Jiuyuan had taken several days off before, and today is his last day off.

Before this, he was very busy even on his days off. He spent all his time working part-time to earn tuition and living expenses, but after joining the system, he didn't expect that he was just working in a different form.

The job of accumulating reputation is a 007 job.

When I woke up in the morning, there were still traces of drowsy dreams on the soft pillow.

As soon as I turned on my phone, I saw the Line messages from my friends.

The news about Kise Ryota was like beans rolling out of a sieve and scattered all over the floor, and he couldn't even finish looking through it.

[Xiao Jiuyuan, Xiao Jiuyuan, you won't believe what I encountered last night!]

He sent the message piece by piece, and the text was fragmented.

He repeated what happened last night. Jiuyuan didn't watch this part carefully because he was there.

[So scary but so powerful, is that a monster?!]

[But to be honest, I thought I almost died there...]

[Also, that monster, that boy said that if you call him, you can see him again!]

I looked at the time and it was sent at six o'clock this morning.

The initial guess was that he couldn't sleep that morning, so he excitedly opened his phone and hid it under the quilt and sent the message - in fact, he was not wrong.

Kuen felt that if he replied now, he would continue to receive a long string of sighs from Kise.

In order to avoid the possibility of being dragged into endless chatting by the other party, he replied: "You can tell me the details when I get to school tomorrow."

After turning off his phone, he changed his clothes and went out to buy breakfast.

He was so tired from staying up late last night that he was thinking about how to decorate Hanako's shop in his dreams. So he was really tired this morning and gave up the idea of ​​making breakfast for himself.

I bought some toast at the bakery next door, and went to the commercial street to buy some food. The vegetables in the morning market were still hanging with water, looking fresh and tempting.

Unexpectedly, when I got home, there was a familiar face standing at my door.

"Hey, good morning." The young man with a bandage standing at the door of his bookstore greeted him cheerfully, then pointed at the sign inside the store and asked, "Are you open now?"

"Good morning, Mr. Dazai." Jiuyuan walked over with a paper bag in his arms and asked gently, "Do you want to buy a book?"

The young man had a playful smile on his pretty face, the depth of the smile was just right and he could do it without any calculation.

"Last time I visited, I saw a book I had been looking for. It was hard to find on the market, and I was worried. I didn't expect to see it here in Jiuyuan. I was worried that someone would snatch it away while I was hesitating, so I came here first today."

This guy just called out the name directly. It seems that there is some research saying that calling out the name can quickly attract favor - Jiuyuan thought as he looked at the young man in front of him.

In fact, when Dazai wants someone to like him, or to be fond of him, every inch of him can show the aura of "lovable". This is a natural talent that is irrigated deep in the soul and learned without any teacher.

Noticing the change in Dazai, Jiuyuan didn't say anything and just played along with him.

"Then please come in, Mr. Dazai. Find the book you want and come to my place to pay."

Dazai walked in boldly, then looked at Jiuyuan and asked, "Are you ready for breakfast?"

"Hmm. Has Dazai-san eaten yet?"

He complained, "Actually, I didn't eat anything and I'm hungry."

"Really?" Jiuyuan took out a packaged mochi from a paper bag and handed it over. "If you don't mind, please have it."

Dazai suddenly raised his voice and asked exaggeratedly, "Is it really possible?"

"Well, I bought a lot anyway." He handed the food to Dazai, whose eyes were shining.

Normally when you feed others, you'll have a slight sense of accomplishment from being depended on, but unfortunately when you feed Dazai, you don't feel that sense at all.

"Thank you so much." Dazai didn't know what the other person was thinking, so he took the food naturally, and then asked while unpacking it: "By the way, Kuen-kun is still a student, right? It's hard to run a used bookstore and raise a child by yourself, right? It's really not easy."

(Ah, I’ve changed my address to “Kyuon-kun”…)

This kind of open and obvious way of getting closer is probably only used by someone with a unique temperament like Dazai. If ordinary people use it, it will only cause the opposite effect. But when it comes out of his mouth, it will only give people a feeling of "helplessness", and then they will accept it naturally.

Once you accept it, you will have the illusion that "the distance has been shortened."

(That’s amazing.) Jiuyuan thought.

Moreover, the way he spoke was very strange. He never mentioned the unreasonable aspects of "an underage student raising another child". Instead, he warmly affirmed his hard work and dedication. If he was really an ordinary male high school student who was defenseless, he might have really told his story according to his words.

After all, people will inadvertently reveal their vulnerable side in front of people who recognize them.

Knowing this well, Jiu Yuan also seemed to let down his guard a little and cooperate with Dazai.

He nodded and said, "Yes. Actually, I am not very good at communicating with children..."

"Really? Hana-kun seems to be very dependent on you." Dazai tried to show his favor subtly.

"Ah... there's nothing we can do about it." Jiuyuan said this and suddenly stopped talking.

He acted as if he had accidentally said something that shouldn't have been continued.

Dazai narrowed his eyes and began to change the subject.

