Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament

Chapter 39

The Thing Called Magical Girl

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

Inside a country-style hut with the sign “South Gate Waiting Area” written in inverted letters, Itadori was sitting on the floor with an anxious look on her face.

On the opposite wall, another person – Yumeji Nadeshiko – was staring out the window with an irritated look. Itadori let out a small sigh as she stared at her profile.

–Why am I with her, of all people?

With a melancholy feeling, Itadori clutched her knees. Yumeji Natsuko was a central figure in the selected class and was the one who had taken the initiative in bullying Itadori until recently. Frankly, she didn’t know what to say.

…To begin with, Itadori had no idea what Yumeji was thinking.

When she was first caught up in this empty Amusement Park – a Magical Girl’s barrier – Yumeji scolded Itadori for her confusion and explained the current situation in a reluctant manner. She looked deeply annoyed but she never abandoned Itadori and escaped.

After entering the hut, which could be locked from the inside, Yumeji completely ignored Itadori and kept silent with a grim look on her face.

Itadori didn’t know how to talk to Yumeji. But it would be awkward to remain silent like this. Thinking so, Itadori gathered up her courage and opened her mouth.

“Um, Yumeji-san.”

When Itadori quietly called out, Yumeji raised her eyebrows and replied, “What?” Her expression was one of obvious displeasure. Itadori opened her mouth, feeling a little depressed.

“Why did you bring me here with you? You don’t like me, do you?”

When Itadori said so, Yumeji replied in a disdainful manner.

“Are you an idiot? I didn’t save you. If you die in a place like this, it will ruin my reputation and the school’s reputation, right? I’m going to become a Magical Girl. I can’t have my reputation tarnished by something like this.”

Yumeji clenched her right hand tightly. Toward the end, it sounded as if she were talking to herself.

She talked about it dauntingly as if it wasn’t just a dream.

“Why do you want to be a Magical Girl so badly, Yumeji-san? It’s hard work and you could die.”

Friends and other classmates around her had excessive admiration for the existence of ‘Magical Girls’, but considering the death rate and the number of cases where people die, she didn’t think it was such a wonderful job.

It was certainly an indispensable job in the world, but why did everyone want to take the initiative to do it? Itadori just couldn’t understand.

–The world worshipped Magical Girls as if they were a seal of approval. Such a world frightened Itadori. The only person who affirmed this fear was a young man she had recently met, Nanase Tsugumi.

Itadori stared at Yumeji. Perhaps she was mistaken, but it seemed to her that Yumeji did not have the same yearning for Magical Girls as the rest of her classmates.

Her family was wealthy, it was unlikely that she was after the bounty that Magical Girls got. However, it didn’t seem like she wanted to be pampered like an idol either.

What laid beneath her was something else. Negative emotions like fear and loathing–she couldn’t help but think so.

When Itadori said this, Yumeji glared with cold eyes.

“What do you know? Even though you don’t know anything…!”

Yumeji stood up and approached Itadori, grabbing her by the collar of her uniform. She was lifted with such strong force that she fell to her knees and moaned.

“Cough, Yumeji-san, stop…”

“You really get on my nerve. The highest aptitude level on the record since the beginning of school? The most promising star? –Don’t make me laugh. You’re not even ready to be a Magical Girl, so get out of my way!”

Itadori was about to retort that she wasn’t in the way. –But the moment she saw Yumeji’s face, she couldn’t say anything. –Because Yumeji was crying.

“Yumeji-san?”

“I have to become a Magical Girl.”

Yumeji let go of Itadori, wiping tears with her cuff, and gave a mocking smile.

“I’m sure an ordinary person like you wouldn’t understand, but there are many things going on in a great family. My family has produced many Magical Girls. Do you know what this means? –Yes, all the girls who can’t become Magical Girls are treated as dropouts. Just like my sister who committed suicide.”

Itadori gasped at this sudden confession. However, Yumeji did not care and continued talking.

“I don’t want to be a Magical Girl either. …But I don’t want to end up like my sister, even if it kills me. I don’t want to be miserable like her…!”

Yumeji shouted as if to let out the thoughts in her heart.

–Oh, this person is the same…

Itadori thought vaguely. She didn’t know anything about her family. But she could understand the essence of her worries. The expectations of those around her and her surroundings did not allow her to choose a path other than that of a Magical Girl. The anxiety of having no choice but to continue running on a predetermined rail and the frustration of not being able to choose anything. How much pressure that must have been for her.

She probably never had anyone who told her that she could make her own choices. Itadori thought it was terribly sad and painful.

“Yumeji-san. –You know.”

Just as Itadori was about to call out to her, she caught a glimpse of a shadow in the small window of the locked door. Their gazes turned toward the door.

–There was a big blue monster.

The monster had its ugly face pressed against the small window and smiled at Itadori.

“Kyaaaah!”

Yumeji screamed in a high-pitched voice. Perhaps it had heard them talking. But it was too late to regret it now.

“But, it’s locked.”

