Chapter 3

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Chapter 3: Game Suspension

In the audience

“You are Izaya Orihara-san, correct?”

The bespectacled woman who was the real embodiment of the secretary image called out to Izaya, who had been talking with Haruto in the wheelchair space.

Izaya Orihara had come to this baseball stadium by complete coincidence. Although he received the tickets, they were complimentary tickets for the unreserved seats regardless for the date, so he actually was unsure whether to go to the day game or night game until just previously.

Yet the fact that they knew his name meant they knew that information since the beginning of the game by unknown means. If there was any factor Izaya could consider, the natural assumption would be due to Nec hacking into the wireless hidden camera network.

Sozoro stood there vigilant, while Nec was in the middle of soliloquizing, “did I miss something? No, there’s no way.” Izaya turned his head slightly and spoke to the secretary-like lady with a fearless look.

“My, that’s impressive. You even looked up my name. I have been a bit idle, so I do not know your names.”

He returned her question with another question with an extremely shameless attitude.

“So? The vice governor Hiura or the executive Ryuusei Takioka. Which one called for me?”

The secretary-like lady stiffened. However, it was only for a moment; she must have concluded the tactic was to get her stuck in the mud as she quickly regained her wits and answered honestly.

“Vice governor Hiura would like to invite Izaya-sama for a meal.”

Izaya replied with a twisted grin.

“That sounds fine. I was just about hungry.”

He then turned to face the older man, who was distancing himself from him and pretending he was a stranger, and called out to him with a cheerful tone among the roaring of the crowd.

“Sozoro saaaan! Sozoro-san, you are quite hungry too, right?”

Sozoro scowled in complete distaste upon hearing his voice. Izaya, however, ignored it and continued on, using phrases that implied

, 'I won’t let you get away.

'

“It’s not nice to have complete strangers push my wheelchair, so I ask you to push.”

“Really now, that wheelchair has a self-propelling function, if I recall correctly? I am quite certain you have utterly boasted that it was the best customized, foreign product.”

“It’s to conserve battery.”

Izaya recited back, unconcerned that his voice could have been blown away by the people’s enthusiasm behind him.

“It’s the same as a game. We don’t know what will happen in the next move.”

“Is that not life?”

♀♂

That is…

Iroha could see the scene of a secretary-like woman and a well-built man making contact with Izaya Orihara.

Isn’t that, vice governor’s Hiura’s -? Why exactly are the secretary and bodyguard of the politician connected with her employer taking her target of observation?

No, since those people are correlated with ‘that’ they took the position of observing the target.

She pondered to herself over the matter as she watched them when an unknown voice from the audience called out to her.

“Heeeey, miss. One beer please!”

“Ah…Yes! Understood!”

She instantly switched to a sales smile and poured a beer from the portable beer server on her back for the audience member in the unreserved seat. And then after taking the payment, she whispered into the radio in a small voice as she moved away from that spot.

“This is B32. The target has made contact with the guest of the VIP seat.”

♀♂

Ryuusei’s office

Currently the blinds were covered, but one could watch the game from the office’s window. However, it would be problematic to have someone look in from the outside, so the blinds mainly remained shut. Opening a gap in those blinds with his finger, Ryuusei gazed at a portion of the audience.

“I can’t tell from the naked eye. Should I have trained my eyesight?”

Tamae had been deciphering the hidden camera data in the stadium when Ryuusei deprecated that. She nodded to his comment in understanding.

“It really does look like that old man and the children are part of Izaya Orihara’s group.”

The video recording the cameras at the entrance took showed a boy pushing the wheelchair and a girl standing beside him. And the footage displayed the figure of the old man walking a bit ahead of them.

“As for the woman with the laptop…she seemed to have arrived much later.”

“Does that mean she tampered with those security cameras in that span of time?”

“They were tampered with much earlier. About half a day’s footage was switched out.”

“Then the possibility of the actual culprit being that woman is?”

Tamae quietly shook her head.

“I can’t quite say. First, Amagi-san was originally off for today…We could narrow it down if we knew the approximate time of death, but that’s impossible, right?”

“Yeah, to completely solve that would take time.”

Ryuusei then commented as though he just thought of it.

“By the way, while cremating bodies is the most common method used, did you know the chemicals they use in dramas are actually weaker than the optimum chemicals?”

“My, I didn’t see much drama, so I didn’t know.”

“It’s the same superstition as putting chloroform to someone’s face to make them sleep. The trap is set to fail if by chance some idiot mimics it. Foolish criminals are simply manipulated by that and walk a tragic road. According to the prepared script by the creators that is.”

Moving away from the blinds, Ryuusei continued his explanation further as he watched the footage from the hidden cameras displayed on the monitor.

“The viewers who watch those simple TV dramas are put under the illusion that they have control over that piece of information and are thus contrarily the ones who are manipulated. Honestly, it’s hilariously pathetic, but it can’t be helped. There’s a clear delineation between the ones who manipulate and the ones who are manipulated from the very start.”

The men around them and Tamae did not provide a rhetoric to him as he was working himself up. Although it was a different introduction than usual, they refrained from speaking since they knew from this point on the subject Ryuusei will mention was one they had heard plenty of times over.

“What is that delineation? That’s right, it’s respect! But there are far too many people who lack respect for something! Far too many! Even though there is no more clear of an answer!”

Ryuusei paced around the room exaggeratedly with a theatrical tone. He was unusually worked up, but his sister and guards already grew used to it and continued to listen to Ryuusei’s shouts without a care.

“Is it respect for the directors or scriptwriters who put in the tricks for the audience? Or is it respect for the novelists or mangaka who wrote the original work? Or is it respect for the sponsors who put out money?”

The man called the ‘executive’ slammed down his feet and yelled.

“No! No! All of them are wrong!”

And then he declared to himself and the ‘place’ he stood at itself.

