Chapter 3 Open the door! The evil mastermind!
"Mr. Hidden God!"
It must be said that, compared to some other unscrupulous bosses, Hikami Kouyachi, the owner of the Hikami Detective Agency, is a truly good boss, despite his obsession with picking up children and employing child laborers.
After all, competition is fierce in every industry these days. Anyone with the ability, even a minor, can be recruited to work. For example, certain organizations in Yokohama, a dangerous woman working as a police inspector, and the power structures at church meetings… which one of them doesn't have a ton of child laborers under their command?
Those forces, rife with intrigue, bloodshed, violence, and content unsuitable for children, are truly terrifying. Tsukino and Chiya thought to themselves, if ordinary people like themselves were to come into too much contact with them, they would probably be badly injured, if not killed.
But perhaps it's precisely because I'm just an ordinary high school student that, unless my luck gets really bad, I shouldn't have any involvement with those things.
In contrast, the atmosphere at the Inkami Detective Agency is incredibly warm and cozy, completely different from the styles mentioned above. If you had to put it another way... the Inkami Detective Agency feels like home, and the employees, Akira and Ori, are visibly reliant on Inkami Yachi.
In fact, Tsukino and Chiya are not employees of the agency, nor is the purple-haired woman next to them.
However, the members of the agency were already used to their occasional visits. In a sense, Yin Shen Gu Yaqian, who was actually a nice guy, was also happy to see his two underage employees interact more with other friends.
However, it's quite rare for the two of them to choose roughly the same time to visit, like today.
"Why is Mr. Yin Shen back so early all of a sudden? Didn't he say he wasn't coming back for dinner?"
"Well, after arriving at the scene and investigating, I found that things were much easier than I had imagined, so I finished dealing with it quickly and came back."
"Oh, I see... Shall we have pizza tonight?"
"What~ Uncle Yinshen is really popular." Just as Ori and Akira were exchanging pleasantries with Yinshen, Ohma Kokichi, who was standing to the side, shrugged. "Akira and Ori are so enthusiastic. They really are kids who can't live without adults."
"Huh? Who are you calling a brat!"
"Seriously! That's too much, Ohma-kun!"
Compared to the two children who were instantly aroused, Yin Shen Gu Yaqian, who looks like an uncle but whose real age is currently unknown, is obviously much more composed.
"Come on, everyone, calm down."
Yin Shen Gu Baqian placed his hands on Jing and Zhi's shoulders respectively, signaling them not to get too excited.
"And you, Wang Ma... you call others kids, but you're not that much older than them, are you?"
"Hey—this old man is really protective of his child. But if you always shield a child under your wing, the child won't grow up. They might just turn into a useless otaku who's afraid of being exposed to the light of day..."
Ouma Kokichi smiled calmly amidst the background noise of rebuttals like "Ouma, you bastard!" and "I wouldn't!"
"And speaking of which, it's really strange. This guy is a 'raccoon dog,' he should be the best at pranks and lying, right? This is just..."
"This is terrifying! I never imagined that such a tanuki monster would exist right next to me! One day, I'll be tricked into becoming penniless by this old man! I'll confess everything. I secretly took the ice cream from the fridge yesterday, so please don't eat me!"
Facing the cold sweat already beading on Ohma Kokichi's face, Hidden God Drum Yachi sighed helplessly, rubbing his forehead with a headache: "If we're talking about stereotypes, then apart from not being a Tanuki, you are truly the best Tanuki."
"Oh! Is this affirmation from the experts? I'm instantly full of fighting spirit! Thank you everyone, I will continue to work hard in the future!"
"...Don't keep trying in weird places."
"Um, is someone having a birthday today?"
The other people could be heard talking about "tanuki and lies" in her ears, but Tsukino and Chiya were not interested in the topic.
He glanced at the cake that Yin Shen had casually placed on the table when he entered, and thought the chocolate decorations on the cake inside the transparent packaging looked delicious.
"Huh? Oh right, why did Mr. Hidden God suddenly come back with a cake?"
Jing's attention was instantly diverted. He has always liked delicate and cute things, and looking at the cake in the package, he was already eager to take out his phone to take a picture.
"Zhi, is today your birthday?"
No, that's not it.
