Their destination was a small, secluded building on the Takayanagi estate. Instead of leading Ichiro to the front door, Kaoru Tohsaka brought him to a half-open window. "If you look through here, you can see lots of strange things," she said.
Ichiro crouched down and peered through the window into a basement. It was clearly a ventilated underground room, and some of the equipment inside caught his interest.
It was obvious Kaoru didn't recognize the tools and devices, which was why she thought the basement was strange. Ichiro smiled slightly. "Kaoru, why don't you come inside with me and take a look?"
"Okay, I'll go with you." She had only planned to show him the place, but since Ichiro himself had invited her, she had no reason to refuse.
They went to the front entrance, but the door was locked.
"The key should be with my mom. I'll go get it," Kaoru offered.
"No need—it's still here." Ichiro stopped her, feeling along the wall beside the door until he found a hidden compartment. Inside was the key, which he used to open the basement door.
Hiding keys this way was common in rural areas, but in the main house, Musashi's authority was so absolute that no one would dare enter his basement without permission.
Ichiro led Kaoru inside, opening a new door into the basement.
To Kaoru, the place was filled with bizarre and even frightening objects. One example was a wooden cross, chains hanging from the horizontal beam, which made her instinctively hide behind Ichiro.
"Big brother, what are these things?" she asked timidly.
"This is where treasures are kept," Ichiro replied.
He knew immediately that this was where Musashi had hidden things. The Takayanagi main house's loan records and proof of collateral should be stored here. Musashi's reputation kept others from touching them.
"Kaoru, I need to look for something here. Just stay put," Ichiro told her—he didn't expect her to help search. The odd equipment would likely scare her off anyway.
"Okay." She agreed without complaint.
Ichiro ignored the various tools and scanned the room until his gaze settled on the cross—or rather, the wall behind it.
He moved the cross slightly and tapped on the wall, hearing the hollow sound he was hoping for.
Pleased, he searched the wall until he found a hidden switch. Pressing it, he triggered a mechanism, and a bundle popped out.
Opening it quickly, he saw exactly what he needed: the Takayanagi family's loan records and certificates, along with documents for assets seized from debtors. These could be sorted later.
After rewrapping the bundle and closing the compartment, Ichiro stood—just in time to hear Kaoru muttering under her breath:
"1: Disinfect before use.
2: Before use, you need to…
3: Wipe and store after use.
4: Remove batteries for storage.
5: Don't insert… too deeply.
6: Don't use for too long.
7: Don't share.
8: Use in moderation."
Turning around, Ichiro saw Kaoru holding a pink… item in her left hand and a piece of paper in her right—the paper clearly listing its usage precautions.
Even though she had never seen such a thing before, reading the instructions made her realize it was not something "good."
"Big brother, no, I—I didn't…" Flustered under his gaze, she tried to throw it away, but it was as if it were stuck to her hand. She could only stammer in protest.
"I've found what I came for. If you like what's in your hand, take it with you," Ichiro said casually. People had their curiosities—there was nothing wrong with satisfying them now and then.
Somehow compelled by his words, Kaoru slipped both the item and the instruction sheet into her pocket. "Big brother, since you've got what you wanted, can we leave now?" she asked.
(End of Chapter)
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