Chapter 54: On the Aftermath
Mr. X, who was being targeted by a cunning fox, sneezed. Strange, was he about to catch a cold?
The girl across from him looked at him with concern: "Mr. X, are you alright?"
While he was handling the aftermath, due to the unexpected death of her older brother, with whom she had depended on each other, Riko Hiraki could only go to her parents, who had each started their own families, if she wanted to continue her studies.
X thought for a moment and said, "Miss Hiraki, I've taken over the bracelet and will take responsibility for it. I'm very sorry about your brother's death. I can provide you with living expenses for the rest of your life."
“You can treat him as an employee of our company. You deserve all of this. If you don’t want to go home, I can buy you another house.”
"I will also give Officer Maeda and the officer whose nose was hit a satisfactory price as a token of my sympathy."
Riko Hiraki was immersed in the pain of her brother's death and her guilt towards the police.
Then he heard this kind-hearted gentleman in the white coat constantly taking responsibility for the matter, but he didn't need to take responsibility for it.
She declined, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, but I can do it myself."
She could go to work and save up money to compensate the unfortunate police officer who was almost beaten to death.
X thought, "Then let's try a different approach, like giving her the lottery winnings."
Ango Sakaguchi has reported the entire incident to the chief. Normally, dangerous items like bracelets would be confiscated.
However, given that X and the superhuman with the ability to restore his mind that he brought with him were clearly in a superior-subordinate relationship, Ango Sakaguchi deduced that they were very likely a secret organization.
Their Special Abilities Division can't even handle the Port Mafia, let alone X, who possesses powerful superpowers. If they really piss him off, he'll be finished if he asks his transcendent friend for help.
After glancing at the new text message from the bureau chief, Ango Sakaguchi looked at the black-haired youth who had stopped trying to persuade Riko Hiraki to accept the money, and then walked over to the long-haired youth whose supernatural abilities seemed to have been restored to their former state.
The man who had surpassed the others and the blonde girl, seeing that the matter was over, took the black-haired boy away, though he seemed reluctant.
He was the only one on the same side besides Mr. X. Now that Mr. X was busy, he could only go to Honglu.
"Does your organization need a license to operate a business that provides supernatural abilities?"
Honglu looked at the official member who had just been running around aimlessly and slowly typed a question mark.
"Wow~ Do people with superpowers need a license to open a shop?"
Ango Sakaguchi was taken aback by Honglu's nonchalant tone: "This isn't the opening ceremony!"
This person was making him a little angry. He calmed himself down and prepared to explain the meaning and value of the license.
Honglu extracted some information from Ango Sakaguchi's official statement, and he asked:
"Hmm... Mr. Sakaguchi, do you mean that having this thing means you can legally use supernatural abilities? Or is it illegal?"
"It is legal to conduct supernatural ability business."
A somewhat weary young office worker pushed up his round-framed glasses to correct himself.
Judging from the excuses the supervisor made, it seems he was trying to give the suddenly appearing anomalies a skin of supernatural products. Although they don't actually need a supernatural business license, having one is better than not having one.
Seeing the heterochromatic-eyed youth seemingly deep in thought, Ango Sakaguchi thoughtfully offered to help X deliver the money to Riko Hiraki through legitimate channels.
Just then, the conversation on the other end ended, and Riko Hiraki planned to go home to sort through her brother's belongings. His body would be temporarily stored in the Special Ability Department, and they would also help with cremation if needed.
After repeatedly saying goodbye, Riko Hiraki left alone, unlike the laughter and chatter she had shared when she arrived.
X watched the little girl's retreating figure and sighed. Honglu whispered to him, relaying Sakaguchi Ango's words.
"That's great, it saves me from having to make excuses like finding lottery tickets."
X didn't expect the official organization here to be so considerate. He was just about to find a reason to send money when they had already come up with an excuse: official compensation. What a reasonable way to send money.
He could easily add a large sum of money to the so-called official subsidies, which would also help clean up the mess left by this wild anomaly.
“Mr. Sakaguchi,” X said, “if there are any similar incidents caused by supernatural abilities, you can come to us. We are professionals at resolving such incidents.”
The continuous appearance of wild anomalies made him suspect that new ones would emerge, and cooperating with well-informed officials would allow him to learn about them more quickly.
The supervisor knew his own oddballs' character perfectly well; they were all troublemakers.
Even the theoretically safest ZAYIN-class Abnormality might pull a fast one on you—for example, the cute little elf might actually eat you, or you might drink a bottle of grape soda and go straight to the Great Lake.
"This is our company's business card. We specialize in containing uncontrollable phenomena or byproducts caused by these supernatural abilities."
X handed a hard card to Ango Sakaguchi, on which was written the company's name—Lobotomy Corporation.
Lobotomy Corporation?
What a strange name! The last time I saw this word was during a mission, when I read a medical book.
It means... a lobectomy, also known as a prefrontal lobectomy.
