Hanako's express delivery service sounds mysterious, but when you are really in it, it doesn't feel special. It's like the room in a virtual game changing from color to black, and then changing to a new color again. After a few breaths, put your hand on the compartment again and open the door, and the scenery in front of you has changed.

This is a one-story office building with a retro style, but the overall color is soft and comfortable.

When Nakajima Atsushi came out of the room, the first person he met was a young man with a big smile on his face.

"Oh my~ I didn't expect it to be successful." The young man raised his voice at the end of his voice, but his tone was clearly full of affirmation of "I had expected it long ago". He said this now, as if he was deliberately trying to save face for someone.

(No, it would make me angry... your tone is too frivolous!)

Nakajima Atsushi didn't know why he thought so.

"Hmm? Hanako-kun isn't here?"

Dazai waited for a few seconds, but he didn't see the figure. In front of him was only Nakajima Atsushi.

"A child I've never seen before... Could he be the store clerk?" Being looked at by the young man with a smile, Nakajima Atsushi suddenly felt embarrassed.

"I guess I'm a shop assistant, right?" Nakajima Atsushi was worried that his behavior might bring discredit to the shop owner, so he said uncomfortably, "...If you're looking for Hanako-kun, he should be here..."

"You are not my guest."

Hanako walked out from the shadows, his eyes scanning the narrow corridor in front of him. He knew that once he passed this corridor, he would reach the bright main hall in front of him, but he could probably guess what Dazai's intention was in blocking the door.

Just like a frontline scout on the battlefield, he not only needs to quickly analyze intelligence, but also pass effective information to the headquarters in the rear.

And Dazai is probably a plus-level scout, so he is responsible for brainpower, right?

"If he doesn't show up, I can just leave like this." Not wanting to be at a disadvantage, Hanako said, "Let's go, Nakajima-kun. It seems that the customer doesn't really want to do business with us..."

Just at this moment, another familiar voice interrupted their conversation.

Along with the rhythmic footsteps, the young man's voice interrupted: "Dazai! What are you still doing here... Eh?"

Kunikida walked into the blind spot alone and saw two figures blocked by his companions.

A strange Japanese-haired boy and...

Hanako-kun.

Hanako recognized him almost immediately. This was the one who summoned her. A smile appeared on her face, and she wiped away her cold attitude.

"Good afternoon, sir. What is the purpose of summoning me?"

"..." Kunikida sighed, and Dazai, who was standing beside him, chuckled twice at the excitement.

He pushed up his glasses and said to Hanako, "...Can I start from the beginning?"

Hanako made a "please" gesture.

Noticing the change in Hanako's attitude, Nakajima Atsushi had to say that Hanako's attitude towards her customers was always as warm as a spring breeze - at least it was different from how she treated non-customers.

"It all started when an acquaintance who was helped by the detective agency sent a large basket of apples to me ten minutes ago."

Nakajima Atsushi: “Huh?” Do we have to start from so far back?

"So, as you can see, this idle guy handed the apple to me, saying that I could use it to try to summon Hanako." Kunikida frowned when he said this - it was obvious that something not so good happened afterwards.

Hanako pretended to be surprised: "...But, judging from your personality, it doesn't seem like you would agree to this joke, right?"

"This guy promised me that as long as I perform a summoning as required, no matter what the result is, he will promise me to complete the next task well and will not be absent from work or disappear today." In Kunikida's unique world, this is a common occurrence, so much so that he looked at Dazai with a little helplessness: "...Next, this is it."

"But~ I didn't expect it to actually work~ Even though I kept calling out to Hanako-kun in my heart and got no response, Kunikida-kun sometimes has some things that make me jealous."

Hanako: “…” Who is he kidding? He didn’t even hear Dazai calling him okay?

Kunikida quickly calmed down and said to Hanako and the others politely, "That's what happened. Sorry for making the trip. Sorry..." Perhaps he felt that it was not enough, so he added, "...Well, there are still a lot of apples. Can I get some for you?"

Hanako liked him more and more, and said with a smile: "No need, but since I'm here, if I don't do business, the one who suffers is not me, but you, okay?"

"For example, have you been troubled or bothered recently... or have you encountered any difficult decisions? I can provide you with a sharing service." Hanako said, spreading out her palms. A red and black mist bead rose from her palms. The mist flowed slowly, looking mysterious.

