"Ah, crap."

Seeing that they'd passed the story's climax, Karen pulled out her smartphone and muttered, checking her brother's condition.

Standing up and leaning over to peer at the screen, she saw a massive ape-like monster suddenly leap out in front of her brother.

Far larger than a gorilla, its size was utterly impossible for a human to fight.

"W-what the hell!?　How could something like this appear!?"

"W-what's going on!?　Is there something else happening?"

"This...!"

She turned on the tablet left out on the table, and immediately her brother's image appeared.

Seeing the giant ape wrapped in flames bellowing at her brother, I felt my heart clench as if it were being crushed.

"O-oh, big brother! W-what should I do? W-what can I possibly do...?"

Even though I was watching right there on the screen, I couldn't do anything.

I could only... watch.

How helpless I am.

For the first time, I cursed the situation that God had created.

Whether or not that thing is truly God is debatable, but if it is God, then it must be a demon god.

The giant ape let out a roar so fierce it made its body tremble, leaping toward my brother.

My brother stood frozen, unable to even run, let alone fight.

　

I shut my eyes.

"Ah! The barrier stone!"

"Huh!? Oh, right!"

Overwhelmed by the sudden monster attack, he'd forgotten all about it, but now he quickly swapped in something that looked like a barrier stone.

The screen displays the words 'Barrier Stone in use: 11 hours 59 minutes remaining.'

The giant ape suddenly acts as if it has lost its brother, spewing flames from its mouth while running around frantically, then vanishes into the distance.

The older brother sits on the ground, dazed and vacant.

The barrier stone is indeed a useful item—life seems to be sustained.

But... this...

"…Grandpa. As you can see, I don't think my brother will make it out of this forest alive. Even if our viewership reaches the highest in the world… it's uncertain, really."

"Then even more so… we've got no choice but to keep going, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Grandpa."

The fact that the barrier stone's effect is strong is the only thing giving us hope.

Having a 12-hour window means I'll probably push it to the very limit today.

This precious time my brother created for me.

I must make the most of it and accomplish everything I can.

◇◆◆◆◇

"Also, Grandpa, if we cause a global uproar, our family won't be safe—so we'll probably have to move. That might mean we won't be able to meet up like we used to."

After explaining the general plan to my grandfather, I added the final note.

"Move? Where to?"

"Probably America."

"Huh? America... the America?"

"Yeah. I've been invited by companies and research labs over there for a while now. It's a perfect opportunity. …The only issue is my parents, but if we just give them some money, it should be fine."

My parents are utterly hopeless, but if I say they can live off money while having fun, they’d probably be happy to come along. Honestly, I’d like my grandfather to act as our guarantor, but that’s not really feasible.

After all, there’s no real difference between him and our parents.

"……Kouichi’s still the same, huh?"

"Yeah. Still loafing around as usual. Officially, he’s a full-time househusband."

Our household finances are entirely supported by my mother’s nighttime work.

Naturally, that’s not enough to buy everything we want, so since elementary school, both Karen and I have been contributing our earnings to keep the household running. Now, my mother works very little, my father does nothing but idle around, and our family is honestly quite unusual in this regard.

"...If a fool like that could produce good kids like you two... Honestly, we should've just disciplined you more tightly at home instead of cutting ties. That's why you've had to suffer because of me..."

The grandfather spoke, choking out the words like a confession, but I couldn't just nod and agree—he was too far gone. I simply kept silent.

It was true we'd been troubled by those parents.

Me, my brother, and Karen.

It was only because there were three of us that we'd managed to get this far. And it helped a lot that my brother had fought with our mother and won the right to be left alone.

"Grandpa. This is the last time we're asking you to do something unreasonable. Once we're in America, we won't be able to come back here so easily. ...The timing for releasing the culprit will probably be decided from there."

"Decided by you...?"

"Yeah. Decided by us. So can you introduce someone who'll carry it out?"

"Got it."

