Free Right Arm of the Saint by Gakuto Mikumo Page A

roundabout way of saying he was a simpleton.
    Yukina got up and wiped up the coffee spilled on the table with a napkin.
    After that, she came beside Kojou and leaned over him, pulling out a handkerchief.
    “Turn toward me. I’ll wipe your pants clean.”
    “Er, ah. That’s okay, I…”
    “They’ll get stained. See?”
    Yukina spoke as much as she reached toward Kojou’s pants. Kojou couldn’t breathe or move a muscle. Yukina didn’t seem to be aware of it, but if anyone they knew saw them, they’d get a really big misunderstanding from this posture, to the point that Kojou wanted to suspect that she was trying to trigger his vampiric impulses on purpose.
    Yukina leaned over between Kojou’s legs, her pale, white neck defenseless before him.
    “Senpai, I have been ordered by the Lion King Agency to watch you, but…also, to eliminate you if I determine you to be a dangerous being, Senpai.”
    “E…eliminate?!”
    Kojou’s whole body stiffened in an entirely
different
sense at Yukina’s calmly delivered, matter-of-fact words.
    However, Yukina spoke in a gentle tone. “I think I understand the reason why. You lack a certain self-awareness, Senpai. I sense great danger in you.”
    “Er, I think you’re pretty dangerous yourself, Himeragi…”
    As Kojou unwittingly added in a mumble, “Plus, you dropped your wallet,” Yukina glared at him.
    “Anyway, as I shall be observing you from this day forward, do take care not to try anything strange. After all, I do not completely trust you yet, Senpai.”
    “Watch… Huh.”
    Well, fine
, thought Kojou as his shoulders eased. Some parts made him uneasy, but Yukina didn’t seem to be a bad person. He didn’t foresee that being watched would have any serious drawbacks, and if he was going to have someone keeping tabs on him, he was a little glad it was a girl and not some stiff-necked male Attack Mage doing it.
    “Oh, right, Himeragi. About Nagisa…”
    Kojou suddenly shot Yukina a concerned look. With a bit of a mischievous smile, Yukina nodded.
    Rare for her, it was a youthful, smiling face that matched her age.
    “I understand. I shall keep the fact you are a vampire secret from her, Senpai. So please do the same for me.”
    “Yeah. I just need to treat you as a normal transfer student, right?”
    Kojou shrugged his shoulders as he replied. Either way, even if he told people a junior high schooler like her was a watcher from a secret organization, it wasn’t like anyone would
believe
him.
    “Thank you very much.”
    With those words, Yukina stood erect. She already had the usual serious look back on her face.
    “Well then, Senpai, what do you plan to do after this?”
    “Oh yeah… I kinda meant to go to the library and do my summer break homework, but…”
    As he spoke, Kojou had an unpleasant premonition.
    “Himeragi, you don’t mean to go with me, do you?”
    “Yes. Is that a problem?”
    “Er, it’s not a
problem
, but…is this, like, um, full-time?”
    “Of course it is. It’s my duty to watch you.”
    Speaking without any special change in expression, Yukina pulled the guitar case containing her spear over her back and began cleaning up after dinner.
8
    One of the four Gigafloats that composed Itogami Island, Island West, was a city that never slept. In this district, where many restaurants and business establishments were gathered, many stores continued operating until daybreak.
    Much of demonkind loved the night. In addition to that, many demonic residents flocked to this city because of the wealth of services geared toward them. In one sense, this dazzling neon nighttime display was emblematic of Itogami City and the peaceful coexistence of humans and demons within.
    However, no matter how much light shone through, it did not completely banish darkness from the city at night.
    “—Would you come play with us?”
    It was night at the park, emptied of signs of human life. As the drunken men passed along the scenic street that overlooked