Kore wa Zombie desu ka?:Volume 1 Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Nyaa

Today I ended up going bowling with Orito. Maybe because of the rain yesterday, today’s weather was nice and cloudy, so I could go out during the day.

Oh right, after that incident yesterday Sera (of course) had to take a trip to the convenience store to buy some bento. And while we waited, Haruna whined incessantly about being hungry.

I met Orito in front of the station, and we went for a meal first. We headed for a fast-food shop near the station. The name of the shop was “Masked Nald.”

Sound like something you’ve heard before? You’re probably thinking of something different. This Masked Nald was managed by masked wrestlers, and was the only restaurant of its kind in the world.

“Welcome hello!!”

A masked wrestler was standing at the register.

We ordered the normal Masked Burger Set. Orito also ordered a Masked Shake (Mascaras Vanilla) and a Masked Nugget (Beast God Thunder Sauce). I was fine with just the set, so I didn’t say anything else. And then…

“Would you like a mask with your order?”

He said that to me with a pushy look, but I immediately responded with “I’m fine.” The set cost 536 yen (including tax), and if you added 1980 yen on top of that you could get a mask with the meal. There’s no reason I would need such a random, nonsensical service.

“Really? You really don’t want one?”

What a pushy shopkeeper. In that hot mask, his face closed in on mine, and he opened his eyes wide like a begging Chihuahua.

I gave a single sigh, and reluctantly bought the mask with my meal.

It was an absolutely ridiculous purchase, but those eyes were just too scary. I would much rather have been glared at. To think he would come at me with those teary eyes…

So, we finished eating lunch and carried ourselves to the bowling alley that we had been planning to go to. Orito held the Masked Shake (Mascaras Vanilla) that he hadn’t finished in his hand, and I held the mask I had bought in mine.

After finishing the registration, we borrowed shoes and chose the balls that suited each of us, beginning our various preparations. Lately, various things had been piling up in my life and the stress was building up. So let’s relax and let it all out here.

“Hey, Aikawa, look next to us. Those are some really cute girls, aren’t they?”

Orito was all smiles about it, so I took a glance in the direction he was looking at.

And then I quickly looked away.

“Come on!!”

Crack!

I heard a sound behind me. It was a voice I knew, along with the satisfying sound of pins falling.

“Alright! As I thought, I’m a genius. A genius bishoujo demon baroness!”

The lively girl with a swishing ahoge returned to her seat. Over there was also a girl with jade-colored eyes and an armored girl with no expression.

Yes… them.

Haruna was wearing my shirt and jeans as usual. Yuu was wearing her plate armor and gauntlets in spite of the terrible heat. Sera was in a denim skirt and a shirt with some logo on it. She was also donning accessories here and there. She really seemed like a modern girl.

Why was Haruna here? No, rather, why was Yuu here? To think that she would come to bowl… did Sera invite her?

“Oh? What’s wrong, Aikawa? You look pale.”

Well, my face gets pale sometimes. After all, I’m dead, remember? Well no, that’s not it. I just would be really bothered if it was found out that I knew the bishoujo squad over there.

Calm down. Should I count the prime numbers? One prime number, two prime numbers… was there some way I could prevent myself from getting noticed by them? Once it was my turn to bowl, I have a feeling I would get exposed in an instant.

My zombie mind was going at full speed. Then, I noticed that I was still holding the 1980 yen mask.

That was it! Without a moment’s delay, I put on the mask, and stroked down my chest in relief. With this, I was no longer “Aikawa Ayumu” but rather had become “Masked Ayumu”! Having become this Masked Ayumu, my hentai levels had tripled!

Not worried any longer that I would get exposed, I watched the three girls with Orito.

They had all bowled three frames, and Haruna had bowled strikes every time. Actually, everyone had perfect marks. They all had the same scores lined up neatly on the screen.

“Uwah, that’s an amazing score… are they pros? Those girls.”

Would pros really be practicing at a place like this? They were just not human, that’s all. Just a “masou shoujo who couldn’t transform into a masou shoujo,” just a “blood-seeking ninja,” and just a “mysterious necromancer.”

After Haruna, it was Sera’s turn. She stood straight up and picked up a ball.

“Hey Aikawa! Look at that girl, she really has style…”

Orito fixed his gaze on Sera’s hourglass figure. When I first had met Sera, I too was fascinated by her figure.

“Here I go. Hiken, Tsubame Gaeshi!”

With a beautiful form that almost stole my heart away, Sera released the ball straight and it struck the foremost pin, continuing forwards. Before long, the pins had all fallen. Alright, let me just say something here.

… That had nothing to do with Tsubame Gaeshi.

Sera turned back, and without the smallest sign of happiness returned to her seat. It was almost as if her getting a strike was the most obvious thing in the world.

And then it was Yuu’s turn. Yuu slowly swayed from side to side as she got up, and walked… no, it looked more like she was being drawn by some strong force and put her feet out to keep her balance. In that manner, Yuu tottered her way to the ball. Maybe because of her gauntlets, Yuu did not insert her fingers into the bowling ball holes, but instead held the ball with both hands. She tap tap taped her way forwards on tiptoe, and let go of the ball.

Thud! Roll roll roll roll roll roll roll….

The ball sloooowly rolled forwards. It tottered left and right, and struck the space in between the foremost pin and pin three. And then with a slow clackety clack, the pins fell. Before long, all the pins had fallen.

What was surprising was that Yuu then took up a small victory pose. Nobody here probably noticed it, but that was definitely a victory pose. Trust me.

Relieving Yuu, Haruna flew out, and the minute the pins were set…

“Come on!!”

She threw it hard. The ball almost bounced as it easily knocked over all the pins. This was probably how the whole game had been going.

After everyone over there had finished throwing their strikes, we also began to play.

“Alright, Aikawa! We’re not going to lose to them!”

No way. They’re not normal humans, you know.

If I put too much strength into the throw, I might wreck the bowling alley, so I threw the ball softly.

The ball rolled forwards with considerable speed, and struck the pins with good force. But, one pin was left standing.

“Dammit.”

I glared at the one remaining pin. I definitely wouldn’t forgive it. I would show it who the boss was. The ball came out of the ball return and I promptly threw it again.

At my full power throw, the pin was knocked squarely away. It made an unpleasant Clang! sound, but I didn’t pay it any heed. It was a spare.

I took up a guts pose and returned to my seat. Orito welcomed me back with applause.

“That was terrible. Saying that you lack concentration would be an understatement.”

Orito wasn’t the one who had said that. The voice came from behind me.

When I turned around, I saw Haruna with a triumphant smile looking down at me.

“H-Hello…”

At the bishoujo who had suddenly spoken to us, Orito bewilderedly spoke back.

