I Don’t Want to Die as a Mob in My Second Life! ～A Story Where I Kept Training from Inside the Womb and Ended Up Being Mistaken for a Monster～ - Chapter 53: [Evernight Blooming Moon of Pandemonium]

Chapter 53: [Evernight Blooming Moon of Pandemonium]

—The auction venue had been located beneath Yoshiwara.

When I stepped outside, I was greeted by a neon-lit street glowing in vulgar shades of pink.

“Haa… (Can’t believe I made my red-light district debut at zero years old.)”

A gauntlet of flashing signs lined the street.

I let out a sigh and looked up at the sky, sick of the view. The sun had just fully set, and the moon was now peeking out.

And then—

“uuuh… uuhhhh… uuuhhhhhh…!”

The girl who had once tried to kill me—Riru, the silver-haired, wolf-eared child.

She was now sobbing in my arms, trembling uncontrollably.

Honestly, she looked no different than a helpless kindergartener.

“It hurt…! I-I was so scared…!”

“I see.”

She had basically been lynched.

The moonlight slipping through the gaps between buildings gently bathed her trembling form, like it was trying to soothe and heal her wounds.

“Sorry I was late. It took a while to qualify for the auction.”

Right after I found out she was about to be put on display, I raced [Motorcycle] all the way to Osaka—territory under direct control of the Kinoshita family—to get myself officially registered as a bidder.

“The Kinoshita family really is a pain. Greedy enough to dip their hands into every kind of business, yet annoyingly proper in the weirdest places.”

The Japan Slave Association, run by the Kinoshita family, had certain conditions for joining their auctions.

To participate, you had to meet face-to-face with a member of the main family and be approved after a formal interview.

“Basically like an adoption fair for pets…”

This so-called “Japan Slave Association” was an organization that dealt in the buying and selling of lives.

But at the same time, managing and protecting those lives was part of their duty too.

In other words, they tried to keep dangerous buyers—those who’d just kill slaves for fun—out of the picture.

For the record… I had prepared myself to be rejected for being a walking disaster.

But for some reason, they gave me the green light.

Maybe my overwhelming financial backing caught their attention… or maybe it was that man—

“Uuh… w-why…?”

“Hm?”

As my thoughts wandered, Riru’s weak, trembling voice reached me.

“Riru… tried to kill you…!”

“Yeah.”

She wasn’t wrong.

“Then… why did you help me…? R-Riru… thought no one would ever help her again…!”

She burst into tears again.

Those eyes—filled with sorrow—held a deep, bitter regret.

“Riru… hated everyone…! Everyone either secretly looked down on us… or only spoke to me because I was Lord Ouma’s daughter… I hated them, so I pushed them away and mocked them back…!”

Her older brother Rouga had said something similar.

Ah, I see now…

Through this whole ordeal, Riru had come to understand where that attitude eventually led.

“You’ve learned something today, haven’t you? I’m not saying you have to suck up to everyone, but if all you do is spread hostility… then yeah, of course you’ll end up alone.”

In the first timeline, the silver wolf siblings managed to get by living like that.

But there was only one reason for it—because they just hadn’t tripped up yet.

“People don’t strike back when you’re strong. They wait until you’re weak—when you lose, fall sick, mess up, or get caught in a bad rumor. That’s when they all pounce in for the kill.”

“…”

“The ones who were about to tear you apart back there… they weren’t driven only by some twisted love for Ouma. It’s because you already made yourself look like absolute trash to everyone around you.”

“!?”

That’s why—even in the first timeline—their future wasn’t guaranteed.

With personalities like that, if they snapped somewhere down the line like they did with me… that could’ve easily been the end of their lives.

“So yeah. The truth is, everyone just wanted to hit you. They wanted you gone.”

“Uah!? Aaaahhhh…!”

Heh. Her face’s a total mess now—probably overwhelmed by all the shock.

But still, I had one last thing I wanted to say.

“You know… if you’d even tried a little—awkwardly, clumsily—to connect with the people around you, things might’ve turned out differently. Maybe then… they wouldn’t have blamed you at all. Instead, they’d be pointing fingers at me—calling me the villain.”

‘You brainwashed Lord Ouma’s daughter!’ that kind of accusation.

I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.

Yeah… I could already picture it happening.

How sad.

“Uuh… Then that makes it even harder to understand… why…?”

Riru, completely crushed and broken down, looked up at me.

“Why would you save someone as stupid as me…? I lost control… I tried to kill you…!”

“Hah.”

The reason was obvious.

“I, Kanata Soranaki, am the one who defeated you. That means the right to break you belongs to me.”

“!?”

Of course it does.

I’m the one who clashed with her head-on. The one who beat her down and forced her to the ground.

So why the hell were all those others trying to rip her apart?

“I don’t care if you lost control or made a fool of yourself. On that day, you faced me with everything you had. That’s the truth, isn’t it?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“And I went all in too. We risked our lives in that fight. That makes the outcome something that belongs to us—and us alone.”

