The children wept with tears and blood in their begging words. The fat boss standing in front of the store let out a long sigh, full of helplessness: "You guys......"

"The boss should come and help us persuade Oda Saku!" Kosuke said loudly, "Haven't we had a good time these four years?" The fat boss was silent and asked him if he was happy? Naturally, it is happy.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been persuaded by these little ghosts in a few words after realizing that he was dead, and they joined forces to deceive Oda Sakunosuke. But they were able to hide it for a year or two...... Four years, you can't hide it for a lifetime.

Ghosts do not grow old, they do not have the physical needs of ordinary people, and their daily "eating and drinking" are all imaginary things that follow the habits of the past. No matter how realistic the illusion is, sooner or later there will be a flaw.

Not to mention Oda Sakunosuke.

How can a person with a keen sense survive many crises, and how can he become a famous killer at a young age?

Of course, Oda can detect the loopholes in the children's words, and it is not that he is not unaware of the abnormality, but subconsciously does not want to delve into it, so he is willing to fight and live one day at a time.

After a long time, I deceived myself more times, and I really deceived myself.

"I knew there would be today." The fat boss smiled with relief, "It's okay, I lived happily with everyone for four more years, and in the final analysis, I earned it." "

The fat boss has always been uneasy, and this uneasy panic has gradually deepened with the passage of time.

Until that day, under the bright moonlight, a black-haired boy holding a three-flowered cat recklessly pushed open the door of the crumbling restaurant. The barrier in the courtyard that was cut off from the outside world shattered silently, and the real moonlight shone into the restaurant for the first time in four years.

At that moment, the fat boss's always flustered heart suddenly settled down. He knew that the day would come when the truth would come out.

It's just that he didn't expect this day to come faster than he imagined. "Uncle Boss!" The children stomped their feet in exasperation.

The fat boss looked very openly: "It's useless to be louder, and aren't you hesitating yourself? Otherwise, he wouldn't have been staring at Oda Sakura from behind his back and making contact with Tsurumi-kun, but he never came out to stop him. "

Tsurumi rubbed his arms in horror.

Oh, isn't it that every time I talk to Mr. Oda, I am watched by these little imps in the dark. It's creepy to think about, but luckily the kids don't dare to approach for fear of being discovered, and they can't hear what he and Mr. Oda are saying.

The children pouted.

Unconvinced, he said, "We regret it now!" Sakura Oda, drive them away, let's work together to restore the barrier, and live happily together!"

Tsurumi retold Katsumi's original words to Osamu Dazai.

Osamu Dazai blurted out: "No!"

The children found the air outlet and glared at them collectively: "Why?" Tsurumi poked Osamu Dazai and reminded: "The little ghosts are asking you why you object." Osamu Dazai hesitated for a long time: "...... At the very least, the barrier that separates people cannot be opened. "Don't keep him out too, hey! He also wants to see Oda Saku, and wants to talk to Odasaku!

Tsurumi said: "...

- Dazai-san, what's your bottom line?

Osamu Dazai has long had no bottom line in the face of Oda Sakunosuke, and maybe he is already thinking about a hundred ways for the Onmyoji to let him open his eyes and raise demons.

The brunette boy shook his head and decided to go on his own.

"Your ideas are not realizable."

Tsurumi calmly punctured the children's beautiful illusions: "You are the undead, and it is the law of the world for the undead to go to the other side to die, even if you are nostalgic, you should not stay in the world for too long." "

"The longer you linger in the world, the weaker your soul becomes. It's not that the undead don't die, and when your energy is overdrawn, you will never be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation. That's the real ruin!"

The children's faces turned pale, and even Osamu Dazai faintly changed his face.

Tsurumi went on to say, "The undead are left in the world because of the power of obsession, and it is easy to become paranoid by accident. Once you go to the other extreme, you will become an evil spirit. "

Kosuke boldly asked, "What happens if you become an evil spirit?"