Haruna stared fixedly at Orito’s face like a cat that had spotted something moving, and thought for a bit while her ahoge jumped back and forth.

“Umm… was it… Kakouton Genjou-san…?”

What the hell?! That’s some random historical figure! But I didn’t say anything, and without looking in her direction softly corrected her. “It’s Orito.”

“O… Oberstein?”

“Stop it with the Dry Ice Sword mania. Also, who exactly are you?”

“Huh? What are you saying? Also, why the hell are you wearing that?”

I don’t want to make it seem like I know you group of superhumans over there. If it got out that I was living with you, terrible rumors would start circulating at school.

“Haruna. It’s your turn.”

Sera called out to Haruna. Nice. As I expected, Sera knows what’s going on.

Puzzled for a second, Haruna furrowed her brow and cocked her head to the side, but she soon leapt away with a smile. Phew. Thank you, ninja vampire-sama.

“She’s cute, but she’s pretty weird, isn’t she?”

Orito laughed happily next to me as he watched Haruna. Hey Orito, you were able to figure that out pretty quick. I’m really impressed.

“By the way, Ayumu. Why are you wearing that?”

Sera, I had thought that you understood the situation…

“Ha ha ha. I am not Aikawa Ayumu. I am Masked Ayumu!”

“… I see. Three times as disgusting as usual.”

Gwah!

And like that, my spirit was crushed. She didn’t say a single word after that, so the effect was doubled.

“Aikawa, did you know that girl?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I know someone as pretty as that?”

“I guess. Uh, but… she called you by name, didn’t she?”

“Must have been your imagination. Ha ha ha.”

This was useless, wasn’t it? But Orito responded with a “Yeah, it must have been,” and began to laugh with me… I’m glad he’s such an idiot.

After finishing a game, I took a bathroom break, and when I came out of the bathroom Sera was waiting for me. She had her arms crossed and a quiet expression on her face. It seemed that she wanted to talk to me alone.

“What’s wrong? Did you want something?”

“… Ayumu, it’s about Hellscythe-dono, but…”

“Ahh, that was my bad. Do we still have to bring that up?”

I didn’t want to think about that right now. I responded to her somewhat lightheartedly.

“… Hellscythe-dono was quite saddened by what had happened. At that time, you had no faith in Hellscythe-dono… she said something like that. Why is that?”

“I gave my reasons already, didn’t I? It’s because there wasn’t enough information for me to believe her.”

“So, was there enough information for you to doubt her? Was the other information you had obtained reliable?”

“I also wanted some believable information in order to verify that.”

“The one saved cannot trust the one who saved him. I can’t understand that.”

“I know she’s a good person. So, I want to believe her. But… honestly, I have my doubts. Because she couldn’t tell me anything. Communication is the key to getting your thoughts across, right?”

I was probably making a very disagreeable face, and Sera’s beautiful hand slapped me across the cheek.

“To her, words are a serious matter. You should know at least that much, shouldn’t you?!”

“I don’t know anything.”

After I harshly spat out that response, Sera frowned, seeming confused.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I also have no idea what you’re being so serious about.”

“You really don’t know why she doesn’t speak, and why she has to make sure she kills all her emotions?”

… There was a reason? I thought it was just a preference.

“I don’t know anything, so it’s hard for me to think of her as trustworthy. If you know something, please tell me.”

“… It is not something for me to tell. But, please just remember one thing. That in this world, there is no-one kinder than Eucliwood Hellscythe.”

Sera turned her back on me, and quickly began to walk away.

You’re honestly going to leave after we’ve come this far in this conversation? Leaving me with all these hazy feelings…

And like that, our fun bowling trip came to an end. The score was: Orito 113, me 170. Well, I was stronger, so it was easier for me to hit strikes than for normal people like Orito.

Ah, also, next to us, the girls had scored four perfect games in a row. Of course, each and every one of them had. And what’s more, they were all pretty girls. So of course they drew a lot of attention. So it was fine for a ninja to stand out like this?

Also, how did they know it was me even under this mask? There was no longer any point, so I threw off the mask. If we were in a wrestling ring, this would have probably made for a pretty dramatic scene.

“Ahh, I lost. Aikawa, do you have anything you want?”

The prize was a volume of manga, was it…? Well, I don’t really have much I want right now. So I refused his offer, telling him that it was enough to have had fun like this. We returned our shoes, and paying our bill, left the bowling alley.

Geez… I was all ready to go straight home, but I passed by three people who were clearly delinquents, smiling and on the prowl for cute girls, and that made me feel incredibly uneasy.

Why, you ask?

The reason was simple. Because today, there were indeed cute girls here. And judging from the situation, they might decide to go and hit on those three girls.

Was I jealous? No no.

Was I worried? Correct.

I was worried for those three shady-looking guys who had just gone into the bowling alley. Sera and Haruna… no, Yuu was the most dangerous of the three. Seriously, just try hitting on them.

In the worst case scenario, the bowling alley may very well become no more.

Haruna’s high kick was at the level of a PRIDE contestant, you know?

Sera’s sword could easily cleave a man into two, you know?

Yuu had enough power to bring people back to life, you know?

Don’t do it! You delinquents! Don’t go in there! That is something you cannot do!

As my mind screamed out, I chased after them.

“Aikawa!”

Seeing me suddenly turn heel and run, Orito yelled out after me with a confused expression, but I responded with “I’ll be back soon!” without even bothering to turn around.

Please make it in time! I sped up. Where are they?! Where are those guys right now?!

I ran around the bowling alley. But, perhaps because there was no school today, the bowling alley was filled with people. Unfortunately, I had lost sight of the delinquents. I really hope they hadn’t found the girls…

I swept the bowling alley from one end to the other, and finally returned to Orito who was waiting for me at the entrance. In the end, I couldn’t find them.

“Where were you going?”

“Ahh, just the bathroom.”

“Ha ha ha.” As I laughed dryly, I felt a strong attack come at me from the back that stopped my laugh cold.

“Ayumu! Buy me clothes!”

Haruna had suddenly hugged me from behind.

She seemed to be in a great mood after having bowled a perfect game. She dangled from my body heavily for a bit, and then made a quick landing. I noticed that the other two girls were also there.

“So you really did know these girls? Introduce me.”

Fiddling with his trademark pointy hair, Orito laughed. But the laugh didn’t reach his eyes. I knew that laugh. He was upset that I knew bishoujo like these. Well, there’s nothing that can be done about it anymore. Resigned, I began to explain the situation to him. As we left the bowling alley and headed for the department store, I carefully explained the situation to him.

As we left the bowling alley, we saw that an ambulance had arrived.

“Over here! Hurry! Those three aren’t breathing! Quick!”

The bewildered-looking bowling alley employees directed the paramedics.

