I Like… Penguins – Part 02

Five in the morning. I knew no one would come to the cemetery. I had no idea how sloppy the management was, but the place was always empty. Maybe it got lively around Obon.^[1]

In front of me stood a girl in a white coat.

“Now then, Ayumu. You’ve got something you want to ask, don’t you? Judging by how you sent Haruna away… you want to know what I’m scheming. Did I get that right?”

“What I want to know is: why did you make the Magiclad Weapon, why did you put it in Tomonori, and what were you planning to do with it?”

“To answer your first question, I didn’t make it. My friend did. For the second question, I thought it could save her if she got hurt in battle. And the third…”

Big Teach paused for a moment, staring straight into my eyes.

“It was to bring down Villiers,” she said very casually.

“Why?”

“Because… I don’t want to fight anymore.”

“I understand that, but fighting a war to stop a war doesn’t make any sense.”

“I’ve planned it so everything ends in a single war, you see. Villiers has been fighting against a place called the Underworld for a long time. Villiers originally grew by absorbing parallel worlds. This world isn’t an exception.”

“So it’s an invader. Why do that?”

“It’s their purpose in life. For example, imagine you got the world’s most powerful sword. You’d want to try it out, right? But there’s no enemy left in that world. So you take it to another world and use it there.”

“That tracks, I suppose.”

“And in that new world, you gain new powers and want to use them. Villiers repeats wars for that reason. I just want to stop that kind of fighting.”

“So it wasn’t Megalo attacking. It was the Magiclad Girls attacking Megalos?”

“Yes. Because Villiers attacked the Underworld, Megalo are going after Magiclad Girls.”

No matter how I looked at it, Villiers seemed to be the villain here.

“I get your objective. I want to support that. So, who’s this skilled friend of yours?”

“My childhood friend. His technical skills are incredible. Haven’t you heard about him from Haruna? He was called the Demon Baron.”

Th-The Demon Baron was real? I remembered Haruna mentioning something about that when she helped me study. Damn, I couldn’t remember the details clearly. I believe he started a civil war in Villiers, or something.

“Wait a minute. Does that mean… Tomonori is the Demon Baron’s daughter?”

“Not exactly a daughter. More like a daughter figure. She got very attached to him when he was in this world.”

So, the Demon Baron had been here. I’d have to ask him directly for the details.

“Well then, let’s get started. He’s not particularly fast. First, you need to get used to his speed.”

And so, the training began. Apparently, the topic of the Demon Baron was off-limits.

“Now, dodge everything, okay?”

Big Teach approached me with a smile. And then she kicked my jaw.

“Wait, is it starting already?”

“I’m not stopping. The goal is to dodge ten in a row.”

She hit me like I was a punching bag. Ten in a row? I couldn’t dodge a single one. What kind of movement was this? It was neither boxing, nor kung fu.

And each hit carried enough power to make me writhe in pain.

“C-Can you go a little easy on me?”

“This is exactly how strong that man is, you know? If I go easy, this training wouldn’t mean anything, would it?”

She landed a liver blow, grabbed my clothes, and followed with a knee strike.

Motherfucker. Fine, then! I struck back at Big Teach.

“That’s right. By attacking, you can also limit your opponent’s movements. That’s important too,” she said, patting my head. In the middle of an attack.

I’ll show you. I’ll dodge ten times in a row!

After repeating the same moves over and over, I finally started to read her patterns. By then, the sun was high, and training had to stop.

In the end, I managed to dodge only twice in a row. I’d gotten used to the speed, but I just couldn’t match her movements perfectly.

Back home, I rinsed the sweat off in the shower and enjoyed Haruna’s exquisite cooking in the living room. Haruna was smiling the whole time, clearly happy to be with Big Teach.

“Ayumu,” Sera called, wearing a frown for some reason. “Shall we… go out?”

Sera had never asked to go out with me before. I felt a little happy.

“Are you saying you want to go on a date too?”

“You scum. That’s not what I meant.”

D-Did she just call me scum? I didn’t hear that right. Ha… ha.

Sera shifted her gaze to Haruna, who was grinning ear to ear, chatting with Big Teach. Her cowlick even looked like a dog’s tail.

I got it. Sera wanted to leave these two alone together.

“All right,” I said.

“A date… let’s see. February 30th, then.”

“Really? You’re okay with that? That’s… great?”

Wait, February 30th? That day didn’t even exist! She wasn’t even giving me a once-every-four-years chance!

Every drop of moisture in my body turned into tears.

---

Walking side by side with her felt like we were a couple, and I savored the joy. Sera was beautiful by anyone’s standards, and walking next to her, I probably looked like a tagalong.

Were we going shopping at the usual department store, or the nearby supermarket?

I followed along, conscious of the glances from people passing by.

“So, where should we go?” I asked.

That sounded like something a boyfriend would say.

“What’s with that creepy way of talking?”

“What do you mean? It’s how I always talk.”

“It’s very gross, so please stop.”

“I’m sorry. So?”

“There’s a place I’ve always wanted to visit.”

“Then let’s go there.”

“No, never mind. It’s fine.”

“Don’t be shy now. It’s the first time we’ve gone out alone together.”

“You’re right. Then, let’s go.”

Sera walked ahead without saying where she was going.

