Chapter 6: Yagiri Pharmaceuticals—Executives PART 1

Somewhere between Ikebukuro and Shinjuku, some ways from the Mejiro district, a research facility stood quietly. Although it was a distance away from the station, but in context of Tokyo, the amount of land this three storey research facility surrounded by trees and barriers occupied was no laughing matter.

Yagiri Pharmaceuticals was one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the Kanto region, and this was the site of its new research facility. But, its reputation as Kanto’s leading pharmaceutical company was a thing of the past. Its prestige nowadays could hardly compare to that of its heyday, as its performance was sliding.

And it was just when Yagiri pharmaceutical’s share prices began to fall when an American company proposed to buy over their business. The company was called ‘Nebula’, and had been doing joint ventures for about a century now. The company dealed in transportation, publishing, biotechnological research and so on, on a very large scale. But behind their rock-solid repertoire, there were many rumours. Like those about deals with the government. But these rumours were always quashed by their methods of legal repression.

Yagiri Pharmaceuticals was on the selling end, and as long as they gave in unconditionally, they wouldn’t have to start mass-retrenchment. Although this was so, but there were some of the staff—especially the director, who was a member of the Yagiri family, who couldn’t really accept this.

The one who objected to it the most violently, was a woman named Yagiri Namie. She was twenty five years old when she became the sixth research facility’s, or simply the sixth research director, and was also the chairman’s niece.

Namie was able to progress so quickly through the ranks, wasn’t totally due to her being especially favoured since she was a Yagiri. The fact that she was exceptionally talented and efficient was also an important factor. But, the situation she was facing now had a lot to do with her family. The problem wasn’t her position, but the department she worked in.

Because there was a rumour within the Yagiri family, that whatever the Namie’s department was researching was in fact the main reason for Nebula’s offer.

What the sixth research facility was dealing with, wasn’t really medicine. The facility claimed that they were working on the development of a new kind of drug to boost the immune system, and would be ready for clinical trials in the near future—

But in fact, it was actually something that was ‘not of this world’.

Twenty years ago, Namie’s uncle managed to get his hands on a specimen that resembled a human head from overseas. It looked as beautiful, as if it was alive, and it was like it was sleeping. Having a beautiful girl’s face as a specimen sounded rather grisly on the surface, but in fact it did not seem cruel at all, more like the head was a complete, living entity.

Namie who had been only five years old then obviously wouldn’t know that the head had been smuggled.

After all, if it had been brought in by the legally appropriate means, then they’d surely have been stopped by the customs.

Her uncle had no idea what kind of magic could have conjured such a thing, and as such even began to see it as the Yagiri family heirloom and showered his care on it. The moment he had some free time, he’d lock himself in his study to admire the head, and sometimes he’d even talk to it.

Namie would often come over to play with her cousins, and when she saw her uncle do that, she’d feel a little uneasy. But after a while, she got used to it.

But, there was something that upset Namie. And that was the fact that her younger brother, Yagiri Seiji, seemed to have been bewitched by the head, and was even more hopelessly infatuated with it than her uncle.

The first time Seiji saw the head was when he was ten years old. Without her uncle’s permission, she’d brought her brother and snuck in to see it. It was a regret that continued to this day.

It was because ever since then, Seiji began acting very strangely.

He’d want to go to his uncle’s house for no reason, and once he got there, he’d sneak in without his uncle’s knowledge to stare at the head.

And as he grew up, Seiji’s obsession with the head did not wane in any way. Three years ago, when Namie had first joined the pharmaceutical company her uncle ran by her own ability, her brother confessed to her:

“Sis, there’s someone I like.”

The girl her brother liked, didn’t have a name—nor a body.

And the feelings that rose within Namie, wasn’t concern for her brother’s abnormal preferences. Instead, without a doubt, it was dark, rusty red jealousy.

Namie’s parents were the original successors of Yagiri Pharmaceuticals. But when her brother was born, they made a serious error with a transaction that caused them to be completely ostracised from the company core and were excluded from the inheritance rights. The couple became estranged as such, and slowly grew distant from their children.

However, her uncle still regarded them as ‘a chess piece in the family’, and continued caring for them. But the concern he offered was what a superior would offer to a subordinate, and was completely devoid of kinship.

Finally, Namie directed her craving for familial affection on her brother who was in a similar situation. These desires exceeded those of sisterly love, and contorted into some form of twisted affection.

