CH 16

Bad Food

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

–The place has changed and it is time to go to work.

Black shoulder-length tunic and knee-length skirt with black lace over red base. Loosely curled black hair with a red ribbon headdress, and red laced short boots over black net tights, he spun around in place. It was a complicated look, but it really suited him.

This costume, as Belle saw it, made him look more like a witch than a Magical Girl. However, as Hagakure Sakura was mainly active at night, it was easier for him to act in such a dark-colored costume.

In the meantime, Belle yelled at him not to let his guard down, but it was also a necessary ritual to switch his feeling. By switching between his consciousness as Nanase Tsugumi and Hagakure Sakura, he could increase the rate of synchronization with his body.

“Okay, I am ready.”

Tsugumi was now inside the barrier, facing the enemy – a Wyvern, a C-class Demonic Beast.

This would be the second consecutive C-class defeat since the last time, but the pressure exerted by the opponent was not as great as that of the Manticore.

Incidentally, a Wyvern indicated a relatively small dragon species. For some people, a Wyvern was more like a large lizard with wings. The size of this Demonic Beast was about 10 meters, and its means of attack differed from one individual to another, so it was necessary to be very careful.

…The only problem is that the fighting place was on level ground.

Hokkaido’s grasslands. Now it was all white with snow on the ground, but its most notable feature is that there are no obstructions at all.

—In the first place, the “Thread” attack used the various forces of nature.

It was a multiplication of power that made full use of the physical laws prevailing in this world. By passing through some kind of prop, projection, or shield, a synergistic effect of power was created, and explosive power was generated. That was the essence of the Thread attack.

In other words, on level ground like this, the power of the Thread skill couldn’t be drawn out to its full extent.

But the compensating factor was Transportation.

–It really is a skill that seemed to match the Thread user.

When he transported, the threads that connected him to something other than himself were severed. However, if the threads were reconnected with the threads in the area at the destination, it was possible to maneuver three-dimensionally in the air by manipulating the threads.

The cooling time of the Transportation skill was about three seconds. In that amount of time, the thread that had been disconnected from a high place wouldn’t fall to the ground. Even without using magic such as levitation, it was possible to fight in the air.

–First, fly above the Wyvern’s right wing and entangle the thread in the right wing, then go down and do the left leg. And finally, from behind, using the Wyvern itself as a prop, he pulled the thread in all directions using the point where it was hooked to the ground. So far, ten seconds. This was a speed only possible with the use of Transportation and Thread skills.

And with this, the disadvantages of flat ground were almost eliminated – or so it seemed.

“…It’s hard after all.”

Tsugumi furrowed his brow.

“Gyaooooooooooooo!”

–The left leg was torn off and the wing was cut about a third of the way from the base. He set out with the intention of ripping off both, but it seemed he was a little underpowered.

The Wyvern seemed to have no idea what had happened and looked angrily at Tsugumi. As it was, it opened its mouth wide and produced something like a ray of light, but it didn’t hit Tsugumi who used Transportation in the first place.

As he was thinking this, the Wyvern flew straight toward Tsugumi as if it were numb. Still, it was fast. In the blink of an eye, the Wyvern was right in front of him. Even with the wounds on its wings, it still had the speed characteristic of a winged species.

If there were trees or buildings in the area, he could set up a spiderweb-like trap and had it destroy itself with its own speed, but it’s a little difficult to do that here.

If he continued to repeat the same attack as before several times, he would be able to defeat it without any problem, but that wouldn’t give him any experience.

“Bell-sama, that thing I was thinking about the other day… May I use it?”

“Do whatever you want. –In the first place, I have entrusted the battle to you. Do not ask me about such trivial matters.”

“Got it.”

With that answer, Tsugumi produced a large number of threads around it. They whirled around, changed shape, and became beads the size of bowling balls.

As long as these threads were connected to him, they wouldn’t break even if he used Transportation. –In other words, he could carry it around with him. Depending on how it was used, it could work as a weapon.

Tsugumi muttered and shifted far into the sky.

–The Wyvern looks like a grain of rice. At this rate, I won’t be spotted for a while.

He felt a little cold, but it didn’t affect his enhanced Magical Girl body.

As he fell, he rapidly stretched the thread downward and connected it to the Wyvern.

–After that, just shoot.

