Chapter 286 The Third Player

"Chiaki-nii..." After wishing Dazai "Happy Birthday", Nakajima Atsushi stood beside Kundu and tugged on his sleeve slightly, then stood on tiptoe and whispered, "Did Mr. Mochizuki say when he will be back?"

He didn't even show up at such an important time as celebrating Mr. Dazai's 18th birthday. Nakajima Atsushi couldn't help but wonder in his mind, where on earth did Mr. Mochizuki go?

Cointreau looked down at him and sighed helplessly: "This is the third time you've asked me this question, Dun-chan?"

"Eh? Um, sorry..." Nakajima Atsushi apologized hastily, a little embarrassed, his voice weak and mosquito-like: "But I still miss him a little..."

"Take some time to understand a middle-aged man who has been squatting in Yokohama for ten consecutive years and has never left the house, Don-chan." Jun-du looked calm and said with a smile, "Why not let him rest outside for a while? When you grow up a little bit, people will feel more at ease. Maybe he will..."

Nakajima Atsushi's eyes sparkled as he continued, "So Mr. Mochizuki will come back?"

Jun Du narrowed his eyes and said, "Maybe he will feel more comfortable traveling alone."

"Huh?!" Nakajima Atsushi's eyes widened. He hadn't expected to hear such an answer.

Nakajima Atsushi was shocked: "Really? How could this happen..."

"Okay, it's getting late. It's time for adults. Good kids should go to bed now, otherwise they won't grow tall. As for when he will come back, maybe you can ask him the answer to this question yourself when you dream about him."

Children are really fun to tease.

After treating him without any guilt, Jundu ruffled Nakajima Atsushi's hair, smiled lazily at the white-haired boy, and pushed him into the room.

“Wait a minute…!”

"Good night, Dun-chan~"

Without even waiting for Nakajima Atsushi to say another word, Jundu simply closed the door.

Dazai Osamu and Oda Saku watched from the sidelines as Confidante performed this neat move that could be described as "turning the tables", and they had no intention of stopping him at all.

However, Jundu mentioned Mochizuki Kaoru again and again, and Dazai Osamu's heart moved, and finally he couldn't help but speak: "Teacher Mochizuki he..."

As a result, before he could finish his words, Jundu interrupted him with a spell: "Oh, by the way, since Dazai-kun is here, I should leave after delivering all the things. I won't bother you any more."

He adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, reached out and picked up the notebook-like book that he had just put aside and covered, and put it on the table beside him. He smiled and said, "The most important thing is that book. The others are not important. Dazai-kun, remember to keep it well. If you accidentally lose it, I won't have a second extra book."

As Nakajima Atsuichi disappeared from the eyes of the adults, the atmosphere on the field seemed to change subtly immediately.

"Wait a moment!"

Jundu paused and slowed down his movements, with a faint smile on his face: "Is there anything else, Dazai-kun?"

"That book... When did Mr. Mochizuki ask you to deliver it?" Dazai Osamu's voice was a little dry: "Where is he now?"

Odasaku said nothing. But like Dazai Osamu, this was also a question he wanted to know.

He met Cointreau only a few hours earlier than Dazai Osamu, but he didn't have much to talk about with the other party.

The man who calls himself "Habuchi Chiaki" has a gentle appearance, with an upward curve on his lips, and looks familiar, but Oda Saku can see clearly that contrary to his appearance, this man is cold-hearted. If Mochizuki Kaoru is cold on the outside but soft on the inside, then Habuchi Chiaki is the typical example of being hot on the outside but cold on the inside.

Most of the time when they were with each other, they were doing their own things peacefully. Chiaki Uehara mostly read books while lying on the recliner that Mochizuki Kaoru was sitting on on the balcony. They rarely had time to chat. Chiaki Uehara was very careful about what he said, and it was difficult for Odasaku to ask him how Mochizuki Kaoru was doing now.

It was visibly that as soon as Dazai Osamu asked the question, Jundu's face turned cold.

"Dead," he said.

Dazai Osamu's face turned cold: "Impossible!"

Odasaku's mind went blank for a moment.

"Just kidding." Jundu narrowed his eyes and his voice became cheerful again: "Like what you said, Dazai-kun, the life of the 'dead soul' is very tough. How could Kaoru-chan die?"

Dazai Osamu's expression did not soften, and his voice was as cold as ice: "This is not funny."

"Really?" Jundu looked at him quietly through the glasses with his golden eyes for two seconds, and smiled frivolously and casually: "Then where do you think he is now, Dazai-kun?"

"I want to ask this question, too." The smile on Jundu's lips turned cold and light, and his golden eyes behind the thin lenses were so sharp that they seemed to be able to see through people's hearts. He said softly, "Where is he now? Shouldn't you know this better than me?"

