Chapter 50: The Courage-testing Gathering Returns
Nanjo Emi heard someone calling her name, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, yawned, and turned around to look,
“Isn’t this that guy… oh, Shangshan Lili Zi?”
Shizuma Mafuyu, sitting to her right, sighed and said softly, “Ms. Nanjo, he is Shangshan Che.”
Shizuma Mafuyu was very careful not to call her Junior Officer Nanjo in public, but addressed her as “Ms.”
Shangshan Che froze upon hearing this name, but when he saw Nanjo Emi’s dazed eyes, he reacted: “So Sister Nanjo, you’re not just a chain smoker, but also a drunkard.”
He sat down to Nanjo Emi’s left and reminded her, “If you smoke and drink a lot in private, they say you won’t live past sixty or seventy.”
After saying that, Shangshan Che ordered an extra-large beef bowl, the kind with triple beef—although it was made with pre-prepared synthetic beef, it was green and healthy, tasted good, and was cheap.
“So Shangshan Jun, you think I can live to sixty?” Nanjo Emi laughed heartily, boldly putting her arm around Shangshan Che’s shoulders. The strong smell of alcohol made him pinch his nose. “Then I really have to thank you for your blessing.”
These words reminded Shangshan Che of Hasegawa, and also of the mostly young faces he saw at Special Affairs Office Headquarters that day.
Onmyoji is indeed not a profession with a high survival rate.
While Shangshan Che was lost in thought, he suddenly felt his entire arm surrounded by softness, so he quickly wriggled out: “Sister Nanjo, don’t you have a bit of a problem with your sense of distance?”
“Is that so? Is there a problem?”
Nanjo Emi looked up puzzled, smacked her lips twice, clinked glasses with Shizuma Mafuyu who had annoyance written all over her face beside her, and comfortably drank the remaining half glass: “Drinking a glass happily after work is just so refreshing!”
Shizuma Mafuyu took a small sip and grimaced bitterly.
It seems that accompanying the leader in drinking applies no matter which country, but Shizuma Mafuyu probably wanted progress too much and was proactively drinking with the drunkard beside her…
Shangshan Che collected his thoughts and got to the point: “Speaking of work, I just ran into Kurosaki Akira.”
“Talking about work after getting off duty is very unromantic behavior, Shangshan Jun.”
Nanjo Emi set down her glass, lay on the table with her arms as pillows, and glanced at him with her slender eyes: “But… since you’ve met him, you should know the work details. Tell me your thoughts.”
Shangshan Che said gravely, “It’s too easy, easy to the point of being abnormal.”
“Ah! That’s true.” Nanjo Emi licked the alcohol from her lips. “So you still need to be careful lately.”
Shangshan Che was stunned—Sister Nanjo’s reaction clearly showed she knew all about it.
He frowned: “If that’s the case, why not…”
“Because I’ve finished work and gotten off duty.”
Nanjo Emi yawned tiredly, while Shizuma Mafuyu bought another beer and placed it beside her hand to replace the nearly empty one.
In just two or three days, Shizuma Mafuyu had grown from that shy intern into a qualified OL.
The woman happily drank the chilled beer, utterly relaxed: “I’ve already told my superior and colleagues about this, and reported it to the level above. What more do you want me to do, Shangshan Jun?”
At this time, Shangshan Che’s beef bowl was ready.
After thanking the staff, Nanjo Emi took it for him and gently pushed it in front of Shangshan Che: “So, what does the rest have to do with me?”
She gently shook the rim of her glass cup, her lips curving up: “I’m not a hero from a story who goes looking for trouble. I’m just a corporate slave who crazily works overtime following superior orders.”
Shangshan Che ate his meal heartily, listening to her say,
“For me, this job is no different in essence from being an accounting clerk. And once a corporate slave finishes their duties, of course they drink heavily and sleep soundly.”
“Shangshan Jun.”
Nanjo Emi poked Shangshan Che’s waist with her elbow, and the moment he turned his head, she pressed her index finger to his lips, then said earnestly with a calm face,
“Do as much as your abilities allow. That’s my life motto.”
