— — — — — — —
"Hell Link?"
Lynn's eyes flashed with surprise.
"That's right!" Iwanaga Kotoko nodded seriously. "A mysterious website that only appears at midnight!"
"As long as someone enters the name of the person they resent, the Hell Girl will appear and drag that person straight to hell!"
Listening to Iwanaga Kotoko's explanation, Lynn couldn't help but feel that this setup sounded oddly familiar.
Hell Girl, huh...
Well, considering this world actually has a real Hell, it wouldn't be that surprising...
"So..." Lynn tapped his fingers on the table. "What exactly do you want me to do?"
Kotoko smiled faintly. "Can I ask the great Devil here to deal with that website?"
"Oh?"
Lynn raised an eyebrow with interest. "Sure... but you do realize this is outside the school's jurisdiction, right?"
Kotoko froze for a second.
Lynn continued casually, "The Supernatural Research Club doesn't take outside jobs for free, you know~"
Kotoko was immediately drawn in and read along as Lynn laid out a neatly prepared price list.
"Low-Class Devil: 5 million yen."
"Mid-Class Devil: 50 million yen."
"High-Class Devil: 500 million..."
The further down the list she read, the more Kotoko's eyelids twitched.
"Ultimate-Class: 5 billion..."
"Maou (Devil King)... price negotiable depending on the situation and the attitude of the Maou."
Kotoko froze when she saw that line. Then, in disbelief, she blurted out, "Wait... you can actually get a Maou to take a job?!"
Lynn shrugged. "So? Have you decided what level of Devil you want to hire?"
Kotoko fell silent.
Truthfully, she had no idea what the power difference between each level even was. She also had no clue how strong this so-called Hell Girl really was.
"I'll leave it to your professional recommendation, then."
"Oh? Smart move."
Lynn rubbed his chin.
Hell Girl sounded intimidating, but who knew how strong she actually was? A High-Class Devil might be enough... but...
Honestly, Lynn was kind of curious about Hell Girl.
If he could recruit her into his Familia, what kind of Devil would she become?
That thought got him excited, and he smiled at Kotoko. "I recommend hiring a Maou."
"...Huh?"
Kotoko twitched hard. "Haha... Lynn-sama, are you sure... I can even afford a Maou?"
She looked back at the price list.
Yeah, that sounded like a total rip-off waiting to happen!
"Relax, this is a special case," Lynn reassured her. "A Maou-sama happens to be really interested in Hell Girl, so he won't charge you much."
"...?"
Kotoko glanced around nervously. "Wait... I just came here to ask for help, and the Maou already knows about it?"
"Don't tell me..."
"Is that Maou-sama... in the Supernatural Research Club?"
She glanced left and right, but aside from Lynn and the white-haired dog near his desk, she didn't see anyone else.
Kotoko stared at the dog... only to get a dumbfounded look from Ryougetsu Senhime (the dog).
...Okay, definitely not it.
Kotoko slowly turned her gaze back to Lynn's smiling face.
Her eye twitched. "Wait... don't tell me..."
Lynn nodded with a bright smile. "That's right. It's me."
Crash!
Kotoko instantly shot up from her chair in shock. But moving too fast, she got dizzy and blacked out for a second.
Her cane slipped from her hand and fell to the floor with a clatter as her knees buckled.
Suddenly—
A large hand caught her delicate little hand, steadying her and helping her stand back up.
Kotoko recovered from her daze and curtsied gracefully. "My apologies... learning you're a Maou was just a little too shocking."
She calmed herself on the surface, but inside she was screaming.
A freaking Maou... is a student at Shuchiin Academy?
Seriously?!
She silently cursed. "Is this what they call a Maou's twisted sense of humor?"
"Soooo~, have you decided whether to hire me or not?"
Kotoko forced a stiff smile. "O-Of course... since you've expressed interest, how could I possibly refuse?"
She wanted to cry. Images of Hagoromo Gitsune's tragic end flashed through her mind.
She had a bad feeling she was about to be absolutely wrecked too...
"Alright, then let's head out."
Lynn stood up.
"Eh?" Kotoko snapped out of her tragic thoughts and said, "Maou-sama, the Hell Link only shows up at midnight, you know?"
Lynn nodded. "I know."
He gave her a strange look. "But do you really think neither of us has any enemies out there?"
Kotoko's expression stiffened.
...Right.
Without resentment, Hell Link wouldn't appear.
"So what are we going to do then...?"
Kotoko asked hesitantly.
Lynn smiled casually. "Easy. We'll just grab a couple of bad guys."
Kotoko wasn't even surprised anymore.
Honestly, that was the most efficient way.
---
Late at night.
Two yakuza members were trembling with fear.
These were the two most hated guys Lynn had managed to find nearby.
Lynn and Kotoko sat quietly, waiting for midnight.
Suddenly—
Bzzz—
A vibration came from their phones.
Kotoko said solemnly, "It's midnight."
Lynn narrowed his eyes.
The two yakuza's phones suddenly went pitch black, a faint flame flickering on their screens.
As the flames burned away, a website slowly appeared in front of their eyes.
