Vol 3 Chapter 34 – The Sword of Justice, The Gun of Evil (【The Exonerator of the Maritime Nation】 Arc)

“Nngh…”

When she opened her eyes, a stark white ceiling filled her vision. Glancing around, it appeared she was in a room of an apartment.

“Awake at last. Did you have a good dream?”

An unfamiliar voice came from behind Satsuki, who still hadn’t quite grasped her situation.

“That’s too bad—I’m not the type to dream.”

“Is that so? What a pity.”

Satsuki carefully observed the man seated before her. However, she soon noticed he wasn’t carrying his usual pair of beloved revolvers. With an expression that said she had no recourse, she spoke up.

“So… where exactly is this place? I’d really like to get back to where I belong.”

“Ah, I haven’t explained yet. This is a room in an apartment. Even if you try to leave, the inner door is locked—escape is pointless.”

Upon hearing this, Satsuki walked over to the entrance. There was a keyhole in the door knob, and, of course, the door did not open.

“Sigh… What do you plan to do by confining a frail lady like me? You’ll end up getting caught by the police!”

“The one who’ll be caught by the police is you, Satsuki Tsutsuka.”

Satsuki’s eyes went wide. In an instant, the room’s atmosphere turned grim.

“I wonder where you picked up that name.”

“With special methods, nowadays you can figure it out in no time.”

Satsuki sighed at the sight of the man’s smug expression.

“I see. But sorry—I really don’t want you using my given name.”

“My apologies. Frankly, a criminal’s name isn’t of much concern anyway.”

A brief silence followed—a silence that would have left any ordinary person breathless with distress. Yet the two continued chatting as if they were having the time of their lives.

“Criminal, huh? That word reminds me—you also massacred all the employees at that hot spring inn. What had they done?”

“Ah, they did shelter members of the notorious criminal organization Enpress.”

“So you killed them?”

“Calling it ‘killed’ isn’t quite right. I executed them. Evil is something we take care of.”

“Heh… You really are crazy.”

Satsuki chuckled softly as she downed the coffee offered to her.

“Phew… So, what now? Are you planning to kill me?”

“Not at all. If I intended to kill you, I would have done so already.”

“That figures. Then is there… something important you want to talk about?”

The man clapped his hands.

“Good question. To get straight to the point… I’ve come to invite you to join our organization.”

“An invitation? That hardly sounds amusing as a joke.”

Satsuki looked both surprised and suspicious. Naturally, being ambushed, dragged to an unknown location, and then told she was being invited to join an organization was, well, extremely suspicious.

“I’m not joking. I value your skills.”

“We both know which organizations we belong to, don’t we? And yet you’re still planning to recruit me?”

Enpress and the Guardians—two organizations that were never meant to intersect—are about to join forces. Something unprecedented is unfolding.

“…”

After a long moment of contemplation, Satsuki finally said,

“—————Interesting. I’ll take your offer.”

She chose to betray Enpress. The two sealed the deal with a handshake.

“That’s exactly what I wanted.”

The man smiled and offered Satsuki another cup of coffee. The aroma of the coffee lingered in her nostrils.

“I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is Tachikawa Shirou.”

“Allow me to introduce myself properly, too. I’m Satsuki Tsutsuka; as I mentioned before, please address me by my surname.”

“Why do you hate being called by your given name?”

“Oh, a lady’s secrets are not for prying.”

“A lady? That doesn’t quite fit your look…”

“Too bad you don’t have a gun at hand—I could have killed you on the spot.”

Satsuki mimicked a gunshot, making a clear “bang” gesture in Tachikawa’s direction.

“By the way… where are my prized weapons? Knowing you, you wouldn’t have disposed of them, would you?”

“Exactly right. I was actually planning to give them back to you when you woke up.”

With that, Satsuki was handed a silver hard case. She smiled softly as she opened it.

“I’m relieved. These are more precious to me than my life.”

Inside were the two revolvers she cherished. Her eyes sparkled like a child who’d discovered treasure as she strapped the revolvers to her waist.

“I couldn’t hand them over until we agreed to join forces.”

“True, I’ve joined forces with you, but was it really wise to hand over my weapons so quickly? There’s always the possibility you might betray me.”

“When the time comes, it’ll be fine. Besides, you’re probably too injured and worn out from your battle with your ‘Second’ to fight properly.”

“Second?”

“It’s a title within the organization. Don’t you have one in your organization?”

“In my organization, we don’t have that kind of culture. Well, occasionally the boss gives a name to someone without one.”

Satsuki said this, taking a sip from the coffee on the table.

“I see. For your information, the ‘Second’ is none other than Kuroda, as you’re aware.”

“I see… I had a feeling, but I didn’t realize Kuroda-chan was part of your organization too.”

“Actually, she’s an executive.”

“Heh, such a young kid…”

Satsuki smiled, clearly impressed.

“Young, huh? But that’s just how she looks.”

“Really? I was sure she was elementary or middle school-aged.”

“If an elementary or middle schooler had that kind of killing skill, that would be terrifying.”

“That figures.”

Satsuki nodded in understanding. Then, abruptly, she clapped her hands.

“Enough chit-chat—let’s get down to business.”

“That’s a bit abrupt… I was hoping to chat with you a bit more.”

“We’re strictly business partners here. I don’t intend to chat about personal matters in detail.”

“How cold. There’s no harm in getting along with people.”

Tachikawa’s Japanese sword caught the light and gleamed. Satsuki sighed exasperatedly.

“Let me choose who I want to get close to. So, what should I do from here on out?”

“I would have liked a bit more chit-chat… but oh well.”

Tachikawa pulled a cigarette from his chest pocket, lit it, and put it in his mouth.

“It’s simple—just relay your information to us regularly.”

“Is that really it? I was expecting you to tell me to go take out your comrades or something.”

“We’ll handle the actual opposition ourselves. We don’t want to raise any unnecessary suspicions.”

“True. But what if I end up feeding you false information?”

Tachikawa responded with a sly smile. Satsuki felt an ominous premonition.

“To address that concern, I’m going to put a certain binding on you.”

“A binding, huh? I don’t really like being tied down.”

“I’m not going to restrict your actions that much—just wear this.”

Tachikawa handed her an item. At the sight, Satsuki’s face contorted slightly.

“That’s in terrible taste—makes me wonder if you’re really a champion of justice.”

“Coming from someone in a massive criminal organization, that really stings.”

They exchanged a look and laughed together.

—————————————————

Justice and Evil.
When two forces that were never meant to intersect come together, what kind of reaction will occur?
The two could hardly contain their excitement.