Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament

Chapter 64

Announcement from the Government

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

Announcement from the Government

As Tsugumi hobbled back to Bell, she opened her mouth with a slightly difficult look on her face.

“The technique was indeed excellent. I also commend you for not getting hurt. But it was based on the premise that the Demonic Beast would be trapped successfully. If the Demonic Beast had discovered the trap, how would you have handled it?”

At Bell’s words, Tsugumi gripped his right hand tightly as he stared at the ground.

–She hits a sore spot. Tsugumi thought, his expression clouded with bad feelings.

Certainly, the plan was based on the assumption that the Demonic Beast would move as Tsugumi had expected. If the Demonic Beast had moved even slightly differently, the trap itself would not have worked in the first place.

But just in case it failed, he had a plan in mind. …Well, unlike the previous plan, it was a brain-smart method.

“I think at that time I would have transferred with the cage I had made and gone directly to catch the Demonic Beast. I knew where it was through the threads I had stretched across the walls, so I could probably catch them if I repeated the process a few times.”

If the Demonic Beast successfully entered the cage, it would be a success. Even if the transport location was slightly off, if he loosened the threads of the cage and entangled the limbs at the moment it hit the opponent, he could at least block the action of the Demonic Beast.

A motionless Kraken was nothing more than a carp on a chopping block. Tsugumi would not want to do this if he could help it, because it was not a smart method and he would be covered in mud.

At Tsugumi’s response, Bell narrowed her eyes in dissatisfaction and let out a small sigh.

“…I’m glad it worked out. Because the latter is a little pathetic. Even if it wasn’t brilliant, I don’t want the fight to get any messier than it already is.”

“Well, for now, I’m just prioritizing the numbers. If I keep fighting like this, I can catch up to the expectations sooner or later.–I think it’s terrible to say that it wasn’t brilliant. I mean, we have the lovely Sakura-chan here, so isn’t that enough?”

“You, aren’t you ashamed of what you’re saying?”

“…Yeah, I am regretting it now.”

He could feel the heat of shame slowly gathering in his face. … He wasn’t aware of it, but perhaps he had been a little excited by the elation of defeating a B-class Demonic Beast.

And the saddest thing of all was that Bell didn’t even give him a smile. It was supposed to be a joke to lighten the mood, but apparently, she missed it. It was a shock to him.

To Tsugumi who slumped his shoulder in dejection, Bell sighed in exasperation as she tapped her tail on his shoulder. The soft-touch was strangely irritating.

” I’m not saying that you are not brilliant yourself. …I guess there’s no point in saying that now. –I was wondering, how are you and the white rabbit getting along these days? You seem to be getting along quite well.”

As if to change the subject, Bell mentioned the white rabbit – Chidori’s contract God.

–She usually didn’t want to mention any of this, it was quite unusual. Tsugumi opened his mouth, thinking about that.

“Ah, you mean Niisan. We’re certainly on good terms. We went snowboarding together last weekend.”

“Niisan? Are you really calling him that?! More importantly, did you go out with him? Without even telling me?!”

Bell overreacted to the words that Tsugumi said lightly.

…He wondered if he said something strange. Tsugumi answered Bell’s question with a curious tilt of his head.

“No, because he told me to call him that. …Besides, Bell-sama was out of town last week and I couldn’t get in touch. It couldn’t be helped.”

–About two weeks had passed since the God, commonly known as Shiro, came to live with Tsugumi.

At first, he was horrified to deal with him, but the adaptability of human beings was amazing, and now he felt completely at ease. Shiro didn’t seem bothered either, so there had been no problem so far.

As for going out together, there was no particular reason. Last weekend, Chidori had gone out on a personal errand, so Shiro, who was free, asked Tsugumi to join him.

In the cold, they took a train and a bus all the way up to the snowy mountain, one person and one God, but it was certainly more fun than he had thought it would be.

Shiro basically didn’t talk much, so he was always silent, but it wasn’t like Tsugumi was being ostracized, it didn’t really bother him.

