Chapter 6: Each One's Pride

Creating a quasi-blind spot by placing a target outside of people's consciousness—

Just hearing about it, you might think it's an incredibly convenient power, but it's not an invincible, flawless ability.

For example, even if you make a target imperceptible, if it makes a loud noise, my power, which is only capable of subtle manipulation, can't fully cover it up, and people around will notice its presence.

And once something is noticed, to bring it back outside of consciousness again, a troublesome procedure arises: I have to eliminate attention towards that target.

In the current case, I had taken the targeted man outside the consciousness of the bodyguards who were pursuing him, but the targeted man attacked a passerby, making a noise.

Therefore, my unique ability couldn't fully cover it up, and against my will, the blind spot was解除 (kaijo - cancelled/released), and it became perceptible again. This situation led to me allowing the men to regroup.

The plan to attack him when he was alone had gone awry, but it’s not like it makes much difference if the number of ordinary people without unique abilities increases by a few.

I deprived the bodyguards of consciousness and extracted as much information as possible from the targeted man.

After that, leaving bad guys just lying around would be harmful to those nearby, so I messed with them a little so they wouldn't cause trouble for others.

If I consistently do good deeds like this in small ways, surely good fortune will come back to me in due course.

Specifically, I want friends.

…Well, anyway, setting that aside.

The targeted man seemed to be more deeply involved in the incident than I had thought, and he gave me more information than I had expected.

For example, as I had predicted, they were using a unique ability user called “Ziryuu” to commit the kidnapping incidents.

And the parent organization of the group carrying out these kidnapping incidents has its headquarters overseas, and they are using the abducted children for experiments.

This man didn't know the details of the experiments, but he did know the location where the children were being held. Apparently, orders had been issued from headquarters to contact the parents of the kidnapped children, instruct them to commit crimes, and cause as much chaos as possible within Japan.

It's somewhat complicated, but it's enough to know that there are a lot of bad guys and that their associates include multiple unique ability users.

Even I, who can handle ordinary people however I want, don't have the confidence that I could definitely win if I were told to fight against my own kind.

For now, I do want to do my best to resolve this incident that is throwing my country into chaos, but I don't want to think about fighting their headquarters organization.

At best, I’ll just brainwash everyone in the branch office and guide them to leave this country.

Assuming that's roughly how I'll deal with things in the future, right now, I need to worry about “Ziryuu,” the one I have to confront directly.

“Ziryuu”—his true identity is a man with the unique ability to manipulate smoke.

His kidnapping method is to infiltrate homes, concealed within thinly stretched smoke, and abduct children by storing them in the smoke.

It's a unique ability that makes the police cry, leaving behind no fingerprints or traces, but if you were to confront him directly, his threat would be terrifying.

For me, with a unique ability that only interferes with the mind, to win against him, I need to prepare beforehand.

In other words, I need to use either a surprise attack or a decoy.

Fortunately, I had the means for both.

◆◆◆

"Thank you so much…! It's all thanks to you, Satori-san, that my daughter is safe…! Oh, I'm so glad she's safe…! To think there are people who would hurt children like this in broad daylight…! If you hadn't happened to pass by, Satori-san, I don't know what would have happened…"

"Y-yes, really. This world is getting so dangerous, it's awful…"

A woman who said she was a housekeeper was looking at the girl lying on the hospital bed, tears streaming down her face.

She was desperately conveying her gratitude, but I couldn't honestly accept her thanks. On the contrary, I felt so awkward that I averted my eyes.

"Her husband is on his way to the hospital now too, so please tell him the details. She's his only daughter, so he must be rushing here in a panic."

"Ah, ah, um, I, I'm in a hurry, so… I'm relieved she's safe, so I'll leave it here."

After extracting the information, I was inwardly pleased with the results I had obtained, but then I noticed a groan coming from the ground.

A girl, her clothes tattered and bleeding from various parts of her body, was lying there, and her injuries seemed quite serious, as she was almost unconscious.

Seeing the blood-soaked girl who looked vaguely familiar, I was shaken. I hurriedly called an ambulance and stayed there to somehow try to help her, and as a result, I ended up staying at the hospital until her guardian rushed over.

Afterwards, when I briefly explained the situation when I found her to the housekeeper who had rushed to the hospital as her guardian, she started thanking me with such force that it seemed like she would rub her head against the floor.

