CH 228

Chapter 228 – Uncovered

—The next day arrived.

Last night, I managed to close out the deal with the Apostles of Peace and receive a big profit in exchange for a large number of weapons, which left me in good spirits this morning.

Just a bit after noon, another strategy meeting between the three groups was being held in the mansion base. I was with them as well.

“So you were able to secure the weapons without any problems, boss?” (Kuzuhara)

“Yeah. We got some powerful ones that work well against monsters too. But we haven’t checked out the jungle yet. We don’t know what kinda monsters are in there, and it’s too risky to go inside on a moment’s notice.” (Otaka)

Otaka was saying that they should take some time to investigate the jungle instead of attacking right away. Both Sayuri and Kuzuhara were understanding of this fact.

“But the Hosen Group’s office is inside this jungle, isn’t it? Hosen Touya, our current objective, should be there, but has his presence been confirmed?” (Kuzuhara)

Kuzuhara looked at both Sayuri and Otaka as he asked this, but they both shook their heads in response.

Thank goodness. It seems that none of them had found out about Hosen’s death yet.

At that moment, I suddenly raised my hand.

“…Torimoto? What is it?” (Kuzuhara)

Everyone turned to me, and I spoke quietly.

“What would you all do if Hosen Touya was killed by a monster living in the jungle?” (Torimoto)

It was an obvious question to ask, especially since the possibility of that happening wasn’t small.

“Ah, true. What’d happen then, boss?” (Kuzuhara)

“I’m not the one you should be asking. In the first place, the main player in this war is the Maiden’s Rebirth Order. Well, Tanaka-san?” (Otaka)

“Even if their head is dead, if they come at us then we will show no mercy. However…” (Sayuri)

I understood what Sayuri was trying to say. In a situation where the yakuza had lost their head, it would be hard to judge whether they would attack or not in the first place.

And it would be a waste of time and effort to go after them after they had lost their head and scattered. Besides, if they weren’t careful, the main group, the Higuchi Group, might make a move this time.

Based on what Akagiri had said, he had schemed for the Hosen Group to collapse, so as long as nothing happened, this would be the end of it. But if they went too far, it wasn’t clear how the main group would react.

If they got angry and sent 10,000 yakuza members to destroy the religious order, they wouldn’t be able to avoid annihilation no matter what they did. In all things, it was important to know when to back down.

Sayuri should be able to foresee that much.

“…It’s just a hypothetical situation. Right now, regarding the Hosen Group and the war—” (Sayuri)

At that moment, one of the followers rushed into the room in a panic. She approached Sayuri right away and whispered into her ear.

“……..! Is that true?” (Sayuri)

Sayuri looked more surprised than I had ever seen her before. She looked at the follower who had brought her the report in disbelief.

…It looks like everything went well on Kaza’s end.

“Oi, oi. This doesn’t look like any trivial matter. What just happened?” (Kuzuhara)

Kuzuhara asked this question quite understandably, seeing Sayuri’s demeanor. Otaka also seemed curious as he looked at her.

Sayuri told the follower who had delivered the report to make preparations to set out, and the follower left the room.

Sayuri remained mysterious, and under the gazes of everyone in the room, she spoke in a grim manner.

“…The situation has changed.” (Sayuri)

“Changed? What do you mean?” (Otaka)

“…Just a moment ago, in the vicinity of that jungle, my people found what appears to be the body of Hosen Touya.” (Sayuri)

““W-What?!””

Of course they would be surprised. After all, they were just talking in hypotheticals about that very situation.

“S-Sayuri-san, is this true?” I asked, as if this were my first time hearing of it.

“Yes. It’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth. I was planning to go out and confirm it right away.” (Sayuri)

“Then we’ll go too! C’mon, boss!” (Kuzuhara)

“Yeah, we know what he looks like. We gotta go check it out.” (Otaka)

And thus, the three parties headed towards a clearing by the jungle. It seemed that some of the followers had transported his body there.

We all ended up next to a body covered in a blue tarp to confirm the identity of the corpse.

“Without a doubt… that’s Hosen Touya.” (Kuzuhara)

Kuzuhara frowned when he confirmed Hosen’s appearance. Otaka also confirmed that it was Hosen’s corpse, which convinced Sayuri even further of his death.

“Judging by the state of the body, it looks like he was shot by a gun, but…” (Otaka)

“You’re right, boss. There are several shots in his back. But the direct cause of death was probably the one to his forehead.” (Kuzuhara)

“I thought he might have been killed by a monster, but he was found dead outside the jungle… right?” (Otaka)

“It seems so. My group discovered his body while they were patrolling the surroundings of the jungle.” (Sayuri)

I told Kaza to leave Hosen’s body in the same exact place and condition as before. This way, when the followers went around and patrolled the area, they would naturally find it right away.

“Of course, the followers weren’t the ones who killed him, right?” (Kuzuhara)

Sayuri nodded her head in response to Kuzuhara’s question.

“The bullets that were left in his body weren’t bullets that are used in our guns.” (Sayuri)

“I see… Then who in the world killed him? In the first place, why was he alone? He should know that we… or rather, the religious order is after him, so shouldn’t he have been accompanied by his subordinates? And yet…” (Kuzuhara)

“Kuzuhara-san, about that. It’s been confirmed that this person wasn’t alone.” (Sayuri)