Chapter 20: 20

Whereabouts of Emotions

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

A few minutes after Tsugumi left his seat, Bell felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort. She felt as if she had forgotten something important.

She tilted her head.

—By the way, where did the device she just knocked down go? She remembered that Tsugumi picked it up, but she didn’t know what happened to it after that. It was a government-issued device, so it would have been bad to lose it.

It was most likely in the possession of Tsugumi. But if that’s the case, why didn’t he give it back to her?

–Did he forget to return it… Or did he not return it on purpose?

Bell shook her head, thinking it was impossible.

Although they had only known each other for a short time, Bell had a pretty good grasp of Tsugumi’s personality. He was basically an obedient man. Unless something happened to him, it wasn’t likely for him to act in a way that would disobey Bell’s wishes.

The only exception to this rule was in the case of his sister.

“…Wait a minute. Didn’t he say his sister was traveling to Hakone?”

The worst possibility crossed her mind. There was no way that Tsugumi wouldn’t go to save his sister, Chidori.

But even if he told her, he would have known that Bell would object. That’s why he didn’t say anything.

Belle immediately looked for Tsugumi’s location. As long as Tsugumi wore the ring of contract, she could detect wherever he was.

And, unfortunately, her prediction came true.

“–I knew it! That big idiot!!”

Tsugumi’s current location was in Kanagawa Prefecture — halfway up Mount Hakone.

Bell confirmed this and immediately flew to the location. Through a gate that had been opened by a rift in space-time, she passed through subspace to a deserted forest of dead trees, where she found Tsugumi, in the form of a Magical Girl, sitting on one knee in a daze.

Tsugumi was staring intently into the void, twirling the glass plate in his hand – a terminal for contacting the government. There was no emotion on his face.

“I found you! –Do you know what you’ve done?”

Bell shouted howlingly.

The space around her was distorted by the divine power that leaked from her uncontrollable rage. Excessive interference in this world meant deportation to the place where God stayed – but even knowing this, this anger was unbearable.

Tsugumi looked at Bell, who suddenly appeared, and said with a troubled smile.

“That’s very quick. –No, or was it too late?”

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

–Time went back a few minutes.

—A the operation room, the manager of Demon Beast Countermeasures Headquarters, Inaba Honoka, was impatient.

“Number 28, Arisato Botan has refused!”

“Agatsuma Suoho, number 83, is no good either. The contracting God in charge was furious…”

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“Damn! Not even those strays who don’t have the Transportation skill!”

He slammed his hands on the desk, frantically thinking and searching for the next move he could make.

The grade of the Demonic Beast, estimated from the magnitude force, was an A-class. An ordinary Magical Girl would be no match for it.

Although evacuation advisories had already been issued for the areas surrounding Hakone, it would be difficult to quickly evacuate everyone, including tourists. Because there were only about ten minutes left until the appearance of the Magical Girl.

“Ah, there has never been a problem with the Yata no Kagami until now! Why is this happening today!”

A new operator raised his voice in distress. Inaba agreed, but complaining about it now wasn’t going to get anything done.

–The “Yata no Kagami” prediction system was certainly responsible for the failure of detecting the appearance of an A-class. Normally, the system should have been able to detect it five hours before the event, but only this time they were able to know about it 15 minutes before the event.

The schedule for dispatching Magical Girls was also completely disrupted because of this.

The C and B classes had been predicted to appear in advance, so they were able to take care of the situation without any problems, but the cooldown time for the Transportation skills of the Magical Girls belonging to the government was interrupted by the dispatch of the new Demonic Beast.

He hurriedly tried to contact stray Magical Girls who had Transport skills and those in the Hakone area, but the result was a disastrous failure.

…Originally he had no expectations for stray Magical Girls. They weren’t obliged to dispatch for emergency services, so he couldn’t complain if they refused to do so. Even if he expected them to be dispatched out of the goodness of their hearts, the Demonic Beast was too bad to deal with this time.

