Shimakawa Kameyo, Trouble Magnet / She Can Be Gentle

Are we really expecting the army to kill Yotsuya Miko?

Even before it's implemented, the mere existence of this man who can single-handedly destroy an entire city would likely be enough to annihilate the regime and completely alter the existing landscape of the country.

They were facing a god!

Even now, Okita Qishen still couldn't understand why the government was still clinging to face the situation and insisting on presenting an equal stance towards this being. Did they think the deterrent effect of the Life Spiritual Qi Extraction Method wasn't strong enough? Did they have to wait for Yotsuya Miko to produce another nuclear-level deterrent item before they would be forced to submit?

The Wagen Family has already decided to submit.

What happened in Kawamori, and the value demonstrated by the Life Spiritual Qi Extraction Method, have enabled them to make the most rational decision. The immense power displayed by Yotsuya Miko is undoubtedly divine, and there is no shame in submitting to a deity.

But now...

"We are very sorry, Mr. Yotsuya. We will immediately replace all the materials! We will also hold those responsible for this accident accountable and give you a satisfactory punishment!"

He bowed deeply to Yotsuya Miko in front of him, a perfect ninety-degree bow.

Faced with this situation, Okita Qishen no longer considered his own status or the integrity he should display as a host, because those matters were no longer important. What mattered was how to handle this unexpected situation as quickly as possible.

"Okay, I understand."

Glancing at the secretions in mid-air, a ball of dark purple flame quickly wiped away the unpleasant substance. Even so, an indescribable emotion still lingered in Yotsuya Miko's heart.

How should I put it? I felt a little slighted.

She raised an eyebrow, though she could already tell from Okita Qishen's expression that it was an accident, not anything else. If she had to put it bluntly, it wasn't a test at all; it was pure provocation.

However, Okita Qishen too quickly, leaving her no time to react.

It's not impossible to use this incident to stir up conflict, but that would make her seem petty, and she also hasn't figured out the Divine Gate's backup plan. Although she's not afraid of any backup plans with the great formation, she still has some pride when it comes to the former.

However, wouldn't showing a conciliatory stance at this time reveal some hidden agenda?

Thinking of this, she slightly reduced the oppressive aura she was releasing on Okita Qishen.

At least Okita Qishen and the Wagen Family behind him treated her relatively well. If she were to completely paralyze the government, she wouldn't be able to manage the country; she still needed to retain some manpower.

"Only this once, Okita."

The attitude that Okita Qishen has shown so far is still acceptable.

Chapter 194 Shimakawa Kameyo stirs up trouble

Yotsuya Miko left without taking any materials, instead using her eerie, dark purple flames to completely burn them to ashes.

These eerie flames licked at all sorts of strange and unusual materials until they were completely consumed, leaving only empty containers.

Okita Qishen stood there for a long time, staring at the empty containers, as if he had lost his soul, until someone informed him of Yotsuya Miko's departure.

He thought back to that ball of flame, and what it would have been like if that flame had landed on him.

As he thought about it, he seemed to feel a burning pain spreading from his skin to all parts of his body, all the way to his heart.

A flame ignited within him.

"Shimakawa Kameyo!"

He seemed to roar out the name that made him feel nauseous, as if from the depths of his chest.

This Special Affairs Department head, whom he hadn't paid much attention to, betrayed him, the Wagen Family, and even Divine Gate and the government at such a critical moment. He almost single-handedly destroyed the relationship that was originally maintained at a balance, nearly bringing Divine Gate to the brink of annihilation.

"Where is this guy right now? Where did the Special Affairs Department go?"

Okita Qishen stared at the employee standing before him, his fierce gaze sending shivers down the employee's spine. He felt as if he could see a murderous intent in the eyes of this usually mild-mannered manager. Those bloodshot eyes and that ferocious face were a stark contrast to the Okita Qishen usually was.

"Speak!"

A moment's hesitation, and the anger erupted towards him. Without time to think, the employee stammered out everything he knew.

"Minister Shimakawa... he went on a mission. He said... the handover is complete."

"He didn't finish a damn thing!"

Okita Qishen, his emotions about to erupt again with those words, but he ultimately managed to suppress them.

I took a slow, deep breath to calm myself down.

