10 A Demon is a Demon No Matter Where it Goes
Ryugo was thrown into the depths of confusion as he stood before the body that was on the verge of death.
What should I do first?
The emergency response procedures that he had learned in the past played over and over in his mind.
He looked around, but no one seemed to be calling for help. They were either holding their smartphones at a distance and taking pictures, or whispering to their companions.
They were enjoying the unusual spectacle of an accident.
How could they be so indifferent when someone was dying?
I shouldn’t have anything expected from them.
A cold shiver ran down his spine as he realized that this was the world he lived in.
The man in the car also seemed to be quite flustered, searching the same spot over and over again while mumbling, “Where is it? Mm-my smartphone…”
It seemed that he couldn’t use it either.
“Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
Ryugo shook the dying young man’s shoulder and inspired, trying to get a response.
“Aira, call an ambulance!”
“Why?”
Ryugo turned around in shock at the reply.
Aira was playing with her bangs, looking bored.
It was not the expression of someone who was witnessing someone’s death.
“Because that guy tried to run Aira over. He hit Watanuki-kun. Isn’t it better if he just dies?”
That’s right.
This is the kind of person she is.
It had been a mistake to try to revise his opinion of her earlier.
He cursed his own stupidity.
She was just a wicked demon who didn’t even have normal human values.
Would a natural disaster show any consideration for people?
Would the sky cool down if people complained about how hot it was?
Aira was an existence on a completely different level.
“I understand. That’s enough.”
Ryugo glared at Aira with resignation and took out his smartphone.
It had been foolish to expect anything from her.
“Wait, I’ll do it. I’ll call an ambulance. So stop looking at me like that…”
Suddenly, Aira spoke in a pleading voice.
“What?”
“An ambulance. So don’t look at me like that…”
“If you connect the call to an ambulance,” Aira said,
“Hello? Someone’s just been hit by a car…”
He described the situation and the address of the incident without hesitation.
You can do it when you want to.
But it’s still frustrating that he didn’t do it when he could.
Ryugo noticed that and turned his attention back to the shoulder tapping he had been doing without stopping. First, he had to regain the young man’s consciousness, as he had been taught in the past.
“Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
Then, the young man opened his eyes slightly.
“Ah… ah…”
“…Can you hear me? Can you talk?”
“It… hu… hurts… I can hear…”
“Are you in pain? Should we turn you on your back?”
Together with the man, he moved the young man onto his back. His breathing was better than before, but his condition was still precarious.
There was nothing more he could do.
“Just wait for the ambulance like this. Keep talking to him so he doesn’t lose consciousness.”
The man nodded repeatedly at Ryugo’s words.
For the time being, the young man would not die immediately. It wasn’t a situation to be relieved about, but he couldn’t do anything more even if he wanted to.
But still…
“That’s strange.”
The man had hit someone on such an open road and then applied the brakes. Normally, he would have done it before the collision, right?
He didn’t seem to be using his smartphone.
To begin with, the fact that he couldn’t remember where he had put his smartphone meant that he didn’t have it in his hand.
So, was he looking away?
In such a crowded place?
But then again, he seemed to be driving straight ahead.
Then, let’s turn the idea on its head and assume that the man was trying to run over the young man.
However, that was impossible. He was far too distraught.
It didn’t seem like an act.
In the first place, the intention of such a killing method was unclear.
Ryugo wiped his sweat and dismissed the useless thoughts.
If he stayed here, he might get involved in trouble. Let’s get out of here.
The sky was getting dark.
The summer sun was still high in the sky.
Thanks to the first aid he had just given, his hypnosis level had skyrocketed to ’24’.
He had gasped the moment he looked at his smartphone and had to struggle to cover it up.
He must have received a huge reward for saving someone’s life.
From Noble mtl dot com
What he had obtained ranged from indescribable things like ‘Attitude – Extremely Disliked – Junior/Senior – Older/Younger Sibling’ to useful things like ‘Command – Level 1’ and ‘Favorability Viewing’.
However, he had obtained fewer things than he should have for level 24.
Until now, items had been unlocked for each level.
It didn’t take long to solve the question.
When I looked it up, I found a new explanation had been added to the help section.
Apparently, it’s not something you get every time you level up, like magic or skills in RPG games.
I mean, they could have just written that from the beginning.
“Suzu-shii”
Aira fanned herself, cooling off in the breeze from the air conditioning.
The interior of the karaoke parlor was filled with a refreshing breeze like that of a paradise, and the sweat evaporated from my skin, dissolving into the air.
As it was a weekday afternoon, there weren’t many people there.
I was able to get in without any problems.
I filled up my cup at the drink bar while listening to a popular pop song playing, and then I went into the private room that had been prepared for us.
Aira carelessly threw down the bag she had been carrying and the ribbon that had been choking her neck.
She took it for granted that she could take up all the space on the seats with her things, and she looked up at me without a hint of guilt.
“Why are you just standing there?”
“You should learn to be a little more considerate.”
“Huh? What? Do you want to sit next to me?”
Aira moved the bag she had been using as a cushion and patted the empty seat next to her.
“Come on, Watanuki-kun. Sit with me?”
I no longer had the will to argue with her way of speaking, which was like that of someone talking to a pet, so I just obeyed.
