Why had the conversation suddenly turned to a completely unrelated topic?
Wasn't she asking how to deal with Ai Bielie?
Seeing that Ririko didn't react, Kondō Yūya immediately upped the ante. "Miss Tokugawa, I can teach you the breathing method for stepping into the transcendent realm. All you need to do is register with the Special Affairs Division."
This time, Ririko began seriously considering Kondō Yūya's proposal. To completely shed her identity as an ordinary person who couldn't even truss a chicken was something she had dreamed of.
After thinking for a moment, she looked toward Uesugi Tetsu.
Because if she agreed, Uesugi Tetsu would have no sparring partner for the time being.
She had personally agreed to become his teacher, and to Ririko, nothing was more important than a promise. Some damn breathing method naturally couldn't shake her resolve in the slightest.
Uesugi Tetsu merely sighed. "Don't treat me like a child."
"Then I accept."
Ririko answered decisively, making Kondō Yūya's face light up.
He had never expected to so easily acquire a swordsmanship genius who could leave even him dumbfounded. Coming along with Nanjō Emi this time had truly been the right choice.
Ririko said, "I still have one question. Why could you, Major Kondō, tell at a glance that both Uesugi Tetsu and I aren't her duplicates, while I couldn't?"
"Is it because my training isn't sufficient?" This was Ririko's first thought.
"Not at all."
Kondō Yūya's tone changed as he explained carefully. "Even when people have the same Clear Sword Heart, the sword heart each person condenses is different. This leads to all kinds of strange sword-heart traits. For example, my trait, 'Into the Minutiae,' is rather good at observation."
After that, Ririko eagerly questioned Kondō Yūya about matters related to swordsmanship.
Watching the two of them, Nanjō Emi clicked her tongue, pushed open the meeting-room door, and crooked a finger at Uesugi Tetsu.
"Come on, come on."
She walked out of the Special Affairs Division in her combat boots, their heels tapping sharply against the floor.
As they walked, Uesugi Tetsu discovered that although the Special Affairs Division looked no different from an ordinary company on the surface, he could spot a string of stars in his peripheral vision whenever he turned his head slightly.
There were only a handful of people at one and a half stars or above, but one-star and one-and-a-half-star people were truly as common as dogs... If he hadn't known this was the Special Affairs Division, he would've thought it was some demonic lair.
He stopped looking around and followed Nanjō Emi outside. He saw her impatiently bite down on a cigarette, light it, and take a deep drag.
"I was suffocating in there..."
Only after slowly exhaling the smoke did Nanjō Emi speak. "You really are lucky to be alive. You should know that there hasn't been any news of Ai Bielie for over a hundred years."
As for why no news had emerged, that was naturally because everyone who had seen Ai Bielie was dead.
This had indirectly resulted in the Special Affairs Division possessing very little information about Ai Bielie. They only knew that she could toy with emotions and manipulate the mind; they knew nothing else.
Uesugi Tetsu savored the implication of her words before replying, "Sister Nanjō, if you want me to work under you, you can just say so. What kind of relationship do we have?"
"Being so blunt will make the higher-ups unhappy," Nanjō Emi said.
Uesugi Tetsu spread his hands. "Sister Nanjō is Sister Nanjō, and the higher-ups are the higher-ups. Those are two different things. You can't lump them together."
Nanjō Emi narrowed her eyes and pinched out the cigarette with her fingertips.
This time, she spoke words completely opposite to what she had said when they first met.
"If you don't join the Special Affairs Division, you'll die."
"Although we don't yet know Ai Bielie's exact combat strength, we can be certain that her rank is between three and four stars... There are only a handful of people in the entire Arakawa Ward who can confront her head-on."
Nanjō Emi enunciated each word. "Uesugi Tetsu, you need to understand that you've already been targeted."
Yet Uesugi Tetsu was focused on another question. "Why can you be certain that Ai Bielie's rank doesn't exceed three stars?"
Nanjō Emi stared at him expressionlessly.
