kscans

Chapter 226 - The Local Hanako-san 2

"Thank you for the meal."

Her posture was perfectly ladylike as she put her hands together and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. If it weren’t for the white lab coat she wore over her elegant kimono, she would look like a perfect Japanese beauty from any angle.

"You didn’t eat much. Are you on a diet or something?"

The two of us had been picking at the bento box Kawasaki made for our meal with a view, but I felt like she barely ate. She probably prepared a decent amount since a guy like me would be eating, but even taking my portion out of the equation, it still seemed like a small amount for her.

"I’ve never been concerned about my figure. I just had too many snacks earlier."

She said I could have the rest, so I gratefully accepted. I had just gotten off work, so I was starving. Kawasaki is a superhuman, so she could eat more if she wanted to, but there’s no need for her to push herself.

"But I wonder what I should do. Even if the constraint of time is gone, I don’t want to spend it idly... Satou-san, do you have any good ideas?"

"Hmm, let’s see."

Finding a new hobby. Trying a genre she’s never touched before would be the standard approach. But given Kawasaki’s personality, she probably wouldn’t like that... In that case...

"How about taking on a request from the Mutual Aid Society?"

"A request?"

I explained the details to a blinking Kawasaki.

"If you complete a request, you’ll obviously get a reward. Money is never a waste. You can put it toward your development costs."

But that alone was a bit bland, so I gave her another reason to take on requests.

"A request passed on to someone of your class will have a suitable level of difficulty. You can use it to polish your skills at the same time."

She would complete the requests while consciously trying to improve her own skills, like making barriers and so on. All the skills she possessed were originally for the sake of her robot related work anyway. So again, it wouldn’t be a waste. If she did something different, but the results all fed back into her main interest, maybe that would motivate her.

"...Now that you put it that way, I’m starting to feel a surge of motivation. As expected of you, Satou-san, your silver tongue is like a con artist’s!"

"You could have said I’m like a skilled salesman, you know."

"But I don’t have much of a connection with the Mutual Aid Society."

Kawasaki looked troubled, saying that while she was technically a member, that was all. That was understandable. She had a past record, having tried to rampage in the Surface World. The Mutual Aid Society probably didn’t want to poke the bear. They only let her join so they could at least keep an eye on her movements, even if they couldn’t control her.

"I’ve basically only ever handled jobs from the Supernatural World that were brought directly to me, so I don’t know what a good request would even look like."

"Alright, alright. In that case, I’ll help you out."

"Thank you! This is why I love you, Satou-san!"

I patted the back of the Kawasaki who had just thrown her arms around me while popping a piece of rolled omelet into my mouth.

So good...

I used my telekinesis to operate my phone and access the Mutual Aid Society’s dedicated website. It lets you see announcements from the society and accept requests based on your rank. I’m registered too, but I don’t use it much. If I’m going to work, I’m the type to go to the facility and accept a job in person. For now, I’ll look here, and if I don’t find anything good, I’ll head over there myself and ask.

"Hmm, let’s see... Oh?"

While browsing the requests for top tier members, I found an interesting one. The client who posted the request through the Mutual Aid Society was an acquaintance of mine. Judging by the pay and the content, it looked pretty tough.

"How about this one?"

"Let’s see... An ‘urban legend’?"

"Yeah."

This is a world where gods and demons exist. So naturally, the beings spoken of in ghost stories and urban legends exist too. Some famous examples would be Hanako-san of the Toilet, the Kuchisake-onna, the Headless Rider, and the Human Faced Dog. The stats of gods and other monsters are affected by feelings of reverence and fear, but the urban legend types are the most susceptible to human influence. That’s because urban legend apparitions didn’t exist from the start. They were born from human thoughts. There are a few conditions for them to be established as apparitions, so it’s not like anything and everything can become one, but most of the famous ones are real. Because of that background, urban legend apparitions born into this world are strongly influenced by people. For that reason, there are quite a few variations of famous ones like Hanako-san, since there are many versions of the ghost stories told about them.

"The Hanako-san who is the client for this request was born in the elementary school I attended."

Before I entered the Supernatural World. I used to play with her normally during my elementary school days. I just thought of her as some girl I didn’t know, and I forgot about her after moving on to the next school, but we met again as adults and became friends.

"I call her Jimoko-san, short for the local Hanako-san, and she’s quite powerful."

She could probably make it into the lower ranks of the top tier. The request Jimoko-san put out is for extermination. The target is another urban legend. This was the first I’d heard of it, but according to the request, a faction aiming to become the "one and only" urban legend has existed for a little while now. They were mainly active in the Kansai region, but apparently they’re planning to advance into the Kanto region soon.

"It’s less that they’ve hunted down most of the urban legends in the west, and more that..."

"Their activities in the west were for the purpose of leveling up, and their real target has always been Kanto, or more specifically, Tokyo."

"Probably."

They likely used their nature of being easily influenced by people. Even if the news doesn’t reach people in the Surface World, just becoming known to people in the Supernatural World is enough to give them power. In fact, the influence of superhumans might be even greater than that of ordinary people. In both the Supernatural and Surface Worlds, the center of Japan is Tokyo. If they cause a ruckus there, they can become even stronger. But they wouldn’t be able to survive with mediocre strength, so I think they were doing the provincial circuit in the west.

"The request is for extermination, but guarding Jimoko-san is also part of it."

The fact that it’s clearly stated as guarding, not cooperating or fighting together, probably means the enemy is strong enough to be a danger to Jimoko-san. I think they’d be a perfect opponent to face.

"If she’s your friend, Satou-san, couldn’t she have just asked you directly?"

"She’s the type who doesn’t like to use personal connections like that."

If things got really bad, she’d probably send a request to me through the Mutual Aid Society, but she would definitely pay the full reward. She likely posted this request because she judged that securing a top tier member from the society would be enough to handle it, without me needing to go out of my way.

"I see... But five hundred million is quite a bold sum to offer."

"She’s dabbled in stocks, forex, real estate, and a bunch of other things and made a ridiculous amount of money."

If you bring up NISA, she’ll talk your ear off for at least an hour.

"Is she really an urban legend?"

"She’s a little unusual, but yes, she is. So, what will you do?"

"I’ll take it."

"Okay. I’ll tag along just in case, but you can have the entire reward."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. For me, it’s not a job, it’s a personal matter."

Helping Kawasaki with her boredom and helping out the local Hanako-san. I’m just acting with the goal of helping two of my friends. Well, Jimoko-san might add to the reward if I show up, but I plan to talk my way out of that. Just as Jimoko-san doesn’t want to use personal connections, I don’t want to take money when a friend is in trouble.

"In return, though, I have a favor to ask you, Kawasaki."

"What is it?"

Apparently, we’re meeting the client as soon as we accept the request. Since Kawasaki will be heading out right away, there’s something I need to do first.

"...Could you change into this for me."

"...? Understood."

Kawasaki began to change right then and there. I won’t say things like "it’s shameless for a young woman to do that" anymore. I will simply accept and enjoy this perk of my position.

"How do I look?"

Kawasaki, now dressed in a classical black sailor uniform and black tights, spun around once.

"Oho! A sailor uniform is a must for Japanese horror!"

Kawasaki has long black hair and a graceful appearance, so the black sailor uniform suits her perfectly! And her slender, long legs wrapped in black tights are irresistible! All that’s left is for some kind of erotic event that doesn’t cross into an R rated territory to happen, but I’ll just let that play out naturally. A deliberately manufactured incident would be half baked, after all!

"If it makes you happy, Satou-san, then I am glad!"

"Thanks! Alright, guess I’ll get younger and change into a student uniform too."