“Which one should I pick~”
Aira rested her head on Ryūgo’s shoulder while she picked out a song.
There was no discussion about who would pick first or anything like that. Well, I had expected as much. After all, it was Aira we were talking about.
At least she didn’t tell me, “You can’t pick any songs because I’ll be singing the whole time.” If she had said something like that, I would have smacked her upside the head and left without a second thought .
“aaah~ Please, God~♪”
Aira held the microphone and sang a popular love song with great feeling. Surprisingly, she was quite good, and her clear, high notes were pleasant to the ear.
She kept glancing at me at certain points in the lyrics, but what kind of reaction was she expecting? I mean, that song is a breakup song.
“Okay, next up is Watanuki-kun.”
“Hmm…”
I took the microphone and checked my vocal cords.
They were in good shape.
With Aira’s expectant gaze fixed on me, I began to sing.
“In the cream-colored sky, pure pure hearts are really really landing~”
“Hey, what is this song?”
“In the warring states period, the world was in chaos. At the break of dawn in Yamato, an evil shadow. In this era where evil spirits and demons run rampant, the samurai believe in a cloudless blue sky (ungai sōten) and wield the radiant (kaku eki) blade of justice.”
“Wait, that intro is totally different! Is this really the same song!?”
I completely ignored Aira, who was flabbergasted, and let my well-trained tongue run wild in my mouth.
When I finished singing, I felt a sense of fulfillment in my chest that I hadn’t felt in a long time.
Karaoke is the best.
I can sing whatever I want and belt it out at the top of my lungs, and it feels like I’m releasing all the toxins that have been building up inside me.
“Whew… So, I got a ’98’? Not bad.”
“You’re mysteriously good and mysteriously high-scoring… But seriously, what the heck was that just now!?”
“Next, shall we sing the opening theme of Magical Girl Bukkorin?”
“I was so confused that I forgot to put in a song! Wait!”
“Sorry, I already put it in.”
“Aren’t you a little too quick!?”
“Piro piro rin♪ Shuwa shu wa ru~n♪ Moe moe heart ni zukyūn pyon♪”
“And what’s with that creepy song!?”
They kept fighting over the song selection machine, and by the time they left the karaoke place, exhausted, it was already past six.
When they went outside, they saw the burnt sky, dyed in the hues of twilight.
Cumulus clouds were far away, and the sun was sinking far beyond the horizon. A refreshing wind was blowing, announcing the arrival of the night.
Students who had finished their club activities. Salarymen who had finished their overtime work.
Housewives who were buying groceries for dinner.
All sorts of people were walking along the streets, their figures growing darker.
Ryugo stretched with a pop and exhaled, “fuwaaah.”
“Well then, I’m going home.”
“Eh, Watanuki-kun. Won’t you come to my place?”
“I’m not going to greet your parents, you know?”
“You don’t have to. Both of them won’t be home today.”
“Heeeh!?”
A thousand dirty thoughts raced through his mind.
No, I mustn’t be tempted. My opponent is Era, and this goodwill is also because of the hypnosis app. If I give in to my desires, I’ll be no better than a beast.
“I, I refuse!”
“Then, as a thank you for the juice earlier…”
Era spread open the front of her uniform, revealing the voluptuous fruits nestled there. Her skin, reminded of a white peach, created a valley that was not found in ordinary high school girls.
“What about the promise to show me what’s under your clothes…?”
“Th, there’s no way I’d give in to such a temptation!”
“Your eyes are totally looking down there, though.”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait… My heart, my mind, and my head need to prepare…”
“Come on, please?”
Era’s small hands entwined with Ryugo’s.
She brought her mouth close to his ear, and a devilishly sweet whisper caressed his eardrums.
“…Let’s have lots of fun together until morning, okay?”
“Yes sir! Guiding one customer!!”
His rationality suffered its second defeat.
“This way. It’s about a five-minute walk from here.”
As he was being led around like a dog, monkey, or pheasant enticed by the sweet dumpling of desire,
“Hm?”
He suddenly felt a gaze and turned around.
Of course, there were many people on the street, so it was only natural to have someone looking at him.
But it felt like a different kind of gaze, like it was piercing his back.
There were no suspicious figures among the people passing by.
Was it all in my head?
◆
I hate lies.
How much do I hate them? Enough to make me feel nauseous with self-loathing on days when I tell them.
That’s why I’ve been holding back my nausea lately.
I watched the couple walking in the midsummer heat from a distance, hiding in the shadows to keep an eye on them. I wondered how they had come to be on a date, but there was no one to ask.
Of course, the person I’m talking to on the phone is the same.
No matter how much I lament my misfortune, they won’t give a damn. Then again, I don’t expect them to be the kind of person who would.
“They just left the scene of the accident.”
I saw Ryugo and Aira off and reported back to my contact on the phone.
『I saw them too.』
A monotonous voice replied.
They must be watching from somewhere else too.
『Follow them when they go inside.』
They gave me orders without hesitation.
I don’t want to see Aira, let alone Ryugo. I don’t want to go inside where the chances of being discovered are higher.
But if I could refuse, I wouldn’t be doing this in the first place.
“Roger that.”
I responded curtly and resumed my pursuit, stealthily.