Chapter 1170 – 1170. Day 15
“Is anyone there?!”
A man’s voice echoed.
Mori Masahiro inhaled sharply.
“…I’ll go out for now. I wish someone would come with me. Or maybe we should all go out together… that might not be so bad.”
I raised my hand.
“I’ll go with Mori-senpai.”
“Okay. Thanks, Sung.”
I walked towards the entrance with Mori Masahiro. His steps were heavy. He was nervous.
I remembered the story Mori Masahiro had told me before. The disappearance case that happened in this village last year. Seeing Tanaka Hiroshi so terrified, maybe the culprit of that case was someone from this village.
‘Well, it’s almost certain. This world is probably that kind of genre.’
Mori Masahiro forced strength into his slightly trembling hand and opened the front door.
There were about 20 villagers. More than half were elderly, and the rest were middle-aged. The middle-aged man standing at the front was wearing a police uniform. But he had a scar on his face, making him look more like a yakuza than a cop.
“I’m Shimada, the chief of the local police box in Okaruma Village. I know Tanaka Hiroshi has escaped here. Hand him over. Or, if you step aside, I’ll arrest him.”
“Shimada-san. Tanaka said the villagers were trying to kill him.”
Shimada frowned as if he couldn’t believe it. The scar on his face twitched grotesquely.
“Did a criminal say that?”
“Criminal…? What did Tanaka do?”
“Tanaka Hiroshi. That guy is a rapist.”
“…Huh?”
“I can’t go into details. Where is he? You’re not thinking of defending a criminal, are you?”
“Ah, no. Please tell me more. Tanaka a criminal? Tanaka is….”
“I don’t know what he told you… but he escaped from the detention center to here. I don’t want to arrest you for obstructing official duties, so please step aside.”
Shimada tried to force his way in. Mori Masahiro gritted his teeth and held his ground, then shouted.
“Tanaka said that! Gonzo and Sakurai were killed by the villagers! You guys, you’ve gathered to kill Tanaka, haven’t you?!”
Shimada paused.
“…Oh. I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet.”
He sighed as if frustrated and continued.
“Gonzo and Sakurai. They escaped in a different direction. Another officer is chasing them.”
“…You expect me to believe that?”
“Why would I lie about information that you can find out with a little investigation? I’m a police officer.”
Shimada showed his police badge.
Mori Masahiro relaxed his body. Logically, it made sense that Tanaka Hiroshi was lying.
“Wait a minute.”
I stepped in front of Mori.
“…What is it now?”
“Who are the people behind you?”
“They’re the village elders. They came to help me.”
“I hate the smell of old people, and I can’t stand the smell of old people getting into the lodging. You’re the only cop here, so you’re the only one coming inside.”
The elders bristled at my tone.
“You, you little punk!!”
“Such a disrespectful young man!”
“Look at his manners!! What kind of home education did his parents give him!”
“Elders, please stay put. I can’t let the criminal get away, so I’ll go inside. Please wait here.”
Shimada went inside.
“Mori-senpai.”
“Uh, um?”
“Follow that cop and help him. If Tanaka is a criminal, we have to catch him.”
“Y-yeah.”
Mori Masahiro went up as well.
I faced the people outside. I slowly turned my gaze, examining their faces. Unlike before, they seemed nervous, their mouths tightly shut, watching my every move.
‘Why are these guys so scared?’
Not all of them are old. There are middle-aged people mixed in. Yet, they’re watching a young guy like me.
“…You know, don’t you?”
I said, thinking of a movie killer. I gave them a smirk, and their reaction was clear.
“……!”
They flinched.
They all stepped back in surprise.
I said calmly, looking at them.
“Sit.”
“…….”
“I said sit.”
I grabbed the shoulder of the old man in front and pushed him down.
“Kkyaaaak!”
The old man screamed and sat on the ground.
“What are you guys doing? Not sitting?”
“What… what are you doing? How can you do this?”
“Sit.”
