Chapter 559 Good Cop, Bad Fox
"Hmm? Wasn't Zeru going to be here to play the good cop?" Qiu Yue asked as she saw Kraft happily tying Amura Rei up to the chair and there was no sight of the Sword Saint.
Not just simple knots on his hands, but also complicated sea faring knots meant to be a deadlock. He tied his legs to the legs of the metal chairs while placing the hands at the back.
After which, he even placed a rope right around Rei's neck and tied it to a robotic crane arm. (How he got that, Qiu Yue had no idea at all.) "That's a bit too extreme, don't you think?" Qiu Yue asked, but Kraft said he got the idea from Lynn herself.
"She told me that the Fukurokuju Yakuzas are extremely ruthless when it comes to returning their debts," Kraft replied. "I am merely replicating the ruthlessness. This is also pretty much the scenario our new guest expected to find himself into. Well, one of many." Kraft said as Qiu Yue seems more than displeased.
"…Don't look at me like I am some sadist, I know that we need him to get to our good side eventually. Just let me work my magic and get ready to make him an offer he can't refuse."
Once all the preparations were done, Rei's chair was titled to a 45° degree angle back, and Kraft began the interrogation by splashing a bucket of water into Rei's face. (More like a magical continuous waterfall, short of resembling waterboard.)
It was without a doubt a rude awakening for him, and Rei began to slightly panic when he saw the new environment he found himself in. A shaky lightbulb swaying above him and the rest of the room was covered in pure darkness. From that darkness, Kraft's silhouette could be faintly discerned whenever the light swung towards him. (Jin would have immediately recognised the scene even though it was just on a smaller scale)
Kraft then changed his outer appearance to a buff guy with scars all over his body as well as the Fukurokuju Symbol which was mainly tattooed across his bare upper body. He used the accent of a southern Japanese person, speaking to him with crude yet fluent Japanese.
Qiu Yue was surprised and only realised that the Sub System had at some point started to convert what Kraft said into Chinese for Qiu Yue to understand.
"I ...do not have your money yet! Give me one more month, please! I just need a bit more time! I promise to pay double ...no Triple! Triple the interest! Please let me talk to your Bo-" Rei suddenly felt a tugging sensation on his neck and realised that the rope that was previously hanging loosely on his hand began to tighten.
"Please! Please! I have always been prompt with my payment!" Rei shouted in fear.
"We know that you have been a loyal client so far. But see, my boss is really~ interested to know where you spent all our money. So he tasked me to ask you. It's up to you how 'nice' our conversation is going to be." The experienced torturer had purposely used a custom made Fukurokuju mask as he had some familiarity with the workings of the Japanese Yakuzas from his past interactions.
"I... am using it to fund my work. The movie! The new movie! The studio needed some additional funds, so I sponsored a bit. I just want it to be as brilliant as it can be! Once the movie is out, I can return you guys! Really! Four times the interest! I swear!" Rei tried to plead his way out, but Kraft, who had a peek of his brain knew better that he was lying.
"Really?" Kraft asked as he tightened the rope on Rei's neck even further.
"REALLY!" Rei shouted back as he started to feel the tightening strain on his neck. And yet, Kraft did not loosen it and instead kicked one of the legs of the chair, causing it to tilt and topple. In that instant, Rei could genuinely feel that he was going to die.
"Well, I tried being nice. I cannot help you if you want to lie to us! Don't worry, I've all the time in the world to make you talk… and also the means. Heh" Kraft said in a casual manner behind his mask. He stepped back into the darkness and returned soon after with a silver tray full of torture instruments. Most of them still showed signs of being used, with different amounts of dried blood on them.
"WATI!!! I'll tell you, I swear. It's just… you won't believe me!" Rei was full out panicking and gasping for air at this point. Kraft went behind him and freed the knot a bit. It would be bothersome if he passed out again.
After all, it would ruin all the fun.
"Try me." The masked man demanded. Fully aware of the consequences if he did not comply, Rei finally revealed the truth.
"I shouldn't even be here. I'm not from this world! One day I suddenly awoke in this strange country, and since then, I've been trying to return to my world. I needed the money to dabble with the portal scrolls. They already cost a fortune, but the magicians charge extra for custom changes. So we've tried to create the portal coordinates based on the memory I had shown them!" Rei revealed.
"Aren't you a bit too old to be a chuunibyou?" Kraft asked, as no sane person would believe this outrageous story without proper knowledge. When Rei was beginning to weep and swept his scared gaze to the instruments, Kraft sighed.
"Relax, I've just been tasked to find out the truth, even if it sounds like the plot of one of these obnoxious Isekai stories. I can tell that you are not lying in your answer. It's up to my boss to decide what's going to happen with you. So the portals did not work for you?" Kraft made the instruments disappear as a sign of goodwill and also to prevent Rei from suffering a heart attack anytime soon.
Nevertheless, the fox was rather curious that this guy had been attempting multiverse travel with the current magical prowess and technology.
"No. Whenever they...the mages tried to activate the scroll, the magic backfired, killing them in the process. Once that information spread, it became far more difficult and expensive to enlist their services." Rei replied, "I also had to compensate their families in some way or else they threatened to reveal my real identity to the government."
"So what or who are you really, Mr Alien?" Kraft was timing his actions really well with Rei's state of mind. Just as he felt a little bit safer, the fox came really close towards the mangaka artist, and his eyes revealed no emotions. Rei could feel the aura of danger looming around him.
"I am an engineer! Just a small time engineer and teacher! I have blueprints of robots in my head! Like photographic memory! Database full of them in order to teach my students! I can give you some of them! Maybe you can sell those to tech companies, will that give you some leverage for me?" Rei was desperate to live.
"What? So, you are just going to give us blueprints of your manga and want us to sell shounen drawings to a tech company? Are you fucking with me?" Kraft was having fun threatening him even though he knew that Rei was telling the truth.
With a snap of his finger, growling noises could be heard from within the darkness. Numerous eyes shone dangerously looking at the defenceless victim.
"I am telling you the truth! I swear again!! I can take that tribulation thing you guys have! I can also convert the blueprints into something usable from my world to yours. You can put me on a lie detector test, or ask a mind reading psychic. I p-promise you I am true to my words! " Rei exclaimed as he saw multiple small yet menacing foxes approach him.
"Please! I will give you everything I know! Your clan will sure make a fortune!" Rei shouted, and suddenly Kraft stopped his foxes for a moment.
"Again, you appear to be telling the truth. In that case, you shouldn't mind signing this contract which my partner prepared for you? Here let me help you." Kraft walked into the darkness and Rei could barely make out another silhouette passing a piece of paper to him. The devilman then sauntered slowly towards the frightened engineer and allowed him to read the piece of paper.
"…forfeit everything that I have? My debt is not that much to – *Cough*" Rei suddenly felt the rope tightening around his neck again. Kraft was not giving him any chance. Qiu Yue thought he was going overboard with it and thus came in to cut the rope.
"You alright?" Qiu Yue asked with a worried expression. Rei knew that this pretty angel had to be just as bad as the devil in front of him, since she was the one who created that particular contract. Thus, he kept his mouth tight and concentrated on regaining his breath.
"If what you offered us just now is true, then I promise we won't hurt you anymore. In fact, let me apologise for my comrade's... lack of tact." Qiu Yue smiled kindly at Rei who could not help but blush a bit.
But little did he know that the foxes in the shadows were already doing their job to aid with this "Good Cop, Bad Fox" style of interrogation.