Tsurumi thought for a moment and said, "I will probably go to find the object of my tragic death and pester him...... After a long time or encountering a spirit medium that removes spirits, it will still be scattered. "

"Do you want Mr. Oda to be gone?" Tsurumi asked. The children's faces turned whiter and whiter, and they shook their heads in horror.

Osamu Dazai had rarely been exposed to this kind of supernatural event in the past, and there were very few psychic mediums with the ability, if it weren't for today's episode, he would probably have scoffed at the fact that he was haunted by evil spirits.

At this point, he inevitably thought with malice: If there really is an evil spirit, will Mr. Mori also be approached by the evil spirit?

Tsurumi raised his palm

, bent together, like the sun to cover the corners of his forehead. Then he quickly opened his eyes and looked around.

He was still confused.

Under those bright and clear golden eyes, everything in the world has nothing to hide. The more he "looked", the more strange he felt, and he felt that the words of these children and the boss were wrong.

The undead energy that permeated the courtyard all bore the imprint of Mr. Oda, and only a small part came from the five imps and the fat boss.

It is impossible for him to "see" wrong, the enchantment and the illusion are clearly composed of Mr. Oda alone, and the energy of the others is at most the leftovers of the enchantment.

Where did you come from the saying that "we trapped Mr. Oda"?

"Strange ......"

Tsurumi hesitated for a moment, leaned into Osamu Dazai's ear, and whispered the situation to him—only Osamu Dazai could discuss these matters with him.

After listening to this, Osamu Dazai instantly turned his head to look at the red-sided man on the ground, and the emotions contained in his iris pupils were even more complicated.

"Oda Saku......" Osamu Dazai whispered to his best friend, opening his mouth, still swallowing the unfinished words back into his stomach.

"You know it all, Dazai."

Oda Sakunosuke's voice was as hoarse as sand, and his tone was as heavy as falling on a boulder.

Osamu Dazai: "Yes, I guessed everything."

Tsurumi was dazed, his eyes swirling back and forth between the two men playing dumb riddles, and then, as if he had figured out something, he looked at the back of the red-haired man in surprise and understanding.

"I see." Tsurumi said, "I'll just say that my judgment will not be wrong, and the person who has constructed a fantasy enough for the seven ghosts to live in is not the children, but you."

"What?!"

The children made a fuss: "Keep your eyes open, the enchantment was built by the five of us and the boss."

The fat boss was also surprised: "Tsurumi-kun, are you really not mistaken?"

Tsurumi said confidently: "I can't be wrong! I never said you didn't build the barrier. ”

"It's just ......"

Still staring at the red-haired man's back, Tsurumi said softly, "Five young children, even if they add an adult who has no special abilities, their soul energy is not enough to build an enchantment that completely shields the living. "

&

#34; Who helped them fill the loophole in the enchantment and make it truly complete?"

"Who silently fills up the breath of life in this small room with fantasy, so that every ghost can immerse himself in the beauty of fantasy? Delicious curry rice, drinks at the bar, pen and paper to write on, storybooks to entertain the kids and stuffed dolls ......"

Tsurumi asked again, "Who is it?"

"…… It's me. "

The red-haired man finally replied in a dumb voice, "I remember, the source of all this is me."

★

When did you first discover that you were undead? Sakunosuke Oda can't remember anymore.

initially

When Oda Sakunosuke opened his eyes in the western restaurant, his memory was still very confused, and he asked the fat boss who was asking him worriedly about his status: "Boss, why am I here, shouldn't I go to work now?"

His brain was in a dizzy state, his eyes were still a little blurry, and his vision was blurred

Surprised: "Is there a disturbance in the store? Why is it so messy. "

The fat boss looked at him in surprise: "Oda, you don't remember??"

Sakunosuke Oda was even more confused: "What should I remember?"

"…… It's nothing. The fat boss barely managed to hold up a smile, but the smile was very ugly. He reassured: "Someone was just drunk and fighting in the store, they're gone, don't worry."

