Vol 3 Chapter 3 – The Judicator and the Guardian  (【The Exonerator of the Maritime Nation】Arc)

An unfamiliar beach stretched out before me.

Lying on the sand, I blankly stared up at the sky.

This is… a dream world.

An instinctive realization echoed in my mind.

Now that I think about it, I had a “weird dream” yesterday too…

Ignoring my confusion, my body rose up on its own.

I stood on the sandy beach, scanning my surroundings.

It was a world of only sea and sky.

White sand and a blue ocean stretched endlessly, with nothing visible on the horizon.

My body started walking along the beach.

The sensation of the sand shifting under the weight of my steps felt vivid.

Without stopping, I continued walking.

After about two minutes, I came upon a “large cave entrance.”

The “large cave” was dimly lit and damp.

After walking for a while, the light from the entrance faded, and the surroundings plunged into darkness.

Using the light of my phone, I ventured deeper into the cave.

After walking for five minutes, my eyes were drawn to—

—an old, dilapidated well.

And then it happened.

“Hey, you… Who are you?”

A female voice called out from behind me.

Startled, I turned around.

There she was—a delicate girl in a pure white dress, with silver hair cascading to her shoulders.

“Uh… who are you?”

“Could you not answer a question with another question? More importantly, who are you? Why are you here?”

She puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

“My apologies. Allow me to introduce myself—I’m Sakata Yuuto. Though I doubt it’ll make sense, I seem to have wandered in here.”

Upon hearing my introduction, her expression shifted from displeasure to a radiant smile.

“I see. Sakata-san, right? Nice to meet you!”

“Ah, yeah…”

She started bouncing up and down joyfully on the spot.

“Is something the matter?”

When I asked, she responded with a beaming smile.

“Nope! Nothing at all!”

…What’s her deal? Well, it’s probably nothing to worry about.

“So, what’s your surname? Could you tell me your full name?”

“Sure! Of course!”

She nodded enthusiastically, her face lighting up even more.

I couldn’t help but find her genuinely adorable. There was no way anyone could feel anything but warmth seeing a smile like hers.

“My name is—”

The conversation was abruptly interrupted.

————————————————————  

I woke up with a jolt.

My entire body was drenched in sweat.

A sense of dread weighed heavily on me.

“I remember now.”

That silver-haired girl had appeared in a dream I had before.

The memory of the dream flashed vividly in my mind.

A silver-haired girl I’d never seen in real life.

Who was she?

Why did the girl who had collapsed before now look at me with such affection?

I had no answers.

Was she a being of the dream world?

Or could she exist in reality?

“Well, thinking about it now won’t change anything.”

I murmured quietly, trying to sit up.

…Or so I intended.

But my body refused to move as if weighed down by something.

“What is this…”

Was it sleep paralysis? No matter how much I tried, something clung to me, restraining my movements.

Right… Satsuki. She should be sleeping beside me.

Resisting the growing unease, I called out to Satsuki, who I assumed was next to me.

“S-Satsuki, are you awake?”

No response.

I shifted my gaze toward where she should be.

But Satsuki wasn’t there.

Had she woken up earlier and gone somewhere?

At this rate, I’d never get up.

“Guess I have no choice.”

Abandoning the idea of Satsuki waking me, I summoned all the strength I could muster to force my body upright.

Gradually, I started to rise.

Good! If I just push a little harder—

And then I saw it.

The culprit behind my immobility appeared in my vision.

“Boss… I can’t eat anymore…”

There she was—Satsuki, muttering in her sleep while clinging to me with the blanket wrapped around us both.

…Right. It’s still like a dream.

Deciding to go back to sleep, I closed my eyes.

But at that moment, the sliding door to the room opened—

“It’s already 9 a.m., you know…”

Kuzuryuu appeared, staring at us in exasperation.

————————————————————  

At the same time, on a certain beach.

The monochrome girl, Kuroda Shiromi, had returned to the cave she’d visited last night.

“Yesterday, no preparations. Today, fully prepared.”

A large backpack was strapped to her back, and she carried a cooler box in her left hand as she muttered quietly to herself.

“……”

Illuminating her path with a flashlight, she ventured further into the cave.

And then it came—the stench.

The odor of decaying corpses. Perhaps because she had been exposed to it so much the previous night, it no longer caused her as much discomfort.

Kuroda headed toward that place.

After walking for five minutes—

“I’m here. Finally.”

In front of her stood the same “dilapidated well” she had seen yesterday.

The source of the stench remained unchanged—the well was still stuffed with rotting corpses.

However, she noticed something unusual.

The corpse at the very top.

“This body wasn’t here yesterday.”

The corpse that she had touched at the top last night was no longer there. In its place was another one.

Peering into the dim well, she realized the body hadn’t yet started to decay. It appeared to be only a few hours old.

“———After I left, someone came and placed this corpse here. Why?”

Countless questions swirled through her mind.

The exact depth of the well was unknown, but roughly ten bodies had been discarded into it.

Most of them were the bodies of young men and women.

Was the perpetrator acting alone? Or were there multiple people involved?

Did they commit the crime after I visited last night and dump the body here?

Or are they collecting bodies for some purpose?

“I don’t know. But this is abnormal.”

A cold sweat formed on Kuroda’s forehead.

“For now, I’ll take part of it back with me.”

Murmuring to herself, she pulled a small meat cleaver out of her backpack.

She then retrieved the topmost corpse from the well.

“It’s heavy. But this has to be done.”

With that, she raised the cleaver and swung it down on the corpse.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

It was as if the corpse itself was groaning, dull sounds resonating as the body was slowly dismembered.

