Chapter 50: The Test of Courage Once Again

Hearing someone call her name, Nanjou Aimi wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, burped, and looked back.
"If it isn't... Oh, Uesugi Ririko!"
Shizuma Mafuyu, sitting to her right, sighed and murmured softly, "Ms. Nanjou, it's Uesugi Toru."
With meticulous care, Shizuma Mafuyu avoided addressing her by her official title of Junior Sub-Inspector in public, choosing the polite "Ms." instead.
Uesugi Toru was stunned by the name, and only snapped back to reality when he caught Nanjou Aimi's hazy gaze. "So, Senior Nanjou, you're not just a chain smoker, but a heavy drinker too."
He took the seat to Nanjou Aimi's left and offered a gentle warning, "If you mix heavy smoking and drinking like this in private, word is people don't live past sixty or seventy."
With that, Uesugi Toru ordered an extra-large gyudon, the triple-beef variety—though it was made from engineered wagyu ready-meals, it had the advantage of being green, healthy, tasty, and cheap.
"Well, Uesugi-kun, do you really think I can live to be sixty?" Nanjou Aimi laughed heartily, throwing a heavy arm around Uesugi Toru's shoulder. The pungent smell of alcohol made him pinch his nose. "Then I really must thank you for your blessing."
Her words reminded Uesugi Toru of Hasegawa, and of the fact that most of the faces he had seen at the Special Affairs Division headquarters the other day were remarkably young.
Onmyoji, it seemed, were not a profession with a high survival rate.
Lost in thought, Uesugi Toru suddenly felt his entire arm pressed against something soft and quickly wriggled out. "Senior Nanjou, don't you think your sense of personal space is a bit off?"
"Is that so? Is it really?"
Nanjou Aimi tilted her head, smacking her lips in bewilderment, before clinking glasses with Shizuma Mafuyu, who wore an expression of sheer distress. Aimi downed the remaining half of her glass with a refreshed sigh. "There's nothing quite like a nice, happy drink after finishing work!"
Shizuma Mafuyu took a tiny sip, wincing at the bitterness.
It seemed that accompanying one's boss for drinks was a universal practice across all nations, though Shizuma Mafuyu must have been so eager to advance her career that she volunteered to drink with the resident alcoholic...
Pulling his thoughts back, Uesugi Toru brought up the main topic. "Speaking of work, I ran into Kurosaki Akira just now."
"Talking about work after hours is terribly unromantic, Uesugi-kun."
Nanjou Aimi set down her glass, slumped over the table resting on her arms, and peered at him with her narrow eyes. "Still... since you've met him, you should have a clear idea of the assignment. Tell me your thoughts."
Uesugi Toru said gravely, "It's too easy. So easy that it feels abnormal."
"Ah! That much is certainly true." Nanjou Aimi licked a drop of alcohol from her lips. "So you'd better still be careful lately."
Uesugi Toru was taken aback—Nanjou Aimi's reaction made it crystal clear that she already knew everything.
He frowned. "If that's the case, why not..."
"Because I finished my work and clocked out."
Nanjou Aimi let out a tired yawn, while Shizuma Mafuyu quickly bought another mug of beer and placed it by her hand to replace the nearly empty one.
In just two or three days, Shizuma Mafuyu had transformed from a timid intern into a competent office worker.
The woman happily drank her iced beer, looking utterly content. "I've already discussed this with my superiors and colleagues, and reported it further up the chain of command. What more do you expect me to do, Uesugi-kun?"
Just then, Uesugi Toru's gyudon was ready.
Nanjou Aimi thanked the clerk, took the bowl, and gently pushed it toward Uesugi Toru. "Tell me, what does the rest of it have to do with me?"
She twirled the rim of her glass with her fingers, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. "I'm not some hero in a story looking for trouble. I'm just an office worker who follows her boss's orders and works crazy overtime."
Uesugi Toru shoveled down a mouthful of rice as she continued,
"To me, this job is no different in essence from an accounting clerk. And once a corporate slave finishes their duties, they naturally ought to drink heavily and sleep soundly."
"Uesugi-kun."
Nanjou Aimi poked Uesugi Toru in the waist with her elbow. The moment he turned his head, she pressed her index finger against his lips, and then said with complete calm and seriousness,
"Only take on what your abilities allow. That is my credo in life."
