Chapter 456
Nanjo Manami's Dream: Is the Destiny so concerned about me because he wants to beco
Without much preparation, Uesugi Tetsu walked towards the Special Affairs Department wearing a set of cheap, dusty, and drab clothes.
He made no attempt to conceal the two strange swords hanging at his waist, causing pedestrians on the street to silently detour around him.
It gives the impression that the old man in the vest and flip-flops is actually a multi-millionaire.
Before Uesugi Tetsuya could be quietly infiltrated into the Special Affairs Department as an ordinary agent, he was discovered 500 meters away from the Special Affairs Department building.
Special Affairs Department, 23rd floor.
As Nanjo Manami lit a cigarette, her face gloomy as if she were overwhelmed by work, she spotted him in the darkness at a glance, causing Uesugi Tetsu to freeze slightly.
Despite the distance, Nanjo Aimi first waved to Uesugi Tetsu as a greeting.
But after a while, she remembered what she had talked about with Uesugi Tetsu earlier on the phone, so she frowned slightly and put her hand down.
Nanjo Aimi took out her phone and told the special affairs officer in the lobby to find some excuse to send Uesugi Tetsuya away.
But as soon as she sent out the message, the operator announced that Uesugi Tetsuya seemed to have a "large amount of precious supplies" to donate, so it was impossible to turn him away under such circumstances.
"Come in, come in..."
Nanjo Manami didn't seem to care much, and continued to stand alone on the balcony, biting her cigarette and enjoying the evening breeze.
Downstairs, Uesugi Tetsu smiled kindly at the operators who looked somewhat uneasy in the lobby, and then casually took some soothing incense ash and distributed it to the shikigami guarding the door.
"quack!"
"Cuckoo!"
The two adorable, round-bodied, yet intelligent three-star shikigami danced with joy, their eyes sparkling as they looked at Uesugi Tetsuya.
If they had hands, they might have gratefully raised them, begging for more of this incredibly delicious, dusty food.
"Alright, Nakano, just take him here."
Familiar voices and footsteps came from around the corner before the person could be heard.
A moment later, Tamamo, her entire body clad in a tight-fitting uniform, entered Uesugi Tetsuya's line of sight. She first nodded to the operative in charge of reception in the lobby, then smiled at Uesugi Tetsuya.
"Leave the rest to me."
Snapped.
Tamamo closed her heavy flip phone with one hand and blinked: "Welcome to the Hokkaido Special Affairs Department Headquarters, Uesugi-kun."
Uesugi Tetsuya was somewhat surprised.
"I didn't expect you to still be here, Tamamo..."
"Well, Shizuoka Prefecture won't miss me if I'm gone. But Hokkaido had a lot more people here recently, so they transferred me here."
Tamamo shrugged, speaking casually, but her Kansai accent betrayed an undisguised joy of a bountiful harvest.
"Moreover, the benefits offered by Nanjo Daiyoshi are much higher than those in the mainland. If I work like this for two or three years, I can go back to my hometown and buy a house outright, and I can also save enough for retirement."
Besides, Chisa is here too, so we can take some time to look after her.
That's probably the real reason I stayed in Hokkaido.
Uesugi Tetsu saw through it but didn't say anything, following behind Tamamo towards the storage room specifically for storing supplies.
Walking ahead, Tamamo's steps were light, and she continued speaking.
"Anyway, our job isn't much. It's mostly just doing logistics and organizing intelligence on our work phones and computers."
The demons still active in Hokkaido are generally quite strong, and we're not very familiar with the operators there, so we won't go to the front lines and become a burden, creating openings for them, haha... Anyway, we wouldn't be of much help if we went."
"By the way, Uesugi-kun."
Tamamo deliberately slowed her pace and walked side by side with Uesugi Tetsu.
She lowered her voice, her tone suddenly becoming very parental: "How's Chisa's training going lately? Is it alright?"
Uesugi Tetsu sighed, recalling how Chisa had been trained by him every day until her body was weak and the water she leaked could cover the entire rooftop.
"Don't you, as the older sister, know how hard Chisa works?"
"But sometimes hard work doesn't guarantee success. If hard work were all it took, wouldn't the number of people getting into the University of Tokyo be overflowing by now?"
Tamamo casually recounted the cruel reality.
"With me, Chisa only needs to work hard to reap the rewards."
Uesugi Tetsu said to Tamamo, "This is what I promised her."
"arrive."
In front of the storage room, Uesugi Tetsu grabbed Tamamo by the back of her collar, preventing her from crashing into the solid alloy door, which was several centimeters thick but would definitely hurt her for a whole day if she did.
"I see..."
Tamamo smiled slightly and gave Uesugi Tetsuya a shallow bow.
"Thank you for your trouble, my sister."
"Now that you're a master, isn't it normal for you to put in some effort?"
Uesugi Tetsu casually took out a rare-grade katana from his storage bag and tossed it to Tamamo.
