Who are you?
What's all this?
Oww...
I saw an intruder and decided to teach them a lesson.
I'm not an intruder!
What are you doing here this late at night?
Well...
You wanted to see the Alchemist?
I wanted to make a return.
A return! A return!
It's the Alchemist that summoned us, right?
So he should be able to send us back!
So I wanted to make a return!
You mean return a reincarnated author?
Is that possible?
Of course not.
No? Really? Why?
I was hoping for some interesting case to solve.
But I know exactly where this is going.
This place isn't that big!
Too many people would just make it too crowded!
Akutagawa-sensei and I can handle the Taints on our own.
So I was thinking the others could just go home.
I wondered what all the fuss was about...
It's you again, red one?
"Episode 6"
Dear Akutagawa-sensei.
I am very upset right now.
I'll tell you why...
"Saneatsu Mushanokoji" It's finally my turn, huh?
You seem to understand your role.
Yes. I know what I must do, and who I must fight.
That's the deal, right?
Yes.
The Alchemist gives reincarnated authors the knowledge they need.
It's good to see you again, Mushanokoji-san.
Oh, Akutagawa-kun! And Shusei-san!
You're here too, huh?
It's good to see you again.
By the way, kitty.
Do you have my room ready?
No, not yet.
I'd prefer one with a lot of sun.
And then hopefully I can put some plants on the windowsill.
I'll keep that in mind.
Thanks. Can you take care of it for me?
I'm doing it?
I'd like a tour of the place, too.
I'll show you around.
I'll have Tokuda get the room ready while you do.
It's my job?
Thank you.
No, Mushanokoji's one of the better ones.
The problem is...
"Naoya Shiga" Wow, it sure took you forever to call me, huh?
Shiga! So you're here too?
Oh, you're here too, Musha?
You've still got that whole prince look going on, I see.
And you've still got that nasty mouth of yours.
Quiet.
Shiga-san.
Hey, Ryu!
Good to see you again.
You seem well.
Thanks.
I'm glad to see you again.
Me too.
Damn it all!
Why him?
Wow, peach flower boy's in a bad mood, huh?
Dazai-kun never did like Shiga-sensei.
Those two just don't get along.
Shiga-sensei always emphasizes reality in his writing.
"The girl in Setting Sun doesn't speak properly!"
I remember him yelling at Dazai over there.
Dazai's mood was just as bad then.
Yeah, Dazai was giving him hell back, too.
Even though Shiga-sensei is called "The God of Novels."
By the way...
Can't you tell?
This is Ango Soup.
You're just boiling tuna!
What else can I do?
We don't have a lot of ingredients.
If I only had some rice balls...
Yes. I want rice balls...
I see.
If you're coming to me to whine, it must be really bad.
It really is bad!
I mean, I don't get along with you, but he's a thousand times worse!
And you're saying that to my face, huh?
But well...
If you really don't like him, there's only one thing to do.
One thing to do?
You just need to...
Whisper whisper whisper.
"Rashomon"
Great Teacher Shiga!
What is it, red one?
Want to go to the beach?
Why?
Well, you know...
I wanted to get to know you better!
Then why would you go to the beach?
'Cause the beach is awesome!
It's pretty and the waves are great and well, we can't go outside...
But there's a room that's beach-like, I guess.
So...
It was on a beach in Kamakura, right?
It was famous at the time...
What was, you ask?
The time the up-and-coming author Osamu Dazai tried to drown himself to death.
Gulp.
If I remember right, the person with him died and he survived.
A lot of people speculated that it was murder.
No!
I was really trying to die too,
but I didn't...
This time it's not like that!
This time I've got a plan to kill you!
Um...
That's not gonna work.
So yeah, I'm not going to the beach with you.
Or the Minakami Hot Springs or the Tamagawa Aqueduct.
Oh, there you are, Shiga-san.
And Dazai-kun too?
Perfect timing!
"Rashomon" "Ryunosuke Akutagawa" I was just reading your book again.
Seriously, where'd you get the idea...
...that you should publish such a piece of crap?
Rashomon.
The structure of the book is fantastic.
The way it arranges time, space, and characters is brilliant.
And that's why the last part is such a failure.
You should've described the protagonist's fate.
Yes. But my attempt failed.
Because the mind of the main character doesn't feel real.
And because of that, all the characters are just puppets in a fictional story.
You're as harsh as ever, I see.
The writing's a little too florid, too.
You shouldn't try to show off when you write.
Shut up!
What do you know about Akutagawa-sensei?
Do you know about him, then?
