Holy Father-Style Tool-Person - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Eleventh Day of Being a Tool-Man

Just as the situation seemed beyond redemption, a swift figure suddenly lunged in front of Dazai Osamu.

Dazai’s eyes widened slightly as the newcomer snatched the gun from his hand. Before Dazai could even react, he was already hoisted onto the person’s shoulder like a sack of grain.

This speed was so extreme that it could no longer be explained by differences in human physical prowess; it could only be an Ability.

…And yet, Dazai watched Eiji Hiiragi, the guy who had suddenly exploded with strength far exceeding that of an ordinary person. If it were an Ability, how could he still maintain it while carrying Dazai?

A riddle-like dream, mysterious powers, and an approach driven by an objective. Thinking of the secrets this man was hiding, Dazai’s eyes crinkled into a smile.

“So you won’t even let me choose my own death? Eiji-kun, you really are becoming more and more excessive,” Dazai said leisurely.

Just as Eiji was about to retort, he saw a black-clad man, one of those previously subdued raise a handgun. The man aimed at the flour bags and pulled the trigger, completing the task Dazai had wanted to do but failed to finish.

Holy crap!? They’re destroying evidence, aren’t they?!

However, the current situation didn’t allow Eiji much time to think. Towering flames erupted from the ground, and the thermal shockwave from the explosion sent both Eiji and Dazai flying.

Even though Eiji had protected Dazai while they were airborne, his young boss’s frame was far too fragile; the impact of landing still knocked Dazai unconscious.

This kind of explosion was nothing to Eiji. After landing, he shook his head violently. Once the ringing in his ears subsided slightly, he immediately scanned the surroundings.

His first instinct was to look for Furuya Rei. Perhaps the other man harbored the same thought, because as Eiji quickly looked around, he immediately spotted Furuya Rei sprinting toward him.

But the moment their eyes met, Furuya Rei came to a dead stop.

Eiji gave him a small smile and shook his head almost imperceptibly. Then, he looked away from Furuya Rei, shouldered Dazai, and began running quickly ahead.

As long as he was certain Furuya Rei was okay, that was enough. Right now, he was still just an unremarkable employee of the Port Mafia.

After a few steps, Eiji suddenly remembered something.

…Dazai Osamu seemed to want to see fireworks? So, this explosion must be the “fireworks” he mentioned?

Thinking this, Eiji pulled his phone out of his pocket while running at full tilt. He twisted his torso halfway and began recording video with great difficulty.

Whether it was through incredible luck or sheer misfortune, it wasn’t long before two more adjacent warehouses exploded. Eiji shakily recorded the entire scene on his phone.

He felt that his life as a newly appointed “old father” was truly arduous; he even remembered to film the brat’s desired fireworks while running for his life.

The warehouse district was laid out in a V-shape. Once he had carried Dazai to the opposite side of the explosion zone, he finally placed the unconscious bandage-waster on the ground. Just as Eiji was about to stop the recording, his sharp eyes spotted a figure standing silently in the darkness near the exploding warehouses, lingering amidst the brilliant flames, refusing to leave.

Eiji paused for two seconds before pressing the stop button.

With physical stats far beyond normal human limits, Eiji naturally saw exactly who that person was.

The two were separated by a sea dyed red by fire. Eiji knew that with Furuya Rei’s eyesight, he couldn’t possibly see the situation on this side clearly, yet that man stubbornly stood on the other side.

Eiji watched him quietly. After a long time, he laughed softly.

…What an idiot. He can’t see anything from there.

Finally, someone finally dragged that lonely figure away.

Once the person had left, Eiji couldn’t help but take out his phone. It was filled with records from before his undercover mission, when his number hadn’t been fully deactivated yet.

“I saw the cake you like, so I bought one. I feel like I can make it too, so I’ll bring it to you next week. PS: Rei is also taking lessons from me, maybe he can bring you double the joy :)” — Morofushi Hiromitsu

“[Image] Hiro says this is the cake you told him you liked last time. I asked him for advice; it turned out pretty well, right?” — Furuya Rei

“[Image] This bomb is impressive, right? Defused it today.” — Matsuda Jinpei

“Hey, I heard you went to a party with Rei and the others!? What the hell, we haven’t graduated that long! Couldn’t you wait until after my promotion? Now I’ve missed seeing you once!” — Matsuda Jinpei

“You moved? Why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped you.” — Morofushi Hiromitsu

