Kikanshita Yuusha no Gojitsudan : Chapter 32

Chapter 32 The Hero’s Detective Story 5

　I Immediately started my bike once again after returning home.

　I didn’t even need to use ‘Probe’ to figure out the location thanks to Kagerou and my handmade, unique magical necklace I gave Akane. 

　It’s inside a building in the center of the city. It’s not too far from here.

　I check the situation through the path to Kagerou just in case, but the situation doesn’t seem particularly urgent.

　Probably, they are planning to use her as a trump card against me once I actually meet him in person.

　Though it’s useless against me, as I’ve already taken countermeasures.

---

　I arrive at the building in 10 minutes.

　I get off my bike somewhere near the entrance of the building and then put the bike away in the item box.

　I wouldn’t want to be pranked, and depending on the situation, I might even ‘Transfer’ with Akane to leave the building. Well, I don’t think it will happen, though.

　I’m once again using ‘Probe’ after passing through the entrance of the building to determine the floor Akane is on.

　12th floor.

　I’d like to use the elevator, but I decided to take the stairs based on the theory.

　I am not worried about my physical strength, it’s just very cumbersome.

　I’m glad no one is watching, because I leap up to stairs landing in a single step. 24 steps to the 12th floor. Which took me only about ten or so seconds. I’m tempted to apply for the Guinness Book of World Records. I’m not going to do it, though.

　I search for signs of life while standing in front of the door that leads to the 12th floor.

　There are two people on the other side of the door and four in front of the elevator. Also, this floor seems to be one large floor, with only one room. No, there are two small rooms at the back.

　Akane seems to be on the window side of the large room.

　Thus, it’s safe to say that all the people on this floor are associates, right?

　Five people on the other side of the room. And eight in each of the smaller rooms. That’s quite a gathering, isn’t it?

　I don’t know how alert they are toward just one person.

　I open the door and enter the floor without a care in the world.

“Good afternoon~! It is an on-call massage.”

“Aah?  Who the hell are you?”

　The two people that must have been watching me as I walked in, saying random things, wondered who and what I was doing.

　I don’t answer them because it’s a hassle, but instead, I hit them with a ‘Lightning Strike’ and make them faint in agony.

‘Ugaa’!’

　They both moan briefly and stop moving after falling down. Don’t worry. I’m holding back.

　The four people at the front of the elevator also seemed to notice me as I continued on my way.

　I ignored them and opened the door in the middle of the corridor and went in.

　There are a lot of people inside anyway, so why waste time dealing with them separately?

　I can see a few desks, a type of table that is usually used for conferences, and a few chairs cluttered in the room as I look around.

　The size of the room is at least 30 tatami mats. There are extremely few things in relation to the size of the room, which makes it look like an office before it was rented out.

　Akane is sitting on a chair at the back to the left, near the window.

“Yuuya!”

　Akane raised her voice when she saw my face and got up from her chair.

　Perhaps she was strolling around town when she got caught, she’s wearing a sleeveless summer dress and low heel pumps.

　That sorrowful appearance is really sexy…ahem.

　I’m glad to see that she seems to be doing fine.

　However, I don’t know how come this guy is so easily captured.

“Are~you~an~idiot~?” (TL : (お～ま～え～は～ア～ホ～か～) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50ULVGQhARw)

　I berate her using a joke from the good old Yokoyama Hot Brothers.

“Be, because, when I heard that Yuuya was injured while riding a motorcycle ……”

“Don’t be so easily fooled by that! Don’t you already know that Mizukami just got deceived the other day!”

“Ugh! Uuuu”

　I think she knows that she was being careless. Akane is looking dejected with an apologetic and pitiful face.

“Good job getting here. I was surprised that you arrived earlier than expected.”

　A man’s voice interrupted our conversation, probably in a hurry after being completely ignored.

　When I looked at the direction of the voice, I saw a man in his late twenties, wearing an expensive-looking suit, smiling at me with an exaggerated gesture. However, his eyes weren’t smiling at all, and rather, he couldn’t hide his irritation. What the hell! If you’re going to be a villain, you should’ve learned from the other world’s nobles. They even lie with their eyes to deceive people.

“I mean, I thought it’s only polite to arrive a little early after you invited me. Are you the one who called me earlier?”

“Thank you for that. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Shinjou. I’m relieved that you seem to be someone I can talk to comfortably. By the way, what happened to the men I sent to pick you up? They don’t seem to come together with you.” (TL: I’m not sure if I’m using the right spelling for the name. His name is 新城)

“Hmm? They seem to be overworked. They’re all dozing off in the park, you know?”

