{Chapter 6} The Night Before the Battle
Part III
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“Are you ready? Marion, Domori Hiroto.”
“Yes.”
“Ah, umm. I am ready.”
In the early hours of dawn, the three of them confirmed to each other.
General Mathew will now leave for his hometown and political base of Minra.
Hiroto and the others boarded the military vehicle provided by the convoy commanded by Tientan, with Mizuho and Marion in the back seat and Hiroto in the passenger seat.
“I’ll make sure to get you to Minra, Domori-san!”
“Ah, Gwen-san! We’ll be in your care.”
Gwen, who had brought him from the airport to Yangra, was the driver. She greeted Hiroto and his friends with a smile and started the car.
The car carrying Hiroto’s group began to move, and Mizuho and Marion’s faces were slightly tense.
Unlike the past, the upcoming battle would have great significance for them.
If the mission goes well, it will be much easier to protect General Mathew.
Perhaps that was why the two of them were more than a little nervous.
However, Mizuho was aware that she was the leader of this team of ability users. She knew that she had to calm herself down before the battle.
As Mizuho was thinking about this, Marion, who was sitting beside her, called out to Hiroto without hiding her own nervousness.
“Hiroto-san, …….”
“Umm? What?”
Hiroto turned around from the passenger seat to look at Marion. Then, when he saw Marion’s anxious expression, he imagined how she was feeling right now and smiled at her.
“Ahaha, don’t worry. Even if my prediction is wrong, it won’t be a failure if we can protect General Mathew. At that time, I’ll stay close to the two of you and try to buy some time for you to activate your techniques, just like Shitenji-san said in the beginning.
“Y-yes! That’s right. I’ll do my best too!”
When Marion heard those words from Hiroto, she smiled as if her nervousness would melt away and Hiroto also nodded with a smile.
Mizuho looked at the two of them with fixed eyes.
Mizuho is not good at relying on others, so it’s not easy for her to do this.
Then, looking at Marion, who was in a good mood and leaned her back against the backrest, she growled in a whisper.
“Marion, ……, that’s not fair.”
“Eh? What? Mizuho-san!”
“Hmph.”
Marion fumbled and tried to talk to Mizuho, but Mizuho turned her face towards the outside of the window. With tears in her eyes, Marion put her hand on Mizuho’s shoulder, but Mizuho didn’t pay any attention to her.
“Mizuho-san, why won’t you look at me! Mizuho-san!”
Marion shook Mizuho’s shoulder, but she didn’t look at her.
Then …… Marion also spoke up a bit.
“Mizuho-san is also wearing a …… little cute outfit today. I’m always in my exorcist vestments. ……”
“Hey!”
Mizuho’s eyes widened and she turned to Marion.
“Your skirt is also a little shorter than …… it is usually long.”
“T-That’s not true! You can’t think like that …….”
“Fuu.”
This time, Marion turned her head away.
“Ma-Marion! It’s just a coincidence today! Marion, look at me!”
Hiroto thought, why is there a commotion behind him? He turned his head to look at them, but since the two behind him didn’t seem to be nervous before the battle, he decided to leave them alone. It was much better than being nervous.
Then Gwen smiled.
“No, it’s inappropriate in the middle of a mission, but it’s fun to drive when you have a youngster on board~”
She then started humming in a good mood.
About three hours had passed since they left Yangra. Hiroto checked the map in the passenger seat of the military vehicle driven by Gwen.
“We are almost at the enemy attack point that Tientan-san mentioned. ……”
Yesterday, Hiroto and the others had received an explanation from Tientan that there was a high possibility of an attack in this area. But that was only a prediction on their part.
Hiroto also understood this, so he was constantly checking the current location and the surrounding terrain so that the enemy could come at any time.
It was a prerequisite for the operation planned by Hiroto and his team this time to have the surrounding terrain in mind. And the beginning of the assault would be the signal to start the operation. Hiroto checked the radio he would be using for that purpose.
“Shitenji-san, Marion-san, can you check the radio’s operation just in case?”
“Okay.”
“I understand.”
Hiroto turned on the military radio and tuned its frequency.
“It’s working fine.”
“I have no problem either.”
“Okay. Then, let’s stick to the plan we talked about yesterday.”
Mizuho and Marion nodded. And then Mizuho turned off the switch and looked at Hiroto.
“But, Domori Hiroto…”
“What is it?”
“Can we change the frequency without permission? I realize that you don’t want your allied troops to hear this, but ……”
“Umm, it should be fine. It’s not like we’re dragging our feet, but it’s better to be cautious. It’s also just a way to buy time in case you’re about to get bugged. Once the operation starts, the allied troops can’t be bothered with such things. …… because everyone will be desperate to survive.”
