Chapter 27

Even as he lay in the rubble, he was trying to protect That Crow.

"Yūhaku, Yūhaku!" Ango Sakaguchi strained to lift the stones off his legs, then tremblingly placed a hand beneath his nose.

"How is he?" Chūya Nakahara, still controlling the stones around them, was frantic.

"He's breathing, he's still breathing!" Ango Sakaguchi fumbled to press the communicator on his earpiece. He didn't even dare touch Kamiki Yūhaku, afraid that something he did might leave him unable to open his eyes again.

"Dazai?! We found Yūhaku. Where are you?"

Osamu Dazai arrived, out of breath. He exhaled. "Aren't I here already?"

Beside him, Akiko Yosano immediately stepped into the rubble. To ensure that neither her ability nor Chūya Nakahara's was affected, Osamu Dazai stayed outside, keeping watch for anything unusual.

"How is he?!" Ango Sakaguchi looked at Akiko Yosano. "Yūhaku, he—"

"Don't underestimate my ability." Akiko Yosano pulled off her gloves. "As long as he has a breath left in him, I can bring him back."

As Akiko Yosano's ability lit up, Ango Sakaguchi watched the person on the ground. In that moment, it was as though he had seen the most beautiful sight.

Ten minutes later, Chief Taneda arrived with the Military Police. He looked at the rubble. Ango Sakaguchi stood beside it, a camera in his hands. It held photographs of the rubble from different angles, and several suspicious spots had been marked.

It looked as though he really had been examining the scene all this time.

Chief Taneda directed the Military Police to deal with the rubble in all directions.

"Sakaguchi." Chief Taneda looked at Ango Sakaguchi. "What happened to your eyes?"

"It's nothing." Ango Sakaguchi sent the photos to Taneda. "This place just collapsed, and the wind is strong. I got some sand in my eyes by accident."

"Is that so?" Chief Taneda nodded. "Good, then."

Ango Sakaguchi turned to look ahead. The Military Police had begun clearing the stones. Perhaps they would soon clear away the rubble on the surface and discover the base beneath it. The collapse of the Number Seven Agency couldn't be hidden, and not everyone in the government trusted it.

Even with pressure from the government, this place would be exposed to the public.

Perhaps the complete destruction of all the Number Seven Agency's records was the last shred of face the government could save.

One week later.

Ango Sakaguchi was taking some documents to Chief Taneda. Just as he reached the office door, he heard a teacup shatter.

"You must give me an explanation!"

"An explanation for what?" Chief Taneda's voice was steady and firm. "The Number Seven Agency exploded right before the world's eyes. Trying to cover it up is nothing but wishful thinking. Instead of blaming the people who failed to suppress the news, you're accusing those of us cleaning up the aftermath. Isn't that a little unreasonable?"

The man glared fiercely at Taneda. "You didn't find Otsu Zero's body!"

"It wasn't just this Otsu Zero you mentioned. The bodies of most of the people in the Number Seven Agency were torn apart by the explosion. Why is Otsu Zero the only one you consider special?"

"You're the Armed Detective Agency. Issuing the Port Mafia an Ability Business Permit all those years ago already made you the laughingstock of the government. Don't repeat that mistake now." The man's voice was sinister. "The assistant counselor under you and Otsu Zero were once colleagues, weren't they?"

Taneda sat calmly in his seat. "That's an undeniable fact. He was the reason Sakaguchi's undercover operation failed. Besides, before it happened, I ordered Sakaguchi to remain in the Special Division. What, are you suggesting we deliberately let a criminal escape?"

The man stared at Taneda, then snorted. "You'd better not have."

He stormed out of the office and came face-to-face with Ango Sakaguchi. He shot Ango Sakaguchi a cold glare, then left without breaking stride.

Ango Sakaguchi entered with the documents. "Who was that?"

"A nobody in the government, throwing his weight around on someone else's authority." Taneda took the documents from him. "They suffered heavy losses when the Number Seven Agency was destroyed. They kept a great deal of precious intelligence and evidence in there, including the experimental data from the French Concession back then. That one explosion blew all the government's secrets and dirt out into the open."

"That does sound troublesome."

"Not too troublesome. At least Kamiki Yūhaku only wanted to destroy that place. He didn't intend to make all those things public." Taneda tossed the documents onto the desk. "Or perhaps he really didn't want to live anymore, so all he wanted in that moment was to end it and take the entire Number Seven Agency down with him."

Ango Sakaguchi stood beside him. Taneda filled his cup with tea. "Sakaguchi, would you like to join me for some tea?"