[Hell Link]
Lynn kicked both of them and said calmly, "Write down the name of the person you hate the most."
The two yakuza members froze for a second, then gave Lynn a quick, subtle glance.
Honestly? If we're talking about the person we hate most right now... it's definitely you!
But neither of them dared to say it out loud. Instead, they silently wrote down their boss's name.
Send!
Buzz—
The moment they hit send, the air around them began to ripple. A petite girl in a black kimono appeared out of nowhere.
She had long black hair and deep crimson eyes that glowed with an indifferent light.
The moment Lynn saw her, he couldn't help but grin.
Another potential recruit for his Familia.
"Hell Girl, huh?"
Iwanaga Kotoko's eyes widened. "She really showed up!"
The two yakuza guys were about to scream in shock at the supernatural event, but before they could, Lynn casually knocked both of them unconscious with a quick chop.
"...?"
Enma Ai tilted her head slightly when she saw her clients had passed out.
...How was she supposed to complete the contract now?
She paused for a moment, then crouched down and placed two straw dolls with red strings beside the unconscious men.
Whether they could hear her or not, she still recited her usual lines in that calm, ethereal voice:
"If you really want revenge, untie that red string. By untying it, you and I will officially have a contract."
"The person you have a grudge against will be dispatched to hell promptly."
"But once that vengeance is carried out, you will also pay a price.
Cursing someone is a double-edged sword."
"If you form this contract, your soul will also go to Hell."
"Instead of going to Heaven, your soul will be subjected to pain and suffering, as it wanders through Hell for eternity."
"..."
But...
These two clearly weren't going to respond anytime soon.
After finishing her routine, Enma Ai finally turned her attention to Lynn and Kotoko.
Kotoko rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "So that's how it works... interesting..."
But then her expression darkened.
"Hell Girl... do you realize how many innocent people have died because of what you do?"
Her voice grew cold.
After all, people who harbor resentment aren't always victims of injustice. Sometimes they're just jealous of others' grades, looks, or success.
For Ai to send everyone to hell without discrimination... that completely violated Kotoko's bottom line.
Enma Ai remained expressionless in the face of her accusations. Her lips barely moved as she replied softly: "Work is work."
That was all it was to her.
Even if she didn't want to, she still had to do it.
Otherwise...
A flicker of emotion passed through Enma Ai's eyes, as if remembering something.
Kotoko felt a headache coming on.
She looked like a young girl, but there was clearly no reasoning with her.
In times like this... wasn't it best to leave it to the Devil King?
Kotoko turned to Lynn with a hopeful look.
Enma Ai, seeing that the two unconscious clients weren't waking up anytime soon, opened a portal to hell, preparing to leave.
"Oh? Isn't leaving before completing your job considered a breach of contract?"
Lynn finally spoke.
"No contract was signed. There's no breach."
Leaving those words behind, Enma Ai stepped into the portal.
Clap!
Suddenly, she paused, looking down at her wrist.
A large hand had grabbed her.
"Well then..."
Lynn smiled. "Ever considered changing jobs?"
"Huh?"
Kotoko was stunned.
Even Enma Ai was caught off guard. But she still shook her head firmly and continued walking toward hell.
"Shhh."
"Guess I'll just have to talk to your boss directly."
With that, Lynn stepped forward and entered the portal to hell first.
For the first time, Enma Ai's cold face showed a flicker of emotion.
"Ehhhhh?"
Kotoko was stunned for a moment, then quickly chased after him.
"Lynn-sama, wait for me!"
Enma Ai opened her mouth slightly but said nothing.
...This had nothing to do with work.
But somehow... She had a feeling they were about to bring a lot of trouble into hell.
— — —
Scene shift.
A world bathed in eternal sunset appeared before their eyes.
Lynn looked around. Massive mountains surrounded them on all sides, and the ground was covered in red spider lilies.
Ahead of them was a small pond, next to which stood a simple thatched hut.
The door was wide open. Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, half of it was shrouded in shadow, the other half dyed blood-red.
"This place..."
"Is this hell?" Kotoko muttered in amazement.
Lynn silently looked around, then discreetly placed a marker here using the skill of [Connecting Devil].
You never know when a location like this might come in handy.
"Oh?"
"Visitors, huh?"
A petite girl in a wine-red kimono suddenly appeared.
She had purplish-blue eyes and a faint, unsettling smile that gave off a chilling vibe.
Seeing her, Kotoko instinctively moved closer to Lynn.
"Ai!"
"Bringing outsiders here without permission... that's against the rules, you know?"
Enma Ai replied flatly, "It's part of the job description."
"They barged in themselves."
"Oh~?"
The girl named Kikuri narrowed her eyes, her smile widening ominously.
"In that case..."
"They're intruders, aren't they?"
.
.
.
They~
I found this site in Wiki,{ https://www.jigokutsushin.it/ }
This site layout is exactly the same as the one shown across the series. Once you insert any name there, Enma Ai will appear then click on th red thread to read her words.
Try it and DO NOT put my name. Pls???
...
(Advanced chapters at: patreon.com/_Coreal)