I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director
Chapter 409: Remaining Pain
It had to be said that the dynamic between the three protagonists of Garden of Sinners was genuinely strange.
Shiki had watched the entire argument between Kokutou and Touko from beginning to end without saying a single word. Yet only after Kokutou left did she finally open her mouth.
And the topic she raised had nothing to do with the quarrel. Or rather, it seemed unrelated.
"Touko, about this commission…"
Shiki didn't bother commenting on Touko's disastrous money management. Instead, she went straight to the job.
"Ah, that."
Touko crushed the remaining stub of her cigarette into the ashtray, speaking with obvious irritation.
"Honestly, I didn't want to accept a request like this at all. But you can't survive without money… Honestly, this is all Kokutou's fault for being so picky about finances."
"The job details."
Shiki's tone was noticeably colder than Touko's.
From her perspective, this lazy woman had swallowed her man's salary and still had the nerve to complain about it. "Shameless" didn't even begin to cover it.
Touko might treat Kokutou casually, but she didn't dare do the same with Shiki.
After all, Kokutou was a good man who would only grumble verbally.
Shiki, on the other hand, might simply draw her knife.
"Shiki, about the murder case that appeared on the morning news…"
"You don't need to explain. I already know the general situation."
With just that opening line, Shiki immediately understood what Touko meant.
Mifune City was about the same size as Fuyuki City. A brutal criminal case like that had spread across the entire city. Even someone as detached as Shiki had heard about it.
"So… do you want me to find the culprit and bring them to justice?"
Shiki said this very naturally, with absolutely no sense that she was stepping over the police's jurisdiction.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Once Shiki learned the details of the case through the lens of the supernatural, she immediately knew the killer wasn't an ordinary person.
Expecting the police to capture such an anomaly?
In her opinion, doing it herself would be far more efficient.
"No. Quite the opposite."
Touko looked at Shiki with a meaningful gaze.
"The client already knows who the culprit is. Your job is to protect that person as much as possible."
"That's all?"
"Mm… If the other party resists—even a little—kill her without hesitation."
"Oh. So basically I find the culprit and kill her, right?"
Shiki completely ignored the earlier instruction about protecting the target.
"Sounds like a simple job."
With that, she stood up and began walking toward the door.
"Hey, don't be so impatient!"
Touko called after her.
"The sooner I finish the job, the sooner you'll have money to pay Kokutou his salary, right?"
"But you don't even know what the target looks like!"
Touko tossed a sealed envelope filled with documents toward her.
Shiki didn't even bother catching it. The envelope fell to the floor with a dull slap.
"I don't need it. Whoever it is, they're definitely the same kind as me."
"So the moment we meet, we'll try to kill each other."
Leaving behind only the faint sound of fabric brushing against itself—and a cold, sharp gaze—Shiki walked out of the office.
"Wouldn't it be faster to finish the job if you actually used the information…?"
Touko sighed helplessly as she remained alone in the office.
"Men or women… they're all problem children."
Though she spoke like an exasperated mother, the audience watching outside the screen unanimously agreed that the person who had spent her employee's salary had no right to say that.
Shibamatsu glanced at the sighing Touko on the screen and muttered quietly,
"They're really identical… no wonder they're sisters."
"What did you say was identical?"
Aoko immediately revealed a kind smile.
"Aozaki-sama! I didn't say anything! I deserve death!"
Shibamatsu's speed at admitting defeat was no slower than Kokutou's.
Meanwhile, Kokutou—who had stormed out of the office in anger—eventually had to bow to reality for the sake of money and went to borrow some from a friend.
His friend was straightforward about it.
He could lend him money, but there was no such thing as a free lunch.
Left with no choice, Kokutou accepted a task.
Help his friend find someone.
The person in question was Keita Minato, a small-time delinquent who had been missing for half a month.
But for a proper thug, disappearing to dodge debt was hardly unusual.
Forget half a month, even vanishing for a year wouldn't surprise anyone.
However, there was one small problem.
Keita Minato belonged to the same group as those unfortunate guys from the morning news, the ones whose bodies had been twisted into grotesque shapes in that basement.
Out of their little team, five had already gone off to report to God Himself.
Which made Keita Minato's situation… extremely delicate.
More importantly, right after they disappeared half a month ago, someone from that group had actually called Kokutou's friend.
"Keita was yelling nonsense about how he was going to be killed, then suddenly hung up. After that, he wouldn't answer his phone no matter how many times I called."
