The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village

Chapter 12

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An unmanned train station was surrounded by tranquil rural scenery.

The platform had no roof, a few clumps of zebra gra.s.s grew on the gravel road, and that gra.s.s blew in the cool autumn wind. The sky was a clear blue and a great number of dragonflies filled it.

A man in a suit sat alone on a bench that had long gone unused. He was on the border between middle-aged and elderly, yet he was quite muscular.

No train was coming.

The station had originally had fewer than ten trains stop by in a day and the line had been closed over half a year earlier. Much to their annoyance, those who had used the line were forced to use the less-convenient community bus. They complained, but the level of convenience brought by the trains was still something they could let go if they had to. And as time went on, the station went from being "unmanned" to being "abandoned".

The man had chosen to sit here because he loved the scenery.

He held a chilled can of beer and a bucket filled with lots of ice and cans sat at his feet.

"h.e.l.lo," he said out of the blue.

Someone else had appeared on that closed station that should have been forgotten by everyone.

A woman wearing the ridiculously revealing outfit of a tank top and hot pants had arrived at some point.

Her name was Hishigami Mai.

Hers was a well-known name within a certain small industry.

"Sit down," said the man while glancing over at Mai with beer in hand. "The scenery from here is wonderful. All those Intellectual Villages are remaking the rural areas into theme parks, so this truly natural j.a.panese scenery is dying out."

"Do you always do this?"

"No, this is a recent thing. Something led me to start reflecting on life."

Hishigami Mai sat next to the man while listening to him.

The paint was coming off the wooden bench that creaked under their weight.

The man spoke quickly while looking up at the dragonflies moving freely through the sky.

"I have cancer. The doctor said I had three months to live, but that was two years ago. I could die at any moment, but I"ve gotten sick of being driven by fear. If I could die tomorrow, I want to live with no regrets. This helped me rethink some things."

"And that"s what led to this?"

With some exasperation on her face, Mai looked around the area once more.

She saw a rural unmanned train station. A few clumps of zebra gra.s.s grew on the gravel road, that gra.s.s blew in the cool autumn wind, and the sky was filled with a great number of dragonflies.

However…

That scenery was covered in enough red to completely overturn that impression.

A quick glance at the clumps of flesh lying around was enough to know that more than twenty men had been killed instantly.

"They said they were going to develop this land," bluntly stated the man after taking a sip of his beer. "Is this what you call the end of an era? j.a.pan"s rural areas are constantly pressured to either join the Intellectual Villages or develop into a regional city. And it"s all because these idiots are trying to increase the value of the land without knowing the difference between the real thing and a fake. So I invited them out here and killed them."

A long, narrow object lay on the man"s lap.

It looked like a sword inside a simple scabbard, but it technically was not. It was bamboo whittled down to look like a sword.

It was a deadly weapon.

Just as a bamboo leaf or book page could cut one"s finger, even a bamboo sword could kill if the angle and speed were properly calculated out. This man was skilled enough in the art of swordplay to easily cut through someone"s neck or torso with it. Due to how light the blade was compared to one of metal, the man was said to be able to strike five times in the span of a single breath. That allowed him to ignore the fact that this weapon could not block an opponent"s attack.

Also, the bamboo needed to make the sword could be easily acquired at any part of the archipelago except for Hokkaido. Even if it broke, he could acquire another as long as he had a knife. There was a danger of a piece of the bamboo remaining in the corpse"s wound, but bamboo swords could be burned. If he burned the murder weapon after each job and acquired a new one, a plant DNA test was not a problem. Even if they had clear evidence, it was useless without anything to compare it to.

The ease of acquiring the weapon also helped him bring a murder weapon into cordoned-off or closely-monitored areas. For that matter, having a bamboo sword found during an inspection or police questioning was not a problem. They could even be carried on airplanes.

It was truly the tool of a professional.

"C"mon, now. Surely you"ve realized that the reason for killing doesn"t really matter." Mai sounded bored. "You"re the type of person that can only live while fighting. You wish to fight and only then do you start searching for a reason to fight. This business with the real scenery and concrete land development didn"t really matter."

"It"s not even that innocent." The man smiled while swishing around the little bit of beer left in the can. "I"m a professional. All of my jobs were complete s.h.i.t, but I have pride in my skill. I just can"t stand that it will be disease that kills me. I can"t bear a quiet death. As a professional, I want a formidable enemy"s blade to finish me. I thought someone would eventually come for me if I went on a bit of a rampage. I kept doing it, but I"ve somehow managed to live this long. I"m from an older generation, so I will say a woman a.s.sa.s.sin was a bit unexpected. But I guess that"s another sign of the changing times."

"Whatever your reasons, you did a good job killing that many people. Even the higher ups of Hyakki Yakou aren"t sure what to do. If you"d taken official jobs, you"d probably be given an award or a trophy or something, but skipping that process means you have to be executed."

"Ha ha. I forgot to mention it, but while I"m a professional, I also have pride in never working for anyone else. I wouldn"t have accepted those jobs even if you"d asked."

