The sky gradually brightened, but for the people of Aba Station, they felt no warmth.
Just last night, they had lost many things.
Their shelters, their family members died, and some turned into Kabaneri, never to return.
So the morning sun was particularly dazzling for the people on the Iron Fortress.
From now on, they not only needed to find new living places but also had to consider their future lives.
Inaba Tsukiyo, Mumei, and the newly met Boy, that is, the Boy named Ikoma.
The three of them rested in a corner of the rear carriage. They had all expended a lot of physical strength last night and needed a good rest.
While resting, Inaba Tsukiyo's cheek suddenly felt itchy. She reached out and patted it, but the feeling quickly returned.
Not only did her cheek become itchy, but her belt was also grabbed, as if someone intended to undo her clothes.
'Pervert?'
This rear carriage had the Boy Ikoma. Could this guy be a loli complex?
Somewhat annoyed, she drew mikazuki munechika, which she had been holding in her hand, and pressed the blade against the neck of the person undoing her belt.
"Uh... don't, don't do that."
Mumei's voice came. It turned out that the person undoing her belt was not the The Boy named Ikoma.
That's a relief... Not at all!!!
Why is this guy unbuckling his belt? Could it be that he has a special sexual orientation, just like me?
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't lower her blade, slightly opened her eyes, and stared gloomily at Mumei, who was covered in cold sweat.
Kabaneri don't have the characteristic of being invulnerable to blades and guns; if her neck is severed, she will truly die.
"Although I consider you a friend, constantly trying to take off other people's clothes isn't what friends should do. Besides, there's a Boy here."
Ikoma, who was called out, covered his eyes and turned his body away, not looking at Inaba Tsukiyo and Mumei's interaction.
It really scared him just now. He had just woken up to see Mumei trying to unbutton Inaba Tsukiyo's clothes, and he thought Mumei was going to do something tense and exciting.
Although Ikoma really wanted to stop her, the impulses of adolescence made him stop what he was doing and stay not far away, secretly watching everything that was happening.
He didn't expect that as soon as Mumei unbuckled Inaba Tsukiyo's belt, Inaba Tsukiyo woke up, and in less than a blink of an eye, she had a blade at Mumei's neck.
"No, actually, I'm very curious whether you're a Kabaneri or not. You're clearly so powerful, but I don't smell the Kabaneri scent on you. So I was wondering if you used some special means to hide that scent."
Mumei explained that this combat power, far exceeding ordinary people, made her suspect Inaba Tsukiyo was a Kabaneri, but the scent that a Kabaneri should have wasn't there, so she wanted to take off Inaba Tsukiyo's clothes to check.
She originally thought she could be light-handed enough not to be discovered by Inaba Tsukiyo, and after checking, she would help Inaba Tsukiyo buckle her belt back up, pretending nothing had happened.
However, things developed completely differently from what she imagined, which made it very awkward.
"Kabaneri? Are you trying to see if I have a glowing heart like yours?"
Ikoma's heart is in the front, while Mumei's exposed heart is in the back. Taking off clothes would just be to better see the back, right?
Her miko outfit was the armpit-baring kind, and it was quite loose. If she just pulled it open a little, she could see inside.
She guessed that because she was leaning against the wall, she couldn't see her back, or perhaps she wanted to see it more directly, so she took off her clothes.
"Seriously, we've only known each other for less than a day, and you want me to take off my clothes? Being friends with you must be exhausting."
"Hehe~ What does it matter? Anyway, I have so few friends, and even fewer friends my age. If you feel it's unfair, I can take off my clothes too."
With that, Mumei was about to unbutton her clothes, but Inaba Tsukiyo stopped her.
She looked at Ikoma, who hadn't moved since earlier, and thought for a moment.
"Hey! Your pants are bulging in the middle, are you excited?"
"!!!"
Ikoma looked at his pants in a panic, realizing they weren't bulging.
Just as he was about to sigh in relief, he suddenly remembered that he was facing away from Inaba Tsukiyo; she shouldn't be able to see his situation.
"You're bluffing me?!"
"It's just a more cautious measure. A Boy in adolescence, staying in the same carriage with two young girls in their prime, as long as his orientation is normal, will think strange things."
Inaba Tsukiyo understood this feeling very well; when she was with Victorica, she also liked to let her imagination run wild.
It's just that this feeling disappeared after they spent a long time together.
She didn't believe that Ikoma had no feelings for her and Mumei, such cute girls, unless this guy was gay.
Oh right, she remembered when they went to rescue people, a Fat was going to use a grappling hook to pull him up.
That Fat was his friend, right? Could it be that this guy really isn't interested in girls? And is gay?
Eeeeh~ It feels like a gay, gay aura is continuously spreading.
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't consider that no matter if it was her or Mumei, even with their petite figures, their combat power was not something Ikoma could compare to.
What if he really followed his inner desires and tried to attack them? He probably would be knocked to the ground by Mumei or Inaba Tsukiyo with a combo punch before he even made a move.
After confirming that Ikoma wouldn't turn around, Inaba Tsukiyo, as if resigned to her fate, unbuckled her belt, took off the upper part of her miko outfit, and revealed her crystal-like, translucent body.
