“Hey, Kushina.”
“…What?”
“Don’t you think just the two of us was too few for attacking a prison transport?”
“…But we managed, didn’t we?”
“Just barely!”
“…If it succeeded, then it’s fine.”
Today, as usual, after completing our mission, Kushina and I came to Café-Manhattan to report our success, arguing quietly.
Reluctant to admit anything, I finally voiced what I didn’t really want to say.
“──But our current situation is problematic, isn’t it?”
“…………”
As soon as we entered the café, Kushina said, “I prefer the back,” and we sat at a table in the corner.
──Three minutes had already passed since I hugged her as she sat next to me.
“Haha! Setsuna-chan!!! You’re so cute!!!”
“Damn… I’ll kill you…”
Mion, in her best mood today, was teasing Kushina, who buried her face in my chest, not wanting to be seen. It was an oddly proactive form of “kill me” behavior.
“Oh, it’s over.”
“!”
Kushina, trembling slightly, started to pull away.
She cleared her throat with a cough.
“So, Ibuki. I’ve identified your issue.”
“What? Out of nowhere?”
“Your problem is that you have no means of attack.”
“Are you ignoring me?”
“Sit properly.”
“Yes.”
Still red-faced, Kushina, in a bit of a huff, pointed out my flaw.
Ignoring my protest, I complied, but I had a problem with her assessment.
“But Kushina, I don’t want to hurt anyone…”
“I know. However, having a weapon increases your options. It also means you can protect more, right?”
“Well, yes…”
“Whether or not you wield it is up to you.”
With a soft smile, Kushina glanced at Mion, who was sitting at the counter a little distance away.
“Even that fox over there can pretend to attack.”
“But Mion’s Natural Talent Lux is…”
If Rui’s words from that time were true,
“Yes, my Natural Talent Lux is a ‘phantom’.”
Mion, annoyed by Kushina’s “even the fox” comment, casually revealed her personal information.
“Is it okay to reveal that so easily…?”
“The scales already know anyway. By the way, my compensation Umbra is ‘smoking a kiseru (smoking pipe)’.”
During the battle, she had been smoking a kiseru multiple times.
Given her attire, I thought it was just her style…
And if “smoking a kiseru” was her compensation Umbra,
“Just as you guessed. It’s prepaid.”
Prepaid.
It was one of the four types of compensation Umbra.
Formally known as “pre-deployment type”.
Yuika’s type was always deployed, and mine was post-paid, or the expedited deployment type.
The prepaid type was the third type of compensation Umbra.
Literally, it required the payment before using Natural Talent Lux, allowing for quite a bit of freedom in its use.
It’s a stark contrast to the post-paid type, which is like a predatory loan shark!
“Well, I can’t tell you more details than that…”
She looked at Kushina and grinned.
“Unlike that kitten who’s always on edge and full of lies.”
“Hmph. Only a fool with no sense of danger would say such things. No wonder you got caught while drunk and revealed your identity.”
“Oh…”
With all her deception skills, how could she have been caught… and then I realized.
“Four times.”
“Oh…”
“Imagine how exhausting it is to be called out each time.”
“Thanks for always helping, Setsuna-chan.”
“Next time, I’ll leave you.”
The picture of a displeased teenager and a laughing adult…
After a fit of laughter, Mion looked over at me.
“By the way, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Mion Adashino, the Fourth Seat of the Six Apostles, Mion. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Ibuki Ibusuki, code name ‘Divergence’. Nice to meet you too.”
“Alright. You can just call me Mion since you’re Setsuna’s subordinate.”
“Okay. Then call me Ibuki.”
Kushina, perhaps too proud to intervene, closed her eyes and surprisingly didn’t object.
Mion-san mentioned something about being a “subordinate of Setsuna”…
“Could it be that the two of you are surprisingly close…?”
“Absolutely not.”
They both glared at me in unison, an unusual display of unity.
Behind them, across the counter, Yuika-san crossed her fingers in front of her mouth in an “X” shape and winked.
! Image
…Oh dear, it seems that was a lie.
“Hey, Yuika.”
“Hmm?”
Mion turned her chair around to face the shopkeeper over the counter.
Yuika tilted her head slightly, looking innocent, as if she hadn’t just been caught leaking information.
“I’ve got a message for you.”
“──! Is that…?”
Yuika’s face lit up with joy the moment she heard Mion’s words.
It seemed like something she didn’t want anyone else to hear, so the two of them disappeared behind the [Staff Only] door.
“…………”
“…………”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
Silence stretched between me and Kushina.
Normally, silence with my childhood friend wouldn’t bother me, but today’s silence carried a sense of dread for the conversation to come.
I decided to break the uncomfortable silence.
“So, how much time did you lose today?”
“…………”
Kushina remained silent.
“……sigh.”
But knowing she couldn’t avoid it forever, she exhaled resignedly.
“……4150 seconds.”
“What─wait, that’s over an hour!”
Kushina turned her face away from my frantic reaction.
