NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14
As I stepped out of the thicket and passed through the Moon Gate, the deafening chorus of cicadas greeted me, but something felt off about Akane Village, which usually exuded a tranquil atmosphere.
“What’s with all these cars?”
If my senses were right, it was already August, and with the Obon festival approaching, it wouldn’t be unusual for families to return to Akane Village. Sure enough, there were unfamiliar cars parked at Taeko-san’s house, where I’d helped weed the garden before, and at Genji-jiisan’s place, the first person I met in this world.
“Those look like the kind of luxury cars you’d see in a movie…”
The cars gleamed black under the blazing sun, the kind of high-end vehicles you might expect to be driven by people with a certain reputation. All over Akane Village, these cars were parked, and around them, burly men dressed in black were searching for something, despite the scorching heat.
“Oh, Allen-kun! Where’ve you been this past week?”
“Long time no see, Genji-san.”
Although it had only been a week, I’d been coming to Akane Village so often lately that Genji-jiisan looked a bit surprised to see me after this brief absence.
The reason I hadn’t been able to visit Akane Village was, of course, because I had been traveling to the capital with Nishioji. Although I could’ve returned at any time by opening the Moon Gate during the journey, I refrained, thinking it wouldn’t be wise for a new member to engage in suspicious activities in the middle of the night.
“So, Genji-san, who are those men in black?”
“Right! Since you stopped coming here, those guys suddenly showed up in the village. They’ve been sticking around ever since, saying they’re looking for you.”
Genji-jiisan clapped his hands as if he’d just remembered something and told me about the group of men in black who had come to Akane Village. From what he said, this group had come all the way through the mountain roads from Saiwa Town, the nearest town to Akane Village, and had been searching for me from dawn till dusk every day.
Some of them were even staying in the village’s accommodations.
“Why would people from the Saioji Group come all the way to a remote village like this… Allen-kun, what on earth did you do?”
When I heard “Saioji Group,” the first thing that came to mind was, of course, Saioji Shizuku, who was now my employer. She had mentioned that in the world after my death, there wasn’t a single person in Japan who didn’t know the Saioji name.
At the time, I thought she was exaggerating, but from the way Genji-jiisan spoke in a hushed tone, it seemed the Saioji family was indeed quite influential.
“Is the Saioji Group really that impressive?”
“Impressive doesn’t even begin to describe it! They’re one of Japan’s… no, the world’s leading corporations!”
Genji-jiisan was genuinely shocked that I didn’t know about such a famous company.
Given that I supposedly died in this world over 20 years ago, it’s hard to imagine a global corporation emerging in such a short time. But from what Genji-jiisan said, even a rural place like Akane Village was well aware of their name.
—
*Knock, knock.*
“Excuse me…”
While I was chatting with Genji-jiisan, the men in black who had been around the thicket where the Moon Gate was located had disappeared.
Even so, a black luxury car—likely belonging to the Saioji Group—was parked not far from Genji-jiisan’s house, so I walked over and knocked on the window. The person inside was resting.
“Is it you?”
The driver, noticing my presence, rolled down the power window. I initially assumed the person inside was a man, given the black suit, but it turned out to be a woman with a somewhat languid expression.
“If by ‘you,’ you mean the person you’ve been looking for, then yes, it’s probably me.”
“…I figured. There aren’t many big foreigners like you in a place like this.”
With a raspy, husky voice, the woman in black let out a light sigh.
“Get in the back. It’s hot outside.”
—
“Mind if I smoke?”
“No, go ahead.”
The woman in black, sitting in the driver’s seat, pulled out a cigarette from her breast pocket and asked if she could smoke. When I told her it was fine, she lit up and began smoking with practiced ease.
“Finally found you. I’ve been looking for you in this village for a week on the boss’s orders. Haven’t even had a decent cigarette.”
“…Sorry about that.”
“Nah, don’t worry. Just venting. Nothing for you to apologize for.”
The woman in black, who introduced herself as Naka-Zoe Akira, spoke with a slightly amused tone.
At first, I addressed her formally, but she told me to just call her Akira, so I did.
“Phew.”
“Japanese summers are brutal, huh? Imagine searching for you in this heat for nearly a week.”
Akira’s tone was lighthearted, but the fact that she’d been looking for me for a week, traveling through mountain roads from the neighboring town, showed that it must have been quite challenging.
“When Saioji suggested I didn’t need to write my return address on the letter, I never thought it would lead to this…”
I’d simply sent the letter following Saioji’s instructions, but I never imagined they’d track me down and search the entire village.
Saioji must’ve anticipated this would happen, I thought aloud, and as I did, Akira, who had been smoking with the window open, suddenly changed her expression.
“…So, you know about the young lady?”
When Akira said that, she closed the window she’d opened to smoke, and I heard the car doors lock with a click.
“Sorry, but I can’t let you go. Not that I ever intended to, anyway.”
Akira, who had seemed like a friendly older sister just moments ago, now had an air of menace—like a professional killer.