Don’t You Ever Forget. Potatoes… Are Part of the Nightshade Family – Part 03

I kept saying it was a search, but Haruna and I ended up on the third floor of a department store. This floor only sold women’s clothes, so as a high school boy, I felt really out of place.

“Hmm, that’s some nice craftsmanship,” Haruna said, nodding thoughtfully like a host on an appraisal show as she scrutinized a frilly shirt. “This… is some nice craftsmanship.”

“You only have that one phrase, huh?”

“Don’t you underestimate my vocabulary! Just watch this.” Blushing, she grabbed the shirt. “Uh… s-so this is the legendary super shirt. Piece of shit!”

You’re supposed to compliment it.

“Uh… it’s like a shirt bargain sale.”

“Well, they are in the middle of a sale.”

“Oh, this is the outfit that black-haired lady on TV was wearing.” Haruna picked up a pure white dress.

“You still can’t remember names, huh?”

“No, I almost have it.” She pointed to her throat and closed her eyes. Then, she broke into a radiant smile. “I got it! Sadako. From that song, It’s coming. It’s definitely coming.”^[1]

“That really doesn’t help your case. Got anything else?”

“Nope.”

“For real?”

I really underestimated Haruna’s vocabulary. That’s how little she had.

“Oh, this embroidery is cute! But that one’s hard to pass up too.” Haruna held a T-shirt, then glanced at the one next to it. After thinking hard about it, lips pursed and all, she said, “Ayumu, which do you think is better?”

It was a choice between a black shirt with pink letters or a lavender one.

From experience, when a girl asks “Which one’s better?” she’s already made a decision. There was no point picking.

“Maybe the lavender one.”

“What? This one?”

See? She’d already chosen and just wanted a push.

“Black’s fine, then.”

“Hmm.” She sounded indecisive. She probably never planned to choose my answer.

“You want the lavender one?”

“Huh? Hmm. Actually, I’ll go with black. Buy it for me.”

Dear me. Wait, I’m the one paying? You get your allowance, don’t you?

Grumbling inside, I bought the T-shirt for Haruna. It cost a whopping eight thousand yen. A depressing purchase.

“I’m hungry!” she cried next.

What exactly did she come here for?

“Make me something.”

“H-Here? Are you stupid?”

“Then, let’s go eat somewhere. Even in this desolate world, there’s gotta be some restaurants, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then, let’s go!”

Haruna grabbed my hand and took off running. I’d never been able to stop her once she got like this, so all I could do was sigh.

“I’ve been wondering, how old are you, anyway?”

“Huh? I’m forever seventeen.”

“You’re older than me? No way. How old are you really?”

“F-Fourteen.”

That was a weird way to lie about your age. Usually, forever seventeen was something older folks would say.

“You look fourteen, all right.”

“Don’t make fun of me! They say I’m a genius with the intelligence of a fifteen-year-old.”

That was a one-year difference. Haruna and Eu looked about the same age, but how old was Eu really? She’d been through a lot. Maybe she was actually a few thousand years old or something. What was she doing now?

“Hmm.” Haruna pouted.

“What is it?” I asked kindly.

She chopped me. “You’re always thinking about something else when you’re with me.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is, you dumbo! Don’t underestimate my radar!”

Haruna’s cowlick spun around and around. I’d better watch out for that sensor.

“Hey, Ayumu.”

“Yeah?”

“What does the negamancer mean to you?”

What did Eu mean to me? A little sister? That didn’t feel right.

“Family. No, it’s a relationship harder to put into words.”

“What about leaf lady? Yukinori?”

“You mean Tomonori? Sera’s a trusty comrade. Tomonori’s a friend.”

“Good enough!”

“What’s good about that? Then, what does Eu mean to you?”

“Wuh? Leftover disposal crew, maybe?”

“Is that all she means to you?”

“Don’t mock me! It’s an important role. If she’s not around, the waste monster appears. So she’s absolutely necessary. Ah, enough about this topic!”

“Yeah. It’s normal to think about her during a date.”

“Exactly.”

“Hm?”

“Wuh?”

“No denial?”

“Ah! This isn’t a date! Absolutely not!”

Haruna waved her hands frantically, and I laughed out loud because it was so funny.

