The Price of a Visit

Summer had arrived, though the heat had not yet reached its worst.

At the agency entrance, two girls stood beneath the morning light. One was tall, bright, and shamelessly confident. The other was gentle-looking, with a softer kind of beauty and the posture of someone already apologizing for whatever trouble her companion was about to cause.

Kento Nanami did not look up from his work.

"The boss is in his office. Down the hall, door on the left."

The air froze.

Then Dorin Fuya screamed.

"He is actually here today? I didn't put on makeup!"

Koyuka Shufuku lowered her head with a long, silent breath.

For several days, every visit had received the same answer: Ren was out. Dorin had therefore decided makeup was wasted effort.

Her exact argument had been that dressing up for schoolboys was not worth the price of lipstick.

That philosophy was now collapsing in real time.

"I need somewhere to fix this," Dorin said, already searching through her bag. "I cannot meet him with this face."

"Sorry for disturbing your work," Koyuka said to Nanami.

"It is fine." Nanami's pen did not stop. "If she needs to change pants, the restroom is down the hall. Doing that here would damage the agency's reputation."

Koyuka blinked.

Change pants?

She turned sharply and found Dorin behind a standing notice board, preparing to cut her long pants.

"Dorin!"

"They are too long. Let me fix them."

"Restroom. Now."

Koyuka crossed the room in three steps, lifted Dorin by the waist with one arm, and carried her away.

Nanami watched them disappear.

"What kind of people keep coming to see the boss lately?"

He shook his head.

Perhaps Ren was unlucky in a way ordinary people could understand after all.

In the restroom, Koyuka finally released Dorin.

"Who changes clothes on the street?"

"I was not changing. I was tailoring."

Dorin removed a decorative piece from her top, unfolded it into a small pair of scissors, and cut her long pants into shorts with alarming skill. A few tears and cuts later, the fabric clung to her legs like deliberately styled hot pants.

Koyuka stared.

"You are terrifyingly good at that."

"Done. Let's go."

Dorin had already finished her makeup near the entrance. Her confidence returned with it.

They knocked on Ren's office door.

"Come in."

The door opened.

Dorin immediately tried to pose.

Ren's voice came from inside, lazy and flat. "If you are not coming in, close the door."

Koyuka failed to hold back a laugh.

Dorin straightened as if struck, glared at Koyuka, then shut the door with more force than necessary.

They sat across from Ren. He was leaning back, his gaze unfocused, as if half his mind was somewhere else.

Dorin opened her mouth.

"I... I want..."

Koyuka tensed.

"I want to go on a date with you."

Koyuka moved her chair away by several centimeters.

Ren did not react.

"Not interested."

Dorin's shoulders slumped, but Koyuka forced herself to speak before the visit became a complete disaster.

"I want to invite you to our temple as a guest."

"Not interested."

She had expected the answer. Hearing it still hurt.

Koyuka lowered her eyes and began to stand.

"We will pay," Dorin said suddenly.

Koyuka froze.

Pay?

In front of a person like Ren Zenin?

Grandfather, she thought faintly, I may not return home.

Ren finally sat upright.

"How much?"

Dorin opened her purse. "Wait. Let me count. One, two, three, four..."

She looked up. "Koyuka, do you have cash?"

Koyuka's brain had not recovered. She handed over her bag automatically.

Dorin counted everything between them.

"A little over twelve thousand yen. How about that?"

Ren looked at the two girls properly for the first time. The smaller one stared blankly at the table. The taller one held the cash out with hopeful eyes.

"Deal."

Dorin nearly jumped. "Koyuka, he agreed. Say the address."

"Oh. Right. Jingane Road, 286. Kintan Temple. We are the only temple there."

She bowed quickly.

"Three days from now, we will prepare a meal and wait for your visit."

"Mm."

Dorin placed the money on Ren's desk before he could change his mind, grabbed Koyuka, and fled.

Only after they left the agency did Koyuka return to herself.

She stared at Dorin with shining admiration.

"What?"

"How did you think of offering money?"