I followed behind her. We took the same path we had when we went to the planetarium. Did she want to go to the planetarium too? Well, there were plenty of things to do around there—bowling, arcades. Even though it had only been a week ago, everything felt so nostalgic.

When we reached a crowded area, Sera suddenly quickened her pace. I hurried to keep up.

“Sorry, I don’t want people seeing us walking together,” she said. “Stay a bit behind me.”

“O-Okay, sorry. We’re not a couple.”

Dejected, I trailed behind, enjoying the sway of Sera’s ponytail and the bounce of her hips as we walked. Not bad at all.

“How far is it?” I asked. It was a very normal question, considering I didn’t know where we were going.

“I truly apologize,” Sera sighed without turning her face. Was our destination that far? “But please don’t stay within earshot.”

Gah! That was too harsh. Why was she doing this to me?

“Sorry. Yeah, got it.”

Holding back tears, I walked for a few minutes in silence until Sera finally spoke to me.

“When I was tailing you and Maelstrom, I happened to find this place.”

Just hearing those words made me incredibly happy.

“Oh? Are we here?”

Sera stopped in front of a maid café.

A m-maid café?! Why would Sera come here?

When we stepped inside, a fairly cute girl greeted us with a smile. “Welcome, Master! A table for two?”

If I had to put it into words, it was the kind of sugary-sweet smile you’d expect from a girl who wouldn’t hurt a fly.

In contrast, Sera raised a finger, her eyes radiating with a murderous glare like she wanted to squash a bug on the spot.

“No. Just one.”

“Wait, what?! For two! It’s definitely two!” I scrambled to correct her.

We were shown to a table in the back. Sitting across Sera, I shook my head with a sigh and opened the menu. Pricey. Well, I guess people came here more to look at the girls than eat, so maybe the prices made sense.

“What’s with that smirk? It’s gross.”

“I was just thinking how funny it is you’d want to come to a place like this.”

“I’m… satisfied just seeing cute clothes.”

Her expression stayed dignified, though her cheeks flushed slightly as she stared at a waitress in maid uniform.

“Come to think of it, you always dress like a modern girl. Funny for a ninja.”

“Exactly!” Sera’s voice suddenly rose, making me flinch. “Vampire Ninja outfits are all way too plain! Did you know we wear chainmail in the village? Without even a bra!”

Sounds like heaven, I thought, but didn’t get a chance to say anything.

“And the cloak. Without it, my abilities are limited. Also…”

The floodgates opened, and she launched into a long list of complaints about Vampire Ninja attire.

“So, you wanna wear a maid outfit?”

“No. That would be gross.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I think the clothes are cute. I just don’t want to wear them. That’s why I came here instead.” She sighed. “So anyway. In Vampire Ninja training facilities, they don’t even allow skirts.”

I just nodded along. I decided I’d listen to her vent for as long as she wanted. For now, I’d agree with everything.

Her complaints poured out like a dam breaking. When she finally paused to take a breath, I said, “Hey, Sera. Do you think… Eu wants to stay with us?”

“Of course,” she answered without hesitation. Her steely jade eyes seemed to see straight through my doubt.

“But what if that’s just what we think? What if she actually finds us a bother?”

“There’s no way she thinks that.”

“How can you be so sure? Didn’t you think she went back to the Underworld because we did something wrong?”

“Why do you think I was able to find Miss Hellscythe?”

“Now that you mention it, how did you find her?”

“I saw her watching your—our house. She can’t let go, just like I couldn’t abandon being a Vampire Ninja. She made the decision, but there’s still attachment.”

Our house. Hearing that stirred something deep in my chest again. But instead of the usual discomfort, it felt nice.

“So, Eu does feel the same way I do. Still, you go solo way too much. If Eu was that close to home, you could’ve told us,” I said with a laugh.

Sera’s jade eyes turned sharp. “Unlike you, I’m seriously pursuing Miss Hellscythe.”

“Oh, you didn’t just say that.”

“Then tell me. Why didn’t you go after her?”

She must be talking about when the King of the Night took her away.

The pressure radiating from her almond-shaped eyes, shaded by long lashes, pierced straight into me. Maybe this was why she’d been acting like she absolutely despised me.

“Are you mad at me?”

“Of course. You abandoned Miss Hellscythe. Honestly, I despise you.”

That part was nothing new.

“I was only trying to help Haruna and Big Teach. What, you think I should’ve left them to die just to save Eu? At that point, the chances of Eu dying were low.”

“All I hear are excuses. I thought you were just hesitating.”

Sera’s voice stung my ears. My chest itched. Whenever I thought about Eu…

“Yeah, to be honest, I was hesitating.”

“With that attitude, Miss Hellscythe’s never coming back.”

“You think so?”

“I do. Sometimes you need Haruna’s level of pushiness. If I had the chance to take Miss Hellscythe’s hand, I’d be just as forceful as she is.”

“Haruna’s level, huh. If Eu actually wants to be with us, then sure. But…”

“See, there you go hesitating again. You’re even more annoying than Haruna.”

“So you do find Haruna annoying.”

“Annoying is better than being gross like you.”

Sera smiled without a hint of hesitation. Not at me, no. She was smiling at a girl in a maid outfit, almost flashing her panties. Apparently, she was more important than talking to me.

Dear heavens. I have to be like Haruna sometimes, huh.

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1. Obon is a fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors.