Chapter 5: Denji?
Before long, a group of two men and one woman approached Otonashi Chiya.
The middle-aged man leading them extended an invitation: "Young man, I really recognize your strength. Interested in joining us?"
Chiya was just about to politely decline when several other groups swarmed him with invitations; there was even a small faction consisting of over a dozen people.
Under the official Public Safety system, personnel are organized into "Divisions," such as the Devil Extermination Division or the Public Safety Special Division. Each division functions as a squad, further subdivided into partnerships—usually consisting of two or three people. Routine patrols and minor missions are handled by these small teams, while major operations involve the entire squad. Only under the most catastrophic circumstances does the entire Public Safety force mobilize.
The civilian sector followed this model as well, though much less formally. People formed groups however they pleased, ranging from simple duos to large cliques.
Being bombarded by these invitations gave Chiya a bit of a headache. Everyone there knew how strong Hayakawa Aki was. Now that a youth had appeared who seemed even stronger than Aki, he had naturally become a "hot commodity." Some wanted to ride his coattails, while a few others likely harbored less savory intentions.
Seeing Chiya in a bind, Hayakawa Aki spoke up to bail him out. "Even though we are temporary partners, that doesn't mean our partnership has ended. Look elsewhere."
"Ah? Is that so?"
"Well, if that's the case, nothing we can do."
"What a shame..."
The crowd dispersed sensibly. As long as the partnership was still active, it was bad form to extend an invitation—even if they wanted to poach him, they couldn't do it openly.
"Thanks," Chiya said softly.
"It's nothing. If you need anything in the future, you can call me anytime," Aki replied.
He was referring to commissions like today's. There were often requests that had specific requirements regarding a hunter's track record or team size; such missions tended to be high in difficulty.
"Alright."
Chiya was naturally happy with this arrangement. He actually preferred hunting devils alone, which was why he felt reluctant toward the group invitations. Being able to partner flexibly with Aki was the ideal scenario—acting together only when necessary.
"Aki-kun, you say you don't want any friends, but your heart is quite honest, isn't it?" the young female staff member teased.
"I only did it to pay him back for the favor," Aki explained expressionlessly.
The young woman smiled without a word, looking as though she had seen right through him. However, the one who truly understood Aki best was Otonashi Chiya. He knew that while Aki often used harsh words and had a poor attitude, he was actually very kind-hearted and occasionally displayed this "duplicitous" (tsundere) side.
Later, Otonashi Chiya left the civilian base. He planned to head to a major Japanese bank to open a savings account so he could deposit his cash. As a transmigrator, he hadn't used physical cash in a long time, and carrying it around felt inconvenient.
As he entered the bank, Chiya could feel the security guard's gaze fixed firmly on him. Likely due to his unique eyes, the bank security was naturally wary of anyone looking unusual—like a Fiend.
In the world of Chainsaw Man, besides humans and devils, there are also Fiends and Weapon Humans. (While "Weapon Humans" are sometimes translated as "Devilmen," this book uses "Weapon Humans" for clarity.) While few people know about Weapon Humans, information about Fiends is common knowledge taught in basic education.
A Fiend is essentially a "wolf in sheep's clothing"—human on the outside, but entirely a devil on the inside. With very few exceptions, most Fiends view humans as food or targets for slaughter. Fiends aren't difficult to distinguish, however; they typically have physical abnormalities like horns on their heads, gills on their necks, or spikes on their cheeks.
Of course, having eyes that differ from ordinary people didn't technically count as a Fiend trait.
"I'd like to open an account," Otonashi Chiya said to the staff member.
"Certainly, sir. Please take a look and let us know which type of bank card you require," the staff member replied respectfully.
Chiya randomly selected one that functioned similarly to the debit cards from his previous life. "This one will do."
When it came time to verify his identity, he had to admit that the Japanese national identity fabricated by the System was flawless. His backstory stated that his parents were killed by the Gun Devil and their house was destroyed; as a lucky survivor, he had come to Tokyo to wander alone with what little cash he had left.
After confirming his identity was in order, the staff processed his card. Once it was in his hands, he immediately deposited the full 200,000 yen into the account.
Next on the agenda was finding a place to live. Having just transmigrated, he didn't even have a roof over his head. Following the principle of proximity, he rented an apartment in a building near the civilian base.
Because Chiya's vision was so extraordinary, as he passed through the first-floor lobby, his eyes inadvertently swept over the names on the mailboxes. Among the dense cluster of names, he instantly captured one: "Hayakawa Aki."
However, the unit Chiya rented was on the fourth floor, while Aki lived on the sixth. Given that this apartment was the closest to the civilian base, it wasn't surprising that Aki lived here, though it would have been quite the coincidence if they had ended up as next-door neighbors.
Chiya entered his new home—a two-bedroom apartment with a living room, private bath, and kitchen. It had everything except furniture. He had heard that rental apartments in Japan often didn't come furnished, so he would have to buy everything himself and hire a moving company to bring it in.
After several hours of labor, Chiya finally finished settling into his new home by evening. He could finally get a peaceful night's sleep.
The next morning, he fried two eggs and heated a glass of milk. After finishing his breakfast, he headed out. He was in urgent need of hunting devils to earn more Attribute Points, so he planned to check the civilian base for available commissions.
"Didn't you just finish a commission yesterday? You're taking another one so soon?" the female staff member asked, her voice filled with surprise as Chiya accepted a solo request. "Even Aki-kun takes a few days off between jobs."
Usually, devil hunters need time to recover after a battle because using devil powers requires paying a price.
"Why does he need to rest?" Chiya couldn't help but ask. In his memory, Aki hadn't used any devil powers yesterday, had he?
"Ah? You didn't know? When Aki-kun fights devils, he usually relies on a certain devil's power to enhance his physique. But he refuses to tell anyone which devil it actually is," the waitress explained.
"I see."
If she hadn't mentioned it, Chiya really wouldn't have known. This detail wasn't in the original series. He surmised that when Aki eventually joins the Tokyo Public Safety, he likely terminates his current contracts to sign with the Fox Devil. After all, contracting with multiple devils isn't always a good thing; it means paying more prices.
It made sense, though—Aki couldn't have survived in the civilian sector relying solely on the Curse Devil; his lifespan would have been sucked dry long ago.
Suginami City.
One of Tokyo's 23 special wards, located in western Tokyo and known for its lush natural environment. To fulfill his commission, Chiya took the subway to Suginami.
The target was the Ant Devil, and the reward was over 200,000 yen. Chiya arrived at the detailed location provided—a vast field.
However, he didn't just see the devil. He saw a familiar figure.
Is that... Denji?
Wait!
As the original protagonist, shouldn't Denji be a guy?
Why does he have long, golden hair?!