“The one who should receive respect is the theater.”

He placed both hands on his office desk and further framed his wording as he glared at the hidden camera footage displayed on the screen.

“The bundle of paper written with the passages. In the frame of the television screen. The internet, a web of information repeating the passion and flood of comments. The outdoor stage where the singing voices resound and the spreading forest around it. The stadium unraveling the drama called the game!”

Perhaps swept away by his emotions, he spread both his arms wide towards the ceiling and yelled.

“We can dance on this tragicomedy called life because everything has a stage – the theater! Life becomes so beautiful because there is production set on the stage! The earth, the world, and human society are, after all, its foundation! They’re all nothing more than the foundation to build the theater. The atmosphere created with that clear purpose can grant happiness to people. Isn’t that right?”

“You’re right. Quite so, brother.”

Tamae answered, but there was no deep emotion in her voice.

All the male bodyguards looked at each others’ faces.

Their simple thoughts were:

Really, what’s wrong with the executive?

It was such a straightforward thought.

However, not one person spoke up. It was disconcerting to think of the man making those statements in a non-acting theatrical manner as their employer, but at the same time they were aware it was because Ryuusei had this picky personality that he soaked his hands in crime and stood out among the Natsugawara group, clamored with ruffians at his side.

Yet at the same time, people who knew Ryuusei had felt unease. Ryuusei did not doubt he was the executive. His conduct, backed by that self confidence, was his weapon, but there were no brakes for his ambitions either. Eventually when there was a wall or a cliff he could not break through with sheer horse power, an extravagant disaster would likely occur.

However, Ryuusei’s eyes did not have even a shred of uncertainty in them. His eyes shined with the hatred towards his enemies and the pride that he was the absolute executive of the stadium he called a ‘theater.’

And now he changed the monitor screen to the camera footage of the inside of the VIP room Hiura was in. The room was made of a special material to capture sound and had cameras installed in the wall paintings and sprinklers on the ceiling, making it so a guest would mistaken it as ‘the perfect privacy room’ at first glance. The conversations in the room were entirely kept within its walls, which should not be in the VIP room by any standard. But Ryuusei installed the same kind of cameras in all the VIP rooms since ‘it was with respect to the theater and special guests.’

No matter what fundamental change the word ‘respect’ became to him, there was no one who could resist Ryuusei maintaining his dictatorship with those values of his. It was because they understood. When the dictator created the ‘theater’ – the Summer Tile Stadium – they also had done a fair amount of dirty work and reaped the benefits that came from it. Furthermore, betraying Ryuusei would cause nothing more than him wringing their necks.

The man had put collars on his subordinates from early on when he was steadily making his climb up the hillside road. And now he had managed to create this enormous baseball stadium from the ground up by the ones shackled in those chains.

To expand his

theater in accordance to his ambition now – he peeked into the deep abyss even more and tried to utilize everything.

Understanding fully well the other had been looking back long ago.

♀♂

VIP room

“I’ll give you forewarning, but this room is likely under surveillance by Takioka-kun. I recommend keeping that in mind when you speak in here.”

Ranzou Hiura mentioned foremost instead of providing his name.

The man sitting in the wheelchair returned a daring smile.

“Yes, I am aware. I believe there is one behind that painting and one in each of the sprinklers on the ceiling. The sprinklers have microphones in them, so the conversation we are having right now like this is certainly being overheard by executive Takioka.”

The man in the wheelchair informed him that

he knew the position of the cameras, meaning

he intervened with the baseball stadium’s hidden system not accessible to the public along with a fearless smile.

What is he thinking diving into enemy territory while aware of everything? Does he plan on taking the position for a negotiation?

“So? I don’t think it’s necessary for us to introduce ourselves to each other…..but first, how about you tell me what you plan to do? Izaya Orihara-kun. What is your aim?”

Hiura had asked as though probing for an answer. The young man in the wheelchair reminded with a ridiculing smile.

“Naturally it’s for the meal. You invited me to this room for that. After all, I cannot think a vice governor would call for one guest and lie about that.”

“...You’re a cheeky kid. Maybe a good match with Takioka.”

“It’s quite an honor to be compared to the baseball team manager who rules this wonderful stadium.”

“That’s enough. We can have this place’s chef make something. It’ll take time for it to arrive, so you can savor it then.”

♀♂

A passage for staff use

Receiving an urgent call, Iroha Mayuzumi cut herself from the beer server, separated herself from the audience seats and returned to the staff’s personal space audience members could not enter in. The chief of the sales department was aware she had a special position, so they did not particularly mention anything other than briefly glancing over to her even when she dropped off the beer server and took off. They just thought, ‘I guess another troublesome guest found a fault over something and is making a ruckus,’ so they focused on their own duties since it had nothing to do with them and called for other salespeople specialized in the division.

Even the ones who noticed the suspicious happenings in the underbelly of this baseball stadium especially were not willing to look far into the matter. For their own peace of mind they just simply handled the job given to them. All the same, they did not realize Iroha was involved in matters to the level of absconding people or of disposing their bodies.

This is the worst. Will I have to finish that guy Izaya Orihara?

She gave a small sigh as she briskly walked the backyard.

The third investigation division carried out murder and kidnappings numerous times in the past. Her role was mainly leading the target to where they needed to be or cleaning up the bodies, so she had not directly conducted murder. But she had the confidence she could kill her opponent if the order was given without fail. After all, she had killed people many times over before she was employed by Takioka since her early childhood.

She was originally a discarded child picked up by an underground organization and was instilled with various techniques and readiness to perform

this work in practice. She had killed people from underground organizations that opposed her foster father numerous times in order to guarantee her survival. But when she was fifteen years old she was sold off to the financier overflowing with ambition, Ryuusei Takioka.

