Episode 1 – A girl bought by a debt collector
Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093094088809262/episodes/16818093094123344441
“….Hey, Yamasaka. That Ito guy’s debt is overdue again, so go get him.”
The president’s thick voice echoed through the office.
Reflexively, I replied, [Got it].
Feeling the slight irritation hidden in the president’s voice, I almost let out a heavy sigh inwardly.
That guy again….
I leave the office, go down the cold concrete stairs, and get into the battered mini-car parked in the parking lot.
As soon as I close the door, my breath turns white and cloudy.
The season is spring.
But spring in Hokkaido is different from spring in other parts of Japan.
Even though the calendar says it is April, there are still patches of dark snow on the sides of the roads, and the wind stings your skin mercilessly.
No one living in Hokkaido would call such a time of year ‘spring’.
To begin with, the temperatures were in the single digits, and the mornings and evenings were especially freezing.
I rubbed my hands together, muttering cold as I waited for the heater in the car to warm up.
Still, I didn’t dislike this particular April in Hokkaido.
The scenery outside the window–the asphalt wet with melting snow, the still-white mountains in the distance, the light pink buds of the cherry blossoms that would soon appear.
With the crisp, cold wind whipping my cheeks, there was a moment when I felt strangely at peace as I gazed out at the scenery.
Immediately after graduating from high school, I ran away from home without even thinking about going on to higher education.
I was never very good at studying, and I was not very smart.
I had a hard time getting along with my parents, and I felt like I had to leave before they told me to go.
After that, I worked as a freelancer at various part-time jobs until one day, by chance, I started working as a loan shark money lender.
Since loan shark money is an underground job, the office was naturally located in a corner of a deserted building.
Dusty stairs, peeling paint, dim fluorescent lights.
On the surface, it was a dubious place, with no visible sign of what kind of company it was.
Perhaps it is because of my grim face that I was assigned to collect debts soon after I joined the company, and now I have been working there for five years.
I’ve gotten used to the work flow and how to handle customers.
I’ve seen all kinds of guys.
From those who were in real trouble and had no choice but to borrow money, to the scum of the earth.
And the man named Ito, whom I was about to go and collect, was the worst of the worst.
It’s been a year since he borrowed the money.
He repeatedly defaulted on his payments, and every time he did, I would go out like this.
Ito’s house is so battered that I don’t know how many decades old it is, the exterior walls are crumbling, window frames are distorted, and garbage is strewn all over the place.
Furthermore, the house is apparently being handled entirely by a young girl of about 10 years of age.
According to what I heard, he treats her own daughter like a servant and, to top it off, like a sex slave.
To be honest, when I first saw the girl, I was shocked.
Her body was scrawny and skinny, with bruises spreading over her entire body, and many scars left by gut burns.
Her eyes were vacant and lifeless.
She really looked like a doll.
Every time I looked at her, I felt a pain that tightened deep in my chest.
I wanted to turn away, but that would not make her situation any better.
I decided to at least face her, and I faced her straight on.
With this somewhat heavy feeling in my heart, I headed for Ito’s house.
When I arrived and got out of the car, before I could press the intercom, I heard angry shouts coming from inside the house.
“This trash ! Garbage ! You scum !”
The shrill curses shook the thin wooden walls of the house.
But I don’t hear the girl’s voice.
I wonder if she even has the strength to scream anymore.
I pressed the intercom, and the door opened with a bang.
“Damn it ! Who the hell is it !?”
The man who appeared was a balding man in his late 40s.
He has broad-shoulder, with a filthy, slovenly air, and reeked of a mixture of sweat and cigarettes.
This was Ito.
As soon as he saw my face, his demeanor changed completely.
Laughing weakly, he says apologetically, [Oh, I’m sorry I made you look bad.]
The quickness of his switch, his flimsy acting.
He really is an unpleasant man in every way.
“You’re late again, Ito san. Can you pay me now, including the overdue amount?”
Ito opened his mouth, his eyes swimming.