I glared at the middle-aged man with annoyance. The middle-aged man swallowed hard and sat on the ground. The others followed suit, sitting down one after another.
I scanned them and said.
“Stand up.”
“…….”
They stood up.
“Sit.”
“…….”
“Stand up.”
“…….”
“Sit.”
“…….”
“Stand up. Ah, damn it. Don’t sit so casually, sit properly. Do I have to teach you how to sit? Sit!”
After getting annoyed once, they finally sat down on their knees respectfully. Only then did I nod in satisfaction.
“Mori-senpai!! Are you crazy! That cop! Those guys killed Gonzo and Sakurai! You brought a murderer?! Are you crazy?!”
“Calm down, Tanaka! I’ll help you as much as I can! Let’s talk first!”
“A rapist is writing novels now.”
The second floor was noisy. There were various sounds of things breaking. Well, it’s none of my business.
I pointed at one of the kneeling people with my index finger.
“You, stand up.”
“…….”
The old man who was pointed at rolled his eyes.
“I said stand up! Understand after I say it once! Please!”
Thwack.
I kicked the old man’s abdomen mercilessly. The old man rolled on the ground and curled up.
“Keok…! I, I understand…. I’ll, I’ll stand up, so stop hitting me….”
The old man trembled as he stood up. I looked around. I thought someone would step up to help, but no one did.
“Stand straight.”
The old man put strength into his legs. He straightened his back, but his body was trembling.
“Say what you said earlier again.”
“I, I’ll stand up, so stop hitting me…?”
“Not that.”
“…….”
“Damn it. Did you suddenly become mute?”
As I raised my fist, the old man opened his mouth. His voice was as small as a mosquito’s wing.
“What kind of home education did his parents… give him….”
“Like this, you bastard.”
I kicked the old man’s knee with all my might.
“Kkyaaaaaaaak!”
The old man screamed and fell to the ground. I kicked his knee a few more times. His leg was bent in a strange direction.
I squatted down, grabbed the old man’s head, and slammed it into the ground. Thud. The ground was still wet, so it was muddy.
“My mom and dad used to say, don’t do anything that would make them look bad. …Did they? My memory is hazy… they probably did. Anyway, I just thought of it now. If I give the guy who insulted my mom and dad the punishment of eating mud, he won’t insult them again.”
“Puhh, keok! S, save… me… keheok!”
I grabbed a handful of mud and forced it into his mouth.
“Eat the mud, you bastard. Well, it’s better than the punishment of eating rocks, right?”
“Eat it.”
I hit his head a few times, and the old man’s Adam’s apple moved.
I stood up and stepped on the old man’s head. The old man’s face was buried in the mud.
“Keep eating.”
Crash!
The second-floor window shattered, and someone fell down.
It was Tanaka Hiroshi. He straightened up and looked around. He tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand the scene before him, then started running towards the mountain.
“Tanaka!!”
“Stop!!”
Mori Masahiro and Shimada shouted from above and jumped down from the second floor.
I chased after Tanaka Hiroshi faster than them and ran into the mountain.
‘Tanaka. I didn’t like that bastard hitting on my girl, Ryoko, anyway. This is a good opportunity, so let’s take him down.’
It wasn’t difficult to chase Tanaka, who was exhausted. I caught up with him in less than 30 meters.
“You damn Joseonjin! Get lost! I have to escape!”
He swung his fist at me. It was so pathetic that I laughed. I grabbed his fist and threw him backward. He hit a tree and fell down.
I ran to Tanaka. Mori Masahiro and Shimada were running from a short distance away.
“I don’t have time.”
“S, Sung! H, help me! I was wrong… Aaaah!”
I broke his arms and legs and punched him in the face.
“Sung! Stop it!”
Mori Masahiro ran and grabbed my body. I dropped Tanaka’s head, which I was holding in my hand.
“…Even if it was to catch a criminal, it was too much.”
Shimada said, looking at Tanaka.
