After signing the contract, the vow relationship between the two officially takes effect.

In Geto's eyes, Kuen must have other partners.

But Jiuyuan knew in his heart that Geto was the first true partner.

The first person is always special.

As a result, Hisayuu's friendliness increased sharply. He looked at Geto Suguru in uniform and began to care about him in every aspect.

"Suyu-kun...which school do you belong to in this uniform?"

At first glance, the uniform looks similar to many high schools in the city, a very traditional style. Perhaps because the pants are not the common straight-leg pants, it makes Geto Suguru look a bit like a member of a theme band.

"Although there are still many ambiguous places in my memory, but considering that I am a sorcerer... it is the uniform of the technical high school."

"Why are you so sure?"

“…That’s just what I think.”

Xia Yujie looked at his clothes and took the initiative to say, "Since we said we would avoid people related to the college, why not change our clothes as well?"

"Are there designated uniforms or something like that in the store?" He adapted well to the role of a store clerk.

Even you, an employee, were picked up recently. How could Jiuyuan, who was alone a few minutes ago, prepare uniforms?

Not to mention that most monsters have their own personalities, and no one would wear uniforms even if they were prepared. Kagome is a spirit transformed from the dead, and has not yet fully entered the ranks of monsters, and his way of thinking is still inclined towards humans.

"Not yet... I'll prepare another set of clothes for you later. Now let's go take a look at your future workplace. I'll be clear in advance - it's the early stages of starting a business, so the conditions will be relatively simple."

Then, Kuen took him to an abandoned warehouse that had been converted and used as a flower shop.

They had to pass through a corridor on the second floor first. This corridor was in an extremely good lighting location, and the light coming in from the windows illuminated the dust floating in the air clearly.

Kagome stood there. The sensitivity of his current body was far superior to that of a human, but the tiny dust and the bright sunlight that seemed like something he hadn't seen in centuries seemed to give him a new illusion.

I seem to be still alive.

But he knew in his heart that this was a wonderful feeling that was different from when he was alive.

(What am I now?)

The moment of confusion lasted only a moment before it was interrupted.

"What are you standing there for?" The young man in front of him saw that he was standing still, turned around and looked at him with a smile on his face: "Let's go, meet your future companions..."

Xia Yujie followed him and took a step forward. The corridor was filled with fragmented light, and stepping on it felt like stepping on a warm band of light.

It is a very gentle heat.

As he followed, he heard the young man mutter, "...Since you are all my 'children', this is considered a family business, right?"

Summer Oil: "...Really?"

After a few short steps, we arrived at our destination.

(…Is this a store? Isn’t it a bit…)

When Jiuyuan led him into the room, he felt vaguely confused, but he didn't ask. Now, after seeing the small room in front of him, the confusion was almost bursting out.

It's no wonder that Xia Yujie reacted like that. Usually, aren't stores located at the front entrance where customers can enter and exit easily?

Even if he didn't say it, Jiuyuan guessed that the person next to him must be full of doubts at the moment.

"It seems you have a lot to ask, Geto-kun." He pulled the wind chime that decorated the door, making a crisp sound in the small room, and Kuen said, "Well... using an analogy that is easier for high school students to understand, our store is like the surprise store that occasionally appears randomly in the game, and it can move at any time. To put it in a more romantic way, it might be like Ha○'s moving castle..."

"But it may be difficult to understand just by my explanation. You will understand once you see it with your own eyes. Come in first."

After closing the door, Geto began to look around this small "shop".

The warehouse was tidy and there were shelves all around. Although it was empty now, everyone believed that it would soon be filled with precious goods. There was only a little boy in the room, who was probably not even as tall as his waist. At this moment, he was sitting sideways on a chair with a book covering his face. The title of the book was "How to Cook a Shirazawa".

Xia Yujie saw his future colleague... At that moment he really thought he was seeing things.

Because no matter how you look at it, this is a child, even younger than you imagined.

(Such a young child, has he passed away so early...)

Hearing the noise, the boy pulled the book off his face and turned his head to look at the unfamiliar face next to Jiuyuan.

"…Newcomer?"

"Please introduce yourself, Geto-kun." Kuen encouraged, "You two will be colleagues from now on."

Xia Yujie looked at the boy with black hair, red eyes and red shorts, and his mood was a little complicated: "... Xia Yujie, hello."

"Hana - my name." The boy's big round eyes swirled around Xia Yujie, "You are a fox? If you are a fox, how could you torture yourself to the point of being trapped by cruel thoughts? Could it be that you didn't practice well enough?"

Of course, Geto is not a fox.

The black-haired boy touched the fox mask on his head, guessing that it was this thing that confused the boy in front of him's perception of him.

"Take off the mask, Suguru-kun. Let him see what you really look like."

Following Kyuen's suggestion, Geto took off the fox mask on his head.

The boy scanned him from top to bottom again, revealing an expression of "as expected".

