Roaming All Over Japan

"Then I invented a perpetual motion machine, and bam, bam, chopped that devil up! It surrendered right away! I'm sure to win the Nobel Prize this year!"

Back at Aki's place, Denji excitedly recounted his heroic deeds to Shoko, his glances at her like a husky waiting for praise, making Shoko chuckle.

"Is that so? As expected of Denji~"

Taking a segment from a peeled orange, Shoko tossed it gently towards Denji. He lunged for it like a dog catching a frisbee, nearly colliding with Power in the process.

Seeing the orange, meant for her, snatched by Denji, Power erupted in fury.

"That's enough, you idiot! I was the one who wanted the Nobel Prize first! Now you're stealing my idea and my orange! Shameless!"

"Huh?! I invented the perpetual motion machine, so the Nobel Prize is obviously mine! How can you have the nerve to steal my prize money?!"

"Shameless human!!"

"Despicable devil!!"

With their heads butting together, seemingly on the verge of a brawl, Shoko leaned against the wall, eating her orange and calling Aki.

"Aki, do you think we should get a new house? A detached one with a garden?"

Shoko's out-of-the-blue question bewildered Aki, who was reporting at Public Safety headquarters. "A new house? What are you planning? What's wrong with the current one?"

"Nothing's wrong with the house, I just think it'll probably be gone after those two are done fighting. So I figured I'd discuss getting a new one with you in advance."

"You have time to call me about a new house, but you won't stop them?!"

[Energy +1400]

That's more like it.

Shoko hung up, satisfied with Aki's energy contribution.

To avoid being homeless tonight, she had to intervene.

"Aki, have you noticed our missions are taking us further and further away…?"

A month later, Denji sat listlessly on the bus leaving the city. Power, beside him, was already snoring.

"Field work is normal. Don't overthink it."

Fighting back a yawn, Aki took a sip from his thermos of coffee.

"Normal…"

Denji glanced back. Arai, Kobeni, and Himeno were all fast asleep.

It was understandable. Less than ten hours had passed since they returned from their last mission in Chiba…

Exhaustion was inevitable.

"And do these missions really require us to travel so far from Tokyo headquarters?"

Denji pulled out the devil's portrait for this mission.

The Toilet Paper Devil.

"We mobilized three squads and traveled all the way from Tokyo… for this?"

Aki's expression remained unchanged. "These missions are assigned directly by Makima. Her competence is undeniable. Perhaps there's something more to the intel. It might look like a Toilet Paper Devil, but it could be something far more dangerous. We're here as a precaution."

"You said the same thing about the Pistachio Devil in Osaka last time."

"Occasional errors are normal."

"And the Sofa Devil before that."

"Nobody's perfect…"

"And the Balloon Devil in Yokohama, the Cardboard Box Devil in Nagoya, the Charging Cable Devil in Hokkaido... We've practically covered all of Japan."

"..."

Faced with Denji's irrefutable evidence, even Aki was speechless.

He didn't understand either.

He had no clue why Makima was doing this!

Even if Special Division 4 was a pet project, they were still elite devil hunters, not to be toyed with like this!

"If it's a publicly funded tour of Japan, I'm all for it. Think of it as a vacation…"

Denji clenched his fists, then suddenly jumped up and wailed. "Shoko, Shoko! I haven't had a proper conversation with Shoko in ages! Every time we get back, besides sleeping, I barely see her for a few hours before we're off again!"

"This is pointless! A stray dog could defeat a Toilet Paper or Charging Cable Devil!"

Looking at the distraught Denji and their sleepily awakened teammates, Aki hesitated. "You can't say that. They're still devils, they can't be that weak—"

Just then, outside the window, a girl holding a Fried Chicken Devil slipped. When she stood up, the Fried Chicken Devil had been squashed into a chicken patty.

Aki had thought Shoko's combat ability was unmatched in its… lack thereof. He hadn't expected a devil even more… fragile.

"...I'll talk to Makima about it."

A conflicted Aki finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep.

"You really do love dogs, don't you~?"

At Makima's apartment, Shoko cheerfully rubbed the belly of a husky. As expected of Makima's dogs, they were all plump and healthy, a joy to pet.

"...Not particularly. I just keep them because I want to."

Makima leaned back on the sofa, calmly watching Shoko play with the dogs. "Do you like dogs?"

The question stumped Shoko. After some thought, she finally answered, "Actually, I'm a cat person."

"Dogs are cute, but they need walks. As a homebody, I don't have the energy. Power's cat is more my style, low-maintenance."

"It's fine. If you get one, I can walk it for you."

"No thanks. I'm a responsible devil. If I get a pet, I have to be responsible for it."

So, she prefers cats to dogs? But I prefer dogs. We differ in opinion.

If I just made the Blood Fiend's cat disappear—

"Don't you dare do anything to Meowy."

"I won't." Makima's expression was calm, as if the thought of harming the cat hadn't even crossed her mind.

"Good~"

Shoko sat down next to Makima. "Speaking of which, I haven't seen Denji, Power, or Aki lately. Is something up?"

"There's been a surge in devil-related incidents in surrounding areas. We're short-staffed, so Division 4 has been deployed."

Lying came as naturally to Makima as breathing. Her expression didn't change a bit.

The truth was simpler: she had sent them away so Shoko would stay with her.

The rest of Public Safety was delighted. Their workaholic boss had finally stopped overworking and started leaving early.

Trickle-down effect, activate!