He seemed to have been assembling people who would carry out his dirty work. As such, he found Iroha as a good pawn for him to use as he pleased since she did not even have a family registry. She was given the alias as Iroha Mayuzumi, but that name was bought from another person. She had met the woman who arranged her registry, Kujiragi, but it was said she also was using another person’s name. Because of that, Iroha thought there must have been more people like her than she expected.

As a result of receiving

training to blend in with the general public after a year separated from her foster father, she was able to adapt herself in human society enough to be thought as one of them.

Indeed, she adapted.

And so while there was no hesitation to do dirty work, she would feel vacant after it was over. There were many times when she worked as a salesgirl, watching the audience members alternating between joy and sorrow during the games, that she questioned herself if it was truly alright for an existence like hers to be among normal people. But unable to find any other way of living, she idly spent her life as ‘Iroha Mayuzumi’, a life bought from another person.

Since she had not killed anyone directly, she could not ascertain if her skills have dulled or not. Incidentally, her foster father who raised her was indeed a killer and seemed to have once been a boss of an organization. But it was said that he was impoverished in a dispute with an organization in Fukuoka and in the end was finished by an even better skilled, well-known killer.

What kind of killer was the guy who killed my father? Niwa...Niwa...? Was it ‘Naniwa samurai?’...But if that’s the case, that’d be Osaka.

She did not seem to care who the adversary of her foster father was. Instead, she held a philosophical stance on life and death to the extent she considered death to be unavoidable.

Although, in other areas a portion of a human-like heart was nurtured.

It’s about 90% impossible for the elderly man, but would I be able to kill Izaya Orihara?

As she was considering those thoughts plainly, she recalled the boy she ran into earlier.

But, I don’t want to make the children cry. For Izaya Orihara to be able to have an eye on the executive even though he brings those children around with him. He’s probably not a decent person.

She headed towards the private locker room to change while thinking over the matter. The rising muscles in her tensed back became visible as she removed her jacket. One could see her body was

created that way due to her training during her early childhood as she had enough muscle strength to carry a close to twenty kilogram full beer serving container for long periods of time without trouble and a body type of that of a model with a balance of both feminine lines and slenderness.

Iroha, not realizing that her sculpture-like body was unique, covered that skin in a new outfit with agile hands.

It’s been a while since I’ve worn this.

Among the techniques for infiltration she had learned to sneak around within the baseball stadium efficiently, this was especially unique. It was for carrying out a certain service job in a VIP room, but she was relatively pleased with that work.

It was because the white and black basis of the work clothes calmed her wavering heart.

♀♂

VIP room

“Soon the meal will be served. The game is still at mid-way. You should take your time and enjoy it.”

Hiura looked over at the ground field as he spoke to see the match

coming near its fourth inning. However, Izaya felt a sense of unease different from a while ago as he gazed at the glass window barrier. It was a slight change, but for him who bragged about loving

people, it was a detail he could not miss.

“It looks like the enthusiasm has died down a bit.”

“Yeah, it’s because Munakata’s four consecutive home runs have been hindered.”

“I see. I haven’t noticed that.”

Izaya was focusing on his conversation with Nec when the third home

run was hit, so he did not really follow what was happening in the

game. There was a moment where he felt the audience’s voices of

despondency, but he did not realize the Munakata player did not deliver

on his great exploits since he prioritized the information Nec was providing

him instead.

Ahh, so after waiting for so long and coming all the way to the

baseball stadium only to see his great exploits unaccomplished, how

would the people who support him think? Even though they came all this

way to support him, would they feel disheartened or would they lose

their spirits at the thought that “perhaps they lost because I came to

watch?” I wonder which. Surprisingly there may be more of the latter.

He considered the people who thought their team lost when they watched the live stream.

I would like to see the different reactions from the people who watch the game live everyday when their team wins or loses. Yeah, I

want to see what type of expression they would give when their team has

consecutive defeats.

Izaya bowed his head in deep thought over those trivial ideas. He

must have been mistaken for having complicated emotions towards baseball

as Hiura spoke up while he watched the player enter the batting box.

“The Natsugawara Serpents are a new-coming young, inexperienced team

compared to the Giants or the Lions. And thus along with teamwork, a

star to pull the flow of the match is necessary. Munakata has qualities

of a star, but to repaint the world’s awareness some other kind of

pressing impact is needed.”

“Even if you caused a drug or a gambling scandal, you wouldn’t be able to repaint the world’s awareness though?”

“You’re a man who proposes disagreeable ideas. You don’t say anything

like, ‘how about bringing support to the baseball stadium.’ Do you hate

sportsmen?”

Hiura remarked with a click of his tongue. Izaya shrugged and replied simply.

“Not really, it’s just that no matter what situation the player finds

himself in, I will not abandon him. Whether he hits a 30 consecutive

home run, manages a perfect game single handedly, gets two outs from

hitting fly balls, or strays from the path of glory by getting involved

with gambling or drugs while on active duty, to me it is all just one

side the players show me as humans. I love it. Hurray for baseball.”

“I understand very well that you are making fun of baseball.”

“This was before I was born, but the big controversy over the

contract made from the hole in the draft conference’s system on the

‘vacant day’ was the best, wasn’t it? Ahh, why was I not born at that

time? Why was I not alive to see the faces of the people involved is

regret-”

“That’s enough.”

Just as Hiura cut off Izaya, there was a knock at the door.

“Excuse me. The meal is here.”

It was the voice of a young woman.

“Alright, come in.”

Behind him the door opened, but Izaya continued to face towards the

window in disregard. And he kept watching the

audience and players’ shifts between joy and sorrow with an affectionate gaze.

What the audience embraced in their hearts during real time was the

anticipation of the attack or defense for their supporting teams. Put

simply, the result that appeared shortly following one turn at the bat. Whether it may be when the white ball land in the fairground or

outside track, or a home run or a dead ball; there were various

sequences of events, but the people who supported the winner and the

people who supported the loser all exposed their emotions at the same

time.

