Becoming a god in a low-key way in the supernatural world

“I asked around, and someone wants to steal Yu Zi. That’s the only thing that could provoke him to do something so ruthless.” Hu Tao held Kotegawa’s chin with one hand and stroked it back and forth. “His family over there is a local big shot, but the 50 million is probably just a bluff. They want us to go and apologize.”

Kotegawa pondered for a moment and said, "We need to figure out the bounty. I'm too busy these next few days. If it's true, I'll have to tell him to hide for now."

“Yes, my dad is keeping an eye on it. He’s already spoken to the shrines he’s familiar with.” Hu Tao tilted her head slightly, staring into his eyes. “I also asked Machiko about it, and it’s the same thing she said. For now, she can stay at my house… Should we arrange for her to go to school? Or what should we do?”

"How long will it take for her master to return?"

"It usually takes one to three months, and the mission time generally does not exceed six months."

Didn't her master leave you any instructions?

"No... That is a bit strange. He didn't say hello or send a message through Machiko. It seems like he left in a great hurry."

"What is Machiko thinking?"

"She's indecisive. She grew up in the mountains and this is her first time traveling so far... These two are incredibly thick-skinned. One dared to buy a ticket, and the other dared to take the bus by herself, as if they weren't afraid of encountering bad people at all." Hu Tao sighed helplessly, "This year when I came back, my dad had to pick me up."

“Machiko must have come all the way incognito… Let’s wait and see. If her master hasn’t returned by March of next year, we’ll consider letting her go to school.”

Hu Tao nodded slightly. The pre-class bell rang from the distant teaching building. She glanced in that direction and blinked. "How about we skip class together?"

"Skip class? Go to Heian-kyo? One afternoon isn't enough time..."

"What are we going to Heian-kyo for?" Hu Tao shook her head, nestled in his arms, her soft, melodious voice like a feather tickling the heart: "How about going to a hot spring? You know, an indoor hot spring, we can go together..."

Kotegawa suddenly stood up, with her around his neck, his gaze serious: "Which hot spring in Tokyo is the most comfortable? I don't mean anything by it, it's just that after being in Tokyo for so long, I'm a little interested in hot springs."

"There's one near the back park..."

……

At an airport in Tokyo, a dozen or so people wearing gray cloaks silently disembarked from a plane that had just landed from Heian-kyo. Their faces were covered with horrifying scars, their expressions were gloomy, and their eyes held an indescribable stiffness, as if they were looking at a rotting corpse.

The staff nearby instinctively gripped their walkie-talkies, feeling inexplicably uneasy and wanting these gray-cloaked guys to leave the airport as soon as possible.

Three vans pulled up outside the airport gate. Several men in suits and sunglasses got out and stood around looking back and forth. When the first person wearing a gray cloak walked out of the gate, they quickly went to greet him, bowed sharply in unison, and led the way, welcoming all the people in gray cloaks into the vans.

A little further away, inside a Lexus SUV, the driver and passenger watched silently as the gray-cloaked figure got into the car. One of them whispered, "The 'Grey Wolf' of Heian-kyo has arrived... that news is probably true."

Another person muttered, "A mere fifty million? The Grey Wolves are a renowned underground hunter group, how could they possibly care about such a small amount of money?"

"Then why do you think they're called Grey Wolves?" The first person in the passenger seat spoke with a playful tone: "If it were about the life of Shirakawa Shrine's second son, Grey Wolves definitely wouldn't take the job, but if it's just for a right hand, even I would be tempted."

The driver's voice became serious: "Boss, are we going to do this too?"

"Catch me? Do you think I'm tired of living?" The passenger lazily reclined in his seat. "Putting aside the fact that the messenger of the gods at Shirakawa Shrine is not someone to mess with, his friend is a troublemaker. This time, we'll just watch the show."

The person in the driver's seat hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help asking, "Who exactly is that boy?"

"Does it matter who it is?" the boss retorted. "Do you dare to smash up the Special Branch headquarters?"

"This, this is certainly not something I would dare to do... but didn't the Special Division investigate? It's the Special Division, after all, and it's headquarters. They're being far too cowardly!"

