I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

Putting aside his hand that instinctively wanted to knock, Uesugi Tetsuya rang the doorbell.

Soon, a familiar yet unexpectedly light footstep could be heard from inside the room.

Click.

The security door opened immediately.

"Welcome, Uesugi-kun."

A face, completely different from its usual work appearance, emerged with a genuine smile.

Then the door was wide open, revealing Nanjo Manami wearing only a long, narrow, open-collar white shirt. Fortunately, the special affairs department's shirt was made of solid material, so it covered her up.

Uesugi Tetsuya was slightly taken aback.

"Nanjo-nee, are you sure you're dressed like that?"

"Can't I wear whatever I want at home?"

After saying that, Nanjo Manami smiled and tossed down a pair of brand-new slippers: "Besides, Uesugi-kun, do you really have the mind to think about anything else right now?"

"Too."

Uesugi Tetsu nodded, said "Excuse me" and entered Nanjo Manami's house.

Ignoring the pile of misplaced Special Affairs Department standard boots in the entryway, Uesugi Tetsu took off his shoes and neatly placed them in a corner.

Then, he closed the security door behind him, shutting out Kaga Kiyomitsu, who was trying to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Upon entering, Uesugi Tetsu discovered that Nanjo Manami's home was no different from that of an ordinary office lady.

The rare items, high-level loot, and complex spells that he had envisioned did not appear.

Instead, the scene was chaotic, with clothes of similar appearance scattered everywhere...

Although it looked like it had been tidied up, it was still quite noticeable to Uesugi Tetsu, whose room was always impeccably clean.

It was completely different from the residence of the "Nanjo lord" he had imagined.

"Are you surprised?"

Nanjo Manami chuckled and scooped a stack of ice cubes from the ice maker into a glass: "Make yourself at home, the beer will be right away."

Yes, that was also unexpected.

Uesugi Tetsuya also didn't expect that Nanjo Ai, who was likely knowledgeable in the Five Elements and Yin-Yang theory, would still be using an "ice maker," a product with relatively low efficiency, in her daily life.

It was something that could have been solved with a wave of the hand...

Uesugi Tetsuya had only been sitting at the coffee table facing the floor-to-ceiling window for a short while when two large glasses of beer were smashed down with a "bang".

Then a whole box was placed next to it.

Gulu gulu...

Without uttering a single unnecessary word, the first thing Nanjo Manami did after sitting down was to gulp down the ice-cold canned beer poured into her glass, seemingly oblivious to everyone else.

In just a few seconds, the entire glass of bubbly, bright yellow beer magically disappeared from the glass.

"Ha—it really is the best thing to do after get off work: just clear your mind and drink a whole glass of ice-cold beer!"

Nanjo Aimi stretched out her legs, placing her right foot on top of her left, and then expertly reached for a cigarette from the side.

As she put her cigarette in her mouth, Nanjo Manami looked at Uesugi Tetsuya, who was examining his beer, and winked at him.

"Do you really need to ask me about such a trivial matter, Nanjo-nee... It's not the first time."

"Absolutely, that's what democracy is all about."

As the grinding wheel rubbed against each other, flames shot up.

After taking over as a doctor in the afternoon, Nanjo Aimi, who had never even touched a cigarette pack before, closed her eyes and enjoyed the cool white smoke for a long time before slowly exhaling it.

She braced herself with her hands on the ground, leaned back, and looked up, reflecting a large expanse of light.

"That felt great..."

“By the way, Nanjo-nee, why don’t I see Hiyoribou and Wetome?” Uesugi Tetsu touched Nanjo Aimi’s motionless shadow. “Even she’s gone.”

"Xiaoying took the two of them out for training."

Nanjo Manami shrugged: "Even if you don't become a demon or god, you should at least get close to that level, reach the bottleneck, and then come back to me."

"—It's not a good thing that they live too safely around me."

"indeed."

Uesugi Tetsu nodded in deep agreement—he used to treat Erchi like a precious treasure, never letting her participate in frontline combat.

Over time, Erchi's fighting ability widened the gap between him and himself.

Fortunately, there was the trial within the Ksitigarbha statue...

Uesugi Tetsu shifted his gaze from the beer that had lost all its foam and glanced at the woman less than two fists away beside him, who was secretly smoking and drinking. He noticed that her brows were unusually relaxed, and she looked cheerful.

Although Nanjo Manami usually takes special "care" of her subordinates in clerical work, she is truly capable of taking action when needed.

For example, during the previous 1.5 wave, Shizuma Manatsu only briefly circled the Arakawa Ward, and the entire Arakawa Ward became quiet.

At that time, the other 22 wards of Tokyo were still waiting for instructions from their superiors to put out fires everywhere.

"Don't you want to drink?"

Nanjo Manami leaned closer, grabbed his wine glass, and thoughtfully drank half of it before putting it back.

Uesugi Tetsu's gaze swept over the light red lip print on the cup, as if he hadn't seen it.

He doesn't drink alcohol normally, of course.

Not only because alcohol dulls the nerves, impairs judgment, and plunges people into a state of mental confusion.

And it doesn't taste good.

But right now I'm at Nanjo's house, drinking and having a heart-to-heart talk with her.

If we don't drink now, it'll be a little disappointing.

So, under the smiling gaze of the woman beside him, Uesugi Tetsu picked up his wine glass, moved to a different position, and took a small sip.

so bitter.

Sure enough, it still didn't taste good at all.

