Chapter 56

Rental office, Saitama Prefecture “You’ve been making quite a name for yourself in just the last few days, from what I hear,” Earthworm said. Eyes half-open, Shijima scowled. “Yeah, I heard. People calling themselves Heaven’s Slave are working with some foreign group.” “Oh. I thought you were utilizing some friends you were keeping hidden from me. Is that not the case?” She slowly and knowingly sighed, practically with seduction. Shijima just grimaced. “Heaven’s Slave is a name I gave up. What value can it have without Kumoi or me? It only sticks around as the name of the drug.” “And that drug is really doing the rounds these days. Junkies are showing up at our casino looking for dealers. It’s starting to become a problem.” “…What?” Jami had been listening from the corner of the room, and now he came spinning forward. “Mr. Shijima, I think drugs are bad! I was reading a manga where it said that people who sell drugs are the worst. It’s not too late to turn things around. Say no to selling drugs! It’s majorly uncool!” “Calling me the ‘worst’ implies a level of importance I don’t rise to. I’m the bottom of the barrel.” “Oh, man. That wasn’t even a real rebuttal. That makes you look even more uncool, Mr. Shijima!” Jami exclaimed, quite serious despite his childish mannerisms. Shijima carefully avoided his eyes. “Well…for one thing, I’m not dealing drugs anymore.” “Huh?” “Heaven’s Slave is a drug that amplifies your own delusions. It only works when given to the right people. I gave the Headless Rider worshippers some doses, but if I was distributing to anyone, the drug would only follow the same fate as Heaven’s Slave, the organization.” Earthworm seemed surprised by this. “Oh. You said you wanted revenge on Ikebukuro, so I assumed you were going to do something like mix your drugs into the school lunches of all the schools in the area.” “Are you confusing me for some secret criminal organization from a children’s show?” Shijima muttered unhappily. He strode to the window and gazed out at the darkening city. “It means nothing for me to do that vengeance myself. Helping the city create its own downfall is good enough. In fact, that’s exactly what I want. If my response to the city that totally ignored me is to rage and say, Pay attention to me, it would basically be bending my knee and acknowledging their reproach,” he said loftily. Behind him, Jami and Earthworm spoke in hushed tones. “Sometimes I can’t tell if Mr. Shijima is sick in the head or just obsessed with himself.” “I think it’s both.” Shijima could hear exactly what they were whispering, but he didn’t seem particularly upset by it. “Yes…that’s correct,” he said. He paused before resuming. “…If I wasn’t using self-obsession as a cover, I would have gone mad and self-destructed long ago.” 4F of Holy Article Hall, mixed commercial building in Ikebukuro, night This particular building was dedicated to various Taiwanese real estate offices and restaurants. One entire floor was a kind of warehouse, which acted as a hangout spot for Dragon Zombie. Celty was visiting to ask their leader, Libei Ying, for information about Heaven’s Slave. “Ah yes…that name’s been popping up again lately. I heard they were wiped out when I was hospitalized in Taiwan. By the way, may I ask how you knew about this spot, Headless Rider?” About fifteen members of Dragon Zombie were keeping a close eye on her, albeit from a distance. But perhaps because they’d been in Ikebukuro for a long time and understood Celty’s power, their attitude was less open hostility and more nervous tension, a desire for things to end peacefully. “I asked someone I know.” “I’m assuming it’s that green-haired boy. If you see him, could you tell him I’d appreciate it if he didn’t blab about my hideout to others?” “You could say that to your own people, but you can’t stop others from talking, can you? Besides, after you trespassed into my apartment building, I don’t think you have any right to talk,” Celty said rightfully. Libei shrugged and laughed. “Well, I guess you’re right about that… It’s just creepy how much that kid knows about things. Reminds me of Izaya Orihara.” “Now that’s just a cruel thing to say,” Celty opined, although she probably didn’t realize that Kuon’s wish was to be even better than Izaya in that regard. She returned to the topic. “Kuon doesn’t know Shijima’s hideout, either. But I figured because you’re roaming all over Tokyo on your bikes, you guys might have that information.” “Well, that depends.” “I’m not asking for free. I can pay a reasonable amount for the information.” “The thing is, they’re really slippery. We’ve spotted them selling on a few occasions, caught the dealers, and crushed the higher-ups…but none of that has gotten us any closer to their main hangout. We don’t even know where they’re cultivating the base of the drug.” Celty couldn’t detect any falsehood in the look on Libei’s face. Interesting. So even if they’re able to catch the street-level dealers, they can’t manage to go up the chain to Shijima. Just like Mr. Akabayashi said, they’re trouble. When I observed him before, he was basically just an underling working for Nasujima… “I see… Well, that’s too bad. Let me know if you learn anything good,” she typed, turning to leave. But Libei just smiled and waved his hand. “You take care out there, too, rider. I hear that motorcycle cop Kuzuhara is off his suspension.” That froze Celty in her tracks. “…Suspension? I guess I hadn’t seen him around lately.” No wonder she’d had such an easy time driving around. “What did that monster get up to? Did he skin someone and reupholster his seat with it…?” “Uh, I’m not sure how seriously to take that question,” Libei remarked, smirking. “Look, it’s simple. A big politician’s car committed a hit-and-run. He went after the car and tried to arrest the guy.” “But…that shouldn’t actually be his fault, right? If that earns him a suspension, it makes you wonder if our entire society is rotten to the core…” “Well, let me finish the story. The politician, no surprise, goes on a rant, like, ‘Who do you think I am?’ And then Kuzuhara dragged the old man out through the window and rode around, dangling him inches above the street. He said, ‘I don’t care who you are—if you crash, you’ll be a stain on the asphalt.’ So he got suspended for going too far.” Celty felt relieved to hear that the politician was properly arrested for the hit-and-run and was punished. “I’m glad. Society is still healthy…” Libei just smirked. “Anyway, for bikers like us, it only means that hell’s coming back around.” “That’s just a fact of life. It’s your fault for breaking the speed limit.” “Do I need to fetch you a mirror?” “I mean…it’s anyone’s fault for doing that…myself included…” Ugh, now I feel like I’m really losing my grasp on normal society… But no. This is the time to focus on Shijima. After leaving the building behind, Celty reflected on the information she had collected. It seemed like an agglomeration of dozens of little groups in a hierarchy that was widespread yet shallow, busy with a variety of crimes. “A group that’s hard to grasp…just like the Dollars.” In fact, I think Mr. Akabayashi said they’d used the Dollars as a model. Maybe I’ve been underestimating this Shijima fellow… She straddled Shooter and slapped the sides of her helmet, willing herself to sharpen up. I have to give this everything I’ve got. As though I’m facing the Dollars themselves. Saitama Prefecture Men in dark suits traded English comments in the dimly lit room. The majority of them were clearly not Japanese, but the few among the group who looked Japanese spoke English exclusively with the others. Each held a tablet showing videos of the Headless Rider, presumably taken around Ikebukuro. “I don’t know what it means, but it seems like Natsugawara’s pet magician rider is wandering around Ikebukuro.” “Apparently, the rider’s been spotted in Ikebukuro for years…but they also pointed out that there’s a connection to a group called the Awakusu-kai. I also heard she worked for a fixer in Shinjuku named Izaya Orihara…but he’s a dangerous sort. He’s even got connections to the SAMPLE cult.” “There’s a possibility the Awakusu-kai and Izaya Orihara are secretly connected to Natsugawara. He’s a resilient man. Over in America, he’s made contact with mafia families big and small, like the Runoratas and Russos, and he has many dummy connections, too. There’s probably only a tiny handful of people in the Natsugawara Group who know which organizations are actually backing them,” one of the men warned. The others said, “Which is what makes this information his eldest son stole so fascinating.” “Is it a trap meant to lure us into the open?” “No, from what I understand, Yukihiko Natsugawara is just the classic failure of a son, unlike his father. People say the recent foster son is meant to give the family a viable successor. We’re monitoring Yukihiko now that he’s joined Heaven’s Slave; I think the possibility that he’s a genius playing dumb is very low,” said a man. Then he presented his concerned hypothesis about another figure. “This magician rider seems to be searching for Yukihiko…and I suspect…this might be a means to eliminate the man’s oldest son.” “Interesting. So the pet bodyguard is actually the pet assassin?” “In any case, the maximum caution must be paid to this character. Get all the personnel and weapons you can at the present moment.” “Wait, all of them…? You want to start a war in this country?” One of his companions gaped. The central figure in the room shook his head. “Don’t forget—she knocked a helicopter out. Those who dealt with her directly are still in prison…but from what I hear, it was very clear that she’s no ordinary opponent. It would be dangerous to assume that all the videos online are fakes.” “Oh, come on. Are you the kind of guy who believes that they research aliens at Area 51 or that Nebula Pharmaceuticals is secretly working on vampires and the undead? If anything, this rider’s probably just using some kind of hallucinatory gas or something.” “If she can freely wield chemical weapons that give groups of people identical hallucinations, she’s more dangerous than your average alien or vampire,” the leader sneered. “Uh…huh…” The teasing one had no response. Then the leader played a few more videos on their tablets, including ones with eerie shadow movements that could only be special effects. He brought up another suggestion. “The Natsugawara Group is a leading company in the realms of nanotech, AI, and biotech overseas. Their scale is smaller than Nebula’s, but the richness and future possibilities of their tech is eye-popping. Perhaps this strange rider has a connection to that.” “What do you mean?” “I’ve heard that this shadow might actually be the latest technology from the Natsugawara Group.” The room buzzed with unease, and the leader cast a wary glance around. “Don’t assume we’re only dealing with one person. Proceed with extreme violence. Expect to make an enemy out of Natsugawara’s true connection…or perhaps every group in Ikebukuro and Saitama together.”