Chapter 111: Deals Are Usually Not Worth It

TL: Akabane

***

Edileza's attacks were fierce and beautiful at the same time. The trajectory of the sword, wielded with a unique grip, was irregular and very difficult to dodge. Even if you try to use your jitte to block her attacks, she will quickly sheathe her sword and then fire a shot at you. It was also difficult to force her down because of her great strength. The confrontation between Edileza and me was so acrobatic that no one stopped us because they thought it was a spectacle. I'm thankful that the police doesn't interfere...

"Did you steal that tape from Hagiri's place?"

Suo asked me as she changed the magazine of her gun.

"No, I got it from Mashiba."

"I see... so you found salvation from that lonely woman? Kanata. I'm sorry. I wish we had met earlier. If only you had come to Brazil when I was a girl. No, it's not. I committed a crime anyway. Whether you were there or not."

"But if I had been there for you, you wouldn't have missed me even though you sinned. I can entertain you. As long as we're together from now on."

Suo shook her head sadly and pulled the slide of her gun. She then pointed the scabbard to her hakama and then switched the sword to her left hand. With the left half of her body facing me, she held the sword in a large upper stance and held the gun in her right hand in front of her stomach.

"Let's end this. When I look at your face, all I can think of are regrets and 'what if'."

"That's very good. I'm not going to let them go to waste! I won't let them go to waste!"

I held my jitte straight up in front of me. Our gazes cross and we start running toward each other.

"Iyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Oryaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

With a yell, we were getting closer and closer. That's when it happened.

"Get down, Tokiwa!"

I heard such a voice from behind me. It was a voice I knew well. It was the voice of that reliable woman. So I obeyed her words and got down on the ground. When I turned around, I saw Ayashiro there, holding an air rifle at a target store.

"Edilezaaaaaaa!"

"Himena?! Why are you here?! Aaaaaaaaah!"

There was a dry clang. A cork flew over my head and straight into Suo's face.

"Heiiiii!!!! Haa!!!!!!!"

Suo swung her sword at the approaching cork and cut it off. That gave me a chance. I step into Suo's bosom at once.

"Gah! But! I'm still here!"

Suo shot me again and again as she came at me with the gun held in front of her stomach. But the bullets were not fatal to me, as I was protected by the tape Mashiba had given me.

"It hurts, but! I'm sorry! Forgive me!"

I hit Suo with my body. Suo staggered back. But I think it's amazing that I, as a man, could hit her with all my strength and only get this level of damage. Then I hit Suo's left hand with my jitte as hard as I could. The sword she was holding fell to the ground.

"Guuuuuh! But I still have bullets!!!!"

Suo pressed the gun against my stomach. The tape is already torn up there, so if she shot me, it would surely be a fatal wound.

"But I'm here too, aren't I!"

Ayashiro pressed something against Suo's right hand holding the gun. Then there was a crack, and Suo groaned and dropped the gun in it's place. Suo held her right hand and her brow furrowed in pain.

"I can't believe it ... that stun gun just now, if it were normal, even a bear should be at the level of fainting with one hit.... I knew Edileza was an amazing woman. Lovely."

Ayashiro's somewhat enraptured sensibilities were hard to understand. But thanks to that, Suo was now unarmed.

"Please, Himena. Please. Please don't interfere."

"No. No. It's you anyway. You're going to get all responsible and chivalrous and disappear from the world. No, you can't do that. I won't accept that. I haven't repaid you all the favors and given you all the love. I will never accept that!"

Ayashiro stared at Suo with a serious face. That's when it happened. A very cheerful samba melody echoed from Suo's chest.

"Huh? Is this sound coming from Hagiri?"

"Yes? Samba rhythm doesn't suit Hagiri..."

Suo answered the phone while glaring at us.

"What do you want? ...Huh? You said the raid is canceled! ......Ah. I understand. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Suo hung up the phone and told us with a puzzled look on her face.