You never even knew him back then!
You piece of...
Dazai-kun, stop!
You...
Don't insult Akutagawa-sensei!
I'm not.
I'm offering criticism.
You always...
Oww!
--You bastard! What was that for? --Dazai?
--You bastard! What was that for? --Hey! What are you doing?
--Let me go! --Calm down!
I'll make him pay! I'll make him pay!
This is unheard of.
A fight in the library?
And you call yourselves authors?
It's his fault!
You threw the first punch!
Quiet, Shiga.
And you calm down too, Dazai-kun.
This isn't just their problem, Acting Director.
What do you mean?
We're forced to live together in a confined space.
It's natural that we'll experience some stress.
Especially given that we only have a minimum of food.
Not even rice balls...
I want rice balls...
That was the Alchemist's decision.
If we offer you drink and things to do, some of you will get too lazy to work.
So we only provide the bare minimum!
So that's why there's nothing but tuna!
I see.
Because cats like fish.
No, it's because tuna is nutritious!
Not because I like it!
No! You love tuna because you're a cat!
I do not love it.
I just happen to enjoy it.
That's the same thing!
This is unfair!
I won't ask for much, but at least give us rice balls!
That's right! Rice balls! Rice balls!
In any event, with nothing to do, stress is going to build up.
And when that happens, you'll see fights like the one you just saw.
But you know...
Acting Director.
I have a proposal.
A proposal?
The best way to get rid of stress is to exercise in the open air.
So let's farm!
I knew it...
Let us all farm!
If we live healthy lifestyles,
we'll be even stronger in combat!
And you saw their obsession with rice balls, right?
If we don't act, and allow a famine to occur,
there'll be rice riots here!
Rice riots?
--We want rice! We want rice! --I see. That's a serious problem.
What you say makes sense to me.
Are the rest of the authors okay with it?
Of course.
Huh? I don't want to farm.
Me either. What a pain.
Same.
You may feel resistance at first.
But the sense of accomplishment you get will be addicting!
No, don't just decide that.
I'm sure you're all new, but don't worry.
I'll teach you.
I've got experience.
Listen to me.
Farming is the only way, Acting Director.
We all agree!
We do not!
Weren't you listening?
Dazai-kun, I know it's your first time farming and you're nervous.
But don't worry.
Working up a sweat is a wonderful thing!
I'm not "nervous."
I'm sure everyone is looking forward to this!
Are you listening?
Farming, huh?
Very well. I'll allow it.
Thank you!
Great, huh, everyone?
Fine. I'll play along.
Don't worry, Shiga. I'll teach you all you need to know.
Then I don't have to worry about a thing, huh?
I'm sure I can make something fantastic.
That's something to look forward to.
Akutagawa-sensei, I can harvest something way better than him!
Something really big! Or really yummy!
I can't imagine that anybody whose writing is
as sloppy as yours could harvest anything.
What?
It's a battle, then!
A battle?
A battle to see who can grow the better vegetable!
Akutagawa-sensei will taste test!
And if I win, never get close to him again!
Fine.
Then if I win... hmm...
How about you shave your head, red one?
Fine.
If I lose, the Acting Director shaves his head.
Why? This has nothing to do with me!
This is getting fun.
I'm in.
I accept your challenge!
I'll show you who's boss!
Wow! I didn't know we had a place like this!
You sure it wasn't made just for today?
"Welcome to the Imperial Library Gardens" By the Alchemist?
"Welcome to the Imperial Library Gardens" I'm sure it was.
Then shouldn't he just make us some yummy food?
Maybe he doesn't want to spoil us?
Not that I know.
By the way, why are we helping?
This is your fight, right, Dazai?
Don't be like that.
The Reprobrates always stick together, right?
Only when it suits you, huh?
Well, I'm okay with it.
We came this far.
The question is, what do we grow?
They've prepared meat and seasonings...
We need to grow something that'll go with all that.
What else?
Rice.
Rice?
Yup.
A Japanese man wants rice.
Rice for breakfast.
Rice for lunch.
Rice for dinner!
That's how we grew up, right?
True.
Actually, after all that talk about rice balls,
I'm embarrassed I didn't think of that.
But rice alone is kind of bland, right?
Then grow some veggies, too.
But rice is the most important part.
We make lots of rice!
Got it?
You're really into this rice thing.
I didn't think you were that much of a fan.
Rice is what keeps me going, you could say.
But you're right. With rice, we can make all kinds of things.
And yummy rice goes with anything.
If we make yummy rice, we'll win for sure!
That's right!
