeteria's buffet area was affected that day, and he wouldn't be able to eat at the buffet for the next few days.

The cafeteria's lack of a buffet disappointed Tsurumi Kawaru for a long time, and his appetite also suffered.

"Dazai, why do they keep spying on me?"

Tsurumi Kawakuri is usually a bit oblivious, but at this moment, so many gazes were fixed on him that they could be bundled together.

In the relatively quiet cafeteria, many people in black suits were sneaking around, pretending to be casual. Although they were careful, there were always a few who got caught because there were so many people.

Feeling uneasy under her gaze, Tsurumi Kawakami put down the bowl he was holding, looked around, and whispered something in Dazai Osamu's ear.

Dazai Osamu remained completely calm, finishing his food as if nothing was wrong. He put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and joked, "Maybe it's because you're good-looking. Stop looking around and eat quickly."

Hearing Dazai's urging words, Tsurumi Kawakami paused for a moment, then ignored the stares around him and buried his head in eating all the food on his plate, finally finishing a bowl of miso soup.

He let out a satisfied burp, and like Dazai, pulled out a tissue and wiped his greasy mouth.

Dazai Osamu crossed his arms, and seeing him put down his bowl, looked him up and down and said, "Are you full?"

Tsurumi patted his stomach and nodded contentedly: "Yes, I'm done eating."

After they left, the quiet cafeteria suddenly erupted in noise. Several men in black suits surrounded Honda's table, their voices tinged with excitement as they eagerly inquired about what had happened that day.

"That person really is a superhuman."

"I heard that Koizumi Taro has disappeared, and his superior has also gone missing—"

"Tsk tsk, Koizumi Taro has really bitten off more than he can chew this time. He deserves it. He usually bullies us and dumps all the heavy and tiring work on us."

"Shh—we should keep these things to ourselves in private. Let's not discuss matters concerning high-ranking officials, lest we cause trouble."

"Honda, don't stay silent! Tell us what happened that day! I heard from Kato and Kotaro that you tripped Koizumi Taro when he was running away."

Surrounded by people, Honda forced an unnatural smile, briefly recounted what had happened that day, and then used the excuse that he had finished eating to escape from the cafeteria.

The quick-witted Honda guessed what was happening in the port Mafia better than most people. Looking at the cloudless sky outside, he murmured seriously and somewhat absentmindedly, "...The world has changed."

-

Back home, Tsurumi Ryu, thinking about Mori Ougai who had been so busy these past few days, leaned close to Dazai Osamu and blinked, asking, "Dazai, is Dr. Mori going to be the leader?"

Hearing his words, Dazai Osamu looked back at him in surprise, a hint of amusement in his eyes, and said with a smile, "Eh, Ryu actually knows? Mori-san is going to become the leader."

After saying that, Dazai Osamu saw the happy expression on Tsurumi Kawaru's face, and his brow twitched. He immediately realized that Tsurumi Kawaru probably didn't know what it meant for Mori Ougai to be the leader, and probably only remembered the buffet incident.

After Tsurumi Kawa was overjoyed, he received a text message from Nakahara Chuuya.

Upon seeing the text message, he suddenly realized what it meant and turned to Dazai Osamu, saying, "Dazai, there's a fireworks festival tonight!"

There had been so much going on these past few days that Tsurumi Kawaru had almost forgotten about this important day. He would have completely forgotten about it if Nakahara Chuuya hadn't texted him to arrange a meeting.

Dazai Osamu paused for a second, clearly having forgotten as well.

He glanced at Tsurumi Kawaru's phone, roughly guessing who had messaged him. Dazai Osamu pursed his lips, crossed his arms, leaned back on the sofa, and said somewhat sarcastically, "Huh, it was Chuuya who texted you. Is he actually that excited about the fireworks festival?"

Tsurumi Kawaru, holding his phone and replying to Chuuya's message, nodded repeatedly upon hearing Dazai Osamu's words: "Yeah! We almost missed it if Chuuya hadn't brought it up!"

After saying that, he slapped his forehead as if suddenly remembering something, and looked at Dazai Osamu with his golden, sparkling eyes: "Speaking of which, we don't seem to have told Dr. Mori about the fireworks festival."

Dazai Osamu paused for a moment, then turned his head and said, "Oh, that's something Ryu should be concerned about. Besides, Mori-san should be very busy right now."

Tsurumi Kawakami recalled that he hadn't seen Mori Ougai for the past few days, and nodded with a somewhat frightening expression: "That's right, being the leader is even harder than being a doctor before."

Dazai Osamu's lips twitched, and he looked at him speechlessly.

However, just before setting off at dusk, Tsurumi Kawakuri still went to the top floor to tell Mori Ōgai.

The old leader's funeral was held quickly because it was summer, and the top-floor office and suite had already been cleared out for the new leader.

Mori Ougai successfully rose to power with the help of the silver edict in his hand. With the support of Rando and Ozaki Kouyou among the executives, he became the new leader without too many setbacks.

When Tsurumi Kawa arrived at the top-floor office, Mori Ougai was working, his dark red solid wood desk piled high with documents that required the leader's approval.

Mori Ougai looked up from the pile of documents on the table. He had obvious dark circles under his eyes and looked somewhat tired. When he saw Tsurumi Kawaru enter, he gave a gentle smile.

Tsurumi Kawakami sat down in the chair in front of the desk, looking curiously at the documents on the table, and then explained his purpose.

Mori Ougai paused, put down his pen, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and shook his head with a laugh: "Look, I'd forgotten. Was Ryu going with Dazai?"

Tsurumi Kawakami nodded, idly tapping the edge of the table with his right hand, and said to him, "And Chuuya, we're going to participate in the snack competition together!"

Mori Ougai was taken aback. He smiled and said something about being careful, then took out his wallet from the drawer under his desk, pulled out a few 10,000 yen bills, and handed them to him.

"In that case, let's have some fun," he said with a smile.

Tsurumi Kawaru accepted the money with a delighted expression, flashing him a bright smile, and said, "Thank you, Dr. Mori!"

After exchanging greetings, Tsurumi Kawakami waved the money at him, then ran out of the office and quickly went downstairs to meet up with Dazai Osamu.

-

A gentle breeze was blowing, and as the last rays of the evening sun faded, the streetlights on both sides of the street lit up one by one, casting a warm glow on the bustling crowds.

When Tsurumi Kawaru and Dazai Osamu arrived at the place they had agreed to meet with Nakahara Chuuya, the latter was already waiting there.

Seeing them approach, the ochre-haired boy glanced at them with slight displeasure, raised his wrist to check the time, and said, "You're ten minutes late."

Tsurumi Nagare apologized profusely before explaining, "There were just too many people on the road today, and we got stuck in traffic."

Today's Spark Festival saw many people heading to the venue early in the morning, resulting in a large number of cars and people on the road.

Hearing his explanation, Chuuya reluctantly forgave them: "Alright, let's go."

Tsurumi Kawakami smiled immediately. He leaned forward and mysteriously took out the Japanese yen that Mori Ougai had given him from his pocket. He said to Nakahara Chuuya with a smile, "This is from Dr. Mori. I'll pay for whatever Chuuya wants to buy later."

Upon hearing this, Dazai Osamu, who was standing next to him, clicked his tongue twice and said in a somewhat provocative tone, "Not bad, even the idiot school has learned to use others' talents to curry favor."

He still uses Mori Ōgai's money to please others.

Chuuya Nakahara immediately bristled, his azure eyes seeming to ignite with fire as he glared at Osamu Dazai, his tone fierce: "You bastard, what do you mean?!"

Tsurumi Kawakami watched the two arguing, blinked, and suddenly scratched his head, asking, "What do you mean by 'borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha'? I don't have any flowers, and there's no Buddha here."

Osamu Dazai: “…”

Chuuya Nakahara paused for a second, then explained to him the meaning of "borrowing flowers to present to Buddha".

After listening, Tsurumi Kawakami nodded in understanding, then said seriously, "Oh, I see. But Dazai wasn't wrong, I was trying to please Chuuya, after all, we made him wait for so long."

Chuuya Nakahara paused, his face suddenly turning bright red, and his ears also blushed slightly.

He glared angrily at Tsurumi Kawakami, stammering, "Don't just say things like that!"

Dazai Osamu, who was standing to the side, was first speechless at what Tsurumi Kawaru said, but when he saw Nakahara Chuuya's angry expression, he burst out laughing, clutching his stomach and tears welling up in his eyes.

Tsurumi Kawaru looked at them blankly, holding his wallet, seemingly at a loss for what to do.

Finally, Chuuya Nakahara couldn't stand it anymore. He pushed Dazai Osamu, who was clutching his stomach and about to roll to the ground, and said angrily, "Alright, how long are you going to keep laughing?"

After saying that, he looked up at the bewildered Tsurumi Kawakami, took a few steps forward to his side, put his hands in his pockets, and said somewhat awkwardly, "I'm not angry, you don't need to flatter me. Let's go, or there won't be any seats left."

After a bit of playful fighting, they entered the venue ten minutes later than originally planned.

The fireworks display officially started at 7:30 p.m. When they arrived, it hadn't started yet, but the venue was already packed with people.

You need to reserve a spot to watch the fireworks; the very front seats are already taken before sunset.

Zhongyuan Zhong didn't lead them forward to squeeze through the crowd, but instead led them to a hillside. It wasn't far from the venue, and it was a bit secluded, but the view from the hillside was excellent.

"It'll look better if you stand here and wait a bit. Squeezing in front not only means getting caught in the dust, but it's also tiring to crane your neck," said Chuuya Nakahara, who was very experienced.

Dazai Osamu pursed his lips and didn't say anything more.

Soon the fireworks display officially began. As soon as the music started on the temporary stage at the front, fireworks burst into bright bursts in the dark sky, accompanied by energetic music.

"Wow--!!"

Tsurumi Kawakami raised his head slightly, staring at the colorful fireworks in the night sky, his mouth agape in surprise and awe.

The loud fireworks will continue until the end of the event, lasting a full two hours, interspersed with occasional shouts from fireworks vendors and stage music.

It was Tsurumi Kawaru's first time watching a fireworks festival. He watched for a good ten minutes until the snack competition was about to start, when he was dragged away from the hillside by Nakahara Chuuya.

-

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Regarding the usurpation, Mori Ōgai had actually made many plans and preparations. He was well-liked among the lower-level staff of the Port Mafia, and he had won over Momiji and Randou among the higher-ups.