Izaya loved the moment when these opposing emotions swirled

together. If it was possible, he wished not only for the unreasonable

but for the unsavory preferences as well. He did not mind if the

cheering supporters of both teams were just half and half, or to see the

joys and sorrows of the spectators‘ alternating expressions otherwise

not shown in the diamond vision screen.

And then there was a voice right at his side.

“Excuse me. What cocktail would you like me to make?”

Realizing the voice addressed him, Izaya glanced at the girl who brought the food for the first time –

And he tensed as if the air had caught in his throat.

“?”

Although his expression did not change, upon seeing Izaya’s entire form visibly

stiffen up, Iroha Mayuzumi, now changed into a bartender uniform,

tilted her head in earnest.

Ah, this is an amazing opportunity. If it was now, I could usually kill him, but…

Looking at the elder man’s face standing next to him, however, she discarded the immediate thought.

Ah, it’s no good. Before I could slit Izaya Orihara’s throat with a knife, the bones in my neck would be broken first.

The moment she imagined finishing her target, the form of the

butler-like elderly man intervening and breaking her neck with nothing

more than his own bare hands came to mind.

I guess it really is not possible for me.

Izaya Orihara’s bodyguard – Densuke Sozoro – did not necessarily

release any killing intent or intimidating pressure. To the normal person they would

only be able to see that he may have completely hidden his true skill.

To Iroha’s senses, however, they told her that he was more than

abnormal. She started to believe she just could not go up against him,

unaware of her own abilities.

“? Is something wrong? You’re looking pale.”

Hiura noticed that Izaya had turned an unsettling color the moment he looked at the waitress’s face and addressed him, doubtful.

When he did, Izaya returned to himself and shook his head with his usual smile.

“Wha-? Yes, sorry about that. It is nothing serious. I just have a bit of a trauma with bartender uniforms.”

“How would a trauma form from a bartender uniform…?”

“Hahaha, well, it’s fine, isn’t it?”

Izaya smiled as though to deceive him before turning back to the girl wearing the bartender uniform.

“I’m fine. I don’t need any alcohol. An oolong tea in a cocktail style would do.”

“Understood.”

The girl respectfully bowed and left to one of the bar counters in the room. Hiura spoke while watching her take her leave.

“You won’t drink?”

“It is a cowardly trait of mine. I don’t have the courage to ingest any alcohol after diving into such a dangerous place.”

“So you had the sense of danger then…However, it’s really nothing

more than a VIP room. It’s not like anything dangerous is set up at

the bar counter in this room.”

“Yes, but the big party rooms for karaoke boxes in Ikebukuro are like that too, you know?”

Izaya had completely regained his composure and moved his wheelchair

to the side of the sofa. Then taking the cocktail glass with the Oolong

tea in it, he raised it in Hiura’s direction.

“To the prosperity of the prefecture.”

Continuing, he said one phrase, moving his glass towards the hidden camera in the picture frame.

“Praying for the Serpent’s victory. Cheers.”

♀♂

“He made fun of us. Does that mean he’s confident?”

The edges of Ryuusei’s mouth curved up into a light smile as he

watched Izaya giving a toast through the hidden camera. Despite the

expression shown on his lips, his eyes were not smiling.

“Does he think we can’t do anything? …Is he unaware of the fact that

if I give Mayuzumi the order she would pierce his heart or head with an

ice pick?”

“On that note, wasn’t there a murder by the name Ice Pick Thompson?”

Her brother's comment reminded Tamae of the American urban legendary killer.

“Yeah, he was quite something. The culprit has been unknown right to

the very end. It was called the American version of Jack the Ripper. The

criminal probably did fine work. But if he was a murderer who did it

for purely business and not pleasure he’d have full marks.”

“What do you mean?”

“If he really was another human controlling the stage of a murder

play, then he wouldn’t have been able to cause the cases themselves

unless it was a distorted hobby. That’s right; what’s important is what

to show the audience and what not to show. The one who’s in the position

to make that decision is someone who can truly move the theater.”

“I see, you’re right, nii-san.”

There was not much of a true ‘

I see’ from her heart when she

said that. But deciding that saying something to Ryuusei when he was

worked up was meaningless, she settled on saying that lightly instead.

In another matter, she managed to gather outside information and tried

to understand the human Izaya Orihara.

“…That man Izaya Orihara seems to have gotten into trouble a while back.

He was a member of the color gang, the Dollars…and this is just according to the

city’s rumors, but he apparently had stabbed a classmate with a knife

during middle school.”

“Hmm. In short, he’s just scum then.”

Ryuusei snorted, but in truth he also was weary of the man Izaya Orihara.

Wouldn’t it the safest place for him be in the audience seating where anyone can see him?

Whether the plan succeeded or failed, he thought Izaya Orihara would

have mixed himself in the waves of people returning home when the game

ended and disappear, but he did not actually expect him to have readily

accept vice governor Hiura’s invitation.

“What is he thinking? What is his aim? Why is he with children…”

After Ryuusei suddenly halted where he stood he gave Tamae an instruction.

“...Tamae, can I ask you one favor?”

“What is it, nii-san?”

“It seems the conversation between Izaya Orihara and vice governor

Hiura will end smoothly soon, so can you go to the wheelchair space and

bring those children here? The reason for it will be... 'Izaya

Orihara-oniichan called for you.' That'll probably suffice.”

“My, do you plan on putting me in the play? Is it alright if it’s not right away?”

“Yeah, as soon as the discussion is over, there is a possibility vice governor Hiura will finish Izaya Orihara.”

Tamae’s words were mixed with sarcasm, but Ryuusei told his sister with a smile from the depths of his heart.

“There was an opening, so I’ve made Mayuzumi part of the cast...I await your performance, Tamae.”

♀♂

In the audience

At the wheelchair space Izaya left from, currently Nec

was sitting on the pipe chair for attendants to use, Haruto was looking around

aimlessly, and Himari was standing there taking a philosophical stance.

“Hey, Nec-oneechan. Where did Izaya-san go?”

“Hell. To hell. Hee hee.”

Haruto was bewildered at Nec’s upfront answer.

“Izaya-san is a good person so he shouldn’t go to hell! ...Ah, I see! He went to hang the thread like Shakyamuni right!”

“...You really know that story well, huh.”

While admiring the occasional and strange broadening direction of

Haruto’s knowledge, Himari moved her gaze over to the VIP seat in one of

the stadium’s corners. Since it was far away she could not see with the

naked eye, but she almost felt like something was squirming over there.

She took out the opera glasses she bought with the change Izaya gave

her earlier, and it slowly came into focus.

“Ahhh! Himari-chan, you bought that!? That’s so neat!”

Himari watched the scene through the magnified glass while Haruto was

being envious of her from the side. And then in one of the noticeably

large windows above the seats newspaper reporters were she was able to

confirm the figure she saw seemed to be Sozoro.

So there. Seriously, if he is our protector, he should watch over Haruto until the end.

Himari then spoke to Nec, while muttering complaints in her mind.

“Are you still looking into something?”

“Hmmm? Well, I guess. I think that there’s a lot of disappearing reporters and yakuza around this guy Takioka.”

“If you do such dangerous activities, then Nec-oneechan will also be killed and fall into hell.”

“Hee hee. Probably. But I can’t stop it. I wonder if this is how it

feels for people who don’t stop smoking even when they’re told they’ll

fall ill from it.”

Nec shrugged as she sat with her knees drawn to her

chest on the pipe seat and told Himari as though to boast – no, she

certainly told her just to purely boast.

“Look, this is the data left by the writer who pursued Takioka and a

politician’s collusion. A ton of data was left on the cloud. There’s a

treasure load of information like information aside from Takioka and

even dangerous information on the politician. It’s amazing.”

“...Why are you showing me?”

“Even if I show Haruto-kun he’ll just say, ‘I don’t really get it,’ or, ‘that’s amazing!’”

“What is it? What are you talking about?”

Haruto, hearing his name being mentioned, peeked over at Nec’s laptop from behind.

“Look, there’s a lot of articles from people that are probably dead!”

“Heeeh~! I don’t really get it, but that’s amazing, Nec-oneechan!”

Haruto said the exact words Nec predicted with a smile. And just like

that, Haruto exclaimed ‘Ah! It’s Munakata’s turn!’ and took off to the

front of the unreserved seats.

Himari watched his back and huffed out a sigh before glaring at Nec with plain eyes.

“So? Is it fun exposing dead people’s secrets?”

“It’s the best. Hee hee.”

Nec said in response and collected

data owned by missing people involved with Takioka one after the other on her laptop screen.

Naturally she could look at data from disposed PCs after their death

or their PCs that could not accept any external connections without any

power supply or radio waves, but the mail data left on the server or

organization’s network attached to it was similar to finding a mountain

of hidden treasure lying in a lost sunken ship to Nec.

The name Nec was an alias she gave herself, but its origins were nicknames fellow hackers created long ago.

She specialized in finding articles of the deceased on the net and

dealing it as her own. This included e-mail addresses, credit cards or

electronic money, and the data on the cloud service of the recently

deceased humans. Her special skill was utilizing things that have not

undergone the procedures for death or the remaining unrelated matters

from those countless data and accounts making one think the dead came

back and are continuing activities on the net.

The hackers could not find out Nec’s identity, but they realized the deeds were likely being done by one person and thus called her

Necromancer and Necrophilia;

some admired her, some feared her, some bore hostility towards her, and

some became fans of hers. However, she herself rejected the name as it

was ‘not cute long,’ and she took the name Nec and continued her

activities.

Then one day, she decided to fish for the data left by a man called

‘Izaya Orihara.’ He was an urban-like legendary information broker based

in Ikebukuro and Shinjuku.

Nec, hearing he was done in by a Russian killer, dived deep and even

deeper into the sea of the internet to find a large amount of data on

him quickly. But from there, a certain trouble swooped down upon her.

And that was the first defeat she had experienced.

Shinichi Tsukumoya.

She knew he was a columnist who released numerous books related to

the Tokyo city under that name, but he was a mysterious hacker with not

one piece of information released about him. She had tried to infiltrate

the data server Izaya Orihara managed but took a magnificent counter

attack from the man which completely destroyed her laptop system.

She thought it could easily be fixed, but each data was left with a

strange passage in text: ‘Sorry, miss. This is a job I received from

him. But with this I can finally take over. Ah, that’s right. My name is

Shinichi Tsukumoya. Don’t misunderstand, Izaya Orihara does not have

this much competence.’

I was toyed with.

In front of the truth that a far superior hacker lead her around by

the nose, mercifully made it easy to restore the data, and moreover gave

his name to put her down, Nec regrettably wrapped herself up in a

blanket and continued to cry herself to sleep.

Several months later, one day she thought to regain her footing and

start her activities again when there was a knock on the door of her

house.

Have the police finally come?

Since Tsukumoya contrarily infiltrated her she was prepared for it,

but the one in front of the opened door was one man who sat in a

wheelchair.

‘Hey. You’re pretty amazing. I received the e-mail from Tsukumoya

of the general situation, but you completely lost everything in a blink

of an eye because of me.’

‘It’s important to have connections. If you feel you are not an

expert, then you should just become friends with genuine experts. Well,

when I bring this up Tsukumoya will probably reply, ‘I don’t recall her

becoming friends with you.’

That man was called Izaya Orihara. She thought he just died, but apparently he was saved from almost certain death.

