Sasaki and Peeps - Volume 2 - Chapter 3

<Recruitment, Part Two>

The girl I’d risked life and limb to fight just the week before had come to me with an unexpected request for a job transfer. Color me shocked.

I didn’t even know how to answer until a moment later.

“When you say switch sides, do you mean you have an interest in the bureau I work for?”

“Yes, that’s right,” she replied. “I happened to remember your remarks when last we fought. And now I, too, desire to ‘stick with the biggest player’ after so long.”

“……”

Of course I couldn’t simply consent, so I hesitated to respond.

Several terms such as trap and fraud and blackmail started whirling around in my mind. If I accepted her request, would scary-looking yakuza guys suddenly burst through the door and ask me what the hell was going on?

I’d worked so hard to live quietly up until now, too. I’d heard the damages for impropriety normally ran in the millions of yen.

“I apologize, but I don’t have the authority to make a decision one way or another.”

“Then would you mind talking to your superiors about it?”

“……”

Well, I thought. What now? Considering our relationship thus far, the proposal had more drawbacks than benefits. Most of all, I couldn’t imagine what kind of situation would make her capitulate like this.

“Your bureau lost personnel in the previous incident,” she said. “From their perspective, the prospect of gaining a powerful psychic would be too tasty a morsel to pass up, surely? And you say you lack the authority, but wouldn’t you be rewarded if our discussion led to successfully acquiring such a psychic?”

“It doesn’t matter how strong the psychic is—if they’re not trustworthy, there’s no point in recruiting them.”

“I am quite strong, you know.”

“Yes, and that power is exactly what took so many bureau lives.”

“Hmm. I suppose that does make it difficult…”

I had some experience helping with employee recruitment interviews from my last job—the kind of first-round interviews given by nonadministrative employees. While managers—section chiefs and above—would evaluate the candidate’s personality and character, they’d rope me into appraising their actual abilities.

But this was my first time meeting an applicant with such high attack power. If I asked her about her strengths, her reply would probably involve a pretty brutal display.

If I was unlucky, I might end up dead. Frankly, even just talking to her like this had me on edge. A single touch, and her power would suck out my life energy or whatever. It was no exaggeration to say she had a genuine insta-kill ability.

Oh, what are your strengths? I’d ask, and she’d reply: Draining energy.

Personally, she was a talent I wanted to immediately recruit and then drop in the section chief’s lap. I really wanted to see that stupidly attractive middle-aged face of his twisting into shock.

“I promise I won’t harm you,” she said. “Can I ask you to do this for me?”

“Well…”

The interviewee’s resolution was firm. She was basically telling me to hire her by fair means or foul. I wondered if the group she belonged to was not actually paying her that much. Then again, she did just say their choice of on-site accommodations was far more luxurious than the bureau’s. And last time she’d invited me to go with them, hadn’t she? What was this all about?

“May I ask your reason?”

“You fascinate me.”

Yikes, what a curveball. Trying to attract the recruiter’s interest, eh? Someone sure knows their way around an interview.

All that stuff about her actual age being in the triple digits seemed to check out. I began to consider that, with how straightforward she was being, it might actually be best just to hire her already. She’d be a valuable combat resource, usable immediately—that much was for sure.

Viewing it in the long run, though, left me uneasy.

“What interest could you have in a person like me? I’m just your average middle-aged man.”

“You jest. It has been a very long time since someone has overwhelmed me to that extent.”

“Has it?”

She had to be referring to the incident at the bowling alley. Apparently, she had found what transpired there a lot more stimulating than I’d assumed. As a higher-ranked psychic, maybe she was holding a grudge over her defeat. Thinking about it like that, I should probably keep my distance. What if she killed me in my sleep or something? Scary stuff!

“Could it be,” she remarked, “that you’re hiding your power from the bureau?”

“……”

Now what? She hit me right where it hurts.

She was correct. I was sure she was sure, despite her prefacing her comment with could it be. And that was why she’d come to the negotiating table in the first place.

“Why do you think that?”

“They wouldn’t have assigned you to support another psychic otherwise.”

I considered Futarishizuka’s background; Miss Hoshizaki had told me about it on the way here. In addition to her psychic power, she also possessed the experience and knowledge that came from a longer than average life span. That history was why she’d been assigned rank A. And now that I was speaking to her face-to-face, it all made sense.

“In addition to your ability to create icicles, you can unleash lightning and even float into the air. I cannot even begin to imagine what sort of psychic power would give rise to all that. And the power that stopped the magical girl’s Magical Beam—did that not belong to you as well?”

“Hmm. Who knows.”

Suddenly, hearing fanciful terms like Magical Beam in the middle of a relatively serious conversation was throwing off my rhythm. It made a certain magical homeless child seem a lot more irregular—for a variety of reasons. It was so out of left field, I wondered for a moment if this was all just a prank.

“If you introduce me to your superiors, I will remain silent about it.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Do you think I would threaten you after saving your companions?”

“……”

That’s some pretty obvious blackmail.

But it did have me on the defense. If not for Futarishizuka’s intervention, Miss Hoshizaki would have found out about all those things. She’d already done plenty for me—if talking to the section chief was all she wanted in return, it was a good deal. In fact, that was probably part of why she’d intervened.

I was glad I’d been confining my interactions with Peeps to my apartment as much as possible. I felt a belated sense of relief at the fact that I had done so much on my own, such as buying the laptop for use in the otherworld. I was all but certain she’d been observing the apartment for the last few days.

“Before I take this to my superior, there is one thing I’d like to confirm.”

“And what is that?”

“Why do you wish to leave your current job?”

“Are you curious?”

“Well, naturally.”

“…It isn’t a good work environment.”

“And by that, you mean…?”

“That, and well, I was being bullied, too, a little.”

“…I see.”

“Though, I suppose it started all at once after that last incident with you.”

“……”

Her position in her organization must have plummeted after the previous week’s disaster. When I thought back, compared to the one making all the hurricanes, she hadn’t actually done that much. At the same time, she had come out basically unscathed, while he had lost the whole lower half of his body.

“About the man using telekinesis back then…”

“Thanks to you, he’ll be attending classes in a wheelchair for the time being. Everyone in the group is working around the clock to procure a high-ranking healing psychic to get him back in action. I’m sure they aren’t happy with me going about as I please.”

“I see.”

“And well, even before, in the past, we have had several…differences of opinion.”

Futarishizuka’s story was about what I had expected. It seemed she wanted to quit her current job because her position had worsened. A pretty common motive for a career change.

“And that is why…I would be very happy if you were to accept me as one of your own.”

“Again, I don’t have that kind of authority.”

“If you would allow me, I could do so much for you. Do you dislike young bodies, I wonder? My small size makes me perfect for squeezing. No matter how puny your manhood, it will be squeezed tight. Yes—very tight.”

“……”

Another stimulating proposition. However, it would take more than that to make a clever amateur virgin waver. Virgins are made of different stuff, you know? And in Futarishizuka’s case, I bet I’d catch some awful disease anyway.

“Again, I don’t have that kind of authority.”

“Well, I did say I would find it acceptable if only you would introduce me to your superiors, remember?”

She was being aggressive about this. Since she had a firm grip on my weakness, I supposed it was reasonable. What response would be best in this situation? Thinking from the perspective of a working member of society…

Once I started mulling it over, I came to a conclusion pretty quickly.

“All right, I understand. I’ll talk to my superior about it.”

“Truly?”

It was time to apply the protocol of “report, communicate, and consult.” This was a rank-and-file employee’s greatest weapon for dropping all responsibility in the lap of another. In some cases, that other person would immediately throw it back; I wondered how Chief Akutsu would react. This was the perfect opportunity to gauge his disposition as a boss.

I flipped open the phone he had given me and called his number. The address book had few contacts; other than his, the only numbers were for the bureau’s front office and Miss Hoshizaki. I stopped and looked at her name in the list for a moment, struck by how surreal it felt to have exchanged contact info with a high school girl. By just pressing a button, I could talk to her without even paying! This seemed just as crazy to me as the existence of the otherworld and psychic powers.

My call was answered immediately, interrupting my idiot train of thought.

“What is it, Sasaki?”

“Chief, would you happen to have a few moments?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

His normal, plain way of speaking was comforting. I wasn’t very skilled at conversation, so his businesslike personality made talking to him feel relatively easy. Still, I would have liked to see a more human side to him once in a while.

“I’ve received an employment request from an irregular psychic, unrelated to the young man in question.”

“Oh! That’s excellent. What sort of psychic are they?”

“Her name is Futarishizuka. Do you know of her?”

“Ah yes, I— What?”

“Are you not familiar with her?”

“……”

I could practically hear him shudder over the phone. He swallowed whatever it was he was about to say.

The chief always acted like a real put-together guy, so his surprise was a new, fresh reaction for me. I called to mind his suit and shoes, his watch, and even his tiepin, all brand-name from head to toe. Imagining a person like that at a loss for words was a rare kind of entertainment, even if it was only over the phone.

Sorry, Chief, but your honest reaction has brought me true delight.

“What do you think?”

“Uh, right, well…”

It was pretty cute, listening to him struggle for a response. Maybe he was feeling the same surprise I had just a while ago. I totally understand his shock, I thought, beginning to feel some kinship with him.

“By Futarishizuka, you mean the psychic with the energy-draining ability? I remember you saying that she appeared on-site where I dispatched you last time. She looks like an elementary school student—at a glance, you would think she was a little girl.”

I could tell he was desperately trying to buy himself time. Yes! I thought. I managed to bounce my on-site dilemma right back into the administration’s face.

“Yes, that would be her.”

“I thought she was a member of an anti-government organization…”

“Forgive my bluntness, but may I take her back to the bureau with us?”

“……”

“Chief?”

“I’m interested in her motive for applying. Has she told you anything?”

“She says she wants to stick with the biggest player.”

“……”

Even the chief would never expect that she was standing right next to me. This was getting more and more fun.

“Since you are familiar with her, you must know there isn’t much I can do here. With her background, I believe it would be best to respect her decision as much as possible. Would you at least be able to prepare a place for an interview?”

I couldn’t have him thinking we were conspiring behind the scenes, so I made sure to imply that we weren’t. I wanted him to know that I was nothing but the messenger here. I was just the lowly little subordinate, but what did he want to do? He was going to be the one accountable here, and I had said as much between the lines.