Sakunosuke Oda pointed to the bullet holes on the table and was quite skeptical: "Fight?"

The fat boss explained very far-fetched: "Hmm. They're Mafia, so it's normal to carry a gun with you. ”

"Oh......" Sakunosuke Oda said anxiously, his eyes widened and anxious, "What about the children. Did they get hurt?!" The fat boss hurriedly said: "They are fine, they are just startled and are resting in the attic." Sakunosuke Oda dropped the phrase "I'll go see them" and rushed upstairs like a whirlwind, slamming open the attic door.

"Bang-

— "

The loud sound of the door slamming against the wall was like the sound of gunshots, and it was like the sound of the black-robed villains smashing the tables and chairs that day.

There was a bunk bunk in the house, and the children were frightened, and their faces shrank into the lower bunk where Yusuke and Yusan sleek, trembling and hugging each other

。

Sakunosuke Oda glanced at each other.

The children cried out and stumbled out of bed, scrambling to hug the red-haired man.

Oda Sakunosuke coaxed for a long time, and for a while he forgot to go to work, until night came, he carried the children back to bed one by one.

Sakura is a girl and can sleep in a room alone. It's a good thing in normal times, but it's a bit bad now.

Sakira sobbed and said that she was scared and refused to sleep by herself.

Sakunosuke Oda couldn't do anything about her, he could stay with her by the bed until she fell asleep, but he couldn't stay in the house all the time. In case there is an urgent mission in the middle of the night and has to leave, Sakira wakes up and can't see him, and will cry even more.

Sakunosuke Oda recalls it carefully, and suddenly remembers that Sakiraku's birthday is approaching, and he has long planned to buy her a plush doll as a gift. It was supposed to be a rabbit doll, but his memory was still in a period of confusion, and he couldn't remember whether he bought it or not.

Oda coaxed Sakiraku, walked briskly downstairs, and asked the boss, "Did I put a rabbit doll here for you?" The boss was stunned, and Oda mentioned to him that he wanted to buy a gift for Sakira, but before he could do so, he ......

He was silent for a moment, then tentatively pointed to the storage compartment under the bar: "Last time. You look for it and see if it's in the cupboard. "

Then, the fat boss watched in amazement as Oda took out a piece of air from the cabinet and said to him, "Sure enough, it's here."

"What's that?" The boss was in a trance.

The red-haired man said strangely, "Bunny dolls."

As the words fell, the boss really slowly saw a rabbit doll. Hell yes!

…… Wrong. He and Oda are ghosts now.

Sakunosuke Oda coaxed Saki with a rabbit doll, and the girl hugged the doll tightly, closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep, with tears still hanging from the corners of her eyes.

He "cleaned" the restaurant with his boss, and the next day, he was about to go out to work, but was stopped by his boss.

"It's been chaotic outside lately, so don't go out." The boss said, "Anyway, Mafia has a mission at the port, and I'll call you to let you know."

The children sat on the benches huddled into each other, looking at him with trepidation. didn't say anything to keep it, but Sakunosuke Oda took the lead in compromising.

If you don't clock in for a few days, you won't get a full attendance bonus at most, and the physical and mental health of the children is more important. Sakunosuke Oda thinks so.

/ > he stayed in the house for a week, and at first wanted to go to Lupin in the evening to tell Dazai and Ango about his situation. was pestered by the children to accompany him, and after coaxing five cubs to sleep each time, the night was already late, and the idea of going out was gone.

Gradually, Sakunosuke Oda never thought about going out again. He forgot about lupin, forgot about the port of Mafia, forgot about those blood feuds, and lived peacefully.

Except for the fact that there was not a single guest in the restaurant, which made him quite strange, everything was normal, and he always thought of himself as a living person.

This state of affairs lasted for an unknown amount of time, until that night, several teenagers and girls in high school uniforms, holding cameras in the state of video, broke into the house with a smile.

