Volume 4, Chapter 3: Sunekosuri / No One Can Predict the Future Part 10-16

This chapter is updated by wuxiaworld.eu

Part 10

“Hey, you over there!!”

Thirty seconds after crossing into Hell Pass, a young man in a police uniform called out to us.

I knew it!!

Of course you’re going to stand out when you wear a gaudy, midriff-showing fortuneteller’s outfit in a hot spring town filled with a Japanese atmosphere! Hiding your mouth with the veil is completely pointless!!

The police officer gave us a perfectly warranted look of deep suspicion.

“Um… Excuse me, but can I see your face? Also, show me your ID and let me inspect your bag. Right now, we have to-…”

“Oh! I cannot show you inside bag. My religion only allows me to show purified grand master inside bag. Otherwise gathered virtue disappears!!”

“Eh? What? No, I’m not talking about that. This is a security iss-…”

“Wow, wow!! I come all the way to Intellectual Village to learn of superior Japan culture, but I am treated with such disrespect? What happened to freedom of religion?”

I could almost feel the sharp gazes of the surrounding people turning our way. The foreign cameramen and journalists here for the G20 leaders had spotted something interesting.

Mai-san pretended to sob while whispering to me as if lightly chewing on my triangular ear as she held me to her chest.

“(With the international G20 summit meeting going on, this place is filled with people from different countries and cultures: the cabinet members, their bodyguard teams, and the journalists who follow them. What do you think the headlines will be if a police officer who represents the country’s authority oppresses another culture’s religion? Criticizing the Japanese representative might become the central topic of tonight’s dinner party.)”

“That’s just mean!!”

“(Also, Intellectual Villages hate the police. Back when they were declining rural areas, the police wouldn’t even build a single police box and they would only leisurely make their way over from the police station when there was a robbery. The police may have changed their mind and want to make police boxes and stations there now that the areas have earned a bunch of money, but that doesn’t meant anyone is going to welcome them. Instead, they use home security systems and armed security guards for better self-security than a university. If this outsider messes up here, no one is going to step forward to shelter him.)”

“U-um, uh, um…”

The young police officer was clearly panicking and looking around in every direction. At this point, the poor civil servant had only two options.

He could grow excessively oppressive and aggressive and try to show off his authority or…

“M-my apologies. Please be on your way.”

He completely folded and grew very polite.

And thus Hishigami Mai-san boldly carried her weapons to her destination despite the strict security prepared for the gathering of G20 leaders and cabinet members.

Part 11

Our destination was an old high-class inn in the mountains.

It was a wooden multistory building instead of the usual flat structure of Japanese residences. Despite being located at the bottom of a green canyon, it rose high enough to poke up between the gaps in the mountains. It had been built by a temple carpenter and had a tradition of over two hundred years, so it looked more like a Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple than it did a lodging facility. It was a lot like the stage of Kyoto’s Kiyomizu-dera or the ocean torii of Hiroshima’s Itsukushima Shrine in how the manmade object stole the focus of the scenery despite being surrounded by nature.

“W-we’re going here?”

“I said Goudo Akira has a connection to Hishigami, didn’t I? The Hakone region has countless safe zones, but you can narrow that down a lot if you focus on the ones supported by Hishigami. This one is the strongest, fanciest, and most comfortable, so it’s perfect for the boss character’s fortress.”

Mai-san still wore the foreign fortuneteller’s outfit, but she did not hesitate to enter the inn.

Needless to say, the waitresses’ eyes opened wide.

“I was called here by Hishigami and it has to do with Youkai. No need to treat me like a guest, nothing happened here, and you didn’t see anyone. That’s how you should handle this.”

When she mixed in a few keywords like that, the look in the eyes of the dozens…no, over a hundred workers clearly changed. It almost looked like the light vanished from their eyes. It was a strange sight indeed to see an entire group ignoring someone like this.

“If you know how things work, this is easy.”

The great number of witnesses and the cutting-edge security meant nothing.

Mai-san boldly walked straight toward the VIP room that did not officially exist.

“Poor thing. They have so many shady meetings day in and day out that no one will even peek inside no matter how much of a commotion they hear.”

It took only an instant to break the lock on the sliding door.

And it took maybe three seconds to restrain the target inside who was elegantly talking on the phone.

“A-agh. Mghmgh.”

Something like a groan came from the duct taped mouth of the woman wearing office clothing.

Her tight skirt and suit were custom-made and looked quite expensive and she was currently hanging from the ceiling with her hands bound.

Naturally, Mai-san seemed to have had a reason for doing that, but…

“So you used a hidden village style of isolated VIP room? Hm? Did you use the Aburatori again? So is this a separate-style Package?”

“Separate-style? What’s that?”

“Youkai – especially the deadly ones – are hard to capture or contact, right? So instead of getting several of them, you work at a single one from multiple angles to put together many different Packages. Sunekosuri, how much do you know about the Youkai known as an Aburatori?”

“W-well, just that it’s a horrible one. Um, it’s a relatively new deadly Youkai that appeared during the Meiji period, it sneaks into villages dressed as a farmer, and it secretly abducts and kills children, right?”

“Technically, it removes their organs, cooks them with a fish skewer, and takes the child’s oil. Folklorists say it’s a ghost story without the ‘tradition of fear’ since it has no moral to teach. Some say the Youkai itself is less frightening than the overly-suspicious group hysteria that’s a lot like the witch hunts.” She raised her index finger. “For example, the bodyguards at Ashinoko TV isolated the Aburatori’s child-killing symbolism to create a murder Package.”

“Yes, I suppose.”

“But that leaves the symbolism of ‘sneaking in and abducting’ unused. By using that excess portion for this hidden village Package, they can simultaneously operate multiple Packages with just the one Youkai. Those are called separate-style Packages. Right now, there seem to be three: the news broadcast, the assassins, and the hidden village.”

“Y-you’ve been thinking about this. …But wouldn’t they have to be really carefully assembled to avoid any competition that could send the Packages out of control?”

“Yes. At its core, it’s a way of being economical. With its massive fighting force, Hyakki Yakou can capture multiple Youkai instead. That these people chose to use the separate-style tells us something about their strength, Sunekosuri-kun.”

Just as I was about to give a sigh of understanding, some muffled protests came from the side.

Oh, right. That office woman is still hanging there.

Can I just assume she’s Goudo Akira?

“Wait!! Why are you starting to strip off her clothes!?”

“Because it’s necessary. But if all this commotion and creaking of ropes isn’t enough to arouse suspicion, what kind of secret meetings do they normally hold here? Not SM shows, I hope.”

