Troublesome Request

Translated by LyraDhani

Edited by LyraDhani

It had already been a week since the Demonic Flower Irregular incident. At this delicate time, with only a few days left before Bell was released from house arrest, Tsugumi was summoned by Higoromo Mebukis senior and went to Teito University, where his laboratory was located.

The university was less crowded than he had expected, perhaps because it was summer vacation. But the buildings and facilities were very impressive, as expected of a university that claimed to be the best in Japan.

The university was not for Tsugumi who had an average grade, but Chidori and some of his classmates seemed to have this university as their first choice. In that case, there might be an opportunity to come back to the university sometimes for the school festival.

While thinking about such a trivial matter, Tsugumi remembered his business this time.

The text of the email from Higoromo barely stated the reason for the call, but there might have been some progress regarding [Sakura-oneechan].

After Tsugumi regained some of his memories, he told Higoromo everything, except for Chidori-related matters, just in case, but there were still many things he didnt understand about the incident.

Originally, he should have been more motivated to try to regain his memories, but he just couldnt find the energy to do so. It had to do with the change in his feelings for Sakura-oneechan.

Recalling the past that should have been lost, Tsugumiis impression of Sakura-oneechan was drastically reversed.

Sakura-oneechan was certainly kind to him, but he never understood what she was thinking when she caused such a thing.

It was definitely his sister who had caused the great fire, kidnapped Chidori, and tried to summon a God with some kind of power. Whatever her intentions were, it was clear that she was insane.

I want to know the truth, but I dont want to know. Such contradictory feelings were swirling in Tsugumis mind. If he knew the truth, he would probably end up hating his beloved Sakura-oneechan.

With such gloomy thoughts in his mind, he arrived at the designated room, relying on the map of the campus attached to the e-mail. He knocked lightly on the door labeled as Higoromos private reference room and after a few moments, a pale hand emerged from the door, beckoning him to come in.

What in the world is going on? It was too suspicious. Even though Tsugumi felt suspicious, he called out, Excuse me, and peeked into the room.

The owner of the pale hands Higoromo answered bluntly, Come on in, with a dark face, and turned to the desk by the wall. And just like that, he started working on something on his computer. Tsugumi was completely abandoned.

Tsugumi, troubled by Higoromos attitude, called out, Um, Higoromo-san?

Please sit down for a while. Im sorry to call you here, but I still havent finished putting together the analysis survey that I was suddenly forced to do.

Um, even if you tell me to sit down and wait where can I sit here?

Saying that, he looked around the room. The room was about 15 tatami mats and was littered with documents, technical books, and other equipment that he didnt understand. There was no place to step, let alone sit.

When Tsugumi intentionally said that, Higoromo clicked his tongue and said, Then clean up the room and wait for me.

While thinking that this person suddenly said something outrageous, Tsugumi stared at Higoromo in surprise.

Put the papers in piles, separated by date, heading, and page order. Books should be placed in the corner. You can put the equipment anywhere as long as you dont destroy it. The equipment in this room isnt worth much.

When Higoromo said so, Tsugumi hurriedly opened his mouth.

No, umm, I dont mind cleaning it up, but is it okay for someone who isnt a student here to look at Higoromo-sans papers without permission?

Theres no problem. You wont understand the content even if you see them anyway.

When he was told such a thing so casually, Tsugumi groaned a little and held his chest. Thats true, but isnt that too harsh?

Even though he was plainly hurt, he was unable to say anything back, so Tsugumi just quietly nodded his head.

Do we have enough time? Ive got to finish this case in two hours.

Ah, yes. Well, start cleaning up then.

Higoromo bluntly said so, and Tsugumi began to move his hands to clean up the room while asking himself, Why am I in this situation? The fact that he didnt storm out showed how serious he was.

After spending an hour cleaning up the room, Tsugumi finally found a chair and sat down in it, waiting for Higoromo to free up his hands, then Higoromo let out a loud, tired sigh and muttered Im done .Apparently, the job was finally done.

Seeing him completely slumped and weak in his chair, it seemed he was quite tired. It would probably be better to come out and talk about this at a later date.

As Tsugumi stared at Higoromos back while thinking about such things, Higoromo spun around in his chair and bowed his head with an embarrassed look.

Im sorry about all this. I dont want to make excuses, but Ive been up all night on an urgent matter and Ive been a bit preoccupied. Im sorry I took it out on you.

Saying this, Higoromo scratched his head tiredly. Perhaps because he didnt have time to adjust his appearance, his slightly pigmented brown hair was losing its luster. With such a pitiful appearance, Tsugumi couldnt blame him even if he wanted to.

No, I dont really mind. Besides, as Higoromo-san said, I really didnt understand any of the documents

Hahaha, Tsugumi replied with a powerless smile.