The passenger in the front seat fell silent, looking up at the sky outside the sunroof. After a long while, he sighed and said, "How could we not have investigated... The Special Division found out one of his identities, but they dared not investigate any further."

"Is he really some important figure from someone important?"

The leader glanced at him and cursed, "If only I knew! You idiot! Even if we don't know his exact identity, do you think we can afford to mess with someone who even the Special Branch headquarters doesn't dare to mess with anymore? Let's go!"

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry..." The person in the driver's seat responded meekly, quickly started the car, and left the airport.

They had been waiting here all morning and had already seen five hunter groups, with Gray Wolf being just one of them. Perhaps more bounty hunters would come later, but it didn't matter anymore; they just wanted to confirm whether the news was true or false.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Year-End Part-Time Jobs (Part Four)

After school in the afternoon, Kotegawa, who had soaked in the hot spring, did not go straight home, but went to a coffee shop in the shopping district with Haruka.

When Sachiko Amamiya learned of his purpose, she was flattered and said, "You want to experience life in my shop? It's truly an honor! And what salary would be suitable for you?"

She was filled with anxiety, fearing that Kotegawa would say something like, "I'll be the manager, and you'll work for me"... although in a way, her little shop had indeed been working for Kotegawa for a year.

Kotegawa pondered for a moment and said, "No need to pay a salary, but if my uncle and aunt come, you can just say 1,500 yen."

"Huh?" Sachiko Amamiya was taken aback, and subconsciously said, "Is it just a nominal position?"

"Almost. I'll be coming over to work a few days before the New Year. Don't worry, I won't cause you any trouble," Kotegawa replied.

As for his offering Sachiko Amamiya a 50% discount on the Yokai Pill, he shouldn't refuse, otherwise this guy would be too incompetent as a cat.

Sachiko Amamiya didn't disappoint him, nodding repeatedly and saying loudly, "Please make yourself at home! I'll go find you a uniform!"

She hurried upstairs.

Yuka and Haruka, who had just come out of the locker room, witnessed this scene. Yuka turned to Haruka and whispered, "Why does it feel like Kotegawa is the boss?"

Qingkong also wondered, "I always feel like the store manager is afraid of him..."

“Yeah, actually I find that kind of thing quite strange too,” Kotegawa added, startling Yuka.

Youjia yelled, "Hey, hey, hey, how can you eavesdrop on girls' conversations?"

Kotegawa also shouted, "Hey, hey, hey, I'm right here, do you need to eavesdrop?"

"That's true..." Yujia was fooled by him.

Qingkong, standing nearby, remained silent. This kid had clearly just walked over from the doorway.

Sachiko Amamiya's footsteps sounded. She was holding an unopened set of clothes, but her expression was slightly unnatural: "Um, why don't you try this outfit on first?"

Kotegawa said thank you, and without thinking much of it, took his clothes and went into the men's changing room. No one had been to this changing room for a long time, and there were spider webs growing in the corners.

He looked up and saw the little spider that was clinging to him suddenly stand up and scurry away.

"..."

The coffee shop isn't busy right now; there are very few customers, mostly high school and college students from nearby schools who have free time, and people who seem to be just wandering around with nothing to do.

After Yuka and Haruka each served coffee and snacks to a table of customers, they stood at the door of the changing room with the somewhat uneasy manager. They also wanted to know what Kotegawa would look like in his butler's uniform.

Since there have never been any male staff members in the store, there are no uniforms in full sizes. The only one that fits Kotegawa's physique is a butler's uniform, which was bought during the last themed coffee day. The store manager originally intended to wear it, but the size was too big, and she was too lazy to exchange it, so it has been sitting in the closet ever since.

I never expected to need it this time.

Qingkong and Youjia had their phones ready and were each looking at them.

They both recently got new phones. After all, their living expenses are low and their wages are high. With some spare change in their pockets, they thought they could improve their quality of life.

Of course, Qingkong changed her phone simply because her previous phone had such a terrible camera that she often had to look up photos of her boyfriend on Takanashi's phone to send to her.

