TBCTW Chapter 31

Chapter 31 – Grim Truth

Chapter 12, Part 3

Novel Title: 獣はかくしてまぐわう (The Beasts Copulate This Way)

Author：風結子 沙野 (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 freenovels.net, the original site of translation. TQ*

֍֍֍

“He’s right. Toono won’t expect us to act at the ‘Invincible Castle’ tonight under these circumstances.”  

“…But,” Zero began to protest, only to be cut off as Kagura firmly grabbed his shoulder.  

“If we hesitate, Toono could escape overseas again.”  

Kagura spoke earnestly to the conflicted Zero.  

“Zero, I trust you. Just this once, trust me too. Can you do that?”  

“…”  

After a long, deep breath, Zero removed the device strapped to his right wrist and handed it to Kagura.

“An SS-rank invitation card,” Kagura murmured.  

As he took it, the trust from Zero made the lightweight device feel much heavier in his hands.  

Kataware handed Kagura a compact earpiece equipped with GPS and an emergency microphone, explaining, “Haiiro and Riki are already inside the ‘Invincible Castle’. If anything happens, activate the earpiece mic. Depending on the situation, I can have them back you up.”  

As Kagura fitted the earpiece—designed to resemble an ear cuff—he clarified, “If I turn this on, there’s a chance the castle’s security will detect it, right?”  

“That’s correct.”  

Though Kataware maintained his usual composed demeanour, the tension in his expression as he glanced back from the driver’s seat was unmistakable. Kagura’s actions could endanger their entire team.  

“It’ll be fine. I won’t cause trouble for you all,” Kagura assured.  

But Kataware sighed in exasperation, blinking in disbelief.  

“And that’s exactly the problem. Not relying on us when you need to is what creates the most trouble.”  

“…I see.”  

Perhaps more than Kagura realised, Kataware and the others had come to accept him, an outsider or ‘Citizen’, into their fold. He could feel the barriers between ‘Citizen’ and ‘Non-citizen’ gradually dissolving.  

After donning his Zorro-style mask, Kagura layered a common Pierrot mask over it and stepped into the underground parking lot of the ‘Invincible Castle’. He watched the departing sedan for a moment before using his SS-card privileges to enter the purple elevator. A glance at his wristwatch showed it was 1:45 a.m.  

In fifteen minutes, the owner’s exclusive area at the back of the floor would be accessible.  

He decided to head straight to the twelfth floor without making any detours.  

When Kagura exited the elevator and passed through the doors, he froze in place.  

The night sky above shimmered with waves of auroras, through which sharks and jellyfish swam. It took him a few seconds to realise these were holograms projected in the cavernous space. Clamping his half-opened mouth shut beneath his mask, Kagura refocused on the tangible surroundings.  

The floor was teeming with guests, thanks to the party’s policy of allowing even C-rank attendees if they were linked to S-rank or higher invitees. The crowd was perfect for blending in.  

The air was thick with a sweet mixture of drugs and incense.  

Guests swayed like mollusks to the ethereal music, their bodies entangled with one another indiscriminately.  

As Kagura moved along the edge of the floor toward the back, a girl in a white sleeveless dress trimmed with fur bumped into him. Her upper face was concealed by a rabbit mask.  

“Oh no, sorry,” she giggled.  

Her frail arms clung to him, and the faintly sour scent of her sweat mixed with a sweet, cloying perfume. She was likely heavily addicted to drugs.  

Trailing her fingers along Kagura’s abdomen, she whispered seductively, “If you treat me to something strong enough to make me feel like I’m dying, I’ll do anything you want.”  

Her proposition revealed a grim truth: trading her body for drugs had become routine.  

Her delicate jawline reminded Kagura of his cousin Haruka. The bitterness of being unable to save Haruka, no matter how many times he replayed the events in his dreams, seeped into reality and clenched at his chest. He wanted to free this girl from the wretched confines of the castle.  

―――…No. Stay focused on your goal.  

Kagura gently guided the staggering girl to a chair by the wall and was about to leave when she grasped the cuff of his tuxedo sleeve with her thin fingers. The grip was easy to shake off, but precisely because it was so weak, Kagura found it hard to walk away. He sat down beside her instead.  

Wiping away tears from beneath her mask, the girl turned her vacant gaze to the auroras. In a fragile, rasping voice, she asked, “Do you know this song?”  

“No…”  

“It’s by a Nordic singer. They say she wrote it when she developed insomnia. I can’t sleep at all either, no matter how much I try. When I listen to this, it feels like, ‘Yeah, I get it.’”  

“When did you get insomnia?” Kagura asked.  

The girl, her gaze following a holographic shark, replied, “Since my parents’ divorce? They screamed at each other about not wanting me—right in front of their grade-school daughter.”  

“…That’s horrible,” Kagura muttered bitterly.  

The girl shifted her gaze from behind her white rabbit mask, fixing it on Kagura. Her sunken cheeks twitched into a strained smile.  

“Disappointing that the last one’s a stingy guy.”  

The word last caught Kagura’s attention. But when he checked his watch, it was nearly 2:00 a.m. He didn’t have time to dwell. As he stood, the girl finally released his sleeve.  

Kagura moved to the far end of the floor, slipping into a hallway that led to the back area. At the dead end, he held his device up to the wall, which retracted and slid open.  

This was Kataware’s handiwork.  

Stepping into the owner’s exclusive area, Kagura felt a chill run down his spine before his mind could even process what he was seeing.  

In the abyss-like darkness, massive religious paintings emerged—pale, sensual bodies, anguished expressions, merciful figures, and beings with pure, angelic wings.  

Illuminated by blacklight printing, the paintings shone vividly in the dark, standing tall like glowing stained glass.  

These grand and imposing works seemed to compel self-reflection on one’s impurities. Even Kagura, who was not well-versed in Christianity, couldn’t help but be aware of the concept of original sin.  

For the ‘vanished guests’ dragged into this place, it must have been a relentless confrontation with their own depravity—reminding them of how they had spiralled into ruin.  

―――Don’t let it consume you.  

Fighting the oppressive atmosphere, Kagura scanned the area to map it. The paintings seemed to end where two elevators stood.  

To the left, a staircase led up and down, its walls also covered in religious imagery.  

Despite the unease prickling at his spine, Kagura carefully ascended the long staircase to the thirteenth floor, wary of any guards.  

The walls of the thirteenth floor were covered with a massive depiction of the Last Judgement. Heaven and Hell coexisted in the same space, a fantastical image that somehow felt like a mirror of the real world.  

It was no coincidence, Kagura thought, that this building had 13 floors—a number associated with bad luck.  

“…Is Li Azhar trying to play God?”  

Perhaps he really was.  

That would explain why, within the ‘Invincible Castle’, even Eastern Alliance members, Enwu members, and high-ranking police officials were allowed to move freely. Harbouring Toono Ryouji might just be an act of divine whim on Li’s part. If he truly intended to protect Toono, he would have barred access to any threats.  

֍֍֍

*Translator’s Note: Well, yep. Li Azhar is a peculiar one indeed. -K

Next update: 2025.11.10

֍֍֍