Chapter 44: The Ancient Tomb
"Welcome, everyone. I am Shinomiya Oko."
In this Shinomiya reception room, Hikigaya Hachiman, Mei Mei, and the uninvited Todo Aoi met their client.
The eldest son of the Shinomiya family, Shinomiya Oko.
This mustachioed, bald, middle-aged man spoke with great enthusiasm, although his hands were tucked into the sleeves of his kimono.
"I've finally been able to welcome you all."
The opulent, Western-style conference room contained four chairs. Including Todo Aoi, four sets of documents—presumably the mission details—were laid out on the table.
"I appreciate your efforts in traveling here."
Shinomiya Oko's attitude was excellent. If Shinomiya Kaguya saw her brother acting this way, it would surely alter her perception of him.
Shinomiya Oko wasn't an idiot; any one of the four individuals there had the ability to casually take his head off and kick it like a ball, possessing fighting abilities beyond normal comprehension.
Shinomiya Oko's arrogance was reserved for ordinary people. For these entities that defied logic, he naturally treated them with the utmost respect.
In other words, it takes a villain to deal with a villain.
"Mr. Oko, you exaggerate. Since we accepted the mission, we will certainly help our client resolve all issues."
Mei Mei was naturally in charge of negotiations, as she had accepted the task initially and already had many contacts with Oko.
Mei Mei herself made a living by moving among these wealthy individuals, solving supernatural incidents for them and earning excessive profits.
As for Hayasaka Nao and Yukinoshita Haruno, who had greeted them, they had left and were waiting at the door, not listening in.
"Miss Mei is quite famous in our circle, which is why I was confident in calling upon you. Furthermore, you brought along 'The Emperor's Cleaner.'
Adding Mr. Todo, the top student from Kyoto Jujutsu High, I feel that this matter is almost certain to be resolved."
"You flatter us."
The other party's praises were effusive, but Hikigaya Hachiman didn't take a single word seriously.
"Please explain the details of the mission so that we can better proceed with the Curse exorcism work."
Shinomiya Oko nodded and pressed a button on the table. Immediately, the built-in projector displayed images on the screen in front of them.
"This happened last month.
Our group acquired the property rights to Mt. Suu, intending to develop it for tourism."
On the screen, Shinomiya Oko demonstrated the overall blueprint. Hikigaya Hachiman noticed the logo of Yukinoshita Construction.
"The investment is substantial. When construction workers were blasting the mountainside, they unexpectedly uncovered an ancient tomb.
We initially thought finding an ancient tomb wasn't a big deal—we could just have a few experts examine it.
But strange things started happening constantly at the entire construction site."
Shinomiya Oko's face was filled with apprehension.
"First, seven or eight dump trucks inexplicably started moving at night and collided with each other.
Workers all claimed they kept hearing knocking sounds and noises similar to cat claws scratching the windows while sleeping at night.
At first, no one took it seriously, but then the scenes the workers witnessed became increasingly bizarre, eventually resulting in casualties.
All these details are documented in the compiled materials."
Shinomiya Oko wasn't particularly interested in the details of the ghosts and monsters, unwilling to even speak of them.
He only stated that everything they needed to know was in the booklet of compiled materials in front of them.
Hikigaya Hachiman read the documents, which showed:
"Twenty workers collectively went missing on a rainy night. Footprints remaining in the nearby woods suggested they headed towards the ancient tomb."
The Shinomiya family sent a search team of ten, led by a Grade 1 Sorcerer they sponsored, but they also went missing inside the tomb.
No wonder Mei Mei called him. A Grade 1 Sorcerer getting wiped out in this tomb already spoke volumes.
Mei Mei noticed Hikigaya Hachiman's gaze and simply smiled without speaking.
"The structures that had already been built collapsed, roads were washed away by heavy rain, and even the foundation-laying machinery was swept away by a flash flood."
Hikigaya Hachiman quickly skimmed the rest of the document, which detailed other accidents.
In short, the Shinomiya Group and Yukinoshita Construction had suffered heavy losses. The large number of missing people was impossible to conceal.
It was no wonder they sought out Mei Mei, one of the top Grade 1 Sorcerers in terms of skill.
And that was why the Shinomiya family was so proactive with payment when they heard Mei Mei could contact Hikigaya.
If these issues weren't resolved, not only would the heavily invested land be worthless, but the families of the missing personnel, whose disappearances were being forcibly suppressed, would trigger a public outcry.
After all, 31 people were missing, not 31 chickens.
The reason for having the Sorcerers attend the Shinomiya family banquet before going to the site was that midnight was the peak time for supernatural activity.
Therefore, it didn't conflict with the banquet, and Shinomiya Oko thought it was necessary to mingle and build rapport.
After all, the mission assigned by the old man was to find a way to incorporate 'The Emperor's Cleaner' into the Shinomiya family.
"I have absolute faith in leaving this to you all."
Shinomiya Oko glanced at the clock on his computer and stood up.
"So, please accept the Shinomiya family's hospitality as an expression of my gratitude in advance."
Outside the door, Hayasaka Nao and Yukinoshita Haruno jointly opened the sealed door.
Todo Aoi, who had been silent for a long time, serving only as background, couldn't contain himself upon hearing Oko's words. He was clearly impatient to watch his idol perform.
Noticing Todo's eagerness, Hikigaya Hachiman and Mei Mei didn't make him wait and also stood up.
Mei Mei elegantly smoothed her hair.
"I hear the Shinomiya family's banquets are always top-tier. I must make sure to fully experience it today."
"Then, please follow me."
Shinomiya Oko personally leading Hikigaya Hachiman and the others into the main hall naturally attracted a great deal of attention.
While Shinomiya Oko was hosting Hikigaya Hachiman and the others, Shinomiya Seiryu was on the stage giving the opening remarks for the evening. The two brothers were quite similar—middle-aged men with small mustaches and squinting eyes.
Seeing his elder brother arrive, Shinomiya Seiryu handed the speaker's position over to Shinomiya Oko.
Hikigaya Hachiman noticed that the people around them were all big names, either familiar from television or renowned in various fields. This was the Shinomiya family's social circle—no one insignificant was invited.
Just then, a pink-haired girl in a dazzling evening gown wove through the layers of people and quietly approached Hikigaya Hachiman from behind.
The girl playfully poked Hikigaya Hachiman's back with her finger.
However, contrary to her expectation that he would look in the direction opposite to where she poked, resulting in an empty space,
He seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, catching her mischievous act with perfect precision.
The pink-haired girl puffed out her cheeks, disgruntled that she hadn't managed to tease Hikigaya Hachiman.
"Seriously, Hachiman is no fun at all."
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