Baffling Room Assignments

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

After a casual meeting with British military officials, they decided to cancel the dinner party that had been proposed by the British side. The reason was to ensure the safety of the Japanese personnel.

At first, they let their guard down, thinking that since they were the ones who had been called in, nothing would happen, but the first attempted attack had made them lose trust in the British.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t been wary before, but they knew that even if there were people in this country, England, who had animosity toward Japan and Magical Girls, the other side would not move until the Demonic Beast was defeated.

But unfortunately, that expectation fell apart. They had no choice but to raise the alert level.

The Japanese side didn’t think that they would be poisoned at this time, but they still felt uneasy about touching the food that the other side had prepared.

The British side, on the other hand, seemed ostensibly willing to cancel the dinner party because of the problems caused by the British diplomat, but it wasn’t clear what they were actually thinking.

–Whatever the case, both sides were united in their goal of winning tomorrow’s battle against the Demonic Beast. If anything were to happen, it would probably occur after that, but they could just quickly withdraw from the area.

If the Japanese side suffered any disadvantages, then the higher-ups would deal with it and do whatever they could to cross the border. It wasn’t Tsugumi’s job.

With that in mind, Tsugumi went on to the next job–transporting the food.

The dinner party was canceled, so for lunch – which corresponded to dinner for Tsugumi – he returned to Japan through transportation as ordered by Yamabuki, and went all the way to the government cafeteria to bring back a meal.

He was worried that he might not be able to transport properly with the considerable distance between England and Japan, but it turned out, he was able to do it without any problems. Apparently, distance didn’t have that much impact on his ability. It was still about five times more tiring than normal transport, though.

But when you were able to travel between countries so easily, it was hard to appreciate traveling. He supposed he didn’t need such things since he wasn’t on vacation, but there were times when he wondered the meaning behind such things.

But there were also good things for Tsugumi.

When the staff, who were good friends with Hagakure Sakura, heard about her trip to another country, they prepared a lot of extras for her. Tsugumi who ate a little more than others was really glad to have a reasonable amount of food to satisfy his needs.

The time for the next dinner–it would be quite early in the morning in Japan time, but Tsugumi left Japan after promising to come for dinner with a large group of people again around that time.

This was just a little side note, but after lunch, Toono blurted out, “Pets are like their owners, aren’t they?” Perhaps Bell, who was quarantined in the government basement, had been binge eating and drinking in his spare time.

By the way, she didn’t even have to mention which was the pet, Bell or Tsugumi.

After surviving lunch, Tsugumi and the others gathered again in the hotel’s hall to welcome the second group.

This time, there were no diplomats from other countries, just a few British diplomats. They must have thought that it would be a bad idea to provoke the Magical Girls any more than they already had.

The second group consisted of Magical Girls, including Chidori from the Transportation Management Department, and people from the Ministry of Divine Worship who could use barrier techniques. Those in charge of interpretation, and the Magical Girls in charge of escorting the second group. And about ten staff members to take data on the Demonic Beasts, for a total of about 40 people newly set foot in England.

Although it might seem like a big project, most of these additional personnel were not involved in tomorrow’s battle, so the atmosphere wasn’t that gloomy.

Especially for Chidori and the other Magical Girls from the Transportation Management Department, the visit was half like a game since they were here for transportation purposes. Well, it would be best if there was no danger.

And among the Magical Girls who were hastily added to the escort, there were also familiar faces – Suzushiro and Kazaguruma.

Suzushiro, in particular, was probably called in to take countermeasures against poison, as discussed during the meeting.

–The skill to manipulate poison had a slightly negative image among the public, but depending on how it was used, it could be a very useful skill. In a sense, it was a rare skill that excelled in both offense and defense.

With her being here, even if anyone was poisoned, she could easily detoxify the poison. It was safe to say that the danger of this expedition had been greatly reduced.

Suzushiro probably noticed Tsugumi–Hagakure Sakura’s gaze, and she smiled and waved her hand in a small gesture. While being soothed by Suzushiro’s appearance, Tsugumi quietly listened to Yamabuki’s explanation.

“Then we will be going our separate ways from now on. The members of the Transportation Management Department will act according to their own restrictions. The observation team will go to the London area to set up the equipment with the local staff. Those from the Ministry of Divine Worship will be responsible for the protection of the hotel. The Magical Girls who will be escorting the hotel will be assigned to their own groups.”

“Ah, what about us?”

Toono, whose name wasn’t called, asked Yamabuki.

“Toono-san and Hagakure-san will be escorting the Ministry of Divine Worship until the evening, and then you can get some rest early. The real show is tomorrow, after all. You need to be well rested.”

“Yes, I understand. –Hagakure-san, Is that all right with you, too?”

“Yes, I have no problem with that.”

Tsugumi nodded in agreement. In other words, after escorting the Ministry of Divine Worship, as long as the transportation of dinner was finished, Tsugumi’s work for today was probably over. That much was easier to understand.