And yet—

“Strangers just barge in and think they can abuse you like it’s their right? —Don’t make me laugh.”

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got.

Those guys back at the Spirit Conductor Agency, scheming to snatch Riru away.

Those cowards in the audience, hurling insults and stones without ever risking their own lives.

Every single one of them—pissed me off.

“That’s why I swore… to take you away.”

“!”

Bathed in moonlight, I brought my face closer to the girl in my arms and made a vow.

“No one’s laying a finger on you. You’re mine—my possession, for all eternity.”

“Hauh!?”

Haha… Yeah, that probably sounded ridiculous.

She’s a young girl, after all. What I just said probably came off as selfish, violent, and downright awful.

“Did you hate that, Riru?”

“H-H-Huhi!? N-No! No no no no no…!”

Riru frantically shook her head, trembling all the while.

Yeah… she was definitely scared of me right now. I should probably reflect on that.

“B-Big brother always made fun of them, but… maybe shoujo manga was right all along…!”

“Shoujo manga? I have no idea what you’re talking about… but I’ll promise this—I’ll treat you as gently as I can.”

“G-Gently!?”

She let out a squeaky “Hawah!?” and started trembling even harder, shaking like crazy.

She had lost a lot of blood earlier… was this hemorrhagic shock?

The way she was shaking, it looked like her brain wasn’t getting enough oxygen—yeah, she might be done for.

…Sato ended up like this too.

(Sato. He was a junior of mine who once fought alongside me against the Conceptual Spirit of [Bleeding]. A good guy from a regular family, born without much spiritual power. His family was poor and had a lot of younger brothers, so he worked hard to support them all the way through college. He trained every day, always covered in scrapes, proudly calling them “proof of my effort!” Unfortunately, the [Bleeding] Spirit had an ability that accelerated blood loss. Every scab on Sato’s body burst open at once, turning him into a literal “blood fountain.” In an instant, his body released a massive spray of fresh, iron-rich blood, followed by dark blue venous blood and thick yellowish fluid from oxygen starvation. As he bled out, he trembled like a broken puppet, crying, “Wh-wh-wh-wh-why meeeeeeeeeeeeee???” before dying.)

“Riru, as your owner, let me send you off with dignity… (Don’t worry—I won’t make it hurt like it did for Sato!)”

“Send me off!?”

And just as I was about to put Riru to rest—

A loud voice echoed from the direction of the underground auction.

“I do not approve of this, Kanata Soranaki! How dare you steal that criminal?”

The one who appeared was a blonde woman, clearly from a high-ranking family.

Oh. I knew who this lady was.

“The head of the Houjou family—Kirara Houjou.”

“Oh my, so you do know who I am.”

“Yeah. Weren’t you a Deputy First-Class Reisoushi?”

“I’m still only Second-Class, thank you very much! Was that a jab at me!?”

“Ah, my bad.”

She was a Deputy First-Class in the future, so I just got it mixed up.

◆　◇　◆

“Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiihhhhhh! You’re totally making fun of me for being a Second-Class, even though I’m the head of the noble Houjou family, aren’t youuuu!?”

The woman throwing a tantrum in front of me—Second-Class Reisoushi Kirara Houjou, not Deputy First-Class—was loud enough to rattle windows.

Yeah, that’s on the lower end for a noble family head. My dad Michitaka was a Second-Class too, but he’s from a rural household, so it made sense in his case.

“There was a time when we could stand toe-to-toe with the Godaiin family, led by Ujimaro! You really are a wicked man. No wonder you had no problem stealing that criminal from me!”

She shot a sharp glare my way, and Riru quickly clung to me like a frightened puppy.

“S-She’s the one who tried to buy me…!”

“Yeah.”

She was the one who placed the five-hundred-million bid right before I barged in.

“So what do you want now? You didn’t say a word after I dropped the one-billion-yen bid.”

“Grghhh…!”

Kirara groaned in frustration.

But she quickly recovered and started yelling again.

“You’re annoying, so annoying, so-so annoying!!”

…This lady’s got energy, I’ll give her that.

“I heard your little conversation. You’re protecting that demi-human Riru, aren’t you!? Don’t be ridiculous! She tainted our beloved Lord’s name! I won’t be satisfied until her whole body is smashed to pieces!”

—Ha?

“If you were listening… then how could you not get it? She’s mine. Why would a woman who didn’t even fight try to take my prey?”

“Hmph! Obviously because you’re a villain—teaming up with that criminal to conquer Japan!”

…I’m not.

“And if that’s your goal, then I’ll just take her myself! I’ll torture her, stream every second of it online, and show the world what happens to those who defy Lord Ouma! That’s real justice, don’t you all agree!?”

“““YEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!”””

Several dozen people suddenly emerged from the underground auction hall, cheering in response to Kirara’s cry.

…Every single one of them wore a long black cloak. They were all Reisoushi.

