episode_0116

-Riiing!

I woke from a deep sleep with the ringing sound from my pocket.

“Ugh.”

As I carefully raised my body, a pain as if someone was beating my entire body swept over me.

A faint groan escaped my lips, but it was only for a moment.

“Huuuuh.”

Having adjusted somewhat, I looked around.

Tsutomu and Chunsik, who were knocked out, and even Detective Miwako.

They were all still in the same state as before.

‘Fortunately, I won’t have to deal with anything annoying again.’

Takuya thought that to himself, then took out the flip phone from his pocket and answered the call.

“Uh, hello?”

As I opened my mouth, a hoarse voice came out.

[Master?! You’re alright, aren’t you?!]

At my voice, Miyuki, the caller, spoke with an alarmed tone, but I replied in a voice that indicated it was nothing.

“I’m fine. More importantly, can you run a quick errand for me?”

[Yes, please tell me if you need anything.]

“First, some thick ropes to tie people with, and…”

After ordering what I needed from Miyuki.

-Thump.

“Haa… How am I supposed to clean all this up by myself?”

First, I started moving to normalize the messed-up surroundings.

***

First, I threw Tsutomu into the basement.

Probably, he won’t be able to come out for a while, so I left him with some food.

You might ask if it’s okay to just leave him like that?

From what I remember, the room where Momiji was imprisoned was said to be unmovable even if several adult men in the game tried to push it, so I guess I can trust it.

So, after locking Tsutomu in the room, what I decided to normalize next was.

“Chunsik, wake up and try eating this.”

“A heavy grunt.”

It was Chunsik, who had been a great help in the close-quarters combat with Tsutomu.

Perhaps because he was in pain from being hit, Chunsik painfully nodded and opened his mouth.

Into Chunsik’s open mouth, I poured a stamina recovery potion.

I thought about giving him one or two bottles, but the sticker on the bottle recommended only one bottle regardless of body size, so I just gave him one.

As soon as he consumed one bottle, Chunsik’s complexion visibly improved.

You might ask how a bear could have a good complexion, but that’s just how it appeared to my eyes.

Anyway, now that Chunsik had consumed the stamina recovery potion and some food, what I had to deal with next was.

‘This detective.’

What should I do?

I erased her memories because I thought she’d be annoying, but what should I do with her now?

Takuya pondered for a moment and then found a good solution.

‘Should I take this opportunity to prevent Tsutomu from using his Japanese identity?’

That is, to use her for the ‘punishment’ I had planned for Tsutomu.

Tsutomu’s punishment was already decided anyway.

‘I should give him a trip to America.’

I was thinking of sending Tsutomu to America. To be precise.

‘The charges: child murder, rape, attempted rape, assault, kidnapping. This much should be good?’

To an American prison, that is.

There was no particular reason why I was sending Tsutomu to America.

‘Because American prisons are hell on earth.’

Occasionally, you see news reports about American prisons with good facilities, but those are extremely few.

Most other prisons come with poor conditions as a basic option.

Of course, this alone doesn’t mean American prisons are hell on earth.

The reason American prisons are hell on earth is… simple.

In America, a country that places great importance on human rights, prisons are almost an exception.

Homosexual rape, assault and murder, private retaliation, riots, etc. These are the basic options in American prisons.

Even seeing just this, it’s hopeless, but given that power struggles divided by race are commonplace within prisons, what about Asians, who are a minority among minorities in America?

Not only that, even criminals arrested for murder, robbery, aggravated murder, and assault don’t treat child sex offenders as human.

In a place teeming with such individuals, how would Tsutomu, an Asian who raped a child, be treated?

‘He’ll probably taste proper hell.’

In that sense, Tsutomu is scheduled to be sent to America.

After sending him to a prison famous for its worst facilities, he’ll likely be subjected to assault by some large Black man.

Well, that’s about the extent of the punishment. With this, he’ll probably suffer for about a year.

Why a year?

‘After a year, well, he’ll probably die.’

American prisons are overflowing with gangs.

I didn’t expect him to live for decades in such a place.

I’ll just put some anti-suicide hypnosis on him.

So, what does this have to do with using Detective Miwako?

By using this detective, I should show Tsutomu, who might be indulging in hopeful fantasies, what’s happening to him on the news, thus gifting him even greater despair, shouldn’t I?

‘Ah, I’m looking forward to it.’

Later, I’ll bribe a prison guard and have them record it.

But how will I send Tsutomu to America?

It’s not difficult. I just need to ask the Yakuza who are connected with foreign crime organizations.

You might say it’s ridiculous, but don’t forget that I have the power to make it happen.

‘While I’m meeting the Yakuza, I should also punish Momiji’s parents.’

They, too, will have an interesting punishment awaiting them.

Takuya thought that to himself, then first put Detective Miwako on Chunsik’s back and headed to where Miyuki was.

