Throne Of Cards

Your Name

"This really is tough."

A small complaint left her mouth. Having moved from the alley they were in earlier, and even from the street connecting to it, they were now far from the hustle and bustle of civilization as they entered the slums. Though discouraged, they continued their investigation and ultimately ended up here.

"They said that stolen goods were usually handled in the slums..."

"We know the location and the culprit's appearance, so why not leave the rest to the poli... I mean, the guards? We'd find it right away if we had a lot of people working on it."

A shopkeeper about two streets away had told them about a narrow alley connecting to the slums. It was true that the sun was going down, but despite being right next to the street, the place was gloomy for reasons other than the light source. The depressing atmosphere and foul smell caused Mohan's face to scrunch up reflexively.

"The atmosphere, mood, and probably even the inhabitants' personalities are all bad It'd be best to call someone."

"No way."

He wasn't merely nervous or afraid, he'd suggested this after carefully considering his ability and the girl's safety, but he was turned down on the spot. Mohan was bewildered by this declaration and the girl seemed somewhat apologetic.

"I'm sorry. But that's no good. I don't think the guards will come running over a little theft like this... And also, I can't rely on them due to personal circumstances."

Sealing her lips, she looked at him as if to say, "I can't say why, though. Having understood she probably didn't want to be questioned, Mohan raised his hand in compliance. To begin with, he wasn't so boorish as to pry into others' affairs, and getting too involved with others was a pain anyway. If he were interested in interpersonal relationships, he wouldn't have become a shut-in.

"Alright, what do we do then?"

Even having heard nothing of her circumstances, Mohan asked about her next course of action.

Not seeking the reason and deciding whether or not to stop helping her were entirely different matters. He may not have known her circumstances, but he didn't want to be an ingrate.

Perhaps sure that Mohan would leave her, the girl's eyebrows rose in surprise at this. The cat started doing a little dance on her shoulder,

"I told you, didn't I? Not a hint of ill will."

Fooling around as usual, it seemed terribly cheerful as it pointed at Mohan. However, its expression suddenly became serious.

"But you'd better decide carefully. ―It's almost nightfall, so I won't be able to help you. A few hoodlums wouldn't be a problem, but... Be careful."

"Yeah, you're right... Okay, I'll think about it. I'll think about it, but"

Her answer was indecisive. As she seemed to struggle with her response, Mohan suddenly became curious and asked the cat,

"What were you just talking about? You can't be around at night?"

"To put it more precisely, despite my cute looks I'm actually a spirit, you see. Manifestation alone consumes a great deal of mana, so at night I fully return to my Yorishiro and focus on building up mana. I'd say on average a nine to five schedule would be ideal."

[A/N: Yorishiro = An object that contains or summons spirits.]

"Nine to five, you sound like a civil servant... Spirits' terms of employment are unexpectedly severe."

Unusual terms like spirit or Yorishiro were flying around as though it were natural, but a modern otaku corrupted by games and anime wouldn't have a hard time understanding them.