Translator: Reflet

  Editor: ryunakama

  “I mean, even if you’re trying to tease me by calling me lame, I dunno if…”


  “You…are, lame.”


  When she repeatedly said that in her unique respiratory voice, it was pretty easy to tell that she was not in a good mood.

  “You’re angry about something?”


  “I want to…chop you into, pieces.”


  “Well damn, you’re angry!”


  “If you’re going to do that to him, I recommend chopping him into seven pieces!”


  “And you don’t add fuel to the fire!”


  After rebuking Hera, he fearfully turned back to Shirokiyami. Sullen face, check. Pointed sword, check. Yep, she was angry all right.

  And yet, she showed no signs of doing anything. He could just tell that. It was especially easy to sense what she was feeling compared to other people. As he had in fact just earlier picked up her killing intent before even seeing her, he could confirm that he felt her with “ki”. She was of course angry, hence the pointed katana at him, but he couldn’t sense any intention from her side to do anything to him with said katana. That was a relief, although the question of “why” only grew stronger.

  “Umm, first off, could I maybe get you to pull that thing back?”


  “…”


  “Uhh…”


  Shirokiyami silently drew back her sword…or so he thought, but then the tip of the katana bonked the tip of his head. It hurt a bit. Getting hit by a lump of iron tends to hurt.

  “H-Hey, excuse me?”


  Bonkbonk, bonkbonk.

  “Umm, this kinda hurts…”


  Bonkbonk, bonkbonk, bonkbonk.

  She continued to hit him without saying a word. Taiyou’s bewilderment only increased. Hera, who had been watching all of this, suddenly blurted out something in excitement.

  “Go for the sword/sheath combo!”


  “Don’t make this worse, Hera!”


  “I…like, that.”


  Shirokiyami started using both the katana and its sheath.

  “Ow, owowow. And did you actually get that?”


  “I am…very, skilled.”


  “Is that right…”


  “I can hit people…sixty times in, one second.”


  “That’s like TAS-san.”


  “Tasu-san?”


  “…I’m talking about the little blonde-haired girl.”


  “Oh, so you’re talking about me!”


  “No, you can’t even get close to what TAS-san is like.”


  “You never know, I might be able to move quickly per frame as well.”


  “If that ever happens then that’ll be a real nightmare.”


  Before they knew it, they were engaging in banter, with Shirokiyami still hitting Taiyou with her katana and sheath, playing him like a drum. It hurt just a bit, but he didn’t think much of it. This was because he had simply stopped caring. Actually, he would rather she continued forever…that was essentially how he felt.

  Suddenly, the light from Hera’s body disappeared.

  “Ah, it’s gone.”


  “What’s wrong?”


  “I actually can’t light up for more than three minutes.”


  “What are you, a realistic protagonist?”


  “It only takes a second to start lighting up again though.”


  “Cool…very, handy.”


  “But why the whole three minutes thing?”


  “Well, I can always stay lit up while you level up, Taiyou.”


  “Hey, you’re not seriously sucking up my experience points, are you?”


  “Your Japanese…sounds, strange.”


  The bonking became tapping, reducing the pressure and hitting Taiyou’s brow area. Tap tap, tap tap. It was a precise rhythm, reminiscent of a metronome.

  He wanted this moment to last forever, chatting with her constantly.

  On the other hand, different emotions surfaced.

  He noticed how her pale skin was exposed in various areas due to her torn-up clothing, accidentally getting aroused.

  “I sense, malice.”


  “Ngh…”


  “Vulgar…scandalous, intent.”


  “Oopsie, she sees right through you, Taiyou-chan.”


  “W-Well yeah, I can’t freaking help it. That’s what happens when the person you like dresses like this in front of you.”


  “Sorry that Taiyou-chan is such a lustful monkey, Yami-chan.”


  “Don’t say it like that!!”


  “Monkey…hold out your, hand.”


  “Monkeys don’t even do that.”


  “Sit…down.”


  “They don’t do that either.”


  “Mastur…be, tion.”


  “They don’t——actually, do they?”


  About to interrupt her again, he put his chin on his hand and thought about it. He recalled seeing an online article about a monkey that learned how to do it and then continued until it died.”


  “Are you really…fine, with this?”


  “Huh?”


  “This.”


  She asked him with her vacant expression, stopping the hitting.

  “I don’t…have, boobs.”


  “I mean, neither do Kohaku-san or Kazane. Plus in your case you can at least make them bigger with your power.”


  “Yeah…like, this.”


  She took a breath, closing her eyes. Shortly afterward, her chest expanded with a “pop”.

  “Still crazy no matter how many times I see it.”


  “But…normally it’s, like this.”


  With a “whoosh”, her chest deflated like a deflating balloon.

  “Yeah, like I said, I don’t care.”


  “Sure…but, my skin…this is, what it looks like.”


  “And I really could care less about that. If you weren’t so self-conscious about that, I’d even go further and insist that your skin is beautiful.”


  “Your dress was really cute, Yami-chan.”


  “Right, right. Not the black that you always wear, but your white dress looks better on you, I say.”


  “Even though…it’s, white?”


  “Hey, who even named you Shirokiyami? Was it just spontaneous?”


  Shirokiyami blanked out at Taiyou’s sudden change in topic.

  “I…for, got.”


  “Yeah? Well I don’t care much about that either, but I say the color white makes more sense for you.”


  Taiyou outstretched his hand, touching her long hair.

  White, white.

  Even after their fight, her hair was like silk thread as he ran his fingers through it.