The last part of chapter 2 (which marks half the book, btw!) Nothing much happens, but well, since I’m not skipping anything, have this “aftermath talk” segment.

Chapter 2 (part 3/3) (volume 1, pages 106-129)

†

“…So, what was the result?” Munakata, seated behind his desk in his office in Scepter 4 HQ and not taking his eyes away from the puzzle in front of him, asked Akiyama.

Akiyama reported with seeming embarra.s.sment coloring his voice, “Um… in the end, the apartment building collapsed, sir.”

It was said hesitantly, as if to check how Munakata would react first. As he feared, Munakata’s fingers, fiddling with a puzzle piece, froze abruptly.

But, only 2-3 seconds later, Munakata expressed, “Oh. How grand scaled.”

It was absolutely impossible to gauge what he was thinking by the smile that appeared on his lips as he resumed putting puzzle pieces to their rightful places.

Akiyama, in a cold sweat, thought to himself, ‘I’d have much preferred to be scolded openly though…’

Not only had they let Gouoku, who was the target of this operation, escape, they had also caused extensive damage in the process that could and should have been avoided. The only positive result they had achieved was securing the custody of the repeat petty thief strain. But that, being part of their regular work, wasn’t much of an achievement at all and even went without saying. In all honesty, this kind of result, considering that it was brought by combined efforts of the Special Ops squad, was the same as a failure.

It wasn’t even clear if Munakata was angry at how it turned out or really thought nothing of it.

"Come to think of it, this person has never reprimanded me in the true sense of the word…’

To Akiyama, as a former member of the National Defense Force, the sort of coolness Munakata displayed and his indifferent reactions that made grasping what he felt very difficult were making him feel ill at ease. Beatings he had taken from merciless instructors back in his trainee days were nothing compared to this.

“And what happened to Awashima-kun?” Munakata asked his next question, taking puzzle pieces one after another with quick and smooth finger movements.

Akiyama gave an immediate answer, “Since Lieutenant had quite a few bruises, she headed to the hospital once the operation was over. Lieutenant herself said that it wasn’t a big deal, but since she also took a hit to the head, we found it necessary she go to the hospital for a check.”
“Hoo. To injure Awashima-kun to that extent…” Munakata said in a slightly lowered tone. “Akiyama-kun. Please describe the confrontation development to the best of your ability.”
“Yes, sir.” Akiyama did as ordered.

Basically, it was a disorganized battle in a confined s.p.a.ce. With Awashima as the core of their offensive, Akiyama, Benzai, Doumyouji and Kamo launched an incessant and fierce onslaught on Gouoku. Hidaka and Fuse, meanwhile, with the help of Gotou who was standing by outside, evacuated all the residents and transported the unconscious strain.

Luckily, except for the strain youth, there were only 2 other tenants in the building, so evacuation went without a hitch, and no civilians were injured. For all that the fight between Gouoku and Scepter 4 was 1 vs 5, it was far from one-sided and even becoming progressively more fierce, eventually reaching the point where a wall was blown up and a support beam destroyed.

As a result, the already cheap and not very st.u.r.dy structure gave way, collapsing and dragging all the fighters, both Scepter 4 and Gouoku, along with it.

Gouoku was rampaging, throwing his bulk around with agility unbelievable for his size. The only one who could go toe to toe with him in battle was Awashima. Moreover, in the confined s.p.a.ce their numbers and the length of their weapon, saber, turned to their disadvantage as they were all constantly in each other’s way.

They might have stood a better chance at arresting Gouoku if Awashima had been the only one to fight him.

“Still, no matter how strong Awashima-kun and that personage, Nakamura Gouoku, were, they would not be able to destroy the whole apartment building with just the two of them, would they?”
“Sir.” After hesitating for a moment, Akiyama stumbled out, “About that… it is, uh…”
“It is alright, Akiyama-kun. It is not like I intend to put you through questioning. I only want you to report what happened truthfully, nothing more.”
“Understood, sir. Then…” Akiyama cleared his throat shortly and reported, “In the end, Doumyouji grew impatient and unleashed several powerful attacks in succession, and that was probably what became the last straw. They damaged the support beams of the building, and, uh…”
“Hoo.” Munakata’s hand froze mid-motion again. Akiyama braced himself.