Originally, if I had just dealt with that man thoroughly in the first place, she wouldn't have been injured, and even this outcome wasn't because I had intentionally defeated those guys to save her from being attacked.

Honestly, this whole incident was something that could have been avoided and resolved without injury.

Being thanked effusively for something like that didn't feel comfortable.

Feeling awkward at the housekeeper's words of gratitude, I fled the hospital as if running away from the housekeeper who was trying to detain me.

"Phew, that was a weird sweat… Still, to commit assault so easily, the organization behind the kidnapping incident might be quite idiotic…"

If that's the case, it would be easier for me, who is working to end this incident, but then the question becomes, why can't the police catch their tail?

If I have to consider the possibility of informants, collaborators, or collusion, then cooperating with the police organization becomes an absolutely impossible option.

(…Well, I can trust that officer though.)

If I've decided to end it with a surprise attack, the sooner the better.

If they realize that someone with the same unique ability as them has started to move, that "Ziryuu" guy involved in this incident will probably start being cautious.

The other people without unique abilities can be left to the police to handle, so if I just defeat him, that one with the unique talent that the police can't cope with, that should be enough.

Among the information I had dragged out were "means to contact the unique ability user called 'Ziryuu'" and "location to hand over the kidnapped children/next scheduled time."

If I use those, I should be able to launch a one-sided attack. So, ideally, the best thing would be to immediately make use of the information I obtained to create an advantageous situation and round them up all at once, but… I do a lot of housework at home, and my family would fall apart if I were to just disappear.

Even today, I have dinner to prepare, and laundry that's been hung out to dry to bring in.

I can't secure a lot of time immediately, and even to take action, I need to properly adjust my schedule and make preparations.

Even though I have all the cards for attack, it's not like I can just rush in immediately.

So, I concluded that it would be best to wait and see for a while until I can adjust my schedule. As I was about to turn around and head home with that thought,

"Ah, Nee-chan."

"Eh, Kirika-chan's older sister?"

"!? "

My sister and her friends, who seemed to be on their way home from school, appeared right in front of me.

I can't escape.

I hurriedly turned off my unique ability to avoid reading my sister's mind.

Kirika's face, which had been relaxed as if she had been having a fun conversation just moments ago, gradually became stern as she met my eyes.

…Is this how fathers with rebellious daughters feel?

The girl next to my sister, whose face quickly turned into the familiar displeased expression, was probably Kirika's friend, I guessed, and greeted her.

"A-ah, w-wow… Kirika and, a friend? I, I'm Kirika's sister, Rinka, nice to meet you."

"Um, I'm Yuri, Kirika-chan's friend. I'm the one who's been helped by Kirika-chan…"

I was flustered by my sister's friend, whom I was seeing for the first time.

W-well, it's normal for Kirika to make friends since she doesn't necessarily act rebellious towards anyone other than me, but somewhere in my heart, I had thought that my sister, like me, had few friends, so I was a little shocked.

"Is this the older sister Kirika-chan mentioned before? She doesn't talk about you much usually, but the older sister she talks about in her stories seems a bit different from this…"

"Eh? What did you say just now?"

"Umm…!! More importantly, Nee-chan!! I don't need dinner today! I'm staying overnight at Yuri's friend's house!"

"…Huh?"

I was stunned for a few seconds at my sister's sudden declaration, and when I checked with my gaze, both my sister and Yuri-san nodded timidly, and I realized that the conversation had progressed quite far.

"I've already told Dad."

"H-hey, wait, Kirika."

"See ya."

"E-excuse me!"

Left behind by my sister and her friends, who quickly left, I stood there frozen, my hand still outstretched in bewilderment.

After a few seconds, I sluggishly opened my phone and saw a message from Dad from past noon, saying that Kirika would be staying overnight at a friend's house, and that she wouldn't need dinner because she would be late.

Come to think of it, the movie outing Kirika had been planning for a while was tomorrow, so it's probably normal for her to stay over at the friend's house she's going with.

I've never made friends like that, so probably, but still.

"…………"

It was my oversight. No one else is to blame.

I’ll have to consume the groceries I'm holding sometime after tomorrow….

"………………"

My schedule is open.

Suddenly, I have a whole day free.

"…Alright, let's do it today."

To fill the suddenly free time, I decided to finish resolving the kidnapping incident being carried out by "Ziryuu."