"Hagiri ordered me to cancel the raid. He says he wants to meet with Kanata in Shibuya instead."

"That's a very sudden development. I thought he was ready to kill me."

In fact, the whole fight was being watched by drones. Maybe he was trying to keep the police from coming. The guy who was playing the villain and looking on from a high place suddenly changed his mind. He must have been in some kind of trouble.

"Well, okay. I'll take the meeting. Let's go to Shibuya."

Suo and Ayashiro nodded, but looked somewhat uncomfortable and mumbled something.

"Those girls... it looks like I did something unnecessary... huh... it's going to be tough to follow up..."

Ayashiro looked down with a somber mood. From this feeling, I think I have an idea what happened. Well, we'll find out soon enough.

"That's right. Let me destroy the evidence before I go to Shibuya. You're up! Come on out!"

For some reason, Suo called out to someone in the crowd. Then, out of the crowd came a black-hooded ninja...with leisurely steps.

"Eh? Tokiwa! Heh? What is that guy? He's a ninja! What's going on? He's so conspicuously dressed, and he's hiding in the middle of a crowd?"

"It looks like... I mean... a ninja came out and the people around us aren't making any noise at all... don't tell me we're the only ones who know he's here?!"

Apparently, ninjas are capable of erasing all signs of their presence to the utmost limit. If I were to use an analogy, it would be like not remembering the faces and clothes of people you pass on the street. Ayashiro and I were horrified by the sudden appearance of the ninja.

"I haven't seen you since Fujiko Ultraland. I'll leave it to you to destroy the evidence

Make sure that the police won't notice anything!"

"Eh? Are you the ninja from the other day? You should just disappear into the darkness of history. I don't get it. It bugs me when ninjas act like ninjas... seriously!"

Ayashiro nodded greatly at my exclamation. Suo, on the contrary, tilted her head with a curious look on her face.

"Hmm? You are Japanese, so why are you surprised by a ninja?"

"Of course! There is no way that unscientific beings such as ninjas could actually exist!"

"Eh? What are you talking about? Sometimes you pass a ninja on the street or sit with one in a restaurant, don't you? I was really surprised when I first came to Japan and saw a ninja."

"Passing ninjas on the street now and then? What are you talking about, Edileza? What are you talking about? Are you kidding me? Ninjas were real? Japanese is scary!"

It's like a ghosts! I can't be told that I can see ninjas like that.... We decided to head to Shibuya, because if we stayed here, our brains were going to be seriously buggered and become useless.

***On the train***

Ayashiro: "Tokiwa...look at that...! It's the Kuunoichi! There's the Kuunoichi!"

(Ayashiro pointed to where the Kunoichi was. She proudly took off her hooded mask and put on makeup)

Kanata: "Which one should I go into first? The nuisance of wearing makeup on the train, or the very existence of kunoichi. Which should I shove it into?"

Ayashiro: "Normally, I'd use the word 'tsukkomi' to describe the underlying joke! I can see ninjas now, too!"

Suo: "Eh? Maybe it's funny to see a ninja?"

Kanata "Yes. To be honest, I think it's weird."

Suo: "So that's why my family just laughed at me when I told them.... I see...that's why the other cast members and waiters looked at me suspiciously when I sometimes served ninja customers. Not because they were suspicious, but because they were unaware of their existence. It made sense to me."

Kanata: "Huh? Are you going to the cabaret club, ninja!"

Suo: "That ninja you just met is one of my favorites. Because of that, I often ask him to do some backstage work for me. Kanata is very helpful because he gives me enough money to build a Dom Perignon tower."

Kanata: "Don't end it that way!"

We arrived at the hotel restaurant where Hagiri was staying. There was only one large round table in the spacious restaurant. Hagiri was at that round table with his back to the window. Mashiba was standing behind him.

"Hey, Kanata. I'm glad you're all safe."

"Milan? And Yuzuriha? What are you doing here?"

