August arrived, and the students of the police academy went on summer break.
Thirteen-year-old Sakaguchi Ango received a confidential assignment and quietly adjusted his glasses.
Mission Objective: Travel to a designated location, read the target item, and confirm the identity of its owner.
Born to parents who served within the government and possessing an Ability himself, Sakaguchi Ango was extraordinarily mature for his age. He already had a clear goal for his future: after graduating, he intended to join the government's Special Division for Unusual Powers.
Otherwise, with his Ability, "Discourse on Decadence," he could easily become a top-tier intelligence operative for virtually any organization.
In order to carry out his summer part-time assignment properly, the black-haired boy with a small mole at the corner of his mouth mentally rehearsed every step of the operation. Without revealing any details of the mission to anyone, he locked the door to his dormitory room and set out for the designated destination alone.
After arriving at the target location, approximately one kilometer away, Sakaguchi Ango confirmed that there was no one nearby before opening the unlocked mailbox belonging to someone else's residence.
Inside the mailbox was a thin booklet that resembled a manuscript draft.
Treating the item with caution, Sakaguchi Ango refrained from removing his gloves as he took it out and flipped through its pages.
First and foremost, it was a draft filled from beginning to end with writing.
Secondly...
It appeared to be written in French.
He had never studied the language.
He couldn't understand a single word.
"Phew... So this is the mission item?"
"It looks like I need to add another language to my studies. It would be far too embarrassing if I couldn't understand what I was supposed to investigate."
Inwardly, Sakaguchi Ango added multilingual studies to his future learning plans. Then, removing his gloves, he activated his Ability and began reading the object.
Ability — Discourse on Decadence!
He could extract the memories lingering upon an object.
He could witness scenes involving the item's owner.
Unbeknownst to him, hidden within the blind spot of Sakaguchi Ango's vision, a calico cat crouched beside a short utility pole.
Its eyes were contemplative as it silently observed the young boy using his Ability.
Possessing extensive connections within government circles, it was well informed about the vast majority of Ability users. Sakaguchi Ango was still young, and his Ability was exceptionally rare. Before he had the chance to fully mature, the government had already placed him under strict protection, surrounding him with education that instilled ideals of patriotism and devotion to the people.
Sakaguchi Ango's field of vision changed. Through his Ability, he saw the person who had placed the manuscript into the mailbox that very morning—a young man dressed in a black suit.
After slipping the poetry manuscript inside, the man had said, "I'm lending you his poetry collection to read, but remember to return it to me afterward. If it gets lost, I won't be able to explain myself."
A government intelligence agent?
It didn't seem likely.
Silently, Sakaguchi Ango traced the memories further back according to the timeline. He soon discovered that the poetry collection had been taken from the study of a villa by that same young man. The man's demeanor had been calm and natural, as though he were simply retrieving something from his own home.
Sakaguchi Ango speculated inwardly, Could it belong to a family member... or perhaps a lover? A poetry collection?
The flow of time continued to rewind, carrying him back to yesterday.
The setting was still a study, but it was no longer the study in the villa. Instead, it was a small, simply furnished room with a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Through the poetry collection's perspective, Sakaguchi Ango saw a finger lightly brush across the book's spine, and a sudden tingling sensation raced across his scalp. The finger was pale, almost bloodless, as though it carried a chill of its own.
Its owner was difficult to make out clearly. He seemed to be counting the items arranged on the bookshelf.
Then Sakaguchi Ango heard him murmur softly, "I can't seem to write several of these poems no matter what I do. What am I supposed to do?"
Sakaguchi Ango was baffled.
Was this person... a poet?
Time continued to move backward. Experienced in extracting useful memories, Sakaguchi Ango instinctively began searching for scenes of greater value.
The setting remained a study, but the room had changed once again. This time, he finally saw clearly the person holding the poetry manuscript: a foreign-looking young man with long black wavy hair and green eyes, appearing to be in his early twenties.
Sakaguchi Ango watched as this young man named Randou, trapped in a state of amnesia, was gently coaxed and encouraged by his lover, Asou Akiya, into continuing to write. This poetry collection carried the love shared between two people; it was not some hidden criminal dossier steeped in secrecy and filth.
The young Sakaguchi Ango maintained an expressionless face as he discreetly skipped past certain scenes that he "really shouldn't be watching." Even so, somewhere deep within his heart, he found himself beginning to yearn for a love that pure.
It was too beautiful.
So gentle and pure that it was almost beyond imagination.
This was the story of one person loving another with all his heart and soul.
He witnessed how Asou Akiya had racked his brains, chewing absentmindedly on the end of his pen as he painstakingly wrote down the fragmented remnants of poems preserved in his memory. He witnessed how Randou had picked up his pen once more and begun to write, filling in the missing pieces of that incomplete past. He heard beautiful verses recited from the lips of both men. Even though he did not understand French, from scattered words and phrases he was still able to grasp the Japanese meanings of the poems.
They were unbelievably talented.
The only way to describe it was with the word "inspired."
A genius poet blessed with extraordinary spiritual sensitivity.
There was only one suspicious detail.
He discovered that Asou Akiya was both a member of the Mafia and a novelist, while Randou, a French poet, often found himself troubled by questions about his own past. He seemed to believe that he was not merely an ordinary poet, and this uncertainty left him lost when it came to understanding who he truly was.
