Volume 2 Chapter 2 (1/2)
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It was hot
It was the end of August, so it really should have been a bit cooler Not evenoutfit of a white tank top and hot pants was enough to combat the heat And the heat of the sun see hair was very annoying in this kind of weather I had it bound up, but I had a powerful urge to just cut it all off
You couldn't take the urban heat island effect lightly
But I was a working member of society, so I couldn't exactly head to Hokkaido for fun I'll leave what kind of society I ination
In a large city hardened with asphalt and concrete, no one was surprised to see a e vehicle parked below an overpass in that gray and wavering city I then tapped lightly on its body with the back of ht hand
Now then
When you hear the tere of a vehicle do you picture in your head?
Well, I doubt e tour bus”, but that was exactly how gigantic the one in front of me was
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say the entire interior of a tour bus had been removed and all the devices needed to live one's life had been installed
”Hey, hey, Mai-san Long time no see Come on in”
The front door opened auto compressed air and the s the stereotypical indoor outfit of a T-shi+rt and shorts Thanks to solar panels and a giant battery, the vehicle had the air conditioning on 24/7, so it should have been cool enough regardless
I walked up the three or four steps into the vehicle and looked around
It had a bed, a table, a couch, a refrigerator, a as stovetop, oven, and bathroom as well The amount of furniture had increased since the last time I had been there Why did an RV have a washer and dryer in it?
”You're insane to spend 30 ”
”Didn't you know, Mai-san? There's an asteroid coet real close real soon If you think of yourself as the earth, it's going to pass right in front of your nose It'll be quite the spectacle If you truly hope to survive, you'll need hts I've spent all this money to save my own life”
Thatthe scale of the earth and the asteroid Even scraping right by my nose is farther away than japan is from Brazil
The small man's nostrils flared as he said, ”Really, it coo space down below, I've hts and a moisture circulation device It's a masterpiece! Every week, I have a drum-full of leaves to eat I'll never starve I can survive for 100 years without issue using this system”
”Only a rabbit could survive off of that”
”You'd think so, right? But you're wrong Chickens I's every day, so I have no shortage of ani as I plan it out so I don't eat too s to hatch into chicks, I'll have no proble!?”
He was an annoying man
But the fact that someone with such a horrible lack of sociability could survive as a free agent without relying on the power of an organization showed just how skilled he was at his job
To switch the flow of the conversation, I said, ”Now then, Supplier”
”What is it, Mai-san?”
”I need money Either hand over all of your money or introduce me to a job”
Those who did not understand on Princess of Hyakki Yakou, but I was actually a free agent just like this man Hyakki Yakou was anization in my field, but I did not exclusively take jobs from them
I did like the young lady at the top of that organization, but I had to accept jobs from elsewhere toanization
Leaving clear signs of your neutrality could be a real pain in the ass
The Supplier are of those issues, so he replied without showing any real change to his expression
”I see Then I have a good one for you How about taking a trip to Kyoto?”
”Kyoto?”
”Yes, Kyoto One of the few cities of over a hlyfor so in secret there”
Oh?
As the Supplier had said, Kyoto was a unique place in both japan and perhaps even ide But the one proble to the old ways too much was an inability to deal with modern circumstances and social problems
That city contained a large nue number of humans
In other words, it was filled with easy es
”Well, anything's fine by me Who are these idiots?”
”Akki Rasetsu[1]”
”That organization numbers in the thousands Isn't that a little hter on my own?”
”That isn't soh infighting to destroy Inga Ouhou[2] which was three tirinned ”Also, you don't need to co quite a bit of hatred in their atteood blow or two and destroy their income cycle, those around them will finish them off”
”And is that cycle in Kyoto?”
”It seee project This project shows no concern for morals or human life yet they've started it in the middle of a city of over a ather to inspect the project soon That is when you should crush them”
”Have they bet the fate of the organization on this?”