Immediately, he fell silent. His capture during the bowling alley incident was taking its toll, no doubt.

“……”

“…Chief?”

The last operation had been a failure for the chief, so his mind was probably boiling with conflict right now. Any other person would have wanted to keep a low profile for the time being, slowly but surely building up a list of contributions. I bet he hadn’t emerged unscathed, even if he was a section chief. Nothing had been made public, but he was most likely being forced to take responsibility in some form.

“Is she…friendly toward you?”

“Well…”

That was one point in particular I hadn’t determined yet.

According to Miss Hoshizaki, this girl had been alive since before World War II. She had several times the amount of life experience I did. While I could understand the story she’d given me, to an extent, I still didn’t have a clue what she was really thinking. She was still leading us around by the nose.

“I can’t be certain, but I know she is interested in us. And the fact remains that we need more people at the bureau. If we can secure her cooperation, I believe it would allow us to expand our operations.”

“……”

If I fooled around too much, my work assessment would suffer. I couldn’t have my bonus decreasing. Now it was time to make it seem like I was somewhat competent—but only somewhat.

“If you’d allow me to make a proposal—how about conducting the interview via video conference? It’s only natural you’d be apprehensive at the idea of meeting her face-to-face. But I believe, considering the nature of her power, keeping your distance should alleviate those concerns.”

“Does that work for her?”

“I can’t have her bothering you, Chief, so I can try negotiating with her myself,” I offered, shooting a glance at our prospective applicant.

When I did, Futarishizuka gave a small nod.

Apparently, she wouldn’t have a problem with a video chat. In fact, if I believed what she said about only wanting to be put in touch with my superiors, an objection would have roused my suspicion. Her answer here made sense, and I had expected it when I made the suggestion.

“…Hmm.”

“Would that work?”

“I’d like to hear Hoshizaki’s opinion as well. Is she there right now?”

“She was injured in an encounter with the magical girl. She’s unconscious at the moment.”

I heard him suck in air from over the phone. Oh right, I thought. I didn’t tell him about us running into the magical girl. Poor Akutsu was getting hit by one surprise after another.

“Ms. Futarishizuka provided some assistance at the time.”

“…I see. So that’s how it is.”

“What do you think?”

“All right. I’ll get back to you with a specific date, then.”

“Understood.”

Great, I managed to get him to promise an interview.

He didn’t make any reference to the plane crash. The information probably hadn’t reached him yet. It hadn’t even been an hour since it happened, and the chain of intel was held up somewhere. As a result, I’d been able to swing the conversation to my advantage.

“How is Hoshizaki looking?”

“No obvious external wounds. I believe she’ll wake up by herself before long.”

“In that case, good. I’d like you to get a report together later.”

“I’ll have it for you by the end of the day.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some things to deal with on-site.”

“Right.”

With the chief having agreed, I lowered the phone from my ear and hung up.

He’d probably call me back before long. Planes weren’t cheap. I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation.

And that was why I wished Miss Hoshizaki would hurry and wake up. Then the responsibility of reporting to the section chief would naturally fall to her. I looked over to the bed where she lay next to the boy with glasses. She was still unconscious, and though I watched for a short time, she didn’t show any response. They looked like siblings, lying next to each other on the semi-full-size bed.

After a cursory glance, I continued my conversation with Futarishizuka. “Was that to your liking?” I asked, putting the phone back into my pocket.

“Yes. Thank you,” she replied, sounding satisfied.

The way she smiled like that was cute. Looking at her now, she was just a little girl—a scary thought. It was hard to imagine those small hands having killed dozens, if not hundreds of people. I mean, it was so easy to picture her, an elementary schooler’s hard leather backpack over her shoulders.

“Now, there’s no guarantee you’ll be hired,” I said.

“No, my thanks were to you, for connecting me with your place of work.”

“Ah.”

In that case, maybe I could ask her for a small favor, too. I just didn’t have enough information—especially when it came to magical girls.

“By the way, there was something I wanted to ask.”

“What is it? Feeling in the mood now?”

“I was wondering if you could tell me what you know about magical girls. I hear that you’ve lived much, much longer than I have. If you have any knowledge about magical girls in general from your past experience, could you share that with me?”

“Oh, so cold.”

“Please?”

Futarishizuka, still sitting on the chair at the hotel room’s desk, was acting coquettish. I was lightly sitting on the edge of the bed that contained Miss Hoshizaki and the glasses boy. A good position—just in case.

“After all that about being a…what was it? A magical middle-aged man? You’re asking me now?”

“That was more of a figure of speech to protect myself…”

Actually, I had another reason for asking her about magical girls. The person in front of me probably saw me as a psychic with unknown powers. At the same time, she was also likely suspicious of the possibility that I was a magical girl—well, magical middle-aged man.

In the future, then, just in case she did learn of Peeps’s existence, and I could no longer pretend to be a fellow psychic, I wanted to lay the groundwork for my position as a “magical middle-aged man.” In order to do that, I had to heavily imply that I didn’t know the first thing about magical girls. I suspected Futarishizuka would read into this in just the way I wanted.

“You are a member of the bureau. I’m sure your superiors have told you all about them.”

“As I said previously, I am a rookie who just recently completed his job training; they haven’t given me much in the way of information. They might tell me if I asked, but I want to gather as much intel as I can as soon as possible.”

“A tenacious one, you are…”

“Will you?”

“Well, I suppose I can tell you what I know.”

“Really? I appreciate it.”

She assented more easily than I had imagined.

For some time after that, as we sat in the hotel room, Futarishizuka gave me a lecture on magical girls. To cut to the chase, she was able to provide more than what we’d seen at the airplane crash site. She said she’d spoken with other magical girls outside of Japan before, and as a result, she had quite a bit of information.

It seemed as though this “fairy world” existed separately from our own. Messengers called fairies would leave their world and come here, then use their powers to transfigure certain individuals, who then became magical girls.

Worldwide, seven magical girls had been confirmed. This I’d heard from Miss Hoshizaki as well. However, Futarishizuka said it was believed more existed who hid their identities. Their areas of activity, aside from Japan, included the US, China, Russia, Germany, and France. The last of the seven didn’t confine herself to a specific place.

Futarishizuka didn’t seem to know very much about the fairy world. According to her fragmentary knowledge, magical girls worked with the fairies to do some specific sort of work in this world. She didn’t know any more than that.

In addition, most magical girls were at least in contact with public agencies in each country, if they did not belong to them outright. After our confrontation with the homeless magical girl, I understood why those in power would prefer such an arrangement. One of the few exceptions to this was Japan’s magical girl, who had personally explained her reasoning to us already.

“I see; so that’s how it is,” I mused.

“Yes, it is quite troubling how hostile Japan’s magical girl is toward psychics.”

“What about other countries?”

“I’ve never heard of one going around killing psychics, at least.”

I’d learned more about magical girls than I had expected. With the information from Futarishizuka, I’d be able to make advance preparations to communicate with the girl as a magical middle-aged man the next time we encountered her.

My chance meeting with this young-looking psychic hadn’t been without its merits.

“Better to stay away from children with a few screws loose, like her,” she finished.

“I don’t think she’s a bad kid by any means; it’s just…”

“She’d fire lethal magic at us as soon as she saw us, you know.”

“When you put it like that, it’s a bit hard to deny.”

Just then, the phone in my pocket started vibrating. I checked the screen; it showed the section chief’s name. After excusing myself from Futarishizuka, I picked up.

“Hello, this is Sasaki speaking.”

“It’s Akutsu. I just wanted to know what you two have been doing.”

Unlike last time, I could sense a bit of anger in his tone. It was only natural, of course. He’d probably just received word of the airplane coming down. Though I didn’t know whether we’d been confirmed on the scene, given the overlap between our trip’s destination and the crash site, anyone would have their suspicions. The glasses kid’s fireball had been fairly conspicuous, too.

How would I report this to him, then? If I explained honestly, he’d give us a good scolding for certain. We’d been unable to stop a stray psychic from going out of control, and we’d let a machine that was worth billions of yen come down right in front of us. A demotion or reduction in pay would be unavoidable. I wouldn’t be surprised if we got fired, either.

As obsessed with her pay as Miss Hoshizaki was, she would probably lose her mind—and the kid with glasses would face trouble with the bureau in the future. Considering all that, there was only one choice.

“As I explained before, we had a battle with the magical girl on-site.”

“Then the cargo plane from the Iruma base crashed because…”

“It was hit by the girl’s Magical Beam and destroyed. She hesitated due to the presence of civilians at the scene, and we managed to flee.”

I hadn’t told any lies.

The direct cause of the crash had been the glasses kid, but the magical girl had shot the cargo plane. I probably couldn’t cover up the fireball. Naturally, it would be quickly revealed that it had originated from the kid.

But I figured if I could establish that the root cause was actually our encounter with the magical girl, the harm might be reduced somewhat. It was well-known that the girl was going around hunting psychics for an unrelated reason.

With that, we could distance ourselves somewhat from responsibility. Essentially, it had been a natural disaster.

“Apparently, a fireball was seen at the time of the crash.”

“Is the use of psychic powers not permitted while fighting a magical girl?”

Thanks to Futarishizuka’s explanation, I had a good grasp on how magical girls affected the world of psychics. It pained me to use her as a scapegoat, but she’d already picked a fight with the bureau—just one plane could be swept under the rug. That’s how I’d spin it.

It was our miss as bureau personnel, but I hoped to draw him into a compromise—we were up against a magical girl and forced to act. If I came out and said the glasses kid did it, the bureau would fall under some pretty heavy external criticism.

After a heavy sigh, he agreed. “…All right. That does work out better for us as well,” he said plainly.

“Thank you for your understanding.” The chief appeared to agree with my opinion. “By the way, Chief, I had a question for you.”

“And what might that be?”

“How does compensation work when it comes to psychic-related accidents? I doubt an insurance contract would include this kind of thing. This time, the loss was sustained by a government facility, but if it had been a private airline, would that put us in danger of bankruptcy?”

Leased vehicles had been on the rise recently—including aircraft. Even a single one going down could be a big deal. And that didn’t just apply to the air transport industry.

“We’re provided a special budget, under our bureau’s control, for compensating incidents or accidents caused by psychics—though it’s not public information. We’ll probably end up using those funds for this mess as well.”