He took one last swig of beer, shook the can to make sure it was empty, and easily crushed it in one hand.

"So, miss, I"ve forgotten if this is the fortieth or fiftieth time, but I"ll ask you the same thing I"ve asked so many times before: will you watch over this man"s final moments?"

"Sure."

Hishigami Mai readily agreed.

She spoke with the lightness of a child promising to play with a friend that weekend.

However, this promise concerned a true fight to the death between professionals.

"But it"s already over."

The man"s shoulders shook as he sat in the bench.

He suddenly realized he did not even have the strength to stand.

Completely dumbfounded, only his lips moved.

"When did you stab me?"

"Far earlier than you are probably thinking."

Mai shrugged while sitting next to him.

Something stood straight out from between the man"s neck and collarbone. It was a needle as long as a human"s index finger and it was stabbed all the way to the base.

"A killer needle," he said with a smile. "How much work did it take you to reach this moment?"

"It took seventy-two hours from the moment I took the job to the moment I could envision your corpse. It was not as powerful a dream as love, but you could perhaps call it a longing."

Mai also smiled thinly.

"I don"t like using special weapons because disguising it as an accident or suicide is safer, but I decided to show some respect to someone who has been in this business longer than me. What do you think?"

"You did well. These days, you don"t often see people kill with a needle that isn"t covered in poison or anesthetic. Also, you placed the tip right in front of the vital point so my own muscles would push it in when I tensed them. It"s a lot like serving a still-moving fish."

Satisfied, the man leaned back in the bench and slowly closed his eyes.

He looked like he was savoring the moment as he spoke.

"It"s been a while since I last saw the real deal. I can"t help but be satisfied after receiving this kind of treatment."

"I would like to ask one thing."

Hishigami Mai sounded perfectly casual as she looked up into the rural sky.

"You are a legend in this small industry, so how did you fall this far? If you had wanted to, you could have suppressed the fear of cancer."

"Like I said, that was just what started it," he replied slowly with his eyes closed. "People like us are invincible while we race forward without turning back. But there are moments when we want to look back. That is a mere temptation. It is the fingertips of the grim reaper stroking down our spine. I knew that. I really did."

"But your deadly disease gave you one last push in that direction?"

"I turned back and saw the path I"d walked down. I also saw what I had gained from it all. …I will not say what it was I saw there, but I want to die in battle. After all, I would prefer not to die along with my enemy."

Those were his final words.

His arm dangled down while still holding the crushed can.

He remained leaning back in the bench, but his head drooped forward. He almost looked like he had dozed off.

A legend had come to its end.

"I know what you saw," muttered Mai now that she was alone. "You saw nothing, didn"t you? After countless fights to the death, you a.s.sumed you had gained so much, but when you turned back, there was nothing there. But it was your own weakness that made you despair at that."

Or perhaps this man had been the same.

He may have told himself over and over again that he understood that.

He may have been afraid of truly understanding it and had simply pretended that he did.

"It"s over."

Hishigami Mai pulled out a large satellite phone and called someone.

She looked to the dead man who seemed to be sleeping next to her and the countless corpses he had scattered around.

"This was an official job, so I can leave the cleanup to you, right? Right, right. I"ll leave all this here and head back. I"d like my payment right away. …But this one might be a little tricky."

The term Sunekosuri referred to small canine Youkai like me. We were about thirty centimeters tall and may have somewhat resembled a toy shiba inu. We had no scary traits that would lead to someone"s death. Instead, we had long been famous for rubbing up against traveler"s shins. Hence why we"re known as Sunekosuri or "shin rubbers".

I was something like a mascot character with nothing dangerous in my appearance or traits.

Nevertheless, I belonged to Hyakki Yakou, a giant underworld organization that would scare even a crying child into silence.

"Yes, yes. Outta the way, outta the way. I won"t stop you from wasting the organization"s money with your existence, but at least stay out of the way of the other Youkai. Do you really think you"re worth causing even the slightest delay for me, the one known as the queen of the Mamedanuki world?"

"Mh!"

How can you say that when you"re even shorter than me!?

"You"re not doing anything either! You just sit around smoking day in and day out. And how can you call yourself a queen with those things swaying down between your legs!?"

"Don"t you dare go there, you fool!! A Mamedanuki transforms by spreading their s.c.r.o.t.u.m, so I can"t help it, now can I!? Also, I work as the lady"s body double, so it"s for the best if I have nothing to do!!"

"Call her Hafuri-sama! Don"t refer to the head of Hyakki Yakou as "the lady"!!"

"What was that? You wanna fight!?"

"Why you…!!"

The Mamedanuki and I got into a scuffle as usual. To others, it might have looked like a fluffy ball rolling around, but for us, it was a serious battle.

But then someone else arrived.

Instead of more Youkai, it was two humans.

"What"s this? What"s this? Some cute things are playing around. Let me join!"

One was Hishigami Mai. Using human standards, she had a nice body. However, she was a freelance agent that did not actually belong to Hyakki Yakou and she specialized in killing. In her field, it was said that simply meeting her meant your death.

