Volume 4 Chapter 3 (1/2)
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An unmanned train station was surrounded by tranquil rural scenery
The platforravel road, and that grass blew in the cool autuonflies filled it
A one unused He was on the border between ed and elderly, yet he was quite muscular
No train was co
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 coht by the trains was still soo if they had to And as ti ”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
”hello,” he said out of the blue
Someone else had appeared on that closed station that should have been forgotten by everyone
A wo outfit of a tank top and hot pants had arrived at some point
Her naami Mai
Hers was a well-known name within a certain small industry
”Sit down,” said theover at Mai with beer in hand ”The scenery froes are re the rural areas into the out”
”Do you always do this?”
”No, this is a recent thing So on life”
Hishi+ga to him
The paint was coht
Thefreely through the sky
”I have cancer The doctor said I had three o I could die at anydriven by fear If I could die torets This helped s”
”And that's what led to this?”
With some exasperation on her face, Mai looked around the area once more
She saw a rural unrew on the gravel road, that grass blew in the cool autuonflies
However…
That scenery was covered in enough red to completely overturn that impression
A quick glance at the cluh to know that more than twenty men had been killed instantly
”They said they were going to develop this land,” bluntly stated thea sip of his beer ”Is this what you call the end of an era? japan'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 baer, even a bale and speed were properly calculated out This h in the art of swordplay to easily cut through soht the blade was compared to one of metal, the man was said to be able to strike five tinore 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 ba 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 hi a murder weapon into cordoned-off or closely- a ba was not a problem They could even be carried on airplanes
It was truly the tool of a professional
”C' 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” Thearound the little bit of beer left in the can ”I'm a professional All of my jobs were complete shi+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 forht someone would eventually co it, but I've soeneration, so I will say a wouess that's another sign of the changing times”
”Whatever your reasons, you did a good job killing that her 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 so that process means you have to be executed”
”Ha ha I forgot to mention it, but while I' 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, otten if this is the fortieth or fiftieth ti I've asked so many times before: will you watch over this man's final moments?”
”Sure”
Hishi+gareed
She spoke with the lightness of a child pro to play with a friend that weekend
However, this proht 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
Soht out from between theas a huer 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 drea”
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 soer 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 the 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”
Hishi+gami 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 sloith his eyes closed ”People like us are invincible while we race forithout turning back But there are moments ant to look back That is a ri 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 sahat 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 ar the crushed can
He re 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 knohat you saw,” , didn't you? After countless fights to the death, you assuained sothere But it was your oeakness that made you despair at that”
Or perhaps this man had been the same
He ain that he understood that
Heit and had simply pretended that he did
”It's over”
Hishi+gae satellite phone and called someone
She looked to the deadnext 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 ht 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 shi+ba inu We had no scary traits that would lead to so up against traveler's shi+ns Hence e're known as Sunekosuri or ”shi+n rubbers”
I was soerous 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 froanization'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 s 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 Ma their scrotum, 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 Maht 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 o humans
”What's this? What's this? So around Let me join!”
One was Hishi+ga 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 si 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 kiirl 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 fleeen us, Mai-san laughed uproariously, and Hafuri-sahed
I then noticed a Youkai leaning against Hafuri-sa
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 butt and make a cellphone strap out of him!!”
”I'll do whatever you ask! Just stay away fro it!!”
Dae, so she spotted ht away!
Mai-san grinned with great interest, so I averted aze and spoke half in desperation
”L-laugh if you want, but the reason I gave up my peaceful life for this kind of as to find my ho vanished one day!!”
”What kind of hardboiled motivation is that!? It doesn't match your appearance at all!!”
Hishi+gami Mai-san and I ork partners on a provisional basis
And thaton underworld business worthy of the name Hyakki Yakou
”The G20 su sounds like some terribly formal event, but doesn't it feelat Hakone? The cabinet n nations were insistent on holding thetown”
Inside a soba restaurant near the train station at the entrance of Hakone, the elderly and clearly bored restaurant oatched the TV The place was al lunchtime, but he didn't seem to care much
As a Youkai, I did not much like concrete or precision equiph that I could still bear it That may have been because the city was deep in the forest and theup a combination of cheap kitsune and tanuki soba and I asked a question while rubbing up against her shi+n
”Don't you find this e? Why would they ask you to wait in Hakone until further orders?”
