AtE Arc 3: Chapter 1

Happy Halloween~

Woah, it’s really been a while since I posted the last arc, huh. My apologies, I did say I’d do it a few months ago, but then RL got busy and even though I finished translating it, I didn’t quite get around to TLCing it…

Well, in any case, at least I’m posting it now, right? Teehee~

Judging from how long it took me to post this arc, the next one will probably take some time too, so for now I won’t guarantee any particular release time. Just that all of Arc 4 will be posted once it’s all done.

Due to some of the difficulties in wording and such, some “Japanese words” have just been left as is (ex. “Sensei”, “Shishou”, “Youkai”). They’re used fairly often, so I’m quite sure people know what they mean and as such there will not be any TL notes for those words.

On that note, please enjoy the Arc 3 of After the Ending, the Magical Girl Earnestly Hides Her True Identity~

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AtE Arc 3: The Magical Girl’s Iron Hammer – Chapter 1

——pit pat pit pat pit pat.

——tap tap tap.

——pit pat pit pat…pit pat pit pat.

——tap tap…tap tap.

 

Run.

In order to get away from the “something” that was chasing her from behind, the young girl moved her legs and ran.

 

「Hah…hah…hah」

——pit pat…pit pat…pit pat…pat pat pat

 

The sound of the footsteps that she couldn’t shake off followed her own precisely.

The darkness tempted her, as if it were saying, come to the darkness, come.

 

「Hah…hah…hah…ku…o…【Open・Fo——」

——pat…pat…papapapapapapa-

「——hi-」

 

And then.

 

「N-No…stop——」

 

A blade glinted in the darkness.

 

――†――

 

When the rainy season sets in, my body gets languid, making it hard to move.

I’ve always been rather bad with this season since way back when, and when it was coupled together with the “documents” before me, my sighs became deeper.

 

「Mitsukasa-sensei, that’s-……」

「Ahh, Mutsu-sensei…… Yeah. It’s the fifth case since this month started. It happened again.」

「The rumored slasher incident, is it?」

 

The one with anger dwelling in his eyes as he groaned was my coworker, Mutsu-sensei.

Tidily set brown hair and a shirt that was open until the second button due to the heat. Though he was wearing a suit that was matched well with a necktie, and was working such a stiff job as a teacher, one could only see him as a frivolous man.

However, unlike his looks, he was an innocent and pure-hearted, friendly young man inside. A youth whose looks and interior made one feel a real gap between them.

The documents that I was looking at while he held a staring contest with them, were concerning a number of serial slasher cases that have been happening recently, only targeting students that were returning home late due to club activities and the like.

 

「The common characteristic between the victims were that regardless of whether they were from the ESP department or the Magic department, they were all female students with childish appearances.」

「Yes, that seems to be the case. Not only that, but it was a degenerate who would only cut up their uniforms. Such an easily identifiable enemy of women.」

 

Indeed.

The ones whose uniforms were cut up in this case, were all, without any exceptions, female students of the high school and middle school divisions that were baby-faced. On top of that, either the perpetrator’s “nose” for them was really good, or they were extremely well-informed of the inside circumstances, because all of them were students whose abilities or technical skills were unable to handle the situation.

 

「For something like this to happen just when Kagami-sensei wasn’t around……」

「Yeah, now that you mention it, that’s true. Since it seems that Nana…Kagami-sensei had some urgent business at home.」

 

　The seven heroes who once saved the world.

A member of those seven heroes, Kagami Nana is a youth who was, for various reasons, appointed as a counsellor at our school.

At the scene of the crime, bloodstains and bodily fluids – as long as anything having to do with water was left at the scene, he’d be able to use that to track the perpetrator for us, but……unfortunately, as long as he was taking a paid holiday, that would be asking for too much.

 

「An enemy of women who’s fast at running away is quite troublesome.」

「We have to do something as soon as possible. Before the crime starts escalating.」

「Yes, that’s right.」

 

That being said.

They were quick at running away, and their nose was good.

The fact that they could attack ability users meant that they were likely an ESPer or a mage.

That being the case, in order to make the country move for this affair, we’d have to make it into a case where they would be compelled to put the Anti-Ability Crime Department into action, otherwise they’d demand that Tokusen handle it internally. This was “that sort” of place.

 

And, that would mean.

 

「We’ll need a decoy. I will——」

「You can’t!」

 

It would’ve been good if I could do it, but on top of not being baby-faced, I’ll die if I had to wear a high school girl’s uniform.

When I was about to convey that, Mutsu-sensei raised his voice, interrupting me.

 

「If a teacher must do it, then I will!」

「Eh…ah…yeah…since a uniform wouldn’t suit me after all——」

「It would suit you.」

「Eh?」

「Mitsukasa-sensei is-…a b-beautiful person! I have no intentions of offering such delicious-looking bait to the perpetrator! You abbbbbbsolutely can’t!!」

 

As he was shouting in the staff room, numerous gazes simultaneously turned this way.

Rather…huh…what is this? It’s so embarrassing I could die……

 

「E-Even if it’s just flattery, I’m glad…but, um…it’s embarrassing so-」

「Heh? ……eh? Ah…wa…waa-…s-sorry!」

「I-It’s okay.」

 

Oi oi oi, what is this? Eh? What’s this? Why’s it suddenly strawberry*?

*T/N: According to urbandictionary – in Japan “strawberry time” is when a young couple have first started dating and they are lovey dovey. In other words, the “honeymoon phase”.

During my school days I lived simply. When I graduated and got a job, I was always entangled with Shidou and everyone. Maybe that is why. I am not at alllllllll used to being praised like this face-to-face.

 

「*cough*……s-so, Mutsu-sensei acting as a decoy means?」

「Ah, y-yes……um, I will use my ability to cover myself with an illusion.」

「Your ability……I see, “Phantom Coat”, is it?」

 

An ability that could show an illusion capable of fooling the sight and senses.

If we made use of Mutsu-sensei’s “Phantom Coat”, then it would indeed be the most suitable decoy.

 

「Then let’s pinpoint the culprit’s preferences. Could Mutsu-sensei also help out with that?」

「Yes!」

 

As I thought, what he did earlier was just him trying to calm down the situation.

When I said that while trying to play down my face that inevitably became red, Mutsu-sensei nodded energetically like the friendly youth he was.

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