By the time the world consciousness had everything in order and was ready to tell Dazai that the aisle could be opened at any time, Dazai was sprawled in a soft executive chair, reviewing documents in the afterglow of the setting sun filtering through the glass.
The orange-red halo fell on his pale profile, adding a touch of warmth to him, and the originally gloomy office became much brighter in this lingering glow.
After integrating other worlds, the Port Mafia's influence had significantly shrunk, and the minor factions that had been suppressed a year ago during the Dragon Head Conflict began to stir again.
Perhaps because he had signed a contract with the world consciousness and was outside the world during its integration, his memories were not altered. However, everyone else's memories had been more or less corrected by the world consciousness.
To quickly fill in the information gap and understand how the world consciousness rationalized everything, Dazai had been checking the differences between the integrated world and his memory of the world recently.
He first sought information from intelligence brokers about foreign forces. After realizing that some changes in these forces hadn't affected the global situation, Dazai turned his attention to Japan. As expected, he discovered many new towns in Japan that hadn't existed before, such as Duwang Town, Namimori Town, and Beika Town.
There was even a new type of creature called Cursed Spirits. Initially, when Dazai saw the strange things floating in the air, he thought he had accidentally eaten poisonous mushrooms during a meal and was hallucinating... Dazai then spent two more days investigating the newly emerged towns and the creatures called Cursed Spirits, which looked like they came straight out of a horror movie.
Those towns didn't require any special attention for now. What needed particular attention was these Cursed Spirits, which seemed out of place everywhere.
These creatures are born from human negative emotions and, like evil spirits in movies, relentlessly harass and feed on humans. To protect humanity, there's even a specialized profession for hunting Cursed Spirits—Jujutsu Sorcerers.
This setting sounded somewhat familiar.
Dazai, who still had time to surf the internet at high speed every day, had a subtle expression. He then flipped through some more documents and found that no matter how he looked, the information about the Jujutsu Society consisted of only a few words, with nothing more.
Alright, these people had better keep their hands to themselves and not extend them to Yokohama.
These changes above were not directly related to Dazai for the time being. What truly gave him a headache were the various butterfly effects caused by the proliferation of ability users after the world's integration.
Mr. Mori's hairline had receded even further, which went without saying.
When he finally remembered to pay attention to Mimic abroad, he discovered that Mimic, which was supposed to be drawn to Yokohama six months later, encountered a fortune teller while passing through Italy. He didn't know what the fortune teller told them, but from that day on, they took root in Italy, often provoking the local force, Passione, when they had nothing else to do.
According to the material, Passione was a newly emerging Mafia organization in Italy, whose most distinctive feature was that everyone in it was an ability user.
Dazai: ... Realizing that things were getting a bit out of control, Dazai stayed up all night, reviewing the files of all the organizations, big and small, in Yokohama.
The result was—
"Pfft—" The young man's hazel eyes curved into slits as if he had seen something extremely amusing, revealing a very childish smile.
"The Three-Way Conflict actually lost its twilight."
The so-called Three-Way Conflict was a proposal put forward by Natsume Soseki during Yokohama's most chaotic period.
It was a three-part time management plan: the Special Ability Department managed the day, the Port Mafia owned the night, and the Armed Detective Agency belonged to the twilight. Everyone would handle their responsibilities within their designated time, without interfering with each other, and together protect Yokohama.
But now, the Armed Detective Agency was never established. This meant that the Three-Way Conflict never existed from the start.
"So where did he go?" Neither the Armed Detective Agency nor the Three-Way Conflict truly mattered to him.
What he had always cared about, from beginning to end, was that man whom he had secretly manipulated into the Armed Detective Agency.
The world consciousness, thinking Dazai was asking about it, spoke: [He's working as a security guard at a publishing house.]
As time passed, the orange-red sunset gradually transformed into a dull, lifeless black.
Until the last ray of light vanished, the vitality in his office also disappeared completely, becoming oppressive.
"...Is that so." In the darkness, Dazai whispered softly, his tone like a sigh.
[Mr. Dazai, the high-dimensional world has been arranged, and the aisle can be opened at any time.]
"Dazai, what do you mean by dumping the mission report on me again?!" No sooner had the world consciousness finished speaking than Dazai heard his partner, Nakahara Chuuya, roar from outside the door.
