TBETW Chapter 24

Chapter 24 – Trapped

Main Story 2, Chapter 4, Part 1

Novel Title: 獣はかくして囚われる (The Beasts are Ensnared 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*

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An airplane, having just taken off from Haneda Airport across the bridge, was being drawn into the high autumn sky. Watching it ascend, Sanae let out a sigh.

“Looks like another bust, doesn’t it?”

Recently, there had been an influx of tips about foreign crime organizations, but many were entirely false, causing the International Crime Division to waste a lot of time. Just last week, new intel suggested that a foreign crime group was using a warehouse on Keihinjima Island as a stash for illegal drugs. This prompted the Kagura-Sanae duo, who were in charge of this area, to investigate the man-made island floating in Tokyo Bay. Yet today’s venture also seemed likely to end in disappointment.

Keihinjima Island, devoid of train or monorail access, could only be reached by car or boat. The island featured a narrow park along the coastline, but the dominant scenery was rows of factories and warehouses, barren and lifeless. Fewer than ten residents were officially registered, making it an area devoid of any signs of daily life.

Trying to boost their spirits, Sanae spoke in a cheerful tone.

“Well, even if it’s another bust, there’s that other rumor about Keihinjima we could look into, right?”  

“Ah, the one about under-the-table jobs?” Kagura replied.

Recently, there had been an uptick in cases where foreign workers were recruited for ‘black-market gigs’, often used for robberies. Industrial areas like Keihinjima, dense with factories and logistics companies, were ideal hunting grounds for such recruits.

“Better than heading back empty-handed,” Kagura agreed.

Encouraged, Sanae smiled under his glasses and briskly brought up a map on his smartphone.  

“In that case, let’s check it out quickly. The refrigerated warehouse should be around the corner.”

The company that previously occupied the site had gone bankrupt three months ago, and the property was now under court administration as a foreclosure. They had borrowed the key from the trustee handling the case.

The warehouse, once used exclusively for rare imported goods, was a modest two-story building with a design that allowed trucks to load products directly from their rear doors. Goods were then transferred to storage rooms on either floor for safekeeping.

Wearing gloves for the investigation, Sanae pushed up the loading bay shutter to inspect it.  

“It’s been broken into. Anyone could’ve gotten in.”

If the warehouse was indeed being used as a stash for illegal drugs, this was likely their point of entry. A faint sense of credibility began to form, prompting Kagura and Sanae to refocus.

Like many foreclosed properties, while the goods were gone, the facility still contained equipment such as forklifts, shelving, and desks. Apart from a layer of dust, it looked as though business had stopped just yesterday. With solar panels providing power, flipping the circuit breaker brought the lights back on. The warehouse was likely equipped with self-sustaining power to keep goods frozen during outages.

They started with the first floor, checking the main storage area, office, and freezer room. They even opened every drawer, but no illegal drugs were found.  

On the second floor, there was a large room and a smaller one. After thoroughly inspecting the cardboard boxes lining the shelves in the large room, they entered the smaller room.  

“Hey, is that a suitcase?” Sanae exclaimed, running over to the corner.

“…Yeah,” Kagura muttered.

A sudden, searing sensation crawled up the back of his neck. Alarmed by a sense of foreboding, Kagura instinctively turned, but before he could move, the door behind them shut. There was a sharp click—it had been locked.

“What?! What’s going on?!” Sanae ran back to the door, trying to open it. The metal heat-insulated door wouldn’t budge.

“So, it wasn’t a bust after all. It was a trap,” Kagura said.

“Not the time for calm observations!” Sanae shot back.

Frantically pulling out his smartphone, Sanae’s face crumpled.  

“No signal!”

Kagura checked his own phone. Sure enough, there was no network connection.  

“The walls and door are specially designed for insulation. That’s probably why.”

“Why are you explaining this so calmly?!”

Kagura looked up at the array of fans mounted on the ceiling. Following his gaze, Sanae shivered.  

“Is it just me, or is cold air coming out of those?”

“Seems like the cooling system’s active,” Kagura replied.

He pressed the emergency button next to the door, but nothing happened.  

Someone had deliberately disabled the emergency system, trapping them inside a hermetically sealed freezer warehouse. Considering the thorough preparation, this was likely a trap set by the Eastern Alliance. Perhaps even the trustee was involved.

Their string of recent busts had dulled their vigilance, it seemed.

“How cold does it get in these freezers?” Sanae asked, trembling.  

“Usually between minus 20 and minus 50 degrees Celsius. Better assume the worst.”

“Minus 50?! That’s as cold as Antarctica!” Sanae paled and began pounding on the door with his fists.  

“Let us out! Somebody, open this door!”

“No one’s going to open it for you,” Kagura said. “We need to prepare for the cold with these cardboard boxes.”

As they unfolded boxes to line the floor and use as covers, Sanae kept muttering.  

“Our team knows we came here today, right? They’ll notice if they can’t reach us. They can track the last known location on our phones!”

Kagura knew the recent string of failures had left the team complacent, potentially delaying their realization of the danger. But he didn’t voice this thought, not wanting to worsen Sanae’s panic.  

“Yeah. We just have to stay alive until they find us.”

Wrapping the opened cardboard boxes around his torso and legs, and even over his head, Sanae muttered under his breath.

“Master, please save your disciple before I freeze.”

“Even while sitting, keep stomping your feet to prevent your body temperature from dropping. Rub your hands so you don’t get frostbite.”

“Speaking of which, I once read a book about mountaineers stranded in snowy mountains. It talked about someone who followed a hallucination of a person in an extreme situation and was saved.”

Rubbing his gloved hands together, Sanae kept recounting the book’s story, as if trying to distract himself from his anxiety. But partway through, his teeth began chattering, and he couldn’t speak properly anymore.

―――This is bad.

Sanae, with his lower muscle mass, was struggling to generate enough body heat to maintain his temperature.

Kagura sat right next to Sanae and pulled him close, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

“This… feels warm,” Sanae murmured, resting his head against Kagura’s shoulder and exhaling shaky breaths.

Feeling the reassurance of human contact, Sanae’s breathing gradually slowed.

“Don’t fall asleep. Keep stomping your feet.”

“…Ah, okay.” 

Answering groggily, Sanae started stomping again but soon stopped.

“Sanae.” 

Kagura slapped his cheek, eliciting a mumbled complaint. “Ouch, nee-san…” Sanae, now delirious, seemed to think he was with his older sister.

“Nee-san… I’m sorry, okay… I ate your ice cream…”

Kagura tried using his phone’s alarm to keep Sanae awake, but the cold had caused the device to shut down. Even when he tried restarting it, the screen went dark almost immediately.

Frost had already formed on their hair and eyelashes, making it difficult to blink.

―――How long has it been since we got trapped in here?

Kagura scanned the room again for a way to escape, but his vision was blurry and unfocused.

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Next update: 2025.12.10

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