Thinking I would unleash all the pent-up anger within me, I took out the mobile phone I had taken from the assaulting man earlier.

◆◆◆

Kagurazaka Kamiya, belonging to the Traffic Division of Himuro Police Station, was a police officer who was shunned by his colleagues.

Just a few years ago, he was an elite officer working at headquarters, belonging to Public Security, but due to a certain incident, his approach changed drastically, and he began to publicly declare the existence of things that were scientifically impossible.

Because of the nature of the incident that triggered it, initially, those around him sympathized with Kagurazaka and earnestly tried to dissuade him, but after about half a year, they began to treat him as abnormal for not changing his views and distanced themselves from him.

As time passed and Kagurazaka didn't change his attitude, he, who was more than capable enough in terms of ability, was transferred from headquarters to another department and assigned to the Traffic Division, which is less likely to be involved in heinous criminal incidents.

A fall from the elite track.

He was treated as an abnormal person by his colleagues at the transferred Himuro Police Station and was distanced from them, making his work environment close to the worst possible.

Even in such an environment, he diligently carried out the busy workload of the Traffic Division, poked his nose into various incidents that occurred in Himuro Ward, and used his inherent excellence to lead the cases to resolution faster than the police officers in charge.

And he had continued to search for "unscientific elements" hidden within the cases he was involved in.

His attitude quickly made not only police officers in criminal investigation but also police officers in the same Traffic Division look at him coldly.

He had come to be badmouthed as an "abnormal person" or a "fallen star."

--- However, his core had remained unchanged since long ago.

Nothing had changed, not even one thing, from before the incident that is said to have triggered it—in reality.

"…Is the next one here?"

The sun had set, and at this hour, without lights, you couldn't properly discern your surroundings.

Kagurazaka was walking around abandoned, deserted buildings one by one.

It was outside of his working hours.

In plain clothes, without even decent weapons, he was investigating potentially dangerous places, disregarding his own safety.

His only goal was to find those involved in the kidnapping incident and return the abducted children safely to their parents.

For that purpose, he was willing to do things that wouldn't be commendable as a police officer, even things close to criminal acts.

"This place is big… Was it a warehouse that used to be a logistics hub?"

With a small flashlight clamped in his mouth, he flipped up a dust-covered blue tarp.

There was nothing remarkable, just lumber left abandoned.

He had visited many places so far, but had gained almost no results.

He sighed and took out a map from his pocket, marking an "X" on it.

This was the fifth place today alone.

It was far from home, and it would take an hour to get back.

Judging that it would be impossible to search for another place, Kagurazaka extinguished the flashlight clamped in his mouth in the darkness and left the warehouse.

(…There are signs that people were here, but no traces that seem to be related to the incident. At most, it's likely a hangout for neighborhood brats. …However, there's a possibility that it was used as a location for the incident. This requires careful judgment… damn it, I can't rule it out from the candidates at all. Is there really any meaning to this inefficient effort!?)

He scratched his head roughly in frustration, stifling a yawn for what must have been the umpteenth time.

He felt like abandoning the search of abandoned places, which was yielding no results, but each time, he remembered the weeping faces of the parents whose children had been kidnapped and gritted his teeth.

Because the police lack power, the investigation isn't progressing.

Because the police lack credibility, the victims are being threatened and committing crimes.

Kagurazaka couldn't just stand idly by and watch the current situation.

No matter how small the step, even if he hadn't progressed even a millimeter, anything was fine as long as the incident was resolved.

This man, a good person from the core, foolishly honest, would never break his own core principles.

That's why he doesn't stop walking and continues to push forward with the investigation, all alone.

(Damn it, two nights without sleep is really tough… I almost lost consciousness for a moment there.)

Kagurazaka, who had been heading home with such faltering steps, stopped as soon as he left the warehouse.

--- What he felt first was a sweet scent.

He stopped in his tracks at the scent, which he hadn't noticed when entering, because it closely resembled the scent he had smelled once before, when he was able to enter a kidnapping site immediately after the incident occurred.

(A sweet scent… At that time, I only faintly sensed it and couldn't tell what kind of scent it was, but this is, tobacco?)

Looking around to find the source of the scent, he found it immediately.

A man was leaning against the wall of the warehouse, smoking a cigarette while talking on the phone.

A slender man, around middle age.

He didn't seem to have the muscle strength to drag children around, nor did he have the aura of terrible malice of the heinous criminals he had faced before.