"What are you two fighting about?"

The other was Hafuri-sama. As I had said, she was the head of Hyakki Yakou. The kimono-wearing girl was only about ten, but Hyakki Yakou emphasized bloodline.

The Mamedanuki and I quickly jumped back from each other.

"Ah, Hafuri-sama!"

"Milady, um, you see…!!"

As soon as the two of us spoke up, we glared at each other again.

"I told you to call her Hafuri-sama!!"

"Why are you being so distant!? You aren"t going to double-cross her the second you run into trouble, are you!?"

Sparks flew between us, Mai-san laughed uproariously, and Hafuri-sama brought a hand to her forehead and sighed.

I then noticed a Youkai leaning against Hafuri-sama"s small leg.

It looked a lot like a five centimeter stuffed animal.

"Daddy, what"re you doing?"

"Hm?" Mai-san stiffened a bit. "Don"t tell me you"re a dad! When you look like that!?"

"I-I don"t have to explain anything to you."

"And look how cute he is! I want to stick a fastener on his b.u.t.t and make a cellphone strap out of him!!"

"I"ll do whatever you ask! Just stay away from my kid! It scares me that I could actually see you doing it!!"

Dammit. She specializes in sabotage, so she spotted my weakness right away!

Mai-san grinned with great interest, so I averted my gaze and spoke half in desperation.

"L-laugh if you want, but the reason I gave up my peaceful life for this kind of work was to find my wife who vanished one day!!"

"What kind of hardboiled motivation is that!? It doesn"t match your appearance at all!!"

Hishigami Mai-san and I were work partners on a provisional basis.

And that meant I was along on underworld business worthy of the name Hyakki Yakou.

"The G20 summit meeting sounds like some terribly formal event, but doesn"t it feel more close to home when you hear it"s happening at Hakone? The cabinet members of the various foreign nations were insistent on holding the meeting at a j.a.panese hot spring town."

Inside a soba restaurant near the train station at the entrance of Hakone, the elderly and clearly bored restaurant owner watched the TV. The place was almost deserted despite it being lunchtime, but he didn"t seem to care much.

As a Youkai, I did not much like concrete or precision equipment, but this was little enough that I could still bear it. That may have been because the city was deep in the forest and the mountains. Mai-san was slurping up a combination of cheap kitsune and tanuki soba and I asked a question while rubbing up against her shin.

"Don"t you find this mission strange? Why would they ask you to wait in Hakone until further orders?"

"Hm? Well, they might need to locate the target before sending me in to attack. That G20 meeting is going on, right? They wouldn"t succeed in a.s.sa.s.sinating a cabinet member, but some dangerous person might show up all the same. I can use this chance to earn some points by capturing some idiot who would normally vanish without a trace."

"I-I see."

"But they really chose a complicated place for an international meeting. That might be part of the trap to lure in that supposed idiot."

"Hakone is divided between a few Intellectual Villages that are primarily hot spring towns and a regional city that supports the infrastructure. We"re in that city. A long time ago, it was common to combine cities, towns, and villages. Nowadays, they actually divide them up further to help push their own brand name."

"And how is that complicated?"

"The Intellectual Villages thoroughly reproduce people"s image of rural j.a.pan and make a brand name out of it, but that means they can"t make department stores or shopping malls. They have to use online stores to shop and that leads to hubs for electric trucks being built in a donut around the Intellectual Villages."

"Um, in other words, the Intellectual Villages make a lot of money but have almost no services, so they join with the regional cities that have almost no money but can supply the necessary services?"

"Officially, yes. However, it actually has ill will complexly wrapped all around it. For example, the hospitals have plenty of helicopter ambulances, but they aren"t used when a patient turns up in the regional city. After all, those helicopters are expensive, so they"ll only use them for the Intellectual Villages, even though the hospitals themselves are in the cities. …Meanwhile, the Intellectual Villages are upset that they have to bear the burden of someone else"s debt. They want to know why they have to pay such high taxes for "regional financial health"."

"So when you say complicated…"

"If some large-scale incident occurs, it"ll be heard to tell whether it was targeting the G20 or caused by the local societal conflict. And a professional would be able to slip in and hide within the hatred permeating the area. This is a giant pain in the a.s.s. If you a.s.sume someone is an a.s.sa.s.sin, you might find you attacked a local kid spray painting a protest on the wall. …Of course, the opposite can happen too."

Just as we were discussing those issues, a change came over the tone of the voice on the restaurant"s television. I looked over in confusion and found the easygoing daytime talk show had been interrupted by a news program.

Rather than a proper studio, the footage showed an editing room with tons of monitors lined up.

"Is this an emergency broadcast?" I asked.

"How should I know?"

With a G20 summit meeting in town, an emergency broadcast was no laughing matter.

I focused on the screen while a young female newscaster spoke stiffly.

"Hishigami Mai, who was visiting the city, has been found in pieces in the mountains of Hakone. The body"s injuries are severe and the police are investigating it as a possible murder or a possible wild animal attack."

