Holy Father-Style Tool-Person - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The Eighteenth Day of the Tool-man

Hiiragi Eiji was summoned by the leader of the Port Mafia, four days after the mission ended.

To be precise, it was he, along with Chuuya and Dazai Osamu, who were summoned by the leader together.

Although he had anticipated that the mystery of the defector’s disappearance wouldn’t be brushed aside so quickly, the protocol still surprised Hiiragi Eiji.

…How did he end up going to the leader’s office with his superior and another quasi-executive? Logically speaking, shouldn’t a nameless little screw like him only live in the signatures on mission reports?

So why was he specifically asked to go to the top-floor office now…?

There were several security checkpoints in front of the leader’s office. After Hiiragi Eiji was cleared to enter that room, he finally saw the person who commanded the Port Mafia.

A middle-aged man with black hair and violet eyes, a guy named Mori Ougai.

“It’s our first time meeting, isn’t it, Uzumaki-kun?” Seeing the three of them walk in, Mori Ougai actually greeted Hiiragi Eiji first.

“Yes, Boss. Nice to meet you, I am Uzumaki Eiji.” Hiiragi Eiji bowed to Mori Ougai as expected. Through this action, he blocked his own indifferent expression.

There was no help for it; his acting skills were really not that great. If he were to show a nervous, workplace-newbie look, he was very worried he would overdo it and get discovered by Mori Ougai. As expected, using physical actions to cover up was the best strategy.

“No need for such formality. I called you up this time because I heard your performance in this mission was so excellent that—” At this point, Mori Ougai looked at Chuuya, who was off to the side, with a subtle expression, “—that Chuuya specifically wrote a personal section for you in his report.”

As the words fell, Chuuya’s face burned up instantly. He gritted his teeth and shouted “Boss,” then hurriedly looked back at Hiiragi Eiji and Dazai Osamu, discovering that both of them looked somewhat surprised.

Dazai Osamu was immediately interested, “Boss, I want to see the Shorty’s report!” As he spoke, he curved his eyes and looked at Chuuya, “I’m curious how you praised Eiji in the report.”

“Are you kidding me—! Isn’t it all because you don’t do anything at all and pile everything onto your subordinates!”

Hiiragi Eiji was almost melted by Chuuya’s thoughtfulness! What an angel of a superior! Afraid that a subordinate’s credit would be buried, he even spoke good words for his subordinate in his own report.

Compared to his own “bear child,” he really wanted Dazai Osamu to learn from Chuuya how to win over the hearts of subordinates!

But soon, Mori Ougai restrained the smile on his face, “That’s enough, be quiet.”

The two people who were still arguing instantly went quiet, “Presumably you all know that the person you brought back disappeared without a trace three nights ago. Regarding this, as the executors of this mission to find the target, what are your thoughts?”

All three wore thoughtful expressions.

But unlike Dazai Osamu and Chuuya, who participated in the discussion, Hiiragi Eiji was in a daze the whole time. After a while, perhaps knowing that such aimless speculation was useless, Mori Ougai, sitting at the desk, let out a light sigh, “It seems this matter was still being watched.”

Hiiragi Eiji had just come back to his senses when he heard this conclusion; he immediately showed a face full of question marks.

Being watched? Watched by what? By him, a person wearing the shell of a justice-seeking police officer? But he was just solving a piece of trash while completing his mission!

Then, he heard Mori Ougai answer his doubts: “The person who made him disappear intentionally waited until after the bombing case occurred, when the official forces were full of dissatisfaction toward the Port Mafia, and when they were waiting to see how the Port Mafia would respond.”

Speaking of this, Mori Ougai’s expression became helpless, “The official people will probably assume that I was reluctant to hand over the person, so I hid him away to let him continue working for the Port Mafia. But in reality, I had absolutely no way to hand this person over. All these years, because of the nature of the organization, the Port Mafia has maintained a delicate balance with the officials. And now—”

Hiiragi Eiji: “…”

Hiiragi Eiji was already numb from hearing this.

“The person eyeing this place is truly formidable.” Finally, Mori Ougai summarized this way. Although the tone was light, Hiiragi Eiji still felt the killing intent beneath his calm words.

At this, Hiiragi Eiji’s expression couldn’t hold up anymore—!

What?! He was actually so resourceful and aimed solely at messing with the Port Mafia?!

No! This was a complete misunderstanding! He was truly just a mediocre task-doer! How would he know the Port Mafia was walking on such thin ice?!

Wait! By doing this, wouldn’t the Port Mafia just blow up!? He really was just a small undercover agent sent in to侦查 the movements and inclinations of the Port Mafia!

Although his heart was full of snarky internal commentary, Hiiragi Eiji still tried his best to maintain his outward calm.

Stay steady! He could do this!

Little did he know, the shock in his eyes was fully captured by Mori Ougai and Dazai Osamu. In the end, Dazai Osamu lowered his head without a word, while Mori Ougai smiled and brought up another lighthearted topic.

When the three left the office, a little blonde girl suddenly appeared at Mori Ougai’s side. She was wearing an exquisitely crafted nurse’s uniform, and her expression was impatient, “Specifically calling people up to observe them, and now? Discover anything?” After finishing this sentence, she let out a heavy huff, looking quite dissatisfied with his behavior.

“What a pity,” Mori Ougai shrugged, “Can’t see any problems at all. The shock was real, and the panic was real. Every action and expression fits the reaction he should have.”

“…I really don’t understand you, why you would suspect such a grassroots staff member in the first place.”

Mori Ougai tilted his head and pressed his index finger against his temple. He chuckled softly but didn’t answer, “But it’s not without gains.” Thinking of how Dazai Osamu had subconsciously glanced at Uzumaki Eiji when he was staring at him and talking earlier, Mori Ougai unconsciously curled his lips.

