In the abandoned warehouse in Arakawa Ward, Gluttony stood in the shadows, surrounded by seven or eight semi-comatose entities and inferior awakeners kneeling before her.
These were the sewer rats she had recruited over the past few days.
The poor souls who had narrowly escaped the Management Department’s cleanup operation and had nowhere else to go.
“Money… I need money.”
“How… how much?” the scale-faced man asked cautiously.
“The more, the better.” Gluttony tilted her head. “Prepare at least five hundred thousand yen for me.”
“Five hundred thousand?!”
Everyone in the room gasped.
They were all at the bottom of society, scraping by through theft, extortion, and blackmail.
Five hundred thousand yen was an astronomical sum to them.
“M-Master… that number…”
“Can’t do it?” A faint red light flashed in Gluttony’s eyes.
“We can do it! We can do it!” The scale-faced man immediately kowtowed. “We’ll find a way!”
“Good.”
Gluttony turned around, her voice drifting ethereally. “Remember, don’t cause trouble, don’t get exposed. Quietly get the money.”
“Yes!”
After her underlings withdrew, Gluttony remained standing in place, staring out the window at the night sky with hollow eyes.
She didn’t know why she needed to raise money, nor what she was supposed to do next.
She was just a puppet, carrying out her master’s orders.
……
The next afternoon.
In front of a run-down apartment building in Shinagawa Ward.
The three of them stood downstairs, checking the address on their phones.
“This is the place.”
Hanyu Sara adjusted his glasses. “Momose Tadayoshi. Once known as the King of Shinjuku. Rumored to have deep ties with DRG. He retired two years ago via Golden Basin. Now he works as a security guard at a construction company.”
“The file shows he was once arrested by uncle for a fight incident.”
“Even though it was just a brief encounter… maybe he remembers something.”
Kazama Yin frowned as he looked at the dilapidated apartment building.
“The King of Shinjuku? Now he lives in a place like this? This can’t be one of those no-name titles like the Emperor of Toyoko, right…”
“That’s the price of a Golden Basin retirement,” Kagetani Tsubaki whispered. “I heard that if yakuza want to quit, they either cut off a finger or hand over all their assets.”
“That’s just in dramas!”
The three entered the building and walked up to a door on the third floor.
The nameplate read: “Momose.”
Knock knock knock.
Hanyu Sara knocked on the door.
“Who is it?”
A deep, hoarse voice came from inside.
“Hello, we’re students from the Dexun High School Supernatural Club. We’d like to ask you a few questions.”
The door opened a crack, revealing a weathered face behind it.
Momose Tadayoshi looked to be in his fifties, with graying hair and a prominent scar across his face.
He wore a faded, washed-out undershirt and had an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips.
“Supernatural Club?” Momose Tadayoshi sized up the three of them. “What do you brats want with me?”
“It’s about a police officer.” Hanyu Sara pulled out a photo. “Hanyu Yukiki. Do you remember him?”
Momose Tadayoshi’s eyes flickered.
“I don’t.” He said flatly. “I’ve been arrested plenty of times. Can’t remember every cop’s face.”
“But the file shows…”
“File?” Momose Tadayoshi sneered. “Kid, do you know how unreliable those files are?”
“But…”
“No buts.” Momose Tadayoshi started to close the door. “I don’t know the guy you’re talking about, and I don’t want trouble. Get lost.”
“Wait!” Kazama Yin reached out and blocked the door. “Mr. Momose, this is really important to us.”
“What’s important to you has nothing to do with me.”
Momose Tadayoshi’s eyes turned dangerous. “Kid, I may have retired, but that doesn’t mean I’m a pushover. If you know what’s good for you, get the hell out of here now.”
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Kagetani Tsubaki quickly tugged at Kazama Yin’s sleeve. “Kazama, forget it…”
Hanyu Sara took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Momose Tadayoshi.
“I’m sorry for disturbing you.”
He grabbed Kazama Yin and turned to leave.
Bang.
The door slammed shut.
The three walked down the stairs, Kazama Yin’s face full of resentment. “He clearly knows something!”
“I saw it too.” Hanyu Sara smiled bitterly. “But he doesn’t want to talk, and we can’t force him.”
“Damn it…”
Just then, the sound of a door opening came from upstairs.
The three instinctively hid behind the corner of the stairwell.
They saw Momose Tadayoshi walk out of his room, holding a bag of trash, and head downstairs.
His expression was calm, as if the conversation earlier had no effect on him.
Just as Momose Tadayoshi finished throwing away the trash and was about to go back, a black sedan pulled up in front of the apartment building.
The door opened, and a middle-aged man in a black leather jacket stepped out, a Bishamonten tattoo visible on his neck.
“Big Brother Momose!”
Da Gongzang quickly walked up to Momose Tadayoshi and bowed respectfully.
