Chapter 83 About Work
"Pfft, you really do look exactly like that bird."
Chuuya Nakahara, who had just left Ozaki Koyo's place, sent a congratulatory message.
If it weren't for Mori Ougai watching over him, the orange-haired boy would probably have laughed himself to the ground.
Dazai Osamu's appearance is so similar to that tall, strange bird that threw birds at Verlaine a few days ago; they're practically like brothers.
"Chuuya-kun, stop laughing."
Mori Ougai was somewhat helpless. No one had expected that the bird would also have healing properties, and the person who needed the treatment the most was staying indoors.
I still need to go to X's place again.
*
"Did Dazai-kun also lose his eyes to Yan Que?"
"Flaming Sparrow," Mori Ougai noticed the name while on the phone. Indeed, "Flaming Sparrow" was more fitting for this fiery bird than "Golden Feather."
“Send him here. He’ll be able to see once he works on Yan Que.”
X spoke casually, as if he were certain that the bird's treatment would work on Dazai Osamu.
However... the Port Mafia boss, after much deliberation, did not intend to let Chuuya Nakahara go there again, given the precedent set by Verlaine.
What if Chuuya Nakahara, like his "brother," also shuts down in place?
The true nature of Chuuya Nakahara and Verlaine is completely different. Verlaine is a product of human beings, while Chuuya is most likely a "wild hog" taken in by humans.
In other words, Chuuya Nakahara is essentially a human being, and he cannot gamble on whether the child will die directly under X's powerful suppressor.
"Let Guangjin take you there."
The port mafia leader spoke, and his men immediately sprang into action.
Soon, the blindfolded brown-haired boy was brought before X.
The supervisor originally thought that he should feed the Flame Sparrow something, which would be considered a basic task.
Unlike last night, when Flame Sparrow had just enjoyed the pleasure of being hunted and was at his most agreeable, now all of His management rules must be followed according to the manual. He can give the Blessing of Light, but only to employees who have successfully performed their work for Him.
After observing Dazai Osamu up close, the supervisor felt it wouldn't work.
This Dazai Osamu is too thin, completely different from my own. He's obviously much taller than my own, but he doesn't even look as heavy.
"How long has it been since you ate a proper meal?"
Dazai Osamu, who had originally planned to finish the battle quickly, was taken aback. What did this mean?
Hirozu Ryūrō, who was accompanying them, was also a little puzzled as to why this Mr. X was suddenly concerned about Mr. Dazai's diet.
Dazai Osamu could sense X scrutinizing him, not just looking at him, but analyzing him, as if he wanted to see right through him.
"You can't do it like this..."
X concluded that with such low courage, he might be burned to death by the Flame Sparrow. He needed to train a little so that he could at least survive until the end of the job.
The supervisor finished his observation and looked at Hirojin Ryūrō beside him: "The plan has changed. He'll probably have to stay with me for a few days until the time is right before he can return. Do you want to go back first, uh..."
Who is he again?
Seeing X's hesitation, Hirotsu Ryūrō gave a brief self-introduction.
“…Mr. Hirojin,” the golden-eyed young man continued.
"Please allow me to report to the chief."
X had a very good impression of the old man with the monocle; he didn't seem like a mafia member at all, but more like a middle-aged gentleman.
After a short while, Hirotsu Ryūrō hung up the phone, his calm tone carrying a hint of ambiguous emotion: "I'm entrusting Mr. Dazai to you. I hope you take care."
The supervisor was a little confused. Why did this sound so strange? Shouldn't they be telling Dazai Osamu, who was with them, to take care? Why was the person taking care of him the one being told to take care of himself?
As Hirotsu Ryūron watched the young manager, who was completely unaware of Dazai Osamu's true nature, take Dazai Osamu's hand and lead him into the house, he felt his conscience was being severely tormented.
He was absolutely right. Take care, Mr. X. Don't let Mr. Dazai cause you any harm!
After being led along for a while, Dazai Osamu felt himself enter a closed space, and then a slight feeling of weightlessness came over him.
This should be the elevator leading to the underground base with the ability-suppressing device that Verlaine mentioned.
After a very long time, as if it were heading towards the Earth's core, the elevator finally arrived at its destination.
There seemed to be a lot of people here, their footsteps were chaotic and disorderly, making it impossible for him to tell how many there were.
"Come this way."
The bird keeper said this, gesturing for Dazai Osamu to follow him and turn around.
"manager."
Li Xiang, carrying documents, suddenly appeared. He had something to discuss with him, but after searching around, he couldn't find him. Finally, he discovered that Li Xiang had gone to the ground.
“Ah, Dazai-kun is here too,” he noticed Dazai Osamu behind him, who was blindfolded, and subconsciously assumed he was wearing the Justice Arbiter accessory. “You’re working on the Judgment Bird…”
Li Xiang suddenly stopped talking and looked at the bandage suspiciously. Something about this bandage felt off. Was this the arbiter of justice?
The genius who could create a mirror with his bare hands noticed the blind spot and asked X, who was leading the way:
"Were you burned by the Flame Sparrow? Didn't you say that the Flame Sparrow treated you?"