"Also, why don't you turn on the lights at night, you bastard?!"
"The capable should do more work, right?" Dazai remained unperturbed, smiling as he spoke in a slightly complaining tone to Chuya, who had unceremoniously kicked open the door and stormed in.
"Besides, I was attacked by an unknown force a while ago, which cost me an eye. Now, even a little overuse causes intense pain."
Chuya, grumbling, switched on the lights and irritably adjusted his hat.
"...What exactly happened to your eye?" He had noticed something was off days ago when Dazai appeared before him as if nothing had happened.
Although his left eye was bandaged as usual, he clearly saw an unnatural indentation.
—Dazai Osamu's left eye was gone.
Every time he asked this bastard, he would act as if he was dying from pain and then change the subject.
If he believed Dazai's nonsense about losing an eye due to an attack by an unknown force, then he truly would be a big fool. Anyone could be schemed against, but never Dazai.
Dazai ignored Chuya's questioning, merely feigning surprise, widening his exposed right eye, and speaking in his usual infuriating tone.
"Oh, Chuya, you're not really going to force a blind man to write a report, are you?"
"Shut up—fine, I'll write the report!" He knew that if Dazai didn't want to talk, he wouldn't get an answer no matter what.
An unnamed fire burned within him.
Though this guy was keen on suicide, he would never deliberately self-mutilate and ruin his body.
Chuya couldn't understand. He had always struggled to understand Dazai Osamu's thoughts. For instance, now, if Dazai knew who the culprit was, why was he indifferent, allowing someone to gouge out his eye?
"Just make sure you know what you're doing." In the end, Chuya merely gazed deeply for a moment at Dazai, who had been curled up in his chair without moving since he arrived.
It was as if his anger and worry were a joke, and Dazai was the one watching the joke unfold.
His clenched fist tightened and loosened, then tightened and loosened again. After two repetitions, Chuya still suppressed the urge to drag Dazai off the chair and beat him soundly.
Let him be, this guy had always been like this.
—Looking at everyone with gloomy, playful, and utterly unconcerned eyes.
Watching Chuya's infuriated but restrained retreating figure, Dazai's lips curved in pleasure.
"Teasing Chuya like this every time, even I feel a bit guilty."
world consciousness: [I don't see any uneasiness in you.]
Dazai waved his hand, stood up, and walked towards the door. "That's not important. Since the aisle can be opened, let's set the time for tomorrow."
At the same time, he sent a message to the logistics department, asking them to send someone to repair the door that Chuya had kicked open.
[Okay, will your office be chosen as the drop-off location?]
"Why my office?" Dazai, once again choked by the world consciousness's unexpected reply, asked his question.
Of course, from his outward appearance, Dazai didn't reveal any inappropriate emotions. He continued to walk at a leisurely pace, leaving the Port Mafia building.
The world consciousness fell silent.
"...Put them in Radium Town. Generally, games have respawn points, right?" A hint of a smile flashed in Dazai's eyes as if he had thought of something amusing.
The world consciousness replied: [Yes, where would you like to choose?]
"The Fortress."
Dazai walked all the way to the Tsurumi River. He lowered his head, looking at his blurred reflection in the water.
"The contract also includes my life, right?"
[Yes, you will not die until the world is stable.]
This was inevitable. Dazai was not someone who valued his own life. If it weren't for the belief that he had to maintain the world and let Odasaku live to write novels, Dazai would also be keen on suicide, just like the 'Dazai Osamu' of other worlds.
It was afraid that one day, if it wasn't careful, Dazai would play himself to death.
"Seriously—even the right to die has been taken away." He complained to the world consciousness in his heart.
'Splash—'
Dazai fell backward into the river.
Without even struggling, he allowed himself to be enveloped by the river water. The water gradually covered his mouth and nose until his entire body sank to the bottom, his body rising and falling with the flow of the river.
[!!!]
The world consciousness was shocked. How did he end up in the river?
[Don't just keep trying to die because you can't die!!!] It wished it could materialize, grab Dazai's ear, shout at him with all its might, and then smash his head with a hammer to make him sober up.
"Let me relax one last time," Dazai said softly, immersed in the water.
"There won't be another chance after tomorrow..."