Goudo Akira-san was quickly reduced to her underwear and stockings and she glared at us with hostility in her eyes.

Mai-san ignored it and roughly tore the duct tape from her mouth so it would hurt.

“You know why I’m letting you speak, right? I will ask one question and you have just one chance. You are a Hishigami man’s legal adviser, aren’t you? I had thought you were the type to give advice on criminal activity but avoid actually getting involved in it, but how about it? Are you truly the mastermind behind this or is there someone else beyond you? Please tell me.”

“I won’t talk.”

“Oh, is that so?”

As she spoke, Mai-san pulled something from the bag she had placed on the tatami mats.

But it was not a depressing torture device like pliers, a saw, or a soldering iron.

“Huh? A marker?”

“With some exceptions, most specialized torture devices are too bulky to carry around. When infiltrating enemy territory, you can use something like this to get people to talk in a timely fashion.”

Mai-san removed the marker’s cap and approached Goudo Akira-san.

“Bring it on. I won’t tell you any- hyah. W-wait. Heh heh. What kind of torture is this!? Why are you drawing Xs all over me? Hee hee. What is the point of this scribbling!?”

There was a type of torture known as “tickling”, but I could not see anything here that was depressing enough to rupture the diaphragm used to breath. It really did look like Mai-san was simply scribbling on the woman.

“Yes, yes. If you can’t stand it anymore, feel free to spill the beans.”

“Fya ha ha! I-I won’t- I won’t give in to… hee hee!”

“By the way, Akira-chan, are you familiar with the iron maiden?”

“What?”

Goudo Akira-san had been twisting her body around to endure the marker, but the sudden mention of that dangerous term caused her to freeze in place as if someone had thrown cold water over her.

Mai-san continued regardless.

“As I’m sure you know, it’s the world’s most famous torture device. Incidentally, the most famous execution device is the guillotine☆ Well, well? Have you heard of it? …That look on your face makes me think you’re going to say it’s common knowledge in the West. So I guess you do know what the iron maiden is, right?”

“What does that have to do with-…”

“Something like a metal coffin with double doors is filled with sharp spikes and the victim is simply closed inside, so it’s easy to use. But since the spikes are positioned in just the right places to not hit any vitals, the suffering lasts good and long. That’s the legend left by that torture device, but I’m sure about half of it is just embellishment.”

With a squeak, Mai-san drew the final X on Goudo Akira-san’s bare side and she hummed to herself as she did so.

“But if you know where to stab, you don’t need that big, fancy device.”

“Eh? Wait. You don’t mean…”

The woman hanging from the ceiling slowly looked down at her own stomach.

She had several dozen suspicious X-marks drawn all over her body.

Meanwhile, Mai-san moved away, put the marker back in her bag, and pulled something else out instead.

Its silhouette resembled a handgun, but the power tool was larger and bulkier.

“Tah dah!! It’s the friend of anyone with a problem, the nail gun! You can use it for your home improvement projects and you can use it when you don’t have a gun on hand, but can you perhaps think of another use for it?”

“…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………!!”

Goudo Akira-san twisted around enough to make the entire room creak, but it did nothing to change the fact that she was dangling in midair.

“I won’t take my time and slowly fire one nail at a time. I already know it won’t kill you, so I think I’ll go ahead and put all the nails in their marks before asking you again.”

“W-wait, wait!! Even if you do that, I-I won’t…!!”

“It’s no use now. I’m turning you into a human spiked bat no matter what you say. Even if you told me the truth right this instant. So just give up.”

“Ah…!! But…you…that makes no sense!!”

“I said right at the beginning that I was asking one question and you have just one chance. It’s your fault for not making good use of that chance.”

Some said the scariest thing in the world was someone whose thoughts you simply could not comprehend.

I was fairly certain Mai-san was only putting on an act to appear that way, but still.

“I can drag out the information I want once you’ve lost everything and once you’re covered in unnecessary injuries. Okay?”

She did not hesitate.

For this act, she showed a willingness to truly create a corpse here.

While still smiling, she pressed the end of the nail gun against Goudo Akira-san’s body. It was a bit above her stomach and below her voluminous chest where her ribs could be seen protruding a bit.

And Mai-san was not hesitating to smash that rib.

“I-I can’t overlook this any longer! Take this!!”

“Sunekosuri, why are you playing around at my feet? And completely useless help will probably only deepen her despair. Are you actually trying to help me?”

“Hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!?”

There was nothing I could do, so I simply squeezed my eyes shut.

But then…

“Oh, what’s all this? Mai, could you end your eccentric behavior here?”

A new voice intruded on the scene.

It was a gentle male voice. I hesitantly opened my eyes and found a young man of about thirty who wore casual indigo blue Japanese-style clothing. Yes, a young man. He was surrounded by some unseen aura that prevented me from calling him anything else.

Mai-san narrowed her eyes as she turned toward him, but she kept the nail gun near Goudo Akira-san’s body.

“Hishigami Kyou, third in line to the head family.”

“You could call me your brother, you know? We are family, if you think about it reasonably.”

The young man apparently named Hishigami Kyou gave a troubled move of his eyebrows and heavily sat in a wicker chair. He calmly extended a hand toward the opposite chair.

“Sit. If you want tea, make it yourself. We are brother and sister, so treating you like a guest would actually be rude.”

“You sure are calm. If I wanted to-…”

“Yes, my death would probably be unavoidable. Unlike you, I do not possess any unreasonable strength. Whether I resisted or not, you could kill me if you tried. That is the fate of a person who lives in a reasonable world.”

“…”

A chill seemed to fill the air and Mai-san sat in the opposite chair with a sulking look on her face and the nail gun still in her hand.

Eh? So, um…

“W-wait. I know we’re not really one to talk, but…um, what about Goudo Akira-san who’s still hanging there.”

“Hm? She is my legal advisor who has been with me through thick and thin. She is also quite skilled. I would love to save her, but as I said, I live in a reasonable world. You can’t expect me to pull off a dashing rescue like a superhero.”

“…!!”

She no longer had duct tape over her mouth, but Goudo Akira-san seemed unable to speak.

Despite the young and beautiful woman hanging from the ceiling in her underwear between them, the brother and sister spoke as if they were alone.

There was no point in arguing whether the Hishigami men or Hishigami women were crazier. They all had a screw loose!

“Now, Mai. Do you know why I am here?”

“It doesn’t seem to be to save that woman or to give me any information.”

