CH 202

Chapter 202 – Awkward Man

“First, I would like to thank you for agreeing to meet with us.” (Kuzuhara)

It was Kuzuhara who opened up the discussion.

“Oh, not at all. There was also something I wanted to make sure of.” (Sayuri)

“Something you wanted to make sure of?” (Kuzuhara)

“The matter about the ‘Inochi-shirazu’.” (Sayuri)

“…! Come to think of it, that meddling bastard over there did say that you were the only one who wasn’t surprised upon hearing about Ryudou.” (Kuzuhara)

Meddling bastard? I’m gonna make him pay an extra 30% next time I sell him medicine just for that.

“That’s because I was once held captive by this man called Ryudou.” (Sayuri)

“You were there when Chake invaded Ryudou’s base with the Apostles of Peace, right?” (Kuzuhara)

“Yes. I knew that the Inochi-shirazu led by you and the ‘Inochi-shirazu’ led by Ryudou were different entities.” (Sayuri)

She must have heard about it when she was being held captive. Or maybe she looked into it after being set free.

“It doesn’t add up. Why would you side with Ryudou?” (Sayuri)

“I wasn’t siding with Ryudou. The evils he committed while acting as the Inochi-shirazu were all to harass me.” (Kuzuhara)

“To harass you?” (Sayuri)

“…I had incurred his enmity. But that has already all come to an end.” (Kuzuhara)

“Because Ryudou is dead. I looked into the matter, but is it really true?” (Sayuri)

“Yeah… I killed him with my own hands.” (Kuzuhara)

Ryudou, huh? He really was a hopeless guy until the very end. Some might say that he deserved to die, but he was such worthless scum that he didn’t even deserve such an easy death.

I felt that people who hurt and killed people without any regard for human life were better off dead. Like Ohsaka, for example.

“I see… The Maiden’s Rebirth Order would have liked to get their revenge.” (Sayuri)

There were many followers who had been hurt by Ryudou. They finally had the power to get revenge, so it must have been tough for them to not be able to get vengeance in the very end.

For Sayuri, it would be avenging her children and her husband, Yaichi. And for the women whose attack I had stopped earlier, it would be her little brother.

If my father or mother had been cruelly murdered by them, I definitely would have also wanted to get revenge.

“Let me ask you something. Earlier, you were being charged at by one of my followers with a knife, but you didn’t move an inch. Were you seriously planning to die?” (Sayuri)

This might have been what Sayuri wanted to ask from the start.

Hearing her question, Kuzuhara looked straight into Sayuri’s eyes before speaking.

“I don’t know what it was. I just felt like I shouldn’t avoid it.” (Kuzuhara)

“Why is that?” (Sayuri)

“No reason. It’s just that my heart felt it and my body followed.” (Kuzuhara)

“You would have had no regrets if she killed you as a result of a misunderstanding?” (Sayuri)

“Dunno. If I was still conscious after dying, I probably would have regretted it a lot. But as I said before, none of this tragedy would have occurred if I hadn’t existed. When I thought of that, I couldn’t bring myself to move.” (Kuzuhara)

I felt that Kuzuhara was overthinking things. His own life hadn’t been easy by any means. He had experienced a horrific past that wasn’t any better than the tragedies the people of the order had faced.

Everything was caused by Ryudou, who was also undoubtedly a victim in his own way.

And yet, Kuzuhara always tried too hard to carry everything on his shoulders. He really was an awkward man.

“I see. I think I have an idea of what kind of person you are now. That’s all I have to ask. Thank you for answering.” (Sayuri)

Now, it was Kuzuhara’s turn to speak, regarding the purpose of his visit.

“I don’t like to beat around the bush. So I’ll cut straight to the point. Is it true that you Maiden’s Rebirth Order are going around killing men?” (Kuzuhara)

Kuzuhara and his organization worked to uphold the security of the city. There was no way they wouldn’t know about the Maiden’s Rebirth Order.

“We are simply purifying the world in the name of God.” (Sayuri)

“Purifying?” (Kuzuhara)

Yeah, I know exactly what you’re thinking. It doesn’t make any sense, does it?

Sure enough, Kuzuhara furrowed his brows as if to say, ‘what in the world is she talking about?’.

“Since the world has changed, a lot of blood and tears have been shed. Absurd and irrational situations have become painfully common. And in many of those cases, people have hurt others.” (Sayuri)

“…! So that’s what this is all about. You all want revenge on the men who hurt you?” (Kuzuhara)

“Please don’t lump it in with something as debased as revenge. This is purification. We are simply sending the defiled beings back to the wheel of reincarnation to guide this world towards peace.” (Sayuri)

“…Geez, are you serious?” (Kuzuhara)

I totally get you, Kuzuhara. But Sayuri and the followers believed in this wholeheartedly and were acting accordingly.

“But according to my investigations, you have been targeting men who have committed no wrongs whatsoever. Is murdering a completely unrelated man considered purification in your eyes?” (Kuzuhara)

“They are not unrelated. Any man is a subject of purification.” (Sayuri)

“You have all been hurt by men before, without a doubt. It’s true that in this world, the number of incidents caused by men has been increasing, especially where women are the primary victims. However, there are many guys who are living honest, upright lives.” (Kuzuhara)

“We also lived honest, upright lives. We weren’t causing trouble for anyone else. But men did as they pleased and twisted our lives beyond repair.” (Sayuri)

“But that doesn’t mean that all men are bad! There are guys who live their lives desperately from day to day, caring for their friends, lovers, and family. What you all are doing is just spreading hatred!” (Kuzuhara)

He was right. As a human being, it was normal to have parents, siblings, lovers, and friends. Killing people severed those connections and bred hatred.

And those people who harbored grudges as a result of this would one day kill one of Sayuri’s people. This would create even more hatred and cause even more fighting to break out.

It would just repeat and repeat, and the cycle of hatred would never come to an end.