I had no idea how this group found us this time, and I wasn’t sure whether the way we resolved things now would cause trouble later.
But I wasn’t afraid—before, I wasn’t afraid alone, and now I had a teammate even stronger than me.
That said, I definitely had to quit my convenience store job. For one, to avoid dragging the manager into any trouble, and two, because I had already been planning to change jobs anyway.
As for what the new job would be…
“Shouji, do you have any ideas?” After jotting down a few options, thinking them over, and crossing them out one by one, I decided to ask the red-haired boy who was quietly sitting there like he was on standby.
Originally, Shouji Oda, who had been looking down at the Doraemon manga I had given him, raised his head, looked thoughtful for a moment, and suggested, “Mail carrier?”
“Don’t just think being a mail carrier is a good idea because you once helped someone store a painting! That’s totally different from the occasional delivery work the manager had us do. That stuff was tiring, troublesome, and barely paid anything.” I rejected his suggestion immediately, still curious. “Why would you suddenly suggest being a mail carrier?”
“Hmm… because someone I know recruited me.”
“Oh? Someone you knew before?” I peered over, biting my pen. “Which postal company?”
If it was someone I knew, maybe we could coast by using connections and just collect a paycheck…
“They gave me a business card before…”
“Eh? Let me see.”
I set down my pen and sat closer to him. When I looked at the card he took out and saw the company name, my eyes instantly sharpened—wait, isn’t this one of the most dangerous postal companies in Yokohama?!
I knew that for certain deliveries—things that normal postal services couldn’t handle—this company would take special jobs: confidential documents, weapons, and equipment… Basically, they operate in gray or even black zones! This job was way riskier than anything we had done before. Sometimes even more dangerous.
When we were assassins, we only had to aim at a target and eliminate them. This job required protecting something during transport.
I narrowed my eyes and studied Shouji carefully—there was no way he didn’t know what this company actually did. So… does he not care, or…
“Is this company run by a friend of yours?”
“No.”
“An old boss?”
“I’ve never had a boss or colleagues before.”
“Did they tell you how much the salary is? Give me an estimate.”
Shouji obediently gestured a number that made my head ache.
“Alright… Is this business card important to you?” I asked the red-haired boy. When he shook his head, I smiled, and in the next second tore the card into pieces and tossed them into the air, then clapped my hands in satisfaction. “Done. Problem solved.”
Then, I shot Shouji a disapproving look. “Listen, Shouji. Jobs like this—people tricking you just because they think you’re naive—absolutely do not accept them. Better to just block this person. It feels malicious. Like a villain taking advantage of you because you decided to stop killing.”
Shouji opened his mouth, seemed unsure what to say, then closed it, quietly putting down his manga and picking up the torn card fragments from the tatami. After a while, he said, “I wasn’t tricked.”
“And if I hadn’t been here, would you have taken the job?”
“Yeah… probably. I don’t really care what the job is.” After noticing my frown, he added as if to make up for it, “So you can decide, Kikuie.”
…No, at least act like you care a little! Don’t make it sound like I’m the one in charge here! You forced me to decide for you! And don’t habitually vanish at a time like this!
And, honestly, I was getting annoyed elsewhere too—without me, would he really take a dangerous job like this? And he actually brought it up now! This guy has zero sense of enjoying life! We’ve been together for over half a year, and he hasn’t learned a thing! In five months, we’ll hit our one-year anniversary! Even though I don’t even know what we’re supposed to celebrate! First, we should celebrate Christmas!
Grumbling internally, I looked at him, annoyed.
He noticed, of course, and looked back at me, puzzled.
I pursed my lips, playing a staring game with him, my face serious, thinking hard.
Hmm… the timing’s perfect, I have a reason, my emotions are ready… I can do this. Even if I fail, I’ll have a justification and it won’t be too awkward.
Plus, he seemed a bit intimidated, attention on me. Even if his ability really is precognition, he probably won’t predict my next move… hmm, maybe, who knows. I’ll just wait a little longer, take it slow. Precognition can’t be on forever; there’s bound to be a time limit. According to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, protagonists’ time stop lasts 5 seconds, villains’ 9 seconds… Wait, is Shouji a villain or protagonist?
Never mind, too much thinking. Time’s enough.
I took a deep breath, held it, and swiftly grabbed his cheeks with both hands, saying with a scolding tone, “Fine! If you let me decide, you have to follow completely!”
Before he could react, I let go, stood up, rushed to the fridge, opened it, and used the door to hide my face while taking a deep breath to calm my racing heart—so satisfying. I’d been wanting to try this since he still had a little baby fat! Soon that would be gone, had to do it now!
Phew… it’s like touching a tiger’s whiskers—you feel awesome but a bit scared at the same time.
I grabbed a drink from the fridge, composed my expression, closed the door slowly, and met his gaze.
The red-haired boy remained seated, hand still on his face, some of the paper fragments he picked up falling again. For the first time, his expression looked a mix of confusion and bewilderment.
…Feeling of accomplishment doubled.
Yeah, I’m awesome!
I praised myself silently again, walked over, sat across from him, opened my drink, and said, “Since you agreed to follow my decision, tomorrow we’ll go out and do some market research. Let’s see which job suits us best.”
“…Mm.” He responded slowly, put his hands down, stood, threw the paper fragments into the trash, and called me, “Kikuie.”
“What is it?” I glanced at him, handing over the drink.
Shouji walked over slowly, took the drink without drinking, and said, “Not angry anymore?”
…Originally, I wanted to say I wasn’t angry at all, but lying to him wouldn’t work. So I said vaguely, “Mm-hm.”
“Kikuie.”
“What now—”
“Why did you pinch my face?”
…So direct? No warning, no chance to prepare a lie…
I crossed my arms, face serious, and gave my universal answer: “Guess.”
He just held the drink, tilted his head, blue eyes meeting mine. “I can’t guess, that’s why I’m asking.”
He really wants to know… hopefully not in an accusatory way.
I relaxed a bit, touched my nose, and answered honestly: “Because it felt rare.”
I’m not sure if Shouji understood, but he just said “Oh,” sat down, placed the drink aside, picked up the manga again, and after a while said, “Next time, please don’t do that.”
…Is that a warning? Was that the last time? And he said please… so serious?!
I should have memorized the feeling… damn.
I wanted to ask why he didn’t like it, or if he was annoyed, but the thought felt like confronting a creepy guy harassing girls on the street.
After some self-reflection, I replied sullenly: “Okay.”
Fine, don’t touch him.
But the conversation had to continue.
“Hmm… by the way, Shouji, what do you think about being a detective?”