Holy Father-Style Tool-Person - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

At nine o’clock in the evening, Nakahara Chuuya, Hirotsu Ryuro, and Ozaki Kouyou arrived at the official bar beneath the Port Mafia headquarters with their respective subordinates.

Upon entering, the trio headed straight for the second bar counter, while the rest of the group gathered naturally toward the booths. Compared to the outer areas, those permitted in this section were not bottom-tier members of the Port Mafia; thus, it was quieter and safer in several respects than the more chaotic zones.

The three sat together at the bar. In the seat next to Chuuya, there was already a man dejected by the workplace. However, he was very quiet, his light-colored head resting on his arms, seemingly asleep. Because of this, the three didn’t pay him much attention.

But just as Chuuya began chatting with the other two, he suddenly felt a slight movement beside him.

Chuuya glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw the boy who had previously been sitting there drinking in silence sitting up. His expression was dazed, and his whole body swayed unsteadily.

Noticing Chuuya’s subtle observation, Ozaki Kouyou leaned over from the side. “…Is he drunk? Which department is he from? He looks very unfamiliar.”

This area was not somewhere low-ranking members could enter, so everyone usually recognized the faces of those who appeared here.

Chuuya frowned slightly. He had seen this youth before; after all, the boy had a very striking face. After hesitating for a moment, Chuuya whispered, “He’s Dazai’s subordinate, a newcomer who was just transferred recently.”

Just as Ozaki Kouyou and Hirotsu Ryuro looked at Hiiragi Eiji with complex expressions, the light-haired youth seemed to be instantly activated by hearing a keyword. He looked at Nakahara Chuuya with a fierce glint in his eyes and suddenly grabbed his wrist.

Like a volcanic eruption, the youth said one word at a time: “Am I not good enough to you?! Do you… really have no heart?”

Chuuya: “??????” The other two: “…???”

At this time, the subordinates of the three also rushed over upon hearing the commotion. They originally thought someone was causing trouble, but as they got closer, they heard this dialogue filled with the scent of “gossip.”

Before anyone could investigate further, they heard the other person shout again: “…Dazai-sama—! You need to take a course on how to become a good boss!”

At that moment, the air froze.

…Good grief. It turns out he was suddenly activated because he heard the name “Dazai Osamu.” Just how big was the shadow cast over him?

The others had expressions of wanting to laugh but not daring to, while only Nakahara Chuuya’s face grew increasingly sour. “…I say, you, from where exactly do you see a resemblance between me and that mackerel?! It couldn’t be just because I said his name, right?!”

Despite saying this, Chuuya didn’t actually do anything crude like throwing the person off. Realizing the guy was truly drunk out of his mind, he simply sat there helplessly, listening to the drunkard mumble.

“…I thought I was strong enough!” Hiiragi Eiji complained with deep emotion. “Back then, when I accompanied my childhood friend to defect from the village and go on the run, living in the wild! I didn’t even think it was this hard!”

Eiji, his eyes blurry with wine, recalled his days in Konoha. His childhood friend decided to be edgy, and when he said he was running away, he ran away. As his childhood friend and the primary mission target, how could Eiji let him run away alone? Especially since that guy’s mental state was as fragile as papier-mâché; he might have exploded in silence and wandered further down a twisted path. So, to persuade him back to the right track, Eiji had no choice but to run away with him.

However, he hadn’t considered at all that his audience didn’t understand the severity of so-called “village defection.”

But when his eyes stared straight at Nakahara Chuuya as if expecting a response, the ginger-haired youth let out a heavy sigh and responded dryly: “…Ah, ah, it seems the system in your village is quite strict? By the way, what does ‘defecting from the village’ mean?”

Hirotsu Ryuro: “…Perhaps it’s that special phase boys of that age go through?”

Ozaki Kouyou: “…Maybe he feels he did something very regrettable to his village, which in their phase is collectively called ‘defecting’?”

Thinking this way, it probably wasn’t a big deal, but it was being treated as a world-shaking event by someone of this age.

Everyone looked at Hiiragi Eiji and, in unison, reached out their hands to his head, rubbing it affectionately.

