I Was Kidnapped by a Book and Ended Up Saving the World - Chapter 1

Odasaku, you really are…

Mitsutani Hikaru stared at his own reflection in the mirror.
It was the face of a young man—black hair, black eyes, nothing remarkable about it except for two symmetrical moles beneath his eyes.

But that wasn’t what he was looking at. Mitsutani Hikaru silently put down the mirror, then discreetly drew his gun.
The inconspicuous weapon was hidden beneath his loose black coat, an action invisible unless one was watching him very closely.

Just moments ago, a glowing book had suddenly flown straight at his face. Hikaru had instinctively rolled to the side, but the book’s speed was like a bullet aimed at his head—it almost struck him in the blink of an eye.

Hikaru originally thought that, after being attacked by an ability-user, he would feel some sort of abnormal reaction—perhaps his limbs refusing to obey, or his body being assaulted in some strange way.

But nothing happened.

He returned home. If it had been an enemy attack, they would certainly have continued pursuing him along the way. After all, his home wasn’t far from Nakahara Chūya’s house. Once he got back there, the enemy would lose their chance to capture him—nobody would dare risk their life to kill or abduct him right under Chūya’s nose.

Yet, despite Hikaru’s heightened vigilance, the journey was eerily uneventful—so calm it was unsettling.

Once home, he carefully inspected himself from head to toe. His appearance hadn’t changed in the slightest, and his mind wasn’t flooded with strange urges to betray the Mafia’s secrets.

Just as Hikaru puzzled over this, a bookshelf suddenly appeared in his mind.

It was a bizarre sensation. Whenever he closed his eyes to probe the anomaly, the glowing bookshelf would materialize in his consciousness.

So, it’s a mental-type ability-user?
Though rare, Hikaru knew such abilities existed—this world had no shortage of peculiar powers. Still, he couldn’t understand why he, of all people, was chosen as the target of a psychic intrusion.

Could it be for my current superior, Nakahara Chūya? Or perhaps to probe for information on Dazai Osamu? With the Dragon Head War raging, the “Twin Dark” duo’s reputation only grows louder…

【Beep. Keywords detected: “Dazai Osamu,” “Nakahara Chūya.” A new chapter will now begin.】

Hikaru had already chambered a round, but he still couldn’t find his enemy—the voice was resonating directly in his head.

“Who are you? What’s your goal?” he asked coldly, for the first time unable to lock onto a target.

【Hello, Mitsutani Hikaru. I am “The Book.”】

The voice was mechanical, flat, without the slightest emotion—like an AI’s monotone, stiff and lifeless.

【As you can see, I am a book with refined tastes. Do you prefer abo… or forced love?】

What the hell? Hikaru’s eyes narrowed further in suspicion. He didn’t understand a single word of that—was it some kind of code?

The mechanical voice continued:
【I enjoy exciting stories. So please, could you take part with the protagonist? I’ll grant you a brand-new identity and anything you desire.】

Hikaru’s lips curled into a cold sneer.
“Anything? Can you bring the dead back to life?”

Something that appeared in one’s mind out of nowhere, spouting divine pretenses—it was clearly trying to deceive him. Did he really look like someone easy to trick?

The voice was silent for a few minutes, before replying:
【I’m sorry, Hikaru. A person’s life exists only once. Even I cannot undo death.】

Disgusting. Why did this thing suddenly start addressing him so intimately? Everything about today was absurd.

He even considered running straight to his current boss—after all, the presence of a psychic ability-user was valuable intel. Even the Boss himself would take notice. And at such a critical time, instead of killing him outright, having Dazai erase this thing in one stroke would be far more useful.

Countless thoughts churned in Hikaru’s mind, though his face remained perfectly calm. His black eyes betrayed nothing.

After a long silence, the “book” seemed to realize something.

【Please accept your random identity.】

One volume on the bookshelf in his mind snapped open. Black printed words leapt from the page—

【Port Mafia Love Affair Series III: The Undercover Curry-Flavored Killer O】

…What?

His consciousness plunged into an inky ocean. Darkness swallowed his vision, punctuated by the thunder of gunfire. A haze overtook his thoughts, and suddenly black-and-white images unfurled before his eyes—like a manga coming to life.