”See either the leaders or project will be enough to fulfill the order Of course, you'll get a special bonus if you crush both Will you take it?”
”I ht as well I assume you have confirmed the client's ability to pay”
”Yes If I didn't check, you and the others would track down the identity of the client”
”Then I'll take the job”
”One warning,” said the Supplier ”It seems this job is a race to the finish I discovered this whilesure the client would be able to pay It seeiven this order as well If you don't get there first, you et paid”
”That contradicts what you said”
”If that happens, take it up with theet pissed, attack the client's h the door of their vault”
”I see” I thought for a bit ”I suppose if I find any other free agents like me in Kyoto, I'll crush them too If I spot them on the battlefield, I have no real reason to let them live”
”…It's tilad I'm on your side, Mai-san”
Oh?
When did I ever say I was on your side?
”I'll be going then Don't count on a souvenir”
I waved my hand and headed for the exit of that end of the century RV made from a tour bus
But then the Supplier said, ”Is a job really all you need? If necessary, I can prepare you some Buddhist equipment or sacred treasures”
”I don't like that sort of thing Perhaps it's because I've spent more money than this bus cost on my own skin”
”Really? That's too bad I have soains like soinally meant to be dedicated at the Ise Grand Shrine It has yet to be given the color of a specific God, so it has quite a few uses”
”I'd rather drink that than use it as a weapon”
And so I boarded a bullet train and headed to Kyoto A linearthe sa fair In my business, the convenient transportation methods that had declined in use were best
I had a
But there was so from the ZR Kyoto Station to the subway station
”Suuuneeekooosuuuriii-chaaan☆ What the hell are you doing here?”
”E-eeeeeeee!? Y-you already spottedyou!? Ah…no…I mean…!!”
A small canine Youkai called a Sunekosuri had his entire body twitching
He was a cute species of Youkai that could do nothing but rub up against people's legs, but he was still an official member of Hyakki Yakou
Which meant…
”Well, I have to catch a train, so co on the subway”
”U-um, you aren't mad?”
”Prepare yourself for tonight We're going to have fun in the mixed bath”
We boarded a subway train and headed for Gion
I asked the Sunekosuri about the situation while on the train
”Since ame, can I assume this order comes from them?”
”Uuh…”
”Akki Rasetsu is an eyesore, but that is not enough justification to crush theh as a reason to attack, they would be attacked and criticized in turn That is why they went through free agentHyakki Yakou was involved”
But…
I leaned up against the train wall
”I assu lady at the top of Hyakki Yakou disapproved of this method She does not punish based on suspicion If she did not have enough evidence to punish an evil, she would have a thorough search carried out And if that was not enough but the evil needed to be defeated nonetheless, she would battle that evil honestly nolady prefers pure and i himself as a representative for Hyakki Yakou? I assuents or educators or so”
”Ah ah ah,” said the flustered Sunekosuri
But that canine Youkai was like a salaryet me nowhere
Whatever idiot was behind this had been the one to set it up so the payents would start killing each other I would need to make an extra stop to ”punish” that idiot afterwards
Meanwhile, the train arrived at the Gion subway station
The Sunekosuri and I stepped out onto the subway platforh the automatic turnstile, climbed the stairs, and exited into the city
”Wow This is like an explosion of Kyoto”
The administrative district in which the ZR Kyoto Station was located was lined with s, but the donut-shaped urban area not far aas coht and color of the buildings were restricted and it was filled with nothing but old wooden buildings The roads were not paved and cars and bikes were banned fro horses and rickshaws carrying tourists were a coht
”You can tell iest locations for fil business is boo here”
”They also have tons of forests and thickets This place is really crowded”
Despite being a city of over a million, thick forests of maple trees and thickets of bamboo could be found not far froh maintenance of the environ around It was quite obvious a large portion of the inco
”But why are thecolor already? It's still the end of August”
”The pareen, right? They have various methods to y tocolor”
I entered the inn I had reserved a room in under a false nas before asse a few tools of the trade
”Okay, it's about time I crushed Akki Rasetsu”
”The job was to either put a stop to their i to inspect it Which will you be doing?”
