Chapter 13
Rokudo Mukuro was not lying. He really did pass by Mori Ougai's room and overheard the perverted conversation coming from inside. The person inside was probably changing Alice's clothes, praising her cuteness, and saying things like he wanted to hold her tightly in his arms.
There was nothing wrong with the words themselves, but the tone—sweet, lewd, and laced with slang—would make even a shameless person like Rokudo Mukuro want to rush in and send that man to work on a sewing machine.
It was at that time that Rokudo Mukuro used illusion magic to sneak in, intending to look through Mori Ougai's confidential documents and see if there was anything to confirm whether this Mori Ougai was indeed the well-known literary giant.
Once inside, the series of questions that Yosano Akiko had asked him didn't happen; instead, Rokudo Mukuro's understanding of Mori Ougai deepened.
Rokudo Mukuro knew that the power system of this world was different from that of the Dying Will Flame, but he didn't know that the difference was this great.
After understanding how supernatural abilities work, Rokudo Mukuro easily realized that Mori Ougai's Alice was a manifestation of his own supernatural ability, a complete supernatural being. In other words, the little girl Alice was entirely controlled by Mori Ougai himself, like a possession, another version of himself.
So, what exactly is Mori Ōgai doing at this moment?
Dissociative identity disorder? Role-playing? Self-entertainment? Narcissus?
Maybe... anything is possible?
Rokudo Mukuro didn't look at it much, after all, he was an illusionist, not a psychotherapist.
He went straight to the archives and found some interesting things there. He thought it would be very interesting to share these things with Yosano Akiko and the soldiers who had gone to the battlefield! And he loved interesting things!
This is also why Rokudo Mukuro told Yosano Akiko that he had supernatural abilities. He planned to take her to see it for herself, because no matter what he said, it wouldn't be as impactful as seeing it with her own eyes.
"Mukuro-kun, didn't I tell you? Stay away from that pervert Mori Ōgai! He's not human when he's being perverted! Especially for a pretty girl like you, it's even more dangerous!" Yosano Akiko had spent a long time with Mori Ōgai and knew his fetishes very well. She was wary of him like a wolf.
"But I'm just wearing my sister's dress, I'm not some little girl, am I?" Rokudo Mukuro blinked and reminded him. Even if he didn't mind wearing women's clothing, he didn't want to be mistaken for a little girl by a little girl.
Yosano Akiko paused for a moment before realizing, "Yes, Mukuro is a boy, he's just wearing my dress." She scrutinized Rokudo Mukuro's entire body, growing increasingly conflicted. Mukuro was so beautiful and cute; even if he were a boy, he'd still be dangerous.
Rokudo Mukuro, who completely understood her gaze, gave an innocent smile, but that smile made Yosano Akiko tremble. Her eyes flickered for a moment before she quickly changed the subject: "By the way, what did you see in there?"
Finally, the topic shifted to serious matters.
"I saw a document, but I didn't quite understand it. When Tachihara-nii-san comes back, I'll take you guys to see it together." Rokudo Mukuro smiled innocently.
"Can your superpower also help others become invisible and conceal their presence?" Yosano Akiko asked with some surprise.
"It's just an illusion, no big deal!" Rokudo Mukuro nodded.
“Okay, when Tachihara-kun… comes back, we’ll go see him together.” Yosano Akiko was quite willing to dig into Mori Ōgai’s secrets.
In the past, Yosano Akiko always felt pain and confusion when soldiers went to the battlefield.
No one knew whether the soldiers who went to the battlefield would come back alive. But all she could do was pray for their safe return—no, even just to bring them back with their last breath.
She knew that these soldiers now loathed and rejected her, and she understood them. No one wanted to be forced to endure the agony of near-death again and again. But if she didn't use her powers to restore the soldiers' health, their fate on the battlefield would be the same: death...
"Do you think Tachihara-kun and the others will be able to come back safely?" This time, Rokudo Mukuro was there to wait with her, which finally eased some of her mental pressure.
"No one knows what the outcome will be once they're on the battlefield. Rather than hoping for their safe return, let's hope the war ends sooner." Rokudo Mukuro rationally shattered the girl's wishful thinking.
“Yes, this war is so despairing…” Yosano Akiko murmured to herself.
This battle ended quickly, and another batch of casualties was delivered to Mori Ōgai.
Looking at the shocking data in his hand, Mori Ougai's eyes remained unmoved. In his view, the deaths of these soldiers were regrettable, but their deaths were also very valuable.
“Thank goodness we have Akiko-chan,” Mori Ougai remarked. “I don’t know what I would have done without Akiko.”
Looking at Mori Ougai's fake smile, Alice exclaimed, "Rintaro's smile is disgusting."
He looked at the data in his hand again and could clearly see that this time the data had increased significantly compared to the previous data.
