[18] Human Trafficking

Knock, knock.

"Is Mr. Kurokawa there?"

The incessant knocking on the door woke up a sleeping Kazumi.

"Who is it?" She rubbed her eyes and grumbled. She knew her brother had gone out, and besides, the person at the door was speaking English, which she didn't quite understand.

"Um, I'm from the hotel staff. There's a package for Mr. Kurokawa. Could you accept it?"

"What is he saying..." Kazumi muttered, walking to the door. Instead of opening it, she checked multiple times to make sure it wasn't unlocked and secured the chain lock as well.

Looking at the dressing table nearby and then at her petite figure, she sighed softly.

She couldn't move it...

"Alright, I'll call Onii-chan."

After saying this, Kazumi picked up the phone at the bedside and dialed her brother's number.

Her brother, Kazuya, had told her: "When you're away from home, trust no one except me. No matter what anyone says, as long as it's not me coming back to open the door, never open it! No matter the reason—when you can't judge the situation, call me. Don't engage in conversation with strangers, and don't listen to what they say. They're all enemies, all trying to harm you for their gain. Just think of it that way! But if you're absolutely sure you can defeat them on every level, then it's okay."

As a dutiful sister, she believed her brother's words and thought it was the right thing to do. Therefore, she refused anyone who wasn't introduced by her brother or known to her, no matter who they were.

She would simply decline.

Of course, her brother's advice came with a second part: If you're confident you can defeat them in every way, you can disregard it. However, now she didn't believe she was a match, and the person outside the door was an adult, constantly speaking words she couldn't understand. Although she couldn't determine the person's intentions, treating them as an enemy was entirely justified.

Ring, ring, ring...

The call went through!

On the other side.

Kazuya and Kiritsugu found themselves in an awkward situation.

Kazuya didn't know what to say, while Kiritsugu remained cautious.

Indeed, the man might not be a magus, but Kiritsugu, besides having a great reputation in the world of magus, was equally renowned in the world of assassins.

He had accepted countless tasks that other assassins couldn't complete.

So, it wasn't impossible for him to have attracted someone's attention, even though the person in front of him seemed very amateurish and lacked any signs of bloodlust or killer intent.

Perhaps for others, the concept of killer intent was somewhat nebulous, but Kiritsugu had felt it firsthand countless times—

It was like the feeling of being stared at by a snake, giving rise to countless goosebumps all over his body. Without a doubt, it was killer intent, and he felt no such thing from the man in front of him.

But...

For some reason, he was certain of one thing—

This man was not right!

"Ring, ring, ring..."

Just then, the phone rang.

"Ah, I'll take a call." Kazuya sighed with relief, thankful that someone had called at this moment, dissipating the tension in the room.

So...

He reached for the package on the side—

Kiritsugu, on the other hand, put his hand into his chest, ready to release the safety of the gun in his possession.

In the moment when Kazuya took something out of the package—

In that instant when he judged whether it was a phone or a weapon—

It was the moment he would attack!

Kazuya also sensed it...

Killer intent!

He had felt this many times in his dreams, being killed by various firearms countless times. The sensation stirred his soul and made him instinctively want to move away.

But—he remained rational.

The man in front of him was very dangerous. Initially, he had approached carelessly, which was a huge mistake...

In the end, it was his curiosity, his recklessness, and other such factors that were playing tricks on him. If he were a more cautious person, he wouldn't have done this. But—being cautious about everything and avoiding everything would be too boring!

Such a life would be boring to the point of death; it was not what he wanted!

But now, there was no other way. All he could do was stay calm, be cautious, and avoid making any unnecessary moves.

Because... he was very clear that if the man in front of him was just an assassin, he still had a chance. But if he was a mage killer, he had no chance at all!

Even though he had previously believed that this world was an ordinary world without any trace of magecraft.

Even though he had already seen people from the Ryougi and Tohsaka families before...

Even though Kiritsugu might not be a mage killer, but just an ordinary assassin with the same name and appearance...

He was still suppressing his heart.

He carefully examined his backpack.

"Hmm? Kazumi? Is she awake?" Looking at the phone in his backpack, Kazuya said, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.

Although the phones of this era didn't have much display functionality, he had two phones in his possession—one that others knew about, like his editor, and another— a phone that nobody else but his sister knew about.

And now, his sister's phone was ringing.

"Click—"

The phone was taken out.

Kiritsugu, who had partially drawn his pistol, retracted it, confirming that it was just a phone.

"Hello? Kazumi? What's wrong? Hungry?"

The next moment, Kazuya furrowed his brow.

No response—

Kazumi wasn't answering the call!

"Hello, Kazumi? Are you joking with your big brother? Okay, if you want something to eat, I'll bring it to you when I get back... Hello... Hello?"

In the hotel room, a man looked at Kazumi, who had collapsed on the floor, picked up the phone, and hung up.

Then— he picked up Kazumi and walked out.

"Hey! Hey!"

Beep, beep, beep—

The next moment, Kazuya's face turned cold, and he no longer cared about Kiritsugu's presence.

There was no time for that anymore; he had to go back immediately!

"Um, sorry, something unexpected seems to have come up. I have to go now."

Saying that, he grabbed his bag and sprinted towards the direction of the hotel.

Kiritsugu carefully watched his retreating figure. He could have shot him in the back, ending his life with a single shot, but in the end— he didn't.

He thought for a moment and said, "Recently, there's a well-known case of missing people in London. Most of the missing are teenagers, and a lot of them are from out of town."

"...I see. I understand." Kazuya paused for a moment, then left immediately.

If Kiritsugu had shot just now, he was confident he could have evaded it, relying on his intuition to dodge countless bullets...

But now, there was no time to worry about these things.

He had to rush back immediately—

And now, he needed to call the police... It was time to dial 999, and he would explain while walking.

He was angry but also very calm right now!

---

If you're interested in reading more, feel free to visit my patreon which already contains 20 chapters: 

https://www.patreon.com/XElenea