Rising Rays of the New Century: Tale of the Japanese Empire

The Canine Lord

Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo

This is the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, nearly 140 years after its original construction. The building is covered with scaffolding, but no one is there because it is now before the work begins. The building is surrounded by strong-looking men who are trying to keep anyone inside. And in the first gymnasium under renovation, a man is walking in the silent hall with his shoes making a steady thumping sound. He is Samon Koroki.

He walked into the arena where the lights are turned on sparsely. Then, he raised his voice toward the person who called him, who must be lurking somewhere.

"Hey! I'm here! Is it money you want!? How much!?"

Unlike the world's image of him as innocent and clean, Samon suddenly talked about money. The letter that had summoned him here contained evidence of the rape he had committed, namely, that he had a child he had had when he was 18 and that he had proof that he was a parent of that child. If that thing was to be spread to the world, it would lead to his ruin. Therefore, he came to the place specified in the letter. The area is surrounded by a group of yakuza who are his henchmen, and they are trying to keep them from escaping. This location was also convenient for them, as it was under renovation and the indoor surveillance cameras were not working.

"Khukhu... khukhukhu..."

"!"

At that moment, a voice came from somewhere. When Samon turned around to look in the direction of the voice, he saw a medium-sized dog descending the steps of the auditorium. However, the dog quickly hid behind the audience seats.

"...Money? I don't care about that. What I want is... well, to see you admit all your sins and rub your forehead on the ground with an apology to Reika-san."

Again, the voice came out of nowhere. Samon scurried around, alarmed by this development.

"Reika!? I don't know a woman named that! Who the hell are you!? Show yourself!"

Samon did not remember every single name of the woman he had tricked. He was just frightened by the eeriness of hearing only the voice, and a sense of uneasiness took over his body.

"...I see, this ends here."

The voice disappeared. Then a man appeared in the audience. It was none other than Mitsuhiro Inudera. He stepped down from the seats and stood on top of the stadium, confronting Samon, who is looking at him uneasily.

"...It was you, wasn't it, who sent me that suspicious letter!?"

"...Suspicious letter? That was a fact of the crime you committed...!"

Inudera remained calm. But his eyes were bloodshot and he was seething with unfathomable fury.

"...Feh, I don't even remember that long ago! But to think that registering to the bone marrow bank even though I don't want it would reveal that past! Hey, you lot!"

"...!"

Samon was unrepentant and then called in the three men he had hidden in various parts of the venue. Their appearance, which was clearly not that of ordinary men, proved that Samon had connections with less than savory groups.

"...Put him away. Take care of the rest," Samon said, and with a relaxed expression that was a complete change from what he had just said, he stepped back. In place of him, a crowd of men with bad looks surrounded Inudera. He had intended to kill Inudera from the beginning.

"Tsk..."

The men had knives and firearms in their hands. Normally, he would have been in a desperate situation, and a normal person would have been so terrified that they could not stop shaking. But Inudera was different. He clicked his tongue and looked around with glazed eyes.