Baccano! - Volume 20 - Chapter 6.1

Digression

The Flying Pussyfoot In a second-class compartment

“Ow, ow, ow, ow! Hngyaah! Ah! WAAaaAAaaAaAah!” Jacuzzi Splot foamed at the mouth, wailing pathetically.

With those screams in his ears, a doctor dressed from head to toe in gray was treating his stomach. “The anesthetic should be working, but…,” he murmured.

“Oh… I believe he only thinks it hurts because of how it looks, sir.”

“I see. Intriguing.”

This was a second-class compartment on the Flying Pussyfoot, a place that had been occupied by terrorists in black suits until just a few moments ago.

Originally, a fearsome group in white suits—unrelated to the ones in black—had been occupying the car, but this man wearing gray was now treating the leader of the colorful delinquents in it.

“Pull yourself together. You’re the hero who saved this train, remember?” the doctor in gray told the kid. Practically speaking, this was true. He didn’t know exactly how it had happened, but he understood that the boy’s group had maneuvered between the black-suited terrorists and the white-suited murderers and liberated the train.

“Waaauuuuh… I-it wasn’t anything that impressive…,” Jacuzzi said with tears streaming down his face.

Nice, who was watching from beside them, spoke with a wry smile. “Oh, honestly. If you’d only stayed unconscious, maybe we could’ve had some peace and quiet.”

Jacuzzi had been out cold until a few minutes ago, but he’d come to just as they got the worst of his bleeding stopped. Right now, he was wailing while the doctor continued his treatment. It was a pretty sorry sight.

“N-Niiice, that’s mean to say.”

The gray doctor went on. “You were lucky, though. Even the bullet you took in the stomach doesn’t seem to have hit any major organs.”

“R-really?!”

“Yes. However, if I’d started treating you three minutes later, it’s likely that you would have bled to death.”

“Dea…!” This new awareness of the danger he’d been in made Jacuzzi faint again.

Nice heaved a big sigh. “Doctor… Will Jacuzzi…?” She sounded uneasy.

“There’s no need to worry. He still wants to live. You can see it in his eyes.” As he continued working dexterously, the doctor gave a muffled chuckle from behind the fabric that covered his mouth. “In that case, it is my duty to keep this boy alive. I don’t know what he’ll do with the rest of his life, but I’ll do everything in my power to save him. Even if he’s destined to become the worst kind of villain.”

“…Jacuzzi is a hero.”

“He doesn’t seem to think so.”

“He is to me… To all of us.” Turning a kind smile on Jacuzzi, Nice went on. “More than that, he’s our dear friend.”

“A friend, hmm…? That’s a fine thing. Take good care of him.” The words seemed to have some deeper meaning for the gray doctor, and his voice held a variety of emotions. “To hear you speak, it sounds as though many people look up to this fellow.”

Like a magician who saw through everything, he made a remark that sounded almost like a prophecy. “You said his name was Jacuzzi? No doubt he’s shouldered the fates of many, and many people will shoulder his destiny.” Neatly wrapping a bandage, he went on. “Therefore, any movement he makes will create commensurate waves around him. The connections between humans muddle the fate of the world. They’re an oar that’s sturdier than anything.”

“……?” Nice looked dubious.

“Ah, my apologies. I’m sure I sounded like some conjurer just now, but I wasn’t prophesying or telling his fortune. I simply guessed at what would happen.”

“……”

“If this boy is pulled into anything, it will affect the lives of many people. He’ll be frightened, yes, but I doubt he’ll run.”

Nice had no response for the magician.

He’d spoken as if he’d seen clear through their lives—and also as if he were pointing out a path to them.

“Live or die, it’s up to this boy. Will his ties to you become a shackle that drags him to his death, or a lifeline that pulls him out of death’s abyss…? No one knows.”

“Please don’t say such ominous things… I’ll protect Jacuzzi.” Firm determination shone in Nice’s one remaining eye.

As the gray magician looked at her, the set of his lips softened behind the cloth that hid his face. “I see. That’s good to hear. You, Jacuzzi, and your other companions should continue to live for as long as you want to. To the best of your ability, please encourage those around you to live as well.”

The magician murmured not to Nice but to some distant, unknown person—or perhaps to himself, a man who’d lost many companions.

“At the very least, I will not let him die here. I promise you that.” He nodded.

“The rest of your fate is up to you. I hope you’ll become lifelines not just for each other, but for many people.”