CH 55

Chapter 55 – Ambush

“Yeah, and there’s one more thing I want to ask you about. Actually, Komon told me about this before…” (Torimoto)

I told him about the guys who had claimed that they were from the Inochi-shirazu and tried to kidnap Komon. I hid the fact that they used his name.

After hearing this story, Kuzuhara responded saying that he didn’t recognize those guys. He hadn’t given out such an order, and there weren’t any scum like that on his side who would dress up as police officers to kidnap women. Then, Kuzuhara asked me if I knew what those guys who attacked Komon looked like, and I responded to him honestly.

“…I don’t know. Hey, do you guys know?” (Torimoto)

I asked the people standing near Kuzuhara, and they all shook their heads from left to right in an honest manner. At least from the look on their faces, I could tell that they weren’t trying to lie.

“Hey, Torimoto. Did those guys use my name?” (Kuzuhara)

“It seems so. Apparently, they said something along the lines of ‘Kuzuhara is fond of women and that he would take good care of you’. Ahaha, they really made you out to be some kind of crazy sex fiend, it seems?” (Torimoto)

“Hey, you bastard! Try and say that one more time! Saito-san is not some sex fiend!” (Chake)

It wasn’t Kuzuhara, but his subordinate, Chake, who snapped back at me.

“Oi, Chake. Calm down.” (Kuzuhara)

“No, hearing that guy’s half-assed, manipulated information pisses me off!” (Chake)

It’s not like I was the one trying to manipulate information. I’m just fact-checking.

“Listen up, bastard! Saito-san is―” (Chake)

I wondered what the hell he was about to say, so I shut my mouth for a second, but…

“―A virgin who doesn’t even know how to write the word ‘woman’!!!” (Chake)

………Wha?

Time stopped. Or at least, it felt that way. Everyone was frozen in shock. The only person who was moving was Chake…

“He’s always stuck to his guns as the straight-laced type, so even now he ain’t got any resistance to girls. If a girl got close to him, he would get all shy and―bfffuuu!?” (Chake)

Suddenly, a fist slammed into Chake’s face, and he was sent flying.

“O-Oww… Why did you punch me?!” (Chake)

“Shuuuut the hell up, you fucking idiot! Why the hell are you telling someone I’m meeting with for the first time about that?! You’re a moron, Chake! Besides, I’ve had a girlfriend before, you know that!” (Kuzuhara)

“Ah…Did you manage to enter into the adult world?” (Chake)

“T-That’s….That’s obvious, isn’t it?” (Kuzuhara)

Yeah, that’s definitely bullshit.

Everyone in the room could probably tell. With the way he turned away shyly while saying that, he totally looked like an adolescent boy who didn’t want anyone to know that he was a virgin.

““Saito-san….”” (Subordinates)

“W-What are you looking at me like that for?! Fine, I was lying! I’m still a virgin! But so what? What the hell does that matter to you guys?!” (Kuzuhara)

I suddenly felt that Kuzuhara seemed a lot closer and more personable. The evil boss vibe he’d had earlier vanished, and all I could see now was an ordinary person who was fun to tease.

“If you really want to lose your virginity so badly, there are places out there that can help you with that, you know?” I said with a wry smile, feeling slightly bad for him.

“Are you an idiot?! There’s no way I could have sex with someone without a single shred of passion there!” (Kuzuhara)

“….So pure.” (Torimoto)

“Shut up! A gentle, handsome bastard like you has probably lost his virginity a long time ago!” (Kuzuhara)

No, I’m the same as you though?

“I bet you’re popular and have had plenty of women!” (Kuzuhara)

“You’ve got a good face and your face isn’t bad either. I’m sure you’ve been popular with the ladies, no?” (Torimoto)

“Sorry, but I don’t wanna go out with a girl unless I really like her from the bottom of my heart!” (Kuzuhara)

“Yeah, exactly! I told you, Saito-san is the straight-laced type!” (Chake)

“Chake, shut the hell up already!” (Kuzuhara)

“But why?! A long time ago, I saw you reading some kind of love manual, and I was like ‘oho, I see.’’” (Chake)

“Gaahh?!” (Kuzuhara)

Wow, that’s embarrassing. Chake-san, aren’t you teasing him a bit too much here?