“I see.” Apparently, even Japan had under-the-table accounts. Hearing it made my heart race, even though I was the one who asked. I wondered how the funds were allocated. As someone responsible working on-site, the idea of vast amounts of money suddenly showing up from who knows where was enough to send a chill down my spine.

“Is that all?”

“Yes. Thank you for getting in touch.”

“All right, then, if you’ll excuse me.”

Without getting too deep into the weeds, I ended my call with the boss. He’d seemed sour the whole time. He was more the type to weigh all his options with indifference, rather than angrily raise his voice, so it left me uneasy. Couldn’t do much about that, though. If things didn’t work out, I’d just flee to the otherworld like I had initially planned.

“Is it not going well with your boss?” asked Futarishizuka.

“No, it’s fine.”

“If I am allowed to defect, then he will be my boss as well, yes? Perhaps it is for the best to get a read on his character before interviewing with him. How about it? In exchange for my information on magical girls, could you tell me about him?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t mind that.”

Preparing for interviews was absolutely critical. The best method was to use industry news or social media to gauge someone’s personality, but that wouldn’t work when it came to our bureau. I’d actually searched Mr. Akutsu’s name at home and gotten zero results. Considering he was a section chief in the Cabinet Office, not seeing anything about him was pretty impressive.

On a hunch, I’d searched my own name, too—and found the results I was used to seeing had all been deleted at some point. I was still able to find the cached pages, but I was sure those would soon be gone as well.

“That said, I’ve only known him for about a month, so please keep that in mind…”

And so I told Futarishizuka what I knew about the section chief—that he was young for his position, that he was good-looking, that he cared about how he looked, and that his personality was chilly and detached.

Putting it into words like this made me realize that, yeah, I only knew about surface elements. I wonder if Miss Hoshizaki would know more about him, I thought. Maybe I should ask her later.

“Oh, and one other important bit of info.”

“What is it?”

“This is only for if you get hired, though. The chief will arrange for hidden cameras to be set up in your home or your base of operations—whatever you put as your address. I know it’s creepy, but you’ll want to choose a time to ‘find’ and destroy them.”

“Ah, so bureau employees have that sort of thing as well, do they?”

“They’ve had several spies in the past, so they’re probably on edge. It’s against the rules for me to tell you like this, but I’m pretty sure they’ll consider you a spy for now anyway, so I thought I’d inform you while I had the chance.”

“I am quite used to such tests; I doubt I would have had much of a problem even if you hadn’t mentioned it. And to be quite honest, all organizations do something similar. But I do thank you, sincerely, for telling me in advance like this.”

If the person in front of me went on a rampage, even I’d be in danger, despite my steady acquisition of intermediate spells. I couldn’t exactly have my barrier magic up twenty-four seven. The bureau’s caution toward Futarishizuka was incredibly well-placed, so I didn’t want to do anything that would unnecessarily set her off.

“Did you have any questions?” I asked, now that I’d told her roughly what I knew.

But as soon as I spoke, it happened.

“…Sasaki, was all that true?”

“Huh?”

The question had come from right behind me.

I turned around in surprise to see Miss Hoshizaki looking at me, her eyes wide. She was still lying on the bed, only moving her eyes.

It seemed like she was merely pretending to be asleep. How long had she been awake for?

“…Good morning, Miss Hoshizaki.”

“Sasaki, was what you just said true?”

“What part of what I just said?”

She got up slowly, perhaps out of consideration for the glasses kid. Then, despite being in her school uniform, she assumed a cross-legged position on the bedsheet.

Her expression was the same as always—a flat countenance, absent of any emotion. That said, she wasn’t wearing her usual thick makeup this time, making her expressions easier to read. I noticed my senior’s cheeks were flushed slightly red.

“About the chief setting up surveillance cameras in bureau employees’ apartments.”

“……”

At those words, I became sure of it. Yep—it’s gotta be that, right? The chief’s home must be chock-full of erotic videos featuring high school girls.

“Sasaki, answer me right now. Is it true that the section chief puts hidden cameras in bureau employees’ apartments? It isn’t that you’re an exception? Everyone gets that treatment?”

“He did say they didn’t discriminate…”

“Ugh…”

Miss Hoshizaki’s expression changed. Her eyes widened, and she fell silent.

From that reaction, it was certain that she hadn’t realized until just now. She had said before that she lived a normal life at her parents’ house, going to work and school from there.

Of course, she would have been doing all the things a regular high school girl did there without a care in the world—changing clothes, studying, hanging out with friends, and depending on the situation, inviting a boyfriend over to try to fulfill more sexual needs.

And the chief had his hands on all of it.

If she’d been treated anything like I had, she was being secretly filmed by multiple cameras from a variety of angles. They had audio recording devices on them, too. Plus, unlike the nine-to-fiver who had just joined the bureau recently, she’d been working with them for quite some time.

Untold hours of footage—this was a miniseries.

“Miss Hoshizaki, I don’t believe the chief puts them there for any shameful reasons.”

“We’ve retrieved the target. Let’s head back to the bureau.”

“Um, if possible, I’d like to buy a few souvenirs for the bureau and friends of mine…”

“Souvenirs?” she repeated, turning to glare at me.

“…Understood.”

The section chief probably had his hands full dealing with the airplane crash, but this looked to be even worse. All I could do was watch from a distance. I definitely could not let her find out I was a little excited about the whole thing.

Sorry, Peeps. Doesn’t look like I’ll be able to get you a gift from Iruma. And here I’d heard of a new brand of meat, Saiboku, which is supposed to be delicious. Was looking forward to it, too…

Before the day ended, we returned to the bureau with the glasses boy. We had parted ways with Futarishizuka back in Iruma; we couldn’t exactly bring her back with us. Instead, we exchanged contact information.

Though we’d used a car on the way here, we took a taxi on the return route. Miss Hoshizaki told me we could put it down as a business expense later. That allowed both of us to relax, despite the long distance. It was a stark contrast to my old job, where they’d refuse to pay the difference if I had to take a train that wasn’t on my designated route to visit a client. Kudos to the Cabinet Office’s Paranormal Phenomena Countermeasure Bureau.

Still, the entire trip back was awkward. At least she hadn’t heard any of that magical middle-aged man stuff. When I’d asked, she’d told me that right after waking up, she’d been hit with the news about the hidden cameras. I was very pleased the damage caused by her feigned sleep was limited to the section chief.

In terms of where everyone sat, I was in the back seat with the unconscious glasses kid, while Miss Hoshizaki was riding shotgun. The boy had remained asleep the entire time, so I’d needed to carry him around while we moved.

After a stretch on the Tokyo Expressway, we arrived back at our base of operations in Tokyo. Miss Hoshizaki got out of the car first, breaking into a run as soon as her feet hit the ground. She was headed for our department with a ghastly expression.

I wasn’t confident I could carry the boy all the way by myself, so I had the taxi driver wait there. Even just bringing him from the hotel room to the taxi had really done a number on my hips. If I didn’t have healing magic, it would have been outright impossible.

Once we returned to the bureau and talked to the department in charge of taking in psychics, our mission would be over. They knew we’d been out recruiting, so it wasn’t hard to coordinate with them.

And so after a hasty back-and-forth…

I finished everything up and returned to my own desk to take a nice, comfortable break—which only lasted a moment before a murderous-looking Miss Hoshizaki called for me. She led me to the adjacent conference room; there, the section chief was waiting for us.

The sun had already set, and it was long past time to head home. Our boss, however, was still working at his desk like it was the most natural thing in the world. How very like a government employee, I thought. I really wish he’d gone home, if only just this once.

“What’s this sudden thing you wanted to talk about, Hoshizaki?” he asked.

“I had something I needed to confirm with you, Chief.”

“I don’t mind. I had things to ask you as well.”

While Miss Hoshizaki was huffing and puffing like she’d just run a marathon, the chief also seemed to have something he needed from us. I could hazard a guess as to what that was—it probably had something to do with taking in Futarishizuka. He had promised to set up a meeting with her in the near future.

“Is it all right that Sasaki is here, too?”

“He’s the one who told me,” said Miss Hoshizaki, not even trying to hide how irritated she was. I wished she wouldn’t get her junior employee involved with workplace quarrels. “He said you dump a bunch of hidden cameras in bureau employees’ homes!”

“Oh, yes. What about it?”

That took her aback; the section chief didn’t even bat an eye as he answered. Like it was a matter of course, as far as he was concerned. Personally, I kind of thought he’d react like that, so I wasn’t exactly surprised.

The same didn’t go for the high school girl sitting next to me, though. “D-do you honestly believe that sort of thing is allowed?!”

“Yes, it’s allowed. I have that authority.”

“What…?”

His tone was indifferent, as always. He probably wouldn’t change it even if Miss Hoshizaki was kicking and screaming. Futarishizuka had informed me they did similar things in many places, so I sort of figured we couldn’t do anything about it. I’d avoided any personal damage, thanks to Peeps, so this matter was completely unrelated to me.

“Please, don’t worry. I would never leak it to anyone else.”

“That’s not the problem here!”

“Then what is the problem?”

“So are you into that kind of thing, Chief?!”

“Oh, that’s what you meant.”

“Of course it was!” shouted Miss Hoshizaki, pounding on the conference table and rising from her seat. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was about to use her power.

The chief was totally unfazed, however. Her repeated questioning hadn’t bothered him a bit. He had likely foreseen all this in advance. Maybe it had even happened before.

With her being a psychic—and one with offensive capabilities, at that—she might as well have been holding a gun up to his forehead. And yet I couldn’t even see the slightest break in his flat expression.

That only made remembering his reaction when I’d brought up Futarishizuka even more thrilling, though it was only over the phone. How would he act during their interview? If at all possible, I wanted to stand in as an observer.

“This is sexual harassment!” yelled Miss Hoshizaki in utter rage.

The chief’s response was very businesslike. “You don’t need to worry about that. I’m gay. I have no interest in women.”

“Huh…?”

The chief chose that exact moment to come out to us, of all things. Miss Hoshizaki’s eyes were wide with shock.

“I’m far more excited by men my own age in suits and ties than high school girls in student uniforms.”

“……”

The wrath on her face vanished in an instant. As it did, she stole a glance at me. I sensed by the suspicion in her eyes that this had created something of a misunderstanding.

Wait. What if it wasn’t a misunderstanding?

