Chapter 24: Tokyo Public Safety
The record of hunting the Potato Chip Devil was still logged into the civilian base system. The only difference was that Otonashi Chiya handled the corpse himself this time. He directly asked the civilian base to help him sell the Potato Chip Devil's remains to the black market, as he couldn't be bothered to find a buyer himself. The civilian base took only a 2% brokerage fee, handing the rest of the money over to Chiya. Because of this, another 200,000 yen was added to his bank card.
Currently at home, Chiya checked his system panel and found that he had 27 assignable attribute points.
[Ding! Allocation complete: Vitality +17, Strength +5, Speed +5!]
Strength: 20
Speed: 20
Vitality: 100
His focus remained on the Vitality attribute. He wouldn't change his priority until he could use the Kamui ocular technique with ease.
Two days later.
Chiya and Hayakawa Aki had agreed to go to Tokyo Public Safety today for their interviews and assessments. Only by passing both stages could they become Public Safety Devil Hunters. Over the past two days, Chiya hadn't done much; he stayed home with Denji and Pochita, recovering his physical strength and ocular power. During this time, Pochita's affinity toward him had also increased, and he was likely not far from reaching Level 3.
Before heading out early that morning, Chiya gave Denji her instructions. "I've already started cooking lunch. I might not be back by noon, so you and Pochita don't need to wait for me."
"Okay," Denji nodded obediently.
With video games to keep them company now, she and Pochita weren't bored at all at home. Just as Chiya had guessed, Pochita really could play games with Denji. The console was connected to the TV and operated with controllers. Sitting on the rug, Pochita used his front paws to handle the controller. At first, he couldn't beat Denji, but it wasn't long before they were evenly matched.
After Chiya left, Denji and Pochita prepared for another "great battle."
"Bring it on, Pochita! I'm definitely winning today!"
"Woof woof!"
Chiya waited downstairs at the apartment for only a few minutes before Aki came down.
"Let's go. We'll take the subway directly," Aki suggested.
Since taxis were too expensive, people in Japan—whether for work or school—generally preferred the subway. This was true even for those with private cars, as traffic jams were common in a place like Tokyo. Although Aki wasn't short on money, he was accustomed to being frugal.
They chatted as they traveled. It seemed that only when walking with Chiya did Aki become more talkative.
"By the way, how far did you go in school?" Chiya asked out of curiosity, as this was never mentioned in the original story.
"After graduating middle school, I came to Tokyo to be a civilian devil hunter," Aki replied.
He had used the inheritance left by his parents to finish middle school in Hokkaido. During that time, he studied and researched everything related to devils, fiends, and hunters, constantly searching for data and intel on the Gun Devil. Once he felt he had a handle on things, he immediately decided to forgo high school, heading to Tokyo to become a civilian hunter with the goal of eventually joining Public Safety.
This was because Tokyo Public Safety had the most advanced research on the Gun Devil and was aggressively collecting its flesh fragments. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered coming to Tokyo; he could have just found a way to join the Hokkaido Public Safety Bureau.
"I see," Chiya nodded slightly. In Japan, "Kokuchu" means middle school, while "Koko" refers to high school.
"You must have gone to school too, right?" Aki asked.
"I did, but I couldn't afford the tuition, so I didn't continue," Chiya said vaguely. He had certainly attended school, but since he had suddenly transmigrated, continuing was obviously out of the question.
Chiya and Aki took the subway and arrived at the station closest to Tokyo Public Safety, followed by a ten-minute walk. As they neared their destination, Chiya saw the magnificent, towering skyscraper ahead—the Public Safety Building.
The building was surrounded on all sides by high walls, and entry required passing through security. The guards appeared to be devil hunters themselves, wearing the official Tokyo Public Safety uniforms.
Chiya and Aki stepped forward to identify themselves. "We are civilian devil hunters here for the Public Safety interview and assessment."
The guard didn't let them in based on their word alone. Instead, he asked, "What are your names?"
"Otonashi Chiya."
"Hayakawa Aki."
The guard searched the names in the Tokyo Public Safety system. Since the civilian base system synchronizes all hunter data with Public Safety, many procedures were streamlined. The guard quickly found both names, verified their faces against the database photos, and confirmed they were indeed the two men standing before him.
"You're cleared. Go through the main entrance and head straight to the second floor. Do not wander into other areas, or you will face the consequences," the guard warned.
Following his instructions, Chiya and Aki made their way to the second floor of the building.
"Are you two here for the interview?" a man in a Public Safety uniform asked as soon as they arrived. Anyone unfamiliar appearing on the second floor without a uniform was almost certainly an applicant.
"That's right," Chiya nodded.
"Please, follow me." The man led them to a reception room where a woman in her thirties was already seated. She was clearly the interviewer.
She started with standard basic information, which Chiya and Aki answered truthfully.
"I have reviewed your records and activity in the civilian sector. Both of you meet the standards for Tokyo Public Safety," the interviewer said, looking over the synchronized data while she spoke.
Having jointly hunted the Toad Devil—which possessed a Gun Devil fragment—was an impressive feat. A core strategy of Tokyo Public Safety was to collect these fragments to prevent devils from holding them, thereby weakening the enemy's side.
She noted that the boy named Otonashi Chiya had the most staggering data. As a rookie who had been in the civilian system for less than a week, he had already hunted four devils, including the Toad Devil. Such a record was nothing short of absurd!
"We will arrange your combat assessment for this afternoon. Given your strength, passing shouldn't be an issue. The main purpose is to give you a rank based on your performance."