Poor magical girls, work for me!

Chapter 46: The Lonely Policeman - Stationed Guard

Inside the bus, Homura Hisakawa finally quieted down.

It wasn't because he was tired of talking, but because of the number that Ryosuke Miyagi announced.

"How many?!"

She sprang up from her seat, her head slamming against the window next to her with a thud. Ignoring the pain, she covered her head with both hands, her eyes wide open, staring intently at Ryosuke Miyagi.

"You...you say that again!"

Ryosuke Miyagi leaned back in his chair, his tone as flat as if he were remarking on the weather: "Two gold coins. This is the reward for defeating that rhinoceros beetle, not including the value of the monster itself."

"Two...two...gold coins?"

Hisakawa's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, like a stranded fish.

She stiffly turned her head to look at Matsushima Yukio sitting next to her, her eyes filled with "Am I dreaming?"

The two looked at each other.

Matsushima Yukio nodded silently.

It's hard to imagine hearing the word "gold coins" in the context of "rewards".

Is gold coins something that a magical girl like her can really possess?

"Two gold coins!" Hikawa repeated each word slowly and deliberately, then suddenly lowered her head and began counting on her fingers, "One gold coin can be exchanged for... can be exchanged for..."

"More than 300 million yen."

Ryosuke Miyagi kindly reminded him.

"It depends on the market. I recently exchanged some gold coins; one gold coin can be exchanged for about 500 million yen. If you're not in a hurry to sell, the price could go up a bit more."

"Five million...two pieces..."

Hisukawa's eyes widened, and her breathing became rapid.

Her chest heaved violently beneath her red combat suit, her two full breasts trembling with each breath, almost bursting out of her collar.

"Ten million yen?! No, no, more than ten million?!" She grabbed Matsushima Yukio's arm with such force that the latter gasped.

"Senior Yukio! Pinch me! Pinch me now!"

Matsushima Yukio pinched her as instructed.

"Ouch—it hurts! This isn't a dream!"

Hikawa clutched her arm, her expression shifting from shock to ecstasy, and then from ecstasy to wariness.

"Wait, wait, boss, are you sure it's two gold coins? Not two silver coins?"

She's caught in the classic dilemma of "a pie falling from the sky but suspecting it's poisoned." No wonder she's a frequent victim of expropriation scams by investigators; the phrase "high reward" gives her PTSD.

Ryosuke Miyagi looked at her and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Confirmed. Two gold coins. There may be additional bonuses if you perform well."

"Extra...bonus..."

Hisakawa's eyes began to glaze over.

She slowly sat back down, cupped her face in her hands, and murmured to herself, "Two gold coins... ten million... that's enough to buy that annoying investigator's office building... and then make him kneel down and beg me not to demolish it..."

Matsushima Yukio: "...Calm down, you absolutely cannot buy that awful office building."

"I'm very calm! I was just giving an example!"

Hisakawa looked at Miyagi Ryosuke with suspicion.

Such a high reward must mean there are other special services involved, right?

Hikawa looked at Miyagi Ryosuke's handsome face.

If there are special services available, it doesn't seem like it would be unacceptable.

"Hunting rhinoceros beetles is just the reward for one mission. If you agree to work for me, I will give you an extra 5 silver coins every month, which is a fixed income. Also, like them, you are free to dispose of the monster corpses you hunt, either to exchange for gold coins or to craft special equipment."

"Wait a minute, you mean you're hiring me, and not only will you get paid for every mission, you'll also give me an extra 5 gold coins? And monster corpses too? What are you after?"

Himawari looked down at her chest, then at Matsushima Yukio beside her, and her face immediately flushed red.

He seemed to understand; the other person seemed to have a particular taste.

"It's not impossible for me to fight in magical girl form, but you have to be gentle, this is my first time."

"What kind of outrageous words are these? Matsushima Yukio next to me hasn't reacted at all. At this time, you can extend your hand to show your support..."

Ryosuke Miyagi took out five silver coins from his pocket, placed them in his palm, and handed them over.

"Accepting this month's silver coins means you've become my employee; I'm your boss now."

Seeing the five gleaming silver coins, Hisakawa immediately reached out and grabbed them.

"Boss, what position do you like? Although this is my first time, I still know a thing or two. But I can only do it after I've hunted the rhinoceros beetle and received the gold coins. Five silver coins alone aren't enough."

Matsushima Yukio kept nudging Hisakawa's arm from behind.

This girl is not only violent enough, but she also speaks without thinking, saying anything that might be embarrassing.

Ryosuke Miyagi didn't offer a specific explanation. His straightforward nature should allow Himawari to understand his purpose.

"You just think what he said makes sense, and you've already started fantasizing about how you would switch positions if you could actually have a special magical girl pose..."

"Reward: 100 seamless pose switching techniques. (Only the first 20 poses will rapidly boost your stats.)"

---

Three minutes later.

The bus stopped in front of an abandoned Western-style villa.

The car door opened, and the three people "walked" out from the mottled wall, returning to their normal size.

Under the moonlight, the villa looked particularly eerie.

The three-story building was covered with withered vines on its exterior walls, and one of the windows on the second floor was broken, like an empty eye. The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, and the rusty iron gate was half-open, creaking in the night wind.

"Is this where the spirits reside?" Hikawa, carrying a chainsaw, looked around. "It looks like a scene from a horror movie."

Ryosuke Miyagi didn't answer, but instead extended his right hand. Black slime coiled around it, solidifying into the "Witcher's Hunting Manual".

The information from the Spirit Encyclopedia appeared in the narration in the Witcher's Hunting Manual, on page five.

The manual will also include special pictures.

Open it, and Ling Encyclopedia will automatically appear.

The picture on page five shows an open revolver with only one bullet inside.

[Lonely Police Officer - Stationed and Guarding (Unnamed)]

[Location: An abandoned villa area on the edge of Shinjuku Ward, near the former site of "Shinjuku 4-chome Koban". The surrounding area includes three streets and an abandoned park.]

[Origin: In 1953, police officer "Seiichiro Nakajima" served in the Shinjuku 4-chome checkpoint for 23 years. He never solved a major case, yet he knew every face in his jurisdiction. He helped lost children find their way home, persuaded a down-on-his-luck salaryman to return home, and delivered hot meals to elderly people living alone during his late-night patrols. On his last shift before retirement, he patrolled his jurisdiction on his police bicycle, returned to the checkpoint, completed his final patrol log, and passed away peacefully in a chair. Even after death, his spirit remained, continuing to "patrol" the streets he had protected for 23 years. Until the checkpoint was demolished and the neighborhood redeveloped, his obsession shifted to this abandoned villa area—the former residence of elderly people living alone, a place he frequented.]

[Abilities: A harmless and gentle spirit that does not disturb others. It will guide lost people at night (using flickering lights); it will automatically sound the alarm once or twice for nearby police cars when a crime is about to occur; and it will gently knock on a neighbor's window when a person living alone falls ill. The nighttime crime rate in this area is far lower than in the surrounding area, and residents always say, "When patrol car lights flash by at night, I feel safe."]

[Note: Nearby residents always feel they see a figure riding a bicycle at night, with the headlights flashing, but there's nothing on the security cameras. The new policeman said it's an illusion, but the veteran officer just smiled and didn't say anything; they both knew it was the old officer's obsession.]

Ryosuke Miyagi closed the handbook, his gaze falling on the second floor of the abandoned villa.

There, behind a relatively intact window, a faint light seemed to flicker.

"Yes, it's here."