"Sit down," Taneda said. "This is good tea. Try it."

Ango Sakaguchi sat down. Taneda placed a new teacup in front of him before speaking again. "What a shame. I quite liked this set, and that man broke one."

"Does he come looking for trouble often?"

"He can't make trouble for the Special Division. The facts are right there, and no matter how much fuss they make, they can't stir up anything." Taneda poured tea into Ango Sakaguchi's cup. "There's a book in Yokohama. They say that if you write in it, it can grant any wish. Thinking about it now, those people's pursuit of the book is much like some people's pursuit of abilities."

"Powerful abilities and the desire to have any wish granted are quite alike, aren't they?"

Ango Sakaguchi held his teacup, his eyes fixed on the yellowed tea. A tea stalk stood upright in the middle.

"Someone once asked me why ability users had to be the ones to decide the state of the world, and why ordinary people had to be incapable of keeping up with them. He said it was an inherently flawed and unstable structure." Taneda said, "I was surprised at the time, because it was the first time anyone had told me that ordinary people could surpass ability users."

"But I think he was right. Abilities are like that book: they possess a powerful force we don't understand, but they also magnify human desires. Since the book can't be put to human use, then, to a certain extent, abilities can't be obtained through means humanity can't accept, either."

Ango Sakaguchi jerked his head up. "...Chief."

"It doesn't matter if they refuse to believe or admit it. There won't be a second Number Seven Agency for them to destroy the evidence. Only the Armed Detective Agency and the Armed Detective Agency can investigate this incident. Unfortunately, that old friend of mine is even more stubborn than I imagined. It's impossible to get him to look for the victims of human experimentation."

"He won't let the Armed Detective Agency accept any commissions related to this incident."

Ango Sakaguchi lowered his head. "I... I'm sorry."

Taneda smiled and stood up, teacup in hand.

"You really shouldn't let sand get in your eyes again."

On the day the Number Seven Agency fell, Taneda suddenly remembered something. He finally recalled corresponding with a brilliant doctor for several months. As a doctor, his words had carried a doctor's compassion, and he had shone with the radiance of an ordinary person.

He wasn't an ability user, yet he shone more brightly than any of them.

Taneda valued talent and knew the Number Seven Agency wouldn't let him go easily. So he did his best to conceal the connection between himself and Kamiki Yūhaku, but the agency found out anyway.

By the time Taneda realized it, what had happened was set in stone, and even he had forgotten those memories.

Perhaps helping these young people cover it up was the last thing he could do.

On the deck of the Smuggling Ship, a young man stood gazing out at the sea. Sunlight fell on his hair with a golden gleam, making the white strands so dazzling they seemed to glow.

He wore black, and a crow stood on his shoulder. The crow fluttered its wings, shedding a feather in the sunlight.

Just then, someone furtively poked his head out of the cabin.

"Hey," he called.

The young man turned to look at him, a question in his red eyes.

"We'll reach shore in three days," the man said. "You're sneaking out of the country, so you don't have a passport, do you? You'd better be careful. They're strict over there. If you get caught, they'll send you back."

"Aren't you afraid?"

"Hey, it doesn't matter to us. We're smugglers. We'll leave once we've delivered the goods." The man looked around, then leaned close to the young man. "Speaking of which, what's your relationship with that Port Mafia executive? He actually brought you aboard himself."

The young man smiled. A moment later, he looked back out at the sea, its deep blue reflected in his red eyes.

"We're friends."

"Friends with a Port Mafia executive? That's impressive."

The man wanted to say something else, but the captain called him from the cabin, so he had to hurry back inside, leaving the young man standing there alone.

"Doesn't even the air feel much fresher?" Kamiki Yūhaku reached up to poke the crow on his shoulder. "Little Crow?"

The crow pecked at his finger, as though it didn't agree.

"All right, all right. Once we reach shore, I can buy you your favorite snacks." Kamiki Yūhaku murmured, "I'm actually starting to look forward to tomorrow."

"But that's not a bad thing, is it?"

[Recognition increased to 100%]

Chapter 27

"Collecting Recognition to 100% is quite difficult. You did well, host."

"Is 'Recognition' all you see?"

"Of course. Before everything began, I warned you and told you to reconsider, host."

"True. I underestimated this experience."

"Congratulations on recognizing reality, host. Now, will you continue filling in the next character profile?"

The young man lowered his head. After a moment, he spoke. "...Let's continue, then."

"Understood."

"Loading character profile. [Nonhuman Jujutsu Sorcerer] has been bound."