(What feels ordinary to you is someone else's dream. Cherish it, but never stop reaching higher.)
— — — — — —
Kazuma left the little lolis in Miko's care for now while he went off to rest—and maybe recruit some new members.
"Talent, talent… hmm, that friend of Miko's, Hana Yurikawa, would actually be perfect," he muttered to himself. "She can't see ghosts, sure, but that's easy enough to fix with a pair of magical glasses. Plus, that ridiculously strong positive energy she's got would probably burn any ghost to ash."
He sighed, rubbing his temples. "As for guild missions… ugh, this world is too peaceful. So peaceful there aren't even any requests to take."
After a moment's thought, he shrugged. "Forget it. I'll just throw some money around and get someone to advertise for us."
"Right, if the ad copy's catchy enough, there'll definitely be some legitimate—"
He trailed off, looking around the street packed with ghosts.
So many spirits, all wandering aimlessly through the crowds. And yet, not a single living soul could see them.
Kazuma let out a long, helpless sigh. There wasn't much he could do about it—he couldn't exactly start some kind of supernatural apocalypse just to drum up more business.
His stomach grumbled loudly.
"Alright, food first. Whatever else comes up can wait until I've eaten."
---
Meanwhile, at Miko Yotsuya's house—
"Miko, Miko! Where are we going next?"
"I wanna see a movie! You said there's one about magical girls, right? I wanna see magical girls!"
Enju tugged excitedly on Miko's hand, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"Miko, I want to go to the library," said Kayo seriously, grabbing Miko's other hand. "I need to learn more about this world's knowledge. And after that, we can watch that Anime movie. I'm only going for Enju's sake, of course."
"Miko, Miko, I wanna go to the zoo!" cried Sanae, clutching at Miko's sleeve too. "I wanna see what normal animals look like!"
Back in the Black Bullet world, all the animals had long since mutated into Gastrea monsters—so seeing harmless, fluffy ones was like a dream come true for her.
"Miko, Miko… I wanna sleep," mumbled Tina, rubbing her eyes. "'I'm sleepy…" She glanced at the sun outside, yawned, and then drowsily clung to Miko's shirt.
"Miko, Miko! Let's go shopping together!"
"Miko, I want to try all kinds of food! Lots and lots of food!"
"Miko, I wanna go to an amusement park!"
"Miko, let's play video games! Take me gaming!"
MikoMikoMikoMikoMikoMikoMikoMikoMikoMikoMikoMiko
"STOP."
"....I'll take care of it... just wait..."
Miko felt her head throbbing. The chorus of adorable voices surrounded her like an oncoming storm. It felt like she was being torn apart—literally—by pure cuteness and way too much enthusiasm.
'Taking care of kids are really exhausting,' she thought.
"Kayano! Kayano-onee-sama! Help me!"
She shot a desperate look toward Kayano, silently begging for rescue.
Kayano just smiled sweetly. "Sorry, Miko. I kinda feel like being lazy today too. I just wanna curl up in bed and do absolutely nothing."
Her voice was soft and cheerful, but her rejection was firm.
She'd been the responsible one for so long—today was her one day off, and she wasn't about to give it up.
"Uuuuuu…"
Miko whimpered as the little girls swarmed her, tugging at her sleeves and hands. She suddenly understood the phrase "blessed troubles."
Still, after a deep breath, the ever-stoic Miko managed to compose herself again and started organizing the chaos.
"Tina, Kayano—you two can rest in my room."
"My family's not home today, so… hmm, can you all see anything strange outside?"
The question slipped out before she could stop herself. She'd suddenly remembered her father's ghost and the thing that always followed him around.
"Strange? You mean YOU?" Enju asked innocently, glancing around.
"Hey! I'm not strange!" Miko huffed. "Okay, good—if you can't see anything, then never mind. Anyway, since my family's gone, feel free to make yourselves at home."
"If you wanna nap, go rest in my room. If you wanna play games or watch TV, the living room's free."
Hearing that none of the girls could see anything supernatural, Miko finally relaxed. At least she didn't have to worry about anyone getting freaked out.