“Little Jinpei is getting scarier and scarier! He’s working like a maniac! You should try to talk to him; today he actually went to a scene without wearing a protective suit!” — Hagiwara Kenji

“I’m being transferred out for a while. What about you? Hiro says he hasn’t seen you in a long time. Why did you suddenly move? Even Hiro doesn’t know. Wait for me to get back.” — Furuya Rei

“Eiji, where did you go?” — Morofushi Hiromitsu

“What’s going on, Ei? Is there some problem on your end? Why can’t I reach you at all?” — Date Wataru

“…Is a promotion really that good? If nothing goes wrong, Little Jinpei will be the fastest among us to climb the ranks. How are you? Don’t worry about us; after all, the things we handle are what we’re best at.” — Hagiwara Kenji

“…I believe that if it’s you, you can overcome any danger.” — Date Wataru

“…Ei, I’ll keep a good eye on Jinpei. I hope everything goes smoothly for you.” — Hagiwara Kenji

“Where are you? Why won’t the calls go through? Why aren’t you replying to emails? Don’t pull a joke like this! If you don’t show up soon, I’m coming to find you.” — Matsuda Jinpei

…

“I believe you can overcome any danger, because you, who wants to protect others, have always been incredible. But before protecting others, please, protect yourself as well. I hope everything goes well for you. Everyone is waiting for you to come back.” — Furuya Rei

He read and re-read these emails many times. These brief words carried too many of his beautiful past memories.

And now, it was like a dividing line between light and shadow had forcibly placed the six of them into two different zones. Eiji had completely sunk into the side representing the shadows.

He would definitely go back.

Eiji decisively deleted the emails in order. It was clearly a heartbreaking thing to do, but he knew that as long as he worked hard enough and stayed strong enough, he could bring a hopeful future to them all. The current separation was only temporary.

A gentle expression unconsciously surfaced on Eiji’s face. There would be more happy memories in the future; he would never allow himself to stay stagnant in the past.

Just then, a slight movement came from Dazai Osamu lying beside him. Eiji hadn’t tucked away his smile yet, so he looked toward Dazai with that same expression. “Are you awake? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Dazai blinked his dark brown eyes but didn’t respond for a long time.

…Is this a dream?

Otherwise, why would Eiji Hiiragi have a smile exactly like the one in that dream?

“But dreaming of a scene like this occasionally isn’t as bad as I imagined,” Dazai whispered to himself. Just as he wanted to let this rare, tranquil dream continue, a phone was suddenly thrust in front of his eyes.

Eiji pressed the play button. The next second, towering flames lit up on the phone screen.

Although the initial explosion site wasn’t recorded, Eiji hadn’t missed a single one of the subsequent warehouse chain reactions.

There was no helping it. In this early stage, he really had no way to deal with this bratty child, Dazai. Since he wanted to see fireworks, Eiji would do his best to fulfill that wish.

That being said, Eiji clearly still couldn’t quite understand this unique hobby, so he said with a hint of helplessness: “Are the fireworks pretty?”

Dazai held the phone, staring blankly at the footage.

The screen shook violently; he didn’t know how Eiji had managed to film the explosion while running for his life.

“Why did you do this?” Dazai asked calmly. “Weren’t the thing you wanted to do most when drunk to punch me?”

Having been trained under Dazai for so long, Eiji understood his meaning almost instantly. He was asking why Eiji had carried him out of that factory earlier.

Looking at that indifferent expression, Eiji felt the pressure of parenting rise so much he wanted to charge into a bookstore and sweep the shelves for childcare guides.

Old father Eiji shed internal tears over his lack of parenting experience.

After a long silence, Eiji managed to stammer out a dry reason: “Because, if you were dead, or if you were still inside the warehouse, you wouldn’t be able to see the fireworks.”

He was met with a sudden burst of laughter from Dazai. It seemed to aggravate his injuries, but even though he curled up on the ground, his laughter didn’t stop.

“I see, I see! You’re really amazing, Eiji-kun. You actually helped me fulfill my wish to see fireworks. Ah, tonight, even the world seems slightly more interesting.”

Eiji was completely baffled.

After a while, Dazai sprawled out on the grass again. He closed his eyes and said in a light tone: “They are very beautiful fireworks, Eiji-kun.”

[Dazai Osamu Favorability +20] [Dazai Osamu’s Impression has changed]

Eiji hesitantly opened the panel.

[Dazai Osamu: Favorability 42] [Impression: Interesting person]

Eiji: “…”

Should he thank him for no longer calling him “fellow”?

…This bratty kid!