“Target stringing complete. Cannonball set. Trajectory secured. Commence spiral deployment.”

With the declaration, threads of various thicknesses were spirally extended along the thread connected to the Wyvern. The diameter of the thread was the same size as the first bullet of threads.

Tsugumi quickly pointed at the Wyvern with his index finger.

“Three seconds to fire. Three, two, one–zero!”

The finger shot. With that, a number of bullets that had been deployed around Tsugumi rained straight down on the Wyvern.

–The Wyvern seemed to have noticed something and was flying around the area as if shaking itself off. But the trajectory of the bullets didn’t deviate from the Wyvern. That’s what the threads were for. The threads were so entangled that they couldn’t be removed by the slightest thing.

The bullet of threads passed through the path of the spiral and approached the Wyvern with increasing acceleration. The thread rotated and squeezed out of the firing port, creating a propulsive force like a cannon. If shot from above, gravity would be added to increase its power.

–The bullet finally landed on the Wyvern.

“Geeaaaahhhhhh!”

Round holes were easily made in their wings, legs, shoulders, tails, bodies, and backs. It looked as if it had been hit directly by a meteor, and its initial graceful flight through the air was a lie.

“The new technique is good. With this, I have secured a long-range attack method.”

Tsugumi confirmed that the Wyvern fell and landed on the ground.

The Wyvern’s limbs were torn off, and it was sinking in a pool of blood, glaring at him with burning hatred in its eyes.

Of course, if you’re attacked from a safe distance, you’re going to resent the attacker.

“But it can’t be helped. You tried to eat me, so it’s no wonder you’re being eaten.”

Tsugumi said, “Eat it,” and swung his right hand down.

◆ ◆ ◆

After finishing Gluttony and returning home with a full stomach, Tsugumi asked Bell, with a mysterious look on his face.

“I feel like I’ve been looking forward to Gluttony lately. Isn’t that a little too dangerous?”

“I don’t really care.”

“I wish you’d take me a little more seriously…”

Moreover, she responded while playing a social game on Tsugumi’s phone. Which is more important, Tsugumi as a contractor or the characters distributed at events? No, he wasn’t going to ask because it would make him sad to actually hear it.

“I don’t care if it doesn’t affect your body. It makes you stronger, so what’s the problem?”

“It’s a matter of feelings. I’m a little scared that I can eat ghetto food normally now.”

He was horrified that he looked at a splattered Wyvern and thought it looked delicious. He would never have been able to eat something like that under normal circumstances. Even though he was in a high mood after the battle, he shouldn’t eat that.

“You have a poor body, so why don’t you eat a little and gain some weight?

“It’s not my fault that Hagakure Sakura’s body is poor, it’s because Bell-sama doesn’t like feminine bodies, isn’t it?”

Relatively tall, with slender limbs. She had relatively tall height, slender arms and legs, and thin breasts that did not hinder her movement. The only feminine qualities were the nips and the softness of her body.

When he once commented that a girl’s body was soft, Bell looked at him as if he was garbage. That was a bit traumatic.

He had meant to refer to the range of motion in ‘her’ joints and the suppleness of ‘her’ limbs as “soft”. He didn’t mean it in an evil way.

“…I don’t mind increasing it if you insist that much, but do you really want that much bad meat? Isn’t it in the way?”

“I don’t like the way you say it… Well, I’m just getting used to my body now, and I don’t have to change it. Besides, if I gain breasts or something now, they’ll probably call it padding or breast implants anyway.”

And then it was a set until they got slammed on the internet. Just thinking about it was troublesome.　

When Tsugumi replied, Bell let out a breath of blatant relief. He was so easy to understand but hard to deal with.

“I’ve got school tomorrow, so I’d better get to bed. There are only two days left until winter break, so take me out for a bite to eat again after that. I think it’s time for me to enjoy a normal meal…”

It was a sincere wish. If possible, his sense of taste needed to be corrected as soon as possible.

When Tsugumi said this, Bell shrugged her shoulders and let out a sigh.

“It is the duty of the Lord to grant the wishes of the servants once in a while. Well, you can count on it.”

“Yes, yes, thank you.”

Tsugumi thanked her. “You only need to say ‘yes’ once,” she said angrily but it was a tribute.

–Oh, I’m really looking forward to winter break.