That Half-Finished Drink Was Lethal— What Happened When I Left My Bottle Behind in a 1:4 Male-to-Female World - 16

Chapter 16: That Man Is in Despair—Until Reaching the Fingertips of Muddy Salvation

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It was over. My life was truly over. In my hands was a single sheet of paper bearing the signature of Reika Ootori. The figure “300 million”—a number that defied individual imagination. And then, there was the cursed contract, unthinkable for modern-day Japan, stating that I would dedicate my entire life as a butler to the Ootori family—effectively serving as a servant for life.

(…No, calm down. Something like that is bound to be invalid. Even if this world is different from my previous one, this is still Japan. It’s not the world of a manga or an anime. There’s no way such an absurdity would be permitted. …That’s it, a lawyer. If I consult a lawyer, I’m sure…!)

Telling myself that, I headed first to a large law firm in front of the station on trembling legs. A luxurious glass-walled entrance. A female receptionist wearing a clean-cut suit.

(If it’s here, I’m sure they can help me. I might be feeling a little bit calmer now.)

“A consultation, I see. A person in charge will… Let’s see, who is the other party?”

“It’s Ootori… Reika Ootori-san, from the Ootori Group.”

At that moment, the receptionist’s hand stopped. Her plastered-on smile froze like ice.

“…Please wait a moment.”

She disappeared into the back and never returned. In her place appeared a burly, middle-aged male lawyer.

“Did you not hear me, boy? We have our hands full right now.”

“But please, just listen to me! A debt of 300 million is, for me…”

“Whether it’s 300 million or three billion, it doesn’t matter. If the opponent is Ootori, there isn’t a lawyer in this country who can save you. …If you don’t want to die, just stay quiet and lick the young lady’s boots. Please leave.”

《The Ootori Group. Their roots spread deep not only through political and financial circles but into the legal world as well. To them, the “Law” was not a justice to be upheld, but merely a tool to dominate others. In this country, drawing a bow against Ootori was synonymous with social suicide.》

In less than a minute, I was kicked out of the building. The second lawyer laughed at me. By the third, the lawyer glared at me as if looking at something filthy.

(Every single one of them gets scared before even hearing the story. You care more about your own skin than helping me!)

“Kid, do you understand what you’ve done? It’s like picking a fight with God.”

“God…? But the law says…”

“The ones who make the laws are the Ootori! Go home. I don’t want to be involved.”

Four firms, five firms. I lost track of how many I visited. Once the Ootori glared at you, even the privilege of being a man vanished. I realized that no one saw me as a human being. They were all terrified of the “Ootori’s Wrath” that they could see looming behind me. I understood that more than enough.

(…There are no allies anywhere. Just like this, for the rest of my life… I’ll be the slave of a young lady I’ve never even met…)

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As the sun set and the veil of night fell. My feet had already lost all sensation. I had arrived at a dilapidated multi-tenant building in a corner of the entertainment district. The third floor. Light flickered in the window, but the letters on the sign were blurred and looked as if they might peel off at any moment.

Kisaragi Law Office

(…This is the last one. I’ll probably just be kicked out again anyway, right? I’ve walked so much I can’t take another step. …Please, I don’t care who it is, just help me…)

With a heavy gait, I opened the poorly fitted door.

“…Are you still open?”

The place was the polar opposite of the luxurious offices I had seen so far. The air was heavy. There was a smell of burnt instant coffee. Piles of documents covered in dust were stacked high. And there, sitting at a desk, was a woman staring grumpily at a copy of the Compendium of Laws. She gave me a long, sideways glance as I entered.

“Haah, nothing but unprofitable work again today.”

What I heard was a massive sigh.

“Actually, there’s something I’d like to consult you about…”

I began the story I had repeated many times today, the one that had been rejected every single time. Breaking the vase. The 300 million yen debt. The contract for lifelong slavery. As I spoke, the misery of it all made me feel like I was going to burst into tears.

However, Kisaragi-san didn’t interrupt me once while I spoke. She listened to me until the very end. For some reason, that alone made me happy. She was willing to listen, at least until the end, to a story about an opponent everyone else feared as a “God.” I felt a little bit saved just by that.