"Hmm, but Miko, we can play games at home too," Enju said, frowning. "We hardly ever get to go outside—we wanna go out!"
"Alright, alright," Miko sighed. "I'll take everyone out. Let's plan a route and hit each place one by one."
"Movies, library, zoo, aquarium, amusement park… I'll start booking tickets online."
Her head was starting to spin. In a moment of sheer desperation, she grabbed her phone and called her best friend.
"Hana, help me."
"Miko? What's wrong?"
"You remember that part-time job I took? My slave-driver of a boss stuck me with babysitting duty."
"Babysitting? Oh, I love kids!"
"There are… over a hundred."
There was a pause on the line. Then Hana said cheerfully, "Got it. I'm coming over right now. Wait for me at your door."
Not long after, Hana Yurikawa arrived—and immediately froze at the sight of the crowd of little girls.
"So many cute kids! Wait, Miko, did your boss kidnap them or something?"
Hana, ever the ray of sunshine despite being painfully shy, dug into her pocket and started handing out candy to everyone.
"Why does she even carry that much candy around?" Miko thought helplessly.
"..."
"I'm Enju Aihara! What's your name?"
"I'm Hana Yurikawa!"
"Hana, huh? We exchanged names, so that means we're friends now! Let's play together!"
"Y-yeah! Let's play, Enju-chan!"
And just like that, the two social idiots bonded instantly.
"Two idiots found each other," Kayo muttered. "I'm not good with people like that…"
"Same."
Sanae and Midori huddled together, trembling slightly at the sheer chaos around them.
And so began the grand city adventure—led by Miko Yotsuya and Hana Yurikawa, dragging along a giggling army of lolis.
"This is the zoo," Miko announced, pointing ahead.
But none of them were listening. Every single one of the girls was utterly captivated by the fluffy animals before them.
"They're nothing like the Gastrea back home… they're so cute!" Enju gasped, eyes wide with wonder.
"Hey, that one is a bunny! So cute—and it hops around just like Enju!"
"Look, dolphins! They're so cute too, but they don't look anything like Kayo. Kayo never smiles."
"That one's an owl. Its sleepy look in the daytime totally reminds me of Tina."
"And that one… um, a lion! It looks just like Onii-Chan. Just sitting there all regal and majestic."
"Where are the cats? Why aren't there any cats?"
"I don't think there are any here," Miko said. "But there are tons outside. You'll see them everywhere—they're super cute."
After wandering around the zoo for a while, the group finally left. Hana Yurikawa even made a detour with Midori Fuse to find some real cats nearby.
Midori gently stroked a kitten's ears, soft and warm, then crouched beside it and meowed along. It was heart-meltingly adorable.
"Super cute!" Hana grinned, giving a big thumbs-up.
---
Next stop: the arcade.
The place was full of flashing lights and game machines.
"What's this thing?"
"It tests your punching power," Hana explained proudly. "Alright, let big sis show you how it's done."
She rolled up her sleeves and slammed her fist into the target.
Miko laughed softly. "Hana's really gotten into it fast. That's so like her."
Hana had always been the type everyone liked—bright, friendly, impossible to dislike.
"Is that how you play it? Let me try! Watch this!" Enju leaped into the air, throwing a full-force punch.
BANG!
The machine let out a terrible metallic groan—and died.
Miko froze. "Oh no. Oh nonono."
She rushed to find an employee, bowing over and over. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! We'll pay for it, of course. No matter how much it costs!"
After several minutes of panicked apologies and an awkward story about a "malfunction," they somehow managed to smooth things over—and made a hasty escape.
...
Meanwhile, the bewildered staff gathered around the wrecked machine.
"How did they even break it? Don't tell me one of them actually punched through it."
"Haha, impossible! This thing's built like a tank. Even a bodybuilder couldn't—"
He stopped mid-laugh, staring at the tiny fist-shaped dent in the iron casing.
"…What the hell. That's metal."
---
Miko decided not to risk another strength test. The next arcade had claw machines instead.