Nanjo Manami, her cheeks already slightly flushed, chuckled and clinked glasses with Uesugi Tetsu: "First of all, congratulations to Uesugi-kun on winning the seeding match!"

"Yay—pat pat pat pat."

Nanjo Aimi mimicked clapping: "But I didn't expect at first that you actually defeated that Minamoto Shizumi."

"—After all, he was a powerful figure who had the courage to give up the opportunity to become a god that was within reach."

"I prepared a little more, that's all."

Adhering to the principle of not wasting anything, Uesugi Tetsu took another small sip of beer and thought about how to finish the half glass in the remaining hours.

"She's very strong too. And that final move, the sword from beyond the heavens, was it Source Water?"

"Hmm... I guess so." Nanjo Manami lit another cigarette and said slowly, "She was originally going to come to Tokyo for a visit, but it seems that something unexpected happened along the way."

"Because of this, the Yuan family has been quite lively these past two days, hahaha..."

Nanjo Ai, who had recently enjoyed a fresh, first-line melon and successfully shared it, laughed heartily, then gulped down another cup and crushed the fifth can.

After successfully downing another half glass, Nanjo Manami, whose face was now flushed, narrowed her eyes, grabbed Uesugi Tetsuya's neck, and pulled him close.

"This drunken feeling is so good... it's like nothing in the world matters anymore."

After confirming that Nanjo-nee hadn't done anything reckless while drunk, Uesugi Tetsuya was relieved.

He spoke up, asking as quickly as possible before Nanjo Manami completely passed out: "Nanjo-nee, you should have already met my shikigami, Nisha, right... Her prototype is the urban legend, Hachisak-sama."

"Oh? Eight-foot tall man... Hehe, eight-foot tall man."

After chuckling strangely twice, Nanjo Manami nodded: "I know, she came out of the Jizo statue, right? She seems a bit different."

Nanjo Manami raised her hand and poked Uesugi Tetsu's cheek with her finger: "And... Uesugi-kun, I think she's also quite interested in you."

"You, as the master, cannot ignore the wishes of the shikigami."

Uesugi Tetsuya continued to ignore such unhealthy topics: "She's neither a ghost story nor a demon, so how can she be promoted to a ghost or god?"

"Tch, what a boring man."

Nanjo Manami looked away.

Uesugi Tetsu replied matter-of-factly, "If I can't even hold onto this primal impulse after practicing swordsmanship for so long, then all my training has been for nothing."

"That's true."

Nanjo Manami pouted, her eyes vacant as she murmured softly, "If the tide hadn't come, Ririko wouldn't have had a chance today..."

"What did you say, Nanjo-nee?"

"I said—bring out your championship trophy!"

Facing Uesugi Tetsu's wary and retreating gaze, Nanjo Ai tapped the table unhappily: "Use that trophy as a memorial tablet to worship your family's two feet."

In this way, one only needs to continue absorbing wishes to become a spirit or deity.

“The path of divine guidance is moderate and peaceful, and the achievements are neither high nor low, but there will definitely be no problems if you continue on this path… Many predecessors have verified this.”

"Oh... thank you very much, Nanjo-nee."

Having misunderstood the meaning, Uesugi Tetsu completely banished the related thoughts from his mind, thinking to himself that Nanjo-nee was still completely trustworthy.

—If I continue to rely on the vows, it's probably not going to work out with Honganji Temple.

Not to mention the conflict between Huijue and Benyuan Temple, even if they reached an agreement, it would take an unknown amount of time for Erchi, who occupies a remote spot inside, to become a ghost or god.

In doing so, one will also have to pay a considerable price.

Therefore, it would be better to go back to the Warring States period and establish a sect about the two-foot-tall man, spreading it through the influence of the Imagawa family.

If the sect can continue to exist for four or five hundred years, wouldn't it be easy to accumulate enough power to ascend to the level of a ghost or god?

This line of thinking is correct.

"Then..."

Just as Uesugi Tetsu was about to continue speaking, Nanjo Ai forcefully pulled him into a hug, abruptly interrupting him.

She narrowed her eyes, gazing intently into Uesugi Tetsuya's eyes, which were inches away from hers.

So, are you coming to Hokkaido with me or not?

—The fact that the five people asked Nanjo Manami to go to Hokkaido means that it must be very dangerous there.

Nanjo Manami was the strongest demon he had ever actually seen, without a doubt.

"I'm not going."

Uesugi Tetsu spoke softly, and he could even feel his breath hitting Nanjo Manami's nose.

He promptly offered an explanation: "Whether it's that Qian Sha has already become my disciple, or that I myself need some time to digest what I've gained so far, there simply isn't that much time for fighting and killing."

—In fact, Uesugi Tetsu believed that harvesting soul ash in the Mortal World without risk was far better than being constrained in reality.

Moreover, there is also the Demon Guide Association.

Of course, Uesugi Tetsu hadn't forgotten the Yokai Association, who recognized his identity as a "Great Onmyoji" during the Black Telephone Booth incident.

If you wander around aimlessly, the chances of being targeted by the Demon Guide will increase.

At least in Tokyo, will the demon director really act recklessly under the Five-Man Guild's protection?

However, this may not be the case in Hokkaido, a vast and sparsely populated region where local resources are already scarce.

Besides, Hokkaido is so big, Nanjo might not be able to take care of everything.

So, let's not cause any more trouble for ourselves and Nanjo-nee.

"Is that so?"

Nanjo Manami nodded.

"it is good."

Uesugi Tetsuya was somewhat taken aback: "Nanjo-nee, aren't you going to try to persuade me to stay... I think you really want me to go."