Psychological Observation Record Report

Thud... thud... thud...

The melodious chimes were like a shepherd's flute. After the bells rang, all of Dawn City awakened, beginning to operate like a machine.

Dawn City's bells rang twice a day. The first marked sunrise, while the second signaled the nighttime curfew.

Doors throughout the residential district opened one after another, and flocks of lambs quietly emerged from their homes.

Some wore raincoats, while others wore conical hats. Instinctively, they looked toward the distant administrative building and saw the rare sunlight split the gloomy dawn, casting halos of dew over the sparse grass.

They prayed a grateful word in their hearts and quietly praised the fine weather before walking out through the hazy drizzle.

Knock, knock!

Dark circles hung beneath Nagato's eyes, and a hint of fatigue showed on his face as he knocked on the door in a steady rhythm.

Before long, Yun Chuan's voice came from inside.

"Come in."

Hearing that, Nagato adjusted his expression, his face returning to calm before he pushed open the door.

But after entering, the first thing he sensed was not Yun Chuan, but a figure hanging from the pull-up bar like a dried salted fish.

Even with his eyes covered, the sense of familiarity was far too strong.

Nagato's expression turned strange. In the end, he could not help taking a long look before walking toward Yun Chuan, who sat at the desk.

As he approached, he sensed Konan sitting to one side, folding paper, while Yun Chuan lowered his head to read a document.

—"Feasibility Report on the Construction of Vegetable Greenhouses and Soilless Cultivation Techniques."

Even without seeing the words on the document, Nagato knew it was something else he could not understand.

With practiced ease, he skimmed over it at a glance and pulled a paper file from his clothes.

"You came early." Yun Chuan set down the document, lifted the mug of hot water beside him, and turned to Nagato. "Didn't sleep at all last night?"

As he spoke, he used a towel to wipe away the faint crimson staining Nagato's hem. There was a rusty, bloody scent in the air.

"I had nothing better to do, so I interrogated him while I was at it."

Nagato could not help glancing toward the living room again, his tone filled with irrepressible bewilderment. "How long has he been here?"

Yahiko hung from the pull-up bar with two small iron plates strapped to him and a wad of paper stuffed into his nose. He was straining through pull-ups with a vicious grimace on his face, while the floor below was covered in wet patches.

When Nagato had first caught sight of Yahiko upon entering, he had nearly thought exhaustion had made him walk into the wrong room.

"Only about an hour." Without even looking back, Yun Chuan chuckled. "All that water was secretly poured out while he was drinking."

Nagato's mouth twitched at that. He felt helpless over his older brother's twisted sense of humor, and became even more convinced that Yahiko was an idiot.

"Boss, isn't this enough? I'm about to die!"

Seeing Nagato looking his way, as if he had spotted a lifeline, Yahiko let out a miserable howl.

Ignoring Yahiko's wailing outright, Yun Chuan looked at the file in Nagato's hand. "Did you bring me any good news?"

"Intelligence on the Lord of the Land of Fire. Does that count as good news?"

Nagato placed the report, faintly stained red with blood, beside Yun Chuan and spoke with feigned indifference. "All the preparations we made were wasted. That guy couldn't even see such an obvious trap. Is he really someone valued by the Lord of the Land of Fire?"

Given Yun Chuan's personality, how could he possibly leave such an obvious flaw? It had merely been bait to lure the enemy in.

"Do not underestimate other people's intelligence too much. Only fools believe everyone else is stupid."

"Mist Capital was too confident in his own abilities and looked down on us, so he never imagined he would fail in such an obscure place. I do not want to see you die silently in some ridiculous way as well."

Watching Nagato struggle to keep a mature face while clearly wanting praise, Yun Chuan gave him a measured reminder. Before Nagato could grow discouraged, he smiled and patted him. "Still, you did well. You did not betray my trust."

"You can rest assured and leave Dawn to you."

Yun Chuan understood children like Yahiko and Nagato, who lacked love, far too well.

Sure enough, after hearing his sudden change in tone, Nagato's downturned lips froze. He took a breath, and a curve he could not suppress appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Human beings always had their own reasons for living.

Who did they strive to rise above others for? Who did they fight desperately for? Whose praise did they want, and whose approval did they seek?

Only when people knew why they lived could they endure any kind of life.

"Boss, I'm dying! Aaahhh!"

Yahiko's wailing rang out again.

Even Konan, who had been focused on folding paper, raised her head and looked at Yun Chuan hesitantly, as though she wanted to say something.