Ahh… as I thought.

Just in case, I asked Sera “You didn’t kill them, right?” to which she responded “Of course. Vampire ninjas do not kill humans. Haruna just kicked them down.” Ahh, good good.

All’s well that ends well. You delinquents… you really got off easy with just having to deal with Haruna’s PRIDE-level high kick.

But… well… for some reason… it’s just… well, this was just a small feeling, but…

Just a small part of me wished that something much more terrible would have happened to them.

***

They're from overseas. That's all I could come up with.

Where they were from, why did they come here, I couldn't make it out. Even if I revealed their true nature I doubt it was going to help. Let's say I'm Orito and I'm being told "The one starting from the right this one is a Necromancer, the other one a Masou Shoujo and the last one is a Vampire Ninja." He wpuld probably reply with a "Huh?" if I ever introduced them this way. So I left out the specifics.

Obviously, I will never ever mention "The three of them are living with me."

--That was supposed to be the case.

"Where are your lodgings?"

"At Ayumu's house."

Haruna answered Orito's question without hesitation. I didn't have the time to shout "WAH!" out loud, cover her mouth or to change the topic.

"Aikawa, why were you keeping it a secret from me? Didn't you say you prefered to be alone?"

The glint in his glasses looked scary. I felt sorry.

"Well, it was so sudden, so I was busy all this time. I just met this dignified and that little one as well."

"How do I make it, I'm dissapointed...I never thought you would be keeping a secret from me."

Orito looked intently at me. Though I understand his feelings, but he'll probably be dragged into our problems. This is a world at war.

"Sorry..."

"You should have told me. Well disregard that, did you guys do it? You know, H (ecchi) stuff..."

Orito slyly said. If I answer "Yeah I did it" now there would be interesting reactions, but with misunderstandings, I'll probably become Sera and Haruna's sandbag. Not sandbag as in a punching bag, but into the shape of sand.

"If I really did something like that I wouldn't be in one piece now."

Sera and Haruna responded to my sentence by nodding their heads. Orito felt at ease after seeing their reactions, and with a revolting look on his face, he joined me to help Haruna select her clothes.

Haruna's in front, next up is Orito and me. At the rear was Sera and Yuu as we going towards the boutique.

"Ah! That's really cute! Look, Ayumu!"

I had a feeling of deja vu from her exclamations.

Once in a while I would turn behind and notice Sera holding fashion items, contemplating. Chance. Yuu's staring at blank space. Is there a ghost?

"Sera, is there anything you want? I'll pay."

"Can I?" Sera's eye shifted away, looking confused.

"Of course? Learn a thing or two from that person."

I pointed my thumb at Haruna. Her ahoge jumped up and down as usual.

"But, someone like me..."

"It's okay it's okay."

"But, I'm a servant..."

"Oh you. Right, here's an order. Do whatever you like. A servant would follow orders, right?"

I shrugged my shoulders at the stubborn Sera. If I didn't do this she wouldn't have accepted the present.

"This order, it's so low. But--"

She turned and look at the accessories. And without turning, I heard a tiny, really tiny "Thank you".

Sera's simple words made my heart beat faster, as though trying to burst out of my chest. It was like something pierced me. That instant, her smile is captured in my eyes like a photograph. (me: He hnnnnnggggg'd.)

Words like that can even turn into blades.

My line of sight floated away, and met with Yuu's. She's the opposite of me, with a poker face.

Then, the uneasiness in my mind surfaced.

>"To that great someone, how important speaking is. You don't understand!"

Sera's angry words echoed in my mind, unable to leave.

Dammit! I grabbed Yuu by the hand and brought her out.

"Oi, Aikawa! Where are you going?"

I ignored Orito and made my way to the lift.

"Excuse me, but this shirt, does it suit me? Haruna, there are some cute clothes over here too."

Sera approached Haruna and Orito, and then secretly looked at me. Her eyes were like a mom watching her kid's first purchase.

She's making a chance for Yuu and me.

--What a great help.

I took Yuu's hand and pressed the buttons in the lift without speaking. Yuu kept looking at me, while me who was hoping for a quiet place to talk kept staring at the buttons.

The roof is just ahead. With only vending machines and benches for resting, that place is a perfect place for a zombie. The setting sun, dark and looming clouds, were like a reflection of my current state of mind.

I sat down on a shelterless bench and watched the starless, filthy sky.

Yuu, like me, glimpse at the sky. How's the view, is this romantic, such words never came out of my mouth. Putting both arms behind my back, I felt a sense of exhaustion. For two, three seconds not a word was spoken.

I suddenly turned towards Yuu.

"Tell me, Yuu, why did you kill your emotions?"

I put on a serious look, but Yuu's face was as usual. After staring at each other for a while, she pulled out a notepad from her pocket in her skirt.

Must I?

"Yes, definitely."

This time, Yuu sighed. I don't have any idea what she's feeling now. Does she feel troubled or does she not want to explain? Either way, I will impose it on her. I have the right to know. If I don't have then issue me the right immediately.

Again she opened another page of her notepad, it was filled with words.

the thread of one's fate wriggles slowly forward if they cross each other an encounter is born a huge magical presence would produce huge effect that wobbling is enormous and violent that's why a person with huge magical power must learn to control wavering unstable the change in one's mind would cause magical power to go wild that's why I'm not allowed to show emotions

That was more profound that I imagined. That means... What does it mean?

"Uh... That. If you laugh or cry, you alter other's fate?"

Yuu nodded her head. At this moment I remembered the time when I first met her. That time, she said:

>It's interesting.

>So don't do it again.

In other words, because it can affect her emotions that's why she didn't want me to do it again?

I don't speak because my words hold power those who hear my words will follow its content and become that way that is why I'm not allowed to make any sound

"Those who heard your words would become that way...?"

She held the notebook towards my shocked face, and the ballpoint pen started moving again.

If I say it's cold You will feel cold even if you're in a fire

"That's way too powerful!"

Yes my words are too heavy whenever I don't know whatever reality it will become that's why I'm not allow to speak

"No, isn't that weird? What about 'ahh-', 'uuu-' or 'nyaa-', does it matter if you make such noises?"

I can't, when words become reality I'll have a severe headache that I dislike

To release such great power, you will need to suffer the same backlash? That kind of pain that correspond to such strong power must be unimaginable.

"Are you being hunted because of this power?"

There are other reasons

There are more.

My hands have the ability to heal, blood grants immortality, my heart can release huge amount of magical power

My thoughts became messier. Instead of comforting me, her explanation had the opposite effect.

"That... You can't remove your plate and armor because they are helping to seal your powers?"

Correct

She clapped her hands, which had gauntlets on.

"Do you have the ability to level mountains, stop time or invincibility?"

