CH 62

Object of Respect

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

A few days had passed since Yukitaka gave him the photo, but Tsugumi was still unable to tell Chidori anything.

Partly because Chidori was busy being summoned by the government, but more than anything else, Tsugumi was afraid that the current relationship between them would be destroyed. The memory he lost–that seemed like Pandora’s box.

Because of this hesitation, he put off consulting Chidori. –It would not be too late to find out more about the accident that happened ten years ago. Or so Tsugumi told himself.

At any rate, as long as he was working as Jukka to obtain information, Tsugumi had to acquire a certain level of power as “Hagakure Sakura”. As part of that strengthening, Tsugumi finally decided to challenge a B-class Demonic Beast.

“But I’m a little nervous. It’s the first time I’ve fought a B-class Demonic Beast, after all.”

“Hmm. With your current strength, a B-class Demonic Beast will be no match for you. But don’t let your guard down. Depending on the compatibility of your enemies, you may have a hard time.”

“I know. I’ll be careful.”

Tsugumi, who transformed into his Magical Girl form on the rooftop of a local building in the city, replied to Bell with a serious look.

He gently tucked his hair aside behind his ears and peeked under the building. The people in the building area were beginning to move in lines. At this rate, the evacuation would be complete by the time the Demonic Beast appeared.

Some of the evacuees were looking up restlessly. But they walked out of the building area after a while, looking disappointed. …Perhaps they were looking for “Hagakure Sakura”?

Thinking about this, Tsugumi felt somewhat strange.

–”Hagakure Sakura” had very little exposure to the public. Only a few people from the media had actually met him face to face.

As an exception, he had on several occasions protected people who were running late or in poor health, but he wasn’t certain if they remembered what happened.

–I wonder what the general public thinks of “Hagakure Sakura”.

The media reported her as a benevolent and righteous girl, but if she deviated too much from the reality of Tsugumi, it would be too hard on him later on. That being said, the cat was already out of the bag.

…Maybe he should have prepared the character settings in advance. He regretted it, but it was too late now. As long as he continued to work as Hagakure Sakura, he would have to be careful not to make a mess of things.

In his Hagakure Sakura form, he tried to be as soft-spoken as possible, even when he wasn’t being seen, but this sometimes caused him to speak in the same way at school. The girls in the class said he was “easy to talk with”, but it was a little doubtful whether they were aware of Tsugumi as a member of the opposite sex.

“Even so, it’s a bit of a hassle to wait three hours at the site when dealing with a B-class.”

The appearance of a B-class Demonic Beast took three hours. As a stray Magical Girl, Tsugumi had to go there and declared that he would fight before the government dispatched Magical Girls.

The biggest problem was that once he had declared his intentions, he couldn’t leave the area until the battle was over. –It was a bit of a hassle to stay in the same place for three hours, if only for an hour or so.

“It would be easier if we could make reservations in advance, but that’s a little difficult.”

Tsugumi muttered to himself, but he knew full well that it was impossible.

As a stray Magical Girl, the system of battle reservations was not allowed at all. It might seem a little inefficient, but there were compelling reasons for this.

–In the first place, stray Magical Girls were basically not obligated to fight. They were, so to speak, like paid volunteers. They were in a different position from government-affiliated Magical Girls.

Because of this background, there were some Strays who were less conscious of the importance of combat. If it became possible to make reservations for a battle, it could lead to a situation in which, if done poorly, the reservation was made but the person did not show up at the site. …With the lives of people at stake, it was only natural that the government would restrict the actions of stray Magical Girls.

And recently, due to the irregularities, there was a trend on the part of the government that Magical Girls should head to the site as soon as possible. At this rate, it was unlikely that a system of reservations would ever be implemented.

…He wondered if “Hagakure Sakura” alone would be treated as a special case when it came to Jukka. That would depend on future activities and negotiations.

“You’ve been watching battle videos of other Magical Girls lately, is there any result?”

Bell, who was floating next to Tsugumi, asked that. Tsugumi opened his mouth with a small nod.

“Yeah. I checked out the type of girls who fight between medium and long-range, similar to ‘Hagakure Sakura” and it was quite helpful.”

He had watched countless battle videos, and strong Magical Girls had several things in common in their fighting style.

“The same is true for Magical Girls of Rikka, but basically they have a consistent way of fighting. It is true that they respond differently to different types of Demonic Beasts, but in the end, they proceed with their battles while applying the [pattern] that they’re best at. If that fighting style is properly established, even A-class Demonic Beasts can be easily defeated, even if they have no specialized offensive skills. Rikka’s Hitsugi-san is a good example.”

-For example, Toono Sumire would take the method of burning up the target with her blessed wide-area annihilation ability.