“Then, we will disband here at once. If there is any problem, please contact me.”

Each of them nodded in agreement to Yamabuki’s words. Well, they had originally discussed their movements after coming to England while they were in Japan, so as long as nothing out of ordinary happened, there should be no problems.

Just as everyone was about to start moving, a staff member from the second group took out a stack of papers and shouted.

“Oh, everyone, just one thing to do before we move. –I’ve prepared the room assignments, including the additional personnel, and I’ll distribute them to you now. Please check it over.”

With these words, the staff distributed the papers one after another. As he gazed at this busy scene, Tsugumi put his hand over his mouth thoughtfully.

…I’ve heard we’re staying overnight but there’s no way I am sharing a room with anyone, right?

Thinking this, Tsugumi broke out in cold sweat.

Or rather, in Hagakure Sakura’s case, incidents would occur no matter who he shared a room with, regardless of gender. There was no other option but to room alone.

In the worst-case scenario, he could probably just transport home for the night, but he didn’t want to act selfishly when he was being forced to act as a group.

–But since male Yukino was originally scheduled to come on this expedition, her replacement, Hagakure Sakura, should also be assigned to a room alone.

Tsugumi optimistically checked the room assignments from the bottom to the top. Basically, the rooms were shared by several people, and the non-combatants and the Magical Girls were assigned in pairs.

As he checked, he found Chidori’s name, which had been bothering him for some time. It seemed Chidori was sharing a double room with Suzushiro.

Seeing this room assignment, Tsugumi tilted his head inwardly.

…In Chidori’s case, she had a history of being kidnapped, so perhaps that was taken into consideration when she was placed in the room with Suzushiro, who was a strong Magical Girl.

Incidentally, since the male staff members couldn’t stay with Magical Girls, they were supposed to stay in a room with a large number of people, and they were supposed to take turns watching over the room just in case.

…Why do we have to be so cautious when we came all the way to a foreign country to help defeat a Demonic Beast?

Perhaps this level of caution is normal in foreign countries? Growing up in an isolated country, he couldn’t understand it at all.

Tsugumi checked the list indifferently, but when he saw the column with his name on it, his face twitched. Then, with a pale face, he grabbed the sleeve of Toono’s dress and asked in a quiet voice.

“Ah, um, Toono-san. Are you sure this is okay?”

“Oh, we get a large suite, right? Is there a problem?”

“The problem isn’t with the room, it’s with the roommate…!”

With a whisper, Tsugumi pointed to the room assignment sheet.

There was a room number and a detailed description of the room followed by the words “Tohno Sumire & Hagakure Sakura”. In other words, Tsugumi’s roommate was Toono.

…Normally, anyone else would think, “I’m so lucky to be spending the night with a beautiful woman!” But the other person was Toono. If he carelessly made a move, he would be extinguished in an instant.

He was too scared to spend the night with her.

But Toono, whether she realized his feeling or not, made a puzzled face, tilted her head, and said.

“Yes. It means staying in the same room with Hagakure-san, right? There’s nothing to fuss about.”

“…But there’s actually something to fuss about. Are you serious?”

Tsugumi said that and nudged Toono in frustration, but Tohno tilted her head with a question mark floating on her face. …Is this person really okay?

In the first place, it was strange that a young woman–and a human being in a special position as a miko—had no hesitation in spending the night with a man, even if said man was a Magical Girl. It was completely incomprehensible.

Tsugumi looked at Toono with a disturbed look, but Toono just smiled quietly and didn’t say anything.

He wasn’t sure what Toono was thinking, but he put it aside for the moment and went to the staff member who had given him the room assignment.

“Um, sorry. Regarding this room allocation, is it possible to have a single room?”

When Tsugumi asked that question, the female employee looked apologetic and shook her head.

“I’m sorry. We have increased the number of guards and other personnel on short notice, so we don’t have enough rooms to accommodate them. No, to be precise, the room itself is available, but the effect of the barrier will be less effective if the areas are spread out too much. Besides, in Hagakure-san’s case, it is assumed that you and Toono-san will be escorting each other, so it would be more helpful if you could stay with us if possible.”

“…I see.”

If you say it like that, I can’t possibly refuse.

…Thinking that he might have to sneak back to his room in the middle of the night, he let out a small sigh.

“Are you done talking?”

Saying that, Toono smiled and looked into Tsugumi’s face.

“…Well, for the time being.”

“It seems you couldn’t get yourself a single room. –That’s fine. We’re friends.”

Toono happily talked about her plans for the evening, saying things like, “I’m looking forward to our secret talks at night”. Seeing Toono’s state of mind, Tsugumi let out a loud sigh.

“Friends aren’t a universal indulgence, are they?”

He said this with a sigh of defeat, his shoulders slumped.

–Even now, he was already worried about nightfall.