I only possess those abilities, other powers are not tied to my will, even if I'm dead my powers are still intact, that's why they wanted to kill me and steal my powers

"If I kill you and wring your body, would I get wine that makes me immortal?" I joked.

Yes

Kacha kacha, a sound came out of her gauntlets. I did not expect that to be the truth -- May be she's the one who made those Vampire Ninjas.

"Who are those hunting you? Vampire Ninjas? Megalos?"

I don't know Vampire Ninjas Megalo Masou Shoujo. There are times where I was almost killed by them

Fu. I sighed whilst walking to the vending machine. Got two cans of Cola and gave one to Yuu. However, she left it on the bench and did not drink it.

"Any other stuff you're hiding from me?"

I told you everything do you dislik-

Her writing stopped. Plop, plop, something drip onto the notepad.

Do you dislike me? These words were messy.

I cannot understand how that came to be.

"Did I say I dislike Yuu?"

She shoke her head violently. Those big eyes were filled with tears.

Everytime there's a change in my emotions those nearest to me would have their fate altered

I see, the Yuu with the poker face, the Yuu that does not show any emotions, has been crying later, gripped by a myriad of emotions. To that end, Megalo, Vampire Ninjas, Masou Shoujo kept coming after us, all at once.

That's nothing. Do you think I'll dislike you for that?

A monster by your side if you realize it you won't dislike it?

Yuu's beautiful doll-like face turned into one of despair, her eyebrows tightly knitted together.

"Monster? Is there such a thing here? I only see a cute gentle girl after hearing you out."

Can I stay with you?

"Ahhh, do as you like..."

For some reason my awkward words made me angry.

"Ha~" I spat out all the stored air in my lungs.

Do as you like? What the hell am I saying? My current emotions should not be expressed this way. I'm going to do it properly.

"Yuu, you can laugh whenever you want. Fate and whatnot... I'll deal with it when the time comes. -- So please stay by my side."

Her tears kept coming, all I could do now was to caress her silver hair to comfort her.

Until her tears dry up, I'm going to stop caressing her silvery long hair.

Next up, I'll be facing with more troublesome stuff according to Yuu.

Come at me. Whether it was the great King of Terror or a nuclear warhead, I would face whatever came.

It was a cheap price to pay to be with Yuu.

***

The girls bought a plentiful amount of shoes and whatever, and of course I had to hold them as we returned home. Being surrounded by bishoujo, Orito seemed quite pleased. On parting, he made clear to me that I definitely had to bring the girls the next time we went bowling.

“Hah… I’m beat! This world isn’t bad, is it?! It’s not just something I would throw away!”

As soon as she got back home, Haruna plucked the things I was holding away from me and leapt up the stairs.

She was probably going to start a little personal fashion show in her room.

“Wait, Haruna! Put these on! Naked if you could… no, with a maid outfit!”

As I chased Haruna up the stairs, I took out a nekomimi hair band. Of course, I had mittens shaped like paws too~~!

“You hentai! You Erobone Vanguard!”

“Wha, This isn’t Cosmo Babylonia or somethi-“

Cutting me off, she quickly moved behind me and with a reverse frankensteiner , sent my head flying into the floor of the entranceway. She would have definitely looked cute in nekomimi though…

“Don’t be so rowdy please! It’s a bother.”

As if she had her feelings hurt by Sera’s words, Haruna violently ascended the stairs. I headed for the living room with Yuu to wipe off the blood that was flowing from my nose. Gotta get a tissue.

“…”

Alone, Sera gazed fixedly at the mirror that was decorating the entranceway. I secretly watched her to figure out what she was doing, when surprisingly, she picked up the nekomimi hair band and put it on.

“…………. Nyaa.”

She faced the mirror and took up a pose. Then, perhaps getting embarrassed, she quickly took the hair band off and threw it away from her.

What a charming thing to see. I had bought it to see if I could get Haruna to wear it, but I was fully satisfied with just this. I began to call out to Sera, but then decided that it was probably better if I pretended I never saw that.

Well, she let me see something nice, so maybe we’ll have pizza tonight…

***

“Hooray!!”

Seeming more excited than I would have expected her to be, Haruna jumped her ahoge back and forth.

Seafood and fried shrimp pizza filled the table from end to end. There was another extra serving of the same thing next to where I was sitting. But we still might not have had enough. Haruna and Yuu both ate absurd amounts of food.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had alfredo ganahson L. Itadakimaasu~.”

Haruna gazed at the shrimp-and-mayonnaise pizza with a sparkle in her eyes. She quickly grabbed a slice, and brought it to her mouth. Also, al… what? Huh? Gana… what? What was that?

“Hm?”

Having stuffed her cheeks with a bite of the pizza, Haruna cocked her head to the side as her ahoge bounced back and forth.

“This isn’t alfredo ganahson L at all!”

Her eyes widened and she stood up. She seemed strangely excited.

“What exactly is that al- whatever you thought it was?”

“Eh? Thinly spread out alfredo with a generous helping of ganahson on top, and a sprinkling of melted L… ah! Is that not something you eat in this world?”

Sounded like a recipe or something.

“I don’t think we do.”

“I see… that’s right. There’s no reason such a crap world like this would have things like alfredo or ganahson.”

Suddenly disheartened, Haruna sunk back into her seat. She then bit into the shrimp-and-mayonnaise pizza that she still held in her hand.

“Ah, but this is good. So this will do.”

Oh, is it good?! Is it alright for you?!

Strength seemed to return to Haruna’s drooping ahoge, and one by one she ate through pieces of pizza. A smile appeared on her face. Yuu was eating with her usual complete lack of expression. And now look, the pizza disappeared in an instant, didn’t it? Was it sucked up? Looking at their small mouths chewing and chewing, I knew exactly where the pizza had disappeared to.

“Ayumu… when you ordered me to indulge myself, is that order still in effect?”

The only person who had not touched the pizza softly called out to me. I could see a bit of bewilderment under her usually piercing expression, so I asked her what was wrong.

“I’ve never had anything other than traditional Japanese fare. It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but… I’m a bit frightened by food like this. Won’t you make me some miso soup?”

Returning back to her usual, tidy expression, Sera spoke just as tidily. I just had one question here.

Never had anything other than traditional Japanese fare? Are you telling me that the cooking you made for me before, that invincible cooking on which neither seasoning nor tableware had any effect… that was traditional Japanese fare?

“Just try a bit. It’s really good, you know. It’s not like it’s poisoned or anything.”

I passed a piece of pizza to Sera. She stared at it with a grimace, but perhaps she seemed to come to a decision…

“A vampire ninja should fight without fear no matter what type of enemy appears.”

