TBETW Chapter 27

Chapter 27 – Kiriyama’s Real Interest

Main Story 2, Chapter 5, Part 2

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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Sanae immediately perked up.

“Was it the Tag Heuer Carrera Caliber 5 Day-Date?”

“Yes, yes, that one. It had a leather strap.”

“Ah, a leather strap. Very nice.”

Kagura glared at Sanae, who had reverted back to his usual playful demeanor.

“You’re getting too relaxed.”

“Well, the Day-Date is a watch my mentor wears. It’s shock-resistant and water-resistant, but it still looks perfect with a suit. It’s the kind of watch that suits an adult warrior.”

Sanae enthusiastically spoke, and Kagura twisted his mouth in distaste.

It seemed it really was just a one-off illegal part-time job, and Kagura couldn’t extract any more information from Phan.

Back at the International Crime Countermeasures Division, Sanae rushed to Aizawa’s office and begged him to show him the watch.

“Look, here it is. The black dial version—just like my mentor’s, it’s so refined. I want the same one, but the Caliber 5 is already discontinued. And it’s a bit pricey…”

It was somewhat surprising that Aizawa spent money on his watch.

“Are you particular about watches?”

When Kagura asked, Aizawa smiled wryly.

“I bought it for myself as a commemoration after my wife left me.”

Divorces among detectives are almost like an occupational hazard, but it seems that Aizawa’s ex-wife had already promised to remarry another man before the divorce. This happened in the year Kagura was assigned to the Organized Crime Division.

At the time, Aizawa didn’t seem angry about it. On the contrary, he calmly said that he was glad she found someone who would make her happier than he could.

Not only did he have no time to care for his family, but because of his job, his family could easily become targets of criminal organizations.

Perhaps Aizawa genuinely cared for his ex-wife, which was why he felt relieved after the divorce.

“……”

As Kagura stared intently at the watch, Sanae asked him a question.

“Did you like it too, Kagura-san? Should we look for used ones and get matching watches for the three of us?”

Ignoring the trivial suggestion, Kagura tried to recall something from his memory.

He had the feeling that he had seen a version of this watch with a blue dial somewhere recently.

***

Inside a car driving on the Shuto Expressway Bayshore Line, Kagura leaned deeply into the passenger seat. It was late at night when Kiriyama had called him out, and Itou had come to pick him up.

Kagura shifted his gaze only to Itou’s left wrist, which was holding the steering wheel.

The watch was half-hidden under the sleeve of his jacket, but that smooth, dark blue sheen was unmistakable—the signature of a Tag Heuer with a blue dial.

“Keep a firm grip on the steering wheel.”

While speaking, Kagura extended his hand, grabbed the sleeve of Itou’s jacket, and pulled it up.

The dark blue leather strap was different from Aizawa’s, giving the watch a different impression, but it was definitely a Tag Heuer Day-Date.

“You were the one who put it on, weren’t you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“When you met the illegal part-timer, you were wearing those fake glasses, right?”

Itou didn’t change his expression as he smoothly steered the car into a widened area on the shoulder of the highway and stopped.

“Don’t park in the emergency lane.”

“I’m not feeling well.”

“Well, I suppose that’s fine then.”

The makeshift interrogation room was filled with a unique tension.

When narrowing down suspects for the person who had tried to freeze Kagura and Sanae to death in the frozen warehouse on Keihinjima, there were a few possibilities.

One was a foreign criminal organization that wanted to hold back the International Crime Countermeasures Division.

Another was the Eastern Alliance, which brokered illegal part-time jobs for foreign workers in that area.

And the last possibility was an individual with a personal vendetta against either Kagura or Sanae.

“I knew you didn’t like that I’m Kiriyama’s pet, but I never expected you to go as far as trying to kill me.”

When Kagura lightly provoked him, Itou glared at him with his light brown eyes, peeking through his half-closed eyelids.

“You’re gravely mistaken. Someone like you—”

Kagura interrupted Itou, cutting him off.

“Ah, ah. ‘Shungo-sama is not interested in someone like you,’ right?”

That phrase stuck with Kagura because it aligned with what he had been feeling.

―――Kiriyama’s true objective isn’t me.

Kagura placed his hand on the headrest of the driver’s seat and leaned in close to look into Itou’s eyes.

“Kiriyama’s real interest is in Zero.”

When they first made contact, Kiriyama had brought up Enwu. Most likely, by that point, he had already started focusing on Zero.

―――He approached me because I’m connected to Zero.

The sexual harassment was merely an option. Kiriyama’s focus had always been on Zero. If you think about it that way, the inconsistencies Kagura had been feeling until now make sense.

“So, why is Kiriyama so obsessed with Zero?”

Ito, apparently unwilling to answer that. He tightly pressed his lips together. However, his eyelids were completely raised, revealing his eyes.

The normally inconspicuous man now exuded a strange, unsettling presence. Together with the teardrop-shaped mole under his left eye, he even looked oddly sensual.

“If he finds out that you tried to kill me, what do you think Kiriyama will do? The other day, you were knocked down and stepped on.”

Itou’s half-closed eyelids moved slightly.

“Well, depending on you, I could keep that from Kiriyama.”

Several trailers roared past. After the noisy silence, Itou looked back at Kagura with his half-lidded eyes.

“Let’s make a deal. I can arrange a meeting with Toono Ryouji.”

“…Is Toono in Japan right now?”

“Yes.”

“So, Kiriyama was hiding that from me.”

“Shungo-sama is thinking about your survival, you and Zero.”

By ‘you and Zero’, he was referring to the survival of Kagura and Zero.

In reality, the ‘last supper’ in Macau was arranged to prove that Kagura and Zero were sabotaging each other’s efforts to protect their lives, and to separate them. The stage was set so that no one would lose their life, with Li Azhar’s help.

“I’d prefer you both were gone together, but the other day I suggested that, and it angered Shungo-sama.”

“So, because you almost failed to kill me, you went directly to ask permission from Kiriyama, huh?”

Apparently, even a quiet-looking man like Itou carried a deep, obsessive killing intent.

It seemed that his desire to eliminate obstacles to his master’s goals was the source. But at the same time, Kagura thought there was a strong jealousy about Kiriyama’s attention being directed toward others.

When Itou licked Kiriyama’s shoe after being trampled by him, his face had shown an ecstatic expression.

Itou’s killing intent toward Kagura was real, and that’s why arranging a meeting between Kagura and Toono worked in Itou’s favor. It was highly unlikely that Kagura would survive the encounter with Toono if Itou took action.

That said, it was not certain that Itou would not betray him. Kiriyama could very well detect Itou’s movements as well, which also had to be factored in.

―――…Still, I can’t afford to eliminate this possibility.

Opportunities to eliminate Toono, who was expanding the Eastern Alliance’s territory every day, would only decrease from here on out.

Kagura spoke in a suppressed voice to Itou.

“I want to meet Toono alone, without Renjou.”

“I think I can temporarily remove Renjou from the situation.”

“That’s enough.”

The car, having left the emergency parking lane, returned to the flow of the Bayshore Line.

As the car continued toward its destination, Kagura could feel a cold, tingling lump in his stomach. His mind is fixed on the end.

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*Translator’s Note: Throughout all of my translation for this series, from the first volume until this one, pardon for any spelling mistakes or whatever. I have no time to crosscheck the second time. Thank you for your understanding. -K

Next update: 2025.12.13

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