　The man’s cheeks twitch slightly, hearing my response that is making fun of him.

“I see. I’m sorry about that. I’d like to get right to the point then, if that’s okay with you?”

“That’s fine, but make it quick. I have to go home quickly to watch Gatchaman reruns.”

　The man’s face twists into anger at my completely falsified attitude.

　Oh? Did he snap?

“………… phew. Well, whatever. Now let’s get straight to the point. I need you to stop your recent sabotage of our business.”

　Oh! He managed to hold out!

“Business, is it.”

“If I may say so, you seem to be quite skilled. Therefore, we would like to have you become our collaborator in the future. In short, I’m scouting you.”

“…………”

“I’ve done a lot of research on you in order to recruit you. I’m sure I’ll be able to offer you a reasonable compensation.”

　In short, because he’s already investigating my friend and family. He’s asking me to listen to him and give me a ‘reward’ by not doing any harm to them.

“I’m sorry, but how can I trust someone who won’t even tell me their real name? “Tanaka Shinsuke”? 31 years old from Shimane Prefecture, was it?”

“! !”

　The face of Shinjou (Tanaka) tightened in astonishment.

　I’m sure he thought he had a considerable advantage by being the only one with information about the other party. I’m sure he was not expecting his real name and hometown, which he has not revealed even to his subordinates to be known.

　Well, If I have to explain, is that I just used ‘Appraisal’ at him.

　There’s no way I would have had time to investigate when I only know of his existence just now.

“Bastard! How are-.”

“Hey! Your speech is back to normal, you know!”

　I try to further agitate him.

“Did you really investigate me?”

　Tanaka snapped his fingers without answering the question.

　Then, a group of men came out of a small room in the back.

　Apparently, this is all of them.

　By the way, this is a scene you often see in dramas and anime, but I wonder if the people who got called out are simply listening intently through the door?

　That’s giving me quite a silly impression. Is there any point in going that far?

“You think you can disobey us and get away with it?”

　Tanaka regains some composure now that there are more people and desperately tries to look out for another man beside him while pretending to be calm.

　In response to that, one man moved towards Akane.

“oops, let’s have you stay put!”

　Tanaka pulls out a gun from behind his waist to restrain me as I try to move.

　The three men behind him also hold up their guns.

　They really look like yakuza, don’t they? The same goes for the drugs, how the hell they can get their hands on guns.

　A man approached Akane, who was standing there in surprise, and when he was just a few steps away from her, something black suddenly emerged from Akane’s shadow and bit into the man’s crotch. And lifted the man as it is.

　It’s Kagerou.

　It’s just my speculation, but I’m sure he got his timing off when he tried to bite the man’s leg.

　Kagerou himself is also looking slightly uncomfortable.

“You’re not allowed to eat dirty things like that! Spit it out!”

　I tell that to Kagerou while ignoring the screaming and struggling man.

　Kagerou immediately throws the man off, but perhaps his fangs got caught and tore through the man’s groin area, exposing only that part. The man’s twitching and squirming crotch and ass are fully exposed.

“Wha, What’s that ……?”

　Tanaka & many others look at the shadow wolf in a daze.

　Well, you’d be surprised if a nearly two-meter tall, enormous beast suddenly emerged from the floor.

　I approached Akane and formulated my magic at the same time while they were still stunned.

“Akane. Are you okay?”

“Fue?!”

　I called out to Akane, who was also stunned by the situation.

　Akane hugged me after waking up from being stunned, either because she understood the current situation after looking at my face up close.

“Yuuya!”

“Whoa, you okay?”

　Please don’t be so close to me while you’re wearing such thin clothes. You’re going to make my heart pound.

　I grabbed Akane’s shoulders and pulled her away, while regretting letting go of the soft(I won’t say where) sensation.

　While I’m still patting the displeased Akane on the head, I turn my attention to the men who are still frozen in place.

　It seems Tanaka came to his senses when he met my gaze.

“Wh, who the hell are you?”

“Hmm? I thought you were investigating me?”

　The expressions on the men’s faces other than Tanaka’s are filled with anger at my provocative response.

“Bastard, you think you can handle this many people?”

　Kagerou came forward to block Akane’s gaze and protected her behind his back.

　I have already completed the preparation for my magic and have it ready to be activated at any time.

“We have a gun over here too. That big dog won’t even help you! Why don’t you just give up?”

　Tanaka threatens me with a pistol when he remembers that he’s surrounded by a large group of people and has the leeway to do so. The surrounding men also draw their weapons and spread out little by little.

