As they walked along the road leading to the university, Eiko kept her head lowered, her mood clearly gloomy. Even her trademark beige wavy hair seemed to have lost some of its usual shine with her spirits so low.
Her usual sparkle was nowhere to be seen.
"Um… Natsume-kun," she finally could not hold it in any longer and spoke, her voice full of apology, "I am… really, really sorry."
"Hm?" Natsume turned his head, looking at her with calm eyes.
"It is about the payment…" Eiko's voice was barely louder than a whisper, her face written full of regret and guilt. "I… I did not know the incident this time would involve special grade curses, or even… that kind of monster. So I only discussed a fee of two million yen with the university when I took the commission… It is… it is way too low."
When she thought of that godlike strike of Natsume's, the one that could erase everything in its path like divine judgment, and then compared it to a mere two million yen, Eiko felt her cheeks burn.
This was not just "a bit low". This was practically an insult to a god.
Looking at her, as if she wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear, Natsume's face showed not even a trace of blame.
"It is fine," he said evenly. "You did not know any of this would happen. That price falls within the normal range for an exorcism commission."
"But…" Eiko still wanted to say more.
"However," Natsume changed the direction of the conversation, the corner of his mouth lifting into a meaningful curve, "now that they know what really happened, the payment should be renegotiated."
He stopped walking and turned to look at her. The blue of his Six Eyes seemed able to see straight through a person's heart.
"Eiko, you will be the one to lead the negotiation later."
"Eh?! I, I cannot do that!" Eiko panicked at once, waving her hands wildly. Just the thought of haggling with those old foxes from the university board made her want to faint.
"You can," Natsume's tone left no room for argument. "You only need to remember one thing. I will be standing behind you."
The simple sentence settled her nerves almost instantly. All the tension, anxiety, and fear inside her was smoothed away in that instant.
Right, behind her stood the "god" who could wipe out the world with a single blow.
What was there left to be afraid of?
Her eyes gradually grew firm and bright again.
...
Chiba University, Chancellor's Office.
The luxurious office was filled with an almost suffocating tension. A dozen members of the university board, who usually threw their weight around on campus and had the final say in everything, were now sitting stiffly upright, hardly daring to breathe.
Because sitting in the main seat was not the chancellor, but a man none of them could afford to offend.
Shinomiya Koki.
The eldest son of the Shinomiya family, one of Japan's top financial conglomerates, and the designated next head of the clan.
"Shinomiya-sama, do you think… we can begin now?" A board member with a receding hairline wiped the sweat from his forehead carefully and asked with a fawning smile.
Shinomiya ignored him, simply staring out the window. His black hair was impeccably styled, his features handsome, and the tailored suit on his body screamed bespoke luxury. Every casual movement radiated the natural aura of someone born to be in control.
Only when there came a knock at the office door did he finally speak.
"Let them in."
Natsume and Eiko stepped into the office and immediately felt the unusual pressure in the air.
The moment Eiko saw the man in the main seat, whose presence was powerful enough to feel suffocating, her heart skipped a beat. She recognized him at once as the heir of the Shinomiya Group, whose face often appeared on the covers of financial magazines.
"Natsume-san, it is a pleasure to meet you," Shinomiya took the initiative to stand, his expression polite though clearly formulaic, and reached out his hand first. "I am Shinomiya Koki. I am fully in charge of this commission."
Natsume shook his hand calmly.
After a brief round of pleasantries, Shinomiya went straight to the point.
"As for payment this time, the originally agreed upon two million yen is indeed grossly disproportionate to your contribution, Natsume-san. Please name your price. As long as it is within a reasonable range, the Shinomiya family will not haggle."
Here it comes.
Eiko clenched her fists nervously, her palms slick with sweat. She drew in a deep breath, recalled Natsume's words from earlier, and gathered all her courage as she took a step forward.
Catching Natsume's subtle signal for her to speak, she finally said, her voice trembling slightly, "Shinomiya-san, we believe… thirty million yen is a more reasonable amount."
Thirty million.
The moment that number left her lips, the other board members exploded.
"What? Thirty million? Why do you not just rob us while you are at it!" One of the directors could no longer hold back. He slammed a hand on the table and stood up, pointing at Eiko angrily. "You only solved a few student suicide cases, and you dare open your mouth and ask for thirty million?!"
Before he could finish, a pair of icy, emotionless eyes fell upon him.
They belonged to Shinomiya.
"Director Yamamoto," Shinomiya said in a tone so calm it was terrifying, "are you questioning my judgment?"
"N, no… I just thought…" Director Yamamoto's bluster evaporated instantly. He stammered, trying to explain himself.
"I do not need what you think," Shinomiya cut him off. "Natsume-san's ability is far more valuable than you can imagine. Your short-sightedness could bring incalculable losses to the Shinomiya family."
He paused, then spoke again in a voice like a final verdict.
"From this moment on, you are expelled from Chiba University's board. Get out."
Director Yamamoto's face turned deathly pale in an instant. He had never imagined that a single objection would get him dismissed on the spot.
Under the shocked gazes of everyone present, two bodyguards in black suits entered from outside, expressionless, and dragged away the man who had already collapsed into a boneless heap.
The office fell completely silent.
With the most direct, and also the most ruthless method, Shinomiya demonstrated his authority to Natsume, along with his absolute respect for, and sincerity toward, this "power".
He turned his gaze back to Natsume, the smile on his face now much more genuine.
"Thirty million is no problem," he said. "In addition, this is my personal card."
He handed over a pure black card with gold embossing.
"Natsume-san, the curses are resurging. The world is on the verge of an unprecedented transformation. The Shinomiya family has a history stretching back centuries, and vast wealth and influence. We are very sincere in wishing to establish a long-term partnership with a powerhouse like you."
This meeting had long since ceased to be a simple payment handover.
It was a formal gesture of goodwill and recruitment from the greatest financial conglomerate in the country. They had already learned the truth of the supernatural world and had begun making their preparations in advance for the new era that was about to arrive.
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