"This is an expression of my gratitude, please both of you accept it."
A night later, Nekiri Senzaemon was finally released by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
A large number of monster corpses appeared in this incident, and there seemed to be nothing to dispute. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department was also anxious to close the case to give an explanation to some of the victims' families in the Totsuki Academy massacre, so they put all the blame on Tsukasa Azami, who was still staying at the Tokyo Grand Hotel and was indeed connected to these things.
Although Japan has not had the death penalty for many years, this incident had such a significant impact, coupled with considerable behind-the-scenes manipulation, it is estimated that Tsukasa Azami would not fare well.
Keli and the other person mentioned the nuclear wastewater issue to Nekiri Senzaemon, and Senzaemon stated that he would use his connections to postpone the plan, so the two of them didn't need to worry.
However, this did confirm that although the 'other' had wild ideas, the fish-men's thinking was indeed sound; these chefs truly had the ability to influence politics.
Nevertheless, Keli and Kazuma still did not give up on the idea of solo killing.
Two well-known establishments had experienced cult attacks, and Nekiri Senzaemon was also largely to blame, so he would be very busy these days. He could only make time to entertain Keli and the others and secretly arrange for the two to be sent away with gifts of gratitude.
The gifts were substantial: a bank card from Hong Kong, several boxes of cash, and two small gifts that both Keli and Kazuma were very satisfied with.
Some high-ranking Japanese officials, if their sources or destinations of money are unclear, sometimes like to open bank accounts in surrounding regions to deposit money. It's less likely to be frozen and more convenient.
What, you ask why not use American or Swiss cards? What's the difference between using those and openly admitting your money is problematic if you're caught?
There was also a very ornate shotgun styled like a blunderbuss, along with 600 rounds of ammunition.
Several sets of bulletproof vests.
And two katanas. One was a collector's item, said to be a work by Shizusada. While most people are unfamiliar with the name Shizusada, his works are quite famous, such as Hijikata Toshizo's short sword, and the renowned Kuji Kanemoto, which appeared in "The Garden of Sinners."
The other was a practical item, said to have been forged by the Nakiri family years ago to guard their home. It was made with very complete modern craftsmanship, sharp and well-maintained, possessing high practical value.
Keli had no reaction to katanas. It wasn't like he was given a Broken Blade, Tenseiga, or Yamato; what was so special about a katana? Even if you ranked cold weapons by practical effectiveness, it wouldn't be at the top.
Instead, Sato Kazuma and Kirito developed a great interest. When the other party asked them to help deliver the items home, each of them held one, occasionally pulling it out to look, just like two elementary school students.
Although in the end, it was a pity that I didn't see what happened to that outrageous Sadatsuka Nao, whether she was discovered taking candid photos and arrested on the spot when the police searched the mountain.
In Japan, let alone candid photography, using a camera without a flash is not generally allowed.
To make it easier for Kirito to move in, the two went to purchase some more furniture, and Sato Kazuma even went crazy, saying he wanted to cook himself.
...
Tokyo, Akabane West.
Inside Keli's three-person base.
Sato Kazuma pulled open Keli's door.
"Hey! The pot I'm cooking downstairs is already on the stove, so come down and wait!"
Yes, although he claimed he wanted to cook himself, Sato Kazuma, that scoundrel, chose hotpot, and even bought an induction cooker for it. The open-plan kitchen, which is quite large for Tokyo, was practically weeping.
When Sato Kazuma pushed open the door, he found Keli tinkering with something, so he curiously peeked his head over.
He saw a statue covered with a red cloth next to Keli's hand.
"Huh? What's this?"
Keli carefully placed the statue on his desk while explaining.
"Oh, this is an idol I got from those cultists. Didn't we say we were going to deal with the monster in that woman's belly? That's when I found it."
Keli placed the statue down and turned to look at Sato Kazuma.
Sato Kazuma was startled by the words, backing away repeatedly, his hands splayed out like a cockroach, leaning against the corridor.
"Wait, why did you bring this thing here?"
"I figured those fish-men seemed to know some magic or something, and they could transform, so the statue is probably very dangerous..."
Listening to Keli's words, Sato Kazuma nodded knowingly.
Indeed, if it was the god worshipped by those monsters, it might really have some miraculous properties. Such a dangerous item needed to be properly disposed of.
Then, immediately after, Sato Kazuma heard Keli's unfinished sentence.
"...So I wasn't thinking, we have a haunting here, right? I decided to invite it back to ward off evil."
Sato Kazuma froze, then his face darkened. He almost forgot this guy was a lunatic.
Damn it, our house is just haunted. You want us to go to a shrine to get some talismans or omamori, and you bring an evil god back to ward off evil, is that it?
If you put a Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit in your room, maybe the ghost was a Yu-Gi-Oh player in life and would be disgusted enough to leave, and it could also drive away cockroaches incidentally.
"This dangerous thing, let's destroy it quickly."
Sato Kazuma walked forward with some dissatisfaction, making a move to lift the red cloth off the statue.
Keli immediately turned his head away.
Actually, Keli had also wanted to lift it and look before, but he was afraid of a classic Cthulhu incident.
After all, even the cultists themselves had covered the thing, and Keli was worried if seeing it would have any negative effects.
The original plan was to wait until after dinner and let Sato Kazuma look at it alone.
"Uh... What kind of anime character is this, Aldrich Devouring Gwyndolin?"
He found that Sato Kazuma seemed fine, and the content of his words was very strange, because Keli clearly remembered that when he arrested the last cultist, that person was almost frantically shouting dagon's name at the statue.
So Keli also turned his head back.
What entered Keli's eyes was a somewhat eerie statue. In front of the statue was a young girl wearing a fitted ancient costume, covering her face with a fan. However, behind the girl was an extremely massive and bloated organ, like a human brain, densely covered with rotting flesh and teeth.
Keli only glanced at the thing, and Sato Kazuma frowned and pulled the cover back over it.
"I thought it was some kind of large fish-man, but could it be that those cultists just casually took some anime prop and used it to fool believers? But it still looks a bit disgusting, I think it's better to throw it away."
Keli looked at Sato Kazuma. He probably guessed what the statue was, but Keli didn't say it.
Keli felt that he and Sato Kazuma were probably not normal either. If ordinary people saw that thing, who knows what their reaction would be, which is why it was covered with cloth.
Even those fish-men might have been deceived by the thing depicted on the statue, leading them to do something irrelevant, or even leading those fish-men to believe that the statue was dagon's statue.
After all, if those fish-men really hadn't been to the ocean, and even the supernatural power they used came from dreams, then who knows if those dreams were the echoes of ancestors or the result of something interfering.
This might be what they call, it's not the believers seeking the idol, but the idol pursuing the believers.
"Forget it, let's eat first."
Sato Kazuma elbowed Keli.
"Oh, Kirito said that when we have time, we can go to his family's kendo dojo for free training. We're quite full this time, do you want to go?"
"Next time. Aren't we still planning to deal with those bureaucrats? Speaking of which, we've wasted so much time, but thankfully we haven't missed that day."
Keli looked at his guitar case, which held a shotgun, and nodded.
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