It Has Nothing to Do with Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah – Part 05
Haruna and Sera were having a blast at the gun shooting game while Eu and I watched from the sidelines.
“Haruna, look! There’s a zombie coming from the right.”
“Die! Die, zombie!”
“Another filthy zombie, incoming.”
“Drop dead! Just die already!”
Why did that sting a little? Why were they so merciless toward zombies?
They shot every one of them down with perfect accuracy, not a single miss, as if they already knew exactly when and where the enemies would appear.
Stop. Just stop already!
What did those zombies ever do to deserve this? They only stepped out in front, that’s all! Maybe they just wanted to go to the bathroom—and boom! Headshot!
I was sure at least a few of those zombies just wanted to quietly live out their days without bothering anyone.
But no. They were zombies, and that alone made them targets.
A small crowd had gathered, drawn by the sight of a stunning girl firing without even a tremble in her aim.
This kind of brutal game wasn’t for me. Hang in there, zombies! Don’t give up!
“Ayumu, are you having fun?”
“I am. I’m having a lot of fun.”
Everyone else had their eyes glued to the girls’ game, but Eu kept watching me.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Just seeing you all enjoy yourselves is fun enough for me.”
Eu took my hand and nodded once. “I feel the same.”
Sera and Haruna finished the game without missing a single shot.
“Next one, let’s go!”
Not a second later, Haruna grabbed Sera’s hand and dragged her off to another game.
Watching Sera play a racing game made Eurobeat start playing in my head, and when she moved to a dancing game, ponytail swinging, it was honestly mesmerizing.
This is crazy. I was having way too much fun. My heart was racing.
It seemed like Haruna planned to conquer every single game in the arcade before the day was over.
“Let’s take a short break,” Sera said. “I’m getting thirsty.”
Even she couldn’t keep up with Haruna’s energy anymore. Haruna’s cowlick flopped around in protest.
“All right, next is the negamancer!”
With a bright grin, Haruna yanked Eu’s hand regardless of her will. She must really love the arcade.
Haruna and Eu started a round of air hockey, but since their strength was evenly matched, neither side managed to score a single point.
So, I stepped in for Eu and finally decided to put an end to Haruna’s winning streak. I was confident in my air hockey skills.
Clack, clack. The puck echoed across the table.
That angle’s too easy, Haruna. Now, eat this! Magnum Tornado![1]
Wham!
“Hyah!” Haruna struck a victory pose.
Huh?
Clack, clack, clack.
I got you now! Behold my final counter: Gatekeeper of Hecatoncheires![2]
Wham!
“Hyah!” Haruna cried, pumping her fist.
Damn it! I couldn’t win at all. Every secret move I had got completely shut down.
Sera gave me not-so-comforting words. “That’s unfortunate. For your brain, I mean.”
“I want to come again sometime.”
Eu, for all her usual lack of emotion, actually seemed to have enjoyed herself.
But more than anything, I was just glad to see Haruna back to her usual energetic self.
After enjoying ourselves to the fullest, we left the arcade. Haruna stretched.
Why was it that when girls stretched, it always looked kinda hot? Was it because raising their arms made their chest more pronounced? Because their back arched and emphasized their curves? Or was it just the sound they made?
Either way, even though Haruna wasn’t exactly the sexy type, her stretching gave off a surprisingly alluring vibe.
I quickly averted my gaze, and right in front of us, a Megalo appeared.
Any animal in a black jacket school uniform was a Megalo. Simple as that.
This one looked exactly like a plush toy. A rabbit with faint green ears. It looked like a daikon-colored bunny.
Heaving a sigh, I let go of my school bag stuffed with plushies and keychains and dropped it to the ground. I couldn’t fight properly with that in the way.
The rabbit took one look at me and cried, “Gah-bit! A Magiclad Girl!”
It stood on two legs but was no bigger than a regular rabbit. Just a cute little thing.
“You good, Haruna?” I asked.
