Chapter 46 - Chapter 44: A Tale of DEAD OR ALIVE
The continuous gunshots of a submachine gun roared, and I felt a sensation of something hot grazing over my head. The trunks of the magnificent cherry trees planted on the left and right of the road burst, scattering wood chips.
"You bastard...!"
I turned around while running and fired the handgun. I wasn't expecting a hit since I hadn't taken proper aim and was running, but I saw a human figure chasing me immediately jump into an irrigation canal. I pulled the trigger further so they couldn't raise their heads, and at the third time, the sound of the hammer hitting an empty shell rang out.
I was out of bullets. I immediately pulled out the other revolver, but the time to shoot was also precious. When I turned on my heel and started running again, gunshots rang out from behind again. However, perhaps they ran out of bullets, as the shooting stopped immediately.
"Aaaah, I hate this already!"
I succeeded in drawing the guards away from Naomi-san and the others, but in exchange, I ended up being chased. Although I was optimistic at first thinking I'd manage somehow, my thoughts changed after being chased by several stalwart men like this. On top of that, they are shooting without hesitation to kill me. Although I managed to reduce the number of pursuers by running around here and there, I'll be caught at this rate.
Leaving the main street, to the south. As expected of a depopulated area, I don't feel any human presence wherever I go. That main street was also probably made for the time being without considering the number of users in the era when bubble money was overflowing. When I move a little away from the main street, the scenery of a deserted village with farmhouses dotted here and there immediately returned.
"Where should I run to...?"
Fortunately, several houses are lined up in the place where I am now. I have to hide somewhere before the guards pressing from behind catch up. I don't have enough stamina to keep running while being chased by guards, and I can't meet up with Naomi-san and the others while being chased.
There was a western-style one-story house with a large garden and a prefabricated warehouse under the eaves. The gate wasn't locked, and I entered the premises after opening the gate without making a noise. Because the curtains were closed tight, I couldn't survey the state inside the house. Because there was no light around due to blowing up the power plant, I sprinted through the garden where a magnificent flower bed was maintained, relying on the moonlight.
Circling to the back, I cautiously smashed the peephole of the door that seemed to be the back entrance with the axe. The sound of glass scattering echoed, but did the guards outside hear it? While thinking so, I cautiously thrust my hand through the window so as not to cut my hand with glass and fumbled to open the lock.
In a narrow house, a rifle is difficult to handle and can't be fired continuously. While readying the handgun, I opened the door, but the inside of the house was pitch black. Because there's a possibility of light leaking from gaps in the curtains, I couldn't use a flashlight, and I clicked my tongue and stepped into the house closed in darkness.
Originally I should have taken off my shoes, but I can't afford to do that leisurely. At the same time as I closed the door, a man's voice, "Where did he go!?" entered through the broken window.
"He shouldn't have gone far yet, search!"
"Call out to the residents in this area too! Tell them to be careful because a dangerous guy is wandering outside."
I thought, which one is the dangerous guy? I'm just running around from the people who are trying to kill me, and they were the ones who started it first. I'm not at fault; if a trial were held, it would be a hundred percent not-guilty verdict.
At this rate, a search party of guards will soon come to this house too. From their perspective, I am now a heinous criminal who killed several comrades and then set fire to the village. I have to say the possibility of them overlooking me is quite low.
But, fortunately, I was good at hide-and-seek. In a house this large, there are plenty of places to hide. There won't be enough personnel in the guards to spare several people for the search of one house, and if I take down the guards who come one by one, I might be able to escape.
The place I entered from the back entrance was apparently a kitchen. As my night vision kicked in, I could see that a gas stove and a cupboard were placed. However, I felt an ill omen from the fact that all of them were clean.
"Is someone there...?"
In the next instant, orange light suddenly shone into the kitchen, and a raspy voice echoed. When I immediately pointed the handgun, an old man holding a candlestick in one hand was there, his eyes wide open.
"Don't move...!"
In a slightly high-pitched voice, yet suppressing it out of wariness for the guards outside, I said so. The old man's eyes opened to the limit in surprise, and he dropped the candlestick he held. The candle of the candlestick remained lit even after falling to the floor, illuminating the old man's face eerily.
Because I was in a hurry, it was my mistake that I hadn't even considered that someone might be in the house. Because none of the houses had residents, I had assumed this house was also a vacant house.
Apparently, just like me, the old man also hadn't even dreamed that someone had entered his house. Before that mouth could open and call someone, I said further.
"Listen, don't move. And don't talk. You've been hearing gunshots for a while, so you know this isn't a toy, right? If you don't want to end your few remaining years of life right here right now, just nod silently."
