Tokyo Soft Rice King

Although he had been mentally prepared before, when it was really confirmed, Hei Yuming felt a complicated feeling in his heart.

There is a sense of security that "I am not alone", a sense of unease that "the ability is not exclusive to me", and a sense of fear that "there are really extraordinary abilities in this world".

After exchanging identities, Saotome Fuyumi put down the mug in her hand and pointed outside the door.

"Or...why don't we go out and talk alone?"

"Of course, that suits me perfectly."

A secret conversation between them began.

Chapter 257 God's Agent

Originally, Saotome Fuyumi was planning to take Kuroba Akira out to find a conference room for a talk, but at this time, Takanashi Akiko suggested that they should wait outside and let the two of them stay in the director's office to talk.

After everyone left, Saotome Fuyumi took out a hairpin from the breast pocket of her jacket, pinned up the bangs that were covering her left eye, and then started the conversation.

"Actually, when Qiuzi told me about you, I already had the feeling that we were one kind of people. I think you feel the same way, right?"

"Yes, that's what I thought of at the beginning."

Kuroba Akira nodded in acknowledgment, and Saotome Fuyumi smiled and said.

"After all, people who do extraordinary things are either sure of success or they have lost their minds and gone crazy. It seems that you and I are both the former."

"I agree."

Whether you are an investor or a gambler actually depends on whether you act rationally or emotionally.

In his previous life, Hei Yuming had met many people who were only "impulsive" but lacked "seriousness".

For example, most of those who followed the trend to open stores lost money. Is it really just because they didn’t catch the good times?

This may be part of the reason, but more often than not, these people are just 'blindly following the trend' and making hasty decisions without thinking more deeply.

For example, the location of the store, the potential customers around, their spending levels, whether there are competitors, etc. 'Preparation beforehand' is the most important step.

Just start a business if you want to. This is something that only rich young men who don't care about the cost of failure can do. Even if it is a rich second-generation entrepreneur, it is easy to lose all the family fortune if he is not smart.

If ordinary people who do not have the cost of trial and error want to make money, they must investigate all relevant information.

If you still fail after reaching this point, then summarize your experience and start again.

Whether it's Kuroba Akira or Saotome Fuyumi, they both possess the ability to 'obtain information that others don't know', so they can use it to make a profit.

At this time, Kuroba Akira was curious about the effect of Saotome Fuyumi's ability which was different from his own, while Saotome Fuyumi was curious about the "source" of Kuroba Akira's ability.

The two people tacitly chose the question-and-answer format. After each person asked a question and got an answer, they exchanged questions. In fact, it was a negotiation method of exchanging information that each other wanted to know.

This time, it was Saotome Fuyumi who asked the question first.

"So, which god protects you?"

"God?"

Hei Yuming was stumped by the first question. It was not that he didn't want to answer, but he really didn't know what the other party was asking.

He even had a question in his mind: 'So there really are gods in this world? This is ridiculous, isn't it?'

Then the further thought is, is time travel also done by gods?

Saotome Fuyumi knew what was going on when she saw Kuroba Akira's expression, and said with her arms crossed.

"Ah... it looks like you're 'uninformed'... then let this question off the table for now. I'll just answer one of your questions 'for free'."

Hei Yuming also knew that her free answer was for him to ask questions, so he treated it as an opportunity to understand her worldview and cooperated by asking like a novice.

"Does this world really have gods?"

"I'm not sure about other countries, but they might exist. This country does have 'supernatural beings' like gods, but they're probably very different from the omnipotent gods you imagine. Gods do have some incredible abilities, but they're not omnipotent."

"I can understand that. After all, if the gods were truly omnipotent, it's impossible that they would remain unknown to the public until now, with not even a trace of their existence left."

"Yes, although this country claims to have 'eight million gods', most of them are the 'ninety-nine gods' that are not worth mentioning."

Eight million does not really mean that there are eight million gods, but rather the saying that "all things have spirits", and the ninety-nine gods actually refer to the "Tsukumogami".