”I'll decide that once I check on the situation I'll go hichever is easier” I rubbed the back of the Sunekosuri that was politely sitting on a cushi+on ”Now then, Sunekosuri-kun What do you think Akki Rasetsu is trying to do in Kyoto?”
”Eh? Well, if they caht? And Kyoto is one of the prime areas for Youkai Even Hyakki Yakou's structure takes it into account The guidebook said the city was designed based on the principles of feng shui So it ht? In that case…”
”Hah hah hah” I gave a wooden h ”Incorrect”
”Eh? But…”
”C'mon, Sunekosuri-kun You think they're in Kyoto to do so they can only do in Kyoto? That wouldthat would be as self-destructive as streaking nude in front of the National Diet Building I don't knohat they're planning, but Akki Rasetsu has begun a project large enough to catch Hyakki Yakou's attention This is ianization on and for all of the leaders to visit In other words, this is so they do not want to be stopped no matter what Do you really think they would choose a setup that would be so easy to see through?”
”Th-then ould Akki Rasetsu go out of their way to go to Kyoto?”
”Think about it the other way around Kyoto is a rare city that has both over a million people and countless Youkai Bizarre phenoet buried under everything else in this city The best place to hide a tree is in the forest, right? Akki Rasetsu's project probably has little to do with Kyoto itself”
So if you are hoping for this story to have htseeing spots, eating tons of delicious local food, and providing steaht this instant
But to be honest…
I really would love to be able to mix ith pleasure like that
”D-do you knohat exactly is happening here?”
”No They've set this up as a labyrinth that is inco deeper before I can actually learn anything,” I said offhandedly ”And so I need to think up a way of tracking down aerrands By the way, how much do you know about all this, Sunekosuri?”
”I-I a on I was sients to ensure none of them went beyond what Hyakki Yakou wishes I a happens”
That's about what I had expected
With Hyakki Rasetsu and the free agents, Kyoto was currently filled with abnormal people The standard idea that Youkai could not be killed by norer be counted on The question hether the Sunekosuri understood that risk or not
To be blunt, his odds of returning safely to Hyakki Yakou would have been much lower had I not called out to him first
”Th-then you will be starting by pursuing so in Kyoto? What exactly will be your first move?”
”Well,” I crackedall of the other free agents co for this job?”
The Sunekosuri trembled in fear
Nevertheless, I swung the baby-sized rock down onto the head of thefrom his neck He had been simple to spot with the suspicious mannerisms only a pro could spot
”Okay, that's 7 of them I'd say this is a decent attee rock fell on him from that stone wall Not a bad job at all People really shi+ne when they put in enough effort to work up a sweat”
After disguising the circumstances, I took the poor victim's cell phone and searched for personal information Of course, if he was in the same situation as me, he would not have acquired any i any private information to this sort of workplace
Once I was done, I returned the phone to the corpse's pocket and the Sunekosuri spoke up in a tre voice
”Wh-why…Why do people like you never try to work together to defeat the evil de?”
”Because we are all each other's enemies”
Plus, I had never before seen a boss of pure, unadulterated evil
It was our job to kill theardless
”Not only can I not see what Akki Rasetsu is up to here, but I have to worry about another free agent stabbing me in the side I need to co down to work”
If possible, I would have liked to kill all of them, but I did not kno many of theured it was about time to turn towards Akki Rasetsu
”U-u to do now?” The Sunekosuri looked up at antic It seeanization hiding here than in a se”
”It's si point”
I crouched down and wrapped an ar privately
I whispered, ”Whether it's a giant city or a sather the phone calls and ey used isn't all that high level”
”I-I see But wouldn't people like this encrypt their communications?”