“It’s stiff. Rigor mortis.”

Because the body was fresh and rigor mortis had set in, cutting through the flesh was more difficult than expected.

It felt like trying to force a dull saw through something resistant.

Thud.

Thud.

She continued slowly, painstakingly.

“Finally… it’s done.”

Holding the “right arm of the corpse,” her face was exhausted. While the blood had dried, the smell was still unbearable.

She wrapped the arm in plastic wrap and placed it into the cooler box she had brought.

“I’m tired. Time to leave.”

Muttering quietly, she shouldered her backpack again and picked up the cooler box, preparing to leave the well behind.

That’s when it happened.

A female voice called out from behind her.

“Who are you, grave robber?”

Kuroda turned toward the voice, shining her flashlight in the direction it came from.

There stood a girl with silver hair cascading to her shoulders, dressed in a pure white dress, staring directly at her.

“The perpetrator? Who are you?”

“I don’t particularly like it when people answer my questions with more questions…”

The silver-haired girl let out a small sigh and continued.

“I am the ‘Judicator.’ The one who protects this town.”

Spreading her arms wide, she declared her title.

“——Judicator? Sounds like some middle school syndrome nonsense.”

Kuroda spoke with a hint of mockery.

The girl who called herself the Judicator frowned at those words.

“You’re quite noisy for a grave robber.”

“I’m not a grave robber.”

“If you’re not, then what are you?”

The girl tilted her head, appearing confused.

“I’m a ‘guardian of justice.’ I live to bring peace to the world.”

“‘Guardian of justice’? Aren’t you the one with middle school syndrome?”

The Judicator let out a sigh as if exasperated by the comment.

Annoyed by her reaction, Kuroda clicked her tongue.

“Shut up. More importantly—”

Kuroda’s next words cut to the heart of the matter.

“This corpse. Was it your doing?”

At her question, the Judicator’s expression turned serious.

But then, she broke into a wide smile.

“That’s right. Humans who bring evil to this town must be ‘judged,’ after all.”

Her words were accompanied by a smile filled with madness.

It was a smile akin to that of a demon.

Kuroda shuddered at the sight.

This Judicator was undoubtedly the rumored killer.

“I see. That makes things easier.”

Kuroda placed her backpack and cooler box on the ground.

Then, without hesitation, she pulled out a dagger—

“Sorry, but you’ll die here.”

And slashed the girl’s neck.

————————————————————  

I had Kuzuryuu help pry Satsuki off me—she’d been treating me like a body pillow—and the three of us sat down to breakfast. It had taken some effort to separate from her, as she refused to let go.

In the end, Kuzuryuu had to wake her forcibly.

“Satsuki, if your sleeping posture is that bad, we should sleep in separate rooms starting tomorrow.”

I spoke with a hint of reproach.

“I’m sorry. I just let my guard down today. I’ll be fine from tomorrow on.”

Satsuki apologized as she brought a spoonful of miso soup to her lips.

…Is she really sorry?

“If we’re not going to split rooms, I’ll sleep a bit further away.”

“No, that’s not happening. You’re my primary protection target, Boss. I need to be close enough to guard you at all times.”

She shook her head and spoke firmly.

…Why?

“You nearly killed me last night.”

“That was my bad. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Satsuki clasped my hand, looking slightly apologetic.

Ugh… I’m weak to that.

I let out a small sigh.

“…There won’t be a next time, alright?”

“Thanks, Boss! I’ll do my best as your big sister!”

Satsuki beamed with joy and hugged me tightly.

It made my heart skip a beat, but I didn’t feel like pointing it out anymore.

I glanced at Kuzuryuu, who silently ate his breakfast.

“Sigh… Kuzuryuu, can you go over today’s schedule?”

“Understood. After this, we’ll head directly to ○○ Town, where our ally is staying, to gather information. If we can meet the target directly, that will save time, but…”

Kuzuryuu explained in his usual calm manner.

This was essentially just a manhunt, wasn’t it?

I hoped we’d find them quickly and make friends easily.

With that in mind, I continued my meal.

————————————————————  

“Alright, shall we head to the town where the target lives?”

“Got it!”

“Let’s go.”

The two of them echoed my words in agreement.

We got into a taxi, which began heading toward our destination.

Now that I think about it, Kuroda hasn’t sent me any pictures lately. Maybe things have calmed down?

I glanced at my phone screen.

She used to send me pictures every ten minutes, but the last one—a photo of the ocean—had been the final one.

…This place in the picture looks familiar.

But it’s my first time in Hokkaido. Must be my imagination.

I replied with a quick “Nice photo” and closed my phone.

————————————————————  

“Boss, we’ve arrived.”

Before I knew it, the taxi had reached our destination.

The three of us got out, and the town stretched out before us.

“So, the target is here?”

“Let’s find them quickly and then have some fun.”

“Forget about fun… I agree with Satsuki. Let’s locate the target as soon as possible.”

We began moving through the town.

Despite it being evening, the streets were crowded.

“Talking to the locals might be the fastest way to gather information.”

“Yeah. How about we split up to cover more ground?”

“Good idea. Let’s divide into two teams.”

We split into pairs: Satsuki and I as one team, with Kuzuryuu going solo.

“Kuzuryuu, let us know if you find anything.”

“Understood. Boss, please be careful.”

With that, I took Satsuki into the town—

“——Boss, let’s ditch this and head to the beach.”

“Let’s stick to finding the target.”

…Maybe I should reconsider having a bodyguard.