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Edited by LyraDhani

“–My name is [Baal]. I am the God of fertility who is worshipped in the distant land of Canaan. …No, I used to be one.”

Bell opened her mouth with a faraway look in her eyes, as if in contemplation. What she said was roughly what Tsugumi had expected.

Baal – the great God worshipped in the land of Canaan, which was called the “Promised Land” in the Bible. Baal was pronounced in Babylonian style as [Bell].

Her aliases were many and varied, and according to one theory, she was sometimes equated with Baal, one of Solomon’s 72 demons, Beelzebub, the demon of gluttony famous for the seven deadly sins, and Set, the God of storms in Egyptian mythology.

“The place that used to be Canaan is now ruled by missionaries from elsewhere, and there is no one who respects my existence anymore. Not only that, they have disgraced and humiliated this precious self. They mocked me as an evil God or a demon.”

Bell said as if to spit.

–The God who once boasted of her prosperity was now disgraced as an evil God. Her fertility powers were inverted and turned into gluttony, likening her to an insect that destroys crops, and she was called the Lord of the Flies. An anecdote about her uniting the Gods was twisted and turned into her leading an army of demons.

…Bell often said that humans were selfish, and she certainly wasn’t wrong.

For their own happiness, they would easily discard even the Gods they used to believe in – even if it was to survive in the midst of religious oppression, it wasn’t something that should be tolerated. It was something that Tsugumi who lived in a polytheistic country could never understand.

“I came to this country on a whim. But as I told you before, there are no good candidates in the government. Just as I was beginning to think about giving up and returning to the position of God–Tsugumi, I found you.”

Bell looked at Tsugumi and laughed softly. It was a radiant smile, as if a possession had been lifted.

“…Now, do you feel happy to be here?”

Tsugumi asked Bell. She had not forgotten the despair of being betrayed and the hardship of being humiliated. But even so, she was now lending her strength to this country, to humanity. To him, it seemed very noble.

“Well, it’s not so bad. –But don’t get me wrong. I have never been a slave to this country. You humans are not free to do as you please.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Japan was the one who asked Gods to lend their strength. Even if Amaterasu was the administrator, there should be no hierarchical relationship between them. Everyone knew that.

“And you can call me [Bell] as usual. It’s annoying to change my name now.”

“If that’s what Bell-sama says, then that’s what I’ll do. With Bell-sama’s current appearance, no other names would come to mind. …I’m going to ask you at this point, why are you in black cat form? Can you take another figure?”

Until now, like the name, he felt an atmosphere that he shouldn’t touch this figure.

The figure of a supple black cat with dragonfly-like wings on its back–it looked like a devil’s messenger–Like the mascot character that children imagine, and it gave a very lovable impression. Considering Bell’s personality, it was a wonder why she chose such a figure.

“I thought it would frighten people if I looked too stern. After consulting with my acquaintances, I settled on this one. Don’t touch me too much. I don’t want to be reminded of it.”

Bell said bitterly. Her words reminded Tsugumi of the first time he met Bell.

-Well, come to think of it, Master Bell really wanted to make a contract with a little kid, didn’t she?

Tsugumi felt an indescribable feeling and smiled vaguely. Now he could understand that Bell only wanted to make a contract with a young child–or rather, a person with a pure heart–but at the time, it sounded like a lolicon’s excuse. Mutual understanding was important, Tsugumi really thought.

There were many problems, but the chemistry between Tsugumi and Bell was not bad. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he felt that Bell had opened up to him a lot since the Radon battle.

Tsugumi didn’t know how much longer he could continue his activities as a Magical Girl, but he’d like to keep going as long as she wanted. He didn’t want to fight at the level of risking his life too much, but there probably wouldn’t be another case like this one, and if he didn’t push himself too hard, he could be active for a reasonable amount of time.

“Oh, I forgot to mention that the bounty for this project has been transferred to your account. It was paid in full as a thank-you for responding to the urgent call, but it’s still not worth it.”

“Well, how much?”

The amount of the reward was not disclosed to the public. Whether the amount was high or low, there would be people who made a fuss either way.

