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Chapter 14: Abnormality in Akane Village
All place names and characters appearing in this story are fictional.
Listening to the deafening chorus of cicadas splitting the air, I passed through the Moon Gate and emerged from the grove. Yet Akane Village, which usually carried a peaceful and quiet atmosphere, felt strangely unsettling today.
“What’s with those cars?”
If my sense of time was correct, the calendar had already entered August. With the Obon holiday approaching, it wouldn't be unusual for families to return to Akane Village for visits. In fact, unfamiliar vehicles were parked in front Taeko-san’s house—the woman whose garden I had once helped weed—as well as Grandpa Genji's house, the first person I had met in this world.
“Those look like luxury cars straight out of a movie…”
Е̇ n ŭ m а
Shining beneath the scorching summer sun were black luxury sedans. Speaking with complete prejudice, they looked exactly like the kind of expensive cars that people from certain shady organizations might favor. They were parked throughout Akane Village, and nearby stood well-built men dressed in black suits, searching for something despite the blazing heat.
“Oh! Aren’t you Allen-kun? Where have you been this past week?”
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
“It’s been a while, Genji-san.”
Although only about a week had passed, I had been visiting Akane Village regularly before that. Seeing me again after such an absence, Granpa Genji looked slightly surprised.
The reason I hadn’t been able to come was, of course, because I had accompanied Saioji to the royal capital. If I opened the Moon Gate, I could have come to Akane Village anytime during the journey, but as a newly joined recruit, sneaking off in the middle of the night seemed like a bad idea, so I restrained myself.
“By the way, Genji-san, who are all those people in black?”
W̌ е b̊n̂о̂vе̇ ĺ Ẽ n ũ m̆ а̃
“That’s right! Ever since you stopped showing up, they suddenly came all the way to this village! They said they were looking for you, and they've been camped here ever since!”
As if suddenly remembering, Grandpa Genji clapped his hands together and began explaining the group in black suits.
From what I gathered, they had come from Saibamachi, the nearest town to Akane Village, traveling all the way through the mountain roads. Every day, from sunrise until nightfall, they had been searching for me. Some of them were even staying at lodging facilities in the village.
“Why would people from the Saioji Group come all the way to a remote village like this...? Allen-kun, just what on earth did you do?”
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The moment I heard “Saioji Group,” the first person who came to mind was my current employer, Saioji Shizuku.
According to her, in the world that existed after my death, there was no one in Japan who didn't recognize the Saioji name.
Е̂n ŭ m̊ӑ.і d
At the time, I had assumed she was exaggerating, but hearing Grandpa Genji lower his voice and speak almost furtively beside me, it seemed the Saioji family really was something extraordinary.
“Is the Saioji Group really that impressive?”
“Impressive doesn’t even begin to describe it! It’s one of Japan’s leading corporations—no, one of the biggest companies in the world!”
Grandpa Genji looked genuinely shocked that I didn’t know such a famous corporation.
Considering I had died in this world over twenty years ago, it seemed unlikely that a global corporation had simply appeared out of nowhere. Maybe it was a startup that had achieved spectacular success. Whatever the case, even a rural place like Akane Village knew its name.
Knock, knock.
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“Excuse me.”
While talking with Grandpa Genji, the men in black who had been near the grove containing the Moon Gate seemed to have moved elsewhere.
Still, a luxury black car that looked like a Mercedes was parked not far from Grandpa Genji’s house. I tapped on the window and spoke to the person resting inside.
“Could you be the one?”
The driver noticed me and lowered the window with the power controls. Since the person was dressed in black, I had initially assumed it would be a man, but the occupant turned out to be a woman wearing a somewhat tired expression.
“I’m not sure who you mean by ‘the one,’ but I believe I’m the person you’ve been searching for.”
É nu mǎ.
“...Probably. You don’t exactly find a big foreign guy in a backwater village like this every day.”
Speaking in a husky voice, the woman in black let out a faint sigh.
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“Get in the back. It’s hot outside.”
“Do you mind if I smoke?”
“No, go ahead.”
The woman in the driver’s seat pulled a cigarette from her breast pocket and asked for permission. When I told her it was fine, she smoothly lit it and started smoking.
Ѐ n um̀ а̊ . іd̀
“We finally found you. The master sent us to search for you in a village like this, and after a whole week, I can hardly even buy cigarettes around here.”
“...Sorry about that.”
“Nah, just me complaining. Don’t worry about it.”
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Chuckling lightly, the woman introduced herself as Kamiki Akira.
At first, I addressed her formally as Kamiki-san, but she told me to just call her Akira, so I settled on Akira-san.
E n̆ ú m̈а́
“Phew.”
“Japanese summers are hot, aren’t they? Try imagining what it’s like to spend nearly a week searching for someone in this weather.”
Akira’s tone was joking, but there was no doubt she had gone through a lot, considering she had spent nearly a week coming back and forth from the neighboring town through mountain roads searching for me.
“When I told Saioji that maybe we should write a return address on the letter, I never imagined it would turn into something like this…”
Following Saioji’s instructions, I had simply mailed the letter. I never expected they would trace it back and search all of Akane Village.
“Saioji must have predicted this would happen,” I muttered aloud.
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At those words, Akira, who had been smoking with the window open, suddenly changed expression.
“...So you really do know about Young Lady.”
As she spoke, she closed the window she had opened for the cigarette smoke, and then came the click of the door locks engaging.
“Sorry, but I can’t let you leave now. Though, to be honest, that was always the plan.”
The friendly, older-sister-like demeanor Akira had shown moments ago vanished. In its place, she radiated a chilling bloodlust—the very presence of an assassin.
