Deep-Seated Obsession, Otakemaru Takes the Stage!

Hazama,

the place where the realms of yin and yang intersect,

Impenetrable darkness filled this peculiar region.

Oppressive, cold, desolate, dead silent—

every word unrelated to life still fell short of describing this place!!

Yet even such a place, which one would not dare observe from afar...

"I am a failure. I hardly ever noticed whether the sun was shining, because I had no time.

"My parents could not support me, and I was not well educated. Alone in the city, I searched for a future.

"I found many jobs, but none would hire me. Perhaps nobody liked someone who was bad at talking, disliked socializing, and had not shown enough ability.

"For three whole days, I ate only two loaves of bread. Hunger kept me awake at night. Luckily, I had paid a month's rent in advance, so I could keep living in that dark basement instead of going outside to endure the unusually cold winter wind.

"Finally, I found a job. I worked night watch at a hospital, watching over the morgue.

"The hospital was even colder at night than I had imagined. The wall lamps in the corridors were not lit, and everything was dim. I could only rely on the faint light spilling out from the rooms to see where I stepped.

"It smelled awful there. From time to time, dead bodies would be delivered stuffed into body bags, and we would help carry them into the morgue.

"It was not a good job, but at least it let me afford bread. I could also use the free time at night to study. After all, nobody wanted to come to the morgue unless a corpse needed to be delivered or taken away for cremation. Of course, I still did not have enough money to buy books,