While he was putting together the document, he rebelliously looked at the contents for a bit, but he couldnt make sense of it to the point where he couldnt tell if they were really using the same language. He didnt mean to compete, but this was beyond frustrating.

As Tsugumi was devastated, Higoromo stood up and walked toward the sink in the room. He took something like a cup from the cabinet, rinsed it lightly with water, and filled it with some kind of liquid from a pot. When he returned, he quietly held it out in front of Tsugumi.

A small beaker filled with a dark green liquid. Yes, it was a beaker with a memory label attached. Tsugumi looked at it intently and fell silent for a moment, unable to grasp what was happening.

Is this tea? Hed seen it in manga, but did people really serve drinks in beakers? As he accepted the beaker while remembering his strange impression, Higoromo said with a wry smile.

Im sorry I only have this. I dont usually have guests in this room, so I dont have any cups. Oh, dont worry, those are almost unused.

Tsugumi thought, What do you mean by almost? but swallowed his words. There were some things in this world that he didnt need to know.

I dont have a phobia of germs or anything like that, so Im fine with this. Thank you for your concern.

Still feeling a little uneasy, he gently put his mouth on the beaker. Then, a strange bitterness spread in his mouth. To be frank, it tasted really bad.

It-it has a very unique taste. What kind of tea is it?

When Tsugumi asked this question while holding back a puke, Higoromo answered quietly, sipping his tea with dead eyes.

Its a gift, so I dont really know. I think its probably weeds picked from the nearby forest or something.

Eh?

Dont worry about it, its been approved by a great doctor for its efficacy. There is nothing bad in it.

Seeing Higoromo gulping down the disgusting tea while saying so nonchalantly, Tsugumi became worried, Is this person really okay? Perhaps he had been up all night too long and his thoughts had gone haywire.

Taking a closer look, he could see that his body was swaying drowsily, and his eyes were not focused properly. It was nice to come here to talk, but Tsugumi didnt think this person was in the right condition to have a serious conversation.

Um, if you dont mind, would you like to change the date? You dont seem well, Higoromo-san.

When Tsugumi spoke worriedly, Higoromo lowered his eyes slightly and shook his head.

No, its better to talk now. In this situation, If I slip up a little, it will spill all over.

Saying this, Higoromo rested his chin.

The case I was involved in this time was the analysis of the Demonic Flower. In other words, it was a request from the government. The details were left to other research institutes, but in the end, I had to put them all together. Its too much trouble.

Um, thats hard, isnt it?

When Tsugumi tilted his head at the sudden complaint, Higoromo continued talking without paying attention to him.

To be honest, I have a lot of work to do besides this. I dont have time to look into the great fire.

Does that mean the investigation is discontinued?

I dont want to jump to conclusions. Ive already done a rough outline of the great fire. However, I still dont have the information that the person who asked me to investigate wants to know. So, I cant get out of this investigation until I get this issue cleared up. Tricky, isnt it?

I understand your reason, but why are you telling me this?

When Tsugumi asked him curiously, Higoromo smiled at him with a beautiful smile. The smile on his face reminded him of Mebuki when she asked him to do something crazy, and he couldnt help but shudder. He had a bad feeling about this.

Then Higoromo looked at him meaningfully, and suddenly pulled a silver card out of his jacket pocket and held it out in front of Tsugumi.

This is a security card for access to government documents. You should be able to use it once youve registered with the administrator. Use it as you wish.

Hmm? Im sorry, I dont understand what you mean.

When Tsugumi said that in confusion, Higoromo spoke slowly.

Nanase Tsugumi-kun. You will investigate the truth behind the great fire.

Huh?

For some reason, the investigation of the great fire has been entrusted to me. You may not be up to the task, but I think you are better suited for this matter.

Hey, wait a minute. When we first met, Higoromo-san said, Things related to the great fire are confidential and cant be told to ordinary people. Theres no way an ordinary person like me could do that!

No matter how much the person in chargeHigoromoallowed it, there was no way an ordinary person could take over the matters that even had to be written into a contract for information management. When Tsugumi raised his voice, Higoromo narrowed his eyes and quietly opened his mouth.

Yeah. If you are an ordinary person who has nothing to do with the government, it would be impossible for you to take over the job. But if its Jukka, then its a different story. Isnt that right, Nanase Tsugumino, Hagakure Sakura-san?

Saying that, Higoromo said beautifully.

LyraDhani's notes:

I said before that I would translate the side story but there's a problem with the site so unfortunately, I have to delete it. It had happened before and I also deleted it then. I can't even ask the guy in charge about it because he's been busy. I am sorry. Next, the schedule for Hagakure Sakura changed from 09.30 am to 21.00 pm due to irl stuff. Now, enjoy the beginning of Volume 6 (^^*)