He seemed to care about this child exceptionally much.

He wondered if the person himself had noticed it yet?

“Truly an excellent person, Uzumaki-kun. It looks like ‘that matter’ can officially be moved up. But,” Mori Ougai paused, “Before that, some things still need to be verified.”

The next day, Hiiragi Eiji received an order from Mori Ougai, making him and Chuuya an outdoor action squad to find the whereabouts of the disappeared defector.

Dazai Osamu, on the other hand, was tasked with collecting intelligence for the two of them, meaning they were split into a field team and an office team.

Receiving the order, Hiiragi Eiji felt a bit confused. He looked at Dazai Osamu subconsciously, but who knew that this person was pinching the order while revealing a faint smile.

…Are you really that eager to have “old father” work under someone else?!

Strangely, although his own “little vest” (cover) seemed to have completely fallen off in front of Dazai Osamu, the two never discussed this issue again. Even after coming down from the leader’s office yesterday, Dazai Osamu had no intention of saying anything.

The two seemed to have reached an amazing tacit understanding on this matter—selectively pretending that nothing had happened.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk about it with him, but Dazai Osamu didn’t show a shred of curiosity, remaining so steady that even he, an undercover agent, was confused.

Hiiragi Eiji walked to Chuuya’s office with his order, heavy with thoughts. He had a bit of a plan in mind.

Nakahara Chuuya was walking alone on the street. He knew that from today on, Uzumaki Eiji would be transferred under his command for a period of time.

Recalling the other person’s previous “workaholic” state, his expression became subtle for a moment, and then he made a quick decision and bolted out the door.

He absolutely wouldn’t be like Dazai Osamu and let the other person’s workload exceed its limit! He would complete some preparatory work before the other person did.

After contacting the Technical Department and having them steal the surveillance records from the major streets nearby, Chuuya went to a location where someone recorded as having a figure extremely similar to the defector had appeared.

Thus, when Hiiragi Eiji had quickly locked onto the mission location from the people in the Technical Department, the first thing he saw was the red-haired boy wearing a hat, carefully helping an elderly lady walk across the zebra crossing.

This was a very busy street with people coming and going, and Chuuya was dressed quite conspicuously. His image seemed destined to clash with helping an elderly person across the street, so passersby were silently staring at him.

Chuuya just walked beside this lady with a slightly awkward expression, bearing the gaze of the passersby. The lady’s eyesight wasn’t very good, so she didn’t notice the astonished looks of the passersby. As usual, she talked about daily trivia with the young man helping her.

Although the other person didn’t speak much, he could always provide her with some feedback.

Looking at the scene before him, Hiiragi Eiji’s expression softened involuntarily. Just as they finally crossed the road and were about to step onto the curb on the other side, he reached out and took the lady’s arm, allowing her to take his strength and step steadily onto the curb.

Then, he saw Chuuya looking at him blankly.

Hiiragi Eiji smiled and said goodbye to the lady, then looked at Chuuya, “Lord Chuuya, where are we going next?”

Seeing the light-haired boy’s natural expression and thinking of his own actions just now, Chuuya said stiffly, “…It’s around here, follow me.”

After two steps, Chuuya’s pace grew slower and slower. He couldn’t help but tilt his head and look at Hiiragi Eiji, whispering, “About just now… keep it a secret for me.”

Hiiragi Eiji showed a blank expression at the right time: “Just now? I didn’t see anything.”

Chuuya immediately turned his head away, endured it for a moment, and finally laughed, “…You guy, you’re really not bad.”

[Nakahara Chuuya Favorability +10]

Looking at the other person’s favorability value of 60, Hiiragi Eiji closed the NPC panel with deep emotion.

What kind of angel is this!

“Buzz—”

Another vibration, and Sakaguchi Ango couldn’t help but look at the mobile phone Dazai Osamu had placed on the bar counter.

Tonight, the three of them were sitting in LUPIN bar once again. Since arriving, Dazai Osamu’s phone had been ringing non-stop just like that.

It didn’t look like mission-related, because every time Dazai Osamu picked up his phone, there was always a slight smile on his face, which was completely different from his attitude toward mission emails.

“…How come it’s like you’re in love?” Sakaguchi Ango said this when the tabletop vibrated again due to the phone’s buzzing.

“Eh? Is Dazai in love?” Oda Sakunosuke looked in surprise at Dazai Osamu, who was sitting beside him.

Sakaguchi Ango was almost choked by the wine in his mouth, “How could that be! I was using a metaphor!”

Dazai Osamu also displayed his phone screen, letting the other two see the name in the sender column—Uzumaki Eiji, “It’s a work email. However, because I have requested that Eiji report the mission progress to me in real-time, that’s why there are so many emails, right?”

Oda Sakunosuke showed a knowing expression, then said lightly: “Is that so? I, on the other hand, think that if it really were a lover, it would be quite nice.”

Hearing this, both of them looked at Oda Sakunosuke with incredible expressions.

But the red-haired man simply stated his opinion calmly: “If that were the case, Dazai would be like a kite that finally has a string to guide it, and he wouldn’t be lost in the violent wind.”

For a long time, no one gave Oda Sakunosuke a response.

Suddenly, Sakaguchi Ango slammed his wine glass onto the bar counter, “Odasaku, have you considered writing a novel?”

Just as the two were joking around, Dazai Osamu, who was sitting at the very edge, lowered his eyelashes silently.

This time, he no longer paid any attention to the phone buzzing on the bar counter, until it had no more movement, and the screen went dark along with it.