“But you don’t want a careless romantic relationship! Even if you have an interest in romance, you have such an incredible willpower to hold yourself back from doing something like that! I really think that your will to stay true to your straight-laced self is admirable! I want to be a man like you, a man who sticks to his convictions rather than love!” (Chake)

Man, stop it already. Kuzuhara’s face is already turning bright red.

“Huh? But Chake, didn’t you say that you had a girlfriend the other day?” (Subordinate)

Suddenly, one of his buddies tossed Chake a curveball from left field. Chake seemed to be upset for a second, but…

“Oh what, you knew about that? She’s a real cutie. She’s got big breasts and a cute voice… Huh? Saito-san, are you okay? Why are you looking down and trembling like that?” (Chake)

…Rest in peace, Chake. I’ll never forget you. I closed my eyes and prayed for him.

And then―the sounds of pounding fists echoed out for a while…

“Hey, sorry that you had to see that.” (Kuzuhara)

I was facing Kuzuhara, who was sitting on the wooden porch as if nothing had happened. It was probably best not to mention the fact that his hands were stained with blood.

I shifted my gaze a little and saw the pitiful figure of a man, battered, bruised, and pinned to a wooden cross.

Unlike Jesus Christ, this guy… isn’t coming back to life, is he?

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The other guys didn’t seem to sympathize with the guy pinned to the cross, only pressing their hands together in prayer.

“No, I understand now that you didn’t have anything to do with those guys who attacked Komon-san.” (Torimoto)

Seeing the attitude of his friends, he either had to be seriously pure or unaffected by women. The guys who attacked Komon must have said all that to frame Kuzuhara.

Then who was it? The name of Ryudou, the guy he had just mentioned, came to my mind.

It was truly hard to believe that a pure-hearted guy like Kuzuhara would make his base in a love hotel and kidnap women. If everything to this point had been an act… he would have to be quite the actor, but I had the feeling that the chances of that were low.

“In that case, I’ll let Komon-san know that you didn’t order your men to attack her. She was pretty upset about this incident.” (Torimoto)

“That’d be a huge help. Then you’d be willing to introduce us, right?” (Kuzuhara)

“I already agreed to it earlier, didn’t I? It’ll be no problem. Whether or not it goes well is all up to you.” (Torimoto)

“That’s good enough. Let’s set up a time for the meeting then.” (Kuzuhara)

After deciding on a time with Kuzuhara, the meeting came to an end. He offered me an invitation to join him for dinner to apologize for all the trouble he’d caused, but I declined. I decided to leave that for another time.

After leaving Kuzuhara’s base and walking by myself for a bit, I was once again approached from the front by a group of strangers. This time, there were a bunch of people on motorcycles.

These bikers looked like the ones I had seen the other day. Yes, they were none other than the ones who had been running wild in the area where I used to live. Because of them, I had to put my house in the <Box> and leave.

“…Could you get out of the way?” (Torimoto)

“Dunno? I have no reason to tell you guys, do I?” (Torimoto)

“If you don’t want to get hurt, you better listen to what we say.” (Biker)

With that, the guys started to move to surround me.

Good grief, I feel like I’m coming into contact with these kinds of guys more and more these days. Well, I might as well try asking them a quick question.

“So who are you guys? You seem to have a connection with the Inochi-shirazu.” (Torimoto)

“That’s none of your business. You better answer my question first.” (Biker)

“…..Rich neighborhoods.” (Torimoto)

The moment I muttered this, the eyebrows of the man in front of me twitched.

“So it’s you guys, huh? The guys who’ve been running wild recently in the rich neighborhoods?” (Torimoto)

“Hah? What the hell are you talking about, bastard?” (Biker)

…So they have no intention of admitting it. In that case…

“I’ve seen you guys before. …Yes, it was you guys over there. You were forcefully taking a woman into a love hotel. And also… I saw you guys breaking into a house on Tenbou Street.” (Torimoto)

By the way, Tenbou Street was the place where the Tanaka family used to live. In the blink of an eye, their expressions changed. I could already feel their killing intent beginning to rise.

But suddenly, a sneer appeared on the face of the man standing before me.