Very well written and paced! I love the quiet world-building and subtly unraveled body horror inflicted upon the protagonist. The Disco Elysium vibes — and direct reference... — are much appreciated.
The implementation is impeccable but I still have my gripes with it... while Mr. Kitajima may be a well written self-destructive gruff alcoholic in uniform (or body-mods, in this instance), unfortunately he's still one.
It's one of the most overused character archetypes, and I hoped there would some little twist to him to make him push past it into uniqueness, but there was not.
I look forward to checking your other work!