Chapter 37: Laughing Hannya, One-star!
Why did the conversation suddenly shift to an unrelated topic?
Aren’t we discussing how I’m supposed to deal with Ai Bieli right now?
Seeing no reaction from Lili Zi, Kondo Yuya immediately upped the ante: “Miss Tokugawa, I can teach you the breathing technique to step into the Supernatural, as long as you just put your name on the Special Affairs Office roster.”
This time, Lili Zi began to seriously consider Kondo Yuya’s proposal—completely shedding the identity of a powerless Normal person was something she had always dreamed of.
After pondering for a moment, she looked toward Shangshan Che.
Because if she agreed, Shangshan Che wouldn’t have a sparring partner for a while.
Becoming his teacher was something she had promised herself, and for Lili Zi, nothing weighed heavier than a promise; some bullshit breathing technique naturally couldn’t shake her resolve in the slightest.
In response, Shangshan Che just sighed: “Don’t treat me like a child.”
“—Then I agree.”
Lili Zi answered decisively, making Kondo Yuya’s face light up with joy.
He hadn’t expected to so easily snag a kendo genius that even left him dumbfounded; coming along with Nanjo Emi this time was definitely the right call.
Lili Zi: “I have one more question—why could you, Great Officer Kondo, tell at a glance that neither I nor Shangshan Che are her clone, but I couldn’t?”
“Is it because my cultivation isn’t sufficient?” Lili Zi’s first reaction was this.
“No.”
Kondo Yuya’s tone changed as he explained in detail: “Even with Clear Sword Heart, the Sword Hearts everyone condenses are all different, leading to all sorts of bizarre Sword Heart traits—for example, my trait ‘Microscopic’ is particularly good at observation.”
Next, Lili Zi eagerly bombarded Kondo Yuya with questions about sword techniques.
Watching the two of them, Nanjo Emi clicked her tongue, pushed open the conference room door, and beckoned Shangshan Che with her finger.
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
She walked out of the Special Affairs Office building in her Martin boots, click-clack-click.
Along the way, Shangshan Che noticed that while the Special Affairs Office looked no different from an ordinary company on the surface, in reality, as soon as he turned his head slightly, he could spot a string of stars in his field of vision.
Though One-and-a-Half Star and above were rare, One-Star and Half-Star were truly as common as dogs… If someone had told him this was the Special Affairs Office, he would’ve thought it was some Demon’s Den.
He didn’t look any further and followed Nanjo Emi outside, where he saw her eagerly light a cigarette, take a deep drag:
“I’ve been dying to do that…”
After slowly exhaling the smoke, Nanjo Emi said: “You’re one lucky kid, you know—Ai Bieli hasn’t been heard from in over a hundred years.”
As for why there’d been no news, it was naturally because everyone who’d seen Ai Bieli was dead.
This also indirectly meant the Special Affairs Office had very little intel on Ai Bieli, only knowing she could toy with emotions and manipulate spirit, with nothing else known.
Shangshan Che savored her words and replied: “Sister Nanjo, if you want me to work under you, just say it straight—we go way back.”
“Talking so bluntly will make the leader unhappy,” Nanjo Emi said.
Shangshan Che spread his hands: “Sister Nanjo is Sister Nanjo, the leader is the leader—two separate things that can’t be mixed.”
Nanjo Emi narrowed her eyes and pinched out her cigarette with her fingertips.
This time, she said something completely opposite to what she’d said at their first meeting:
“If you don’t join the Special Affairs Office, you’ll die.”
“Though we still don’t know Ai Bieli’s exact combat power, what we can confirm is that her Rank is between Three-Star and Four-Star… There are scarcely any in all of Arakawa Ward who can face her head-on.”
Nanjo Emi said word by word: “Shangshan Che, you need to understand—you’ve been targeted.”
However, Shangshan Che was focused on another issue: “Why are you so sure Ai Bieli’s Rank doesn’t exceed Three-Star?”
Nanjo Emi stared at him expressionlessly.
Shangshan Che stared back with wide eyes, bright and alert.
A long time passed.
Nanjo Emi sighed heavily, as if giving up, and said: “Because of the【 Sea Level】’s existence.”
“—Before the First Wave arrives, Three-Star… or what we commonly call Evil Spirit level, is the highest Sea Level; breaking beyond that is not only extremely difficult but also incredibly eye-catching.”
“If Ai Bieli surpassed Three-Star, every Onmyoji in Tokyo would sense her presence, which clearly doesn’t match her current goal of staying hidden.”
Ai Bieli wouldn’t exceed Three-Star for the time being—this was probably the only good news in the recent period.
Next, Shangshan Che began to assess their side’s combat power:
Old Man Ghost was Three-Star, the Doll made it wary so it was at least Two-and-a-Half Star, and he himself was about to break through to One-Star, which could barely count as One-and-a-Half Star or above.
By that calculation, not to mention dealing with Ai Bieli, holding out under her for a few minutes until Nanjo Emi’s reinforcements arrived shouldn’t be a big problem.
So Shangshan Che’s refusal wasn’t casual—it was based on his own considerations.
“Then Sister Nanjo, if I work under you, can you stay by my side every moment?”
“I’m not your mom…”
See, Nanjo Emi couldn’t be a personal bodyguard, so joining or not joining the Special Affairs Office wouldn’t fundamentally change Shangshan Che’s situation.
What’s more, if there were teammates around, Shangshan Che wouldn’t be able to transform into Laughing Hannya.
Untransformed, he’d be one-shot by Ai Bieli; transformed, if teammates saw it, he couldn’t clear his name even by jumping into the Yellow River.
In summary, joining the Special Affairs Office offered no benefits and would instead be a major constraint for Shangshan Che.
After waiting for Nanjo Emi to quietly finish another cigarette, Shangshan Che smiled and asked: “Anything else to say, Sister Nanjo?”
—This kid was hiding something, that much was beyond doubt.
But Nanjo Emi actually didn’t care what Shangshan Che was hiding or how much.
She was only worried he had too few trump cards and overconfidence, leading him to misjudge his own strength and cause a tragedy.
“Don’t end up hiding an urn of ashes for the grave…”
Shangshan Che blinked: “What did you say, Sister Nanjo?”
“I mean,” Nanjo Emi tossed him a cigarette, “next time, come keep me company for one.”
Shangshan Che grinned, carefully pocketed it: “No problem. Then I’m off, Sister Nanjo.”
“Go go go, do I have to chase you out?”
Nanjo Emi waved irritably and took out another cigarette to bite down on.
Too many annoyances, all awkward and troublesome; without smoking to relieve the pressure, Nanjo Emi was afraid she’d destroy the World someday.
…
Pushing open the door to home, upon seeing Old Man Ghost’s featureless face, Shangshan Che felt an unusual sense of familiarity.
Thank goodness for you!
Without a Three-Star dad guarding the home, Shangshan Che would’ve had a real headache.
But for now, before the First Wave arrived, the home was undoubtedly still half a Safe House.
After casually greeting Old Man Ghost, Shangshan Che rushed into the bedroom, closed his eyes, and lay on the bed.
Time waits for no one!
Before Laughing Hannya leveled up, Shangshan Che had to ensure he knew Hachishaku-sama’s exact position as clearly as possible and complete the task of exploring the Ghost Village.
That way, he could minimize the time needed to claim rewards and boost strength after leveling up.
Opening up vision on the Aragawa Ghost Village map, which he’d half-cleared, wasn’t a big deal.
So in less than eight hours, Shangshan Che finished all those chores.
Then, he spent a full four hours patiently waiting.
Finally,
—Laughing Hannya’s first level up was complete!