But upon a closer look, it appeared that the reason wasn’t because Munakata was bothered by the story but because he had simply completed his puzzle. Folding his arms, he admired his handiwork with fond satisfaction.

Akiyama dared a look at it as well.

It really was Munakata’s puzzle, quite literally. For there he was, Munakata Reishi, looking at the world from the puzzle with a false whole face smile.

Akiyama had heard the rumors. That there hardly could be found a jigsaw puzzle anymore that could satisfy the needs of the puzzle loving Munakata, so he made his own puzzles to entertain himself.

Apparently, he was fine with any picture on his puzzles at all. As far as Akiyama knew, he had already gone through clear blue sky with no other hues mixed in, a toilet wall, a shot of the Special Ops squad members working up a sweat in the dojo, cicadas and a banknote. Pictures he took were made into puzzles via exclusive puzzle cutting machines.

So apparently, he was just as undemanding about the picture as always, using a selfie for this time’s puzzle.

Akiyama glanced at the wallclock.

"7a.m. Has this person pulled an all-nighter waiting for the report…?’

He hardly ever slept or even just rested. But at the same time, he was engaging in something as incomprehensible as playing with puzzles.

"He really is a very odd person.’

Abruptly, Munakata stood up.

“Well, I have grasped the gist of it. So good job, Akiyama-kun.”
“Eh?” Akiyama made a surprised face hearing the words that were outside of his predictions. Thinking he misheard them, he asked for a confirmation. “Excuse me, but what did you just say, sir?”
“Hm?” Now Munakata was the one confused. “Why, I thanked you for the job well done. Did I say something strange?”
“Erm, but…” Akiyama started awkwardly. “We let Nakamura Gouoku escape and caused heavy damage to a civilian building. So naturally, I was prepared to receive a well deserved reprimand.”
“Aah.” Munakata offered him a little smile. “Is that so. Well, indeed.” His countenance became sterner, “I am not about to praise you for damaging the apartment building. Naturally, it is collective responsibility and I shall have all of you reflect on your actions, and Doumyouji-kun in particular, for being the frequent source of this kind of damage, I shall have him write a letter of apology for every hundred thousand of damage claims.”

Doumyouji had a lot of writing to do then; Akiyama turned pale in the face as he thought just how much. "That’ll be like 200 letters of apology, no?’

Suddenly, Munakata smiled. “But you know, Akiyama-kun, despite the damage, there were no casualties and no one was injured. And what is more, you have fulfilled your duties, have you not? You have arrested the strain thief, after all.”

Huh, Akiyama thought.

“You have accomplished what you were supposed to. In which case, both Kounomura Zenichi and Nakamura Gouoku are nothing more than a little vexation. What is to be prioritized is justice. Or am I wrong?”
“You are… not, sir.” It came out almost as a groan, but it was the best Akiyama could manage.

Until now, deep down he thought that first and foremost, they needed to do something about that Kounomura Zenichi who was challenging them. Because he was undermining their foundations somehow, Akiyama felt. That’s why they just couldn’t afford to ignore him; as to the strain youth, he didn’t give him more thought than that he was to be their bait.

And it wasn’t just him: it was safe to a.s.sume that all of the Special Ops members, starting with Awashima, didn’t view the strain as anything more than that. That strain was just a petty thief, to them.

But Munakata’s view was different.

He continued to focus on the fundamental basis and principles, not shaken in the least by Kounomura’s group that was opposing them.

"As expected, this person…’

Munakata unhurriedly walked past Akiyama, and Akiyama, on a sudden impulse, called out to him, making him pause in his tracks.