Persuading herself, she shut her eyes tight and resolutely took a bite. She opened her eyes and took another. She cocked her head to a side and took another, and began to eat.

“This is quite incredible. To think that it would be this…”

She really seemed pleased. At this rate, the pizza would be gone in the blink of an eye. As I thought, it didn’t seem like we would have enough.

A lively meal. A mealtime that really made me feel happy. I can say it without any embarrassment now… I really enjoyed being with these people.

“Ahh~, Pizza’s really quite something. Ayumu, let me use your cell phone.”

Haruna rolled around, sprawled on the floor, and held out her hand to me.

“Here you go.”

I handed her my cell phone, and she dialed out. It was a regular report back to her world.

Riiiinnngg…. Riiinnnnng…. Riinnnnng.

“Ah, is this Dai-sensei? Eh? Ah, I see. Well, please tell her that refrain-year, rising-class attendance number 634526379 Haruna-chan called.”

How many people were in her class?!

I wanted to say that, but it’s not like I could do that when Haruna looked so down. Well, it’s not like I would say it even if things were normal.

“Was she… not there?”

“They told me that she left for another world to gather research materials.”

She threw herself heavily onto the table and shut her eyes. Hey, are you going to sleep there or something?

“Haah… I can’t find any artifacts, I can’t become a masou shoujo, and I can’t call Dai-sensei… this is the wooorst.”

All the energy she had before seemed to have drained out of her. Her mood was seriously more fickle than the weather on top of a mountain.

“By the way, Haruna. What’s an artifact? I’ll also help look for them.”

“Hmph. Someone like you wouldn’t be able to find them.”

“But, it’s still better than just looking for them alone, right? What’s the name of the artifact?”

Haruna had been frowning, but she suddenly put on a sincere, shoujo-like expression.

“Hmm, I guess that’s true. Yes, that’s certainly true, I think. Umm… the name was… Kyoudou… umm. Kyoufu… yes. The name was Kyoufu.”

Kyoufu? What was up with that terrifying name? I mean, could terror actually have a solid form?

As she said, it really probably wasn’t something I would be able to find.

“Is that something that has a physical form?”

“Of course! It’s like this, square and soft.”

She gestured with her hands, but I still didn’t understand. It didn’t seem to be something that was very big. Did Sera know what she was talking about? I asked, but Sera shook her head from side to side. What about Yuu? … Ah, she’s ignoring me.

“Well, if I happen to see something like that, I’ll tell you.”

“I’m not holding my breath.”

Haruna once again collapsed onto the table.

Ding Dong!

The doorbell rang, and with an “I’m coming!” I stood up. When I opened the door, I saw a man standing there, wearing a trench coat and a hat in spite of this stifling heat.

“Hello, my name is Kerberos Wansard.”

He took off his hat, and underneath was the head of a black dog. It seemed like the head of a Doberman, with a long nose and very little fur.

Could it be that he was here because Yuu had let out emotions? And had changed my fate?

“What do you want?”

“I am the guardsman of the underworld… ah, and don’t say ‘oh, how can you be a guardsman if you’re a dog?’ I guess you could call me a guardsdog or something… right?”

Even if you say “right?” I’m not going to bite. Just get on with it.

“Although, even though I call myself a guardsman my role is somewhat the opposite… I let anyone in who comes, but don’t let anyone out. Of course, it’s because it’s the underworld… yes. You came to the underworld once but then you returned back here, right? So I thought I would come over here and devour you.”

“In other words, you came here to return me to the underworld?”

“Ah, so you understand? I’m thankful that you understood so quickly. Well then…”

He ripped into my shoulder. Kerberos… no, I’m just going to call this thing “dog.” The dog bit right through my shoulder. He tore through my shoulder as easily as if he was eating a piece of bread. I kicked the dog with 310% power, and ran back into the house.

Because of the gaping wide hole in my shoulder, I couldn’t move my arm. Putting pressure on my tattered shoulders as my arms swang side to side, I ran towards the living room.

Yuu had the power of healing. It would take time for a wound this terrible to heal on its own. So I would ask her to heal it.

“Yuu! Sorry. This is a bit a sudden, but heal me!”

When I told that to the necromancer who was watching television in the living room, she didn’t even look my way and pulled in her chin. I sat next to Yuu, and showed her my wound.

Yuu took off the gauntlet she was wearing on her left hand, and touched her pale, snow-like hand to my chest. Just with that, the blood stopped flowing from my shoulder, and it was healed.

Ooohh, so that’s the power of healing… amazing. She didn’t even have to touch the wound.

“You’re being quite stubborn, Aikawa-san. Please just die. Right away-“

The dog stepped foot into the living room. Sera watched the dog carefully with her crimson eyes, and Haruna bounced up from her collapsed position on the table. With an expression of shock…

“The dog talked!”

What? The Megalo also talked, didn’t they? Like that crustacean thing.

“Oh? I was just thinking that it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, and you’ve been here? Hellscythe-sama… ah, I see. This was your doing, wasn’t it? It must have been. There’s no reason a normal human would be able to escape from the underworld, yes. Come on, tell me.”

For some reason, the dog sat down, and we all sat around the table. Oh? Was the battle already over?

As everyone sat around the table with puzzled expressions, Yuu picked up the ballpoint pen that had been thrown by the table and wrote something on her memo pad.

Tap tap.

I forgot. = “Teehee. Yuu forgot! Sorryyy.”

“Well, I guess this was a wasted trip, then. How bothersome. You really should have told us before you called his soul back to him. If I knew this was your doing, I wouldn’t have come in the first place…”

The dog shook his head in a resigned manner. I had no idea what was going on… for now, there was one thing I had to figure out.

“So, you’re not going to fight with me anymore?”

At my question, the dog put on a strangely refreshed expression.

“I won’t. This is something Hellscythe-sama did, right? She can do anything she wants. Even the kings of the underworld kneel before Hellscythe-sama. It’s just… hmm… how do I put it… she’s quite amazing.”

“Yuu’s that amazing?” I muttered, and the dog continued to speak.

“Yes. ‘The Center of Everything,’ the kings of the underworld call her.”

The Center of Everything, huh? It was clear that Yuu was an incredibly important person, but it’s not like that mattered to me… it did really weigh on my mind though.

“But more importantly, this has been bothering me, yes. The wound on your shoulder from before was pretty serious, yes? Could it be… well, I’m sorry if this is false, but could it be that you made Hellscythe-sama use her abilities?”

I heard a tap tap.

It’s alright. The pain is bearable.

Pain… ah, I had completely forgotten. In exchange for using her abilities, she had to suffer through pain. A headache, I think…

The dog sighed with an “I knew it,” and punched me across the face.

What the hell… before I could object, the dog began to speak. He seemed to understand what I had wanted to say by my expression.

