Strike the Blood - Volume 22 - Chapter 3.6

6

In the northern tunnel entrance to Keystone Gate, a young girl’s sobbing voice echoed throughout a detention cell at Island Guard Headquarters. It was a crying voice full of melancholy and gloom.

“Uuu…let me die already… Even if I was under mind control, slicing my belly is the only way I can make up for turning my blade on Lady Koyomi of the Three Saints… Yukina, I’m so sorry… Forgive me for being the first to pass from this life…!”

The speaker was a tall, slender girl with her knees pulled up to her chest. For all her exaggerated words, both hands were bound behind her back, making it hard for her to use the toilet by herself, let alone slice her belly. Originally, they hadn’t even planned on detaining her, but her crying and ranting got annoying, so they tossed her into the Island Guard detention cell to dispose of the nuisance.

“Shut up. You’re too noisy, Lion King Agency ponytail girl. If you’re going to slit your belly, do it somewhere else! Er, hey, you stray cat! My dress isn’t a scratching post! Hey, don’t bite it!”

Natsuki Minamiya, confined inside the same cell, spoke with clear displeasure.

Having failed in their raid on the keystone, Natsuki and the others were being treated as sorcerous criminals by Itogami Island. Setting aside the wounded Yukina Himeragi and Koyomi Shizuka, it was only natural for the unscathed Natsuki to be detained like this.

The problem was that she was sharing a cell with the deeply depressed Sayaka and Endou’s black cat familiar.

Now that the magical link with Yukari had been cut off, Yukari’s familiar had turned into an ordinary, poorly behaved cat. On top of that, the cell interior was covered by a Cleansing barrier, so she couldn’t use even a single spell. Even Natsuki couldn’t break out, which served to build up a considerable amount of stress.

That was when a teasing voice spoke to Natsuki from the other side of the bars.

“Heya, Teach. Wow, look at you, you’re just like a captive princess. Well, you’re not quite sexy enough for the role, though.”

The man’s face had a chummy smile on it. Natsuki glared up without a word.

It was a middle-aged, well-tanned man with an impetuous look. His hair was unkempt, seemingly cut with a knife, and the stubble on his chin stood out. He wore a leather trench coat that was color coordinated with his other clothing. He looked like a member of the Mafia from days gone by, or maybe a down-on-his-luck private detective—he was Gajou Akatsuki, archeologist.

“What do you want, grave robber? I’m not lending you any money.”

Natsuki spoke with an air of heartfelt scorn. Gajou grimaced as if faintly taken aback.

“Hey, I didn’t come here to ask you for a loan. My idiot son asked me to pay you a visit.”

“Kojou Akatsuki…asked you for a favor?”

Natsuki’s eyes bulged in surprise. Her expression was that of a girl watching pigs flying through the sky.

“Hey now, you don’t have to be that surprised. I’m his father. His actual biological father!”

Gajou stressed his words, seemingly offended. Hmph, huffed Natsuki, dismissing Gajou’s objection.

“Wait, Death Returner…! Just what did you tell him?”

“Hah…ain’t you a good guesser. That’s Teach for you, huh.”

The corners of Gajou’s lips rose in a leer.

Natsuki audibly clenched her teeth. Gajou Akatsuki—aka Death Returner—was one of the scant few who’d invaded a Deva ruin and had come back alive. At a time like this, the only thing Kojou would be asking his father about was information concerning the Necropolises.

“Well, if anything, I’m more a man of action than a windbag, but the brat really insisted, so I talked to him a bit about old times.”

Deftly evading Natsuki’s follow-up, Gajou kept rambling with no small measure of pride. Apparently he was quite pleased his son had depended on him for something.

“…Your son intends to begin something with MAR?”

Natsuki inquired, making a point of cutting Gajou’s long explanation short.

“Why don’t you find out with your own two eyes?”

Gajou made a pleasant sound in his throat as he touched the door on the detention cell’s lock. Cliiiiick, echoed a creepy little metallic sound as the resilient lock opened at once.

Gajou Akatsuki had come back from the Necropolis, but even at present, his body still straddled the border between the real world and another. Putting his hand right inside the metallic object and forcing the mechanical cylinder lock open was about as difficult for him as tearing a stretched-out plastic bag from the nearest supermarket.

“Well, as his guardian, it would feel better to have Teach taking good care of him. And you, as a bridal candidate for my son, you need to show off your good side, right?”

Guiding Natsuki and company out of the cell, Gajou made a conceited wink. Sayaka’s cheeks reddened at the mention of being his son’s bride. Oh no, I couldn’t, she thought, blushing as Natsuki sighed with deep annoyance.

“Obsessed parent.”

Smacked straight in the face by Natsuki’s insult, Gajou raised his eyebrows with amusement.

“Ain’t denying it.”

As he spoke, Gajou picked up the black cat playing around with Natsuki’s dress in one fell swoop.