“I-I’m afraid I can’t pay you right now…I don’t have any money at home…ah, tomorrow ! I’ll pay you tomorrow ! I promise !”
It was a disgusting lie.
With a deep sigh, I coldly cut him off.
“….You think we’re still waiting for you when you’ve been late for a week and haven’t shown your face at all that time? Do you think we’re angels? I’m sorry, but we are demons. Even if you have to turn the house upside down, get us 50,000 right now. That’s all you can afford.”
Considering the amount of the original debt, 50,000 yen was an unbelievable compromise.
For a moment, Ito looked at me as if to say, [Such a young man !] But he quickly hid his expression.
Then, he suddenly looked as if he had come up with a great idea.
“Ah…! I-I’ll give you this one !”
With these words, he presented the girl to me.
“I’ve put a lot of effort into her, so she’s quite useful as a toy ! Besides, she can take care of the house pretty well !” He smirked and gave me a sly smile.
[Illustration.]
https://kakuyomu.jp/users/tanakamatao01/news/16818093094133132252
(Tl/N: Warning* this might be AI art, personally I don’t really care that WN author uses AI for art, but it might turn some of you guys off)
For goodness sake, I’m about to lose my patience.
The nerve to offer his daughter up for sale without hesitation for just one payment.
I usually don’t show my emotions at work, but this guy is different.
This piece of trash…no, it’s more convenient for me.
“……I understand. Then, I’ll give you a break for this month with her. From now on, don’t be late.”
“Yes, sir ! Go on !” Ito forcibly pulls the girl out of the room.
When I caught her as she was thrown out, her body was really as light as cotton candy.
Looking at her face, I could not read any emotion.
No fear, no joy, no hope, no despair. Just empty eyes.
I put her in the passenger seat and headed back to the office.
She didn’t say a word in the car, just stared straight ahead.
When I arrived at the office, I took 50,000 yen out of my pocket and handed it to the president.
“That bastard still has this much money?”
“……Yes. It looks like it.”
“To be honest, I’d already given up on collecting him.”
There is a reason I lied here.
Human trafficking is prone to troublesome problems.
It was my policy to avoid such transactions these days, so I decided not to report this case to the president.
I was in charge of Ito anyway, and it wouldn’t be an unnecessary problem.
“…I’m sorry, boss. Can I leave early today?”
“Hmm? I don’t mind. But it’s unusual. Perhaps…this?” The president raises his pinky finger and grins.
The president is a stronger man than I am, and the aura that overflows from his muscular body is so obvious at a glance that he is no ordinary person.
He acts like an ogre or a demon toward debtors, but is surprisingly lenient toward employees.
“….Perhaps so.” When I replied with a wry smile, the president laughed heartily.
“I see ! That’s good to hear ! You’re young but you didn’t show any signs of that at all, so I was worried ! If you want, you can take a week off.”
“…Are you sure?”
“Oh, take it ! You work too hard.”
Lucky for me, I even got a week off.
When I returned to the car, she was still dazed, staring straight ahead at something.
‘”….Let’s see…I really don’t know anything about girls this size.”
Anyway, I decided to take her to my place.
Thanks to my diligent work in the shark loan, I live alone in a fairly new two-bedroom apartment there. I have enough room for one room, and I’ll make it work.
First I have to get some clothes, a bed, and other things I need.
We arrive at the house about 10 minutes later and I take her inside.
We unloaded our bags and sat down on the couch, and she stood there, looking like she didn’t know what to do.
“Oops…um, so you’re gonna be living with me starting today…what’s your name?’
“…a.”
“…Hm?”
“….Yua…”
“Yua chan it is. Okay, nice to meet you. Then, I’m gonna go buy clothes and a bed and some other things for Yua chan.”
“….”
She’s not happy or nodding my head, she’s just standing there.
…Maybe I should give her a bath first.
The wound is bad, and she doesn’t look like she wants to go outside. We can mail order everything we need.
Right now, it’s important to heal the wounds in her mind and body.
Thus began the strange life of me and her.
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