“Hellscythe-sama holds in her hands the power to heal things. It is the power to fix a target object wherever she wants it to be healed by just touching it.”

“Hmmm, that’s amazing beyond my expectations. She can fix anything?”

Quite out of character, Haruna seemed interested.

“But, in return, she must bear the pain that she heals.”

“So you mean, just now, Yuu took on the pain of getting her shoulder torn apart?”

“Precisely. Because of you, Hellscythe-sama is feeling pain, you know? I know how much pain Hellscythe-sama has come to feel through the use of her abilities. That is why I punched you.”

“Yuu, I’m sorry. You really should have told me that you would go through this.”

I don’t mind. = “It’s fine! It was for my oniichan, after all!”

At that one word, the dog’s round eyes became even rounder, and he lightly opened his mouth while gazing at Yuu.

“Is that… right? Ah, I really must be returning home soon. I apologize for the inconvenience this time… ah, there are some humans being killed near here, so maybe I’ll take their souls with me and leave.”

“Wait just a second! I can’t just overlook what you said about people being killed near here!”

“Why is that? It’s a murder that has nothing to do with all of you, though? Could it be you want to help the humans? Could it be…?”

It wasn’t just that I wanted to help them.

There were people being killed near here? The one who was trying to kill them was probably…

The one who had killed me!

***

I flew through the nighttime city with the dog. This was a very personal matter, so the other three hadn’t come with me.

Nighttime sure is great. I could use my full strength. Underneath the sun, I very well might lose in a fight to an elementary school student.

“It’s nearby… yes. It seems there is still someone alive in there though.”

The dog descended in front of what seemed like an incredibly unremarkable house. He opened the second-floor window and we infiltrated the building.

“… It seems I was beaten. The soul is no longer here.”

“What do you mean? Did the person die?”

“I came here to collect the soul to send back to the underworld, but it seems that the soul has already disappeared. These types of things have been happening quite often lately… yes. Souls that don’t reach the underworld even after the person dies.”

“So, where do they go?”

“They were probably sacked.”

“Sacked?”

“Sacrificed. It’s an abbreviation. This is just hearsay, but people say that if you offer souls to this King of the Night person, you can receive an immense amount of magical energy. It’s been happening quite often lately… yes.”

We timidly exited the room, and descended the stairs. It still just looked like a normal house. Did a bizarre murder really take place here? It was so quiet that I had my doubts.

But, when we got down to the first floor, we saw all the blood.

“Aikawa-san, be on your guard.”

The dog had gone ahead of me, and wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his trench coat. This dog… he was sweating.

Well, I was sweating too. I could feel an intense pressure from whoever was ahead of us. The thumping of my heart sped up, and a chill ran down my spine.

That person was here. That terrifying person.

“Oohh, the magical energy is steadily going up… yes. To think that there would be someone in the human world with this much magical energy… I see! Quite!”

I had no idea what he was so impressed about. I wish I could sense magical energy too…

In the darkness, I spied a flash of light.

Bam. My body was pushed to the side, and in front of my eyes I saw the dog’s outstretched hands. Hey hey, I’m the one who can’t die here. Let me be the shield. You go stand off to the side.

“Why the hell are you protecting me?!”

“… If something happened to you, Hellscythe-sama would be sad, right?”

“I’m fine. I’m-“

“Hellscythe-sama really looked like she was happy… I won’t allow myself to snatch that away from her.”

At that moment, the dog looked almost human to me. He really seemed to care for Yuu.

“Please hurry up and run away! With your level of magical energy, this is out of the question! This person, this world…”

That large body tumbled backwards and collapsed onto mine. In the darkness, new blood fell to the floor.

I couldn’t move. I wanted to get out in front of the dog as soon as possible to pay my respects to this person, but I couldn’t move at all.

All I could see was the blade of a sword.

With a single stroke, my body was cut in half from the chest down. The dog in front of me also suffered the same fate.

My body still couldn’t move.

Move, move dammit, move. My mind was spinning as usual. There was nothing to be afraid about this time around. But even so, my body couldn’t move. Just like that time when I had been killed.

At the very least, I wanted to see this person’s face.

I needed just a bit more time, but my vision suddenly blurred. The dog had thrown the upper half of my body. With quite a bit of force, I crashed through the wall and exited the building.

Once I went outside, my body began to move again, as if it had all been a bad dream. I desperately crawled along the ground and went back into the house. I didn’t know what the dog had felt that caused him to force me away. But, I was in no mood to run away. I was just that helpful of a guy.

Inside, the dog was collapsed onto the floor. In that blood-splattered hallway, the dog’s body had been cut into two. No, cut into three. His head had been chopped off, although it was nowhere to be seen.

I attached the lower half of my body, and staggered into the house’s interior.

I saw a small, severed hand on the floor. A young boy? Or maybe a girl?

A large body was there also. It was probably that of the master of the house. I found a total of four bodies scattered about on the floor. Ah, I guess that would be five bodies, counting the dog’s. But, the one I was looking for was nowhere to be found.

“So, what exactly were you trying to tell me?”

Returning to the dog, I sat down in the sea of blood and looked down at his tragic remains.

”This person, this world…”

If only he had been able to add one more syllable, I probably would know what he meant. To this world? This world’s? In this world?

But now there was no response.

Like dandelion fluff, the dog’s body dissolved into small, white particles and flew away. It was the same as when a Megalo died…

You really did something unnecessary…

And… well… in the end, you really weren’t such a bad person.

Hm? It was the same as when a Megalo died…

What? The Megalo also talked, didn’t they? Like that crustacean thing.

I remembered my own thoughts from before. Then, underneath the dissolving trench coat, I saw the distinctive mark of the Megalo, that black schoolboy’s uniform.

The dog was… Kerberos Wansard was a Megalo.

He had said that he was a guardsman for the underworld. In other words, were Megalo entities that came from the world of the afterlife?

Why did a Megalo help a masou shoujo like myself? Why hadn’t Haruna made a move before when they were together in the same room?

Why did a Megalo know Yuu?

And finally… why was he a good person?

***

Brrr brrr.

On the way back home, my cell phone began to vibrate. When I took it out, I saw that it was from an unknown number. I thought it was going to be someone soliciting money or something, but I had time before I got home, so I decided to pick up.

“Hello?”

“Oh~? This isn’t Haruna, is it~?”

The voice that I heard from the other side of the line was the easygoing, cute voice of a girl.

“Haruna? Oh… could it be that this is Dai-sensei?”

There was only one person who could have had business with Haruna.

“Indeed~. And you are~?”

“I’m Aikawa Ayumu, the person who’s acting as a masou shoujo in Haruna’s place.”

“But, you aren’t a shoujo at all, are you~?”

