Edogawa Nishiguchi Ayakashi Clinic - Chapter 20
“You’re lying! This is out of your way if you come from the station!”
“I didn’t come from the station.”
“But you did come to save me, didn’t you!?”
“No, I…”
“Ehh, but this street is a residential area, you know? You probably heard my thoughts and headed to my apartment!”
“Nanakida, weren’t you scared?”
Ah, he changed the topic.
Geez, are all amanojaku like this?
“I was, but I feel better now that you’re here.”
“That man is a full-blooded nurarihyon.”
“What’s a… nurarihyon?”
Thud, thud
The creepy old man stomped on the floor.
Stop that, you’re going to bother the neighbors downstairs.
I guess this guy has never lived in an apartment before.
Oh, right.
Dr. Tengo did mention that their kind live in remote villages in the mountains and spend their lives trying to be unnoticed.
“You insolent fools, you dare look down on a full-blood like me!?”
“So what if we do?”
Dr. Tengo completely dispelled the terror I felt when he shielded me from the creepy old man.
I wonder what this is called.
Is this what you would call a sense of security?
Nah. Maybe it’s because he’s my superior, so it feels more like he’s telling me to “just do that later.”
How strange.
“Didn’t you know that I’m the supreme commander of the ayakashi?”
“A quarter like me wouldn’t know something like that.”
“…”
“By nature, a nurarihyon looks like an ordinary, random man. They would enter households without permission and blend in so much that they would be indistinguishable from the people living there.”
What the heck, so it’s just like an elderly person drinking tea then!
Do that in your own house!
“Or, as the stories mention, he would come with a huge entourage and act as if he owned the place.”
“You bastard!”
The creepy old man’s face distorted further.
His antics were getting so old that I’ve had enough.
I want to talk to Dr. Tengo a bit more, so I wish he’d just go bother someone else.
“Nanakida’s suddenly looking down on him, huh.”
“Eh!? No, I didn’t mean it like that!”
“But didn’t you just say you wanted him to disappear?”
“Wh– Hey! I didn’t say it like that!”
“Did too.” [1]
“I already said I didn’t!”
“No, look.”
“Ah…”
I looked around my narrow 1K room and found that he had already gone.
What’s up with that old geezer— rather, that ayakashi disguised as a handsome English gentleman?
He just came and went as he liked.
If you’re going to scare people, then just scare them.
Speaking of which, he could’ve at least tidied up after having his tea!
Hey, doctor.
“Then, I’ll be on my way.”
“Eh?”
Dr. Tengo already had a hand on the doorknob.
Right, I totally forgot.
I already told them I’d be quitting.
So this was some sort of unpaid overtime. [2]
You’re so stupid, Azuki. Look what you did.
You could have chosen to tell them you were quitting on another day.
Out of all days, why did you choose today to be this impatient?
“Th-thank you, but…”
Dr. Tengo didn’t have any reason to linger around.
Even if someone went after him naked, he would just pass them by with that indifferent look on his face.
That’s just too painful to imagine.
At the very least, I could have prepared some tea for him as thanks, but what should we talk about after that?
Should I ask him about what he said earlier?
It should be ok to ask him what he meant by that, right?
“Goodbye, Nanakida.”
“Ah, wai—”
His words echoed in my mind as the door closed, and I stood frozen there like a fool.
The perfect chance slipped by while I was busy with all the thoughts swirling inside my head.
Decided too late, acted too late.
“I guess it’s really goodbye this time, but…”
“Won’t you become my family?”
“Haah!?”
I turned around.
In his usual English gentleman disguise, Akatsu-kun reappeared by the windowsill in a cool pose.
I won’t be fooled twice, you old tea-drinking geezer.
“Wh— you’re here again!?”
“Won’t you become my family?”
“You’re so creepy and annoying! Enough, I’m leaving!”
I dashed out from my room, but Dr. Tengo was nowhere to be found.
Translator’s Notes:
[1] Did too
Japanese wordplay is sometimes hard to translate (or my skill is just lacking lol) especially if they use two words that sound alike. In this case, the original was 行ったな (itta na) meaning “(he) left”, but Azuki heard it as “言ったな” (itta na) meaning “You (did) say it” thus the response “I already said I didn’t!”
[2] Unpaid overtime
The original was ロスタイム (rosutaimu), which literally means “lost time”. In work terms, this refers to unpaid time. Source