The latter caught it, then skillfully explored the katana, a genuine and radiant smile spreading across her face.
“Uesugi-kun, this sword is quite good. Although I cannot judge it accurately with my eyes, it should be the work of a master craftsman.”
Tamamo glanced at the twin swords at his waist and asked, "Are you sure you want to confiscate these swords?"
"Okay, hurry up."
Uesugi Tetsu said, "I have ninety-nine more like these."
Tamamo: "?"
Without wasting any words, Uesugi Tetsu threw out ten weapons, completely stunning Tamamo.
He shrugged: "Someone gave it to me during a clearance sale, so I'm giving it to the Special Affairs Department. I guess it's my way of contributing to the peace in Hokkaido."
The clanging sound was like a cartload of gold falling to the ground, leaving Tamamo speechless.
She quickly tossed aside the "masterpiece" in her hand, glancing left and right as if afraid of who might be coming, then wrapped her arm around Uesugi Tetsuya's neck and whispered something.
"Uesugi-kun! Don't tell anyone about this, just leave it all to your brother!"
"It's nothing..."
"Wow! No wonder he's my little sister's master, he's really powerful!"
Tamamo's mouth was practically stretched to the sky, she was grinning from ear to ear.
Who would have thought that just by going for a walk after finishing her work, she could wipe out the performance of the next few years?
……
After tossing over a hundred weapons to the overjoyed Tamamo, Uesugi Tetsu walked up to the top of the building.
To be precise, it's twenty-three floors.
Finding Nanjo Manami is the important thing to do today.
Da da da.
The echo of her high heels hitting the floor reverberated in the hallway. When Uesugi Tetsu looked up, he saw Shizuma Manatsu carrying a thick stack of documents.
Shizuma Manatsu winked at him, then pointed to a closed, semi-transparent door and mouthed the words.
'Outside, on the balcony.'
'grateful.'
Uesugi Tetsuya also remained silent, but clasped his hands in a fist salute to Shizuma Manatsu.
As he passed by Nanjo Manami's office, he saw the empty sugar cube jar and smelled the cloyingly sweet aroma of coffee.
Pushing open the door, you can see the flickering cigarette butts against the dark night sky.
"You're here. Manatsu, you pointed out the way to me, right?"
Nanjo Manami spoke calmly without turning her head.
Uesugi Tetsu glanced down at the cigarette butts scattered on the ground.
"Nanjo-nee, you're mixing smoking, drinking, and a lethal dose of coffee every day. Be careful of kidney failure and lung cancer."
“Even if it were ten thousand times more, I could easily metabolize it.” Nanjo Manami stubbed out her cigarette, found a new one, lit it, and glanced at him: “Uesugi-kun, did you come all the way to the Special Affairs Department just to talk to me about this pointless nonsense?”
Before Uesugi Tetsu could answer, she continued, "The Second Wave is not focused on Hokkaido."
"—Because I was there, and I had previously cut down a bunch of ghosts and wild gods, my reputation had spread throughout the mortal world. In addition, there are few people here, so I didn't ask you to do anything."
"That's a good thing."
Uesugi Tetsu replied.
Nanjo Manami added, "But if you really want to help, you can come. We'd be very welcoming here."
“They will come,” Uesugi Tetsu replied matter-of-factly. “In fact, it would be better if more powerful demons came. Right now, there aren’t enough demons in the mortal world for me to handle with one hand.”
Having clearly stated his current strength, Uesugi Tetsuya no longer intended to beat around the bush or play any more riddles with Nanjo Aimi.
With a slight thought, the Spirit Control Technique constructed a simple barrier that blocked sound and aura—but from the outside, there would be no difference.
"Alright, Nanjo-nee."
Uesugi Tetsu threw the sword at his waist back into his storage bag, and then had Karuta in the Wanling Furnace also shut down his senses and stop recording.
Then he reached out and grabbed the cigarette that Nanjo Manami was holding in her mouth, crushing it in his palm.
"There are only the two of us here, so let's stop avoiding the topic of spirit control techniques, the Nanjo family, and destiny."
Uesugi Tetsu looked at Nanjo Aimi, who had turned around, and said seriously, "I have cultivated my spirit control technique to this level, so there is no way I can stay out of it."
Immediately afterwards, all the disguises were removed.
The overwhelming aura of the two demon gods, Thousand Eyes and Asura, was unleashed without restraint, causing Nanjo Manami to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
The lightning bolt hovered at Uesugi Tetsuya's fingertip, illuminating his pupils.
"Now I am strong enough, no longer the weakling in Arakawa Ward who couldn't even join the main battle."
Nanjo Ai stared intently at Uesugi Tetsuya, without answering.
She simply took out another cigarette, lit it, and slowly exhaled smoke in the passing cold wind.
Amidst the misty haze, Nanjo Manami's voice rang out.
"Uesugi-kun, do you know what my dream has been since I was a child?"
—The fact that they didn't kick him out directly means they're willing to talk!
