Chapter 33: 33

The Things I Hate

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

Tsugumi went to the hospital with the fainted girl–Itadori, who had fallen ill–and left the hospital after explaining to the doctors what had happened.

The hospital where they were taken to was the same one where she had been admitted the other day, so it didn’t take too long, but the doctor who was in charge of her said, “You were able to call an ambulance properly this time!” He was slightly unconvinced by the teasing. Had he been really out of it back then?

Anyway, the girl’s illness, pneumonia, was caused by her asthma. He heard that her hospitalization at the end of the year was also due to her getting sick from a cold. She probably had weak bronchial tubes.

According to the doctor, the girl’s mother, who had contacted him by phone, asked to thank Tsugumi for his help, but he politely declined. Instead, he agreed to visit the girl, and would go to check on her on his way home tomorrow.

If possible, he would like to discuss with her how to process the video. It should be up to her how to use it.

“So, as soon as I get back home, this is what I’m going to do?”

Immediately after returning home, Bell took him out to a desolate industrial area on the outskirts of a local city. Needless to say, the reason was to fight Demonic Beasts.

He’d been absent for two weeks, so it was just about time, but he wanted to be contacted in advance if possible.

Tsugumi, which had transformed into the Magical Girl form Hagakure Sakura, let out a small sigh as he played with the edge of his skirt. The first battle in a long time was still a little nerve-wracking.

“The opponent is a D-class Demonic Beast. There shouldn’t be any problems, but don’t let your guard down.”

“I understand. First, I need to see how well my body can move.”

Saying this, Tsugumi turned his arms around. His left hand, which had been eaten by [Gluttony] at that time, was still moving as usual. It was as if it was never injured in the first place, but he still didn’t know if it could keep up with the violent movements.

While they were talking about this, the barriers were deployed. It seemed the Demonic Beast had already appeared.

Tsugumi stared at the wavering space and concentrated his mind.

–First of all, I have to find out where the Demonic Beast is.

If it attacked the moment the barrier was completed, there would be no way to stop it.

Fortunately, he soon found out where the beast was. It was about 300 meters from here, on the roof of a factory. …The shape of the beast was something he honestly didn’t want to get close to.

“It’s a four-meter-long praying Mantis. …The way its mouth opens is disgusting.”

The mouth cracked into six pieces and was wiggling around. It felt like anyone would lose their mind just by staring at it.

…Rather, Tsugumi wasn’t very fond of insects himself. In that sense, this time the Demonic Beast was a bad match.

–But I can’t complain too much.

After confirming the giant Mantis, Tsugumi kicked the ground with a thud. First of all, he had to check his physical capabilities at this stage. With this in mind, he started running, but his body felt surprisingly light.

It wasn’t as fast as it was during the Radon fight, but his body was still pretty fast. When analyzing the power flowing through his body, he immediately understood the reason.

The divine power pouring in from Bell was circulating through his entire body, and it was coating his muscles and nerves, creating an explosive force. Moreover, the conductivity of the divine power was higher than before.

–I guess all high-ranking Magical Girls are like this.

It was no wonder that the Magical Girls of Rikka’s strength were able to perform even ordinary movements in such a monstrous manner. Until now, he had always thought it was a difference in skill or original talent, but with this system, any human being could become strong if they continued to be a Magical Girl for a long time.

Originally, Tsugumi was supposed to take time as well. But because he was forced to draw out his strength in the Radon battle, he skipped the middle steps. That’s why he felt his physical capability had improved sharply.

And he felt like his senses were no longer as blurred as they were in his male body. Perhaps it was because he learned how to move efficiently while working as a Magical Girl. As a result of this application, he felt that his physical abilities in the male form had also improved. Now, even with his original body, he should be able to perform parkour-like movements.

When Tsugumi reached the Mantis, he stopped and looked up into its horrifying face. He frowned in physiological disgust.