“What about the members of Rikka? Even if we don’t make it in time to emerge, the damage must be kept to a minimum…!”

“A government helicopter is on its way to pick up Suzushiro-sama and Hitsugi-sama. But, it will take another 30 minutes to reach Hakone!”

Inaba bit his teeth at the report. Thirty minutes from now would mean allowing the Demonic Beasts to overrun the area for about twenty minutes.

…In the worst-case scenario, the damage could exceed the catastrophe of a decade ago.

“Manager. Shouldn’t it be better to contact the higher-ups and ask for permission for forced Transportation by the contract God? It seems odd that it is available to the stray Magical Girls, but not to the government.”

Another staff member offered an opinion, but Inaba shook his head.

“Surely, if we could do that, it would solve everything. But the higher-ups would never give us permission. –The government’s ban on forced transfers is based on the will of Amaterasu. No matter how urgent the situation may be, there is no way they will give permission.”

They said there were various reasons why Amaterasu forbid forced Transportation. According to some, it was for humanitarian reasons, others feared that it would increase the authority of the contracting Gods, and many other speculations were made, but it wasn’t certain.

Inaba’s position didn’t allow him to know the true reason for this, but perhaps someone in the higher-up would know more about the situation.

–But whatever the case may be, I cannot disobey the will of Amaterasu at this point in time. As a government official, that’s an absolute rule that he couldn’t break.

“If I could buy the time at least for 20 minutes…”

“Why don’t you ask the strays to fight again? Let’s contact them again, but only those who have a record of A-class subjugation.”

“…Ah, let’s give it a try.”

Inaba clenched his trembling hands tightly and was about to call the strays Magical Girls again when he heard the tinkling of a bell.

“Hey, it’s ringing!”

“It’s number 96. When I contacted her earlier, she abused me pretty hard. Maybe it’s a complaint…”

–A stray Magical Girl. Serial number 96, Hagakure Sakura. Her current grade was C. A rare talent with a Transportation skill.

However, it was always the contracted God who contacted them, and none of the staff had ever spoken to her personally.

Her contract God was famous for her temper. She wasn’t someone you want to talk to at length in this dire situation.

Inaba clicked his tongue loudly and picked up a pair of headphones nearby. He’d just have to tell her that this was an emergency and ask her to leave the complaint for a later date.

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“It can’t be helped. I’ll get it over with right away.”

–Let’s just cut to the chase and hang up the call. Inaba thought so and pressed the button on the caller ID.

“Yes, this is Inaba in the operation room of the Demon Beast Countermeasures Headquarters.”

“–Good. It’s connected properly.”

A cool voice tone came through the headphones, different from the contract God he remembered. It was clearly a woman’s voice.

Inaba was relieved and asked in a quiet tone.

“Don’t tell me, is this Hagakure Sakura-san herself?”

“Yes, I am. Is this the right way to contact the government? This is the first time I’ve made contact like this, so I’m not sure how to do it…”

“Oh, don’t worry, any contact from a Magical Girl is always connected to this place. How can I help you?”

“Regarding Hakone, which you contacted me about earlier–there is no local broadcast on which means that you haven’t decided on the Magical Girl to be sent yet, have you?”

“…Local?”

“I’m in Hakone right now. I can only hear the evacuation alarm so far, but do you think you will be able to dispatch the Magical Girls by the time the Demonic Beast appears?”

Inaba swallowed.

-At the moment, she is in Hakone. Can I expect her to know why she’s there with her Transportation skill?

Inaba opened his mouth while suppressing his feelings.

“No, I am sorry. I have dispatched two members of Rikka to the site urgently, but it is unlikely that they will be able to reach the site in time.”

“How long do you need?”

“Eh?”

“–I’m asking how long do I have to make up the time…”

–This is it.

“Will you fight for us?”

At Inaba’s loud voice, the staff around him turned around with a perplexed look on their faces.