"Hello everyone, this is the house we're going to explore tonight! I heard that there was a terrible bloody case a year ago. A DK said to the camera.

Sakunosuke Oda sat in front of the bar and wrinkled his eyebrows: "What are they talking about?" He turned back to his boss and asked, "There was a case here a year ago?"

The fat boss stiffened: "Yes...... There was a murder case at that time, and the police quickly came to deal with it, and you were on a business trip, and the children were not frightened, so I didn't tell you. "

"That's right." Sakunosuke Oda didn't ask much, got up and walked over to the students: "Please don't make a lot of noise in the store." They didn't look at him, but at each other

glanced at each other, and their faces were a little strange.

I'm a little cold, how about you?

"Me ...... too"

Why, why is it still windy?

The boy at the head rebuked: "What nonsense, you shouldn't be afraid!

Everyone else emboldened each other: It's okay, just go in a circle.

Oda Sakunosuke was even more confused, he was such a big living person standing in front of them, should they not be able to see him. also ignore him and the boss, and directly lift the curtain into the back kitchen. Isn't it a bit overly arrogant?

Oda Sakunosuke was about to stop them, when his five children suddenly pushed the door in, ran to the students, and shouted: Hurry up! You are not welcome here!

The children seemed to have discussed it, and went directly to the teenagers and girls who came to explore, trying to push them out. Oda Sakunosuke: Don't push, come back and let me ...... Reason?

He watched blankly as the group of students shivered wildly in place

Screaming and running out, running faster than the other.

"Just dare to explore? Hum. Kosuke pursed his lips, afraid of Oda's blame, and only whispered his disdain among the children.

What's going on? Sakunosuke Oda began to vaguely feel that something was wrong.

He thought the students were acting really weirdly.

said that he was cowardly, and directly ignored him and the boss, two big men, and broke into other people's houses without saying hello - this kind of behavior is easy to beat.

Let's say bold, the children gently pushed, drove away a word or two loudly, and ran away screaming, saying that it was cold as they ran.

Wear more clothes when it's cold, and don't go out for a night out. Oda Sakunosuke felt more and more inexplicable.

But he soon learned the truth of the matter.

Hiding behind a pillar, Sakunosuke Oda overhears the children talking to their boss—he sees them sneaking together from a distance, and decides not to whisper on morality.

…… Last time, the people over there were so hateful, and Oda Sakura almost found out.

It's like, what kind of adventure to play.

But it's been a year since we died, I thought it was only a week...... In the house, I can't really feel the passage of time.

Oda Sakunosuke was like being struck by lightning, and his face was blank.

…… Who died?

I've been dead for more than a year.

What the hell is going on?!

In the corner, the discussion in small groups continues.

The fat boss was persuading: "I don't think I should hide it from Oda, you see, paper can't contain fire. You can't scare away every passerby or person who tries to enter the house, and Oda will find out the truth one day.

The children were silent for a while, and there was a faint sound of sobbing.

But, but...... It's a really good life. When I woke up, I could see Sakura Oda, who was able to stay with us all day and not have to do dangerous work to support his family.

Mafia is terrible...... They're horrible!

Oda Sakunosuke was a little surprised that the person who said this was actually Kosuke, who had always dreamed of becoming Mafia.

The children were babbling and imagining:

It would be nice if people could never see this courtyard and never be able to walk in...... Preferably we too

They can't be seen, and people on both sides don't bother each other. "Isn't this how the isolated paradise is written in storybooks?

The fat boss said helplessly: "This can't be."

Sakira insisted: "Give it a try! What if it succeeds? Sakura Oda can use his imagination to create food and toys every day, and we can also create an enchantment that is isolated from the world.

The fat boss is gradually convinced: ...... Then give it a try. Although he still didn't think he could succeed in his heart.

They comically lined up, looking at the occasional passerby on the street, and began to make wishes.

I want an enchantment that is isolated from the world.

Sakira whispered, "I want to live happily with Sakura Oda forever."