I suddenly felt like the fire in Miss Hoshizaki’s yard had hopped the fence into mine.

The clamorous conference room fell quiet—Miss Hoshizaki had stopped her questions. Now she was looking back and forth between the two of us. This was so incredibly uncomfortable. It made me want to bolt right out the door and flee.

But wait. I have to clear up the misunderstanding.

“Chief, putting it that way will cause confusion.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I’m the one who told her about this.”

What a candidly indifferent reaction for someone spying on a minor’s private life. He really didn’t seem to think it was problematic. Maybe those who had fought hard to move up the ladder really were different from the rest of us.

I didn’t want this to complicate my relationship with my coworkers later on down the line. I wanted to clear this up while Miss Hoshizaki was here to see it. I had to make it clear to everyone present that there was nothing going on, gay or otherwise, involving me.

“Is that so?” he replied.

“Yes, it is.”

“In that case, you don’t have to worry about what you’re thinking.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes, positively.”

“Wonderful. Glad to hear it.”

“You’re not my type anyway.”

“……”

Your subordinate is desperately racking his brain, trying to clear this up, and what kind of reaction is that? I didn’t even confess, and yet it feels like I just got one-sidedly rejected.

Was this his way of asserting dominance? I mean, I understood. Considering my looks, this attractive middle-aged man in front of me would be a prize well beyond my reach. Then be a little more considerate here! Now the peanut gallery is just gonna feel sorry for me.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

I didn’t have a shred of interest in him, but I couldn’t help suddenly wondering about stuff like plastic surgery and weight training—probably because I was, from head to toe, very weak when it came to romance. People only toughened up when others desired them.

The absolute nerve of him asking What’s the matter? after telling me I wasn’t his type spoke volumes about the strength of his mindset. You’re wounding your poor subordinate, here. But given my complex feelings on the matter, I wasn’t going to voice any complaints.

“As you can see, I am not foolish enough to start a relationship with someone in the bureau, Miss Hoshizaki.”

“Even so, hiding surveillance cameras is…”

“I’ve rooted out a significant number of spies with those surveillance cameras. Have you considered that aspect? This bureau isn’t like other ministries and agencies. If anything, we’re closer to being a public security organization.”

“……”

The chief’s admission had taken most of the sting out of Miss Hoshizaki’s attitude. For someone with his title, the facts he’d just laid out were reasonable. Still, considering the context, the words public security rang extremely dubiously in my ears. Like something an FBI agent would say in a B movie.

“Do you have a question, Miss Hoshizaki?”

As always, the chief spoke smoothly and with a high-handed tone. His expression hadn’t changed one bit.

Staring at him, Miss Hoshizaki replied, “I believe the bureau has already gotten enough information regarding my identity. If you really don’t get off to voyeuristic recordings of women, Chief, then could you have the hidden cameras removed from my home by the end of the day?”

“All right. I’ll arrange it immediately.”

The chief easily agreed to Miss Hoshizaki’s request.

I happened to glance at her face just then. Under the table, her fists were clenched. I was pretty sure her anger hadn’t subsided at all. Maybe I should be extra considerate toward her for a while.

“Also, Sasaki, regarding a schedule for the interview…”

“Oh, right.”

This was one exploitative company. I wanted to hurry home and talk to Peeps this very instant. My weary heart longed for some communication with my pet bird. I wanted to have fun surfing the internet together.

At the same time, though, considering how desperately Miss Hoshizaki was trying to hold everything in, it seemed likely there was a bonus in our future. I felt pathetic getting excited about it.

It was tough to be poor.

Once our meeting with the boss that day was finished, we left. I wouldn’t be coming back into the office until the next day.

The boss had arranged an interview with Futarishizuka first thing in the morning, before anyone showed up in the office. I contacted her again by phone, and she jumped at the offer. She said she’d already left her old workplace, so she was just kicking around without any plans for the time being.

At last, this public servant was heading home.

Or at least he tried to.

“You’re late,” came the drawl. “Overtime?”

“……”

The kimono girl was standing in the road in front of my apartment.

The sun had set, and she was hidden in the shadow of a building on the dark road. Her old-fashioned outfit made her look like a ghost, and her extremely cute appearance only reinforced the illusion.

She had some kind of travel bag in her hand.

“Something the matter? You look quite weary.”

“I, uh, just didn’t think we’d run into each other in a place like this.”

The whole way back home, I’d been thinking about soothing my mind, rattled from work, by chatting with Peeps. And now, right in front of my apartment, this was happening. In my hand was a bag with meat I’d bought at a local butcher, to replace the souvenir I wasn’t able to buy during the business trip.

Since they’d given me a travel allowance, I got a little excited and bought one hundred grams for 1,500 yen.

“I did say I’ve been monitoring you.”

“Yes, well, I remember that, but…”

It was just that I didn’t think she’d come to me now.

I’d just contacted her a couple hours before regarding the time for her interview with the section chief, and I planned to see her the next day, too. She should have known I wasn’t going to fly the coop. But in that case, why would she barge in here and risk upsetting us?

“Did you need something from me?” I asked.

“Ah, that. It isn’t much, really.”

“What is it, then? I’d really like to hear it.”

“While monitoring you, I saw something odd through the window.”

“……”

Wait. What? I always drew the curtains before going anywhere.

After all, on weekdays, Peeps perused the internet in the apartment. He’d sit down right in front of the laptop and use his magical golem creature to surf the web just like a human would.

Naturally, we couldn’t afford for anyone to see that. Whenever I checked to make sure the gas was off every day, I checked the curtains, too. I’d told Peeps about this, and he understood. He was far wiser than I, so it was unlikely he’d forgotten.

“Did someone suspicious break in?” I asked flatly, resisting the immediate urge to look over to my apartment.

The girl took an object out of her kimono. It looked like a combination between a listening device and a small audio amp. The rectangular, metal case had several handles on it, and it was connected via a cable to a tool that looked like a bug.

It had to be one of those microphones that could pick up sound through walls.

“Any idea what this is, hmm?”

“…Not really. What is it?”

People from detective agencies used them for investigating illicit relationships. They could pick up sound even from the other side of a thick metal door or reinforced concrete walls. I had heard there were certain conditions where they couldn’t be used—but as for my apartment, a layperson like me had no way to know.

Of course, I’d proceed on the assumption she was bluffing. Even if she had picked up on Peeps’s voice, I could just tell her a friend had come over to visit. I could pass off any conversations related to magic or whatever as being about an anime or a video game, and she’d have no way of establishing the truth.

“In simple terms, it’s a listening device.”

“Then if you were listening in on my apartment, did you find anything?”

“No—this tool alone was insufficient.”

Then she opened up the travel bag she was carrying and plucked out an object from within. At a glance, it looked like a video camera, though the manufacturer’s label on its side didn’t match any of the well-known makers.

It wasn’t a video camera she’d just taken out—it was a thermal imaging camera.

This device could create a picture by detecting infrared light, then building a heat map that showed temperature differences in the space imaged. The manufacturer’s label on the body of the camera belonged to a company that made equipment like this; they were known worldwide. I knew this because I had experience handling some of their products for work.

Thermal imaging cameras were astronomically more expensive than video cameras. The one Futarishizuka was holding was an industrial model, too—it must have cost three or four hundred thousand yen. Even then, they usually only had VGA levels of resolution. The ones with high-definition cost close to a million.

“A video camera? It’s pretty big, though,” I said, playing dumb for now. So what if she had a thermal camera?

“You must have heard of thermal imaging cameras, right? They show up on TV quite often. This particular one is surprisingly simple to use. Depending on the sensitivity of the device, it can safely be used from farther away than normal surveillance cameras.”

“All right, then what about it?”

“Using the camera and the microphone together, I have discovered something.”

“…What?”

“You seem to quite enjoy conversing with someone—a bird, it would appear.”

“Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

“Oh?”

“That voice might have been from the next apartment over. Audio collected by a microphone can be affected by pipes, among other things, and I hear it’s common for sounds from other rooms to get mixed in. In an apartment complex, it’s easy to confuse sounds from your own place and your neighbor’s, don’t you think?”

“I saw and heard it all in broad daylight. All your neighbors, in every direction, were absent at the time. And I notice you’re not denying that you own a pet bird. It left its cage all on its own and seemed to be doing as it pleased on your desk. The room isn’t full of bird droppings, is it?”

Wait. That didn’t make any sense.

No matter how pricey that thermal camera had been, she wouldn’t be able to observe the inside of the room through the windowpane. Neither the heat from the laptop nor Peeps’s body heat would have made it to the lens she was showing me now.

“I wasn’t aware you could observe infrared light from a living creature across glass.”

Most windowpanes would block the amount of infrared light given off by a human body. If you absolutely had to detect that kind of temperature change, you would need to target some pretty small wavelengths. To do so would naturally require a higher target temperature. If Peeps’s temperature was four hundred degrees Celsius, it would certainly be possible.

But then he’d be yakitori.

“…Oh, come on.”

Hold on. Was she asking leading questions? But then how did she know so much about Peeps’s behavior? He did get on the desk to surf the internet, after all.

“I had wanted to show a little tact, but now I seem to have put you on your guard.”

“……”

Either way, Futarishizuka definitely seemed to know about Peeps. But then, what had she come here looking for? It she intended to harm us, I might have to settle things before the next day’s interview.

At this distance, I could potentially ward her off with my magic and join forces with the Lord Starsage. If we captured her and banished her to the otherworld, our secret would be safe.

“I apologize, but I let myself into your apartment the other day.”

“…And?”

“The camera I placed there was fairly clear about what it showed.”

“……”

Well, crap. Now I can’t laugh at Miss Hoshizaki. This middle-aged man had just been expertly caught on a hidden camera.

It was true that several days had passed since meeting Futarishizuka at the bowling alley. During that time, Peeps and I had been out of the house for a significant amount of time, including both outings here in Japan and our activities in the otherworld.

I couldn’t deny the possibility that she had waited for an opportunity and sneaked inside.

Actually, if she was visiting me like this, she must have.

Deep in my heart, I prayed she hadn’t captured anything indecent.

“What have you come here for, Futarishizuka?”

“Would you mind it at all if I stayed with you for the night?”

“……”

And to make things worse, she had yet another troubling proposition for me.

