“Okay! Miss Sato looks a bit shy! How cute!”
Kaori Onishi blinked at the camera, then grabbed Sato Ai and started darting around the construction site.
“So this is the legendary Zone C work platform? Wow! It’s magnificent!”
“And that! What’s that giant pipe for?”
Jiang Jian Yue had no choice but to go along with it, carefully maintaining the persona of someone who “hasn’t seen much but works hard” while explaining basic engineering knowledge to this young lady.
However, the moment the camera moved away, Kaori Onishi would immediately lean in close to her ear and continue the topic they’d left off.
“Hey, Miss Sato.”
While the cameraman was filming a wide shot, Kaori Onishi asked with a smile, but her eyes were locked onto Sato Ai.
“Have you seen Yuki-kun these past few days?”
So that’s what she meant by “the smell of a fox spirit.”
That Kaori Onishi must have heard some inside scoop.
“Yuki-san?”
Sato Ai lowered her head, her fingers nervously twisting together. “Yuki-san just asked about… um, some information on the Blessing Mutual Aid Society…”
Kaori Onishi studied her suspiciously, clearly unconvinced. She stared into Sato Ai’s eyes for several seconds, as if trying to decide if she was lying.
Finally, she seemed to figure it out on her own, let out a long sigh, and patted her chest.
“Alright! Since the misunderstanding is cleared up, let’s continue filming!”
Kaori Onishi linked arms with Sato Ai again, this time with much more sincerity, even a hint of closeness.
“Next, Miss Sato, take me to see the workers’ cafeteria! I heard their curry rice is amazing!”
“Y-Yes!”
Jiang Jian Yue was dragged toward Zone D, sighing inwardly.
‘Phew… finally over.’
It wasn’t until the cameraman uncle gave an “OK” signal that Kaori Onishi relaxed.
“These political assignments really don’t spark much enthusiasm.”
She complained while pulling out wet wipes from her expensive bag, vigorously wiping the dust off her face, then reapplying her makeup.
Sato Ai came over carrying two plates of actual curry pork cutlet rice.
“Miss Onishi, please.”
“Arigato~” Kaori Onishi took the plate, glanced at the yellowish blob, picked up her spoon, and took a small bite.
“Mmm! OC! So this is the taste of the working class! I feel like I’m burning up!”
Kaori Onishi’s eyes lit up, and she scooped huge mouthfuls with her spoon, finishing the entire plate in thirty seconds under Jiang Jian Yue’s astonished gaze.
“Hey, Miss Sato.”
Kaori Onishi finished the pork cutlet rice, wiped her mouth with a tissue, pulled out a pink phone covered in rhinestones, and waved it. “Want to add each other on LINE?”
“Huh?” Sato Ai was startled and quickly waved her hands. “That… that’s too kind! I’m just a grunt…”
“Oh, don’t say that!”
Kaori Onishi insisted, leaning in and pulling up her QR code. “If anything interesting happens on the surface in the future… or if he comes to inspect again, make sure to tell me right away, okay?”
Jiang Jian Yue laughed inwardly but put on a flattered expression on the surface, pulling out an old phone with a screen cracked like a spider web.
Beep.
Friend request accepted.
[KAORI_Kaori Onishi]
Looking at that energetic avatar, Jiang Jian Yue thought, ‘This counts as infiltrating the enemy… no wait, infiltrating the rival’s camp, right?’
“Well then, see you next time, Ai-chan!”
Kaori Onishi put on her sunglasses and, surrounded by a group of assistants and bodyguards, left the sweat-filled cafeteria like a queen on an inspection tour.
Watching the van disappear in a cloud of dust, the simple smile on Sato Ai’s face instantly faded.
To be honest, she kind of missed the days when everyone had plenty of time to waste.
……
Arakawa Ward, a hidden basement somewhere.
This had originally been an abandoned bomb shelter, now converted into a gathering place filled with strange odors.
The air was thick with cheap sandalwood and unknown herbal scents.
Dozens of elderly men and women in simple clothes, with fanatical eyes, knelt on prayer mats, prostrating themselves before an altar plastered with an Energy Pyramid poster.
“Family members! As long as your heart is sincere, the universe’s energy will pour into this bottle of holy water!”
Master Fuke, wearing his familiar Daoist robe, stood on the altar, spouting nonsense.
“Even though our headquarters is under renovation, as long as there is love in your heart, anywhere can be a dojo!”
“Come! For just thirty thousand yen, you can take home a whole course of Fukuza Holy Water!”
“Master! I’ll buy!”
“Me too! I want to cure my grandson’s aversion to studying!”
Just as the atmosphere was heating up and the elderly were pulling out their pension money—
Boom!
The heavy iron door to the basement was kicked in with tremendous force, slamming into the altar and shattering the so-called Energy Pyramid into pieces.
“Who?! Which blind fool dares to wreck—”
Master Fuke’s roar got stuck in his throat.
Because he saw the figure standing at the doorway, radiating a low-pressure aura.
Gluttony carried a high-voltage cable torn from somewhere, her makeshift teaching rod.
“B-Boss?!”
Master Fuke’s legs gave way, and he rolled straight off the altar.