There is no Mafia, no war, no pain and trouble. Living in a storybook-like hideaway, no bad guy will suddenly break in and kill us.

The red-haired man who was hiding behind and watching froze.

Children's obsessions are sometimes very strong, and seemingly impossible enchantments are really created by their almost paranoid prayers again and again.

During this time, Oda Sakunosuke tried to interrupt them countless times, but he was never able to take this step.

Pedestrians and vehicles on the road slowly became transparent, the sunlight gradually became illusory, and the breeze seemed to stop. …… Just almost.

The children's abilities are always limited, even if they count a fat boss - he is not as firm as the children, and he does not know whether he is doing the right thing.

Oda Sakunosuke hid in the shadows, looking at the translucent barrier that held their courtyard upside down, and began to lose his mind.

He thought in a trance.

Oh, yes.

Why not stay? Why not do it according to the children's wishes? The consequences of Mimic are so tragic that he can't let go of it, even if it's a child.

Sakunosuke Oda inevitably thought:

If everyone can forget all this, if time can go back, if they can be together forever. How nice that would be.

Everything changed in the blink of an eye that the idea fell.

The pedestrians outside disappeared without a trace, and the sun was as bright as ever. Sakunosuke Oda stretched out his arms, but he couldn't feel the warmth of the sun.

Of course, the barrier isolates everything, and the so-called sunlight is naturally a product of environmental simulation.

Not far away, the children cried with joy: Great, we succeeded!

That's it, let's live with Oda Saku for ten, twenty, or one hundred years! They cheered.

Oda Sakunosuke stared blankly at the children's backs, thinking to himself that it didn't matter, everything was worth it. As Shinji was jumping around, Yuguang suddenly caught a glimpse of the red-haired man behind him, and he was startled.

Weaving, Oda saku, the boy stammered and asked, Why are you standing there? What do you see? Everyone stared at him nervously.

The red-haired man was silent for a moment, he always had unclean stubble on his chin, and his face was handsome, but he was inexplicably a little vicissitudes and old age, which made the man change from a young man to an uncle in the eyes of the public for no reason.

At this time, those gray-blue eyes stared at them quietly, with no expression on their faces, so calm that they frightened the children and the boss. Even though they knew that Sakunosuke Oda was such a person, the expression on his face was so faint that one suspected that he was paralyzed.

Oda Saku?" Shinji asked timidly again: "Why don't you speak.

…… It's nothing.

Oda Sakunosuke replied, "Shinji, do you want to hear the story tonight too?"

Shinji's eyes lit up: Of course!

The other children also breathed a sigh of relief and frolicked and pounced on them: "We want it too."

Oda Sakunosuke nodded to the boss: "I'll take them back to the attic first."

Good.

The fat boss stared at the back of the red-haired man's departure, always feeling that something was strange, but he couldn't tell.

When Oda Sakunosuke wants to hide something, no one can find a flaw.

He sat in front of the window chair in the attic, with papers and pens on the table, and the children playing with toys on the carpet behind him—toys he had conceived with his imagination would have been nothing more than a cloud of air in reality.

Sakunosuke Oda looked at the deserted streets and looked back at the children.

Everyone smiled innocently at him.

Kosuke asked curiously: "Odasaku, you sit at your desk every day and write, why do you never use your pen?" Oda Sakunosuke paused and replied, "I'm still in the ideation stage, so I don't need to put pen to paper for the time being."

Not really. He knew that he had lost the right to write.

And then later. Phantom in the enchantment

It's really easy to blur the concept of time.

The undead linger in this world and do not die, and it is easy to be in a trance, and Oda Sakunosuke worries every day, and his mind is unstable, and finally he gradually forgets about his death again.

He was supposed to keep it that way until one of the children finally couldn't hold it anymore and his soul died. It was Tsurumi's intrusion that brought variables.

Sakunosuke Oda knelt on the ground, holding Sakiraku, his head bowed and buried in the young girl's shoulder and neck, his red hair hanging down, blocking all his expressions.