She seemed embarrassed—but it had to be an act. Her psychic power could instantly kill an opponent just by touching them. Naturally, I had to be wary around her, but so did Peeps. In the unlikely event that anything happened to him, I wouldn’t be able to keep my cool. That was another reason I hesitated to let her into my apartment.

It’s an owner’s responsibility to protect his pet bird.

“Based on what you told me this afternoon, your lodgings are more luxurious than the bureau’s, right? Why come stay at a cramped old apartment, then? I promise I’ll get in touch with you for the interview, so…”

“That bird who speaks to itself in front of your laptop is quite the curiosity.”

“……”

When I tried to convince her to turn back, I was met with a terrible smirk. She seemed set on entering my home, whether I liked it or not. Was she after Peeps? Or was it something else?

This was not acceptable. “What are you getting at, exactly?”

“Should you flat out refuse, I might have a word with your boss.”

“In that case, you may have to wait a while for an interview.”

“I jest. But don’t you feel your guard is somewhat lax?”

Did she come all this way just to tell me that?

Taken with everything that had happened in the past, I couldn’t seem to get a handle on this girl. Honestly, I was ready to give up. They said she’d lived much, much longer than I had. I’d never had an eye for people, really—how was I supposed to figure out what someone like her was up to?

That was why I’d tried to pass the buck to the section chief…and now this.

“It’s a rare opportunity to be personally targeted by a rank-A psychic,” I said.

“For this, it wouldn’t have mattered if I was a psychic or not. Isn’t it your side that’s more adept at covert operations? Your bureau’s generous non-psychic support staff is its strong point, I should think.”

Even I grasped what Futarishizuka was implying. My boss had, in fact, planted surveillance cameras once already.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t just move without the money to do so. I’d considered relocating to a house with more security several times since meeting Peeps. I wanted a big living room and a big dog to play with.

But considering the bureau’s power, I’d need more than a run-of-the-mill property.

The boss would definitely take advantage of his government-backed authority to boldly waltz straight into his subordinate’s house in broad daylight. Unless I had guards standing watch at all hours of the day, there wouldn’t be much point. And if I went that far, it would stand out too much—he’d wonder, “Who the hell is this guy?”

In that light, I was content to live with the status quo.

But considering the existence of irregular psychics, the girl’s point stood. Here I was, being threatened by one right now. If I’d been living in a high-class estate with surveillance cameras on the property, maybe this situation could have been avoided.

“It would pose an issue if your magical girl status was to be revealed to the bureau, would it not? Messengers from the fairy world visit this one by possessing the flesh of beasts. The bird I witnessed talking in your apartment must be such a messenger from the fairy world—and your partner, no?”

And then, unexpectedly, the term magical girl was on her tongue. I was grateful for the misinterpretation. It seemed she believed my bizarre “magical middle-aged man” spiel.

No, it would be more accurate to say she was hoping to add a side dish to this magical girl—a fairy world collaborator. As I’d imagined, pretending Peeps was a fairy messenger was a very convenient way to hide his true identity. I was glad I’d set this up beforehand.

I thought for sure she’d figured out about the existence of the otherworld.

At the same time, I felt like I understood why Futarishizuka had come here, even if it meant revealing the hidden camera. Assuming she really did want to gain employment with the bureau, she must have been trying to take the initiative by seizing upon this weakness.

There was no doubt she was interested in the fairy world and the powers magical girls wielded, too. This unabashed forwardness was just like her.

“To tell the truth, I, too, would like to pay a visit to the fairy world.”

“……”

Based on the content of my conversations with Peeps in the apartment, I calculated that Futarishizuka must have planted the camera during all that noble title nonsense. Otherwise, she would have easily figured out that Peeps’s original world existed separately from the fairy world.

And it had been the day before when I returned to Japan. This morning, I’d been flustered by the acceleration in the passage of time and had ended up going straight into the office. In the meantime, the only thing I’d done was go out alone to buy a laptop for use in the otherworld. I’d been hard at work that night setting it up, so I barely talked to Peeps at all.

We did mention the time difference between worlds, but from this girl’s point of view, that must have been irrefutable proof of the fairy world being real. Even Futarishizuka didn’t seem to have extrapolated the existence of a third world apart from that one and the one we inhabited.

Though things might have been different if she’d taken a little more time to observe.

“So what will it be? I would appreciate a reaction, at least.”

In that case, our stance on the matter was decided. For the time being, when in front of her, I’d insist on being a magical middle-aged man.

“Japan’s psychics don’t look favorably upon magical girls,” she went on. “You may feel safe as a bureau employee, but I should think you’d be well served to tighten your own defenses a little more, at the very least.”

“You didn’t come all the way here just to tell me that, though.”

“No, I was being truthful when I said I’d like lodging for the night.”

“Tell me why,” I asked, readying myself.

The answer came more easily than I had expected. “I am being targeted by my former organization. I would like to count you as an ally.”

“Ah.”

Her prior organization’s mindset must have been along the lines of “If the cuckoo does not sing, kill it.” A surprisingly bloodthirsty culture, given its generous company benefits. The bureau definitely had a leg up on them in that regard. Maybe that was part of why she was looking to change jobs.

“If I’m with someone from the bureau, they will find it more difficult to act.”

“I understand. But if I accept, I’ll be exposing myself to unnecessary risk. Why did you think I’d agree? Did you not consider the opposite possibility?”

“Oh, that’s quite simple. I was counting on your dependability and resourcefulness as a man.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Please. You haven’t understood a single joke all night.”

Futarishizuka may have looked like a little girl, but her chuckling was strangely philosophical, creating an unbalanced impression—only made keener by her history of manipulating me.

“I may not look it, but I am a woman of great means. I have accumulated much, having lived so long. Perhaps with some of it, we can strike a bargain? Regardless of how well paid the bureau’s employees are, you must seldom have the opportunity to earn lump sums. And it is clean money, perfectly usable right away, of course.”

“……”

Futarishizuka’s offer was very enticing.

With the deals I’d been making in the otherworld, my own financial situation was far from healthy. Even the reserve funds I’d received upon entering the bureau had begun to run out with all the stocking up I’d been doing lately. My first paycheck wouldn’t arrive for a while yet, so things were pretty tight at the moment.

Maybe it would be a good idea to discuss the amount with Peeps. He was now a modern-day bird, chock-full of knowledge he’d gained from the internet. In all likelihood, he’d been learning quite a bit about the worth of goods and services in this world. He would doubtless prove helpful when negotiating the price.

“…I would be willing to accept, depending on the amount.”

“Truly?”

“But I can’t make this decision alone. I’d like some time to discuss it.”

“A reasonable request.”

Plus, whether I let her in or not, I didn’t like that she knew about Peeps, but he didn’t know about her. I would have to introduce her to him. If she ever turned against us in the future for some reason, it would be vital for him to have met her beforehand.

“I’ll introduce you to my partner. Will you come with me?”

“Of course. That is what I’m here for.”

“And I would like you to dispose of the camera you planted in my room immediately, please.”

“Oh, aren’t you a shy one?”

And so we headed to my apartment together.

It was important to get my story straight with Peeps before letting Futarishizuka in. Now that I’d explained him as a messenger from the fairy world, if something was to happen, and that strange and fantastic otherworld’s existence was exposed, I’d have no idea how to proceed.

To solve the problem, we left her just outside the front door and jumped from our apartment to the otherworld.

Before doing so, I remembered to mention the words Magical Field and act like I really was a magical middle-aged man for the benefit of the surveillance camera, its location still unknown. Peeps, clever as always, picked up on the odd way I was speaking and used his magic without needing an explanation.

The special effects were a little different from our supposed brethren, but that was inevitable, given the situation.

Like always, we jumped to the cheap lodging we’d reserved for this very purpose. Then, making use of how time passed differently here, I reported Futarishizuka’s presence to Peeps.

Despite the changes to the flow of time in the past few days, a few minutes in the otherworld would still be just an instant back home. We could relax, take a seat, and have a talk—without any fear of being caught on hidden cameras.

There was so much to share: Futarishizuka and her powers, the existence of magical girls, fairies, and the fairy world. I had a lot of new info for Peeps, so explaining it took a decent chunk of time.

“Ah, I see. So that’s the gist of what’s going on.”

“If this goes well, we might be able to make our monthly chateaubriand a weekly chateaubriand.”

“…Really, now?” replied Peeps, his tone changing. A serious look had crossed the sparrow’s face.

Just how much does he love meat?

“Yeah. But I’ll need to secure the best conditions to guarantee it.”

“Then I’ll put my all into it as well.”

“Great.”

His considerable enthusiasm inspired a sense of dependability. His neck seemed a little more upright than usual, and his back was a little straighter.

After much discussion, and a very optimistic approval from my partner, we returned to our cheap apartment. We checked the clock; as we’d predicted, it hadn’t even been a few minutes yet.

She couldn’t have made any serious moves in such a short time. Even if she had used her hidden camera to see us vanish and reappear, we could mention the Magical Field and easily convince her.

“I think we’ll be fine, Peeps, but don’t let her touch you, no matter what.”

“I am familiar with those who use such magic. It will be no issue.”

“Wait, really?”

“Indeed. In your wor— Oh, but I promised not to say any more about it.”

“Sorry about that, but we’re dealing with someone who has no problem spying.”

“Given your position as a government worker, I can understand her thought process.”

“Yeah?”

“There is always the possibility of you selling her out to this ‘bureau’ or what have you. She must want greatly to protect herself.”

“I see.”

Peeps didn’t seem fazed in the least by Futarishizuka’s tactics, either.

What an understanding sparrow!

Having completed our calculations and estimations, we went to the front door together. Peeps took up his usual position on my shoulder. Ever since we’d met, the feeling of his claws through the fabric of my shirt relieved me. It really helped me get myself together. I wonder why—we’ve only been together a few weeks, even including our time in the otherworld. Was this what it meant to raise a pet?

After moving from the living space to the front of the apartment, I pushed open the metal door; it wasn’t very thick. Futarishizuka was standing in the passage outside the apartment, staring up at us with a travel bag in one hand, exactly as I’d left her.

“That was very fast,” she commented.

“There wasn’t all that much to talk about.”

“Is that being with you the messenger from the fairy world, then?” she asked, her eyes flitting to Peeps on my shoulder. No matter how you looked at him, he was just a Java sparrow. Nobody would ever think he could speak like a human.

“Indeed, that is correct. My name is Piercarlo.”

“I’m Futarishizuka.”

