CH 57

Secrets and Lies

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

The next Monday. Tsugumi and Chidori were called by the school, so they arrived at school earlier than usual.

Apparently, the school, having been contacted by the government, had held an emergency meeting as of yesterday. They were informed to arrive at school by 6:30 a.m. today to finalize what had been decided yesterday. He was called at night by Kisara, but then the caller complained on the phone that he had ruined a precious vacation time. …He felt a little bad, but this one time it was unavoidable, so please forgive him.

Tsugumi looked at the dark face of Chidori walking next to him and let out a small sigh.

-I’m sure she’s worried about the explanation to the waiting club members after this.

Whether she was a reserve or a ghost member, Chidori was the head and the ace of the kendo club. Suddenly quitting the club would not be immediately acceptable to the club members.

The advisor would probably give an explanation, but in some cases, Chidori might be blamed by the club members. For an athletic club, the loss of a key player was quite damaging. She was already depressed, if such a thing was to happen, Chidori would be even more depressed.

…But Tsugumi couldn’t do anything about it. On the contrary, it would be more complicated if Tsugumi interfered. In the end, Chidori had no choice but to solve it herself.

Fortunately, everyone in the club adored her. If Chidori explained the situation sincerely and properly, it wouldn’t turn out bad.

So, when Tsugumi and Chidori arrived at the staff room, the principal explained to them how they would handle the situation. Mainly, it was about Chidori’s work. They were told that if she were late or left early because she was called by the government, it would be treated as an official absence.

Since this school had enrolled Magical Girls before, the basic rules were probably already clearly stated. The explanation went fairly smoothly.

And what they were told to be more careful about than anything else, in this case, was how to deal with the media.

Tsugumi’s name had not yet come out, but as long as Chidori was active as a Magical Girl, there would certainly be a fuss.

The school probably wanted to prevent Tsugumi from becoming even more conspicuous. For this reason, when approached by people of the media, the students were strongly advised not to deal with them alone, but to call a nearby teacher.

There were a few other precautions, but they would be given a booklet with the details later. The school was quite generous. For some reason, the teachers were all very cooperative, even though they had to go through all that trouble and hassle.

According to the secret interview with another teacher later, the schools where Magical Girls were enrolled received subsidies and extra bonuses depending on how much the school contributed. …It was a pity that it wasn’t for pure favor, but that was just how all adults were.

–At any rate, this laid the groundwork for Chidori to work as a Magical Girl (courier). With backup from both the school and the government, it shouldn’t be that difficult.

For a while, he wondered what would happen at one point, but for now, it looked like he could lead a normal life. If he just stayed quiet until things cool down, everything would be fine.

As Tsugumi patted his chest in relief, he was approached by the principal, who had just finished giving a general explanation.

“Then, Nanase Chidori-san, please go with your advisor to the club for an explanation. –And, as for Nanase Tsugumi-san…”

The principal told Chidori, and then continued to speak to Tsugumi as if to add.

“Kisara-sensei and Suzune-sensei are waiting for you at the school’s guidance office. You should head there immediately.”

“…Yes?”

At the principal’s words, Tsugumi opened his eyes wide and voiced his doubts.

–I didn’t expect to be called to the staff room.

He did not know what it was about, but now that he got summoned, he had to go. Tsugumi split up with Chidori and, although he was somewhat uncomfortable, reluctantly decided to go to the student guidance office on the fourth floor.

◆ ◆ ◆

After arriving at the student guidance office with heavy steps, Tsugumi opened the door with a sense of uncertainty.

–I don’t remember doing anything to be called in separately, but if there was something wrong, it should have been brought up over the phone yesterday. He couldn’t help but feel a sign of trouble. With this thought in mind, he stepped into the guidance counselor’s office.

“Excuse me…”

“You’re finally here. Well, sit down.”

Kisara, who was looking out the window, told Tsugumi that came in. He pointed to a table, where Suzune was already seated. For some reason, Suzune was staring at him with emotionless eyes, which was somewhat creepy.

Puzzled by Suzune’s unusual behavior, Tsugumi sat down at the assigned seat, which was right in front of Suzune. …He couldn’t stand being there somehow

After confirming that Tsugumi had taken his seat, Kisara opened his mouth as if to regain his composure.

“So, what’s your business today? The principal just briefed me on how to handle Saturday’s incident and stuff.”

“It’s a different matter.”

“Then, was there anything else? I can’t think of anything.”

When he heard the frustrated Tsugumi, Kisara stared with narrowed eyes.

“Are you telling me you don’t have any idea?”

“Yes? Even if you suddenly say that…”

Looking back to what had happened recently, there was nothing unusual. The only thing that came to mind was that he threatened an elementary school student, but that had already been settled, so there should be no problem. Probably.

To begin with, he had been busy with hospitalization, sympathy, and rehabilitation as Hagakure Sakura so he had not been working much with Yukitaka, the root of all evil (trouble maker) who was the cause of Tsugumi’s fall from Class F. There was no reason to be angry and summoned him.

As Tsugumi twisted his head in confusion, Suzune, who had been silent up to that point, quietly opened her mouth.

“I told you at the time, didn’t I? –If anything happens, please talk to me.”

Suzune looked down, her bangs obscuring her expression. But Suzune’s low voice, which sounded as if it was being squeezed out of her throat, made Tsugumi break out in a cold sweat.

–Is she perhaps angry? But about what?

The only thing he noticed was that Suzune’s behavior was different from usual. But he didn’t know what she was so upset about.

Thinking about it normally, it might be about the incident, but he couldn’t even make a phone call at that place even if he was asked to consult with her. It was not right for her to be angry.