"Don't mind him. If he has the strength to shout, then he has the strength to keep going."

"He ate all that yesterday. Shouldn't he work some of it off today?"

Noticing Konan's gaze, Yun Chuan smiled like a devil. "Even if he can't keep doing them, he can hang up there."

Yun Chuan did not spare Yahiko a single glance. As long as he did not give permission, Yahiko could not come down from the pull-up bar.

Aside from being emotionally infectious, perhaps that brat's only other virtue was his tenacious character.

If one had to put it another way, whether it was charisma or stubbornness, it was not that Yun Chuan feared Yahiko would not be able to get back up—it was that he feared Yahiko could not be helped up.

Besides, it was only ordinary physical training: a few hours of pull-ups, several hundred barbell lifts, then sprinting outside until he was dehydrated.

At most, his muscles would ache so badly at night that he would whimper nonstop in his sleep. With sufficient nutrition, it would not truly train Yahiko to death from exhaustion.

"Why don't you go teach him a lesson?"

After thinking for a moment, Yun Chuan turned toward Nagato and tipped his head in Yahiko's direction.

Nagato said nothing. He nodded and walked over.

"Gloomy red-haired brat! What are you doing?"

When he saw Nagato approaching, Yahiko stopped wailing. Pulling a ridiculous face, he shouted, "I'm warning you, don't think you can take advantage of me like last time! I'll kick you right away, you hear m—"

Before he could finish, Nagato's next action made his eyes widen.

Nagato walked to the three large iron plates Yun Chuan had used before. He reached down to pry up the bottom one, planted his feet steadily, and exerted force from his legs through his waist. With a soft sound, he lifted one of the large plates.

"The blacksmith added some specially treated heavy metals to those." Yun Chuan's casual voice came from behind him. "They can't be used to forge weapons, but they're suitable for training."

Nagato held it in front of his chest for more than ten seconds, his face flushing slightly red, before setting the large iron plate down.

"It really is useful." He nodded, then cast a sidelong glance at Yahiko's dumbfounded, ghost-struck expression and the tiny iron plates on him. "The little ones are acceptable for amusement too."

After saying that, Nagato walked to the pull-up bar and bent down. He looked up at Yahiko, whose little face was red from strain, then picked up the water bottle beneath his feet and tucked it into his pocket under Yahiko's horrified gaze.

"I'll be leaving first." A hint of a smile appeared on Nagato's lips, along with a familiar streak of malicious amusement.

But before he walked out the door, Yun Chuan seemed to recall something.

"Oh, right. Don't forget to send that man's head to the Daimyo Estate in the Land of Fire. Consider it a gift of introduction."

"And after you get back, rest for a while. Tomorrow, come on a long trip with me. I'll take you to meet some relatives."

Nagato paused, then waved without turning around to show that he understood before stepping outside.

Only then did Yahiko recover from the shock of what had just happened.

"Hey! Hey, hey! Bastard! What do you mean by that?! Get back here and explain yourself!"

Hanging from the pull-up bar, Yahiko shouted at Nagato's retreating back and kicked wildly, his face flushed red with embarrassment and fury.

Yet he recalled what had happened before. He had curiously tried to move those three huge iron plates, but could not lift them even after straining until his face turned red.

He had stubbornly persisted until his veins nearly burst. Only after Yun Chuan stopped him had he discovered that his nose was bleeding.

Who the hell knew how Yun Chuan managed to do pull-ups with those things hanging from his legs?!

He had thought that aside from Yun Chuan, that human-shaped monster, no one else could possibly move those things. Yet Nagato had directly shattered the last shred of hope in his heart.

"Damn gloomy red-haired muscle brat!" Yahiko gritted his teeth, tensed both arms, and pulled himself upward with a savage expression. "I'll never admit defeat!!"

Thud!

Watching Nagato's slender figure disappear from sight, Yun Chuan lightly tapped his fingers against the desk, and the smile on his face gradually vanished.

After pondering for a moment, Yun Chuan took a sealed file bag from the drawer and turned to look at Yahiko, who lay sprawled on the floor like a colorless salted fish.

"Don't rush to drink water after intense exercise." He pulled a document from the file bag, then beckoned to Yahiko. "Come here. I have something to show you."

Written on the file bag were the words: "Third Dawn Psychological Observation Record Report for Active Members."

The name on the first document was "Tsukimiri Nagato," and only four words appeared in the reporter field.

—"Psychiatrist."