Volume 2 Chapter 4 (1/2)
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I need to head toward cover I need to head toward somewhere with plenty of places to hide behind and protect myself
Fleeing toward the mountain with that inled toward an area with no people where illegal violence could be employed without issue
What is going on?
How could this happen?
I was in the Intellectual Village known as Noukotsu Village Packages involving Youkai would occasionally happen here, but it was still an easier place to live than the city That remained true even if the rural scenery was faked by various types of technology
And yet…
”shi+nobu!!”
I heard aps of the forest's trees
But I did not respond I couldn't!
Several people were tied up in this messed up situation, but each person's survival was based on the same condition: To survive, you must kill one of the other participants It was a simple, clear, and unavoidable rule Both my uncle and myself had been closed in by that framework
In other words…
My uncle and I were destined to try to kill each other
And when it cah school student like ainst a professional police detective like my uncle He likely outdid un
I could not trust anyone
Given the situation, we could no longer work together
However…
I still did not want to kill my uncle and the others My et around the rules, find a loophole, or otherwise reach a conclusion where no one had to die
But then…
The true disaster that arrived was enough to et all about the rest of the horrible situation
”shi+nobu!! Don't go that way! She's co!!”
I had forgotten to wonder whyfor ht about it, letting the others know his position in this thick forest would only put hie
And then so happened
A sound exploded out fro solid had been knocked out of place
I had been struck from behind I tried to turn around, but my head would not turn like I told it to I twisteddirt and limpse of who had attacked me
It was a woraphy forcibly pasted all over her body She was like a ealed into a hu had been skillfully written on the japanese paper with black ink, but the papers were so crumpled up to perfectly match the lines of the woman's body that the words were distorted
I could not read ritten on them
I so at all
”…Hishi+gami…Mai…?”
If that ame where blood ashed aith blood, then it was much too obvious ould win in the end
This paper-covered Hishi+gami Mai crouched down as if to peer at my face Her hands reached out for my neck I tried to twist er move properly
She le a chicken
And then
After finally getting a day off, I visited an indoor fishi+ng pond that had opened in Ikebukuro Even when I had lived in Noukotsu Village, I had preferred playing by the river instead of the mountain
The fishi+ng pond's greatest feature was its large tank for ratory fish that functioned like a lazy river at a water park The pond's tagline was ”the leisure spot where you can catch a bluefin tuna” The tank ran through a donut-shaped circuit in a building the size of fair-sized aquarium and the customers paid to fish in it
The reception area was one floor below and the inside of the tank could be seen through teh it were only about 70 cm, but they still technically qualified as a small type of bluefin tuna
According to the ser than this, nor theer of losing a finger to the line”
Any tuna you caught would be prepared for you in the facility's restaurant and (if you illing to pay) you could still eat tuna if you did not catch one, so I had not eaten anything despite this being etable juice to tide overpole and soe
”Hey, detective”
”What? Why are you here even on my day off, mystery freak? Don't you know that people need to periodically perform maintenance on and refresh their minds?”
”Heh heh heh Now I get a fishi+ng pond date with you …But what's with that vegetable juice? Aren't you drinking that as an excuse rather than for your health or its nutrients? Are you trying to look good?”
”Shut up Let me enjoy my time alone”
”C'mon, detective They may be small, but these are bluefin tuna Do you really think you can eat one all on your own if you catch it? Look around you It's nothing but families and couples”
”Shut up! It really hurts if you point it out!! I didn't expect it to be like this before I got here!! I thought fishi+ng was a otten!?”
”Oh, look at your pole, detective So really hard”
That was a fishi+ng pond for you I frantically grabbed the fishi+ng pole that was beginning to bend like a bow Of course, the reel was electric and had a specialized progra over when she saw I had caught soth or skill to battle the tuna
As the instructor reached for the fishi+ng pole froave lared at her
”This system is not suited for couples I just hope I don't hear any of the same rumors as from those parks and amusement parks with famous ponds”
As I ignored her nonsense and battled the tuna (or rather, enjoyed a recreation of battling it), soe burst fro noise
”Hyah!?” shouted the instructor woman in surprise
She grabbed onto me from behind for sorew even sharper
I was surprised too
But not because I had caught an unexpectedly large tuna
This was not even a fish
Hanging frooro from an ancient picture book
”G-gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?” I cried out as if I had done so horrible
The girl in question's expression did not change despite having a thick fishi+ng hook in herdown on it She remained perfectly expressionless
Wait…
”She isn't bleeding? Wait, the hook isn't even piercing her mouth?”
