kscans

Chapter 254 - What Friends Are

I spoke up.

"You intend to take Rumily with you? And what does that have to do with bacteria?"

Kuroda replied.

"...There is only one dose of the antidote for this particular bacteria. Naturally, this hospital doesn’t have it, and we can’t procure it. ...From the hospital’s perspective, they can’t simply keep a patient with a potentially airborne pathogen of unknown origin. No matter what I say."

After a moment of thought, I asked, "...So you’re using that as leverage to take Rumily to your own research facility and experiment on her?"

I was getting irritated.

They were going to such lengths to take her. It was obvious they planned to conduct human experiments that completely disregarded her rights. In truth, Rumily wasn’t from this world, and she possessed supernatural powers like magic and skills.

There were probably countless scientists who would jump at the chance to study her.

Kuroda continued.

"That’s not all. They likely intended to use her as a hostage to monopolize travel to the other world and its goods. They hold the only means of curing her. There could be no greater threat."

He sighed.

...For me, listening to this was infuriating beyond belief. The other four wore similar expressions. Milfy, in particular, was radiating an aura of pure rage. Kuroda, perhaps affected by it, was sweating bullets while trying to maintain his composure.

Amidst the tension, Bardos spoke up.

"...I don’t really get it. But are you saying it was okay to kill those guys from yesterday?"

To his words, which made no attempt to hide his anger, Kuroda replied.

"...Of course. I have no intention of showing mercy to people who would use such methods to take away someone so important to me. ...After we extracted the information from them... I made sure to tie up the loose ends."

He had a smirk on his face.

...It seemed those men had seen hell before being either buried or dumped in the ocean. Well, it was all the same to me. They tried to make my friend suffer.

I felt no sympathy for them. Hearing Kuroda’s story didn’t weigh on my heart in the slightest; in fact, it was a relief.

It was a perfectly natural human emotion.

Rumily looked down.

"...Um... It’s really okay. ...I don’t need my leg. ...I was already planning to live with just one anyway."

To this, Kuroda objected.

"...That will not do. I already have a contract with Kaikawa-san. Since I’ve received payment for his request, I have no intention of stopping, regardless of your wishes. ...And of course, we will not be conducting any so-called human experiments. What we are researching is the Reverse Slime. That alone is sufficient. ...Please, don’t you worry about a thing. Just stay here. I implore you."

He bowed his head.

...His words and actions were admirable. But for a man of the underworld, such exchanges were just business as usual. Only the naive would take them at face value. The others, however, seemed moved by his display and watched him in silence.

Their eyes seemed to say, ‘What a conscientious person.’

Milfy said, "Rumily, Mr. Kuroda is saying all this. Let’s stay here. ...It’ll be okay. If they come back, we’ll just beat them again. Right, Matilda?"

Matilda replied, "...Well, yeah. It’s a request from Milfy, after all. And honestly, I think looking after someone with only one leg would be a pain. So let’s just get you healed already."

Her words were blunt, but she seemed somewhat embarrassed.

Bardos chimed in.

"I agree with those two. ...If you go back now, you won’t be able to do anything. If you can be healed, you should be. Besides, this way I won’t get bored."

He was grinning.

I added my own thoughts.

"...I’d feel bad if I invited you all here only for nothing to happen. You can leave those guys to us."

Tina spoke with a motherly smile.

"...Everyone feels this way, Rumily. You don’t need to worry about a thing."

With tears welling in her eyes, Rumily sniffled.

"...Sniffle... Thank you." She started to cry.

...Of course she wanted her leg healed. It meant the three of them could go on living their lives together, unchanged.

Kuroda said, "...It seems we have an agreement. Now then, everyone—and I’m sorry to disappoint you, Bardos-san—regarding future attacks... I believe there won’t be any more."

I was confused.

"...? What do you mean? I can’t imagine they’d give up after just that."

Kuroda chuckled.

