Chapter 30: It’s Fine, No Problem
Kazuma, having performed a torture-like de-brainwashing on Stephen, headed towards Sakura Hakanai with Alicia.
“Seriously… I wasn’t brainwashed, and I didn’t even come face-to-face with her!”
“No, I’m really sorry. I’ll make it up to you next time, so please forgive me.”
Kazuma had been trying to undo Stephen’s brainwashing with electric shocks, but partway through, he heard that Stephen hadn’t even encountered Sakura Hakanai and thus wasn’t brainwashed, so he hastily stopped.
Stephen, who had suffered terribly due to a ridiculous misunderstanding, was extremely furious.
It was only natural for Stephen to be angry, as he had repeatedly hovered on the brink of death from electric shocks, only to be jolted back each time by what could only be called miraculous Recovery Magic.
However, the fact that he was merely angry and didn’t blame Kazuma too much showed Stephen’s good nature.
Despite the treatment being something that would normally make someone distance themselves out of fear and even break off ties, his ability to stay by Kazuma’s side spoke volumes about his mental fortitude.
“(It was worth enduring! With this, maybe I can get him to liberate American territory, no, its coastal waters? For starters, Hawaii, which has completely become an Ibinom nest…)”
Of course, it wasn’t like he was a fundamentally good person.
Stephen’s actions were also based on calculation.
Enduring the electric shocks multiple times was truly impressive.
He wished Japan could learn a thing or two about grit like that.
Along the way, Kazuma had seen through Stephen’s strange thoughts, but due to his earlier transgression, he didn’t pursue the matter.
Besides, Kazuma predicted that he would probably just be made to work a little for America’s benefit.
Kazuma had a detached view, thinking that much wouldn’t bother him at all.
“Hey, Kazuma. What kind of woman is Yumemiya Sakura Hakanai?”
On their way to the prison where Sakura Hakanai was incarcerated, Alicia asked about her out of curiosity.
It was natural that Alicia didn’t know about Sakura Hakanai, but why was she so interested?
It was simply because she wanted to know what kind of person this woman Kazuma detested was.
“Hmm, I guess she’s what you’d call a Vixen in Japan. Unlike a ‘dorobou-neko’—which is more like a man-stealer—a Vixen is a woman who deceives men in general, but that woman is probably worse than that. Maybe on par with, or even worse than, the wicked women who’ve left their mark on history.”
“Huh. Was she beautiful?”
“Well, in terms of looks, she’d rank among the top of all the women I’ve met. An ordinary man could probably be easily seduced by her, don’t you think?”
“Weren’t you seduced, Kazuma? I heard you met her when you were interrogated.”
“I’ve seen plenty of similar women. I knew right away she was bad news, somehow.”
“What do you mean by that? That you’ve met many women like Sakura Hakanai?”
“…………Exactly what it sounds like. They’d try to sweet-talk me, then poison me, or set traps for me, or pull Honey Traps on me… all sorts of things happened.”
Alicia frowned dubiously at Kazuma, who had a distant look in his eyes.
She had received information about Kazuma from America, so she was aware of everything from his friendships to his romantic partners.
However, nothing like what Kazuma was saying was recorded in her files.
If assassinations, Honey Traps, and the like had happened to Kazuma, they should definitely have been recorded.
After all, it would be definitive proof that Honey Traps were effective.
“Hey, Kazuma. Is that story true?”
“…Ah. Right. I guess I haven’t told you. I’m a magician who returned from another world.”
“”Huh?””
Alicia and Stephen were dumbfounded by Kazuma’s outlandish statement.
“And I was often targeted for assassination in that other world.”
“W-Wait a minute, Mr. Satsuki. Let me get this straight. What do you mean, ‘another world’?”
“It means exactly what it sounds like. You know, you see it a lot in Japanese anime, right? I actually did that.”
“I’d normally ask if you hit your head, but… knowing Mr. Satsuki’s absurd power, I can’t really say anything…”
“Could it be that the reason you’re so strong, Kazuma, is because you went to another world?”
“That’s right. Believe it or not, I actually have a track record of defeating a Demon Lord.”
“…I doubt the President would believe me even if I told him.”
“Just so you know, don’t tell anyone else. I’m telling you this because I trust you guys.”
Kazuma hadn’t meant anything particularly deep by it, but Stephen grandly misunderstood.
Stephen, misinterpreting it as Kazuma saying he would cut ties if they told anyone, gulped.