”Oh? She isn't hu ”She's a Youkai…or rather, a ami I don't know too much about that, so I couldn't tell you hoorks But what I do know is she belongs to on Princess”
”She's Mai's?” I said in confusion
The Deadly Dragon Princess gave little reaction She si fro pole with the spear squid in her n with both hands while still perfectly expressionless
”But this is odd,” said the mystery freak
”Everything about this is odd I can't think of a single thing about this that isn't odd”
”That's not what Ishe has 100 lost if she has to use the Deadly Dragon Princess”
That monster woman said that?
I had never sensed the slightest weakness fro a situation she could not handle
”It's twue,” added the Deadly Dragon Princes while being dragged up onto land by the electric reel
She had likelyon the squid
It was raw and still had its guts inside, so she was quite the wild ”person”
Eventually, the Deadly Dragon Princess spat souram tunas, but it had been horribly crushed
”Detective, the hook is tied into a bow”
”Now that's a powerful kiss I want to avoid at all costs”
The Deadly Dragon Princess ignored our exchange and spoke with the expression of soram
”Hishi+gaency e”
”She lost…?”
”Yes”
”What are you supposed to tell us?”
”It is quite sion Princess grabbed another spear squid froanization known as Akki Rasetsu took control of Hishi+gami Mai's physical body She has become their puppet to use as a weapon If you wish to save her, you e”
I sighed and covered on Princess as eating my squid without permission, the mystery freak revealed an unnecessary piece of trivia
”That's your hometown, isn't it, detective?”
”Why do you know my personal information?”
A certain rest stop was located near an ordinary rural city
The area's economy had fallen into a slump so the public transportation facilities such as buses and trains had declined This naturally made private auto could be seen but long runway-like stretches of road that naturally obstructed travel and further stagnated the economy The stereotypical cycle of decline had kicked in
An old black foreign car was parked at one end of a parking lot large enough to hold a soccer match on It was a famous car from the '60s known as a Hitman Tuxedo, but a car like that would violate the exhaust standards if it was used as is on public roads For that reason, the inner workings had been remade into a sanitary hybrid car This was another of the classics businesses that also gave new life to old houses The president of the custo to produce such a deep noise of exhaust froine He had said the experience made him feel like an expert craftsman of brass instruments
A man and a woman sat within the car
The woman had her hair tied to either side of her head and earing a pink camisole, hot pants, and jacket She was named Saijou The muscular man had a blonde pompadour, wore a tank top and work pants, and had his shi+rt wrapped around his waist His name was Nanjou
Saijou Ai and Nanjou Kakeru were the t leaders of Akki Rasetsu after they had taken control of the organization from the old leaders
And…
A hu space of the backseat
”Toujou-san is dead”
”Yes, he is”
One portion of the blue sky was blocked out by a long, narrow trail of smoke as if fro fro Toujou It had been blown to shway
They had not wanted to use so as flashy as a bomb in a country like japan, but the vehicle had been aruised as a natural accident would have no guarantee of killing their target
While sitting in the left-side driver's seat, Saijou nervously tapped her index finger on the steering wheel
”And Houjou-san was hung from a tree after his project in Kyoto failed”
”Does it really matter?”
”What do you mean?”
”Nature will decide the size of the organization This is no different than how sroups of friends naturally form within a school Those old idiots tried to expand the size of the organization to achieve their objectives, but they went too far That causes internal rifts andIf you radicalize around a single objective, it is only natural for the organization to be automatically trimmed”
”Eh? Then the saoes for Toujou-san and Houjou-san?”
