Vol 3 Chapter 43 – Mission Failed (【The Exonerator of the Maritime Nation】 Arc)

“Has the bleeding stopped now?”

Satsuki and her companions, who carried the attacked Sakata into the inn, immediately administered first aid.

The blood that had been gushing from Sakata’s right side had temporarily subsided.

“Satsuki-san, thank you very much. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

“Not at all. It wasn’t anything significant.”

Satsuki, with a relaxed expression, waved at sparkling-eyed Hirata.

Conversely, Satsuki questioned Hirata.

“————It’s unusual, isn’t it? To have killed so many people and yet not know how to stop the bleeding.”

“I’m sorry… I do know, but in that situation I panicked and everything just flew from my mind…”

Satsuki’s sharp gaze bore into Hirata.

Hirata lowered her head apologetically.

“…Well, it’s fine. The boss’s safety comes first, after all.”

As she said that, Satsuki patted Sakata’s left chest.

He still showed no sign of waking up.

“When will the boss wake up?”

“Who knows? Well, to be honest, I only administered first aid… I think we should hurry and take him to the hospital.”

“That’s true…”

Hirata, on the verge of tears, trembled as she spoke.

Satsuki sighed, glancing sideways at her.

“Your emotions are so volatile. Don’t you trust the boss?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust him, but anyone would worry if someone important were in such a situation…”

“Hmm… On the contrary, it’s precisely because I trust the boss that I’m not overly worried.”

Satsuki crossed her arms as she spoke.

“Satsuki-san’s mental fortitude is something I should emulate… I’m sorry.”

“—————I think it’s just that Satsuki is rather odd.”

“Oh, so Kuzuryuu is saying that too?”

Kuzuryuu interjected into the conversation between Hirata and Satsuki.

Satsuki smirked at him.

“Of course. No matter how much of a boss he is, he’s only human. It wouldn’t be surprising if he died at any moment.”

“That may be true, but calling me crazy isn’t right, is it?”

Seeing Satsuki puff her cheeks, Kuzuryuu’s eyes changed.

“It wouldn’t be strange to call that one of your traits, Satsuki… But today, you seem unusually off… no, your behavior is odd. It looks as if you’ve been switched inside.”

“……How rude. I am always Satsuki Tsutsuka.”

Satsuki spread her arms and swayed her body.

Kuzuryuu simply stared at her.

“What happened after you went missing?”

At Kuzuryuu’s question, Satsuki’s movements came to an abrupt halt【pita】.

“I didn’t do anything in particular. And by the way, what do you mean ‘missing’? I was just operating on my own; I wasn’t really missing.”

“It’s like you were a lost child, embarrassed by being lost.”

“Indeed.”

Hirata and Mayuzumi, who had been talking and chuckling softly, overheard the conversation between Satsuki and Kuzuryuu.

Noticing this, Satsuki glared at the two of them.

It was a look that could kill.

“You two over there. I can hear you.”

“I’m sorry!!”

At her words, the two trembled, their heads bowed in shame.

However, only Kuzuryuu maintained his skeptical gaze toward her.

“You say you were operating alone, but what were you doing?”

“Indeed, after Mayuzumi and I took turns surveilling the enemy’s stronghold, you disappeared somewhere. I thought you might have been exhausted and gone to sleep at the inn, but given the state of the inn… even my head is in a daze.”

Hirata tilted her head in confusion.

Satsuki took a deep breath.

“Why are you all giving me such suspicious looks? We’ve been comrades all this time. Do you really think I’m up to something now?”

“That is…”

“Ah. I do suspect you.”

“Kuzuryuu-san……!?”

At Kuzuryuu’s blunt declaration, Satsuki widened her eyes.

“Heh… Kuzuryuu, for you to go that far, do you have any evidence?”

“There’s no special evidence or proof. I just thought you were acting too suspicious. Normally, you’d prioritize the boss—just like Hirata-chan or Meido Arisu do.”

“So you immediately administered first aid and saved him, didn’t you?”

Satsuki looked as if she were wondering what was so odd about that.

Kuzuryuu sighed and continued.

“No… If you were your usual self, you’d have called your underlings right away and gotten a dedicated doctor to treat him. Or you’d have charged off to kill the culprit who attacked the boss by brute force.”

“……”

“You were as calm as if you didn’t care at all even if the boss died.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“That’s not all. There have been several odd points even before the incident occurred.”

“That’s a lot. Have you been spying on me?”

Satsuki covered her ears and laughed in exasperation.

However, Kuzuryuu continued speaking without changing his demeanor. He was just like an interrogator.

“You can’t have forgotten what you said while administering first aid to the boss, right?”

“……Sigh. If you really want to know all about my private life, I’ll tell you.”

Satsuki let out a deep sigh and suddenly wore an air of defiance.

Her bright voice made the atmosphere even tenser.

“I went to the inn after meeting up with Hirata-chan. I was tired and wanted to rest.”

“But you didn’t go just to rest, did you…?”

“Correct. I had another reason for going to the inn.”

“A reason?”

Kuzuryuu asked.

Satsuki hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“—————The main reason I returned to the inn was to take care of Kuroda-chan.”

At her answer, Kuzuryuu took a small breath.

“I see. Well, that was the very first thing that came to mind when I heard you went back to the inn, but…”

“But even so, I can’t understand why you ended up killing all the staff…”

“——————No, that’s not it.”

Satsuki instantly brushed aside Hirata’s question.

“‘Kuroda-chan killed them all.’”

Satsuki’s expression was stern. Yet, in some way——————, she seemed to be smiling.

“Killed them? That little kid, huh…”

“I’m just telling the truth. Believe it or not is up to you.”

Kuzuryuu scanned the room.

“……So, did you kill them?”

“No, they were stronger than expected, so they managed to escape.”

“I see…”

Kuzuryuu appeared thoughtful.

Hirata and Mayuzumi looked completely like bystanders.

“I’ve never seen this Kuroda person before, so I can’t really imagine—but for Satsuki-san to say she’s strong, that’s quite something.”

“Well, yes. I did let my guard down a bit.”

“Is it possible that Kuroda attacked the boss?”

Satsuki shook her head in response to Kuzuryuu’s question.

“There’s no way. She was already pretty battered.”

“I see…”

“Besides, she belonged to an organization.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Kuzuryuu’s face showed surprise at her words.

“I had driven Kuroda-chan to the point of being completely battered, but just as I was about to finish her off, some weird guy came along, helped her, and took her away.”

“I see… What a troublesome situation.”

“That’s all I have. So, what’s your answer?”

Satsuki had said it all.

Kuzuryuu looked at her and————

“It’s on hold. We’ll discuss the details once things settle down.”

“Oh dear, it’s a shame you’re not convinced.”

Satsuki couldn’t completely dispel Kuzuryuu’s suspicions.

But as if that didn’t matter, she spoke up.

“Honestly, I don’t think there’s any benefit in staying here any longer. So, what do you say?”

Hearing her words, Hirata and Kuzuryuu contemplated.

Her acting alone. The potential for betrayal arising from it. Honestly, there was hardly anything convincing about it. However, Sakata’s current condition—that was weighing on both of their minds.

“Sigh, I was in the mood for a trip, so why do such complications always arise…?”

Hirata grumbled.

“I’ll speak on behalf of the boss.”

And, looking at her master sleeping on her lap————

“The operation is a failure. We’ll return to the hideout for now.”

—————— she issued the order.