Chapter 74: 74

Chapter 74

What We Lack

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

After returning home, Tsugumi called Bell and explained the situation with a mysterious look on his face.

“–So what should I do?”

When he told her what had happened, she sighed in exasperation.

“You’re a fool. That’s what happens when you take a cheap shot at something you’re not used to doing.”

“You’re absolutely right…”

“And a dress at that? …What could possibly look good on that chest and back?”

“Ah, that’s the problem after all.”

Then Tsugumi let out a big sigh.

–The biggest drawback of “Hagakure Sakura”. It was the lack of flesh.

She had thinner-than-average breasts for a woman of her age and stood nearly 170 centimeters tall. Her long arms and legs gave the impression of being slender, but depending on the clothes she wore, she might look a little poor – Calling it slender sounded good, but how one perceived it depended on the person.

He didn’t really care because the clothes he wore were designed to be less revealing, but a common dress – one that showed off the lines of the body well – would surely have brought out that flaw.

A suit would be a good choice. …If it was a suit, he would have looked like a beautiful woman in men’s clothing, so there would have been no problem in terms of appearance.

“Isn’t it possible to temporarily tamper with the body shape by applying transformation?”

When Tsugumi asked Bell this, she shook her head.

“It’s impossible. The appearance of ‘Hagakure Sakura’ is based on the ‘possibility of being born as a woman’ and the body has been altered. If you mess with it badly, it will affect your actual body.”

“..Okay, the plan is rejected.”

Tsugumi easily dismissed his own proposal.

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–He didn’t want the original body to be adversely affected. Even just the side effects of pushing himself too hard in the Radon battle were showing, he didn’t want any further changes.

“But you care a lot about how you look. I thought you weren’t particular about your appearance.”

Bell said this with a curious look.

It was certainly quite unusual for Tsugumi to be concerned about his appearance, especially when it came to Hagakure Sakura’s look. It couldn’t be helped that Bell wondered about it.

In response to Bell’s words, he gave her a bummed look.

“I am going to the party as one of the faces of the country, right? –It will be annoying If I get mocked for such a trivial thing.”

Apart from that, he wasn’t worried about the lack of breasts or flesh. It was just annoying to be ridiculed for his body shape, which was something he couldn’t control.

In addition, if he dressed strangely, not only would he be criticized as Hagakure Sakura, but also as Jukka.

–The real purpose of this party was not a friendly discussion, but rather a more cunning and sordid game of searching for flaws. Every participant hid a malice-laced knife in their hearts in an attempt to gain a hold of someone’s weakness.

Hence, even the slightest thing could become an object of ridicule. As long as Hagakure Sakura was attending the party as Jukka, he had to mend his appearance to look serious, if not perfect.

“I don’t know much about politics, but I do understand that in this particular case I have to be careful not to show any weakness. I don’t want to make Jukka as a whole look bad because of me.”

When Tsugumi told her this, Bell cowered her shoulders in dismay and sat down on the table.

“…What’s with this. Did you eat something bad?”

“What with you, out of the blue. I don’t eat weird stuff…”

When Tsugumi asked back dubiously, Bell opened her mouth with a sarcastic laugh.

“No, I think it’s a great loyalty. Hmm. Amaterasu seems to be doing a very good job of educating her people.”

…Apparently, Bell was not happy that Tsugumi was cooperating with the government. Rather, Bell had always disliked the government itself. It wasn’t a matter of how it should be, or what its policies should be, but simply because she didn’t like being told what to do.

In the first place, It was no exaggeration to say that the government of this country was an administrative organization under the direct control of Amaterasu. In other words, instructions from the government could be seen as orders from Amaterasu.

For Bell, who had a high sense of pride, she probably wasn’t satisfied with the fact that she was under the control of the God of the Far East, even if it was only temporarily.

…God’s circumstances in that area couldn’t be resolved by Tsugumi, so he hoped she could come to terms with it.

While thinking about this, Tsugumi opened his mouth with a wry smile.

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“I don’t think Amaterasu-sama is that much involved in government. But it’s true that the government does have some light brainwashing when it comes to Magical Girls. Other than that, it’s pretty legitimate. The general public can live in peace every day, after all.”

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Certainly, the Demonic Beasts attacked regularly, and some girls were forced to fight hard. The government was not always trustworthy, and there were many things that didn’t add up. But even so, Tsugumi still thought this country deserved to be called a “paradise”.

The country was protected by the main God, Amaterasu, and the Magical Girls, modern-day Valkyries, joined hands with Gods from all ages and cultures to challenge their enemies. It was just like a reenactment of a myth.

–The Gods, who in other countries were only told of in ancient myths, existed in this small, closed island nation. Just the thought of it made his heart flutter.

Certainly, this country might seem distorted, strange, and mysterious to the rest of the world. It was a country of Demonic Beasts. The brainwashing of Magical Girls was a good example. But even so, Tsugumi couldn’t hate this country.