It felt like time had ground to a halt.

The restaurant owner did not understand the gravity of the situation, so he still looked bored.

I looked up at Mai-san and she shrugged.

"How should I know?"

Regardless of what she said, I could tell her "scent" had changed.

That "scent" had grown much more dangerous.

"But this is strange."

"Y-yes, it is strange for a false report to be spread so widely."

"Not what I meant," she cut in. "I don"t use the name Hishigami Mai in everyday life. In fact, there is technically no birth registration under that name. In my family, the "Hishigami women" are seen as abominations. Normally, they"re killed at birth, so a Hishigami woman is one that was unleashed upon the world after somehow escaping that fate."

"So the name Hishigami Mai may exist, but it isn"t recorded anywhere. And with no records, no one can use it. If you know my name, it means you"ve taken at least one step away from the normal world. And that means…"

This was real trouble.

That was the obvious conclusion and Mai-san was the person most directly involved.

And yet she was smiling.

"Someone in the same underworld business as me is challenging me to a fight that involves the occult. If that show itself was part of a Package or some other gimmick, this might be a bit of a problem."

Beep.

"The number you are attempting to reach is not currently in use. Please double check the number and…"

Beep beep.

"Uuh!? You!? But you"re supposed to be dead! Click!!"

Beep beep beep.

"Huh? What is it, Mai-san? They"re saying on the news that you were ripped to pieces. Did you get even Enma to hate you?"

Was there really any reason to be so cautious after a single news story?

While I wondered that, Mai-san sat on the hood of the rental car and called different numbers on her large satellite phone. She had tried contacting some people who were on a similar level to herself, but they had refused to talk to her until this one that she finally got through to.

"Only the third one? That was surprisingly easy. I was sure everyone in this thing"s memory would refuse."

"That"s just how dangerous you are, Mai-san," said the man on the phone. "If someone"s willing to switch between enemy and ally if it comes down to it, you"ll definitely view them as an enemy. And I"d much rather not fight you. Not to mention that fighting isn"t my specialty."

Incidentally, we were in the parking lot of a supermarket near the Hakone train station.

But even this close to the station, the entire area wasn"t covered with asphalt and concrete. I had heard that Hakone was divided between the city portion and multiple Intellectual Villages, but it seemed everywhere had a lot of green. As a nature-loving Youkai, I wasn"t about to complain.

"Supplier, how much do you know?"

"Not much. Just that the shadow-net is going nuts over the local Hakone news that you died."

The parking lot was covered in gravel and located right next to some woods.

Mweh heh heh. Listening to this dangerous conversation is scaring me, so how about I take a nice stroll through the woods? Time to get some negative ions.

"Be careful, Mai-san. The way to deal with you includes a lot of fear and violence. From what I"ve seen online, everyone has their doubts about this, but the people you"ve been holding down might use this "fall of the queen" as their chance to act. And if they all act together, they might get a little full of themselves."

"You"re making too much out of those petty thieves, but I suppose you"re right. Oh, d.a.m.n. Do you think they"ll look through my tax haven bank accounts, my armories, or my hideouts? Well, I"ve set them up so Rank 1 is all traps or bait, Rank 2 will satisfy them, and Rank 3 and above won"t be found."

"After they pluck off the bug"s wings and legs like that, some of them might go in for the kill. I don"t know if simply killing you is the goal or if that emergency news broadcast was part of a Package that uses a Youkai to broadcast records into the past, but this isn"t an easy one to predict. It is about you, after all."

"This is going pretty far for hara.s.sing me. I guess I"ll kill them."

"Ha ha. You"d have to be an idiot to make an enemy of a monster like you. I"ll keep up my job as a supplier since a war is a great time to make money. So what do you need?"

"Isn"t your hometown Tokyo? Did you bring that huge RV to Hakone?"

"No, I didn"t go that far. But I have my "products" split up and hidden around the country. If you need something, you can use whatever you find in my Hakone warehouse. But you"ll be buying whatever you take, not renting it."

"I see." Mai-san thought for a moment. "Then can you spread a rumor that I"m on my way to that warehouse? I"ll buy up the building and everything inside."

"Thanks for your business☆"

She ended the call and pulled something long and thin from the pocket of her hot pants. It looked like a case that held a few cough drops, but…

"Okay, Sunekosuri. Let"s start by gathering weapons and equipment for this war. I really hope that news broadcast wasn"t a part of a Package, I"m sure there are two or three layers of traps laid out, and there will probably be a lot of idiots who don"t know about the job we"re on, so let"s finish our preparations while they"re all rushing toward the Supplier"s warehouse."

"Weapons?"

"Just the handgun hidden in my boot and the Deadly Dragon Princess aren"t enough. I"d like some heavier weaponry if I"m going to fight a war on my own."

"B-but where will you get it? Are you saying there"s a weapon"s shop in Hakone like in an RPG town?"

"A G20 summit is being held in Hakone right now. To prevent any possible terrorist bombings, all of the coin lockers and trunk rooms will be inspected. So what happens to the people who normally hide their dangerous things in places like that? I have a feeling they"ll be rushing to hide their stuff elsewhere."

