Upon seeing Fang Mo, excitement suddenly began to rise.
For some reason, Hayakawa Aki had already started to feel uneasy.
Of course, this was inevitable; after all, he was almost traumatized by Fang Mo's antics.
To be honest, after seeing Fang Mo's schadenfreude expression, Hayakawa Aki suddenly regretted telling him about this. This welcoming party was organized by the entire Special Division Four, and even Miss Makima, whom he respected the most, would be attending. If he made a fool of himself in public...
Hayakawa Aki couldn't even bear to imagine that scene.
That's why, after dropping an address, Hayakawa Aki quickly slipped away.
Fang Mo did notice Hayakawa Aki's subtlety, but he didn't bother to explain. After finding the camera, he simply used his ability to customize Steve and completed a quick outfit change.
"Ah Xue, don't cook tonight."
After dressing up, Fang Mo invited his little maid: "Come with me to the welcoming party."
"I'd rather not go, Master."
Ah Xue surprisingly shook her head: "I really don't have much interest in such lively gatherings. Compared to that, staying at home alone is more comfortable."
"Alright."
Fang Mo didn't force Ah Xue and simply said: "Then take care of Shoggoth at home."
"Leave it to me, Master."
Ah Xue nodded.
"Shoggoth, be good and listen to Ah Xue," Fang Mo said, poking Shoggoth as a reminder.
After eating Chemical X, Shoggoth seemed to have grown smarter. It obediently chirped and then jumped off Fang Mo, extending its small tentacles on its head as if saying goodbye to Fang Mo.
Fang Mo nodded.
Then, he left with his camera.
Although Hayakawa Aki didn't wait for Fang Mo, the venue for the Special Division Four's newcomer welcoming party was easy to find. After asking for directions, Fang Mo quickly found the place.
It was a small izakaya, not very large, but surprisingly popular.
When Fang Mo found the place, he coincidentally met Kobeni, who was dressed casually, looking a bit lost at the entrance, glancing around.
"Yo, isn't this Kobeni-chan?"
Fang Mo approached and greeted: "Why not go in?"
"Ah! It's... you..."
Seeing Fang Mo, Kobeni was visibly startled, then quickly began to sweat, shaking nervously or perhaps out of fear.
Seeing this, Fang Mo smiled and took out a green gemstone from his pocket.
"Here, your reward."
Fang Mo handed the emerald to Kobeni: "Here's the reward I promised you."
"Ah... this!" Kobeni was a bit surprised to see the emerald Fang Mo handed her: "But... wasn't it me who killed the Devil?"
"No worries, just consider it a gift from me in a good mood. Use it to buy something tasty."
Fang Mo smiled indifferently: "Now that my identity has changed from a Devil to your sugar daddy, don't you feel less scared?"
"Huh?"
Kobeni subconsciously accepted the emerald, then said somewhat confusedly, "If that's the case... it seems... indeed..."
"Hmm? Aren't you Kobeni and Fang Mo?"
Before she finished speaking, suddenly the voice of Himeno came from not far away.
Fang Mo instinctively looked up and saw the other party staggering towards the restroom: "Go in quickly, you two are already late."
"Let's go."
Fang Mo also laughed, then turned around and called out to Kobeni: "Today's meal is on the public expense, don't waste this opportunity."
"Ah, right..."
Eventually, the two of them arrived at the private room, one after the other.
Himeno was right; Fang Mo was indeed a bit late. Almost everyone from the Special Division Four, except Makima, had already arrived, creating a very lively atmosphere in the private room.
Besides Hayakawa Aki, Denji, Power, and Arai, Fang Mo also saw several unfamiliar faces.
These people didn't have much screen time in the original work, and Fang Mo couldn't recall their names at the moment. So, he simply sat next to Hayakawa Aki and cheerfully greeted him.
"Yo, having a drink?"
"..."
Hayakawa Aki's face immediately darkened.
"Who is this...?"
