At the same time, it was hard to believe that this girl—who was just staring at her in confusion—could be part of an evil organization.
Because of that, Hinata decided to put her doubts on hold for now. Just keeping an eye on her should be enough.
Her top priority was—
“Hey. What’s your relationship with her, Niisama?”
“────!”
—the way Tsukumo had called him.
If Tsukumo was part of Nega Messiah and the “cousin” claim was a lie, then they weren’t related.
Calling an unrelated man “Niisama” so casually? Unthinkable. No shame at all?
…And what about me?
That’s irrelevant right now.
She was just shortening “Onii san from the neighborhood” to “Onii san.” Totally normal.
Absolutely.
As Hinata dismissed the thought, Ibuki spoke to Tsukumo—
“This girl here, Hinata Soehi, is my neighbor—we’ve been close since we were little. And this one, Utsurugi Rui-chan—er, san—is Hinata’s friend—no, her best friend, hehe…”
“O-oh, I see…”
Tsukumo looked slightly taken aback by Ibuki’s strangely self-deprecating, almost servile grin as he introduced Rui.
But Hinata, hearing Ibuki’s words, was far too stunned to care about that.
“────”
She stood frozen, absorbing the fact.
It was just as Ibuki said.
Objectively speaking, if there was any word to describe the connection between her and Ibuki, it would be nothing more than [neighbors].
That was all there was to it.
She couldn’t call him a childhood friend—not when Kushina had been by his side long before they ever met—nor did they share a blood bond like Ibuki and Tsukumo (assuming their claimed siblinghood was real).
—No, that’s not it.
Hinata snapped back to her senses.
She had been so shocked that she lost her composure, but just the other day, Ibuki had told her:
—He wanted to be with her.
So why had he described her as just a [neighbor] now?
The answer was obvious: because Rui was here.
For some reason she didn’t fully understand, Rui and Ibuki didn’t get along.
He had mentioned before that it was a sticking point between them.
Well, if that was the case, the solution was simple.
She would become the bridge between them.
In other words—she would proactively cling to Onii-san and show Rui what a good guy he really was.
And maybe act a little cute and childish while she was at it. Not that it had anything to do with the fact that he always had little girls around him.
Hinata flashed a triumphant smile.
◇◇◇◇◇
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
I forced a self-deprecating grin as I glanced at Rui.
Only to be met with an icy glare in return.
I already said I don’t stand a chance against Hinata-chan and Rui’s love! But she didn’t even acknowledge it.
Damn, she’s tough…
[Niisama, are you on bad terms with that pretty angel over there?]
Tsukumo whispered the question to me.
[Well…]
[Hmm. Should I try bestowing some “affection” on her?]
[—Huh?! You can do that?!]
[If I do it right, yes.]
What kind of monster is this kid…?
A chill ran down my spine, and I quickly put a stop to that line of thinking.
[Tsukumo, remember—in the Tenth Branch, we don’t use our Talent Lux unless it’s a life-or-death situation.]
[Why not?]
[Because it’s cooler to unleash your hidden power at the last possible moment, right?]
[Ohhh! Yeah, let’s do that!]
The chuuni loli nodded eagerly, eyes sparkling.
I barely managed to stop Tsukumo from potentially destroying the Tenth Branch from within, and I let out a sigh of relief.
[Just… never lose that innocence of yours.]
[────. Yeah, I got it.]
For a brief moment, Tsukumo stared at me—then smiled.
At the same time, Hinata-chan beamed like a sunflower.
“Alright, Onii-san, Tsukumo-chan! Since you’re here, why don’t you watch us train?”
With that, Hinata-chan grabbed my arm and pulled me along.
” “────” “
The sound of me and Rui gasping in unison overlapped.
—HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIT! MY OSHI IS TOO CLOSE!!
If this keeps up, I’m gonna overdose on Oshi and dieee!!!
“H-Hina…? Um, isn’t this a little… close?”
Rui’s cheek twitched as she spoke in a forcibly gentle tone.
Yeah, I agree, Ibuki thinks so too!
“It’s fine, Rui-chan! Onii-san is someone I can trust!”
Hinata-chan chirped, as if reassuring herself, and happily marched forward—dragging me along.
On the opposite side of me, Rui swiftly closed the distance between us.
[Are you mocking me? Do you think this is funny…?]
[Eeep!]
She was furious.
The plastic smile plastered over her beautiful face only made her even scarier.
[N-n-no! I’m not trying to get between you and Hinata-chan!]
