Kays Translations

Chapter 102: You said we’d take things slow, didn’t you? That was a lie.

Finally, the day had come.

On the day of our date, Hiyori appeared at the front door dressed in a dazzling SSR-tier early-summer outfit, and I cleared my throat and launched into a declaration of intent.

“Before we go on this date, there’s something I need to make clear.
I have no respect for people who neglect their true calling for the sake of romance. You know the type—movies and anime do it all the time. The world’s on the brink of disaster, the team is hanging by a thread, and yet the main characters are off whispering sweet nothings or kissing like it’s no big deal. It drives me crazy! This is no time for that! Save the world first, then flirt all you want. That’s just basic logic. Look at Mamono-kun or Professor Ohinata! Even after getting cheated on or having engagements broken off, they stuck to the path of magic linguistics and monster studies. They never let romance derail them. That’s admirable. They’ve got dedication. Conviction. They’re nothing like those weaklings who get swayed by love and lose their way. I want to be like them. Got it? We’re going on a date today, and yes, I’m looking forward to it. But once today is over, it’s back to business as usual. I’m making this declaration now: No matter how smitten I am with Hiyori, I will not neglect my staff craft! That’s my vow!”

After hearing my solemn vow, Hiyori leaned in close and whispered in my ear with a mischievous grin.

“No matter what you say, the outcome of today won’t change. You’re going to kiss me at the end of this date.”

“Gah…!”

My desperate attempt to set boundaries failed spectacularly.

She hit back with a brutal counterattack, and I buckled at the knees.

“With tongue, too.”

“Uaaahhh…!”

The follow-up blow was lethal. I trembled in fear.

That was an unblockable, undodgeable, guaranteed hit! Impossible to resist! I’m doomed! Curse this witch!

“That’s cheating. How am I supposed to look at you properly all day now?”

“That’s the point. So, what’s with the sunglasses?”

“I-It’s because I get flustered when our eyes meet…”

“Not allowed. Take them off.”

“Nooooo…!”

Even my last defense—the sunglasses—were taken from me. Now completely exposed, I was forced to look directly at Hiyori in her blinding date outfit.

Ahhhhh! Too much cleavage! Too much back! There’s nowhere safe to look, but I can’t look away! Paranormal phenomenon!

“Hey! You used charm magic, didn’t you!? That’s cheating! At least date me fair and square!”

“I didn’t use anything.”

“Lies! The world has already agreed that your normal level of cuteness is the maximum legally allowed! You’ve clearly surpassed it today—this has to be some kind of trick! This data doesn’t exist! Gyyyyahhh, I can’t handle it, I’m experiencing cute aggression…!”

“Calm down. Want me to hug you?”

“Aaaaagh!? Don’t finish me off!”

I was given a devilishly affectionate hug from Hiyori, who was pretending to be an angel. I could feel her absurdly overwhelming cuteness through her body heat, and I flailed in semi-madness.

My heart and brain glitched out in ways they never had before—I didn’t know what was what anymore.

This is violence, Hiyori! The violence of cuteness! I say no to violence!

Our date stumbled right out of the gate.

It took me a good while to get used to her SSR date outfit, and by the time I finally regained my senses, we were already seriously behind schedule.

Left with no other choice, I pulled out an old bicycle from the shed, quickly tuned it up, and set off with Hiyori riding behind me. There was no way we could make up time on foot, and running wouldn’t be romantic. A bike was the perfect middle ground.

With Hiyori sitting behind me, I wouldn’t have to look directly at her supernaturally irresistible beauty. It was a smart plan—or so I thought.

But I was naive.

Hiyori wrapped her arms around my waist from behind and pressed herself against me.

I almost crashed into a tree from the sheer shock.

“Whoa, watch it! Restrain yourself, Hiyori! Your cuteness is a deadly weapon—be aware of that, you idiot!”

“You should be aware of how sharp your words are, too.”

I could tell from her voice that she was laughing at me.

