Chapter 53: CH 52

Chapter 52 – The Leader of the Inochi-shirazu

I suddenly became interested when I heard that word. I had no idea that these guys were a part of that notorious insurgent group. Their leader was that guy who had been thrown into juvenile prison once.

So that guy wants… Torimoto?

Or did he simply send these people to take me away to get revenge for beating them up? Or maybe, did he hear from somewhere that Torimoto was a Restorer and wanted to make use of his power?

The first things that came to my mind were those two possibilities.

Without knowing the leader’s personality, I couldn’t say for sure, but I did hear that he was a dangerous guy. This meant he’s most likely doing this to get even with me, right…?

Then if I went with these guys, there was the danger of even more people lying in wait.

“….I see. But as I said before, I have no obligation to follow you, right?” (Torimoto)

“That’s…” (Tengawa)

“If you don’t come with us, you’ll regret it,” Takasu said suddenly, butting into the conversation. Didn’t you say that you didn’t want to talk to me?

“Regret…?” (Torimoto)

“That’s right. You’re living in some super rich bastard’s house, aren’t you?” (Takasu)

…! I see. So that’s what it’s come to.

In other words, these guys… No, their leader was threatening to do something to the Fukuzawa family if I didn’t listen to them.

These guys were targeting upscale residential areas. They would indiscriminately break into houses, ransack them, and kidnap women.

They were pretty much a band of thieves.

“So if I refuse, you’ll attack the family that’s been taking care of me… is that what you’re saying?” (Torimoto)

“…Then whatever, you can do as you please with them.” (Torimoto)

“Huh? …What?!” (Takasu)

Ooh, ooh. That surprised face sure is funny.

“Hey, wait! What the hell did you just say?!” (Takasu)

“Like I said, if you’re going to attack me, hurry up and do it already.” (Torimoto)

It was true that the Fukuzawa family had taken good care of me, and I gained a lot of money from them by having them as my clients. If it were possible, I would have wanted to maintain my relationship with them so I could keep earning profits from them.

However, I didn’t want these guys to get me wrong. In the end, I only saw them as business partners. I wasn’t treating them as family or friends. I had no intention of taking a risk to help them.

“Y-You, did you seriously mean that?! I heard they let you live there with them for weeks!” (Takasu)

Seems like they’ve done their research.

“And so what?” (Torimoto)

“Isn’t that… You’re just gonna abandon them so easily?!” (Takasu)

“As long as it’s necessary, I’m willing to toss aside whoever I need to.” (Torimoto)

“““What?!!”””

Seeing the cold, dark look in the pupils of my eyes, everyone in their mob gasped.

Takasu and Tengawa were especially terrified. After all, I was the one who had gone out of my way to help others at the university. They must have thought that I was a kind man with a strong sense of justice.

But what I said just now couldn’t have been uttered by someone with a gentle, kind-hearted character.

“Th-Then, you don’t feel anything about us attacking the Fukuzawa family?” Tengawa asked. He looked incredulous at my statements.

Oh, so now you’re casually dropping their name already? I could see through his confusion completely.

“No, no. In the end, I would still feel sorry for them if I heard that they were attacked because of me.” (Torimoto)

“T-Then…” (Tengawa)

“But it’s not to the extent that I’d risk my life for them.” (Torimoto)

Hearing the firm, unwavering will in my voice, a silence flowed on between the two parties. These guys were probably in the lower or middle end of the underlings of the Inochi-shirazu. Their hands probably hadn’t been stained in blood just yet.

It was different for the people who had attacked the Tanaka family. They were already completely steeped in sin.

In other words, these were small fries at best.

If it were Ohsaka, he wouldn’t have been shocked to hear what I had said. He was a guy who had nothing but ill will and animosity inside of him, so he wouldn’t feel any sympathy for people being attacked.

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However, these guys still felt that the forsaken Fukuzawa family were pitiable. I really wondered what the leader of the Inochi-shirazu was thinking by sending out these half-assed bastards on such a mission.

“…Well, saying something cold like that and running away would be an option.” (Torimoto)

“Y-You bastard… you were joking just now, weren’t you?!” (Takasu)

Do you have the right to get angry over the small details, Takasu?