“And if I hadn’t been born in this country, I wouldn’t have met Bell. It’s not all bad.”

When Tsugumi told her this, Bell stared at him with a disturbed look.

“Hmph. Don’t think you can fool me with such nice words.”

“Hahaha. But I don’t think it’s such a bad thing to cooperate with the government. The world situation seems to be changing now.”

Saying such a thing, he took out one of the documents in the file given to him by Hitsugi and presented it to Bell.

“It was discussed at today’s meeting, but it seems that over the past few years, Demonic Beasts have started to appear in foreign countries as well. Apparently, only minor damage has occurred, but I think it’s only a matter of time before we see catastrophe-class damage. If that happens, existing Magical Girls will be targeted by other countries even more than before. I think it’s in our best interest to reasonably be obedient to the government, considering the future.”

It was better to complain to the government when they were being unreasonable like in Hitsugi’s case, but it would be safer to act cooperatively in other areas. Better to stay close to the government, but not too far.

–The younger generation might not be aware of it, but it had only been about 30 years since Japan was virtually destroyed. The government’s ability to rebuild the foundations of life in just ten years after being overrun by Demonic Beasts deserved proper recognition.

However, not all the problems had disappeared. An energy conversion system using the nucleus of the Demonic Beast had been established, and the country was now able to provide all the life necessities, so people could live without any inconvenience or relying on imports.

–But what did the rest of the world think when they saw this country in such a state?

On the surface, Japan was a country where Demonic Beasts congregate, and they repeatedly criticized Japan for forcing young girls to fight Demonic Beasts, saying that it was against humanity. On the other hand, it was obvious that they were jealous of Japan, which had solved the resource problem perfectly.

In addition, there was the problem of the increasing number of Demonic Beasts appearing in foreign countries. No matter how he thought about it, it was bound to be a tumultuous turn of events.

“Well, this time around, all I have to do is to sit quietly by the wall and smile, so I can relax. No one will be expecting any political talk from Hagakure Sakura. …As for the dress, I’ve heard that there is a government-owned clothing store that offers dresses, so I’m going to consult with them. If I ask a professional, they may be able to provide a dress that will disguise my body shape.”

It was a little embarrassing to ask about women’s clothing, but he couldn’t turn his back on it.

And as Tsugumi selected a clothing store that looked good from the list, the living room door opened with a loud bang.

With a startled shaking of his shoulders, he looked at the door. There, standing in the doorway, was the white, round, furball Shiro. Then Shiro looked up and said something unexpected.

“I’ve heard your story. You can leave the clothes to me.”

“…Yes?”

When Tsugumi twisted his neck, Shirou, who had just walked over to him, climbed into his lap and said in a confident voice.

“I have an outfit I’ve been preparing for a long time that I thought would look good on my sweet little sister. You can wear it.”

“…I have a lot of things I want to say, but first of all, I’m your little brother, not your little sister. Hey, Bell-sama. What should I do in this case?”

Tsugumi looked at Bell in confusion, but Bell looked at Shiro with a fearless stare and turned away with a small shake of her head. Apparently, she had no intention of getting involved.

–Yeah, it’s a lie, right? Abandoning me in this situation…

As Tsugumi was shocked inside, Shiro, on his knees, pulled out a large booklet from somewhere and gently held it out in front of him.

“I’m not forcing you to do anything. –Look at this and call me if you like it. See you later.”

As soon as Tsugumi received the booklet, Shiro disappeared in a blinding flash of light. It was hard to hide his agitation at how quickly it had happened.

“…I wonder how long he’s been listening.”

As Tsugumi muttered in dismay, Bell clicked her tongue loudly, and dang, her tail slapped irritably against the desk.

“Probably from the very beginning. –Really, he’s making fun of us.”

Bell said, her fur bristling with anger.

That was the first time he saw the two Gods face each other like that, but it seemed they were not compatible with each other at all. He didn’t know what kind of communication they had before, but he wished they thought a little about how he felt when he was caught in the middle.

-And yet, he wondered what on earth his brother was thinking. They had spent the last few months together, but he was still not quite sure how his mind worked. He thought he was a natural airhead, but Tsugumi didn’t expect him to go this far.

The way he said that, somehow it sounded like the clothes were already prepared, but what was Shiro thinking preparing such a thing? …Rather, how did he know the size of Hagakure Sakura’s clothes? …If he thought about it too deeply, he might lose it.

Gently holding down his churning stomach, Tsugumi opened the booklet he had received from Shiro. He wasn’t expecting anything in particular, but it would be good to have a look at it.

However, what was depicted in the booklet, contrary to his expectations, was exactly in line with Tsugumi’s wish. He didn’t dare to consider it as an option because he didn’t know its structure, but this might cover Hagakure Sakura’s shortcomings.

“–This is not bad, though a little frustrating.”

With a small murmur, Tsugumi glanced at Bell. …The biggest challenge this time might be convincing Bell of this.

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