Mibu Yurie would drag the opponent down to her base and cut it down to a single sharp point, Suzushiro would slowly corner the enemy from afar with deadly poison, and Yukino Shizuku would dismantle the Demonic Beast with reason. As for Hinata, placed fifth in the rank, there was no need to mention her this time because her fighting style was mainly for the sake of attractiveness.

And the one who Tsugumi judged to have the best “fighting style” among the Rikka was Hitsugi Airi, who was ranked sixth.

The members of Rikka, except for Hitsugi, had very good vessels as Magical Girls, and the scale of power they could wield was considerably larger than that of ordinary Magical Girls.

However, on the other hand, the size of Hitsugi’s vessel was not so blessed. It was a quality that she was born with, and no matter how much effort she put in, it couldn’t be overturned. She could expand her capacity somewhat by repeating battles, but she couldn’t overtake it as long as the original foundation was different.

For example, even if Hitsugi Airi had the same ability and skills as Toono Sumire, she would not be able to perform better than Toono.

However, Hitsugi Airi had the unique experience of having fought in the front line as a Magical Girl for a long time.

She had a perfect grasp of her ability skills, the dexterity to keep fighting with less cost, and the flexibility to change her fighting style flexibly. Her fighting style, in which she could both attack and defend by making box cubes appear, was so brilliant even from Tsugumi’s point of view.

—Tsugumi, inexperienced in battle, was not as good as the current Rikka. Thanks to the [Gluttony] skill, his vessel expansion rate was much higher than others, but it would still take him a long time to catch up with the girls of Rikka.

Because of these circumstances, Hitsugi Airi, who rose to Rikka on her own merits alone, was a goal that Tsugumi could respect.

“The most important thing is to establish a fighting style that suits “Hagakure Sakura”. If I can push with force, it would be easier, but Hagakure Sakura’s ability structure does not specialize in attacking.”

The skill [Thread] combined a low base attack power with a high degree of freedom. What Tsugumi currently needed was the ability to think outside the box and make decisions on the spur of the moment to make full use of it.

It took a little less time to repeat trial and error, but even so, a few months should be enough to at least create a template for a fighting style. He had to somehow make it in time before he went to the government as Jukka.

Incidentally, the great technique used in the previous battle against Radon to transfer the entire lake’s water couldn’t be used by the current Tsugumi. It might be possible at least once, but it would be meaningless if he ran out of gas. He wouldn’t be able to see the light of day for a while.

“…But it’s also a little incompatible with the type of Demonic Beasts that can dive underwater or on the ground, as was the case with Radon. The thread can’t reach them.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that this time. After all, this is a building area.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

One person and one God continued to talk about such trivial matters while waiting for the Demonic Beast to appear.

–Well, in the end, that conversation turned out to be a flag.

◆ ◆ ◆

–Three hours passed, and with the appearance of the Demonic Beast, the area was covered with a barrier. In the mirrored world where all the scenery was inverted, Tsugumi gazed at the Demonic Beast which appeared and gently covered his face with his hands.

Bell, who was floating next to Tsugumi, confirmed the shape of the Demonic Beast and spoke to Tsugumi as if she were truly dumbstruck.

“Hey, are you perhaps cursed by something?”

“Maybe, I can’t deny it…”

At Bell’s words, Tsugumi let his shoulders drop in a gloomy manner.

–The total length of the Demonic Beast that could be seen under the building was approximately between fifty and a hundred meters. The Demonic Beast had a whitish skin, and its countless legs were dexterously maneuvering to bring down the building one after another. The Demonic Beast was dragging the building into the liquefied ground and seemed to be waiting for the Magical Girl, Hagakure Sakura, to come out.

“I already said I don’t want a diving type of Demonic Beast…”

Exhaling a loud sigh, Tsugumi muttered tiredly. He didn’t expect to be fighting his least favorite type so soon.

“According to past data, that type of Demonic Beast is called [Kraken]. Originally, it is a being that is famous as a sea monster, but I never expected it to appear in a place like this where there is no water…”

Bell muttered, looking down at the tentacle-like feet bobbing below her.

“Suddenly I’m dealing with a type I’m not very good at… I guess it’s not easy to be strong.”

Tsugumi muttered to himself, turning his palm toward the Demonic Beast and shaping his fingers like a viewfinder. Looking at the view enclosed by the square, Tsugumi squinted at it.

“Should we drag it up to the top or clear it out in the mud? It’s a problem.”

“Hmm? Do you have any plan?”

Bell asked with a sly smile on the corner of her mouth.

Tsugumi smiled back and nodded broadly.

“Of course. I have to make sure that Bell-sama sees that even I can use my head a little in a fight!”