"Oh oh oh~ Is this Tsukiyo's body? As expected, there's no glowing heart. But how did you become so powerful?"
Mumei curiously examined Inaba Tsukiyo's body. Not finding a glowing heart, she couldn't help but reach out to touch her.
There was no hard feeling at all, unlike those bodybuilders with muscles who have undergone high-intensity training; Inaba Tsukiyo's body lines were very beautiful.
Yet, such a petite body contained the energy to fight Kabaneri.
"Hmm! Hey (#`O′)! Didn't you say you were only checking for a heart? Don't do other weird things!"
"Eh eh eh~ What does it matter? Anyway, we're all girls. What I have, you have; what I don't have, you don't either. It's just looking, it's not like you're losing a piece of flesh."
Inaba Tsukiyo's reaction made Mumei want to tease her, and her fingers turned into hands to caress her.
From caressing her skin, she then set her sights on Inaba Tsukiyo's chest. Compared to Mumei's completely abnormal size, Inaba Tsukiyo's was the truly appropriate level.
"Ah! Don't go too far, I'm getting angry!"
"Nah~ Nah~ Why is your chest so small? Didn't you eat properly? That won't do, not eating properly will turn you into bones."
"None of your business! And I eat properly! And even if I eat properly, this is unavoidable! Are you a pervert?"
Inaba Tsukiyo's occasional cute cries made Ikoma, who had his back to them, feel very uncomfortable.
Not physically uncomfortable, but mentally uncomfortable.
He somewhat understood why Inaba Tsukiyo would tease him so much; Ikoma now felt that a certain part of his lower body was uncontrollably changing.
Mumei and Inaba Tsukiyo bickered for a few minutes until Inaba Tsukiyo finally tapped Mumei on the head, and she quieted down.
After they stopped, the trembling Ikoma finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This feeling was truly uncomfortable, but it wasn't over yet, but before he calmed down, he couldn't let them discover his abnormality.
"Oh, right, Tsukiyo." Remembering what Inaba Tsukiyo had said when they boarded the Iron Fortress, Mumei asked curiously, "Earlier, when we were about to board the Iron Fortress, you said there were many sounds on the mountain approaching here. How did you know?"
"How did I find out? No special reason, because I heard sounds approaching us."
Inaba Tsukiyo, now dressed, sat on the ground, gave a thumbs up, and explained.
"Because I couldn't see things since childhood, my other senses became very sharp. Even from a very far place, I can hear sounds there."
Although the sounds last night were very chaotic, the sounds of thousands of Kabaneri approaching were too abnormal, even if she didn't want to pay attention, she couldn't help it.
"Eh? You can't see things?"
Mumei looked at Inaba Tsukiyo's eyes in surprise, couldn't help but reach out to try and open her eyes to check.
She had never seen such an agile blind person; Inaba Tsukiyo's performance was completely unlike someone who couldn't see.
"It's just a habit of seeing the world through other methods, nothing major."
Although not long ago, for some unknown reason, she regained her ability to see.
But the habit of closing her eyes had long been formed, and Inaba Tsukiyo would not open her eyes unless the situation required it.
Moreover, there was no concept of ultrasound in this era, so no matter how she explained it, Mumei would not be able to understand.
Seeing that Inaba Tsukiyo's eyes lacked any sparkle, Mumei finally believed Inaba Tsukiyo's claim that she couldn't see.
The two, having stopped their conversation, turned their gaze to Ikoma. As a Kabaneri like Mumei, his combat power was clearly insufficient.
His injuries were mostly healed, and because his body was that of a Kabaneri, his healing ability was also very strong.
Having only healing ability but no combat skills—this was Ikoma's current situation.
This was unacceptable. As a Kabaneri, he should at least have the combat power to be a meat shield, a so-called tank.
Don't think that a tank just goes up to attract enemy aggro; a tank is a very important and glorious profession!
(fuhai: Hmph! Isn't he just cannon fodder?)
Since he survived and also had such a special physique, he couldn't be allowed to continue being a good-for-nothing.
"Huh?"
Hearing footsteps from behind him, Ikoma turned around in confusion.
Inaba Tsukiyo and Mumei stood behind him, facing him with an unfathomable smile.
Feeling that something was amiss, Ikoma swallowed, moving his legs and retreating a few steps.
"What… what do you want to do?"
"What do we want to do? Nothing much, just want to make you more of a Boy. So, we'll be giving you special training."
After saying that, Mumei's fist slammed hard into Ikoma's nose.
Although both were Kabaneri, Mumei and Ikoma's combat power was not the same. With just one punch, Ikoma was knocked down.
"This is unacceptable. Even for a meat shield, he's too weak. He must be properly trained. Get up now!"
[Slap!]
"Hey! Wait a minute! You!"
"Your movements are too wide!"
[Slap!]
"There's a flaw in your footwork!"
[Slap!]
[Slap!]
[Slap!]
"I told you to wait a minute!"
Written as [training], read as [beating].
Even if Mumei had excellent combat skills, she was not a good teacher at all, merely unilaterally beating Ikoma.
"She's still a child, after all."
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 40 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!