Chapter 49: Make an Appointment

Chapter 49: Make an Appointment

"People in ancient cities sure knew how to have fun..."

Looking at the nearby Kyoto Tower, Hikigaya muttered to himself.

This is a watchtower built during the Showa era, located in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto City, Japan, directly across the street from the Karasuma Central Exit of Kyoto Station. It's one of the famous landmarks in the station area.

Historically, considering Japan's frequent earthquakes and typhoons, this tower was built with a safety factor twice as high as normal buildings. It can withstand typhoons with wind speeds of up to 50 meters per second and survived the Great Hanshin Earthquake.

All this basically means one thing—this is a great place to show off.

Hikigaya slowly walked to the ticket booth and elevator area.

But the ticket booth was already deserted. In contrast, by the elevator stood two burly men dressed like movie henchmen.

Their massive bodies stretched their suits tight over bulging muscles. It was clearly not an everyday look.

Most likely, they were subordinates of Voban stationed in Kyoto, with strong yakuza vibes.

As someone who once was combat-inept and grew up in a peaceful country, Hikigaya had always secretly harbored a romantic notion towards people like this: "I really want to punch them, just once."

He walked over.

His last meeting with Voban hadn't gone too smoothly—who knew how things would go this time?

He owed the old man a favor, so violence wasn't an option now. If these two goons didn't let him through, he might consider skipping the elevator. It'd be a pain, but at least he wouldn't owe anyone another favor. Besides, who would bother to come up and say "that's too petty"? If anyone did, he'd make sure to show them his "romantic notion."

But clearly, he was overthinking it.

Because the two men, who were practically radiating "don't mess with me" vibes, froze upon seeing him. Then they started trembling like they'd seen a ghost.

Hikigaya, about to speak, fell silent—suddenly feeling annoyed.

What's that supposed to mean? You guys are obviously the ugly ones, okay!?

If you want to get beaten into mush, just say so. I'm not some OP cheat like One Punch Man, but I can still grant a simple wish like that!

Just as Hikigaya was about to act, the two men shuffled over, and their menacing faces forcibly contorted into flattering smiles.

Disgusting...

"Committee's Kansai Branch, at your service, Lord Rakshasa," the two hulking men bowed deeply like obedient little bunnies—well beyond ninety degrees.

"We are stationed here under orders to serve the Wolf King, not to disobey your command."

Alright, he admitted it—not only did their expressions make him sick, their speech did too. Supposedly, one sign of being cured of chuunibyou is feeling the urge to mock others when they act chuunibyou. Looks like he really did graduate.

Seems the Committee was quite efficient—they'd already spread word of his intentions.

"Got it. I'm here to see the Marquis. Go inform him for me."

"Ah, please, go ahead. The Marquis has already ordered us to await your arrival."

The two men bowed and scraped, opening the elevator with the most bootlicking posture imaginable.

They were so timid it made Hikigaya feel sorry for them. Like their whole reason for being so burly was just to be more visually pathetic when groveling...

What Hikigaya didn't know was, their fear was entirely his own doing. Back when he met the Marquis in Chiba, he'd killed dozens in one breath. That scene was fully recorded by the hotel's cameras, and after the footage was circulated, it left many people with scalp-numbing fear.

To put it bluntly, thanks to the senior god-slayers, it's hard for a Campione to earn a good reputation—but a bad one? That's built-in. Do something even slightly ruthless, and your cruelty rating gets multiplied by ten thousand at minimum.

No matter how much Hikigaya tried to see himself as a decent guy, there was no changing that. Though now, he'd started to get used to it.

He entered the elevator and rode it straight to the top floor.

Kyoto Tower has five levels, the top two being observation decks that can hold hundreds.

When Hikigaya stepped out, he saw Voban standing at the edge of the observation deck, gazing downward.

Clearly, the guy was trying to look cool—but when he heard Hikigaya's footsteps, he turned around.

"Your domain's not bad, plenty of rare talents. Mind sending a few my way?"

To be fair, this was a rare show of friendliness from Voban.