A bullet pierced through the head of a child with blackened eyes. Instantly, a primal sense of danger made Hikaru roll to the side. A bullet seared past, grazing his cheek with burning pain.

Though disoriented, Hikaru realized the child in the manga was himself. During his tumble, he felt his body shrink—his agility drastically dulled. He had become an untrained child.

Even in total darkness, Hikaru had undergone enough training to cope. He quickly found a massive stone slab and curled up beneath it.

【Oda Sakunosuke never imagined his identity would be revealed this way. The man seated on high wore an easy smile, yet his crimson eyes brimmed with condescension.】

His brain had begun narrating. Hikaru smacked his head twice, trying to silence the voice—but it persisted. Clearly, it was that damned book’s doing.

Unable to resist, Hikaru muted the voice to the lowest volume. Gunfire still roared outside. He had no intention of recklessly running out—better to lie low and survive. He had no weapon, no visibility, and no tools at hand.

As he steadied himself, he recalled the fleeting name he had heard earlier. Oda Sakunosuke… where had he heard that before?
Ah, yes—the man who had adopted five children. Low-ranked in the Mafia, someone anyone could order around. Hikaru remembered sending him on errands once: an ordinary-looking, mature-faced man.

【“You wouldn’t want your husband to discover this, would you?” Mori Ōgai said, his words laced with hidden meaning.】

Hikaru froze. Even through the monotone narration, his overactive imagination conjured the scene vividly in his mind’s eye.

Stay calm. Stay calm, Hikaru told himself. The only way to gather information now was through this bizarre story unfolding in his head.

【Even when faced with exposure of his greatest secret, Oda Sakunosuke’s expression didn’t change. Mori Ōgai couldn’t glean the answer he wanted from the man’s face—but his interest only grew. As Dazai had said, this was indeed a very interesting person.】

【He studied Oda Sakunosuke—his striking features remained captivating, even in the dim light. “For a top-class Omega like you to hide your identity… what a waste.” Mori folded his hands, his gaze oppressive. “I know what you want. But you must pay an equal price.”】

【Port Mafia Love Affair Series III: The Undercover Curry-Flavored Killer O — Prologue End】

Hikaru regretted deeply. Why hadn’t he spent those ten minutes preparing a weapon, instead of wasting time listening to his boss’s melodramatic seduction story?

“What do you want from me, Book?” Hikaru whispered.

No reply came. Stranger still, the bookshelf in his mind vanished completely—as if it had all been an illusion. But Hikaru knew it wasn’t, because he was still inside the body of a child.

No—more accurately, he had become a child with some kind of bizarre foresight ability.

Gunfire ripped through the air again. Someone had discovered him under the slab. Black-and-white manga panels flickered before his eyes once more: a scarred man in black fired a volley at him.

Damn it. Too many bullets. With this child’s body, I can’t dodge them all. Just cover the vital spots…
Gritting his teeth, Hikaru curled to shield his head and torso.

But in the next instant, a pair of strong arms swept him up. In one motion, the man carried him clear of the gunfire. A few return shots rang out, then the sound of rapid footsteps.

Ten minutes later, Hikaru was set down.

Judging by the stillness around him—the absence of gunfire, the even ground beneath his feet—he could tell they were in a safe place now.

“Who are you?” Hikaru demanded first, desperate for any information.

The man pressed a damp cloth gently to Hikaru’s face, wiping away bl00d and dirt.

“It’s okay now.” Oda Sakunosuke gazed at the wary child before him.
The boy looked only five or six, his clothes tattered, his cheek bleeding, his eyes a dazzling glacier-blue. But when Oda looked into those eyes, his heart sank.

The child’s gaze didn’t change at all when spoken to. Instead, his ears twitched at sounds. Everything pointed to one truth—this was a blind child.

He held the boy firmly in his arms.
“I’m Oda Sakunosuke. You’re safe now.”

Hikaru felt his warmth, opened his mouth, yet struggled for words. At last, he managed a strained:
“…Thank you.”

Poor guy. You just got ravished in a side story, and now you have to save me.