Strange Things Keep Multiplying

The part-time job was settled just like that.

Amuro Tooru asked a few more questions.

When he learned that Jiang Xia had often worked part-time before and was familiar with many common jobs, Amuro Tooru realized that this new apprentice he had been forced to take on might actually be very useful.

—Amuro Tooru often had to take part-time jobs all over the place.

But many stores hiring workers needed part-timers with stable schedules.

Amuro Tooru himself juggled several jobs and was always busy, frequently standing his bosses up.

So although he was highly capable and did good work, he still inevitably got fired by some establishments.

Amuro Tooru worked part-time to gather intelligence. This situation interfered with his work.

But with Jiang Xia, everything was different.

—Whenever he was unavailable, he could have Jiang Xia fill in temporarily.

That way, as long as there was no serious problem like being understaffed during busy hours, the risk of Amuro Tooru being fired would be much lower.

According to Jiang Xia, though, the shops where he worked were at risk of being vandalized by hooligans.

But Jiang Xia had also said that those people could not beat him openly, so they resorted to underhanded tactics. They probably would not dare follow Jiang Xia around all the time.

Only when Jiang Xia stayed at a shop for too long and they happened to spot him would they go there and cause trouble.

If Jiang Xia was only sent to cover a part-time shift and left after half a day, it would not be easy for anything to happen.

And if the people smashing up the shop proved especially troublesome, he could secretly arrange for a few officers to patrol nearby and arrest them while they were at it...

Amuro Tooru listed Jiang Xia's advantages one through five in his mind and felt much better.

He rummaged through a drawer, took out a set of spare keys, and handed them to Jiang Xia. "Do you know the procedure for receiving clients?"

Jiang Xia glanced at the teacup on the desk. "I just do it the way you received me earlier, right?"

"Mm." Amuro Tooru nodded, then pointed at the bookcase beside them. "The commission forms are there. Tea is in the upper cabinet, and there are cold drinks in the refrigerator... If it's too much trouble, just serve them water. This Detective Agency doesn't need to chase performance targets anyway."

Jiang Xia: "..."

People whose funding came from an organization really were arrogant.

Amuro Tooru found an address book.

"If you aren't confident about a commission you receive, tell them our appointments are fully booked and refer them to another Detective Agency. The list is all here. There are notes afterward about what other detectives specialize in, so you can use those as a reference."

After explaining everything, Amuro Tooru began ushering him out. "All right, head back for today. Starting tomorrow, you can come watch the shop whenever you have time."

After Jiang Xia left, he planned to tidy up the Detective Agency so he would not leave behind anything that could expose his identity.

He would also install a few more cameras and listening devices.

No matter how promising Jiang Xia seemed, he still needed to take precautions.

It was still early when Jiang Xia left the Detective Agency.

He looked over the nearby buildings and realized that if he wanted to attract more clients with ghosts attached to them, he might need to rent a billboard.

—A dozen or so meters ahead of the Amuro Detective Agency was a main road.

And diagonally across from that main road stood the Metropolitan Police Department.

The police were not omnipotent. Many people left the Police Station disappointed and went looking for detectives.

That was probably one of the reasons Amuro Tooru dared to set up his Detective Agency near the Metropolitan Police Department—he had a legitimate reason, and it was more convenient for attracting clients.

So Jiang Xia thought that if there were a more eye-catching billboard, clients leaving the Police Station might spot the sign for the "Amuro Detective Agency" at a glance... and perhaps turn in on their way past.

One week later.

Amuro Tooru went on a business trip.

After returning, he had originally wanted to go home first and organize the information he had gathered.

But when he passed the Metropolitan Police Department, he suddenly noticed several people gathered by the roadside, staring up at something on a utility pole.

Amuro Tooru raised his head in puzzlement and looked up with them.

A bizarre billboard leaped into view.

The sign had a black-and-silver background, an aggressively flamboyant design, and a striking visual impact. A few large words were written across it—Amuro Detective Agency.

Amuro Tooru: "..."

...What was that thing?

Normally, Amuro Tooru should have kept walking.

But he stared at that billboard, frozen at the intersection for several seconds. In the end, he turned on his heel and headed into the alley toward the Detective Agency.

He remembered telling Jiang Xia that the Detective Agency did not need performance targets.

