Chapter 132 Extra Chapter: Can I Follow You Home? (Part 1): A Special Variety Show Interview
"That dress looks nice, hmm... these seem okay too..."
As a relatively new resident of the building with a somewhat unique background, Sigma once had his birthday celebrated five times in a single week by young Dazai with salutes.
He even went to great lengths to prepare, with banners, streamers, ribbons, balloons, a cake, and even a team of people to create a festive atmosphere by shouting "Happy Birthday!"
But for Sigma, if his emotional reaction to the first time he encountered this scene was one of surprise and excitement, to the point of almost crying, then the second, third, fourth... and fifth time, Sigma was covered in ribbons and confetti, and even the corners of his eyes were twitching slightly.
This is a series of surprise birthday parties specially organized to make up for the days when Sigma was alone!
Dazai was speaking with such conviction that he didn't give him any room to retort.
But this time was different. He had specially taken the train alone to a famous department store in Tokyo to shop after finishing his work at the haunted house, all in preparation for Ihe's birthday present.
Sigma summarized the information he found online, and it basically stated that birthday gifts must be kept mysterious before being given, preferably something no one knows about, in order to be considered a "surprise" for the birthday person.
Calling him a birthday celebrant might seem a bit old; Ihe is probably only one year old this year...?
Sigma quickly shook his head.
No, no, no, you can't calculate it like that. If you do, he's only a little over a year old.
However, the birthday gift for Iher must be carefully prepared—this is a consensus among everyone in the building.
It should also include the detective agency and the firm... They might even send things to the Special Abilities Division and the Hound Division... He absolutely cannot lose!
Fortunately, the profits from "The House of the Dead" were quite substantial, more than enough to support Xiao Lou's entire family, and even the salaries of each employee were exceptionally good.
Right now, it's Sigma's private time to go shopping alone with his hard-earned salary.
However, because he was so careful in considering each item, Sigma walked back and forth along the shopping street three times before he realized that it was too late and the shops were already starting to close!
Closing the shop is secondary; he can always come back tomorrow.
The problem is that I'm going to miss the last train, oh no... Should I call Mr. Oda and ask him to pick me up?
Sigma was walking along, lost in thought, when suddenly a voice came from the opposite direction.
"Hello—we are from TV Tokyo,"
As soon as Sigma looked up, an unfamiliar host appeared in front of him with a camera. "May I interview you for a moment?"
"Huh, eh..."
After the haunted house became a hit, he received interview requests from TV stations and various private media outlets, but he was completely unaccustomed to dealing with this kind of spotlight environment where everyone was watching him and one wrong word could lead to his demise... It made him so nervous that he felt like vomiting.
Even when Dazai comforted him with things like "[Saying something wrong won't lead to eternal damnation, haha]", it couldn't alleviate his extreme anxiety at all.
Therefore, the vast majority of interviews were conducted on his behalf by Ih – after all, in a sense, Ih had long been recognized as the leader of the "Rats in the House of the Dead".
But now, he was the only one standing there... Sigma's gaze darted nervously to the left and right before returning to the host's face, where he found the man still smiling and staring at him without wavering.
Never mind, there's only one camera in front of him anyway, so he doesn't need to be too nervous.
Sigma: "...Okay...Go ahead and ask."
"Young man, you're still out so late, where are you planning to go?" The host smiled warmly, which made Sigma relax a bit.
“No, I’m just about to go home,” Sigma replied honestly.
"There aren't even any last buses left now," the host said, showing him the time on his watch.
"However, we happen to be filming a program, and if it's convenient, we'd like to film at your home. Of course, as payment, we can cover your taxi fare home. What do you think?"
Sigma was tempted by the thought of paying for a taxi home.
After all, he had specifically taken the train from Yokohama to Tokyo, and if he took a taxi back, the fare would be very expensive—not to mention that the price would increase by about 20% after 11 p.m.
I feel a little embarrassed to trouble Mr. Oda and the others to come and pick me up... and we have to start work tomorrow, so I can't disturb their sleep.
"Let me ask my family if they agree first."
Sigma frowned and pondered for a moment before taking out his phone and making a call to Iher.
The host waited patiently beside him until the young man hung up the phone. "Okay, he said there was no problem."
Hearing the other party nod in agreement, the host breathed a sigh of relief.
A visually striking handsome guy like him, with his deliberately parted two-tone hair and strong rebellious spirit, is more likely to have a more interesting backstory than the average person, so it's not something you'd want to miss if you met him.
“Great, then let’s talk about the rest as we walk.”
The host smiled and said, "May I ask your name?"
"Sigma." There was no point in hiding it, so Sigma readily told him.
"Sigma? Is that your stage name? Oh my, that's a very distinctive name."
The assistant hailed a taxi, and the host opened the door, inviting Sigma to get in first.
