kscans

Chapter 195 - Take This When You Can No Longer Bear the Pain

"Welcome back, you three. Good work on the subjugation."

After defeating the curse god, the trio returned to the Mutual Aid Society, where they were greeted by the chairman. He offered them tea with a beaming smile, but...

"Um, was there some kind of problem?"

"Oh, don't mind us. We're just a little, you know, unreasonably pissed off at Hiro-kun," Chika said with a wry smile, seeing that the chairman seemed to have noticed Takahashi's and Suzuki's blatant irritation, though it had nothing to do with him.

"You mean Satou-san. Come to think of it, he did say, 'I'll kill you if you contact me today for anything other than a real emergency'."

"And after telling others that, he goes and pulls that stunt!!" they both roared.

"Hye!?"

For the uninvolved chairman, it must have been unbearable. Feeling a little sorry for him, Chika decided to get the report over with quickly.

"We tried to keep the damage to a minimum, but there was still a fair amount."

"Well, that can't be helped. When a divine being of that magnitude goes on a rampage, some damage is inevitable."

"Oh, right. About that curse god. It was stronger than the preliminary report suggested."

She pointed out that while they could handle such a discrepancy, for anyone else it could have been fatal. The chairman frowned at Chika's words and asked for confirmation, just in case.

"Did it... grow stronger during the fight..."

"No, it wasn't anything like that. It was a pure observational error."

"...I see. My sincerest apologies."

"It's fine for us. We're powerful enough to manage. But if you keep doing such sloppy work, you'll get your members killed for nothing, you know?"

It wasn't that Satou disliked him, but he didn't feel any particular attachment to the chairman. They were less than friends, but close enough to make small talk for ten minutes if they happened to run into each other. Although he had received various favors, Satou's own contributions to the Mutual Aid Society far outweighed them. He would go the extra mile for people he cared about without a second thought for profit or loss, but he was quite strict with business-like relationships. Chika, however, felt a decent amount of gratitude to the current chairman for his help when she was leaving the Supernatural World. That was why she dared to offer her harsh criticism, for the good of the Mutual Aid Society.

"Maybe you've gotten complacent, thinking it's fine to be careless since the dangerous jobs tend to go to Hiro-kun anyway?"

"That... may be the case. Thank you. I will begin working on improvements immediately."

"Please do."

Chika drained her tea and prompted the other two.

"Come on, let's go. We'll run out of time if we just stand here grumbling, right?"

"You're right."

"Well then, we'll be taking our leave."

With a brief farewell, the three of them left the Mutual Aid Society. They headed straight for a nearby convenience store. The plan was to have a drinking party together. Tonight's theme was to splurge at the convenience store without worrying about a budget. The three of them began tossing products into their baskets, following the whims of their desires.

"I love convenience store onigiri. It's not that they're exceptionally delicious or anything."

"I get it. I totally get it, Saionji-san."

The first to agree was Suzuki.

"Onigiri from a bento shop are higher quality, and you could even make them yourself."

Suzuki was a pro. The onigiri she made herself would likely be cheaper and of a higher quality.

"But it's different. That's not what it's about. Right?"

"Exactly! It's good because it's convenience store onigiri! Though I can't really explain what's so good about it myself!"

"I believe that while it is onigiri, it belongs in a different genre in a way."

Suzuki put forth her theory that, while being onigiri, it deviates from the genre of onigiri. Therefore, it couldn't be compared to handmade or bento shop onigiri.

"Perhaps one could call it the subtle flavor of mass production. The advantages that come from it not being handmade might be what stands out."

"Spoken like a true pro."

"Hmph, I still have a long way to go. My research on convenience store onigiri is still in progress."

It was a theme worth dedicating a lifetime of research to, Suzuki claimed.

"...Stop talking nonsense and let's get shopping. We're not just hitting one place."

"You're right. It's almost ten, so some places will probably start pulling their hot snacks."

"Let's hurry."

They were going to splurge. Of course, they had no intention of stopping at just one store. Hot snacks, sweets, bento boxes, each convenience store offered something different, so it was only natural. The three of them finished their convenience store tour in about thirty minutes and headed directly to Chika's apartment.

"Oh, welcome back! Takahashi-san and Suzuki-san are with you."

"We're about to have a few drinks... which reminds me, Rika, you..."

In the living room, Rika was doing a handstand on an exercise ball with her legs spread wide. And she was only in her underwear. Chika began to reprimand her, questioning if this was appropriate for a young girl.

"It's fine, we're at home. Right, Takahashi-san?"

"Why are you dragging me into this?"

"Huh? Well, I mean, out of everyone here, you definitely seem like the type to dress sloppily at home."

"...Damn it, I can't even argue with that."

"Ahaha. Still, it's impressive that you're training even at home."

When Suzuki said that, Chika quickly corrected her.

"She's been like this since she was a kid. She's the type who likes walking on the curbs of sidewalks."

Playing on the exercise ball was just an extension of that, Chika explained.

"She's just like Satou-kun."

"Yeah, he used to do stuff like only stepping on the colored tiles in shopping arcades."

"Well, she's just a kid and a girl, so I think it's fine for Rika-chan, don't you? It's cute."

"In Satou's case, he still does it now as an adult when the mood strikes him."

And he felt absolutely no shame about it. The three of them chatted idly as they took their haul out from their spatial storage. The table was quite large, but it was quickly overrun.

"Well then, to both of you, good work today."

"Yeah, good work."

They toasted with beer, praising each other's efforts. Beer first. For drinkers, this was the most classic of classic choices. When you're hesitating, when nothing seems to fit your mood, it's the one option guaranteed to score a solid 70 or 80 points.

"You want some too, Rika-chan?"

"Yes, yes!"

"It's good to see you so energetic. Here, eat up."

"Honestly... Hiro-kun is the same way, but you two spoil Rika too much."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Exactly. Satou-kun would say that getting snacks from the adults while they're drinking is a classic part of being a kid, right?"

Although she voiced a complaint, it seemed Chika had no real intention of stopping them.

"By the way, Rika-chan, have you guys graduated yet?"

"Mmm, Yoshino-san comes with us less often, but we're still in training."

"Back in our day, they just let us loose after about a month."

"I guess the Mutual Aid Society has changed. Rookies get extensive training now."

And there was another reason for the delay.

"Apparently, there's a shortage of suitable jobs dealing with humans. It seems the other groups besides ours are falling behind too."

"So it's like a required subject for graduation?"

"I seem to recall being thrown into some pretty dangerous jobs right away without any special consideration back in the day."

"The old Mutual Aid Society had its moments like that, but it was different for you two, wasn't it? The higher-ups back then hated you."

The adults blossomed with talk of the old days. Watching them, Rika, who was nibbling on some cheese, muttered under her breath.

"...You guys sound like a bunch of old ladies."

"Ugh!?"

The three of them guzzled their beer as if to numb the wound to their hearts.