Milan and Yuzuriha were standing by the round table. They came up to me. Ayashiro was acting strange earlier, but this seemed to be the cause.

"The reason is.... I and Yuzuriha were the ones who set up this meeting. Actually, I made a deal with Hagiri."

"What? A deal?"

"Yes. A deal. Izumi and Momiji made a deal with me."

Hagiri's cold voice echoes from the round table. He usually has a cheerful voice, but it seems he's in a bad mood. Something seems to have happened.

"Sit down first. I want to end this deal as soon as possible. I'm uncomfortable."

This man is honest in a way. He doesn't stifle his feelings, he lets them bubble to the surface. It's terribly childish. I am reminded of how dangerous it is to have such a man in a state of tremendous violence and power.

"What's the content? If you're grumpy, that means it's to my advantage, right?"

"I'm selling you a claim on Edileza Reichi. The price is face value."

Hagiri showed us the deed of claim written in Portuguese. Suo looked at me and nodded her head, so it seemed to be genuine.

"I appreciate that, but you're threatening Suo with a weakness other than the debt stuff, right? That's not going to get Suo released."

"I swear that in the future I will not threaten Edileza Reichi with her weakness."

"Swear? And there's no such thing as coercion?"

I'm skeptical. Even this seat seems like a trap.

"I am the king."

"Huh?"

"I am the man who will be king of this world. I don't taking back what I've sworn to protect!"

Hagiri tapped the round table as if trying to hide his irritation. Mashiba, who was behind him, trembled.

"You know what? I think it's incredible that you're saying that. It's true that from your point of view, what Hagiri is saying is unbelievable. But if Hagiri says this, I will definitely keep my promise. Please trust us. Please believe in us."

Mashiba bowed her head to me in a small way, as if begging for forgiveness. Mashiba saved me. I felt I could trust her words. There was no point in engaging in any more water-boarding at this point.

"All right, I'll believe your oath. But you're not the only one I'm worried about. Who else knows about Suo's weakness? Is there any chance it could leak out through other channels?"

"The king of Mirisha in Brazil knows about it. I heard the story of her weakness from him. But he wouldn't make any threats to Reichi, would he? Right, Reichi? Hello Reichi?"

Suo nodded deeply at Hagiri's question. There seemed to be no melancholy on her face.

"That man owes my father a debt. I'm surprised that he knew of my weakness, but I'm convinced that he didn't divulge it to anyone else. Even though he's Mirisha, but he's a reasonable guy. There should be no problem of leakage. And you don't have to worry about blackmail."

"If Suo says so, I don't mind."

I'd rather figure out what Suo's weakness is, but I'm afraid to get close to the woman's secret. Let's leave it alone for now.

"But you're not so naive as to give Suo's release for free, Hagiri. You say we have a deal? What are you willing to do in exchange for Suo's release?"

"For Milan Izumi and Yuzuriha Momiji to cooperate with my plan for a certain period of time. That's the deal."

When I heard that, my mind went blank with shock. Milan and Yuzuriha cooperating with Hagiri? The girls are cooperating with a man I hate. It reminded me of Ririse Igarashi's betrayal in the previous world, and I hate it.

***Author's musings***

The battle for Edileza is now over! A heroine comes to the aid of a mighty enemy! It was a true romantic comedy!

Next time, Kanata's inner feelings will be wobbly and shaky.

It will be the time of confrontation with the trauma he has been putting off for so long.

I hope he will be able to say proudly that he is a man and a king only by overcoming this.

We're still looking for summer comedy stories! If you'd like to see something like this, just go ahead and comment on the story wherever you see fit!

Also, please feel free to read the author's notes on his recent work.

After a few more serious chapters, a warm and enjoyable summer comedy series will begin.

We will try to make it as enjoyable as a fan disk of a bishojo game, so please look forward to it!

Most recently, we'll be doing a jersey installment of Suo's Kanata!

Then comes Season 4.X "Cidade do REY".

Stay tuned!