I need no reason to kill you

"You two head back first."

I hated variables, no matter who they were.

So only after I watched them leave with my own eyes did I get back into the car and set off again.

As I left, I failed to notice the two of them huddling together, whispering about something.

Whatever it was, it was probably something incomprehensible yet impossible to argue against.

Still, how about planting a few bugs at the Jujutsu Society higher-ups' Headquarters?

I considered how feasible that was, then planted quite a few bugs without anyone noticing and happily arrived at the heart of the higher-ups' domain.

"It's been a while, my lords. What did you summon me for this time?"

I was much more obedient on this visit, with a gentle smile and impeccable manners, which considerably improved the moods of the senior officials who were so accustomed to being put on a pedestal.

"Osamu Dazai, we summoned you today to discuss your personal safety."

A hoarse voice came from above me, and my lowered, russet eyes involuntarily rose toward the official speaking.

"What do you mean, my lord?"

Upon discovering that a screen blocked my view, I lowered my gaze again.

The candles around me flickered, and warm air kept blowing against my short hair. There were no windows in the room, and the air barely circulated, leaving me feeling a little short of breath.

"To ensure your personal safety, Headquarters has decided to implement the Specially Assigned Sorcerer Close-Protection System whenever you leave on missions."

"Accordingly, Headquarters will assign two Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers to accompany you and ensure the safety of Cursed Technique Nullification. Do you have any objections?"

Me: ...Others fell silent. I fell even more silent.

Their scheming was practically slapping me in the face. Did they think I was an idiot?

Hmm... Maybe that wasn't quite fair. After all, spending too long in a position of power gave some people about a billion problems, like these officials above me who weren't even bothering to pretend.

Still, at the end of the day, Nullification was a game-breaking ability, one they simply had to keep in their hands.

And what was I but an ordinary sorcerer of common birth, with no one to rely on? Hadn't even someone from a family like Sōsuke Mizukawa's been reduced to cannon fodder? What chance did I have?

That thought almost made me laugh. I forcibly suppressed the urge and kept my head lowered, but ultimately failed to hold it in and broke into a radiant smile.

"No thanks. I don't need that."

"Osamu Dazai."

An authoritative voice rang out, but hearing the anger mixed into that authority only made the whole thing seem even funnier to me.

"Yes, yes, I'm here. But I can keep myself safe. I really don't need anyone monitoring me."

Still smiling, I maintained that same gentle, obedient demeanor, but gave them no chance to say anything else and left at once.

It wasn't as though nobody tried to stop me, but before doing that, shouldn't they take a good look at who I was?

If I were that easy to stop, the Dragon Head Conflict alone would have been enough to kill me... Osamu Dazai eighty or a hundred times over.

I didn't call for a car. Headquarters was dozens of kilometers from Jujutsu High, and I had no idea what I was thinking as I wandered alone through the deserted outskirts.

It felt just like the day I first arrived.

People who could orchestrate everything inspired fear, and right now, I was desperately trying to restrain myself.

Not to eliminate them using Boss Dazai's way of thinking, not to reveal those dark, festering thoughts, not to kill myself.

But now, I actually felt as though I was starting to lose my grip.

Until then, we had coexisted without incident, but those emotions and thoughts from just now kept battering my mind. If I hadn't casually cut myself before entering Headquarters, I probably really would have become something I didn't want to be.

It hurt a little. I couldn't remember my own name, but I didn't want to be called Osamu Dazai either. I knew perfectly well that I wasn't him, yet I couldn't deny that this body was mine.

Had I screwed myself over?

It really, really hurt.

For one moment, I genuinely wanted to die. I genuinely wanted it all to end.

Probably nobody would understand. Why would I reject becoming someone better?

After all, this was Osamu Dazai: one of the masterminds, an intellectual powerhouse second only to Ranpo Edogawa, an expert at manipulating hearts. What was so bad about becoming him?

But he had his life, and I was me: an ordinary person with parents and friends, someone who hadn't lived in such a haze, someone with joys, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

I wasn't worthy. I really wasn't. I didn't want to stand beside him, and I wasn't qualified to, either.

I was just an ordinary, unremarkable person who knew his own limits.

Being forced to become a powerhouse made for a terrifying, legendary life, but I wasn't willing. I didn't want it.

I wanted my father, my mother, my friends. I should have been happily spending time with them at the convention, teasing a certain little shrimp dressed all in black, or handing out heartbreak at the venue with a certain knife-wielding guy, then happily bringing that wonderful day to a close.

Not looking at those sanity-draining Cursed Spirits and exorcising them one by one, having to suppress my thoughts and ideas while staying wary of everyone who meant me harm.

I didn't dare form bonds, and it wasn't just because of Osamu Dazai himself. I was also afraid that if I made friends here, then by the time I could return, I would no longer be able to leave. I wouldn't want to leave.

I didn't want to give up on anyone, anyone I cared about.

