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Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

Tsugumi, prompted by Hitsugi who smiled wrily, went up to the deck, got some water to wash off the sticky salt water, and let out a small sigh as he wiped his head with a borrowed towel.

Hitsugi had returned inside to give instructions to the pilot, and now Tsugumi was the only one on deck. The weather was clear and cloudless over the ocean.

…He didn’t think she was fooled by his excuse, but apparently, she didn’t intend to pursue it. Well, even if rumors did get out, it would only increase the number of mysterious (and unwanted) episodes of Hagakure Sakura.

As he was combing his tangled hair, a girl who had been standing next to him on the boat approached him with a rather nervous look on her face. Seeing the girl’s face, Tsugumi was surprised, but instead of showing it, he smiled softly and spoke to the girl.

“You are Yumeji-san, aren’t you?”

The girl – Yumeji Nadeshiko – smiled happily as she said yes to Tsugumi.

…He thought he saw a resemblance when he looked at her from a distance, but he never thought it was Yumeji herself.

In a sense, it was Tsugumi who made the connection between Hitsugi and Yumeji, so it wasn’t strange that they were together like this. But he never thought that he would run into them by chance when they were together. What are the odds?

“I was a little worried when I didn’t receive a reply to the contact information I secretly gave her at that time, but looking at this situation, Hitsugi-san must have been working on it.”

When Tsugumi replied, more conscious of his acting than usual, Yumeji opened her mouth happily, as if the gloomy mood he had seen at the party was a lie.

“Thanks to Hagakure-san giving my sister’s letter, Hitsugi-san was able to persuade my parents to let me go. Thank you so much!”

Tsugumi narrowed his eyes at Yumeji who bowed deeply to him.

–When they first met in the back alley, he thought she was a really helpless child, but it was surprising how much she could change for the better depending on her environment and mindset. That thought deeply moved him.

“No, I didn’t do much. It is because of your efforts to change the situation that we have the results we have now. –Really, I am glad.”

When Tsugumi gently told her this, she smiled softly. … They would have made a good picture if he wasn’t wearing a soaking-wet swimsuit right now, but there was no point in saying that.

Yumeji smiled in relief when she heard Tsugumi’s response, and began to talk about her own recent situation. She told him that her relationship with her parents had improved somewhat. Hitsugi had come to check on her from time to time. She said that an important friend of hers was working hard to become a Magical Girl. Most of these were things he had heard before when he met her as Nanase Tsugumi, but he didn’t show it and just kept on talking to her.

–To the world, Hagakure Sakura and Nanase Tsugumi were strangers to each other. Their relationship shouldn’t be revealed to anyone. He felt bad for deceiving her, but there were some things in this world that were better left unacknowledged. Even Yumeji wouldn’t want to know that the older sister she respected was the older brother she knew.

“There’s another friend of mine on this boat, and she’s trying to become a Magical Girl! If she’s fine, I want to introduce her to Hagakure-san, but she’s not very good on boats and got seasick. …She’s lying down in the boat now.”

“I see. …I hope she gets better soon.”

“Yes. So I was planning to return to land right away, but when I was retrieving that girl’s hat that was blown away by the wind, I found Hagakure-san. Such coincidences do happen! –I’ll introduce her to you when we get back to land. She’s a very nice girl!”

…That friend of hers was probably Itadori, but he had mixed feelings about it. Tsugumi wanted to avoid meeting anyone he knew on Nanase Tsugumi’s when he was in this form as much as possible. They probably wouldn’t notice, but it was still worrying.

As they were chilling and talking together like that, Hitsugi came back from inside.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting. Nadeshiko-chan, did you say thank you properly?”

“Yes, I did. I was able to talk about a lot of things”

“Fufu, that’s good. We’re planning to return to land, but do you have any plans after this, Hagakure-san? If you don’t mind, why don’t we have a cup of tea together? This child too has more she wants to say.”

When Hitsugi asked, he nodded his head in agreement, thinking it was natural that the event unfolded this way.

He nodded deeply.

“Yes, I would be happy to.”

…He could have answered that he actually had plans, but if the guy who was drifting at sea said “I have something to do”, it would sound like an excuse to say no. The girl was looking at Tsugumi with an expectant gaze–It seemed unlikely that Tsugumi would be able to hurt Yumeji’s heart.

◆　◆　◆

After returning to land from the sea, Tsugumi met on the terrace of the villa next to the beach owned by the Yumeji family. When the boat arrived on land, the first building he saw was so magnificent that he thought it was the villa of an old family. He wondered if he could go out dressed like this, but he was relieved to see that he was taken to the terrace of a different house.

Waves came near the terrace from time to time, wetting the white sandy beach. The two little girls and Hitsugi, who were dressed in swimsuits, were sitting on chairs in front of Tsugumi, one of them looking a little nervous after recovering from seasickness.

“Um, my name is Itadori Kanae…”

Itadori, who opened her mouth in confusion, said this while grabbing Yumeji’s hand anxiously, perhaps not fully understanding the situation.

From Itadori’s point of view, the moment she got off the ship, she suddenly had a face-to-face conversation with a Magical Girl of Jukka. It would be strange if she didn’t get confused.

“Hello, Itadori-san. Do you know who I am?”

“Yes, of course. Hagakure-san is famous… I am glad to meet you.”

“Fufu, thank you. Yumeji-san told me that Itadori-san is aspiring to become a Magical Girl, right? If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me anything. Well, I’m a stray Magical Girl so I may not be much help.”

As soon as Tsugumi said this gently, Itadori stuttered to ask a question.

“Um, a stray is someone who is scouted directly by God. What makes them different from government Magical Girls?”