I heard a chuckle from the other end. You’re absolutely right there.

“Trust me, I’ve been aware of how ridiculous it is for a while… no, from the very beginning. By the way, did you need Haruna for something? She’s not nearby right now, so would you like me to take a message?”

“Ahh~. Please do then~~. Could you tell her that she can stop looking for the kyoudoufu, and for her to please just concentrate on recovering her magical power~?”

“Kyoudoufu?”

“Yes. It was the errand I tasked Haruna with~~. It really seems she can’t find any no matter what, so if that’s the case, I guess she can stop looking~~.”

At her words, I stopped walking, completely dumbfounded. The thing she had been looking for was “kyoudoufu.” Square and soft kyoudoufu. Not kyoufu, but kyoudoufu. I really could see Haruna making that mistake. She seriously can’t even do a simple errand like that? … Pretty cute.

“Ah, in that case, shall I get some for you?”

I began to walk again and proposed that idea.

If I recall correctly, Kyouko-chan’s grandfather lived in Kyoto. Why do I remember that, you ask? Because a cute girl had told me, of course. Also, why exactly did she send Haruna to Tokyo in search for Kyoudoufu? Shouldn’t she have gone to Kyoto?

“Ah, if that’s possible, please do. I really do love kyoudoufu~~.”

“Ahh. But then, why did Haruna come to Tokyo? Shouldn’t she have gone to Kyoto?”

“Oh oh~? You aren’t in Kyoto~? I told her to go to Kyoto though~?”

… Could she seriously have confused Kyoto with Tokyo? To… kyoto…

“Ohh, that girl~… this is why she can’t keep up in school…”

I heard her sigh. I mean, even if you say that to me, it’s not like I can apologize for her.

“She says she’s a genius, though.”

I mumbled that while smiling. I had meant it as a joke, but…

“That’s certainly true. I’ll admit that she’s a genius~.”

Who the hell are we talking about?! … But you said she couldn’t keep up in school. She’s a genius?

“She’s a genius, so she can’t keep up in school~~.”

Dai-sensei spoke in a very laid-back tone.

“That girl is hiding quite a large amount of talent. She understands things very quickly, and can then put them into practice. But but~, everything came too easily for her, and she stopped taking interest in anything. She just didn’t seem to care anymore~, and at some point she even stopped coming to school. Ah, kyoudoufu definitely goes well with ginger, doesn’t it?”

Afterwards, Dai-sensei continued to talk in her laid-back fashion. At some points, she diverted the conversation to tofu, but here’s a summary of what she said:

Even if you’re a genius, if you don’t learn anything you’ll still have a hard time.

So, she was left behind. She was confident that if she wanted to, she could catch up, but that pride had the opposite effect, and even now she didn’t care about learning the basics.

Her attitude annoyed the people around her, and nobody got close to Haruna. If she had just one friend, if she had just one rival, she might have been more motivated and ambitious.

But, that girl took the path of loneliness.

Because she was a genius, she couldn’t keep up in school.

And then, her attendance numbers were lacking, so at this rate she would be held back a grade.

So Dai-sensei suggested that she hunt for Megalo, so that she could earn school credit without attending class. And while she was journeying to our world as a masou shoujo, she should take the opportunity to bring back some tofu from Kyoto.

Haruna couldn’t remember the name, not because she was an idiot, but just because she didn’t see the point. She wasn’t interested in it, so she didn’t feel the need to remember it.

For example, Zarii and Kumacchi, Shironaga etc… she had just made up those names, and those Megalo had a different set of names. In reality, the bear was Maeshiba, the crayfish was Manabe, the whale was Maesowa, the anteater was Doki… they all had had unconventional last names like that, the reason being that it made them easy to tell apart… but honestly, I thought it had the exact opposite effect and made things harder to understand. Ah, oh right. The AA-rank and whatever that Haruna had mentioned seemed to match each time. So she probably was interested in that aspect at least.

“It’s just that, lately there have been some reaaaaaally surprising things happening.”

“Surprising things…?”

“Yeah. She managed to remember one person’s name, it seems. Even though she can’t even remember my name.”

Now that I think about it, I’ve called her nothing but Dai-sensei up until now.

“Exactly what kind of spell did you cast on her? Ayumu-san?”

As she chuckled, Dai-sensei called my name.

“I may know all kinds of magic, but I know of no magic that can open that girl’s heart. You must be quite an amazing magician~.”

For some reason, receiving the half-joking compliment from the great Dai-sensei made me blush, and I found myself at a loss for words. Looking for a way to change the subject, I tried asking the question that had popped up just a little while ago.

“What exactly are the Megalo? I thought they were the enemies of mankind, but-“

“Megalo are the enemies of masou shoujo~. If we leave even one alive, our world won’t have a future~.”

Haruna also had said a similar thing earlier. So that wasn’t just her personal opinion, but was something all masou shoujo thought?

“Earlier, a Megalo was present, but Haruna didn’t realize it, and the Megalo also didn’t go for her. Why was that?”

“That’s quite unusual~… this is just a guess, but could it be that the Megalo was there for some other reason~? Megalo have an ability to detect masou shoujo~. And then, we have the ability to backwards detect when they use their ability. So if that Megalo wasn’t aiming to attack masou shoujo, Haruna wouldn’t be able to detect it… that’s quite plausible, yes~? Haruna never learned how to detect magical energy, so it is quite possible that she didn’t realize it even though the Megalo was right in front of her~.”

She chuckled half-jokingly. I see. That “other reason” was probably that he had come to see me.

After that, we talked a while more about what masou shoujo did, and we ended the phone call when I arrived in front of my house. It seemed that she had told me everything she had wanted to tell Haruna. Haruna sure seemed to have a good teacher back in her world.

Well then, let’s also send an email to Kyouko-chan. “Give me tofu, please,” or something like that.

For some reason, when I went home, Sera’s face was pale. The beauty of her gloomy expression almost sent shivers down my spine… but was everything alright?

“I need blood… could you call Haruna over for me?”

Sera’s entreaty came out in a voice reminiscent of the buzzing of a mosquito. If you want to know, vampire ninjas needed to drink blood every now and then or they would die. But when they were well-supplied with blood, they were almost as hard to kill as I was.

“You can’t just use mine?”

“… That would be unpleasant.”

“I… see…”

Even in an emergency, you don’t want to drink a zombie’s blood?

For now, I ran up the stairs for Sera’s sake and headed for Haruna’s room. I knocked twice, and heard the heavy sounds of someone walking. I hurriedly put my hands on the doorknob.

“Hey! Don’t come in! Don’t you dare come in!”

I opened the door with all my might, and Haruna came flying out of the room. Today, she had just one pair of panties on. She managed to put on panties in that short of a time? Tch, disappointing.