“Wuh? With what?”
“You know, when a Megalo shows up, you kinda…”
“Wuh? That’s a Megalo? How?”
“The school uniform. Walking on two legs. That’s pretty much the giveaway.”
“But… it doesn’t look strong at all. Oh, it’s a rabbit!”
When Haruna walked up to it, the rabbit scampered off. It didn’t seem interested in hopping, despite being a rabbit.
After circling halfway around us, it suddenly hid behind me. What the hell?
“It doesn’t feel like a monster at all,” Sera said, though her eyes were already glowing red. She was ready to kill it.
“P-Please help me,” the rabbit whimpered.
What did it want me to do? I dropped a fist on its head. The thing teared up and scurried over to Eu for protection.
“A human hit meee!”
It sounded just like a kid crying to its mom. Eu gently patted its head.
“Oh? It’s carrying something,” Sera said, snatching something from the rabbit. It was an envelope.
“Give it back! I’m gonna rabbit you, you bitch!”
What was it even planning to do?
“Haruna, what rank is this Megalo?” I asked.
“Rabbit Megalo are the lowest, D class. Magiclad Girls start off hunting rabbits. The negamancer could probably take it down with one hand.”
It looked like we just ran into it by chance, so maybe there was no need to fight it at all. Haruna didn’t seem interested either. Though I’d already punched it once.
Sera opened the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper, frowning.
“What does it say?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“Huh?”
“There’s nothing written on it.” Sera showed me the contents of the envelope.
What the hell?
I grabbed my bag. Wait a second. Could this also be something Big Teach left for me?
Like, maybe a Magiclad Girl she sent got taken out by a Megalo, and this envelope was stolen. And because it was nearby, we just happened to run into each other.
No, that’s a stretch. But seriously, who puts a blank sheet of paper in an envelope?
This paper alone had to mean something. In that sense, maybe the orange bomb also meant…
Orange?
Right. What if it was invisible ink? I’d heard you could write hidden messages with citrus juice.
Even if that guess was right, I still couldn’t just test it. If this really belonged to Big Teach, I couldn’t go messing with it on my own.
“Give it back already!” the rabbit demanded. “How could you! Is this how you repay a favor?!”
What favor?
The rabbit tried to snatch the paper back, but it was too short, and its signature jump didn’t even come close.
“We’ll let you go, so make yourself scarce,” I whispered into its long ears.
Shocked, the rabbit’s mouth fell wide open. “I hope this world gets destroyed by Magiclad Girls!”
With that, it scampered off.
“What a weird Megalo,” I said. “Magiclad Girls destroying this world?”
“It wasn’t wrong.”
“Seriously?” I turned to Haruna.
“Yeah. Villiers is trying to purify this world,” she answered immediately.
Purify? That didn’t sound good no matter what. Was that rabbit right? Were the Magiclad Girls trying to destroy the world?
No way.
I thought the Magiclad Girls were protecting this world from monsters. From Megalo. Same with the Vampire Ninjas.
Aren’t the Magiclad Girls—aren’t I—supposed to uphold justice? What is justice?
If that was the case, then what was I supposed to do? Was it really okay to keep fighting as a Magiclad Girl?
No, justice had nothing to do with it. Megalo were after Magiclad Girls. Kyouko, and whoever was behind her, were coming after Eu.
To fight back against them, I needed the power of a Magiclad Girl.
If sparks fly your way, you swat them down.
Not the sparks flying at me. The ones flying at Eu and Haruna.
1. Magnum Tornado is a signature move from the manga/anime The Racing Brothers Let’s & Go!!, used by Gō Hoshima’s Mini 4WD cars in the Magnum series. It’s a high-speed, spinning airborne technique designed to go straight, sometimes used for short cuts or jumps.
2. Gatekeeper of Hecatoncheires is a move from the manga/anime The Prince of Tennis, used by Shusuke Fuji. Apparently, it’s an illegal move.
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