‘I heard you are called a Necromancer. There is a rumor going around that I’m already dead, but with my

corpse...don’t you feel like starting a business using my remaining

data?’

Nec reminisced over the past before continuing to fish for more data.

At the same moment in the corner of her laptop screen the footage from

the hidden camera was displayed.

Seriously. Since he jumped into hell, he’s quite an abnormality, that Izaya.

What she had told Haruto previously was not even a metaphor. No

matter how one could look at it, accepting an invitation from someone

who knew they peaked into the place of murder was similar to going in

for suicide. It was strange for her not to be taken as she has the

laptop, but perhaps they planned to let her off the hook.

Do they not think I would expose the footage of the cleanup of the body on the net during this time? Well I won’t do something that boring anyway.

She carried on with her work while chuckling to herself, and then she

happened upon a certain data. It wasthe article data left by a

free-lance writer who pursued Takioka. And in there were countless

appropriate files as

evidence.

Bingo. Now then, what should I do? I guess I’ll leave it for Izaya and probably send an e-mail to Isozaka. What will Izaya feel like doing with this?

Actually, I think after treading on such events, it’ll without a

doubt first become a course accompanied with the Tokyo Bay concrete

tour. Well, whatever. When that happens I will use his data (corpse) nicely...As according to our contract when Tsukumoya took over his work. Kee hee hee.

♀♂

VIP Room

“Now then, the meal is just about done, so how about we return to continuing the negotiations?”

The game on the ground was coming to its sixth inning already. The

Serpent’s progress was alternating back and forth. It was a close game

with the opposing team, demodulating a lot of the voltage of the

audience.

“Really now, were we negotiating? That’s a first for me.”

Izaya replied back with a smile towards Hiura who was holding a knife and fork.

“Then let’s start from here on out. Izaya Orihara-kun. Who is backing you?”

“There isn’t anyone…is what I want to say, but since I’m just an

ordinary informant, if I have to say someone then the one hiring me

would be the human backing me…is what that will mean.”

“Is that so. If that’s the case, this will be quick.”

Hiura made the sofa creak roughly and told the young man sitting in the wheelchair while giving a fake smile.

“You see, I’m saying I’ll mediate for you.”

“A mediator, you say?”

“Yes. I don’t know if you realize it, but you are currently standing

on thin ice. On top of that, it’s a layer of ice above boiling magma. It

wouldn’t be strange when it melts.”

“Now for that I’m at a loss whether I should be freezing or sweating.”

“Hand me all the information you have on the current case. I won’t do

anything bad to you, and I could persuade Takioka so you all can gain

profits.”

Hearing Hiura’s words fairly stated, Izaya looked up at the sprinklers above them and answered.

“I see, I see. That is truly an appreciated proposal. However…”

“Is there something you disapprove of?”

“For you to be able to decide the entirety of my treatment and

business from here on out, vice governor Hiura, you already are seizing

the initiative for

that matter, are you not?”

“…..”

Izaya continued further as Hiura fell in silent.

“To begin with, the business partners for

that matter is not just you, correct? Could newcomers like us step into there?”

Iroha Mayuzumi had also heard the conversation from the back counter and felt an unsettling atmosphere at Izaya’s behavior.

'That matter,' he says... Does that mean this man Izaya Orihara is trying to get involved with 'that?' I thought he wasn’t just a normal person, but just what big organization is backing him...? Then that elderly man may be an extremely skilled professional killer or something sent from that organization... He’s probably that formidable for him to not get killed and to live until that age.

On the other hand, Sozoro desperately struggled to not show shock on his face.

He is an unbelievable.What is with this ‘that matter?’ Still not knowing one thing about anything, he can give such an impressive bluff despite not knowing a single thing about the situation.

Hm? That bartender girl is looking over here…She doesn’t have any killing intent right now. Just previously there was a bit of malice, but the fact she drew

back in earnest would simply mean she was testing us though...now then.

By observing how the beer salesgirl distributed her walk and seeing her

focused gaze, Sozoro could tell from his past experiences that she was some kind of professional fighter. And from the fact she came dressed in a

bartender uniform this time, he deduced that it was probable the

baseball stadium side had put surveillance on Izaya, or that she was a

killer given the order to kill him, and so he remained vigilant.

Although, what a sad world this is for someone like her to be

wrapped in an air as though she has murdered countless people even

though she is younger than Miss Nec.

Without any knowledge on both of their reciprocal assessments, Izaya continued to fluently discuss the

negotiation without knowing the contents.

“First, there is no guarantee. The moment we open all our cards, you

may decide ‘now we can dispose of them’ and the bodyguard-san over there

could pull a gun out on us. When I think of that possibility, I am

afraid I cannot reveal that information.”

“Even if we did not speak anything here, you don’t think we would pull out a gun?”

“If such an unfortunate accident occurs, the

information of what you did in 1996 would only be leaked out to the

world in the instance I were killed.”

Hiura’s brow twitched at that. What Izaya mentioned was the date in

the tax evasion document Nec previously showed him. It was a complete

bluff, but he immediately responded to the mentioned date and a warped

emotion ran through his mind.

“…I see, does that mean you want a shot at me? So you came to this baseball stadium knowing I was having the exchange for

that here today.”

“Please answer my question. How deeply involved are you in ‘

that?’”

“…What I am dealing is only

stage design and

props. I’m not dealing with

lighting and

extras. I have no plan on being a heretic.”

The conversation had a bit of out-of-place terms mixed in, but Izaya

did not take any care at all to that as though he comprehended all the

meanings of them and added.

“Haha, even by just pretending to look or not look at the

lighting and

extras is enough to be called a heretic.”

“You bastard…”

“Naturally, I am also a heretic. Us heretics may get along, and there is a high possibility for us to establish business.”

