Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament

Edited by LyraDhani

“There’s a strange fullness to it… It’s pretty scary…”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m sure you’ll feel much better.”

“I doubt that…”

He let out a small exhale. That enormous mass was in this stomach… He didn’t think it was true, but he felt he just ingested some kind of energy. Wasn’t eating a Demonic Beast really harmful to the human body?

However, since Bell said “No problem”, Tsugumi must believe that word.

“Then, should we come back? Because there is no use here any more.”

Saying so, Bell released the barrier.

The fallen trees changed their shapes like a mirage and returned to their original forms. The scene was so fantastic that Tsugumi couldn’t help but let out an exclamation of admiration.

A world of magic that until yesterday he had never even heard of. He knew it wasn’t all that wonderful, but he still wanted to immerse himself in this dream world, just for now. That’s how he felt.

◆◆◆

“–But then again, Transportation is really convenient, isn’t it? Being able to fly to any place you want is truly magic!”

“I guess that’s true for you humans. Originally, such a means of transportation could only be used by those of high rank or those with a special role to play. You should sob at your own good fortune to have this skill.”

After coming home and untransformed, he thought he wanted to express his feelings about the Transportation skill, but Bell acted high and mighty in return.

“I am a little curious. If I didn’t have the skill of Transportation, how was I going to get to the Demonic Beast?”

That was a simple question.

Without the special power of transport, it would be impossible to get to the area where the Demonic Beast would appear within five minutes.

“I had used my power to set up a transport gate in your room. However, it’s not suitable for heavy use because of the cumbersome coordinate settings and the considerable risk involved.”

“What’s the risk, by the way?”

“Hm… To be more specific, your life span is reduced by about ten days per transport.”

“…I’m glad my unique skill is Transportation. Really.”

He felt like he’d been told something plain and outrageous. What the hell did Bell think a person’s life span is?

But it’s also true that the Tsugumi was lucky, just as Bell said.

Just as he was thinking this, the doorbell rang.

“It’s only three o’clock.”

After all, it was still afternoon class time.

This is not something that Tsugumi who skipped school and was absent like this could worry about, but he wondered if Yukitaka’s attendance was okay. Well, he didn’t think his crafty friend would do anything that would cause him to drop credits.

“Bell-sama. I think my friend is here, so I’m going out for a bit. I’m going to… uh, I hope you don’t show your face if you can.”

“You idiot. Who would show their face in front of people? Get the hell out of here.”

I thought I might be in a bit of trouble if your face is seen, was his comment, but she returned it like that.

—Come to think of it, why is the high-mighty God bothered to get involved with people? I wonder if she’ll surprise me again…

With these thoughts in mind, Tsugumi headed for the front door.

He checked the other party on the monitor and open the door. There stood a person just as he had guessed.

“Hey there, Tsugumi-chan. You look well.”

Yukitaka said, waving his right hand in a small gesture.

“…Well, sort of. I’m not sure what’s going on with you too, this early in the day. Something wrong at school again?”

“No, I am just skipping today. Our classmates are all over the place, and it’s very depressing.”

Saying this, Yukitaka’s mouth twitched in frustration.

He must have been involved with his classmates in some strange way. It was certainly a hassle.

“This is the book you asked me to give you. –If you’re not Tsugumi-chan, I wouldn’t have forgiven you for breaking your promise and making me run errands for you. I don’t know what you’ve been up to, but this debt is very, very expensive.”

“Ah, thank you. It really helped… I’ll make it up to you properly later.”

Tsugumi knew Yukitaka would have noticed his temporary illness anyway, but Yukitaka often didn’t ask at times like this, which he appreciated.

He received the bag containing the book from Yukitaka and checked its contents. It was indeed the book that he had asked for.

Taking a quick look at the contents, there were no noticeable stains or missing pages, so the quality was probably quite good. It was a good enough gift.

But at the end of the book, he noticed something tucked in.

“Hmm? What’s this, an envelope?”

Tucked away at the end of a page in the book was a neat little envelope with a gold border. What on earth could this be?

When Tsugumi curiously took out the envelope, Yukitaka happily opened his mouth, looking as if he had successfully pulled off a prank.

“Oh, it’s a present from me for Tsugumi-chan. Why don’t you open it?”

“Hmmm? What, a tour of hot springs? And for three days and two nights. Are you sure? I’m getting something that looks so expensive.”