“An hour isn’t a big deal. How much time do you think we have?”
“That’s true, but…”
──Lifespan.
That’s the cost of Kushina’s Compensation Umbra.
The last of the four types of Compensation Umbra: Immediate Deployment Type.
The simplest and most common type, activated the moment you use your Natural Talent Lux.
In Kushina’s case, every use of her Natural Talent Lux shortens her lifespan.
Just hearing that makes it sound like a heavy burden.
However, considering her Natural Talent Lux, it could be seen as relatively light.
At least, if you weighed her Natural Talent Lux (light) and her Compensation Umbra (shadow) on a scale, the scale would definitely tip towards the light.
That’s how exceptional Kushina’s Natural Talent Lux is.
But even if everyone else thought it was “light,” I couldn’t think that way.
I mustn’t.
On the day I joined the 【Covenant of Salvation: Nega Messiah】, I vowed to support her.
…And yet, right now, I don’t even have a means of attack.
It feels like I’m dragging her down instead of protecting her.
“It’s fine. Thanks to you, I didn’t have to use it much today.”
My childhood friend sitting next to me smiled gently.
“Besides, it would’ve been tough to get close to the convoy on my own.”
“…I don’t mind.”
“Really?”
With a gentle smile, she looked at me, making me see a glimpse of our old days.
I felt my shoulders relax and laughed.
“Please, don’t make such baseless accusations.”
“I’m not accusing you of anything. I know for sure.”
“Damn it, there’s no escaping…”
The discomfort had vanished, leaving only the quiet aroma of coffee filling the shop.
“──Ah.”
In the silence, I suddenly remembered something crucial I had forgotten to mention.
Cold sweat began to trickle down my back.
“…What was that ‘I forgot something important’ tone just now?”
“…………”
My childhood friend’s gentle expression started to darken.
It was clear that she suspected something serious.
“Uh, well…”
Seeing Kushina’s piercing gaze, I gave up trying to deceive her.
“…I got my face seen. Oops.”
“…Huh?”
Goodbye, peaceful coffee-scented shop.
“Whaaaaaaaaaat!?”
Later, Kushina, Yuika, and Mion discussed the situation together.
Meanwhile, I was forced to sit in seiza by my childhood friend.
Their conclusion was that while it was surprising, there shouldn’t be any problems.
Only me and Rui were there, and only she saw my face.
If the security cameras had caught me, I would’ve been wanted by now.
Since that hadn’t happened, they concluded that it was a spot without cameras.
…At the same time, they scolded me, mainly Kushina, for being lucky by a hair’s breadth.
On the way back, me suddenly spoke up.
“Ah, how about I cook dinner tonight for a change?”
“Oh, really? I’d be happy, but…are you trying to put me in a good mood? “
Kushina looked at me with suspicion.
me the suspect hastily waved my hands in denial, his eyes darting around.
“No, it’s just, you know, to show my appreciation or something…”
“Is that so? Well, alright. It’s not like I do it for gratitude anyway.”
“Still, you do it all the time, so…”
Mumbling, he kicked a small stone.
Watching the stone, Kushina smiled softly.
“So, are we having omurice or hamburgers tonight?”
“…It’s not like I can only make those two.”
“You only make what you like.”
“I can make other things too!”
“If you follow a recipe, that is.”
“…I’ll definitely make something different.”
Kushina laughed softly at Ibuki’s pout.
“I’m sorry. Let’s cook together?”
Ibuki looked at Kushina with half-closed eyes.
“…Do you think I can’t cook alone?”
“No, no. I just want to cook with you.”
“…Alright then.”
Ignoring the warm, amused look she gave him, Ibuki quickly headed for the bus stop.
Then, in a hurry, Kushina called out.
“Ah, wait──”
But before she could stop him,
“Out of the way, out of the way!”
Just as Ibuki crossed the intersection,
a bicycle came barreling out from the side.
The cyclist hit the brakes, almost colliding, but they closed their eyes in anticipation of the crash.
At the same moment, Ibuki’s body was pulled back.
“…Ah, thanks, Kushina.”
“…You’re welcome.”
Kushina was holding Ibuki from behind.
The woman on the bike, about to apologize, blushed seeing the two of them so close.
After she left with repeated apologies, they walked in silence.
“──You didn’t use it, did you?”
Ibuki was the first to break the silence.
Kushina nodded solemnly.
“The distance wasn’t far, so I just made it.”
“Thank goodness…”
Ibuki exaggeratedly sighed in relief.
Then he glanced at Kushina, who looked back at him, their eyes meeting.
They stared at each other for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“Every day is really never dull.”
“I’m sorry…”
“I’m praising you. For now.”
Kushina smiled gently.
“Thanks to you, every second is enjoyable.”
Her fragile beauty took Ibuki’s breath away.
Then, he smiled like he had found an unexpected treasure.
──And so, the two of them continued walking today.
Confirming their steps, one by one, in their not-so-boring daily life.
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