15 Days
“Is anyone there?!”
The man’s voice rang out.
Mori Masahiro drew in a breath.
“…I’ll go out for now. I’d like one of you to come with me. Or maybe we all go out together… that might not be so bad either.”
I raised a hand.
“I’ll go with Senior Mori.”
“Alright. Thanks, Seong.”
I walked toward the entrance with Mori Masahiro. His steps were heavy. He was tense.
I recalled the story Mori Masahiro had told me before. The disappearance that had happened in this village last year. Looking at the terrified Tanaka Hiroshi, it seemed possible the culprit was the villagers themselves.
Well, it’s almost certain. This world is that kind of genre, after all.
Mori Masahiro forced strength into his faintly trembling hand and opened the front door.
Roughly twenty villagers stood outside. More than half were old men; the rest were middle-aged. The middle-aged man at the front wore a police uniform, but the knife scar across his face made him look more like a yakuza than a cop.
“I’m Shimada, the police box chief who works in Ookaruma Village. I know Tanaka Hiroshi fled here. Hand him over. Or rather, step aside and I’ll arrest him myself.”
“Shimada-san. Tanaka said the villagers were trying to kill him.”
Shimada twisted his face as if the claim were absurd. The scar on his cheek writhed grotesquely.
“Is that what a criminal told you?”
“A criminal… What exactly did Tanaka do?”
“Tanaka Hiroshi. That bastard is a sexual assailant.”
“…What?”
“I can’t go into details. Where is he? Don’t tell me you intend to harbor a criminal.”
“N-no. Please explain more carefully. Tanaka is a criminal? Tanaka is…”
“I don’t know what he told you, but… he escaped from the holding cell and came here. I don’t want to arrest you for obstruction of justice as well, so step aside.”
Shimada tried to force his way inside. Mori Masahiro clenched his teeth, held his ground, and finally shouted.
“Tanaka said! Gonzo and Sakurai were murdered by the villagers! You people gathered here to kill Tanaka, didn’t you?!”
Shimada flinched.
“…Ah. I haven’t informed you yet.”
He let out a frustrated sigh and continued.
“Gonzo and Sakurai. They fled in a different direction. Another officer is pursuing them.”
“…And I’m supposed to believe that?”
“Why would I lie about information you could verify with the slightest investigation? I am a police officer.”
Shimada showed his police notebook.
Mori Masahiro’s body went slack. Common sense said Tanaka Hiroshi was the one lying.
“Hold on.”
I stepped in front of Mori.
“…What now.”
“Who are the people behind you?”
“Village elders. They came along to help me.”
“I hate the smell of old men, so I can’t stand having that stench soak into the lodging. You’re the only cop here, so only you come inside.”
The old men bristled at my tone.
“Y-you little—!!”
“A green brat with no manners!”
“Listen to the way that one talks!! What kind of home education did his parents give him!”
“Please calm down, elders. I can’t let the criminal get away, so I’ll go in and check. Wait here.”
Shimada went inside.
“Senior Mori.”
“Y-yeah?”
“Follow that cop and help him. If Tanaka’s a criminal, we have to catch him.”
“R-right.”
Mori Masahiro went upstairs as well.
I faced off against the ones outside. I slowly swept my gaze across their faces. Unlike before, they kept their mouths shut tight and watched me warily.
Why the hell are these bastards so scared?
They weren’t all old men. Middle-aged ones were mixed in. Yet they were still reading the face of someone as young as me.
“…You know, don’t you?”
I spoke while picturing a movie serial killer. When I gave them a crooked grin, the reaction was immediate.
“……!”
They flinched as one and took a step back.
I looked at them and said calmly,
“Sit.”
“…….”
“I said sit.”
I grabbed the shoulder of the old man in front and shoved him down.
“Gyaaaaah!”
The old man screamed and dropped onto the ground.
“What about the rest of you? Not sitting?”
“What… do you think you’re doing. After this, you—”
“Sit.”
