Vol 3 Chapter 4 – The Demon-Masked Girl and the Encounter  (【The Exonerator of the Maritime Nation】Arc)

A desolate cave with a forsaken well at its center.

The air inside the cave was tense, laden with an ominous atmosphere.

“Khhh…!”

Kuroda slashed at the neck of the girl before her.

Or so she thought.

“Careful there… I almost died just now.”

The girl, who introduced herself as a Convictor, stood calmly, her silver hair swaying as she spoke with ease.

“You dodged it. Unexpected.”

Kuroda muttered with a hint of frustration.

“Too bad for you. With my Clairvoyance, your every move is clear as day to me.”

The girl spoke confidently, her tone almost mocking.

Kuroda, unfazed, responded with a monotone voice.

“Incomprehensible.”

Immediately after, the girl’s figure blurred and disappeared.

No, it wasn’t vanishing—she was simply moving too fast to follow.

“?!”

Kuroda, stunned by the girl’s sudden disappearance, quickly regained her composure. She heightened her senses, anticipating an attack from any direction.

The Convictor was behind her.

Sensing the bloodlust from behind, Kuroda dodged just in time.

“Too slow.”

The voice came from directly behind her. Kuroda turned instinctively, but the girl’s knife was already aimed at her throat.

She barely managed to evade the strike.

“Heh… ‘Protector of Justice,’ was it? Not bad at all!”

The silver-haired girl remarked with interest.

Kuroda, in turn, responded in kind.

“…The same to you. Convictor.”

The girl adjusted her grip on her knife, shifting into a battle stance.

Kuroda mirrored the move, drawing her dagger.

(What should I do…?)

Kuroda couldn’t quite gauge the girl’s true strength.

Though she hadn’t let her guard down, she hadn’t anticipated the girl being this fast.

This girl might be as strong as, or even stronger than, Kuroda.

In that case, perhaps it was time to stop holding back.

“Shall we end this?”

The Convictor closed the distance in an instant, thrusting her knife forward.

“I’ve seen through that.”

Kuroda sidestepped lightly, grabbing the girl’s arm in one swift motion.

The girl’s surprised expression quickly turned into a smile.

“You… are you really human?”

“Human.”

“Interesting.”

As they exchanged words, Kuroda swung her dagger toward the girl.

“That’s not going to work either!”

The girl caught Kuroda’s swinging arm.

However—

“Got you.”

Kuroda used her free left hand to draw a pistol and pressed it against the girl’s neck.

“Ah… Did I lose?”

“Correct.”

Just as Kuroda was about to pull the trigger, the girl grabbed her arm to stop her.

“Wait! Don’t kill me.”

The Convictor pleaded, her voice trembling, tears brimming in her eyes.

Kuroda’s expression remained unchanged as she coldly replied:

“Pleading. Pointless for criminals.”

“No! I… I just…”

The girl tried to explain, but Kuroda pressed the gun to her forehead.

“You’re a criminal. Death is your atonement.”

“Maybe… you’re right… But, please…”

The girl closed her eyes in resignation, tears streaming down her cheeks as she begged.

“If you let me live, I could help you achieve your goal…”

Kuroda remained silent, as if in thought, before letting out a sigh.

“I’ve had enough. Goodbye.”

Kuroda pulled the trigger—

But the shot didn’t come from her weapon.

A gunshot rang out from behind her.

“Urgh…!”

Kuroda narrowly dodged, but the bullet grazed her right shoulder, spilling crimson blood.

When she turned around, she saw another figure.

A person stood there, holding a pistol, wearing a hannya mask and clad in a traditional kimono.

“You’re late! I almost died!”

“My apologies. I came as fast as I could.”

The Convictor spoke with a tone of mild irritation to the masked figure.

From behind the mask came the voice of a woman.

Kuroda clutched her wounded shoulder, glaring at the two before her.

“As I suspected. You’re working together…”

Blood poured from her shoulder as she clenched her teeth in pain.

“Ah… Sorry about that. He’s my partner, you see.”

The Convictor grinned as she looked at Kuroda’s struggling form.

The hannya-masked woman, keeping her gun trained on Kuroda, spoke calmly:

“What do we do with her? She knows of our existence. Should we… convict her?”

“Hmm… At first, I thought that would be fine, but…”

The Convictor fired a shot, grazing Kuroda’s thigh.

“Urgh…!”

Kuroda collapsed to her knees from the impact.

The blood loss was becoming critical.

“…Gah…huff…!”

“I think we should have a little chat.”

The Convictor holstered her gun and turned to Kuroda.

“I won’t kill you just yet. There’s more I want to know.”

Kuroda forced herself upright, pointing her gun at the Convictor.

“…Hah…hah…”

Her breathing was ragged, her vision blurred, but her resolve burned bright.

If she were to die here, everything would end.

And she couldn’t allow that.

“Oh? Still standing? Impressive.”

The Convictor Approaches Kuroda.

“I… still… huff… can’t afford to die here…!”

Kuroda attempted to pull the trigger, but her fingers froze from the pain.

The Convictor seized the opportunity, snatching the gun from Kuroda’s hand and tossing it far away.

Then, she grabbed Kuroda by the collar.

The Convictor’s expression shifted, as if she were a completely different person.

“Urgh…! Let me go!”

“I have a question for you.”

The Convictor leaned in, whispering into Kuroda’s ear.

“W-What…?”

“Who are you? Why did you come into this cave? And why are you collecting body parts…?”

Despite the question, Kuroda remained silent.