Izaya cut off there, looked up at the sprinklers on the ceiling a

second time – or more precisely the camera lens and bugs installed in

there – and stated.

“Well, that’s if the executive of this stadium is a human who has generosity to grant us.”

♀♂

Ryuusei’s office

“…Now he says it. With the position of a filthy murderer.”

Ryuusei made a bold smile as he uttered that completely blinded of himself.

“Did this guy have the same attitude when he was dealing with the Asuki Group?”

He asked the bodyguard who formally belonged to the Asuki Group and pointed

out Izaya’s existence in the first place.

“Yes, on the surface he is polite but with an expression as though he

is initially looking through us...he gave the impression like the world

all moves to his will, and with him being this audacious kid even among

other members his reputation was not well standing. Perhaps he also

gave that impression when he changed jobs with the Awakusu Group.”

Ryuusei shook his head after letting out a suppressed laugh.

“Generosity…I have generosity he says? Of course I would!”

And then he declared, glaring at Izaya displayed on the monitor.

“But, Izaya Orihara. You're no good. Testing people is an act of

doubting your opponent’s dignity. There is no respect; you just proved

yourself that you’re a monster pretending to be a normal human being.”

Ryuusei shook his head while listing off ridiculous reasons.

“There’s no way we can put a monster on our stage. If you become the

monster that killed my precious, precious subordinate Amagi, than it’s

even more so. Not to mention you’re trying to trample on our dignity in a

threatening manner in spite of that fact.”

And then Ryuusei informed his subordinates as he fixed his tie.

“Well, alright then. If you spit on your master, let’s see if we can tame the beast in the end.”

“As according to my script, if he can shoot down that butler friend of his or the kids, there’s nothing you don’t use him for.”

♀♂

VIP room

“Now then, thank you for the meal. It was an honor sharing this experience with you. Vice governor Hiura.”

“...Isn’t the discussion still not finished?”

Izaya shook his head at Hiura’s attempt to keep him here.

“It is unfortunate, but from this point on we cannot continue forward without executive Takioka here, correct?”

“That is true. But…”

“I suppose it will be fine if executive Takioka gives an answer by

the ninth inning. Besides, I have to make various calls on my end too.”

Hiura nodded, understanding that was a natural course of action.

“When we meet later, I hope you will give the name of your employer.”

And then as he observed the young man in the wheelchair as though with admiration he said this:

“However, it’s strange. I had mistaken you as the top of the

organization that's trying to get involved with us since you're so

imposing.”

“You jest.”

Izaya made a sneering smile and stroked the arm of his wheelchair.

“I am just an informant. I move according to the will of my employer; nothing more than a humble puppet.”

“Nonetheless, do you feel like carrying out the contents of that threatening letter?”

A letter with a threat.

Sozoro immediately stopped pushing Izaya’s wheelchair when he heard that term for the first time.

Even for Izaya this should be information he has never heard about, but what does he plan on doing? Sozoro wondered to himself as Izaya Orihara returned a shameless answer with his usual expression.

“Who knows? On the chance I sent that letter, do you think I would

say ‘I sent it, but since we already put negotiations on the table I

will not follow through with it?’”

“I guess that would be right. I asked a stupid question.”

“Indeed. You, the executive and I – we do not know anything. There is

no threatening letter, and no incident happened in the underground

warehouse. I presume this will suffice? Right?”

“You’re a shrewd man.”

Hiura spat out a comment with both scorn and praise. Sozoro on the

other hand acknowledged in his mind that Izaya was without a doubt a

ridiculous swindler. He held onto the belief that perhaps the this man's true character - who showed no impatience and managed to converse

with the other about a term he heard for the first time without

struggling at all - could be something different from most people. Whether

Izaya knew Sozoro’s train of thought or not, he had the wheelchair

self-propel itself forward and left the VIP room, giving a strong wave

to the vice governor.

“Now then, let’s meet again soon.”

“Hey, bring him back to his previous seat.”

“Yes, sir.”

The male bodyguard nodded and walked in front of Izaya and Sozoro.

“Now really, I don’t need your concern, you know?”

Hiura shook his head.

“It’s nothing to worry about. It would be problematic if you accidentally went into another room. Mutually.”

That meant, ‘we’re watching you so behave.’ Sensing that they did not

trust a single thing about himself, Izaya softly smiled as though

content with that and from atop the wheelchair gave Hiura a bow.

“I suppose that as well. Now then, with thanks.”

And like this the racoon and the fox finished their first probing of

each other. With neither of the two clearly not grasping what game they

were scrambling for or if they could make a united front.

If there was any difference between the two, then Izaya Orihara was the only one enjoying this aimless situation to its fullest.

♀♂

In the audience

“Hey you two, can I have a moment?”

“Okay! What is it?”

“…”

When Tamae called out to them, the boy came over with an innocent smile and the girl looked over suspiciously and stood still.

These are the children...right?

Tamae tilted her head to the side, wondering if these two were really

the ones she saw on the monitors of the hidden cameras. There were

never many children in the baseball stadium when there was a night game

taking place on a Sunday.

Besides, where is that gothic woman? When I checked the hidden cameras earlier she was here…

She heard her brother’s voice come through the earphone communication device she wore on her right ear.

‘Orihara has left the VIP room. Hurry up. You can go through the B4 passageway.’

Tamae showed a bit of irritation when she heard the voice. But she

immediately wiped that emotion from her expression, and the moment she confirmed

these two in front of her were indeed her targets she said in

invitation.

“You two are children Izaya Orihara-san brought here, right? …Izaya

Orihara-san has called for you, but would it be alright if you two come

with me?”

Her undisguised words were very apparently the kind of

kidnapping trick

children were warned about in elementary school. Naturally, the girl

gave her a clearly suspicious look, but the boy nodded with undoubtedly,

sparkling eyes.