While switching from the handgun to the crossbow, I kept the aim on the old man's chest. A crossbow can only fire one shot at a time and is long, so it might get caught here and there. But if I fire a gun here, the guards outside will notice even before the old man makes a fuss.
"I-I understand. So please put away that dangerous thing. I don't have anything."
"Even if you say so, I was almost killed by the people of this village. Unfortunately, I can't trust anyone."
My mouth was moving on its own, but inside my head, I was desperate thinking about what to do from here on.
Should I kill him here? No, he doesn't have a weapon; he's clearly a non-combatant. If I kill indiscriminately, I'm just a murderer. The people I've killed so far were all those who held weapons and were trying to kill me. So to speak, it's self-defense.
But if I let him live, there's a possibility he'll make a fuss and call the guards. While I was agonizing over whether to eliminate that uncertain factor, another approaching footstep drowned out that thought.
"Akiyama-san, what's wrong? Something..."
The one who showed her face saying so was a middle-aged woman who seemed to be a housewife. She also dropped the flashlight she held as soon as she saw my figure, and before her mouth could raise a scream, I had taken action.
"Don't move, be quiet! If you make a fuss, I'll kill not just him but you too!"
Saying so, I pointed the handgun I was about to put away at the woman too. With a crossbow in my right hand and a handgun in my left, it was more than just heavy, but the woman must have understood the situation unfolding before her eyes. After confirming that she nodded with tremendous force, I quickly lowered the crossbow and gripped the other handgun in my right hand.
Readying a handgun in both hands, I asked, "Is anyone else here?" The woman, perhaps because of terror, couldn't think of anything and answered, "One more person..."
"Where is that person?"
"In the living room ahead..."
"I see, guide me. If you make a fuss, I'll kill not just you two but that person too. I'm telling you, I'm serious."
The gunshots and explosion sounds that had been ringing for a while prove that the handgun I hold isn't a fake. The woman, with a face distorted by terror, nodded and picked up the flashlight, then started walking slowly on the wooden floor of the hallway.
"You too, old man."
"I don't care what happens to me, so can't you help Michiko-san and the others? I beg you."
"Whether you guys live or die depends on your cooperation with me. If you refuse to cooperate, I'll kill you on the spot. If you follow what I say quietly, I don't intend to do anything. I just want to escape this village alive. If you guys don't interfere with that, we'll just leave quietly."
The hallway was narrow and we could only proceed in a single file. I lowered the handgun in my left hand and instead readied the flashlight, and urged, "Go." After proceeding for a while, there was a sliding door, and the woman and the old man stopped in front of that room.
"Listen, you enter first. Then tell the person inside not to make a fuss. If you make a fuss or anything, I'll kill this person."
I said so to the old man and pointed the muzzle at the woman. A puddle spread at the woman's feet, and I knew she had urinated, but I didn't care now. The old man nodded quietly, opened the sliding door, and stepped into the room.
Apparently, it was true that there was one more person, as I could hear another woman's voice.
"Listen, Akemi-san, please don't raise a loud voice or make a fuss at all."
"What on earth..."
"Just do it. Please, otherwise your life is also in danger."
After confirming that the inside of the room became quiet after those words, I waved the muzzle and instructed the woman to "Enter." Perhaps because of terror, her body movements were awkward, and I followed her into the room and quickly closed the door.
"You are..."
"Shut up, if you make a fuss I'll kill you. I'm just going to hide here until the guards are gone. If you guys don't make a fuss, I won't do anything, and once the guards are gone, I'll leave here quietly. I don't want to kill people either, so please listen to what I say."
I thought it was completely a villain's line, but I'm not wrong about anything. The ones who deceived us and tried to kill us were the residents of this village. These three in front of me also participated in that, even if not directly; originally they wouldn't be able to complain even if they were killed.
After confirming that the woman nodded, I checked the inside of the room. In the center of the room was a low table with several candles for lighting placed, and sofas were arranged to surround it. The south side was a window, and it seemed the garden could be overlooked from there, but the curtains were closed tight now. In the corner of the room illuminated orange by the candle flames, a television which had now turned into an ornament was settled, and the three were huddled in front of it.
"Sit on the sofa."
Fortunately, the room was large, and I switched back to the crossbow and urged the three so. If the three attacked at once... I thought, but at that time, I'd just switch to handguns and shoot them all dead. Though if that happens, the guards will gather, so I want to avoid using guns as much as possible.
After confirming that the three slumped onto the sofa, I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Taking three old people and a woman who didn't even have weapons hostage at gunpoint and barricading myself in a house. I felt like a heinous criminal, that was my honest feeling.