Chapter 84: So, Basically, a Ninja Soul Surviving into the Modern Day
The culprit who had let slip that Meiko was my childhood friend—and, at the same time, my bodyguard—turned out to be connected to one of the contractors the caretaker couple regularly worked with while maintaining the villa.
Apparently, it had been the contractor’s child, somewhere around middle or high school age.
That particular company was primarily responsible for maintaining the villa’s gardens and surrounding woodland. Although the forest around the property looked wild and untouched at first glance, it was, in reality, carefully managed nature.
Well, if the undergrowth were allowed to grow unchecked, Kei and Aya wouldn’t be able to play properly whenever they came to spend their summers at the villa.
The job was to preserve the illusion of pristine wilderness while quietly removing anything dangerous—hazardous terrain, unstable trees, poisonous plants, or anything else that might spoil a carefree summer adventure.
It wasn’t as though they were doing ridiculous things like releasing rhinoceros beetles into the forest or artificially stocking wildlife. They weren’t harming the ecosystem in any way.
They were simply tidying up the mountains and woods to provide the perfect countryside experience for a memorable summer vacation.
If you wanted to describe it rather bluntly, it was something akin to turning the area into a well-maintained satoyama.
“Seriously? That’s on a completely different scale!”
“And you don’t even use this villa every single year, right?!”
In response to Taketsuru and Kuwajima’s astonishment, I simply nodded.
You could certainly call it a waste of money.
But then again, it was also a way of keeping the local economy moving.
In fact, in recent years we’d even been preserving habitats for fireflies, whose numbers had been declining, under the banner of landscape conservation. If the need ever arose, it would make excellent public relations material.
The Kirishiro Group had always cultivated an image of being one of the cleaner, more respectable corporate families.
Though none of that really mattered right now.
Among those contractors, one of them had occasionally brought along a teenager as “extra help.” According to the caretaker, the teenager had casually muttered a single sentence while working.
“We’ll do our very best—for your son and the young lady who’s protecting him!”
That one remark had stayed with the caretaker ever since.
As a result, he’d naturally assumed Meiko was my bodyguard.
“Well, Niwashita-san was always moving around together with Taketsuru, and Kuwajima is… well, Kuwajima. Nobody would mistake either of them for a bodyguard.”
“What exactly is that supposed to mean, Kirishiro-kun?”
“Let me ask you this instead, Kuwajima. What’s the biggest dog you think you could beat in a fight?”
“I wouldn’t lose to a Chihuahua!”
“I appreciate the honesty.”
To put it simply, Kuwajima radiated the same level of intimidation as a small lapdog, so by process of elimination, the caretaker had concluded Meiko was the bodyguard.
If it were Goetheschwarz Sanzen Sanbyaku Sanjuuin-sama, she’d probably boast about defeating any wild beast imaginable…
Though if someone actually shoved her into a predator enclosure, she’d likely burst into tears.
Putting that aside…
The real question was this.
Exactly what had been hiding among those contractors?
Well, honestly, there wasn’t much point overthinking it.
It was almost certainly someone deeply connected to the ninja world.
Or, to put it even more bluntly—
One of the surviving clans descended from the ninja families preserved in legend.
I was almost certain of it.
After all, only someone within those circles would know both that the Nekoyanagi Clan had allied itself with the Kirishiro family and that the engagement with the Inugashi Clan had been called off.
“I’m terribly sorry. I never imagined we’d allowed someone like that to get so close without realizing it.”
“It couldn’t be helped. Anyone who already knew about Meiko was almost certainly connected to the ninja world. Blending in among ordinary people is second nature to them.”
The caretaker lowered his head until his forehead nearly touched the freshly cleared table.
Seeing him apologize so sincerely, I answered in a calm, reassuring voice.
After all…
Meiko herself had concealed her true identity from me so perfectly that I’d practically started seeing hallucinations before I finally discovered the truth.
If even I couldn’t see through her, there was no chance an ordinary person ever could.
I wasn’t the sort of person who blamed others for failing to do something I myself had been unable to accomplish.
Besides…
Once a ninja blended into modern society, they became, for all practical purposes, just another ordinary person.
At that point, “seeing through them” was almost a meaningless concept.
“Meiko. Once we’re done here, could you patrol the grounds?”
“Roger that.”
“I’m sorry to ask when you were about to head home, but call that contractor over using my name. Put them down for overtime if necessary. Just tell them there were some problems with the maintenance work.”