I glared at a middle-aged man with irritation. He swallowed hard and sat on the ground. Only then did the others drop down one after another.
I looked them over and said,
“Stand.”
“…….”
They stood.
“Sit.”
“…….”
“Stand.”
“…….”
“Sit.”
“…….”
“Stand. Ah, damn it. Don’t sit so arrogantly—sit properly. Do I have to teach you how to sit too? Sit!”
After I snapped once, they finally knelt politely. Only then did I nod in satisfaction.
“Senior Mori!! Have you lost your mind! That cop! Those people killed Gonzo and Sakurai! You’re bringing a murderer in?! Are you crazy?!”
“Calm down, Tanaka! I’ll help you as much as I can! Let’s talk first!”
“A rapist spinning novels now, huh.”
The second floor was noisy. Various crashing sounds came down. Not my problem.
I pointed at one of the kneeling men with my index finger.
“You. Get up.”
“…….”
The pointed-out old man rolled his eyes.
“I said get up! Understand when I say it once! Please!”
Thud.
I kicked the old man mercilessly in the gut. He rolled across the ground and curled up.
“Guh…! A-alright…. I-I’ll get up, so stop hitting me….”
The old man rose, trembling. I looked around. I had expected someone to step forward and help, but no one did.
“Stand straight.”
The old man put strength into his legs. He straightened his back, but his body was still shaking hard.
“Say what you said earlier again.”
“I-I’ll get up, so stop hitting me…?”
“Not that.”
“…….”
“Fuck. Did you suddenly go mute?”
When I raised my fist, the old man opened his mouth. His voice was as small as a mosquito’s wingbeat.
“W-what kind of home education… did his parents give him….”
“This is how. You fucking bastard.”
I kicked the old man’s knee with everything I had.
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
The old man screamed and collapsed. I kicked the knee a few more times. The leg bent in a wrong direction.
I squatted, grabbed the old man’s head, and slammed it into the ground. Squelch. The ground was still wet mud.
“A long time ago my mom and dad told me not to do things that would get them cursed at. …Did they? My memory’s fuzzy… but they probably did. Anyway, I just thought of something. If I give the mud-eating punishment to the bastard who cursed my parents, he’ll never curse my mom and dad again.”
“Pffuh, kuh! S-save… me… kuh-heh-hehk!”
I scooped up a handful of mud and forced it into his mouth.
“Eat the mud, you bastard. Better than the rock-eating punishment, right?”
“I said eat.”
After I slapped his head a few times, the old man’s throat moved.
I stood and stepped on the old man’s head. His face sank into the mud.
“Keep eating.”
Crash!
A second-floor window shattered and someone fell out.
It was Tanaka Hiroshi. He raised his hunched body and looked around once. He tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand the scene in front of him, then started running toward the mountain.
“Tanaka!!”
“Stop!!”
Mori Masahiro and Shimada shouted from above and jumped down from the second floor.
I chased after Tanaka Hiroshi faster than they did and sprinted into the mountain.
Tanaka. I already didn’t like this bastard hitting on my woman, Ryoko. Perfect chance—I’ll wreck him myself.
Chasing the exhausted Tanaka was not difficult. I caught up before he had gone even thirty meters.
“Damn Korean! Get the hell away! I have to run!”
He swung a fist at me. It was so pathetic I laughed. I caught his fist and threw him backward. He slammed into a tree and dropped to the ground.
I ran to Tanaka. From a short distance away, Mori Masahiro and Shimada were charging over.
“No time.”
“S-Seong! H-help me! I was wrong, so… aaagh!”
I shattered both arms and both legs, then smashed a finishing punch into his face.
“Seong! Stop!”
Mori Masahiro ran up and grabbed my body. I dropped Tanaka’s head from my hand.
“…Even if you were chasing a criminal, that was too much.”
Shimada said while looking at Tanaka.
