Chapter 54: CH 53

Chapter 53 – About the Inochi-shirazu

“….Puff. Hoh… So this is Torimoto?”

When he finally spoke, I was surprised by how deep his voice was, which seemed to resonate from his belly. I almost found myself backing away from the pressure of his gaze.

Ohsaka might have had his own charisma, but this guy was on another level, making Ohsaka seem small in comparison. It was probably due to the environments they had been raised in, but I also felt like it had to do with a difference in their innate qualities.

“Yes, Leader!” Takasu declared proudly as if it were his own achievement, but their leader just glared at him.

“C’mon, I thought I told you not to call me Leader. Call me by my name.”

“Oh no, I-I couldn’t! It would be impudent for me to call you by your name, Leader!” (Takasu)

“That name is so embarrassing! You can just call me Saito, how’s that?”

“P-Please, no way! That would be too much!” (Takasu)

“Tch… whatever. Hey, give these guys a reward.”

It seemed that he was going to reward the people who brought me here. Was he actually a man of his word…?

Also, he wasn’t that harsh towards his subordinates. I had imagined that he would be like Ohsaka, who pretended to be a tyrant…

After telling Takasu and the others that they no longer needed to be here, they retreated and left me there.

“―Well then. Sorry for just leaving you hanging there. I’m Kuzuhara Saito, the one at the center of the community we call the Inochi-shirazu. You’re Torimoto Kentaro… is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right. I heard that you wanted to meet me.” (Torimoto)

“I’m glad you’ve complied with my request.” (Kuzuhara)

“That’s not a line that someone who takes hostages would say.” (Torimoto)

“…! What did you just say?” (Kuzuhara)

“What do you mean? Those guys told me that if I didn’t listen, they would hurt the family that had been taking care of me, you know?” (Torimoto)

“Tch, so that’s what happened. Those guys… Geez. Hey, Torimoto-san.” (Kuzuhara)

“What is it?” (Torimoto)

“―I’m sorry.” (Kuzuhara)

…Huh? He was still sitting there just as before, but at his sudden apology I found myself dumbfounded by his attitude.

“I’ll have to punish those guys. I’m asking you for a favor here, so let’s call it even, alright?” (Kuzuhara)

“…….” (Torimoto)

“Huh? You listening?” (Kuzuhara)

“…! Ah, yeah. Even if the person at the top apologizes, it doesn’t mean I can accept it. Besides, it seems like your henchmen have really been acting out of line.” (Torimoto)

“I’m really sorry. I always tell them not to do things that way. But I asked them to hurry, so they must have gotten impatient and acted up.” (Kuzuhara)

…He asked them to hurry?

“Anyway, I’ll make them properly apologize to you later.” (Kuzuhara)

“….Fine. Somehow, the impression that I had of the leader of the Inochi-shirazu was a little different than I expected. I was a bit confused, you see.” (Torimoto)

“Huh? …Ah, I see. You’re referring to that.” (Kuzuhara)

“That?” (Torimoto)

“You’ve probably heard that the Inochi-shirazu has been running wild recently, right? And then you probably decided in your head that their leader was a cruel, heartless, and irredeemable scum, isn’t that right?” (Kuzuhara)

“Yeah, and a cowardly, conceited bastard, too.” (Torimoto)

“Hey, you bastard!” (Subordinate)

“That’s exactly fucking right! You’ve really got guts, don’t you?” (Kuzuhara)

“Praising me won’t get you anywhere. Maybe if you let me sock you in the jaw or something though.” (Torimoto)

“Hahaha, great. This is smack dab in the middle of enemy territory to you, and you can still act so gutsy. I like you! How about it? Won’t you join the Inochi-shirazu?” (Kuzuhara)

“Sorry, but I’m a traveler. And I’m planning to leave this town soon.” (Torimoto)

“What the hell, that’s boring. Just when I thought I had found an interesting guy.” (Kuzuhara)

That’s my line. I didn’t think Kuzuhara Saito would be such an easy guy to talk to. I had totally thought that he would just be a worse version of Ohsaka.

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But he was totally different. The atmosphere that he exuded wasn’t exactly that of a totally upright, honest person, but I had to say that he still gave off a favorable impression. Better than Ohsaka, at least.