“Is that true?! I’ll go now! Himari-chan, let’s go together, okay?”

“...There’s no way we should go.”

“Eeh!? Why!?”

“If Izaya-san was calling for us, he wouldn’t use other people. And

more importantly, you are not the same person as that woman with glasses

that came to Izaya-san previously...”

The girl listed off those reasons, weary of her. Tamae let out a sigh, ‘

yeah that would be right,’ and with a gentle smile she took a step towards Himari.

“You’re a smart kid, aren’t you? If that’s the case, I wonder if this is more effective.”

She drew closer to the girl’s face and showed her the small hang gun

hanging from the lining of her sleeves. She then whispered to her with a

calm gaze.

(If you don’t come quietly, I’ll shoot that little friend of yours.)

♀♂

In front of the baseball stadium, Summer Tile Road

At a shopping zone in front of the baseball stadium lined with ticket

counters, souvenir shops, and stores selling baseball team goods, a

mother-and-child pair got off at a taxi platform.

“We arrived sooner than I expected! It didn’t even take an hour!”

“...”

“We did it, Ayumi-chan! We can also take our time and watch the game, don’t you think?”

Usubara tilted his head to the side at his step-mother’s comment as

though she had already forgot their objective before glaring up at the

opening domed shaped baseball stadium that was more than ten times the

height of his own gigantic size. Izaya Orihara and Densuke Sozoro were

here. At the very least, it was certain they were here at the first

inning.

“...”

Thinking of when his revenge would be complete, a genuine smile formed on Usubara's face. The smile was derived from his exceedingly simple objective,

but if an outsider saw that along with the bandages and scar on his face, the

period of time at night, and the many gimmicks he had that stood out then

that smile turned into one an evil demon would have. Every time people

around him would look at Usubara’s face they would shake in fear and run away, but

there was no one who could immediately take notice of it now.

“Well then, Ayumi-chan, I’ll go buy us tickets so wait here a bit.”

He heard his step-mother’s innocent voice, but he decided it would be

best to not look over. He thought this step-mother of his would just

leave him at a loss anyway, so the more he opposed her the more the

purity of the struggle would decrease. With these feelings in his heart,

Usubara gazed up at the baseball stadium all lit up, but-

The next moment,

the baseball stadium vanished.

“!?”

It was not just Usubara;the passerby and even Yuuki at the ticket counter were wide-eyed at the sudden accident.

However, in actuality the baseball stadium did not disappear from

existence. It immediately became clear it just looked like it

disappeared. The multitude of lights that illuminated the Natsugawara

baseball stadium until this point turned off all at once.

♀♂

Dai’ou TV – game suspension

‘This is from the broadcasting seat. Eh, currently, there is a

large-scale blackout occurring inside the Natsugawara baseball stadium.

This is being filmed with the emergency battery equipped in the camera,

so we are broadcasting our voices via the outside broadcasting van.

Well, commenter Sasabashira-san. For something like this to happen.’

‘Yes, I was quite surprised. I think the night illumination has

enough emergency power to at least light the hallways and audience

seating.’

‘It seems there has been some trouble with the stadium’s electric system. When it recovers, the game will restart...’

♀♂

Fifteen minutes later in the VIP room

“…It’ll take quite some time to come back on.”

Hiura frowned deeply, tapping the arm of the sofa with his fingers.

“Nishikino hasn’t come back yet?”

Nishikino was the large bodyguard who brought Izaya back to his seat.

He should have returned before the blackout, but he still has not

appeared. But if they did not have the light from the secretary’s

smartphone they would not be able to see his face when Nishikino did

come back.

“We cannot walk carelessly in this power outage, sir. The emergency lights are not even on for some reason.”

“…Even the emergency lights, huh.”

Hiura just started to feel a bit of uneasiness at the words of his

bespectacled secretary, but then the electricity turned back on

unexpectedly with the indoor fluorescent lights and the ground game

under light equipment restored.

He wondered if the cheers emitted from the audience was from the

release of their anxiety or the resuming of the game. During that moment

of time there was the announcer’s official report even within the VIP

room

“We apologize for the trouble. The game will restart in 5 minutes.”

“Now like this Nishikino should come back...go take a look out.”

“Understood.”

The secretary nodded and started walking to the outside of the door-

One moment after the door opened, there was a high-pitched scream in the VIP room.

“!”

When Hiura rushed over there, what was there was the secretary sunk

down on the floor shaking, and the form of Nishikino dead, his neck

broken.

Translation Notes:

The name Iroha was trying to remember was likely the Niwaka Samurai.

He is an urban legend in the series Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens - a legendary

killer who kills other hitmen. He resides in the Hakata ward in Fukuoka

City, which is on Kyushu. The dispute her adoptive father died in could

possibly refer to events of the first novel, but there is no concrete

evidence as of yet if her adoptive father is any character specifically

in that universe.

The Vacant Day (空白の一日) was a real event that took place in late November of 1978

which involved baseball pitcher Suguru Egawa forcibly signing with

the Yomiuri Giants. A lot of the other baseball teams protested against

this contract. This is because there was no reverse-contract, so they

saw at as unfair. My sources were a bit limited, so I am not sure on the

explicit details, but this is a really basic summary from what I

understand. I don’t know much about baseball, or sports in general, so

I’m sorry about my limited knowledge of the subject.

Ice Pick Thompson is a reference to one of Narita’s characters from Baccano.

The Spider’s Thread (蜘蛛の糸) is a well-known short-story by Ryuunosuke Akutagawa. Shakyamuni lowers a spider’s thread into hell. Read more here if you’re curious.

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Translation: Kaede726

Reposts are prohibited and should be exclusive to Kaede726 on blogger.

Illustrations provided by: Soutenkyuu

Support the Official Release: Raws can be purchased at

BookWalker.jp and Amazon.jp

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