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A New Otherworlder Bursts Onto the Scene – Part 03

Several hours ago, when the rain started falling, Hikaru took action. He promptly visited the Doyama residence and shared everything with the old man.

“So you’re saying there will be an attack tonight.”

The old man took Hikaru’s words with indifference. It sounded like he wanted the attack to happen.

While expressing gratitude to Hikaru for the warning, the old man suggested that he should leave. However, Hikaru didn’t come just to deliver the message and bid farewell.

“I can protect you,” he said.

“No need for that.”

“Are you worried about dragging me into your mess? Or are you concerned that I might be an enemy?”

“Neither.” The old man remained composed. “If they kill me, it will turn into an incident. And if that happens, they won’t be able to lay a finger on Mt. Midori.”

“What?”

Hikaru observed the lax security measures inside the mansion—only resident security guards and surveillance cameras, with no sensor-triggered intrusion alarm installed.

These inadequate security measures indicated that the Doyama old man had already contemplated the possibility of his own death.

Rather than ensuring safety, he was preparing to definitively repel the people attacking the Doyama family and the mountain and put an end to them. The old man himself was acting as bait to lure the enemies. Then, he planned to gather solid evidence to prevent them from harming the Doyama family or the mountain.

Perhaps he agreed to meet with the strange boy with the silver mask because he thought he might be useful. Though he had saved Doyama from the thugs, Hikaru couldn’t help but agree that his mask made him too suspicious.

Adding to the dubiousness was Lavia, also wearing a mask.

“Young people should think more about the future and not get themselves involved in trouble.”

Hikaru couldn’t comprehend what kind of life someone could have lived to accept danger to their life so easily. Were they terminally ill or something? Life Detection showed no abnormalities.

What can I say to convince this guy? Right, thinking about it is useless.

His life experience and readiness might not compare to the old man, and it was impossible to figure out what to say to the overwhelmingly senior Doyama.

“No way.”

In that case, Hikaru chose to simply express what his mind and emotions said.

“I like you, so I don’t want you to die. I’ll do what I want.”

This was who Hikaru was. This was who Silver Face was.

“What?”

The old man was momentarily speechless, blinking in confusion. Then, he burst into rambunctious laughter.

Hikaru was taken aback by the unexpected reaction.

“Sorry about that,” Doyama said. “I was reminded of something.”

“Reminded of what?”

“Back in the day, there were plenty of folks like you—reckless, impulsive, and overconfident without much to back it up. It was when Japan was on the up and up. Ah, but I suppose there’s no point in sharing old stories. Among those youngsters, some stuck to their principles and thrived, building wealth. Others just simmered and scraped by.”

“…”

Hikaru suspected that Doyama was talking about himself. The old man had also contemplated leaving home, but he ultimately chose to stay—chose to protect the mountain. Whether that made him one who stuck to his beliefs or couldn’t was unclear.

“I told you,” Hikaru said. “I like you.” He hoped the old man was the former.

“All right. I’ll respect your intentions. But if I can’t achieve my goal, you’ll have to leave.”

“Sure. Your goal is to protect Mt. Midori, right? If you can achieve that without dying, it’s all good.”

The old man nodded. “Exactly. But rushing in against the enemy, involving the police, or launching a preemptive strike won’t cut it. They’re like the tail of a lizard, and a huge lizard, at that. You chop it over and over, and it just keeps growing back. Something as heavy as human life has to be on the line in order to protect this mountain.”

“I get it. I’ve got an idea.”

Hikaru had already formulated a plan before coming here, which he shared to Doyama. But the old man only looked puzzled.

“I don’t really get what you’re saying.”

“Well, it might be a bit complicated for an old-timer like you.”

“What? Don’t you treat me like an out-of-touch geezer! I’m on Tw*tter, you know!”

“Huh?”

The old man took out a tablet. There was indeed an account named “Doyama Family,” with daily posts titled “Today’s Mountain,” each accompanied by photos. Despite over a thousand tweets over three years, the account had only amassed 15 followers.

“…”

A hardcore enthusiast.

“Well, anyway, if my plan works out, there won’t be anyone left to bother you.”

“Is that so? Hmm,” the man said, looking at the tablet’s screen.

“Fujinota might get a bit noisy, though.”

Old man Doyama ignored the last part.

---

Holding his breath in the room adjacent to the old man’s sleeping quarters, Hikaru had overheard the conversation between the assailant and the elderly man. But there was one thing he didn’t understand.