“Yes,” X said with a hint of helplessness, “but he just happened to be away when Flame Sparrow cast the Blessing of Light.”
Even knowing that the child wasn't from her own world, Li Xiang couldn't help but show extra care, asking with concern:
"It's already noon, have you had lunch yet?"
Osamu Dazai, who was surrounded by darkness: Are you all obsessed with eating?
"I've eaten, thank you for your concern," the child, now dressed in an obedient demeanor, said, while urging X to leave, "Mr. X, what are we going to do next?"
"Feed the birds."
To boost courage, of course, you should do what you instinctively do. Actually, the safest way is to feed the little bird, but it's already round enough, so it's better not to eat it.
The same applies to the big bird; only the tall bird has been thin lately, as if it's been worrying so much about those two balls that it's lost its appetite.
To ensure Takatori's physical and mental well-being, the supervisor had to eat with him. It was a good opportunity to have Dazai Osamu do the feeding, which would also boost his courage.
He could keep an eye on things, preventing Takabiya from killing the poor child if he got upset.
And if He's in a good mood, even after Dazai Osamu's eyes are healed, he'll get a fashionable item with a buff, the kind that he can wrap around his eyes however he wants.
*
That was a miscalculation.
The supervisor had planned everything perfectly, but the result was that two blind men were just staring at each other blankly.
Dazai Osamu's hand, holding the meat, couldn't reach the judgment bird's beak, and the judgment bird couldn't see Dazai Osamu's hand either. Even with its beak open, the bird couldn't catch the meat, and the situation remained deadlocked.
Finally, the supervisor, unable to bear it any longer, took over the task of feeding the bird and groomed its messy feathers, barely managing to get the result rated as excellent.
In a normal workflow, Dazai Osamu would probably have already been taken away by the soul damage inflicted by the Judgment Bird.
Dazai Osamu's courage remained unchanged as he instinctively worked on the trial bird, while Supervisor X's courage increased!
Courage was useless to X; he only knew that the plan had failed. However, he had a backup plan: if he couldn't feed the blind ones, he would feed the ones with many eyes.
The next target—the big bird—will be fine this time. Dazai Osamu can't see, but the big bird has plenty of eyes. Dazai Osamu can just reach out and feed it, and the big bird will catch it on its own.
After feeding him, you need to take him for walks more often. Big birds are easier to manage than small birds. They take one step at a time, and if they walk far enough, they can still lose weight.
As for the little bird... it needs to change its dieting methods; the amount of flying it does while walking with him is far from enough to burn off its stored energy.
So the supervisor found a new way. First, he needed an employee with a high justice rating, that is, someone who could run fast. After the bird broke through containment, it would chase after people and peck at them.
What if the person who got pecked runs away? It will chase after them. As long as the employee runs fast enough, the bird will fly at full speed and naturally lose weight.
If Mori Ōgai weren't an employee of his, he would have liked to have him play a game of cat and mouse with the little bird. Unfortunately, he wasn't.
Today is another day when the supervisor misses the company.
The large, coal-colored bird looked at Dazai Osamu, who was in charge of feeding it, with its many eyes, and opened its mouth wide.
"Just throw it out."
As X spoke, Dazai Osamu listened to the instructions, picked up the heavy piece of meat, but instead of throwing it, he held it out with his hand.
The big bird listened to its supervisor and was about to perform acrobatics to catch the meat. Its beak was already open and the whole ball was ready to go, but no meat was thrown out at all!
No meat!!
The big bird, who was fed very little every day and was taken out for walks, was extremely angry. It had been tricked!
This guy cosplaying as the Judgment Bird is messing with Him!
He has no intention of feeding them at all!
"I heard it will bite off my head, so this is a painless way to meet death."
The blindfolded boy smiled, as if he had foreseen his future.
The supervisor frowned slightly as he looked at Dazai Osamu, who was babbling incoherently. What was wrong with this kid?
He was about to die without pain. He had originally planned to take him away from the big bird, since the big bird looked really angry and the corrosive damage was very painful.
But his words revealed that the child did it on purpose; he wanted the big bird to kill him.
Does he lack the harsh realities of society? Look at his son, he never has time to think about these trivial things. Apart from liking to play pranks, he's a model child.
A supervisor silently stepped aside.
Dazai Osamu's smile vanished; his already fair face was now deathly pale.
This pain was completely different from any I had experienced before; it arose from the depths of my soul, a torment that tormented both my spirit and body.
The supervisor observed his changes, took a small bucket from the side, picked up some meat, and stuffed it into the big bird's mouth. The big bird, which was happy to have something to eat, obediently opened its mouth and waited to be fed.
Once the supervisor's courage returned, he pulled the now-dejected Dazai Osamu outside and asked, "Do you think this is the painless death you've been seeking?"
"It hurts so much!"
The pale-faced boy answered. He could sense that although he had no visible injuries, the entirety of "Dazai Osamu" was damaged.
“I will tell Chief Mori that you will stay here for a while longer until you have made up for the psychological trauma you caused to Big Bird.”
It feels like the kids are too idle, always having time to think about random things, so it's better to give them a job.
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