Chapter 46 (Patreon)

After that so-called grand meal, Ragnar Kagenou felt that he would rather eat fish mint mixed rice for the rest of his life than ever touch that “gourmet” food again.

Shoko Ieiri tilted her head slightly, looked at Ragnar, and asked softly, “Leaving already, Ragnar?”

Ragnar rose from his seat and replied, “Yeah. I’ve been here long enough. It’s about time I went back and checked on things.”

Shoko gave a small nod, showing she understood.

“I see.”

Then she blinked, looking at him with a hint of curiosity.

“What about after that? Do you have any plans?”

Ragnar fell silent for a moment before answering.

“Nothing concrete. I just feel like it’s time to head back and deal with a few things.” He glanced at her. “Why ask all of a sudden?”

Shoko crossed her arms, tilted her head as she thought for a moment, then said slowly, “Actually… I’m planning to go back with you.”

After saying that, she smiled at him.

Ragnar froze for a second, a flicker of surprise passing across his face before he quickly regained his composure.

“…”

He clearly had not expected that answer.

Seeing his reaction, Shoko quickly explained herself.

“Oh, don’t make that face. I’ve already used up all my vacation days. If I still had time left, I definitely wouldn’t be going back this early either.”

She spread her hands helplessly as she said it.

Ragnar let out a quiet sigh, then nodded.

“Alright. In that case, I’ll book your flight for tomorrow morning.”

The moment she heard that, Shoko brightened immediately.

“Really? Thanks.”

November, 2016. Tokyo.

Ragnar walked lazily down the street and muttered, “I didn’t think I’d be gone this long this time.”

Beside him, Shoko gave a faint smile.

“No kidding.”

Ragnar glanced at her.

“So, Shoko, heading back to Jujutsu High now?”

“The higher-ups have already started hounding me,” she said with obvious annoyance. “Honestly…”

As she spoke, she pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and skillfully slipped one out.

But just as she was about to light it, she seemed to remember something. She paused, then quietly slid it back into the pack.

Then she looked at Ragnar.

“What about you? Going back to Jujutsu High too? Or are you planning to keep wandering around like some unemployed drifter?”

Ragnar shot her a sideways look and grumbled, “Seriously, Shoko, what kind of question is that? Why do you make it sound like I spend every day loafing around?”

Shoko answered without hesitation.

“Because you basically do.”

Ragnar was instantly speechless.

“…I can’t be bothered with you.”

Shoko nodded as if satisfied.

“Fine. Stay in touch.”

With that, she turned and quickened her pace, heading toward Jujutsu High.

Ragnar watched her go, then thought for a while.

In the end, he decided he should check in on Yuta Okkotsu and Rika Orimoto.

If he remembered correctly, they should be in their first year of high school by now.

Probably.

Even though they were in contact through Twitter, seeing them in person felt more reliable.

Fortunately, Ragnar found the Boss 429 he had left in the garage years ago.

Old things really were dependable.

Pour in some gas, and it ran like nothing had happened. The build quality was absurdly good.

“If I remember right, they both got into some high school in Tokyo…”

Ragnar checked the time.

“School gets out at four, huh? Lucky them. Though they’ll probably have club activities after that.”

It was already five o’clock now. By the time he arrived, they should be just about ready to leave.

So he stepped on the gas and drove toward the school address he had pulled up on Google Maps.

At a high school in Tokyo.

Inside a classroom.

“Long time no see, Okkotsu.”

Four thugs who looked exactly the part had cornered Yuta Okkotsu inside the classroom.

At the moment, Yuta was still trying to hold himself back.

“Don’t come any closer,” he said in a low voice.

The tall, dark-skinned guy leading them sneered provocatively.

“Hey, hey, don’t be so cold.”

But at that moment, no one other than Yuta had noticed the figure standing behind them—

Rika Orimoto.

She was standing there in silence, burning with rage.

The dark-skinned thug kept talking, his tone mocking.

“Try to understand how I feel for once.”

Then he grinned.

“Do you have any idea how badly I want to beat the hell out of you?”

Stop.

He reached up and undid his collar, clearly getting ready to start something.

“Don’t keep me waiting. Be careful, alright? I might accidentally kill you.”

The three standing behind him looked indifferent, as if they were just waiting to enjoy the show.

Suddenly, Yuta shouted—

“Don’t do it, Rika!”

Rika appeared right behind the dark-skinned thug, her expression cold and dark, and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Hm?”

The thug turned his head in confusion.

Rika looked at him and spoke in a quiet, chilling voice.

“Kill you.”

A moment later, blood splashed across the classroom floor.

Inside the cabinet that had originally held the cleaning supplies, four twisted corpses had been stuffed together.

Blood continued to seep out from the crack in the door.

Yuta’s whole body trembled.

“Ri… Rika… you… you can’t… you can’t do this…”

Rika’s expression remained filled with resentment.

At the same time, she also felt a deep frustration toward Yuta’s weakness.

“Yuta, if you don’t fight back… these scum will just keep bullying you until you die.”

“Rika…”

She walked up to him, wrapped her arms around him, and said softly,

“Don’t be afraid. As long as I’m here, no one will ever bully Yuta again.”

She could feel Yuta trembling uncontrollably in her arms.

“I… I know, but Rika… killing people is against the law. You’ll…”

Yuta took a shaky breath.

“I can call… call the police. If it’s the patrol officers, then they’ll definitely…”

Rika lowered her head, her tone turning cold.

“It’s useless, Yuta.”

“They’ll only get locked up for a little while, receive some meaningless warning, and then come back to apologize with fake smiles.”

Her voice grew darker.

“And once it’s over, they’ll still bully you. Or maybe even kill you.”

“Because in the end… the law can’t really punish people like them.”

It was the kind of logic that called to mind something straight out of Sherlock Holmes—

though only if the innocent were never dragged into it.

Hearing that, Yuta gritted his teeth.

“Sorry… Rika. I’ll go to the Metropolitan Police Department and turn myself in.”

“Yuta!”

Yuta clenched his fists.

“Rika, I don’t want you going to prison because of me.”

“…Um, I think school’s already over for you guys.”

A voice suddenly came from the doorway.

Rika and Yuta both stiffened at once.

Ragnar Kagenou was standing there.

“R-Ra—”

Yuta caught himself awkwardly.

“Ragnar-nii?! H-How are you here?”

Both of them immediately looked flustered, like children who had been caught doing something wrong.

Now it was Ragnar’s turn to be confused.

Since when had these two become so scared of him?

“The business overseas is finished,” Ragnar said as he stood in the doorway, looking at the two of them. “So I figured I’d come back and check on you.”