Daikoku Building.
From the outside, it was just an ordinary commercial building.
The Cocktail bar on the top floor was not very conspicuous. It had very few customers on weekdays and was occasionally closed.
Hayashi Yoshiki arrived just on time.
Upon pushing the door open, his first impression was of desolation.
The bar wasn't very big.
Dull yellow light fell from the ceiling, filling the hinoki wood bar counter and the well-stocked liquor cabinet. The bartender stood behind the bar, wiping glass after glass until they sparkled, while only two customers dressed in black sat in front of the counter.
The tall, burly Vodka, like a bodyguard, and Gin, with a cigarette lit in his hand.
"He's here, Aniki."
Looking at Hayashi Yoshiki approaching, Vodka's wide face revealed a cold sneer.
Gin's gaze also swept over.
His face, half-hidden by his hat and bangs, was stared at by those dark green eyes, from which not an ounce of warmth could be found.
"Good evening, Mr. Gin, Mr. Vodka."
Hayashi Yoshiki's voice carried an incredible sense of tranquility. He smiled: "Is there something you need me for?"
Compared to his appearance during the day, Hayashi Yoshiki's face now wore silver-rimmed glasses.
The curve of his smile was no different than usual.
However, his eyes, which narrowed slightly behind the glasses with his smile, seemed elongated. Although still gentle, they somehow gave people a feeling that he harbored ill intentions.
Vodka felt he couldn't get along with such a refined scoundrel and couldn't help but scoff.
Gin, on the other hand, slightly bared his teeth.
The irises in his eyes were much smaller than those of an average person, yet they exuded a chilling, ferocious intent.
"There's a job I need you to do."
"What?"
Gin did not respond.
Vodka then handed over an envelope from the side.
Hayashi Yoshiki reached out and took it.
As he naturally took a seat at the bar counter, the bartender behind the counter also asked: "What would you like to drink?"
"The same as them."
"Alright."
The bartender quietly began to mix drinks.
Hayashi Yoshiki took out the contents of the envelope. On top was a photo of a man, roughly thirty years old, wearing a black turtleneck sweater with a light blue jacket over it, his face rather handsome.
Below it were the man's name and simple details.
Kishio Hironobu...
As Hayashi Yoshiki had completely memorized the man's appearance and name, Gin's voice sounded: "Tomorrow night at 11 o'clock, in the second alley west of Beika Aquarium, kill him."
"Exactly 11 o'clock? Will that person definitely appear at that time?" Hayashi Yoshiki's response seemed to have no hesitation.
"Of course," Vodka said somewhat mockingly. "That guy won't know we're going to make a move; he'll just think it's another ordinary meeting."
"So, a traitor to the Organization?"
"Just a little mouse secretly doing shady things around the Organization," Gin bared his teeth, his gaze at Hayashi Yoshiki filled with strong malevolence: "If it were a traitor, I would personally execute them."
That's truly impressive.
Gin is called the "model worker" of the Organization partly because he's either killing moles or on his way to kill moles... but this also seems to be what he enjoys most.
He never tolerates traitors or useless members within the Organization.
Only the sound of drink mixing remained at the silent bar.
"'Gypsy,' please enjoy."
The bartender then placed a clear, amber-colored cocktail in front of Hayashi Yoshiki.
Hayashi Yoshiki picked it up, took a sip, and then set it down.
Gypsy is made with vodka as the base spirit, adding French Bénédictine liqueur and a few drops of bitters. The faint sweetness and herbal aroma weren't enough to mask the strong taste of alcohol.
The bartender didn't mind and just served a second drink.
"'Orange Blossom,' please enjoy."
An orange-red cocktail in a classic glass.
Hayashi Yoshiki also tasted it.
This cocktail, with gin as its base, was undoubtedly much more palatable. Although the mixture with Cointreau ensured its alcohol content was not low, the main flavor was the taste of fruit juice mixed with fresh orange juice, lime juice, and grenadine syrup.
Vodka and Gin...
Both of them ordered cocktails made with their own codenames.
It's interesting that gin and vodka are actually very closely related spirits. Both use highly distilled spirits as their base. However, gin is made by adding juniper berries, orange peel, or other plant roots for flavor, then reducing it with water.
Vodka, on the other hand, is simply diluted with water.
...No wonder Gin always carries Vodka, that not-so-bright Servant.
Slowly finishing the "Orange Blossom," Hayashi Yoshiki put the target information back into the envelope, picked it up, and stood up: "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."
Neither of them responded.
Hayashi Yoshiki quickly left the bar and arrived on the street.
The street at 9:30 PM was still quite lively.
After passing a passerby who looked somewhat menacing, Hayashi Yoshiki raised his hand to hail a taxi, got in, stated the address, and then took out paper and a pen from his pocket.
This was a piece of paper torn from the Death Note.
After transmigrating to this world, he didn't expect to immediately get involved with the dark side—he became a member of the Organization, but a low-level one without a codename.
Although Gin's image as a "model worker" in the original work seemed almost comical in later stages, Hayashi Yoshiki knew very well that he was a very dangerous person, so he made some preparations beforehand when he came.
—Since the Death Note, which can control the cause of death, can be used as a "script," things become simple.
"Inoue Murao"
"On March 18th, at 9:00 PM, lingered around Daikoku Building in Beika City. Remained there for 48 minutes after seeing a young man in a black jacket and silver-rimmed glasses calmly hail a taxi and leave. Afterwards, lived normally until April 10th at 3:46 AM, when he died by suicide by hanging."
Inoue Murao's cause and time of death were irrelevant.
The important thing was that during this time, he would definitely see the young man wearing silver-rimmed glasses calmly get into a taxi and leave.
"..."
As the taxi drove towards Beika Second Apartment, Hayashi Yoshiki suddenly felt something and looked up into the rearview mirror, observing all the vehicles following the taxi.