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Thus the Die is Cast – Part 02

To put it mildly, the hot springs were nothing short of fantastic. Hikaru had no memories of going on a family trip, but as steam gracefully rose from all over the town, and the allure of strolling through ancient streets with lingering traces of snow enveloped him, he couldn’t help but think that hot spring towns were truly enchanting.

Unlike Fujinota Station, there were plenty of tourists in this place.

“Good morning. Are we heading to Mr. Doyama’s place today?”

She looked great in a yukata, but she also looks amazing in the clothes we bought in this world.

“Hikaru?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s the plan.”

She looks so adorable confused.

“What time are you planning to return today, sir?” the female innkeeper asked. They had booked a room for consecutive nights.

“Let’s see… I think we’ll be back around evening.”

“Understood. We’ll schedule dinner for 6 PM.”

“Oh, right. Do you know Mr. Doyama?” Hikaru asked. “He’s well-known around these parts.”

“You mean the landowner?”

“Yes, that’s right. I heard he owns a mountain or something.”

“The locals steer clear of that mountain. In the past, Mr. Doyama’s family managed the shrine on the mountain, but it’s been off-limits to the general public for a long time.”

“Is that so? I thought shrines were more like public places.”

“It’s on private property. It doesn’t have a name. It’s just a regular shrine. The elderly folks used to visit it occasionally, but people of our generation never did. We don’t even know what kind of shrine it is. Besides, it felt… creepy.”

“Creepy?”

“Like haunted by ghosts.”

“Right.”

It seemed to be a notorious haunted spot in the local area.

“Mt. Midori is a spooky place. I’ve heard rumors that Mr. Doyama wants to sell it, but there are no buyers. I don’t know if that’s true.”

“Mt. Midori… Like green mountain? Is that its name?”

“It’s what they call it. It’s the small hill right behind Mr. Doyama’s house. I don’t know the official name,” the innkeeper said. “Do you like history? You’re so young.”

“Uh, well… y-yeah, something like that.”

“I thought your companion might be a foreigner.”

“Oh, no, she’s not a foreigner. She just dyes her hair and wears colored contacts,” Hikaru hurriedly explained.

Since two underage individuals couldn’t make reservations at the inn, he used his father’s credit card and claimed to be eighteen.

“Is that so? Oh, didn’t those people from another world have strange hair colors? Is this the current fashion trend, then?”

“Y-Yeah, something like that.” Hikaru laughed dryly. “W-We’re leaving, then.”

Hikaru rushed out of the inn with Lavia.

“Take care and have a great time.” The innkeeper bowed deeply.

One surprising thing Hikaru noticed after coming to this world—Serika had told him a bit—was the abundance of information about the other world.

Every news program featured the activities of Serika’s group, the government’s stance on the other world, and even segments discussing it. Hikaru thought the whole craze was limited to online news websites and video-sharing platforms, but that wasn’t the case.

He learned a lot from watching television. The rift connecting the worlds only appeared in Japan, leading many citizens to consider it a Japanese asset. The Japanese government was criticized for agreeing to conduct joint research near the rift due to foreign pressure. The opposition party had questioned the Prime Minister, “If, hypothetically, oil fields were discovered in Tokyo Bay, would you give them away to a foreign country?” As a result, the Cabinet’s approval ratings dropped. Sophie’s use of healing magic gathered attention from all over the world, leading to speculation about its effectiveness in treating incurable diseases.

I see it now. There were a lot of suspicious people near the apartment monitoring the place.

Hikaru had his Stealth to avoid notice, but the Four Eastern Stars were drawing considerable attention.

This is gonna be tough.

In the modern era, where Earth could be fully monitored by artificial satellites, the only unknown frontier was outer space. The introduction of a parallel world, showcasing unknown energy known as mana, naturally fascinated the world.

Hikaru firmly decided to minimize attention and pass the responsibility to Serika. However, he couldn’t stand the idea of leaving things unresolved regarding Ayano and Mr. Doyama without taking any action.

Let’s wrap this up quickly. I think it’s best to have another talk with Sasakura and tell her to just do what the company wants.

In Japan, if you had power, you could influence a company or two, especially if Ayano belonged to the founder’s family, or if she held significant shares in the company. Those without such influence, however, could not make a company budge.

If Ayano couldn’t align with the company’s vision, resigning was her only option. There were countless replacements out there. If she disliked Nitto Shimbun, there were plenty of other newspapers in the world. Hikaru himself had experience starting a new life somewhere.

Hailing a taxi, Hikaru and Lavia headed to a café near Doyama’s mansion.

“Are you from Tokyo?” the driver asked. “I had a Tokyo journalist as a passenger yesterday. Gave me a business card too.”

