A 30 Year Old Virgin (One Who Haven’t Even Interacted with Women) Took an Exam to Become a Wizard. - Volume 3- Chapter 13: Protecting Mutsumi

Volume 3- Chapter 13: Protecting Mutsumi

In the deserted night park, the person swinging on the swing was undoubtedly Honoka.

Honoka’s mom works at night. She thinks her daughter is at home. If she had known that Honoka was playing alone in the park, she might have consulted Mari or taken some other action. This tragedy could have been prevented.

“Is that a child? What are her parents doing? We need to protect her immediately…”

The two police officers, with their eyes wide open, were specialized in cybercrime. But it seemed they weren’t just indifferent to matters outside their jurisdiction. It was reassuring to see the seriousness of the police as a citizen, but I didn’t want them to take action at this moment.

“Wait.”

“Are you stopping us? That’s obstruction of justice.”

Mutsumi was annoying. I said to wait a little, and just as I said that, the man arrived.

“That’s…”

A shadow of an adult approached Honoka as she swung on the swing.

“She has a guardian.”

“If only that was the case. I need you two to be witnesses to this.”

“Witnesses? Is this a case of child neglect?”

“It’s the widespread girl abduction case.”

“This is a case under a media blackout. Why are you… is he the culprit?”

Mutsumi stared sharply, speaking in the Tosa dialect again. It was difficult to understand her as she kept changing her dialect. (T/N: Not sure how I would faithfully copy the Tosa dialect into english language, so I left it at proper english. Check end notes for the Romaji if you want to read it. 1.)

“Yes. This is a crucial moment of that whole affair.”

I took out my phone and opened the video recording app.

The man approaching Honoka was wearing a mask, like the kind sold at festival stalls, depicting a superhero.

“You’re cute. What’s your name? Where are your father and mother?”

“A strange old man? Who are you?”

“It’s dangerous for a child to be alone at night. Where do you live? I’ll take you home.”

“No, I can go home by myself.”

That was the conversation, which was hard to hear from here. We quietly approached them.

Honoka got off the swing and started walking quickly. The masked man circled around her.

“Wait. It’s dangerous for a child to walk alone.”

“I’ll run home, so it’s fine.”

Honoka took a few steps back, then turned around and ran through the swinging swing. The man chased after her, saying, “I said I’d take you home.” Honoka grabbed the swing chain and shook it hard from side to side.

The swing hit the man’s shoulder, and he clicked his tongue. However, he couldn’t stop. He immediately caught up and grabbed her from behind.

“You’re a child who doesn’t appreciate kindness.”

“No! Let go of me!”

Honoka struggled. She kicked to break free, but missed. Her body, full of momentum, flipped over, and she fell headfirst.

“I caught you! There’s no need to be so scared. I won’t let any harm come to you. I’ll definitely send you home after I’m done. Adults keep their promises.”

The man was telling the truth. In the future, Honoka was to be released after the abduction. She was unharmed and even fed. She seemed fine on the outside, but she locked herself in her room. She stopped going to school and even stopped playing with her close friend, Sugumi. She had completely shut herself off from the world after the whole affair.

What had been done to her? She didn’t say a word, but in the man’s room, there were photos of girls. They were dressed as magical girls, naked, with forced smiles, and close-ups of their private parts. It told a story of mental anguish.

“I won’t let go. I won’t let go. I won’t let go. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

The man who had caught his prey laughed. Under the mask, he was probably imagining lewd scenarios of the little girl.

One second later, his pleasure collapsed.

Fukazawa grabbed the man’s wrist.

“Where is the place you’re taking her?”

“Ah!?”

“Police hear. I’d like to ask you to come with me to the station.”

The man was cautious. It was easy to imagine why. The police had set up an investigation team but still hadn’t caught him. The culprit was a detective on the investigation team itself afterall, which was a significant advantage. However, his innate personality led him to repeatedly scout the area before abducting the girls.

He knew that Honoka would be alone at this time and that there would be no one else in the park.

Yet, Fukazawa, who shouldn’t have been there, appeared. It was like a bolt from the blue.

The man panicked and fumbled.

Even Mutsumi, who was still in training, knew his face, so Fukazawa must have recognized him too.

“I, I, I’m… That’s right. I’m her father.”

He had prepared the excuse, “I’m the police,” if ever another person were to see hin, but it wouldn’t work against another police officer.

He quickly thought of another excuse, saying, “I tried to protect her because it was dangerous here,” “Why is Fukazawa here?” and “You’re a cybercrime specialist.” He kept changing his story on his head until he settled on, “I’m her father.” What a comedian. I was impressed.

He came up with so many words, made changes, and revised his story yet that’s what he ended up with.

His quick thinking was impressive. If only he didn’t bite his tongue.

“oh, is that so?”

Mutsumi was about to be convinced. Don’t believe him, suspicious man. Fukazawa, who was restraining him, was so bored that he forgot to cough.

“Yes, I’m her father, so I’m taking my daughter home from her night outing.”

The man, who had seemed suspicious, turned out to be Honoka’s father. Mutsumi’s sense of justice wavered. This was my chance. The man regained his momentum.

“No, you’re not my father.”

“She’s nervous. This child often lies.”

“Yes, don’t trouble your father.”