The two exchanged greetings.

Watching this was making me sweat. But I figured if she intended to do anything to us, she’d have already done it the day before. The true worth of Futarishizuka’s power lay in the efficiency of her surprise attacks. She’d never walk straight up to someone first.

“I understand you wish to stay here for a time?”

“That’s right.”

“How much would you be willing to pay in exchange?”

Peeps took the lead, asking her the questions—probably because his meat was riding on this.

As far as I could tell, he already had a grasp of the value of goods in this world—in Japanese yen, at the very least. This was a good chance for him to strut his stuff. Maybe I can leave this to him—just like he leaves everything in the otherworld to me.

“I’ll be straight. How much would you like?”

“I can’t ask for what you don’t have. It depends on how much you can pay.”

“It seems you’re taking my request into consideration. I’m very pleased.”

We couldn’t just stand out here in front of the apartment forever, though. It would be disastrous if anyone saw us while Peeps was talking.

If he’d decided to negotiate, we’d have to move. Even if she did sleep over, my apartment was only a six-tatami room—I’d be up all night. It was just too small. We’d have to live out of a hotel room somewhere for the time being.

After all, she wasn’t looking for a place to stay, but for an employee of the bureau to stay with.

“Well, we don’t have to stand around here. Now that we’ve had our introductions, let’s move somewhere else. I obviously can’t let you into my apartment. As you can see, it’s very cramped, with only one bed and no accommodations for a visitor.”

“I wouldn’t have minded lying on the floor.”

“I would have.”

“Very well, then. Shall we find lodgings in the neighborhood?”

“But before that, please do remove the camera.”

“You can’t let me keep it there for just a little while longer?”

“Why would I? If you refuse to remove it, or leave part of it behind, then assume we will become your enemy, just like the magical girl we encountered earlier.”

“Such a difficult world we live in…”

Um, actually, I think I’m being perfectly reasonable! I would have to have an expert double-check sometime soon.

After leaving the apartment, we ended up at a high-class hotel in the city.

The guest rooms included not only a bedroom but a living room and reception area as well, plus access to a personal butler. It was the very lap of luxury. The difference between this and the business hotels the bureau booked was like night and day. I was too scared to ask how much it cost.

I thought it would be impossible to get a same-day reservation, but Futarishizuka got it done snappily with a single phone call. She was handling all the expenses, including for Peeps and me.

The implication seemed to be this: Now that she’d insisted on staying somewhere with better security, she was showing us an example. And she was right—most burglars wouldn’t bother with a room high up in a hotel, dozens of meters off the ground.

Finally, we came to the living space. After settling down on the sofas, we faced each other over a low table. Peeps was perched on my shoulder. I casually glanced at him and saw that he was staring hard at Futarishizuka. The sparrow’s face in profile was awe-inspiring; it made me want to snap a picture.

“If you don’t mind,” she began, “I would like to discuss compensation.”

“Before that, I have a question for you.”

“What is it?”

“How would you feel about a form of payment other than money?”

Peeps spoke as though he’d just thought of something. This wasn’t part of the discussion we’d had earlier; I found myself turning to look at him in spite of myself. “Peeps?”

“The fact that you have amassed a fortune must mean you have the connections with which to buy and sell things of great value. We have very few such worldly connections at present. As compensation, would you consider sharing some of those with us?”

“……”

“We’ve been graced with a golden opportunity. It would be a waste for our relationship to end after this.”

Bringing up such a deal at the last moment to someone we weren’t sure if we could trust took nerves of steel—as expected of the Lord Starsage. He was so cool. You could really tell how much of his past had been spent dealing with crafty court nobility on equal footing.

“I wouldn’t mind that, I suppose, but what about him?”

“Do you mind this arrangement?”

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have apprehensions. According to the chief, Futarishizuka was a psychic belonging to an anti-governmental organization. I couldn’t imagine the connections such a person would have involved anything legal. For comparison, she was far more frightening than the yakuza.

The only reason we were able to have a relationship at all was because I had permission from the chief. Otherwise, I couldn’t even be seen with her. If I screwed this up, I could be arrested the very next day.

But if this was what Peeps wanted, then I would do my best to make it happen—just as he’d given me the freedom to choose in the otherworld.

“Your proposal has me very interested, Peeps.”

“Truly?”

“But I would like to avoid anyone at work getting angry with me…”

“I plan to discuss that, too, during these talks.”

“Ah, I see.” Futarishizuka looked convinced by what Peeps had said. She seemed interested as well; she had a hand to her cheek as she appeared to think it over. “That would mean you have something to sell, would it not?”

“That is correct.”

“Items from the fairy world, perhaps?”

“Are you interested in valuables and treasures from another world?”

He had to speak vaguely, but this was the issue that had been plaguing us until this very day—how to convert valuables from the otherworld into yen. If we could leverage Futarishizuka’s connections to do that, I’d be excited, too.

It was always best to ask a pro, it seemed.

If possible, to reinforce my lie that I was a magical girl, I wanted to disguise the items as being from the fairy world. However, there would be no proof that the items we brought over existed in the fairy world at all. To me, the safest option would be to sneakily avoid telling her where they came from for the time being.

“Well then, I suppose I should venture the question. What do you plan on bringing?”

“For now, we have our sights set on precious metals.”

“Of the sort that exist in our world, hmm?”

“Would you prefer types that didn’t?”

“There’s no telling what could happen were you to bring me something ill-advised. That would be most unfortunate.”

Peeps seemed to understand that much as well. He continued, speaking plainly.

“I see.”

“Still, that idea does certainly whet the appetite…,” added Futarishizuka.

“Ms. Futarishizuka, we have no issue making a deal with you, but we will not act outside the bounds of Japan’s rules and regulations. I hope you can understand that point. In the worst case, we would have to throw you to the wolves.”

I didn’t know how effective it would be, but I warned her regardless. If any problems were to occur as part of my relationship with Futarishizuka, considering Mr. Akutsu’s personality, it was easy to imagine a future where he cut us both off. That was why I hoped making myself clear right from the start would prove meaningful.

For the time being, I wanted to lead a lazy, idle life as a phony government employee.

I had never imagined that being someone who didn’t have to go to work every day at the same time could be this wonderful. I could avoid being packed like a sardine on the train, and I didn’t even have to wait until I learned teleportation magic. That alone felt like it put me in a special class of person in modern Japan.

At the same time, this was an important matter that would directly impact Peeps’s chateaubriand lifestyle.

“It isn’t as though I’m pawning off suspicious drugs, all right?” she said. “It will depend on the item, but there are many ways to handle such things. It is difficult to move large amounts of money, but it shouldn’t be an issue at all to move our living headquarters to this hotel.”

“…I see.”

“Still, I must say, you are quite a straightforward person.”

“I just couldn’t think of a better threat, that’s all.”

She then gave me a concrete number, which shocked me. It was way, way higher an amount than anything I’d been expecting. I had thought if I could secure about as much as the reserve funds provided by the bureau, I’d be over the moon. But her proposal was two, if not three digits more than that; I could hear my heart almost explode.

No matter how you looked at it, this hotel was in the hundred-thousand-yen range. The person in front of me seemed to be much richer than I’d imagined. How much had she managed to stow away?

At a glance, she was just a small child. This enormous gap in perception made the whole conversation very weird.

“Either way,” she continued, “I cannot make any promises before confirming the goods.”

“We will prepare them for you in the near future.”

“I cannot wait. It is making me more excited than one my age has any right to be.”

And thus, Peeps and Futarishizuka came to an agreement.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have any concerns. There was always the possibility she’d betray us and tell the section chief everything. But now that she already knew about my position as a magical middle-aged man, there wasn’t any point in hesitating to strike a deal with her.

And, I thought as I watched Peeps chattering enthusiastically, once his beloved pet bird has made a decision, isn’t it the pet owner’s duty to show his magnanimity and accept it?

The next day, Futarishizuka and I were in the hotel’s living room, facing a laptop computer. We sat on the sofas, both looking at the device on the low table in front of us. Only Futarishizuka was reflected on the screen, though. I was sitting on the opposite sofa, watching her. Peeps was on my shoulder.

We’d brought another monitor, separate from the laptop, and placed it on the table. The image, connected via an external output, was positioned so I could see it, too, from my spot on the other side of the laptop. All this had been provided by the hotel.

On the screen was Section Chief Akutsu’s face. Good-looking as always. One of those attractive middle-aged men. The suit and watch he had on looked expensive, too.

Behind him was most likely a conference room in the bureau offices. He sat in a chair, facing his own device’s camera. No other bureau employees were visible, but it was always possible others were positioned just out of sight.

“Thank you for making the time for me today. I know you must be busy.”

“I’m going to be direct with you. Do you truly wish for a transfer into the bureau?”

Though Futarishizuka had started off with a formal greeting, the chief simply questioned her without emotion. He watched her closely and carefully.

“Yes, I do.”

“You were an executive member of an organization hostile to us, correct? It’s hard for me to believe you now wish to transfer. Do you have the grounds to convince me? If not, then I won’t be able to accept your proposal.”

“What you say is reasonable.”

This was turning into a stressful interview—probably because Futarishizuka was the interviewee. As a psychic, she excelled in harming others. If she got into the bureau, then betrayed us, the losses would be massive. No matter how short on hands we were, even I felt strongly that the risks here were too great to justify the returns.

“Still, you are a very talented psychic. Of that there is no doubt.”

“Will you consider my request, then?”

“At the present time, it won’t be possible for us to accept you as an official bureau employee. However, I can think about giving you tasks as a part-timer. Depending on how well you work, I could conceivably think about bringing you on full-time in the future.”

“Hmm, I see.”

This was about how I’d expected it would go.

If we didn’t take her under our wing, she would end up with some other group. If that other group was friendly toward our bureau, there would be no problem. But if a hostile organization took her in, and if her volition to change jobs was sincere, that would become its own problem.

And for that reason, we’d never actually had the option of turning her down.

“The bureau cannot yield any more than that.”

“In that case, I would be grateful if you allowed me to help with your work.”

She’d probably requested the interview after considering all that as well. It hadn’t taken long for her to answer the question.

As she answered with a glittering smile, she appeared closer to her physical age—that of a little girl. If we hadn’t met at the bowling alley, she probably would have fooled me with that smile and taken advantage of me.