The first time he saw Hanako use this ability, Nakajima Atsushi swallowed his saliva.

If Kunikida chose to take advantage, he might be able to see something amazing.

Seeing Kunikida's subtle hesitation, Hanako continued to tempt him, "...Don't you want to try it? In addition to taking advantage of the food, I have a lot of good things here, and I accept pre-orders for the products."

If possible, he would like to give a discount on the membership card points, but that would damage the mysterious image, so he can only think about it.

The boy blinked his eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not a monster that would tempt humans into a dangerous contract. I follow the principle of fair trade..."

“Since the other party has said this, there’s no harm in giving it a try, right?” Dazai said in a relaxed tone, his hands in his pockets, now leaning against the wall.

Kunikida looked at him and said, "...I am quite surprised that you reacted so quietly."

Dazai: “Oh?”

Kunikida: "Under normal circumstances, you would have used provocation, like, 'Huh? Kunikida-kun doesn't even want to do this, are you afraid?' ... and so on, trying to anger me to achieve your goal, right? But now ... your reaction is so calm, it's not like your style at all."

"I didn't expect that this would make Kunikida-kun even more cautious~" Dazai said to Hanako with a smile: "This is not my responsibility."

"Looking at all the past responsibilities, the only source of responsibility is still you."

"…Then I'm really innocent, Kunikida-kun. Anyway, you really don't want to give it a try? This is a monster taking over! It's a plot that only appears on TV, but now Kunikida-kun has become the protagonist of the plot."

Dazai's excitement did not affect Kunikida's ability, but instead made him more troubled.

"That being said, I don't have anything to ask..."

"Isn't there one?" Dazai reminded, "I recently received a request to find the Tiger. I heard that it appeared nearby--"

“Boom.”

At the same time as Dazai's words came to an end, there was the dull thud of Nakajima Atsushi's elbow hitting the cabinet beside the wall. The collision was so strong that Hanako also glanced sideways at him.

After hearing Dazai's speech, the boy's expression became a little unnatural. Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him, Nakajima Atsushi subconsciously took a half step back.

Apparently, Dazai's words brought back some not-so-good memories for him. His eyes widened slightly, and his thoughts became tangled in his mind.

Hanako narrowed her eyes—everyone could tell that something was wrong with Nakajima Atsushi's expression.

"...Do you know the news about Tiger?"

Unexpectedly, the insider of the 7 billion bounty was right next to her. Hanako regretted bringing him out, otherwise it would have been better for her to have the information to herself.

And in front of the detective agency...

He thought: Since the case was entrusted to the detective agency, it was most likely the government's request. But didn't the detective agency know that this piece of information was worth 7 billion?

What a pity, if Nakajima Atsushi had not revealed the news to the detective agency, he would have been able to pocket the 7 billion for himself.

Dazai squeezed out a joyful note beside him——

"That's great~ Kunikida-kun, you are indeed a 'lucky pick'~"

…

…

Jiuyuan felt depressed when he thought about giving the message away.

"…The orphanage where I lived was destroyed by the tiger. The fields became barren and the warehouses collapsed…"

They changed their location and found an interview room in the detective agency, closed the door, and listened to Nakajima Atsushi talk about his experience.

First, because the orphanage was short of funds, and then because of the disaster brought by the tiger, the situation became even worse, so he was driven out and food was conserved.

Then, he said that he saw a tiger by the river a few days ago.

Hearing this, Hanako raised her eyebrows slightly but said nothing.

But when he raised his eyes, he met Dazai's eyes——

The young man's eyes, the color of dead leaves, were filled with smiles, as if he had already grasped the source of the answer. His long eyelashes trembled slightly as he smiled and blinked, and then, an even brighter smile completely covered up this discord.

(…This guy.) Hanako said nothing. He guessed that Dazai must have done something tomorrow.

Kunikida was so absorbed in listening to Nakajima Atsushi's narration that he didn't notice what they were saying to each other.

Nakajima Atsushi became more and more lost in his own emotions as he spoke, recalling the grievances and anguish he had experienced along the way. In this retelling, he unconsciously revealed some real thoughts, or thoughts that had actually existed in the past.

"For a useless person like me who is not needed by others... it would be better for me to die in the wilderness, or even be eaten by a tiger..."