Does this guy think there’s something at Mt. Midori?

The mafia’s primary objective was the acquisition and resale of land for substantial profits. Hikaru found it hard to believe that a sitting minister’s secretary had ties with the Chinese mafia, but either way, the driving force was undeniably money.

The assailant, however, appeared indifferent to land acquisition, to money itself. His motive seemed linked to Mount Midori, but Hikaru struggled to grasp why.

My Mana Detection doesn’t even tell me anything, but he knows something. Well, Doyama did mention something about the mountain being restless. What was he talking about?

Time was not on Hikaru’s side to leisurely absorb the conversation. Realizing the assailant would kill Doyama without a second thought, he took immediate action.

Since using Stealth for an attack might trigger Assassination, Hikaru deactivated the skill just before the kick. He didn’t expect it to get blocked, but Hikaru’s well-trained strike sent the man flying, breaking through the glass door and rolling into the yard.

In the rain, the man swiftly got up, muttering something in a language Hikaru couldn’t comprehend.

“See? I told you there would be an attack tonight,” Hikaru told the old man behind him.

Nodding, Doyama stepped back.

“Tch. So you had bodyguard.” The man swiftly switched to Japanese.

He’s calm. He doesn’t seem like a mafia thug; more like a professional mercenary… or a soldier?

“I’m not a bodyguard,” Hikaru said. “Just a party with common interests.”

“…”

The man still had the gun in his hands. He promptly pointed it at Hikaru, pulling the trigger without hesitation. The silencer-less muzzle flashed, brightening the surroundings with the gunshot, but Hikaru had already vanished.

Avoiding a shot was easy if you could anticipate it. Hikaru leaped from the veranda, landing on the gravel. A stray bullet hitting old man Doyama would be disastrous.

Toggling Stealth on and off continuously made it impossible for the man to aim at Hikaru. He fired rapidly, but the bullets veered completely off-target.

He’s firing his gun. They’re not afraid of leaving behind evidence or getting reported.

“Bro! What’s going on?!”

“How many enemies are there?!”

The hidden men suddenly appeared, encircling Hikaru.

“What the hell is that big-ass hammer?” Hikaru said. “Planning to start construction work or something?”

“Are you actually alone?” the assailant asked. “What can you even do solo? And what’s with outfit?”

“Am I alone, you ask? The answer is no.”

Hikaru raised one hand.

“Huh?!”

“What?!”

“It’s too bright!”

Light poured down from the roof, bright as a floodlight or something similar.

The light illuminated ten men in total. Their faces were obscured by ski masks, and they were dressed in all black, but against the grayish gravel, they stood out.

“What you planning?” The leader who had confronted Doyama remained completely unfazed.

It would be easier if he got a little scared, Hikaru mused.

“It’s dark, so you can’t see me well, right?” he said. “That would give me too much of an advantage.”

“Did you tip-off police? They not coming.”

The provocation failed to elicit a reaction.

“I see. Did your friends attack the cops?”

“…”

“Or did you cause an incident that led to a massive police mobilization?”

“Such questions meaningless, but I tell you. We caused an incident. We not kill anyone, but still big enough.”

Internally relieved upon hearing that no one had died, Hikaru wondered why he divulged so much. Did he have confidence in diverting the police, or did he think Hikaru could be easily dealt with? Probably both, Hikaru realized.

They’re underestimating me. Hmm.

Being judged based on appearances appeared to be a universal experience in both worlds.

“All right, I’ll share something as well.” Hikaru was growing annoyed. “I’m not calling the cops. Because I’m going to crush you guys right here. Alone.”

“Oh yeah?!”

The attackers, aiming to emphasize their superiority, found Hikaru’s unwavering confidence in response irritating.

“Oh, there’s also one more reason I’m not calling the cops. I don’t want them getting in the way.”

“In the way of what?”

“Sasakura, are you ready?!”

A figure appeared on the roof beside the floodlight.

“A-All good! We’re already rolling!”

Ayano Sasakura, wearing a raincoat’s hood, was holding a waterproof video camera that was connected inside the house through a long cable. And that cable was connected to an unmanned PC that displayed a video sharing site, a huge platform with a monthly user count of 10 billion.

Checking her smartphone, Ayano said, “Whoa! We’ve got over 10,000 viewers already! Incredible. Everyone must be watching because of a new otherworlder.”

“I’m going to destroy all of you in front of a global audience.”

The assault on the Doyama residence was being live-streamed.