"Y-you mean you"ll be stealing weapons from real terrorists and gangs?"

"Everyone has their own turf in the underworld, so it could cause a different sort of trouble if they tried to hide those dangerous objects out of town. That means they"ll be hiding them in the part of Hakone the police will most want to avoid. As one of j.a.pan"s leading hot spring towns, it has to have an active volcano. If we dig up the area near the crater that"s filled with sulfuric gas, we"ll find plenty of weapons and ammo packed in plastic. It"s where I"d hide them if I was them. So…"

She trailed off there.

She slowly turned her head and found an old woman wearing pitch black mourning clothes.

The smiling woman swung her arm horizontally and a surprisingly long blade shot from her sleeve with a high-pitched sound. In fact, it was long enough to qualify as a sword rather than a knife.

Mai-san, however, gave an exasperated sigh and rubbed her temple with her index finger.

"So Idiot #1 is between B-cla.s.s and C-cla.s.s, huh? Old lady, I hate to say this kind of thing, but do you really understand the situation here?"

The old woman did not respond.

She simply swung her head slightly to the side while still smiling.

And she took a slow and silent step forward.

"Did you think someone with a sword had an overwhelming advantage over an unarmed opponent and that you could win if you attacked before I could find any weapons? …If so, you were sorely mistaken."

Mai-san gently and slowly spoke as if trying to convince the woman to back down.

She lightly waved the case in her hand as she continued.

"Have you still not caught on? If you grab someone"s hair so they face upwards and open their windpipe, you can easily kill them by throwing a cough drop inside. And it"ll be treated as an accident that is barely recorded. …When people refer to the seven tools of a professional a.s.sa.s.sin, they"re referring to something like this."

"Now, let"s see if we can find them. I"m sure the weapons will be buried with a chip like the ones on the legs of endangered species, but the magnetic field around an active volcano is so unstable I"m not sure if we"ll be able to pick up that weak signal."

Thirty minutes later, Mai-san had driven the rental car to the crater of the active volcano supporting Hakone"s hot spring town. It was still within Hakone, the cabinet members and other leaders of the G20 would clearly not be approaching it for the summit, and it was dangerous to investigate due to the volcanic ga.s.ses. Mai-san successfully dug up the firearms and such that the local underground businessmen had temporarily moved there.

"Tremble tremble."

"Good, good. Just as I thought, they were buried in the spot with an obvious sign left behind. I"ve got PDWs, grenades, a semi-auto sniper rifle, and even a .50 caliber heavy machine gun. That should be plenty."

"Shake shake."

"Hm? What"s wrong, Sunekosuri? Is the car"s air conditioning on too high?"

"N-no! That isn"t it…"

Her success here meant she had easily eliminated the old woman in mourning clothes, and in this business, "eliminating" someone had a specific meaning.

"Next up on the news," said an announcer on the radio. "At just past noon today, an old woman was found collapsed near Hakone Station. She was quickly taken to the hospital, where she was confirmed dead. She had no obvious external wounds and had a cough drop in her throat, so the police are viewing it as an accident."

How can this announcer speak so coldly about this!?

It"s like he"s casually talking about the end of the world!!

"Wh-wh-what will… What will we do now?"

"Hmm. To handle this in order, the emergency broadcast about "Hishigami Mai"s" death would probably come first. That"s the largest part of this and the part I least want to leave unattended. Let"s go shake up the TV station while viewing the whole place as an enemy."

Mai-san sounded completely carefree as she said that with all sorts of weapons and bombs filling the rental car"s trunk.

That sounded a lot like what a terrorist would say, didn"t it!?

I continued trembling and looked back over to the driver"s seat. Mai-san was still smiling.

"Hm? I"m not just going to blow up the station or anything. And searching out the culprit with a long-term infiltration of the station is more my sister"s kind of thing. It would be faster to just cut the Achilles" tendon, so I think I"ll go attack the highest manager and grab all their company secrets."

"B-but TV stations are considered high-risk targets for terrorism, right? The security will be strict, so I don"t think you"ll be able to get at them that easily."

"It"s true it would be hard to shake them up on my own, but the rich almost always have enemies. I can get some help from them."

"You mean the enemy of your enemy is your friend? But how are you going to actually find the enemies of this top manager?"

"I can search for that online. Rural areas tend to have one national station and one locally-owned station. Wealth and power have a way of gathering in one place and they have a monopoly on the freedom of press and advertis.e.m.e.nt. Let"s watch some TV and see what local companies have frequent ads. Then we just have to search online for other companies in the same business. They"ll be hurting from the effects of those ads, so they"ll have a grudge against the TV station," explained Mai-san. "Also, I"m not openhearted enough to call a complete stranger my friend just because we have a common enemy. Calling them a friend is like inviting in a new enemy."

Then…?

Tremble tremble.

Tremble tremble tremble tremble tremble tremble!!

I-I just can"t stop shaking!!

