kscans

Chapter 242 - Negotiations with Kuroda

I returned to the regional city of Alum and immediately headed for the teleportation circle in my house.

I was about to go, but then I remembered it was daytime. The flow of time was the same in this world and on Earth. And my house was currently under renovation. There were bound to be workers there.

But I wasn't about to wait until nightfall.

He had his own schedule to consider. There's a limit to how much you can impose, even on a valued client. So, steeling myself, I went back to my family home.

Upon returning to Earth, the first thing I saw was the transformed figure of my house.

Well, the shape itself hadn't changed, but the exterior shone like a brand-new building. There was no luggage or work equipment around, giving off a strong sense of completion.

When I looked inside, the old tatami mats and shoji screens were new. Every room was spotless. Furniture had been set up—a desk and a floor chair were in place. In another room, there was even a state-of-the-art massage chair.

I had ordered it, but they'd even set it up for me.

The kitchen was also equipped with the latest appliances. The toilet was a modern Western-style one. Furthermore, the bathroom was three times its previous size, a spacious wooden design with two shower heads. The temperature control unit was also large, not something you'd typically find in a single-family home.

Everything, from top to bottom, was brand new. I certainly hadn't asked for this much. The bath was about the only thing I'd specifically requested.

Which meant... I activated 'Analysis.'

Everything had been replaced, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

I picked up the new phone, which also had a fax machine, and made a call to a certain person.

After a few rings...

"So, what do you think? Your impressions of the new house?"

To his first words, I replied, "I knew it was you, Mr. Kuroda. The result is so far beyond what I ordered that my eyes nearly popped out of my head."

When I joked, Kuroda said, "I'm glad you're pleased. I'm grateful to you, after all. Please consider it a small token of my thanks. Oh, and rest assured, I haven't installed any cameras or the like."

To his seemingly clairvoyant statement, I replied, "I already checked for that, so I'm not worried. And the reason I called this time is, of course, about the house, but also... I want to negotiate with you, Mr. Kuroda."

Kuroda's atmosphere changed, so much that I could feel it even over the phone. "Negotiate? This is a first from you. Where shall we speak?"

After a moment's thought, I said, "Since you know where my house is, there's no reason to hide. If it's convenient for you, I'd like you to come here. I desperately need your help, Mr. Kuroda."

Kuroda considered for a moment. "Understood. I will be there shortly."

Surprised by his speed, I asked, "Shortly? Don't you have plans, Mr. Kuroda?"

Kuroda let out a smug chuckle. "Not a problem. My plans are nothing more than trivial chores. I can have someone else handle them without issue."

I was relieved. "Then I'll be waiting."

I hung up the phone.

I placed the two items from the garden inside the house and waited for Kuroda.

A short while later, I heard the sound of a car.

When I went to the entrance, a black Rolls-Royce had arrived. A man in dark glasses emerged from the driver's seat and opened the rear door.

Kuroda appeared, flanked by two bodyguards in black suits.

"I've been waiting for you," I said. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

To my greeting, Kuroda replied, "Don't mention it. I was quite interested myself. In your negotiation."

He smiled.

As expected of a manager from the underworld. His guts, or rather, his composure, were solid. I invited my guests into the house.

In the guest room, I poured hot water from a pot to make tea and served it to the three of them.

Kuroda took a small sip before asking, "So? What is this negotiation about?"

I took a breath to compose myself. "I'll get straight to the point. I would like to ask for your help in providing a prosthetic leg, as well as the equipment and personnel to attach it."

I bowed my head.

The two men in black looked puzzled.

Kuroda looked at me as if sizing me up. "Hmm. From the looks of it, you're not the one who's lost a limb. An important person, or perhaps a friend? Someone who can't be treated at a public hospital... An Otherworlder, perhaps?"

He seemed to have guessed, so I said, "It helps that you catch on quickly. You're right. That girl has no health insurance card or residence certificate. And she has no way to prove her identity. I don't know anyone else I can turn to but you, Mr. Kuroda."

I bowed my head again.

Kuroda thought for a moment. "Would you mind telling me the circumstances? Even I am reluctant to take on a job I know nothing about. Is that acceptable?"

I steeled myself. "Understood. It's a long story, but I'll try to keep it brief."

I then told him about the war in the other world.

The massive army of monsters, the war against various nations, the serious injuries sustained as a result, and the fact that their medical field has no concept of prosthetics.

When I finished, the two men in black looked bewildered. Of course they did. A story like this sounded like something out of a children's play.

Kuroda sipped his tea. "I see. That sounds difficult, to say the least. In fact, I'm glad you survived. If you had died, the new house would have been meaningless, and we would have lost access to future goods."

His face showed relief.

His frank reaction was a relief to me as well. If he had said, 'I was worried about you,' it would have been incredibly suspicious. There's nothing more reassuring than an honest sentiment.

One of the men in black spoke up. "Manager, do you believe this story? It's true that the items he has provided so far have been inexplicable. But to go so far as to say another world..."

He trailed off.

The other man in black felt the same.