"Well, and... I was guessing when we first met." Dazai crumpled up the food wrapper and stuffed it into his pocket, smiling but asking with a hint of uncertainty: "Kyuon-kun, have you ever participated in a talent show before? Kunikida-kun probably wouldn't recognize you, but I do watch TV shows to some extent--"

"Ah..." Jiuyuan seemed embarrassed. He touched his earlobe unconsciously. "Yes, although I lost the election... I feel embarrassed to say it out loud."

"Really? Really? Looks like I didn't recognize the wrong person - that's great! Many of the female employees in our detective agency are fans of Kuen-kun! If they knew that Kuen-kun personally gave me delicious food, I would definitely receive envious looks from the fans."

Ah, Dazai is really good at exaggerating.

Every word was said in a way that would appeal to others' favor and avoided any part that might cause disgust.

This guy is incredible.

"That's not the case. Mr. Dazai, you're exaggerating." Jiuyuan shook his head.

He also likes to hear nice words, but it's a pity that he can't keep Dazai by his side to listen to them every day.

Smiling again, Jiuyuan asked, "Okay, which books do you want?"

Hearing the other party's expulsion, Dazai showed great awareness of the current situation this time.

He pushed the wrapping paper deeper into his pocket, then turned around and went to select books from the bookshelf.

You can still hear him humming a song here. If you don’t know the truth, you would think he is in a good mood, right?

Kuen slowly began to eat his breakfast, wondering why Dazai showed up at his door today.

He is 200 percent confident in his identity and there will be no doubt about it.

At least before he met the system, Yomikawa Kyuen was just an ordinary high school boy.

——No matter who checks, no matter how they check, there will be no problem.

But it's just right that Dazai is here, and his script will move to the next stage.

There's always some love, hate and vengeance between vests.

Dazai quickly made his choice, which was just a collection of poems by an unknown poet.

"Do you want this one?"

Dazai held up the book with his long, beautiful fingers and said, "Well, that's enough."

Although Kuen felt that Dazai's "enough" did not refer to buying books, he continued to pretend to be deaf and dumb.

There is a price tag on the book that was put there by the previous owner. It is very cheap, only 300 yen.

Dazai handed over the coins, but his hand slipped and a few coins fell to the ground. He quickly bent down to pick them up, then smiled warmly again, handed the coins over, and said, "Sorry, that was embarrassing, wasn't it?"

"No, nothing."

After receiving the coins and paying the bill, Dazai picked up the paper bag and prepared to leave.

"By the way, Kuen-kun." Dazai deliberately said before leaving, "Do you know? The strange man with the slit mouth seems to have appeared again last night, and he seems to be near your house..."

Jiuyuan showed surprise on his face, and he quickly adjusted his expression, but his hands on the table curled up unconsciously - he couldn't help smiling, as if he was trying hard to hide his fear.

"Is that so... That's really dangerous."

Dazai seemed to be completely oblivious to Kuen's awkwardness and continued to remind her considerately, "Right? You have to be careful at night these days."

"…Thanks for your reminder."

The wind chimes rang in front of the door, and the young man held the sliding door and left in the early morning wind.

Jiuyuan slowly began to boil water and prepare tea.

[Master, the person just now seemed to be suspicious of you.]

Without waiting for Jiuyuan to answer, the system continued: [That thing, should it be called a bug? He placed it...]

(When Dazai bent down to pick up the coins, he put them in the pot of plants under the counter.) Kuen replied in his heart.

In the past, Jiu Yuan might not have noticed that someone had tampered with his phone. But now that he had the system, he certainly knew what Dazai had done. He also knew that Dazai would come tomorrow and quietly take away the eavesdropping device, claiming that something was lost in the store.

What Dazai said before about the man with the slit mouth was probably just a casual test. After all, the man with the slit mouth did not appear in this area last night. Jiuyuan was the one who knew this best.

But Jiuyuan also successfully conveyed a new message to Dazai -

He is an insider and is even afraid of the man with the slit mouth.

Previously, he had planned to completely sever ties with that group, but after thinking about it last night, he felt that it would be more natural to make good use of the inextricable connection rather than severing ties abruptly.

Thinking of the eavesdropping device in the potted plant, he felt that this was a good opportunity to turn the tables.

——Wouldn’t it be great to just have a performance like this?

Thinking of this, Jiuyuan went up to the second floor first.

"Hanako-kun." He walked to the sofa. Hanako was flipping through an atlas. When he heard Kuen calling him, the boy raised his head.

"What?"

"What do you think of the storyline 'A boy who ran away from home was overprotected by his elders and lost his freedom, so he sneaked out while he was asleep and is now being searched for by others all over the city'?"

"...Wait, being overprotected by the elders means you lose your freedom?"

Kuen nodded without thinking there was anything wrong, "Yeah - Hanako-kun is the Master's favorite child."

Hanako suppressed her expression as if she had eaten a fly and continued to ask, "Being hunted all over the city? By whom?"

"Well... the 'master' has fallen asleep, so the person in charge of these things should be Xue."

"So the boy who ran away from home..."

"Yes, it's Hanako-kun."

The next second, Hanako threw the picture book in her hand at him, and the boy gritted his teeth and said:

"My great master, the one who loves me the most, who has fallen into a deep sleep, Hisaen-sama—"

"I think this script is really! Not! Right!!"