Explosion, boom.

The moment Oda Sakunosuke's eyes reached the inside of the house, he became like a frozen machine, his surroundings became numb, and his fingertips could not move at all.

The smell of death is everywhere.

It was a color of destruction and despair.

This is...

What is going on? ! !

The house was in ruins, with burnt colors everywhere. The broken wooden chairs were covered with crushed wood chips, the broken tables and broken glass scattered on the ground were stained with blood, and the bright red color and the terrifying smell of blood gradually made Oda Sakunosuke realize what was happening.

Where are the people?

Where are the people?

Everybody...where has everybody gone?

The temperature in summer is cold.

The sunlight shining on his body felt cold and without any warmth, like ice. Oda Sakunosuke felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave, as if a knife was placed across his neck.

What's going on?

The bloodstains on the ground were eye-catching, and the sharp edges of the broken glass were frightening. The lifeless room was a bit cold, and even the doll that usually looked soft and smiling at others was now covered in dust, half of its body was torn and it fell sideways, revealing the cotton inside.

Blood, blood everywhere.

Oda Sakunosuke stood there for a while, his expression blank for a moment. Then, as if he suddenly realized what was going on, he stumbled inside.

No one.

There was no one in the bedroom on the second floor, but there were traces of blood and bullet holes everywhere. Oda Sakunosuke could recreate the tragic scene countless times in his eyes. With miserable cries and sobs, blood splashed out, and the bedding was the color of coagulated blood.

What is it?

Who is it?

The brain was like an old-fashioned machine that was slowly being wound up. Oda Sakunosuke numbly felt the pain in his throat, as if a sword was pressed against his throat. He was in so much pain that he couldn't speak. The smell of iron filings seemed like an illusion, and he was so depressed that he couldn't breathe.

But the next second, a hand stretched out from the side.

Oda Sakunosuke, who was tense all over, was frightened by the sudden appearance of the hand. He took a step back and noticed the girl who appeared out of nowhere.

The auburn-haired girl withdrew her hand.

"Hey." The ochre-haired girl looked at the expression on the man's face and said, "Oda Sakunosuke, is this your name?"

Oda Sakunosuke came back to his senses from his trance: "Me? Yes... yes."

The ochre-haired girl frowned visibly.

She seemed to have thought of something and uttered a sound of dissatisfaction.

Oda Sakunosuke looked at the girl and said, "It's the god that Dazai mentioned... Didn't we see him before—"

"Yes, I have seen you before. You were with that group of little kids who liked to come up to me for some reason." The ochre-haired girl recalled, "Oh, it was in the mall that time."

Speaking of children, Oda Sakunosuke's expression became a little silent.

Without it, everything is gone.

Whether it was the future of the novels or the children he adopted, the women who had been described by the children, the future he had fantasized about...all disappeared at this moment.

"Ah..." As if noticing Oda Sakunosuke's expression, the ochre-haired woman looked relieved, "Those little devils are very restless. They are too noisy staying in the shrine. The owner of the store can't handle them either. Take them away quickly."

Oda Sakunosuke: “…”

Oda Sakunosuke said, "Excuse me..."

He suddenly reacted.

What does this girl mean?

Could it be that...

Oda Sakunosuke looked at the ochre-haired girl in disbelief.

"Take it away..."

"Can't hear clearly? Just pick it up." Seeing that Oda Sakunosuke was slow to react, the auburn-haired girl frowned in surprise, "I don't have the habit of raising children for you. Go pick it up now. It doesn't matter where you take it away or raise it, it has nothing to do with me."

"Then what about the explosion before..."

The ochre-haired girl: “I beat him up.”

Oda Sakunosuke: “…”

Ochre-haired girl: "Take the child away."

The second half of the sentence was spoken very quickly, obviously hoping that Oda Sakunosuke would do it quickly.

Oda Sakunosuke was so shocked that he didn't react: "Yes, yes..."

But his heart slowly relaxed.

The kids are fine.

His hope in life and even his hope for life is fine.

Oda Sakunosuke only felt that his heart was slowly relaxing from an extremely tense atmosphere, as if something was pulled out of him in an instant, and his heartbeat returned to normal in an instant.

"Hey, hey..." Seeing Oda Sakunosuke standing there in a daze, the girl with red hair spoke unconsciously, "Go take those little brats away first."

Oda Sakunosuke: “Okay.”

He stood there for a long time, and finally looked at the ochre-haired girl without moving.

Ochre-haired girl: ? ?

The auburn-haired girl: "Are you going to let me raise those little brats? You can't afford the price."

