Tsukumo’s Melancholy
Deep beneath the underground base [Nest],
far below where the rank-and-file members gathered, lay a certain room.
The floor was littered with pencil sharpeners, broken fans, bottles of mysterious liquids—hardly any space to step.
But to the room’s owner, this was no issue at all.
The space wasn’t meant for living.
Its sole purpose was to function as a workshop.
This was the factory of [The Six Apostles’] Fifth Seat—〈Gangya, the Toymaker〉.
“Hey, Shien.”
The factory’s overseer, Toki Tsukumo, called out to her colleague with an unusually grave expression.
Said colleague, meanwhile, had commandeered the sofa like she owned it, lazily puffing smoke from her pipe—despite sharing the space with a literal child.
She lifted her head sluggishly at the call.
“What’s up, Tsukumo?”
“—That’s it!”
“Whoa, what?!”
Tsukumo suddenly shot up, jabbing a finger at Adashino Mion—aka 〈Shien, the Purple Smoke〉.
Her glare was intense.
Mion’s mind raced through the many, many reasons she might’ve pissed Tsukumo off… but she had no clue what “that’s it” referred to.
She had been hogging the sofa since she got here, and the smoking was nothing new.
Surely Tsukumo wouldn’t complain about those now. So then—
“…The pudding in the fridge two days ago?”
“IT WAS YOU!?!?”
“Oh, so that’s not it? Phew.”
“NOT ‘PHEW’! MARK MY WORDS—I’LL ENCHANT THE NEXT PUDDING WITH BELL PEPPER FLAVOR!”
“Then I just won’t eat it…”
(She’ll probably forget she enchanted it and eat it herself… then run around crying looking for the culprit.)
Mion mentally predicted the future.
“Wait, no! That’s not the point!!”
“Hmm?”
Tsukumo stomped her foot, puffing her cheeks.
“—Why does everyone call me ‘Tsukumo’ or ‘Gan-chan’!? My codename is 〈Gangya, the Toymaker〉!!”
Ah. So the chuuni little girl was upset about what people called her.
Not that it changed much.
“…Sounds about the same to me.”
“IT’S NOT!! It’s like calling the Prime Minister ‘that lady from the big house’!!”
Mion didn’t see the big deal, but she decided to humor her.
“—That is a huge problem!”
“EXACTLY WHAT I’VE BEEN SAYING!”
Tsukumo’s energy skyrocketed.
“‘Toymaker’—it’s cool, right!? Even though the stuff I make can level cities, it’s all just ‘toys’! Even the failures! That’s so…!!”
“Uh… yeah, sure!”
“Right!? RIGHT!?”
“But y’know…”
“Huh?”
Mion poured cold water on Tsukumo’s excitement.
She took a slow drag from her pipe before speaking.
“‘Tsukumo’ is just easier to say.”
“GWAH—!?”
“Damn, I’ve never seen someone look this shocked…”
Mion smirked as Tsukumo froze solid.
“B-But I’m 〈Gangya, the Toymaker〉…”
“Too long.”
“Guh…!?”
Tsukumo dropped to her knees,
the hem of her robe-like lab coat splaying across the floor.
“I mean, stuff like me being ‘Setsuna’ or Zen being ‘Zetsubou’ is fine, but yours is twice as long, y’know?”
“BWAAAAAH!! THAT MAKES IT SOUND LIKE 〈Zetsubou〉 HATES HER OWN CODENAME!!”
“Huh?”
“Huh?”
Plop. Tsukumo sat on the floor, blinking in confusion.
Mion blinked back at her.
For a moment, the two just stared. Then the little girl’s eyes began to well up.
“Sniff… I-I didn’t even come up with Zen-nee’s ‘Despair’ thing…”
“Wait, wait, my bad—don’t cry!”
“Zen-nee was already called ‘Despair’ after she destroyed that city!!”
“But you were the one who made it her codename, right?”
“—*Sniffle”
“Ah, shit. My inner sadist slipped out…!”
Mion tried to backpedal, but her natural instincts got in the way. She scrambled for comforting words.
“Uh—I mean! Sure, for the past five years, *you’ve* named everyone, but Zen—er, 〈Zetsubou〉—was already called that, and 〈Setsuna〉 inherited hers from her mom, so…”
“SO YOU’RE SAYING MY IDEAS ARE BAD!? WAAAAAH!!”
“GAHHH! I can trash-talk people just fine, but comforting them is impossible!!”
The toy maker descended into chaos.
Then—creak. The heavy iron door groaned open.
“You’re being noisy…”
A sigh echoed through the room as the [Nega-Messiah] leader, 〈Shinazu dori〉, stepped in.
Empty-handed, clad in her usual white garb.
“SHINAZUUU! MIO-NEE’S BEING MEAN!!”
“Yes, yes. The usual, then.”
The leader patted Tsukumo’s head as the girl clung to her waist.
“No, it’s not like—”
After Mion’s explanation, Shinazu Dori nodded once.
“It is too long.”
She crushed Tsukumo’s hopes instantly.
But even as the little girl trembled in her arms, Shinazu Dori kept stroking her head.
“Because—”
She continued before Tsukumo could burst into tears again.
“Codenames exist to conceal our identities from enemies while allowing allies to address us. They’re most crucial in battle—long names waste precious time.”
“Hweh…?”
“However.”
Her hand remained gentle.
“I like yours.”
Tsukumo’s teary eyes lit up instantly.
She spun around—likely pointing at Mion from behind her sleeve—and stuck out her tongue.
“See!?”
“What’s that supposed to prove…?”
Mion sighed but seemed relieved.
Then she shrugged.
“Eh, if the leader—who has the most complex codename out of all of us—says so, I guess I can’t argue.”
“…………”
“Hm?”
Shinazu Dori fell silent.
Her pale skin made it obvious—her ears were faintly red.
Before Mion could say anything else—
“At my age… it’s, well… a little embarrassing…”
She covered her mouth with her sleeve.
Mion stared flatly.
“‘Your age’? You’re barely older than me…”
“—YOU’RE BOTH IDIOTS!!”
Tsukumo flung herself onto the bed in the corner in a huff.
Just before the two adults parted ways at the workshop door—
“Oh, Leader.”
“Yes?”
Mion tilted her chin up slightly.
“Your eyes are closed today.”
Even if Mion admired the other woman’s beauty, their gazes wouldn’t meet.
Shinazu Dori’s dark eyes remained hidden behind pale lids.
She smiled faintly.
“No.”
“Huh?”
“Last meeting—when my eyes were open—that was the exception.”
Her smile deepened.
“So if anything, today is simply… normal.”
“Hmm. Guess so.”
“Now then.”
With that, she turned on her heel and walked away.
Mion twirled her pipe idly as she watched the leader’s retreating back.
“Wasn’t prying. Just making conversation… Guess karma’s a bitch.”
She chuckled wryly.
(Maybe I should’ve asked if she’s a fox or a wolf boy while I had the chance…)
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
TLNOTE: So Shinazu Dori is a code name… it’s written with complex kanji that mean Undying Bird btw
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