“Hm, I suppose it’s mainly the treatment. Strays have more freedom because they’re not bound by the government, but they’re not allowed to use government facilities, and the amount of reward money is lower. In terms of academics, it’s treated as a part-time job, so even if you miss school to fight Demonic Beasts, it doesn’t count as an official holiday.”

“I-Is that so… It’s kind of hard, isn’t it?”

Perhaps surprised to receive an answer that was more common than she had expected, Itadori nodded in bewilderment.

“The fact that you don’t belong to an organization means that you don’t have any backing. If there is no other circumstance, it is best to belong to the government. I can’t do that because of God’s will. …Yes, and if there’s another difference, it’s your relationship with God.”

When Tsugumi laughed in a troubled manner, Hitsugi, who had been silently watching them, opened her mouth in wonder.

“Relationship with God? Is there something different?”

“There is. The government’s Magical Girls are chosen by God from among the candidates, but God doesn’t interfere with the contractor’s behavior, you know? Even when it’s time to retire, the will of the Magical Girl comes first. –But for stray Magical Girls, God is overwhelmingly superior.”

–Bell once said that ten percent of the stray Magical Girls were victims of Demonic Beast barrier accidents.

In exchange for saving their lives, they offered their bodies to God. It was a contract between humans and God that had existed since ancient times, and it wasn’t something that could be easily broken. Therefore, stray Magical Girls were forced to fight in high-ranking battles due to God’s recklessness, and it wasn’t uncommon for them to lose their lives.

Bell (God), whom Tsugumi made a contract with, at first showed signs of that kind of outward behavior, but now he had no problem with it because he believed she was the best God.

“Most stray Magical Girls take God’s hand in exchange for a wish. –Hence, a stray Magical Girl can’t quit unless she has permission from God. A child who takes the wrong hand would be miserable.”

“Such a thing… I didn’t know that.”

Tsugumi said with a wry smile to Hitsugi, who covered her mouth in shock.

“Magical Girls in the government basically have a good relationship with their Gods. It’s not surprising that Hitsugi-san, who belonged to the government from the beginning, didn’t know about it. Besides, your God was kind. Maybe she was trying not to let Hitsugi-san hear unpleasant things.”

“That may be the case. She loved me as if I were her own child…”.

While looking at Hitsugi who had a few tears in the corners of her eyes, Tsugumi thought of Hitsugi’s contract God–Hariti in the form of a giant spider. …That time when she stood by his bedside, he was honestly traumatized, but he guessed she was a good God for Hitsugi.

“Then, is it better not to accept scouts for strays?”

When Yumeji asked this question with a blue face and a frightened look, Tsugumi shook his head slightly.

“Not all Gods are bad. Some of them are just not familiar with human society and don’t know the limits. –I’m glad that I met the God I have now. I’m sure that was the luckiest thing in my life.”

Smiling happily, he thought of Bell. There had been many difficult and painful times during the past year, but surely the reason he had managed to overcome them all was because Bell had been by his side.

Watching Tsugumi’s gentle smile, Itadori muttered.

“If I make a lot of effort, will I be able to meet a wonderful God like Hagakure-san’s God?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Kind Gods are always watching over hard-working people.”

He spun his words, hoping for them to be true. –It would be nice if the God who would take her hand could see the good things in her. He couldn’t help but hope so.

After a while, the girls listened to Hitsugi’s comments on the battle with the Demonic Beasts and the reality of the candidates, and then, tired of talking, they ran to the beach for a distraction at Hitsugi’s suggestion, since they had changed into their swimsuits.

“Thank you, Hagakure-san.”

“No, I enjoyed talking with those girls too. When I think of such an honest girl as a future junior, I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

When Tsugumi said this sincerely, Hitsugi opened her mouth and shook her head slightly.

“That’s part of it, but it’s not that. I couldn’t say it in front of them because they would be worried, but I haven’t thanked you properly for what you did for me. Thank you so much for saving me. I’m really sorry for the trouble I caused you.”

Hitsugi took Tsugumi’s hand and bowed her head as she said that.

“Hitsugi-san did nothing wrong. Besides, I am the one who wants to thank you.”

“Eh?”

“–Thank you so much for being alive. Thanks to that, I don’t hate myself.”

–If he had chosen to abandon Hitsugi at that time, Tsugumi would never have been able to forgive himself. So, he was glad that Hitsugi was alive and smiling like this. Rather, he felt more indebted to her for robbing her of her future as a Magical Girl because he had crushed one of her lungs.

Squeezing his hand, Tsugumi said as much to her. Then, Hitsugi narrowed her eyes as if looking at something dazzling and smiled troubledly.

“I’m glad you’re a woman. If you were a boy, I would have loved you.”

“Well, that’s an honor, isn’t it?”

When Tsugumi answered, flustered by an adult woman’s smile, Hitsugi laughed like a child who had just played a successful prank.

“Fufu, just kidding. –Come to think of it, how’s Hyuga-san these days? I heard she’s getting along well with Hagakure-san.”

“Hyuga-san? I haven’t seen her much in the government because she seems to be busy as usual. Oh, but we have an appointment to go visit other branches together next time–“

–As they were talking, a chill suddenly ran down his spine. It was an unusually unpleasant feeling, as if a large number of caterpillars were crawling up from under his feet. As soon as he looked around at the strange sensation, he spotted it.

Two red flowers blooming on the side of the terrace. The flowers, which looked like out-of-season tulips, leaned their heads around like living creatures and pointed their hollows toward Tsugumi and Hitsugi.

A popping sound like a gunshot echoed around the area. The sound of people falling and blood flowing. –The curse that had been in effect for over eleven years had now blossomed.