Hagakure Sakura Does Not Lament

Chapter 111

The Self-righteousness of Three Legs

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

–The time went back a little, just as Tsugumi was being examined at the hospital. A red-haired woman called Toono Sumire was walking briskly down the corridor of the Ministry of Divine Worship, which was located in a separate building of the government.

Toono entered a room that had been specially designed for her, and leaning back on a leather sofa, she called out to the shadows behind her.

“The preparation was excellent. He did exactly what we expected. Just as you planned. –I feel a little sorry for him, though. He had to relive those painful memories that he’d forgotten.”

Then the shadow behind her wavered, and a black mass appeared as if rising up. –It was a raven the size of a large dog. With glossy black feathers and three legs, the raven – Yatagarasu, the servant of Amaterasu – spun out his words cheerfully.

“It can’t be helped. I have ended my resentment by protecting his memory and Akane’s daughter, but things have changed since then. –I had no idea that there was a trace in that child.”

As he said this, Yatagarasu recalled the events of eleven years ago. He was reminded of that terrible incident when he lost his contractor, Sakura Akane–Nanase Akane–and the tragedy that inflicted tremendous damage on a town.

–The mastermind of the incident, Shikabane Sakura, was about to bring down a God into a human vessel. The preparations for the descent of God were so elaborate that no one was even aware of the organization, the Star of Dawn, until the incident occurred.

But would a mere human girl really think of doing something so outrageous?

It would be reasonable to assume that there was a mastermind behind the whole thing. However, Yatagarasu was convinced that the main culprit was that girl. There were some things that he knew only because he had met her directly that day.

–The evil thing resided in Shikabane Sakura.

“Humans think that I descended first, followed by Amaterasu. –But there was someone who descended to earth before that. –The one who defined their existence as the absolute antagonist of mankind, a mass of malice manifested to call forth despair, sorrow, treachery, and chaos. These are the ones humans call the evil Gods. I thought we had hunted them all down.”

Saying this, Yatagarasu looked up to the heavens. The rules created by Amaterasu apply to all the Gods who had descended to the lower realms. However, the rules did not apply to Gods who descended to the lower realms before Amaterasu. In other words, deportation for violation of the rule didn’t work on evil God.

This rule naturally didn’t apply to Yatagarasu, but Yatagarasu was originally a follower of Amaterasu. Since there was no reason to go to the trouble of disobeying Amaterasu’s will, there was no problem.

However, he did do something that would make other Gods angry if they knew about it, such as telling his contractor Sumire information about another Magical Girl, Tsugumi, but that was just a minor violation of the rules.

“Ah, I’ve heard that story before. I heard it was hard back then because Amaterasu-sama’s rules don’t apply to Gods who came down before the barrier was created.”

“Ah, yes. If someone is outside the bounds of the rules, there will be complaints from other good Gods. I don’t think the humans would have thought that the battle against the evil Gods was happening behind the battle against the Demonic Beasts, though.”

Saying this, Yatagarasu let out a loud sigh.

–The evil Gods were selfish and wielded their vices just by existing. Their way of being might be similar to the devil that people imagine.

Fortunately, there were not so many of them, and most of them were later sent back to the darkness by Amaterasu’s followers but there were some who escaped deportation.

Some of the evil Gods offered their cooperation on a whim, and some of them still remained in the lower world, but they were only allowed to stay in the lower world with supervision and were not allowed to take any overt action.

That should have been the end of the problem of the evil Gods. At least, this was what all the Gods on Amateru’s side thought.

–But the result of the oversight was the firestorm.

“Shikabane Sakura–perhaps her mother had made some kind of contract with the evil Gods. She made a contract with the evil God, and in exchange, she gave up her daughter. ..Really, it’s a terrible thing.”

At that time, the contents of Shikabane Sakura had completely turned into something other than a human being. Otherwise, she would not be able to fight on the same level as Sakura Akane, who was the most powerful Magical Girl.

“Hmm? But you said before that it’s not normal to succeed in bringing down the Gods. Both Sakura and Nanase-kun have the aptitude to be the vessel of a God, they must have had excellent bloodlines. As expected of the person you guys called the [shaman’s son].”

Yatagarasu slightly shook his head at Toono who said so with admiration.

“No, from the traits of the souls of the siblings, they may have been deliberately created for that purpose. They must have been adjusted since they were in their mother’s womb, for the most part. –That’s why she was able to steal my eyes at the last minute and pull off the great feat of sneaking the remnants into Nanase Tsugumi. The soul traits were too similar for me to notice at the time. …A lifetime of ignorance.”

One in her own vessel. And the other to make herself a usable vessel of God to rule this country from behind the scenes.

