Chapter 47 (Patreon)

“Murder?”

The pool of blood on the floor, the severed arm sticking out from the cabinet—

the scene was more than enough to explain itself at a glance.

“No, it’s not what it looks like, Ragnar-nii!”

Yuta Okkotsu hurriedly tried to stop him.

At the same time, Rika Orimoto lowered her head and remained silent.

“Not talking?” Ragnar said flatly. “Then let me guess. Yuta was being bullied at school, and you, Rika, couldn’t stand it anymore, so you killed them. Right?”

Yuta and Rika both blinked and stared at him.

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s not exactly hard to figure out.”

Ragnar looked at Rika thoughtfully.

Yuta swallowed hard, realizing he had already given too much away, and hurriedly said, “It’s not like that, Ragnar-nii. I killed them. It has nothing to do with Rika.”

Ragnar gave him a deadpan look.

Kid… with that face of yours, you’d probably be scared stiff just trying to kill a chicken, let alone four people.

Compared to Yuta’s panic, Rika was far calmer.

There was no trace of the same fear on her face.

Which meant one thing—

Rika Orimoto’s cursed energy had likely recovered over the past five years.

Otherwise, with her frail body alone, there was no way she could have killed four grown men barehanded.

“Relax,” Ragnar said at last. “I’m not here to drag either of you off to prison.”

As he spoke, he reached out and ruffled Yuta’s already messy hair.

Then he looked at Rika.

“Rika. Has your power come back?”

Rika opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, then answered honestly.

“Ragnar-nii… how did you know—”

Thwack!

“Ow!”

Rika instantly covered her reddened forehead, her eyes watering as she looked at him pitifully.

“I’m the one who sealed your cursed energy in the first place,” Ragnar said. “I just didn’t expect your talent to be this ridiculous. You actually broke through the seal on your own.”

At that, Yuta cautiously stuck his head forward.

“Cursed energy?”

With no other choice, Ragnar looked at the two of them and gave them a full explanation of jujutsu, cursed energy, and cursed spirits.

By the time he finished, both of them finally understood the basics.

“Alright. Now that you’ve got the general idea…” Ragnar said.

At that moment, Yuta suddenly spoke up.

“Do we need to prepare some low-density polyethylene containers and hydrofluoric acid? That should dissolve most of a human body…”

He hesitated, then added seriously, “After that, we could dispose of the larger remaining tissues somewhere like Tokyo Bay…”

Ragnar slowly turned to stare at him in complete shock.

“W-What?” Yuta asked nervously.

“Nothing,” Ragnar said. “I was just wondering how many bodies you’ve secretly dealt with before.”

“Eh?! Never!” Yuta hurriedly denied it. “I’ve never killed anyone before… I just happen to be good at chemistry.”

Rika’s eyes lit up.

“That’s amazing, Yuta.”

Ragnar patted him on the shoulder.

“There’s no need to go that far.”

As he spoke, he reached into the Gate of Babylon and pulled out something much more suitable for corpse disposal.

A moment later—

the corpses were gone.

The blood was gone too.

Even under ultraviolet light, there would not be a single trace left behind.

“T-That’s it?” Yuta asked blankly.

Ragnar simply gestured toward the door.

“Come on. Let the hallway security cameras catch you walking out.”

After that, the three of them left the classroom openly and without the slightest attempt to hide themselves.

---

Inside the car—

Rika looked uneasy.

“Ragnar-nii… is this really okay?”

Yuta was just as worried.

“Ragnar-nii, even if that works… their parents are still going to drag us into court.”

Ragnar adjusted the rearview mirror and replied with complete confidence.

“Human effort can overcome anything.”

Then he smirked faintly.

“The law isn’t some sacred thing carved in stone. The trick is learning how to use it.”

He paused.

“Let them have a good look at the light of justice.”

---

A few months later—

just as expected, the parents of those scumbags brought Yuta Okkotsu and Rika Orimoto to court.

During the investigation, no missing students were ever found.

No bodies were found either.

The surveillance footage showed nothing unusual, and there was no sign of blood on Ragnar, Rika, or Yuta.

But that was exactly where the problem lay.

Those four had entered the classroom—

and after that, they were never seen again.