“E-Excuse me, Captain, but where are you going this early, sir?”
“Hm?” Munakata’s smile didn’t waver. “To take measures in regards to the collapsed building. Since the amount of damage is substantial, certain necessary arrangements need to be done. Also, I will try to visit Awashima-kun in the hospital if I can make time for it.” He gave Akiyama a light clap on the shoulder. “Akiyama-kun. Creating the environment where you can do your work without worrying about anything else or holding back is my job. So now leave it to me and get some rest, okay?”
“Yes, sir!” Akiyama jumped to attention on a reflex. And thought that Kounomura Zenichi would not win against this person, their king, Munakata Reishi. There was no way he ever could, not in the greatness nor in the wits and resourcefulness, Akiyama thought with pa.s.sion.

Munakata nodded to him once casually and went straight out of the room.

†

It was unclear just what kind of measures Munakata had taken, but all the necessary paperwork in relation to the collapsed apartment building was being handled quickly and smoothly. Doumyouji, on the verge of tears, completed the required 200 letters of apology; Awashima left the hospital the next day, in good health.

She didn’t have any serious injuries to begin with, so she was well and in high spirits and only sincerely regretting her failure to capture Gouoku. On the same day, having obtained the permission from Munakata, she took some people and started the mission to uncover Gouoku and Kounomura’s whereabouts.

Speaking of, now that Scepter 4 took the initiative, Kounomura stopped his attempts to usurp their work altogether. Opinions on how to interpret his sudden silence split even within the Special Ops squad, so in the end, most members settled on one of two predominant viewpoints with equal number of supporters, namely: “even if we failed to capture their giant, they did run into our ambush, so now they had to become cautious” and “no, they’re just taking their time to set up something nasty for us next”.

Kamo, currently sitting in the driver’s seat of an official car taken to drive Munakata to certain government agencies, was of the middle opinion.

“…Kamo-kun. Did you find out Nakamura Gouoku-shi’s background?”
“Yes, sir. The digits he told us really turned out to be his Citizen ID Number.”

Citizen ID Number was a combination of 10 digits and 3 alphabet letters for managing taxes and social security all at once that could be a.s.signed to every j.a.panese citizen over the age of 20 if they wished so. Only, although getting this ID endure that all the government office related procedures were quick and smooth, many refused to request their Citizen ID Number for reasons of privacy protection, since acquiring that Number meant all the personal information imaginable could be accessed through it alone. That was why, by estimates, only a little more than 60% of the eligible population had received their Citizen ID Numbers.

All the Scepter 4 members, being public servants, had it.

“I must say you are impressive, Kamo-kun. Did you instantly memorize the number the man told you even though you heard it only once?”
Kamo, with embarra.s.sment showing, replied, “…In my previous line of work, memorization skills were rather necessary.”
“…” After a split second consideration, Munakata had figured what Kamo meant. “I see. Working as a chef required a good memory indeed.”
“That is right, sir. You had to remember what and when you served to several customers at once, at any time.”
“I see, I see,” Munakata said, eyes squinting up in a smile. “I would like to enjoy your sushi sometime again.”
“You only need to order, sir, and I’ll be happy to serve it to you any time.”

Munakata gave him a broad smile, and Kamo couldn’t help breaking into a smile of his own in reply.

“Let us return to the subject at hand though, that is, Nakamura Gouoku-shi.” A serious expression returned to Munakata’s face. “Am I right to a.s.sume that we now know his personal history in its entirety, including his academic background, work experiences, criminal record, health insurance and his tax payer history, through his Citizen ID Number?”

Kamo nodded in reply to Munakata’s question, “Yes, sir. We have all the data on him that were registered at the National Police Agency and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Based on them, it can be said that Nakamura Gouoku is an exemplary citizen. Not only does he not have a criminal record, he even rescued a pregnant woman that fell on the train platform when he was in high school, and when he was a college student, he chanced upon a convenience store robbery and subdued the culprit, which earned him a warm grat.i.tude and recognition from the local police station.”
“Hoo.”
“Once he came of age, he became a faultless tax payer. Having succeeded his father as the chief priest of a temple, he applied his knowledge of Buddhism to practice, writing how-to books and giving seminars. He also organizes live music performances and ghost story events on his temple’s grounds, gaining considerable profits. He met Kounomura through their shared volunteer activities, it seems.”
“—Wait a second.” Pressing his index finger to his forehead, Munakata asked, “Was all that information registered to his Citizen ID Number? It could not be, now could it?”
“No, it couldn’t, sir.” Kamo glanced at Munakata, sitting in the pa.s.senger seat.

