After completing the assessment, Chiya needed to register some information.
One of the options was whether he needed the Tokyo Public Security Bureau to arrange a dormitory for him. The dormitory would be located near the Tokyo Public Security Bureau.
He checked the box because his home was currently in Nerima Ward, and commuting by subway every day was too much trouble. His "vitality" wasn't strong enough yet to allow him to casually use the "Kamui" eye technique to teleport from home to Tokyo Public Security.
When it came time to fill in the section about his devil power, Chiya hesitated for a moment and then asked the examiners, "Can I keep it confidential?"
"Oh, that's fine. You don't have to fill it in if you don't want to," one of the examiners responded.
Filling it in was only for the convenience of final evaluation. They needed to confirm what kind of devil powers the newcomers had used in battle.
Just now, Aki had only filled in the devil he used during the assessment. He was allowed to keep the Curse Devil confidential.
But Chiya's performance was so outstanding that whether he filled it in or not wouldn't affect his final rating.
S-rank was just the upper limit of the rating system, not Chiya's actual limit—just like it had been for Kishibe back then.
"Alright then," he said.
Aside from the devil power section, Chiya completed all the necessary information.
"That's it for now. Next, Himeno will guide you through the preparations. Once your final ratings are released tomorrow, she'll notify you," the examiner said.
It was clear that the examiners knew about their relationship with Himeno. She had probably informed them in advance.
Although Chiya's rating was essentially guaranteed, Aki Hayakawa's was still uncertain. So, they decided to announce both results together the next day.
After taking the elevator from the underground base to the surface, they saw Himeno waiting for them in the first-floor lobby.
"How was it? You both passed smoothly, right?" Himeno asked with a smile as soon as she saw them.
"Passed," Aki answered concisely.
"I'd say it went pretty smoothly," Chiya added.
"I knew you guys wouldn't have any trouble. Now we just have to wait for the ratings tomorrow. Let me guess what your ratings will be—let's see if I can get it right."
Himeno thought for a moment. "Aki-kun… I'd guess B-rank. As for you, Otonashi Chiya… I'd say A-rank."
"Well, I think your guesses might not be too accurate," Aki remarked.
"Oh? Which one isn't accurate?" Himeno asked curiously.
"You'll find out soon enough," Aki said calmly.
He used the exact same words Himeno had said last time when she kept him guessing—giving her a taste of her own medicine.
Himeno immediately realized what he was doing. "Oh, you little brat, still holding a grudge, huh?"
"Alright, let me show you where you'll be staying. If you move in, the rent, utilities, and even transportation costs for missions will all be reimbursed by the Tokyo Public Security Bureau. You'll learn the details later," she explained.
Then, Himeno led Chiya and Aki to the apartments arranged for them by the Tokyo Public Security Bureau.
The apartments were a step up from their old ones in Nerima Ward. While the overall layout was similar, these units were about 10 to 20 square meters larger.
"You guys should contact a moving company tomorrow to bring over your furniture. If all goes well, you can move in tomorrow night," Himeno said. "Of course, if you don't want to live here in the future, you're free to rent a place elsewhere or even buy a house. With our salary as public security devil hunters, you can easily afford a house after one or two years of work."
Himeno herself owned a small detached house. Since she was around 25 to 27 years old in the main storyline, she had already been working at Tokyo Public Security for many years.
At this point in time, Himeno was about 21 to 23 years old. In contrast, Aki and Chiya were both only 16.
"Got it. I'll talk to my sister first, then I'll call a moving company," Chiya said.
Himeno was surprised. "Oh, you have a sister? I have a younger sister too, but I wouldn't want to live with her. This job makes it too much of a hassle to live with family."
Chiya just smiled without saying much. His situation was different—Denji wasn't actually his biological sister.
Himeno went back to the Tokyo Public Security Bureau to handle their paperwork, leaving them to deal with their housing situation.
Chiya took the subway back to Nerima Ward.
"Denji, I'm back," he said as he opened the door.
Once Denji let him in, he got straight to the point. "Because of my job transfer, we're moving to a new place. I'll call a moving company soon, and we should be done by tonight."
Since explaining the Tokyo Public Security Bureau to Denji would be complicated, he just kept it simple and said it was a job transfer.
"Got it~" Denji nodded without any objections.
That evening, with the help of the moving company, they transported and arranged all their furniture in their new home.
Denji was very satisfied with the new place—it was bigger and nicer than their old home.
"My work hours will be from 9 AM to 5 PM. I might not always be able to come home for lunch, so I'll prepare your meals in advance every morning," Chiya told Denji.
This was what Himeno had informed him—unless there was an emergency mission, work hours were otherwise flexible.
"It's okay, I can cook for myself. You don't have to go through all that trouble, Chiya-nii," Denji said, feeling bad that her brother was already so busy.
"It's no trouble—I actually enjoy cooking for you guys. If I ever get too busy, you can make your own meals," Chiya reassured her.
In this regard, he felt he had inherited something from his past life's father—both of them enjoyed seeing people eat the food they cooked.
"Okay, okay!" Denji said happily, feeling less guilty after hearing that.
The next morning at 8 AM, Chiya left an hour early.
He and Aki were already officially members of Tokyo Public Security, but their ratings had yet to be finalized. So, they were expected to report to work as usual.
Aki had arrived early as well, but when they reached the first-floor lobby of the Public Security headquarters, a staff member told them to wait for Himeno in the lounge.
It seemed that regular staff didn't have the clearance to handle their paperwork—only Himeno could do it.
"I wonder when she'll show up…" Aki muttered as he sat on the lounge sofa.
"I have a feeling she'll arrive just in time," Chiya said with a wry smile, hoping his guess wouldn't be accurate.
Aki glanced at his watch. It was only 8:10 AM. His eyebrow twitched. "Does that mean we have to wait for over half an hour?"