Returnee from Another World - Zetro Translation

Chapter 67: The Inescapable Karma

Seeing Seichirou Kusunoki, I gritted my teeth. My earlier warning about him being watched by the police had clearly fallen flat.

Of course, I hadn’t expected Yasunaga to completely back off. Even with some risk, it’d be tough for him to outright refuse a request from a prefectural assemblyman like Seichirou. But it wasn’t hard to imagine Seichirou, annoyed by Satou Yuuki’s parents sniffing around their son’s accident, would try to handle them through Yasunaga and Akuzawa Hitoshi. My warning about police scrutiny should’ve carried some weight—Yasunaga had seemed convinced it was a bad idea to let Akuzawa handle it. Yet here we were.

I bore some responsibility for being too complacent, assuming Yasunaga would handle things without going overboard. Regardless, this situation likely stemmed from Seichirou asking Yasunaga to have Akuzawa deal with the Satou couple.

Could it be? Was this because I disrupted Akuzawa’s business with Kyouka Amasawa? It wasn’t unthinkable. When Yasunaga made Akuzawa back off from Kyouka out of deference to me, he might’ve offered him another job as compensation.

As I mulled this over, Akuzawa glanced at me briefly before disappearing with Seichirou to a back table.

But there was another way to look at it. My priority wasn’t the Satou couple—it was Kyouka’s safety. If I had to, I could use this to send Akuzawa to jail. Secretly record him committing a crime, like extortion, and anonymously send it to the police or media. With his criminal record, he’d likely face real prison time, keeping him away from Kyouka and giving me peace of mind. The Satou couple might end up targeted for resentment, but as long as suspicion didn’t fall on me or Kyouka, that was fine. First, I needed to confirm what Akuzawa planned to do with them—his actions could make framing him for arrest trickier.

“Sayaka-san, can I ask you for a favor?” I said, leaning close to Sayaka Hojo’s shoulder, whispering as if I were a lecherous creep hitting on her.

“Yes, what is it?” she replied.

“Seichirou’s here to talk about the Satou Yuuki situation, no doubt. I need you to sit at his table and casually eavesdrop,” I said.

“Understood. Leave it to me,” she said.

“No need to steer the conversation. Akuzawa’s not likely to spill details in a place like this. Even if you get nothing, that’s fine,” I said.

“I’m sorry. This is partly my fault for saying too much last time,” she said.

“No, it’s fine. I plan to help the Satou couple somehow, but even if we do, Akuzawa might just hold a grudge,” I said.

“I was thinking of suggesting they forget the accident and move somewhere else,” she said.

“If only they’d listen. It’s about their child’s death, so it’s not that simple. But that’s not for you to worry about. Please handle it, Sayaka-san,” I said.

“Yes, understood,” she replied.

A faint [Anguish] gray flickered in Sayaka’s aura, but she quickly composed herself and spoke loudly enough for others to hear.

“Masuda-san, may I step away briefly to greet Kusunoki-sensei?” she said.

“Go ahead, don’t mind me. I was about to leave anyway,” I said.

“I’m so sorry. I’ll excuse myself for tonight, but please come back soon!” she said.

With that, Sayaka stood and headed toward Akuzawa’s table. Watching her go, I left L’OASI and hurried to a nearby diner. While I’d tasked Sayaka with gathering intel, I was prepared to tail Akuzawa myself if she came up empty. The tricky part was that I couldn’t just wait for him to act. He might go home quietly tonight, and if he moved during the day, I’d be stuck at school. If I could at least know when he’d act, that’d help.

Or maybe it was already too late. Over a week had passed since I helped Kyouka—Akuzawa might’ve already done something to the Satou couple. From Seichirou’s perspective as an assemblyman, he’d want to limit contact with a thug like Akuzawa. His appearance tonight might be for a follow-up report, meaning the deed was done. Checking on the Satou couple might be faster, but for now, I had to wait for Sayaka’s call.

Sipping coffee alone, my phone buzzed with Sayaka’s call.

