Survival Strategies of a Struggling Aristocrat

After parting ways with his junior, Yamaguchi, Masaya ventured out into the city at night. The city, adorned with shining neon lights, was more enchanting compared to the other world’s. It was brimming with things that captivated people.

However, when he looked up at the sky, he couldn’t see any stars. In the night sky of a different world, countless stars glittered, but the city in the modern society was too bright for the stars to be visible.

He pondered what the arsonist had been targeting. If they were targeting people, there might have been a specific individual among those who were injured or burned in the fire caused by the arson.

These victims had been rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment and admission. Masaya directed his steps towards that very hospital, drawing upon the latent power of his “sense of smell” stored within his spirit.

Lately, he has begun to grasp the true purpose behind the use of true names. Previously, he had only understood the significance of his true names and wielded control in accordance with their concepts.

However, it was discovered that by unleashing their true names, Masaya and Dennis could assimilate and exert control over the objects represented by those true names, which proved to be a potent ability. Though it was merely a sensory difference, it was effective for both Masaya and Dennis.

By unlocking the power of “smell” Masaya gained a sense of smell akin to that of a dog. Various scents wafted through the air, converging around Masaya. They transformed into information and flowed into his brain.

Standing still for about ten minutes, he carefully assessed the incoming scent information. He recalled the scent of Kozo when he entered his room.

He searched for the same scent. Distinguishing between human scents and others was relatively easy. Human scents varied depending on the types of bacteria inhabiting the body, but for hygiene-conscious modern individuals, the differences were subtle.

Although Masaya now possessed a dog-like sense of smell through the true name of “sense of smell”, his brain’s information processing capabilities concerning scents were inferior to those of an actual dog. It seemed that dogs were superior in terms of smell after all. He felt a bit disheartened.

Masaya began to stroll along the main street at a leisurely pace. After circling halfway around the hospital, he caught the scent he was looking for.

“This scent; there can be no mistake about it.”

Masaya followed the captured scent. It was past 10 o’clock, so there were few pedestrians around. The scent emanated from a seven-story building.

As Masaya gazed up at the building, he caught sight of a fiery bird soaring across the night sky. It was about the size of a pigeon and had wings. The flaming bird crossed the road, rebounded off the hospital wall, and landed in the bed of a parked pickup truck.

In the next instant, with a loud boom, the bed of the pickup truck burst into flames. It seemed that combustible materials were stacked there.

“Th-There’s a fire!”

A businessman walking down the street shouted in a loud voice. The commotion spread like ripples on the water. People began to gather around the area where the fire had broken out.

Masaya ran towards the emergency staircase of the seven-story building where the flaming bird had flown from. He had seen a figure on the staircase, and he could hear footsteps descending from above.

As he waited, a man of the same age as Masaya appeared from the emergency staircase.

“You’re Kozo Matsuda, right?” 

Masaya called out. The man looked at him with a frightened expression.

“Who are you?”

“I’m a private investigator hired by your parents to search for you.”

“A private investigator… meddling unnecessarily.”

Masaya glared at Kozo with sharp eyes.

“I witnessed you setting the fire. Please turn yourself in to the police.”

“You say you saw… What did you see?”

“I saw you throwing a flaming object towards the hospital over there.”

Masaya had suspected that Kozo might have used a Mana Art, but if he mentioned it, it would reveal that Masaya himself was a lucid dreamer of the other world.

Kozo’s face contorted as he retorted, 

“I didn’t throw anything; don’t talk nonsense. Look at where the wind was blowing.”

“…It is a headwind. Even a professional baseball player couldn’t make it reach.”

The seven-story building and the hospital were at a considerable distance from each other. Moreover, in the face of the headwind, it would be impossible to reach that distance without some kind of tool.

“I don’t have anything on me. Want to give me a body search?” 

Kozo retorted with a defiant attitude. If he had used Mana Art, there wouldn’t be any evidence to be found.

Initially, Masaya considered calling the police. However, he hadn’t witnessed the moment Kozo set the fire clearly. To be honest, Masaya thought it would be best not to get too involved in this matter.

“I’m not a detective (cop) I just need to know your whereabouts. Anyway, let’s go to your parents’ house for now,” 

Masaya said, deciding to call Fuyuhiko on his smartphone and asking him to come pick them up in the car.

“Hey, don’t make decisions on your own. I never said I would go back,” Kozo protested.

“In that case, tell me your address or where you’ve been staying.”

“Do I look like I have a designated place?”

It seemed that Kozo hadn’t returned to his own apartment and had been staying overnight at an internet café.

“Why? Don’t you have your own apartment?”

“There are creepy people watching over it,” Kozo replied.

Masaya didn’t believe those words. Later, he would come to regret it.

Fuyuhiko came to pick them up. After taking a quick glance at Kozo, Fuyuhiko ushered them into the car and drove towards Kozo’s home.

“The request was successfully completed.” You’re truly something, senpai,” Fuyuhiko said.

“Don’t flatter me, Fuyuhiko. By the way, did you meet Momota?”

Masaya asked Fuyuhiko who was driving.

“I heard the story. His fiancée fell victim to a cryptocurrency scam.”

Kozo remained silent without changing his stern expression.

“Could it be that the people who were in the building that was set on fire are the scammers?” 

Fuyuhiko speculated.

“Can you think of any other reason why I would go after them?” 

Kozo raised his voice while restraining his hatred.

Masaya felt that the conversation was taking a disturbing turn.

“But attacking the hospital was going too far. There were other patients there,” Masaya said.

“I targeted the special room where they were hospitalized,” Kozo replied.

“What I’m trying to say is that there’s no need to kill them,” 

“What would a stranger like you understand? Satomi was…” 

Observing Kozo’s silence, Masaya speculated that something had happened to Kozo’s fiancée.

Fuyuhiko’s face turned pale as he drove. He realized he was with an actual murderer and felt a sense of fear.

Upon reaching their destination, Masaya and the Fyuhijo handed Kozo over to his parents. They were repeatedly thanked and began their journey back.

“Oh, right. What about the police?” 

Fuyuhiko asked, reminding Masaya of something. He had been asked to inform them once they found out Kozo’s whereabouts.

“Well, there’s no helping it. If we attract police attention, it’ll make our job more difficult. But we should at least inform them,” Masaya said.

Masaya called the contact number he had obtained from the detective he spoke to earlier and informed them that Kozo had returned home.

The following day, they heard unexpected news.

“Senpai, did you see it?” 

Fuyuhiko burst into the office.

“Oh, the news? I just saw it,” Masaya replied.

It was news of the arsonist’s arrest. However, it turned out to be someone different from their expectations. It wasn’t Kozo’s name but someone else’s.

The previous night, Kozo had been captured by an organization called the Special Strategic Forces of the Ministry of Defense. He was locked in a room whose location he couldn’t determine and was under interrogation.

Surprisingly, Kozo confessed quite readily. Various circumstances had taken a toll on him mentally. The interrogator was a man who seemed like an officer.

“You have two options,” 

“What are they?”

“One is to face punishment as a criminal, and the other is to cooperate with us.”

“I don’t like either of them. I have things I must do,” Kozo replied.

“Is it related to the fraud group that deceived your fiancée? Those people will be arrested and face a fair trial,”

“…Why me?” 

“Because you’re a special individual. You should know that,” 

“I’m just an ordinary guy.”

“You were posting about lucid dreams in another world on a dream interpretation website. If you didn’t want to be discovered, it was a foolish act.”

At the time Kozo started posting on the website, he didn’t consider lucid dreams to be anything significant.

“Now, make your choice.”

In the end Kozo chose to cooperate.