At that time, the white rabbit looked like a stuffed animal to the people around him, and in a way, Tsugumi might have been the center of attention as he slid down the slopes with the white rabbit on his head. It was good that he was wearing goggles.

Some of the girls who liked pretty things would call out to him, but when Tsugumi introduced the white rabbit in a serious tone as “his brother,” they would give him a drawn-out smile and leave the scene. Perhaps they thought he was a crazy guy.

…Well, it was a little disappointing, but he didn’t care. There was no time for romance right now.

As he spoke, Bell looked at him as if he was something inexplicable.

“How can you stand it… Is he dull, or is he slow? …But then again, he’s a guy, too. I don’t understand why he would want a [younger brother] of all things. A brother is nothing but a vicious animal that wants to kill you.”

Tsugumi returned a wry smile to Bell as she spat out these words.

Bell – the noble God Baal – was said to have a bone-and-flesh battle with her brother Mot. She was killed and her body swallowed by Mot, but with the help of his sister and his wife, the God Anat, he was spared.

Well, that story was irrelevant now.

“That’s a terrible thing to say. Niisan doesn’t make any unreasonable demands on me and Chidori, and I think he’s a good God in his own way.”

Saying that, Tsugumi nodded his head lightly. There didn’t seem to be any strange demands or any problems for Chidori, who played the role of the older sister.

Brushing him on her lap. The white rabbit would make small requests, such as feeding him by hand and begging for handmade clothes. …She acted more like a pet owner than a big sister, but that was probably better left unsaid.

“I didn’t mean to disparage Bell-sama. Besides, it was Bell-sama who said ‘listen to the white rabbit’ first.”

Even Tsugumi didn’t leave Bell alone for the white rabbit. When he wasn’t fighting or studying as a Magical Girl, he went to stores across the country where people waited in line to buy large quantities of food for Bell to take home.

Recently, he stood in line for three hours to get a cup of tapioca milk tea, which had a great reputation. Well, the taste seemed to be mediocre in spite of its reputation.

“But that’s not the point! That’s why humans are-!”

Bell, looking annoyed, used her tail to continuously smack Tsugumi on the head. Unlike the earlier laborious contact, he felt a sharp pain as if he was being beaten with a supple whip.

“Bell-sama, it hurts!”

“Hmm, that suits you who lack a sense of crisis. –In the first place, you don’t know what God is.”

Bell folded her arms irreverently, looking down at him from her lofty perch.

“Listen to me, Tsugumi. God and human beings are incompatible partners by nature. The intensity of our existence is too different for us to exist together.”

“…That may be true.”

It was true that the positions of God and human beings were different. But there were some, like Tsugumi and Bell, who could build a friendly relationship. It would be a little bit wrong to say that they were incompatible with each other.

Perhaps Tsugumi’s frustration was evident, Bell chuckled lightly and said in a kind tone.

“The reason why we have a good relationship is because there’s a clear hierarchy. I am above you and you are below me. You Japanese have a habit of lumping good and bad together and worshipping them as one, but that is not the extent of the relationship between master and servant. Therefore, the equal ‘family game’ that that white rabbit guy wants is bound to fail sooner or later.”

–So don’t get too deep into it. That was how it sounded like to Tsugumi.

Perhaps Bell was seriously concerned about him.

…But Tsugumi didn’t think Shiro really intended to become a ‘family’ with Chidori and him.

Tsugumi slowly shook his head and chuckled at Bell.

“It’s okay, Bell-sama. I know my place. –I’m sure that the younger brother is just a stand-in. Perhaps even the older sister, Chidori. …I know from the very beginning that we can never be the real thing.”

–When they first met, Shiro spoke of his “older sister” with complicated eyes that were a mixture of love and hate. Looking into those eyes, even the dullest Tsugumi could tell who his heart went out to.

If reality was not good enough, even God should be allowed to wish for peace in a fictional world.

When Tsugumi replied, Bell looked at him with narrowed eyes.

“That’s good. –We better get home. You have school tomorrow, don’t you?”

“Yeah. It’s early in the morning, so I’m going to eat and go to bed right after I get home. I didn’t get hurt, but I’m kind of tired.”

