It wasn't raining. Yet, the inside of the church felt as suffocatingly damp as if it were.

The low tolling of a bell brushes against the ceiling, and a faint scent of incense drifts through the air. People in black suits fill the seats, but no one cries out loud. As if showing sorrow were a luxury for the weak, everyone just keeps their heads bowed in silence.

I am no different.

With both hands shoved into my pockets, I look down at my colleague lying in the coffin. The partner I was assigned after that Dazai bastard left the Mafia.

Until just a few days ago, this was the person I was clinking glasses and sharing trivial jokes with. I didn't think they were the type to fall to something like an enemy's bullet. But I suppose a person's fate is ultimately unpredictable.

...Damn it.

I click my tongue softly and turn my gaze away.

Death is not a stranger in the Port Mafia. You might survive today, but tomorrow is unknown. It's a fact everyone knows.

Even so, I never get used to it.

The light passing through the church's stained glass casts long red and blue shadows across the floor. I stare blankly at the colors that look like spreading blood, then pull my hat down low and let out a short sigh.

..It's ridiculous to even tell you to rest in peace.

The dead can't hear a thing. It's just the ones left behind who hold onto those words to endure.

The mourners leave the church one by one. I lean against the wall and watch them go in silence. I feel like having a cigarette... But I decided to hold back, at least for today. It's the last bit of courtesy I can show them.