I was in the underground parking garage of an apartment complex in Hakone"s city area, but the problem was not that I was surrounded by thick concrete. Something much worse was right in front of me.

Mai-san held an insecticide can that emitted smoke to eliminate roaches and she tossed it into the trunk of an Italian sports car. And she did not hesitate to slam the trunk closed.

She ignored the coughing and banging that were shaking the trunk from the inside.

"A fitting end for some insects."

"W-wait a second!! Weren"t they normal people!?"

"Normal people don"t own foreign cars, live in nice apartments, and have membership cards to exclusive golf courses. Surely you could tell what terrible people they were."

"Uuh… W-well I did find it strange."

"They were probably villains with giant piles of dirty money. Rural TV stations generally run in the red and will jump at any proposal for a sponsorship. Since they rejected mine, they must have something shady to keep hidden. And I checked on the background of the people I targeted, which is why you didn"t seriously try to stop me. The worst part of this business is how the enemy of evil isn"t good. Not that I"m one to talk."

She sat on the trunk and turned to the 1seg TV on her cellphone.

"Hm. I"ve already killed a few, so there must be a system in place to keep any inconvenient news from getting out. But if the station is blocking it, that means they"re aware of the serial killings."

She seemed to be enjoying herself and she began calling someone with the phone.

"Hm? Yes, yes. h.e.l.lo, h.e.l.lo. Can you connect me to the president right away? Oh, you can"t? I see. So this isn"t enough. Then I"ll just keep killing his enemies until he likes me."

"That"s just cruel!!" I shouted.

If Persons A, B, and C were a problem for Person D and Persons A, B, and C began dying in suspicious ways, it was obvious who everyone would suspect first.

She must have been waiting while being transferred over because Mai-san removed the phone from her ear and placed her index finger against her lips to say "be quiet or I"ll kill you".

"Yes, yes. Good day, good day. With someone as busy as you, making a normal appointment could mean waiting months before speaking with you, so I took emergency measures."

"D-d-do you have any idea what you"ve done? Y-you-you"ve…!"

"Yes, I killed some hindrances just as you asked me to. Oh, is this being recorded to drag the truth from me? I see. That"s fine. We can use that recording as my bill. President, I killed them all, so pay me the hundred million you promised after the fact. You brought this job to me, after all."

If you knew a call was being recorded, you could easily falsify evidence.

Mai-san was two steps ahead of him in everything.

If she vanished here, the police would have to view the TV station president as the #1 suspect, so he could not simply reject her.

"Wh-what do you want to know?" he asked.

"Something I seriously doubt you want recorded. Let"s meet soon. And of course, I"ll be visiting you. Just relax there in the big leather chair of your office and wait for me☆"

Hakone was divided between the city area at the base of the mountains and the natural area in the mountains, but I was surprised to find the TV station in question was in the mountains.

"Idiots, smoke, and broadcast antennae are all best placed as high as possible."

Mai-san parked the rental car in the parking lot of the local station named Ashinoko TV and took me into the building. We had finally entered the mountains, but the modern building made me feel something similar to seasickness.

We rode the elevator up to the top floor.

The president"s office took up the entire floor and it contained an old man with gray hair and a custom-made suit, a beautiful woman in a tight skirt, and several young muscular men.

Mai-san tilted her head.

"Who"s the woman?"

"I am Asano, his secretary."

Mai-san tilted her head even further.

"And all the macho men?"

"Wh-when a dangerous person says she is visiting, it"s only natural to contact some skilled people. They work in the underworld as curse-reversal specialists. Normally, having these occult types wandering around the station would be-…"

"I see."

Thirty seconds later…

No, fifteen seconds later.

In fact, it may have even been a single second or less.

To be honest, it was so vivid a scene that I lost all sense of time.

What had been such a tidy s.p.a.ce a moment before was now covered in a dark-red liquid. The gray-haired president was curled up in a corner of the room and trembling. Everyone else had been slaughtered. Mai-san alone stood in the center of the large room.

"You said yourself that they"re curse-reversal specialists. With curses like the promise with a Yuki Onna or the request of an Ub.u.me, you can reverse it as long as you know the trick behind it. I didn"t even have to bring out a weapon. You might"ve been better off with complete amateurs who had normal weapons instead of using a Youkai and doing it badly."

"Wh-wha-what did you…?"

I was having trouble speaking and that grim reaper answered with a smile.

"Like I said. They were trying to remove my organs using the traits of a Youkai called the Aburatori, but they did a brilliant job of s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g it up and had it turn on them. Also, this might have originally been a trick to run a news story first and twist the truth afterwards. After all, the Aburatori brings confusion by being mentioned in newspapers. Honestly, they were far too naïve to extract the symbols like that. They did it so badly that it"s almost blasphemous. It"s like seeing someone take a first-cla.s.s Pacific Bluefin and turn the whole thing into canned tuna. And yet someone with actual skill could have killed me in the very first attack with that."

"Th-that"s just cruel. Aren"t you being a little too cruel!?"

"How? All I did was protect myself."