The man sitting next to Hayakawa Aki curiously looked at Fang Mo: "A new face I haven't seen before. Are you a newcomer from Mr. Hayakawa's side?"
"He is…"
Hayakawa Aki opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Fang Mo started speaking on his own.
"It's our first meeting, big brother. I am the technical consultant of Special Division Four. You can call me Fang Mo, or the 'Happy Devil.'" Fang Mo seemed quite familiar, cheerfully saying, "If you have any difficulties, just speak up. What I like most is to... ahem, help others for joy."
Upon hearing Fang Mo's self-introduction, the whole room suddenly fell silent for a moment.
"...A Devil?"
The man opposite was also startled, but quickly recovered: "That's an unexpected identity. It seems that Mr. Hayakawa has brought in a remarkable person."
Although to ordinary people, a Devil might seem terrifying, in reality, the Special Division Four has precedents of capturing or taming Devils to serve them. Therefore, the people were only stunned for a moment, and soon the atmosphere in the private room became lively again.
"Don't be fooled by his appearance; he's actually a troublesome guy."
Hayakawa Aki, with a stern face, said to the man beside him, "You must not be deceived by his appearance."
"Really?"
A woman not far away seemed curious: "Mr. Hayakawa, what do you mean by 'troublesome'?"
"Come, come, come, this is a gift for our first meeting."
Before he finished speaking, Fang Mo suddenly pulled out a handful of gold beans from his bosom and slapped them on the table: "Ten jin of gold, for everyone to share, feel free to take."
"...What's this?"
Everyone was stunned at this scene.
For someone like Denji andi Power who had seen such scenes before, it was okay, but the others from Special Division Four had never seen such a thing and were completely dumbfounded, looking at each other, not knowing what was going on.
"This... seems to be real gold..."
A man with glasses sitting in the corner touched the gold beans and then said in surprise.
"Meeting is fate. I see your lives aren't easy, so I'll reluctantly give you a piece of advice," Fang Mo said earnestly. "Friends, the waters of Special Division Four are too deep for you to handle. Take my advice, consider this meal as a farewell dinner, and use this gold to start anew in civilian life..."
"What?"
Everyone was stunned again after hearing Fang Mo's words.
"Can you stop messing around?"
Hayakawa Aki, unable to restrain himself any longer, put down his beer glass and spoke directly to Fang Mo: "We gather here for a welcome party for newcomers, and you're advising everyone to have a farewell dinner? What are your intentions?"
"I mean well, too."
Fang Mo spread his hands and said, "You're holding a welcome party for newcomers today, but tomorrow you might have to hold a memorial service. I'm just in a good mood to remind you all. Everyone here is just an ordinary person... Isn't it nice to be alive?"
"This is... Mr. Fang Mo."
Hearing Fang Mo's words, a robust man not far away also smiled and started speaking, "I appreciate your kindness, but indeed this line of work comes with risks. I've been prepared for that, so I won't be backing out. As a token of thanks, let me buy you a drink."
After saying this, he raised the beer mug in his hand.
"Tch... Alright then."
Seeing the man's insistence, Fang Mo didn't want to continue. He had only intended to save a few people on a whim. Since he couldn't persuade them, there was nothing more he could do.
Anyway, after this little interlude.
The atmosphere in the private room quickly became lively again.
Encouraged by some of the seniors, the newcomers took turns introducing themselves.
Meanwhile, Himeno also apologized to Denji, explaining that they shouldn't have thought about killing him when they encountered the 'Eternity Devil', and asked for his forgiveness.
Denji was initially reluctant.
But Fang Mo jokingly suggested that Himeno should kiss Denji to make up for it.
Himeno hadn't responded yet, but upon hearing this, Denji immediately blushed and excitedly stuck out his tongue like a dog, giving Fang Mo a grateful look and secretly giving him a thumbs up.
Seeing this, Fang Mo just smiled and said nothing.
Quickly, Himeno also reacted, saying that if it was as an apology, she would do it, but it was too embarrassing, so she would first drink some alcohol to bolster her courage.