“(I’ll take this to my grave. As they say in Japan, ‘ignorance is bliss,’ after all.)”
Stephen resolved to never speak of it for the rest of his life.
“Okay. I won’t tell anyone. By the way, Kazuma, how many people besides us know about this?”
“Hmm. My family and a very small part of the Japanese government. And then, Charlotte and Momoko-chan, I guess.”
“…………Hmph.”
Realizing yet again that other women had gotten ahead of her, Alicia pouted in dissatisfaction.
“What’s wrong? You’re puffing out your cheeks.”
“Mmph. It’s nothi~ing. More importantly, let’s hurry up and finish our business so we can go to Japan.”
And so, urged on by Alicia, the group arrived at the prison where Sakura Hakanai was incarcerated.
Strict security measures were in place, with a large number of Gifted individuals stationed there, indicating a high level of alert.
Well, that was understandable.
After all, the one imprisoned was a brainwashing user who had single-handedly driven Japan to the brink of ruin.
Kazuma and Alicia were guided to the room where she was said to be.
They arrived at a room where Sakura Hakanai’s condition was being monitored on a large number of screens.
“Are you, by any chance, monitoring her twenty-four hours a day?”
“Not ‘by any chance.’ Aside from the toilet and bath, she’s basically monitored by cameras. Also, we have robots taking care of her to prevent human contact.”
“I see. Very thorough… By the way, are there any brainwashed people here?”
“None. I wish I could say that, but there might be some lurking.”
“Aye, aye.”
Just as he had done with Stephen, Kazuma immediately prepared to administer electric shocks to the people in the monitoring room.
Seeing Kazuma start to roll up his sleeves, Stephen, who had a bad feeling, jumped in front of him with a panicked expression.
“W-Wait a minute! What are you planning to do? No, don’t tell me! You’re probably going to do what you did to me. Please, just behave yourself!”
“Huh? But…”
“I know you mean well! But please stop doing it without any warning! That’s just psychopathic!”
“If your judgment is delayed by even a second, it could be irreversible, you know?”
“You could probably take control of this place in less than a second! So, please listen to me!”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Kazuma had a painful experience trying to save brainwashed people in the other world.
The enemy, knowing Kazuma couldn’t attack humans, had resorted to the despicable tactic of turning brainwashed people into bombs and making them carry out suicide attacks.
Kazuma remembered that, but Sakura Hakanai wasn’t capable of such a feat.
Therefore, what Kazuma was worried about wouldn’t happen, but he was still inevitably concerned.
Nevertheless, faced with Stephen’s vehemence, Kazuma reluctantly decided to stop the Satsuki-ryu de-brainwashing.
“Phew… Wait here for a bit. I’ll go tell her you’ve arrived.”
“Got it.”
Then, Stephen used a microphone to speak to Sakura Hakanai in the cell specially prepared for her.
“Can you hear me, Miss Yumemiya?”
“I can hear you. What is it, handsome?”
“…I’ve called the Crimson Knight. With this, you’ll tell us about the Gift of Shindo Makoto, the founder of the Ivera Church, right?”
“I don’t mind, as long as you let me speak with him alone.”
“…Wait a moment.”
Hearing Sakura Hakanai’s request, Stephen, while grimacing in distaste, confirmed with Kazuma.
“I assume you heard… Is it okay?”
“…Well, probably. It should be fine.”
“Understood. I’ll tell her.”
Again, Stephen spoke to Sakura Hakanai over the microphone, informing her that permission had been granted for her to speak with Kazuma face-to-face.
Kazuma, having decided to speak with Sakura Hakanai, was about to follow the staff member’s guidance to her, but he returned to Stephen, saying there was something he needed to do first.
“Stephen. Got a moment?”
“Hm? What is it? Do you need something?”
“Yeah. I want you to prepare a contract. I’ll decide the contents.”
“That much is fine, but I don’t think a contract will mean anything to her…”
“It’s fine. No problem.”
“If you say so, I’ll leave it to you.”
Soon after, Stephen listened to Kazuma’s contract terms and prepared a single contract document.
“I’ll go tie that woman down with this.”
“Can you really do something like that?”
“Well, just watch.”
Just as Kazuma, having finished his preparations, was about to head to Sakura Hakanai with the staff member, Alicia called out to him.
“Kazuma! Don’t do anything weird, okay!”
“Don’t worry. I absolutely won’t.”
“Okay. I believe you!”
Waving the contract, Kazuma left the room with the staff member.