Where did he go on his mission?

"The address of the original national highway tunnel outside the city is..."

"Okay, you don't need to say anything more, I understand."

Abruptly interrupting the employee, Okita Qishen gestured for him to leave. Upon receiving this order, the Investigation Department member didn't hesitate to take his leave, hurriedly walking out the door, even feeling a slight sense of fear.

He never imagined that Okita would lose his temper like that.

However, he truly had no idea what Okita Qishen was facing.

After the employee left, Okita Qishen took a step forward, staggering as if he had lost all his strength.

He gazed at the tables and chairs not far away, like an old man nearing the end of his life, about to face the flickering candle in the wind.

Yotsuya Miko's emotions were very stable; her words contained no trace of anger and even sounded quite rational.

But this was only on the surface. Just as she uttered those words, an immense pressure enveloped his body. It was a pressure far more terrifying than the one on the train; Okita Qishen even felt the breath of death.

At that moment, he once again realized that what stood before him was not a person, a frail girl, but a god, a god powerful enough to destroy a country.

The oppressive aura pressed on his nerves, as if it would erupt like a volcano at any moment, utterly severing his life.

Death had come closer to his life than ever before.

At that moment, his mind was devoid of thoughts of national righteousness, conflicts of interest, and those troublesome and frustrating careers and stances; only one thought remained: to survive.

At that moment, he completely surrendered, from the bottom of his heart.

Clang.

A chair was tripped and fell to the ground. Her bloodshot eyes glanced at it blankly before she dragged her exhausted body to sit down on another chair.

When Okita Qishen's back pressed tightly against the chair back, he realized the dampness and coldness coming from behind, as if he had just been pulled out of the water; his underwear was completely soaked with sweat.

He hesitated and touched his forehead with his left hand. When he looked at his palm, the sweat was sliding down his trouser leg, some splashing onto the ground with a barely audible dripping sound.

It was like the sound of his heartbeat.

"Tch, this place got wiped out too?"

Completely unaware of the situation that awaited him, Special Affairs Department Director Shimakawa Kameyo gazed at the tunnel before him. The tunnel was clean and tidy, devoid of any spiritual energy.

He glanced at the Special Affairs Department personnel following behind him, his expression turning somewhat grim.

It wouldn't be wrong to claim the tunnel incident as one's own achievement, but he wasn't entirely sure if the Investigation Department would verify it.

Ever since the incident at the Shepherd's branch, he has never done anything well, and he has paid no attention to what is happening with Divine Gate. That blow only brought him dejection and grievance, and it was during that time that he lived in a daze, the first thing he did after work every day was to go to an izakaya to drink, or to work in the red-light district, completely ignoring Divine Gate's affairs.

In this situation, if the Investigation Department hadn't assigned him to handle the handover of the goods, he probably wouldn't have bothered with such a matter. It was only when he was dealing with this trivial matter that he remembered the day for performance evaluation was approaching.

Having made absolutely no outstanding contributions, if he doesn't produce anything of value during this period, his removal from his post is a foregone conclusion. Because of this, Shimakawa Kameyo felt deep anxiety.

He looked at the completely clean tunnel and really didn't want to turn back like this.

"Minister Shimakawa, we..."

"Keep going, I refuse to believe it."

He muttered to himself, fantasizing that the spirits hadn't been destroyed, but had simply fled to a farther place. After the order was given, a group of people gradually walked into the tunnel until they crossed it.

Beyond this tunnel lies the shrine that Yotsuya Miko visited earlier.

With the mindset of not giving up until they hit a brick wall, Shimakawa Kameyo led his men up the shrine, determined to find the spirit. However, even after entering the Torii Gate and reaching the main hall of the shrine, they still did not see a single spirit.

Looking at the dilapidated shrine before him, with Talisman Paper and Shimenawa scattered everywhere on the ground, Shimakawa finally couldn't hold back anymore.

He gazed at the dilapidated shrine, then turned his attention to the only intact main hall. A sudden surge of anger welled up within him, and without a word, he kicked the main hall's entrance. The kick caused the main hall to shake violently, a large hole to appear in the roof, and pieces of tile and wood crashed into the interior, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Let's go."