He whispered everything he knew. Everyone was stunned, no one expected that the truth would be like this.

I'm sorry.

Oda Sakunosuke repeated in a low voice over and over again, I'm sorry, but I shouldn't have bound you to the world with my selfish desires. When Sakura was still in a daze and didn't come back to her senses, her neck was cold, and drops of water fell, wetting her pajamas.

She immediately realized what it was.

Odasaku, don't cry. Sakura was so panicked, he was at a loss, and his eyes were red, Obviously, we were the first to hide from you, and we were the first to act, so what do you do.

I want to cry when you hurt me like this.

Sakira sniffed, but finally couldn't hold back, threw herself on the red-haired man's shoulder, and began to cry.

The other children also cried and gathered around, five children and one adult, just hugging each other and crying in such an unfigurative way.

The fat boss turned his head away and seemed to wipe away his tears.

Osamu Dazai can't see anything, and relies on Tsurumi to retell. Ke He saw that Shu didn't speak again for a long time, and he asked cautiously, "Shu Jun, what's the situation now?

Tsurumi pursed his lips and whispered to him: They are crying, Oda-sama, and the children, crying and hugging each other.

Osamu Dazai was also silent for a moment. It was rare for him to see Sakunosuke Oda crying, but not for nothing.

The last time I saw him, the red-haired man's grief-stricken roar and his decision to leave afterwards are still unforgettable.

After many years, Osamu Dazai felt that feeling again - the instinct to lose his best friend.

He asked Tsurumi: What is their best solution?

Tsurumi Shu dragged Osamu Dazai back several meters before whispering: "The soul power of the children and the boss is not strong in the first place, and they can barely build an enchantment, now

After another four years. That is, Mr. Oda secretly helped them, otherwise they would have been wiped out long ago!

"They can't wait any longer, it's better to go to reincarnation sooner, the sooner the better." Tsurumi said, "While the soul is not weak, there may be a chance to become a Buddha when you cross the Santu River, and no matter how bad it is, you can be reincarnated in a good family.

Osamu Dazai: ...... What about Odasaku?

Tsurumi said as a matter of course: Although his soul is still very strong, he is also a spirit, so of course he must be reincarnated together.

Osamu Dazai's mind went blank.

Even though this answer was what he expected, Osamu Dazai still couldn't believe it.

He never had the luxury of seeing Oda Saku again, only fantasizing that one day he would really go to Santuchuan, and he could tell Oda Saku with a smile: "I went to the side of saving people according to what you said, and it feels really good, and you recommended me a good place to go."

I didn't expect to meet again in the world one day.

He hadn't had time to find a way to see Oda Sakura in person, he hadn't had time to tell him about his "achievements" over the years, and he hadn't had time to tell him that he and Ango had been in a unilateral cold war for four years.

He wanted to say: Actually, I also thought about having another drink with Ango in Lupin, but I couldn't get over the hurdle in my heart. Okay now, you're back, let Ango apologize a few more times, it's not like I can't reluctantly forgive him.

But before these words could be spoken, Oda Sakunosuke was about to disappear again—this time, it was a true reincarnation.

Osamu Dazai himself doesn't know if he will be able to meet Sakura Oda on the Mitogawa River when he finally faces the death he has been longing for this time. Those unspoken words may never reach Odasaku's ears again.

Osamu Dazai's sanity knew that letting Oda go was the best decision, but he couldn't.

Think of a way. Osamu Dazai's face turned pale and clasped Tsurumi's wrist tightly and muttered, "I'm going to find a way." Tsurumi Shu was taken aback: What are you going to do?

Osamu Dazai replied: ...... I'm going to leave Oda Saku in the world. There was a hint of pain in his voice, so deep that no one but himself should hear it.

But Tsurumi heard it.

The author has something to say:

Crane: (pulls his hair) Okay, you don't have to do it, let me think of a way to qaq

That's right, let the author also think of a way!! (Dry.)

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