"Miss Akatsuki, could I trouble you to wait outside for a while?"
Before Nanjō Emi entered the room where waves of heat rolled, she turned for some reason to Akatsuki Ran, who was practically pressed against someone, and said, "Or you could have little Hiyori Bō show you around."
"I have no objections."
Akatsuki Ran replied.
She had only just arrived at the Special Affairs Division, so it was perfectly normal that there were places she could not go. Besides, Uesugi Tetsu was not going to suddenly run away.
The moment Uesugi Tetsu saw the door close, he saw Nanjō Emi pull a cigarette from her pocket, put it between her lips, and light it at once.
Nanjō Emi took a deep drag, then closed her eyes and slowly exhaled.
The tension in the woman's face visibly eased.
He heard her complain unhappily, "There were too many people in the car, so it wasn't convenient to smoke. Smoking in public areas is also forbidden in the Special Affairs Division. I was practically dying from holding it in, Uesugi-kun."
Uesugi Tetsu now understood why she had sent Akatsuki Ran outside.
If Akatsuki Ran saw this scene, some of Nanjō Emi's authority as a superior would definitely be diminished.
And everyone knew that, in outsiders' eyes, Nanjō Emi had always been a stern, cold, and unsmiling Grand Official of Onmyō.
"Look. The craftsman you're looking for is right ahead."
Nanjō Emi jerked her chin forward.
Uesugi Tetsu withdrew his attention.
Only then did he notice that, behind the enormous anvil not far ahead, stood a bare-chested, powerfully built man holding a square-headed iron hammer. He grinned at Uesugi Tetsu, revealing a mouthful of shining white teeth.
"Yo! You're the Uesugi-kun Nanjō mentioned, right? I've heard her talk about you quite a few