Thanks, Chuya!
We'll do our best to raise that rice!
Yeah! Good luck!
If we can make rice, we can make saké.
Work hard for me...
...and all the alcohol I'm going to drink.
Why am I doing this?
There's nothing wrong with getting your hands dirty once in a while.
That's the wild poet of Kanazawa for you.
So what are we making?
I hadn't actually decided.
I've never grown anything in my life.
I don't know anything about it.
I guess that makes sense.
You grew up in a rich family.
Squash.
You like squash, right, Sai?
So why don't we grow squash?
Saku...
Squash? I'm down.
Then it's settled.
Should I help?
Nope. If the judge helps, it's not fair.
What about you?
I'm an observer.
My hips hurt.
No more...
Hey, get to work.
Right, right.
Oww...
You okay, Saku?
You were a powerful foe in your book.
Don't be like that.
The books are worlds that authors created.
Perhaps they enhanced your physical powers.
You don't need to explain!
Dazai-kun, I've got a letter.
A letter?
"Osamu Dazai"
"Saneatsu Mushanokoji"
Dazai-kun, I cannot bear to watch you slack off while you make your comrades farm.
I'm very mad.
I'll be mad at you directly later. But now I'm sending a letter.
I'm mad.
Dazai-kun!
Why did you need the letter?
Well? Farming's fun, right?
Not at all.
I can't understand why you would volunteer to do this.
Humans have a duty to do physical labor.
Tolstoy, right?
But how are you supposed to write, then?
You can write while you farm, if you ask me.
I don't know how.
You can do this if you want.
I'll support you.
That's right. You spent a lot of money to support me.
'Cause you begged me for it.
Did I?
It's growing!
This accelerator's amazing.
Okay! Tomorrow's harvest day!
I can't wait!
Thanks for working so hard for my saké...
Now I just have to harvest it before they do, early in the morning...
Wh-What?!
Why is it all harvested?!
--Who did it?! Who?! Who?!
--What's wrong, Chuya? --Who did it?! Who?! Who?!
The rice...
Hey, where's Ango?
Wh-What is this?!
Oh. You're late.
D-Don't tell me...
Yeah, I got up in the middle of the night and wanted to make some curry.
And we had plenty of rice, so I did.
Enough for a hundred people.
A hundred people?!
Did you use all the vegetables and rice we raised in the curry?
Yup!
Now what do I do?!
I was going to use all that for our battle!
Well, he made it, and that's it.
Let's eat.
And now you're eating it!
Wh-What is this?
Y-Yokan? Maybe.
Yes. I made it with the squash.
You like yokan, right, Sai?
For me?
Here.
Thank you, my friend!
H-How did you make this, Saku?
Well...
I steamed the squash I harvested,
added in a lot of sugar...
And what else?
Just a few of your favorites as a secret ingredient...
How do you like it?
Sai?
Sai! Sai!
I will now announce the winner!
You ready, Akutagawa-kun?
Of course!
Now, announce the winner of the farming food battle!
The winner is...
The winner is Tokuda and Shimazaki's team!
We won!
We sure did!
Where did you come from?
When did you get here?
How rude!
We were here the whole time.
Right next to you.
Shusei's hometown, Kanazawa, is famous for its curry.
It was delicious curry that really brought out the flavor.
Did you see them?
Nope.
You're so boring that they missed me too.
It's my fault?
And don't call me boring!
What a ridiculous ending.
Do you hate Shiga-san that much?
I do!
After what he said about your stories...
I think he was right.
Shiga-san is amazing.
His description of a scene is more real than a photograph.
His descriptions of a character's mind reveal the hidden-most thoughts of a man.
His novels are the real thing.
Mine aren't.
Art is something beyond my comprehension.
That's not true...
Such novels are worthless...
So maybe they should just be...
Akutagawa-sensei?
Wh-What is this?
Akutagawa-sensei!
"Portrait of Hell"
Literary Gourmet!
Karei Rice, Everybody's Favorite Campside Food!
"Imperial Library Camping Trip" We all went camping!
Camping? Where is this?
"Our Campground" Oh, it's in the library.
We started a fire and made campfire food!
You didn't do anything, though!
Barbecue! Ajillo! Karei [Flounder]!
"Stewed Karei" "A white fish long-favored in Japan. Best with a little ginger." You mean stewed fish? Not curry rice?
"Stewed Karei" "A white fish long-favored in Japan. Best with a little ginger." On a camping trip?
"It was good." The karei and rice we had on our camping trip was delicious.
But you didn't eat it all...