“Th-that’s right. But there’s nothing in particular that I have to rely on my teacher for…”

Thinking he should say something for the time being, Tsugumi said this in his defense, but Suzune glared at him sharply and slammed the table vigorously with both hands.

A dull thud echoed through the room.

Shaking his shoulders in surprise, Tsugumi stared at Suzune in a daze.

“Why?”

Suzune muttered, then loosely raised her head and looked at Tsugumi, her face contorted into a scowl. Then, her large eyes began to shed tears. Beautiful clear drops passed down her cheeks.

Then Suzune asked Tsugumi in a trembling voice.

“Am I really that unreliable?”

“Oh, um, Suzune-sensei?”

When Suzune started sobbing after saying that, Tsugumi wandered around with his hands in the air. The sudden turn of events left him at a loss for what to do. Confused, Tsugumi looked at Kisara, asking for help.

Under Tsugumi’s gaze, Kisara exhaled a troubled sigh, and suddenly announced.

“We don’t have much time left, so let me get straight to the point. –We know your secret.”

“My secret?”

At Kisara’s words, Tsugumi’s eyes widened involuntarily. –Tsugumi’s secret. There was only one. -Yes, it was “Hagakure Sakura”.

…Suzune once received an explanation that a Magical Girl saved Tsugumi when he was about to die.

But now that he thought about it, that explanation was full of holes. Including the timing of the injury and hospitalization, combined with the activity period of Hagakure Sakura, it was probably not surprising that they could guess Tsugumi’s true identity.

–But even so, Tsugumi couldn’t accept Kisara’s words.

The identity of “Hagakure Sakura” must be absolutely concealed. It was partly because of his promise to Bell, but also because now that he was strangely famous, the revelation of Hagakure Sakura’s identity would be fatal to Tsugumi. Even if the two people in front of him were trustworthy, he had no intention of telling them his secret. Then there was no other way but to deceive.

Tsugumi turned his eyes down to think for a moment, then deliberately made a troubled expression and opened his mouth.

“…What are you talking about? I don’t understand what the teachers are trying to say.”

“Don’t play dumb with me now. Anyway, she seems to have good confirmation. You still doubt it after seeing her like this?”

Kisara said with a tsk and a click of his tongue. …Certainly, Suzune’s cries were unusually convincing.

…If the secret really is out, how can I cover it up? Keep quiet. Cry it off. Ask Bell to erase the memory. Worst case scenario, he had to make sure Chidori didn’t find out. Various thoughts like that were swirling around in his head. An unprecedented sense of urgency was taking over the Tsugumi’s mind.

While Tsugumi was struggling for the right words to say back, Suzune began to speak, shouting.

“…I thought ‘maybe’ when I saw the TV footage, but I became convinced when I saw the footage given to me by the government at yesterday’s meeting. I know Nanase-kun has a hard time telling me this. But even so, I want you to speak up and tell me.”

Suzune suddenly stood up and cupped Tsugumi’s cheeks in her hands, as if to pull them closer to hers. His eyes met hers, wet with tears. In an instant, Tsugumi realized his own defeat.

–Oh, this is no good.

There was definitely a certainty in Suzune’s eyes. She would never change her mind no matter how much Tsugumi denied it.

…If it’s completely exposed, then that’s all there’s to it. Fortunately, these two were very tight-lipped. As long as they didn’t make a mistake subsequently, his identity wouldn’t spread in a strange way. Tsugumi, having given up on deception once and for all, waited for Suzune’s next words.

–But what she said was unexpected.

“The moment you started running, there was no hesitation. You thrust the blade from the demon’s neck along the overflowing thread as if you could see it. –Hey, Nanase-kun, you see the same things I do, don’t you?”

Suzune said and laughed softly with a snarling look on her face.

A strange silence pervaded the room. Tsugumi ruminated on Suzune’s words for about five seconds and finally understood what they meant by the “secret” they were talking about.

Tsugumi gripped his right hand tightly, sweating with relief.

–It’s not Hagakure Sakura that has been exposed! Thank goodness!

In his heart, he shouted loudly, “Safe!”. Perhaps Suzune was referring to the red flame that he saw when challenging the Ogre, which led to its death. It was a mystery how it got exposed, but Suzune had similar abilities, it might have something to do with it.

But Hagakure Sakura wasn’t exposed. It was the only thing that mattered.

Although Tsugumi was relieved that his secret had not been exposed, he realized that he now had another thing to worry about.

–Is it okay to tell others about this ability to see the flames of death?

After Bell left to escape yesterday, he did not get a chance to talk to her again. Because of the bad timing, they hadn’t had a chance to discuss this ability at all. The conditions for its use were still unclear, but Tsugumi didn’t think it was a high priority.

Fearfully, Tsugumi raised his gaze and looked at Suzune’s face. She was quietly waiting for him to speak. Her face showed a pleading color, a hint of trepidation, and unbridled anticipation.

–Perhaps Suzune wanted to believe that Tsugumi possessed the same unusual ability. There were other people who possessed the same unusual ability that she alone should have possessed. He wondered what she thought when she realized this.

Based on that, he felt like he could understand Suzune’s frenzy today.

…Whether he affirmed or denied the dissimilarity here, it would be troublesome either way. If he couldn’t find the right answer, then he should choose the better option as much as possible. Tsugumi hesitated for a bit and decided on an answer.

He turned his gaze away from Suzune and smiled fleetingly as he gently placed his right hand on the hand resting on his cheeks. Then looking up and gazing at Suzune, he opened his heavy mouth.

“–Suzune-sensei, it’s exactly as you said.”