E-class was one million, D-class was five million, and so on. The amount for C-class was 10 million. The amounts after that had not yet been made known to Tsugumi.

In his case, he was a stray Magical Girl, so he received 70 percent of the reward, not the full amount, but he still received about 40 million in the past three months. To be honest, it was a little frightening, because it seemed like he was going to lose his financial sense.

With A-class, the difficulty level jumped up, and maybe he could get 50 million at a time. When Tsugumi thought so, Bell mentioned a ridiculous amount of money with a face like it was nothing.

“It’s 300 million. Your life is looked upon as cheaply as mine. …Hmm? What’s with that funny look on your face?”

His cheeks were tugged. …Maybe he heard it wrong.

“Well, I wonder if that digit is wrong.”

“I am not mistaken. I think it’s okay to have three billion?”

At these words, Tsugumi shook his head. That huge amount of money was scary and he couldn’t accept it. With Tsugumi sweating, Bell folded her arms in disgust.

“What’s there to be afraid of? Think about it–If you didn’t fight, the city would have been overrun by Radon until another Magical Girl arrived. Considering the damage it would have caused, 300 million is a small price to pay.”

“I can’t deny that…”

Certainly, considering the damage, that amount of money might not be out of line. The only problem was that it would be difficult for Tsugumi to spend that money freely.

–The reward money received by Magical Girls was basically tax-free, but only if the individual could be identified.

Magical Girls who hid their identities from the government, like Tsugumi, were generally not allowed to make large purchases, as they were likely to be caught up in an investigation if they made too many. There had even been a few cases in which they were suspected of tax evasion and their identities were revealed.

At any rate, he could only use a little pocket money and eat out with Bell. …There was no point in worrying too much, so he’d just forget about it.

Thinking about it, he let out a small yawn. Perhaps he was feeling relaxed now that the matter he had been worrying about had settled down.

“Well, you are in a good mood to be yawning in front of me.”

“Sorry, I’m a little sleepy.”

As Tsugumi rubbed his eyes and said this, Bell approached Tsugumi and stroked his head with a gritty little hand. Bell’s head was soft and paw-like.

“I think you should take a rest now. When your body heals, you’ll be back to working as hard as before.”

“Yeah. –Thank you, Bell-sama.”

He felt somewhat embarrassed and smiled deceptively. It was a different feeling from being fussed over by Chidori and Mebuki–Tsugumi wondered if this was what it would have been like if he had an older brother.

With these thoughts in mind, Tsugumi drifted gently off to sleep. It felt like he was about to have a good dream.

◆ ◆ ◆

–2:00 A.M. The lights in the hospital were out, and silence pervaded the entire building.

“…Thirsty.”

Tsugumi got out of bed, muttering to himself. He looked around for something to drink. There was cold tea in the refrigerator of the private room, but he somehow couldn’t bring himself to drink it.

“I’m pretty sure the doctor said there was a vending machine in the hallway…”

Half-asleep and unsteady, Tsugumi stood up. Then, using the IV stick for support, he slowly walked toward the door. If Chidori had been here, she would have angrily stopped him from going out in the middle of the night.

And just as he was about to put his hand on the door, he felt a stare on his back.

His hand stopped with a snap. The blurred thoughts gradually became clearer and clearer. Tsugumi felt the gaze from the sofa. In other words, it was from diagonally behind.

-Isn’t it a ghost?

He swallowed his spit. Tsugumi didn’t really believe in ghosts, but lately, he was starting to think that since Gods existed, it wouldn’t be surprising that ghosts existed as well. Moreover, this place was a hospital- it would be unnatural if there weren’t any.

Other people might think what the hell he was doing now that he had fought monsters like Radon, but he was still afraid of things he didn’t understand. It would be much easier to understand and appreciate something like a Demonic Beast that would be killed if you cut it.

Tsugumi thought about it for a moment, but then dropped his shoulders in resignation.

The gaze and the mysterious presence that seemed to be burning his back. He could pretend he didn’t know and leave the room, but he’d end up coming back to this room anyway.

–I guess I’ll have to take a look, after all.

Tsugumi exhaled a small breath and turned around, as if he had decided.