As soon as Itadori muttered that, there was a thud and a bang from the door, as if something had slammed into it. She crouched down and covered her ears. Sweat broke out from every pore in her body, and she trembled with fear. ‘Death’ was just around the corner.

“–No, at this rate, the door will be destroyed!”

Yumeji cried out in a sad voice. If it broke down the door and entered the hut, that would be the end of the story. Trembling, Itadori looked around the hut and saw something. Her eyes widened and she swallowed hard. –As long as she couldn’t walk out the door, there was no other way to escape.

Itadori whipped her trembling body and stood up.

“Yumeji-san, come here!”

Itadori grabbed Yumeji’s hand and pointed to a rope ladder that hung on the opposite wall from the door. The ladder led to a high bay window, and if it worked, there was a chance of getting out.

Yumeji looked alternately at the rope ladder and the bar window, and opened her mouth anxiously.

“There doesn’t seem to be any other way, but will it work?”

“We have no choice. –Because we don’t have that door anymore.”

The creaking door looked as if it would break down after a few more attacks. There was probably little time left to hesitate.

They looked at each other, nodded with determination, and gently reached for the rope ladder.

◆ ◆ ◆

“Are you okay? Are you alive? Can I help–? …No, there’s no answer.”

A girl wearing a long, loose-fitting dress with a cassocked hat – Mibu Yurie – crouched on the ground and asked the bloodied Magical Girl who was lying on the ground.

Her breathing could be heard faintly, so the girl was still alive, but she probably couldn’t move anymore. Since the degree of injury was hard to pinpoint, moving her from here was impossible.

Yurie took off her white coat and gently draped it over the fallen Magical Girl. The blood that flowed out soaked into the coat and discolored it red, but it couldn’t be helped. The bloodshed had lowered her body temperature. If she got any colder, it would be fatal.

It’s my favorite coat, Yurie thought, calmly assessing the situation. The way she was injured, she had about two hours left to live. No matter how strong the transformed Magical Girl was, she wouldn’t last longer than that. If she had wanted to, Yurie would have been willing to intercede on the spot, but since she didn’t give an answer, there was no other choice.

Yurie called out to Ran, who had a blue face, with dissatisfaction.

“What should we do, Ran-chan? I can’t transform, I can’t use my skills, and the Magical Girl I counted on is in a bad shape. The Demonic Beast seems to still be around too.”

“Don’t say things like that so easily. …I mean, it’s really bad. I hate to say this, but I might really die.”

Ran, with her long hair down and big black-rimmed glasses, gently pressed her stomach and moaned.

When they first got caught up in this barrier, they were optimistic about the situation. They knew their skills inside the barriers of other Magical Girls couldn’t be used, but Ran thought that as long as the regular Magical Girl properly defeated the Demonic Beast, they wouldn’t be in any danger.

But the result was this. The Magical Girl had been rendered powerless, and the Demonic Beast was still on the loose. This was the worst situation imaginable.

One would think that this dying Magical Girl would be better off dead…, but that was definitely a line that one should not cross as a person.

Before coming here, they had checked the skills just in case, but the side effects were beyond their understanding. There was a high possibility that they wouldn’t be able to move properly when being confronted by a Demonic Beast, so it would be best to avoid using them at all if possible.

“The government told me to be prepared for self-defense even on my days off, but this time I only brought one short sword, you know? That was the only thing I could hide in my skirt.”

“I’ve only got two vials of poison that will work on Demonic Beasts. But now that I don’t have my poison skill, it may be a little less effective. This is the type of poison that depends on the ability.”

Ran then let out a sigh.

Although they both had received licenses from the government for possession of hazardous materials, there was no way they would go to an Amusement Park fully armed. For that reason, they brought only the minimum amount of weapons that would not arouse suspicion.

That backfired, but the thought that they would be involved in such a situation didn’t even cross their mind. There was no one to blame for the lack of preparation.

Although feeling bad for the injured Magical Girl who was lying nearby, as long as they appeared on the battlefield, they were responsible for their own lives and deaths. Even if the two Rikka abandoned her on this spot, they would not be held culpable. Well, the world would criticize them.

“But if the Demonic Beast isn’t here, does that mean there are other children involved after all? Otherwise, it would have come to us long ago.”

“It’s a matter of responsibility, isn’t it? I am scared… Ah, I have no choice but to go.”

Saying this, Ran stared at the road where a trace of blood trailed. Perhaps there was a Demonic Beast ahead.

–I’d be lying if I said I am not scared. It was the first time she was forced into such an unfavorable battle since she’d started her career as a Magical Girl. But there was a reason why they could not retreat.

Because they were Magical Girls of Rikka.

However, they did not wish to become Rikka, nor did they wish to be chosen. Despite this, the fact that they were desired and chosen by the majority supported their pride. This remained true even now that they were unable to use their powers.

“Even if we can’t use our full strength, we are still [Rikka]. As representatives of Magical Girls, we have to do what we have to do.”

“Well, this is our job too. –Then, let’s hurry up.”

And so the two began running toward the south gate.

–The actors are gradually coming together.