Chapter 78: Your Codename is Cringe
If Shingetsu were to fly into a rage, even Director Lev wouldn't be able to suppress him. Fortunately, Shingetsu wasn't the type to lose control over something like this.
He calmed down quickly and looked at Lev expressionlessly. "Director, why did you call me here?" He had come because Lev notified him of an important matter, not expecting to run into Otonashi Chiya.
"A devil that local civilian organizations can't handle has appeared in the Peterhof district," Director Lev explained. "Word is it has consumed two flesh fragments of the Gun Devil. Ordinary military hunters are having a hard time with it. I plan to send you and Otonashi Chiya to hunt it down—it'll be a good chance for you two to build some chemistry."
However, given the unexpected turn of events just now, Lev wasn't entirely sure if any "chemistry" was actually going to happen.
"Understood." Shingetsu said no more, turning and leaving the office immediately.
Meanwhile, Chiya and Ian had just reached the bottom of the administration building.
"By the way, is there a mall nearby where I can buy groceries? Please take me there," Chiya said to Ian.
"Ah, I'll take you right now." Ian started heading toward the main gates of the Military Department.
Just then, Shingetsu made his way down the stairs. He walked straight toward them, causing Ian to freeze in his tracks from sheer terror. However, Shingetsu didn't trouble Ian; instead, he spoke bluntly to Chiya in his usual cold tone.
"I'm delivering a message for the Director. You are to go with me to the Peterhof district this afternoon to hunt a devil."
"Got it. Once I've finished lunch, let's meet right here around 1:00 PM," Chiya replied calmly. When it came to field missions, he was willing to cooperate as long as Shingetsu didn't start acting out.
Shingetsu walked past Chiya, casting a brief, faint glance at Ian as he passed. Ian broke into a cold sweat under that gaze. Luckily, Shingetsu didn't make things difficult for him and simply continued on his way.
Ian let out a long breath of relief. He offered a strained smile to Chiya. "Let's... let's go."
"You don't need to be so afraid of that guy," Chiya reminded him. "If he starts acting up, just tell me. I've got your back."
"Okay." Ian felt an immediate sense of security. If anyone else in the Leningrad Military Department said that, it would be a hollow boast—but Chiya was the only one who could truly suppress Shingetsu.
About ten minutes later, Ian brought Chiya to the nearest mall. It had everything, including a wide variety of food ingredients.
"Chiya, are you buying ingredients to cook for yourself? Was the cafeteria food not to your taste?" Ian couldn't help but ask.
"I just got to a foreign country, after all. Besides, I prefer cooking for myself anyway," Chiya explained.
"Oh, right. Do you have Rubles? If not, I can pay for you first." Ian was quite thoughtful, even considering whether Chiya had exchanged his currency.
"No need, I exchanged my money before I came," Chiya said.
He bought ingredients for lunch and dinner, along with some seasonings, utensils, snacks, and fruit, before heading back. Upon returning to the Leningrad Military Department, Chiya and Ian prepared to head their separate ways.
"Then I'm heading to the cafeteria. Stay safe during your mission this afternoon." Even though he knew how strong Chiya was, Ian still spoke with genuine concern.
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Chiya waved a casual goodbye and headed back to his dormitory.
The dorm was fully equipped, making cooking quite convenient. However, having consistently eaten with Denji, Kobeni, and Pochita lately, he felt a sudden pang of loneliness cooking and eating by himself.
After lunch, Chiya rested for a bit. As 1:00 PM approached, he went down to the administrative building to meet Shingetsu.
Upon arriving, he saw Shingetsu leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. His head was slightly lowered, his military cap's brim obscuring his eyes, but his slender frame and pale skin were unmistakable.
"I'm here," Chiya announced.
"Let's go then," Shingetsu said, raising his head slightly and setting off immediately.
Chiya remained silent as they left the Leningrad Military Department together. Midway through their walk, Chiya asked curiously, "Hey, I wanted to ask—why do you have such a big problem with Ian?"
He couldn't quite figure it out. Shingetsu seemed to harbor a significant grudge or distaste toward the boy. Ian was just a rookie in Special Ops Unit 5, while Shingetsu was the Captain of Unit 1. Given Ian's timid personality, it was highly unlikely he had ever done anything to offend Shingetsu.
After a moment of silence, Shingetsu replied:
"First of all, my name isn't 'Hey'."
"Secondly, it's not that I have a 'problem' with him. It is only natural for the strong to despise the weak; it requires no reason."
"For instance, you are stronger than me. You don't need a reason to despise me, either."
Clearly, Shingetsu was not only far from being a sore loser, but he had also fully accepted that Chiya was his superior in strength.
"..." Chiya was speechless. "Your personality really is... something else."
This guy wasn't just domineering; he was a pure meritocrat of strength. If you were stronger than him, he was manageable to be around. If you were weaker, however, no one would ever want to get close to him.
Shingetsu didn't deny it. "Many people say that about me."
"But if you don't want me to call you 'Hey'... your codename... how should I put this... is a bit... cringe?" Chiya felt a wave of secondhand embarrassment.
The codename "Tsar" gave off heavy chuunibyou vibes. Chiya found it awkward enough just thinking about it, let alone having to actually call Shingetsu by that title.
Hearing this, Shingetsu snapped his head toward Chiya. "Is it really cringe?"
His cold face was remarkably serious. It seemed he genuinely hadn't realized the codename might be embarrassing, and he appeared to actually care about the verdict.
"..." Shingetsu's dead-serious expression left Chiya at a loss for words.
So this guy really had no idea?
Then again, given Shingetsu's power, no one else would ever dare say that to his face. Only Chiya could get away with it; anyone else would likely have been torn apart by his hand blades.
"Seriously. It's very cringe," Chiya said, being blunt.
He wasn't just being a bit mischievous to knock Shingetsu down a peg; he honestly didn't want to use such an embarrassing title. What was wrong with just using a real name?
AN-
Action next chap
Lemme cook
Enjoyyyy