”H ht? They wouldn't succeed in assassinating a cabinet ht show up all the sa some idiot ould normally vanish without a trace”
”I-I see”
”But they really chose a coht be part of the trap to lure in that supposed idiot”
”Hakone is divided between a few Intellectual Villages that are priional city that supports the infrastructure We're in that city A long ties 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 ie of rural japan and make a brand name out of it, but thatmalls 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”
”Ues make a lot of ional 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 theh the hospitals thees are upset that they have to bear the burden of someone else's debt They want to knohy they have to pay such high taxes for 'regional financial health'”
”So when you say complicated…”
”If soe-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 periant pain in the ass If you assuht find you attacked a local kid spray painting a protest on the wall …Of course, the opposite can happen too”
Just as ere 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 daytiram
Rather than a proper studio, the footage showed an editing room with tons of monitors lined up
”Is this an eency broadcast?” I asked
”How should I know?”
With a G20 su matter
I focused on the screen while a young female newscaster spoke stiffly
”Hishi+ga 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 tiround 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 erous
”But this is strange”
”Y-yes, it is strange for a false report to be spread so widely”
”Not what I ami Mai in everyday life In fact, there is technically no birth registration under that naami women' are seen as aboami woman is one that was unleashed upon the world after so that fate”
”So the naami 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 s
”So ht that involves the occult If that show itself was part of a Package or soht be a bit of a problem”
Beep
”The nu 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 nu some people ere 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 theto switch between enemy and ally if it comes down to it, you'll definitely view theht you Not toisn't my specialty”
Incidentally, ere 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 es, but it see Youkai, I wasn't about to complain
”Supplier, how much do you know?”
”Notnuts 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 h the woods? Tiative 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 ht use this 'fall of the queen' as their chance to act And if they all act together, they et a little full of themselves”
”You'retoo ht Oh, dah 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, soo in for the kill I don't know if siency 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 harassing uess 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 reat time to make money So what do you need?”
”Isn't your hoe 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 so, you can use whatever you find inwhatever you take, not renting it”
”I see” Mai-san thought for a moment ”Then can you spread a rumor that I' and everything inside”
”Thanks for your business☆”
She ended the call and pulled so 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 rushi+ng toward the Supplier's warehouse”
”Weapons?”
”Just the handgun hidden in h I'd like soht 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 suht now To prevent any possible terrorist bos, all of the coin lockers and trunk rooms will be inspected So what happens to the people who nors in places like that? I have a feeling they'll be rushi+ng to hide their stuff elsewhere”
”Y-you s?”
”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 Thatthem in the part of Hakone the police willtowns, 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 wo clothes
The sly long blade shot fro enough to qualify as a sword rather than a knife
Mai-san, however, gave an exasperated sigh and rubbed her teer
”So Idiot 1 is between B-class and C-class, 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 si
And she took a slow and silent step forward
”Did you think soe 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 theh drop inside And it'll be treated as an accident that is barely recorded …When people refer to the seven tools of a professional assassin, they're referring to so 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 netic field around an active volcano is so unstable I'nal”
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 suate due to the volcanic gasses Mai-san successfully dug up the firearround 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 seun That should be plenty”
”Shake shake”
”H on too high?”
”N-no! That isn't it…”
Her success hereclothes, and in this business, ”eli
”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 confirh 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-ill… What e do now?”
”Hency broadcast about 'Hishi+gaest 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 bo the rental car's trunk
That sounded a lot like what a terrorist would say, didn't it!?
I continued tre and looked back over to the driver's seat Mai-san was still s
”H And searching out the culprit with a long-term infiltration of the station isIt would be faster to just cut the Achilles' tendon, so I think I'll go attack the highest rab all their company secrets”
”B-but TV stations are considered high-risk targets for terrorisht? 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 et some help from them”
”You oing to actually find the eneer?”
”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 advertisement Let's watch some TV and see what local companies have frequent ads Then we just have to search online for other co froainst the TV station,” explained Mai-san ”Also, I'erthe 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 proble ht 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!?”
”Norn cars, live in nice apartolf 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 enerally run in the red and will jump at any proposal for a sponsorshi+p Since they rejectedshady 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 eneood 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 etting out But if the station is blocking it, that s”
She see someone with the phone