“…Well, no matter. I’ll figure it out eventually.”

With that, the Convictor kicked Kuroda in the abdomen, sending her flying into the wall.

“Guhah…!”

“Hmph… That should keep you down for a while. Or—wait, seriously…?”

Kuroda stood, leaning against the wall for support, her face inexplicably adorned with a smile.

“…”

She said nothing, merely smiled.

The Convictor stared at her, fear creeping into her expression.

And then—it happened.

“…! Convictor! Behind you!”

Instinctively, the Convictor turned around.

There, a device resembling a “smoke bomb” rolled across the ground.

The Convictor immediately leaped away.

However, she couldn’t escape the spreading smoke, which enveloped her completely.

“…!?”

The Convictor struggled to escape, but her vision was quickly obscured.

It dawned on her—this wasn’t an explosive.

It was a decoy disguised as a smoke bomb.

“Hannya! Find her!”

But her cry was in vain.

The Convictor had completely lost sight of Kuroda.

“Damn it!”

She frantically searched for Kuroda, but there was no sign of her anywhere.

Then she remembered the unease she felt just moments before.

“The spot where I kicked her…”

Looking to where she had thrown Kuroda, she noticed the backpack Kuroda had been carrying earlier lying there.

“That taunting smile… She must’ve been planning this from the start.”

“Who knows…”

The dim cave was illuminated by the beam of a flashlight.

The path leading to the exit bore a trail of blood—undoubtedly Kuroda’s.

“Well, in her condition, she can’t have gone far. Let’s go after her.”

“Understood.”

The two began walking toward the cave’s exit, their manner reminiscent of police hunting down a criminal.

————————————————————

The Three Search for Information on Their Target, Kinjou Honoka.

“…Satsuki.”

Sakata called out to Satsuki, rubbing his temples.

“Hmm? Yes, Boss?”

Satsuki tilted her head and turned toward Sakata.

In her hand was an ice cream cone.

“Want some, Boss?”

“No, thank you.”

Sakata shook his head.

“…Let’s split up and gather information separately. It’ll save us time.”

Sakata stared at Satsuki with a hint of exasperation.

“Oh my, are you starting to dislike me?”

“That’s not it…”

Sakata denied Satsuki’s pouting accusation, though his tone showed a hint of hesitation.

He sighed lightly before continuing.

“Honestly, from what I’ve seen, it’s pretty clear you’re not even trying to investigate…”

His voice carried a tone of reluctant apology.

“Hmm? That’s not true, you know?”

Satsuki replied, taking another bite of her ice cream.

“Don’t lie. You haven’t done a thing since earlier, just eating all the delicious food you can find.”

“Well, there’s just so much good food here!”

“Are you a grade-schooler…?”

Sakata held his head in his hands.

“Oh, that taiyaki stand looks amazing! Be right back!”

“Wait, you—”

Before he could stop her, Satsuki had already bolted toward the stand.

“…Good grief, that woman…”

Sakata sighed deeply and began walking after her.

————————————————————

A Sweet Detour

“Mmm~! So good!”

“…”

Satsuki was happily munching on her taiyaki, like a carefree child.

Sakata, on the other hand, hadn’t touched the taiyaki in his hand.

“Huh? Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I’m fine. You go ahead, Satsuki.”

“Alright, don’t mind if I do.”

Satsuki cheerfully devoured the snack, savoring every bite.

Watching her, Sakata spoke firmly.

“We’re splitting up.”

He repeated his earlier suggestion, his tone resolute.

Satsuki tilted her head slightly.

“…But I’m your bodyguard, remember?”

Sakata fixed his sharp gaze on Satsuki.

Without breaking eye contact, he explained.

“This is a small town. Even if you’re my bodyguard, splitting up to investigate shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, Kuzuryuu is here too.”

“Well… you’re not wrong about that.”

Satsuki seemed unable to argue further.

Sakata, sensing her concession, continued.

“Alright, I’ll head further in. Contact me if anything comes up.”

Without waiting for a response, he walked briskly toward the eastern part of town.

“Geez… always so quick to act at times like this.”

Satsuki muttered in resignation, stretching her arms out wide.

“Guess I have no choice. Time to get to work!”

She started walking toward the shopping district.

————————————————————

An Injured Girl in the Shadows

“Huff… huff…”

A lone girl ran through the back alleys of the town.

Blood poured from her right shoulder, staining her white top crimson.

Her breathing was ragged, and her steps faltered as she pushed forward.

Her body was battered and worn, as if she were a discarded rag.

“Too dangerous… I need to escape quickly.”

She was heading toward her hotel, but her blurred consciousness and unsteady gait made the journey agonizing.

At this rate, blood loss would claim her life.

“Just a bit further…”

The hotel was only four minutes away.

However, her body had reached its limit.

She collapsed onto the ground.

“This… this can’t be where I fall…”

But her body wouldn’t move. Her vision darkened.

Just as she thought it was over—

“Oh my, what’s a young girl doing here?”

A voice rang out.

Before the girl could process it, she felt herself being lifted up.

“Wh… who…?”

She managed to whisper, using the last of her strength to speak.

“Me? Hmm… well, never mind that.”

The woman holding her muttered to herself, then whispered in the girl’s ear.

“My name is Satsuki Tsutsuka! You can call me ‘Onee-chan Satsuki!’”

“Satsuki… Onee-chan…”

The bloodied girl murmured before losing consciousness.

Satsuki, gazing at the unconscious girl in her arms, smirked.

“This one’s got potential.”