“My goodness, Susukino has become quite dangerous lately-naa.  With how it is, won’t it be difficult to do business in peace?”
“Ara, well isn’t that quite the blatantly insincere line.”
“I’m fairly certain this was quite the peaceful town until a certain someone-san came.  Truly, until a certain someone-san came.”

Within a room inside a large commercial building in Susukino, three people are having a conversation.  One is a plump middle-aged man speaking with a fake Kansai dialect, the second a refined woman in a kimono, and the last a muscular man with a shaved head and wearing an eccentric outfit.

“And who might this ‘certain someone-san’ refer to?  Even though I am devoting myself to the safety of Susukino this much, if I say so myself.”
“Enough with the blatant lies.  Because of you, the girls from my shop ended up hurt the other day.  Don’t get carried away, you bastard yakuza wannabe upstart!”
“Oh, scary, scary.  Ultimate Man-san is quite short tempered-naa.”
“It’s [Great Ultimate Yayoi]!  Don’t shorten it in some strange way!  At least make it Ultimate Woman!”

The muscular man with the shaved-head whose name had been abbreviated into Ultimate Man is a highly skilled entrepreneur who works under the name [Great Ultimate Yayoi].  This person manages multiple gay bars and crossdressing cafés in Susukino, and by helping resolve disputes between shops and maintaining public order, came to shoulder the role of protecting Susukino’s night.

Also, while this person has the body of a man, the heart is of a woman’s.

“Beni-han, you should take more care in selecting who you associate with.  Standing beside such a man-woman will bring down your dignity.”
“That’s none of your concern.  I have chosen to partner with Yayoi-chan with all due diligence.  She, at the very least, is a far more splendid person than you, Hirugai.”

[Beni], the woman wearing a kimono, is the owner of high-class restaurants and high-class cabaret clubs throughout the Susukino area.  Together with Yayoi, she is a person who reigns at the top of Susukino.

“Tch, not even your employees will follow you with old-fashioned thinking like that.  Didn’t one of your cabaret girls quit not too long ago, Beni-han?”

The plump man called Hirugai, in contrast, is an entrepreneur who, despite having only recently started expanding into Susukino, has already established himself as a presence with influence equal to Beni and Yayoi thanks to his enormous financial power.  However, he is also the very person disturbing the public order of Susukino by forcibly bringing privately owned shops under his control using coercive methods such as extortion and hostages while also launching various forms of obstruction against the shops governed by Beni and Yayoi.

“Everything will be fine even without your concern.  Once Susukino becomes peaceful, those girls will return.”
“Hooo.  In that case, shouldn’t we hurry up and make this town peaceful-naa?  I too will need to work harder than before.”
“Harder than before?  You… stop mocking us already!” 

Two muscular men standing in the back stepped forward in response to Yayoi’s anger.  They, just like her, had the bodies of men but the hearts of women.

“Ohh, scary, scary.  Danger just won’t do.”

The three bodyguards who had been standing behind Hirugai also stepped forward at his muttering.  Stares filled with murderous-intent mixed between the two who had been behind Yayoi and Hirugai’s three bodyguards.  At this, Beni quietly spoke.

“Dius.”
“Nothing to worry about-ssuyo.  Anything that might happen will immediately be subdued before it can.”

The five guards who are glaring at each other take a step back at Dius’ words.

Dius, who has been employed as Beni’s bodyguard for barely one month, produced an extraordinary anecdote in which he single-handedly protected Beni by suppressing several dozen thugs stirred up by Hirugai.  Since that incident, the strong in Susukino have recognized his strength and given him their respect.

“Hyaah!  To make my men back down with a single word.  As expected of ya-naa.”
“Haa, thank you.”
“Dius-han, I don’t know how much you’re being paid by Beni-han, but I’ll pay double— no, triple the amount!  How about it?  Won’t you work for me?”
“Ahh, that’s impossible-ssuwa.  For me, gratitude and trust are more important than money, so until my contract with Beni-anego is finished, I have no intention of being employed by anyone else-ssu.”

Hirugai attempts to recruit Dius with his clumsy Kansai accent, but the man’s feelings remain unfazed.

“Tch, can’t be helped then.  It’s a waste, but I’ll crush both you and Beni-han together.”
“Hirugai!”
“Ohh, scary, scary.  Just a joke, just a joke, Ulitmate Ma… Excuse me, Yayoi-han.  Don’t take it so seriously.”

Hirugai continued the conversation with a provocative attitude.  Then, as Yayoi started shouting, he stood up and headed for the exit.

“There’s no point in continuing to talk like this, so I’ll head back first. Gotta make Susukino peaceful with high spirits-naa.”

◇

“Man, this was truly a waste of time.  By the way, how was it?  I especially went out of my way to attend that boring meeting just to let you all meet Dius-han.  Were you able to gleam anything?”

Hirugai, while voicing his dissatisfaction in the car ride home after the meeting, asks a question of his three bodyguards.

“To be honest, there wasn’t much I could pick up.  Even estimating from his body’s thickness and center of gravity, there was no sign of him being equipped with a bulletproof vest or weapons.  His clothing wasn’t made of any special fibers either.  Despite that, his stance was full of openings and he showed absolutely no sign of being on guard against us.  I don’t think he is a person worth being cautious of.”

A woman with short black hair wearing a black suit opened her mouth first and answered Hirugai’s question.  Her name is “Nikera,” and she is a first-class assassin with experience eliminating members of parliament or general-class influential figures within a certain country.

“I am mostly of the same opinion.  I looked at his hands, and they were clean.  He probably doesn’t wield weapons regularly.  He’s either an amateur, or such a monster that he has no need to be wary of us.  Well, I think it’s the former.”

The next to speak was a stern-looking elderly man whose eyes were hidden by sunglasses.  His name is [Toujou], a professional mercenary who travels the world in search of combat and has made a name for himself on various battlefields.  In his eyes, Dius’ figure didn’t appear to be a person worth being wary of either.

“Unlike the two of you, I am not a physical combatant, so I was unable to determine if he is strong or not.  However, he did not, at the very least, seem to be lying.  He is either genuinely strong enough to suppress up or extremely confident in himself.

Finally, the third bodyguard, a man with narrow-eyes, spoke.  His name is [Jaspa], and he is a first-rate magician of the world’s dark side.  By freely making use of illusions and mental magic, he excels at sabotage and provoking internal conflict.  In his eyes, Dius didn’t seem to be anything more than a confident person whose ability couldn’t be measured by them.

“If all of you say so, then I guess that’s how it is.  Those thugs sent to capture Beni and her daughter messing up must have been nothing more than a story.  I was worrying too much to my own detriment.”

Hirugai voiced his dissatisfaction at hearing the 3, but his expression became one of relief.

“Funds are still abundant.  I also have a lot of pieces at my disposal, and there’s the cooperation from all of you as well.  Just as that person wishes, the day Sapporo can be seized with Susukino as their base isn’t far off!”

Hirugai made a loud declaration and disappeared into the night city.

Name meanings:
Hirugai: Leech
Beni: Rouge (color)

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T/N: Konnichiwa, it has been a while everyone. I wonder if any former readers will have returned? Well, as you can see, I intend to start posting for this story again. If things go well, I shall post at least one chapter a week.

Lyfe~

<60. Dius
62. Maybe I Should Look for a Parttime Job…>