He was unaware of the incident at Doyama’s mansion. Hikaru decided there was no need to disclose it.

They disembarked in front of the café because they needed to disguise themselves before heading to Doyama’s mansion. After the taxi departed, they donned their masks and activated Stealth.

The main gate of Doyama’s mansion was tightly shut that day, but Hikaru effortlessly vaulted over the fence and unlocked it from within, allowing Lavia to follow.

Doyama and Ayano were at the entrance.

“Why are you so stubborn?! You were in danger. You should sue them!”

“Talking to those kinds of people won’t get you anywhere. I appreciate your bravery, but I have no intention of granting interviews to journalists.”

“But…”

Ayano was asking for an interview and had just been denied.

Sneaking in from behind, Hikaru deactivated Stealth.

“Sup.”

“Aah!”

“You!”

Ayano and Doyama were taken aback by the sudden appearance of Hikaru and another girl.

“M-M-Masked boy! Where did you go?!” Ayano cried. “Yesterday was a nightmare trying to explain what happened to the cops since you ditched me.”

“I told you, that’s your responsibility.”

“No, you didn’t!”

“Now that you mention, I didn’t.”

“I’ve been wondering for a while. You treat me like trash. I’m a damsel, you know!”

Damsel, my foot. Hikaru ignored her.

“You have my thanks for helping me,” Doyama said. “But those folks won’t back off easily.”

“I think so too,” Hikaru replied. “But you have no plans to sell the land, correct?”

“No. My family has to protect this land.”

“You say family, but don’t you live alone?”

“I have my son’s family. They used to live in the prefecture, but things got tense lately, so I temporarily sent them overseas.”

Oh, he sent them abroad to keep them away from danger? He’s not just rich, he’s also proactive.

“So, who are you exactly? And what’s with the mask? Is that a recent trend in Tokyo?”

Ayano stifled a laugh, irritating Hikaru.

“Forget about me. Were those guys who attacked you yesterday land sharks or something?”

“Yeah… they’ve suddenly been eyeing the land around here since the beginning of the year. They’ve already made several purchases. But oddly enough, they’re not constructing anything. They just leave the plot as is.”

“They’re not even subtle about it, huh?”

Hikaru was bewildered. If news of a major government project were announced now, accusations of insider trading would undoubtedly arise.

Tokigawa must be confident that he wouldn’t be linked to it, or perhaps he was unaware that the land sharks were being so obvious. Hikaru leaned towards the latter. He doubted that the president of Marumigawa Estate was genuinely subservient to Tokigawa.

“The thugs who attacked yesterday got released today! Unbelievable.”

Ayano was furious, though Hikaru had anticipated it. He had stepped in to defuse the situation before it could escalate. Other than their attempts to harm Hikaru, they had only resorted to verbal threats.

Additionally, Ayano admitted she failed to record the interaction between the land sharks and Doyama. If anything, the police felt somewhat sorry for the men after being knocked out by Hikaru.

“You failed? Can you really call yourself a journalist?”

“Wh-What do you mean?! It’s not easy to use a phone in the heat of the moment!”

“SLR cameras can record videos these days, you know.” Hikaru sighed. “If either you or the old man had broken an arm, the police would have taken it seriously. Shame.”

“Well… yeah…”

“And? Did the cops increase patrols or something?”

“Yes,” the old man answered. “They said to give them a call if anything happened, and they’ll rush over. They even asked about your identity. They said you were dangerous and to inform them if you were spotted.”

“…”

“I’m not going to do that, though. I owe you.”

The men had claimed that a masked boy appeared out of nowhere and beat them up. Hikaru didn’t expect to catch the police’s attention so soon after returning to Japan.

“Let me confirm once more. You have no intention of selling the land, right?”

“No. It is our family’s mission to protect this mountain.”

“Why not go overseas with your son’s family until things cool down? In a year… no, in half a year, things should settle down, I think.”

The old man dismissed this suggestion with a shake of his head.

“I can’t do that. Someone has to stay here and protect the mountain. About two months ago, the mountain started making noise.”

“The mountain is making noise?”

Doyama put on his sandals and stepped outside. Hikaru, Lavia, and Ayano followed him.

The old man gazed at the mountain behind the mansion. With autumn leaves gone, it looked desolate.

“Mt. Midori is important to our family. We’re just passing on what we inherited from our ancestors to the next generation. Once you part ways with a property, it becomes a habit. You start thinking it’s okay to sell more. One by one. That’s why I won’t let go of any piece of land, no matter how small.”

Hikaru sensed a difference in pronunciation of “Midori” from when the innkeeper said it. Doyama did not elaborate any further.