“Master, it’s Sayaka. Is now a good time to talk?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s fine. I’m at a diner nearby. Are you okay to talk there?” I said.

“Yes, I’m outside the back entrance. No one’s around, so we shouldn’t be overheard,” she said.

Relieved, I switched to our private tone.

“Good. What happened?” I asked.

“Akuzawa-san and Kusunoki-sensei just left. I’m sorry, I didn’t hear much, but something caught my attention,” she said.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Akuzawa said the problem’s been resolved and everything’s fine. He didn’t name names, but he mentioned bringing a woman to his place,” she said.

Too late, then. I’d assumed he wouldn’t go as far as kidnapping, but maybe I’d underestimated him.

“The woman’s probably Satou Yuuki’s mother,” I said.

“Most likely. Should I call her to confirm?” she asked.

“No, don’t. If Akuzawa learns you’re connected to the Satou couple, it could get messy—maybe even violent. But if that’s the case, why hasn’t her husband raised a fuss?” I said.

“Well… the wife mentioned on the phone that they’re separated. They’ve been fighting over Yuuki’s death, and the husband left home and hasn’t returned,” she said.

“I see. Maybe he just wants to move on. Either way, don’t contact them,” I said.

I’d sensed it when I met the Satou couple at the hospital. The father was trying to move past their son’s death, but the mother was still consumed by it.

“Understood. But if this puts you in danger, Master, you can forget this,” she said.

“I’m used to trouble, being hunted by the cult. No need to worry,” I said.

“Alright. What should I do?” she asked.

“You’ve done enough. I’ll handle the rest. Just act like you know nothing and get back to work,” I said.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into something unrelated,” she said.

“Don’t worry. But if Akuzawa’s got Satou’s wife at his place, there’s no guarantee she’s safe,” I said.

“I’m half-resigned to that. I’ve heard bad rumors about Akuzawa-san,” she said.

“Still, we don’t know the situation or how to handle it. I’ll check his place first,” I said.

“Please be careful,” she said.

“Yeah, I’ll call later,” I said, hanging up.

I paid and left the diner. Using my ability to track Akuzawa, I sensed he wasn’t moving by car—his direction didn’t shift rapidly, meaning I could catch up.

Slipping into an alley between buildings, I pulled the Mirage Coat from my Dimensional Storage to vanish. I confirmed the digital camera was in there too, and the Thief’s Master Key would handle any locks. Now, I just needed to catch Akuzawa doing something incriminating at his place. But that was uncertain.

Akuzawa was a smooth talker. If he’d tricked Satou’s mother into sex under the guise of helping her, it might not legally count as a crime. With her husband gone and her mental state fragile from her son’s death and marital strife, she’d be an easy target for manipulation.

With those thoughts, I hurried toward Akuzawa’s presence.

◇

Through my digital camera’s viewfinder, I saw a naked woman in handcuffs, her cheek showing faint bruise marks. Nearby, Akuzawa was pouring a clear liquid into a small bowl on a table.

“I’ll make you feel good in no time, ma’am,” he said.

“Please, Akuzawa-san, stop!” she pleaded.

“Huh? You were moaning like crazy on this cock earlier, screaming you couldn’t live without it,” he said.

“T-that was because of that weird drug messing with my head…” she said.

“Messing with your head? It felt so good you forgot your troubles, didn’t it? You wanted it, so I shared some happy juice with you,” he said.

“No! I won’t tell the police, just let me go!” she cried.

“Tell them what? This is just part of the game, right? Got you begging for handcuffs on camera. So, how about it? Ready for this cock to tear up your pussy again?” he said.

“Gulp… T-that’s…” she stammered.

The scene was all too familiar. Aside from the woman being Satou Yuuki’s mother instead of Kyouka, it was nearly identical.

I’d changed Kyouka’s fate, no doubt. But this made me realize it wasn’t over. Pieces started falling into place. Shiori being targeted by Sakaki’s crew instead of Ayano. Maybe even Satou Yuuki’s accident was tied to me saving Kaede Hojo. The similarities were too stark to ignore. No matter how I altered someone’s fate, it just spread that fate to someone else.