“Hishigami.”

Kyou cut in with that one word and continued despite being faced with Mai-san of all people.

“We are aware of the emergency news report saying that Hishigami Mai has died. A few reporters have even foolishly asked if she has any connection to me. Of course, that is not much of a problem. Hishigami is a popular family name in Japan…no, in the entire world. Saying some unidentified person was likely using the name will easily solve the problem.”

“…”

“But giving that explanation is not reasonable. Lying in front of the police or reporters is not something we Hishigami men do. It is easy, but I do not like doing it. Please do not cause us any more trouble. Do whatever it takes to ensure that, as it will have nothing to do with us. Do you understand?”

“This is the true essence of the Hishigami men, Sunekosuri.” Mai-san sounded utterly exasperated. “Reasonable this and reasonable that. They keep saying it over and over, but they’re actually the craziest of us all. They support a large portion of Japan’s economy and even control the production and supply of defense weaponry. They’re crazy and stand above everyone but still talk about what’s reasonable. If they altered what is reasonable and thus the tendencies of a vast majority of people in the country, they could easily start a war or a coup d’etat.”

“Well, if that’s the reason of the age, there isn’t much you can do about it, is there? Even if the country fell into decline and over half the population was lost, that would be the result of the reason they themselves desired. We are merely letting that trend carry us along. That is what you must do when you are a good person who wishes to maintain order.”

“And you feel you need us Hishigami women even if you hate us. You want a breaker you can throw in case the giant system runs out of control.”

“Please stop that. If Hishigami siblings truly began to fight, it would reduce the world population to about five people. And that is not reasonable at all.”

Order and destruction.

These siblings existed on a scale that sounded straight out of Indian mythology.

“So how am I supposed to get the information I need to settle this without a fight like that? Should I turn that woman into a human spiked bat or should I hang you up in her place?”

“It doesn’t really matter to me, but how about I simply tell you?”

He spoke bluntly.

It sounded exactly like a brother giving his sister a message from their parents.

“You seem to have made a major enemy, Mai. Have you noticed the term Aburatori popping up around you a lot?”

“What about it?”

“Basically, someone is up to no good using an Aburatori. Mai, what is your job? Have you considered the possibility that you are viewed as an element that could destroy that plan of theirs?”

“I know nothing about this supposed plan. They’re the ones that attacked me.”

“The underworld has no police or trials. The existence of or lack of evidence does not matter. Your world punishes people even if they are simply suspicious, right? Are you sure you did not do anything to make a misunderstanding? Or did you do anything so unreasonable that they might decide to crush you before you became a problem?”

“…”

While still holding the dangerous nail gun, Mai-san appeared to think for a bit.

Her appearance was nothing to go by as she was a master of the poker face, but it looked like she was having trouble accepting something.

“So who is this person? For Hishigami to make an appearance like this, it must be someone from the economic world like you. Is it related to politics?”

“Yes, it is. If it’s someone like me, we can safely assume they have spread their influence there. If you think about it reasonably, anyway.”

“How can you say that when you’re involved with voting blocs, policy think tanks, and sponsoring big data to support elections? What, have I made an enemy of the prime minster or something?”

“Higher than that.”

Hishigami Kyou-san did not hesitate to make that unthinkable comment.

Eh? But what position is higher than the prime minster?

“In the east, it’s Akasaka. In the west, it’s Gion. Japanese politics are secretly controlled by a conductor group that is firmly split into two different factions. To them, the boundaries between political parties mean nothing. They control everything even remotely related to politics. Mai, I’m sure even you have heard the urban legends. Those rumors that sound as ridiculous as the nuclear shelter in Nagatachou Station.”

“You mean the Master of the Restaurant?”

As soon as she muttered those words, I could sense a strange chill seep into the room as if we had touched on something that was not to be mentioned. It was like she had rudely kicked down a small shrine of unknown origins.

“I don’t know how many are involved, but the Western Side is planning something with an Aburatori.”

“The Western Restaurant is planning something unreasonable?” Mai-san gave a confused frown. “That isn’t good. Come to think of it, I did go on a bit of a rampage in Kyoto’s Gion recently. I was investigating an incident related to a ‘monk’ and I ended up creating quite a few corpses.”

“And that is the Western Restaurant’s headquarters. That would be why they’re targeting you.”

Kyou-san sounded exasperated.

“The East has been getting all excited with the world’s tallest radio tower and their Edo-style revival campaign, so the West’s small sort of ‘nationalism’ was already on edge. You poked at that hornet’s nest at just the wrong time, Mai.”

“The Edo-style revival campaign? Wait a sec. Isn’t that just some VIP’s hobby?”

“The fact that they have the power to make a national project of that scale out of a mere hobby has angered the Western Restaurant.” Kyou-san shrugged. “At any rate, it is simply unreasonable for the true center of the government to rely on a criminal Package. They must be growing senile. Don’t you think that is a problem?”

“What’s this? Does this person happen to be an eyesore to the Hishigami men?”

“Of course not. We are perfectly reasonable, so we would never think of anything so dangerous.”

The young man in casual Japanese-style clothing grinned while standing from the wicker chair.

“The individual from the Western Side is named Udou Itsuki. If you are interested, then feel free to pursue him. She must be planning to hold discussions with the international cabinet members because she just so happens to be in one of Hakone’s Intellectual Villages.”

“You aren’t feeding me false information so I eliminate a political rival, are you?”

“Then make sure you investigate this properly ahead of time. And being manipulated like that is very unlike someone as unreasonable as you. As your brother, it would sadden me to see you like that. Much like seeing a hero from a movie fall into decline.”

With that, Hishigami Kyou-san readily began to leave the room.

Eh? But what about Goudo Akira-san!?

“Kyou-san!! Um, wait… Please wait!!”

She must have thought he really was going to leave her because she frantically cried out.

“Hmm?”

“I…I…I…But…I…”

“Unfortunately, I cannot cover for you. Mai may indeed be an unreasonable person who does not care who she must get involved to reach her goal, but she does at least make a proper judgment about who she kills. You must have done something dirty that angered her and that is not reasonable. It simply goes beyond the power I wield.”

“But!! You are not allowed to step out of line, so I determined what you wanted and supported your prosperity in a way that did not sully you!! I set up a connection with the Western Side even if it meant dirtying my hands because I thought it would help you in the future! A-and the only reason you rose to third in line over the past few years is because-…!!”

“But I did not want any of that.”

Hishigami Kyou-san sounded troubled and that was enough for Goudo Akira-san to fall silent.

