[Bedivere was welcome to put the stuffed chameleon wherever he wished in the apartment, although Dazai certainly wouldn't mind if it got carried around.]

They're to be treasured. To modern eyes, the past may as well be a different country.

It's not so different from having legends survive up to this day, you know? Old paintings, embroidery, pottery, metal craftsmanship - all of those represent what humans are capable of doing as they chase the pinnacle of their potential. They're there to remind us of where we've been and imagine where we could've been, even if we've forgotten the very language we spoke a thousand years ago.