”Of course But would people h level encryption? Think about it in reverse The ones encrypting their communications are the first to suspect If I start there, it shouldn't be hard to run into Akki Rasetsu But then,” I paused for a second, ”Akki Rasetsu will know this And so they will use encryption software to send decoy data all over the place They can just use the prograiri calls or spaes that would take hours to decrypt and have thehout the city”
”Then how do you distinguish the real ones from the decoys?”
”I search on foot”
I stuckover my shoulder
The Sunekosuri un because his entire body flinched
”Huh? A video camera?”
”This alone isn't enough to find Akki Rasetsu within the crowds” I pressed a switch on the video ca mode ”But when people acquire a fake name and identity, they must also prepare a new driver's license Those driver's licenses have an IC chip in theht near a certain device just like train passes at the automatic turnstiles at a subway station”
The Sunekosuri still did not seeness to patiently explain it all to him
”If you up the output of the card reader next to a convenience store register, you can check the data on all the cards around you I have a strengthened reader in ”
”O-oh”
”So when I approach the target, it will suck out the information from the IC chip in their driver's license Ones that's data has been illegally altered will leave traces of that in the code If I find someone with that sort of suspicious license at one of the places sending out encrypted data, I have reason to be very suspicious of that person Then again, it's possible so here, so I will need to do soation afterwards”
”W-will this really lead you to them so easily?”
”The strengthened reader can only read IC chips froe fro with the tiet down to about 10 people Then I just need to investigate those people One of the the false identity”
To put it sithened reader to search out so in some shady business
And so I had to wander around Kyoto
I spent over three hours going fro down shi+jou Street, and finally walking around the Katsura Imperial Villa
Everywhere I as filled with tourists
I wonder why foreigners like dressing up as samurai so much If a japanese person went to Europe and were asked if they wanted to dress up as a prince, I think they would refuse
After gathering a certain amount of data, I boarded the subway and returned to the inn
Just to be sure, I checked for bugs upon returning and then began coe and the card data taken from passersby
”Here, here, here, and here too There are a lot of suspicious people in this city”
”A-are they all from Akki Rasetsu?”
”Characteristic traces are left in the driver's license IC chip data The ones with the saanization Let's see, let's see, let's see There are 4 patterns here”
”Kyoto really is a city of Youkai, isn't it?”
”Yes And that ather here”
”How are you going to find Akki Rasetsu from this?”
”I'll look into each of the 4 patterns Okay, this is the encrypted co around near these suspicious people I just have to decrypt it and…boom! Found it!!”
”H-how did you do that so easily?”
”If each eet any work done Even if the security is strict to begin with, the people on the scene will soon find ways to sis to make them easier to use”
Normally, this kind of simplified encrypted data would have numerical traps woven in that could never be solved such as pi I had no idea how skilled these groups were, but the organizations based in Kyoto tended to do poorly when it caence issues
I sifted through the data based on what I had found
”Pattern 1 is a sanization selling weapons, and Pattern 3 is an Urashi+roup that wishes to be taken to paradise”
”So is it Pattern 4?”
”Yes, that's Akki Rasetsu”
I double-checked the faces of the people I had picked up with my video camera and compared them to the fake names and photos fro information at the inn to see if any rooms were rented out under those names
Then all I had to do was cast my net across the inn's phone lines and any nearby Wi-Fi routers to easily gather Akki Rasetsu's encrypted communications data
I headed out to take care of that work and returned to my room once I was done
”Oh I already found so”
”Did you already find data related to Akki Rasetsu's headquarters or the details of their project?”
”It's nothing that great These are just subcontractors, so they ht not have been told any of those details”
As I spoke, I comentary information I had acquired from multiple phone calls and emails
”It seeirl by the name of Amemura Ryuu She's clearly involved somehoith Akki Rasetsu's project”
”Do you knoho this Airl is?”