As for Shimakawa Kameyo, he didn't care about any of that. He left the main hall, which he had destroyed with a single kick, and led his men back.

In his view, it was insignificant to kick down the main hall of a shrine that was already in a dilapidated state.

Little did he know the trouble his spitting and kicking would cause.

Chapter 195 She Can Be Gentle

Having gained nothing Shimakawa Kameyo slunk back to Divine Gate.

Just as he was hesitating about whether to lie about his achievements, the door to the Special Affairs Department office was violently opened.

"Clang!"

The door slammed against the wall with a dull thud. Standing in the doorway, Okita Qishen looked coldly at the head of the Special Affairs Department.

"Shimakawa Kameyo, you almost ruined an important deal."

"Oh? How important is it?"

Shimakawa Kameyo glanced at him without looking up, unsure of what was wrong with the guy.

He was in a bad mood right now and had absolutely no desire to argue with this guy.

"If you're just here to cause me trouble, please leave, Okita."

Shimakawa shifted the weight of his chair behind him, trying to lean back more comfortably. He was in a really bad mood; a whole host of problems were weighing on his mind, making him completely unwilling to deal with anything.

Upon seeing Shimakawa Kameyo's listless demeanor, Okita Qishen initially taken aback, and an absurd thought resurfaced in his mind. As he thought about it, he couldn't help but laugh, and the laughter, along with his original anger, made him even more uncomfortable.

"You didn't know? You actually had no idea? Hahaha... I never expected you to be like this!"

He smiled, but his expression turned cold again as he delivered news that caught Shimakawa Kameyo off guard.

"I have already informed the Chief of Staff of the whole story. From now on, you are no longer the head of the Special Affairs Department of the Divine Gate Branch."

"What are you saying?!"

His relaxed shoulders pulled his spine, causing his torso to straighten. Before he could think, his hands slammed onto the table. Shimakawa Kameyo leaned his upper body toward Okita Qishen, his eyes wide open.

"Okita Qishen, what are you talking about?!"

His gaze was fixed on Okita Qishen; if this guy was lying, he would retaliate without hesitation.

However, all he could see Okita Qishen's increasingly cold face and that chilling smile.

Shimakawa realized something was wrong. He opened his mouth, about to ask why, when the landline phone in the Special Affairs Department office emitted a piercing sound.

"Beep beep beep--!"

Shimakawa glanced at Okita Qishen, who was blocking the doorway in the distance, then looked back at the ringing landline, a sense of dread rising within him. He swallowed hard, picked up the phone, and held it to his ear.

"Hello, this is...?"

"Shimakawa Kameyo, is that right?"

The person on the other end of the phone interrupted him, asking for his identity. Hearing the familiar voice on the other end but the unfamiliar way of talking, Shimakawa's unease reached its peak.

"I... I am... what happened? Commander-in-Chief? What exactly happened?"

The only sound in the office was the hesitant, stammering voice. Shimakawa suddenly had a strange feeling; he felt the voice didn't sound like himself at all, but rather like one of his subordinates, a sycophantic one.

This is the same attitude he adopts when he does something wrong.

Of course, precisely because this guy was his subordinate, Shimakawa ultimately chose to forgive his subordinate's mistake, right?

"... It is with regret that I inform you, Shimakawa Kameyo, that from today onwards you are no longer the head of the Special Affairs Department."

There was only a brief silence on the other end of the conversation before the final verdict was announced.

Shimakawa felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He gripped the receiver tremblingly, desperately trying to confirm it.

Is it true?

There was no sound; the call was completely disconnected, leaving only a dial tone.

"Click."

The receiver slipped from his hand and fell onto the table, but he was completely unaware, just staring blankly.

After a long, long time, he finally came to his senses and looked at Okita Qishen, who was blocking the door and had witnessed everything.

He slowly roared out the man's full name from deep within his throat.

"Okita... Saki Shū!"

Yotsuya Miko knew nothing about any of this. It wasn't until she got home that her phone received a message.

[We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused. We will deliver the new materials as soon as possible. Regarding the unpleasant experience this incident caused you, the former head of the Special Affairs Department, Shimakawa Kameyo, has been severely punished by Divine Gate. We sincerely apologize for once again causing you such a bad experience.]