Edogawa Nishiguchi Ayakashi Clinic - Chapter 23
I immediately hung up on him.
Quit it already!
It’s this kind of bad countryside custom I don’t like! Why do you always have to connect it to that kind of thing?
“Dr. Tengo…”
“Yes?”
“Thank you… for that.”
He’s probably read my thoughts already.
Knowing that cheered me up a little.
Maybe his ability isn’t so bad after all.
Ah, but I’d be troubled if he read my thoughts all the time.
“There’s no such thing.”
“… Are you reading my thoughts again?”
“I do think it’s a bad thing. However, I am only able to read at least a quarter of your thoughts, and it doesn’t just work on anyone.”
He looked away again.
His ears were a little red too.
“I don’t… know what you’re trying to say.”
“I do wonder about that.”
I should be the one saying that.
But wait—
There’s something more important I have to ask you.
“Earlier… What did you mean when you said I was your woman?”
“Did I say something like that?”
“You did, you said it when you were facing off with that creepy old geezer!”
“Hmm? Well… who knows?”
Just as Dr. Tengo looked away again, a black, tinted car parked in front of my apartment. Chairman Takeru and Haruji got out of it and came running up the stairs.
“Heeey Tengoo! So you really were with Azuki.”
“Oh you came, Takeru.”
Ah, his expression returned to normal.
Is he feeling relieved?
“Oioi, are you guys reenacting Tokyo Love Story?” [1]
“What’s that?”
“It’s a drama that’s been broadcast on TV recently.”
Just as I was thinking how I might go crazy if I lived long like they do, Haruji peeked into my room and frowned.
“Geh, it’s a full nurarihyon! Stu–pid, stu—pid!”
Only elementary school kids say those kinds of things.
Ah, I wonder if it’s ok since he’s a quarter zashiki-warashi?
“Seriously. Is that old man causing trouble again?”
If I’m not mistaken, Chairman Takeru is part god of misfortune.
Isn’t he causing people trouble too?
“But A-chan, what are you gonna do with your room? Once that thing visits your home once, it’s going to come back again and again, you know?”
Right.
Rather than “again”, it actually came back almost immediately.
No way.
Besides the fact that I don’t like him drinking tea in my house, it’s also creepy and annoying how he keeps on asking me to be his family.
But I don’t have the money to move right away, and I even went and told papa that my workplace is nearby.
“Azuki-chan, why don’t you just move into the dorm then?”
Chairman Takeru declared while making a “come on” gesture with his thumb.
“A dorm…?”
“Tengo, isn’t there an empty room on the 2nd floor?”
“Yes, there is one.”
Dr. Tengo looked away while keeping his arms folded.
Eh? What was that again?
Are all ayakashi always this unassuming?
“Wait, what do you mean dorm?”
“Oooh, that’s great, that’s great! A-chan, do you have a DS?” [2]
Haruji, what are you saying?
Why do I feel like you’re itching to play console games with me?
“A dorm… Are you saying you guys live together?”
“Yeah, the 2nd floor of the clinic is a dorm! Anyway, A-chan, do you play MonHan!?”[3]
That’s not the main concern right now.
“They just released a new version where you can jump on them!”
Like I said, that’s not my focus right now.
“Don’t worry, Azuki-chan. I’m away most of the time, and Tengo stays in the back room of the clinic.”
“That’s not…”
“And if you could play with Haruji every once in a while, that would be great!”
Is it because he’s a zashiki-warashi?
That’s a different problem altogether.
“Take-san, buy MonHan for A-chan as a housewarming gift!”
“Is that some sort of food?”
“Wait, I still haven’t…”
I couldn’t help but look towards Dr. Tengo for help.
What do you think, Doctor?
“I… Think it’s alright.”
“Eh?”
“I mean… that nurarihyon’s going to come over and over again, so I can talk to your father—”
Chairman Takeru grinned as he placed his arm around Dr. Tengo’s shoulders.
These guys are really close, huh.
Like high school buddies or something.
“Oi, oi, Tengooo. You’ve already introduced yourself to Azuki-chan’s parents?”
“That’s different. I only extended my courtesy and greeted her father as the head doctor to inform him of her employment with us.”
“But Tengo-san, isn’t it rare for you to care about a woman?”
Dr. Tengo stiffened at Haruji’s innocent comment.
Before he could react, Haruji took his console from his pocket and was already focused on his game.
“That’s not the case at all. Although Nanakida’s neither a half nor a quarter, it seems she has a high affinity with the ancestors. That, and she can read the signage.”
All three men looked at me.
Eh? What is it?
“A-chan, you really don’t have ayakashi blood?”
“Nope.”
“So Azuki-chan, you’re sure that both your grandfather and great grandfather are human?”
“Yes, all of them come from a line of Buddhist priests.”
“So there you have it, Tengo. Aside from the things you said, you did go all through that trouble to keep her from leaving, didn’t you?”
“…who knows.”
And that’s how spring began for me.
It began with self-discovery, a suspicious job, and 3 suspicious but handsome men surrounding me.
Translator’s Notes:
[1] Tokyo Love Story – this is an actual Japanese drama that was aired in 1991 and was remade in 2020. Source
[2] DS – is referring to the Nintendo DS which is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. Although the LN is using DS, the manga (yes, there is an ongoing manga!) uses Switch instead.
[3] MonHan – is an abbreviation of the game Monster Hunter