Grandfather said, calling out to someone.

This mansion also serves as the company's office, so staff members are always on duty.

The instructions—schedule for the confinement and tasks to be done in between—are all clearly illustrated. There are some complicated parts that can't just be handed off completely, so I want to give the orders and manage it myself.

"Hey, Boss, you called?"

"Ah, Kenji. You and Izuna, please listen to my grandson's request and take care of it. I'll handle any fallout."

"Oh? My grandson's? I can't have my old man cleaning up after him... What kind of situation is this?"

"That's something you should hear directly. Seems time is short."

The two people Grandfather had called were a nervous-looking man in a sharply pressed suit and a woman with stylishly styled chestnut hair, also impeccably dressed in a suit.

I explained what needed to be done to the two of them.

"Hmm. I happen to know a perfect place to hold someone captive—a mixed-use building in Nishinomiya Town. It's been specially modified, so no one will find out."

"That's a big help. I want to get a confession, so I'm planning to lure them out under the pretense of hiding them from the police. I've already set up a separate mobile number and LINE account for this purpose."

Both of them quickly grasped the situation.

Probably some of the more capable members in the group. Very helpful indeed.

"I'll go get the car, so you two sort out the details with Izuna. Serika-san."

◇◆◆◆◇

The car driven by Izuna had me and Karen in it.

Kenji was speeding down the bypass in a minivan, accompanied by two strong young men, heading straight for the real culprit's house.

In the meantime, Kuren is sending a message to the culprit's LINE.

'I am God. I've seen your desire to travel to another world. I'll make sure to guide you first on your next journey to another world. ...But that was a mistake. If you continue like this, you'll be arrested by the police and executed. I've ordered my subordinates to hide you. They'll arrive soon, so go outside with your blood-stained clothes and the knife used as a weapon.'

'Leave a note for your family saying you're on a training journey to another world. It will take some time to gather enough energy for your next transfer to another world.'

'Leave your smartphone behind—it could be traced by the police. We'll provide another device here.'

A drowning person will grasp at straws.

The suspect replied to this message with, "I understand. Thank you."

It seemed he truly believed it was a message from God.

Of course, he might have hesitated at the last moment and refused to come out, but in that case, we could have forced our way in, pretended to invite him to a casual meet-up, or used any other tactic.

"Just around that corner... there he was. Good thing. If he’d turned himself in, we’d have been in trouble. Well then, please proceed as planned."

I almost said he was lucky to be an idiot, but he really was lucky to be an idiot.

The black sedan carrying us passed in front of the real culprit—Yūichi Ozawa—and the minivan behind us invited him inside.

He was probably sandwiched between two strong men wearing sunglasses, utterly terrified.

Anyway, the first stage is now cleared. What matters most is that we succeeded in securing the suspect before the police arrived.

The place where we're holding Ozaawa captive is an ordinary-looking apartment building. It has an elevator, but it's an old building, easily over fifty years old, with an eerie atmosphere that makes you reluctant to approach even when you have a reason to.

"This place, we've been using it since long ago, you know? The walls are soundproofed, so you could stay here for months—or even a year."

Izuna says in a calm, relaxed tone.

Is this person also part of the yakuza? I'm not sure about their connection to the grandfather, but I've heard that yakuza members are treated like independent contractors, so they're probably just one of the involved parties.

"Still, I didn't expect there'd actually be a prison room like this."

"Well, you never know—there are all sorts of uses for a place like this."

We watched as Ozawa was led into the building from inside the car.

There was no one around. It would've been troublesome if there were witnesses, but it seemed safe enough. With him dressed in a black hoodie, there was no risk of his face being recognized.

In any case, it was enough that the public believed my brother was the culprit for about a month.

After that, we'd quickly have Ozawa arrested by the police.

The only uncertainty was when the messaging or email functions would start, or whether they'd even be implemented at all—something we couldn't know for sure.

Regardless, we had to wait until my brother reached a safe location.