”Both of those were accidents, but the organization would have grownthe nule goal …We had become fat and bloated like Hyakki Yakou They have 100 members at the level of leaders alone, which is just stupid And I hear not even a third of them can even use the occult”
”I see,” said Saijou with a less than satisfied expression
She did think a problees were concerned, but that was still 30 people who could wield the occult on a level feared as a natural disaster and with an exclusive shrine constructed toward suppressing their power Even by the standards of their field of work, having that roup was not normal
But she changed the subject instead of pursuing that further
”What should we do next?”
”Houjou was an idiot who couldn't even protect hi report He found soe known as Noukotsu Village”
”I kind of liked Houjou-san”
”Well, you both work in sia her up injured in Kyoto He was the one that did that dae, so you should at least thank hi to do with me” Nanjou looked in the rearviewof which, is this really safe?”
”Mai-chan will be just fine Her entire body is bound by Kosode no Te”
”That's a kiht?”
”Exactly I made plenty of copies of one and attached the properly, so there is nothing to worry about” Saijou casually turned the conversation back on track ”So what are we going to do? Should we head to that Intellectual Village Houjou-san visited?”
”Well, if we find the Youkai he spotted, we should be able to asse for”
Saijou spread out a paper e She did not use a convenient GPS syste it to track their location This hybrid Hit to abandon
”Oh, right,” said Saijou Ai as she looked at thethe newspaper at the breakfast table
Nanjou Kakeru frowned and asked, ”What?”
”You said those old ed in the autoanization, right?”
”What about it?”
”In that case, isn't it a bit odd for Akki Rasetsu to have two leaders left? It seeroup would be enough”
The sound of so crushed exploded out within the car
Saijou Ai pulled out a sleeping bag, stuffed a human-sized mass inside, and threw it into the backseat
She then said, ”It's getting a bit crowded back there, but bear with it, Mai-chan”
That famous '60s car called the Hitut as it left the rest stop's large parking lot The black foreign car se known as Noukotsu Village
Noukotsu Village is a bit of an ominous name, isn't it?[1]
That thought about reeting postcard It had come via ridiculously expensive airmail
Couldn't they just send an email?
Oddly enough, the postcard was addressed to the Succubus rather than the Jinnai household It just outright had ”Succubus” written on it And the sender was…unknown It just had a weird string of numbers in that field
At any rate, Idemon
She smiled and replied, ”It's from an old friend She's an old dee where quantum computers could soon be a reality, so I'm amazed she thinks a sih to hide her true naured out I'm here”
”Hm So who is she?”
”Tselika Wien Alpha Chely-…wait, stop that! Asking for a demon's name will not end well for you This is no fairy tale!”
It seemed the world of de further, so I quickly changed the subject
”So where is this picture from?”
”A place not far from Paris They have some wonderful catacombs there…”
The Succubus looked spellbound with the idea, but I was not entirely sure what catacombs were
After reading the text, she handed the postcard back tohallway and to the western style living roo on the floor watching TV with the Yuki Onna There was a TV in her rooer screen
They see a rerun of a quiz show
”The topic is Australia's circular farreen plains look quite mysterious in the middle of the vast desert Now for your question What percentage of the world's wheat is grown on them!? You have three possible answers and those of you at hoital remote controls!!”
I tossed the postcard into a postcard storage box no one used much anymore As I did, the overall flat Yuki Onna spoke to me expressionlessly
”Listen to this They're horrible They're all so horrible…”
”What happened?”
”They have been using the reame, but they won't let me have a turn”
”Isn't this a rerun?”
”And that untidy Youkai lying there always says the answer right before the host does…”
”Like I said, it's a rerun”
But what fun is it to watch a quiz show if you know all the answers already?
”The answer is the biggest option: 25! Surprising, isn't it? But the people of Australia think it is not enough There are a some problems such as cyclones and an outbreak of locusts, but with soy…”
The Zashi+ki Warashi+the Yuki Onna because she et
”shi+nobu, I want a popsicle”
”What?”
”Carry me”
I had no choice but to take that indoor Youkai to the kitchen by rolling her along the floor like a s to the hem and collar of her Yukata, but she did not see off that much skin
She calmly said, ”We just can't ith numbers alone, can we?”
