Chapter 66: 66

Chapter 66

Round Table Meeting

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

Round Table Meeting

–April 28. Nine women were sitting at a round table in a government conference room.

“There are only five minutes left until the designated time. …I don’t mean to force you to act well in advance, but is she here yet?”

Hitsugi Airi muttered, sighing a little.

Gathered here were the A-class Magical Girls who were selected by the previous vote to be placed in the top ten. In addition to the six members of Rikka, three new members were scheduled to be added to the list. However, there was one Magical Girl who had not yet appeared on the stage.

–The provisional A-class, Hagakure Sakura.

In addition to her heroic actions at the end of the year, she had been making headlines in both good and bad ways for the past two months while single-handedly monopolizing the defeat of B-class Demonic Beasts.

However, although the monopoly was not an act that should be praised, it was an action that had been viewed relatively favorably by the A-class Magical Girls.

As a basic policy, the government was afraid of losing senior Magical Girls unnecessarily, so they often had them deal with Demonic Beasts of a lower class than their original class.

The A-class Demonic Beasts were mainly fought by Rikka, the B-class by Rikka and other A-class Magical Girls, the C-grade by B-class Magical Girls, and so on. The battles were divided up in such a way. Sometimes, those who wished to improve their ranks challenged the higher class, but if they did not show good results in the simulator, they weren’t even allowed to fight.

In other words, the B-class Demonic Beasts that Hagakure Sakura faced all this time were the ones that A-class Magical Girls were originally supposed to fight.

From the point of view of an A-class Magical Girl, exterminating a B-class Demonic Beast was nothing but a troublesome chore. Since she was taking care of it, there was no reason to harbor any ill will toward her.

Well, for a Magical Girl with a high reputation, Hagakure Sakura might be nothing more than a show-off and a troublesome bump on the eye. But it was not advisable to voice that complaint openly to the government.

…Hagakure Sakura was well-liked by the staff of the Demonic Beast Countermeasure Headquarters to an unusual degree. If anyone spoke ill of her, they would be glared at by the staff of the Countermeasure Headquarters, who were at odds with Magical Girls. In a sense, she was untouchable. …She really was a troublesome person.

“Maybe she’s lost? Do you want me to pick her up?”

“Oh, in that case, let’s go together.”

Mibu and Suzushiro raised their voices in unison. There was no hint of any other intention in their voices, and it seemed that they were making the offer out of the goodness of their hearts.

In a sense, these two were troublemakers, but their human nature was extremely good. No matter what kind of person the new member was, they would treat her in a friendly manner.

–Yes, there was only one person who had a problem.

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“Hah? Just leave that her alone. She’s on her own whether she gets lost or not, right?”

A junior high school girl, Hyuga Aoi-Ranked fifth of the ranking order, raised an irritated voice against the two easygoing people. Shaking her bob-cut hair with yellow mesh, Hyuga continued grimly.

“In the first place, it’s ridiculous for a newcomer to arrive late. Hey, what do you think about that, Toono-senpai?”

Toono, who was asked to speak, put her cup of tea on the desk and smiled softly.

“I’m sure she’ll be here soon. –And it’s not good to raise your voice too much. You’re making the other three newcomers feel intimidated.”

“…I’m sorry.”

At Toono’s unaffected attention, Hyuga apologized in a reluctant manner. Apparently, she couldn’t bite a far superior person.

…Hyuga Aoi had a bad habit. She was strangely outspoken against Magical Girls who were less experienced than she was. Incidentally, Yukino, who had been a Magical Girl for less than three years, was another target.

“–Hey, while we’re at it, it looks like we’ve got a ‘waiter’ on our hands.”

Yukino, who had been watching the series of events with a troublesome look, announced bluntly. The words made Hitsugi turn her head toward the door, and a subdued knock sounded.

“I’m Inaba from the Demonic Beast Countermeasures Headquarters. I’ve brought Hagakure Sakura-san with me. May I come in?”

“Please come in.”

Hitsugi gave permission to enter the room. Almost at the same time, the door to the conference room opened.

“I’ll leave you here then. …Hagakure-san, that’s-“

“Yes, I’ll see you later. Thank you for showing me around.”

Inaba and Hagakure exchanged small words, and only Hagakure entered the room. The smile on her face was the same calm smile they had seen in the TV interview. …It was a far cry from her belligerent smile with blazing eyes during the Radon battle.

For Hitsugi who watched her appearance at the time, the difference was too disconcerting. Everyone had two sides to them, but it was unusual for it to be so pronounced.

“I am sorry for being late. –Is it fine if I sit over there?”

“Yes, please have a seat.”

While staring into eighteen eyes, Hagakure lightly bailed and sat down in the vacant seat–between Yukino and Mibu. She straightened her back majestically and looked up firmly, without any sign of being self-conscious. She was very different from the other three, who had been taken in by the atmosphere of the place and had become withdrawn.

Hitsugi exhaled a little and picked up the materials on the desk. It was a proceeding document for the meeting, which had been pushed to her by the office staff in charge of Rikka. Then, Hitsugi quickly looked up and raised a dignified voice.

“Then, all of us have gathered together. Now, I would like to start the first meeting as Jukka, instead of Rikka.”

-Even though she was the oldest, she wondered why she had to play the role of moderator. She wished the staff did it like before.