"Originally, I guessed that he had been missing for a long time, and I thought he was finally dead... But your attitude, Dazai-kun, told me that he was not dead, but missing?"

“…So, these things were all prepared by Mr. Mochizuki a long time ago.” said Oda Saku.

He was not sure whether the white-haired young man knew about the existence of supernatural powers, nor was he sure what the specific relationship between the two people was. After all, neither he nor Dazai Osamu had ever heard the names "Kendo" or "Habuchi Chiaki" from Mochizuki Kaoru before. Oda Saku would not easily reveal everything, but not denying it was sometimes a kind of tacit consent.

What's more, he also had the same secret hope in his heart, that Mochizuki Kaoru was just "missing" and not "dead".

Dazai Osamu didn't say anything, but he felt that the air around him became particularly sticky, suffocating and nauseating.

If what Jundu said was true, he was also unaware of Teacher Mochizuki's situation, then it could only mean that all of these things that Mochizuki Kaoru had prepared were prepared long before he left - that is to say, long before, when Dazai Osamu and the others were unaware, he had thought of the day when he would leave, and had prepared these things in advance, and had Jundu appear today to hand them over to them.

But Dazai Osamu became even more confused.

"Didn't you know this from Atsushi before? Teacher Mochizuki is on a long journey alone, and it will probably take a long time for him to come back. I wonder what you want, Jundu?"

He spoke calmly, his thoughts in a mess, his voice sounding somewhat mechanical: "Whether it is the friendship of the Port Mafia, or--"

"No need." He was interrupted by Cointreau again. He said with a smile: "There is not much so-called friendship between me and the Port Mafia, you should leave it all to Xunjiang - ah, he doesn't seem to be a member of the Port Mafia, I don't think I remembered it wrong?"

"You don't need to worry about what Mr. Mochizuki wants." Dazai said, "After he comes back, if you still need anything, I can help deliver a reply letter on behalf of Mr. Mochizuki."

"Well, you don't need to notify me again, regardless of life or death. That guy lived long enough, and I wouldn't be surprised even if he really died. Anyway, I reminded him before not to do anything that he would regret."

After the cold words were spoken, in just a moment, Jundu's attitude returned to its previous carefree and casual attitude. He smiled and said, "Anyway, I have already delivered all the things he asked me to deliver to you. I have paid him back, and the rest has nothing to do with me."

Dazai Osamu was silent for another two seconds.

"...Ah, and I know what you really want to ask, Dazai-kun - when did he give me the book, when did he come to me to talk about these things, and when was the last time I met him, and did he tell me anything else..."

Junto suddenly spoke again, listing the above questions one by one. After Dazai Osamu and Odasaku's eyes were attracted by his words, he suddenly changed the subject and showed a wicked smile on his face. "Guess it yourself?"

He said, “I won’t tell you.”

"No need." Dazai Osamu said, "Mr. Mochizuki will never say those things to you."

His face looked oddly calm.

This time it was Cointreau who looked surprised.

"You think so? Provocation doesn't work on me." He smiled and said, "I have known Kaoru-chan for much longer than you think. Compared to your age, it is not necessarily short. The relationship between him and me is much closer than you think."

"Really?" Dazai Osamu asked back, calmly stating a fact: "But he has never mentioned your name in front of me, Odasaku, Atsushi-kun, or even anyone else."

The curve of Cointreau's mouth dropped a few pixels, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

During the few seconds that the two people looked at each other, it seemed as if invisible electric lights and sparks were "crackling" in the air.

"Oh, but he did mention Oda-kun and Dazai-kun to me." After a while, Jundu said, "Even this book has to be delivered to Dazai-kun in person."

Both of them had similar smirks on their faces.

——They are disgusted with each other.

"I have delivered everything that should be delivered. I have some things to do, so I will leave now. Goodbye, Dazai-kun and Oda-kun."

Cointreau turned his face away first, nodded coldly, picked up the coat hanging on the hanger and walked out the door.

"One last question."

Cointreau stopped.