"Heh heh. I received a call just before coming here. The message was... ‘I crushed them.’ Based on the information we got from those men, we verified the target and sent in a special unit I have on call. ...Turns out, they were a certain small-to-medium-sized enterprise. Apparently, it was all a ploy to raise their stock prices. Naturally, I used every means at my disposal to ensure they can never reintegrate into society." He wore a wicked smile.

It seemed he had already finished the job.

"...To go that far," I said. "The people who helped you must really want those exotic goods from the other world."

Kuroda nodded. "...Of course. They are that valuable. The major corporations and politicians have all requested that I maintain a good relationship with you. ...And this served as an excellent deterrent."

An evil laugh echoed from him.

"A deterrent, huh," I mused. "...Honestly, that’s a weight off my mind. I couldn’t care less where or how those people suffer."

I mirrored his smile.

...It might sound like a terrible thing for a person to say, but they were the ones who tried to do something horrible to our friend. Whatever happened to them, they brought it on themselves.

Tina asked, "...So, may we consider ourselves safe for the time being... Mr. Kuroda?"

To this, Kuroda replied, "...But of course. My subordinates are already patrolling the hospital. Not in black suits, of course, but in attire that wouldn’t look out of place here. ...I’ve also received permission from the hospital director."

He was beaming.

"I understand," I said. "...We’ll leave everything in your hands, Mr. Kuroda. However, please understand that if we sense anything out of the ordinary, we will act."

As I pressed the point, Kuroda responded, "...Naturally. A relationship of trust is built upon mutual support. I have no objections."

I had to agree with that.

...Just leaving everything to him and waiting felt too risky. Rumily had no choice, but the rest of us would get restless if we didn’t do anything.

Bardos asked, "...So, does that mean it’s cool if I wander around the hospital whenever I feel like it?"

In response to his question, Kuroda said, "...Um, if possible, Bardos-san, I must ask you not to. You stand out far too much. There are already rumors circulating within the hospital about a giant, bear-like man. I’ve even heard that some patients’ conditions have worsened from the sheer shock of seeing you."

Bardos scratched his head.

...That made sense. I’d never heard of someone’s condition getting worse just from seeing another person walking by. The patients here must be incredibly timid.

Kuroda continued. "...If you’d like to get some exercise, there’s a sports gym outside the hospital that only staff members use. I’ll speak to the director for you. Please use that instead."

Bardos said, "...Yeah, that sounds good. If I refuse now, my body will just ache to move anyway. I’ll gladly take you up on your offer."

He had agreed.

"Thank you," Kuroda said. "...Well then, I shall take my leave. I have a number of things to attend to. ...Also, Kaikawa-san. As an apology for this incident, I will have a subordinate deliver the money from the items you won at the auction later, but are you not going to deposit it in a bank?"

To this I replied, "...It’s a considerable amount of money for a single person to have. I can’t afford to arouse suspicion."

Kuroda nodded. "...I see. In that case, allow me to introduce you to a bank with which I have connections. You should be able to deposit the money there without any issues."

He pitched it so naturally.

That’s Mr. Kuroda for you. Such a smooth operator.

"...Well, let’s talk about that after things have settled down," I said, postponing the conversation.

...Kuroda bowed once and left the room.

Sometime later, a nurse brought dinner. The menu consisted of Spaghetti Napolitan, corn soup, and chicken teriyaki. Furthermore, a basket was filled to the brim with a wide variety of breads. The spread was as luxurious as what you’d find in a high-class hotel.

...Bardos devoured ten pieces of bread. I had five, and Tina and the other women had about three each.

...After that, nothing of note happened, and we each spent the time as we pleased.

..The next day.

We had been staying in the same room to act as guards, but out of consideration for the men—namely, myself and Bardos—they had prepared a separate room for us. It was close to Rumily’s, with the same interior design.

The men stayed there. Tina and the others were living in Rumily’s room on temporary cots.