“Master!”

Seeing me, Miyuki hugged me, shedding tears.

At Miyuki’s appearance, worrying about me like real family, I felt a good feeling even as I faintly smiled.

Except that my face was pressed into her chest, making it hard to breathe.

Honestly, I never get used to this, no matter how many times it happens.

After Miyuki’s embrace ended, another person stepped out of the car.

“Momiji.”

“Takuya…”

Momiji was waiting.

Momiji approached me, sniffling.

It seemed she was having a really hard time.

I gently hugged Momiji and then patted her back.

“It’s okay. Everything’s okay now.”

“What will I do now? Mom and Dad abandoned me…”

At those words, I involuntarily stopped my hand.

‘I was going to tell her after she calmed down a bit?’

Thinking that, I glanced at Miyuki.

“Earlier. When I went to drop off Momiji-chan, I… just…”

Ah, I was in such a hurry that I forgot to tell her.

I ultimately looked at Momiji, who was speaking in a voice full of tears, and was about to sigh, but then realized that sighing in this situation would be disastrous, so I immediately stated the plan I had in mind.

“For now, stay at my place.”

“T-Takuya’s house?!”

“Huh?!”

Why, what.

I felt curious about Miyuki’s reaction, which was much more surprised than Momiji’s, and explained.

“Anyway, if you have nowhere to go, stay at my house. I’ll help you.”

“R-Really?!”

“Of course. Would I lie?”

At my words, Momiji’s eyes widened like saucers, as if deeply moved.

And then, as if unable to hold back her tears, she sniffled and spoke to me in a worried voice.

“But is it okay if I just keep receiving like this? *sniffle*. I haven’t done anything for Takuya until now…”

“Well, that…”

Well, if you really think about it, it was true.

As for me, I did this because I’m her friend and there was a mission on the screen, but to Momiji, it would seem like I acted without any compensation.

In fact, that wasn’t entirely wrong either.

While I was thinking this, Momiji’s self-reproaching words began to pour out, one after another.

“Besides, I’m useless, aren’t I? I’m not particularly pretty, I’m not good at sports, and I’m bad at studying…”

At those self-reproaching words, I realized that Momiji was psychologically very demoralized.

No, in fact, it was only natural for her to be so demoralized. After being brainwashed at home that she was useless, then kidnapped, and on top of that, being rescued by a friend when she herself was powerless, anyone would feel their self-esteem plummet.

Honestly, even I would feel my self-esteem drop.

‘If she’s in this state, comforting her might actually backfire, wouldn’t it?’

I’d seen similar people before, so I realized that comforting her in this situation would be a bad idea.

So what should I do?

The answer to that was unexpectedly simple.

I looked at Momiji, who was blaming herself, grabbed her shoulders, and said.

“Momiji, let me tell you first, this isn’t just about helping you. This is… like an investment.”

“An investment?”

“Yes. An investment I’m making in Momiji’s future.”

I just needed to make her realize that she was a person with potential.

“W-What about me makes you say that?”

For the record, what I said wasn’t exactly a lie.

And that’s because.

“Well, if I had to say, first, your face, and then your diligence.”

“…My face and diligence?”

First of all, Momiji’s appearance is due to her bushy hair and horn-rimmed glasses, not her natural features at all.

On the contrary, her natural features are surprisingly good. Her skin is clean, and even though she doesn’t seem to have had a balanced intake of nutrients, she has no skin problems, which confirms it.

And as for diligence, well.

“Things like taking notes during class, sometimes staying behind to feed the rabbits and fish that the other kids didn’t bother with, and being respectful to teachers and other adults.”

“Th-That’s just obvious!”

At my praise, Momiji said that wasn’t what diligence meant, but I stroked her head and replied.

“There are plenty of people who can’t even do such minor things and end up ruining big ones.”

This was sincere.

Because those politicians always dropped something from their pockets and caused controversy whenever they tried to pull off something big.

At my words, Momiji seemed to understand, nodded, and said.

“Alright. Then, I’ll definitely try to become a useful person to Takuya in the future.”

“Until then, I’ll give you my full support. Don’t worry.”

“Okay! And lastly, Takuya.”

“What is it?”

Along with my answer, Momiji buried her face in my chest and spoke.

“Thank you so, so much today…”

“I’ll make you pay back this debt later, so be prepared.”

“Okay… I’ll definitely pay it back…”

And with Momiji’s reply.

[Third scenario cleared!]

[As a reward….]

.

.

.

.

.

Along with the on-screen text indicating the scenario’s success, rewards were displayed in a long list.

Seeing that screen, I unconsciously thought.

That it was truly over now.

And so, Takuya felt relieved as the long day came to an end…

“Takuya?!”

“Q-Quickly, call the hospital…”

…or so it didn’t.

It seemed there was still work left to do.