His superior wore a puzzled face, which was exceedingly rare for him. For a short while ,Kamo hesitated about how to explain it to him, in the end deciding to just say everything frankly.

“You see, Nakamura Gouoku keeps a blog, sir. Frank records on nearly every significant event of his life, including his meeting with Kounomura, can be found there.”
“—A blog, huh.” Even Munakata appeared to be genuinely surprised.
“Yes, sir. It’s t.i.tled "The tedious diary of the macho chief priest”. It came up right away when I tried searching his name.“

Munakata was silent.

Kamo continued, feeling somewhat guilty, "Of course, with all the information about him in the open like that, I took Fuse and Hidaka and together, we hurried to pay the temple a visit…” He bowed his head apologetically. “But we were too late and I sincerely apologize for that. When we got there, the culprit had already transferred all the regular duties to his disciples and disappeared without informing anyone of where.”

Munakata opened his mouth, only to close it again. “Hm.” Putting a hand to his chin, he looked to be deep in thought.

That was when his PDA rang. Munakata answered without delay.

“Yes, Munakata listening.”
“Captain. There is something I must report to you, sir,” came Awashima’s voice.

Kamo, despite having sharp ears, could barely hear her. She sounded like she was angry but trying to suppress it.

“Yes, what is it?” Munakata was unwaveringly cool.
As if to override his calm, Awashima immediately continued, “Kounomura contacted us again.”
“Hohoo.” Munakata must have foreseen something like that happening but still apparently found it interesting. “In what shape? Did he send us more pictures?”
“No, a postcard this time. A picture postcard sent to the address of Scepter 4 heardquarters.” Now that definitely sounded like she was really angry.

Munakata, on the other hand, appeared to not quite grasp what was said to him. “A picture postcard?” he asked in uncharacteristic confusion.
“Yes, sir. The postmark reads Honolulu, Hawaii. The picture postcard itself is a typical card for tourists, depicting Diamond Head.”
“And what is written in that postcard?”
“The message is not a long one, so I will read it out loud for you, sir, if you don’t mind. "I’m in Hawaii right now. I’ll return to j.a.pan shortly, and once I’m back, I’ll go for your throne for real”,“ Awashima read dejectedly. "Postscript. I will send some Hawaiian chocolate with macadamia nuts to your HQ separately from this postcard, so eat them together with your troops, they’re delicious.” End of the message.“

The content left no doubt that Munakata and Scepter 4 were being taken very lightly. Kamo, listening to the conversation next to Munakata, was on pins and needles. He could easily imagine why Awashima, who deeply respected their king, would be so vehemently mad. What Kamo himself was more worried about was not the enemy’s hostile intentions but Munakata’s reaction. To check it, he chanced to look at Munakata out of the corner of his eye. Even Munakata’s composure could crack a little exposing his displeasure when he was being mocked quite like that, Kamo thought, but, surprisingly, found no traces of it.

The Blue King was lost in thought.

"Captain. What do we do? What steps should we take?” Awashima pressed him for an answer.

“Let us see…” Munakata expressed absentmindedly. “First, find out all you can about the place that sold that card; also, collect fingerprints left on it…” he started but suddenly stopped in some sort of surprised realization. Then he abruptly grinned, laughing, “Hahahaha. I see, I see. I am being quite silly, myself. Fingerprints? There can be no doubt that we would find them. Kounomura-shi’s, of course. After all, he does not even try to hide anything. Awashima-kun,” Munakata addressed Awashima in an instantly changed tone. “There is no need to do anything in regards to Kounomura Zenichi-shi. As to the postcard, simply leave it on my table. Oh, and when the chocolate arrives, let us sample it all together. I shall partake, too.”
“C-Captain…?” Awashima managed in a completely confused voice.

