Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament
chapter-9

Dressing Up

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

–The next day, he woke up early in the morning and set out immediately.

First, they went to a market in Hokkaido in the morning to eat crab, then south to Sendai to grill beef tongue, then to Yamanashi to swallow Shingen Mochi rice cakes like Wanko soba noodles, and then to Ehime to quench their thirst by buying a box of the famous Mikan juice.　　　　　　

And finally, in Sasebo, Nagasaki, they would stuff their mouth with the hamburger they ordered while gazing out at the sea.

–It was, without a doubt, a foodie’s trip. It was also a waste of Transportation skill. Well, it wasn’t Tsugumi eating, but Bell.

“The hamburger is also a great dish. If the meat were a little bigger, it would be even better.”

Bell dexterously held the hamburger bag, and with a snap, she broke the round of hamburger with great vigor. Within a few minutes, the burgers she had bought were gone in no time.

“…I really do eat a lot, don’t I?”

From Hokkaido in the north to Nagasaki in the south. He had not expected to travel such a large distance.

The trip took about five hours, but it was too intense.

The main eating was done by Bell, while Tsugumi did chores such as shelling crabs and grilling meat, so he only ate about one meal in total.

When he first went to the seafood market and was ordered to buy a pile of boiled crabs, he really didn’t know what to do.

He was terrified that he might pay for all of it, but thanks to a wad of bills that Bell pulled out of nowhere, the problem of payment was solved.

At this time, he was impressed that God also had money.

“I was overthinking because you suddenly said it was a ‘date’, but turns out it’s just an escort mission. I was so nervous.”

Tsugumi was wearing a short navy blue culotte skirt and a feminine blouse. He wore knee-length ribbon-like socks, short boots, and a bright sky-blue jacket over her top. The outfit somehow suited him, who transformed into a woman.

Before he left, he wondered what would happen when he was given the outfit and told to put it on, but all he had to do were just chores. What on earth should he do with this indescribably delicate feeling?

“I can’t believe you can’t understand my little joke… You really are a disappointment, aren’t you?”

Bell sighed, her shoulders cowering as she let out a sigh. God’s jokes were too lofty for Tsugumi to understand, so please give him a break.

“If you don’t want people to know that you are a Magical Girl, then you should learn to act more like a woman.

“So, that’s what it’s all about…”

While today’s main focus was certainly on Bell’s foodie exploits, there was a proper meaning to this outing.

“–You are so manly in your attitude, speech, and behavior,・・・・ even when you transform. If anyone were to see you, they would be able to spot your gender in an instant.”

“I’m aware of that, but those things aren’t easy to fix, are they? It’s hard to do that unless you give me some time.”

He could be somewhat careful with language, but he felt deeply uncomfortable using explicitly feminine language in Tsugumi’s appearance. The most he could do right now was to be careful with how he walked and to change the way he said “I” when he transformed. He didn’t know how to fix it beyond that.

“First, stop sitting with your legs open. It’s unsightly.”

Bell said in a sharp voice to Tsugumi, who was sitting on the bench. He sighed as he sat on the bench with his knees together, looking annoyed.

“Girls are so troublesome.”

“Nonsense, this is just the beginning.”

“Wow…”

Frankly, he wasn’t sure what the future held in store…

–However, considering the time when everything went wrong, he had to make an effort even if he didn’t like it.

In Japan, where it was a basic premise that men couldn’t make a contract with Gods, only Tsugumi could use magic. He didn’t know what kind of fuss it would be if someone knew about it, but he expected it wouldn’t be fun.

“I was able to buy souvenirs, and I(ore)-no, I (watashi) enjoyed it a lot, but how about Bell-sama? But then again, I didn’t know that God eats food, too.”

And in such large quantities too. The amount of food Bell ate today, no matter how small the estimate, exceeded 20 kilograms. If she were to eat this amount of food every day, the money coefficient would be in danger.

“Originally, We don’t need food. After all, this body is like a spirit of its own. Eating is just a hobby… But once I start eating, I can’t stop myself. If it weren’t for that, I’d enjoy it a lot more.”

“What’s with that, so you weren’t hungry.”

“That’s not the case. –Well, let’s talk about something else.”

“Un, that’s right.”

While breaking off the conversation, Tsugumi pondered.