As soon as Kotegawa stepped outside, he saw the two of them holding up their phones and pointing them at him.

He looked down at himself and asked somewhat modestly, "Is it alright?"

The two girls paused for a moment, then nodded.

This is more than just "okay"... With that tall and handsome figure, and that fiery aura like a giant fireball, if he walked down the street, I guarantee someone would be willing to pay ten million yen or even more to keep Kotegawa as their mistress.

"It's a real shame you're not a male escort," Yujia blurted out, as if she had no idea what was going on.

Kotegawa casually said, "I'll take that as a compliment... Manager, please take good care of me during this time."

Amamiya Sachiko was also stunned. To be honest, she had never seen such a handsome man before. Even many celebrities couldn't compare. This powerful aura emanating from within was breathtaking and made her unable to look away...

"Manager?" Qingkong called out softly.

"Ah! I know, I know..." Sachiko Amamiya hurriedly said, "Furugawa-san can be in charge of brewing coffee! If you're not satisfied, you can be the manager."

Kotegawa waved his hand: "Don't be so nervous, just call me Kotegawa. Using honorifics is really weird."

"Yes!"

After a moment of silence, Qingkong said to Futegawa, "Let's go, I'll show you around."

Kotegawa followed her to the counter.

The staff's main jobs include brewing coffee, taking customers' orders, delivering snacks and meals, and cleaning tables and other miscellaneous tasks.

A few months ago, when there was only Qingkong and the store manager in the store, the workload was really heavy and could exhaust people.

Things are much better now, of course. Now there are several colleagues to share the workload.

As Kotegawa followed Haruka through the dressing room and across the hall, the slightly noisy environment suddenly fell silent. Everyone, regardless of gender, looked at Kotegawa with surprise, and there were even loud swallowing sounds.

Kotegawa glanced over there, and a man awkwardly turned his head to look at his shadow in the window, swallowing hard again.

This person is a bit strange. Let me take another look... Kotegawa looked away and followed Haruka into the coffee counter.

After a long while, someone suddenly said to Sachiko Amamiya, "Manager, so your hiring requirements are really high. No wonder you haven't hired any male employees."

A low chuckle rippled through the crowd, tinged with a strange sense of melancholy.

No wonder they keep hiring here, offering high salaries, but they just can't find anyone... Turns out the requirements are too high.

Sachiko Amamiya smiled, said nothing more, and returned to her counter.

Qingkong began teaching Kotegawa how to make coffee, and Kotegawa learned diligently, concentrating intently and trying not to notice the occasional sound of cell phone shutters clicking around him.

He was quick-witted and had an amazing memory. He memorized everything about various coffees, from their tongue-twisting names to their origins, production dates, different coffee beans, and their unique flavor profiles.

Qingkong realized that there was a reason why this kid could get such good grades even though he was rarely seen at school.

About half an hour later, a number of customers gradually arrived at the restaurant, and Qingkong went to the front to busy herself with processing orders and running errands.

Kotegawa also got busy, and the counter was soon covered with coffee menus like snowflakes.

There were significantly more coffee customers than usual today, and Sachiko Amamiya, worried that Kotegawa might be overwhelmed, went over to help out as well.

A moment later, Yuka walked over with a troubled expression and whispered to her, "The guests specifically requested the Kotegawa brew..."

Sachiko Amamiya paused for a moment, then silently put down the coffee beans in her hand and quietly returned to her counter.

Chapter Thirty-Four: No House for Rent (Happy New Year)

Today, the coffee shop broke its annual sales record. All the coffee powder they prepared was sold out, but customers who wanted to buy coffee were still queuing up in long lines, stretching from the entrance all the way to the intersection of the commercial street, which was both spectacular and eye-catching.

Many middle-aged women thought it was some kind of big holiday promotion, so they lined up excitedly to join the fun. But half a day later, they realized that they were all there to see the handsome man in the store.

The older women were stunned for a moment, then their eyes lit up even more, and they swarmed over, boosting the handsome man's KPIs considerably.

There weren't many customers left in the shop. The three ghost employees, Yu Jiaqingkong and Da Baimao, were all silently watching as Kotegawa worked alone.