”Are you talking about Australia? They use large scale far where the seeds are sown from an airplane A country like this where you have a hard ti land where the horizon is visible has no chance of winning Due to the race for the lowest prices, the beef, rice, and onions in the gyudon you buy will probably all come from Australia”
However, it was hard to e such vast a infrastructure with technicians included that used precision equipe situation where the japanese were in countries
After court despite saying she had wanted a popsicle, ranny entered the kitchen
”shi+nobu, shi+nobu”
”What is it, granny?”
”I think there are more trees in the yard than usual”
”…What?”
”I do not really understand, but it ht be a Youkai”
I was not sure what she meant, so I had her and the Zashi+ki Warashi+ wait in the kitchen while I headed for the yard
I put on a pair of beach sandals and stepped off of the long porch
”What is this giant tropical looking tree?”
There was indeed an extra tree It was obviously a different type of plant froht in thespot and the yard, so it could not have beenhere
This out-of-place feeling and strange sense of caution I felt for an unfae Just as stocking a river with black bass could destroy the river's ecosystee's colors was a scary thing
And then some cat-sized creature poked its head out from behind the mysterious tropical tree
But the creature's face was oddly stern
”Good day I am shi+sa”
”Eh? shi+sa!?”
”This Chinese banyan tree is Kijimuna He is my friend”
”Wait, wait! Let's go through this one at a tiht the term shi+sa referred to the statues themselves and not some creature they were modeled after Y'know, like the Komainu at a shi+nto shrine”
It was also possible this was technically not a shi+sa but a Tsuku which it was
However, the shi+sa did not seem the type to listen to what people said
”I am from Okinawa, so I have never seen snow I heard fro Youkai that I could find a Yuki Onna if I came here Have her make it snow”
”Hey! What the hell happened to our household's privacy!?”
”Here is soift Give it to your parents …It is not for children, okay?”
Having said that, the shi+sa (?) jumped up onto the porch and entered the house without permission He was so bold about it that I let it happen without thinking
After being left behind, I looked up at that tree that was a type of rove
”If you're a proper Youkai, you won't mess with the ecosystem of the normal plants around here…will you?”
The branches shook,noise, but I did not know if that was a yes or no
”At any rate, you're kind of in the way here, so could you head further back in the yard while you wait?”
After s, the movement was more like all of its roots were snakes
It otten into a turf ith the Furutsubaki in the back of the yard because it began that odd rustling again (By the way, the Furutsubaki would occasionally transform into a beautiful woman, but it was not the type that killed people My Youkai-loving mom hand picked it up from somewhere) But before I could focus on the two Youkai trees, I heard a co from the thatch-roof house
In fact, the Yuki Onna ran out barefoot into the yard with Xs for eyes
”Wh-what is this all of a sudden!? You'retoo hot!! I don't knoho you are, but I think we are horribly incompatible!!”
”I am shi+sa”
”I was not asking for your name!”
”I want to loo Make it snow”
The shi+sa (?) continued to not listen to anything anyone said as the Yuki Onna scurried over to cling to me
”P-please do soed me
Yeah…
But…
”Apparently, he's never seen snow before, so he came here all the way from Okinawa Can't you at least make it snow for him?”
”Kh… By any chance do you have a fetish for being NTRed away from people? A-and an animal fetish…?”
It see, but she was in no state to be corrected while she was being chased around by that sy around the yard with the heround behind her
If she really can't stand being around him, I need to create a way for them to talk this out…
But as soon as I had that thought,This was a brand newsoaked in water
”Eh? What do you need, uncle?”
After a short exchange, I frowned
”I see So you're on your way here?”
Unfortunately, there was no way I had any paid leave left
However, the shi+kigahtest about the proble man
”Please begin searching for Hishi+gaht away If you do not, I will kill you,” said the Deadly Dragon Princess bluntly
No matter how unreasonable this seemed, I had no chance if it cath And I could hardly go into ith that Deadly Dragon Princess tagging along 24/7 I was ultimately forced to lie and say my wounds from the Jinmensou case had reopened
Of course, I didn't have any paid sick days left either, so this was eating away at my already low pay
At any rate, I travelled to Noukotsu Village
As I stepped out onto the platfore's one unrimaced
”…So I've coain”
The first problee and the station's lack of a bus stop or taxi loading area However, I had called shi+nobu ahead of time, so the real question ould be sent to meet me My older brother was a man who focused 100 on his work, so he would never leave his brewing facility With any luck, my old man would come pick me up in his car, but…
”Well, there's not uess I'll just walk to the house”
”S-so I will finally get to greet your parents, detective!?”