Inside the courtroom, Yuta and Rika sat in the defendant’s seats.

Representing Ragnar’s side was the lawyer he had hired—

Hiromi Higuruma.

The parents of the dead boys had brought in an expensive legal team of their own.

Ragnar sat calmly in the gallery, watching the furious expressions on the parents’ faces.

Bang!

Higuruma slammed his hand against the desk.

“Objection!”

“The plaintiff has failed to produce death certificates for the individuals in question. Their claim of murder is built on verbal testimony alone. Legally speaking, those individuals are still classified as missing persons.”

The opposing lawyer immediately responded.

“Objection!”

“The defendants clearly had motive to kill the missing individuals inside the classroom. There had already been prior conflict between both sides at school. In addition, they had a window of time outside surveillance coverage in which they could have committed the murders and disposed of the bodies!”

Bang!

Higuruma slammed the desk again.

“Objection!”

“I have evidence that proves otherwise.”

The judge narrowed his eyes.

“You have evidence?”

The opposing lawyer’s face changed.

“You have evidence?”

Yuta and Rika were equally stunned.

“We have evidence?”

Then came a fierce exchange of evidence, testimony, and argument.

Back and forth it went, until the tension in the courtroom reached its peak.

At last, Higuruma struck the desk one final time and rose to his feet, pointing directly at the opposing counsel.

“In summary—my clients are not guilty!”

In the end, under the sound of the judge’s gavel—

the verdict was delivered.

“Yuta Okkotsu and Rika Orimoto… not guilty.”

First trial.

Not guilty.

---

After everyone left the courthouse, Rika could not hold back her amazement.

“Ragnar-nii, the lawyer you hired is incredible.”

Yuta nodded repeatedly.

“It’s great that we were found not guilty.”

At that moment, Higuruma stepped out as well and said in a calm voice, “Winning the first trial is the best possible outcome. But don’t relax just yet. They’ll keep appealing.”

After saying that, he turned and left on his own.

Yuta looked a little uneasy.

“The second trial…”

Ragnar casually bought some desserts and handed them to the two of them.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “Whether it’s the second trial or the third, they won’t have any room to turn this around.”

Rika looked at him curiously.

“Why?”

Ragnar smiled in a way that felt strangely meaningful.

“Because they’re all on our side. How could we lose?”

Afterward, one of the senior judges leaving the courthouse gave Ragnar a small nod.

As the saying went—

money made even ghosts push the millstone.

Only Yuta and Rika still had no idea what was really going on.

---

Ragnar then drove the two of them back to the luxury apartment he had bought in Tokyo.

The moment they pushed open the door, they were met by a lavishly decorated penthouse.

“Whoa! It’s huge! It’s soft! It’s so comfortable!”

Rika immediately dove onto the sofa, her entire body sinking into it.

“Rika,” Yuta said helplessly.

“It’s fine,” Ragnar said. “If you want something to drink, just grab it from the fridge.”

He really did not mind.

“Just treat this place like your own home. Isn’t that how you two always were before?”

Even so, Yuta still looked a little embarrassed.

Soon enough, both of them were sitting on the sofa. The TV was on, and desserts, snacks, juice, and drinks were spread out on the table.

Ragnar also lay down lazily on the sofa across from them.

Seeing that, Yuta could not help thinking that these two were hopeless.

They had already evolved into full-time couch slugs.

After a while, Rika spoke up while munching on snacks.

“Ragnar-nii… what did you mean earlier when you said, ‘They’re all on our side’?”

Yuta was clearly interested too and leaned in to listen.

Ragnar took a sip of tea, cleared his throat, and said, “Exactly what it sounds like.”

Then he added, “Have either of you heard of Das Kapital?”

The two looked at each other, then shook their heads at the same time.

Ragnar thought for a moment, then said,

“The basic idea is simple.”

“If there’s a ten percent profit, capital will be used anywhere.”

“With twenty percent profit, capital becomes active.”

“With fifty percent profit, capital grows bold.”

“With one hundred percent profit, capital will trample over every human law.”

“And with three hundred percent profit, it will commit any crime without hesitation—even if the gallows are waiting at the end.”

He lowered his teacup and smiled faintly.

“So tell me.”

“If the price is high enough… why would anyone choose to lose?”