After what felt like forever—and more than ten failed attempts—no one had managed to catch a single toy.
"This machine's broken for sure!" Enju huffed, cheeks puffed in frustration. "Back home, I could always get one. Every. Single. Time."
She'd wanted to show off a bit, but after so many failures, her pride was in pieces.
"Idiot," Kayo muttered. "It's not broken. The shopkeeper adjusted the grip strength so no one can win easily. Pathetic trick."
She crossed her arms with a haughty little sniff. "Only children and fools fall for this. I'll just buy the toy directly."
"Ugh, let me kick it! Maybe that'll fix it!" Enju said, rearing her leg back—
"Wait wait wait!" Miko grabbed her frantically.
"I'll handle it!" she said, half-panicking, and ran to find the manager.
A few minutes later, she returned, smiling stiffly. "Okay, problem solved! I… uh… bought all the toys in the machine."
Her wallet whimpered in protest. Good thing all the expenses were covered by Kazuma today—otherwise she'd be declaring bankruptcy.
The manager, meanwhile, just nodded knowingly. "I'll reset the machines for you. And honestly, I didn't even set them that tight. We have to make a profit somehow, but normally, after ten or fifteen tries, someone wins."
Then, glancing toward Enju, he added, "It's just that your little sister's, uh… skills are kinda—"
"Shh!" Miko hissed, panicking. The last thing she needed was Enju hearing that.
The man raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. Play as long as you want."
He sighed as they walked off. He'd seen plenty like this before—some people were just hopeless. Technique mattered, after all.
Enju, however, caught bits of their conversation and fumed even harder. "So he's laughing at me now?"
"He's lucky I can't punch through this machine too!"
---
Half an hour later…
"Enju… have you, um, ever played a claw machine before?" Miko asked gently.
Not one toy. Not a single win. Even Kayo had managed to get one.
"It's not her fault," Kayo said calmly. "Enju's too fast. She's used to high-speed combat. Her reflexes are way ahead of the machine's timing, so she presses the button too early every time."
"As for why she used to win back home," she added dryly, "that's because the owner of that arcade is one of our guild's clients. He put magnets inside the toys so she wouldn't destroy his machines out of frustration."
"…Got it," Miko said faintly.
By the time they left the arcade, everyone had a stuffed toy in hand—Miko made sure of that. Even the ones who stayed home got one.
---
Next up: shopping.
"This mascot outfit is so cute! I wanna try the bunny one!"
"Ooh, this owl pajama set is perfect for Tina!"
"I want the lion pillow!"
Soon the girls were darting between racks, changing into one adorable outfit after another—frills, ribbons, soft pastels everywhere. Each little loli was a walking dose of sugar.
"So cute!"
"Adorable!"
"Kawaii overkill!"
Hana's phone camera clicked nonstop. "This might be a once-in-a-lifetime photo!"
Even passersby started gathering to watch.
"They're so cute! Are they modeling for the store?"
"Their eyes—look at that color! Like red gemstones!"
"The clothes are great too! Hey, boss, can I see one of those in my size?"
By the end of the day, sales in that store skyrocketed. The manager was stunned—today's revenue was higher than the past month combined.
Out of gratitude, he gave Miko's group a massive discount—half off everything.
...
They hit the amusement park next, then the cinema, and a few more places after that.
By the time the sun began to set, Miko felt like her soul was floating somewhere outside her body.
"Finally… home," she sighed in relief. "I can rest. I can finally—"
"Not yet!" Enju cut in cheerfully. "Tina and the others haven't gone out at all yet. They're nocturnal, remember? So you're on night shift, Miko!"
"...What."
Miko's face went pale. "Guildmaster, please come back soon. I can't take much more of this."
Before she could even breathe, another voice piped up beside her.
"Um… I should probably go home for dinner."
"Okay, sure, we'll—wait a second." Miko blinked. "Who are you?"
She stared at the unfamiliar child who had somehow appeared among them. This definitely wasn't one of Kazuma's girls.
"What the hell… where did this one come from?!"
.
.
.