Kokutou's friend complained with a helpless expression.
Considering that group had a long history of taking drugs, he originally thought it was just drunken—or drug-fueled—rambling.
But now, after seeing the news, this so-called "senior" of Keita Minato could no longer laugh it off.
If he had any choice, Kokutou absolutely wouldn't want to get involved in a matter that screamed "trouble + danger" even before the investigation began.
Unfortunately, Kokutou was short on cash.
Even knowing it was a pit, he still had to jump into it.
And thus, a rather interesting situation emerged.
The male lead, Kokutou Mikiya, and the female lead, Ryougi Shiki, had both accepted commissions related to the same bizarre murder case—without knowing about each other's involvement.
What's more, Kokutou had already met the killer once by accident.
The amusing part was this:
If they simply shared the information each of them already possessed, the entire investigation would probably end in no time.
But because both Kokutou and Shiki were the quiet, emotionally constipated types who hid their concern for each other deep in their hearts, the story was prevented from ending within a single hour.
Still, the audience clearly underestimated Shinji—or rather, Nasu —when it came to twisted humor.
Everyone had originally assumed Shinji would arrange a traditional detective-style sequence next: collecting clues, interviewing suspects, piecing together evidence.
Sure, no one believed that Garden of Sinners, with its supernatural elements, would become a pure logic-driven mystery. But since the story had already introduced a suspenseful murder case, surely it would at least pretend to follow detective conventions, right?
Unfortunately, following the audience's expectations had never been Matou Shinji's style.
Soon enough, he arranged another "Mars collides with Earth" level dialogue scene.
Because he needed to investigate his junior's disappearance, Kokutou had no choice but to cancel his appointment with his younger sister. Instead, he asked Shiki to meet Azaka in his place.
That alone would have been fine.
But when the audience followed Shiki's perspective to a European-style café called Ahnenerbe, they suddenly discovered something shocking.
Among the people Shiki was about to meet—
Asagami Fujino was also there.
"Damn! They actually arranged a scene like this?!"
Sitting in the theater, Arturia couldn't help swallowing nervously.
"Those two women… aren't going to start fighting right here, are they?"
Since she wasn't acting in this film, Arturia hadn't read the script beforehand in order to preserve the best viewing experience.
And now, not knowing what would happen next, she suddenly found herself full of anticipation.
"That's probably unlikely."
Jeanne, who was sitting beside her, shook her head.
"I don't remember building a combat set for a café."
Though even she didn't sound particularly confident.
"That does make sense…"
Arturia nodded with a hint of disappointment.
"If Shiki had just looked at Touko's file, she could have solved the case immediately and ended the story right here, right?"
Arturia preferred straightforward stories where things were resolved directly. All these twists and detours clearly weren't her style.
Jeanne, however, had a different opinion.
"If it ended like that, there wouldn't be any dramatic conflict. Movies need drama to be interesting."
"A story made from coincidences colliding together and forming complicated twists—that's the best kind."
In short, by this point Jeanne's interest had already been thoroughly piqued.
She had a vague feeling that under her Master's arrangements, even though Shiki had already noticed the quiet, gentle girl, Fujino's identity wouldn't be exposed in this scene.
But Shinji's sense of mischief was even more outrageous than Jeanne expected…
"Ryougi—Shiki!"
With that line from Kokutou Azaka—spoken with unmistakable hostility—the curtain rose on the dramatic meeting between the three women.
As the saying goes: three women make a play.
And the opening act of this play was a spectacular battlefield of emotions.
"I'm waiting for my brother."
Azaka maintained a deliberately calm posture as she spoke.
But her words were filled with thorns—like a cold, beautiful rose.
"I have nothing to say to you."
Unfortunately for Azaka, her opponent was Ryougi Shiki, the woman whose calm expression rarely showed anything more than the faintest micro-expression.
"Your brother asked me to pass along a message. He can't come today." Shiki spoke plainly.
"To put it simply, you got stood up."
There was no malice in her tone. She was merely stating the facts.
But that indifferent attitude was precisely what made Azaka furious.
"Ryougi Shiki… this was all your doing, wasn't it…?!"
Azaka's hand trembled.
Thanks to her powerful imagination, she had already reached a firm conclusion: Kokutou missing the appointment definitely wasn't his fault. No—Ryougi Shiki must have deliberately interfered.
