Yamada , a 35-year-old single man, wants to build his ideal second home in the village of another world. A life that combines the best of both the other world and reality - Episode 11

Starting Monday, an incident happened to me, but even after that, I kept working diligently and practiced magic training at night.

Then, when Saturday came, I planned to clean in the morning, but Ruri had already done the cleaning, so all that was left was to welcome Kirigaya-san.

After lunch, I put on a suit just in case and waited for her to arrive.

When the doorbell rang and I opened the door, there she was—Kirigaya-san, also wearing a suit.

“Hello. Please, come in.”
“Thank you for having me.”

I let her into the house and guided her to the living room.

“May I offer incense first?”
“Of course. Go ahead.”

I led her from the living room to my own room next door.

Once inside, she lit incense and put her hands together in prayer.

“Thank you.”
“No… I’m sorry it took me so long to inform you.”

We left the room and returned to the living room.

Then we sat down in front of the kotatsu table.

“Here you go.”

Ruri brought tea and set it down in front of both me and Kirigaya-san.

“Thank you.”
“Ruri, go back to your room.”
“Okay~”

Ruri went back to her room in a childlike voice.

We had decided on that beforehand.

“Oh? You have a cat?”

Kirigaya-san noticed Miriam scratching the cardboard box in the corner of the room that served as her home.

“Yes. She’s taken a real liking to that spot.”

That wasn’t a lie—Miriam really did like that cardboard box.

“I see. She’s living a good life here.”
“She used to live in a shabby apartment, though. I owe everything to my grandpa. So, about what you came to talk about? Actually, I tried looking into this so-called Timer Association after the other day, but I couldn’t find anything at all.”

Well, it was Ruri who did the searching.

“I’m not surprised… Has your grandfather told you anything about it?”
“No, I haven’t heard a thing.”
“I see… Yamada-san, do you believe in demons?”

Whoa, she actually brought up the word “demon”…

“Even if you ask whether I believe…”
“I suppose not. But demons do exist. The man in the toilet the other day was a man possessed by a demon.”

Ah, so that guy wasn’t a demon himself.

“Kinda sounds like an exorcist thing.”

I’d seen that sort of thing on TV before.

“Ha ha, yes, it does. And in fact, I am an exorcist. The Timer Association is a gathering of such people. Though, rather than ‘exorcist,’ we call ourselves taimashi—demon banishers.”

Taimashi… Timer Association…
Wait, what?

“Uh, um…”
“No need to say it. Everyone reacts like that at first. I did too. As you’ve probably guessed, ‘Timer’ actually refers to ‘taima’ (exorcism). If you have complaints about the name, take them to the grave of our late first president who came up with it.”

Ah, so they do get a lot of complaints.
And it sounds like even Kirigaya-san isn’t fully on board with it.

“I see…”
“You’re not very surprised, are you?”

There was one more thing I had decided on beforehand—
Don’t hide my magic power.

They’ve probably already noticed it anyway.

“The man from before had an abnormal strength. And… I have some personal experience with that sort of thing.”
“Go on.”
“Actually, recently… I’ve awakened to some strange power… Please don’t laugh at me.”
“I won’t. I know exactly how you feel.”

I guess she felt the same way when she first told someone.

It feels so chuunibyou and embarrassing…
Especially at my age—this would be fine if I were still a teenager, but I’m in my thirties…

“I feel something inside my body, and when I focus it, my abilities improve.”
“I see, I see. And you used that power to drive away the man with abnormal strength the other day?”
“Yes.”
“Wonderful. Truly wonderful. You possess a special ability to defeat a demon on your own.”

This feels like a sales pitch…

If I were in high school, I’d be over the moon, but I’m a 35-year-old section chief.

“Thank you.”
“Oh? You don’t seem happy?”
“We’re both grown men, aren’t we?”
“Well, that’s true…”

She suddenly looked a bit down.

“So basically, the Timer Association is a group of demon banishers who go around defeating demons—is that correct?”
“That’s right. And the reason I visited today, besides offering incense, is to recruit you. It’s a headhunting offer.”

He… headhunting…!

As a salaryman, those words sound way better to me than ‘special powers.’

“B-but… someone like me…”

Glance.

“No, those with ability should work where they’re needed most. To be blunt, someone else could do your current job. But this job—only you can do it.”

I… I knew it!

“Um, so how many people actually work there?”
“The Timer Association has branches all over Japan. But in total, there are fewer than a thousand.”

A thousand… It sounds like a lot, but in a country with a population over a hundred million, that’s not many at all.

“I see… By the way, could it be that my grandfather also…?”
“Yes. He was a member. A very skilled demon banisher. I learned a lot from him.”

Well, he was a great magician after all.

“I thought so…”
“So? Would you like to put your power to use?”
“Hmm… Well…”

Glance.

“Then let me explain the job in detail.”
“I’m listening.”

Sharp look.

“First of all, we’re a government-affiliated organization.”

Ah, so that’s how it is.

Well, she did say they work with the police, so it makes sense.

“Public servants?”
“Not exactly, but you can think of it that way. The job is to exterminate demons. We receive reports of sightings and act accordingly.”

Well, normally you wouldn’t know where a demon is…
Though in my case, I have a very capable cat.

“I understand.”
“Now, about the salary…”

Finally!