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Chapter 5: The Price of a Devil

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: The Price of a Devil

Denji’s biggest creditor was an old man. But that old man was no ordinary person, he was the boss of the local yakuza.

In the original story, the guy who later became Samurai Sword was named Daiki Hamano, and he was that old man’s grandson.

Based on what the bald guy had said earlier, Kotone Asaba had learned that the heavily made-up woman in front of him was connected to the Hamano family’s yakuza group.

If Kotone Asaba wanted to help Denji, then dealing with that old man named Hamano was absolutely necessary.

The reason Denji had it so horribly rough in the original story was largely because of that bastard. He forced Denji to repay the debt, and even after risking his life hunting Devils, Denji still could not pay it off, so he had no choice but to sell off parts of his own body.

A kidney, his right eye, and one of his balls, Denji sold every organ he could possibly sell.

And in the end, that yakuza boss even made a contract with the Zombie Devil and tricked Denji and Pochita into going to it, where they were both killed.

If Pochita had not been the Chainsaw Devil’s heart, allowing Denji to become a Weapon Human, a human-Devil hybrid, then Denji really would have died miserably at the hands of the Zombie Devil.

But Kotone Asaba had arrived in the world of Chainsaw Man four years early, and there was no way he was going to let Denji go through all that tragedy again.

Just then, the receptionist from earlier came over.

"Your registration has been completed. Please keep this ID card safe."

The receptionist handed the card to Kotone Asaba.

Now, Kotone Asaba was officially a guild-certified private Devil Hunter.

"Congratulations on completing your registration. Also, if your performance is outstanding in the future, we may recommend you to Public Safety."

"Mm..."

Kotone Asaba answered casually.

"My name is Keiko Matsuno. You can call me Big Sis Keiko. From here on, let’s work together~"

At that moment, Keiko Matsuno leaned close and gently blew into Kotone Asaba’s ear.

Kotone Asaba instinctively drew his shoulders in slightly and tilted his head away, barely holding back the disgust he felt.

"Um... I want to make a trip to the black market. Do you know where it is?"

Kotone Asaba deliberately put on the look of someone asking for help.

That way, he could use Keiko Matsuno to lead him there.

"The black market? Of course I know where it is. Come with me, little brother~"

Keiko Matsuno led the way in front while Kotone Asaba and Pochita quietly followed behind her.

Kotone Asaba had originally assumed the black market would be some kind of underground market, but when they arrived, he realized it was not like that at all. Keiko Matsuno brought him to a building with several large freight trucks parked outside.

People were unloading huge burlap sacks from the trucks and carrying them into the building. Judging by the size and shape, those sacks were probably filled with Devil corpses.

And inside that building was exactly the black market Kotone Asaba had been looking for.

He more or less understood now. This was probably a black market specifically for buying and selling Devil corpses. It was not actually illegal, which was why it could operate this openly. It just was not the sort of trade ordinary people were meant to witness.

Kotone Asaba went straight to the black market’s official buyer, sold the Field Mouse Devil corpse, and received 600,000 yen. That was the first money he had earned since arriving in this world.

He was not paid in cash, though. Instead, they gave him a card with the 600,000 yen loaded onto it, and he only withdrew a portion of it as cash to carry on him.

If the Field Mouse Devil had not been missing its head, the full corpse probably could have sold for 700,000 yen.

Of course, the black market did not only allow transactions through the official buyer. You could also trade with other customers.

But selling to other people usually involved a lot more haggling, and prices could vary a lot. Compared to dealing with the official buyer, it was more time-consuming.

Selling to the official buyer was much more convenient. They would first assess the Devil corpse and then offer a price. As the seller, Kotone Asaba could only decide whether to accept or reject it, he could not negotiate.

Even if it meant earning a little less than he might have from a private sale, he did not care about that small difference. Saving time was what mattered most to him.

When he had taken the Field Mouse Devil corpse out of the Kamui dimension just now, Kotone Asaba had once again used up some of his ocular power and physical vitality, because opening the entrance to the Kamui dimension required both.

His physical condition was not very good now, and he needed time to recover properly. Fortunately, thanks to the Constitution rewards from the Affinity Codex, his self-recovery was far beyond normal. Given enough time, he would slowly recover.

"So, little brother, is there anything else you need help with? How about coming for a drink with your big sister right now?"

Keiko Matsuno invited him again.

Clearly, she was already planning to make her move on him. Even though Kotone Asaba had a dog-like Devil with a chainsaw on its head following him around, she assumed it was probably a weak Devil. After all, what kind of fighting power could something that tiny possibly have?

"Sorry, but it’s already lunchtime. My little brother is still waiting for me at home. I’ll have time tonight."

Kotone Asaba deliberately played up the image of a simple, dependable older brother, lowering the chances that Keiko Matsuno would grow suspicious of him.

That said, he was not worried about her trying to force something right now. He had no idea how strong Keiko Matsuno really was, but if he wanted to leave, nobody here could stop him. After all, no one in this world currently knew about his Kamui, let alone the weakness of its intangibility.

"All right What a good big brother you are. But you have to remember to come find me tonight, okay"

As she said that, Keiko Matsuno pulled a business card from between her breasts and placed it in Kotone Asaba’s hand. It was still warm from her body.

Then she turned and walked away. Kotone Asaba glanced at the address on the card, then immediately tossed it into a nearby trash can and wiped his hand off. He was only one step away from letting the disgust show plainly on his face.

After that, Kotone Asaba took Pochita back to Denji’s house.

Denji was still at home. But then again, Kotone Asaba and Pochita had not been gone for that long, only about two hours in total.

Denji had been lying weakly on the bed. He had not eaten a single thing since yesterday, and he was so hungry that he did not even want to move anymore.

But the moment he heard Kotone Asaba return, he immediately got to his feet.

"Kotone, you’re back."

"Yeah. Sorry to keep you waiting. I’ve already made some money, so now I’m taking you out for lunch."

[Denji Affinity +10%]

[Affinity Progress Reached 30%, Achievement Reward Obtained: Constitution +1]

"Thanks, Kotone!"

Finally, he was going to get something to eat, and Denji’s face immediately lit up with joy.

He was not hoping to fully fill his stomach, and he definitely was not hoping for anything delicious. As long as he got something to eat at all, that was enough.

As they walked down the street, Denji stopped in front of a small shop.

"I want one bag... no, just one slice of bread. Is that okay?"

Denji looked a little embarrassed as he said it.