To put it simply, if an object that carries human thoughts is left for a hundred years, it will gain a soul and turn into a monster.

To put it bluntly, it has become a spirit.

From this we can see that Japanese culture is actually deeply influenced by the neighboring continent. Many concepts are interchangeable, just with different terms.

"Only a few gods with strong faith can transform into 'living gods'."

A human god refers to a god that appears in the human world in human form, but now it mostly refers to "humans possessed by gods."

In a certain lunar worldview, it is said to be a being similar to Ishtar-Rin.

"This is related to the origin of the existence of gods. Because gods were born from human belief, what gods can do is actually determined by 'what people hope gods can do for them.'"

"I understand. God is actually the embodiment of faith and the carrier of the wish machine."

"That's right, you're quick to learn. Young people nowadays are quick to accept new things."

After all, Kuroba Akira is a two-dimensional character, and this setting is also very common in various anime, games and novels.

Saotome Fuyumi continued explaining.

"Generally speaking, the stronger the faith in a deity, the greater its power. However, this also comes with greater restrictions, making it nearly impossible for them to appear before humans. However, faith allows the deity to exist, so when the deity accepts people's prayers, it must give something back to humanity... Hence, 'agents' like us emerge, endowed with certain powers of the deity."

"I see. So, our powers also come from the gods. We're like 'god's messengers,' helping the gods complete their missions... but the gods haven't told me what to do, have they?"

"I've also seen agents like you who are completely clueless and believe they've awakened superpowers. This could be because some gods once possessed great power, but as they were forgotten and faith weakened, their power degraded, and they even lost the ability to manifest before humans. Therefore, they 'can't tell their agents.' Others feel 'there's no need to tell.'"

"That's strange. You've already hired an agent, but you don't tell the agent what to do..."

As soon as Hei Yuming finished speaking, he thought of a reason why there was no need to tell him.

"No, wait, I get it. The purpose of finding an agent is to allow the agent to 'use power', right?"

"That's right. In fact, there's only one thing God wants us to do, and that's to constantly use our abilities, perform 'miracles' before people, and gather the 'power of faith' for God."

Therefore, the reason why gods look for agents is that with so many powers, it is almost impossible for gods to appear directly, so they look for agents to divide some of their powers and let the agents help them exercise their powers.

It's probably similar to Jehovah and Jesus, God asked his son to come to the world to perform miracles.

The Bible is originally a fabricated story, but it is not certain that the events contained in it actually happened in this world.

"Well, I have another question... If the agent uses his power to do evil, won't the gods be affected?"

"Oh, the faith of the wicked is also faith."

"...I see. Anyway, to the gods, it doesn't matter who they are. As long as 'people keep praying', and they gain faith and continue to exist, that's all that's enough."

"That's right. Some gods do have a preference for good and evil due to their origins, but most gods don't have human concepts of good and evil or morality. After all, often what people ask of gods isn't 'good and evil', but 'profit'. So the essence of gods is actually the same as 'capital'. Do you understand?"

Capital is not a thing, but a social relationship between people mediated by things... People and God also have a similar "social relationship".

Hei Yuming nodded, then shook his head helplessly.

After deconstructing the supernatural existence of "God", I found that its essence is nothing more than "human desire", which makes me feel very sad.

"But it's been a long time since I've seen an agent like you who is outside the circle of power and influence."

"Miss Saotome, have you ever met any other espers?"

"Of course I have. Many of them are high-ranking figures in the political arena and the chaebol. They are like dragons that are nowhere to be found. After all, these people control the most resources and can bring more faith to the gods."

"Goodness... So even divine power has been 'monopolized'..."

"Yes, but for those guys, the power bestowed by the gods is just a 'convenient means'. Even if they don't use it, they can often get it with money and power, but it just takes more effort. So, the power may still be a problem for them..."

"Trouble? Is there any punishment for not using the power?"

