It's Just Work

My name is Yokohama Ryusei, 32 years old. My official occupation is a programmer but in reality... I'm a yakuza.

Please don't mention that my name is similar to a certain top celebrity.

When I was 18, I chose the path of becoming a yakuza in this world, a secret business that I couldn't tell anyone about. It's been 14 years since then, and now I primarily collect debts, track down debtors who are on the run, and clean up after them.

Normally, when a debtor who owes money runs away, it's common practice to make the guarantor pay. But we're different. Unlike ordinary loan sharks, the people who borrow money from us are involved in secret businesses, so it's common for there to be no guarantor.

These guys are the ones who come to borrow money from the yakuza, and they often have some quirks. As long as they pay their debts quietly, everything is fine, but these guys suddenly start plotting their escape. Some of them flee overseas, some move around the country, some hide in small towns, and some even hide with the women they were with.

I chase after them and catch them to collect the debt. Just recently, I caught a hitman who tried to flee overseas and seized his assets. He was just about to board a deep-sea fishing boat.

And this time, I was entrusted with collecting the debt of a certain man by the order of the boss himself. The person I was after was a well-known figure.

Normally, I would never take on a job like this, but since it was the boss's direct order, I had no choice but to accept it.

The person I was after was quickly found and caught, but when I interrogated him, he said he was conducting research that could make money using a reincarnation magic circle called the "Tensei Mahoujin."

It was a dubious story that was hard to understand, but the man was an alumnus of a prestigious imperial university, and he had hidden the research results on a USB memory stick inside a teddy bear in the black magic circle of the university.

I thought it was 99% likely to be a lie, but I couldn't let it go if there was even a 1% chance that it smelled like money. I collected every penny of the debt.

So I waited until nightfall and decided to sneak into the imperial university.

...

*Imperial University Black Magic Circle Clubroom*

A few nights ago, a student was found dead here, and "No Entry" tapes were stuck everywhere. The site was preserved and the items inside the room were not collected.

The tape was stretched out in the shape of a person in the center of the room.

And a teddy bear was lying beside it.

The man must have been talking about this teddy bear.

When I checked it, there was indeed a USB memory stick inside.

To check the contents, I turned on the PC in the room and inserted the USB memory stick.

A folder appeared, and a diagram that looked like a magic circle appeared when I clicked on it.

It seemed that he had been researching the Tensei Mahoujin.

"...I'll check if it has any value."

I mimicked the magic circle on the floor of the room.

The procedure should be fine and the next was to recite the incantation.

It was also written there.

I recited the incantation while stumbling a little in the middle.

...

"Nothing happened...! Damn it, I almost fell for a childish hoax."

I removed the USB memory stick from the PC and put it in my pocket.

"...So how am I going to collect from that guy now? I guess I have no choice but to put him on that deep-sea fishing boat and collect the debt."

I muttered to myself and at that moment, as I was about to walk over the magic circle I drew, it lit up!

"What!? It worked!?"

Yokohama Ryusei was surprised.

The next moment, Yokohama Ryusei's consciousness faded and he collapsed on the spot.

On a TV in a certain diner, the news was broadcasting.

"...Following a few days ago, a dead body was found in the Imperial University Black Magic Circle Clubroom. The cause of this second death is still unknown. Since the deceased male was not affiliated with the school, the police have started investigating the incident as both a crime and an accident, including the motive for breaking into the school. The identity of the deceased has not been announced yet."

"Isn't this the same place where a guy died a few days ago?"

A man in work clothes watching the TV confirmed with his colleague as he ate.

"Oh yeah, I remember now. His name was Taro Sato. It was such an ordinary name that I almost choked on my miso soup when I heard it here."

"Yeah, that's right"