Unlike those controlled by sorcery, this man wasn't acting crazed or mindless. He still had his own thoughts—at least enough to beg for mercy.
There were no signs of a cursed technique on his body, nor any lingering traces of cursed energy.
With a dark expression, Suguru Geto asked, "Why… why would you do something like this?"
"I won't do it again, please let me go… huh?"
The ragged middle-aged man, still pleading desperately, froze when he heard Geto's question. After hesitating for a moment, he stammered, "B-Because… isn't everyone doing stuff like this lately?"
As if he had found an excuse for himself, his voice grew louder, and his dry lips trembled as he rushed to justify his actions.
"Y-Yeah! It's their fault! They're way worse than me! Those people are out there killing random strangers! All I did was try to have some fun with this woman!"
"If those murderers hadn't started it, I wouldn't have done this either! They're the real monsters! What I did… it's not unforgivable, right?"
A glimmer of hope flashed in the man's eyes, as if he truly believed his own argument made sense.
"…So just because others are committing crimes, you think it's okay to do the same?" Geto's eyes darkened as he lowered his gaze.
How disgusting.
But the words on the tip of his tongue never left his lips.
Pushing down the sickening feeling in his gut, Suguru Geto turned away and reached out a hand toward the young woman, who had collapsed to the ground.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm... I'm fine..."
The young woman hurriedly adjusted her torn clothing, still shaken with fear.
She grasped the hand of the handsome young man in front of her and, with his support, slowly stood up, her legs still trembling.
"As a girl, it's best not to be out so late. Things haven't been very safe around here lately," Suguru Geto advised gently.
"I... I work as a bartender at a nearby bar. I was just heading home after my shift, but then... out of nowhere, a strange man jumped out from an alley and dragged me in..."
Her voice trembled as she spoke, tears still glistening in the corners of her eyes. The streaks of tears had smudged her carefully applied makeup.
"Well, it's all over now. You should head home. I'll take care of things here," Suguru Geto said with a reassuring smile, trying his best to calm her down.
After a while, the young woman finally regained her composure. She gave the bun-haired boy a grateful nod and thanked him.
But then, as if noticing something on his face, she hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Um... Are you okay?" she asked with concern.
"Hm?" Suguru Geto blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"You have really dark circles under your eyes... and you look exhausted." She pointed to her own eyes as she spoke.
"Oh, that..." Suguru Geto paused for a moment, as if convincing himself before replying, "It's just the summer heat. Nothing to worry about. Thanks for asking."
"I-Is that so? Well, alright then..."
She didn't quite believe him—he really didn't look fine at all. But seeing how certain he was, she chose not to press the matter. After thanking him again, she turned and left.
The man at his feet was still groaning and begging for mercy. Annoyed by the noise, Suguru Geto knocked him out cold and dragged him to the roadside, waiting for the police to take him away.
The night grew darker, and the air felt thick and stifling, making it hard to breathe. A swarm of bugs hovered around the streetlights.
Standing by the road, Suguru Geto tilted his head back, watching the insects repeatedly crash into the glowing light.
For a brief moment, the streetlight seemed to shift in his vision, transforming into a roaring fire.
One by one, the bugs flew straight into the flames, their tiny bodies igniting instantly. In the blink of an eye, they were gone—reduced to nothing, not even ashes left behind.
What I see isn't unusual.
It's just the ugliness everyone knows exists.
That thought echoed in his mind.
A sudden wail of sirens, accompanied by the glare of flashing lights, pulled Suguru Geto back to reality.
A police car slowly came to a stop in front of him, and a young officer stepped out.
The moment the officer saw who had made the report, his face twisted in disbelief.
"...You again?" he blurted out.
His gaze shifted to the unconscious, scruffy-looking middle-aged man lying at Suguru Geto's feet.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
"This guy had a knife and tried to attack a young woman," Suguru Geto stated matter-of-factly. "I stopped him. The girl has already gone home."
"..."
Sure, Tokyo's crime rate had been rising lately...
But this guy was calling the police way too often.
And every single time, he had already handled the situation before reporting it—leaving the cops to just show up and clean up the mess. It was making the Tokyo police force look useless.
After a long pause, the young officer finally sighed and said, "Alright, come with me to file a report."
Honestly, he didn't even feel like making Suguru Geto do paperwork anymore. He also didn't bother asking about the missing key witness—the young woman—because, at this point, this guy had been to the station so many times that his statements were basically always accurate.
Some of the incidents had even happened in broad daylight, with Suguru Geto stepping in to stop them.
If he hadn't refused, the police station would've already given him a commendation.
At this point, he was practically a regular.
Besides, the senior officers had given the younger ones a very specific instruction:
If you see someone wearing that school uniform—or if you notice the same golden buttons as the ones on that uniform—just make things easy for them.
The young officer didn't really get why.
But orders were orders.
Less talking, more doing—that was his way of surviving on the job.
Before the young officer could finish speaking, the boy with the bun had already opened the back door of the police car and tossed the unconscious, scruffy-looking middle-aged man inside. Then, without hesitation, he opened the front passenger door, sat down, and buckled his seatbelt with practiced ease.
It was as if he was the real cop here.
The actual officer could only sigh in silence before getting into the driver's seat. With both the department's frequent visitor and the would-be criminal on board, he drove them back to the station.
By the time Suguru Geto finished giving his statement and left the station, it was already midnight.
Footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.
The boy with the bun turned around and saw the middle-aged officer who had taken his statement. He was holding a cup of hot tea.
"You left in such a hurry, kid," the officer said with a grin. "You don't look too great—have some tea to wake yourself up."
"That's very kind of you," Suguru Geto replied with a smile, surprised by the officer's warmth. "Thank you."
"No need to be so formal. You've helped us catch so many criminals. Sure, it's a bit embarrassing for us as officers, but honestly, you've saved us a lot of trouble."
"If a little embarrassment is the price for saving lives, then it doesn't matter how much pride we lose."
The older officer stepped forward and handed the cup of hot tea to the boy with the bun.
Suguru Geto smiled and took the cup.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
…
…
(End of Chapter)
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