In many TV dramas, there was a classic trope: the weak daughter-in-law versus the evil sister-in-law.
The malicious sister-in-law would look down on the bride and constantly suppress her with petty tricks, forcing her to "recognize her place."
Right now, Azaka had clearly inserted herself into that scenario.
In her mind, Ryougi Shiki had become the scheming, evil sister-in-law.
Completely ignoring the fact that she herself was the one constantly obstructing the relationship between Kokutou Mikiya and Ryougi Shiki.
Faced with Azaka's unreasonable accusation, Shiki frowned slightly.
"Don't say stupid things. I'm a victim too."
"Just because he said, 'Since I can't meet Azaka today, help me deal with her,' I had to come all the way here."
That explanation only made the anger in Azaka's eyes burn even brighter.
Some viewers even wondered—if someone placed a sheet of paper near the corner of her eyes, would it simply catch fire?
Finally, just before Azaka could pick up the cup in front of her and splash its contents at Shiki, the previously silent Fujino spoke.
"Kokutou-san… um… you're scaring everyone."
Her voice was as thin and fragile as a thread.
Perhaps because Azaka's agitation had already drawn the attention of nearby customers, the shy girl looked extremely flustered.
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"Honestly, you'd never guess she's the kind of woman who casually killed five people."
Aoko chewed on popcorn as she commented with great interest.
They say the most terrifying anger comes from quiet people.
Someone like Asagami Fujino was probably the perfect example.
Even though Fujino had only spoken a single line so far in the scene, the audience—already knowing she was the murderer—had been watching her closely the entire time.
Shy. Gentle. Soft-spoken. Timid.
If they didn't already know that this woman was a killer capable of twisting people into human ropes, a good portion of the audience would probably have already shouted:
"Wife!"
After all, a Yamato Nadeshiko with a beautiful face, great figure, and gentle personality was practically an endangered species—even within Japan itself.
Meeting a beauty like Asagami Fujino would normally make anyone want to treasure her like crazy.
Unfortunately, the gap between ideal and reality was about as wide as the weight difference between a little girl and a heavy armored tank.
She looked like the perfect young lady.
Yet her other side was a yandere monster who could smile while twisting people into knots.
"I really wonder what the Asagami family ever did to offend you enough to create a character like this."
Ryougi Shiki teased Shinji beside her.
As a member of one of the former Four Demon-Hunter Families, Shiki was quite familiar with the situation surrounding the Asagami family.
Precisely because she knew about them, she felt curious.
Just how exactly had the Asagami family offended this petty director enough for him to create such a twisted character?
"Isn't that a good thing?"
Shinji grinned in response.
Of course, he wasn't about to explain that the one with a grudge against the Asagami family was Nasu, not Shinji himself.
"The four demon-hunting families were never exactly saints anyway," Shinji said affectionately.
"Only the Ryougi family is different."
"After all, only the Ryougi family produced a perfect woman like you. Isn't that wonderful?"
"Of course it is~"
Shiki nodded happily, leaning closer to him.
The four families had never been friendly with one another.
Although nowadays—aside from the Ryougi family—the other three had declined so much that they couldn't even find a legitimate bloodline successor.
Even so, Shiki still found it satisfying to see them suffer a little in a movie.
After all, in the end, among rivals, only the one who survives to the end is the true winner.
"But this time you only targeted the Asagami family, right?" Shiki asked.
"What about the Nanaya and the Fujou families?"
Shinji confidently patted his chest.
"Don't worry. Their turn won't take long."
It was about time Tsukihime was added to the schedule.
But before that…
"Then I'll take the deposit first."
Shinji leaned close and gently brushed his face against Shiki's ear.
"Mm…"
Shinji's sudden "ambush" caught Shiki completely off guard.
Her body temperature spiked instantly from embarrassment. Heat rushed to her face, and her entire body felt limp, as if all strength had drained away. She didn't even have the energy to push Shinji away.
"Then… it's settled…"
Shiki clenched her teeth, forcing out the words.
"Shinji… since you've taken the deposit, you'd better keep your promise."
Her tone sounded deliberately domineering, clearly an attempt to cover up her current helpless state.
"Of course~ I'll definitely do it."
Shinji grinned brightly.
Just seeing Shiki's shy expression made tonight completely worth it.
As for the thing she asked of him—
The original Tsukihime story already existed. Did he really need to invent anything himself?
This was practically a business with zero cost.
