Chapter 20

And that is why Kujo Hinano is now standing here.

Although he knew that doing so would upset Yūto, in reality, Yūsaburō had no better options.

Yūsaburō and the others chose to prioritize their lives over upsetting Yūto.

Even Hinano, who had previously completely disbelieved in the existence of "yokai," realized how powerless ordinary humans were in the face of such creatures after witnessing the rat yokai last night.

Moreover, Hinano understood that they had hardly been of any help to Yūto last night; they had simply been in the way.

If possible, they did not want to cause trouble for Yūto in this case. If Yūto was willing to help, it would be best to leave it to him alone.

However, due to the rat yokai incident, their abilities were recognized by the Non-Natural Countermeasures Group, and this case was specially assigned to them as an evaluation. Therefore, they could not avoid it.

This time, the captain sent her to seek Yūto's assistance. The girl had initially thought that Yūto would readily agree, given his proactive offer to help during the rat yokai incident, which made her believe that he was someone like her.

Hinano even envied Yūto; if she had his strength, she wouldn't have been a burden last night.

But what she thought would be a simple errand turned out to be fraught with obstacles. Hinano didn't expect Yūto, who had been so enthusiastic about helping before, to be so indifferent this time.

It was understandable, though. Yūto's enthusiasm in the past was because the rat yokai appeared near his home.

His sister, Ryūki, a half-yokai with powerful abilities but no combat experience, was an easy target for these malevolent yokai.

So Yūto was naturally eager to help. However, the company Hinano mentioned was several streets away from where they lived. Yūto wasn't a savior and didn't have the leisure to get involved in so many things.

"According to what you said, that yokai doesn't seem to be a particularly bad guy. Even a weak yokai wouldn't fail to kill a human in a coma.

Most such yokai just like to play pranks, with a very low danger level. I have no reason to kill it.

And most importantly, I need to work part-time every weekend, so I don't have the time to assist you."

Initially, upon hearing that the yokai didn't harm humans, Yūto didn't want to get involved. When he learned that it only appeared on weekends, he lost even more interest.

As he had mentioned before, Yūto's mother, Tenjōin Masami, was ill, and the family's living expenses were mainly covered by Yūto's part-time jobs.

For an ordinary person, such a burden would be exhausting.

However, as a half-yokai, Yūto could easily handle several part-time jobs a day and even enjoy the physical training it provided.

"How much do you earn from your part-time job in a day? I'll pay for your entire weekend."

Hearing Yūto refuse to assist them due to his part-time job, Hinano placed her hand on her hip, pointed at Yūto, and confidently offered to hire him for the entire weekend.

As the only daughter of a board member of the Kujo Group, Hinano believed that any problem that could be solved with money was no problem at all.

However, as she made this bold offer, she suddenly remembered that her family had cut off her financial support because she insisted on becoming a police officer.

Now, she only had the pocket money she had saved. Hinano had heard that those so-called "onmyōji" charged exorbitant fees.

She had seen her father hire masters to check feng shui, and they charged substantial fees for just a consultation.

Thinking of Yūto's strength from last night, Hinano suddenly became anxious. Would her pocket money be enough to hire him?

Yūto looked at the young girl standing before him, one hand on her hip and the other pointing at him, with a disdainful expression. From any angle, she didn't look like a wealthy young lady, except for her large chest.

And yet, she had the audacity to think about "hiring" him for the entire weekend.

"Don't underestimate me just because I'm a student. I can earn at least 20,000 to 30,000 yen in a weekend.

So if you want to hire me, you'll have to pay me at least 50,000 yen!"

In reality, Yūto could earn only about 10,000 yen in a weekend, thanks to his half-yokai constitution. But to impress the girl, he exaggerated the amount.

"50,000 yen? Are you sure?"

When Hinano heard that Yūto required 50,000 yen as a fee, she was indeed shocked.

But not because the fee was too high; rather, it was too low.

So low that Hinano thought she had misheard and asked for confirmation.

Earlier, she had been worried that her pocket money might not be enough, and she considered hiring Yūto for just an hour, as the yokai this time was not as strong as the previous one.

But when she confirmed from Yūto that his fee was indeed 50,000 yen, her confidence returned.

The girl pulled out a wallet from her chest and took out 100,000 yen, confidently stating that she would hire Yūto for both the day and night of the weekend.

She even thought that her father had been cheated by those feng shui masters, who charged millions of yen for just a few words. In comparison, Yūto's fee was like a bargain. She even considered introducing Yūto to her father, as she believed his abilities were far superior to those of the old feng shui masters.

Yūto, seeing the ten 10,000-yen bills in front of him, was momentarily stunned, not even questioning how she had retrieved the wallet from her chest.

"Is this what you earn as a police officer? Aren't you still an intern? Or are you really a rich lady?"

Poverty limited Yūto's imagination. He hadn't expected that rich people could be so extravagant. A wealthy young lady choosing a dangerous career like a police officer instead of enjoying life was truly surprising.

From the way she casually handed over 100,000 yen, Yūto realized he could have asked for more. The rich girl might not have haggled.

Seeing Yūto's hesitation, Hinano thought he was dissatisfied with the fee. She believed she had offered too little.

But with her limited pocket money, she added, "Actually, you can also receive a reward for assisting us in solving the case. It won't be much, but it's better than your part-time job."

Hearing that there was an additional reward, Yūto quickly took the ten bills from Hinano, promising to be there on time for the weekend.

Money wasn't the main issue; what mattered was that Yūto loved slaying demons. A part-time job couldn't stop his resolve to protect the people!