— — — — — —
"You—what are you doing?! This is a law-abiding country! If you kill someone, you'll get arrested!"
The man stared at the gun in Kazuma's hand, his voice trembling. The image of that ghostly monster being blasted apart by a single shot was still burned into his mind.
But then he remembered—this wasn't a ghost standing in front of him. It was just a person. That thought made him a little bolder.
"People in the modern world," Kazuma said coldly, "they have this stupid kind of confidence—believing no one would hurt them."
"Sure, laws keep society stable. But if you meet someone who doesn't care about laws, they're just words on paper."
"And when you provoke someone like that… you're basically lighting the fuse on a bomb. There's only one way that ends."
BANG
Without hesitation, Kazuma raised the gun and fired at the man's arm.
The shot made both the man and Miko Yotsuya freeze in shock.
"Wait—!" Miko shouted, panicked. If he actually killed someone, things would get very complicated.
The man opened his mouth to scream, but a shadow suddenly appeared behind him—a black-clad ninja soldier stepped out of the darkness, clamping a hand over his mouth. The man could only groan and whimper through muffled pain.
He couldn't feel his arm anymore. It was like it had never existed.
"Miko," Kazuma said, his tone calm as ever, "this is your first lesson. When someone tries to stiff you on payment, don't waste time arguing."
"Just shoot them. If they still don't cooperate, then finish the job."
"And don't worry about witnesses. If I dare to act, it means I'm sure no one will ever find out."
His words were matter-of-fact, like he was teaching her how to use a broom instead of how to threaten someone at gunpoint.
"Y-yes!" Miko squeaked, straightening up instinctively.
She stared at the man clutching his arm—there wasn't a single wound on him, but the agony twisting his face was real.
For the first time, she really understood how terrifyingly powerful an exorcist could be. Kazuma wasn't just strong—he was operating on a whole different level.
"Um," she asked carefully, "I thought normal people couldn't see your gun? How come he can?"
"Not bad," Kazuma thought. Even after all this chaos, her nerves were holding up surprisingly well. No wonder she'd managed to survive this long.
"I said they can't normally see it," Kazuma explained. "Didn't say it's impossible."
"This gun's a divine artifact. It's made for fighting spirits, but if I want to use it on humans, I can."
"The bullets don't harm the body—they destroy the soul. If I shot him in the head right now, he'd drop into a coma. Not even Conan could solve that mystery."
Kazuma thought for a moment. Well, if Detective Conan were mashed up into this world, that'd be interesting. But after checking the year, it didn't seem likely—Jujutsu Kaisen had a better chance of crossing over here than Conan.
Kazuma refocused on the man and leveled the gun at his forehead again.
"Last chance," Kazuma said quietly. "Money, or your life?"
"Mmff! Mmmf!"
"Oh? Still stubborn?" Kazuma tilted his head slightly, smiling faintly. "Guess you really want to die."
"Mmmf! Mmmf!" The man thrashed desperately. 'Let me talk, damn it! I'll pay, I'll pay anything!'
"Um, maybe… maybe you should let him speak first?" Miko suggested hesitantly.
The man's eyes lit up. Finally—someone reasonable!
But Kazuma shook his head. "If I let him yell, he might scream for help. Safer to keep it like this." He cocked the gun again. "Now, last time. You paying or not?"
"Mmmf! Mmmf—!"
The man suddenly understood—Kazuma never intended to let him answer. The question wasn't to negotiate. It was just pretext.
'He's really going to kill me! No, no, no! I'll pay! I'll pay everything!'
"I'll PAY! I'll pay whatever you want!" the man shouted as soon as the ninja removed his hand.
"Good," Kazuma said evenly. "Five hundred thousand. Not a yen more, not a yen less. Otherwise, you die."
"I-I'll get it right now!" the man stammered, scrambling for his wallet.
He'd given up completely. A minute ago, he'd been tempted to cheat them, but now he understood—if this man could erase a ghost so easily, killing him would be child's play.
He handed over the money, trembling.
Revenge? Not a chance. If this guy got mad, he'd probably nuke his house with a rocket launcher.
The man was terrified into obedience.
[Ding!]
[Mission complete. Magic capacity +10%.]
[Reward: 100 Mission Points.]
[Achievement unlocked: First Exorcism — Reward: Beast Speech Mastery.]
"So the rewards don't stack, huh. Shame." Kazuma sighed. This mission counted as his completion, so he got the 100 points and 10% boost. He'd hoped doing missions with Miko might double the reward, but no luck.
After collecting the payment, the two left.
"Um," Miko said as they walked, "are exorcisms always this… brutal? Don't we usually, you know, do rituals or purification or something like on TV?"
"First," Kazuma replied, "if one bullet solves the problem, why waste time with rituals? That's just inefficiency."
"Second, we're not actors in a TV show. We're professionals in the Exorcism Guild. They perform; we get results."
"Third, if you want to do rituals, go ahead. I don't bother because it's a waste of time."
He pulled out a pair of glasses and handed them to her.
"Consider this part of your employee kit."
"With the gear I've given you, completing missions won't be hard. The real trouble is getting paid afterward—like today."
"Uh… but what if he wasn't lying?" Miko asked quietly. "What if he just… didn't believe what he saw?"
"Miko," Kazuma sighed, "use your head."
"That website of ours isn't public. Only people truly haunted can even see it."
"Second, if he didn't believe, why post a commission? The moment he filled out that form, he accepted it might be real."
"Third—did you notice his clothes? Nice fabric. But his eyes? Bloodshot. That's someone who hasn't slept in days."
"Prolonged fear. Exhaustion. He's been tormented for a while. Classic haunting symptoms."
"And finally, when I gave him those glasses, he saw the spirit. Which means pretending not to afterward was just lying to skip payment."
Miko blinked in surprise. "Oh… I see!"
She'd thought Kazuma was just all action and no thought, but now she realized how sharp his analysis actually was. He went straight for the core of the problem and ignored everything unnecessary.
She took a deep breath, feeling her respect for him deepen. "If I want to be a real exorcist," she told herself, "I need to toughen up too."
And just like that, she realized wryly, "I've started to accept this insane situation and even think about how to do my job better. God, I'm hopeless. But it's all for my debt..."
Miko couldn't help sighing at her own ridiculous adaptability. "If anyone was born to be a wage slave, it's me."
.
.
.