Sigma, who had settled into the back seat of the car, was momentarily bewildered: "...Stage name? What stage name?"
Host: "Aren't you a fan of visual kei? Look at your hair, and your clothes..."
Sigma: "...My hair is natural! Natural!"
"…………"
This time, the host remained silent for a moment before asking a difficult question.
"Are you saying that some people are born with hair that is parted in half along the middle of their head, and that it is both white and purple?"
Sigma: "...Well, I was born that way too. There's another kid in my family with different colored eyes."
Gogol is clearly more special than him.
The host was immediately taken aback. "I didn't expect this to be an isolated case... I apologize for my intrusion. Let's change the subject. Would you mind revealing how many people are in your family?"
This time, Sigma counted silently for a long time before speaking with some hesitation.
"Most of the time it's 13, sometimes 14, sometimes 16 or 17."
Because it was close to Iher's birthday, Miss Mary had already brought Adam to the small building to play. So Mr. Verlaine and Mr. Rimbaud, who originally lived in the detective agency's apartment, also came to stay for a few days. So, if you count them, there should be 17... um.
"many……!"
The host was so surprised that he blurted out, "Wow, this is a big family!"
He envisioned a four-generation family living together and felt a little excited about it—the more people, the better for the show. He was looking forward to seeing the young man's family later.
"yes."
Sigma nodded. Since the host wasn't asking any more questions, he, who was already nervous, didn't continue speaking and quietly waited for the taxi to stop at the address he gave.
We've arrived at the small building.
As Sigma led the host across the front yard, as is customary, the cameraman would carry a camera to capture the surrounding environment, which would then be used as footage for the later broadcast of the program.
But at this moment, there are eight tables in the courtyard, each piled high with mahjong tiles that haven't been cleared away yet.
The host, following the camera's gaze, froze: "This is...?"
"Oh, that's the second Xiaolou Mahjong Tournament."
Sigma glanced at it briefly and sighed wearily, “Because the first competition didn’t result in a winner, a second competition was organized. They specifically separated the four players who were playing crazy draws and blindfolded them, allowing them to only touch the cards but not look at them.”
"And by the way, they even made the winner, the one who was so popular that he got fed cards no matter where he sat, the referee... We finally got a result yesterday, but we haven't had time to clean up the mess yet."
Host: "...Oh, I see."
He suddenly felt that the scene of four generations living under one roof... was a bit out of reach.
As is customary when returning home, Sigma first led the host to the living room and turned on the light switch.
“It’s late at night, there shouldn’t be anyone in the living room… Hmm?” Sigma paused, “Pushkin?”
Pushkin, who was stuffing snacks into his mouth, was also taken aback, staring at Sigma and the three people Sigma brought with him.
For a moment, the scene seemed to freeze in time like a photograph.
"You're sneaking food..."
Sigma had barely opened his mouth when Pushkin immediately shushed him.
"This is my first offense, my first offense," Pushkin quickly swallowed the food in his mouth. "Don't tell the boss, my good brother, and don't tell Oda Sakunosuke either."
Sigma silently turned his head to look at the camera following behind him, then silently turned back.
How should I explain this to Pushkin, who always seems to be looking for an opportunity to sneak a bite...?
Tonight's execution will be publicly broadcast on television.
—As the television program reached this point, Ye Yihe's gaze shifted and landed on Pushkin, who seemed to want to curl up into a ball.
"So you stole all the snacks I bought for Chuuya before," Ye Yihe said quietly.
Chuuya kept his eyes straight ahead, pretending it had nothing to do with him—the idea that they had done anything behind the scenes was completely fabricated.
“Your reputation online has changed now,” Ye Yihe said, picking up his phone. “Before, people who went to the haunted house would describe you as sunny, friendly, and muscular… Now everyone’s calling you a handsome hamster-type guy who looks like he’s stealing snacks. It’s hilarious.”
Pushkin: "...This is utter slander! How did they evaluate you? It must have been full of prejudice!"
Ye Yihe: "…………"
Ye Yihe chuckled and uttered a few words.
"Gemini is too real, I'm totally shipping them."
This time, Pushkin, under the dual pressure of Fyodor and Yeikh's gazes, was speechless.
"They were truly brilliant," Pushkin said dryly, but his eyes were full of sincerity as he admitted his mistake.
"..." Ye Yihe decided to let him go for now, "I'll settle the score with you later... Let's continue reading first."
Sigma unintentionally took on a program called "Can I Follow You to Your Home?" He originally thought it was just a regular family interview, but he never expected that they would edit it into such a wonderful program.
So much so that Mary Shelley, who was far away in England, called them to tell them that now when she walks on the street, people always come up to her and call her "Mama Shelley," and ask her for autographs with great enthusiasm... At first, Agatha thought it was some new kind of enemy attack.
The television program continued playing, and it was time for Mary Shelley to appear.
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