“望月老師的眼鏡，”太宰治問他：“為什麽會出現在你那裏？”

君度鼻梁上架着的那副金絲細框的方形眼鏡，不是與望月薰之前所戴的那副眼鏡造型相似，而是就是同一副。

——那就是望月薰的眼鏡。

“當然是薰醬送給我的，是我和他之間一個交易的報酬。”

君度在後半句話上微微加重了語氣，笑道：“我想，太宰君你想知道的是他是什麽時候送給我的？真是遺憾，我也不确定。”

君度說：“這副眼鏡是漂過了一個大洋郵寄到我手中的，我收到它的時間，和那本書到我手中的時間是一樣的。”

“……是在那一天。”太宰治很快便直接報出了望月薰離開那天的時間，淡淡解釋道：“在那天之前，敦君說，那副眼鏡還在望月老師自己那裏。”

他頓了頓，“也是望月老師離開的那天。”

“原來如此。”君度點了點頭，并沒有再問些什麽，表情也沒有絲毫變化，重新擡腿向外走去。

離開之前，他只留下了最後一句話。

“說起來，雖說以後大概率也不會再有什麽再見的可能，但以後再見的話，拜托兩位只當做與我不認識就好。”

“咔噠。”

玄關處傳來輕微的大門打開又重新關上的聲音，太宰治伸手緊緊抓緊了望月薰留下的那本筆記一樣的書。空蕩的客廳內又安靜了好一會，織田作才低聲喊了一聲太宰治的名字，問他：“對羽淵君所說的話，你是不相信麽？”

太宰治緩緩擡眼，反問他：“織田作你呢？你都相信他所說的話麽？”

“……我不确定。”

織田作過了好一會才糾結着開口。

太宰治眼中閃過困惑：“為什麽？”

他還以為織田作會選擇相信，他似乎很少有這種糾結不确定的情況。

“雖然說是直覺的話聽上去好像有點不太可信，但我看不透那位羽淵君的為人。”

織田作說：“而且，我從他的身上感受到了危險的氣息。他和太宰你有點像……不，是和過去的你有點像。”

他斟酌着語句：“按理來說，他說的話應該不是謊言才對，包括他和望月老師的關系。但我從前是個殺手，從直覺上，我覺得，他似乎還隐瞞了一些事情。”

“直覺”這種東西，有時候是個很不講理的存在，而且虛無缥缈，有時候直覺出錯也是常有的事情。但就像他所說的，他從前是個殺手，而“直覺”對于殺手而言，在關鍵時刻往往都是非常致命的。

“你說的沒錯，織田作。”

太宰治緩緩地笑了一下，“君度所說的話，只能相信一半。”他說：“森先生曾經在幾年前和他見過一面，這是他在之後和我說過的。”

是森鷗外的原話。

君度的話聽上去似乎都很真情實意，但他的為人與态度反而讓人捉摸不透……很難讓人全然相信他的話。尤其是太宰治這種疑心尤為重的人。

畢竟君度又不是望月薰，太宰治對他抱有全然的信任才是一件怪事。

織田作皺起了眉：“太宰你的意思是……”

“他說的其他的話都不必在意，織田作，只需要知道，他是因為望月老師而出現在這裏，将他的東西送過來的就好了。望月老師會回來的。”太宰治低頭将手中的書握緊，“畢竟就像他所說的那樣，以後我們和他大概也不會再有什麽交集了。”

“我知道了。”織田作點了點頭，又遲疑地看向太宰治：“倒是你，太宰……不要把一切都壓在你自己的身上，那并不是你的錯。”

織田作認真地看向他：“那是望月老師自己的選擇，和你沒有關系，是因為他想那麽做。我想望月老師他應該也是這樣想的，所以才會做出一樣的選擇。”

他覺得太宰治大概還是有被君度之前毫不猶豫所說的那句“死了”的話影響到。

不過他向來也不怎麽會安慰人，能說出上面的幾句話也已經差不多是極限了，最後也只是想了想，又說：“還記得望月老師離開前和你說過的麽？他讓你幫忙照顧好他的花，讓你在他回來以後将另一個故事講給他聽。所以，太宰，要記得在望月老師回來之前，好好地替他澆花才行。”

太宰治點了點頭。

***

剛走出門的披着“君度”殼子的西海晴鬥倒是對屋子裏太宰治和織田作的話都一無所知。

披上大衣一走出大門外，西海晴鬥的腳步就迅速加快了起來，簡直恨不得一秒就遠離大門八百米遠。

——再不走快點，他都要擔心再待下去就徹底不用走了。

等差不多走出了一個安全距離，他這才稍稍停下腳步，反手從大衣的口袋裏和鞋底掏出了兩粒比指甲蓋大不了多少的竊聽器。

……嗯，太宰治甚至為了保險，在他身上安了兩個竊聽器。

【你說人和人之間的差距怎麽就這麽大呢，系統？】西海晴鬥披着“君度”的殼子在腦海裏指指點點，【明明都是一個人，怎麽太宰治對“君度”和“望月薰”的态度差別就這麽差？真是太過分了！】

系統沒出聲，倒是一道源自在腦海中一刻也不停地聽着轉播的“望月薰”的，磁性低沉的嗓音幽幽響了起來：【是啊，你也知道是同一個人啊，怎麽态度區別就那麽大呢？羽淵千秋，你做個人吧。】

