kscans

Chapter 71 - Three Sacred Treasures

After work, I was drinking coffee with Takahashi and Suzuki at a café run by the Mutual Aid Society. For Suzuki, this was the third day in a row... though I couldn't help but think about it, today wasn't about drinking. I had other plans scheduled anyway.

"Hey, you two. Calm down a little."

"But we can't help it..."

I tried to calm down the two idiots who were fidgeting nervously. Last night, I got a call from Chika-san. She said she wanted to meet them. I don't know what changed her mind, but I could tell from her voice that it wasn't anything negative. So I told Takahashi and Suzuki about it, and we arranged to meet today, but...

"Don't get all worked up now that we're actually meeting. Just stay confident! And..."

"...We can't help it."

"...We're more sensitive than you, Satou-kun."

"Huh? I'm the sensitive one here. I'm so sensitive I want to cry every time I count my fallen hairs."

While we were chatting like this, Chika-san entered the store with Rika-chan and Hikaru. She looked around, spotted us, and approached with a gentle smile.

"Good evening, Hiro-kun. And Takahashi-kun... I mean, Takahashi-san and Suzuki-san too."

"Hey there."

"Oh, yeah..."

"It's been a while, hasn't it."

All three of them fell silent. How shy can you get?

"Well, I'm heading out now, so you guys take care of things from here."

"What, already?!"

"I have plans with the kids. That takes priority."

I waved goodbye with a "See ya!" and left the store with Rika-chan and Hikaru.

"Alright then, let's go... What's wrong, Rika-chan?"

"Oh, um... those ladies back there, they used to be men... right?"

"Huh?!"

Hikaru was shocked by Rika-chan's statement. Ah, so Chika-san told her... that's a pretty delicate topic, or rather, I wouldn't know how to explain it.

"Well, yes."

"...I can't tell at all. They look completely like women. Like erotic and elegant beauties."

Genre aside, of course they look completely female. It wasn't surgery or anything, it was an occult gender transformation.

"More importantly, if you know that much about their situation... do you also know what they were trying to do?"

"Yeah. I heard about it. Mom doesn't seem to mind at all... so I'm trying not to mind either."

"I see."

It's pretty heavy stuff, kidnapping someone to use as a sacrifice. But if she can talk about it so casually to her daughter Rika-chan, then Chika-san really doesn't seem bothered by it.

"Oh, sorry. I interrupted your conversation. Please continue."

"Sure thing. So we're heading to the dark market now, but do you both have money with you?"

"Yes. I prepared one million yen like you said."

"Same here."

I was a bit worried about Rika-chan, but she had managed to save up about a million.

"Good, good."

The standard approach is to start with bare hands to properly understand your own abilities. However, these two have gotten somewhat used to the supernatural world by now. So I figured it was time to consider getting them their own equipment, which is why I decided to take them to the underground market. One million yen should be enough to get a full set of beginner equipment. It's a lot of money for adults normally, but even simple jobs pay about 100,000 yen per assignment. Given how many jobs they've completed, it's not surprising they've saved up that much. I could pay for it myself, but... spoiling them in situations like this would be bad.

"Um, Satou-san. The Mutual Aid Society sells this kind of stuff too, right? Yoshino-san gave me a permit the other day."

"Yeah. But if you know how to judge quality, the dark market is cheaper."

It's like going directly to the fish market instead of buying fish at a department store, you get cheaper and better quality? Same goes for quality. If you can tell the good from the bad, the dark market is definitely better. I can also introduce them to shops I used to frequent when I was starting out.

"But for today, don't worry about judging quality. I'm here with you."

Since it's their first time. They can start thinking about quality assessment when they're buying replacements next time. When that time comes, I'll teach them how to choose good products.

"Please take care of us."

"Pick good stuff, Uncle!"

"I'm not exactly picking them, more like judging what you guys choose... Anyway, let's get going."

I took them to a small park in Shinjuku 2-chome.

"When supernatural people have to fight in crowded places, they usually create temporarily shifted phase spaces to battle in."

Those are temporary and disappear when finished, but some aren't like that. There are places scattered throughout Japan where supernatural people have permanently created alternate spaces.

"Is this one of those places?"

"Yeah. Since you got permits, your newsletter rank should go up too."

While the entrances change regularly, famous locations can always be tracked through the Mutual Aid Society's newsletter.

"This time, it's the graffiti behind this restroom. This graffiti here."

The system automatically transports you when supernatural people activate their powers. When I encouraged them to try it, Rika-chan moved first.

"Here goes!"

"!?"

Without any hesitation, she released her power and Rika-chan disappeared with a whoosh! I reassured them it was fine, and Hikaru also cautiously used his power. After seeing both of them go through, I entered the same way.

"――――"

When I arrived at the destination, both of them seemed dazed by the appearance of the town. Well, that makes sense. It looks like what you'd get if you recreated an old-fashioned black market in modern times. That's why these large markets are called "dark markets."

"Pretty impressive, right?"

"Y-yeah... it's amazing..."

"This bustling atmosphere... it's overwhelming..."

"You can get most things here."

Not just equipment, but food and art pieces that can't be sold publicly are also circulating here. You can find almost anything if you look. If you're particular about quality, deeper places would be better though...

(That's still too early for these kids)

Those places are usually membership-only.

"Now then. Have you both thought carefully about what kind of weapons you want to use?"

Normally, you should try various weapons and choose what suits you best. But as I've said many times, this is a world where feelings matter. Looking cool... such motivation can easily override aptitude. That's why I told them to think based on inspiration. I did advise against firearms since ammunition costs money too.

(Well, pistols don't cost that much to operate)

But pistols affordable to beginners can't serve as main weapons. It's best to use them in combination with something else.

"Alright, Hikaru first!"

"Yes! Um, well... I was thinking maybe a sword would be good..."

Hikaru said somewhat shyly. I get it. Swords are cool. You want to swing them around stylishly.

"I want a Gatling gun!"

"Gatling... Gatling gun?!"

We couldn't help but exclaim in unison. Hey, are you ignoring my advice? Prioritizing inspiration?

"I thought it would feel good to fire away like in movies... Don't they have any?"

"Well, they do exist."

If you look for them. Since we're supernatural people, we can handle them normally without mounting them.

"By the way, what did you do when you were starting out, Satou-san?"

"Me? I was... pretty ordinary."

I did think weapons were cool. But I had other things I wanted to spend money on more than weapons, so I prioritized those and chose practical options.

"Short blade, pistol, healing potions, and enhancement drugs were my basics."

"That's pretty normal."

"Right? I only started choosing based on personal taste after I had money to spare."

While we were talking about this, Rika-chan tilted her head slightly.

"Fighting with a short blade, pistol, and drugs... Are you a yakuza?"

Who's calling me a yakuza?