Her index finger was warm, carrying the rich scent of beer.
This time, however, Uesugi Toru didn't pinch his nose. He nodded slowly. "I understand."
"Glad you do!" Nanjou Aimi chuckled, then turned around to wrap her arm around Shizuma Mafuyu and repeated the exact same speech.
"I've memorized it too, Ms. Nanjou."
"Oh, come on, work is over, no need to be so formal! Just call me Senior Nanjou, or Aimi if you prefer."
"Eh? Ah? Um... no, no, no..."
"Speaking of which, Mafuyu, did you have some hard-to-reach dream when you joined us?"
"Well... because as long as I survive the probation period, my younger sister will have a stable job in the future."
"Ah, so it's for little sister-chan! Wonderful, then let's get along well during the next three months of probation, Mafuyu!"
Uesugi Toru ate his meal, quietly listening to the conversation between the seasoned corporate slave and the no-longer-green workplace newcomer.
Work, huh.
Swallowing his last bite of gyudon, Uesugi Toru realized he simply hadn't understood the kind of person Senior Nanjou truly was.
Just drift along and live comfortably—no wonder Nanjou Aimi had remained a mere Junior Sub-Inspector after spending a full five years at the Special Affairs Division.
Without saying goodbye to Nanjou Aimi, Uesugi Toru walked out of the Yoshinoya store under Shizuma Mafuyu's unspoken, hesitant gaze.
Finding a nearby JR subway station, Uesugi Toru descended inside and continued browsing his phone for news related to Kisaragi Station.
Of course, he didn't forget to brush up on some basic supernatural lore either.
For instance, what kind of urban legend was the bowing entity he had encountered today? Such knowledge was crucial, because if one could clearly identify an opponent's origins, one could devise targeted countermeasures.
Scrolling through his phone, the time quickly ticked to ten-twenty at night.
Clack-clack—
Accompanied by a cheerful little jingle and the deceleration of the train, an utterly normal train stopped punctually in front of Uesugi Toru.
He boarded with the crowd and stood by the window, gazing outside.
As the train moved, the scenery outside the window slowly shifted, and the night grew deeper.
By the time the train reached its final stop, there were almost no people left inside, save for a drunken salaryman who seemed to have missed his stop, swaying as he stumbled out behind him.
Uesugi Toru glanced at him, and upon confirming that no one else was on the platform, slipped on his overcoat and mask in the man's blind spot.
The next train arrived in less than two minutes. Uesugi Toru silently boarded, noticing that the salaryman had followed him on as well.
He paid him no mind.
There were very few people on this train, and by the time it reached the original starting station, only he and the salaryman got off.
As Uesugi Toru stepped out of the doors, the soles of his feet immediately felt a subtle chill.
He looked around. The Tokyo night view, which had been crystal clear in his eyes moments ago, began to slowly blur.
Without hesitation, Uesugi Toru silently transformed into Hannya.
At the same time, he summoned Lady Two-Meters.
The white-hatted girl immediately materialized and began anxiously patting Uesugi Toru all over. "Po! Toru-sama, how are you not dead!?"
What a delightful blessing to receive...
Uesugi Toru made a "shh" gesture at her and whispered, "In the Netherworld, even if I die, I can revive."
Lady Two-Meters opened her little mouth in sheer disbelief, but before she could make a sound, she covered her mouth with both hands, letting out a soft, muffled *popo* sound.
Uesugi Toru warned her, "We can talk about that later. There might be a few fights coming up soon, so I'll be counting on Lady Two-Meters to help me recover quickly in the gaps."
—This was Uesugi Toru's hypothesis that a battle would occur every time he passed a station.
—However, this hypothesis had a high probability of being wrong; summoning Lady Two-Meters was purely a precaution.
Next came the last train.
However, before Uesugi Toru could wait for the last train to arrive, an identical train to the one he had ridden earlier pulled up behind him.
The train doors slowly opened.
A group of chatting, laughing high school students and an auntie scrolling on her phone stepped onto the platform, seemingly completely oblivious to the shifting environment around them.
"I'm telling you! Miyamoto-san, are we really holding our test of courage at this train station? I don't see anything scary about it at all? It's definitely not going to scare me, hahaha!"
Among the high schoolers, a girl asked aloud.
Hearing the familiar term, Uesugi Toru's gaze narrowed.
—Another test of courage?