　It seems that they do not let their guard down after realizing the 10 or so people who have come for me haven’t returned. (TL: Not quite sure)

　They look like they’re about to pounce on me at any moment.

　However, I also want to finish this quickly, so I ignore Tanaka’s words and chant the magic name.

“Paradise of Baldheads”

　The men moved in unison, as if they sensed something was up with my words, and then got tumbled over spectacularly.

“Wha?! Uwaa!!”

　The men who didn’t move, including Tanaka, who was surprised by the fallen men, moved their bodies, and then all of them flipped over.

　All the fallen men tried to raise their bodies, but they were unable to do so and just clung to the floor.

　Rather, the momentum of the fall made them sliding across the floor, hitting something and then sliding around like a pinball. It’s just like a watered down skating rink, but several times more slippery.

　Of course, this is the effect of my magic.

　The original wide-area support magic ‘Paradise of Baldheads’ doesn’t attack the opponent directly, but rather reduces the friction of a few centimeters above the floor in a specified area to almost zero, depriving the opponent of his or her ability to fight.

　Although we are not usually aware of it, all materials have something called a frictional force at play. The lower this force is, the more slippery that material becomes. You can imagine an Ice or a situation in which oil is spread on top of a steel plate. And without friction, a person would not be able to maintain his posture, let alone stand up. If the balance is off by even a few grams, it will be impossible for you to not get turned over, let alone sit up again. In order to raise up, the body needs to be stabilized, even in part, but that stabilization itself is impossible without friction.

　Moreover, any structure became unable to maintain their shape. Adhesives, screws, and nails can only be held in place because of friction, and there is no structure that is not made use of friction. Even the bonds between molecules are the result of the Coulomb force, the main cause of friction. So if you reduce the frictional force to zero completely, everything will not be able to maintain its shape.

　Of course, my magic doesn’t go that far, and it doesn’t work on living things or things with extremely strong bonds (such as things formed by heat or high pressure). But the gun that just fell to the floor will fall apart if you move it even a little without the screws and adhesives working, and the same goes for the bows, crossbows, armor and shields used in other worlds.

　In the first place, though, the lack of friction makes it impossible to grab the fallen object itself.

　Originally, this magic was created with the help of Leiria and the self-proclaimed genius sorcerer Whisper, with the goal of neutralizing enemies who were forced to participate in the war against their will without killing them. I can’t even stand on my own with all the knowledge of the magic that I have.

　Well, that was tough. It took a lot of effort to make the concept of friction and the Coulomb Force understandable to people from other worlds, where magic is superior and science is less developed.

　Still, it has a drawback that it takes a long time to activate, consumes a lot of magic power, and can’t be activated without chanting, but it’s still a very satisfying spell.

　Although the name of the spell was laughed at by those around me. But It’s an easy-to-understand non Chuunibyou name, right?

　And this magic also has a secondary effect.

　Oops, I have to get Akane back before that.

　Akane’s eyes widened at the scene in front of her.

　A giant black dog (actually a wolf) and men who were just struggling to get up and slide around on the floor, unable to get up. I think she can’t understand what’s going on.

“Oi~, Akane?”

　Akane finally turned to face me as I called out to her and waved my hand in front of her.

　And then she came furiously at me.

“Yuuya! What the hell did you do?! And what’s with this big doggie?”

“N, now.  I don’t even know what’s going on.”

“Don’t mess with me! I’ve been thinking it’s weird for a while now. I’m going to have a real good explanation from you!”

　Akane grabs my chest and shakes me vigorously.

　Yup. I can’t deceive her after all, right?

　As expected, it’s a bad idea to use Kagerou. I should have eradicated them as soon as they entered the room. Though even if I had done that, I think I would still be in this situation.

“I, I get it! Calm down!”

“You’re really going to explain everything to me, right?!”

　There’ s no way around it. I don’t think she’s going to tell anyone about it, and I might have had to at some point. …or rather, will she believe me when I explain it to her?

“I’ll explain it to you. But I cannot explain to you right now, so you should go home first. By the way, where’s your bike?”

“…… Okay fine. I didn’t ride my bike today. They brought me here while I was trying to walk from home to go shopping.”

“I see. Do you have anything left behind? If you don’t have any, I’ll ‘Send’ you straight away, so please wait for me in my room.”

　When Akane nodded, confirming that she had no luggage, I deployed a magic circle to ‘Transfer’ her alone.

“Eh?!”

　I saw Akane’s startled face for a moment, and then she disappeared.

“Kagerou. Please follow Akane for a while.”

“Woof!”

　Kagerou withdraws its enormous body into the shadows and disappears after he says an acknowledgement-like sound to my words.