”What are you doing here, mystery freak?”
The girl-shaped Deadly Dragon Princess was clinging tosome squid snacks, but I had not noticed Enbi until she had spoken to me on the platform Had she tailed me like a true mystery freak?
She lightly waved her index finger back and forth and said, ”For once, my sister is actually in a real pinch This is actually more my issue than yours, detective”
”Then do soami And while you're at it, how about you stay away from me too?”
But I was not even sure if the village even had an inn Even if it did, I did not know if Enbi could afford it Thatwith e girl to do that forI believed a police officer should be And of course, thinking that as falling right into the mystery freak's trap
As I heldand walked toward the ticket gate
I was already feeling irritated when I heard the grating high-pitched voice of a fe from some TV
”Blueprint of a Hit is on at Thursday at 7:00!! This ill approach the secrets of Daikawara-san, the producer of the beautiful Onirls unit Seroup's novel ideas such as the skillful blend of idols and spiritualindividual fortune tellings instead of a si event! Don't miss it!!”
I looked over to find theTV function of her cell phone
”Wow, this is really is the middle of nowhere There are al is covered by a single local station”
”You can order any show you want to watch over satellite or the internet”
”What do you think of Seman Stars? Don't you think Tarot Girls 22 is cuter?”
”There are too many of them, so I can't keep track Add in the backups and there are 56 of theht?”
Sitting around at the ean walking along the paved road with the Deadly Dragon Princess still clinging to my back Theor not, but I was having trouble deciding whether that was convenient or presumptuous
The an to wonder if it was not aNevertheless, I continued to walk across the asphalt and toward my family home The distance and heat must have been tooas alked
The Deadly Dragon Princess was clinging to th was being worn down quite quickly It ree in an RPG
”Ahhh!! Detective, are there no cafes or family restaurants around here?”
”Give it up This village only has a sweets shop If you need a rest, there's a bus stop with a roof not far up ahead”
”This is horrible! Is this really part of japan!?”
”I et away from this, so complain to someone else”
As soon as we finally arrived at the bus stop, theherself onto the bench but then started writhing around on top of that natural frying pan that had been heated by the sun
”Hgywaaaaahhhh!?”
”Your problem is that you're the type of ether when you don't have a case to solve Why couldn't you at least guess that the angle of the sun can still let it reach the bench despite the roof?”
”U-uuhhh… This is just cruel There's water so nearby yet I can't drink it”
”Huh? What is this doing in an Intellectual Village?” I muttered as I approached the object
And that turned out to be a deadly mistake
Despite e how soon he would be here over the phone, my uncle never arrived I frowned and called him back a few times, but I couldn't reach him
”What is going on?”
Had he run into some kind of trouble?
Noukotsu Village had an extre both directions, only 5 trains cah in a day One of those should have arrived at the station already If my uncle had been on that train, he should have arrived in the city by now
”Ho down to the station to check”
I had hoped soo with me, but the Zashi+ki Warashi+'s policy was to refuse to do anything that would be too much of a bother and the Yuki Onna did not want to head out into the hot sun As I looked around in search of so with me, the Nekomata turned away from me
Is this because of how Youkai naturally hate my uncle so much?
”Oh, that's right We've got a demon in addition to these Youkai”
And so I headed up to the attic using the steep and narroooden stairs that were practically a ladder
The house was quite large and the attic was not divided into individual rooms, so it contained a decent amount of space However, it had a dank and stuffy i space, so it was not a place I liked going to
But Youkai and demons tended to like places humans found uncomfortable, so it was quite well liked by them
”The answer is 3: 50 countries!! The ide agricultural revolution focused on Australia is known as the International Plantation Project Vast land is used to grow the specialties of countries the world over, such as Brazilian coffee, French grapes, and German potatoes The standard is to use circular farms, but some crops use a coasolar facilities…”