“He resisted so much that I couldn’t help it. He’s not dead, so please let it slide?”
“……I didn’t see anything.”
Shimada turned his head, and Mori Masahiro looked at me with a complicated expression before turning his gaze away.
We took Tanaka back to the lodging.
They were still kneeling. Shimada said to them.
“Elders, why are you sitting?”
“Ah, no, this is….”
They stood up.
“Who said you could stand up?”
They flinched and sat back down.
The eyes of Shimada and Mori Masahiro, including them, turned to me.
“Just kidding. Just kidding. Just a joke.”
“…….”
“…….”
Of course, the atmosphere didn’t lighten up.
Shimada walked over to an old man. It was the old man whose knee I had crushed and made eat mud.
“Elder… are you okay? Why is your knee like this… and your face is covered in mud…. How did this happen?”
“He fell earlier.”
I said casually. They looked at me with shocked faces.
“Th, that guy…!!”
The mud-covered old man pointed at me with a trembling finger.
Shimada looked at me with sharp eyes.
I stared at the old man intently.
“…….”
The terrified old man lowered his hand.
“S, Shimada-kun. I just fell. Would you take me to the hospital?”
“Ah, is that so? I would like to take you myself, but… I have to escort the criminal, so it’s difficult. If the others are okay, would you take the elder to the hospital?”
“Y, you can count on us.”
The situation was quickly resolved.
Shimada took Tanaka Hiroshi to the police box, and Mori Masahiro followed him. The others took the mud-covered old man to the hospital.
I stood in front of the lodging and looked at Shimada’s back.
‘He must have realized that I crushed the old man’s knee…. But he pretended not to know.’
I looked at Shimada’s waist. A revolver was in a holster. It was a pistol used by the Japanese police.
“Shimada-san!”
I called him. Shimada turned around and looked at me.
“Do you have something to say?”
“I heard that an old man named Zoro or something went missing… is he still missing?”
“…You mean Elder Jiro. Yes. He’s still missing.”
“That’s a shame.”
“…….”
Shimada turned and walked away again.
I thought, watching his receding back.
‘He knows I’m the one who killed that old man, but he’s not doing anything. …Hmm. Should I kill that guy tonight? A pistol would be quite useful.’
•••
That night.
I spent time drinking beer at a corner store until midnight. The old woman who owned the store was watching me.
“You. How long are you planning to stay? Our business hours are already over…. It’s already past midnight.”
“Ah, I have to go. I have to have sex with Ryoko…. I can’t stay here.”
I threw the beer can in my hand on the ground and was about to go outside when the old woman grabbed my arm.
“How can you leave like that!”
“Ah, what is it now? You told me to leave earlier.”
“You have to pay! It’s 8700 yen!”
“I didn’t bring any money…. I’ll pay you later.”
“What? We don’t allow credit for outsiders!”
“Ah, shit.”
Annoyance surged.
My vision spun. The alcohol had gone to my head. I was flustered by the intoxication I felt for the first time in a while, then I gave in to the rising emotions.
I kicked the old woman. The old woman flew backward and writhed. She was groaning, but she wasn’t dead.
“I said I’d pay you later!”
I took another can of beer from the refrigerator. Maybe it was because I was drunk, but I kept wanting more alcohol. I also wanted to drink soju, but unfortunately, there was no soju in the refrigerator.
I waited at the corner store until night for those guys to show up… but no one did. It seems I was wrong.
Staggering.
The world was spinning because I was drunk.
‘How long has it been since I got drunk like this? It feels good to be drunk to the point of losing my mind.’
[Great Luck (Lv. Master) is activated.]
Thwack.
My shoulder bumped into something.
“Shoulder check? Shibal!”
I immediately clenched my fist and retaliated.
It was a utility pole.
“Kkyaaaaaaaak!”
I screamed in pain, which instantly sobered me up, and squatted on the ground. The damn pain completely erased the pleasant intoxication.
I rubbed my red fist and looked up. Someone was approaching me in the darkness.