And the funding he had allocated to Jiang Xia was ostensibly "operating expenses for the Detective Agency." But in truth, Amuro Tooru had assumed they both understood—it was a subsidy for Jiang Xia.

But now, it seemed...

Was that "mutual understanding" entirely one-sided?

Jiang Xia had unexpectedly turned out to be an honest person. He had not caught the hint, so he had actually used that money to buy a billboard and advertising space?

"..."

Amuro Tooru entered the Detective Agency with complicated feelings.

At a glance, he saw Jiang Xia sitting on the sofa in the office, holding a bottle of cola and eagerly waiting for business.

When he saw that the person entering was Amuro Tooru, he even seemed a little disappointed.

Under his employee's "Why is it you?" gaze, Amuro Tooru's feelings grew even more complicated. "What's with that billboard at the intersection?"

Jiang Xia first got up and brought Amuro Tooru a glass of cold water, reviewing the agency's way of receiving guests.

Then he said, "I put it up a few days ago. The massage parlor next door happened to go out of business, and its advertising space was being transferred at a low price. I asked about the cost and figured the clients it brought in could cover the advertising expense, so I bought it."

Amuro Tooru nodded. "I see..."

After saying that, he found himself at a loss for words.

Mainly because he could not immediately think of a tactful and dignified way to say, "You don't need to advertise. You can just pocket the organization's funding yourself."

Still, judging from things so far, this newly acquired apprentice was very dedicated to the Detective Agency.

And on further thought, dedication was a virtue too.

This was a good thing. A good thing...

Amuro Tooru reluctantly swallowed the topic of embezzling public funds.

Besides, putting the funding aside, the billboard clearly had made a difference.

—Amuro Tooru noticed a stack of photographs spread out on the desk. They must have been brought by a client.

He walked over for a closer look. "You got a commission?"

This was not actually Jiang Xia's commission. It was a commission the detective next door had received some time ago.

It was connected to a murder case in Gunma Prefecture.

—Someone had paid a large sum to hire the detective next door to follow a man. The detective followed him for three days and received the commission fee. Then on the fourth day, the man being followed was burned to death in a ceremonial bonfire.

Now, many clues pointed to the person who had commissioned the surveillance, but neither the police nor the detective next door had any evidence.

This matter had originally had nothing to do with Jiang Xia.

But that morning, when the detective next door and the suspect—the former client—left the Police Station together.

Jiang Xia happened to pass nearby. When he casually turned his head, he saw an extremely flat soul, like a sheet of paper, clinging tightly to the suspect's leg.

Jiang Xia looked at it and slowly came to a stop.

—This kind of soul had a common name: Leg-Clinging Shikigami.

Both Ghost Fetuses and Leg-Clinging Shikigami formed after death.

Shikigami were far weaker and less intelligent than Ghost Fetuses, but they had many uses as well—for example, as materials for constructing and reinforcing certain decidedly unscientific puppets.

In short...

He wanted it.

So after the detective next door and the suspect parted on bad terms, Jiang Xia went into his colleague's Detective Agency and spent some effort borrowing the case-related photographs from the detective next door.

—Leg-Clinging Shikigami might be a little dim, but precisely because of that, their mindsets rarely took detours and they were exceptionally persistent.

To collect one, the murderer involved had to receive a certain degree of punishment.

If the murderer continued living freely, then even if the Shikigami was forcibly torn off, it would only break apart and become a useless discarded soul.

A mature Spirit Medium would naturally not do something that damaged a soul without benefiting himself.

So Jiang Xia planned to try to find evidence and send the murderer to prison, allowing the Leg-Clinging Shikigami to fulfill its wish and loosen its grip so it could be collected.

This was PlanA.

And if PlanA did not work, Jiang Xia had a PlanB.

—Put a sack over the suspect's head and beat him up until the Shikigami felt satisfied enough to fall off his leg.

Originally, Jiang Xia had been debating which plan to carry out.

But now, perhaps it was the Will Of Heaven that Amuro Tooru had unusually appeared at the Detective Agency.

And before Jiang Xia even needed to hint at anything, he had noticed the case-related photographs Jiang Xia had placed on the desk.

Amuro Tooru was looking at the photographs.

Jiang Xia was looking at Amuro Tooru.

Several words reflected faintly in his eyes—PlanC.