The summer heat has faded, and the terrible noise has stopped. For me, someone who never takes off his coat even in the scorching midsummer sun, this is a relief. My mentor, who has since left but still lives not far away, once took off this very coat and gave it to me. Thinking that it's about time for the figs to bear fruit and that I should enjoy them with some good tea, I instinctively turned my head toward the direction of the humid breeze.

A familiar figure. Since he was floating in the middle of the river, only his lower half was visible, but that is undoubtedly Dazai-san. Why is he in a place like that? An attack by an ability user? But Dazai-san isn't someone who would be caught by such a thing...

...What if it really is Dazai-san?

Dazai-san—!