“It’s fine. I got that one, too, so it didn’t really cost me anything.”

The tour ticket read, “Hakone Bus Tour, Luxurious Onsen Sightseeing Trip!”

The departure date was in the latter half of December, three months from now on. It was right around the time the schools were on winter break.

“Wow, and it’s a pair ticket. I can go with Chidori, right? Hey, this is…”

“What’s wrong?”

Yukitaka tilted his head with a puzzled look on his face. Gently holding out the ticket, Tsugumi pointed to a small sentence at the bottom. Yukitaka read it out loud.

“What is it? This is a pair of tickets for women only! We will check your ID on the day of the event, so please don’t forget to bring it with you… Uh, let’s see, so this is for Chidori-chan! Have her go out and invite her friends!”

Yukitaka laughed as if to deceive him. To be honest, it felt quite painful.

“No, I’m not complaining at all, but how did Yukitaka get this…”

What was the person who gave this women-only ticket to Yukitaka thinking? Tsugumi was a little worried that Yukitaka might be getting some roundabout harassment.

“No, I just got it from an acquaintance who said, ‘I don’t need it, so I’ll give it to you’. I only saw the part about the Hakone trip, but I didn’t know there was a reason for that. I’m sorry, okay?”

Yukitaka bowed his head lightly in an uncharacteristically auspicious manner, perhaps feeling a little bad about Tsugumi.

“I’m happy enough to celebrate with you. Thank you, Yukitaka. I’ll tell Chidori to thank you properly later.”

He laughed.

Although not as bad as Yukitaka, he himself did not have many friends. Out of all of them, Yukitaka was probably the only one who would bother to come and celebrate. He complained about it sometimes, but Yukitaka was still an important friend of his.

“I see. Well then, give my regards to Chidori-chan. –I’m going to leave you guys alone today. I’ve got someplace to be.”

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Take care. –See you next week at school.”

“Okay, bye.”

With these words, Yukitaka left.

As he watched Yukitaka’s back fade into the distance, he let out a small breath. A smile naturally broke out on his face.

–Today was a good day. I’m so glad I didn’t die yesterday・・・・・・・・.

Being alive was really wonderful. He strongly thought that it was because he experienced the edge of death once.

Tsugumi carefully held the bag of the book in his chest and returned to the room where Bell was.

“I’m back, Bell-sama.”

“Oh. What’s with the look on your face? Loosen your sloppy cheeks.”

As if she had seen something strange, Bell said that with a furrowed brow.

…Is it really strange? He didn’t mean to have a terrible face.

“Oh, that’s right. I wonder if I can be free from tomorrow afternoon. I have an errand I can’t pass up.”

Bell promised to take this into consideration so that Tsugumi could lead a normal life. As for Tsugumi, he wanted to do as much as he could to accommodate Bell’s wishes. It was the only way he could repay her.

But tomorrow afternoon was a different story. He wanted to spend tomorrow as a family of Nanase Chidori, not as a servant of Bell.

“It doesn’t matter. We don’t have to hunt monsters every day. But since you insist, it must be something important, right?”

“It’s the birthday of me and my sister–Chidori. Bell-sama probably thinks it’s silly to have a ‘birthday party’ at my age, but my sister is the only family I have left. I want to do everything I can for her.”

“Birthday? Hmmm, I heard that people used to celebrate together at the beginning of the new year together, but now they celebrate individually. Hey, is your birthday tomorrow too?”

“That’s what it’s supposed to be. My sister and I have a vague memory due to a disaster, so it may not be accurate. But the current family register says so, so it must be tomorrow. I think.”

“I didn’t ask that much. Can’t you even reply properly?”

The other party was a God, so it would be better to tell the truth properly. That’s his explanation, but Bell did not seem to be that interested. Well, she usually didn’t.

“Hmmm. But it is the duty of those who stand on top to take care of their contractors, isn’t it? –Hey.”

Bell put her chin in her hands thoughtfully, and then she called out to Tsugumi.

“What is it?”

“You’ll be free tomorrow afternoon. But you have to stay with me in the morning.”

At these words, Tsugumi patted his chest. This was a relief for the time being.

The only question was, what would he do in the morning?

“Then where are you planning to go?”

When Tsugumi asked this, Bell grinned and told him.

“Well–it’s just a ‘date’.”