So, if I didn't want things to end in an awful mess, I couldn't form bonds or get to know them. Keeping things at the level of ordinary acquaintances was enough. Perhaps I would be a little sad. Perhaps I would remember them for the rest of my life. But as long as it didn't hurt so much, that was enough.

I couldn't guarantee whether entrusting our lives to one another and spending three years together would make us true, close friends.

So refusing before any of that happened was the best solution I could leave myself.

I was me, and there were still people waiting for me in that world. So I had to go home. I wanted to go back.

Even if the chances were slim, even if my willpower meant I might soon be assimilated, this was the one thing I still wanted to fight for.

I didn't know how long I had walked. The evening sunlight slowly faded, leaving only a sky full of stars that could never be seen in a big city.

I wasn't lost. I only knew I had walked for a long time, perhaps several kilometers, perhaps more than ten. That would have exhausted the old me, but now, I hardly felt anything.

I always felt that this body possessed some strange magic. Minor illnesses never stopped, but major ones never came. Call it sturdy, and it developed every symptom imaginable; eating even a little cold food could leave it with agonizing stomach pain. Call it frail, and jumping into a river, hanging itself, or even swallowing a mixture of blood-pressure-raising and blood-pressure-lowering medication did nothing. At most, it needed its stomach pumped. It still wouldn't die.

I had no idea what was going on with this cockroach-like vitality. It truly defied belief.

As I was now, I was probably the very definition of easy to keep, hard to kill, and valuable.

Provided whoever kept me was strong enough, calm enough, and intelligent enough to keep me so thoroughly under control that I couldn't get any ideas.

After all, the bare minimum needed to keep me was a roll of bandages and a corner. (Note: caretakers were advised to prepare a dark, clean corner; otherwise, excessive sunlight or dirt and clutter would send Dazai-kitty into a dark, festering state. Severe cases could cause illness.)

(If you wanted Dazai-kitty to live a couple more days, at most-at the very most-just add a Crabmeat Can.) Nothing else was really a necessity.

Clouds veiled the pale moonlight. There weren't many streetlights around me, so I couldn't see much, though I thought I might be able to see better if I unwrapped the bandages over my other eye.

I had no intention of doing that, however. Clouds would disperse, but certain nuisances wouldn't.

For example, the sorcerer who had been following me all this way was about to make his move. Seriously, were the Jujutsu Society higher-ups all monkeys? Why did every last one of them like hanging around in trees?

"Ah... So this just never ends, does it?"

I sighed softly, watching the Jujutsu Sorcerer already lunging toward me. Not particularly smart, though perhaps not entirely stupid either.

At least he wasn't planning to hurt me. With the information I had deliberately leaked about my below-average hand-to-hand skills, combined with my being an eighteen-year-old minor and everything else, had they really only sent these two?

They were both fairly skilled Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers, admittedly, but grades weren't actually all that important to me.

After all, although I had never encountered a Special Grade Mage Form, I would probably completely overwhelm one if I did.

"Still not coming over?"

My voice was flat as I watched the shadows crisscrossing above my head. I murmured softly, then suddenly sprinted forward as if I had discovered something.

Clearly provoked by that move, they charged after me without a second thought. Only when a blade pierced one of their chests with a dull thud did the two of them react.

And just as the other man turned his head, the gun I had casually picked up was already aimed at the back of it.

"Boss, looks like you've killed your fair share."

Toji Zenin kicked the half-dead Jujutsu Sorcerer, then glanced at the gun in my hand and my shooting calluses, teasing me a little.

"Likewise."

I raised a hand to cover a yawn. Looking at the two men who had already stopped breathing, I casually kicked one aside, brushed nonexistent dust off myself, and continued walking.

"Hey, boss, don't leave. What did you do for a living before this? You're awfully efficient at killing."

Toji Zenin seemed to have developed a sudden, intense interest in me. He flicked the blood off his blade, stuffed it back into that Cursed Spirit, then hurried after me.

"Haven't you considered it, Mr. Toji?"

I looked at the seemingly endless road ahead and finally settled on one thing: deliberately walking back to draw out the men those higher-ups had sent so I could kill them was an absolute disaster. I would stay at a hotel tonight and take a taxi back tomorrow.

While thinking that over, I answered offhandedly.

"Of course I have. You held a pretty high position in the mafia, didn't you?"

Toji Zenin subtly probed me, but, well...

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm just an ordinary student."

My gaze was utterly sincere, though in the pitch-black night, most people probably couldn't see my eyes. Toji Zenin could probably see them, however.

"Boss, do you really think anyone would believe that?"

The killing intent, the emptiness-when I truly stopped concealing myself, even my bones seemed steeped in darkness. After killing someone, my expression showed neither sorrow nor joy, remaining as calm as if there were nothing before me at all. And I was telling him I was just an ordinary student?

"Sure. Teacher Yaga believed me."

"Sometimes I really have to admire your acting, boss."

"What nonsense are you talking about? I really am just an ordinary student."

"..."

Toji Zenin: Like hell I'd believe you.