Editing The Zashiki Warashi of Intellectual Village:Volume2 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 1===

It was hot.

It was the end of August, so it really should have been a bit cooler. Not even my highly revealing outfit of a white tank top and hot pants was enough to combat the heat. And the heat of the sun seemed to increase as if to say it was just getting started. Long hair was very annoying in this kind of weather. I had it bound up, but I had a powerful urge to just cut it all off.

You couldn’t take the urban heat island effect lightly.

But I was a working member of society, so I couldn’t exactly head to Hokkaido for fun. I’ll leave what kind of society I mean to your imagination.

In a large city hardened with asphalt and concrete, no one was surprised to see a mirage after consecutive hot, sunny days. I approached a large vehicle parked below an overpass in that gray and wavering city. I then tapped lightly on its body with the back of my right hand.

Now then.

When you hear the term “RV”, how large of a vehicle do you picture in your head?

Well, I doubt many people would say “the size of a large tour bus”, but that was exactly how gigantic the one in front of me was.

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say the entire interior of a tour bus had been removed and all the devices needed to live one’s life had been installed.

“Hey, hey, Mai-san. Long time no see. Come on in.”

The front door opened automatically using compressed air and the small man in the driver’s seat spoke to me. He was wearing the stereotypical indoor outfit of a T-shirt and shorts. Thanks to solar panels and a giant battery, the vehicle had the air conditioning on 24/7, so it should have been cool enough regardless.

I walked up the three or four steps into the vehicle and looked around.

It had a bed, a table, a couch, a refrigerator, a microwave, and a TV. Oh, and a gas stovetop, oven, and bathroom as well. The amount of furniture had increased since the last time I had been there. Why did an RV have a washer and dryer in it?

“You’re insane to spend 30 million yen on this thing.”

“Didn’t you know, Mai-san? There’s an asteroid coming. It’s going to get real close real soon. If you think of yourself as the earth, it’s going to pass right in front of your nose. It’ll be quite the spectacle. If you truly hope to survive, you’ll need more than some emergency food and flashlights. I’ve spent all this money to save my own life.”

''That may be the case, but you’re forgetting the scale of the earth and the asteroid. Even scraping right by my nose is farther away than Japan is from Brazil.

The small man’s nostrils flared as he said, “Really, it comes down to food. Food is most important. In the cargo space down below, I’ve made a baby leaf factory using ultraviolet lights and a moisture circulation device. It’s a masterpiece! Every week, I have a drum-full of leaves to eat. I’ll never starve. I can survive for 100 years without issue using this system.”

“Only a rabbit could survive off of that.”

“You’d think so, right? But you’re wrong. Chickens. I’m raising chickens, too. They lay eggs every day, so I have no shortage of animal protein. Plus, I can eat their meat too. As long as I plan it out so I don’t eat too much chicken meat and allow a tenth of the eggs to hatch into chicks, I’ll have no problems! Amazing, isn’t it? Isn’t my system just plain amazing!?”

He was an annoying man.

But the fact that someone with such a horrible lack of sociability could survive as a free agent without relying on the power of an organization showed just how skilled he was at his job.

To switch the flow of the conversation, I said, “Now then, Supplier.”

“What is it, Mai-san?”

“I need money. Either hand over all of your money or introduce me to a job.”

Those who did not understand my situation would often refer to me as the Deadly Dragon Princess of Hyakki Yakou, but I was actually a free agent just like this man. Hyakki Yakou was my usual client because it was Japan’s largest organization in my field, but I did not exclusively take jobs from them.

I did like the young lady at the top of that organization, but I had to accept jobs from elsewhere to maintain the proper balance. Otherwise, I risked binding myself too closely to the one organization.

Leaving clear signs of your neutrality could be a real pain in the ass.

The Supplier was aware of those issues, so he replied without showing any real change to his expression.

“I see. Then I have a good one for you. How about taking a trip to Kyoto?”

“Kyoto?”

“Yes, Kyoto. One of the few cities of over a million where humans coexist with Youkai thanks to thoroughly maintaining the environment. I have an order asking for someone to go crush some idiots who are acting in secret there.”

''Oh?

As the Supplier had said, Kyoto was a unique place in both Japan and perhaps even worldwide. But the one problem with sticking to the old ways too much was an inability to deal with modern circumstances and social problems.

That city contained a large number of Youkai and a large number of humans.

In other words, it was filled with easy marks for Youkai-related Packages.

“Well, anything’s fine by me. Who are these idiots?”

“Akki Rasetsu<ref>Akki Rasetsu is a Japanese phrase referring to a man-eating monster or demon.</ref>.”

“That organization numbers in the thousands. Isn’t that a little much for me to slaughter on my own?”

“That isn’t something I want to hear from the princess who caused enough infighting to destroy Inga Ouhou<ref>Inga Ouhou is a Japanese phrase referring to karma or one’s just deserts.</ref> which was three times the size.” The Supplier grinned. “Also, you don’t need to completely annihilate them. Akki Rasetsu is earning quite a bit of hatred in their attempts to expand their range of business. If you give them a good blow or two and destroy their income cycle, those around them will finish them off.”

“And is that cycle in Kyoto?”

“It seems they’ve started some huge project. This project shows no concern for morals or human life yet they’ve started it in the middle of a city of over a million. The leaders of Akki Rasetsu will gather to inspect the project soon. That is when you should crush them.”

“Have they bet the fate of the organization on this?”

“Seems that way. Crushing either the leaders or project will be enough to fulfill the order. Of course, you’ll get a special bonus if you crush both. Will you take it?”

“I might as well. I assume you have confirmed the client’s ability to pay.”

“Yes. If I didn’t check, you and the others would track down the identity of the client.”

“Then I’ll take the job.”

“One warning,” said the Supplier. “It seems this job is a race to the finish. I discovered this while making sure the client would be able to pay. It seems middlemen besides me have been given this order as well. If you don’t get there first, you might not get paid.”

“That contradicts what you said.”

“If that happens, take it up with them. It has nothing to do with me. You can always get pissed, attack the client’s mansion in the middle of the night, and break through the door of their vault.”

“I see.” I thought for a bit. “I suppose if I find any other free agents like me in Kyoto, I’ll crush them too. If I spot them on the battlefield, I have no real reason to let them live.”

“…It’s times like this that I’m damn glad I’m on your side, Mai-san.”

''Oh?

''When did I ever say I was on your side?

“I’ll be going then. Don’t count on a souvenir.”

I waved my hand and headed for the exit of that end of the century RV made from a tour bus.

But then the Supplier said, “Is a job really all you need? If necessary, I can prepare you some Buddhist equipment or sacred treasures.”

“I don’t like that sort of thing. Perhaps it’s because ''I’ve spent more money than this bus cost on my own skin.''”

“Really? That’s too bad. I have some good bargains like some sacred sake from the Jinnai Brewery. It was originally meant to be dedicated at the Ise Grand Shrine. It has yet to be given the color of a specific god, so it has quite a few uses.”

“I’d rather drink that than use it as a weapon.”