Chapter 19: The "Chicken Soup" is Here
In Hayakawa Aki's mind, Otonashi Chiya's strength was nothing short of absurd. His performance against the Toad Devil today, in particular, made Aki feel that Chiya was truly unfathomable. Having someone like Chiya as a partner would undoubtedly be the best-case scenario.
Conversely, Aki also recognized his own shortcomings. He relied far too heavily on the Curse Devil. Relying solely on that power was a dead end; at this rate, he might run out of lifespan before he even caught a glimpse of the Gun Devil. Once he joined Tokyo Public Safety, he planned to apply for contracts with the devils held by the Bureau.
It was said that Public Safety offices across Japan housed many devils—some had surrendered after being defeated, while others had sought refuge with humans of their own accord. These devils were kept specifically to form contracts with Public Safety Devil Hunters.
"Just give me a call when you're ready," Chiya said.
"Oh, right," Chiya suddenly remembered something. "The teams over at Public Safety are called the Devil Extermination Divisions, right? Is there anything else besides those?"
Upon hearing about "interviews and assessments," he recalled that joining Tokyo Public Safety in the original story didn't seem quite that troublesome. That was because Makima had founded the Special Division (Special Anti-Devil Task Force), which specialized in recruiting "abnormal" individuals—the focus being on their lack of normalcy rather than just raw strength. This included eccentric humans, devils, fiends, and hybrids.
Of course, the entire Special Division consisted of nothing but Makima's pawns. Chiya wondered if Makima had yet to descend to the human world; if it were just the standard Extermination Divisions, the entry threshold would indeed be quite high.
"I don't think so. I've only heard of the Devil Extermination Divisions," Aki replied. He had long ago researched Tokyo Public Safety in detail, making thorough preparations for his revenge against the Gun Devil.
"I see," Chiya nodded slightly.
It appeared that at this point in the timeline, there was a high probability that Makima had not yet arrived on Earth. This was good news for him. He hoped that the Control Devil could become someone like Nayuta, rather than the villainous woman from the original series.
The key was that he absolutely had to find Makima before the Cabinet did. The logic was simple: the fundamental nature of the Control Devil remains constant, and a Makima whose worldview hasn't been twisted would be no different from Nayuta.
However, Chiya knew that thinking about this was premature. He didn't know when Makima would arrive, nor did he know which country or city she would land in.
After chatting with Aki for a while longer, Chiya left the civilian base. It wasn't until they had walked all the way back to the apartment building together that Aki realized something was off.
"Wait... do you live in this building too?" Aki couldn't help but ask.
"Yeah, I just rented a place yesterday. It's on the fourth floor," Chiya nodded.
"No wonder I've never seen you before," Aki said.
As the elevator approached the fourth floor, Aki bid Chiya farewell. "Well then, see you in a few days. Once you've rested up, we'll head to Tokyo Public Safety."
Chiya stepped out of the elevator. "OK, see ya."
It felt as if a lot had happened today, but in reality, only the morning had passed. It was just after 11:00 AM when Otonashi Chiya returned home.
He tapped lightly on the door and called out, "Denji, Pochita, I'm back."
Hearing Chiya's voice, Denji immediately came running out of the room. Because her pant legs were too long, she nearly tripped over the hem and fell. Pochita came scurrying out right behind her.
"Welcome back!" Denji said joyfully as she opened the door.
The scene felt very much like a family. Chiya smiled slightly and changed into his indoor slippers. Since he hadn't bought slippers for Denji yet, she was barefoot; however, the floors were clean, and her small, cute feet remained white as jade.
"Is work over already, Chiya nii-chan?" Denji asked curiously.
She had assumed he wouldn't be back until very late. She had even prepared herself to cook lunch and dinner, intending to have a portion ready for him when he returned at night. She hadn't expected him to be back so early, not even noon yet.
Back when she was a child, her father used to return late every day from work, usually drunk and ready to beat or scold her at the slightest provocation.
"Yeah. Calling it 'work' is a bit much—I just went to the civilian base to pick up a commission, hunted a devil, and came back," Chiya explained.
"Oh, no wonder I smell a bit of blood." Denji noticed Chiya's coat was gone and there were bloodstains on his pants.
Chiya had simply thrown the coat away. It had been drenched in the Toad Devil's blood; there was no point in keeping it, as no matter how many times it was washed, the scent and stains would likely linger.
"You must be hungry, right? I'll go prepare lunch now." Chiya went to the kitchen and put on an apron. The fridge was stocked with ingredients he had prepared in advance, so there was no need for a last-minute shopping trip.
"Okay~" Denji felt a twinge of regret. She had wanted to cook something for him herself. Now she didn't have a good excuse; she was worried her skills weren't good enough, and without a proper reason, she felt too shy to ask him to try her cooking.
Having spent much of his previous life following online tutorials to learn how to cook, Chiya's culinary skills were quite decent. With the addition of the Mangekyo Sharingan, he discovered that his eyes provided a significant boost to his cooking, taking his skills to the next level.
Chiya started the rice, then prepared a plate of braised beef and a plate of steamed fish. He added to this the hen soup he had started stewing before leaving this morning—it had been set on a timer and was now on a "keep warm" setting. That was enough for lunch; making too much would just lead to waste.
"The chicken soup is here."
Chiya first brought out a pot of soup. "Your body is still developing, so you need to replenish yourself with nutritious food."
As soon as Denji caught the scent, she found it incredibly fragrant. She couldn't wait to ladle out a bowl and take a sip. The sweet, savory flavor of the soup instantly hit her taste buds. "Mmm! It's delicious!!"
She had never eaten anything this good in her entire life. Even when her father was alive, she often went hungry; when there was food, she could only eat her father's leftovers, which tasted terrible. After her father passed away, she was satisfied if she could even get a slice of bread.
Chiya specifically prepared a small bowl for Pochita, filling it with plenty of soup and chicken and placing it on the floor.
"Woof~" Pochita wagged his tail and began to eat. After taking the first bite, his tail wagged even more frantically with excitement.
[Ding! Host has activated the achievement 'Pochita's Affinity (Lv.2)'. Gained 4 Attribute Points!]