Then, the Mantis, with an unidentifiable liquid dripping from its mouth, let out a strange cry and swung its two-handed scythe down.

While lightly avoiding the slash from close range, Tsugumi calmly checked if there was anything wrong with his body.

-There is no problem with limbs and joints. I don’t feel any injuries or cramps from before, and I’m doing well. …No, on the contrary, I’m confused because I’m in good shape.

At least, he didn’t see any of the aftereffects that Bell had feared.

Tsugumi shook his head to regain his composure and ran up to Mantis’s body. Then, just like that, he unleashed a sharp kick from behind to its thin back.

“Gishaaaah!!!”

The Mantis let out a high-pitched cry, flew forward with great force, and rolled.

–Originally, Tsugumi was not the type of Magical Girl who fought directly. In the past, this kick would have been powerful enough to stagger an opponent. But now that his physical capabilities had been enhanced, he could deliver this kind of power.

Although he wouldn’t have a chance to use it against high-ranked Demonic Beasts, it was still safer to have a large number of tricks.

–So, how about the [Skill]?

With this in mind, Tsugumi activated the [Invisibility] skill on himself. Although he only used it for a short break during the Radon battle, this skill was essentially an excellent skill that could be used as a diversion or distraction. Unlike Transportation and Thread, this skill could only be used within the barrier, so he had to try it now.

The Mantis was running around the area, stomping its feet, looking for the missing Tsugumi. It seemed that it was quite annoyed at having been kicked. The green body of the Mantis was now slightly tinted in purple. This type of enemy could spit out poison, so he had to be careful.

However, it didn’t pose a threat unless it found him. The great thing about Invisibility was that it even erased any sign of his presence. Thanks to this effect, he was able to secure a safe place in the Radon battle.

Tsugumi gently twirled an invisible thread around Mantis’s leg. Naturally, Mantis didn’t notice it. It would have been easy enough to pull the string, but that would have been a little unsatisfying.

Besides, there was something he wanted to try for a long time. In the battles so far, Tsugumi couldn’t try it because he couldn’t afford to. It might be good to try it this time.

“Imagine a donut shape centered around the part where the Mantis is running around.”

Muttering this, Tsugumi quickly lowered his finger. With that signal, the ground slowly became transparent, leaving around the area where the Mantis stood. The ground, which was transparent up to 20 meters underground, looked like a deep pit. Apparently, the area of effect was much wider than before.

The Mantis seemed puzzled by the hole that had suddenly appeared in front of it, and stepped back. In fact, the pit was fake, but there was no way the Mantis could see it at first sight.

Tsugumi also stared at the hole, but it looked like a real pit. He touched the ground with trepidation, but the texture remained the same as normal, rough dirt. He didn’t know the principles that made it transparent, but he felt strange looking at it.

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“If I combine this with Transportation and make it impossible to tell if it’s true or false… Yeah, it’s crazy.”

With the ability of transport, it would be easy to actually create a pitfall of this magnitude. Once they were aware that it was a fake, he could be sure to trap them the next time.

Alternatively, a large wall that had been made transparent in advance could be shifted and treated as an invisible obstacle.

…But it seemed that Tsugumi’s skill was specialized in latent force. He wondered what influenced this.

“Well, I think that’s enough confirmation.”

He got most of what he wanted to find out, and it was fine just to find out that there were no side effects.

He still didn’t know the details about the flames that were visible during the battle of Radon, but there was no point in being impatient. It was certainly reassuring to have the ability to kill even immortals, but for some reason, he felt it didn’t fit him at the moment.

There was no need to rush, and it would be important to steadily accumulate achievements.

Tsugumi removed the invisibility and turned his back on the Mantis. The Mantis, now that the ground had been restored and it could move freely, spotted Tsugumi and attacked with both hands ready to kill. Tsugumi didn’t turn around, but muttered a few words.

“Sorry. –You have no use anymore.”