–Bell’s words made it pretty clear. He was sure that that [Gluttony] skill was derived from Bell’s divinity. He could almost guess what kind of anecdotes Bell had about her divinity. But that’s something that shouldn’t be mentioned ・・・・・・・・・・.

It’s a little wrong to say she was hiding it, but it was obvious from her attitude that she didn’t want to talk about it. He had enough sense not to mention it.

“Ah, I forgot to mention that I still have the money in my pocket. I didn’t pay any particular attention to the amount I spent, but was it all right?”

With that, Tsugumi held out the money in an envelope toward Bell.

The wad of bills she had given him in the morning was already half as thick as it had been. The rest should be about three hundred thousand. Incidentally, the biggest expense in today’s lineup was for crabs.

Bell took one look at the envelope and shook her head in disinterest.

“No, I want you to keep it. –Since it’s a reward for you in the first place”

“…Hm? What do you mean?”

“It’s a reward for defeating the Demonic Beast yesterday. It comes from the government. Didn’t you know that?”

–To be honest. I had no idea.

He might have heard about it, but he had never heard of anything related to Magical Girls until now. It couldn’t be helped that he didn’t remember.

For Tsugumi, his work as a Magical Girl was a way of repaying Bell, so he didn’t care if there was a reward or not, but now that he found out, he was a little concerned about the amount of money.

“By the way, how much do you get for the E class?”

“What’s with the sudden interest? It’s creepy. –Well, if you are a Magical Girl in the field, you will be paid 70% of the original reward of one million yen, or 700,000 yen.”

“Seven hundred thousand! I can get that much!?”

“No, it’s not much, no matter how you look at it… It’s a small amount of money after fighting for your life with a chip on your shoulder. How dare other Magical Girls think of fighting for such a sum of money? You’ll blow it in no time after a day of eating and walking.”

“You don’t have to say something so discouraging…”

This God really didn’t understand anything about the human heart. But maybe celebrity people and others had a thought process like this?

“Five million for the D class. Ten million for the C class. The amount of money increases when you get to the B level, but the difficulty level also increases. Right now, I don’t have to worry about it.

It’s like a dream, even if it isn’t… I’m going to hunt low grades for a while and try to figure out my skills. I don’t want to die.”

“That’s right. –I promise you that I will not use you up in vain. Some Gods will turn a contractor they don’t like into a high-ranked Demonic Beast. Compared to them, you are a lucky man.”

“I guess there’s a lot going on in the world of Magical Girls… Frankly, I don’t want to know too much about it.”

It seemed that Magical Girls had a darker inner working than Tsugumi first assumed. He wondered if the dreaming girls of the world have a proper grasp of this fact.

Perhaps the government was restricting information in order to keep the population of Magical Girls from decreasing. It was a frightening story.

“Oh, that’s right. By the way, I forgot to tell you.”

“What? I’d like you to stop with the sudden bombshells if possible.”

A startled Tsugumi shook his shoulder. This God had a tendency to tell things that were important to him as if they were unimportant.

He was expecting to hear something outrageous again, but what he heard next was unexpected.

“The clothes look great on you. It was worth the choice.”

He was told in a gentle voice.

He digested the meaning of the words carefully. The clothes looked good on him. In other words, it was praise. For who? Tsugumi? This outfit?

–That’s, um, huh? I’m feeling a little happy…?

“Hey, you don’t have to look so bitter. I didn’t say anything strange.”

“No. Uh… I’d like you to leave it alone for now.”

Bell looked dissatisfied.

But Tsugumi was having none of it. This was a matter of dignity.

–What kind of man would be happy to be told that he looks good in women’s clothing?

No matter how much of a woman’s body he had now, wasn’t this dipping a toe into abnormal sexuality?

No, he should think about it calmly. An actor in the female form would surely be pleased to be praised as beautiful. Tsugumi’s transformation should be no different. That must be it.

As a result of various thoughts, Tsugumi decided to accept that he was just a “lost cause”. Well, if his hormonal balance changed when he became a woman, he might feel that way.

In other words, Tsugumi was normal. There was nothing wrong with that.

Bell sniffed as she looked at Tsugumi who was convinced by himself.

“I don’t understand the action of human beings. Since I have praised you, you should be more than happy. You impudent bastard.”

“I have nothing to say in return…”

Tsugumi returned the sarcastic digs in his usual tone.

–As I thought, it’s better to be treated like a downgrade.

—Although such things happened, The holiday for one person and one God had passed.