Oda Sakunosuke shook his head in trepidation.

Oda Sakunosuke: "Where is your shrine?"

The ochre-haired girl: “…”

The ochre-haired girl didn't seem to know how to deal with this kind of person. She frowned and stared at Oda Sakunosuke for a long time before finally saying, "Forget it, just follow me."

Oda Sakunosuke said yes.

Oda Sakunosuke looked at the red light shining on the ochre-haired girl's body. When his eyes went dark, he was still thinking in his mind that the girl looked exactly like an officer of Nakahara Chuuya, and seemed to have the same characteristics as the god described by Dazai Osamu.

The other world is so wonderful.

Children are a string in the girl's heart. After the ochre-haired girl loosened this string, her way of thinking involuntarily returned to the original way.

When Oda Sakunosuke saw the shrine, he couldn't help but marvel at its appearance. Such decorations are almost unique in other shrines in the world.

He remembered the black-haired girl lying on the bar and speaking in a long voice as if complaining, saying that [Nakahara Chuuya] had nothing as a god, and even the renovation and design of the shrine were decided by him.

——God is just garbage, garbage.

The black-haired girl's words were still echoing in Oda Sakunosuke's ears.

It's really amazing, Dazai.

Oda Sakunosuke sighed in his heart and believed in what Dazai Osamu said in his memory.

"That sister is really amazing!"

“Beautiful and amazing!”

“…”

"This shrine is so huge - is it in the mountains?"

"Look! Look! It's so beautiful there!"

Only when he heard the chattering of children as he entered the room did Oda Sakunosuke finally feel relieved.

“Sakunosuke!!”

One of the children noticed Oda Sakunosuke coming in, and with that little kid’s call, all the other children ran towards him, smiling and saying, “Sakunosuke, are you here too?”

Oda Sakunosuke reached out and touched the top of a child's head, while bending down and patiently helping a girl tidy up her messy clothes. Then he looked up and smiled while talking to a child, and patted a child's back with his other hand as a comfort.

The children hugged Oda Sakunosuke one after another, and Oda Sakunosuke looked at the faces of each child seriously.

"A group of people broke into my house with guns and smashed up my store and my house..."

“They also beat people…”

Oda Sakunosuke felt nervous.

"Sakunosuke, it was this sister who brought us to such a beautiful place." The child raised his hand as if answering a question, and was very excited when talking about this topic, as if he had encountered something new.

Oda Sakunosuke felt relieved and nodded with a smile.

He turned his head and noticed the boss on the first floor standing next to him.

The man smiled at him and said, "I was indeed startled at first, but fortunately I had this lady... God, I was really startled."

Although his expression didn't show that he was shocked.

"Thank you." Oda Sakunosuke bowed to the ochre-haired girl.

The children did not die because of him.

The children are still alive and they still have a future to grow up.

It was like a light, everything seemed to be on.

Dazzling.

"It doesn't matter." said the ochre-haired girl.

"You mentioned the 'price' before." Oda Sakunosuke slowly stood up. The moment he confirmed that the children were safe, he was truly relaxed. "May I ask if there is any 'price' that I need to pay?"

He remembered what the auburn-haired girl had revealed when she was talking to him. Price might be a very important thing for something, and price probably meant that he had to pay something.

When the children heard what Oda Sakunosuke said, they couldn't help but raise their heads curiously.

"Price?"

The younger children did not quite understand the word "price". The older children did not know what price was, but they still spoke up bravely.

"Can I replace Odasaku and pay the price that God needs?"

The ochre-haired girl: “Tsk.”

She turned her head and seemed a little annoyed.

"What 'price' do you need to pay?"

[Nakahara Chuuya] glanced at Oda Sakunosuke, whose expression had returned to normal. Oda Sakunosuke was standing next to several children, and he lowered his head to look at the children's situation, and after confirming that everything was fine, he raised his head.

Oda Sakunosuke's gaze fell on the god, whose face had a heavy expression, as if carrying a feeling of depression that could not be relieved.

My own shadow was reflected in those eyes.

It's like looking at someone else.

"You don't need to do anything."

“You just need to live well.”

There was a complex emotion in the tone of the ochre-haired girl, which made Oda Sakunosuke a little confused. He vaguely felt that the god in front of him seemed to have made his own choice in a certain decision, and now the ochre-haired girl standing here was obviously the result of the decision.

The girl turned around and spoke in a calm tone.

Oda Sakunosuke was stunned by the girl's next words.

"As for the [price], someone has already paid it."