"Yes, sir. I'll go immediately!"
Sasakibe Chōjirō answered at once, though his eyes remained fixed on Kazuma, who was still planted headfirst in the courtyard like some grotesque statue.
'Is he even still alive?'
Kazuma hadn't moved at all.
From the look of him, things seemed rather grim.
...
"Captain Batsu'unsai! Captain Kazuma has returned. He's currently at the First Division, and the Captain-Commander would like you to come over immediately."
Chōjirō was no fool.
He deliberately left out the part where Kazuma had been beaten half to death.
If Batsu'unsai found out what state her husband was in before he had a chance to explain himself, Chōjirō had a feeling he might somehow get dragged into the disaster too.
Batsu'unsai suddenly slammed both hands onto the table and shot to her feet.
Chōjirō flinched.
'Oh, shit. Does she already know what happened to him?'
His heart sank.
If she'd somehow discovered that Kazuma had just been subjected to Yamamoto's "physical treatment," this could get ugly very quickly.
But what happened next completely blindsided him.
Batsu'unsai wasn't furious.
She looked delighted.
That left Chōjirō utterly confused.
What kind of married couple were these two?
The husband had just been beaten into a barely recognizable mess and hadn't made a sound.
The wife heard that he'd returned and, rather than getting angry, looked as though someone had just handed her a fortune.
Then again, perhaps this was simply what people meant by birds of a feather flock together.
"As long as he's back. That's what matters."
Batsu'unsai had briefly lost her composure, but she quickly regained it.
Of course, Chōjirō had no way of knowing why she was so happy.
Kazuma's return meant the agreement she'd signed with Yamamoto was now officially relevant.
In other words—
she was about to become rich.
How could she possibly not be excited?
Batsu'unsai's figure faded away, and she rushed toward the First Division at astonishing speed.
Chōjirō could only stare after her.
...
"Genryūsai! Where's Kazuma?"
Batsu'unsai blew into the First Division like a whirlwind.
"Where is he?"
She looked around frantically, practically ready to turn the entire place upside down.
But after searching the room, she still couldn't find the husband she'd been waiting for.
Yamamoto calmly raised one hand.
"There."
He casually pointed toward the courtyard.
Batsu'unsai followed his finger.
Then froze.
There was something vaguely human-shaped buried upside down in the ground.
Only two legs remained sticking out above the soil.
Her heart tightened.
She hurried over, grabbed the legs, and yanked the entire thing out of the earth like she was pulling up an oversized radish.
The moment she saw the face, her stomach dropped.
It really was Kazuma.
Her beloved husband.
Except there was almost nothing left of his usual handsome appearance.
His angular face had swollen almost beyond recognition. Both eyes had been reduced to narrow slits, and he appeared completely unconscious.
Bruises covered his entire body.
There was barely a patch of uninjured skin left.
"Is this…"
Batsu'unsai gently touched his battered cheek.
"Is this really my husband?"
Tears immediately began gathering in her eyes.
At the same time, a furious rage rose from the depths of her heart.
Who had been cruel enough to beat the man she loved into this condition?
"Gen. Ryū. Sai."
Batsu'unsai slowly turned her head.
Her murderous glare landed on Yamamoto.
That was her beloved husband!
Even she couldn't bear to beat him this badly.
At most, she might treat him to one of her signature spinning haymakers when he got too irritating.
But this?
Someone had beaten him until he hardly looked human anymore.
Yamamoto immediately raised a hand.
"Now, don't misunderstand."
He adopted the most righteous expression imaginable.
"When this brat learned that he was about to become the new Captain-Commander, he became so overwhelmed with joy that he temporarily lost his mind."
Yamamoto sighed gravely.
"As Captain-Commander, how could this old man simply stand by and watch him descend into madness?"
"So I administered some emergency physical treatment."
He spoke with such solemn conviction that one might have mistaken him for a compassionate healer who had selflessly saved Kazuma's life.
The reality, however, was fairly obvious.
One glance at Kazuma's swollen face made it clear that Yamamoto's so-called "physical treatment" had involved beating the living hell out of him.
Batsu'unsai's imagination immediately filled in the missing pieces.
Kazuma obviously hadn't wanted to become Captain-Commander.
He and Yamamoto must have started arguing.
Then the argument escalated.
Yamamoto lost his temper.
And finally, the old bastard simply beat Kazuma unconscious.
The more Batsu'unsai imagined it, the more sympathy she felt for her poor husband.
Her anger rose rapidly.
She was seconds away from exploding.
Then Yamamoto spoke.
"Do you still want to do business?"
That single sentence hit Batsu'unsai's fury like a bucket of freezing water.
All of her anger disappeared instantly.
She deflated.
Right.
Technically speaking…
she'd been the one who sold her husband in the first place.
Which meant proper after-sales service was her responsibility.
Besides, Kazuma clearly had no intention of voluntarily accepting the Captain-Commander position. If they wanted him to cooperate, then some firmer methods might indeed be necessary.
A little physical education.
When she thought about it that way, perhaps there really wasn't anything wrong with what Yamamoto had done.
After all, money had a way of making people compromise.
And for that wonderful, glittering mountain of cash…
what was one little beating?
It wasn't as though Kazuma had died.
With his ridiculous vitality, a few days of rest and he'd be back on his feet like nothing ever happened.
At this point, the most important thing was figuring out how to persuade him into willingly accepting the Captain-Commander position.
Otherwise, if the deal fell through, all of Batsu'unsai's careful bargaining would have been for nothing.
And that would be a genuine tragedy.
"I'll make sure to educate him properly."
Batsu'unsai picked up Kazuma — who was still stubbornly pretending to be unconscious — and carried him out of the First Division.
Her mind was already racing through possible methods of convincing him to accept the job.
This was going to be difficult.
But difficult or not, it had to be done.
Money was on the line.
Yamamoto watched her leave and nodded in satisfaction.
As far as he was concerned, Batsu'unsai was an excellent business partner.
She honored her agreements.
She took responsibility.
She even provided proper after-sales service.
Now he merely had to wait for her to straighten Kazuma out.
Then Yamamoto could finally retire in peace.
He'd been fascinated by life in the Human World for years. If not for the responsibilities chained to the Captain-Commander's position, he would have thrown the job away long ago.
Soon, though—
very soon—
he might finally be free.