Then why is the secretary dead too!? And with a fountain pen sticking out of the top of her head. It"s like she"s about to be cooked on a skewer!! Woof woof!!"

"There was no reason to kill her? Really? Not even one? Are you seriously saying that, Sunekosuri-chan? Don"t ignore the way of the world and try to say the right-hand of such a black-hearted man had never stepped out of line even once."

Her expression did not change in the slightest.

She sat on the heavy table and spoke to the president.

"Tell me what you think I want to know and give me a clear answer. You have three chances. If you use them all up, you"ll be joining them. Got that?"

"I have a cruiser in Ashinoko Harbor and there"s a hidden safe onboard. The combination is…"

"Two more tries."

"I did give the order to send the emergency broadcast about Hishigami Mai"s death!! But I was only doing what I was told to. I don"t know how that news fits into the Package!!"

"One more try."

"Goudo Akira! She"s their contact. I don"t know anything more!! If I had looked further into it, I would have been killed too!!"

"I see. Goudo Akira, is it? Tell me how to spell it."

After getting the information she needed, Mai-san picked me up and started toward the office"s door. As she did, she spoke without turning back.

"Oh, right. You take care of those bodies."

"W-why do I have to do that!?"

"You can call the police if you want, but in court, I guarantee you it will eventually lead to you being found guilty. This world is an unfair place, after all."

"You do business with occult a.s.sa.s.sins like me, right? Working in the news business gives you special access to some of the private information of the victims and you can leak "accidentally" leak that information for them. Just contact them. They"ll know how to safely dump a body and get out the bloodstains."

With that, she really did leave the president"s office.

After she hit the b.u.t.ton and began waiting for the elevator, I asked what was on my mind.

"Wh-why did you go that far?"

"What good is it to think about that now?"

"They were part of an organization, just like us. Even if they were at the bottom level, won"t the organization think about taking revenge now that you killed them?"

"Sunekosuri-chan, did you see the tattoo on the back of their hands?"

"Eh?"

"At first glance, it looks like a fashionable tribal tattoo, but it"s actually the rank insignia for the organization Jouzai Senjou. They add a line each time they get promoted and enough of a mistake for a demotion gets the entire hand chopped off. They"re a third-rate organization that doesn"t at all live up to its name and they make their money by selling Packages to all sorts of criminals. But I killed every last one of their leaders during a past incident. The organization itself managed to get back on its feet, but I doubt they ever want anything to do with me again."

"You mean…"

"That president will likely go crying to them asking for some way of fighting back, but that will bring my name to the people at the top. Now, do you think anyone there still wants to fight me? If the alternative is being completely wiped out this time, they"ll probably bury that president in the mountains for his connection to me. …Of course, I"ll be stopping by to thank them later anyway."

"B-but you"re just guessing. You don"t actually know what that president will try to do, right?"

"Yeah, I tend to adlib. Still, I"d already guessed Jouzai Senjou was going to show up. They"re the only organization that"s cheap enough to infiltrate some local media for some gra.s.sroots information gathering."

The elevator arrived and the automatic doors opened to either side.

Mai-san did not hesitate to leave with that "execution device" still there.

"I gave him three chances and all I got were hints. And yet I told him to give me the clear answer I wanted."

Hyakki Yakou"s headquarters were mobile. It was made up of a large formation containing a V-shaped flying wing, a transport ship filled with spare parts, an in-flight refueling craft, and escort fighters.

The interior resembled the Imperial Court of the ancient capital or a n.o.ble"s old mansion, but it was actually a flying residence made from cutting-edge technology.

In one corner, a kimono-wearing girl of ten held a phone receiver to her ear.

Her name was Hafuri and she was the leader of the country"s largest Youkai-related organization.

"Sigh. I am not sure what to tell you. We still cannot contact Hishigami Mai either. And needless to say, you were the ones who set all this in motion, weren"t you?"

"That is not what I am talking about. She is a member of Hyakki Yakou, isn"t she? She has already killed four influential people and more than ten others in the president"s office of a regional TV station. And then that president committed "suicide". If this continues any longer, her supervisor will be responsible. Are you sure you want that?"

"You seem to be mistaken about something, so let me explain. Hishigami Mai is nothing more than a freelance agent."

"Are you saying you can"t send out your internal disciplinary department?"

"We sometimes make requests for jobs, but she does not actually belong to Hyakki Yakou. When she is fighting elsewhere, we do not directly support or protect her. In exchange, we have no way of punishing her. Unless the issue directly conflicts with our interest, that is."

"I see."

The Sunekosuri, an official member of Hyakki Yakou, was with Hishigami Mai, but for better or for worse, that fact was never brought up. Sometimes being of no help in a fight was actually useful. The Youkai would likely cry if he heard that, though.

"And I thought you were aware what the Hishigami women are like." Hafuri sounded almost exasperated. "Hishigami is the general trading company that represents j.a.pan and it primarily deals in heavy industry. But its head family still practices a b.l.o.o.d.y tradition: the Hishigami men and the Hishigami women. The concept is similar to the psychological terms Eros and Thanatos."