Kuroda looked serious. "I haven't believed it blindly. You are probably aware, but I had hidden cameras installed at the work site. And there, it was captured. You and the woman with you, vanishing in an instant. Of course, I had the place checked, but there was nothing there."

"Pardon my intrusion, but I also investigated your family history. It turns out your great-grandfather obtained some strange foreign books. Again, pardon the liberty, but I had the storehouse searched under the pretext of cleaning, and found nothing but incomprehensible things like foreign magic books and alchemy texts. I tried to read them, but the content was impossible to grasp."

To this, I asked, "Mr. Kuroda, you can read foreign languages?"

Kuroda looked proud. "Yes, I travel not only within Japan but to various countries abroad, so I know a fair amount. That's why I understand. Those were meaningless books. But what if one were to extract only the truth from among them..."

At Kuroda's smile, I said, "Exactly. In my family line, the first to use it was my great-grandfather. After him, my grandfather. But my grandfather went only once and never returned. In my case, it was by chance and for fun."

Kuroda seemed impressed. "Hoh. I'd like to hear more about that. But let's save it for another time. To get back to the main topic. That girl, Rumily-san, was it? We will arrange for the prosthetic leg, the equipment, and the doctor. But since this is a negotiation, you must have prepared something, yes?"

I placed a sealed box on the table.

When I opened the lid, there was a stone inside.

Kuroda stared at it. "An ordinary stone. It doesn't seem to be, though. Is it special in some way?"

Without a word, I turned on the light.

The stone began to discharge electricity, crackling with a bachi bachi sound. This surprised not only the two men in black but Kuroda as well.

"This is called a Thunder Stone," I explained. "As you can see, it emits electricity when exposed to light. Over there, magicians use it, but here, if you connect it to a machine, you can get a considerable amount of power. I don't know how many volts it can produce."

I closed the box.

"Incredible," Kuroda said. "In a way, it might be limitless. This alone is worth a great deal."

He was smiling.

I stood up. "But since I don't know how useful it will be, I've prepared one more thing."

I opened the shoji screen behind me.

There, in a cage, was the Reverse Slime. Kuroda and his two men approached.

The bodyguard said, "What is this? Water jelly? But it's moving. And this thing... could it be, a Slime?"

To his question, I replied, "Correct. It's a living Slime."

The bodyguard was shocked. "What?! Seriously?! I thought it might be possible after seeing the bears and gorillas, but to this extent... But the color is different. The ones I know are supposed to be light blue, but this one is white? And... I feel something sacred from it."

He was mesmerized.

Kuroda also looked at it intently. "As he says, I feel something divine about it. This is no ordinary Slime, is it?"

At his perceptiveness, I said, "You've guessed correctly. Please come this way."

I brought the cage out to the garden.

Kuroda and his men sat on the veranda.

I opened the cage and let the Reverse Slime out. I picked up an axe I had hidden in the bushes and struck the Reverse Slime.

The Reverse Slime, split in half, immediately rejoined.

"As you can see," I said. "This is a Reverse Slime. A monster specialized in regeneration. Over there, it's called an immortal monster. And that's not all. It heals others who are injured or sick."

I pressed the axe against my left arm and scraped it.

Blood spurted from my left arm. The Reverse Slime saw me and leaped onto my arm.

Two seconds later, the Reverse Slime detached itself. The wound on my arm was gone.

The bodyguard said, "What incredible healing power. But is it real? I seem to recall a magic trick like this in the old days..."

He was trying to remember an old magician's trick.

I smiled. "I thought you might say that. Mr. Kuroda, your bodyguard has one, doesn't he? A weapon?"

The tense bodyguard looked at Kuroda.

Kuroda nodded. He took a pistol from his pocket. It looked like a Tokarev.

"Please shoot me somewhere on my body with that," I said. "That should prove it."

To this, Kuroda replied, "No, that still lacks certainty. You, shoot his leg."

He ordered the bodyguard with the gun to shoot the other bodyguard.

"Understood," the bodyguard said. "Don't move."

He raised the gun.

The other bodyguard stood at attention, resolved. ZDOOON! The gunshot echoed.

The bodyguard clutched his right leg. The Reverse Slime, instantly sensing it, approached the bodyguard and leaped onto his right leg.

Two seconds later, the Reverse Slime detached itself.

The bodyguard who was shot said, "Huh? The pain is gone. And there's no wound."

He touched his right leg.

The mark was gone, as if it had never been there in the first place. Furthermore, the Reverse Slime spat something out.

It was a bullet. It seemed to have removed the one that had been in the bodyguard's right leg.

"I didn't feel anything being taken out," the bodyguard reported.

Kuroda stood up. "Wonderful! To think such a monster exists! This will not just revolutionize the medical world; it will give birth to a new field of medicine!"

He was elated.

The two bodyguards were also staring at the leg in a daze.

"I'm glad you're pleased," I said. "Now then, Mr. Kuroda. May we begin negotiations?"

Kuroda, breathing heavily with excitement, said, "Oh, my apologies. How unlike me. There is no problem. In fact, for items like these, the terms we discussed earlier are far too cheap. How about this? Instead of a prosthetic leg, why don't we attach a real one?"

Kuroda smiled.