15 Days
After the sex was over and Nakagami Risa had finished dressing, she asked,
"Heading back to the lodging?"
"I figured we'd stop by the police box first."
"Because of the handgun?"
"How'd you know?"
"In a mess like this, a handgun would be fucking perfect. And I... kinda want to try shooting one myself. Once you get your hands on it, let me fire it."
"At a person?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
I let out a short snort of laughter.
We gathered up every useful weapon we could find in the place. She took a hatchet and a spear. I took a knife and a Japanese sword.
The blade's edge is pretty chewed up... but if I clean it and put it to a whetstone, I should still get two or three decent cuts out of it.
I gave the sword a few experimental swings through the air before sliding it into its scabbard. The scabbard itself had come from a house we'd ransacked nearby.
"You look pretty comfortable with that sword. You a samurai or something?"
"Heavenly Demon."
"What the hell is that?"
I set off with her toward the side of the village that held the police station.
We were on the outskirts, so it was a decent walk. We deliberately kept our flashlights off the whole way, trying to stay out of the villagers' sight.
After a while I glanced over at Nakagami Risa. She was limping, clearly uncomfortable on her feet.
"Sprain your ankle?"
"...My lower back's a little sore. Not enough that I can't walk, though."
Until a short while ago she had still been a virgin. I considered saying something, then shut my mouth. Leaving her alone to rest or sending her back to the lodging felt riskier—any villager who showed up could jump her. Having her right beside me was safer.
"Let's finish this quick and head back."
We reached the village police box.
The front door was glass, and every fluorescent light inside was dark. Even for a small station I had expected twenty-four-hour operation... yet there was no sign of life at all.
That actually worked in our favor.
I kicked the glass door hard. It shuddered but didn't break—tempered glass, apparently. I looked around, took the hatchet from Nakagami Risa, and swung it at the door. A few solid hits later the glass gave way. The two of us walked straight inside like we owned the place.
The gun locker was easy enough to find. The problem was that it wasn't a regular cabinet—it was a proper safe. The kind that needed a key.
"Key... probably somewhere around here."
"Is this it?"
Nakagami Risa produced five keys from somewhere. We tried every single one on the safe. None fit.
"The keys are probably on that Shimada guy, or whatever his name is. We'll have to give up for now."
"Shame."
Before leaving we took one last look around. In the back we found the holding cells.
Inside one of them, Tanaka Hiroshi was curled up in the corner, asleep. Cold sweat beaded thickly across his forehead. He still hadn't received any treatment—his arms and legs remained bent at unnatural angles.
Bang bang!
I rattled the iron bars. His eyes snapped open and locked onto us.
"Ch-Chosenjin?! Nakagami-senpai?!"
"This bastard's living the good life."
"S-save me! Those fuckers are going to kill me!"
"Didn't you just call me Chosenjin? Hearing that from you really kills the mood."
"Fuck you! You're the one who broke my arms and legs like this! Nakagami-senpai, please get me out of here!"
Nakagami Risa crossed her arms and looked down at him like he was garbage.
"Why should I?"
"This village is dangerous! We have to run right now!"
"We can run whenever we want. A guy with broken arms and legs just sounds like dead weight to me."
"Damn it! I know the roads! Or rather—I know which roads you shouldn't take!"
I cut in.
"Earlier today I overheard you and that cop saying completely different things. Start talking. In detail."
"Why the hell would I tell a bastard like you—!"
"Don't want to talk? Then stay locked up."
"...Fine! I'll talk, okay?! Just open this goddamn cage first."
"Talk first. What happened. And fair warning—the second you lie, it's over."
Nakagami Risa and I dragged a couple of chairs over and sat down in front of the cell. Listening plain was boring, so I started kneading her breasts while he spoke.
Tanaka Hiroshi glared at me and opened his mouth.
"Gonzo, Sakurai, and I were walking around the village when we spotted a young female teacher. We offered her beer and struck up a conversation."
"Female teacher? Ah, so you raped her and got yourselves arrested."
"We didn't rape her! If we had, I wouldn't be this pissed! That bitch tricked us!"
"Tricked you?"
"She lured us back to her place, then slipped something into the drinks! We woke up locked in some place that stank like hell!"
"Where was it?"
"A house near the hospital. From the outside it looked like a normal home. Besides us there were a bunch of things that looked like animals."
Click-clack.
Tanaka Hiroshi's teeth chattered with pure terror.
The memory of being locked up had clearly left a deep scar.
"How'd you escape? And where are your little buddies now?"
"...Gonzo and Sakurai are dead. Gonzo got... raped by some crazy old hag while she stabbed him to death. Sakurai got... fucked by some disgusting-looking guy until he died. Fuck..."
A full-body shudder ran through me. I had pictured it without meaning to.
"Nasty. You didn't get the same treatment?"
"No. They called me a 'suitable candidate' or something and never touched me."
"How'd you get away?"
"I ran while they were cleaning up Gonzo and Sakurai's bodies. Then you broke my arms and legs and I got caught again..."
Tanaka Hiroshi stared at me like he wanted me dead. I sneered and licked the side of Nakagami Risa's neck.
"Haaah..."
Gulp.
Tanaka Hiroshi's eyes filled with raw lust as he stared at her. I made a show of molesting her right in front of him—both hands sliding under her hot pants and T-shirt to grab her breasts and pussy.
"That everything?"
