Samejima’s eyes rolled upward after receiving my kick. It had completely connected, meaning that he wouldn’t wake up for a while.

However, my prediction was wrong. Samejima used his fighting spirit to keep his collapsing body standing up. Then, with his eyes still out of focus, he took a fighting stance once again.

“…Wh-what…?”

What incredible toughness. Surprised, I let my guard down for a moment. However, Samejima didn’t seem to have the composure to take advantage of that opening.

Actually, I had thought he was quite a man when he didn’t fall down no matter how many times I’d hit him. That’s why I had gone so far as to act tired to lure him into carelessness and land a counter. I had even considered that fighting him with full strength was showing respect to Samejima.

“…How can you fight to this extent?”

I asked. For punishing an impudent underclassman, he seemed to have unusually strong convictions. Samejima answered without breaking his fighting stance.

“I don’t tolerate bullying… even if everyone else turns a blind eye…”

“…Huh? Bullying?”

When I tilted my head, Dojima and the others flinched and became flustered.

“What bullying are you talking about?”

When Yamashiro asked, Samejima answered while still unsteady.

“That guy Dojima over there asked me for help. When I came, you were extorting money. And that girl over there looks like her clothes were torn and she was assaulted by you.”

“Idiot! N-no! Fushimi saved me! Dojima and his gang are the bad ones!”

“…Huh?”

“I just came to get back the money I was extorted of. I was the one being bullied all along.”

“…”

Learning the truth, Samejima froze. So it turned out this guy wasn’t actually acquainted with Dojima.

“Anyway, go put that manhole cover back where it belongs later.”

“…Yeah.”

Having lost what supported him, Samejima replied and then collapsed flat on his back.

(He’s incredibly stupid, but he was quite a guy… His potential is first-rate.)

“Ah! I remember now!”

Yamashiro suddenly exclaimed.

“Samejima is that weirdo who personally punishes bad gang members!”

“I see, so Dojima and his gang used that sense of justice by playing the victim to call him here…”

I approached Dojima and his gang again while cracking my knuckles.

“Good for you, you can properly become victims now. Or you could just hand over the money quickly.”

When I threatened them, Dojima and his gang finally lined up and bowed down.

“W-we’re sorry! We don’t have the money because we paid it as tribute to the organization!”

Hah, I figured as much.

“So you guys really are underlings of some yakuza or something?”

“Y-yes! An organization called ‘Baby Play’…”

Apparently, to recover the money, I’d need to negotiate with someone higher up. It was troublesome, but I’d have to storm in.

Chapter 47: ‘Baby Play’

“Well then, Yamashiro can go home now. Return my school jacket some other day.”

“Ah, yeah… um…”

“What?”

Yamashiro grasped my hand tightly with both of hers.

“I’m really sorry! I ended up being a hindrance once again instead of helping you!”

I averted my eyes from Yamashiro who had approached right in front of me.

“Y-yeah… it’s not a big deal. Also, move away.”

“That’s right… it’s normal that you wouldn’t want to make eye contact with someone like me.”

I sighed at Yamashiro who was misunderstanding something on her own.

“Look… your chest area blouse is torn, so it’s dangerous. In various ways.”

“Eh? Ah, so you do care about that kind of thing? Since Char-chan is your girlfriend, I thought you’d be used to it by now.”

“I (Fushimi) don’t have any experience yet, you got a problem with that?”

“Eh… no, no problem. Hehe, no problem at all. Actually, that’s cuter and better.”

“You’re definitely making fun of me.”

I saw off Yamashiro who was laughing unusually happily. I then decided to continue the conversation with Dojima and his lackeys.

Getting the money back was important, but I had an even stronger motivation. I was currently borrowing Fushimi Jinta’s body. I had to at least punch the boss who’d driven this guy to death. If Dojima was collecting money on that guy’s orders, then naturally he was equally guilty. The guy who made these kids collect money was far more evil.

“Alright, then call out your boss.”

When I said that, Dojima and his lackeys panicked.

“I-if we do that, we’ll be killed!”

“‘Baby Play’ is seriously a dangerous organization!”

“Hah? You guys still don’t seem to understand your position.”