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On the screen, the afternoon tea meeting between the three girls ultimately ended on an unpleasant note.
Ryougi Shiki was nothing like Fujino, who could silently endure things.
Seeing that Azaka clearly didn't welcome her presence, Shiki simply stood up and left without hesitation.
Of course, she didn't forget to bring along Azaka's extremely dangerous remark—
"Brother, please break up with that woman as soon as possible."
She fully intended to pass that message along to Kokutou, so he could realize his little sister had clearly gone down a bad path.
Compared to the tense hostility between Ryougi Shiki and Kokutou Azaka, Asagami Fujino seemed somewhat intimidated by Shiki's icy presence. She had remained visibly nervous the entire time.
Only after Shiki left did Fujino finally relax a little.
"Sorry about that, Fujino," Azaka said with a dissatisfied sigh.
"That woman completely ruined what should have been a nice day off."
Fujino forced a small, bitter smile.
"Is it really okay… letting her pass along those kinds of words to your brother?"
Azaka waved her hand dismissively.
"It's fine. Kokutou's already used to it."
She clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Honestly… following that woman around like some lovestruck girl…"
"How stupid. How pathetic."
"..."
Fujino had no idea what expression she should show in response.
So she simply maintained her polite smile with great effort.
"Ahh… I originally wanted to ask my brother to help you find that person you're secretly in love with."
Azaka continued complaining even as she returned the photograph to Fujino.
"And yet he actually stood me up!"
"It's alright," Fujino said softly.
"I'll find him myself."
At that moment, the timid and submissive aura that had surrounded Fujino vanished completely.
In its place, her presence changed.
Quiet.
Cold.
Like a venomous snake waiting patiently for the perfect moment to strike.
The change in Fujino's aura lasted only a fleeting moment.
Azaka didn't notice anything unusual about her friend at all. She simply raised her hand to signal the waiter for the bill.
At that moment, however, the audience finally saw the photograph clearly.
The so-called "secret crush" Fujino had asked them to find was none other than Keita Minato, the last remaining member of the six-man delinquent group.
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"That's not a crush target, that's clearly a hunt target."
Shibamatsu complained with drooping eyes.
"Come to think of it, Kokutou couldn't meet his sister because he had to look for this guy, right? But if he had met Azaka… he'd still end up searching for the same person anyway."
"What kind of cursed fate is this?!"
Shibamatsu wasn't the only one left speechless by Shinji's outrageous plot.
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After parting with Azaka, Asagami Fujino began wandering the streets aimlessly.
Going home was out of the question.
Because she no longer had a home to return to.
For as long as she could remember, Fujino had been acting.
Acting like a gentle woman like her mother.
Acting like the model student praised by her father.
Acting like an ordinary girl whom no one would ever suspect.
But now, that dream has shattered.
Fujino walked along the street as dusk slowly settled over the city, drifting among crowds of strangers who had nothing to do with her life.
The traffic lights on both sides of the road flickered on and off in a strangely nervous rhythm, mirroring the instability in her heart.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Fujino pinched her own cheek.
"…Nothing."
She twisted harder.
"…Still nothing."
Fujino released her hand and looked at the red staining her fingertips.
Her fingernails had pierced the skin of her face.
And even so, she felt nothing.
"Ha…"
A strange laugh escaped her lips, filled with self-mockery.
"So… I have to find him as soon as possible."
Fujino murmured softly.
She had to find Keita Minato.
And then kill him.
Not for revenge.
But to feel pain again.
When she killed the others before, her stomach had begun to hurt terribly—like someone gripping her organs and squeezing them violently.
For ordinary people, pain like that was a warning sign from the body. They would rush to the hospital immediately.
But for Asagami Fujino—who had lived for so long without feeling anything—
That pain was like an oasis in the middle of a desert.
Even unpleasant pain was a precious sensation.
Something invaluable.
Which was why…
"I have to kill him…"
Fujino slowly exhaled, the expression on her face gradually twisting.
"If I kill him, I'll be able to feel pain again… won't I, Mother?"
She had finally obtained that sensation.
There was no way Fujino would let it disappear again.
Because for someone who had never once been allowed to experience freedom, pain was the only feeling she could clearly recognize as her own.
Right now, all Fujino wished for was simple.
That this pain would linger.
The longer, the better.
<+>
Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 429: Another Poor Kid Who Gets Sold and Still Says Thanks[1]
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