“It’s you.” Momose Tadayoshi frowned. “Didn’t I tell you not to come looking for me?”
“I’m sorry, but… this time it’s really important.”
Da Gongzang lowered his voice and whispered something in his ear.
Momose Tadayoshi’s body noticeably stiffened.
“What?”
Da Gongzang’s voice carried a hint of excitement, though he still tried to keep his volume low.
The three of them couldn’t catch the specifics no matter how hard they strained.
Until Da Gongzang’s voice grew louder. “If you’re willing to come out of retirement and rally your old subordinates, we can…”
“That’s enough.”
Momose Tadayoshi cut him off, his voice icy cold. “I’ve already washed my hands of all that.”
“But…” Da Gongzang was taken aback.
“No buts.” With that, Momose Tadayoshi turned and walked back into the building without looking back.
Da Gongzang stood there for a moment, sighed, and finally got back into his car, starting the engine.
The three hiding in the corner exchanged glances.
“Follow him,” Kazama Yin said quietly.
“Huh?” Kagetani Tsubaki was startled. “Tail him?”
“Mr. Momose won’t talk, but maybe someone close to him knows something.” A glint of light flashed in Hanyu Sara’s eyes.
“Could it be related to DRG?”
Kazama Yin nodded. “Possible. Let’s go. Don’t lose him.”
……
Da Gongzang drove back to his territory—a small tavern in Arakawa Ward.
This was where he usually held meetings with his underlings.
The three hid inside a convenience store across the street, observing the tavern’s activity through the glass window.
Before long, several small-time thugs filed into the tavern. The trio crept up to the outside of the tavern as well.
“Should we go in?” Kagetani Tsubaki asked.
“No, it’s too dangerous.” Hanyu Sara shook his head. “We’ll wait outside and see if we can overhear anything.”
Kazama Yin closed his eyes, focusing his concentration.
Muffled conversation drifted out from the tavern.
“…Big Brother Momose won’t come out of retirement…”
“…What a shame. If Big Brother Momose was willing, we could…”
“…Forget it. Don’t think about it too much. Hey, are you guys tight on cash lately?”
“Tight! Why?”
“Just don’t fall for any of those get-rich-quick ads. Keep an eye on your wallets. Lately, some of the guys on the street have been getting scammed by pyramid schemes.”
Da Gongzang’s voice rang out. “Especially that Blessing Mutual Aid Society. It’s causing a lot of harm. The debts I’ve been collecting lately are all because of that thing.”
“Blessing? I heard that organization has some pretty powerful espers backing it up.”
“Espers?”
“Yeah, I don’t know the details, but I heard they have the real deal. That’s why so many people are willingly shelling out their money.”
“Oi! Maruyama! It’s because of thinking like yours that more and more people get scammed!”
The conversation gradually grew quieter, as if they had moved deeper into the tavern.
Kazama Yin opened his eyes.
“Blessing Mutual Aid Society… espers…”
“Could this be related to Uncle Hanyu’s disappearance?” Kagetani Tsubaki asked, rubbing her chin.
“Probably not.” Kazama Yin shook his head. “It sounds like an ordinary pyramid scheme. They’re just using the esper label to scam people.”
“But…” Hanyu Sara fell into thought for a moment. “We don’t have any other leads right now.”
“And if this Blessing Mutual Aid Society really does have espers involved, then it’s no ordinary scam.”
He adjusted his glasses, his gaze firming up. “Even if it’s not related to Uncle’s disappearance, exposing an organization that uses the name of espers to commit fraud is our responsibility as awakened ones.”
Kazama Yin looked at Hanyu’s serious expression and sighed.
“You’re right.”
Kagetani Tsubaki nodded as well. “Then let’s investigate this Blessing Mutual Aid Society!”
“But be careful.” Kazama Yin warned. “If there really are espers involved, it could be dangerous.”
“I know.” Hanyu Sara pulled out his phone. “Let me look up some information on this organization first.”
……
The abandoned warehouse in Arakawa Ward.
The scale-faced man, along with several underlings, tossed a heavy canvas bag in front of Gluttony.
“Master, this is the money we raised.”
The scale-faced man wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Fifty-three thousand yen total.”
Gluttony crouched down and opened the bag to take a look.
It was stuffed with crumpled bills, along with some coins.
“Good work.”
Gluttony had no interest in how the scale-faced man had raised the money. She stood up, grabbing the bag.
“From now on, keep a low profile. Don’t make any moves without my orders.”
“Yes!”
After her underlings withdrew, Gluttony walked out of the warehouse and disappeared into the night.
The scale-faced man let out a sigh of relief and turned to look at one of the restless espers among them.
“You’ve worked hard these past few days, Kurokawa.”
The esper named Kurokawa had a face that was above average among ordinary people, with a puppy-dog style charm.
Right now, he was rubbing his backside, his expression dark as he nodded.
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