“This guy resisted hard, so I had no choice. I didn’t kill him, so go easy on me, yeah?”
“…I didn’t see anything.”
Shimada turned his head, and Mori Masahiro looked at me with a complicated expression before looking away.
We took Tanaka back to the lodging.
They were still kneeling. Shimada spoke to them.
“Elders, why are you sitting?”
“A-ah, this is…”
They started to rise.
“Who said you could stand?”
They flinched in surprise and sat back down.
Their eyes, along with Shimada’s and Mori Masahiro’s, turned to me.
“Just kidding. A joke. I was just joking.”
“…….”
“…….”
Of course the atmosphere did not lighten.
Shimada walked over to one old man. The one whose knee I had shattered and whom I had force-fed mud.
“Elder… are you all right? Why is your knee like this… and the mud on your face…. How did this happen?”
“He fell earlier.”
I said it casually. They stared at me with horrified faces.
“Th-that bastard…!!”
The mud-eaten old man pointed at me with a trembling finger.
Shimada looked at me with sharp eyes.
I stared steadily at the old man.
“…….”
The terrified old man lowered his hand.
“S-Shimada-kun. I just fell. Won’t you take me to the hospital?”
“Ah, is that so. I would like to escort you myself, but… I have to deliver the criminal, so it’s difficult. Everyone else, if it’s all right, would you take the elder to the hospital?”
“L-leave it to us.”
The situation was cleaned up quickly.
Shimada took Tanaka Hiroshi to the police box, and Mori Masahiro followed behind him. The others took the mud-eaten old man to the hospital.
I stood in front of the lodging and watched Shimada’s back.
He must have realized I shattered the old man’s knee…. Yet he pretended not to know.
I looked at Shimada’s waist. A revolver sat in the holster. The kind Japanese police used.
“Shimada-san!”
I called him. Shimada turned and looked at me.
“Did you have something to say?”
“I heard some old man named Joro or whatever went missing… is he still missing?”
“…You mean Elder Jiro. Yes. Still missing.”
“That’s a real shame.”
“…….”
Shimada turned again and walked away.
I watched his receding back and thought.
He knows I’m the one who killed that old man, yet he does nothing. …Hmm. Should I kill him tonight? A pistol would be pretty useful.
That night.
I killed time drinking beer at the hole-in-the-wall shop until midnight. The old woman who owned the place kept glancing at me.
“Young man. How long do you plan to stay? Our business hours ended long ago…. It’s already past midnight.”
“Ah, I should go. I’ve got to fuck Ryoko…. Can’t keep hanging around here.”
I tossed the beer can in my hand onto the floor and started to leave when the old woman grabbed my arm.
“You can’t just leave like this!”
“Ah, what now. You just told me to go.”
“You have to pay first! It’s 8,700 yen!”
“I didn’t bring any money…. I’ll pay later.”
“What? We don’t do credit for outsiders!”
“Ah, fuck.”
Irritation surged.
The world spun. The alcohol had climbed all the way to the top of my head. Startled by the long-forgotten drunkenness, I simply surrendered to the rising emotion.
I kicked the old woman. She flew backward and writhed. She groaned but didn’t die.
“I said I’ll pay later!”
I pulled another beer can from the fridge. Maybe because the buzz was back, I kept craving more alcohol. I wanted soju too, but unfortunately there was none in the fridge.
I had waited at the shop until night for them to show up… but no one appeared. Looks like I misjudged.
Stagger.
Drunk, the world spun round and round.
How long has it been since I got this wasted. Being drunk to the top of my head feels great.
Great Fortune (Lv. Master) has activated.
Thud.
My shoulder collided with something.
“Shoulder check? You fucking—!”
I immediately clenched my fist and retaliated.
It was a utility pole.
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
The sudden, clear pain made me scream and crouch on the ground. The damn pain wiped out the pleasant buzz in an instant.
I rubbed my red fist and lifted my head. Using the darkness as cover, someone was approaching me.