Kurumi's purpose was simple.
Among the three Ability User organizations in Yokohama—the Special Ability Department, the Armed Detective Agency, and the Port Mafia—only the Port Mafia was most suitable for her.
Therefore, she came here.
However, this reason could not be stated directly.
Why?
Imagine this scenario.
You are a gang leader with an unspeakable secret. One day, someone suddenly finds you and clearly articulates your biggest secret.
You ask her why she came, and she says she wants to contribute to the organization.
Would you believe it?
Of course not.
Anyone's first reaction would definitely be that this person is surely up to something, and joining the organization would certainly not lead to anything good.
Therefore, Kurumi could not directly tell Ōgai Mori her true purpose.
As a lady, one must still be reserved.
Even in the original work, when she first encountered Shido Itsuka, she didn't say, 'I want to eat you,' right away. She at least approached him as a transfer student first, didn't she?
To get something from someone without arousing their suspicion, one must first absolutely not tell them what one wants, but rather hide what one wants within other desires.
It's like cooking the books, listing countless tedious, bloated, and meaningless data, just to conceal the most crucial one among them.
Facing Ōgai Mori's questioning, Kurumi parted her red lips and stated her fabricated, false purpose.
"I want the Port Mafia to provide me with identification documents, other necessary certificates in this country, and a large sum of cash."
"Oh? It sounds like you haven't been in this country long, and certainly didn't arrive through legal means." Ōgai Mori showed a slight interest. "Are you a foreign Ability User?"
"You can think of it that way," Kurumi replied. "For certain reasons, I had to leave my homeland and come to a strange country to start anew, which is why I need the Port Mafia's help."
"Of course, no problem. This is just a small matter for us."
Ōgai Mori searched through a desk drawer, pulled out a form similar to a resume, and handed it to Kurumi: "I'll have our people embedded in the government arrange a new identity for you. For now, just tell me some basic information you're willing to fill out. I imagine you wouldn't want me to pick a name for you."
Kurumi took the form and began to fill in the information.
Most of her personal information, she filled out as usual.
But for things like age, sixteen forever was correct. As for whether the other party believed it, that was not a problem for Kurumi.
After filling in her personal information, she returned the form to Ōgai Mori.
"Then, Miss Kurumi." Ōgai Mori glanced at her personal information. "Please come tomorrow morning to collect your new identity. Professionals will complete your background; you don't need to worry about that. As for cash, is ten million enough?"
"That's enough, thank you for your generosity."
"Then, I have helped you, and I hope Miss Tokisaki keeps her mouth shut and doesn't reveal secrets that shouldn't be leaked to more people," Ōgai Mori said faintly. "If certain people in the organization catch wind of it, I'll have a headache."
The Port Mafia was powerful and decentralized, naturally having different factions.
Before Ōgai Mori became Boss, the faction belonging to the previous Boss caused the most trouble.
For a private doctor to become the new Boss of the Port Mafia was unacceptable to anyone.
It was like an emperor on his deathbed not passing the throne to the crown prince or the general, but instead to the imperial physician who treated him.
Initially, most organization members wanted to overthrow this doctor who appeared out of nowhere, but they soon discovered that this doctor's methods and cunning far surpassed those of the mafia.
With the help of his allies within the Port Mafia and his capable assistant Osamu Dazai, Ōgai Mori quickly and smoothly took over all the organization's assets and power, becoming the true Boss.
However, even so, there were still many dissenting voices within the organization.
The opposition voices were always there, but they had moved from the open to the shadows, waiting for the right moment to erupt.
If it were known that Ōgai Mori assassinated the previous Boss and forged his will, the forces belonging to the previous Boss would inevitably make a comeback, attempting to seize the Boss's position.
Ōgai Mori did not think they would succeed.
But even if they failed, it would still be a loss of the organization's strength.
In these turbulent times, the Port Mafia could not afford another internal reshuffle.
"I am a person who distinguishes clearly between gratitude and resentment. Since Mr. Mori has helped me, I naturally will not repay kindness with enmity," Kurumi said. "Regarding this secret, I will not disclose it to anyone else."
"Thank you."
"However, for other secrets, I cannot guarantee."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Mr. Mori, as you can see, I came to this country for a new beginning. Although ten million is a lot, I would prefer to find a long-term stable job," Kurumi said calmly. "Therefore, if I join an organization hostile to the Port Mafia and become your enemy, at that time, to gain the appreciation of the new organization, I might provide some secrets that the Port Mafia would not want others to know."
Ōgai Mori frowned.
He could understand Kurumi's thoughts.
This transaction with Kurumi was merely a simple transaction: Ōgai Mori would provide identity and cash, and Kurumi would keep her promise not to tell others the truth about the previous Boss's death.
However, the secrets she knew were not limited to the truth of the previous Boss's death.
The worst part was that Ōgai Mori didn't know how many other vulnerabilities of the Port Mafia she held.
Some things, if known by the wrong people, could severely cripple even the Port Mafia.
"Should I get rid of her?"
This thought had barely risen in Ōgai Mori's mind before it was quickly extinguished.
Although they had only been together for less than ten minutes, he could clearly sense that the other party was not afraid of the Port Mafia, and breaking into the organization's headquarters alone indicated that she also had means of escape.
Moreover, being able to infiltrate the Boss's building without anyone noticing was enough to demonstrate how formidable her abilities were.
So far, Kurumi had already displayed multiple abilities: stealth in shadows, memory reading, summoning weapons, and even those two Flintlock Pistol were probably not ordinary items.
Without absolute certainty, he did not want to add another troublesome enemy to the organization.
Especially when Ōgai Mori knew almost nothing about this mysterious person, even someone as cunning as him would find it difficult to come up with a countermeasure.
However, even if he couldn't make an enemy of her, he couldn't let her wander around other organizations with the Port Mafia's various major secrets.
This person was like a mobile time bomb; no one would know where or when she would explode.
Extremely troublesome.
However, Ōgai Mori had no other leverage to offer her to prevent her from leaking any secrets about the Port Mafia.
Kurumi was too unfamiliar, too mysterious.
He had no idea what she truly wanted.
"Wait..."
His mind racing, Ōgai Mori seemed to have suddenly thought of something.
"Perhaps, I know what she wants."