How dare she be that cute. Unforgivable. Cute. So cute it’s infuriating…

Apparently even the incarnation of cuteness herself got a little spooked about getting into a crash, because until we left the city limits past Okutama and Ome, she kept the conversation tame—just random trivia, nothing romantic. It was oddly calming.

(Continued historical/political lore begins here…)

She explained that Okutama and Ome had been excluded from the Blue Witch’s protection, but for the past 80 years, humanity had been gradually reclaiming livable territory.

New municipalities were spreading in concentric rings around major community hubs or along trade routes. These settlements were protected by mages or magical beasts. Particularly defendable areas or those suitable for agriculture, forestry, or fishing were sometimes used as enclaves. As a result, many new towns were built atop the ruins of old cities.

However, simply reclaiming ghost towns with no population served no purpose—maintenance costs would skyrocket. So the expansion of habitable zones was done in sync with population growth.

This led to several political debates:

Do we prepare cities first, then relocate the surplus population?

Or do we wait for population overflow before developing new towns?

Should tax breaks for pioneer settlers be based on the number of years or on generations?

How do we address disparities in economy and healthcare between new settlements and pre-apocalypse cities?

There were also factions and complications surrounding the pioneering teams clearing out ruined villages and cities now overrun by monsters. Families with high magical potential often sent members to these teams. Notably, the Flower Witch clan, the Alraune, though controversial, were seen as key to the pioneering effort.

Fuyou, the second daughter of the Flower Witch, had secured a stronghold in Okutama and erected powerful defenses. She could take down Class-A3 threats solo and even handle Class-A2 monsters in cooperation with the Spider Witch. While she lacked the stamina and raw power of transcendent beings and struggled in prolonged battles, under the right conditions she could rival the weaker ones.

Her sisters were equally strong. Once an Alraune clan rooted itself in a land and grew strong, that area was effectively secured.

In fact, most of Hokkaido’s populous plains had been settled by the Alraune, creating a solid foundation. This was thanks to a pact with the Seer mage.

When that mage chose to retire in Hokkaido, the pact with the Flower Witch was renewed—he would be allowed to live there so long as he looked after the daughters sent there. He honored this pact until his death.

As a result, Hokkaido now has the highest concentration of Alraune, even though they’ve spread to places like America and India. Tokyo, where the original root mother lives, remains their holy land.

While the Alraune clan has greatly contributed to expanding and maintaining human settlements, they aren’t without issues.

For one, they can’t take root just anywhere.

Soil richness, land size, and water availability all impact their development. Alraune rooted in poor, narrow lands grow weak. While Fuyou is classified as Class-A3 upper tier, the weakest among her clan might only be Class-B2 depending on their location.

They’re vulnerable to salt, so they can’t grow on small islands or coastal areas where groundwater is briny.

They also avoid regions with high populations of insects that prey on their leaves and roots.

Another controversy is the granddaughter clones.

First-generation clones—“daughters” of the Flower Witch—are educated to maintain a healthy distance from humanity. They typically claim the bodies of all who die in their territory, human and monster alike, but make no further demands.

Some are revered as town protectors. Others are pop idols. Some live quietly in greenhouses. There’s a wide range, and it works.

But granddaughter clones—clones of clones—lack that same ethical grounding.

They are more monstrous, more instinctual, and more prone to conflict with humans.

They might strangle elderly people living alone and feed off their bodies. They might eat delivery birds like the owl-sparrow. They could become violent out of jealousy toward beautiful women, or even burn houses to create ash for their soil.

At one point, an incident involving a granddaughter clone nearly triggered full-scale conflict between humanity and the Alraune. Since then, a rule was established: granddaughter clones must only root in areas where humans don’t plan to settle.

There had also been a proposal from the Flower Witch for the Alraune to settle in Ome City, but Hiyori apparently turned it down.

Hiyori visits her family grave in Ome occasionally, but she no longer has a strong attachment to the place. Still, she didn’t feel right about letting the Alraune run wild there either.