“The opponent is a blonde young lady…”

“Ah, that person. …”

“? Uh… Kisaragi-san?”

“Haah… Yuu-kun… was it?”

Before I knew it, her tone had shifted from polite speech to casual talk. Strangely, it didn’t feel like I was being pushed away. In fact, it felt comforting.

“That person is Reika Ootori, the next successor of the Ootori Group…”

The moment I mentioned that name. A deep frown formed between Kisaragi-san’s eyebrows.

(-..Ah, I knew it.)

My heart turned ice-cold. She knew the Ootori too. Of course she did; she was a lawyer.

(I’m sure she’s about to tell me to ‘go home’ now.)

I prepared to stand up from my chair. But….

“…Shall we hear the details in more depth? …Ah, I’m brewing coffee. You want some too?”

“…Eh?”

“Is it okay? It’s Ootori, you know? The Ootori Group?”

“I heard you. They control the Japanese economy from behind the scenes, right? …So? Who decided that they are above the law?”

She didn’t run. In fact, she took an ostentatiously loud sip of her coffee—slurp…

《Shizuku Kisaragi. Formerly an elite at a major firm who handled only “winnable cases,” she had a past of being blacklisted from the industry after protesting an unjust ruling involving the Ootori Group. To her, Ootori was the symbol of a giant evil that had to be defeated.》

“I see, I see. Right. You shielded an old woman and took the fall yourself.”

“Yes… Honestly, before I knew it, I had signed…”

“You were played. Most likely that secretary, Kujo Chihiro, and the old woman are in cahoots.”

“In cahoots? But why would they do something like that…?”

“Who knows. In the first place, you’re the one at fault for signing such a suspicious contract so readily.”

(Ah, I got scolded.)

But it wasn’t the anger of “you’re an idiot for picking a fight with Ootori.” It was a rebuke aimed at me for being “naive in protecting myself.”

“…Kisaragi-san. Can we win this?”

At my question, Kisaragi-san leaned deep into the back of her chair. Then, she spoke in a powerful, unwavering voice.

“Listen. No matter how much giant capital the opponent holds, this is Japan. It’s a country ruled by law. A slave contract that violates public order and morals…I’ll turn that into a scrap of wastepaper for you.”

Thud.

She placed her well-worn Compendium of Laws on the desk. That sound shattered the declaration of “modern slave” that had been echoing in my head into tiny pieces.

(Ah.)

My vision suddenly blurred. All day today, I had been treated by several high-ranking people as if I wasn’t even human. Not a single person thought to save me. They told me, indirectly, to “obey Ootori.” They told me, “if you don’t want to die, become a slave.” And yet, this person in front of me. She laughed it off, calling it “wastepaper.”

“…Kisaragi-san. …Truly…”

Even though I tried to put it into words, my throat felt burning hot, and I couldn’t make a sound. I bit my lip as hard as I could, but the accumulated terror overflowed along with the relief. Pathetically, my nose turned red, and I ended up crying like a child.

(I’m so pathetic… I’m pathetic, but I can’t stop.)

As my vision grew cloudy with tears. I saw her right hand resting on the desk. Her fingers were deformed from gripping a pen too hard. Her nails were short and stained with ink. You might not call them “pretty” even to be polite. But those hands. Those fingertips that must have fought desperately to save someone until now. To me, they looked beautiful, reliable, and incredibly cool.

“…Ah, sor—sorry. …I just, since yesterday, I haven’t felt like I was alive at all…”

“…D—don’t be stupid! It’s my job, so it’s only natural. …Come on, go home for today! I’m starting preparations first thing tomorrow!”

Kisaragi-san’s voice sounded a little bit flustered. I thought she might be angry, but it didn’t seem that way.

Within the cold night air… As I left the office and began to walk, my feet felt strangely much lighter than they had earlier.

(I’ll believe in her… in that person.)

I gripped the copy of the contract in my pocket. It no longer looked like the chain that bound me.

―Kisaragi Shizuku. A single woman fighting with the law as her weapon, using those battered fingertips. I wanted to become as strong as her.

That was what I thought.

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