And it was because of that, that Namie was absolutely unhappy with the fact that her younger brother had fallen for a ‘head’. Because her brother would never reciprocate her love, and even fell in love with something that could never reciprocate his love—the thing that was just a ‘head’.

Although Namie felt it was rather strange for her to be jealous of a head, but she still kept it from her uncle, and decided to secretly get rid of the head.

Chapter 6: Yagiri Pharmaceuticals—Executives PART 2

She had meant to retrieve the head from its glass jar and throw it away—but when she first touched the head for the first time, she realised that something was amiss.

She realised, no specimen would have such soft, tender skin, and it was even so warm. Which was to say, she realised that ‘the head was still alive’—

And then another period of time passed, and Namie managed to convince her uncle into letting the company do research on the head, and after listening to her uncle’s detailed account, learnt that the head was actually a faerie1 called a Dullahan—

What nonsense was that? A fairy was a small human-like creature with wings. Since when could a head be counted as fairy? But either way, the entity that was beyond death, meaning the head, was the crux here. How could she let go of an opportunity like this?　　

With this in mind, Namie went on to do all kinds of experiments on the head which was still alive. Perhaps she’d somehow mixed her the jealousy she felt because of her brother in with all this, but she’d always, without thinking, regard the head as an ‘experimental subject’. Namie had thought at first that while the head was in the research lab, Seiji who wasn’t authorised personnel wouldn’t be able to get near her—　　

But a problem immediately cropped up. The research had only just started, but Nebula had already started contacting them. The research work was carried out by only a specific few personnel. Yet the conditions the other party imposed had been ‘transfer that particular research laboratory, including all of its contents’. It was very obvious from here that they were interested in the head. 

And as Namie fretted about the possibility of a spy, and raised her suspicions towards everyone else, a second problem arose, not long after the first. As she did not trust anyone, she’d always taken her key card home, but then, it had disappeared.

The incident happened on the day her card went missing. Someone had infiltrated the research facility and had taken out three security guards with a taser, and had just taken the ‘head’ and left.

How could something like this have happened? At this rate, she was finished. And just when Namie almost lost all hope, she suddenly of someone who could have done something like this. A certain someone who knew about the existence of the head, and wanted to have it, and even had the means to steal her key card.

And just as she was contemplating this, the ‘perpetrator’ called from her place of residence.

“Sis, I think I’ve killed someone. What should I do?”

It was the day before the school matriculation ceremony when her brother called her for help. It sounded like the stupid girl who had been stalking her brother had broken into the house and had seen the ‘head’, and her brother had smashed her head into a wall.

And the feeling that rose in Namie’s heart at that time, wasn’t fear that had brother might have actually killed someone, nor was it anger at the fact that her brother had stolen the head—but an unbounded joy.

No matter what it is, my brother’s depending on me now. My brother needs me. When Namie realised that this was the moment that gave her the most happiness she had ever felt, she made a decision.

She didn’t care how, but she was going to protect her brother with her own hands—

♂♀

【Does Setton-san know about the Dollars?】

“Yeah I do, but I’ve only heard of it. Which reminds me, didn’t Kanra ask this question before?”

【Ah, oh yeah. But I forgot. Sorry about that.】

 “That’s OK.”

【I heard some stuff about them from a friend. They seem really cool.】

“Wow~ but I’ve never seen them before. Do they really exist?”

【Do you think they’re just a web rumour?】

“Not really, but I don’t really know either. Besides, even if they really exist, normal law-abiding people like us will probably never run into them.”

【You’re right...】

“It’s better if with don’t get involved with people like that.”

—Kanra has entered the chatroom—

《Hi everyone~ Kanra-chan’s here!》

【Good evening~】

“Evening~”

《My, my, are you guys talking about the Dollars?》

《They really exist, because they even have their own exclusive website ne~!》

《But if you want to browse it, you need an ID and a password.》

【I see...】

 “I won’t look at it anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

【...Kanra-san sure knows a lot of stuff.】

《That’s the only thing I’m good for after all w.》

Translation notes:

1. Faerie: I decided to distinguish between ‘faerie’ and ‘fairy’ because well, obviously, Celty isn’t a fairy. A faerie is not necessarily a fairy, and can be a death faerie like Celty. But the thing Namie was talking about was actually a ‘fairy’, thus the distinction.