When I cracked my knuckles, Dojima held out his smartphone to me as if pleading for his life.

“R-right! There’s a video the boss made me take! If you watch this, you’ll understand how terrifying the boss truly is!”

Saying that, Dojima played a video on his smartphone screen. Since I had no choice, I decided to watch it as told.

“Good, you. Make sure to record this properly, this is a warning.”

“Y-yes!”

The video started with Dojima’s terrified response. While feeling definite irritation at the cheap directing that filmed from the feet up, I observed the boss’s appearance.

(…Wh-what…?)

Seeing that boss’s appearance, I shuddered. Despite having walked countless battlefields for many years, I had never seen such a terrifying sight.

A middle-aged man in his thirties sat majestically in a red vintage chair. His face bore the scar of a large old diagonal wound, his fingers wore skull rings, and at his mouth was not a cigar, but a pacifier. He wore a bib on his chest.

“Hey, quit screwing around.”

I stepped on Dojima’s face.

“No, it’s not like that!”

“This boss, Akabou Ogiya-san, is seriously scary!”

Praying this wouldn’t be a waste of time, I continued watching the video.

The man called Akabou Ogiya slowly stood up and walked through the abandoned warehouse. At least I was relieved to see that he could walk on two legs.

Ahead was a young man in his early twenties with both arms tied with rope. He was completely terrified of the adult man in baby attire slowly approaching him. Understandably so.

“So, you’re the one who was dealing drugs on our turf?”

“Wh-what kind of drugs are YOU on?!”

“Hold on, answer my question first. I’m short-tempered, being a baby and all.”

Under Akabou’s pressure, the man nodded his head frantically.

“Y-yes! I heard reselling was good income! But I’m an amateur! I didn’t know I couldn’t do it here!”

(This guy’s bad at lying…)

Of course, Akabou had probably noticed the lie too. This man was a member of some organization. He was desperately acting to hide that fact.

Akabou grabbed the man’s head.

“I’m a kind-hearted person, and I’m deeply pained by recent environmental problems.”

“…Wh-what?”

Akabou said that and removed his pacifier in front of the man.

“Especially the serious water pollution in Tokyo Bay. I don’t want to dump any more oil drums… understand?”

“Hiiie!?”

“If you want to be saved, call your boss here. If you do, I won’t lay a hand on you.”

“I-I understand! I’ll call, I’ll call him!”

Saying that, the man immediately called his boss.

“I-I called him! He’ll be here in 10 minutes!”

“Good work. Now, about your punishment…”

“Wait, you said you wouldn’t lay a hand on me if I called my boss!”

“That was a lie. You lied first too, so this makes us even, right?”

“N-no way!?”

“Hey, ‘human punching bag’.”

“Yes, sir!”

When Akabou gave the command, his subordinates brought a human-sized burlap sack. They then forced the crying and screaming man inside and strung him up.

“Hey hey, what are you crying for? Crying is my job.”

“No! Help me! Help meee!”

“Alright, you guys. Rock him properly until he’s quiet. Look, I’ve prepared a rattle too.”

Saying that, Akabou handed steel pipes to his subordinates.

“Yes, sir!”

When the punishment began, the video footage started shaking. Dojima, the cameraman, was probably trembling with fear. Dojima and his lackeys also averted their eyes from the video.

(I see, so this is how he instills fear in high school students to control them.)

“Hey, you’re late.”

10 minutes later, that man’s boss arrived. Seeing his subordinate who had been beaten to a pulp in punishment, the boss’s face contorted with fear.

“Your subordinate was quite a tough man. He lied to me once.”

Akabo finished drinking milk from a baby bottle in one go and burped.

“But from now on, it’s better to change both information and diapers quickly. They’ll leak anyway.”

The video ended there.

(What is this… what is this…)

“See? Terrifying, right?”

“Yeah, in a different context.”

“We don’t know how many years it’ll take, but we’ll properly return the money we took from you!”

“So please, just don’t get involved with the boss!”

“I certainly don’t want to get involved either, in various ways.”

While I was thinking about what to do, my smartphone received a call. It was from Char, but…

(This is the emergency line…!)

I immediately answered the phone.