Munakata took pity on her and explained gently. “Awashima-kun. Please listen to my words carefully. Just like he stated, Kounomura-shi will not attempt anything until he is back to this country. As such, it is meaningless to do anything in regards to his case, nor can we do anything at the moment, really. Do I have your understanding?”
“But…!”
Awashima still wanted to protest, but Munakata cut her off, not giving her room to object, “Awashima-kun. When Kounomura-shi contacted us the first time, he did it from Egypt’s Cairo, am I right? But why would he get in touch with us while being on the other side of the globe?”
“That’s…” Awashima couldn’t provide an answer, Kamo could tell. If Kamo was the one asked that kind of question, he would be hard pressed to give an answer, too, he was sure.

In the first place, why did Kounomura bother to declare his desire to drag the crown of the Blue King off Munakata’s head and put it on his own instead? The idea just didn’t look well thought out nor carrying logical sense. As to the whole deal with video-calling from abroad, Kamo thought it was just a whim of a money-bag or some kind of flaunting performance.

But Munakata promptly refuted that way of thinking.

“That was Kounomura-shi’s message.”
“Message?” Still driving, Kamo found himself blurting out before he had the chance to check himself.

Munakata turned to Kamo and smiled. Switching his PDA to loud speaker mode so that both Kamo and Awashima could hear him, he started explaining his conclusions to them slowly.

“I would like your attention, Awashima-kun, and yours, too, Kamo-kun. Kounomura-shi proclaimed a certain thing from the start, did he not? That he believes that the Dresden Slate might choose him if he defeats me. And he has been acting under that premise the whole time, by exposing the limits of my organization, Scepter 4.”
“The limits?”
“The limits?”

Kamo and Awashima inquired in unison.

Munakata’s smile seemed to widen as he continued the explanation. “Awashima-kun. Here is the main question. For argument’s sake, let us a.s.sume that Kounomura-shi really was or is in Cairo and Hawaii, just like the hints he has left for us suggest. Do you think we have the authority to arrest him there?”
“…” Awashima sank into silence.

Munakata glanced at Kamo, and Kamo, after a second of deliberation, gingerly answered, “No, we do not. The police could request Interpol’s cooperation, probably, but we, Scepter 4, at present have yet to establish any business link-up with any international organization. And we would simply lack any legal basis to arrest Kounomura in any foreign country even if we went there ourselves.”
“Correct.” Munakata nodded in satisfaction. “Kounomura-shi pointed a certain thing out with his whereabouts. Namely, that at present, Scepter 4’s scope of activity has limits. I have no intention to put us down for this, but it is a fact that Scepter 4’s jurisdiction is restricted to the territory of the country of j.a.pan. Therefore, if a criminal escaped overseas, we would have no legal means to apprehend them. This is the weakness that Kounomura-shi pointed out to us with clarity by his own whereabouts.”

Neither Awashima nor Kamo could find anything to object to that.

Munakata quietly gave his additional orders. “Awashima-kun. What I said does not mean that we have to hold back in regards to Nakamura Gouoku who is in this country. Him, we need to take in custody on the charge of undisputed interference with execution of our duties. So for the time being, put the matter with Kounomura-shi on hold and concentrate on capturing Nakamura Gouoku instead with no efforts spared.”
“…” After a brief pause, Awashima seemed to have succeeded in throwing her doubts away, “Yes, sir!” Perhaps, she found her determination to first to the job at hand before worrying about something that could not be accomplished right away. She proclaimed her resolve in a vigorous tone, “In the next couple of days, I will find Nakamura Gouoku, put a rope on his neck and drag him before you, sir!”
“How very reliable. Thank you, Awashima-kun,” Munakata replied softly and Awashima, reiterating her commitment, hang up.

