MHGA Chapter 169 – The Existence of Handlers
"..."
Even though she couldn't see any spirits now, Miko Yotsuya still felt nervous as she followed behind Tanjiro.
She had calmed down after Kairo Retsu's explanation, cried her heart out, and then fallen asleep—but upon waking, she began to realize that even if there were no ghosts here… wasn't she caught up in something equally outrageous?
"Tanjiro…" Miko hesitated, then decided to add a polite suffix. "Tanjiro-san, what exactly is going on here? You said earlier we aren't from the same world. Did I get reincarnated into another world or something?"
"I don't really understand it either," Tanjiro admitted with a sheepish rub of the back of his head. "There's a lot I don't know… but Kazuma and Naofumi know more than I do."
"I'm from the Taisho era, after all—still learning a lot of things," he said seriously.
"Taisho?!" Miko's eyes widened. "Tanjiro… grandpa?!"
"I'm only sixteen," Tanjiro clarified. "The Guildmaster told us—everyone at the Gathering Hub is from a different era…"
"You're… younger than me…" Miko murmured, still stunned.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the canteen Tanjiro had mentioned. Even before entering, they could hear the ruckus inside.
"Hey! Don't run around! This is Granny Felyne's sacred domain! You're not allowed to mess around here!" Kairo Retsu's voice echoed from within. "You two even shot at me! You'd better behave by now!"
"Chiito! There're so many cats that can walk on two legs here!" came the voice of a different girl inside.
"Yuuri, stop touching them. The cats look very uncomfortable…" another girl responded.
"HEY! KAZUMA!!!! You've been sneaking around eating delicious food here all this time without telling us?! TRAITOR! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! NEVER!!!!"
"Lord Naofumi, are these the companions you mentioned before?"
Voices overlapped chaotically in the canteen, leaving Miko more confused than ever.
Upon stepping inside, she immediately spotted the man she had first met—Kairo Retsu—and several other unfamiliar faces.
A nearly two-meter-tall foreign-looking man, a stern-eyed shield-bearing man beside a beastkin girl with animal ears, a cloaked boy currently being strangled by a beautiful blue-haired girl, and three other girls…
"Ah, everyone's here except for Laios," Kairo said upon seeing Tanjiro and Miko arrive.
"I've confirmed it with the Felynes: aside from Handlers invited by our Hunters, our Hub has three new official Handlers."
"First is Miko Yotsuya!" Kairo gestured grandly at the flustered Miko. "Miko's super cute! Especially that face when she's about to cry from seeing a ghost… I'll show you all the footage later."
"And then we have Chito and Yuuri from a post-apocalyptic world," he continued, lifting the calm Chito and the energetic Yuuri, one in each hand. Both girls were munching rapidly on dried sweet potatoes brought by Tanjiro and Nezuko.
"Umm…" Miko timidly raised her hand. "I still don't understand… what a Handler is… how we got here… and also… why do you… seem to know me…"
Her voice got smaller and smaller.
"It's a bit complicated, so—!" Snap! Kairo clapped his fingers, and the nearby Felynes wheeled in a large screen and began setting up the projector.
"Anyway!" Kairo said, still holding the snack-hungry Chito and Yuuri, "Let's eat and enjoy the backstories of our new members while we're at it…"
"Gotta be well-fed before diving into serious matters!"
——[Fast-forward playback in progress]——
Roughly three hours later, two entire anime series had finished playing on fast-forward…
Miko stared down at the floor in embarrassment. She couldn't believe she had just watched third-person footage of herself pretending not to see ghosts—and her behavior made her feel secondhand embarrassment to the extreme.
Chito and Yuuri's story, on the other hand, left Miko astonished. To think people from such a world were now sitting beside her, scarfing down Felyne Grub…
"You've all worked so hard," Kazuma sniffled, tearing up. "Kazuma-sama is truly moved!"
"Hah…" Naofumi let out a sigh. "Every new member's past seems to be complicated…"
"They seem pretty pitiful… Guildmaster, can they stay here in camp from now on?" Tanjiro asked, genuinely concerned.
"As Handlers, yes. A Handler's job is mostly organizing hunting intel, helping with Gathering Hub affairs, and so on… the most dangerous task would be assisting Hunters on investigations," Kairo stroked his chin. "There's no salary, but the Hub provides food and lodging, and everyone helps each other…"
Kairo swept his gaze around the canteen.
There were quite a few people seated inside.
Besides Miko, Chito, and Yuuri, many others had come along with Hunters and were currently staying in the Hub as temporary Handlers.
Aqua, who was now wrestling with Kazuma, had come with him.
Raphtalia had accompanied Naofumi.
Nezuko, of course, came with Tanjiro.
Jotaro (Joseph) had been focused on secluded Ripple training and hadn't returned to his own world, so he hadn't brought anyone. Laios, meanwhile, was constantly busy.
Earlier, Kairo had already confirmed with Granny Felyne that characters like Miko, Chito, and Yuuri were officially contracted Handlers. They could freely move in and out of the Hub.
Those who came with Hunters—like Aqua and the others—were considered accompanying party members, and thus allowed into the Hub only when accompanied by their respective Hunters.
In short… full-time vs part-time?
But a lot of these people were minors, weren't they? The idea of classifying them as full-time and part-time workers… was this even legal?
Kairo scratched his head at the thought… but then again, the Hub didn't pay salaries to either Hunters or Handlers. No pay = no labor law violations, right?
"You've all seen it now. Chito and Yuuri staying here won't be a problem—it just means a few more mouths to feed."
Kairo spread his hands. "But what about Miko? She has family and friends. She can't just stay in the Hub forever, can she?"
"Unless… you guys know how to perform exorcisms?"
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