His First Payday

Denji's biggest creditor was an old man, but he was no ordinary old man. He was the boss of the local yakuza.

The man who became Katana Man in the original story was named Hamano Daiki, and he was that old man's grandson.

From what the bald man had said earlier, Asaba Kotone had learned that the heavily made-up woman before him had ties to the Hamano family's gang.

If Asaba Kotone wanted to help Denji, he would undoubtedly have to deal with that old man named Hamano.

Denji's miserable life in the original story was largely that old bastard's doing. He forced Denji to repay his debts, and even risking his life hunting devils wasn't enough to pay them off. Denji had no choice but to sell his own organs.

A kidney, his right eye, and one testicle-Denji had sold every organ he possibly could.

In the end, the gang boss even made a contract with the Zombie Devil, luring Denji and Pochita into its lair and having them killed.

If Pochita hadn't been the Chainsaw Devil's heart, capable of turning Denji into a weapon human (devil-human), Denji really would have died a horrible death at the Zombie Devil's hands.

But Asaba Kotone had arrived in the world of Chainsaw Man four years ahead of those events, and he certainly wasn't going to let Denji endure those tragedies again.

Just then, the waitress from earlier came over.

"Your registration is complete. Here's your identification. Please keep it safe."

The waitress handed the identification to Asaba Kotone.

Asaba Kotone was now a guild-certified private devil hunter.

"Congratulations on completing your certification. If you perform well in the future, we'll recommend you to Public Safety."

"Mm..."

Asaba Kotone gave a casual acknowledgment.

"My name is Matsuno Yoshiko. You can call me Big Sis Yoshiko. Come along with your big sister from now on~"

Matsuno Yoshiko gently blew into Asaba Kotone's ear as she spoke.

Asaba Kotone couldn't help giving a slight shrug and tilting his head away, holding back the disgust he felt.

"Um... I'd like to visit the black market. Do you know where it is?"

Asaba Kotone put on the air of someone asking for help.

That way, he could use Matsuno Yoshiko to lead him to the black market.

"The black market? Of course I do. Come with your big sister~"

Matsuno Yoshiko led the way, while Asaba Kotone and Pochita followed silently behind.

Asaba Kotone had expected some kind of underground black market, but when they arrived, he discovered that wasn't the case. Matsuno Yoshiko brought him to a building with several large trucks parked outside.

He could see people unloading enormous sacks from the trucks and carrying them into the building. He guessed the sacks contained the corpses of some kind of devil.

Inside the building was the black market Asaba Kotone had been looking for.

He roughly understood the situation now. This was probably a black market specializing in devil corpses. Its business wasn't illegal, so it could operate openly like this; the transactions inside simply weren't suitable for ordinary people to witness.

Asaba Kotone went straight to the black market's management and sold the Field Mouse Devil's corpse for six hundred thousand yen, earning his first payday since arriving in this world.

They didn't give him cash, though. Instead, they handed him a card with the six hundred thousand yen deposited on it. He withdrew only a little cash to carry with him.

If the Field Mouse Devil's head hadn't been missing, its complete corpse would probably have fetched seven hundred thousand yen.

Of course, sellers weren't limited to dealing with the black market's management. They could also trade with other customers.

Prices varied more when dealing with other people, since haggling was usually involved, making those transactions more time-consuming than selling to the management.

Dealing with the management was more convenient. They first assessed the devil's corpse, then offered a price. The seller-in this case, Asaba Kotone-could only accept or reject it. There was no haggling.

He might earn a little less than he would by selling to someone else, but he didn't care about that small difference. His main concern was saving time.

Throwing the Field Mouse Devil's corpse out of the Kamui Dimension just now had drained another portion of Asaba Kotone's ocular power and physical reserves, since he had to open an entrance to the Kamui Dimension.

His body wasn't in very good shape at the moment, and he needed time to recover properly. Fortunately, his ability to recover was better than that of ordinary people, thanks to the "constitution" rewarded by the Affinity Catalog. Given enough time, he would gradually recover.

"Anything else you need help with, little brother? How about coming for a drink with your big sister now?"

Matsuno Yoshiko extended the invitation to Asaba Kotone.

Clearly, she was ready to make her move on him. Although Asaba Kotone had a dog-shaped devil with a chainsaw on its head following him, she assumed it was very weak. After all, how much fighting power could such a tiny thing have?

"I'm sorry, but it's already lunchtime, and my little brother is waiting for me at home. I'll be free tonight."

Asaba Kotone deliberately presented himself as a simple, honest older brother to make Matsuno Yoshiko less likely to suspect him.

Still, he wasn't worried about Matsuno Yoshiko attacking him outright. He didn't know exactly how strong she was, but if he wanted to leave, no one could stop him. After all, no one in this world currently knew about his "Kamui" ability, much less the weakness of his "intangibility."

"All right~ What a good big brother you are. Make sure you remember to come see your big sister tonight~"

As she spoke, Matsuno Yoshiko pulled a business card out from between her breasts and placed it in Asaba Kotone's hand. It still carried the warmth of her body.

Then she turned and left. Asaba Kotone glanced at the address on the card, tossed it into a nearby trash can, and wiped his hand. He had all but written his disgust across his face.

Afterward, Asaba Kotone took Pochita back to Denji's home.

Denji was still at home, though Asaba Kotone and Pochita hadn't been gone very long to begin with. Only about two hours had passed altogether.

Denji had been lying weakly on the bed. He hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, and he was so hungry that he no longer wanted to move.

But as soon as he heard Asaba Kotone returning, he got to his feet.

"Big Brother Kotone, you're back."

"Yeah. Sorry for the wait. I've earned some money, so I'm taking you out for lunch."

[Denji's affinity +10%]

[Affinity progress has reached 30%. Achievement reward obtained: constitution +1]

"Thank you, Big Brother Kotone!"

He could finally eat something. Delight immediately spread across Denji's face.

He didn't expect to fill his stomach, much less eat anything delicious. Having anything at all to eat would be enough.

As they walked down the street, Denji stopped in front of a small shop.

"I'd like a bag... oh, no, a slice of bread. Is that okay?"

Denji felt a little embarrassed to ask.