”I' so well I felt like whistling ”She lives in Kyoto She's 11 years old She's ferades are above average She has violin lessons on Wednesdays and dance lessons on Mondays and Fridays No records of serious illness She has slight atopic allergies and has issues with ticks She has received the flu vaccine this year She has a filling in one of her right back teeth from a cavity treatment Her father is a stay at home dad and her mother is the secretary for the president of an assembly of small- to mid-sized corporations known as the United Hive Her personality is shy and reserved but very curious She has to think about it for ato be someone's friend”
”H-how did you find all that information?”
”The residence registry, electronic rade reports are all kept in the cloud If you have decent skills, you can gather all that infor the net”
But that s handled directly such as the amount of allowance she received
”And this beloved daughter has a child's cell phone with an alarood and bad If you steal the identification code, someone like me can determine her location”
”…Wow”
”Okay, let's go make friends with Amemura Ryuu-chan who seems to be deeply related to this project”
I left the inn and walked through the cityscape that see but a tourist attraction
The foreigners in kimonos and ninja outfits stood out like sore thu the unpaved road I walked slowly and casually through the streets while obeying the traffic lights that werefilmed
”But why has this Airl been marked by these shady people?”
”That is e're trying to find out Youkai that only children can see are quite popular, so it ht be related to that”
But it seemed a bit odd that they had not abducted her if she was so deeply related to the project
”U to approach her? She is a small child She will probably treat adults like us as outsiders”
”I have an idea …But come to think of it, Sunekosuri, you could probably just run up to her given how you look”
”Do not make fun of me! How can you say that about a dandy like me!?”
As we spoke, we approached within 50 meters of Amemura Ryuu-chan's location She was inside a children's park that did not fit in with the period draths with its scenery, but it sees like this and the traffic lights from before
Just as I took one step into the park…
I felt an unpleasant feeling run downbad was about to happen This was the same sort of premonition that anyone had, but oftentimes these situations were set up so it was too late by the time you felt that premonition
”? What is it?”
”…Oh, I get it”
The Sunekosuri was unable to understand the situation with his limited information
Three or four children were gathered at a covered bench in the park They were playing handheld garound equipment I doubted kids these days would want to play out in the hot sun, so they had likely done so reluctantly to avoid their parents who always yelled at theames
And…
The girl na them
However, the kid's cell phone GPS signal was still pointing to this park
Which meant…
”Not good! Sonal!”
I did not have tis
An agile kick suddenly flew at my side
”Bfh!?”
The kick had not been intended to do da out and to knock me into a nearby thicket Someone quickly moved to climb on top of me after I was knocked behind cover
My hand instinctually reached for my boot
I pulled out un
shi+t By the tirab this, I've 80 lost!!
As expected, the attacker swung up an ar and narroas held in that hand I would have laughed out loud had it been a knife, but it was not The object held between the index and er was…
A ical charm!?
I pulled the trigger without aiht I would hit the attacker somewhere on the torso, but not even one of e,too much to aim properly
I could tell so into my body
This is…illness ic?
Illness ic!?
”damn you I had heard you disappeared after the coup d'etat in Hyakki Yakou, but what are you doing-…ghbgbh!?”
My mouth filled with dark red blood before I could finish speaking
Not good This deadly illness is beginning to spread throughout my entire body!!
This was just about the worst opponent for ht After all, he was the type powerful enough that the e of his attacks fro too far And yet he had kickedHethat stood out too much
In that case…
I gathered strength in the hand holdingit at ood As such, I heldon round to keep it froed to take aim
I took ai our way
And I pulled the trigger
”Gyahn!? By-byaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”
The bullet struck the Sunekosuri in the face and he began writhing around on the ground
He let out a scream as loud as a police car's siren, but as a Youkai, he did not seele drop of blood
”…Tch”
That was the first I heard of the attacker's voice
The illnessup blood
The attacker quickly moved away froth I had left to grab his arm
I would lose in a straight fight here, but I would never knohen he o
And so I needed to finish this But by using some method other than violence
Meanwhile, the children who had been playing handheld games approached the Sunekosuri
”What is it? What is it?”