“Please, leave it to me. It’s the least I can do.”
So, despite events piling up one after another, we’d start by following the trail of this contractor—the one who had become our most important person of interest and our likely ninja suspect.
With that decided, I glanced at the clock.
12:40.
This was taking a little longer than expected.
Maybe I should deal with Taketsuru’s auditory hallucinations first…
Or perhaps I should examine that spirit-infused watermelon while we waited.
Thinking that, I looked over at Taketsuru.
He wore an unusually serious expression.
“Just to confirm… what are you going to do if this person really turns out to be a ninja?”
“Good question.”
A number of possibilities drifted through my mind.
But I hadn’t committed myself to any one course of action yet.
There was no guarantee they’d even answer the summons.
And even if they did…
There was no telling how much useful information we’d actually get out of them.
So for now, the sensible approach was to meet them first and decide our next move afterward.
“First, I’ll hear their side of the story. And… although I doubt it’ll come to this, if they decide to run, then so be it. At that point, I’ll have to use a method I’d rather avoid.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask… what kind of method?”
“Conveniently enough, I happen to have a written challenge to a duel—with their name on it. I’ll hand it over to the police and have them brought in.”
“…That’s… surprisingly reasonable.”
Whether it was the Inugashi Clan…
Or this Kikkōryū Clan—whatever it was called…
They were all supposedly adapted to modern society.
So why was it that the moment Meiko became involved, they immediately started talking about duels?
It honestly puzzled me.
If anything, duels were more of a samurai tradition, weren’t they?
Shouldn’t ninjas prefer ambushes and assassinations?
…
Well.
Maybe that was simply the Ninja Soul that had somehow survived into the modern age.
That explanation would have to do.
“Well, the letter only challenged us to a duel. It never specified a time or place. That means they probably expected us to trace it back to them eventually. I imagine they’ll come strolling right over.”
I couldn’t say for certain.
But that was what I believed.
Otherwise, for someone living as a modern ninja, that earlier slip of the tongue had simply been far too careless.
So I concluded they hadn’t accidentally exposed themselves at all.
It had probably been bait.
Even Meiko had maintained her disguise flawlessly until someone directly pointed it out.
Though once she was called out, she’d started slipping up so spectacularly it was almost comical.
“Um… Gouto-kun. Mind if I ask something?”
“What is it, Meiko?”
“If going to the police is an option… why don’t we just hand the whole thing over to them and call it a day?”
Hearing Meiko’s quiet suggestion genuinely caught me off guard.
The thought had never even crossed my mind.
Because, really…
“What kind of textbook light novel has someone receive a formal duel challenge, report it to the police, and then peacefully avoid the whole event? If you’ve been handed such a rare event, it’d be a waste not to enjoy it.”
“Figured you’d say that…”
“Ordinary common sense says consulting the police should absolutely be the first step. But looking at it from the perspective of a proper story, I have no choice but to accept the challenge. Besides, I already missed one opportunity like this before. I’d kind of like to make up for that.”
“Wait, that’s the first I’m hearing of this. Seriously? Which idiot challenged you to a duel, Gouto-kun? Tell me who it was. They need to be dealt with.”
“They already were.”
“…Huh?”
“By you.”
“…Ummm… what?”
Apparently, Meiko had absolutely no memory of it.
Well, the duel had never actually happened.
When the invitation from the Inugashi Clan came, the police had already been listening in through the speakerphone thanks to the whole hallucination fiasco.
Then again…
Even without that…
No, actually, with or without it, the Childhood Friend Championship had essentially become a duel anyway.
Whatever.
This event wasn’t about me.
This was Meiko’s story.
There was no reason for me to steal the spotlight from her.
While we were talking, the caretaker returned after finishing his phone call.
“Lord Gouto. They’ve informed me the person in charge is on their way immediately.”
“Good work. In that case, feel free to choose a watermelon before heading home.”
“Will you truly be all right? If anything happens, please don’t hesitate to call for us.”
“I will.”
So…
The suspect really was coming.
If that was the case—
Then we’d begin this latest chain of events with a ninja.
Twenty minutes later.
“Mmph! Mmph!! Mmph!!”
After a series of completely unexpected twists and turns…
The contractor in question had ended up thoroughly tied up by Meiko herself and suspended from a clothes-drying pole.
It was the classic, time-honored whole roasted pig position.
Oh…
And the suspect was a woman.