"I see." The boy tapped his chin with his finger and commented, "That's a good idea. If a human spirit follows you, it's easy for someone with bad intentions to target you."

Summer Oil: "A guy with a cheating heart?"

The boy explained: "There are many monsters that feed on humans. They will not let go of human souls either. You have to be careful."

"Thank you for the reminder."

"Nothing. I don't want to be known to be hanging out with humans. Can I call you Geto? You can call me Hana, or Hana-kun."

Jiuyuan calmly walked to the chair opposite him and sat down. He placed one hand on the table and supported his face, and began to expose his past: "Or you can also call him Hanako-kun. This name is more famous."

If this were a comic, there would be a tic-tac-toe pattern on Hanako's head by now.

"I'm talking to you...you know I don't like being called that!"

"But, you are indeed Hanako-kun." Kuen looked helplessly at Hanako's angry face, without any guilt in his heart. He pointed at Hanako and said to Geto Suguru, "It was Hanako-kun who brought you back, Geto-kun. In a sense, he is your benefactor."

"Thank you." Xia Yu thanked quickly.

Hanako, who is good at dealing with soft things but not hard things, reluctantly put away her aggressive attitude, as if she wanted to leave a good impression in front of the newcomer.

"Yes, I am that Hanako... What's with that expression? Is it weird?"

"...Or rather, this is the first time I've seen a male Hanako. Is this the difference between rumors and reality?"

Kagome's honest answer made Hanako feel a little better.

Noticing his doubt, Jiuyuan explained.

"The formation of monsters and strange stories is not a single direction." Jiuyuan smiled and stood up and took out a notebook from the side. He drew a circle in the middle, and then drew a dozen rays, with the arrows of each line pointing to the circle. "Suppose the circle in the middle is Hanako, and each line represents a different version of the legend: Hanako with a bob haircut, wearing a white shirt and a red suspender skirt, Hanako who died of a sudden stroke in the toilet, Hanako who was bullied by classmates and locked in the toilet and was killed by a bad guy..."

"That is to say, 'Hanako' is a collection. He can be any of the legendary Hanako mentioned above, but he finally appeared in front of us in this form, but those Hanako are all him." Xia Yujie asked: "Is that so?"

Jiuyuan changed his posture, resting his chin on his palm in a very relaxed manner.

"Yes, those different legends are like streams, but they will eventually converge into the same larger lake, but the reverse is also true."

"So even if Hanako is a male, it's not something to be surprised about~ Summer Oil-kun, the longer a monster exists, the more complicated their legends become. Maybe you will encounter even more bizarre monsters in the future."

As a sorcerer who can control cursed spirits, Geto Summer has seen many strange cursed spirits. I wonder if it is because he often has to see different kinds of cursed spirits that he sometimes has a curiosity in this area that he himself cannot detect.

"...I really want to meet him then."

Kuen closed the notebook and threw it towards Hanako, who complained, "Hey!"

Then he smiled and said to Geto, "There will be a chance."

"Well, let's get down to business." Kuen said, "We've found employees for our store now, so we can officially open it soon. Let's set the date for tomorrow. Getu-kun, I'll have to trouble you to be Hanako's assistant."

Summer Oil Jay paused for a second, then replied: "...I thought you were the one doing the digestion."

"Ah~ I'm just a lazy shopkeeper with nothing to do." Kuen said with a smile, "I'm going to trouble you from now on, Getsu-kun."

Then he stood up and said, "I won't bother you for the rest of the time. Will the presence of the boss affect your communication?"

After saying that, he really just left.

Only Kagome Takeshi and the one in front of him were left...

……child labor.

Probably, he thought.

"I……"

However, before he could finish, Hanako jumped off the stool, stared at the closed door, then raised her hand and made a "huh" gesture to signal him to be quiet, as if to confirm whether Jiuyuan had left. After waiting for nearly half a minute, his tense little face finally relaxed.

"...that lunatic...finally left." His tone was complicated, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak, as if he needed to think over and over again before he spoke next.

Summer Oil: "...What do you mean?"

Hanako once again looked towards the door through which Kuen left.

After a long while, he whispered, "...that person wants to do something big, something crazy."

…

…

Jiuyuan just walked away like that, and there was indeed a reason as he said.

With him present, even if Geto and Hanako wanted to communicate, they might feel a little restrained. Moreover, some things are not appropriate for him to say personally. After all, it is like drawing a big cake for others. It will be more effective if Hanako says it. Moreover, he still looks like a child, which can increase his credibility a little.

At this time, he should do the opposite and let Hanako sue his boss.

Well... to put it in a rounded way, it means that old employees in the workplace whisper to new employees in private, telling them "what kind of person the leader is actually, what you must pay attention to, etc."

By the way, let's test Geto's attitude.

The boy walked out of the corridor, still smiling.

"——I really hope they can get along well."

(My “newborn” and my “eldest son”.)