TBITW Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – Our Objective

Main Story 1, Chapter 5, Part 4

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 knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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―――…It’s clear that Rong Lan and the Eastern Alliance are connected through ‘Phao Hoa’. And it’s confirmed that Rong Lan is smuggling minors into the country. Machida must have been trying to publish an article on the trafficking of these minors and was silenced.

All that was left was to report this to Section Chief Takizaki, consolidate the final evidence, and decide on the timing for the police to take action.

There was no more information to be gained from meeting with Xuan.

He knew that.

Kagura stopped and looked at his right hand.

On his way out, at the store’s entrance, Xuan held Kagura’s hand with both of hers. Her slender fingers clasped his momentarily, but then she quickly let go on her own.

It seemed that she didn’t want to involve the ‘good Japanese man’, Jin, in her troubles.

Xuan was a kind-hearted girl.

―――…Even if the police intervene, Xuan will not truly be saved.

While exposing Rong Lan and the Eastern Alliance’s involvement in human trafficking might erase her debt to the broker, and deportation would free her from the work that was selling her body…

The harsh reality that Xuan still bore the weight of supporting her sick father and family’s future wouldn’t change. There was even a possibility that, after being sent back to Vietnam, she might attempt illegal immigration again―――or perhaps fall into despair and lose her mind.

Kagura clenched his fists tightly.

A vision of his cousin, whom he hadn’t been able to save, flashed through his mind.

“Haruka-nee…”

He was so deep in his own thoughts that his response to the outside world slowed.

He came back to his senses as someone gripped his upper arm, but he couldn’t immediately resist. He was thrown into the back seat of a car, and before he could get up to open the door, the man in the driver’s seat had already locked it.

“Hey, what’s the meaning of this?!”

He grabbed the back of the passenger seat and glared at the man in the driver’s seat.

The car lurched forward suddenly, and he was thrown back into the seat, landing hard.

Through the rearview mirror, a pair of menacing eyes glared back at him.

“That’s my line,” Zero growled.

“It’s true that I was the one who told you about Rong Lan’s base, but I didn’t expect you to be stupid enough to keep going there unguarded.”

“…So, you were tailing me?”

“Don’t go to that store again.”

“That’s for me to decide.”

“You’re not deciding as a police officer, are you?”

Kagura was at a loss for words.

Zero spat his words out with disdain. “Seduced by a minor’s flirtations, were you?”

“Don’t say it like that. Xuan’s not that kind of girl!”

Zero hit the brakes abruptly, pulling the car to a stop on the shoulder.

The driver’s seat reclined back, and Zero twisted his body to face Kagura directly.

In a gritty, resonant voice, he ordered, “You’re not thinking clearly right now. So, I’ll make the decision for you. Don’t meet that girl Xuan again. Do your job properly as a detective.”

Kagura’s breath felt constricted, as if his throat was being squeezed. Goosebumps rose all over his body, and the nape of his neck tingled as if it were burning.

…If he didn’t obey, he’d be killed.

The intensity radiating from Zero was so overpowering it made him feel that way.

―――…This man…

He was brought back to the night they had first met.

―――…Who is this man?

Did he actually know anything about Zero at all?

A cold sweat trickled from his temple down his neck.

Zero’s hand reached out, sweeping up the sweat with his thumb and tracing back along the trail.

With his fingertips, he gently rubbed Kagura’s temple.

“Understood, Jinya Kagura?”

The voice calling his name carried a hint of sweetness, one eerily similar to how it sounded during intimate moments.

Was the deep ache in the pit of his body from fear, or was it something else?

Kagura averted his gaze and pulled his body away from Zero’s hand, escaping his grasp.

He bit his lip, frustrated at being overpowered.

The driver’s seat returned to its upright position, and the car started moving again. When they arrived in front of his apartment in Kamiyacho, the door lock was released.

As Kagura was about to step out, Zero, still facing forward, spoke to him.

“Don’t lose sight of our objective.”

―――Our objective.

Kagura stared after the black sedan as it drove away.

To destroy the Eastern Alliance.

That feeling had not faded at all.

If anything, each interaction with Xuan brought back memories of Haruka, sharpening his resolve.

But at the same time, it made him think.

He despised Toono Ryouji. He wanted to crush the Eastern Alliance that Toono led, leaving nothing behind.

But if only he’d faced Haruka more sincerely… if he hadn’t been deceived by her bright façade, could he have saved her?

Isn’t it the same with Xuan?

―――This time, I want to save her…

Xuan’s image overlapped with Haruka’s, merging into one.

“You’re not thinking clearly right now.”

Zero’s words were probably correct.

Yet something within him kept churning, something that couldn’t be resolved by reason alone.

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*Translator’s Note: Zero is worried for Kagura’s safety, but at the same time, I think he’s jealous too hahaha. -K

*GLOSSARY: 

Allow me to explain beforehand for those unfamiliar to Japanese language and culture that Japanese normally introduce themselves with the surname/last name mentioned first before the first name. In this novel, the author narrated using the Character’s last name, which is normal, because Japanese tend to preferably address others using last name. Kagura’s first name is Jinya. If you notice in this part, Zero addressed him with his first name before his last. He didn’t even include ‘-san’ in it. It indicates closeness or perhaps rudeness. But here, I think he insinuates their closeness, especially since he’s using a sweet voice. In Japanese culture, when it comes to addressing someone, the choice of name order and form carries different meanings. Normally, we address others using last names plus ‘-san’. But using the first name with ‘-san’ in it shows closeness. However, addressing someone using their first name without ‘-san’ in it shows relationships that are very intimate. Here, I think Zero hasn’t crossed the line yet, but he’s close to crossing it. There’s no ‘-san’ in it, but he still included Kagura’s last name. That’s very cute, Zero.

Next update: 2025.09.19

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