Her index finger was warm, carrying a strong beer scent.
But this time Shangshan Che didn’t pinch his nose; he nodded slowly: “I understand.”
“Good that you do!” Nanjo Emi grinned cheekily upon hearing this, then turned to hug Shizuma Mafuyu and repeated it.
“I’ve remembered it too, Ms. Nanjo.”
“Hey, we’re off duty, don’t be so formal. Call me Sister Nanjo, or Emi is fine too.”
“Huh? Ah? That… no no no…”
“By the way, Mafuyu, did you join us for some hard-to-achieve dream?”
“Well… because once I get through the internship period, my sister will have a stable job in the future.”
“So it’s for your little sister! Great, then let’s get along well during the next three-month internship, Mafuyu!”
Shangshan Che ate his meal, quietly listening to the conversation between the corporate slave and the no-longer-new workplace newbie.
Work, huh.
He swallowed the last bite of beef bowl, thinking that he’d never really seen what kind of person Sister Nanjo was.
Taking things as they come and living well is enough— no wonder Nanjo Emi had been at the Special Affairs Office for a full five years and was still just a Junior Officer.
Without saying goodbye to Nanjo Emi, Shangshan Che walked out of the Yoshinoya shop alone under Shizuma Mafuyu’s hesitant gaze.
He randomly found a JR line subway station, entered it, and continued browsing news related to Kisaragi Station on his mobile phone.
Of course, he didn’t forget to supplement some basic supernatural knowledge.
For example, what kind of supernatural phenomenon the Miyugi he encountered today was—such understanding was necessary, because clearly knowing the opponent’s origins would allow for targeted countermeasures.
While scrolling on his phone, time quickly reached 10:20 p.m.
Clang clang~
Accompanied by a cheerful little tune and the sound of the train slowing down, a completely normal train stopped right in front of Shangshan Che on time.
He boarded with the crowd and stood by the window looking out.
The train moved, the scenery outside the window slowly changed, and the night grew deeper.
By the time the train reached the terminal station, there was almost no one left inside, except for one drunken salaryman uncle who seemed to have missed his stop and staggered off behind him.
Shangshan Che glanced at him, and after confirming no one else was on the platform besides the uncle, he changed into his coat and mask in the uncle’s blind spot.
The next train arrived in less than two minutes. Shangshan Che boarded silently and found the uncle had followed him on.
He paid it no mind.
There were few people on this train, and when it reached the original starting station, only he and the uncle got off.
As Shangshan Che stepped out the door, he immediately felt a subtle chill underfoot.
He looked around, and the Tokyo nightscape that had been crystal clear in his eyes began to blur slowly.
Without hesitation, Shangshan Che silently transformed into Laughing Hannya.
At the same time, he summoned Two-Foot Adult.
The girl in the white hat had just appeared when she anxiously patted Shangshan Che all over: “Po! Che Adult, you’re not dead!?”
Some auspicious words…
Shangshan Che made a “shh” gesture to her, then whispered, “In the Eternal World, I can resurrect even if I die.”
Two-Foot Adult’s little mouth opened wide in disbelief, but before she could make a sound, she covered it with both hands, emitting a faint popo sound.
Shangshan Che reminded her, “Not that first. There might be a few combats later, so please help me recover quickly in the gaps then, Two-Foot Adult.”
—This was Shangshan Che’s assumption that a combat would occur every time they passed a station.
—But this assumption might well be wrong; calling out Two-Foot Adult was just for insurance.
Next was the last train.
However, before Shangshan Che could wait for the last train, another train identical to the one he had taken earlier approached from behind.
The train doors slowly opened.
A group of chattering high school students and an auntie scrolling on her mobile phone walked onto the platform, seemingly oblivious to the changes in the surroundings.
“So! Miyamoto classmate, our courage-testing gathering is happening at this train station? I don’t see anything scary here at all? It won’t scare me one bit, hahaha!”
Among the high schoolers, a girl spoke up.
Hearing the familiar term, Shangshan Che’s gaze sharpened.
—Another courage-testing gathering?