With that said, Tsugumi raised his hands and stretched to straighten his back. Sadly, bending his back didn’t particularly emphasize the chest.

…Would anything ever grow here? Only God knows.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“–No, it’s nothing.”

◆◆◆

April 30th. At five o’clock in the evening, in the exclusive thread for Hagakure Sakura.

[Class A] The exclusive thread for Hagakure Sakura [10th place].

1: Anonymous

This is the general thread for the A-class Magical Girl Hagakure Sakura.

Feel free to chat, discuss, etc.

Please do not talk about other Magical Girls in this thread.

No trolling or slander!

Latest battle record “B-class: Battle of Gasha Skulls”

http:****

~~~~

430 : Anonymous

Hagakure-san was so cool and cute this time too…

I think my heart is about to break because of the oversupply lately!

431 : Anonymous

You’re right, there’s been a lot of fighting lately.

She’s fighting B-class Demonic Beasts once a week.

432 : Anonymous

She’s really cool every time.

And the innocence that sometimes peeked out is adorable.

433 : Anonymous

>>432

it’s just little gestures, I know.

But I don’t feel it’s deliberate, so it’s probably just me (I hope).

434 : Anonymous

Cool, strong, cute, and a little natural, the strongest…

Where can I go to charge her?

435 : Anonymous

>>434

Give it up. If I could, I would too.

436 : Anonymous

Hagakure-san’s commercial hasn’t appeared either. I can’t even support or by buying something for her.

437 : Anonymous

I really regret that she wasn’t chosen for Rikka.

If she had been chosen, she would have had more media exposure by now…

438 : Anonymous

I mean, Hagakure-san is really getting stronger, isn’t she?

Isn’t it about time she took on the A level?

Radon match? That’s kind of a no-brainer.

439 : Anonymous

Before, there were a lot of rough edges in her fights, but now her technique and strategy are godlike.

I knew she’d peeled off from the radon fight when I saw it.

440 : Anonymous

You know, I thought the Invisibility skill was a loss until I saw the Kraken fight.

I’m honestly sorry. I guess the point is it’s up to the user….

441 : Anonymous

>>440

Me too.

442 : Anonymous

>>440

Me too.

Maybe the Transportation skill is so strong that the others don’t stand out.

443 : Anonymous

Oh, I heard there’s a big announcement from the government this evening.

444 : Anonymous

>>443

It looks like a live broadcast, and they seem pretty enthusiastic about it.

445 : Anonymous

Maybe someone from Rikka is retiring or something like that?

Well, by that theory, the most likely candidate is Hitsugi-san.

446 : Anonymous

>>445

Hey, stop it. I’m not ready yet.

447 : Anonymous

It’s an irregularity-related announcement anyway.

It’s been almost three months since the Amusement Park accident, and there have been several similar cases after that. The government will have to get serious about this.

448 : Anonymous

So far, the only thing that’s happened is a time displacement of the Demonic Beasts’ appearance?

I’d like to see them at least announce the mechanism of how they got caught up in the barrier.

449 : Anonymous

It seems the government is taking the initiative to make self-defense goods these days.

Where was it, you see, Ibuki? And I heard they partnered with a manufacturer

450 : Anonymous

Oh, it looks like the live broadcast has started.

451 : Anonymous

Eh?

452 : Anonymous

Oh, come on, that’s a lie.

453 : Anonymous

Am I dreaming?

454 : Anonymous

Hey, why is Hagakure-san on a live government broadcast?

◆ ◆ ◆

–April 30th. On that day, the government made three major announcements.

One, in order to deal with irregular cases, the Rikka system was partially changed, the number of members was increased by four, and the name was changed to [Jukka].

Two, to invest funds and cooperate with a number of companies and universities to set up a Demonic Beast research institute.

Third, all citizens should be tested to see if they had the aptitude to be a Magical Girl – a Miko.

The four newly selected girls were lined up at the live broadcast prepared by the government. The girl on the far left – Hagakure Sakura was smiling calmly as usual.