“Despite my appearances, I do like to mess around a bit. Anyway, here.” (Torimoto)

“Hah? What is it?” (Takasu)

“Don’t ‘what’ me. Weren’t you guys the ones who said that your leader was waiting?” (Torimoto)

“…! You’re going to come with us?” (Takasu)

“In the end, it would hurt my conscience to abandon the Fukuzawa family like that.” (Torimoto)

That was only a half-truth, but my real interest was in their leader. I wanted to meet him and see what kind of guy he was.

Well, even if it were a trap, I had Sol and Shiki. And besides, he probably wouldn’t fire a machine gun at me as soon as he saw me. He seemed to be interested in Torimoto to some extent, so there would probably be some time for dialogue.

…That said, it’s good to have some safety measures in place.

I touched the necklace tag that was hanging around my neck. The words ‘Guest Room at the Fukuzawa Residence’ were written on it.

This was a [Respawn Tag], which was an item that allowed you to respawn at the location inscribed on the tag upon death. However, it was a single-use item, and it cost a massive sum of ¥250,000,000.

In other words, the price of a person’s life was valued at about that much in the <Shop>. As always, I had no clue who was making these seemingly arbitrary judgments.

But as long as I had this, I could come back to life once even if I accidentally died. This way, I could push myself a little beyond my limits if I really had to.

Well, if I was forced to use this, I would destroy the Inochi-shirazu after respawning. As revenge, of course.

And so, I set out for the hideout of the Inochi-shirazu.

—

―In front of me stood a mansion as large as the Fukuzawa family’s residence.

If anything, I’d say it was more of a Japanese-style building with the appearance and feel of a Japanese ryokan.

(TL: Ryokan – traditional Japanese inn)

“…Is your leader a celebrity or something?” (Torimoto)

I wasn’t sure if they would answer me, but Tengawa, who was beside me, responded.

“This is a house that our leader stole.” (Tengawa)

I was glad to hear his proper response. By the way, Takasu wasn’t here because he had gone to report to their leader that they had brought me here. If he had been here, he would have probably said something like, ‘I have no obligation to answer that’.

“I see. So you robbed someone else and took away their property then.” (Torimoto)

Whether an ordinary person would reach that train of thought and actually act on it had to do with their own character, but as a group of insurgents, they definitely wouldn’t hesitate to pillage and steal.

I thought they would have set up their base in an abandoned building or in the mountains like a typical gang or insurgent group, so I was surprised to see them so brazenly setting up camp in the middle of a residential area.

I suppose they knew that in this day and age, the police wouldn’t take action about something like this. Even if someone were to beg them to help take back their house, they probably still wouldn’t be able to help.

But there was one thing that bothered me.

…Wasn’t Kuzuhara supposed to be staying in a love hotel?

I had gotten this information from Sol after asking her to acquire information on the Inochi-shirazu. I heard that the Inochi-shirazu were grouped up there and that there was a leader among them who didn’t step foot out of there often.

Did this mean… they moved their base?

Takasu came back and led the way forward, bringing us to a wonderful garden with trees and a pond which looked like it had been worked on by a fine gardener. It was surrounded by an elevated wooden walkway. On the wooden porch, there was a man sitting there in a simple black jinbei. There was the character for the word ‘evil’ inscribed on the back of his robe. He was sitting with one knee up as he blew on a long tobacco pipe, giving off a picturesque image of manly coolness.

(TL: Jinbei – a type of traditional Japanese clothing which has short sleeves and is usually worn in the summer.)

There were a bunch of brawny, muscular men standing guard around him, ready to deal with a situation at any time. I was made to stand in front of the man at a certain distance.

….This guy is…

Even though he had a slim build, I could clearly see that his body was muscular through his clothes. He was probably what one would typically call a ‘macho man’. With hair as spiky as a sea urchin and eyes that were sharp like a hawk, he gave off a strangely intimidating aura which incited fear and made it difficult for others to approach.

I could tell at a glance. This guy was different from ordinary people. He didn’t look that much older than me, but the aura he exuded was formidable.

If anything, he was the charismatic, evil type I suppose?

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