Hiroto laughed, but Mizuho and Marion could feel a part of the atmosphere of the actual battle in the cautiousness of Hiroto. Make the most of the preparations you can,……, it is an ironclad rule that those who exchange lives must not lose.
“And also, Domori Hiroto …….”
“Ah, Shitenji-san.”
Hiroto interrupted Mizuho who tried to continue talking.
“Shitenji-san, during the operation, you can refer to me as Domori or Hiroto. I want to save as much time as possible, and it’s hard to call me by my full name every time, right?”
Mizuho’s eyes widened at Hiroto’s offer.
“T-That’s right, it’s inconvenient during operations! Yeah, yeah, it can’t be helped. ……. So, should we go with …… then, Hiroto? That’s what Marion calls you, too! We’ll be consistent.”
Mizuho shook her face, repeatedly and heavily.
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Hiroto nodded and looked forward to check the radio pack he carried on his shoulder.
Marion’s mouth twitched unamusedly next to Mizuho’s, who for some reason looked a little happy.
“Mizuho-san, isn’t it fine to use Domori? And I’m using ‘san’ too.”
“Eh? Marion! I thought Hiroto would have fewer letters! That’s all. We’re on a mission!”[TN: Mizuho is saying that Hiroto{ひろと} would be faster to say that Domori {どうもり} if you skip the Kanji character which is only 2 for both.]
“Muu …… is fine. It’s only during the mission. ……”
“T-that’s right! It’s all about efficiency. …… umm? Huh. ……”
At this time, Mizuho made a face as if she noticed.
“Ah hey, Hi …… Hiroto?”
“Hmm? Yes? Shitenji-san.”
Hiroto turns around.
“That’s it! Y-You can call me Mi-Mizuho, too!”
“Eh? Ahh, but ……,well, then Mizuho ……,san is that okay?”
“No, no need for …….san, I want …….”
When Mizuho was mumbling, Marion, who is usually quiet, unusually intervened.
“Mizuho-san, it’s fine, isn’t it? Also, just call me Marion-san, and only during the operation! Okay!”
“Y-yeah right, I’ll go with Mizuho-san.”
Marion smiled and said to Hiroto, but she stressed that it was only during the operation.
Because it was strangely powerful, Hiroto responded as if he were being pressured.
Mizuho seemed to be staring at Marion with tears in her eyes, but he decided not to worry about it.
Hiroto learned how to read the atmosphere in this area from Matsuri.
(But what is it? Marion-san’s smile doesn’t have the …… usual healing power.)
Hiroto gave a weak smile back to Marion’s smiling face and looked forward to escape the scene.
‘Ma-Marion~'”
When Mizuho muttered, looking like a fisherman who missed the chance to catch a big fish, Marion smiled.
“It’s not good to suddenly call a girl by her name, so …… I use san as well.”
“Ma-Marion, …… you’re too different.”
“You too, Mizuho-san. ……”
“”…………””
The two girls look at each other.
Only these two girls seemed to understand the changes in each other.
“”Fufu……Fufufu …… Fufufufufu …… Fufufufufufufufufufufufufufufufu ……”
Hiroto was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car, looking forward as if he was frozen because he thought he could hear the onomatopoeic sound of gogogogo from the back seat of the car.
Now, it felt like he should never look back.
(W-What!? There’s a lot of fighting spirit behind me! What is it? What’s being born?)
With trembling hands, Hiroto decided to devote himself to the task of staring at the map.
(Enemy, quickly! Come out quickly! Enemy! Please!)
Hiroto was sincerely waiting for the enemy to attack.
Suddenly, Gwen, the driver, started humming again beside Hiroto.
“Well~, I know it’s inappropriate in the middle of a mission, but it’s fun to drive with young people in the car~”
In the same car with the trembling boy and the girls who just can’t stop smiling, Gwen is the only one who seems to be in a good mood and having fun.
–end–
Now, only Epilogue and Afterword remains.
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Thanks for the chapter man it’s funny seeing the girls quarrel during a mission 😂
The fact that they actually don’t know what they’re trying to do make the scene even funnier…
But the author seriously delayed the story with his ghost story. The volume is ending without the main part happening.
Thanks for the translation anyway.
Thanks for the chapter 0w0
Thanks for the chap!!!
Eh? What? Its almost epilogue already? Damn that ghost part really wasted this volume.
Thanks for the chapter anyway