It was like watching someone finish a speech that had lasted several years only to find out the listener had not understood the language they were speaking.

“The line of succession does not matter. If my position is going to fall, then so be it. As long as that fall comes from sticking to reasonable actions, that is. In fact, it is odd for someone like me to be in third place in the first place. From a reasonable point of view, anyway. This is actually quite uncomfortable for me. Being placed outside the course I had planned for could even be called painful.”

“Ha…ha…”

“Setting up a connection with the Western Side? That is the opposite of how the Hishigami men operate. Listen. Connections between people are made when they are meant to be made. Trying to forcibly twist them into place will only create unwanted connections. The worst possible outcome is wishing you had met someone under different circumstances and you used that card on someone as large as this. There is likely no longer a way to form a reasonable and peaceful connection with the Western Side. Such a waste. That is the only way to view this.”

“Ha ha…ha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.”

“But it would be heartless to simply abandon you here.”

“!!”

“I will go as far as to call the police. Thinking about this reasonably, the police will surely save you.”

This time, Goudo Akira-san’s face truly did turn pale.

Everyone here knew that basic rule did not apply here, but he simply did not want to step outside of that world.

Mai-san lightly waved around the nail gun while still sitting.

“Hey, Hishigami Kyou.”

“There is no reason to refer to your brother by his full name.”

“Does this inn’s ability to deal with trouble live up to its ‘high-class’ name? For example, does it dispose of inconvenient corpses and blood stains for you?”

“I know nothing of that unreasonable world.” Hishigami Kyou-san gave a light shrug. “But Akira-kun uses this place enough that she probably knows. So ask that unreasonable woman who so often did such awful things and yet showed no sign of getting caught.”

“…!!!???”

The way the muscles in her face tightened must have been enough of an answer.

Before I could even squeeze my eyes shut, nails started firing into her vitals with no regards to the x-marks.

Part 12

“This is suspicious.”

Once we left Hell Pass and returned to the rental car parked at the roadside station on the mountain road, Mai-san muttered those three words. It was already evening and the red of the mountain’s maple trees was quite beautiful, but it also reminded me of the bloody scenes I had witnessed recently.

“Wh-what is?”

“Everything that has happened so far. It all makes sense, but it lacks something. The overall picture is accurate, but I feel like a piece is missing. A piece that I can’t afford to overlook.”

“Um… Do you have anything to support that?”

“Nope. But the trick to a long life is to check over everything again when you feel like the grim reaper is staring at you. Of course, taking it too far gives you a persecution complex, so you have to have a sense for when to stop.”

Meanwhile, she stepped on the rental car’s gas pedal and left the roadside station. She drove along the road zigzagging down the mountain and I spoke while making sure I didn’t get carsick.

“Wh-where are we going?”

“Hakone contains a few different Intellectual Villages. The city grew as it repeatedly absorbed other cities, but it was later split apart again. To lose this unknown grim reaper, it would be best to head to another village.”

Her answer was not enough to eliminate my anxiety.

It was possible I had worded my question poorly

“What are you planning to do?”

“Sunekosuri, what is the name of the person behind all this?”

“Udou Itsuki, a member of the Western Restaurant, right?”

“Are you sure?”

“Eh?” I said without thinking.

Mai-san grinned while turning the steering wheel.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if you hadn’t noticed. For now, the problem is how to approach Udou Itsuki. He belongs to one of the Restaurants that control both the ruling party and the opposing party. Simply put, even using the word Restaurant in this way is a dangerous thing. We need to prepare if we’re going to attack someone like this.”

“B-but everything went so smoothly just now.”

“That’s just because Goudo Akira was incompetent. I doubt our next opponent will be so easy and I doubt the fortuneteller strategy will work either.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Udou Itsuki is powerful. His influence is thinly spread across the entire country, but at the same time, the Western Side only represents Japan. He can’t control frameworks larger than that.”

“W-wait… This has nothing to do with the G20 summit meeting, does it?’

“I see you’ve caught on.” She grinned. “Let’s abduct someone even more powerful and threaten Udou. I know. How about an Under-Secretary-General of the UN?”

Part 13

Tremble tremble!!

Tremble tremble tremble!!

“Sunekosuri, you don’t have to be so scared. If you keep shaking like that, I’ll use you as a massager. Do you want me to press you against all my naughty bits?”

“H-how am I supposed to stay calm!? A-a-a UN Under- what was it?”

“Under-Secretary-General. That’s two below the Secretary-General. But the five permanent member nations have the special privilege to choose the USGs. In the end, it’s a peaceful organization created by the victors of war.”

The curtain of night had already fallen over the entire area, so everything was dark. The rental car was lit by the light on the ceiling and Mai-san used a handheld device with shady modifications to search something online.

Surprisingly, simply searching news sites and the like was enough to find what national leaders and cabinet members were in Japan for the summit. They must have thought no one would misuse that information to cause some kind of incident.

Mai-san snapped her fingers.

“Good, good. There’s someone nearby we can use. Thomas Albert Jr. He’s American and an Under-Secretary-General. Let’s go for him☆”

“We can’t!! If we attack some VIP from the UN, they’ll send swat teams or Delta Force or some other group of muscular men in black masks to shoot us!!”

“They won’t do that, so don’t worry. And not even I’m going to try any point-blank range kung fu magic while wielding two handguns. It would be exhausting and just a general pain in the ass.”

“Eh? B-but you said you have business with a strictly-guarded UN Under-Secretary-General.”

“There’s a loophole. And in this business, it’s only polite to take notes of the characteristics and weakness of world leaders even if you don’t need anything with them. Even cutting out tabloid articles to take with you makes a difference. I doubt anything in there is true, but you can still find the truth from that twisted information.”

“But this is a VIP of the UN. What kind of opening could there be?”

“It’s an issue of different systems. Something might be legal in one country but illegal in another. That’s where we’ll make our strike.”

Part 14 (3rd person)

Either a first-string football player or a hitman.

That was usually people’s first impression upon seeing Michael Lucas.

He was a muscular black man measuring over two meters tall. His arms were a surprising 49 centimeters around. When wearing sunglasses, he looked frightening enough that even back-alley gang members would move out of his way, but he did not actually want any of that in the slightest.

Athletics were not his strongpoint.

He did not like horror movies or tests of courage.

He was utterly bewildered as to why he had lasted so long in the bodyguard business, but every time he asked, the VIPs would laugh and say it was because of what a good person he was. For that reason, he had yet to solve the mystery.

“Honestly. What a pain.”