The right foot stomped with a thud. Then, the invisible threads around the Mantis’s body instantly sliced through the space. The body parts of the praying Mantis fell off in pieces according to gravity. It appeared that today’s sharpness was also outstanding.

–At this rate, I think I can take on an A-class, let alone a B-class. Tsugumi thought so, and smiled softly. He didn’t mean to be dependent on fighting, but he was honestly happy to be stronger. Besides, all boys would think the same way.

“Looks like you had a lot of fun.”

Then Bell said so, teasing him. Apparently, she had seen him laughing. Cowering his shoulders, Tsugumi opened his mouth.

“It sounds arrogant to say it like this, but with a D-class, it’s like bullying the weak.”

“That’s natural. Rather, it would be a problem if you took time and effort to this extent.”

Bell crossed her arms and said reproachfully. As for Bell, it might be embarrassing to see her contractor, Hagakure Sakura who had defeated an A-class Demonic Beast, struggling against a D-class opponent.

Then, as usual, Tsugumi let [Gluttony] feed on the body of the Demonic Beast, but when he saw the beast’s mouth, he tilted his head.

“…I feel like it’s getting bigger.”

Specifically, about twice as much. He didn’t feel particularly overloaded, so he guessed it wasn’t a problem, but it was probably better not to play around with this skill too much.

This beast already knew what Tsugumi tasted like. The “Gluttony” skill could only be used within the barrier, so he didn’t have to worry about it accidentally eating someone, but it was better to be careful. Tsugumi was a prime example of that and there was always a possibility of a human wandering into the barrier.

As he thought about this, Bell’s ears twitched and she looked in the direction behind him.

“What’s wrong, Bell-sama?”

“No… There’s something trouble outside.”

By outside, did she mean outside of the barrier? Bell’s vague way of saying this bothered him, but when Bell said it this way, it probably meant she didn’t want to give too many details. Perhaps there was a familiar face outside that she didn’t like.

“‘Hmmm? Then we should hurry up and transport once the barrier is lifted.”

When Tsugumi said this, Bell thought for a moment and then shook her head.

“I’ll take my chances. Give them some company. –I’m sure they’ll be after you from now on anyway. Oh, and just so you know, don’t attack them out of the blue.”

“Well, I am not sure, but if Bell-sama says so, I’ll do my best.”

“But don’t talk about anything else. It’s for your own good.”

Bewildered by such meaningful words, Tsugumi nodded firmly. If Bell asked him to do it, then he had to.

With the lifting of the barrier, the mirrored world blurred and synchronized with the real world. This squishy sensation was something he’d never get used to.

And when Tsugumi opened his eyes, a blinding light poured down on him. Involuntarily, he hid his face with his arms to block out the light.

-This is supposed to be a desolate factory area, so what the hell happened?

A strange sound echoed intermittently, like a crackling sound. When Tsugumi looked ahead, he saw too many people.

“…Wha?”

Tsugumi unintentionally opened his mouth and muttered. What he should have been able to see was not quite entering his mind as information.

Then, when he was stunned, a woman in front of him thrust a microphone to his face and spoke in a loud voice.

“Hagakure Sakura-san! Interview, please!”

Starting with that one word, the other adults crowded around her and asked questions one after another.

“How do you feel now that you have entered Rikka?”

“Please tell us your enthusiasm after the match against Radon!”

“You are a stray Magical Girl, do you have any plans to belong to the government in the future?”

“Why did you choose a D-class for your return match? And how was the response?”

“I heard that you were forced to do something against Radon, but are there any aftereffects? If you don’t mind, please let me know!”

Tsugumi was confused as the questions became longer and longer. He was not Prince Shotoku, there was no way he could answer such a question all at once.

With a deeply embarrassed face, he looked at the spot where Bell was, but she squared her jaw as if she wanted him to do something about it. Apparently, no help was expected.

–What am I supposed to do about this…

Tsugumi smiled serenely with dead eyes. Now that this happened, there would be no other way but to make it through.

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