There was a fragrance on Kushinada Mikumo's body.
It wasn't the kind of sll that ca from heavy makeup or perfu, but a natural body scent that this body originally possessed — what they call natural body fragrance.
This kind of thing often appears in novels.
Her hand was resting on Hikigaya's body. Hikigaya couldn't feel at all that this was the hand of a martial artist — soft and smooth, like that of an ordinary, pampered young lady.
The two of them were so close, so close that Hikigaya could directly sense Kushinada Mikumo's explosively curvaceous figure, even just from sight alone.
Especially because Kushinada Mikumo was rather tall, Hikigaya's line of sight at eye level landed directly on a pair of majestic twin peaks…
Kushinada Mikumo's gaze was burning, but it wasn't the kind of heat that cos from seeing a desirable mber of the opposite sex — it was more like the gaze of soone who'd spotted a rare treasure.
Or rather, to put it another way — it resembled the expression of a God Slayer when they see or hear a Heretic God. Although the intent was surely different, in nature it was quite similar.
But Hikigaya was not Kushinada Mikumo. What he saw was the non-warrior side of her.
It's a little embarrassing to say, but this woman, who flawlessly combined the two vastly different auras of allure and dignity, almost unleashed the little devil in his heart.
No kidding — when a beautiful woman like this is rubbing all over you, what man wouldn't get flustered?
Of course, it was just almost. After all, he was a God Slayer — no way he'd lose his cool that easily.
Grabbing the hand that was still moving all over him, Hikigaya took a deep breath and stomped the little devil that had just peeked its head back down inside.
What a joke — like he'd give in so easily to base instincts. If soone just tossed a at-covered bone and he pounced on it, he wouldn't be a God Slayer — he'd be a stray dog on the street.
"I say— have you seriously thought about the kind of inappropriate things that could happen in this scenario?"
"Please forgive . I only acted this way out of affection."
Kushinada Mikumo was completely unfazed by his words. She still pressed close to Hikigaya, studying him carefully, a contemplative look appearing on her beautiful face.
"Would you mind having a skilled female martial artist as your lover? Please believe — though I am a warrior, I am still a well-educated woman who upholds traditional etiquette."
Hey! Don't test my limits!
At this point, even her always-dignified face showed a hint of discomfort.
It was clear that even for her, this kind of topic took so effort to bring up.
But still…
Where's the main topic? Where did it go? Stop making it sound like he's so sort of breeding machine, alright!?
Hikigaya felt like crying.
His journey of flirting with normal girls hadn't even begun, and already it was taking a wild detour?
Just how much hostility does this world have toward him?! It's like it's refusing to even give him a chance to hit on a normal chick!
"Let's talk seriously for a second. You said you wanted to discuss sothing — is this really what you wanted to talk about?"
Hikigaya's face darkened, though he didn't push Kushinada Mikumo away.
It wasn't just about taking advantage of her. It was more that if he moved her off, his little buddy might end up being exposed in broad daylight — better to just leave things as they were for now.
"Of course not. I am here on behalf of Shadow One, seeking your aid in completing the 'Eternal Sunset,' to ensure that warriors receive their proper place in this world."
"Sunset?"
Hikigaya frowned.
As soone who regularly throws suns around, that term didn't sit well with him at all.
Even worse were the words "eternal" in front of it.
Since ancient tis — including the ancient Egyptians — many peoples have believed the source of life to be light, and light to co from the sun. After all, mythology also requires logic and persuasiveness. People watch the sun rise and set every day, and it clearly seed like an inexhaustible source of life. It was reassuring, not sothing anyone feared would suddenly vanish.
Likewise, Hikigaya himself needed to draw life force from light, to elevate his own existence.
So a na like "Eternal Sunset" was definitely unpleasant — it was basically a curse. The fact he didn't smack soone on the spot was already a display of great restraint.
So he said without hesitation, "What kind of ridiculous na is that? Change it."
"Is it… just that you don't like the na?" Kushinada Mikumo was a little confused.
Can't bla her — the two of them clearly weren't even thinking about the sa thing…
"I hate everything about it. What's the deal? Trying to curse ?" Hikigaya glared.
Nice change of topic — the fire seed to have cooled a little.
Except, damn it, he shouldn't have looked. Just one glance and the fire was back.
Hikigaya adjusted his focus and deliberately looked up toward the sky.
But sotis, doing more only makes things worse — as ntioned, Kushinada Mikumo was rather tall…
Four eyes t — and Hikigaya felt deeply awkward and irritated.
But Kushinada Mikumo didn't show the slightest bit of awkwardness. Even at this close distance, she could clearly sense Hikigaya's bodily reaction.
Still, her school of martial arts followed the principle of absolute detachnt from emotion and desire. As the founder of her style, she practiced this thoroughly.
She had long since devoted her everything to martial arts.
A warrior must not be distracted by aningless emotions — animalistic desires were even more pointless.
Her body, her appearance — in her eyes, these were nothing more than tools to be weaponized if necessary, even if she had never actually done so until now.
"This is not what I ant at all. That na represents the dream of generations of warriors."
Kushinada Mikumo didn't understand why Hikigaya disliked the na so much, so she began to explain.
"If not, the decline of martial arts will be unavoidable."
She spoke seriously — then suddenly shifted the topic.
"Seeking your help is my personal request. As a fellow warrior, I'm sure you understand — politicians would rather revere weak magicians than support martial artists. Shouldn't that situation be changed?"
"Ugh, you guys really are troubleso." Hikigaya could no longer play it cool — because, frankly, this part really did piss him off.
In truth, deep down, he identified more as a warrior himself.
Just listening to Kushinada Mikumo's explanation, he could roughly guess what this "Eternal Sunset" was all about — probably sothing like forcing the opposition to submit through violence.
It didn't sound difficult, but in reality, it would be a huge pain.
Essentially, it ant completely overturning the structure of the Underworld. No doubt that would make enemies everywhere.
After all, in this world, the Underworld was basically the magic society. Who was in charge was pretty obvious.
And most magicians also practiced martial arts — the real question was how they chose to identify themselves.
Even Hikigaya couldn't claim with a straight face that he was a pure martial artist.
But letting the martial world be wiped out was absolutely impossible for him — not out of sentint, but because the part of him that was a warrior simply wouldn't allow it.
It wasn't about logic — it just made him angry.
Now completely calm, Hikigaya didn't use force, but simply vanished from his spot with a thought, reappearing over a ter away.
"Let's talk about this later. For now, let's go et the others — just not here."
Looking at the stunned expression on Kushinada Mikumo's face, Hikigaya showed a faint trace of helplessness.
"After all, I am soone who ca from the Hand-to-Hand faction."
With that, he no longer looked at the now overjoyed Kushinada Mikumo, and used his authority to disappear from the spot.
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