“So? You still haven’t told me why you brought me here.” (Torimoto)

“Ah right, right. It has to do with the impression of the Inochi-shirazu, which I just spoke to you about.” (Kuzuhara)

“…?” (Torimoto)

“Tell it to me straight, alright? What have you heard about the brutal acts by the Inochi-shirazu?” (Kuzuhara)

“…Breaking into other people’s homes, mainly upscale neighborhoods. Massacring the occupants, then robbing them of food and other necessities. And kidnapping young women. There’s an organization called the Apostles of Peace that is trying to protect the suffering people of this city. But the Inochi-shirazu are the exact opposite. In fact, a better name for them would be the Apostles of Strife.” (Torimoto)

“…I knew it.” (Kuzuhara)

For a moment, I saw a look of frustration cross Kuzuhara’s expression.

“By the looks of it, that’s not exactly the result you wanted?” (Torimoto)

“Of course. I never gave such orders to the guys below me.” (Kuzuhara)

“…?! What do you mean?” (Torimoto)

“I’m not exactly someone who can proudly say that I’m an upright person.” (Kuzuhara)

“Because you got out of juvenile prison?” (Torimoto)

“…! So you know about that? Well, there’s that, too.” (Kuzuhara)

“No! Saito-san is…! (Subordinate)

“Chake, shut up!” (Kuzuhara)

“But Saito-san!” (Chake)

Met with Kuzuhara’s glowering stare, the subordinate with the close-cropped hair who had lashed out at me earlier was eventually forced to apologize.

“Sorry about this guy again.” (Kuzuhara)

“It’s fine. Could it be that you going to prison was false information?” (Torimoto)

“Hah? No, that was real. Well, that’s not important right now. Let me continue the story, alright?” (Kuzuhara)

“Yeah, go ahead.” (Torimoto)

“Like I said, I’m not a great person. But despite that, there are people who still follow me and gather around me. Well, they’re all guys who are outcasts in this society.” (Kuzuhara)

He said that there were a lot of people under him who had been expelled from school or forced out of their household for various reasons, and they were considered to be delinquents.

“But to me, they’re all part of the family that bears the word ‘evil’ on their backs.” (Kuzuhara)

He seemed to be referring to the word ‘evil’ that was engraved on the back of his robe, which was apparently their symbol.

“If I had to say if we were good or evil, I would definitely say that we are evil. However, being evil has its own code. It’s against our code to attack and kill innocent people and kidnap women.” (Kuzuhara)

The code of evil. I had no idea what he was getting at, but I could at least tell that he was trying to say that he had a policy.

“But it’s true that the guys of the Inochi-shirazu have been doing things that can only be considered scum, right?” (Torimoto)

“Why would they do that?” (Torimoto)

Hearing my question, a somewhat awkward expression appeared on Kuzuhara’s face.

“It seems you have an idea about the reason, right?” (Torimoto)

“…Well, I guess so. It’s definitely the work of Ryudou Eiichi.” (Kuzuhara)

“…I mean, even if you say his name like he’s supposed to be some kind of celebrity, I have no idea who this guy is.” (Torimoto)

“Huh? Ah, my bad. You didn’t seem like that upright of a person yourself, so I thought you knew.” (Kuzuhara)

Who said I’m not upright? Well, you’d be correct.

Kuzuhara explained to me about Ryudou Eiichi. He was 23 years old, the same age as Kuzuhara, and they had fought against each other in a near-death battle when they were teenagers. When Kuzuhara formed a group, Ryudou also formed a group to fight against him.

Kuzuhara was the stronger fighter, which meant that Ryudou always lost in fights, leading him to foster an intense hatred and jealousy towards him. Moreover, Kuzuhara didn’t think well of Ryudou, who was a drug addict, a con artist, and a rapist.

In other words, there was an irreconcilable rift between them, which meant that they would never come to understand one another. When those two last met recently, Ryudou said to Kuzuhara, “Take me under your wing, Kuzuhara.”

That was shortly after the world had been transformed. Of course, Kuzuhara immediately refused, but since then, strange things had started happening around him.

His house was broken into, he had been attacked in the cover of darkness, and some of his friends had gotten kidnapped. All of these incidents clearly indicated that someone was targeting him and his friends.

In agreement with the opinions of his friends and the people he hung out with, he formed a community, the Inochi-shirazu, in order to strengthen his people. But soon after, bad rumors began to spread about the Inochi-shirazu, causing them to lose reputation.

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