“We’ve made our decision! All forty-seven of us are officially challenging you to a duel!”

“Hah?”

—A duel. One of Japan’s oldest ways of settling disputes.

“Our condition is simple. If we win, you hand that girl over to us. If you win… well, do whatever you want with her.”

“You’re confident. Fine. I accept.”

The moment I said that, Kirara flashed a wicked grin.

“You said it yourself! In a formal duel, once both sides agree to fight, the battle must begin immediately, right on the spot. That rule exists to prevent anyone from setting traps or luring their opponent to a specific place~!”

“So what?”

“Kufufufu… Don’t you get it? This is a neon district—we’re surrounded by people and shops. There’s no way you can unleash that insane weapon of yours, the ‘Cursed Steel: Hellbird,’ in a place like this!”

Ah, so that’s the plan.

I glanced at the attache case mysteriously stuck to my waist. She knew just how dangerous it was and deliberately chose this setting to keep it sealed. Clever move—didn’t expect that from her.

“[Werewolf] Riru…! That filthy girl is mine to break!”

As Kirara’s bloodlust surged, the Reisoushi began surrounding me in a circle, tightening their formation.

With flashy attacks sealed off, it would be a fight limited to jabs and precision. Same goes for them, of course—but they had the numbers. Forty-seven people attacking all at once, banking on sheer volume to overwhelm me.

“In duels between Reisoushi, killing is strictly forbidden, you know. It would weaken our nation’s power, after all. Ahhh, what a shame I can’t use this chance to kill Kanata Soranaki~!”

“Too bad for you.”

I gave a half-hearted reply and turned to look at Riru.

She looked incredibly guilty—like she’d done something terribly wrong.

“What’s wrong, Riru?”

“Uuh… I-I caused you trouble too…!”

Oh boy, she was on the verge of tears again.

“I already caused so much trouble for Lord Ouma… and now… even you…”

“Don’t cry.”

I gently wiped away her tears.

“Didn’t I tell you? I promised I’d protect you, no matter what.”

“Ah…!”

“And honestly, this isn’t even a big deal. Do you really think the guy who let you fall into slavery was that weak?”

I used to be just a background extra. A talentless nobody.

But the second-round version of Kanata Soranaki—the body I trained inside the womb—yeah, this one’s a little tougher.

“You’re not weak…! L-Lord Kanata… you’re strong!”

“Haha, is that so? Lord Kanata, huh?”

Her clumsy attempt at adding “Lord” made me laugh.

Never thought the day would come where a tiny girl like this would call me that.

If I had a real wife, she’d probably scream, “You damn freak!!” and beat me to death.

Good thing Setsuna is just a fake wife.

“You… You dare say we’re not even worth calling a nuisance!?”

Kirara Houjou was shaking with rage.

So were the others. Every one of them raised their weapons, summoning their Conceptual Spirits, their killing intent reaching a boiling point.

“Nice.”

It was the same thrill I felt when I snapped at Rouga.

The people in front of me pissed me off—and now I had full permission to beat them senseless. That alone had me fired up.

“There are plenty of ways I could take you all down. Tons of them, actually. But—”

I glanced at Riru for a second.

An idea came to mind.

“Kirara. Since you were so eager to show off your knowledge of duel laws, let me teach you something about slave law.”

“W-What!?”

“Slaves, having lost their legal rights, are treated the same as pets under the law—property. That means there’s no issue with using them in a duel.”

So—

“Riru. The ones who shattered you… wouldn’t you love to tear them apart?”

“Eh…”

She looked confused. So I slipped a whole bunch of talismans into her hands.

“It’s a duel, after all. Might as well go big. You of all people can blow this tight little battlefield wide open, right?”

“Ah—!”

Looks like she got what I meant.

Meanwhile, Kirara shrieked, “Enough with the chatter already!”

“Save your excuses. Everyone—under the name of justice, let’s crush Kanata Soranaki!”

“““HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”””

The swarm of Reisoushi charged.

But Riru—who until now had known only despair—was no longer frozen.

She burned with new hope and determination.

“Yeah! Let’s do it, Lord Kanata! Riru’s gonna smash these jerks with you!”

“Good! That’s the spirit!”

Riru threw the talismans into the air like confetti.

Kirara, realizing far too late what was happening, gasped, “Ah—wait, that’s…!?” and instinctively started to step back.

Too late.

“Alright, Riru! Offer up the night—for me!”

“Yes! Charm Crafting Canopy—Drown in Darkness, [Evernight Blooming Moon of Pandemonium]!”

And just like that, a crimson world was born.

The narrow neon alley vanished, and we were transported into a new space—an eerie moonlit world bathed in red, surrounded by a garden of ghostly white lilies.

“Eeeeh!? W-What is this place!?”

Kirara and the Reisoushi trembled in fear.

Now then—

“Shall we go all out?”

What happened after that?

Well, there’s no need to spell it out.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

※We beat the living crap out of them afterward!

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