Chapter 36

After eating the stew made by the white ghost, Aoyama opened the TV he had bought online and started watching a soap opera.

As the sky began to darken, Aoyama, feeling there was nothing to do, started his daily training.

Holding the power outlet to absorb electricity, and with the help of the pills he had prepared from his previous life, Aoyama's powers were rapidly advancing.

After finishing his training, it was already close to midnight, but Aoyama still didn't want to sleep. For a modern person accustomed to nighttime activities, it felt too early to sleep, but it was also too late to do anything else.

So, after spacing out for a while, Aoyama simply opened the window and climbed out of the apartment.

"Xiaobai, I'm going to Ono-Tei for a drink. You rest first," Aoyama said, turning back to Xiaobai in the room.

Although Xiaobai, as a ghost, didn't need to rest, Aoyama still said this.

"Take your time, Master," the white ghost said goodbye to Aoyama.

Aoyama nodded, closed the window, and left the apartment.

Wandering through the late-night streets of Tokyo, with few pedestrians hurrying past under the streetlights, Aoyama arrived at the alley where Ono-Tei was located. He pulled open the familiar sliding door and immediately heard the even more familiar "Welcome" from the owner.

"Uncle Daikai, good evening," Aoyama greeted Daikai Saburo, the bathhouse owner who was sitting there as usual, drinking plum wine.

"Hey, young man, good evening! It's been a while since I've seen you here!" Daikai Saburo greeted Aoyama curiously.

"Yeah, it's been a few days," Aoyama said, sitting down at the counter and said to the owner, "Owner, I suddenly feel like eating fish today! Do you have any fish dishes?"

"Salmon is available," the owner replied.

"Great, I'll have the salmon!" Aoyama agreed, then added, "And I'll have a beer."

"Got it, salmon and beer," the owner repeated Aoyama's order and went to prepare it.

"Hey, young man, why aren't you drinking plum wine today?" Daikai Saburo asked, puzzled.

"Sometimes, people just want to change their taste, right?" Aoyama smiled.

Daikai Saburo nodded without speaking and poured himself another glass of plum wine.

Soon, the owner brought Aoyama his beer and salmon.

Aoyama took a sip of beer, ate a piece of salmon, and enjoyed his drink.

Meanwhile, the owner, who had no work for the moment, sat down behind the counter, opened a bottle of beer, and started drinking by himself.

"Owner!" Aoyama raised his beer glass to the owner, and the owner also raised his glass. They smiled at each other and drank their beer together.

"Owner, doesn't it get tiring to stay open until 3 AM every day?" Aoyama asked.

"At first, it was indeed tiring to work such irregular hours, but I gradually got used to it," the owner, who was around forty, said, enjoying this leisurely moment with a beer.

"From 8 PM to 3 AM, it seems you're targeting the late-night snack crowd!" Aoyama laughed.

"Exactly! After a hard day's work, it's nice to come here for a drink. At first, I chose this time to make more money, but later I realized that seeing tired customers completely relax here is a very fulfilling experience. So, I've kept Ono-Tei going," the owner smiled.

"Owner, a toast to Ono-Tei," Aoyama smiled and raised his beer glass.

"Count me in, a toast to Ono-Tei!" Daikai Saburo also raised his glass of plum wine.

"Ah, thank you," the owner said, raising his glass as well.

Just as Aoyama started his second beer and the owner began reading the newspaper, the sliding door opened, and a customer arrived.

"Welcome," the owner put down the newspaper and greeted them immediately.

Aoyama turned to see two young, slightly tipsy office ladies enter.

"Owner, I heard you have delicious pork soup here?" one of the long-haired office ladies asked.

"Yes, we do," the owner replied.

"Then I'll have a bowl of pork soup and a small bowl of rice," the long-haired office lady said.

"I'll have the same," the short-haired office lady said.

After saying this, they smiled at each other, held hands, and sat down at the counter.

"Got it, pork soup and small bowls of rice," the owner repeated their order and went to prepare it.

"Rika, have you heard about the recent serial killer?" the long-haired office lady said.

"I've heard, I've heard. They say it's a very cruel serial killer!" the short-haired office lady, Rika, replied.

"Indeed! Now the rumors are flying, but the Metropolitan Police have no leads at all!" the long-haired office lady sighed.

"Mayu, do you think we might run into that killer on our way home so late?" the short-haired office lady asked, looking scared.

"Probably not!" the long-haired office lady also seemed uneasy.

"If you're afraid, why don't you go home earlier? It's always unsafe for a woman to walk alone at night," Daikai Saburo suddenly interjected.

The two office ladies looked at Daikai Saburo, and the long-haired one, who seemed braver, replied first.

"Uncle, in the working world, there are many things we can't control! Especially for female employees like us, when our seniors invite us to drink, we can't refuse!" the long-haired office lady replied.

"I see! It's not easy for you either!" Daikai Saburo sighed.

"But it's also a kind of experience that can help us grow and become more independent," the short-haired office lady, encouraged by Daikai Saburo's friendly demeanor, also joined the conversation.

"However, learning to say no is also a part of growing up!" Aoyama joined the conversation, smiling.

"But we don't have the right to refuse right now!" the long-haired office lady smiled bitterly.

"The right to refuse is something you have to fight for; waiting for others to give it to you will never work," Aoyama said, pouring himself more beer.

Just as the two office ladies were deep in thought about Aoyama's words, the sliding door opened again, and with the owner's "Welcome" greeting, another customer walked in.

Aoyama turned to see that the young man who entered was the same one who had recommended plum wine to him when he first came to Ono-Tei, along with Daikai Saburo.

Aoyama had seen this young man a couple of times at Ono-Tei and remembered his name was Koyama Masahiro.