Not long after, two men and a woman approached Chiya.
The middle-aged man leading the group invited Chiya, "Young man, I'm very impressed by your skills. Would you be interested in joining us?"
Just as Chiya was about to politely decline, several other groups came over to invite him, and even a small team of over a dozen people showed up.
Under the formal system of the Public Safety Devil Hunters, teams were organized into "squads," such as the Extermination Squad or the Special Division. A squad was essentially a small team, and within the team, there were usually partnerships of two or three people.
For routine patrols and smaller missions, partnerships of two or three people would handle things. For major missions, the entire squad would act together, and only in particularly severe incidents would the entire Public Safety force mobilize.
The civilian devil hunters followed a similar structure, but it was much less formal. People could form partnerships however they liked, with any number of members, and there were also small groups.
Being bombarded with invitations, Chiya felt a headache coming on.
They all knew how strong Aki was, and now that a boy even stronger than Aki had appeared, he naturally became a highly sought-after "hot commodity."
Some wanted to ride his coattails, while others had more sinister intentions.
Seeing Chiya in a tough spot, Aki, who was standing nearby, spoke up to help him out, "We may only be temporary partners, but that doesn't mean our partnership is over. You'll have to look elsewhere."
"Huh? Is that so?"
"Alright, then there's nothing we can do."
"What a shame…"
Everyone quickly dispersed, understanding the situation.
Since the partnership wasn't officially dissolved, it would be inappropriate to invite him. Even if they wanted to poach him, they couldn't do it openly.
"Thanks." Chiya said softly at this moment.
"It's nothing. If you ever need anything, feel free to call me." Aki replied.
He was referring to commissions like the one they had just completed. There were often commissions that required a certain level of experience or a specific number of devil hunters, and these commissions were usually more challenging.
"Sure." Chiya was naturally happy to agree.
He actually preferred hunting devils alone, which was why he had been reluctant to accept the earlier invitations. Being able to partner flexibly with Aki was ideal—they could team up when needed.
"Aki-kun, you say you don't want any friends, but deep down, you're quite honest, aren't you?"
At this moment, the young female staff member from earlier teased Hayakawa Aki.
"I'm just repaying a favor, that's all." Aki explained with a straight face.
The young woman smiled without saying anything, as if she had already seen through everything.
However, no one understood Hayakawa Aki better than Chiya. He knew very well that while Aki often spoke harshly and had a tough attitude, he was actually a kind person. Occasionally, he would show this kind of contradictory behavior.
...
Afterward, Chiya left the civilian outpost.
He planned to go to a major Japanese bank to open a savings account, making it easier to deposit his money.
As a transmigrator, he hadn't used cash in a long time, so he found it quite inconvenient.
However, as he entered the bank, he noticed the security guard's eyes fixed on him.
It was probably because his eyes were too unusual. In a place like a bank, security would naturally pay extra attention to anyone who seemed a bit odd, such as a fiend.
In the world of Chainsaw Man, aside from humans and devils, there were also fiends and weapon humans.[1]
Not many people knew about weapon humans, but fiends were something everyone learned about in compulsory education.
Fiends were essentially "wolves in sheep's clothing." They appeared human on the outside but were completely devil on the inside.
With the exception of a very few, the vast majority of fiends, like devils, viewed humans as food and targets for slaughter.
However, fiends weren't hard to identify. For example, they might have horns on their heads, gills on their mouths, or spikes on their cheeks.
Of course, having unusual eyes didn't count.
"I'd like to open an account."
At this moment, Chiya said to the bank staff.
"Of course, sir. Please take a look at the types of bank cards we offer."
The staff member replied respectfully.
Chiya casually selected a bank card with functions similar to the savings cards from his previous life. "This one."
When it came to checking his identity, it had to be said that the system had created a flawless Japanese identity for him. His background was that his parents had been killed by the Gun Devil, and his house had been destroyed. He had survived by chance and was now wandering Tokyo alone with a small amount of cash.
After the staff confirmed his identity, they processed his bank card.
Once he had the card, he immediately deposited all 200,000 yen into it.
Next, Chiya needed to find a place to rent. After all, he had just transmigrated and didn't even have a place to live.
Following the principle of convenience, he rented an apartment near the civilian outpost.
Thanks to his extraordinary vision, while on the first floor of the apartment building, he inadvertently saw the names of all the residents on the mailboxes. Among the dense list of names, he immediately spotted "Hayakawa Aki."
However, he rented a place on the fourth floor, while Hayakawa Aki lived on the sixth floor. Given that this apartment was the closest to the civilian outpost, it wasn't surprising that Hayakawa Aki had rented here. It would have been a real coincidence if Hayakawa Aki had been his neighbor.
By now, Chiya had already moved into his rented apartment. It had two bedrooms, a living room, a private bathroom, and a kitchen—everything he needed except for furniture.
He had heard that renting in Japan didn't include furniture, so he would have to buy his own and have movers bring it in.
...
After several hours of work, Chiya finally sorted out his living situation by evening and could finally get a good night's sleep.
The next morning, he fried a couple of eggs and heated up a glass of milk for breakfast before heading out.
He urgently needed to hunt devils to gain attribute points, so he planned to visit the civilian outpost to see if there were any commissions he could take.
"Didn't you just complete a commission yesterday, young man? You're taking another one so soon?"
When Chiya accepted a solo commission, the female staff member asked in surprise.
"Even Aki-kun takes a few days off to rest."
Usually, devil hunters needed time to recover after a battle because using devil powers came at a cost.
"Why does he need to rest?" Chiya couldn't help but ask.
In his memory, hadn't Aki not used any devil powers yesterday?
"Huh? You didn't know? Aki-kun usually relies on some kind of demonic power to enhance his physical abilities during battles, but he's never told anyone exactly which devil it is."
The staff member explained.
"I see."
If she hadn't mentioned it, Chiya would never have known.
This wasn't something that had been mentioned in the original story. It was likely that after joining the Tokyo Public Safety Division, Aki had terminated his contract with his current devil and made a new contract with the Fox Devil. After all, making contracts with multiple devils wasn't a good idea, as it would require paying even greater costs.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Aki couldn't have survived in the civilian world relying solely on the Curse Devil—his lifespan would have been drained long ago.
...
Suginami Ward.
One of Tokyo's 23 special wards, located in the western part of the city, known for its rich natural environment.
To carry out the commission, Chiya took the subway to Suginami Ward.
The target of the commission was the Ant Devil, with a reward of over 200,000 yen.
Now, Chiya arrived at the specific location provided in the commission—a field.
However, he not only saw the devil but also a familiar figure.
Was that… Denji?
Wait!
Wasn't Denji, the protagonist of the original story, supposed to be male?
Why did he have long blonde hair?!
[1] (Weapon humans are sometimes translated as "devil humans," but for simplicity, this book will use "weapon humans.")