Chapter 80

"Are you Akane's daughter? You must be Lisa, right? You're a beauty, aren't you?"

"Wh-Why are you here!?"

In the room where she was locked up with Rin, Lisa was shocked to see the person who had been there before them.

The person who had orchestrated her kidnapping, Hirahai, was bound and restrained.

"Aren't you the one who kidnapped us!?"

"No, no. I wouldn't commit a crime so openly."

While wondering if he meant that he would commit crimes if he didn't act openly, Lisa listened to Hirahai's story.

"This is the result of my subordinates acting on their own. Toujou, Nikera, and Jasp seem to be the masterminds."

"Does that mean you were betrayed by your subordinates?"

"Embarrassing to say, but that's the case. Well, they weren't exactly my subordinates, you see."

Hirahai explained that the three masterminds and all the personnel involved in the incident were sent by someone who had approached him with a proposal to control the underground society of Sapporo.

As a result, Hirahai himself did not know their true intentions.

"Since they were sent by the person who approached me, I trusted them completely."

"Who is this person who approached you?"

"Well, I don't know. I met them in person, but they hid their face and I didn't ask their name. Their voice was neutral, so I couldn't tell if they were male or female."

"Wait, you trusted someone you didn't even know?"

"Sure did. They seemed like a good person."

"A good person...?"

Hirahai said that Toujou, Nikera, and Jasp had also been approached by the same person and agreed for similar reasons.

Lisa felt a strong sense of unease as she listened to this, but continued to talk to extract useful information from Hirahai.

"I'm sorry. It seems you're trying hard to get information from me, but that's all I know."

"I'm not trying to—"

"You don't have to hide it. I didn't want to involve kids like you. I'd like to give you some information, but I'm really sorry."

"You didn't want to involve kids...?"

"I understand what you mean. But it's a difference in common sense."

Just as Lisa was about to say, "After doing such terrible things to my mother's company's employees, how can you say that!?", Hirahai interrupted her.

"I warned Akane many times that her subordinates would suffer if she didn't give up control of Sapporo. At first, I only targeted the security guards who were prepared for such actions. When she didn't back down, I started targeting the employees. That's all. I think I was quite lenient."

"That's all? That's still a crime."

"Sure, but not everything in the world is protected by law. There are police officers who conduct illegal investigations, judges who change verdicts under threats, and politicians who cover up incidents with power. Some do it for their own justice, to protect someone, or for personal gain. The reasons vary, but not everyone follows the rules. It would be absurd to follow the rules and not be able to protect yourself or what's important to you."

"That's just an excuse to justify crime."

"Following the rules is the right way to live, and it's a beautiful way to live. But there are worlds where you can't survive just by following the rules, and there are people like me who only know how to live in such a world."

"You're crazy."

"I'm aware of that. That's why I didn't want to involve kids like you. You and I, who only know the beautiful way of life, can't compete on the same level."

"On the same level... You and my mother are different!"

Lisa raised her voice, realizing that the phrase "on the same level" implied that Akane, who had been fighting Hirahai, was also part of the same crazy world.

"You probably have a vague idea of what kind of life your mother has led."

"That's... true."

Even if she didn't intend to, as she continued in that line of work, she would inevitably form connections. And her world would change without her noticing. Lisa, who understood this better than anyone her age through her entertainment activities, knew that her mother, who worked as a top-class businesswoman in Sapporo, had connections beyond the beautiful world.

That's why, even as she denied it, she had a vague sense that her mother had also stepped into the crazy world.

"Well, to be honest, Akane wasn't completely on our side. If she had gathered people without regard for consequences and launched an attack, I wouldn't have been able to do anything, given my limited connections. I don't know if it's because she's in front of her daughter, but she fought me fairly. Maybe she was too lenient."

That's why, Hirahai added with a touch of self-deprecation, he ended up being outmaneuvered by a businessman with only financial power.

"Mother... Mother is strong. She will win with a fair fight, no matter how crazy the world the opponent is in."

"Is that so? I think it's a good attitude to believe in your mother."

Seeing Hirahai's expression, which seemed to say that this conversation was over, Lisa quietly suppressed her lingering feelings.

She knew that continuing to clash with each other's common sense would only lead to a stalemate.

"By the way, in about an hour, my trusted subordinates should arrive, tracking the GPS in my body, along with a large number of police officers."

"Ultimately, you're relying on the police."

"Sure, despite all I said, in the end, it's the power of the law. Ignoring the law and then relying on it when you're in danger might be the strength of people in the crazy world."

"Is that so?"

Lisa's expression seemed to say that she had nothing more to say.

Hirahai, shrugging his shoulders, continued.

"It's just a joke. Anyway, when my subordinates arrive, I'll make sure you can escape first. So you can relax when the time comes."

"Are you trying to be a good guy at the end?"

"Think what you will. Not involving children is my personal belief. It's a rule I set for myself when I decided to live in this world. So, I'll act on my own."

(But even if my subordinates and the police arrive, they won't be a match for Toujou. They might be able to take advantage of the chaos to let these kids escape.)

Hirahai thought this but didn't say it out loud.

Toujou, Nikera, and Jasp had fallen into a world even more crazy than Hirahai could imagine, gaining combat skills, assassination techniques, and control methods that surpassed human limits. He believed no one in peaceful Japan could stop them.

(Crazy people need someone even crazier to stop them. Is there anyone like that...?)

The white-haired girl who had been brought in with Lisa suddenly stood up, muttering to herself as she walked toward the locked door.

"But I want my sword back, so the uncle might see me..."

(What is this girl talking to herself about? Isn't this strange?)

Hirahai noticed a significant sense of unease as he watched her.

"Miss... How did you untie the ropes?"

"Really? Rin's hands and feet weren't tied either?"

"Hmm... It's a secret. The ropes of the two of you are also untied."

"What are you saying... Really, they are untied."

"Oh, mine are untied too. Why?"

Hirahai noticed the sharp ends of the ropes, which looked as if they had been cut, but didn't say anything and observed the white-haired girl.

"The door is open too."

Saying this, the girl, who had been locked in the room, easily opened the iron door that had been securely locked and tried to leave.

(...Wait? Did I step into an incredibly crazy world?)

Hirahai looked at the white-haired girl with astonishment, quietly thinking to himself.