Chapter 17 – Protect You
Main Story 1, Chapter 6, 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 knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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The ringtone sounded early in the morning, almost at dawn.
Kagura reached for the smartphone that he doesn’t normally use. Only one person calls him on this phone.
As soon as he answered the phone, he heard a faint sobbing.
“Xuan, what’s wrong? Are you crying?”
Kagura involuntarily jumped up as he asked. He had forgotten to use the broken Vietnamese he usually speaks.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologising?”
After the sobbing continued, Xuan finally spoke.
“I’m sorry for calling so early in the morning.”
“Don’t worry about that at all.”
It was frustrating having to speak clumsily, and he felt apologetic about it.
Xuan was calling him, trusting him without knowing his true identity.
The fact that she was crying like this must mean something terrible happened at her night job. Kagura felt a strong pain in his chest.
Xuan said in a voice mixed with sobs,
“Jin… I want to go on a date with you.”
“A date?”
“… I want to walk with Jin along the river all the way to the sea. Since I was a child, I’ve always dreamed of doing that with someone I love.”
Probably what she imagined as a child was to walk along the Mekong River that flows through her hometown with the person she loved.
“Just once. Just one time, please.”
Even if she was forcibly repatriated as an illegal immigrant and returned to her hometown, she might never have the chance to walk along the riverbank with the person she loves.
Moreover, Kagura wanted to know the depth of Xuan’s wounds. Even if she wouldn’t tell him on the phone, she might open up to him in person.
From the vicinity of the general store to the river mouth is only about two kilometres. Maybe he could go there and back to the second floor of the general store without being noticed by Rong Lan’s people.
―――No, depending on the situation, I might as well protect Xuan.
It would be too late if she was killed by a customer like Haruka, or if she committed suicide.
As a detective, he shouldn’t do anything to raise the vigilance of Rong Lan or the Eastern Alliance at this critical time… But he didn’t want to make the same mistake again.
“Okay, when would you like to go?”
Xuan answered through her tears,
“Today – tonight. I’ll take the day off from work, saying I’m not feeling well, and I’ll sneak out.”
They agreed to meet at 10 p.m. on the Edogawa River embankment.
Kagura hurried out of the police headquarters at 9 p.m. and rushed to his apartment. After changing clothes, if he headed to Ichikawa by motorcycle, he should make it in time.
As he arrived at the apartment in Kamiyacho and got off the elevator on the sixth floor, his steps faltered as he approached his unit, 601.
Leaning against the door was a large, muscular man. He was sitting there on the floor.
“Hey there.”
As he glared at the man greeting him, Kagura steeled himself and continued walking.
He kicked the man’s outstretched legs.
“Get out of the way. I’m in a hurry.”
Squinting his eyes, Zero saw through him.
“You’re going to see that woman, aren’t you?”
“It’s none of your business.”
Zero stood up and took the key from him. As he tried to take it back, Zero unlocked the door using the key.
“It is my business.”
Kagura was shoved into the open door, grabbed by the arm, and thrown roughly to the floor at the entryway.
Zero also stepped inside, locking the door from the inside and fastening the door chain.
“I’ll be the one to protect you.”
Kagura grimaced at those words.
“…Protect me?”
Indeed, this man had saved him from dangerous situations before. And in their intimate relationship, he was certainly the one in control.
But he hadn’t lost his pride to the point where he would be pleased about being told he was under the protection of another man.
And more importantly, he needed to get to Xuan immediately.
Quickly scanning his surroundings, Kagura sprang up and grabbed a black umbrella from the stand. He shuffled back a few steps toward the living room and held the umbrella as though it were a wooden sword.
Zero also approached, still wearing his shoes and looking completely at ease.
“That woman is dangerous. So stay here with me tonight.”
“I refuse.”
Zero licked his lips.
“Then, I’ll keep you by force.”
Kagura felt the air around the man shift.
A chill ran down his spine, and his nape tingled.
―――Stay calm.
He summoned the mental composure he used in kendo matches, taking a middle stance that allowed him to switch between attack and defence, as he had no idea how Zero would move.
“That look suits you,” Zero said with a smirk, licking his lips again.
In an instant, Zero lowered his stance and lunged forward. Kagura swung the umbrella toward the back of Zero’s head, but Zero dodged with reflexes like a wild animal. Still, he managed to land a powerful hit near Zero’s shoulder.
Kagura reset his distance, pulling the tip of the umbrella back into a right side stance. It was a rare stance in kendo matches, but against an unpredictable opponent, it allowed for powerful strikes.
Zero crouched with one hand on the floor, his gaze locked on Kagura like a predator eyeing its prey.
What move would come next?
A wall clock entered Kagura’s field of vision―――it was 9:25 p.m.
Seeing the time added to his sense of urgency.
He advanced slightly, and Zero backed up while still crouched, briefly favouring his left shoulder, where he’d been hit earlier.
The hit had definitely hurt him. Feeling a surge of confidence, Kagura used the side stance’s momentum and swung the umbrella in a wide arc toward Zero’s head.
―――This is it!
But just as he felt sure of it, he heard a loud crack as the umbrella broke.
A low table had been overturned, blocking the umbrella’s path with its top. The impact left his arms tingling.
Zero used the overturned table as a platform, leaping forward.
Kagura tried to block him with the broken umbrella, but Zero grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back. Pain shot through his elbow, and with Zero’s weight pressing on him from behind, he was forced facedown to the floor.
“Ha…hah…”
His other arm was also pulled behind his back. When he tried to resist, Zero twisted his arm further, clearly unconcerned if it might break.
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*Translator’s Note: Well, I did warn you guys about the non-con that’s coming. Brace yourself. -K
Next update: 2025.09.20
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