He looked like just an ordinary person, just a man smoking a cigarette and talking on the phone here.

The only connection to the incident was the scent emitted by the cigarette.

Ordinary police officers probably wouldn't even suspect anything with just this.

"Kulaan brand, Green Apple, is it… You're smoking imported cigarettes, that's unusual."

"---? Ah, oh, what's this all of a sudden!?"

However, it wasn't an ordinary police officer who had found it.

It was a police officer who was too capable, whose yardstick was broken, called "abnormal" even by his colleagues.

Just by smelling the scent, he identified the brand, and judged from his clothes and mobile phone that he was a man with money.

From his attitude when spoken to, he predicted that he was a timid person, and decided to bluff to compensate for his limited cards.

"Using the same thing to commit crimes, you must have been very confident, but you did something foolish. The scent is the same. Your workmates, being concerned for their own skins, have spilled the beans, about your methods and the organization behind you."

"Wh-what… what are you saying…? N-no, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't understand what you're saying!"

"You underestimated the police. Did you think you'd be invincible if you had 'that kind of power'? Did you think the police haven't created a department to deal with 'that kind of power'? A department to solve supernatural cases, not made public to the world, does exist, and your trail has been tracked for quite some time now."

"N-no… damn it, that's not it! I didn't do anything! I'm not particularly—!!"

His attitude was clearly suspicious, but there was still no definitive evidence.

Kagurazaka gritted his teeth, wanting to press him further, but in reality, what he knew was far too little.

Judging that it was impossible to press any further, Kagurazaka decided to look for a different angle.

"However, though. Honestly, it's difficult to judge your power under the law. The reason I'm contacting you late at night like this is to ask for your cooperation. What you did is unforgivable, but if you cooperate and provide evidence against the organization behind you, I'll consider it. We also don't really want to make powers like yours public to the world."

"Ugh… I, I am… hahaha, hahahahaha!!"

The man, his face contorted, stepped back, stammering, but then, as if realizing something, started laughing.

"---Fool, you just said something foolish! 'We don't want to make it public to the world'!? That means the number of people who know about these powers is limited! What department, what police! With the idea that you don't want to make public to the world inconvenient truths that could undermine the foundation of law now, this country is already finished!"

"Oh, really… This country, aren't you being quite dramatic?"

"Dramatic, my ass! We don't need an era where incompetents like you are rampant anymore. A world where only those with true talent rule is coming soon! ----In other words, my answer is! I won't cooperate with you guys who are nothing but a sinking ship! If I shut your mouth here and have pressure put on the police, no one will be able to solve this incident after all!!"

Judging that the situation wasn't all bad, or perhaps having resigned himself to his fate, he started rattling off, completely different from his previous attitude.

He didn't know the purpose of the organization behind this man, but he was clear on what kind of spiel this man had been taken in by.

He wouldn't be able to arrest this man as the kidnapper anyway.

Naturally, because there was a lack of evidence for everything.

Therefore, he had already heard everything he wanted to hear.

"You won't cooperate, huh. In that case, I'll have to arrest you here."

"Hee, heehee! In the first place, how are you going to prove how I did it!? This country is a rule-of-law state that blindly believes in things like science!! Even if you figure out the method, if you can't prove it scientifically, there's nothing you can do!! You guys can't hold me accountable for any crime! There's no evidence anywhere that I was involved in the kidnapping incident!!"

"…What are you saying—you just gave me the evidence yourself."

"…Huh?" Kagurazaka, suppressing the tremor in his body with elation that the dumbfounded man had fallen for his bluff, played the recorded audio.

The audio recording of the conversation from when Kagurazaka called out to him until now played, and the man's laughing face paled rapidly.

"I haven't said 'kidnapping incident' even once. This audio recording will be the starting point of the investigation, and solid evidence will come out from what you possess from now on. You probably won't be arrested as the direct kidnapper, but as a person involved, it's a different story."

"Hah… haha…, y-you, you tricked me…? For the police to do something like this…"

Kagurazaka, gripping the man's shoulder with a tenacious grip, bared his fangs and laughed fiendishly.

"Hahaha. Come on now, where in the world are there police officers who are gentle to criminals when victims are still crying?"

"Abnormal person," Kagurazaka Kamiya absolutely never forgives despicable criminals.

That remains unchanged even if they are people who wield unscientific powers.