Are they still performing lobotomies? This makes the company's main business seem even more suspicious.
Ango Sakaguchi put the business card away, saying that he would send the license to the address on the business card another day, and that he would report the similar incident to Lobotomy Corporation.
Actually, if X, who understood the rules, hadn't been there, they might have all messed up in this incident.
Just wearing the bracelet for a little while resulted in a gruesome death; nothing like this has ever happened before.
The overworked office worker, forced to work overtime, had to return to Yokohama to report in person, so he said goodbye and left.
X is also planning to return to the company, but what about his employees?
Forget about the non-staff members, where did Don Quixote and Dazai Osamu go?
Where are they?
The black-haired youth looked at the only employee who remained.
Honglu, however, showed an interested expression, recalling the scene, and said:
"It seems that Miss Don Quixote and Mr. Cervantes took Dazai-kun to... enjoy a luxurious experience...?"
He had absolutely no desire to experience that "luxury," but Dazai-kun was forced into it.
The young Black Mud Spirit, who hadn't yet grown to its full height, was thus carried away by the tall Spaniard.
Yes, it really is a clamp.
They had greeted X, but the black-haired youth's mind was on Riko Hiraki, so he only responded subconsciously.
"Then I'll give them a call... Mr. Mori, what brings you back?"
Before the black-haired youth could dial the number, he saw the doctor, who had just left, walking over with his medicine box on his back, looking dazed. Alice, who had been by his side, was nowhere to be seen.
"Ah... have I come back again?"
I don't know if it's just X's imagination, but in the very short time that we were apart, the doctor seemed to have become even more down-and-out, and he looked rather颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of being listless, dispirited, or decadent).
"Are you alright? What happened?"
Mori Ougai realized that the person who knew him best was not here; only X and Honglu were there.
A perfect opportunity was presented to him.
The fox, who wasn't that old yet, started playing the victim: "I'm fine... I'm sorry to have worried you."
However, his tone did not indicate that "nothing was wrong." Instead, X felt that something very big must have happened to Mori Ougai.
However, even though he is an employee's family member, it's not good to pry too much. What if we ask him about his painful past?
Thinking of this, the black-haired youth took out another business card, luckily he had more in his pocket.
Mori Ougai looked at the black business card that the young man handed him. Something wasn't right.
Shouldn't it be that when he hesitates, X starts asking questions? Why are they already handing out business cards?
“If there’s anything I can do to help,” said the unconventional young man, “I think I can still offer some assistance.”
For example, giving him money, giving him money, and giving him money.
Let's just say it directly, otherwise Dazai Osamu might ruin his plans when he comes back.
“In fact, Mr. X,” said the doctor, who was still carrying a medicine box, “I was fired because I couldn’t get to my employer in time because of what just happened.”
Oh dear, he's another unlucky guy who suffered losses because of something else causing trouble.
"Mr. Mori, our company is quite humane; all employees receive special benefits, including their families. Do you need us to help you find a job? Or can I give you some subsidies now?"
X said that the compensation process has been restarted.
What kind of company is this? They even help family members find jobs? Is it true?
If he hadn't remembered his teacher's expectations, he would have wanted to work there too.
"Mr. X, are you still short of people?" Mori Ougai feigned interest.
Before X could finish the word "no," he suddenly realized something.
The person in front of me is a doctor. He is definitely a well-educated person who has completed medical school, unlike Dazai-kun who was a quick-learner.
He could take over Dazai Osamu's job and go to the recording department!
He remembered that the child said he was going to school before he left, so there was a spare slot, and hiring another one wouldn't be a bad idea...
I don't know what the doctor's attributes are; I'll check when I get back to the company.
Where is Alice?
There was no middle-aged man by his side.
“I sent her to a friend’s house; she’s just suffering with me now.”
"Then come back to the company with me in a bit. I'm going to make a phone call first."
He can hire people so easily, which suggests that X holds a high position in the company he mentioned.
But he heard people call him "supervisor". In a typical company structure, the position of supervisor is usually a middle-level position or even a lower-level position. Could it be that "supervisor" is just a code name?
After making a phone call to tell the "luxury trio" to return to the company on their own, X brought the unemployed people back to the company.
As usual, X checked the attributes first, then hesitated, holding the data belonging to Mori Ōgai.
How can someone with this attribute be unemployed? Is he faking it?
Putting everything else aside, having maxed-out Justice is just wrong!
As soon as Mori Ougai stepped out of the testing room, he saw X giving him a meaningful look.
What did you do for a living before?
Does being a doctor require such a high level of justice?
There's nothing to hide; his professional experience speaks for itself, and besides, he's currently on the Port Mafia's blacklist.
“I used to be an underground doctor. My medical license was revoked in an accident, so I could only do this kind of shady work.”
"That doesn't matter."
X didn't intend for Mori Ougai to continue in his old profession; his true calling was the archives.
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Author's note: Tomorrow [heart][heart]
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