This wasn’t going well. I had intended to stay in the shadows, but it seemed they needed backup.

“I didn’t know your father was here. Hey, Honoka.”

“Oh, Onii-san! Help me!”

Honoka’s expression brightened. She had been anxious being surrounded by strangers, but she felt relieved seeing the family of her close friend. They were so close that they had bathed together afterall.

“You know each other? Damn it!”

The man twisted Honoka’s wrist with a light movement, but like a magician, he easily freed himself and escaped. Fukazawa, who had caught him, stared in disbelief, then snapped out of it and chased after him.

“Tatsuki, catch him!”

“Leave it to me. And stop calling me Tatsuki!”

The fleeing criminal. The chasing police officer. Both of them were police officers though. They disappeared into the darkness.

“Onii-san, I was so scared.”

Honoka whimpered and spread her arms. I squatted down and hugged her.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Everything’s fine now.”

“It’s not really fine.”

“You’re right. How can we make it fine?”

“Well… maybe a kiss?”

“When you become an adult.”

I vigorously rubbed her head, and she pouted angrily.

“You’re so mean! I’m already an adult, you know.”

“I know, I know. Yes, yes.”

“You’re treating me like a child…”

This girl seemed to have some composure. Well, half of her teasing was to get close to me, and the other half was to reassure herself. Her hands and mouth were trembling, like they had been soaked in a pool.

I felt bad for using her as bait, but I had managed to avoid a lifelong trauma that would have haunted her. Sugumi and Mari would surely understand.

Mutsumi, who had been watching Fukazawa, gathered her frizzy hair and wiped the sweat from her face. The neon lights illuminating the darkness accentuated the protrusion on her chest. Her natural movements were all erotic.

“That guy. He’s always been fast, and no one could catch up– Cough, no one could catch up to him.” (T/N: She was speaking in Tosa dialect then switched to modern japanese, the Tokyo dialect. 2.)

That guy? She meant Fukazawa. The Tosa dialect was hard to understand.

“Is that so? I’ll take Honoka to her mom and report this. I’ll probably take her to my house. I have a proposal.”

“What is it?”

“Your Tosa dialect and polite speech are cute, but it’s hard to understand when you keep changing. Just speak informally to me.”

After all, she’s a police trainee in her teens, and we have a physical relationship. From now on, I’ll talk to her like a little girl.

“Cute. Oh, um, sorry. I’ve been training to speak politely, even borrowing police uniforms from other countries. But it’s not going well…” 

“It’s okay. It’s hard for you, right?”

“Sorry. I got it from Grandpa. Nowadays, young people use polite speech, so in my hometown, I was laughed at for my strange Tosa dialect.” (T/N: Tosa Dialect still. 3.)

I failed. Her speech was so hard to understand that I could only catch about half of it. Fortunately, her natural expressions allowed me to guess the rest. Well, this was cuter, so I decided to let it go.

“So? You seem to have a special relationship with that child.”

“I’m Onii-san’s girlfriend.”

Honoka rubbed against me. Stop flirting with me in front of a police officer.

“Oh, girlfriend? A little girl is your girlfriend. We need to have a talk.”

“She’s my little sister’s friend. She sometimes stays over, so I know her well. By the way, her mother works at that store over there.”

“I’ll contact the station, and you chase after Tatsuki. Tomorrow, investigators will probably visit Morishita-san’s place. They’ll probably ask for the video, but don’t be rude to them. We’ll talk about it another day.”

Talk another day…

So, after contacting the station, I’ll chase after him… And tomorrow, investigators will come and ask for cooperation… Is that right?

I was about to go on a nighttime marathon with no clear destination. It’s tough to run without a specific goal.

Hmm? I do have a destination in mind.

“I can intercept him. But I know where he lives.”

“You know where?”

“Next to Saitou-san’s room. He tortures the girls there.”

“My neighbor? The room next to me is owned by a company. The landlord told me.”

“He probably rented it under a different name. If we investigate, we’ll find out, but the culprit is a detective named Sakuma.”

“Sakuma? A detective? Isn’t Sakuma in charge of the abduction case? How did you find out?”

The reason… I can’t say that I woke up in the culprit’s residence after time-leaping and making Mutsumi wear panties after saving her from the case.

“It just happened that way.”

“You should contact them immediately.”

“Yes, yes. Ha-ha-ha.”

I tried to brush it off with a dry laugh, but Mutsumi kept her eyes on me while making the call.

☆☆☆

I visited the store and called Honoka’s mom, explaining the situation.

Her mom was shocked and apologized to her daughter for leaving her alone. She left work early, and the mother and daughter held hands and went home together.

“I have a proposal.”

Amid the sirens of patrol cars gathering in the nightlife district, I took Mutsumi and returned to the park.

T/N: 1. «…… Hōdō kisei shitoru jiken yado. Nande o-ma wa n ga…… Honni hannin ka»

2. 2. «An hito. Mukashi kara ashi ga hayayōte daremo oitsukankatta. Gohon, oitsukenai no da»

3. 3. «suman chi. Jī no ga utsu tta n no ya. Imadoki wakai yatsu wa, futsū ni keigo tsukai yoru kara, jimoto demo myō na Tosa ben onna chi warawaretotta»