Chapter 2: Shinomya Huangguang's Request
In an era where traffic equals cash, the Imperial double-headed eagle symbol appears in the advertising gaps on the giant screens across Shibuya's streets.
Even some shops selling lewd yet perfectly wholesome goods jokingly print it on their door curtains.
"Slaanesh is like a flood and a beast, endangering the youth of the Imperium."
This shows the massive influence of Hikigaya Hachiman's Warhammer series.
But as the author, Hikigaya Hachiman is like most ordinary students, using a bicycle for transport—it's just that his sister likes riding on the special seat to feel the wind.
Just as Hikigaya Hachiman unlocked his bike and was about to ride off, a full-sized black Cadillac Escalade SUV pulled up beside him.
"Hachiman, what a coincidence."
As the window rolled down, a husky but mature, onee-san-like voice emerged.
It was a mature older sister wearing a purple bodysuit. Her blue-gray hair was braided and tied in front of her head, only revealing half of her face. It was a peculiar hairstyle that inexplicably gave her a very elegant demeanor.
In the passenger seat beside her sat a boy with the same hair color as the mature woman, looking arrogant but secretly making a face at Hikigaya Hachiman.
The woman smiled and said to Hikigaya Hachiman, "Are you going to pick up your sister? Let me give you a ride."
Hikigaya Hachiman was not at all surprised that this person would appear here.
He replied calmly, "I saw your crow watching me from upstairs just now."
Mei Mei, Grade 1 Sorcerer of the Sorcerer Association.
The crow is this woman's Cursed Technique, which has a surveillance function.
This means that the woman driving here was no accident; she intentionally timed her arrival to coincide with Hikigaya Hachiman leaving the company.
Seeing her trick exposed, Mei Mei showed no embarrassment on her face.
"I was just being a good friend, Hachiman. You stayed too long at the company.
You can just put the bicycle in the trunk."
Although Hikigaya Hachiman didn't reply, Mei Mei knew the answer from his expression.
"Ui Ui, help Hachiman put his bike away."
Ui Ui sighed inwardly. As expected, nothing good ever happened when he encountered this arrogant man, but his sister's command was inviolable.
The Escalade's trunk was huge; fitting a student's bicycle was simple—it was just a matter of removing the front wheel. Plus, Mei Mei had already prepared professional tools to "ambush" Hikigaya Hachiman.
Thus, Hikigaya Hachiman's bicycle was placed next to a massive object wrapped in red cloth.
Having seen Mei Mei's unrestrained attacking style, Hikigaya Hachiman naturally knew this was her weapon, a huge two-handed axe.
"Ui Ui, sit in the back."
Poor Ui Ui was just finished with his task when his sister redirected him to the back seat.
"What do you want?"
Hikigaya Hachiman sat in the passenger seat. Clearly, he didn't believe Mei Mei was acting out of friendly kindness; this woman's only friend was money.
"Well, I recently got a big commission."
Mei Mei pressed the accelerator. The V8 engine roared, and the massive car body shot straight out.
"The client is loaded, but considering I might not be able to handle it alone, I thought of you, my old friend.
You, who are so loyal to the Emperor, aren't you the one who finds those Xenos most intolerable?"
Although Hikigaya Hachiman was now far from the Imperium, as the Emperor's most loyal warrior, he remained dedicated to eliminating the evil lurking in the darkness.
He chanted the Emperor's name in the darkness, mercilessly striking down all those evil Xenos.
Moreover, Hikigaya Hachiman also benefits from exterminating Curse Spirits; he feels he is gradually reawakening his former power.
Hikigaya Hachiman initially thought he was fighting alone, but he later discovered the official organization called the Sorcerer Association.
That's when he met Mei Mei.
Hikigaya Hachiman inquired, "Who is the employer?"
"The eldest young master of the Shinomya family."
Mei Mei chuckled and replied, "How about that? Wealthy enough, right?"
The Shinomya family is one of the four most financially powerful families in Japan's surface world, with the Shinomya Group controlling more than half of Japan's economy.
"I see, you're capitalizing on my reputation so you can severely fleece the employer, aren't you?"
Faced with Hikigaya Hachiman's sharp observation, the smile on Mei Mei's face only grew wider.
"You don't pass up a chance to fleece the Shinomya family's rich fools."
She laughed and said, "When the Shinomya young master heard that the Emperor's Purifier might be willing to take the job, he was willing to add an extra 100 million yen to the original compensation as payment for your services.
I'll also get a decent referral fee. I'll split half of it with you then."
"I understand."
As an Astartes Chapter Serf, Hikigaya Hachiman didn't pursue money, but the surname Shinomya reminded him of Kaguya Shinomiya, who was in the same Student Council.
Since it's the family of a colleague, he might as well lend a hand.
Mei Mei also understood that Hikigaya Hachiman had agreed, and she set a time.
"The time is three nights from now. I'll come to pick you up then."
"Okay."
Hikigaya Hachiman nodded.
"The bus stop up ahead will be fine; just pull over there."
Hikigaya Hachiman pointed to the bus stop ahead. It was less than a kilometer from his sister's school.
"I can cycle the rest of the way."
"Alright."
As Hikigaya Hachiman's chauffeur, Mei Mei obediently pulled the car over to the side of the road, and then she started ordering around Ui Ui, her dutiful helper, again.
Ui Ui could only sigh. He took the bicycle out of the trunk, used the tools to put the front wheel back on, and handed it to Hikigaya Hachiman.
This was also why Ui Ui hated this man: his sister didn't want to do the work herself, so Ui Ui had to run around for Hikigaya Hachiman, all while being annoyed.
The siblings watched as Hikigaya Hachiman cycled away.
"Sister, why didn't you look for Gojo Satoru?"
Ui Ui was still disgruntled, so he used the person currently recognized as the strongest in the Sorcery world as an example.
"Maybe if you looked for Gojo Satoru, the Shinomya young master would have been willing to pay 200 million?"
"Ui Ui, you still don't understand."
Mei Mei glanced at Ui Ui.
"If Hachiman were to join the Sorcerer Association, even those stingy old men in the higher-ups would give him the title of the fourth Special Grade Sorcerer.
But the cost of hiring him is many times lower than Satoru Gojo's."
Hikigaya Hachiman's only collective identity in his heart is the Blood Angels, so he is not very keen on the Sorcerer Association.
With Mei Mei helping with the ride, four wheels were indeed much faster than two, and Hikigaya Hachiman wasn't too late.
Outside the school gate, the cute girl, Komachi Hikigaya, who has the same ahoge as Hikigaya Hachiman, saw her brother cycling over a long time ago.
"See you tomorrow, Nanako, Mimiko."
She said to her two friends beside her, "My brother is here to pick me up."