"What more do you want? I told you everything, so get me out. If I stay here those bastards will kill me."
"Shimada. Why did that cop put you in a holding cell instead of taking you back to the place they locked you up?"
"To keep an eye on me, probably. The bastard wouldn't even send me to the hospital when I begged him!"
I stood up and tried the five keys on the cell door. One of them clicked home perfectly. The moment the bars swung open, Tanaka Hiroshi's face lit up. He tried to move his broken limbs, then let out a long sigh.
"...I can barely move. Help me."
"You want me to carry you? Are you out of your mind?"
"You fucking piece of shit! You're the one who broke my arms and legs!"
"If you hadn't been eyeing my woman, I wouldn't have broken them."
He looked ready to argue, but the second I turned to leave the cell he folded.
"I-I'm sorry. I was wrong. Help me. I don't want to die at the hands of these village freaks... please help me."
"Look at that. Finally learning some manners. Repeat after me: Dokdo is Korean territory."
"Dokdo is Korean territory...?"
"That's right. Dokdo is Korean territory."
"Where the hell is Dokdo?"
"You dumb fuck. You don't even know Dokdo? How the hell did you get into college?"
"I-I know! Dokdo is Korean territory!"
Tanaka Hiroshi blurted it out in a panic.
I smirked, grabbed the back of his head, and slammed it straight into the wall.
Thud thud thud thud!
"Aaaagh! Aagh! You—you fucking bastaaaaard!!"
"You think I'm going to clean up after you?! Die right here!!"
Thud thud thud thud thud thud!
At some point Tanaka Hiroshi's screams simply stopped.
The wall was a mess of blood and brain matter. Crushed fragments of eyeball rolled across the floor.
I let the excitement drain out of me and dropped the corpse I was still holding.
I stepped out of the cell. Nakagami Risa was watching me with bright, shining eyes.
"I'm soaked again. ...Want to?"
She tugged her hot pants and panties down just enough to show me her pussy. Clear, sticky fluid was smeared all over it.
"I was planning to head back to the lodging... but one more round won't make us late."
I stripped off my pants and walked toward her.
Fifth day of being stranded in Ookaruma Village.
I had fully expected chaos today. After all, I had killed more than ten villagers the night before.
Nothing happened.
No mob of villagers came swarming after us. No rumors even seemed to be circulating. The place was as quiet as if nothing had ever occurred.
Nakagami Risa and I got up that morning and, under the excuse of a walk, headed for the ginkgo tree. It was the same psychology as a killer returning to the scene of the crime.
"...They're gone."
"Looks like they cleaned everything up."
Not a single corpse remained hanging from the ginkgo. That didn't mean every trace had vanished—bloodstains still marked the ground where it had flowed. We stepped into one of the nearby houses. Clear signs showed the bodies had been moved from there.
"In a normal village they'd already be trying to lock us up, right?"
"This isn't a normal village."
"...It's starting to feel really creepy."
The village's refusal to react the way common sense demanded was what made us uneasy.
"Going to the hospital tonight?"
"No. Today and maybe tomorrow I'm resting."
I planned to rest by enjoying sex. I still had no intention of finishing this quest yet. Hagawa Ryoko and Nakagami Risa—I had grown rather fond of both of them.
The things that bother me are the hospital and the shrine. Neither needs to be investigated in a rush. This world's title is 15 Days... so there's plenty of time. Might as well enjoy what there is to enjoy.
And my gut was telling me something else.
Both the hospital and the shrine would be packed with traps.
Even with Complete Recovery, taking on dozens of people at once would be rough. Ordinary humans would be one thing, but these bastards enhanced themselves with that strange drug called Hyeoldan.
They're the kind of people who manufacture weird drugs. It wouldn't be surprising if more than just the cops had guns.
On top of that, we had killed villagers and strung their dismembered corpses up on the ginkgo tree. The remaining villagers would be furious and on high alert.
"Since we're already out for a walk, let's take a look around the village."
The village was moving quietly. Most of the people were elderly, lips pressed tight as they cleaned up the mess left by the typhoon.
They ignored us completely. Even when we walked right past them they gave no reaction. If spoken to, they answered in single syllables.
Yet we could feel eyes on us.
Eyes watching from hiding.
"This is getting on my nerves."
"Want to go kill them?"
"No. If someone gets a photo of us it'll be a problem."
"Yeah, fair enough."
It was broad daylight and there were too many of them lurking. Quietly dealing with them would be difficult.
When lunchtime came, the two of us stepped into the little corner store.
The old woman who ran it was trembling as she prepared the Korean food I had ordered.
Beef radish soup and japchae. The soup passed; the japchae was mediocre.
I seriously considered whether to kill the old hag.
"Granny. I told you I'd kill you if it tasted bad."
"Hiiiek! W-was it bad?!"
"It's good. I want to eat here again tomorrow."
Nakagami Risa spoke up. Thinking about it, everything we had eaten so far had been curry or cup ramen made by college kids. There simply wasn't much cooking those students could manage.
"Lucky you, granny."
I sat down and picked up a spoon. Japanese people supposedly ate rice with chopsticks... but I had no reason to follow their customs. A spoon was more comfortable.
We were in the middle of a solid meal when the door to the corner store opened and new customers walked in. Nakagami Risa and I both turned our heads to check who it was.
Hagawa Ryoko and Wada Kyoshiro.