"If you don't use it, you'll be cursed by the gods. What exactly will happen to you depends on the power of the gods. If it's mild, you might just be unlucky for a month, but if it's severe, you might even lose your life."

"Uh uh..."

Hei Yuming glanced at the palm of his hand. Fortunately, he was still using his ability... Wait, was he really "using his ability"?

Does just looking count as using?

However, Kuroba Akira also knew that the free answers provided by Saotome Fuyumi to him had ended, and it was his turn to answer next.

"Well, since you don't know which god gave you your abilities, then tell me what your abilities are, and I will tell you what mine are in return."

"no problem."

Hei Yuming briefly explained his ability, that he could see words with both hands, but he deliberately did not mention that he could copy talents.

"So what you can see is talent and proficiency, right?"

"Yes...but this is just my personal judgment."

"I see. No one explained your ability to you, so you must be very troubled. I didn't know what I saw at first, just like you. I only found out what it was later."

Saotome Fuyumi pointed to her golden left eye and said.

"This eye can see 'human obsession'."

"Obsession?...it's a bit abstract."

"Well, Kuroba boy, you should have seen Dragon Ball, right?"

"Of course I have."

"What I see is something like 'qi' surrounding a person. It's actually the obsession they possess. I specifically choose people with strong obsession to join my firm because they often have unparalleled motivation. Even if they don't have talent, they can still climb to the top with perseverance."

"I see……"

There is a saying that goes, where there is a will, there is a way.

Some people say they will work hard, but in fact they never put it into action. In fact, it is because their obsession as motivation is not strong enough.

That's why she values ​​Akiko Takanashi so much, but has no interest in Shion.

It's because she and Hei Yuming can see different things.

On one side is obsession, on the other side is talent.

"The beautiful girl you brought here is indeed very beautiful. In the more than ten years I've been in this industry, I've only seen one or two people who can compare with her. However, she has no obsession with fame. You could say that 'her ambition is not here.'"

"So, Miss Saotome, your ability is also to see things that others can't, right? Looking at it that way, it seems like the abilities we possess aren't particularly impressive... I mean, they're not the kind of outrageous abilities."

It's a bit like the powers in that movie 'We Are All Super Powers', all funny and comical powers.

"Most of the abilities I've seen so far are like this: abilities that are nice to have, but wouldn't have much of an impact if they weren't there. And they're all 'people-related abilities.'"

Being related to people may be a very important feature. After all, gods are born from people’s beliefs, so the ability to give back to people is also related to people, which makes sense.

"Anyway, I haven't seen any superpowers capable of controlling the wind and rain yet. I think either gods don't possess such abilities, or the conditions for using such abilities are extremely harsh. From the perspective of maximizing people's use, it would be better to grant humans some 'low-cost abilities'."

Saotome Fuyumi shrugged and continued.

"Also, the reason I can confirm that you are the key figure is because my ability has no effect on you. I can't see that obsession of yours."

"Huh? But you can see the words on my hand, right?"

"I can only see the words on your hand, but not on others. It's probably because your ability is affecting you. Just like my golden eyes, they're just a 'sign'... Conversely, you can't see the words on my hand either."

Saotome Fuyumi raised her hands, palms facing Kuroba Akira.

She has a pair of white hands with fingers as slender as her long legs, which seems very suitable for playing the piano.

"Oh, really..."

Kuroba Akira really couldn't see the words in Saotome Fuyumi's hand.

Generally speaking, even if there are no words on the right hand, there must be words on the left hand. After all, it is impossible for someone to have lived to this age without any relevant proficiency.

This also proves that one's own abilities have no effect on people with special abilities.

From this perspective, it is actually very simple to identify people with special abilities.

Just see if there are any words on the other person's hand.

Chapter 258 I’ll Help You Get the Man

Of course, this judgment method still has loopholes.

That is an "incompetent person" who really has no talent and does not even have entry-level proficiency since birth.

But this kind of person should be rarer than a 3S-level genius, right?