Chapter 36: Hiring a Tutor
The members of Special Division 1 were now thoroughly impressed by Vice Captain Otonashi. They felt that in terms of pure martial arts, no one in the entire Tokyo Public Safety Bureau—except perhaps Captain Kishibe—would be a match for him. As for whether that would hold true if devil powers were factored in, they couldn't be sure, as they had no idea which devil the Vice Captain had contracted with.
It wasn't until past 9:00 PM that Otonashi Chiya finally left the training base.
Upon returning home, Chiya looked at Denji and suddenly remembered something. "Denji, while I won't force you to go to school, learning is still quite important. How about I find a tutor for you?"
Denji was a bit reluctant, feeling that studying was a boring chore, but she didn't want Chiya-nii to think she was being disobedient. She nodded and replied, "Okay."
"Good girl." Chiya ruffled Denji's hair. Denji grinned, clearly happy to be praised.
The next day.
Chiya was out on patrol with Aki and Himeno again; the three of them were responsible for patrolling the same district for the entire week. As they passed by a middle school, Chiya suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong, Otonashi-kun?" Himeno asked. "Come to think of it, you aren't in school either, right? Don't tell me you're missing campus life?"
"No, I'm just thinking about finding a tutor for my sister. She's never been to school before," Chiya explained.
While he could have inquired at a specialized agency, he felt a current student might be more suitable—provided they were a top achiever. He certainly wouldn't hire a mediocre student to teach Denji.
"Oh, a tutor? You can just post a recruitment notice on the school's bulletin board," Himeno suggested. "But since outsiders usually aren't allowed to advertise inside the school, we should go talk to the principal first."
Aki opened his mouth slightly, wanting to remind them that they were currently on patrol, but after a second thought, he stayed silent. He was taking Chiya's feelings into consideration.
Himeno headed toward the school gate, with Chiya and Aki following close behind. As long as they weren't being excessively lazy, minor deviations during patrol didn't matter much; Public Safety wasn't overly strict about this, especially since no one was watching.
The security guard at the gate noticed their attire and asked, "Are you... Public Safety devil hunters?"
"Yes, we need to speak with the principal about something," Himeno said.
After verifying their credentials, the guard pointed them toward the principal's office. As the three entered, the guard grew anxious. Three Public Safety hunters showing up at once, including a Vice Captain? Could there be a devil inside the school?
Soon, they reached the administration building and located the principal's office.
"Hello, Principal. We have a recruitment notice we'd like to post on your campus bulletin board," Himeno got straight to the point.
"What kind of recruitment? It's not related to devil hunting, is it?" The principal suddenly looked unsettled.
If that were the case, even though the request came from Tokyo Public Safety, the principal would be reluctant to agree. Whether middle school or high school, nearly all the students were minors; he could never allow children to be recruited into such a dangerous profession as devil hunting.
Himeno immediately shook her head. "No, no, we're not so heartless as to ask students to become devil hunters. Otonashi-kun, why don't you explain?"
"I am Otonashi Chiya, Vice Captain of Special Division 1. I'm simply looking to hire a tutor to help my sister with her studies," Chiya explained briefly.
"I see. That's a small matter then. Just give me the recruitment details once you've drafted them," the principal agreed readily. Since they were Public Safety hunters, he was more than willing to grant such a reasonable request.
Chiya didn't waste any time and wrote out the notice on the spot.
Starting wage: 2,000 yen per hour.
Hours: One to two hours a day.
Trial period: One month.
Requirements: High school student, ranked in the top ten of their grade. Interview required.
A starting wage of 2,000 yen per hour was exceptionally high for a student part-time job—the average in Tokyo was usually around 1,000 yen. He offered double the rate specifically to attract the most brilliant candidates. After all, he wasn't short on cash.
"Good. I'll have my secretary post this on the bulletin board shortly," the principal said.
However, just as he spoke, a piercingly loud alarm suddenly blared through the school. Chiya was instantly puzzled. What is that? Has a devil appeared?
"It can't be such a coincidence, can it? A devil shows up just as we arrive?" Himeno's comment confirmed Chiya's suspicions.
"Let's go!"
Hayakawa Aki immediately bolted out of the office. He was well-versed in these protocols; every official school in Japan conducted regular anti-devil drills, but those alarms were much softer and steadier. This sound meant a devil was actually on campus.
Chiya and Himeno followed him downstairs quickly. The principal didn't just stand there in a daze either; he turned on the PA system, instructing students to stay inside their classrooms unless a devil approached, warning them that running blindly could lead to stampedes or accidental encounters with the creature.
Most students had no idea where the devil was. Usually, a devil would be intercepted by the school's own armed security while they waited for private sector hunters to arrive—or Public Safety, if the situation escalated. But today was different: Public Safety was already on-site.
A second announcement blared:
"The devil is on the soccer field! Repeat, the devil is on the soccer field! Students and staff near the soccer field, please evacuate immediately! Repeat, evacuate the soccer field immediately!"
The broadcast was urgent and loud. Chiya heard it clearly and sprinted toward the field. He had memorized the school's layout from the map in the hallway outside the principal's office earlier.
Since he didn't have time to wait for Aki and Himeno, they were quickly left in his dust.
"Otonashi-kun is way too fast!" Himeno exclaimed. "But that's for the best. If he gets there first, he can minimize student casualties."
"Let's change our objective. Leave the devil to Otonashi; we should look for any students or teachers who haven't managed to get away from the soccer field yet," Aki said, having full confidence in Chiya's strength.