Chapter 154: The Fiend Girl, Pingtsi
The next day.
Chiya arrived at the Devil Hunter Association by invitation. It was the perfect opportunity to speak with President Jiang about Kobeni, Reze, and Shingetsu.
As Chiya entered the building, he immediately drew the gazes of many. These were official Devil Hunters employed by the Association. They had, of course, heard whispers about the "international transfer," though the details remained murky to them. All they knew was that this youth was a guest of honor personally invited by President Jiang and that his transfer fee had set an all-time record in the history of international transfers.
"Morning."
Since they didn't know him personally—they didn't even know his name—they offered a brief, polite greeting.
"Good morning," Chiya replied with a smile.
Hearing him speak Mandarin with such authentic, flawless pronunciation, they were taken aback. They had heard he was a foreigner—or rather, it was generally assumed that anyone coming via an international transfer was a foreign Devil Hunter. None of them expected a foreigner to speak the language without a trace of an accent.
As Chiya headed upstairs toward President Jiang's study, the other Devil Hunters began to murmur among themselves.
"I heard he came over from Japan. But to speak Mandarin that well, and as an independent Devil Hunter with no previous national affiliation... could he actually be one of our own?"
"That seems very likely. That's probably one of the reasons President Jiang values him so much. It's hard to imagine just how powerful he must be to break the international transfer fee record."
"If Lady Quanxi were to go through a transfer, I wonder if she could break it again? Though, that's an impossible scenario anyway."
"..."
By this time, Chiya had already arrived at President Jiang's study. Seeing him, the President looked a bit sheepish. "You've arrived quite early, my friend! I'm terribly sorry, but Pingtsi seems to still be asleep..."
"It's no trouble at all. As it happens, there are a few things I wanted to discuss with you," Chiya said.
"Oh? Feel free to speak your mind," President Jiang said, looking intrigued.
"It concerns the people with me. Regarding the student I mentioned earlier—the girl named Kobeni Higashiyama—and also the weapon hybrid from the Soviet Union, Reze, they both wish to attend Magic City Qingfeng High School," Chiya said directly.
"Ah, I see. So both Kobeni Higashiyama and Reze want to enroll in Qingfeng High School. That's simple enough." President Jiang replied, "I'll have a word with Principal Liang in a moment. You can go see him whenever you like; he certainly won't refuse to give me face."
"Thank you. I'll go pay a visit to Qingfeng High School in the next day or two," Chiya nodded slightly.
Principal Liang, he thought to himself. The name sounded oddly familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
He decided to set that thought aside to focus on the matter at hand. "Also, there's Shingetsu, who appeared during the international transfer proceedings. She would like to serve as a physical combat coach for the 'Devil Hunter' specialization."
"Is that so? That's fantastic news!" President Jiang beamed. "I'll make all the necessary arrangements for you."
He had previously heard of Shingetsu's exploits at the Leningrad Military Headquarters, though back then, he only knew her by the codename "Tsar." Her absolute defense and her "hand-blades" capable of slicing through iron like paper were deeply impressive to him; while one of those abilities might have been granted by a devil's power, it was said that Shingetsu was a rare case who bore almost no contract price. Regardless, her mastery of physical combat was beyond question, and as someone who excelled in physical arts himself—much like Chiya—he held such combatants in the highest regard.
"By the way, the contract process is nearing its final stage. The higher-ups are extremely invested in this, so we are on track to break all previous records for processing speed," President Jiang said with a smile. "Although the paperwork isn't fully completed, it's practically a certainty now. I was initially worried about some of the stubborn old-timers during the early stages, but even they have been brought on board."
"So, does that mean we can sign tomorrow or the day after?" Chiya asked, a hint of surprise in his voice. The process was much faster than he had anticipated.
"Tomorrow at the latest. Once the official contract is signed, you and Shingetsu-san will officially be members of the Magic City Devil Hunter Association..." President Jiang was just about to introduce some of the association's inner workings when Pingtsi finally arrived. "Ah, Pingtsi is here. I'll leave the rest of the matters to her."
"President." Pingtsi walked in and greeted the President respectfully.
Chiya instinctively glanced at her. She looked exactly as he remembered: a fiend whose ponytail featured its own eyes and mouth—a hallmark of her transformation. She appeared to be a petite, cute Chinese girl wearing the official Magic City Devil Hunter uniform, with a ribbon tied at the base of her ponytail. The eyes and mouth at the end of that ponytail were expressive, shifting to reflect her current mood. Right now, as she addressed the President, the ponytail was mirroring her look of respect.
If Chiya recalled correctly, "The corpse is talking" was her classic line.
Feeling Chiya's fleeting gaze, Pingtsi shot him a quick look but said nothing.
"Cutting it close as usual, I see. Since you weren't technically late, I won't dock your pay this time," President Jiang said with a resigned sigh. Clearly, this wasn't the first time Pingtsi had clocked in at the very last second. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't matter, but this time she had kept Chiya waiting—though fortunately, Chiya had been busy discussing business anyway.
"Thank you, President." Pingtsi's attitude was decent; she seemed far more rational than the average fiend. Low-rationality fiends wouldn't be able to communicate with humans at all—they'd likely try to kill them on sight. Generally speaking, however, fiends were significantly less dangerous than pure devils. They were closer to humans, and possessing a human corpse usually resulted in a reduction of their original power. Across the globe, many fiends became Devil Hunters to aid humanity; the profession was by no means limited to humans.
"Then, I'll trouble you to show Chiya-kun around the association and explain our protocols to him," President Jiang instructed.
"Understood." Pingtsi acknowledged the order and turned to Chiya. "Please, follow me."
"Mm." Chiya nodded slightly and followed her out.
They hadn't walked far from the President's study when Pingtsi spoke again, her tone noticeably colder than it had been with the President:
"Just to be clear: I have no interest in men. I'm only doing this so I can get a performance bonus on my paycheck next month."