His glove-like palm held a small handwritten note and he nervously checked it again and again.

Simply put, it was a prescription.

UN Under-Secretary-General Thomas Albert Jr., the one Michael had been hired to guard, had handed this secret note to this man he knew he could trust.

There was a tacit understanding that there could be no worries about the physical or mental state of anyone involved in politics or the administration, but this was a bit different than that.

This was about the differences between nations.

It was easier to get prescriptions drugs in America than in Japan. Doctors would prescribe painkillers and sleeping pills for people to take every day like they were Vitamin B, Vitamin C, or other supplements. They officially had migraines, insomnia, or some other ailment, but it had actually become a habit. They were taking them because they did not feel right without them, not because there was anything wrong with their bodies.

And some drugs that could be prescribed in great quantities with a single signature from one’s attending physician in America were unobtainable in Japan because they were considered too potent. And just for reference, the lethal dose of drugs was based on the subject’s body weight. When the size of the average Japanese person was compared to the average Westerner, that deviation in standards was not too surprising.

There was no point in arguing who was right. It was simply a difference between nations.

“But what am I supposed to do? Is this really right? I hope this will turn out okay. …They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do, so I don’t think we should be making waves if we can avoid it.”

Michael Lucas was muttering to himself because he could not contain it inside. He was generally a timid person. It was so bad that he had been momentarily tempted to go confess it all when he had seen a church within the city of Hakone. However, he had just barely restrained himself. An important G20 summit meeting was underway, so not letting the Under-Secretary-General focus could spread unnecessary chaos through the United States and even the entire world. Or so he told himself.

It was already night, so the hospital’s outpatient reception desk and the pharmacy built adjacent to the hospital were both closed. Also, he was unlikely to find the painkiller on the note at those places.

Michael instead made his way to a large drugstore that stayed open late into the night.

However, the product in question was not stocked on its shelves. He walked straight up to the register of that store filled with bright fluorescent lights and he hesitantly spoke to the bored-looking clerk.

“Excuse me.”

“Ee!? M-may I help you?”

“Don’t worry. You can speak Japanese.”

It really did depress Michael a little how scared the clerk was, but he did not let it show. This was always how it had been. Before entering junior high, he had already reached 180 centimeters. Not only had the neighborhood kids looked at him in fear, but their parents had as well.

The young clerk made his way into the back of the store and returned with a cardboard box big enough to hold a soccer ball. The side of the box had the logo of an online store familiar even in Michael’s home country.

Once the ban on selling drugs online had been lifted, the stores had quickly branched out into a number of services. This was one of those. Instead of having the package sent to one’s home, it could be picked up at a local store. When ordering athlete’s foot medication, hair growth medicine, erectile dysfunction medication, emergency contraceptives, and other products one might want a secret, this service left as few ties to the receiver as possible. Not even family members would know.

When ordering from a foreign company, the hurdles to reaching their products could become unclear.

“Um, this should be it. The product name is ‘pills’. Yeah, as usual, that’s a pretty broad category.”

“This is what you call an embarrassing errand. You should have picked up on that when I offered to pay with cash instead of a card.”

“O-oh, um! I was not trying to pry. That will be five thousand yen. That includes the tax. Um, hm… How do you say that in English?”

“I understood you.”

Michael handed over the money, took the box, and felt a pleasantly cool sensation on his glove-like palms. The box must have been stored in a refrigerator.

The large store’s exit seemed quite far away, but it did not actually take more than twenty seconds to reach it. After exiting the automatic glass door and stepping onto the parking lot, he finally let out a sigh.

“Should this really be so easy? Even cold and headache medicines are made by gathering just the drug components using a handmade centrifuge.”

“You’re right. But thanks to this, I managed to capture you.”

He did not catch even a glimpse of the speaker.

An instant later, his vision blurred, he fell to the side, and at the very, very end, dull pain spread through his head.

Part 15

Mai-san took a small cardboard box and a cell phone from the large black man collapsed in the drugstore parking lot.

Tremble tremble.

I did not particularly like the asphalt parking lot, but the pressure in my stomach made me forget all about that uncomfortableness.

“H-how… How did you pull that off so well?”

“Is it really that strange? It’s already night, so the hospital, pharmacies, and PO boxes are all closed. They can’t exactly have a bike courier carry it directly to the inn because of all the media presence. That leaves an online purchase shipped to a drugstore as the most likely option. They can arrive as soon as three hours after you make the click.”

“B-but this is a national chain. There are tons of the exact same chain in the city portion of Hakone.”

“Even with convenience stores on the same street, some will thrive and some will go under. With the summit meeting underway, a look at the security report will tell you where people gather. And they’re sure to have their package sent to the store that stands out the least and that is farthest away from the crowds.”

I glanced around the asphalt and my gaze stopped on the muscular bodyguard.

I want to believe I’m wrong, but…

“Why do you look so worried, Sunekosuri-chan?”

“Eh? W-well…”

“Don’t worry. Even I won’t kill people who I don’t have to. The biggest problem isn’t the people with flashy combat skills or great influence. It’s the honest citizen of a small town that everyone loves. Kill them without thinking and the people afflicted by the ‘kind noise’ will never leave you alone. I’d rather not deal with that.”

I followed Mai-san toward the rental car and she used the swiped cellphone to call someone.

“Hello, hello. Good evening. Yeah, a direct line is a wonderful thing. Oh, you’d be better off not tracing or recording the call. That would only be wrapping the noose around your own neck.”

“…”

“The bodyguard you sent out on a secret mission has failed. I have the package, so what will you do? I plan to deliver these painkillers you gulp down like mint tablets, so make sure your back door is unlocked.”

“…”

“If you’d rather I didn’t, that’s fine too. I’ll just take out the next person you send out. But how are you going to survive that migraine? You might be suffering all night long.”

With that said, Mai-san ended the call and dropped the phone to her feet. After crushing it underfoot, she winked at me.

“The negotiations are complete. Let’s go for a direct delivery☆”

Part 16

“What? How can you call this cloudy!? Look, the bright full moon is right-… No, wait a second. Don’t tell me…!!”

“The Pon Poko Pon floats in the night sky.”

“Y-you’re kidding. That…that guy isn’t the full moon!! That’s…!?”

“A wonderful stomach that can be mistaken for a perfectly round moon. …I cut down evil to protect good! I am Samurai Pon Poko!!”

Mai-san and I made our way to Ennetsu Village, one of the several Intellectual Villages newly created from a piece of Hakone. The American UN Under-Secretary-General Thomas Albert Jr. was staying in the high-class inn there.

