Chapter 4: I, Ginzo Nakamori, Have Never Feared Ghosts Since Childhood
Generally speaking, Hikigaya had always believed that as a Campione, he was quite humane.
His tenet had always been: be as brutal as possible toward gods; be occasionally brutal toward humans with supernatural powers depending on the situation; and interact with ordinary people who have no supernatural powers based on the principle of equality. As long as the other party didn't act up, he would be polite.
Simply put, Hachiman Hikigaya only enjoyed taking action against those he deemed capable.
As for Alexander... he clearly enjoyed taking action against museums and phantom thieves. Hikigaya didn't quite understand the thrill in that.
Furthermore, because of Alexander's eccentric hobby, Hikigaya had been forced to agree to use the power of wind instead of lightning for this mission.
Fine! Anyway, it was agreed that Alexander owed him a favor, so he'd let the guy have his fun today.
Compared to the Edo-Tokyo Museum, the Suzuki Museum's design was entirely Western-style. The entire building fully implemented the "Three Essentials" doctrine: to be tall, large, and white. Since it was already night, and because Kid insisted on arriving at a specific time with his flashy antics, the Suzuki Museum had turned on every single light to cooperate with the police capture.
From a distance, the pure white walls shimmered with a golden brilliance under the various external spotlights, while the light emanating from inside the building acted as the finishing touch, illuminating every nook and cranny around the museum as if it were broad daylight.
But rather than saying this was for the police to catch someone, it felt more like... providing background lighting for someone's theatrical performance, didn't it?
'Is this a police station!? We have a traitor among us!'
While complaining in his heart, Hikigaya turned into the wind and entered the museum. The moment he manifested in a deserted area, he absorbed all the light shining upon him, becoming a shadow of darkness shrouded in layers of gloom. Shadows flickered like flames, obscuring his face into an indecipherable silhouette.
With a slight application of his "Plundering the Abundant Setting Sun" Authority, he possessed a body of shadow that could swallow light and devour fire. Since the one providing the mask was unreliable, he had to rely on himself.
According to Alexander, the two ancient swords housed here were said to carry the power of the Thunder God and the Wind God, respectively. Though Hikigaya didn't know what this had to do with the King of the End's "Sword," Alexander was obsessed with "borrowing" the Thunder God's sword in his lightning form.
He believed that Hikigaya taking the Wind God's sword with the power of wind would bring a perfect conclusion to this "borrowing" event.
A classic example of OCD driving a Campione to death.
Hikigaya suspected the key piece of information here was—the guy probably hadn't negotiated at all! It was true the Suzuki family were ordinary people and not members of the magic society, but for people who could build a business empire to this scale, would Alexander really need to "borrow" so sneakily if he had actually negotiated?
Or rather... was this Alexander's idea of negotiation? Refusing to borrow it normally and insisting on using this stage for a thrill? Comparing and analyzing the impression Alexander had given him so far, Hikigaya felt he had discovered the truth. If that were the case, Alexander was quite a mischievous fellow.
The museum was very noisy, likely because Kaito Kid was currently showing off inside. However, that was just one of the exhibition halls. The swords Hikigaya and Alexander wanted were not in the hall where the police and Kid were playing.
Hikigaya was in no rush, walking leisurely through the collection. The Suzuki family was already a prominent clan in Japan; several generations had maintained the meaningful profession of being "nouveau riche," and their collection was indeed incredibly rich. Hikigaya saw many items here that would be considered treasures to ordinary people or even average mages.
But at the level of Campiones and Gods, they were still just ordinary objects. In the several thousand years of human history, divine artifacts generated on earth for various reasons were numerous, though their quality varied. The powerful ones could even assist a human with the traits of a Campione in achieving the feat of God-slaying.
Divine artifacts are things that can be sought but not easily found. Especially powerful ones, once discovered, could trigger a war. But such items could also be acquired by ordinary people with sufficient wealth who weren't part of the magic society, kept as antique collections.
The Wind and Thunder Gods have always been powerful deities in Eastern countries, and Japan is no exception. If ancient swords named after them were true divine artifacts, they would surely be powerful. Otherwise, how could Hikigaya be convinced by Alexander's mere honeyed words? To put it plainly, if there truly was such a good thing, he wanted to collect it too.
"So slow. Hasn't he succeeded yet?" Hikigaya muttered. It was strange that there was no word from Alexander's side. But he wasn't in a position to talk; he had wandered around several times and hadn't seen the sword either. Nor had he sensed any special magical power.
As expected, it probably didn't exist. Whose "Feng Shui" could be so good as to hide divine artifacts in pairs?
Thinking it over, as he walked along the corridor toward another collection room, Hikigaya decided to make a phone call—no, he used a magical transmission. He had forgotten to bring his phone.
"Alexander, I haven't seen the sword you mentioned. Is it really here? If not, I'm leaving," Hikigaya sent a long string of messages in one go.
Then he waited for a while... 'Damn it, this bastard isn't replying! Are you stuck on the toilet with a stomach ache!?'
"Hey! Who's there!?" Perhaps because Hikigaya's resentment was too great, his voice was a bit too loud and seemed to have been heard.
Well, there was no choice but to use a kindly, super-effortless hit to knock them out after insulating the heat.
The voice came from behind. Hikigaya condescended to turn around.
"Ehh!?" He saw a middle-aged man perform an emergency brake at the corner of the corridor, letting out a strange cry. His eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out.
Oh, he almost forgot. His current look was indeed strange, a bit too magical. A simple light hit might not be enough; he'd have to carefully use a physical "brainwashing" strike specifically for ordinary people.
"Ha! You're Kid, aren't you!" The man opposite him suddenly started hopping mad with anger.
Hikigaya was stunned.
'What is wrong with this guy's eyesight?'
"Damn it! Are you looking down on me!? Wearing such bright lights and pretending to be a ghost! Let me tell you, I, Ginzo Nakamori, have never feared ghosts since childhood!"
Ginzo Nakamori? The one who is Kid's best assistant and father-in-law? With that eyesight, no wonder he can't catch his son-in-law. He should just retire and wait to hold his grandchildren.
While Hikigaya was mentally questioning the man's professional standards, he walked toward Nakamori, planning to unleash his painstakingly researched "civilian version" hand-chop.
Seeing Hikigaya approach, Ginzo Nakamori lunged forward in a rage. Hikigaya was startled; he had no intention of killing Inspector Nakamori. So, he sidestepped, letting the man lunge into empty air and have a close encounter with the floor.
One had to admire this guy's drive. He must have been teased by his son-in-law so many times that it had become a mental illness; he suspected everyone of being Kid.
Hikigaya saw him scramble up, grab his walkie-talkie, and shout "Kid is here!" before preparing to lunge again.
The next moment, he froze.
Because right in front of him, Hikigaya touched the wall and dug out a steaming, large hole as if he were stirring tofu. To be able to swallow light and fire, he had to be an even more powerful being of light; did Nakamori really think being draped in black meant he was "cool"?
Adjusting his vocal cords, Hikigaya smiled at Ginzo Nakamori.
"Kid? Dear guest, is that your enemy?"
Since he hadn't found the sword and Alexander wasn't replying, Hikigaya, who was bored, suddenly realized he didn't need to just waste time waiting.
The Yorozuya (Odd Jobs Shop)... it felt like it had been a long time since he'd sold anything, hadn't it?
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting