Kemono Jihen (怪物事変)

"Kabane"

"Garbage" "Cleaning" "Shopping" "Akira" "Kabane" "Shiki" "Kitchen" "Cleaning" "Laundry"

Is this...?

Remember, don't ever open the door at the far end of the hallway.

Not ever.

I wonder if it's okay to move the boxes so I can clean.

Hmm? Kabane isn't around?

"Episode 5: Intrusion"

That's right.

"Episode 5: Intrusion"

We haven't seen him since this morning.

"Episode 5: Intrusion"

He was in the middle of cleaning,

and we found this lying in the hall.

He's not the sort to just leave things unattended.

Where did you say that was?

Kabane!

Inugami-san...

I was afraid of this.

What is this place?

I thought it was a storeroom.

Water.

Here.

Mihai...

Can.

--Here. --Mihai!

Who's that?

Don't go exploiting Kabane for yourself, Mihai.

Ho, the kid's name is Kabane, is it?

Why didn't you tell me you hired such a submissive, obedient sl-- child, Inugami?

You were about to say "slave," weren't you?

Nonsense. Enough with the mean-spirited suspicions.

You don't mean...

Mister, have you been in this room this whole time?

Indeed I have.

I am Mihai the vampire.

I provide ICT for the Inugami Strangeness Counseling Office.

Kabane...

Yes?

As of today, I am appointing you to be my waitperson.

Your job will be to always stand by at my side,

opening and closing my water bottles.

I'm sure you are honored.

As you wish. I have some experience as a waitperson.

Would you all step out for a moment?

This is why I told you guys not to open this door.

That man is bad news.

Mihai is an old acquaintance of mine.

Vampires possess superhuman levels of physical abilities and knowledge,

don't ever age, and are nigh-immortal.

They're an advanced breed, even among Kemono.

On top of which, Mihai abhors idleness.

He has attained pro-level skills and knowledge in most everything,

and after he ran out of things to do, and started growing world-weary,

I invited him to come here.

He then got caught up in Japanese online games.

He's pretty mellow while he's gaming,

but if his mood turns sour, there's no telling what he might pull.

Why would you bring such a problem case here?

I'm...

...all thumbs when it comes to tech.

Mihai is the one who created the office website,

and he's also the one who makes sure

your cell phone data doesn't get leaked to Inari.

He does come in handy.

So just make sure to stay away from there.

Hey, what did he just say?!

I don't care if you are a vampire or whatever,

don't treat Kabane like a slave!

We're not supposed to go near him.

But I've been appointed, so...

Oh, man. What is the story with you?

This is going to put a crimp in my guild life.

So stop pushing Kabane around!

Tell you what...

We'll settle this by arm wrestling.

If you guys win, I will set Kabane free.

You're free to try as many times as you like.

What did you say...?

Akira, you get in here, too! Don't you care what happens to Kabane?

There's no way I can beat him.

You cold-hearted jerk!

--I'm just saying... --Excuse me.

Would it be okay if I tried?

Huh? Can he?

Very well. It's a master's duty to grant his sl-- waitperson's requests.

He really is a slave, isn't he?!

All right, now... ready...

Go!

You lost to him at arm wrestling?

That's because, appearances to the contrary, Mihai has brute strength.

He's a vampire, after all.

He was just toying with you.

Damn it...

Where's Kabane?

"Garbage" "Cleaning" "Shopping" "Akira" "Kabane" "Shiki" "Kitchen" "Cleaning" "Laundry"

Where's Kabane?

"Garbage" "Cleaning" "Shopping" "Akira" "Kabane" "Shiki" "Kitchen" "Cleaning" "Laundry"

He went shopping for supper.

"Garbage" "Cleaning" "Shopping" "Akira" "Kabane" "Shiki" "Kitchen" "Cleaning" "Laundry"

I gave it my all, but I couldn't beat him.

Mihai-san seemed completely composed.

I wonder if all adult Kemono are as strong as that.

If I had the power I had at that moment...

I have to keep training myself. I may not be able to die,

but I would hate not being able to protect the others in the office.

I'm glad that Mihai-san isn't a bad person.

Whoops. How does a kitsune fall out of a tree?

Kabane?!

Kon...

That won't work. I'm not going to fall for that trick again.

Besides, it doesn't matter now.

Inari-sama told me that she doesn't need your head anymore.

I took your head and returned to Inari-sama,

but there was already another kitsune there when I arrived.

Inari-sama never even looked at me once.

That's because I wasn't a good girl.

I can't go home the way I am now.

Kon, fight me.

Fight you?

I'm weak. No wonder Inari-sama hates me.

I'm a... I'm a... bad girl!

Are you kidding me? You left your room?

I can't play my game.

Huh?

That boy Kabane broke my wrist.

This is going to cause trouble for the other guild members.

Arm wrestling?

Vampires are not khoulars. It will take me a week to heal.

That boy must have quite a story.

I have nothing else to do while I recover, so I thought I'd help with your work.

Wait, what are you doing?

Hmm, this is nice--

Hey! Aw, what did you respond for? You're responsible for this, you know.

--Why? --Because you accepted the job!

It's those boys who will do it.

The only thing I want to do is enjoy myself by watching them.

Yeah, but if we're not careful with this one, someone could die!

I had my game taken from me.

It needs to be serious enough to make up for that.

Huh?

I have a plan. Come to my room.

Are you for real?

What do I do?

I can't leave like this.

Kon, wake up.

I fell asleep?

Kon, if it's too hard for you to go back to Inari-san,

would you come over to Inugami-san's?

I'm sure he would give you a place to stay. He helped me, after all.

Well?

I... can't do that.

I'm a kitsune. I can't live with a tanuki.

But I could live with you, Kabane.

You may be a minion of a tanuki, but that doesn't make you one.

There are sparrows and pigeons here, so I know I won't starve.

I can live here, together with you!

Sorry. I have to go buy supper and bring it home.

Is that your mission?

It's not really a mission. But it is my chore.