''Speak''
'Thought'
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~Ryu POV~
Again, what with me getting forcefully pushed into a portal? That happened to me twice in the last hour; I am sure that is something that had never occurred to anyone before.
But there is no point in complaining now.
I'm worried about the last thing the woman said before I got forcefully pushed into the portal.
'A vacation on an island? What the hell does she mean?' I thought, ' Now I think about it, where am I? And why is it so dark?'
Now when I look around, I think I am in some stone... jail? I mean, there is no light or window or anything; the only reason I can see is that my eyes can adjust in the dark to the point where I can see some outline of the room.
I can also feel my hands tied behind me with the rope, with my leg tied together by the rope. I can still feel that thing around my neck, and I also noticed that I still wear the same clothes.
'Did I lose consciousness when I entered that portal or something? Because there is no way I would end up in this situation if I were awake.'
Suddenly out of the dark, I can hear numerous footsteps coming toward my cell, and I can see the light, probably coming from torches, and from it, I can see shadows of a group of people walking toward my cell.
Finally, standing in front of my cell is a group of people, and when I look at their appearance...
'Well, now, isn't this interesting.' I cannot help but think when I look at the group of people in front of my cell.
~3rd POV~
Standing in front of Ryu's cell, a group of men wearing what seems to be traditional clothing from Japan or kimonos, with one of them holding a torch that lit up the entire room. But what stands out the most is the person who stands in front of the group.
A man with short hair and his face framed with bangs. He wore a dark haori and a white robe with a bell tied on the left collar, along with a hakama held together with a waist cord and sandals.
"Is this him? I was expecting someone more... barbaric than this." The man asks
"Yes, that is him lord Kisho. He is the one who killed Warped Keiun!" One of the men responded back
"Are you sure, though? I mean, he looks so skinny, not to mention he doesn't have the aura of a killer at all. And that attire of his, is he a foreigner or something.?" The man name Kisho ask
"I don't, but it is him! When we try to capture the Hunter of the Hundred, we find him dead, and the only one in the scene is him, who has blood in his hand!!"
"Oh really? Now that's interesting." Kisho said before seeming opening the cell door and walking toward Ryu. Standing before him, Kinsho looks down at Ryu, appearing boredom. "Tell me, what's your name?" Kinsho ask
Of course, he is asking Ryu in Japanese, a language that Ryu would never understand, however...
"Akutagawa, Akutagawa Ryunosuke." Surprisingly, Ryu answered the question correctly, like he genuinely understood what Kinshoaskedk him.
'Why is he speaking English? I mean, from their appearance and clothing, they would be Japanese, but they had been speaking perfect English with no problem.' Ryu thought, 'Also, why did I say my surname first? It came out instinctively without me even thinking about it.'
"Son of a dragon, huh? Quite a name. I must be mistaken, thinking you are a foreigner; your word is Japanese, not to mention you speak perfect Japanese." Kishon said
'What do you mean, perfect Japanese? You are speaking English... Wait a minute, he said. I'm speaking Japanese while I hear him speak English. Does that mean I have somehow been... blessed? With some translation spell? I guess that solves the communication problem. No point in complaining about it.' Ryu thought
"But let's not waste our time here; you probably want to know why I am here." Kinshou said, "You see, you will be executed for your crime of murdering, but you probably know that by now. However, I have an offer for you from the shogunate himself." Kinshou said before tossing down a piece of paper on the ground showing Japanese writing on it, and when Ryu looked at it...
'I can't read it.' Ryu thought while looking at the piece of paper, 'Come on, you give me this translation power that lets me speak Japanese, and yet you did include reading in that package; how troublesome. Also, really? The moment I wake up, I will be executed, but now some shady guy comes in and makes a deal with me. This sure is one hell of an hour.'
"As you can see, that message will absolve your crime, no matter how grave, and promise you a magnanimous amount of protection from the shogun." Kishou said, "With this, you will be as free as a bird in the sky, and none of us will lay a finger on you."
"However, there is one condition." Kinshou suddenly said, causing Ryu to look up at him, "You and I will venture into Nirvana."
"Nirvana? Do you mean the afterlife? Are you and I going to die and go to nirvana? That fucking weird, you know?" Ryu said
"No, you idiot. You see, the shogun force had finally discovered nirvana at Ryuukyuu*, and from there, the shogun believed that the elixir of life must be real too." Kinshou explains.
"An elixir of life? Sound like something a child would make up. A fucking fairy tale if I ever heard of one."
"Indeed, it sounds like a fairy tale; however, the shogun does not care and still has an intense desire for this elixir of life. So with it, he sends a research group to go and retrieve it; however, what comeback is something else entirely.
However, when they returned, there was nothing but flowers; if you don't count what USED to be them, that is. But that did not waver the shogun's conviction, so he decided that instead of sending his people, he chose to use convicts like you instead.
This is why I am here, to recruit you to be one of our many convicts on this expedition. So... do you agree?"
*Ryuukyuu is a modern name for Okinawa; at the time, it was its own country and culture separated from Japan.
Ryu stares at Kinshuu for a few seconds before answering.
"So that's the condition, huh?" Ryu quietly said,
"I don't have a choice now, do I? Fine, I accept to let go and get this mystical elixir of yours." Ryu said with a smirk on his face.
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A/N
If you don't know what universe or story the mc is in, he is in the story called Jigokuraka or Hell Paradise in English.
It's a good manga, not great, but good and entertaining enough. It only has 120+ chapters, so it will be a quick read for many of you who are interested in it.