He really is just a kid.

…And yet, at this age when he shouldn’t have, he encountered Dazai Osamu. It makes one feel sympathetic.

[Ozaki Kouyou Favorability +5] [Hirotsu Ryuro Favorability +10] [Nakahara Chuuya Favorability +15]

A series of notification tones rang in Eiji’s head. He looked at the three people in front of him dizzily, completely unable to fathom where this favorability was coming from.

“Tell me, am I really that useless! I’ve already worked so hard!”

Chuuya: “…No, you are very useful, and you work very hard.”

“Really?!”

Chuuya felt as if his soul had left his body: “…Really.”

On the other side, the subordinates of the three had stopped and were listening together to this drunkard’s sincere “regards” for Dazai Osamu.

“…He seems to care a lot about Dazai-sama?” someone whispered.

“Is his taste that bizarre?!” the person answering replied, their voice nearly cracking.

However, looking at the person currently grabbing Nakahara Chuuya’s wrist and shouting “Dazai-sama,” everyone fell silent again.

…It seems his taste is exactly that bizarre.

“We have to think of a way to rescue Chuuya-sama.”

Everyone instinctively looked at Nakahara Chuuya, who had a complex expression. He was probably finding it hard to bear someone being so emotionally sincere toward Dazai Osamu.

“Since he likes Dazai-sama so much, why don’t we call Dazai-sama to come and pick him up?”

“…Are you crazy or am I? With that gentleman, would he actually come to pick someone up?”

Everyone thought about it and felt it made a lot of sense.

Thus, five minutes later, a group of large men in suits pushed a dining cart over. On the very top of the cart sat a tablet, which displayed a photo of Dazai Osamu. This was from the Port Mafia’s internal forum; the photo was a snapshot from an annual meeting, and it was pitifully blurry.

After all, only in this way could a photo of a high-ranking official remain without being deleted.

“Um… well… brother, look here! That Dazai-sama over there is actually fake! This one is the real one!”

The large men who pushed the cart over cautiously called out to Hiiragi Eiji, who was still acting out his drunken fit.

Hearing the keyword, Hiiragi Eiji snapped his head around so fast it startled everyone.

…Is he that concerned about Dazai-sama!? What kind of eccentric taste is this!

Eiji froze after seeing the tablet but didn’t walk over for a long time.

The man in black nudged the person beside him. “Where is it?! That thing! Without that, how can we prove it’s him?!”

The other person, very savvy, pulled out… bandages from his pocket and proceeded to wrap them round and round the tablet with a flourish. It was as if he were fully role-playing a certain Associate Executive.

Sure enough, upon seeing the bandages, Eiji instantly perked up and immediately let go of Nakahara Chuuya.

The men in black pressed their advantage: “Come on, haven’t you been mumbling about Dazai-sama? What do you want to say to him? What do you want to do? Now that he’s here, you can do it!”

Everyone originally thought they were about to hear a heart-wrenching self-confession and once again experience the “diversity of human taste,” but then they saw the light-haired youth lower his head slightly.

“…What do I want to do most?”

Everyone: “Mm-hm, mm-hm!”

Suddenly, Eiji looked up. Before anyone could react, he leaped toward the dining cart like a pouncing rabbit. The expression of this gentle-looking young man was actually quite ferocious at that moment. He raised his fist and delivered a heavy blow to the tablet on the cart.

“…ORA—!”

With one punch, not only the tablet but even the dining cart shattered.

Everyone stared at the scene, dumbfounded.

…So you, who looked so pitiful just now, were actually masking the terrifying intention of beating the crap out of Dazai-sama?!

Immediately, Eiji, whose brain was a mess, heard a string of notification tones.

[xxx Favorability +20] [xxxx Favorability +25] … [Ozaki Kouyou Favorability +10] [Hirotsu Ryuro Favorability +15] [Nakahara Chuuya Favorability +25]

That night, a popular post appeared on the Port Mafia’s intranet, containing a video with pixelated faces.

《A certain Associate Executive’s subordinate’s heartfelt confession to him…》

That night, while dreaming, Hiiragi Eiji harvested a mountain of favorability.