With a little sigh, Munakata switched off his PDA. Then he turned to Kamo again, looking amused for some reason, and said, “Kounomura-shi is sending quite a number of messages, actually. And himself and his follower Nakamura Gouoku revealing their detailed social background to us is one of them.”
“What does that mean, sir?”
“There is one common principle in every message he sends. Namely, they all expose some kind of structural defect in Scepter 4. He eloquently points them out one by one not with words but with actions.”
“—My apologies, Captain, but I don’t think I follow…”

In reply to puzzled Kamo, Munakata said crisply, “Then, Kamo-kun, please consider this. Let us a.s.sume that there is a group that attempts to usurp our job as Scepter 4. In this case, to whom should we appeal with damage claims?”
“Eh?”
“Officially, at the moment, Scepter 4 is functioning within the framework of the j.a.panese law. But in reality…” Munakata chuckled. “In reality, we are, as we ourselves say, unique… To put it simply, we are a group of super powered individuals. The group that is outside the const.i.tutional government as well as common sense and general knowledge. But that is only natural, since our job is to control and manage those who have been empowered by the Dresden Slate, which is impossible to accomplish with normal human abilities. If I were to simplify to the limit, we are like Superman or Batman. So my question is…” Munakata was gazing at Kamo’s profile. “…if champions of justice like Superman and Batman were to have their super hero job hijacked, just to whom on earth could they turn to cry about it?”
“…”
“Kamo-kun. I would like you to understand one thing: Kounomura-shi has yet to commit a criminal act that would go against the public morals. All he is doing so far is trying to usurp our job. We can charge him with obstruction of justice just barely, and that, too, is only possible because of the Gold King’s influence that built us into the system of j.a.panese law somehowr. But how much of help his power can be when it comes to making us appealing to society’s perception of public order and morals…” Munakata paused before stating his conclusion, “…that, I have my doubts about.”

Raising a finger, he continued, “Let us return to the Batman and Superman example again, only this time we are Superman and they are Batman. One day, suddenly, Batman came and hijacked Superman’s duty. Question: would members of society critisize it? No, they would not. As long as their safety is protected, it matters not by whom. It may sound hurtful, but this is plain facts. We need to be more criticizing towards ourselves.”

Although there were muddy parts for Kamo, he couldn’t help but agree in general to what Munakata said. He was made to realize anew that they were not part of this country’s Slate system.

“I understand. We cannot use Kounomura and Nakamura’s actions against them by making them public, and appealing to society to take our side. Is that what Kounomura is letting us know, sir?”
“Yes, precisely.” Munakata nodded, then showed a wry smile. “He really is an unpleasant personage. It appears he has a good grasp on what we can do and what we cannot, as well as what is within our reach and what is beyond it.”
“Captain,” Kamo spoke up. “There has to be something that could be done to counter Kounomura, anyway, no, sir? Presently, he is outside j.a.pan, but couldn’t we arrest him at the national border the moment he enters the country?”

At that, Munakata showed an impish grin, “Kamo-kun. This is a secret between us, okay? Secretly, I cannot help finding the idea of fighting him after he is back in j.a.pan appealing. It might be rude to my elder, but I would like to engage him and mop the floor with him to my heart’s content. But, even putting my t.i.tle of the Blue King aside, as the head of Scepter 4, I cannot give into this impulse.”
“…Haah.” Kamo’s voice was strangely dark.
“I do not expect him to use common ways to return to the country either.” Munakata sounded oddly amused.

Kamo threw a glance his way, “Captain, excuse me, but I think I’ve changed my mind and—!”
But Munakata cut him off gently but firmly, “No, Kamo-kun.”
“But!”
“This is something I have decided for myself from the start. You have your important personal circ.u.mstances. In my opinion, moral obligations are to be fulfilled. That is why I ask you to get plenty of proper rest this time.”
“…” Kamo seemed to be hesitating for a while, until, “Yes, sir. Thank you very much, sir,” he said bowing his head.

Munakata gave a deep nod.

A few days after that, Kamo disappeared from Scepter 4. When the others heard that he had taken a paid vacation, they were very surprised.