“Didn’t I say—”
Gluttony stepped into the basement, and the formerly fanatical believers around her were frightened by her presence, scattering like the Red Sea parting.
“—to transform, to be professional, to be legal?”
Crack!
The cable in her hand snapped against the floor, sending up a shower of sparks and leaving a scorched black mark on the concrete.
“Y-Yes, Boss!” Master Fuke lay on the ground, cold sweat pouring down.
“But… the company’s accounts are empty! I thought… I thought I’d make one last grab to scrape together the severance pay…”
“No money?”
Gluttony walked up to him, looking down at this lump of fat.
“If you have no money, go sell your ass. Who told you to go back to your old tricks?”
“Boo hoo… Boss, have mercy! I did it for everyone—”
“Shut up.”
Gluttony flicked her wrist.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The cable lashed out like a venomous snake, landing precisely on Master Fuke’s plump rear.
“OW—!”
Three lashes later, Master Fuke was already writhing on the ground in pain, his Daoist robe torn open, skin split open.
The surrounding believers were terrified, some even starting to secretly dial the police.
“Listen up!”
Gluttony put away the cable and turned to face the elderly.
“The Blessing Mutual Aid Society is already disbanded!”
“As for the money you paid, bring your receipts to the cleaning company’s finance department upstairs to get a refund.”
“Every single yen, all returned.”
“As for those so-called holy waters…” Gluttony glanced at the plastic bottles on the floor.
“Take them home to water your plants. The tap water here has pretty good quality.”
“As for you.”
Gluttony kicked Master Fuke, who was still groaning. “Stop playing dead. Get up and work. If you’re short by even one yen in refunds, I’ll flay the other half of your ass too.”
“Y-Yes! Long live the Boss!” Master Fuke clutched his rear, snot and tears streaming.
Two hours later.
In the office, Gluttony stared at the rapidly dwindling cash flow on the table, feeling a sharp pang of regret.
To maintain the facade of this so-called legitimate company, she had to dip into her own pockets to fill the hole Fuke had left.
“Boss, most of the members have been refunded.”
Master Fuke hobbled in, a thick membership roster in hand, a sycophantic smile plastered on his face.
“There are still some we can’t contact, or die-hard fans who refuse to refund.”
“Die-hard fans?” Gluttony rolled her eyes. “Their brains must be fried.”
She took the roster and flipped through it casually.
Suddenly, her finger stopped on a name.
[Kazuki Hanatsubame]
The notes column read: Long-term purchaser of “Calming Incense” and “Forget-Sorrow Water,” VIP customer, owed fifty thousand yen.
“Kazuki Hanatsubame…”
Gluttony’s eyes glazed over for a moment.
She never thought she’d see that name again, and on a fraud victim list at that.
“How… is she doing now?” Gluttony pointed at the name and asked.
“Oh, that girl.”
Master Fuke thought for a moment. “Pretty tragic. I heard she used to be an idol? Now she seems to be working night shifts at a convenience store.”
“Her mental state isn’t good, some kind of nervous breakdown. She often says she hears people screaming in her ear… so she kept buying our Calming Incense.”
“But she doesn’t have money, so she often runs a tab.”
Jiang Jian Yue felt an indescribable emotion rise in her chest.
After leaving Japan back then, DRG Japan Entertainment Division’s top star Southern Cross was quickly split up and assigned to other companies.
But she knew that Kazuki Hanatsubame hadn’t recovered from the Toxic Black Luxury incident at the time.
At the new company, she probably didn’t handle the talent agency relationship well, and soon retired.
Jiang Jian Yue didn’t know much, but she felt a sense of guilt toward Kazuki Hanatsubame.
“Scale.”
Gluttony called out toward the door.
“Boss?” Scale poked his head in awkwardly—he had told her many times his name wasn’t Scale anymore.
“Go find her.”
“To collect a debt?” Scale showed a mouthful of sharp teeth. “Don’t worry, boss. I’m best at scaring little girls.”
“If you scare her, I’ll pluck every single scale off your body.”
Gluttony gave him a cold look. “Go invite her. Be polite. Tell her… our company needs an image ambassador.”
“Image… ambassador?”
Scale and Master Fuke exchanged glances.
A cleaning company, composed mostly of Semi-Devourers and monsters, specializing in haunted houses and high-risk waste disposal… hiring a washed-up, mentally unstable idol as an image ambassador?
“What? Got a problem?”
“N-No! No problem! The boss is wise!”
……
That convenience store was deep in an alley in Adachi Ward.
Scale had deliberately put on an ill-fitting cheap suit, covering his scales completely, and wore a mask and gloves.
—He looked like a robber who might pull out a gun at any moment.
Ding-dong—
The convenience store door opened.
Behind the counter, a girl with dry, yellow hair and sunken eyes was mechanically scanning items.
Her ill-fitting uniform showed her bony collarbone at the collar, and her eyes were vacant.
“Welcome…”
Kazuki Hanatsubame’s voice was hoarse, as if she hadn’t had water in a long time.
Scale walked up to the counter and tried to make his voice sound as gentle as possible—though it came out like a frog stuck in his throat.
“Um… are you Miss Hanatsubame?”