"Ugh, I'm so sad..." After Ori denied it, Ouma Kokichi lowered his head, his lips drooping with sadness, his voice low, "Kyou and Ori don't remember that today is my birthday, even though it's my favorite day..."
"Ah, this cake? It's because Ohma and Chiya are going to enroll at Hope's Peak. Since they'll be living at the school, they probably won't be able to come as often due to the distance and their studies. Oh right, I also ordered pizza, it should be delivered soon... Anyway, there will be a pre-enrollment dinner tonight."
Having already become familiar with Ouma Kokichi's tricks, Hidden God Drum Yachi pointed out the truth before he could finish speaking, to prevent the two unlucky kids in her agency from being fooled again.
"How boring—at least wait until I finish speaking before you call me out," Wangma Xiaoji said regretfully, drawing out his words.
"So it was Wang Ma-kun lying again!"
Realizing she had been tricked, Jing puffed out her cheeks. The guilt she had felt earlier because of Wang Ma Xiaoji's lie about her birthday vanished, but soon she was overwhelmed by the frustration of having to part ways with her friend.
"However... yes, we'll probably have less time to meet with Ohma and Chiya after this, which means..."
Sensitive Akira reflected on her past interactions with these two. With Chiya, things were alright, but with Ohma, it seemed she was either being deceived or on her way to being deceived.
Thinking of this, most of the reluctance that had filled Jing's heart vanished instantly: "In this way... it doesn't seem so bad?"
Zhi: "Jing, did you just say something really outrageous?"
Wang Ma Xiaoji: "I never expected Xiaojing to say something so hurtful. I'm so sad."
Tsukino and Chiya: "Excuse me... can we eat the cake now?"
*******
The chocolate tastes really good.
Tsukino and Chiya weren't exactly fans of sweets, but they didn't dislike sweet food either. At least tonight's cake made them very happy.
Although it's still inevitable to be noisy during dinner, there's nothing wrong with that.
This is a good opportunity to eat more while things are in chaos.
After dinner and clearing the table, Tsukino and Chiya were about to ask Ohma Kokichi, who was about to leave, if he wanted to go back together, when they were stopped by Hidden God Drum Yachi.
"Oh, right, Chiya."
Tsukino and Chiya, who had been called to a stop, turned around.
"Could you come here for a moment? I have something to give you."
...
Tsukino and Chiya received the item from the Hidden God and exchanged a few words with him, which didn't take up much of their time.
But when he returned to the office's living room, he found that Ouma Kokichi had already left.
Tsukino and Chiya blinked, politely declined Akira and Yui's attempts to keep them, and then left the agency.
For various reasons, the office still has a hammock for him to stay in for convenience. However, considering that he will be moving to Hope's Peak dormitory in a few days, Chiya plans to go back to his current apartment to pack his things.
...Moreover, the firm serves ramen for breakfast almost every day, and he really doesn't want to eat it anymore.
The office wasn't far from Chiyo's current residence. Because she frequently traveled back and forth, Chiyo was extremely familiar with this route, to the point that she could walk back even with her eyes closed.
Soon after arriving at her destination, Chiya took out her key from her pocket and opened the door.
Are the lights off?
Tsukino and Chiya locked the door again, completely forgetting their original plan to pack their things.
However, he didn't pack his luggage until the day before he was to move to the dormitory.
This also caused him to wake up a little later than usual the day after he packed his things—the day he was heading to Hope's Peak Academy.
With her slightly disheveled black hair, Tsukino and Chiya rubbed their eyes with one hand and gripped the doorknob with the other, turning it to the side and opening the bedroom door—
"Yo, Kazuo Kozue, good morning!"
A familiar face, whom I hadn't seen for almost a week since leaving the Hidden God Agency, suddenly appeared.
Tsukino and Qianye: "..."
Tsukino and Chiya: "...Um, I don't think I'm fully awake yet."
The next second, he decisively closed the door again.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Someone outside the door: ovo?
Certain organizations in Yokohama → Need I say more?
A dangerous woman working as a police inspector → The fox spirit sister in the monster incident
Church Assembly Meeting Society → Werewolf Village and the four factions in the DMLC world view
————
I caught a bug, and for some reason I always subconsciously typed the name of the knot in it (facepalm).
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