Uesugi Tetsu stared back at her with his eyes wide and bright.
After a long while,
Nanjō Emi let out a heavy sigh, as if she had given up, and said, "Because of the existence of the [Sea Level]."
"Before the First Wave arrived, three stars... what we commonly call the evil-ghost level was the highest sea level. If someone broke through above that, it would not only be exceedingly difficult, but would also attract an enormous amount of attention."
"If Ai Bielie had surpassed three stars, every Onmyoji in Tokyo would be able to sense her presence. That clearly wouldn't fit with her current purpose of hiding herself."
Ai Bielie would not exceed three stars for the time being. This might be the only piece of good news in recent days.
Uesugi Tetsu then began estimating his side's combat strength.
Ghost Dad had three stars. Since the doll could make him wary, it had to be at least two and a half stars. And he was about to break through to the one-star level, which meant he could barely be counted as combat strength above one and a half stars.
By that calculation, setting aside defeating Ai Bielie, they should have no problem holding out under her assault for a few minutes until Nanjō Emi's reinforcements arrived.
Therefore, Uesugi Tetsu's refusal hadn't been casual. He had his own considerations.
"Then, Sister Nanjō, if I work under you, can you stay by my side every moment?"
"I'm not your mother..."
See? Nanjō Emi couldn't serve as his personal bodyguard. Therefore, whether Uesugi Tetsu joined the Special Affairs Division or not made no fundamental difference to his situation.
Besides, if he had teammates nearby, Uesugi Tetsu wouldn't be able to transform into Laughing Brahma.
If he didn't change, Ai Bielie could kill him in one blow. If he did, and his teammates saw him, he would never be able to clear his name.
All things considered, joining the Special Affairs Division offered Uesugi Tetsu no benefits whatsoever. Instead, it would be a major constraint.
After waiting for Nanjō Emi to quietly finish another cigarette, Uesugi Tetsu asked with a smile, "Anything else you wanted to discuss, Sister Nanjō?"
This kid is hiding something. There's no doubt about that.
But Nanjō Emi actually didn't care what Uesugi Tetsu was hiding, or how much he was hiding.
She was only worried that he had too few trump cards and too much confidence, causing him to misjudge his own strength and bring about a disaster.
"Don't let it turn out that what you're hiding is an urn for your ashes..."
Uesugi Tetsu blinked. "What did you say, Sister Nanjō?"
"I said..." Nanjō Emi tossed him a cigarette. "When the time comes, come have one with me."
Uesugi Tetsu grinned and carefully tucked it into his pocket. "Small matter. Well then, Sister Nanjō, I'm heading out."
"Go on, go on. Do I have to kick you out?"
Nanjō Emi waved irritably and took out another cigarette to bite between her teeth.
There were too many troubling matters, all awkward and troublesome. Nanjō Emi feared that if she didn't smoke to ease the pressure, she might destroy the world one day.
When he pushed open the door to his home and saw Ghost Dad's featureless face, Uesugi Tetsu felt exceptionally close to him.
Thank goodness I still have you!
If he hadn't had his three-star father guarding the house, Uesugi Tetsu would have had plenty to worry about.
But for now, before the arrival of the First Wave, his home could undoubtedly still be considered half a safe house.
After casually greeting his father, Uesugi Tetsu rushed into the bedroom, closed his eyes, and lay down on the bed.
Time waited for no one!
Before Laughing Brahma completed her star upgrade, Uesugi Tetsu had to do his best to keep track of Yao-Shaku-Sama's exact location, as well as complete the mission to explore the ghost village.
That way, he could minimize the time spent obtaining rewards and increasing his strength after leveling up.
Opening up the map's vision in Arakawa Ghost Village, which he had already half-cleared, was hardly difficult.
Thus, in less than eight hours, Uesugi Tetsu finished all the miscellaneous tasks mentioned above.
Then he spent another full four hours waiting patiently.
Finally,
—he waited until Laughing Brahma completed her first star upgrade!
Before you continue