"Denji, what are you looking at?"
"N-nothing. Goodbye, Himeno-senpai," Denji hurriedly averted his gaze and said in a panic.
"Make sure you listen to your master over there, and don't drag him down."
"Relax, there's no way I'll drag him down," Denji retorted.
"Alright, it's not like we're never coming back. Miss Makima, Himeno, we're heading out now."
Tsurugi stood inside the minibus and waved to the group outside.
He then instructed Peter to drive.
Just like that, the minibus gradually drove off into the distance under the watchful eyes of Division 4.
"Sigh... Aki-kun, Denji and Arata are both gone. Now it's just the two of us."
Himeno patted Aki Hayakawa's shoulder helplessly.
The remaining group returned to the Public Safety Headquarters together to check on Power.
On the minibus.
Arata gazed out the window, enjoying the passing scenery.
Meanwhile, Denji was busy committing Makima's most prominent features to memory.
"Once we arrive in Nara Prefecture, you two better listen well. After all, you're rookies and need to follow our arrangements."
Tsurugi, a burly man with arms thicker than Arata's thighs, stood next to them and said this.
He looked as if he was ready to strictly drill the two of them.
"We're just here to help, we aren't your subordinates. If you don't provide us with good food and drinks, I will absolutely go right back home."
Arata's tone wasn't the least bit cowardly, directly crushing Tsurugi's aggressive edge.
Seeing that Arata wasn't going to be a pushover, Tsurugi didn't say anything else and turned back to his seat.
At that moment, Tenten in the front seat suddenly turned around, shielded her mouth with her hand, and whispered, "Sorry about that. Tsurugi is just like that. Even though he's not the Captain, he's always playing the role of one."
"He actually doesn't have any bad intentions. He just doesn't want you guys getting hurt during the operation."
"Relax, I know what's up. By the way, where are we staying once we get there?"
"You can stay at Peter's place," Tenten suggested.
"No way I'm going there. Peter definitely lives in some spider's web cave."
"Then how about Tsurugi's house? Even though he looks fierce, his house is incredibly well-organized, even cleaner than a girl's room."
"You've been there?"
"Yeah. We're all colleagues, so there's no issue with going to his house."
"I don't want to go there. I want to go to your house." Denji, sitting behind Arata, overheard their conversation and chimed in.
"Me too," Arata immediately followed up.
Actually, even before getting on the bus, the two of them had already made plans to stay at Tenten's place.
"That's probably not a good idea, I'm a girl, you know."
"Relax, we're perfect gentlemen. Aside from curing your insomnia, I can also protect you. And Denji can mop your floors and wash your dishes."
Arata rattled off the benefits of them staying at Tenten's house in a single breath.
Hearing that it would be so convenient, Tenten instantly fell into thought.
"Master, why do I have to mop floors and wash dishes? I didn't have to do anything at Aki's house."
"If you want to stay with Peter, then you don't have to mop or wash dishes."
Taking one look at Peter driving the bus, Denji instantly compromised.
Compared to getting tied up by Peter at night, going to Tenten's house to mop and do dishes was a much better deal.
"Alright, then you guys can stay at my place."
"Hell yeah!!" Denji got so excited he couldn't control his volume.
This caught the attention of the others on the bus.
"What's wrong with you?" Tsurugi asked.
"Nothing, we're going to stay with Tenten."
"What!! You guys are staying with Tenten?!"
"No, no, my apprentice is just daydreaming," Arata hurriedly explained.
"Don't worry, you can stay at my place. I'll tidy up the guest room for you as soon as we get back."
"No need. Himeno-senpai said we get a travel allowance for this trip, so we'll stay at a hotel tonight."
"That works too. But my doors are always open to you guys. If you run into any trouble, just come find me."
With that, Tsurugi stopped paying attention to them.
"Master, aren't we going to Tenten's house?"
"Are you stupid? I said that on purpose. Otherwise, he definitely wouldn't have agreed. We'll just secretly follow Tenten home tonight."
"Master, you really are amazing!!" Denji gave a thumbs-up.
Before long, the minibus arrived at the Nara Public Safety Devil Hunter Headquarters.
Once the bus parked safely, everyone got off one by one.
Right in front of them was the entrance to the Nara Public Safety Headquarters.
As soon as they stepped off the bus, a refreshing breeze brushed against their faces.
The entrance to the Nara Public Safety hall was right next to the highway. It was filled with potted flowers and plants, and flanked by dense, leafy trees on both sides.
The size and height of the Nara Public Safety Headquarters were not as grand as Tokyo's.
The staffing and benefits weren't as lavish either.
However, the geographical location was quite beautiful. A park in the front, and a lake in the back.
Working here gave off the vibe of being on vacation.
"Come on in. Even though it's not as big as Tokyo, the environment here is much better than the Tokyo Public Safety Headquarters."
Tsurugi carried Kiko Natsume on his back as he got off the bus, making sure to boast a bit as he passed the two.
"If there's anything you're not used to, just tell Tsurugi. Our Division 3 will do everything we can to help you sort it out," Kiko Natsume smiled from Tsurugi's back.
"I'm highly adaptable. I can live anywhere." Arata replied.
"If you want to stay in a hotel, we can have Peter drive you there. If you don't want to go anywhere, there are places to sleep here at the Headquarters too."
"Thank you, Natsume-senpai. We understand," Arata said politely.
"Tenten, take them for a walk around the Headquarters, and brief them on the mission while you're at it."
"Understood, Natsume-senpai."
Tenten bounded over like a little white rabbit to stand in front of them, then led the two into the interior of the Nara Public Safety Headquarters.
The two groups split up and went their separate ways.
"Skip the tour, just tell us straight about the mission," Arata cut right to the chase.
"Oh, alright." Tenten stopped and turned to the two of them. "This is a multiple disappearance case. Furthermore, the victims are all daughters of company presidents or wealthy businessmen. So far, three people have gone missing."
"At the locations of the disappearances, Division 3 checked all the surrounding security cameras. We confirmed that the missing persons never left their houses; rather, they had just recently arrived home."
"And they all vanished inexplicably from inside their own bedrooms."
"At the time of the disappearances, even Peter, who was on the scene, didn't sense the presence of any devil."
"What clues do we have right now?"
"The disappearances almost all happened at night, confirming that the devil abducting these hostages only operates at night."
"What time at night?"
"Sometimes 8:00, sometimes 12:00. The timing isn't fixed."
"Moreover, right before disappearing, most of them would let out a scream."
"Then they definitely saw a devil." After following Arata for a while, Denji was also gradually learning how to analyze things.
"But Peter didn't detect any devil at the time," Tenten continued. "Because these disappearance cases were happening so frequently, one wealthy businessman asked us to protect his daughter. Since his daughter was going to take a shower at the time, we weren't right beside her. Immediately following that, a scream came from the bathroom. But when the sound rang out, Peter didn't sense the appearance of any devil."
"That makes things a bit tricky. I need to visit the crime scene to take a look, and the sooner the better," Arata concluded.