Under the guise of ‘encouraging independence,’ the role of the moderator was supposed to be played by one of Rikka’s members. But for some reason, the person in charge of the meeting always handed over the documents to Hitsugi.

She knew that she was being used by the clerks, but for Hitsugi, who was thinking of working for the government in the near future, it would be risky to refuse considering the future relationship with the government. Besides, it was also true that there was no one else who could be entrusted with the job.

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Yukino would be able to host the event without a hitch, but Hyuga would protest if she were the hostess. If other people were to host the event, it would be difficult to keep the conversation together. …Given the process of elimination, it might be inevitable that Hitsugi was the moderator.

“Today is more of a meeting than a conference, but first, let me introduce myself to the four new members-“

“Wait, Hitsugi-senpai.”

Interrupting Hitsugi’s words, Hyuga raised her sharp voice. Hitsugi opened her mouth while gently holding her abdomen, which was causing her sharp pain.

“Yes, what is it, Hyuga-san?”

“Before we start the meeting, I think we have to find out if she is really suitable as Jukka. –Hey, Hagakure Sakura-san?

At Hyuga’s words, the eyes of everyone present turned to Hagakure.

Hagakure smiled, tilting her head cutely, as she raised her elbows while interlocking the fingers of both hands. However, Hitsugi, who was sitting opposite her, could clearly see the swarthy color behind her narrowed eyes.

“In other words, you are skeptical of my ability.”

“Well, to put it bluntly, yes. You’ve only defeated B-class or lower-class Demonic Beasts since the battle at the end of the year. If you’re only that good and you get scared when it comes time to fight A-class Demonic Beasts, we’ll be in trouble.”

–I knew it… It’s started again…

That thought almost made Hitsugi clutch her head in disbelief. However, Hyuga had a point this time.

To work as a Jukka, they must have the ability to defeat A-class Demonic Beasts. No matter how easily Hagakure Sakura defeated a B-class Demonic Beast, in the end, it meant nothing if she couldn’t defeat an A-class Demonic Beast.

As Hitsugi gazed at Hagakure while thinking about this, the other girl turned over and gently put her right hand over her mouth. Upon closer inspection, she seemed to be trembling slightly.

–Maybe the pressure made her feel sick. Just as Hitsugi was about to follow up on this thought, she heard a giggle and laughter that sounded out of place.

She involuntarily looked around. Then, Hitsugi checked the owner of the laughter and gently rubbed her arms, which were covered with goosebumps.

–Ah, why does this person always laugh at the strangest times?

With a small quiver on her shoulders, Hagakure Sakura laughed. It sounded more like a sneer than a joyful laugh.

Hyuga, who had backed away as if frightened at the sight of such an image from Hagakure, said in a raised voice.

“What’s so funny!”

“No? –I’m just surprised that your line is so predictable.”

Then she gently wiped her tears from laughing so hard with her finger and smiled cheerfully. The smile, which should normally appear calm, was so different in this situation.

The other members of the group, who were usually noisy, were watching her behavior as if they were observing the event.

“Well then, according to Hyuga-san’s words, I have to prove whether I am capable enough to be a Jukka.”

Hagakure said abruptly and quickly got up from her seat. Then, she walked straight toward the door.

“Hagakure-san? Where are you going?

When Hitsugi asked her in a panic, Hagakure, who had her hand on the door, turned around and said with a natural look.

“Of course, to the simulator room. –I’ve already spoken to the head of the Countermeasures Headquarters, Inaba, so please go to the monitor room.”

“Oh, so you are going to demonstrate in front of us that you can fight A-class Demonic Beasts without any difficulty?”

Toono asked Hagakure in the same tone as usual. She nodded in response and smiled mischievously with narrowed eyes.

“Yes. –Because if I don’t, you all won’t approve of me, right?”

“Fufu, yes, you’re right. –Then, we’ll head to the monitor room after this. See you later, Sakura-san.”

“Yes. I’ll be waiting.”

After saying this, Hagakure stalked out of the room. …There was no time to stop her.

“…She was late coming to the conference room because she was negotiating this matter with Inaba, the head of the Headquarters. She’s pretty good.”

Yukino said this admiringly as she leaned back in her chair.

Certainly, what she did was amazing. The actions of Hagakure Sakura this time were based on the premise that her lack of ability would be pointed out to her. It was not possible for a person with ordinary nerve to book a battle simulation for the first meeting, knowing in advance that they would be denounced.

“Aoi-chan lost this time. If Sakura-chan properly defeats A-class Demonic Beast, you will apologize to her.”

“…I understand.”

Hyuga, who was admonished by Toono, nodded reluctantly, not hiding the dissatisfied expression on her face. …It was still worrying, but it supposedly solved the problem at hand.

If Hagakure Sakura could properly defeat an A-class Demonic Beast in the simulation, it would prove that she was perfect as a Jukka. There was some confusion, but the result was not bad.

“They’re not as similar as I expected.”

“Yes. They especially don’t resemble each other on the inside.”

Nobody knew what Mibu and Suzushiro were talking about.

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Hitsugi sighed out loud, then stood up on the spot and clapped her hands. Their attention was drawn to Hitsugi.

“Let’s all start moving for now. –Hagakure-san is waiting for us.”

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