Usually, he just hijacked the ride, then decided on a whim whether to pay the fare. Most times, he not only skipped the fare but demanded the other person drive him cross-country. Refuse, and you're dead.

So Hikigaya merely smiled wryly at the comment and walked forward.

He wasn't here to discuss Mariya with the Marquis anyway—otherwise all his previous words would've been for show. Not that he minded doing that.

If the Committee had acted without fully understanding and messed things up, that was worth celebrating. Watching annoying people self-destruct because of him—what joy!

Feeling upbeat, Hikigaya copied Voban's stance—standing on the rooftop, letting the wind blow.

But he soon realized: trying to act cool with no audience is just dumb. Totally pointless. So he spoke up, "Are you planning to summon a god?"

"Yes. If the gods won't show up before me, I'll just go find them myself." Voban grinned, wearing the same face as a mutt seeing a meat bun. "I saw your last battle. You're quite like me."

He burst into loud laughter, clearly thinking that was a high compliment.

Hikigaya felt none of that. It just made him feel like he'd stepped in dog poop.

If he had to respond, it'd be: "Like you, my ass. Get lost!"

"So, what did you come for? Is it because of that miko?" Voban asked, eyeing him slyly, clearly hoping Hikigaya would bring up Mariya.

It was painfully obvious—he was bored of waiting to summon a god and just wanted a distraction. If something fun came along, summoning or not didn't matter anymore.

But then Hikigaya replied, "Yeah, that was the original reason—but I've changed my mind."

Honestly, if Hikigaya hadn't given Voban a good impression earlier, Voban would've already kicked him.

No one had dared tease him like this in two hundred years.

"Why?" Voban asked, clearly annoyed—his face practically said "Unhappy" in big letters.

This infamous tyrant was quite frustrated—he finally found a like-minded fellow, but the guy was just too damn capricious.

How could a king change his mind so casually? Outrageous!

But being called "senpai" for the first time in his life, if he acted out as usual now, it'd just make him look bad. So he decided to show a bit of senior grace… though it felt weird.

"I heard you don't get along with this country's 'insects.'" Voban finally suppressed the urge to turn into a big dog and force a fight. "But it seems they're still alive and well. That's not how it should be."

"It's alright." Hikigaya was confused to see Voban wearing a "disappointed teacher" expression.

What the hell? How'd this weird emotion end up in Voban's face?

"Hmph, we are kings. Insects that don't know their place should be crushed." Voban sounded like a grade school moral education teacher—but it was obvious he'd never worked in a school.

Deep down, he felt the miko was useless—couldn't even be used to start a fight properly.

But then he had an idea. With a snap of his fingers, a gust of wind suddenly swirled to their left—and in a blink, it vanished, revealing two girls.

It was Liliana and Mariya, whom Hikigaya had seen not long ago. Both looked stunned, like they hadn't caught up to what just happened.

"I'm returning the miko to you—and giving you the witch too." Voban ignored the girls, whose faces changed drastically after bowing to him, and grinned at Hikigaya. "In return, show me your authority. It looks interesting."

Voban considered himself a thoughtful senpai. One king gifting another meant a gift in return. He even suggested what that return gift should be. With a senpai like him, Hikigaya was blessed.

Although he probably didn't realize—or forgot—that some people only accept gifts without returning them. Especially himself.

So Hikigaya was thrown off by Voban's sudden move, though he quickly caught on.

It left him a bit speechless. Only he could keep up with this chuuni old man's train of thought. The guy was almost cheating just to pick a fight. That made Hikigaya feel… oddly sympathetic.

Still, it was good for him. No need to go all out, and he could gain valuable combat experience.

So he made up his mind.

"Sure, but don't go all in—I'm still a rookie."

"Of course. You're not my enemy. Let's just play around a bit."

Hikigaya's answer pleased Voban. He found Hikigaya agreeable again—and because of that, decided to show some manners, even though he wasn't good at it.

"You're the host, I'm the guest. You pick the location. I know the rules."

"Alright." Hikigaya grinned wide, treating Voban's last sentence like a joke.

Expecting Voban to understand normal social rules? Only if pigs are just dinosaurs in disguise.