And so, Ome City continues to slowly decay, being reclaimed by nature. Hiyori said, with great patience, that by the time even the last traces of the town are gone, she’ll probably be able to tidy up her memories of it too.

…She’s starting to sound a bit like a long-lived species, isn’t she? Well, I guess that’s what happens when you live this long. Since I’ve also been made to drink that Longevity Maximus (or whatever it’s really called), I suppose eventually my sense of time will sync up with hers.

As I was caught up in those quiet thoughts, we left Ome and entered the city. I parked my bike at the lunch spot we had reserved and turned around after getting off.

And there she was—an insanely beautiful girl, dressed rather revealingly, standing just steps away. I nearly fell over in shock.

Crap, it’s a trap!

My brain had reset to Serious Mode after all that talk about academic and political dynamics, so despite being used to her, the shock hit me fresh again.

Oh right. At the end of this date, I’m supposed to kiss this all-dolled-up Hiyori.

With tongue.

GUWAHHH! Having forgotten about it once, remembering it now just makes it twice as embarrassing.

“What’s wrong, Dairi? Your face is all red.”

“Kh…!”

“Come on, let’s go in already. They have a couple’s discount, don’t they? A couple’s. Discount.”

Grinning from ear to ear, Hiyori wrapped her arm around mine and dragged my stiffened body into the restaurant.

Dammit! What happened to letting me lead the date?! She completely hijacked the pace—and my heart—shaking me around like I’m in a washing machine. Stop switching gears so fast!

Apparently, Hiyori planned to utterly wreck my emotions over the course of the day, and my heart did not survive. I swear my total heartbeat count today was worth at least ten days. I’m amazed my blood vessels didn’t burst.

Lunch, eaten while gazing at Hiyori’s radiant face, didn’t taste like anything.

The movie we saw afterward—I couldn’t remember a single thing about it. All I could recall was Hiyori’s profile, as her expressions changed—crying, getting mad, laughing—so vividly.

Even the magic item shop we stopped by afterward left no memory. The only thing that stuck was squashing a mosquito trying to land on Hiyori’s shoulder. I couldn’t tell you what they had in stock if I tried.

By the time the date ended, I was worn out and barely hanging on. Hiyori sat on the back of my bike as I pedaled us back to Okutama.

We rode down a country path at dusk, the wind of early summer rustling the lush green rice fields. It was like a scene out of a youth romance novel.

Except… it was a bit too steamy for that. Because when we get off this bike, I’m going to have a deep kiss with Hiyori. Like hell this is just one page of youth. You’d need a hundred pages to cover this! Get a grip!

Eventually, the bike came to a stop in front of the Dairihouse.

And with it, my heart nearly stopped too.

I got off the bike and turned to Hiyori, who was staring at me intently, cheeks flushed, clearly waiting for “something.”

My mouth was bone-dry.

Even though I should’ve been able to hear the chirping insects, croaking frogs, and rustling trees—none of it registered.

Tense to the point of dizziness, I tried to step toward Hiyori—but couldn’t. I froze in place.

Pathetic as it was, all I could manage was a weak plea.

“H-Hiyori. Maybe we shouldn’t do the kiss after all.”

“…Still too soon?”

Though she couldn’t hide her disappointment, she responded gently.

I shook my head.

No. It’s the opposite.

You see… you’re just too good at tempting me.

Your overwhelming charm has utterly broken my senses, and now my heart’s barely holding on.

“You said we were going to kiss with tongue, right?”

“Yeah.”

“If we do that now, I won’t be able to stop myself. I’ll push you down. And that’s not what we agreed on, is it?”

As I struggled to express my feeble self-control, Hiyori suddenly closed the distance and slipped into my arms, catching me in a moment of distraction.

Looking up at me with burning passion from within my chest, she completely wiped out all my words and logic.

She filled the blank space inside me entirely.

My last thread of reason snapped, and I pulled Hiyori close, tightly.

And so, the distance between us vanished.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter