Bungo Stray Dogs - Volume 5 Chapter Epilogue

EPILOGUE

A few nights had gone by since the night of the red fog, and peace was finally returning to the city of Yokohama. The streets were filled with commuters, happy families, and the voices of students as they shared laughs. But for the Special Division for Unusual Powers, the incident wasn’t over yet.
“I guess we should be grateful there weren’t any civilian casualties,” muttered Ango from his chair until he suddenly noticed something odd about his subordinate who was seated at a nearby desk. Tsujimura, the subordinate in question, was nodding off despite being on duty. Her head slammed into her LCD screen, and she shrieked as the impact woke her up. “Ngh… Ouch?!”
Ango sighed and opened the file in his hands. “Please get back to work, Tsujimura. We’re only on our fourth consecutive all-nighter.”
Littered across Ango’s desk were bottles upon bottles of empty energy drinks and a file labeled THE DEAD APPLE REPORT lying on top of a mountain of documents.
“Oh, come on,” whined Tsujimura. “There’s no way we’ll manage to
cover up what happened… Not after all the damage that giant monster did to the city.” But Ango didn’t reply. So she gave up, rubbed her eyes, and resumed working.
“…Ango, sir.” She glanced over at her superior. “What even happened here anyway?”
“I don’t know,” he replied as he looked down at the report. “The three masterminds behind this all had conflicting motives, and I still can’t grasp the big picture yet. Dazai will just evade the question like he always does, and there’s no way of knowing what Fyodor the Conjurer’s true motivations were, either,” he claimed with a matter-of-fact tone. He was being completely truthful.
“However…” Ango paused, then raised his eyes from the report. “If we ignore all the schemes and trickery involved, this may actually be a surprisingly simple case.”
“…?” Tsujimura appeared confused.
“Perhaps the two of them just wanted to get a glimpse of someone like them…” Ango thought of his old friend. “A man with a mind so extraordinary that he seemed almost alien… That was Shibusawa. Perhaps they wanted to see what he would do and how he would meet his demise… or perhaps how he would be saved.” He sounded somewhat sentimental. “The only three aliens in the world… We can’t even begin to imagine the isolation and loneliness they feel.”
He tried to bitterly laugh it off and change the subject, but when he looked back over at Tsujimura’s desk, she was nowhere in sight. She’d been earnestly listening up until a moment ago, so where could she have gone?
“Tsujimura…?”
Ango sat up from his chair, only to find Tsujimura sound asleep over her desk.

The Port Mafia leader gazed out the glass walls of his spacious, tidy office at the clear-blue sky. Chuuya stood with dignity in the room that most never even get a chance to enter.
“Were you aware of the mechanism behind the fog, boss?” he asked Ougai Mori, the Mafia’s leader.
It was a simple question to which Ougai coolly replied, “I figured Dazai would require your help getting rid of the fog if he was indeed acting alone. He needed a forerunner.”
“So I was just the opening act?”
“Dazai had the starring role.” Ougai spoke as if it were a trivial matter. “So what’s my reward?” Chuuya asked.
A sharp light reflected in Ougai’s eyes. “The return of order to this city,” came his blunt response.
Chuuya’s smile was unrestrained. “In other words, the city’s peace, huh?”
An airplane cut through the clouds. Traveling seagulls could be seen out the window as well.
Ougai shot Chuuya a sympathetic smile. “Good work.”
“Don’t thank me, boss,” Chuuya casually replied. “I just follow your orders.”
His boots tapped gratifyingly against the floor as he departed. Only after the heavy door was closed did order finally return to the office.

An airplane cut through the clouds as Fyodor surveyed Yokohama from a nearby rooftop. Glittering high-rises and stately brick buildings stood side by side in this port city with its countless citizens who struggled against crime and punishment.
“I think I’ve taken a liking to this city myself…”
Fyodor took a bite of the apple in his hand, and the juicy nectar ran down his delicate fingers.
“You’d all better be on your best behavior until next time.”
The enticing words slipped off his tongue, but at that moment, not a soul knew who his words would reach.

“See to it that our client is properly taken care of! Got it?”
Kunikida’s overly seriously voice resounded throughout the Armed Detective Agency office. “Who do you think you are, Kunikida? The agency’s mommy?” Dazai joked.
Kunikida easily took the bait and snapped at Dazai while continuing to type something on his keyboard. To no one’s surprise, Dazai was reading The Complete Suicide while teasing Kunikida just like he always did. “… Anyway, you two enjoy yourselves,” Dazai said.
“…Off you go, then,” added the president right as the two people in question got ready to head out the door.

Feeling encouraged by Fukuzawa’s words, the boy looked over to the president’s side and noticed Ranpo sitting in his chair, eating junk food and glued to some video game—no surprises there.
The boy and the girl began turning around to leave once more when they made eye contact with Tanizaki and the others. Tanizaki was smiling calmly, and Naomi was seated across from him like always. Kenji was carefully tending to his potted plant with a grin, and Yosano shot a languid glance in their direction.
“Take care,” came Naomi’s gentle voice.
Their days saw a multitude of desires intersect and numerous schemes intertwine, and that was exactly why Atsushi continued to work at the Armed Detective Agency alongside Kyouka.
Because that was the place where he belonged—and the place he wanted to protect. He took Kyouka’s hand and smiled.

“See you later!”