Come to think of it, the neighbor was about this girl’s size when I first met her, too.

“…All right.”

With her consent, the section chief nodded and agreed in his detached way.

It looked like she’d be working as a part-timer or a temp worker. Given how rich she was, it wouldn’t cause her any financial issues. Which meant it all came down to how good she could make the bureau look to the public.

As for that, though, we wouldn’t know until we saw her in action.

“So then, what will become of my status? I have no particular preferences for part-time or contract work as long as I can do that work under the bureau’s name, but it may not appear so to others.”

“Right. Regarding that, I’d like to leave it up to Sasaki to look after you.”

I sighed. What’s he saying now? I wondered. He can’t be serious, can he? “Chief, hold on a moment.”

Before I knew it, I had cut into the conversation.

The camera wasn’t facing me, so I wasn’t visible in the video. But he’d still be able to hear me through the microphone. I had no intention of letting what he just said go by unnoticed.

“Have you been listening? Well, you heard me—please do your best.”

“Have you forgotten I’m a new employee who just joined the bureau?”

“Of course not. And you are an extremely talented member of our team—your superiors think highly of you.”

“I still have concerns about this decision.”

“My policy is to emphasize those who stand out, regardless of how long they’ve been employed.”

What I’d wanted to do was throw the entire Futarishizuka matter in the section chief’s lap and revel in his reactions. I never thought it would come bouncing right back to me. He had just placed a rank-A psychic in the care of a newbie who had only gone on-site twice. Would the rest of the bureau even accept that?

“Keep in mind I have no authority. If something was to happen, my response may be delayed.”

“That’s very true. I haven’t given you much authority, have I?”

“Then—”

“In that case, I’ll give you the same level of authority as Hoshizaki.”

“What?”

“I’ll send over a sheet listing all your official powers later today; use that as reference.”

“Chief, isn’t authority something that comes along with a managerial position or compensation of some kind?”

“I don’t think I need to tell you this, but human affairs here at the bureau are different from those at the Cabinet Office. I’m entrusted with the whole kit and caboodle. Isn’t this a good thing, Sasaki? You’ve been promoted twice only a couple weeks after being hired. It’s virtually unprecedented.”

“Still, Chief, I—”

“And she’s someone you invited in, right? You’ll take responsibility until the end, I’m sure. Acting like this is only going to cause her trouble. We await your work for the betterment of the bureau, Sasaki. I want you to give this your absolute best.”

He knew exactly how to get to me. But even so, I was troubled.

I didn’t have the time to worry about it much, though. “That’s all for the interview. She’s in your hands, Sasaki.”

“No, hold on a second. I mean—”

“I’ll contact you again with our schedule. For today, I want you to deepen your familiarity with your new subordinate. This will be included in the list of official powers I’ll send later, but your entertainment allowance will be expensed up to one million yen. This is as a capital investment for us, after all. So make sure to always keep your receipts.”

“Chief, ah, er, when you say capital investment—”

But before I could continue, the phone conference ended. The video cut off, and the screen faded to nothing.

There were so many things I wanted to say to him about all this.

And now it was awkward in the living room. With the conversation over, the space had fallen silent. The sound of the laptop’s fan spinning was oddly loud. No matter how long I waited, the chief’s handsome face would not grace the screen again.

For a while, there was quiet.

Eventually, Futarishizuka turned to me and said, “Is looking after me truly so unpleasant for you?”

“……”

Her eyes, turned up to look at me, were frighteningly cute. She certainly seemed a far cry from a woman of character who had lived since before the war.

She was definitely faking it.

“…As a fellow new hire, I hope we can get along,” I said.

“Indeed. I may cause problems here and there, but I look forward to working with you.”

Now I was one win and one loss against the chief. Next time, I’m going to fluster him for sure, I thought, determined.

After escaping office life, working in the public sector was so freeing.

The sun was still shining, and the boss had ordered me to take the rest of the day off—and to get a daytime drink. And he said the company would pay the entire bill. Essentially, there was no limit; no normal izakaya would ever get close to the amount he had given.

“Nothing beats paying for drinks with taxpayer money while the sun is still high in the sky,” she drawled.

“Yeah.”

The beer was delicious. Even the foam.

Whoever first thought up that slogan must have been an absolute genius.

“Ah, but does this not want to make you call for women as well?”

“Oh, no, I could never.”

“I could put you in touch. It would all fall under the business expenses.”

“No, I couldn’t do something like that in front of someone as pretty as you, Ms. Futarishizuka.”

“Oh, really? Your objection fills me with anticipation.”

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t happy.

I was really happy.

Day-drinking on someone else’s dime was the best.

We were in a private room, in an izakaya downtown near our hotel, having a drink together. More and more places like this were serving alcohol in the daytime—just to get people in for a drink or two, that kind of thing.

Of course, when we first entered the shop, they’d refused Futarishizuka’s order because of her appearance.

She had then shown them her driver’s license. What stood out to me was that it was up for renewal next year. The clerk figured it was a forgery, but after she showed them her passport, too, he took her order without any further issue.

I only heard later that both of them were forgeries. She’d already lost her real passport; she told me it was no longer extant—or something. I bet it was filled with stamps from countries that didn’t exist anymore.

“May I order the fried chicken and potato salad?” asked Futarishizuka, her tone languid as always.

“I’m surprised you seem to prefer common food.”

“Alcohol hits you hard on an empty stomach. I’d rather eat a bit first.”

“In that case, is it all right if I get this assorted sashimi platter?”

“Oh! Yes, please do.”

“It’s all company money, so order as much as you want.”

“My, how generous. In that case…”

We’re going to eat and drink until the cows come home.

If there was one thing that bothered me, it was Peeps’s absence. I couldn’t exactly bring the birdcage into the izakaya and then let him out to peck away at some food. Lately, even places like these had started putting up surveillance cameras.

So during outings, I’d taken to making excuses, like wanting to dip out early so I could do some drinking back at my hotel. The Lord Starsage had accepted this, thankfully, in exchange for me bringing him Kobe beef chateaubriand as a gift.

I planned to take advantage of the occasion and make my own dent in the entertainment expenses for Futarishizuka.

Normally, taxes were only something I had to pay. The idea that I might be able to take some of that money back via izakaya and grocery bills was driving me to eat and drink until my stomach couldn’t fit any more. In fact, why don’t I go and buy chateaubriand by the kilogram as a souvenir?

“By the way,” said Futarishizuka, “your boss seems to trust you quite a lot.”

“Oh, no, that’s really not the case at all.”

“Isn’t it?”

“He believes in meritocracy, so this is probably because you’re here.”

“Ah, I see. So our destinies are linked.”

“Even if you stumble, I plan to do my best.”

“Oh? How cocky you are—especially when I’m right here.”

“It’d make me nervous if I didn’t say anything. No need to tease me.”

“People who talk like that are the biggest schemers.”

As we chatted, I took care to keep the conversation light and entertaining. But if I was able to unearth even a scrap of her true intent, I would be more than satisfied.

We continued to enjoy our drinks and talk about nothing important until, a while later, when we’d both finished off our third mug, the door to our private room suddenly swung open. I couldn’t remember making any orders. Naturally, our attention snapped to the hallway.

And there we saw Miss Hoshizaki.

“Sasaki! I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Fancy seeing you in a place like this, Miss Hoshizaki.”

We hadn’t seen each other since parting ways at the bureau the day before. As always, she was armed with her suit and a lot of makeup—that thick lipstick was wonderful.

“I used your device’s location info to track you down.”

“Ah, I see.”

Come to think of it, I did carry a device like that around, didn’t I? My thoughts turned to my pants pocket.

Still, why had she come all the way here anyway? If she needed something, she could have just called. We weren’t that far from the bureau, but she would still have needed a taxi to get here. If she’d come by train, all the transfers would have been a real hassle.

“Did you need something from us?”

“I heard from the chief. He put you in charge of Futarishizuka, huh?” she said, looking at the girl in the kimono sitting opposite me. Her expression appeared stiff and tense. She normally looked sullen, but this time she was significantly more on edge.

“Do you understand how terrifying she is?”

“Yes. I believe you were the one who explained it to me.”

“And yet here you are, drinking the day away with her like none of that matters…”

Wait, did she come here because she was worried? In that case, what about letting her join us? She couldn’t drink since she was in high school, but I doubted it would be an issue for her to eat something. For a shop we went into out of pure momentum and zero research, it was surprisingly delicious and satisfying.

The horse mackerel sashimi was especially incredible. Anywhere that had good horse mackerel was a trustworthy place, in my book.

“Would you like to join us, Miss Hoshizaki?”

“What kind of idiotic nonsense is that?”

“I don’t know what to tell you. The chief ordered us to do this.”

“Yeah, I kind of doubt even the chief would have thought you two would be drinking the day away like dumbasses. When I checked your location, it showed you parked at an izakaya! That’s why I came all the way here to check up on you. Couldn’t you have figured that out on your own?”

Wait. What? He was joking?

The list of official powers he’d sent me earlier had included the social expenses amount he had indicated. That was why we’d started day-drinking without asking questions. From our conversation so far, Futarishizuka didn’t seem dissatisfied with the arrangement, either.

“…Oh. I see.”

That section chief! His jokes are too hard to understand.

The giant octopus sashimi that came out in a little boat was out of this world. The wasabi soy sauce just kept on flowing. In my opinion, when it was served on those big leaves, you knew it was quality.

“Old men really do talk business while drinking, huh?”

“That wasn’t exactly what we were going for here…”

Once Miss Hoshizaki entered the room, the complaints started flying.

“I remember you, child. The bureau’s water-manipulating psychic, hmm?” said Futarishizuka, unable to sit by and watch the two of us.

“And what if I am?”

“Then we shall have to get you set up with a drink! Go ahead and order something.”

With a grin, Futarishizuka held out the remote control used to send our orders. Then she breathed out, and the stench of alcohol made Miss Hoshizaki’s face scrunch up into a scowl. Her expression said Don’t talk to me anymore. She really was just a high school girl caught up with a couple drunks, but one of them looked like a little girl, which made everything weirder.

Since Futarishizuka had started it, I decided to hop on the bandwagon. “Have you eaten yet, Miss Hoshizaki? If you haven’t, why not eat with us? We spoke with the chief, and he approved of us eating here as a business expense.”

