“…Huh. So you really didn’t have it.”
Losing interest in me, Kenji walks toward the bench.
Kuromari-chan tries to escape like she did at Abe’s place, but as a stubby plushie, she’s painfully slow. Kenji snatches her up effortlessly.
Holding her, his face twists into ecstasy.
“The Holy Grail… finally mine… It’s like a dream…”
He starts climbing the platform stairs to leave—
but pauses halfway, glancing back.
“Oh right. Gotta finish what I started. You wouldn’t understand, Madarame—half-baked trash like you—but seeing things through properly matters.”
The instant he says it, the crowd drags me—still immobilized in pain—
and throws me onto the tracks. They jump down after me, pinning me in place.
More people leap from the platform.
“KENJII!!”
In the distance, the express train approaches.
“Later. Try to attend school, okay? Not that you’ll get the chance.”
He leaves.
The train roars into the platform at full speed.
One hour after being thrown onto the tracks…I stand outside Hana-chan’s apartment.
“Thank you for today! I-I got to ride the Ferris wheel with you, and… well, it was like… um, just—thank you!”
At the entrance, Hana bows deeply.
“Though I did get scared when you reappeared all… busted up.”
Back on the tracks, the crowd had held me down.
The express train entered the platform—I thought I was done—Then, power surged from deep inside me. I threw them off and barely escaped.
No normal human could’ve moved like that.
I remembered Her Majesty’s words when Hana agreed to our date:
[“Make sure Hana enjoys herself.”]
Back then, she’d pushed energy into me. That’s what activated. If I died mid-date, I couldn’t fulfill her order.
Even with a katana hole in my gut, my body moved on its own. I staggered into a convenience store.
“Oh, I get it! Gotta buy a sewing kit and stitch myself up!”
…Nope. My hands grabbed a stapler and duct tape instead.
“??”
My body paid automatically. After leaving, I wobbled into a bathroom stall. Before I could protest, my clothes were hiked up, exposing my wound—and the stapler pressed against it.
“W-Wait, no—I’ve heard of this but—DAMN IT!! OWW!!”
STAPLE. STAPLE. STAPLE.
Her Majesty had warned me: Under her orders, my body acts autonomously—but the method depends on my imagination.
Turns out I’ve watched too many action movies.
“From now on, I’m only watching House M.D.!!”
With that janky first aid, I stopped the bleeding, fetched Hana, and—since the trains were halted—walked her home.
After exchanging thanks and saying goodbye, though—
“Uh, um—”
Hana looks down, embarrassed.
“M-Madarame-senpai, you’re amazing!”
“Where’d that come from?”
“Don’t listen to what the student council president said.”
On the train, Kenji mocked my past failures. But—
“In elementary school, you fought a lot… to protect girls.”
Hana’s face turns red.
“They were teasing a girl who loved Kuromari-chan.”
“Well—”
“In middle school, you were late every day because you were taking care of abandoned cats by the river. Once they found homes, you stopped being late.”
“I mean—”
“And at the cultural festival? You took the blame after a girl accidentally ruined the banner and started crying.”
“Yeah, but…”
I scratch my head, flustered.
“Hana-chan… you’ve been watching me way too much?!”
“Wha—N-No! That’s not it!”
She waves her hands furiously, face burning.
Then, slightly pouting:
“It’s because you never explain anything. So I had to.”
I scratch my head, embarrassed.
“You think staying quiet is… ‘cool,’ right?”
“Dunno~”
“You’re a lot like Eli-san.”
“Huh?”
“She never explains herself either. She probably thinks explaining ruins the mystique.”
True, Her Majesty does have that vibe.
Hana continues—
“Senpai picks up manners super quickly, you know.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah. Because you’re just like Her Majesty—you speak through actions, not words. Manners are the same, aren’t they?”
“Guess both me and Her Majesty are just stubborn, huh.”
“That’s not it,” Hana-chan says.
“It’s just classic.”