So Uesugi Tetsu followed her lead and continued thinking.
Nanjo's dream is definitely not something as mundane as becoming the strongest or saving the world...
After a moment's thought, Uesugi Tetsuya said somewhat uncertainly,
"No longer working? But still able to collect a high pension and comfortably leech off society?"
Nanjo Manami smiled for the first time today: "I guess that counts... but I didn't have any concept of work when I was a kid."
She spoke in a calm voice, tinged with the weariness of overwork: "Actually, my childhood dream was to live a peaceful life, no different from that of ordinary people."
"Eat well, grow up well, live well, and then die well."
Her voice was about as loud as the hissing sound of a burning cigarette.
"I don't like Yin-Yang magic, and of course I don't like demons, the eternal world, or anything like that."
Uesugi Tetsuya was stunned.
He never expected this answer.
Because Nanjo Manami's dream is even more ordinary than that of the most ordinary person. Ordinary people need to work hard to get promoted and receive a raise.
But what Nanjo Manami wanted was precisely something she could get without doing anything.
"If only there were no demons, no eternal world, no Yin-Yang arts, and no extraordinary powers in the world..."
If things could stay peaceful forever, I might just continue like this, working overtime and smoking, and then one day after get off work, I'd get a hangover and never wake up again.
Nanjo Manami smiled again: "Maybe this isn't so bad."
"Sister Nanjo..."
Nanjo Aimi ignored Uesugi Tetsu's interruption and continued talking to herself.
"Actually, I quite liked Yin-Yang magic when I was very young, because it allowed me to climb to very high places and take things down from rooftops and tree branches, and also do things that other children couldn't..."
So, when did I start to hate Yin-Yang magic?
Like an auditory hallucination, that old, hoarse, unpleasant voice, which sounded like it was about to die, lingered in my ears like a curse.
"The eldest daughter of the Nanjo family was born with the mission of eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path."
"Aimi, you are the chosen one of the Nanjo family. You must become a hero, a hero to everyone."
At that time, Nanjo Ai thought...
can.
Isn't it the most glorious and most popular thing to become a champion of justice, a Pretty Cure, and shoulder the mission of slaying demons and monsters?
Because that's how it's described in stories.
"—And then what? After that, why did you start to hate Onmyōdō, Nanjo-nee?"
Uesugi Tetsu's voice interrupted the slides in Nanjo Manami's eyes; she said nonchalantly,
"In short, a lot of things have happened."
Nanjo Manami chuckled.
"The so-called destiny is completely incompatible with my expectations for a peaceful life, and this rotten reality simply does not allow such a ridiculous dream of mine to exist..."
"Speaking of which, Mafuyu and I actually have similar dreams."
Nanjo Manami suddenly mentioned the girl who died because of her.
"But she didn't have the destiny she was destined for, nor did she have the good luck I did, so she died... Reality also slapped me hard in the face for still fantasizing about some bullshit peaceful life."
Uesugi Tetsu remained silent.
Having said that, he almost understood why Nanjo Manami was willing to remain a junior subordinate in Yin and Yang for such a long, long time before the first wave arrived, and even for her entire life.
The reason is that she didn't care in the first place.
It's more likely that something else had triggered her before, otherwise Nanjo Manami might have remained an ordinary person her whole life and would never have joined the Special Affairs Department.
—The Nanjo Manami standing before him now was swept here by the grand tide of the times.
Then he realized that the Nanjo family, like the Tokugawa family, was probably too busy dealing with the second wave to have time for anything else.
But once the wave subsides, they might do something else.
"Then, Nanjo-nee, you should also know that we can't let the Nanjo family go first—"
Uesugi Tetsuya stopped mid-sentence.
Because that hand, which smelled of ink and mint tobacco, had been forcefully placed over his mouth, pinching it tightly, and then lifted him up.
Despite not being particularly powerful, Uesugi Tetsuya had no chance to resist—he couldn't possibly use the massive Thousand Eyes in the mortal realm.
The opponent's superb spirit control skills instantly shattered his spirit control techniques and Five Thunder Technique.
"Uesugi Tetsuya, why are you so concerned about my family affairs? Are you eager to become a live-in son-in-law?"
—Here we go again, she always changes the subject whenever the topic of the Nanjo family comes up.
This time, we absolutely cannot let her get away with it.
Nanjo Manami leaned closer, squinting her eyes as she spoke: "Adults know what's important and what's urgent, so there's no need for children to worry..."
Their noses touched, and they could see each other's eyes without even realizing it.
"Who are you calling a child, Nanjo Manami?"
Amidst the burning of the Divine Treasury of the Calamity Sea and the combined might of Shura and Thousand Eyes, Uesugi Tetsu slowly removed Nanjo Aimi's hand, speaking each word deliberately.
"Whether someone is a child or not can't be determined by just talking."
Nanjo Ai whispered a mocking whisper in his ear,
"If not, then prove it to me..."
"Shang, fir, little, friend, friend~" (End of chapter)