"The Hishigami men focus on static gatherings while the Hishigami women focus on dynamic separations. They are divided between those who try to peacefully expand organizations and those who radically try to destroy organizations."

For better or for worse, the Hishigami men had a powerful ability to make connections between people, so they had naturally formed a general trading company with great power.

Meanwhile, the Hishigami women"s traits meant they would smash that to pieces.

Neither of them was in the wrong. During times of chaos, the Hishigami men would rise to the forefront and build up a giant and stable system. During times of stagnation, the Hishigami women would rise to the forefront and destroy the giant and rotten system.

The Hishigami women were treated as ill omens, but they were merely catching wind of where the era was headed and acting accordingly.

"Simply put, a single Hishigami woman possesses enough power to destroy a global corporation. A certain Hishigami fell in love and is subconsciously trying to suppress her power of separation with the power of connection and another Hishigami has shown a desire to bind herself with the "obligation" of a close relationship with Hyakki Yakou. …However, you have cut one of those threads. This battle is no longer based in Hyakki Yakou"s rules. It is now based in the rules of a Hishigami woman. Are you seriously trying to tell me you didn"t know what would happen then, Goudo Akira-san?"

"In other words, you"re saying Hyakki Yakou is useless? That"s fine. I will deal with the problem here, but be prepared for Hyakki Yakou"s influence to decrea- gbgch!?"

The call ended there.

Hafuri quietly looked down at the receiver, sighed, and placed it back on the phone.

She could only say "my condolences".

"Goudo Akira, hm?"

After checking on the safety of the explosives and transmitter, Mai-san climbed into the rental car.

"I didn"t expect this to be related to the Hishigami men. Is this turning into a family feud?"

"H-Hishigami?"

"Don"t worry about it. But it does simplify things. It might be hard for a normal person to target a member of the Hishigami general trading company, but I"m family. I know how they do things."

"Th-then what are you going to do?"

She tapped on the car"s steering wheel and gave a simple answer.

"I"ll kidnap them."

I may have looked like a dog, but I had my self-respect as an intelligent Youkai who had lived for hundreds of years. It was a testament to my courage that I managed to avoid p.i.s.sing myself.

"H-h-hold it right there!! It"s probably far too late to be scolding you now, but I"m still going to yell at this! The entire world agrees that kidnapping is wrong!!"

"Uuh… I can"t believe you would give a serious lecture to a delinquent like me. …Teacher! Can I offer you my body in the guidance room!?"

"Not only did nothing I say reach you, but you"re acting completely inappropriately!"

No matter what you did, the bloodshed around her would never stop. There was not even a millimeter of hesitation in her operation of the steering wheel.

"B-by the way, where are we going?"

"h.e.l.l Pa.s.s. That"s one of the hot spring Intellectual Villages in the Hakone region. It"s a rare type that focuses on sightseeing rather than agriculture. Oh, and we"ll be making a slight detour on the way."

"H-h-h.e.l.l?"

"There are no crazy traditions there, so there"s nothing to be afraid of. It"s not unusual for places with hot springs and volcanoes to have h.e.l.l in the name."

"Th-that isn"t what I meant. That"s right in in the middle of where the G20 summit is being held! If you wander around with a handgun, you"ll be found right away and cause all sorts of trouble."

"That"s why I said we"ll be making a slight detour."

As always, she seemed to be enjoying herself.

"An unauthentic souvenir shop in Hakone"s city area would probably work. I need some kind of native garb that hides my ident.i.ty and looks a little religious. Like a fortune teller maybe. It"ll have to be something an Asian like me wouldn"t look out of place in. Hm… Maybe something from India."

Fifteen minutes later, Mai-san had acquired the clothing and was driving to the Intellectual Village called h.e.l.l Pa.s.s. The mountain road twisted and turned, I was sent rolling all around on the pa.s.senger seat, and we finally approached the entrance to h.e.l.l Pa.s.s.

Instead of driving into the center of h.e.l.l Pa.s.s, Mai-san stopped in the parking lot of a roadside station for a transportation company and dragged me out of the car with her.

"Um?"

"I went to the trouble of changing my clothes, but they would do a thorough inspection if I drove the car into the summit meeting area. That would defeat the purpose of all this."

She slowly and calmly walked toward h.e.l.l Pa.s.s while holding me in her arms.

W-will this really work?

"Hey, you over there!!"

Thirty seconds after crossing into h.e.l.l Pa.s.s, 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 j.a.panese 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 j.a.pan 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 j.a.panese 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.

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

It was a wooden multistory building instead of the usual flat structure of j.a.panese 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 a.s.sa.s.sins, and the hidden village."

"Y-you"ve been thinking about this. …But wouldn"t they have to be really carefully a.s.sembled to avoid any compet.i.tion that could send the Packages out of control?"

"Yes. At its core, it"s a way of being economical. With its ma.s.sive 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 m.u.f.fled protests came from the side.

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

Can I just a.s.sume 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 j.a.panese-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

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