…He could guess what kind of being was at the core of the evil God inside Sakura. Considering the mighty power of that being, it was safe to say that it was truly fortunate that they were able to prevent God from descending that day.

But if Sakura had not kidnapped Akane’s daughter. –If she had not changed her mind to protect her brother, the ceremony would have succeeded and this country would have been ruled by chaos once again.

Why did the evil God in Sakura – known as the “devil” in foreign countries – try to save her brother, whom she had raised as a sacrifice, at the last minute? Considering what the evil God did in the end, it was possible that she wanted to keep him as a spare in case of an emergency.

But if that were the case, why didn’t the evil God take Nanase Tsugumi’s body until now? Yatagarasu just couldn’t understand it.

When Yatagarasu said so with muddled words, Toono looked surprised and then smiled in understanding.

“I see. –What’s up with that? Then you’re confused like me. Hmm, I feel a little closer to you. Ah, so that’s why you didn’t want me to look into the fire. That’s so sweet of you. Did you think I’d get hurt?”

Toono laughed as if she had lost her it, and Yatagarasu gently lowered his eyes.

–To Yatagarasu, Toono Sumire was the most pitiful child. She was a beautiful doll who had been repressed by a different vector than Nanase Tsugumi. Her condition was similar to that of the former Nanase Akane. This was why Yatagarasu took Toono’s hand. He did it so that she would not kill her heart anymore.

But in the end, it was only for Yatagarasu’s ego. No matter how he tried, God’s way of thinking was incompatible with human reason.

“Well, that’s fine –Come to think of it, I haven’t asked you why you restored his memory. Why? If there is an evil God sleeping inside him, I don’t think you should have bothered to provoke it.”

When Toono asked this question, Yatagarasu quietly shook his head.

“The resistance level in case of an emergency will be different if Nanase Tsugumi has doubts about his sister Shikabane Sakura. –If he hadn’t become a Magical Girl, this wouldn’t have happened.”

No matter how much the body of Nanase Tsugumi was adjusted, his physical characteristics would change over the course of ten years. The body that had been tainted by the mundane world should be less suitable as a vessel than it was when he was a child. …That was how it was supposed to be

As a result of becoming a Magical Girl and filling his body with divine power, the balance collapsed. Then, due to his life being threatened during the December Irregular’s battle, the remnants of the evil God woke up.

It was at that time that Yatagarasu recognized the existence of Nanase Tsugumi – Hagakure Sakura. It was ironic for Nanase Tsugumi, whose life was saved as a result, but it was fair to say that his fate was completely decided then.

-There was no way that Nanase Tsugumi, an ordinary human, could be a match for the evil God. The only question now would be how much time was left before the soul was eaten.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. In the end, you can’t handle the fact that you’ve involved me in this way. I even got Yukino-san involved under your direction, but did that go to waste as well?”

“…No, it’s not in vain. The contractor of that medical God also serves as a kind of watchdog. It’s obvious that if you asked him about the big fire, he would immediately get to Nanase Tsugumi. Even if they didn’t know what was going on, if there was any change in Nanase Tsugumi, they would notice it right away.”

As long as he was not causing any problems at the moment, Nanase Tsugumi couldn’t be disposed of. Moreover, his contract God was powerful. Even if she was bound by Amaterasu’s rules in the lower realms, it would be troublesome if she got pissed off.

…He wondered why a God with that much power was unaware of the evil God inside Nanase Tsugumi, but it would be safer not to provoke her.

“Oh, dear. I don’t think it’s a good idea to treat an unrelated person like a pawn in your own hands. You might get punished for it later.”

“It can’t be helped. If I, as Amateru’s follower, the existence of the sun, carelessly approach him, I will provoke the evil God. Then it wouldn’t be wrong to assign the best personnel available at the moment. In the end, I and the other Gods are nothing more than pawns in Amaterasu’s miniature garden. –If that is the case, then it is my job to keep that garden clean. I am used to being resented. If it leads to peace for you humans, so much the better.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. God is so selfish. You won’t listen to my opinions.”

Toono’s cheeks puffed out in exasperation, but Yatagarasu dexterously lifted his wings and shrugged his shoulders.

“Even so, Akane’s daughter’s contract God–what is that fool doing? He’s useless at the critical moment, he’s not worth being there.”

Toono teased Yatagarasu, who muttered to change the subject.

“So? A low person like me wouldn’t know what the Lord’s younger brother is thinking. Why don’t you ask him?”

“…I don’t think I’ll get a proper answer. –Really, Tsukuyomi-sama is also in trouble.”

Saying so, Yatagarasu gazed at the setting sun seen from the window. The red sunset was shining brightly as if it was turning the world red. –It was so beautiful that it seemed to obliterate the moon rising from the other side.

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