Thomas-san was a well-built old white man. He must have just taken a bath because he wore a yukata supplied by the inn and was watching a period drama on TV with a sake bottle in one hand. He might have been a Japanophile, so I hoped this crazy incident did not change his impression of the country too much.

Mai-san held the small cardboard box and her eyes opened wide when she glanced at the TV.

“Huh? They’re showing Samurai Pon Poko here too? Personally, I prefer Kokkuri-san Conquers!! That’s the one about the adventures of a fox, dog, and tanuki traveling around the country and reforming the world! The tanuki was especially nice.”

“Mh. What’s so great about a tanuki? Those fat Youkai just sit around drinking all the time.”

“Heh he heh. Sunekosuri, are you jealous?”

“Jealous? Of what?”

“Chomp☆”

Bfohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?

She suddenly picked me up and then went straight for the face! Not the nose and not the jaw. She bit my entire protruding face!

“G-geh!! Cough cough!! Wh-what are you doing!?”

“You were just so cute I couldn’t help but give you a stimulating kiss.”

“I thought you were going to bite my entire face off! Like in a tomato ad!!”

I heard someone clear their throat and Thomas-san interrupted our conversation as if slipping a thin blade between us.

“Why are you here?”

“Here, we have a present for spoiled littler Junior. …But are you sure? These are a lot stronger than some illegal herbs.”

“This is an issue of the system. These are treated like cough drops in my country.”

“So what control system do you use?”

“What?”

“Which Western system for drawing out the power of the inhuman do you use? Rusalka? Nixie? I’m not a specialist in this, but I detect a feminine scent of death. But if you can’t keep the spirit’s fatalness from leaking out, you’re not going to successfully harness their inhuman power. In fact, you’ll end up losing your own life.”

“Leannán Sídhe.”

“Out of all the options, you had to choose the one that defaults to taking your life force in exchange for her ability. I can see why you need such harsh painkillers.”

“But this is necessary. Three years ago, we sent a large number of container plant factories to central Africa as humanitarian aid. The large boxes were decorated with ribbons and had a message card attached. When combined with solar power, those plant factories could be harvested more than twenty times a year, so they should have resolved the rampant food shortages there. However, they are showing no sign of recovery due to an unexpected turn of events.”

“A local criminal group took over and turned them into narcotics factories?”

“Fully-enclosed plant factories can be hidden inside or underground, so not even satellite photographs are any use. If they are not found immediately, the entire area’s development could be set back thirty years. I need to locate them even if it means taking inspiration that exceeds the human realm. So…”

In a country where prescriptions for large amounts of drugs were normal, even severe symptoms could be hidden. In that case, the price of protecting something had likely left his body in a terrible state.

“What did you gain from going that far?”

“My dream, I suppose. I did reach that dream, but I had lost everything else by the time I did.”

Mai-san gave a bored sigh, brushed a hand through her bangs, and spat out an annoyed word.

“Caladrius.”

“What?”

“That is the name of a German medical society. They are researching the use of a fairy by the same name that looks like a small bird. It heals the patient by absorbing the illness filling their body, which makes it the natural enemy of a certain gloomy bastard I know. Use your connections to their fullest to look into it. If you’re lucky, you might be able to turn your life around.”

The old man in a yukata fell silent for a while.

But finally…

“Fine then. I will forgive your impoliteness to make us even. I saw nothing tonight.”

“Why thank you.”

“But your goal wasn’t to interfere in an old man’s business, was it? Why are you even here?”

Mai-san gave a quick shrug.

“Sorry, but I have no interest in you yourself. But that also means I won’t harm you. I didn’t kill the macho bodyguard you sent out on an errand either. I hope you can accept that on good faith.”

“Then…”

“Shh. You’ll know soon enough. Although you might be better off not knowing.”

Just as she pressed her index finger against her lips, the room’s phone emitted a simple ring. Thomas-san reached for the receiver out of habit, but she snatched it before he could.

“Hi there. Are you starting to sweat yet? Has it been over a decade since you’ve felt this way?”

“Who would go that far? This is a UN representative and someone supported by the United States. Do you have any idea how much a single scratch on him could harm our national interests? This could even affect our national security.”

“And that’s why you called directly instead of using an agent or negotiator. Isn’t that right, Udou Itsuki of the Western Restaurant that runs Japan? I’m thankful you were willing to spare some time for a single freelance agent who lurks in the back alleys.”

“Let us get to the issue at hand.”

“I want to know the whole picture. To be blunt, I hadn’t touched on anything related to the criminal plan using an Aburatori Package, so why did you try to take my life by making that false news report a reality?”

“Why do I have to answer you?”

“Are you sure you should be saying that? You assembled that in the separate-style, didn’t you?”

“Well…”

“Have you forgotten? The separate-style alters the breakup of a single Youkai’s symbolism to run multiple Packages at the same time. It’s a convenient system that lets you concentrate your efforts and immediately cut off the supply of power if someone betrays you, but it also means every Package is linked back to that single core.”

“…”

“I’ve already come into contact with a few paranormal incidents related to your Aburatori, so I have the opening needed to reach that core. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but if you keep this up, I’ll go destroy the core.”

Straining my ears was enough to just barely hear a sigh come from the phone.

“What do you know about the Aburatori?”

“It is a deadly variety that specializes in killing children,” replied Mai-san. “It’s a new one that appeared in the mountain villages of Tohoku during the Meiji period. It sneaks in dressed as a farmer, secretly abducts the village’s children, takes out their organs, and cooks them to take the oil. It’s an easy one to use for offensive Packages, but it must be hard to control.”

“Pathetic. Did you study using children’s picture books?”

This may have been Udou Itsuki’s true character.

Or perhaps he put on an act of extreme mental superiority to eliminate his anxiety.

“The greatest trait of the Aburatori is its relative lack of a historical background,” said the voice on the phone. “Youkai can be called paranormal phenomena with wills of their own that have been sharply honed after a natural selection process lasting hundreds or even thousands of years. Some of them are even referred to as gods that fell into ruin after no one worshiped them. But…”

“The Aburatori is a newcomer that suddenly appeared during the Meiji period. In only just over a century, it has transformed into a major Youkai standing alongside the all-stars. Almost as if it took the stairs three at a time. Is that what you focused on?”

“Our hope was to speed up the process at which legends mature,” bluntly explained Udou Itsuki. “How much can the modern Japanese tell you about the gods? Can they name even ten gods from Japanese mythology off the top of their heads? And I mean without checking the internet and acting like they knew it.”