[After causing this situation, you dare spout such nonsense…?!]
[GYAAH!]
Hinata-chan led the way, I flailed in panic, and Rui seethed with rage.
Behind us, Tsukumo toddled along, giggling.
“Niisama and Hinata get along so well!”
“────”
Hinata-chan stopped and looked at Tsukumo.
Then, she smiled like an angel.
“Yeah, we’re super close! …Aww, you’re such a sweet kid!”
[?]
Hinata-chan suddenly brightened and grabbed Tsukumo’s hand with her free one.
Meanwhile, Rui’s temple throbbed violently at the words super close.
Cheerful Tsukumo, delighted Hinata-chan, panicking me, and enraged Rui—
The four of us walked across the training field together, the picture of harmony.
—Dear Childhood Friend,
I’ve become the enemy standing between me and my Oshi, so I don’t think I’ll be making it back alive…
◇◇◇◇◇
The training grounds were divided into multiple specialized fields.
Inside one of them—the Ice Field—a beautiful conductor swept her arm through the air.
“Go.”
At her command, a wooden sword floating midair darted forward.
It raced up to the ceiling—then shattered the hanging icicles in a single strike.
“Haa────!”
Beneath the raining shards, the angel flipped her chestnut-brown hair.
She weaved through the hail of ice at blinding speed—
But just as she broke through, the icicles she left behind froze midair.
“Tch!”
The Angel of Acceleration sensed it by the absence of shattering sounds.
In the next instant, she dodged sideways without even turning around.
A split second later, the frozen shards shot past where she had just been.
They didn’t stop—instead, they flew back to the conductor, reuniting with the wooden sword.
She caught the sword and swung it.
The icicles—each as large as a human head—whirled around her like a vortex.
Seeing this makeshift fortress, the Angel of Acceleration—Hinata-chan—grinned weakly.
“There’s no way I can get close to that.”
Only then did the beautiful conductor—Rui—finally allow herself a smile.
“That is the point. Obviously.”
Tiny ice fragments drifted down around them like diamond dust.
The ethereal beauty of the scene had drawn the attention of the other children, who had abandoned their own training fields to watch.
“This is the Ice Field, after all. It’s only natural that I have the advantage. Let’s call it here.”
“—Oh? You think you’ve won?”
Hinata-chan smirked defiantly at Rui’s composed suggestion.
“What are you—”
A split second before Rui could brace herself, Hinata-chan kicked off the ground.
She was clearly closing the distance—
but with the icy vortex still swirling around Rui, there was no opening.
“It’s pointless. You can’t break through my defense, no matter where you come from.”
Rui’s words were a silent plea for her to stop, but Hinata-chan didn’t answer.
Just as she was about to crash into the wall of ice—
“────”
Rui’s eyes widened in shock.
The ice vortex had parted along the line between her and Hinata-chan.
From her reaction, it was clear she hadn’t done it.
It wasn’t Rui—it was Hinata-chan.
Right now, she had accelerated only a portion of the swirling ice.
The result? The frozen barrier made way for her, creating a gap just wide enough for a person to slip through.
Even as I grasped the trick behind it, I couldn’t hide my amazement.
—She can accelerate things other than herself now!
Judging by the scale, it was probably only possible for a split second in a tiny area.
But the difference between can and can’t was massive.
Even in Watayume, the protagonist only mastered this Talent Lux technique by the end of Chapter 3.
For her to pull it off this early meant her growth speed was insane.
“—Tch!”
With Hinata-chan now right in front of her, Rui hastily swung the wooden sword in her hand.
Normally, she controlled longswords with her Talent Lux—but that didn’t mean she couldn’t fight herself.
In fact, she was plenty strong.
Even at this distance, she could’ve easily recovered.
—Or so she should have.
Her swing was so sluggish that even I could tell—and Hinata-chan easily caught her wrist.
The next moment, an accelerated fist was right in front of Rui.
Then, the fist stops suddenly.
Rui stiffened, staring wide-eyed at the fist—
Then, at its owner, who grinned like a blooming flower.
“My win, Rui-chan.”
Rui exhaled, as if in relief, at Hinata-chan’s smug expression.
Then, she smiled faintly.
“I suppose so.”
The children, who had been watching in bated breath, burst into cheers.
“…………”
Something about that match felt off.
Which was strange—
I’d never even seen their normal training sessions, so why did it feel unsatisfying?
Unable to shake the feeling, I followed Tsukumo as she happily skipped toward Hinata-chan and the others.
◇◇◇◇◇
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