Chapter 1: Toward Kyoto
Stepping out from the "hole" leading back from ancient times, the first thing Hikigaya saw was a familiar snowy landscape. The vast mountainous terrain was still covered in white. It seemed that time management was handled quite well when traveling through the "hole."
Had it been up to Hikigaya alone, he might have spent a month in the past only to find six months had passed upon his return.
Before he could express his feelings, Doni stepped out, followed by Aisha and Liliana. Under Aisha's guidance, they had avoided the scenario of everyone appearing at different points in time.
"Thank you for your hard work, everyone," Aisha said politely to the three of them. Hikigaya and Doni took it in stride, but Liliana was startled and hurriedly bowed.
"This trip was great, but I have to head back now," Doni sighed. "I'll definitely get lectured again once I'm home."
"What are your plans now, Aisha?" Hikigaya asked. He ignored Doni's comment; Doni's "handler" would surely take good care of him.
"Ah, well, I haven't seen my elder brother in a long time. I want to pay him a visit."
'Who?'
Hikigaya searched his memory. Aisha was from a recent era, born in India when it was still a colony of the British Empire. Her "elder brother" had to be either a Campione or some ancient monster. A regular human certainly couldn't live that long.
"Who is your brother?"
"Sasha Dejanstahl Voban. Brother usually looks very fierce, but he's actually a very good person. I hope Hachiman can become good friends with him too."
Hikigaya: "???"
'Voban? Elder brother?'
He looked at Aisha, then recalled Voban. Their vibes didn't exactly match, but... apparently, Voban enjoyed playing with contrasts.
"Alright then, safe travels," Hikigaya said. He pulled Liliana closer and turned to Doni. "Remember to tell your friend that I'm heading back first; I have things to attend to."
With that, he swept Liliana up into his arms and took to the sky. Surging cursed power poured from his body to ensure Liliana wouldn't suffer any ill effects from the coming movement. Activating the Eye of Horus, the path home was clearly "sketched" out. The next moment, Godspeed was unleashed.
With a massive sonic boom, Hikigaya's presence vanished from the Italian sky.
Liliana's vision couldn't keep up with this speed, so she curiously studied Hikigaya's eyes. She thought those eyes were incredibly convenient. Just as she was thinking this, she felt the speed decrease as they began to descend. Looking down, she saw Hinata House had arrived.
Liliana was somewhat shocked. Although she knew Campiones possessed the realm of Godspeed, before Hikigaya, most Campiones only used it in battle. Magi didn't actually have a very intuitive sense of this power until now. What she was experiencing now was very direct.
Hikigaya landed in the courtyard between the old building and the north wing and set Liliana down. Then, he heard the sound of pitter-pattering feet.
"Hachiman! Hachiman!"
Moe, dressed in her maid uniform, ran out looking incredibly joyful. Hikigaya wanted to ask why she was so happy. For some reason, even though he hadn't been gone for long, he felt a strange sensation as if he hadn't seen Moe for over a year. Perhaps this was a side effect caused by Aisha's Authority?
"Moe, did you look after the shop properly?" Hikigaya asked with a smile, performing a "head-pat kill" on her.
"I did!"
"So, did any customers come?"
"Nope! Not even one!"
"..."
The shop has zero business—a tragedy—yet you're smiling like your vacation was doubled and you have no homework? Truly just a child... though if one counted from her "manufacture date," she was old enough to be Hikigaya's grandmother.
While feeling a bit dejected, Hikigaya sensed a familiar aura approaching from the back mountain. It was Ena.
Seishuin Ena, the sword-priestess who carried a "lethal weapon" with her at all times, was in unusually high spirits today. She crashed into Hikigaya's arms with a rather violent momentum.
Nice! Goal! Score!
"Hachiman, you're back so fast this time?"
Those words sounded like they belonged in a different kind of story. Hikigaya "tested" the feel of things with a quick pat and flashed a fierce grin. "Fast? I don't think so."
Liliana, standing nearby, was practically steaming from the ears.
After that one joke, Hikigaya knew when to stop. There were other people here, after all. Not counting his idiot younger sister who was always racking her brains to avoid homework, there
were her classmates; the Yukinoshita sisters would be back with their mother soon, and the Mariya sisters seemed to have intentions of visiting again as well.
But it didn't matter. As the saying goes: A single shot stirs up a battlefield of jealousy, but peace is found beneath the gunfire.
Since returning from the Franks, Hikigaya felt he had wasted too many resources. He decided he couldn't waste other people's youth. He had to be clear with the girls: Please become my wings, even though I'm just an immature Seraph! Take his two female classmates, for example. Of course, he'd have to see their reactions first; otherwise, after all this time, suddenly saying such things would make him a total scumbag, wouldn't it?
"Grandmother wants to see you," Ena said, squirming uneasily.
"Oh? Isn't your grandmother right here? My, she's grown bigger; grandmother's temper has been rising lately," Hikigaya joked, grinning like a man on a swing.
"I'm being serious!"
"Alright, alright, I get it. No more jokes. When?"
"Grandmother said as soon as possible. She says the 'Hour of the Demon' is drawing closer and closer."
There was a hint of unease on Ena's face. Hearing this, Hikigaya turned a bit more serious. He didn't think monsters were much of a threat to humans in the era of "Nuclear Peace." Occasional lone monsters were fine, but if they appeared in swarms, it just gave humans a chance to wipe them out all at once; arms dealers would be laughing all the way to the bank.
"Can we leave now?" Ena looked at Hikigaya piteously. Hikigaya liked running around way too much, and it worried her. In comparison, she'd rather he be the type who couldn't move his legs when he saw a woman.
"That urgent?" Hikigaya was surprised. He looked at Liliana, feeling a bit hesitant. After all, Liliana had just told him about his biological mother in this life. He actually wanted to have a good talk about that.
"It really is that urgent. Things in Kyoto are extremely tense right now."
"Fine. Then how about Liliana comes along too?"
Even though he was used to the perspective of a Campione, Hikigaya knew his stuff: Liliana was a powerhouse in the magic world. As a witch, her lethality against monsters was far superior to that of a non-witch magus.
"I don't mind. Though I think it would be better to bring that fox along."
Fox? Who? Oh, right. Tamamo-no-Mae was a fox, not a dog. Poor Komachi; without her pillow, she wouldn't know how sad to be tonight.
After a brief internal self-reflection, Hikigaya happily agreed. He decided that once Komachi got home, he would pull a "sister-mouth-snatch" and steal Tamamo-no-Mae away.
'Wait? Did he just call her a dog again?'
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