“Can’t we let the history textbooks take care of that?”

“Religion is untouchable. That is the unwritten rule of this nation. And yet they still pray when they’re having trouble and feel a certain spirituality in all things. …It’s all too vague. They call themselves atheists, yet they have a general fear of areas said to have spiritual or mystical power. And at the same time, they do not follow any strict doctrines or traditions. Their belief is fragile. That is why the threat of criminal Packages is so rampant. This country is far too powerless when it comes to the supernatural. Packages may be the only threat at the moment, but in the not-too-distant future a much larger calamity will swallow up the country because of this.”

That was why he wanted “something” to renew the country’s view of religion.

That was why he had focused on the Aburatori that had quickly reached the level of the more historical Youkai.

That was why he had tried to use such a deadly being that brought nothing but fear and death.

“Ha ha!!”

And yet Mai-san gave a laugh as if mocking a just cause.

“You wanted a religious boost for the imprudent younger generation? Don’t make me laugh. What you’re doing is no different from using the name of a famous noble to have an easier time catching people in a scam. What exactly are you trying to artificially increase and spread throughout the country? It’s probably some nasty ideology that would never spread under normal circumstances. Something that would create an era of insanity but send a massive fortune your way.”

“Say whatever you want. We…”

“Also, you aren’t really thinking about Japan in all this, are you?”

It seemed like all sound had vanished from the world.

That was just how much Mai-san’s words had torn into the situation.

“It is true Japan is a crazy enough country for videos of ghosts and spiritual entertainers to have real influence, but that doesn’t mean everyone in the country has a complex about the occult. Even if they don’t know much about Shinto or Buddhism, they’re still proud just knowing those things have a history of more than a millennium. This country doesn’t need the kind of system you’re talking about. No matter how much effort you put into making this ‘new product’, no one is going to give it a second glance.”

“…”

“In that case, are you perhaps focused on exporting the paranormal? Did someone from the G20 come to make business negotiations with you here in Hakone? Some of them are probably very interested in that kind of thing.”

She glanced toward the corner of the room where the UN Under-Secretary-General sat in a legless chair.

“For example, America. Their country was founded a mere three hundred years ago. They may be a religious nation that uses the Bible during trials and the president’s oath of office, but they also top the world when it comes to handgun suicides. They wouldn’t want that transforming into random shootings or group suicides. What is it that is shaking their citizens’ hearts? How can they stop it? If they only had a system to forcibly mature a solid historical background to tell them everything would be fine, they could stop that shaking of their hearts. It seems to me that would establish the needed supply and demand to export there.”

“Ending the chaos in America is important for our own country as well. No matter what excuses people make, it is a fact that we are relying on them. It is a problem when your partner trips in a three-legged race, isn’t it? So to help them…”

“How many people have died for this? There must have been quite a few failed test runs before you successfully won over what is an especially horrid Youkai even among the deadly ones. And where were those lost lives born?”

“You have no right to say that after laying a hand on your own brethren with a smile on your face!! We are doing everything we can to solve these problems while focusing five to ten years down the line. We are focusing on the future! We are nothing like a Hishigami that kills people without reason for her present convenience!! Do you think we sacrificed our own nation’s citizens because we wanted to!?”

“I hope your fellow Japanese citizens will accept your excuse. What will it be? We were afraid our allied nation in the three-legged race would betray us, so we exported a Package with a backdoor to create an environment where we have a way of manipulating the public opinion of the American people?”

“Wh-… You!?”

“Ha ha ha. You want to know why I suddenly brought up a backdoor? Because I know you would do that. This isn’t about evidence to submit for a police investigation or trial. We both live in a world where no proof is needed. But are you sure that’s a good idea? If this is found out, both Japan and America will string you up like a bat in a picture book. You’ll probably be kicked out of the Western Restaurant too.”

“This is why I wanted nothing to do with a wild beast like you.”

That comment sounded like a groan and like a curse.

The low voice seemed to ooze out of the phone and into the room.

“No matter how much the information is restricted or cut off, you fill in the gaps with incomprehensible logic that only makes sense to you. You say what you would have done, but that’s enough to find the right answer and you attack at that weak point! Media control and destruction of evidence is powerless against a madwoman’s inspiration!!”

“Why thank you. My job doesn’t give me enough time to slowly search through a massive amount of information. In the end, it’s the ‘nose of the beast’ that finds the answer. And if you can’t believe that, you probably won’t last long.”

Mai-san’s expression remained unchanged.

She maintained a relaxed smile from beginning to end.

“More importantly, you have this backwards. You were the one that attacked first with that emergency news report. You can try to hit me as much as you want, but don’t be so selfish as to beg me not to hit back.”

“What are you talking about? We know that you were investigating us!”

“…”

“And either way, you would have picked up on the project somewhere once it began to advance. As I said, we were looking to the future. It could not hurt to take you out early. Even if the news method failed, we will definitely kill-…”

“Sigh.”

It was as if a switch had suddenly been thrown.

Mai-san gave an icy sigh. It contained the same overwhelming disappointment as a long-married couple rejecting all their nostalgic memories and resolving themselves to break up.

“That’s enough. I understand most of it now. I had my suspicions, but that settled it. Sorry about interrupting your excitement, but I have no more business with you.”

“What!?”

“I mean, you’re supposed to be Udou Itsuki, right? You belong to the Master of the Restaurant that controls Japan from Akasaka in the east and Gion in the west. …If that was really who you were, you would not be so sloppy. You may be under the impression you are speaking logically, but you are clearly speaking from emotion. And that got the better of you.”

She sounded listless.

Her voice contained no hint of respect or caution.

“And you have completely mistaken where the problem lies. The biggest threat is not Hishigami Mai, the lone wolf. It’s the UN Under-Secretary-General listening in from the side, right? He’s an American citizen, so he’s the last person you want learning you’re exporting a Package with a backdoor installed. If you had any sense, your first priority would be figuring out how to naturally eliminate a well-known individual. Of course, pulling off a natural assassination swiftly and quietly at this point would be impossible for almost anyone but a Hishigami woman.”

For a while, no response came from the phone.

However, I could hear an odd sound that was not quite moaning and not quite muttering to oneself.

Mai-san continued while sounding truly fed up with all of this.

“That’s enough to leave your mind blank? …That’s it. I get it, so just transfer me to your boss. Talking with a little boy like you isn’t going to get me anywhere.”