At the same time, I didn’t forget to mention the entertainment budget to my coworker. A corporate drone’s worst nightmare was finding out that a meal wouldn’t be covered by the company, after all. I remembered every receipt that I wasn’t able to turn in.

“Wait. Are you drunk right now?”

“I can’t deny the possibility.”

“……”

I didn’t think I’d be drunk after three glasses, but with an upstanding high school girl in front of me, I didn’t want to act careless, so I replied honestly. I was keenly aware of how dangerous the person in front of me was. My intent had always been to drink in moderation, without forgetting the presence of my important guest. I’d imagine it’s the same for Futarishizuka, too. That was why she had ordered side dishes like fried chicken and potato salad.

“All right, fine.”

Then, for reasons I didn’t understand, Miss Hoshizaki took a seat next to me. She’d taken an empty space on one side of the four-person table.

“Miss Hoshizaki?” I ventured.

“You invited me, remember? I don’t have a problem eating here.”

“I see. Well, thank you.”

“You know,” said Futarishizuka, “you’re more reasonable than I’d assumed.”

Normally, the high school girl’s tone was conspicuously brusque, but maybe her true personality was more caring. Or was she just worried about her good-for-nothing junior? Either way, I was more than happy to accept the generosity.

It happened at the izakaya when I got up to go to the bathroom. As I was walking down the hallway, someone called my name from behind.

“Sasaki, could I talk to you about something real quick?”

“What is it?”

Miss Hoshizaki trotted over to catch up to me.

I figured she was hesitant to be alone in the private room with Futarishizuka. I couldn’t say I didn’t understand; I wanted to put as much distance as possible between her and me, too. Being here without Peeps was forcing me to put in the effort whether I liked it or not.

“Yesterday was so busy I didn’t have a chance to thank you, so…”

“Thank me?”

“I lost consciousness partway through when Futarishizuka drained my energy. But you stayed on-site until it was over and retrieved the target and me. I never thanked you for it.”

Come to think of it, I remembered her inviting me out for lunch as thanks after that bowling alley incident, too. I wouldn’t have thought she cared about such things, but her personality was surprisingly conscientious. The gap between that and the suicidal mindset she got into on the battlefield was staggering.

“You don’t need to. We were on the job as a team, so I only did what I was supposed to.”

“Still, you saved me back there. I had no idea you’d end up asking Futarishizuka for help in that situation and then driving off the magical girl. The airplane crash was my fault, too, for not stopping the target. It’s only because you interceded that I’m still even able to work.”

“Did the chief get on your case about this?”

“He just told me to appreciate you more.”

“I see.”

What I did back then was more for my sake than hers. But if acting that way saved someone else on the side, there was no point in being unhappy about it. Especially if it was my work partner, the other half of my team.

“Still, everything that happened was the product of coincidence, so I don’t think you need to be so formal.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Well, even if it was a coincidence, you still saved me. That’s a fact.”

I was glad to hear her thank me, but I was scared I might expose something if we talked about it any more than this. Though I felt bad for wrenching the conversation in another direction, I did what I had to. “By the way, I had something to ask you.”

“What might that be?”

“I’ve already heard that your power is to control liquid, but does that not include the body fluids inside a living human? Like, if you could touch someone’s skin and manipulate their blood, that might be on par with Futarishizuka’s ability.”

“If the blood is outside the body first, I can control it.”

“But not if it’s still underneath the skin, then?”

If that was possible, it would be an effective deterrent against Futarishizuka. Since the girl could only use her power when she was touching her opponent’s body, too, Miss Hoshizaki would at least be able to go down with her. I doubted Futarishizuka would go that far to take down Miss Hoshizaki, so her safety would have been guaranteed at the very least. But alas.

“I’ve tried doing stuff like that a bunch of times, but it’s never worked out. The same goes for liquid that’s been partly absorbed into the ground—and water vapor. I can’t control those, either.”

“I see.” Guess it really was impossible. Though I supposed it would be pretty scary if she could do it.

“Still, I’d like to get to that point one day.”

“That’s possible?”

“Who knows? Sometimes a psychic’s power grows as they use it.”

“Now that I think about it, I do remember learning that during training.”

Although psychics couldn’t awaken to new powers, they could cultivate the one they already possessed. However, doing so necessitated an uncommon level of effort or a deep understanding of the power itself; the explanation had made it sound really tiring.

And this was battle-crazy Hoshizaki, here—she probably trained every single day.

“I’m sorry, but could you let me go to the bathroom now…?”

“Huh? Oh, right, sure. Sorry for stopping you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

After cutting the conversation short at an appropriate point, this lying bastard dashed into the bathroom.

Later, after wrapping up our day-drinking, we parted ways with Miss Hoshizaki and returned to the hotel Futarishizuka had booked for us. Miss Hoshizaki, upon confirming the situation, had finished her izakaya lunch and returned to the bureau. That was a stroke of luck, since Peeps was with us in the hotel. As his owner, watching him stick to his sparrow act in her presence would have been painful to watch.

The last remaining issue was the matter of our short stays in the otherworld.

Futarishizuka’s interview with the chief had gone mostly as anticipated, so I wanted to return straight home after reuniting with Peeps. The girl would be able to start her work as part of the bureau now, which should lower the chances of former colleagues attacking her.

“I think I’ll be going now,” I said to her, holding Peeps’s cage in one hand.

However, in response, she asked us to wait. “Leaving already, are we?”

“It may only be part-time, but a new hire is a new hire. Go ahead and file for your transfer in triumph.”

“Personally, I’m in the mood to spread some more lascivious rumors, perhaps about some romantic relationships between bureau employees.”

That would end up harming me as well, wouldn’t it? I thought. Definitely out of the question.

Still, considering my future plans to sell valuables from the otherworld, I’d have to actively help her in some way and gain her trust. You couldn’t foster a friendly relationship when you always wanted the other person to do things for you.

If we were going to stick together for a long period of time, I’d have to demonstrate that she would benefit, too. And in gambles like these, the opponent was at an extreme advantage. The older, the wiser, so the saying went. Better to be sincere than try to use poorly thought-out schemes, I thought as I watched the girl grinning greedily.

“Do you know about the Magical Field used by magical girls?”

“I do. A strange magic that allows one to move anywhere they wish, yes?”

“If anything happens, I’ll come straight to this hotel.”

“You would do that?”

“Yes. I promise,” I said, shooting a glance over at Peeps and seeing him give a little nod.

He, too, could probably see the chateaubriand sizzling before his eyes even now, with our goal of interworld trade dangling right before us. The chunk of meat I’d bought as a gift on the way home from the izakaya was doing the trick in all its two-kilogram glory—and it was a particularly exclusive cut.

It was amazing, having the right to decide when and how I’d eat and drink. And it was all being financed with taxes. I felt like I’d gotten every bit of my residents’ tax and income tax return from the previous year. So this is why dirty jobs never disappear from the world.

“For a member of the bureau, you are surprisingly caring.”

“Is that right? Well anyway, I’m going to get going for the day.”

“Yes. I look forward to working with you from now on.”

After returning her smile with a slight bow, I left the hotel with Peeps.

(The Neighbor’s POV)

During lunchtime, I decided to read a book in the library. Since today’s main course was rice, I didn’t need to devote any time to securing food. All I did was secure about three extra helpings of the green onion miso salad, since it was so unpopular. The dish was rich in flavor and filling. Plus, wonderfully, there was always so much of it left over.

“……”

In sharp contrast to the lively classroom, the library is very quiet. With the librarian keeping watch, you never hear students raise their voices. I come here a lot, since I have a hard time with loud places.

And for someone who can’t even watch TV or read newspapers or magazines at home, the school library is also a vital place for me to get information on what is happening in the world. With how many different kinds of magazines this library has, it is even more valuable a resource than the lectures we get in the classroom.

Just like every other day, I have a stack of newly published informational magazines on the table. When I flip through the articles, I never bother thinking too hard about the contents. It all just flows into my head; I accept it all as simple information and never really scrutinize any of it. You never know what kind of knowledge may come in handy in any particular situation.

Most importantly, some of it might help me talk to the man next door.

I spend a while like this in peace and quiet.

Then I hear voices from another table close by.

“Did you hear about the murder that happened the other day near the school?”

“Wait, you mean the one at the intersection on Second Street?”

“Yeah, that one!”

Judging by the color of their slippers, the two girls are in their second year, one grade higher than I am. The two of them are sitting side by side at their table, chatting away. They’re not speaking loudly or anything. At their volume, the librarian wouldn’t start nagging them to shut up, as long as it didn’t last too long. But since no other students are making any noise, I can hear them all the way over at my table.

“Apparently, stuff like that is happening all over the country.”

“Wait, really?”

“My dad was talking about it this morning. He’s a police officer.”

They are talking about the incident I had run into the other day. My attention naturally shifts away from the magazine in my hands to the girls’ conversation.

“But you know how it’s not really on the news much?”

“They have a—um. Muzzling order? That’s why they’re not talking about it.”

“Muzzling order? You mean a gag order?”

“Yeah, that’s the one! I think.”

“Wait, for real? That’s like the stuff you see in TV dramas.”

After all, I’m curious about it, too.

A person has died—and in a way that would have made headlines everywhere. It is strange that it isn’t being talked about on the news. Even the magazines I’d been reading today hadn’t mentioned it once.

Plus, they haven’t caught the culprit yet. At least, nobody is reporting that they have. The criminal could even be hiding out somewhere nearby.

“It’s true! My dad was really annoyed about it.”

“I bet it’s making his job pretty hard.”

“No, not that. Apparently, he hates it when big shots from the government come to talk to them.”

“Wait, what? I don’t get it.”

Does that mean they had a conference on how to respond to the incident?

If that is the case, the information about the gag order seems a little more trustworthy. A local police officer complaining to his family about government interference—that kind of makes sense.

As I stare at the magazine in my hands, my imagination starts running wild. They are right—this is like something from a TV drama. I’d never seen one, but I can hazard a guess. It seems like they’re about things like this.

I only get to listen to their conversation for a few moments, though, since the bell rings, marking five minutes until the end of lunchtime and the start of fifth period.

The two girls who had been talking get up and leave the library. I watch them out of the corner of my eye as I rise from my own chair. After returning the stack of magazines to their places, I hurry out of the library.

Just student rumors. Probably nothing to worry about.

Getting a chance to talk to the man next door is far more important to me anyway.