Immersed in this love story for what felt like an indeterminate amount of time, Sakaguchi Ango finally awakened from the effects of Discourse on Decadence.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Thank goodness it wasn't that long. Only three years."
Sometimes, when he spent too much time reading an object's memories, his consciousness would become submerged in them, making it dangerously easy to lose himself. For that reason, he generally avoided delving into memories that stretched across excessively long periods of time.
"How am I supposed to write this report?"
Forcing his awareness to pull itself free from the lingering emotions of the memories, Sakaguchi Ango began considering the next step of his assignment.
Then, all of a sudden, his hands twitched with restless anticipation.
He wanted to record this love story.
Even if it had to be disguised as a mission report, he wanted to offer those adults—who seemed to do nothing but force him to witness filthy and ugly things day after day—a chance to cleanse their souls.
That's right.
He was absolutely going to do it.
Sakaguchi Ango's literary instincts were in an uproar, celebrating wildly as his mind became infected by the power of poetry and novels alike. Asou Akiya had proven through his actions that writing fiction was not an impossibly difficult endeavor, while Randou, by simply taking up his pen, had composed beautiful poetry that was almost like writing chapters of his soul while trapped in the haze of amnesia.
"I don't have enough time," Sakaguchi Ango muttered to himself. "I need to hurry back and write the report."
He carefully returned the poetry manuscript to the mailbox, knowing that one of the protagonists of that love story would come back to retrieve it.
Afterward, Sakaguchi Ango headed home with a spring in his step.
The calico cat: "...???"
Was it imagining things?
The boy looked absolutely delighted, not at all like someone who had just completed a mission.
Transforming into the form of a middle-aged man, Natsume Souseki walked over to the mailbox. He retrieved the poetry collection, having deliberately refrained from touching it beforehand so that Sakaguchi Ango would not use his Ability to read his appearance from any lingering memories.
"Jean Nicolas's Poetry Collection Manuscript..."
Natsume Souseki examined the two distinct sets of handwriting covering the pages. One belonged to Randou; the other belonged to Asou Akiya.
Before he realized it, he found himself drawn into the world contained within the poetry collection. Beneath the elegant French verses, he felt the passionate heart of the French poet Arthur Rimbaud laid bare before him.
A moment later, Natsume Souseki snapped the manuscript shut.
This handwritten draft had nearly led his thoughts astray.
"I'll wait for that boy's mission report."
One day passed.
Then two.
Then three...
A full week later, Sakaguchi Ango finally finished writing his mission report.
After passing through the hands of the Special Division for Unusual Powers, the report eventually arrived before Natsume Souseki.
Looking at the astonishing thickness of the stack of papers, Natsume Souseki said in disbelief,
"He wrote this many words?"
"Is this another talent capable of producing an entire novel within a single week?!"
Natsume Souseki had a vague premonition about what the contents would be. Opening the report, he immediately thought:
Good grief.
He started from events that took place three years ago? He didn't omit a single detail or clue?
As he continued reading, he once again had the peculiar sensation that he was reading a novel rather than a mission report.
And within that "novel," the sweetness of the love story was enough to make one's teeth ache.
"I can't take this anymore."
Natsume Souseki closed the report. After enduring exactly one minute of restraint, he opened the "novel" once again and, through Sakaguchi Ango's still-immature prose, continued reading the story of how Asou Akiya had pursued Randou.
From the writing of the disciple he had yet to formally accept under his wing, he began to detect certain patterns.
...Was this really someone courting another person?
It looked remarkably like someone constantly setting traps for a Frenchman at every turn...
Asou Akiya, did you devote your entire intellect to figuring out how to fall in love?
When he reached the part recounting what Akiya had said while delivering the poetry manuscript, Natsume Souseki's expression darkened. He returned the precious handwritten draft to the mailbox and sent word to that troublesome fellow to find time to retrieve it.
As a "teacher," it was hardly difficult for him to read the works of either his disciple or his disciple's lover. With a single request, the other party had respectfully presented Randou's poetry collection with both hands, asking this senior figure of the literary world to appreciate and evaluate it.
Natsume Souseki tightened his grip on his walking stick and remained standing where he was, the fingers of his left hand absentmindedly rubbing across the back of his right.
He thought about many things before arriving at a single conclusion.
"As expected... there's something wrong with his identity."
Randou.
His true name was unknown.
He came from France.
After suffering injuries and losing his memories, he had not dared return to his homeland.
Meanwhile, Asou Akiya had kept him by his side, caring for him with meticulous devotion and elevating the art of doting on one's spouse to its absolute pinnacle.
And yet, despite being such an astute and analytical man, Akiya had chosen to overlook all the suspicious aspects surrounding him. He turned a blind eye to all the ways Randou failed to resemble a mere "poet," focusing wholeheartedly instead on making the Frenchman fall in love with him.
This is a huge problem…
You little brat... just what kind of person did you bring back and save?
Natsume Souseki suddenly narrowed his eyes.
As long as he worked backward from Asou Akiya's capabilities and personality, one question naturally emerged:
What sort of person could make the Port Mafia's Analyst fall in love at first sight?
The answer was obvious.
That person had to possess a beauty, a brilliance, or a strength so extraordinary in some respect that it inspired admiration and reverence in others.
Just as the "Clairvoyant" had once felt toward his own wife.
A love so profound that it came with wholehearted conviction and willing surrender.
Holy shit!
Don't tell me this bastard picked up one of France's top-tier Ability users?!