Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament

Chapter 132

Thoughts of Warriors

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

For some reason, the atmosphere became subtly awkward, but Tsugumi and Mibu made it back to the front of the Countermeasure Headquarters. They had been in the infirmary for about twenty minutes, so fortunately it hadn’t taken them that long.

Inside the Headquarters, it seemed that the staff was so busy that no one noticed Tsugumi had returned. In this case, even if he offered to help, it could be a nuisance if they spoke to them at the wrong time.

As he wondered what to do, he noticed a huge map of Japan spread out on the table. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be an improvised map made up of several sheets of A1 copy paper. The map was dotted with red circles, and numerical numbers were placed beside them.

In addition, some numbers were projected on a white wall by a projector. The current number was 5/286. As he stared at it wondering what it was, the sound of piano keys, “ping”, echoed in the room and the number changed from 5 to 6. …He didn’t know what it was, but he had a bad feeling about it somehow.

In the meantime, Sobi, who had noticed Tsugumi, came running up to them.

“Hagakure-san. Are your injuries okay?”

“Yes, there’s no problem. I’ve had them disinfected.”

When Tsugumi responded, Sobi smiled in relief and said, “If a doctor has examined you, then you’re safe.” …Well, to be precise, he hadn’t been examined by a doctor, but he didn’t feel any particular discomfort in his arm, so he should be fine.

“That’s good to hear. Indeed, It was chilling to see you covered in blood.”

“I’m sorry for worrying you. But most of the blood on my clothes was from when I picked up the injured child. I really wasn’t hurt that badly.”

Saying this, he turned his shoulder and showed it to her. The threads that stitched the wound showed signs of twitching slightly, but with a Magical Girl’s resilience, it should be almost completely healed in a couple of days. …When he turned his arm around, Mibu gave him a reproachful look, but it must have been just his imagination.

“That’s a big map, did you find anything?”

When Mibu asked her that, Sobi made a thoughtful gesture, then quickly looked up and began to speak.

“I was able to identify the location connected to the Demonic Beast. That’s the red dot written on the map. …But there is a little problem.”

“A problem?”

“There are too many of them. There are over a hundred signs of the Demonic Beast in total. Most of them are probably dummies to fool our eyes. With the help of the Ministry of Divine Worship and the Transportation Management Department, we are continuing to identify and search for the main body, but we have yet to make any progress. I wish my search had been more accurate…”

“But no matter how many of them there are, you know where the Demonic Beast is, right? Then, I’m sure we can solve the problem in no time if we just go through them blindly.”

“I’m sorry. I have a vague idea of where they are, but there seems to be a margin of error of about 10 meters in radius. The Magical Girls and staff members who have gone to the area are searching frantically, but the search is proving difficult because of the small size of the flowers, including the dummy ones. If I could go there, it would be a little easier to find them, but…”

When Sobi said this apologetically, Tsugumi nodded his head in understanding.

He didn’t know how many Magical Girls could transfer while bringing someone, but those with such abilities basically had a long cooldown time. Even Chidori, who could transfer multiple people, had to spend an hour per transfer. The same was most likely true for other Magical Girls. Considering the possibility of Irregularities in the worst case scenario, the Management might not be able to make a series of transportations so easily.

Thinking so, Tsugumi strongly thought, “I’m glad I came after all.” There was no Magical Girl better suited to this situation than Tsugumi.

Putting aside the repeated high-speed teleportation during battle, it didn’t take much power to do simple teleportation. If it was about cost-effectiveness, there was probably no one better than Tsugumi. No matter how many times the transfer was repeated, his body wouldn’t be burdened.

Tsugumi took the hand of Sobi, who was upset, and opened his mouth, making eye contact to reassure her.

“But knowing the location of the enemy is a stroke of luck. Fortunately, we have an expert in transportation. –Do you know the cooling time of my transportation skill?”

Then, to inspire himself, Tsugumi continued with a deliberately fearless smile.

“It’s about two minutes. During that cooling time, I will find the source of the signs. I’ll fly as many times as I have to until I find the source of the Demonic Beast. …So don’t worry about it, Sobi-san. I’ll take it from here.”

“Hagakure-san… Thank you. I’m a senior, but I’m not worthy of it.”

At Tsugumi’s, Sobi smiled as if in self-mockery. Mibu chuckled lightly at her and said.

“I am the same, I was invited but I didn’t play any role. Compared to that, Sobi-senpai must have done a great job even though you’re in a different field.”

Saying so casually, Mibu said, “The rest will be done by Hagakure and the local Magical Girls. I’ll wait and believe in you,” then she patted Sobi on the back. Sobi lowered her head to hold back tears and nodded.

“Then, I’ll have to ask Inaba-san and decide where we’re going. We have to hurry.”

Saying this, Tsugumi looked around the room. Although he had said that to Sobi, the current situation wasn’t good. The problem was the number of potential locations for Demonic Beasts.

The number of places that had been checked was about 20. Even if he repeated the extermination and transported every two minutes, he could only destroy about 30 points per hour. He didn’t know when he would hit the source of the problem, but at worst, at this pace, it would take several hours.

–I am not sure if Yumeji will be okay until then. Such worries were passing through Tsugumi’s mind.

While thinking about that, the sound of a piano rang out again. “What is that sound?” He asked Sobi and she whispered in a sad voice, “It’s the report of death.”

“What you see on that wall is the current number of deaths and victims. …I thought I was used to people dying, but it’s still hard when it’s clearly shown like that.”

“–…I see.”

He heard the sound of his blood dropping.

There were already casualties. The information was a shock to Tsugumi.

–He should have just stayed here instead of getting medical treatment. If he had done that, he would have been able to visit several points during the time he spent in the doctor’s office. He wished he had done that. Regret always came later. –But he still had to face forward. Because there was still something he could do.

Tsugumi raised his head with determination and looked at Sobi and Mibu.

“I’m going. —In order not to increase the number of victims anymore.”

–Everyone did their job properly. Then it would be his turn next.

When Tsugumi said so, Sobi bowed deeply and said quietly, “Please, good luck.” Then Mibu approached Tsugumi and patted him on the back forcefully, calling out, “Do your best!”

With a slight nod, he headed straight for Inaba. He had to confront the flower-shaped Demonic Beast–while keeping an eye on the time.