Episode 19: "The Reason They Obey"

Yo Kuronaka
"Well, at least he left in a good mood..."

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"I still can't believe she'd say someone like that prick is charming! Her taste in men straight sucks!"

Eiji Todoroki
"His face is definitely handsome, but he's as skinny as a pencil. Word of advice, pursue a man with a bit more meat on his bones."

Tsuruko Semba
"Um, I don't really like talking about stuff like this, but I think Kazuma's body type is relatively normal."

Yutaka Gotanda
"Look, I don't mean to speak too much on a subject that may fall under the umbrella of sexual harassment. But, Oi, if you were to get romantically involved with someone, please let me meet them at least once.
I'll conduct ten, no, hundreds of interviews to ensure you don't end up with some strange man."

The moment Kazuma left, everyone in the Trash Tribe besides Q surrounded Minami and began chatting.
Minami couldn't figure out what everyone was referring to at first, but after Yutaka's comments, it clicked. She realized everyone misunderstood what happened.

Minami Oi
"I-I was just doing all that to divert his anger! Well, I had another reason too, but..."

Minami shook her head vigorously as she denied having any interest in Kazuma.

Tsuki Iroha
"Eh? Minami, you're not all about looks are you?"

Minami Oi
"Of course not! Rather than looks, I value whether or not they can respect other people and—"

Petite 24 Tribe Enforcer
"E-Excuse me. I know I'm not in any position to ask for a favor, but..."

This was the opportunity she was looking for.
Minami quickly rushed over to the petite enforcer's side.

Minami Oi
"Oh, are you wanting the address of the master craftsman? Just give me a moment, I'll get it printed out for you."

Guessing what the enforcer was going to ask, Minami took out a small printer from her pocket and connected it to her tablet.
There was a faint motor sound, then a warm piece of paper was ejected from the printer. Minami then handed the paper to the enforcer.

Petite 24 Tribe Enforcer
"Thank you so much! I apologize for not being able to give you anything in return."

Minami Oi
"Please, don't worry about it. Actually, could I ask you a few questions?"

Petite 24 Tribe Enforcer
"Yes, but we've been instructed by Mr. Ichinose to not disclose anything that could cause him a disadvantage under any circumstance."

Minami Oi
"You don't have to worry about that. I wanted to ask about all of you instead."

Petite 24 Tribe Enforcer
"About... us?"

Minami Oi
"Yes. I was wondering why you work under Kazuma considering all those awful things he says to you all? It's really piqued my curiosity."

Tsuki Iroha
"Now that you mention it, I wanted to ask the same thing! I wouldn't be able to put up with any of that!"

Yo Kuronaka
"Yeah, same. Think you could explain it to us?"

Everyone was also interested in the answer to Minami's question, so they slowly began to encircle the petite enforcer.

Petite 24 Tribe Enforcer
"I mean, if we defy him, we'll just end up getting laid off. A-And I don't want to die yet..."

Tsuki Iroha
"I guess he told you that he'd spare your life if you came and worked for him, huh? Well, I suppose there's no real arguing with that."

Petite 24 Tribe Enforcer
"It's not like that. Mr. Ichinose is merciless! No matter how obedient you are, there's still a chance he lays you off.
It was a while ago, but there was a case where someone ate dorayaki that he carefully set aside, and that person was immediately laid off.
Still, though, he's a huge fan of blue tanukis... or wait, was it cats? I think that part of him is super duper cute!"

The petite enforcer giggled as she told everyone her terrible stories.

Tsuki Iroha
"Wait, back it up a moment! So following his orders or defying them lead to the same result?!"

Petite 24 Tribe Enforcer
"Yes, but if you work for him, the odds of being laid off are lower! I mean, that's really the best we can do."

Despite giggling just moments ago, the moment she heard Tsuki's words, the enforcer gripped the sides of her hood tightly, and began to tremble as she gave her response.

Tsuruko Semba
"They've had their will to fight completely stolen. I feel bad for them all."

Yo Kuronaka
"Yeah, it really sucks."

Yo empathized with the enforcers, who've resigned themselves to their fate out of fear.

Beep.

Hearing a familiar notification sound, Yo took out his smartphone.
A notification had appeared signifying a new message. The sender was the same one from back in 24 City: NEON.

NEON (Message)
"Yo. I apologize for the sudden message, but there's something I wish to convey to you.
Moments ago, you heard a member of the 24 Tribe explain that Kazuma lays off those working under him.
I suggest you commit that fact to memory, as it may serve you well in the future."

Yo Kuronaka
"...What? What does that even mean?"

As he found himself rather confused, Yo looked around at his teammates.

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"Man, I don't really get it. But they texted us about it, so it's gotta be important, right?"

Tsuki Iroha
"You think this NEON person's always watching us? Man, I'd kill to have that much free time."

Yo Kuronaka
"Me too. Honestly, the creepier part is receiving messages without having ever given them my contact information."

Q
"You didn't tell them about NINE in the first place, right?"

Yo Kuronaka
"Oh, actually. Yeah, that's true."

As Yo explained NEON to his fellow Trash Tribe members, they began treating them as Yo's stalker who hasn't been that useful yet.

Petite 24 Tribe Enforcer
"U-Um, excuse me. But can I go now? Mr. Ichinose has given us a boatload of work to do..."

Minami Oi
"Ah, yes. Thank you for speaking with us, I apologize for keeping you for so long."

Petite 24 Tribe Enforcer
"Oh, it's no problem. Thank you for letting us know where we can find the master craftsman.

The petite enforcer gave Minami a deep bow, then walked over to her team.

Petite 24 Tribe Enforcer
"Okay, everyone. Mr. Ichinose wanted the room key, his suitcase repaired, and a drink. Besides those, we have to take care of another three thousand two hundred smaller tasks.
Let's divide and conquer so that we can finish up everything quickly!"

Buff 24 Tribe Enforcer
"Got'cha. Hey, Abekawa. How long are ya plannin' to lay around on the ground?"

Super Thin 24 Tribe Enforcer
"Ugh, sorry. I wanted to stand up for everyone, but it didn't work out...

Buff 24 Tribe Enforcer
"Hey, brother, don't go beatin' yourself up like that. Think I could ask you to go to the master craftman's shop for me? I'm not really good with strangers."

Super Thin 24 Tribe Enforcer
"I'd be happy to. After all, your superhuman strength is always getting us out of tough situations."

Buff 24 Tribe Enforcer
"You're a lifesaver, buddy!"

Lazy 24 Tribe Enforcer
"But, Mr. Ichinose really is scary, ain't he? 'Are you more inferior than a carriage horse? Huh?! No, perhaps you're more like the horse's excrement!' I had to stifle a laugh when he said that."

Petite 24 Tribe Enforcer
"Pfft. Mitarashi, your imitation of him was spot on!"

Buff 24 Tribe Enforcer
"Kashiwa, Mitarashi, if he heard your conversation right now, you two would be laid off for sure!"

Lazy 24 Tribe Enforcer
"Gaaah! Lay offs are sooo scarrryy!"

After Kazuma left, the enforcers promptly split up what they needed to do as they chatted away.
Since they all had masks on, Yo couldn't figure out who was who, but as they called out to each other by name, and divided their tasks, he could tell that they were skilled at what they do.

Yutaka Gotanda
"Heh. It seems they're really a great team, even if their superior is doing all he can to make sure they don't shine.
It's regrettable how he's squandering such excellent workers. We have to do something about Kazuma as soon as possible."

Yo Kuronaka
"Yeah, after seeing what happened here, we should hurry."