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“You called?” I bow before stepping in.
“How is work coming along?” the president asks, his eyes still fixed on the documents on his desk.
“Busy as always. And to make matters worse, Dazai ran off. He said he hates office work, then dumped all his paperwork onto one of our clerks. He’s also somehow managed to avoid all the military investigation department’s interviews. I think putting him in a pot of scalding water should set him straight. Not long enough to kill him, though. He’d like that.”
“Just make sure to do it somewhere remote where the police won’t find you.”
The president gathers the documents and seals them in an envelope before looking at me.
“You did well. We even received a direct honorable mention from one of the MP’s generals. He said, ‘Your detective agency is what others should strive for.’ This has taken some of the weight off my shoulders as well. For a moment…I was even considering closing down the agency permanently.”
That’s…
The president continues before I can say anything.
“There is no agency more valuable than human life. I thought if the continued existence of our organization put people’s lives at risk, then ceasing operations would be for the best… However, everything has been solved. It’s all thanks to your hard work, Kunikida.”
He rubs his brow with his fingers. The president never expresses any work-related anxieties…but he must be slightly exhausted.
“So, Kunikida, did you find the answer to your homework?”
My homework.
—The “entrance exam.”
…The task the president assigned me in order to deem whether Dazai is suitable for the agency.
“If you’re asking about Dazai, then I already have my answer: That man is the worst. He ignores my orders, randomly disappears during work, is obsessed with suicide, flirts with every woman he sees, refuses to do physical labor, and is downright lazy. He is clearly unfit for society. He wouldn?
?t make it three days at another job before being kicked out.”
I briefly pause before delivering the verdict I prepared.
“…However, as a detective, he has exceptional talent. He will undoubtedly become the top detective at our agency within the next few years… He passed the test.”
“I see. I trust your judgment.”
The president’s pen glides over the acceptance forms before he stamps them with his seal of approval. Osamu Dazai has officially been accepted into the detective agency.
“By the way, sir, if it wouldn’t be a problem, I would like to request the rest of the day off.”
“Do as you please. Is it something important?”
“I have…some business to attend to.”
After passing through the grove, I arrive at a small cemetery overlooking the port. The small graves sparsely line up across the slope, bathed in the light reflected from the sea. I walk among the graves until I reach one that’s new. I offer flowers, then put my hands together.
“Visiting a victim’s grave, Detective Kunikida?” asks a clear voice.
I open my eyes at the sound and find Miss Sasaki dressed in a white kimono by my side. She holds a bouquet of white chrysanthemums in her right hand. After placing her flowers beside mine, she gently closes her eyes.
“You look even lovelier in a kimono.”
“It probably would have been more appropriate to wear a mourning dress, but unfortunately, this is all I own… Detective Kunikida, do you always offer flowers to the graves of the victims?”
Miss Sasaki and I are here to honor those who were kidnapped and murdered in the basement of the abandoned hospital.
“Yes. There is no particular reason why I do it. I simply feel I should.”