Dorin looked confused. "He runs an agency, doesn't he? Asking him to come eat with us counts as a request."

Koyuka slapped her own forehead.

Obvious.

So obvious.

If Dorin had not come with her, she might have lost the only chance Kintan Temple had left.

"Thank you," Koyuka said. "I will treat you to lunch."

They both stopped.

They had given Ren all their money.

Back inside the agency, Ren took the cash and walked to Nanami's desk. He counted ten bills and placed them down.

"Your pay for last month."

Nanami looked at the money.

His expression did not change.

His eyes did.

Three days passed.

By then, summer heat struck without warning.

At 286 Jingane Road, every monk of Kintan Temple put aside morning duties and stood on both sides of the gate.

Koyuka stood with them, tense enough to feel every second.

"Koyuka," her grandfather asked quietly, "how exactly did you invite him?"

"Grandfather, we agreed you would stop asking."

She had heard that question too many times in three days. She could not exactly tell the entire temple that Dorin had bought Ren Zenin's visit with a pile of cash from two schoolgirls' purses.

The elderly abbot, Mikura Shufuku, fell silent again.

His hands trembled despite his calm expression.

At nine in the morning, they had already waited an hour.

Koyuka's anxiety grew. What if Ren forgot? What if something more interesting appeared?

Then the monks at the front called out together.

"A guest has arrived."

Mikura moved faster than his age should have allowed.

At the gate stood a young man with a lazy air, looking around the temple as if he were a tourist.

"Are you Ren Zenin?"

"Mm."

That was enough.

"We have prepared a meal. Please follow me."

Ren followed him through the grounds. On the way, Mikura noticed Koyuka standing frozen in the courtyard.

"Koyuka, come with us."

"Y-yes."

Her fear of Ren had not disappeared. If anything, seeing him at the temple made the pressure feel stranger.

She clenched both fists and made a small motion downward, trying to encourage herself.

The gates closed behind them.

Today, Kintan Temple opened for Ren Zenin alone.

In the reception hall, Ren was seated in the place of honor. Mikura and Koyuka sat opposite him.

The moment Ren's gaze moved toward Koyuka, her courage vanished and she shrank toward the table.

"Mr. Ren, please," Mikura said.

Ren looked at the food. It was not even strict vegetarian temple fare, but he had no appetite for ceremony.

"No need to eat. Say what you want."

Mikura's hand froze above the table.

The smile left his face.

"Then I will speak plainly. My name is Mikura Shufuku. I was the abbot before the previous one."

He drew a breath.

"Our monks perform two duties every day: sutra recitation before the Buddha and acts of charity. Three years ago today, the previous abbot, Asano Shufuku, struck his head against the golden Buddha during evening recitation and died."

Koyuka lowered her eyes.

"Afterward, we learned that a demon was sealed beneath this temple. Daily prayer is what keeps the seal stable. But recently, the seal began to loosen, and we have no way to repair it."

The request did not need to be said.

Ren's answer came anyway.

"You all share the Shufuku name?"

Koyuka looked up, startled by the completely wrong focus.

Mikura's mouth twitched, but he stroked his beard and answered.

"Yes. We share the surname, but not the same blood. The jujutsu world values family bloodlines too much. Our temple lineage had no choice but to give adopted orphans the Shufuku name. It did not make us respected, but it helped us survive."

He bowed deeply, forehead nearly touching his hands.

"For the sake of peace, I ask you to help us seal the demon again."

"Peace?"

Ren's voice was lazy and faintly disdainful.

"Whether the world is peaceful has nothing to do with me. The story is over. I should leave."

He stood.

Mikura stayed bowed, but hope drained from him.

Koyuka heard Dorin's voice in her memory.

We will pay.

Her hands shook.

"We have two relics left by eminent monks," she said.

Mikura's head snapped up.

Koyuka forced the words out.

"One is inside the forehead of the Buddha statue. The other is in the mark on its chest. We are willing to use both relics as payment for your help."

Ren stopped.

"Lead the way."

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