屬于“羽淵千秋”的清澈嗓音再度歡快響起：【是啊！薰醬你也覺得他們的态度區別很大吧！】

【是說你啊！性格過分糟糕了吧！這麽惡劣的态度，還在太宰和織田作的雷區上瘋狂蹦迪，你是真的不怕被他們兩個當場打死麽？】

【诶，怎麽會，薰醬你怎麽能這麽想呢，明明像我這麽善解人意樂于助人還幫死去的好友跨越重重大洋、千裏迢迢來送遺書的好人已經不多見了吧？】

【給我改口啊你！都說了我還沒死，那本書也不是遺書，你沒被打死還不如說是太宰和織田作心善。】

【怎麽會呢，那當然是因為有薰醬你啊，我可是你最好的朋友，不看僧面看佛面，我怎麽可能會被打？我超安心的！】

【那你跑那麽快做什麽？都是你自封的，真遺憾，我不能在現在出現在橫濱，不然一定不會介意當場拆穿，順便讓太宰他們揍你一頓。】

【好過分薰醬，明明是一個人，這樣幸災樂禍真的好麽？】

【剛剛咒我死了的時候你還記得我們是同一個人麽？順便不準再叫我薰醬，惡心。】

屬于“望月薰”的意識單方面切斷了這場持續了幾乎一天的聯系，走得那叫一個幹脆利落。

白發的青年忽然發出了一聲遺憾的嘆氣。

樂子……啊不是，薰醬沒有了。

真是有意思，明明是同一個人的意識，但是當他在“羽淵千秋”的殼子裏時，就會覺得逗“望月薰”發火暴躁特別好玩、看太宰治的假笑僵在臉上很有意思；但是當他的意識在“望月薰”的殼子裏時，又會覺得“羽淵千秋”和黏在身邊的蜜蜂一樣不勝其擾、而在面對太宰治的時候分外心虛。

這就是他尤其特別喜歡精分自己和自己玩的原因了。

【系統你說是不是特別好玩？】

系統安靜如雞不說話。

事實上這種時候西海晴鬥也不怎麽需要他的回應，已經足夠他自己自娛自樂了。智障宿主歡樂多，系統就這樣靜靜地聽着它家宿主精分拌嘴玩得那叫一個不亦樂乎。

【感覺太宰治他們好像并不怎麽信任我的樣子……啊，除了可可愛愛沒有腦袋的敦醬。】

西海晴鬥若有所思地又重複了一遍：【就是說，明明是同一個人，怎麽态度區別就這麽大呢？】

這句話依舊是一語雙關，指的是“羽淵千秋”和“望月薰”在面對太宰治他們時的态度，也指太宰治他們在面對“羽淵千秋”和“望月薰”時的态度。

兩者的區別都不可謂不大。

不過沒一秒，他就又把自己給說服了：【不過也沒關系，反正我這回說的基本都是實話，而且東西送到了，目的基本也就達到了，就看漫畫和論壇的發揮了，其他的都不重要。】

白發金瞳的青年複又開朗了起來。

趁着還沒到天光微亮，秉承着“還沒到天亮就不算到第二天”的原則，西海晴鬥一口氣尋着路找到了“望月薰”的編輯前田光的住址，路上還順帶着教訓了一二三四五……個半夜不睡覺不長眼的小混混，最後在門前一鼓作氣地“啪嗒”按響了門鈴。

門鈴按了足足有五分鐘之後才終于有輕微的聲響從屋內傳來，雖然不見有什麽大的動靜、也不見有光亮透過門的縫隙從屋內透過來，但西海晴鬥知道，裏面的人已經醒了。

"Moshimoshi, is Editor Maeda home? I'm an author working for you, a friend of Mr. Mochizuki Kurumi, and I'm here to deliver a book manuscript to you, Editor Maeda, on his behalf."

The noise inside was a little louder, but still carefully no human voices were heard.

...You're quite cautious, as expected of a Yokohama native.

Without thinking about how scary it would be for someone to suddenly show up in the middle of the night and keep ringing the doorbell, Haruto Nishimi didn't care whether the people inside heard it or not. Instead, he continued, "Anyway, I'll leave the book at your door. Maeda-kun, remember to sign for it. Remember to promote this book as Mochizuki Kurumi's last work when it's published. Oh, by the way, if you can't think of a name, just call it "Good Bye." "

Half an hour later, only after being extremely careful and cautious to make sure that no one was left outside did Maeda Mitsuru open the door of the house without even breathing.

Just as the strange male voice outside the house said before, two books that looked like notebooks quietly appeared on the ground.

Maeda Hikaru casually opened a page, and what came into view was the familiar handwriting of "Mochizuki Kurumi".