As his voice gradually faded, the atmosphere in the room became heavy, as if frost was about to fall.

“Ss ...

Nakajima Atsushi looked up and saw that the boy next to him suddenly took out the cookies they had made together before.

Then he slowly put the cookie into his mouth.

“Crack—”

(Eh… I guess what I said was too boring, so no one wants to listen… I’m really useless…)

Nakajima Atsushi suddenly didn't dare to look at him, but then the boy handed the cookies to him.

"Try it."

The opened wrapping paper looks like a blooming yew flower, and the fresh cookies still have some residual sweet fragrance, which is not strong, just like a refreshing sweet breeze.

Nakajima Atsushi stretched out his hand as if possessed by a demon, and put the crispy cookie into his mouth.

(So ​​sweet.)

(But... not boring.)

When this sweetness touches the tip of the tongue, it is like a breeze that washes away the sadness lingering in the heart.

(It’s delicious.) This was the only thought left in my mind.

"You guys try it too." Hanako handed the biscuit to the two people in front of her.

Dazai and Kunikida followed suit and took a bite of their biscuits.

"Delicious~" Dazai replied with a smile.

"Hmm..." Kunikida's reaction was even more straightforward, "It's moderately sweet. However, it's delicious... but don't eat too much."

"So that means 'it's so delicious that I can't stop eating it'?" Dazai said, "Kunikida-kun, when you want to flatter someone, just keep going."

"This was made by Nakajima-kun, and this is his first time making cookies."

Hanako took another bite of the biscuit and said, "So..."

"You are not a good-for-nothing who can die anywhere."

It can be seen that Hanako is not very good at comforting people.

"...at least, the cookies you make are delicious."

Nakajima Atsushi's experience has made him extremely sensitive to people's emotions, to the point of being almost self-abuse.

Even though Hanako's expression was clumsy, he was trying to express his goodwill to the other party.

"……Thank you."

After saying that, he added a little embarrassedly: "But...Most of it was done by Mr. Oda, and Sakura also helped. I don't think I did anything..."

Hanako thought as she ate the biscuits that the biscuits made by Oda Sakunosuke seemed to have some strange effects, like they could calm the nerves and bring about a calming effect.

The effect on a powerful monster like Hanako might be relatively weak, but smaller monsters and humans would feel it more obviously.

Nakajima Atsushi came out of his emotions so quickly, and the cookies also had an effect.

The cookies made by Oda Sakunosuke using only ordinary ingredients can actually have such an effect. I wonder how amazing the cookies made with special ingredients would be.

This is just perfect. Cookies made from ordinary ingredients have no magical powers. Yesterday, he promised Gojo Satoru that he would launch some products with calming effects. These cookies can be sold to sorcerers.

Hanako thought of this and saw that Nakajima Atsushi's expression became even more kind and loving.

...Although he sent out 7 billion pieces of information, but...Nakajima Atsushi found him such a powerful employee through summoning spirits, which is a resource for sustainable development!

What's more, their lifespan is unlimited... Hmm... How many years of cookies do they need to make to sell 7 billion?

His train of thought had already gone down the path of the evil capitalist, and he had even gone so far as to exploit Dazai to the point of being terrifying. At this time, Kuen did not notice the subtle change in Dazai's emotions.

"Oh, right." Nakajima Atsushi still felt that he did not deserve too much credit, so he took out two small bags of packaged cookies and gave them to Dazai and Kunikida.

"The boss said today is the opening event and every customer will receive cookies."

"Is it okay?" Dazai asked as he took the overly heavy gift bag from Nakajima Atsushi.

"Eh? Even though Mr. Dazai is not a customer...but...it should be okay, right?"

"……Thank you."

Dazai unwrapped the ribbon, picked up another cookie and put it in his mouth.

It's like savoring the flavor.

The way he ate quietly was like a plant with spring rain drops on its leaves, and the new leaves were moistened by the God-given dew.

This was the first time that Nakajima Atsushi had seen someone like Dazai. The boy asked nervously, "...Is it delicious?"

"It's delicious~" Dazai returned to the familiar look that Nakajima Atsushi was familiar with.

Dazai smiled and said, "Who on earth can make such delicious cookies..."

"…It makes me want to meet him in person."