TBITW Chapter 33

Chapter 33 – Counterattack

Main Story 2, Chapter 7, Part 1

Novel Title: 獣はかくして交わる (The Beasts Intertwine This Way)

Author：沙野 風結子 (Fuyuko Sano)

Illustrator：小山田 あみ (Oyamada Ami)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 鹿倉 陣也 (Kagura Jinya -MC) & ゼロ (Zero -ML)

*Please read at novels.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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―――I need to contact Zero as soon as possible.

But he knew that even if he sent a message, he would likely be ignored.  

To Zero, he was already a thing of the past.

Even so, betting on the slight chance that Zero might still have lingering feelings, Kagura quickened his pace through the nighttime streets and entered a dark alleyway between multi-tenant buildings.

“Aah―――!”

His attempt at a scream was so awkward and forced that it was laughable, but footsteps immediately came rushing into the alley.

It was the duo of Haiiro and Kataware. They were still tailing him.

“What the hell?”

Haiiro sneered upon spotting Kagura leaning against the wall of a building. Kagura grabbed the collar of Haiiro’s oversized T-shirt.

“There’s something important.”

Sensing something serious in Kagura’s expression and tone, Haiiro stopped resisting.

“The Eastern Alliance is planning to attack Enwu the day after tomorrow.”

He had overheard Kiriyama discussing this on the phone with Toono. Normally, Kiriyama would talk with Toono openly in front of Kagura, but this time, he had taken his phone and left the restaurant’s private room. When Kagura quietly followed him, he managed to pick up the information.

Kataware’s face turned pale.

“The day after tomorrow… there’s only one thing that could mean.”

Haiiro tilted his head.

“But isn’t it our plan to launch the attack?”

With his other hand, Kagura grabbed Kataware by the collar as well and demanded an answer.

“What’s happening the day after tomorrow?”

“Why should I tell you, Mr. Cop?”

Haiiro sneered, twisting his pierced lips. Kataware gave a faint smile and added, “Zero has specifically ordered us not to involve the detective in our affairs.”

Pulling both of them closer, Kagura spoke.

“Even if Zero doesn’t trust me or has decided to cut ties, I want to protect him.”

He had made that decision on the night he glimpsed Zero’s disclosure under the North Star.

“Protecting him means protecting Enwu. That’s why I won’t back down.”

Haiiro brought a knife to Kagura’s throat.

“Stop clinging to him like that.”

“If you don’t want me involved, then kill me here.”

Kagura lifted his chin, making it easier to strike, glaring defiantly.

A cold blade touched his neck. The tip began to press into his skin―――when Kataware grabbed Haiiro’s hand.

“If the detective is still hung up on Zero, then it won’t hurt us to share a bit of information.”

Haiiro clicked his tongue and tossed the knife into a leather sheath on his belt.

“So, Enwu is going to raid the Eastern Alliance the day after tomorrow?”

When Kagura asked again, Kataware responded.

“Technically, it’s not the Eastern Alliance itself but the Cambodian Mafia allied with them.”

“Why are you guys planning the attack?”

“The night after tomorrow, a Cambodian cargo ship carrying illegal immigrants will arrive at Kawasaki Port. These ‘illegal immigrants’ are actually young boys and girls abducted in Cambodia. We’re going to retrieve them.”

Kagura’s expression softened instinctively.

“I see. So you’re going to protect them.”

But Haiiro muttered, uncomfortably, “It’s not about protecting them.”

Kataware glanced sideways at Haiiro, slightly loosened his mouth in a faint smile, and quickly returned to a serious expression.

“Earlier, you mentioned that the Eastern Alliance was planning to counterattack us, right?”

“Yes. I got that information while I was with Kiriyama.”

Kataware gave Kagura a probing look to confirm.

“You didn’t switch sides to that special prosecutor, did you?”

“Why would I turn to Kiriyama, who’s in league with the Eastern Alliance?”

Responding with open irritation, Kataware shrugged, almost resembling an expatriate working for a trading company.

“Normal people, or ‘citizen’, are opportunistic creatures who easily change their minds based on their own interests.”

The comment didn’t make him angry.

He naturally accepted that, in their eyes, a ‘citizen’ would appear that way.

“I won’t deny it. But my stance on the Eastern Alliance will never change.”

Declaring this with conviction, Haiiro spoke up again, sounding a bit sulky.

“So, this is the deal, right? The Eastern Alliance will attack Enwu, who’ll be gathering to take back the immigrants. Probably payback for Enwu’s attack on Rong Lan’s base in Japan.”

Kagura nodded, furrowing his brow.

“So the Eastern Alliance got wind of Enwu’s recovery plan?”

“We’ll need to investigate how the leak happened. However, now that we know their plan, we can counter it.”

Releasing the collars of the two men in front of him, Kagura’s eyes gleamed with a combative spark.

“And I have my own plan regarding that. I need you to relay it to Zero.”

As the early summer night breeze carried the scent of the sea and the sound of the waves, he continued.

***

“You’re starting to bring in big leads, aren’t you?”

Observing the port from the shadows of a warehouse, Kagura felt a pat on his shoulder from Aizawa.

“Is your source that freelance guy you mentioned before?”

“Something like that.”

“So, you managed to make a connection with him.”

As Aizawa spoke, he gazed out over the dark sea, his brows furrowing slightly. Perhaps he was mourning Machida Shogo, the freelance writer that was dead adrift in Tokyo Bay.

“Take good care of him.”

Aizawa said, patting Kagura’s shoulder again. Kagura muttered, “I intend to.”

―――That is, if Zero wants to.

Haiiro and Kataware should have already passed on Kagura’s plan to Zero.

He’d know in thirty minutes whether Zero had accepted it.

From the pier at Yokohama Port, Kagura looked toward Kawasaki Port.

Currently, twenty detectives from the Organized Crime Division and thirty police officers from the Kanagawa Prefectural Police were stationed, concealed in the shadows of a large warehouse.

This was the full force that he, a ‘citizen’, could provide.

After checking his watch, Kagura took a deep breath.

Feigning a phone call, he put his smartphone to his ear and raised his voice dramatically.

“Is that true!?”

Sanae, who had been standing a short distance away, hurried over.

“Did something happen?”

Kagura raised his voice so the officers stationed at the pier could hear.

“The ship carrying the immigrants has changed course and arrived at Kawasaki Port!”

The officers on standby each jumped into their cars and began to head toward Kawasaki Port. Kagura took the wheel himself and led the way.

Creating a time lag before police intervention was a gamble even for Kagura. The outcome depended on whether Zero would go along with his proposal. At worst, it could have ended up sacrificing the illegal immigrants to the Eastern Alliance.

Kagura was the first to arrive at Kawasaki Port, jumping out of the car. He shuddered at the sight of men sprawled across the pier. Rushing to one of them, he demanded answers.

“Who did this?”

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*Translator’s Note: For those who didn’t know, Yokohama Port and Kawasaki Port are neighboring ports. -K

Next update: 2025.10.06

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