"It seems these soldiers are really nearing their limit. And Akiko-chan, she's probably about to give up too. But there's nothing we can do. For the sake of the majority, we have to let them hold on a little longer." Mori Ougai's perfect smile was unusually tinged with gloom.
"Rintaro, is this for the benefit of the majority, or for the benefit of those fat pigs in the government?" Alice said with her hands on her hips, clearly dissatisfied.
"Alice-chan~ So cute!" Mori Ougai put one arm around Alice and rested his chin on his other hand: "No matter whose interests are at stake, the victims are the ordinary people. What I need to do is maximize the interests of the ordinary people, even if it requires sacrifice, it is inevitable."
"Fortunately, the war is almost over! Then I can buy Alice-chan new clothes!" Mori Ougai withdrew his serious expression and returned to his usual carefree demeanor.
"Is it over?"
"That's right! Japan will definitely lose because they don't have any transcendent beings. What we need to do now is buy more time..."
"Shouldn't the war end as soon as possible?"
"The sooner it ends, the greater the loss to the country. Where will this loss be made up? It will be made up to the people." Looking at the problem from different perspectives will lead to different results.
"Will Rintaro still be able to afford new clothes for Alice then?" Alice asked worriedly. "After we go back defeated, the government will definitely find a scapegoat! Rintaro will definitely be the biggest target. Will you still have money to buy Alice pretty dresses and delicious cakes then? We won't be homeless and have to sleep on the streets!"
Following Alice's train of thought, Mori Ōgai realized that it was indeed possible!
He hugged Alice tightly, tears welling up in his eyes: "Alice-chan~ I'm so sorry! But even if that happens, you must never leave me. I'll become a doctor and earn money for you!"
Holding Alice, Mori Ougai lowered his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them. There was someone in the room, but he was completely unaware until the person who had infiltrated deliberately revealed themselves while he was reviewing the report. Only then did he utter those words, half-truthfully.
Only he himself knows the truth or falsehood in his words.
Whether the person who infiltrated was friend or foe was still unknown. But he was certain that they meant him no harm.
If they truly harbored ill intentions towards him, given the infiltrator's stealth capabilities, killing him would be an incredibly easy task. He had a hunch that the infiltrator's strength was definitely comparable to a Transcendent.
The six paths of the body conceal fame and fortune.
Meanwhile, Mori Ōgai was still wondering who had infiltrated his office, contemplating whether they could be of any use to him. On the other side, Rokudo Mukuro, accompanied by Yosano Akiko and Tachihara, had already made a round trip through Mori Ōgai's archives, and had even enjoyed a wonderful performance by Mori Ōgai and Alice.
Thinking about what they had seen in the archives, Yosano Akiko and Tachihara were both silent and devastated.
Yosano Akiko always believed that her purpose in being brought to the battlefield was to save more lives, so no matter how confused and distressed she was, she continued to fulfill her duty.
However, to her surprise, the purpose of being brought to the battlefield was not to save lives, but to satisfy people's desires and to create an "immortal legion" centered on supernatural abilities.
At this moment, Li Yuan felt as if a stone was blocking his heart, and he wanted to scream and vent his pain. He had always been a calm person, so even after experiencing the pain of near death many times, he suppressed that pain in his heart.
He always believed he was fighting for his country and for his family, regardless of whether the war was just or not. As a soldier, he had to obey orders. But little did he know that the country he wanted to protect didn't see him as a human being at all, but rather as a pawn that could be discarded at any time.
How could they possibly accept that?
"Tachihara-kun, what should we do? I don't want to go on like this!" Yosano Akiko was on the verge of collapse. She had never imagined that she would encounter something so devastating.
Tachihara clenched his fist so hard that his nails dug into his palm. "We've told the others the truth. We can't go to war anymore. This isn't war anymore; it's just sending us to our deaths in vain." Besides, Akiko can't bear this kind of life anymore.
We need to get out of here!
"Leave here? And then what? Where can we go?" It wasn't others who abandoned them, but their own country.
“Let’s go find Dr. Mori.” Tachihara made the decision. He had heard what Dr. Mori had said before and understood his good intentions. Even if he wanted to sacrifice them, it wasn’t for anything else but for the sake of ordinary people. Therefore, he didn’t blame Dr. Mori at all; on the contrary, he could understand him.
"Will that pervert help us?" Yosano Akiko harbored deep prejudice against Mori Ōgai, and even though she knew his actions were right, she couldn't forgive him.
"Yes, we will." Rokudo Mukuro answered confidently. "Dr. Mori will definitely help you." Mori Ougai was clearly a self-serving guy; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so perceptive as to notice when Rokudo deliberately revealed a trace of his aura and said those words.
Moreover, very few soldiers survived this battle.
Mori Ougai will definitely make the right choice.
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