“You damn eroboros!”

“Now that one I don’t get at all…”

“It’s a snake!”

Ahh, Ouroboros.

“Well, whatever, but Sera’s in bad shape. Can’t you give her some blood?”

“I don’t want to! Deeeeeeeeeefinitely do. not. want. to! Hey! Don’t look at me!”

Her face flushed red, Haruna confined herself back into her room. No matter how many times I see it, her skin sure is beautiful… but now was not the time to be thinking about that. What should I do? Should I force her downstairs?

For now, I returned to the living room, where Sera was now laying on her side. “Are you sure you don’t want my blood?” I asked.

“I don’t want to. I deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeefinitely don’t want to.”

She elongated that word even more than Haruna had…

Tap tap. Sera and I faced the desk from where we had heard the tapping sound.

My blood should be no problem. = “Yuu’s blood is fine, right? I’ll do my best!”

“That’s…! I can’t just take Hellscythe-dono’s blood…”

“Come on, Yuu said it was fine, so just accept her blood this once.”

A look broke out on Sera’s face, almost as if she had just drunk a bitter cup of tea. She put her bent index finger to her mouth, and after thinking for a bit, faced Yuu resolutely.

“Well, let me take advantage of your kind offer then. Thank you very much.”

Sera reluctantly walked over to Yuu, and just like she had done with Haruna, she took Yuu’s lips in a kiss.

Yuu stood there without an expression, and didn’t even blink. Sera confirmed that Yuu’s eyes had thinned a bit, and then bit into Yuu’s neck.

“… Ah.”

With a speed I had not seen her exhibit up until now, Yuu clapped both her hands on her mouth. And if that weren’t enough, she also shut her eyes tight. Was that just her voice right now? It was the first time I had heard it. Did it hurt? She looked like she was blushing though.

After she finished sucking Yuu’s blood, Sera suddenly kowtowed to Yuu.

“Really, I’m very very sorry!”

Her flush fading, Yuu gave a fleeting nod, and after that moment turned back to the television and her usual posture.

“That probably means she forgives you.”

Even though I told her that, Sera still seemed uneasy. She continued to watch Yuu, but Yuu paid her gaze no heed. Oh right, there was something I had to ask Yuu.

“Yuu, about the dog from before… he was a Megalo, right?”

Yuu faced me and gave me a slight nod.

“So, you come from the Megalo side then. Can you transform into one of those monsters as well?”

Yuu poured tea slowly down her throat and turned her body towards the table. It seemed that she was willing to talk about this with me.

In the underworld, there are people who live there just like people live on this world. I am nothing more than one of those people.

“In other words, you don’t have a monster form.”

She nodded strongly.

But, there also exist those who have that power.

I see, so there were people who had unusual abilities just like Yuu. As expected from the underworld. It really did seem like a place of devils and demons.

“What exactly are Megalo?”

In the underworld, to oppose the masou shoujo, souls of the departed are gathered. They are then inserted into the body of animals and are allowed to grow. That is the Megalo System.

“People who die in this world become Megalo?”

Not just this world. All souls of those who have died gather in the underworld. In the underworld, there are people who have that ability.

People who die become Megalo… hold on a second. Then, what does that make a zombie? I thought that a zombie was just someone who had died but still could move, but could it be that a zombie was a Megalo?

Ayumu is not a Megalo. Ayumu’s soul is being held together with my power.

I see. Megalo had to have died, but I had not died. So, I was similar but not so similar to Megalo. So I was really a zombie? I guess I could breathe easy then?

The white particles that the Megalo dissolved into after they died were probably their souls breaking apart.

“Yuu, don’t you consider Haruna an enemy then? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Haruna is just a poor girl who has lost her powers. She poses no threat.

In other words, Haruna had lost her powers, so Yuu didn’t really pay her any heed.

“Sera, do you have any connection with the Megalo?”

“Unfortunately, I do not even follow what you two are talking about.”

So, vampire ninjas had nothing to do with Megalo. Well, even if they got involved in the battle between masou shoujo and Megalo, the masou shoujo could just manipulate their memories, so they wouldn’t even notice.

“But, even though I didn’t say anything… you just jumped in and helped take out the whale and the anteater, remember?”

“Since ancient times, I have taken on the mission of protecting humans from demons.”

Demons, huh? Those legendary breed of monsters may have just been another name given to the Megalo.

“Yuu, are you really alright with this? From here on out… Haruna and I are probably going to continue to exterminate the Megalo.”

I don’t mind. It’s not as if I am that fond of the Megalo System. Dead souls should be left in peace.

So, Yuu hated Megalo? Could it be that the Megalo System also had something to do with why she had come to this world from the underworld?

Geez… today was certainly pretty eventful. It really felt like a long day.

Brbrbrrrr. Brbrbrrrr.

I felt my pocket vibrate. When I took out my cell phone, I saw that I had received an email. It was from Kyouko-chan. It was a cute email filled with emoticons.

In summary, her grandfather was coming to visit her tomorrow, and she told me that she had gotten him to bring some Kyoudoufu with him. That he probably would leave to go back home just around the time school ended. She really pulled through for me. Thanks, Kyouko-chan. Now, Haruna may be able to finally finish her mission.

I went back to my room and dove into bed. Ah, right. I should probably tell Dai-sensei about the tofu. I took out my phone, and dialed her number through my call history.

Rinngggggg. Rinnggggggggg. Rinngggggg.

“Thank you for calling. This is the Matelis Magical Academy, Elusu speaking.”

The pretty sound of a girl’s voice rang in my ears. It was a voice filled with life that put my heart at ease. But, it wasn’t the voice of Dai-sensei.

“Ah, umm… could I speak with Dai-sensei?”

“Huh? I’m sorry, but who is that?”

“Ah, umm… the person in charge of Haruna from Refrain Year, Rising Class.”

I’m relieved that the name of her year and class were easy to remember. The names really gave off a strong impression. Although, don’t expect me to remember her attendance number.

“In that case, could you be talking about her homeroom teacher Ariel-sensei? Ariel-sensei has stepped away at the moment, would you like me to take a message?”

“Ah, well, umm… just tell her that I will get what she wanted tomorrow…”

“Understood. Could you please provide me with your name?”

“Ah… My name is Aikawa Ayumu.”

“Aikawa Ayumu-sama, is it? Understood. Was that all for today? Well, thank you for your call. Goodbye.”

Yes. Ah, yes. Yes. Yes. Goodbye.

I couldn’t really respond in a less monotonous way. If you ask me why, it’s because I was nervous.

Well now, it’s been a while since I’ve been to a convenience store and browsed through some of the magazines, so shall I do that?

Why am I not sleeping, you ask?

Well, more than any animal, zombies are creatures of the night.