“Th-there is no one higher than me! Ha ha. You seem to have misread that at least. Your cleverness seems to have crossed a line and turned into a victim complex!! In other words…!!”

“And Udou Itsuki may have a lot of ‘power’, but that’s in reference to the political power balance. Direct confrontations using the occult are outside his field of expertise. The brain of the operation must be somewhere near you. …When did you realize they were simply flattering you? They lured you past the point of no return and then used you as a puppet, didn’t they? ‘They’ being the true leader and brains of the operation who respectfully bows down to you.”

“Wh-what?”

“Wait. Did you seriously not catch on? Wow. I did not expect that level of incompetence. But in that case… Hmm. You would have to know that at least, right? But then, if you really are that incompetent…it’s possible.”

“What!? What are you hiding!?”

“Well,” said Mai-san with a thin smile. “Are you aware you’re only Udou Itsuki’s body double?”

“What?”

This time, the phone truly did grow silent as if it had been swallowed up by a void.

After several seconds, something finally happened.

However, it was not Udou Itsuki speaking.

It was a loud gunshot and the sound of something heavy collapsing to the ground.

“This is hopeless.”

After a pause, I heard a young female voice that was clearly different from the previous man.

Who is this?

“Completely hopeless. I thought an idiot would be easier to control, but they end up tripping you up when they’re that stupid. In a way, this was a good lesson.”

“Oh, so are you the brains? But why did you work with the body double? You could have dealt with the real Udou Itsuki.”

“Are you an idiot too? What's wrong with this country? The real one is too strictly guarded to get anywhere close. But the body double is given a portion of the Restaurant’s authority so no one can tell they aren’t the real one and that portion was enough for me.”

“You mean for assembling the Aburatori Packages?”

“You really are an idiot. Or am I just too brilliant? The Aburatori was nothing more than bait to lure in the body double.”

“Yeah, despite claiming to look to the future, everything he said was way off the mark. Almost like someone was guiding him.”

“I always thought the biggest villain of Snow White was the mirror of truth. Much like an Ungaikyou,” said the annoyed voice. “By the way, my target is you, Hishigami Mai.”

“I don’t recall doing anything to leave a grudge.”

“I’m not going to kill anyone for something like that. Are you stupid?”

“Then why?”

“Because this is a small industry. I can tell that we would collide somewhere around the project after the project after my next if I do not take care of you now. And so I will kill you for the sake of the future. Clever, isn’t it?”

She was not killing Mai-san because she had gotten in her way.

She was killing her because she would probably get in her way eventually.

And to do so, she was willing to deceive anyone and drag anyone into this. Succeeding would make her a murderer and failing would make her a murder victim. She had flung herself into that hopeless abyss for what might be an imagined dream.

“Oh, so pretty much what I usually do,” replied Mai-san.

“Please do not compare me to an idiot like you. You only just thought that up, didn’t you?”

They sounded like they were simply chatting.

To Mai-san, that may have been fairly accurate. But this person was intent on killing Mai-san for her own safety, so how did she see the ferocious Hishigami Mai who would press onwards and break through any and all barriers?

The two agents continued on while paying me no heed.

“But my plan will continue even if this idiot of a body double is dead. Don’t think you will survive to see the dawn.”

I heard a strange sound resembling a laugh.

It came from Mai-san’s throat.

“No, no. That isn’t enough.”

“What? Don’t tell me you’re so stupid you think you’ll awaken to some special power if you’re cornered. Approaching the truth of the situation isn’t going to change anything. You are always being chased within this industry and I will slip through those gaps to kill you. Learning the truth only resolves the problem in cheap mysteries. That won’t work in reality.”

“Hah hah. I think I’ll throw those words right back at you☆”

Mai-san immediately replied in an obviously mocking tone.

One of her most frightening traits was her tendency to grow disrespectful instead of shouting angrily.

“In this world, whatever happens happens. You don’t say that things happen no matter what. You say that whatever happens happens. Do you get the difference? One of them includes a human will trying to change it and the other does not.”

Her voice was icily cold and yet she continued to give a smile of true enjoyment.

“You seem to be trying to hammer down the tallest nail as a logical way of ensuring your victory, but in my experience, logic backs off if you truly, truly force your desired result through. That’s why your emergency news didn’t reach me despite supposedly being a surefire method. You could also call that the essence of the Hishigami women. And afterwards, the people around us clean everything up. The people who realize the disaster would reach them as well if they did not contain it will automatically head in and clean up after us.”

“I see. And are you saying their numbers and influence is greater than that of the people I have set in motion? Are you viewing this as an election that counts the negative votes of fear and violence?”

“You don’t stand a chance if you think this will turn into anything like a proper election. My method is to smash the ballot box and stuff in billions of forged votes to turn everything my way.”

She seemed to be utterly, utterly enjoying herself.

Her expression was filled with the hostility of a beast tormenting its captured prey.

But at the same time, the person on the phone may have had the exact same expression.

“You didn’t make it that far,” said Mai-san. “You stayed inside the framework and gathered logical violence that can be understood in a normal sense. That’s too bad. Things are a lot easier if you break free of that framework and it isn’t often I see someone crawl their way up this high in our industry. It really boggles the mind why people become slaves to the rules here despite having fallen into these back alleys of the world because they couldn’t stand following the rules.”

“I tried to hear you out, but that’s nothing but the logic of a fool. Are you perhaps the kind of person who thinks wars can be won by trying harder? If so, that’s pretty sad. Real fights to the death are decided by numbers. If you could raise an individual’s value so easily, any of the six or seven billion people on the earth could become a historical emperor. And the human race would have been wiped out a long time ago.”

When both sides spoke with no intention of gaining mutual understanding, could it really be called a conversation?

They both produced an avalanche of words to crush the other and they were both just about equal. It felt like proof that they were standing on the same field.

And yet I was unsure how many people or even Youkai could stand up to this monster without being “swallowed up”.

“While we’re at it, how about giving me your name?” asked Mai-san. “That would make this more exciting.”

“Are you stupid? I’m going to lie in wait and kill you instead.”

The call ended there.

It ended as easily as a phone call between friends who called each other all the time.

Mai-san shrugged and tossed the receiver onto the landline’s hook.

“Let’s go, Sunekosuri. From here on, it’s a race against time.”

“Eh? Eh? Do you mean you’re going to fight that agent one-on-one?”

My honest question brought a troubled look to her face.

It seemed to say “Oh, I found an actual idiot.”

“No. That is definitely not going to happen.”

Liked it? Take a second to support Novels on Patreon!