I fall silent for a moment. Then—
“—Hana-chan, you good with curfew?”
Hana-chan’s been praising me so much it’s making me itchy, so I deflect.
“Won’t your dad be worried?”
Then—
“My dad… is far away.”
Her tone drops slightly.
“Oh. Overseas, right? It’s the end of the year—he’s not coming back?”
When I ask, Hana-chan hesitates before answering.
“Actually… he passed away.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you, but…”
Hana-chan’s dad had been constantly overseas for work ever since she was little.
“He wasn’t the type to pay much attention to family, but he did remember how much I loved Kuromari-chan.”
So every year, for her birthday and Christmas, he’d send Kuromari-chan merch as gifts.
“Even though my tastes might’ve changed as I grew up. Guess he always saw me as a kid. That’s just like him.”
Then, last fall, her dad collapsed. By the time tests revealed his illness, it was already too late. He sent Hana-chan a letter along with a Kuromari-chan plush keychain—then passed away overseas.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to bring up something heavy.”
When I apologize, Hana-chan shakes her head.
“No, it’s my fault for not saying anything sooner.”
She’s a good kid—probably trying not to kill the mood.
Her thoughtfulness doesn’t stop there.
“Dad gave me so much Kuromari-chan stuff over the years. So really, you don’t have to go out of your way to find the new one. Especially after what happened to you, Madarame-senpai.”
I don’t know what to say.
I still haven’t learned how to act smoothly in moments like these.
Hana-chan keeps talking, her expression bright and cheerful.
“Memories matter more than things. Losing one little item won’t break me.”
After thanking me repeatedly for today, she waves—“Well then!”—and heads into her apartment.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
After my date with Hana-chan, I return to British shop.
Her Majesty is lounging on the sofa, eating chocolate and reading manga.
“Tea or coffee? I’ll make some.”
“Coffee,” she says. I grind beans from the café downstairs and take my time brewing it with a siphon.
As I set the cup on the table, Her Majesty asks:
“Did you entertain Hana properly?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
She nods, satisfied.
Then she eyes me—my clothes torn, my hair a mess.
“Something happen?”
Her tone is casual. I pause before answering.
“Nothing worth mentioning.”
I sit beside her, sipping coffee, eating chocolate, reading manga. The room is silent except for turning pages and the antique clock’s ticking.
A quiet moment with Her Majesty.
Then—outside, chaos erupts. Sirens wail. Screams echo.
Checking my phone, I see reports of mass suicides across the city. Livestreamed suicides, even. Total pandemonium.
“This… could it be—?”
“The devil’s prelude,”
Her Majesty says, not looking up from her manga.
“Rabbi called. A named demon—Asmodeus—got hold of the Holy Grail.”
Using its power to summon hell’s true form into the human world.
The revelry outside? Just demons celebrating the eve of their victory.
“This Asmo… whatever guy—can he read minds?”
“He digs into hearts and pasts, unearthing fears. If you can’t conquer them, you fall under his control.”
“Speaking of… what’s this?”
I eye the table. Beside the manga lie several handguns, bullets (gold, engraved with crosses),
vials of holy water, crucifixes, and a Bible-like book.
“Friday dropped them off. Rabbi’s orders.”
I pick up a revolver.
“I don’t actually have to get Kuromari-chan back anymore, right?”
“You kept your promise to Hana. I’ll keep mine.”
I flip the cylinder out with a flick.
“Today, I met a Hunter. There’s probably tons of them—some crazy strong, too.”
“Likely.”
Still reading.
“Exorcists will mobilize soon. This country does have agencies for immortal regulation.”
“Huh~”
I slot a bullet into the cylinder.
“Bet they’ll handle the demon and Grail without me, huh? Like always—most things don’t need me.”
“Probably.”
Eyes still on the manga.
“Heroes exist where they’re needed. No reason for some nobody to play savior. That’s reality.”
I load another bullet. And another. Soon, the cylinder is full.
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