And so, Haruna dragged me along for more shopping. While we were wandering around, looking for somewhere to eat, something suddenly passed by outside.

What was that just now?

“A-Ayumu!” Haruna pointed, and I saw Sera up ahead.

What was going on? She was chasing something. My eyes widened went I saw who it was.

Plate armor and gauntlets. Long hair flowing in the wind, shining silver.

There it was again. My chest tightening.

“Eu!”

“Wuh? Ah!” Haruna spotted her too.

We immediately started running, left the department store, and followed Sera.

It felt just like when we were chasing the King of the Night. We ran from the store down the crowded sidewalk. But unlike before, Sera and Eu headed into a quieter area. When they entered a residential neighborhood lined with apartment buildings, we finally caught up.

“Miss Hellscythe!” Sera shouted.

Just as her hand almost reached Eu, a huge creature blocked her way.

It was a polar bear. A slightly rotund polar bear.

“Ugh!”

The bear didn’t attack, just stood in the way. Shrieks rose from the civilians.

Sera swung her leaf sword. The bear’s body and the school uniform wrapping it shimmered like smoke, and her blade passed through without resistance, like slicing tofu.

The polar bear blushed and made a disturbing noise. It seemed like the kind of opponent who got excited when cut.

“You sick polar bear!” Sera clicked her tongue.

“Ain’t no polar bear here. Just an albino panda, ya know?”

If I recall correctly, Albino meant a creature with white skin and hair.

“W-Wait.” Haruna shivered. So this was a real Megalo. “That’s the Triple-A class Megalo, The Federation’s White Bevel, Beary!^[2] No, not Beary. Uh…”

So close! This White Devil looked so adorable for a Triple-A class Megalo.

“Demon… Bearon. Yeah, Demon Bearon!”

In the end, she went with that. Still loved the whole Demon Baron thing, huh?

Sera was pinned down by the Demon Bearon… or just the polar bear, since it was easier to say. Though it was apparently a panda.

I didn’t help her. I chased after Eu.

“Eu!” I called out.

Eu glanced briefly my way. She wasn’t fast. Just as I thought I’d caught up, a white tiger in a school uniform appeared in front of me. A snow-white tiger, also known as a bleached tiger.

“Albino tiger!” It proudly announced its albino status.

By the way, white tigers weren’t actually albinos.

“Move aside.” I glared to intimidate it.

Haruna, who had fallen on her backside, shouted, “You idiot! That’s also a Triple-A class Megalo, Swann the White Tiger!”

What a confusing name.

Megalo weren’t weak creatures that I could fight without transforming. But I couldn’t just stop. I had to either knock it away, or dodge.

Pushing off the ground at about 350% power, I leapt sideways, only to be met by the white tiger. When I looked back where I’d been seconds before, there was nothing there.

What the hell? When did it move?

I jumped sideways again. Another white tiger awaited me.

It was fast. Faster than even Sera, completely out of my league.

“Albino tiger!”

The white tiger raised both hands to the sky. Was it about to attack?

Before I could brace myself, it grabbed me tightly.

Was it trying to dance or something? It clung to me and wouldn’t let go. They just wanted to stall. Fuck! Was this Eu’s command? She had vanished in the meantime.

Sera gathered leaves and shaped them into wings, soaring into the air. Neither the white tiger nor the polar bear could fly.

Why hadn’t Haruna brought the chainsaw? Was a date the only thing in her mind? If I could transform into a Magiclad Girl, I could take these guys down.

As I flailed about, jaw clenched, the white tiger suddenly released me and fled with the polar bear. That meant they no longer needed to stall. I just lost a perfect opportunity.

In just under a minute, Sera returned. When her leaf wings disappeared, she collapsed, leaning against me.

“You okay?”

“Yes. I’m just low on blood. I used too much power.”

“You went looking for Eu alone?”

“Yes… well.”

I would’ve gone with her if she’d said anything.

“Haruna,” I called.

“It can’t be helped.”

With a pained expression, Sera gave a somewhat seductive smile and kissed Haruna.

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1. Lyrics from the song feels like HEAVEN, the iconic theme of the horror film The Ring.

2. A reference to Amuro, the White Devil of the Federation from Gundam.