Thus, the atmosphere at the gathering quickly heated up even more.
Since Denji was underage and couldn't drink, he waited excitedly next to Himeno like a little puppy, eager to see when she would kiss him.
"Heh...hehe..."
Denji kept staring at Himeno's lips, blushing and muttering to himself, "My first kiss...today..."
However, he was so focused that he didn't even notice that Makima had arrived.
"Kissing?"
Makima leaned in close to Denji and asked, startling him so much that he let out a strange scream, almost as if he was scared to death.
"So... who is Denji going to kiss?"
Makima took off her coat, sat down, and curiously looked at Denji.
"Not kissing!"
Denji quickly shouted.
"Huh?" Hearing this, Himeno, who was some distance away, licked her lips, her tender little tongue skillfully moving: "Denji-kun... aren't you going to kiss me?"
"I will kiss!"
Denji once again roared into action.
Hearing Denji's contradictory words, everyone was amused. Clearly, nobody considered Denji as an adult since he was only sixteen years old. He seemed more like a teenage boy being teased.
As for Denji himself,
He seemed somewhat conflicted.
To be honest, he didn't know what to choose. If he kissed, he was afraid Makima would dislike him.
But if he didn't kiss... his impatient youthful desire was unbearable. Just thinking about it was embarrassingly eager, and he was utterly clueless about what to do.
However, while he was contemplating these things,
Hayakawa Aki raised his own work-related doubts.
He mentioned that the previous 'Eternity Devil' seemed to recognize Denji and even desired Denji's heart, and wanted to ask Makima if she knew the inside story.
However, Makima obviously couldn't say.
So, she suggested that if they could drink her under the table, she would tell them.
What followed was quite tedious. The group mindlessly started to drink heavily with each other, and Fang Mo, seeing this scene, secretly prepared his camera.
And soon,
Everyone was drunk under the table by Makima.
Especially Himeno, who had already drunk quite a bit before and then foolishly challenged Makima to a drinking contest. Given that she could transfer alcohol to the people of Japan, it was obvious she wouldn't be easily defeated.
Initially, Himeno had already slumped on the table.
But somehow, she suddenly stood up, slamming the table, then grabbed Denji's mouth and kissed him.
At first, Denji seemed to enjoy it, his little face flushed red and his eyes involuntarily darting around, clearly indulging in secret delight.
But quickly, there was a dramatic turn of events.
Himeno vomited into his mouth.
Denji even unconsciously swallowed a bit.
After hearing that dreadful 'gurgle', not only Denji, but also the others started to vomit.
Everyone present, except Fang Mo and Makima, seemed unable to hold back. They covered their mouths, turned their heads away, feeling their stomachs churn tumultuously. Some even ran out, presumably to vomit in the restroom.
Fortunately, Arai managed to hold out.
He immediately took Denji to the bathroom to induce vomiting.
"Mr. Fang Mo, it seems like you had already anticipated this scene." After Denji left, Makima shifted her attention to Fang Mo: "You have been holding a camera from the start, waiting to capture this moment, haven't you?"
"I am someone who likes to collect iconic scenes."
Fang Mo didn't even lift his head, busying himself with the camera in his hands.
"Mr. Fang Mo, can you see the future?" Makima asked curiously, tilting her head: "Mr. Kishibe must have come to see you today, right? What did you two talk about?"
"He suggested that I have pickled cabbage stewed with glass noodles for dinner."
Fang Mo casually made up: "But I think ginger pork is tastier. Oh, by the way, did you eat the Snickers I gave you?"
"That kind of prank isn't funny, Mr. Fang Mo."
Makima didn't get angry, just spoke as gently as usual: "But since it's from the Happy Devil, a bit of wicked taste is normal."
"You are really easy to talk to."
Hearing this, Fang Mo also looked up at Makima: "With such a gentle personality, it's no wonder others like you so much. In that case, then..."
"Next time, I'll just stuff it into your mouth."