Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Repay Enmity with Justice, Repay Kindness with Virtue
BANG!
A gray filter covered the world in Aozawa’s eyes.
The bullet, just a middle finger’s length from his cheek, froze in mid-air. All the people fighting in the corridor beca motionless statues.
He used telekinesis to grip the bullet and turned it around in mid-air.
Aozawa wanted to test if this could make the bullet shoot back the way it ca.It didn’t matter if it didn’t.After all, he wouldn’t be standing in the bullet’s path.
Aozawa stepped forward, using telekinesis to pull the knife out of Mayeki Hikitsugu’s thigh.
With his X-ray Ability activated, he could clearly see Mayeki Hikitsugu’s internal structure. He found the gaps between his ribs, thrust the knife into his heart at an angle, then stirred it and yanked it out with force.
After doing all this, he still hadn’t lifted the ti stop. Gripping the knife with telekinesis, he walked over to Konishi and others, giving this person’s heart the sa treatnt.
Aozawa turned, headed for the door, and began cleaning up any traces he had left with his telekinesis. anwhile, he stabbed each of the underlings in the heart, ensuring every one of them would die, leaving no survivors.
Killing was an act that felt like nothing once you got used to it, just like sweeping dust from the floor.
He threw the murder weapon at the scene and swaggered out.
The sky outside was gray-blue.
In the distance was Ikebukuro’s most famous Sunshine City, soaring sixty stories high, looking down on Ikebukuro with a dominating presence.
At this ti, there weren’t many pedestrians on the street.
Aozawa walked down the stairs and along the street toward where he had positioned himself two streets over, next to a telephone pole.
Ti began to flow once more.
BANG!
The sound of the gunshot from the Konishi Financial Company building carried this far.
So people on the street looked in the direction of the gunshot, thinking it was firecrackers, and didn’t pay much attention.
Aozawa humd a tune, leaving in a good mood, even thinking about rewarding himself with a cold milk tea.
「...」
Inside the second-floor eting room at the Konishi Financial Company, Hibino Mio also heard that loud gunshot, and her heart skipped a beat.
She looked toward the door. She wanted to go out and see what had happened but feared such an action would provoke Konishi and his gang.
After hesitating for a while, she decided to stay seated.
Ti ticked away.
Hibino Mio pulled out her phone to check the ti; it was already half past eleven. If she didn’t get ho soon, she wouldn’t be able to cook for Sumiko.
Thinking of her daughter waiting at ho, she gathered her courage, stood up, and opened the eting room door.
A strong, tallic sll hit her.
Did they use soone else’s fish to repay debts?
With that thought, she stepped out. Seeing the corridor was empty, she turned right, then took a left at the corner.
A horrifying scene unfolded before her eyes.
The corridor floor was covered in blood; so of it had even splattered onto the side walls. People lay in pools of blood, their eyes wide open. Most had bruises on their faces from being beaten.
Hibino Mio’s mind went blank.
After a mont, she ca to her senses, quickly pulled out her phone, and called the Ikebukuro Police Station.
After explaining the situation at the scene, she hurried outside and took a deep breath of fresh air.
With her hands gripping the railing, Hibino Mio’s heart thumped wildly as she recalled the bloody scene. She was overco with fear, yet a bold idea inevitably erged.
With Konishi and others dead, could she perhaps weasel her way out of her debt?Perhaps such behavior was sowhat immoral, but the interest on the high-interest loan was far beyond what an ordinary part-tir like her could repay.
Hibino Mio thought for a long ti then said in a low voice, "I must live with a clear conscience!"
She let out a long breath, and the heavy burden in her heart seed to dissipate with it.
She had made mistakes in the past and had always wanted to sever ties with her forr self.At this mont, Hibino Mio finally felt that sense of severance. She felt different from her past self.In the past, she would have definitely chosen to default on this debt.Now, Hibino Mio would choose to shoulder the responsibility of repaying it.Regardless of the lender’s intentions, the fact remained that they had lent her the money when she needed it most.Without that money, Hibino Mio wouldn’t have been able to save her daughter’s life. She still had to repay that debt.
Hibino Mio fird her resolve just as the sound of a blaring siren drifted over from the unseen streets.
Soon, a police car appeared.
Hibino Mio was sowhat surprised. For such a major case, is it alright for the police station to send just one car?
The people who erged from the police car confused Hibino Mio even more.
A handso young police officer was driving. Two won erged from the passenger and rear seats. They were blonde foreigners.
The blonde woman from the back seat was exceptionally tall—at least one hundred ninety-five centiters. Her facial features were sharp and angular, showing none of the softness typically associated with won. She wore an army-green vest and pants, her arms rippling with muscles, looking as if she could kill a bull with a single punch.
The other woman, from the passenger seat, was petite, about one hundred fifty centiters tall. She had a pale complexion and delicate features. She carried a bright red parasol and wore a gothic-style dress, resembling an aristocratic doll.
The trio ascended the external staircase to the second floor.
"You must be the one who reported the incident, right?" the petite foreign woman asked in fluent Japanese, completely without an accent.
Hibino Mio nodded. "That’s right."
"My na might be a bit long for you Japanese. Just call
Emily. This tall one here is Katerina, my bodyguard and assistant. And this man," she gestured toward the young officer, "is a servant assigned to
by the tropolitan Police Departnt."
"Miss Emily, I must correct you. The tropolitan Police Departnt assigned
to assist you with the investigation, not to be your servant," the young inspector corrected, then said with a smile, "Ma’am, please explain what happened in detail."
"Alright, it went like this..." Hibino Mio reported everything that had happened there truthfully.
Emily listened, occasionally asking a question, and would fall into thought after receiving a reply.
"...I imdiately called the police."
"You’ve had a tough ti," the young inspector said, patting her shoulder gently. "Don’t be afraid."
Emily retorted, "Hey, we’re in the middle of an investigation. You, with your married-woman fetish, tone it down a bit."
"I’m simply concerned about the quality of life of married won," the young inspector countered, smiling as he handed over his business card. "My na is Okayama Buji. If you have any problems, rember to call . Beautiful single mothers like you are most vulnerable to trouble. Moreover, you don’t need to pay back the money you owe Konishi Finance. You can reserve your kindness for those generous souls who help others. There’s no need to extend such kindness to those leeches. I hope you’ll think it over."
"...Yes," Hibino Mio replied, her previous resolve wavering. She turned to leave.
Emily watched Hibino Mio leave and grimaced. "Those words are not what an inspector should say."
"We have our own particular situation here," Okayama Buji smiled, then turned to look inside the building. His gaze passed over the desks, and he said gravely, "Let’s see if this incident is connected to the Shinjuku Ishida Financial Services."
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