　At least, that’s all right for now.

　Though I feel depressed thinking about what to do when I come home.

　Once again, I take a look at the men who are lying around, and they are in a terrible state of disarray.

　After all, most of them had their clothes in tatters, and some of them were even completely naked.

　It’s about the secondary effect of this magic, which I was just about to mention. The thing is, if you eliminate the frictional force using this magic, with the exception of a few materials, your clothes and shoes will be gone.

　The reason is that the clothes that make up clothes, both natural and synthetic, are made of threads that maximize friction. That is to say, the friction when the fine fibers are bound together to make a thread is what prevents it from unraveling, and if there is no friction, it will immediately return to just a fine fiber. Moreover, the returned fibers would not harden at all and would fall apart, leaving only a few centimeters of fiber, except for silk (silk is the liquid in the silkworm’s body that it extracts into thread, so each cocoon is a single fiber) and some other material. The same is true for leather products, although the leather material itself is not affected by the magic, but the thread that holds the leather together is.

　Therefore, the cloth that touches the floor when it moves will unravel and disappear as if it were dissolved.

　Because the men are in such a state, no one would have paid attention to Akane’s transfer and Kagerou withdrawing into shadow just now. In the first place, It’s quite difficult for them to direct their gaze consciously at us.

　Though, it doesn’t matter even if they see it.

　I’m really glad I sent Akane home first. I can’t let her see this mess.

　I release my magic and restore the friction, thinking it’s about time.

　And in exchange, I deploy ‘Ward’ and ‘Sound Insulation Barrier’ on this floor.

　Some people are about to get up, but most of them are still lying on the floor.

“Alright,”

　All eyes are focused on me when I say a word. All of their faces have an expression of fear, as if they are looking at something unfathomable.

　I approach Tanaka without paying attention to their gazes.

　Tanaka manages to sit up despite being out of breath and glares at me as best he can.

　Like the rest of them, however, it doesn’t mean much, as fear is evident on his face.

　But they don’t become distraught when I approach them, which is probably due to the fact that they are just a bunch of hoodlums. It’s really something I don’t want to learn about.

　Those expensive-looking suits had turned out to be miserable to look at, with only a slight tug on the upper half of the body. The lower half of the body is completely exposed, except for the belt.

“Who the hell are you? What have you done to us!”

“I’m just a college student like what you guys discovered through your investigation. Though I can do a few more things than most people, that’s for sure.”

“What is your goal?”

“Hmm? I don’t have any particular goal in mind. But what’s your excuse for spreading crappy drugs around the University and the city I live in? So I thought I’d track you down, you see. In the meantime, tell me every single thing you know.”

　He looks at me hatefully after hearing my words.

“You think I’m going to talk?”

“I’ll leave that up to your free will. But I’ll do as I please until you tell me everything.”

“Shit! Die!”

　A guy who seems to have come to his senses pulls out a knife from behind me.

　Attacking me while yelling, you’re an idiot, aren’t you?

　Having grasped his movement, I turned around, plucked the knife with my finger and kicked him in the belly. Of course, I do not forget the healing magic.

　With the knife still in my hand, the man hits the ceiling, then falls directly to the floor and stops moving. No, he’s not dead.

　I glare at the other men after giving a sidelong glance (No, although it’s a bare ass, I don’t want to see that one) at the man that crashes to the floor.  It seems that their last ounce of resistance has run out after seeing what just happened. (TL: It’s a pun, Sidelong glance = Shiri me (尻目), Bare ass = Shiri marudashi (尻丸出し))

　Now, then, what information do I need to know?

　I snapped the knife I took away from the man like snapping a utility knife while approaching Tanaka, who was probably the most knowledgeable person in the room.

　The surrounding men desperately crawl to keep their distance from such a figure.

　Only Tanaka, perhaps out of pride, does not move from his spot.

“Well, then, can you begin talking to me quickly? Your organization and its methods of obtaining drugs, the criminal organizations involved, and anything else related to the dark side of this city, hmm?”

“…………”

　Tanaka turned away and refused to talk.

　This feels great, isn’t it?

　After all, it’s no fun if he confesses so easily after all the trouble he put me through.

　I’m sure I have a very evil look on my face right now.

“As I said before, It’s fine by me if you want to keep silent, but I think it’s going to be hard for you, you know~”

　I trampled on Tanaka’s exposed “son” as I said this.

　Scream echoed across the floor.

　And the screams continued for about an hour. 

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Translator’s Note:

The translation will slow down to 1 chapter/week for a while, as I am still trying to find motivation.

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