Inaba swallowed and switched the receiving line of the call to a room-based one. If the other staff members heard this conversation, they would know what action to take. He could hear the upset voices around him, but he couldn’t worry about that right now.

“I contacted you with that intention. Um, I should take the oath first, right? –[I swear by my God] I declare that I will intercept those who come down here. …Is this correct?”

Saying so, Hagakure Sakura finished the [oath] as if it was nothing more than a simple matter. This oath was the key and cage for Magical Girls to create barriers.

The word “cage” meant exactly what it meant. By taking the [oath] through a government terminal in a place where Demonic Beasts were expected to appear, that Magical Girl wouldn’t be able to escape from the battle.

She wouldn’t be able to move from the place until the Demonic Beast appeared, and when it appeared, a barrier would be automatically drawn in, pulling the Demonic Beast in. In other words, she would be locked in a cage.

–Hagakure Sakura had only recently become a C-class. The accuracy of her technique and everything else wasn’t enough to take on an A-class Demonic Beast. And he was sure she knew it well.

When he contacted her contracted God, she ridiculed him for calling those who go into battle as “pawns” to be thrown away. She must have heard that too. And yet, she came forward like this.

He didn’t know what kind of communication took place between her and the contracted God, but she was probably already prepared for her action.

Inaba felt like crying at his own inadequacy. He knew that this work was necessary, but in the end, he and the others were just ordering the girls around, and there was little he could do to help them directly.

Inaba and the other staff members in the operation room were basically in a position to bear a grudge. This is because they sometimes had to issue orders to dispose of Magical Girls.

Magical Girls belonging to the government weren’t given the right to veto emergency dispatches. Therefore, there were a lot of times when they had to give a merciless order.

If a government-affiliated Transportation skill holder had been available at this stage, Inaba would surely have ordered the child to go to Hakone as the head of the office. Even if the child’s grade was E-class.

Some of the staff members were even attacked by the grieving families of Magical Girls.

–But this is the organization, and this is our mission as protectors of the nation.

There was no time for sentimentality. He just had to keep doing the best he could.

And Inaba calmly reported the time.

“Twenty minutes, no, if you give enough time to earn thirty minutes, the two Rikka members will arrive at the site. I’ll be sure to make it in time…!“

“I see. –Well, can I ask you one thing?”

“Yes, anything you want.”

Inaba braced himself for whatever was to be said. Her dispatch was completely in good faith, not an obligation as a matter of duty. She had a right to complain to the government, which had created the situation that compelled her to do so, even if it was due to a glitch in the system.

But the words that came out of her mouth were different.

“Please take care of the rest. Oh, but if I have defeated a Demonic Beast, please apologize with me to Rikka for coming all the way to Hakone!”

She said this calmly with a slight laugh. In response, Inaba was speechless.

–How could she smile so calmly in the face of death? Inaba just couldn’t understand. He could hear the gasps from the staff around her.

“…I will surely dispatch someone who can win. Absolutely, I will not let the city be harmed.”

Inaba clenched his fists hard.

It felt terribly sad to lose Magical Girls. But there was no time to stand still.

–I have to do my part to repay the Magical Girls who are fighting for us. Even if they call me evil.

She let out a relieved breath at Inaba’s words.

“I’m counting on you. …Oh, I’m sorry. It looks like the time has run out–”

“Hagakure-san? Hello? …It has been cut off?”

With these words, the call with Hagakure Sakura was cut off.

Inaba gently put his hand on his chest, closed his eyes, and exhaled. -I have to change my mind.

When he opened his eyes, Inaba looked back and said.

“You all heard the call earlier, didn’t you? –Hurry up and get on with the work you have to do!”

–Yes! All at once, the voices rose up. Some of the staff members were in tears. He knew how they felt but this wasn’t the right time to cry.

“…I guess it’s my ego that wants to win and survive.”

Inaba muttered to himself, shook his head loosely, and returned to the work he had to do.

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