Chapter 152: Teacher Reze
"Pingtsi?"
"Understood."
Chiya acknowledged the request, though he couldn't help but think to himself that Pingtsi was one of the fiends who followed Quanxi in the original story. Since Pingtsi was here, it was highly likely that Quanxi herself was currently working for the Magic City Devil Hunter Association.
(PS: In the original work, Quanxi and those fiends were located in a specific place, but I cannot write that location down—mentioning those characters is strictly forbidden and would trigger a ban, so I have to change it to "Magic City.")
But honestly, could someone like Pingtsi really be described as "docile"? At best, she was only obedient when she was in front of Quanxi.
After hanging up the phone, Chiya rented two or three additional luxury suites, canceling his original single and double rooms.
"Five luxury suites... would you like me to coordinate this with President Jiang?" the front desk clerk asked, offering a subtle hint. A single luxury suite cost thousands per day; five of them was an amount far beyond what the average person could afford. The clerk was essentially reminding Chiya that he could have the costs reimbursed by the President.
"No need, I'll pay for it myself," Chiya said.
Money was the least of his concerns; there was no need to go through the trouble of asking President Jiang for reimbursement, as it would only make him look stingy.
Afterward, Chiya went upstairs to inform Shingetsu and the others to move into the new luxury suites.
"Denji and the others are already on the plane; they'll be here in a few hours. We'll be staying at this hotel for the time being," he told Shingetsu. Then, he whispered to Pochita in his arms, "Alright, Pochita, you can move around freely now."
Naturally, Pochita couldn't board a commercial flight, so he had transported the little devil directly via the Kamui space. Otherwise, Pochita would have been identified as a devil at the airport, causing a massive security incident.
"Woof!"
Having been forced to play the part of a stuffed toy for so long, Pochita was finally able to hop down and stretch. The 100-plus-square-meter luxury suite felt much more comfortable, with plenty of room and three separate bedrooms.
Sensing that the time was right, Chiya teleported to the Magic City airport to pick up Denji and the others. Since Reze spoke Mandarin, Denji and Kobeni had faced no obstacles during their travel.
"So this is China... it's my first time being abroad!" Kobeni looked around excitedly. Having never left her home country, the novelty was overwhelming.
"Where is Chiya-nii? Didn't he say he'd come to the airport to pick us up?" Denji was already past the initial excitement of the flight, though she had thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
"He's already here. Look, over there."
Reze led Denji and Kobeni toward Chiya. He waved at them; their presence in the arrival hall meant the landing visas and paperwork had all been handled smoothly. Afterward, Chiya led them to a taxi and headed for the hotel.
"My suite has some spare rooms, and there are other suites available as well. You all can decide where you want to stay," Chiya said once they reached the hotel. "But we're only staying here for a few days. Once the various processes are finalized, I'll go out and buy a villa."
If things followed the usual trajectory, property prices during this period were quite affordable, only to skyrocket in the next twenty or thirty years. Of course, he had no interest in real estate speculation. In the world of Chainsaw Man, money wasn't the end-all-be-all, and there was no need to flip houses for a profit when a single devil hunt could earn him more than enough. In his view, a house was meant for living, not for flipping.
"I want to stay in the same suite as Chiya-nii!" Denji blurted out first.
"I... I don't want to go to another suite either."
Kobeni Higashiyama said, her face blushing slightly.
"Of course I want to stay in the same suite as my darling too~" Reze added in a cheerful tone.
"Fine..."
Chiya already knew this would be the outcome. Fortunately, this luxury suite was just big enough to accommodate the five of them plus Pochita. As for Reze calling him "darling," he decided not to say anything more about it; if he kept complaining, he feared Reze would only come up with something even more outrageous. If she was already at "darling," he didn't dare to imagine what would come next.
"By the way, as for the transfer... or rather, the study abroad arrangements, we have to wait until the contract is signed. In the meantime, Denji, Kobeni, you two should start learning Mandarin. How about Reze teaches you?" Chiya suggested.
"Sure, sure! I'd be happy to be a teacher for Denji-chan and Kobeni-chan!" Reze readily accepted.
She then immediately turned to Shingetsu and said in Russian: "And Shingetsu-san, don't you need to learn Mandarin too? Let me teach you as well. Come on, call me 'Teacher Reze'~"
"..." Shingetsu's expression shifted, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Not a chance."
Seeing Reze's smug, triumphant expression made her even less inclined to utter the words "Teacher Reze."
"If Student Shingetsu is so disobedient, Teacher will be very troubled," Reze teased.
"Alright, enough. Let's be serious," Chiya interrupted the two. "Shingetsu, just choose whoever you want to learn from. Besides, those agents over there all know how to speak it."
"I'll just stick with Reze," Shingetsu replied. Although she disliked her, they were the most familiar with each other compared to the others.
"That works. Speaking of which, Reze, didn't you want to live like a normal person and go to school? If you want to, I can get you into Magic City Qingfeng High School as well," Chiya said to her.
Reze smiled happily. "If that's really possible, that would be perfect."
Living a normal life had always been her dream. In the past, she never would have dared to imagine she'd have the chance to attend school like an ordinary teenager. Even though her real age was undoubtedly far beyond that of a typical high schooler, her appearance was indistinguishable from any other high school girl.
"But don't go causing any trouble once you're there. If you do, I won't be bailing you out," Chiya warned her specifically.
"Of course not! You don't trust my acting skills? I'll be exactly like a normal girl," Reze promised.
Having finally gained the opportunity to attend school, she certainly wouldn't ruin her own dream.
"You don't have to be too ordinary, though. Qingfeng High School will be running a pilot program for a 'Devil Hunter' specialization. You could try participating in that; it's your area of expertise, and it would make getting into a top-tier university much easier," Chiya explained.
Given that this was a brand-new specialty backed by the authorities, he wasn't sure of the exact bonus criteria yet, but it was clear it would be significantly easier to get into a top university compared to ordinary students. However, with Reze's intelligence and her background as an operative, he suspected that even without the specialization, getting into a good university wouldn't be a challenge for her.
"A Devil Hunter specialization...?" Reze pondered, finding this new Chinese initiative quite interesting. She wondered if it could address or mitigate the costs associated with devil contracts. If the profession of "Devil Hunter" truly became a mainstream pursuit, the threat of devil-related crises would likely diminish significantly.