Shana had no intention of taking a bath.
For Flame Haze, living rough in the open was just part of everyday life.
Normally, Flame Haze cleaned themselves using a method called "Purifying Flame," provided by their contracted Crimson Lords. It instantly incinerated dirt and grime from their bodies. Thus, Flame Haze didn't need to bathe or even use the toilet. It was far cleaner, more efficient, and more convenient than water could ever be.
This was the first time Hirai Yukari had heard about this. Nitocris had never mentioned it to her, so she secretly cast a glance at the golden pendant.
"Indeed, Flame Haze's method—the 'Purifying Flame'—is much faster and more efficient than bathing. But isn't constantly prioritizing efficiency exhausting?"
Nitocris's calm, composed voice traveled through the golden pendant, reaching both Hirai Yukari and Shana's ears. "After a bath, one feels refreshed and relaxed, making sleep easier and more restful."
"Ugh..."
Shana furrowed her brows tightly.
"Between more efficient cleaning and more efficient resting, I personally believe the latter holds greater value. What do you think?"
Shana was at a stage where she didn't even understand what she truly wanted, unable to clearly express her own feelings. Facing choices, she either followed Alastor's instructions or relied purely on instinct.
Right now, Shana's instincts told her Nitocris was making sense, and she should listen…but due to her strong dislike of Nitocris, she didn't want to obey her at all, refusing to appear submissive in front of her.
And so...
"Urusai! Urusai! Urusai! (Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!) Why should I listen to you?!"
Nitocris was momentarily stunned.
Hmm... Should she reply with a "Thanks for the treat" now?
The Kugimiya-voiced triple "Urusai" was even more famous than Shakugan no Shana itself. Too bad her current Saint Graph wasn't Oda Nobunaga or Cleopatra; otherwise, she could mimic it and see if different characters voiced by the same seiyuu had any subtle differences.
In the end, Shana didn't heed Nitocris's suggestion to bathe, nor did she stay to sleep in the room. Instead, she fled to someone else's rooftop.
Misaki City was quietly immersed in the night. The river beneath the distant elevated bridge flowed silently, counting heartbeats alongside slumbering buildings.
Unlike the peaceful residential district, the commercial area across the river still glowed vibrantly, illuminating the darkened sky with rainbow-colored lights.
A breeze swept through streets cloaked in night, passing through deserted intersections, rustling the convenience store's uncollected advertising banners. The soft pat sounded like a mute button being pressed for the city itself.
At the alley entrance, a vending machine emitted a lonely, pale-white glow, attracting a stray cat who stared longingly at the dried fish snacks inside.
Wrapped in her black coat, Shana seemed to blend into the darkness itself. She stared blankly at the dome of the sky, where thin clouds drifted slowly, ink spilled carelessly, quietly covering half the moon's face.
"It's unlike you to lose your composure so openly in front of that God of Humanity."
Indeed, if one were to pick a suitable phrase to describe Shana right now, it would be "losing composure."
An emotionless tool of destruction—that was a contemptuous name frequently used by Friagne and other Crimson Denizens for Flame Haze, yet Shana accepted the insult without any resentment.
Because she was just a tool to eliminate Denizens, she didn't need a name, only the epithet "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter" to identify her.
Because she was merely a tool to maintain the world's balance, she didn't need emotions. Her past, present, and future required her to move forward unswervingly along the predetermined, correct path.
Right. I'm just a tool. Only by discarding all unnecessary thoughts and becoming a proper tool can I repay the expectations of Wilhelmina, Alastor, and Shiro.
"I can see it, you know. All the effort you've made to reach this point... Truly, it's remarkable."
Just a tool… A tool doesn't exert effort. There is only success or failure—whether or not it accomplishes its mission.
Everything else is excess, unnecessary.
No one cared if a tool suffered. A successful tool fulfilled its duty, and a failed one did not. Beyond that, nothing else mattered…
"You've really tried hard… You've done well."
Flame Haze had excellent eyesight. Shana could clearly see Hirai Yukari, freshly bathed, dressed in pajamas, smiling foolishly on the bed, with the golden pendant placed beside her pillow.
Gently biting her lip, Shana finally spoke, her voice utterly devoid of emotion.
"I just find her annoying, that's all."
"Did I upset Shana?"
In the modest yet warm little room, Nitocris was also speaking to her contractor, Hirai Yukari.
"I always feel like she dislikes me somehow. Did I perhaps misjudge the appropriate distance?"
"Um…"
How was she supposed to answer this?
Situations involving "emotional conflicts" should really be handled by people with sufficient life experience, like Sakai Yuji's mom. But what life experience did Hirai Yukari have? She herself was just a middle school student who'd never even had a proper romance.
After a long hesitation, Hirai Yukari gave an answer that wasn't really much of an answer at all.
"Uh... Maybe Shana-chan was just overwhelmed by you, Kami-sama. After all, today is technically your first official meeting."
"Mmm… Then perhaps I was too forward after all?"
Nitocris now had a headache… She flipped through her memories of various anime, searching for experiences of dealing with tsunderes. Classic tsundere characters like Shana were indeed adorable, but genuinely difficult to handle.
Tsundere could broadly be divided into "mostly tsun, little dere" and "mostly dere, little tsun." Most people preferred the latter. And Shana… she probably fell into the "initially mostly tsun, later more dere" category?
Though early Shana was mostly tsun, Nitocris knew she was a good child, not the type to strike, insult, or degrade—the kind of tsundere she found disgusting.
"Kami-sama..."
"Hm?"
"You mentioned you had been observing Shana for some time already… Was it really only because she's Alastor-san's contractor?"
Hirai Yukari lay sideways on the bed, her arm tucked beneath her head, gazing intently at the golden pendant. "Or… did you perhaps already know her earlier for some other reason?"
"Mmm…"
Hirai Yukari's question genuinely stumped Nitocris.
Why had she known Shana earlier? Obviously, because she'd watched the anime Shakugan no Shana, and Shana was its heroine.
But she absolutely couldn't say that.
Thinking carefully, Shana had become the heroine precisely because she met the protagonist, contracted with Alastor, and was chosen by Wilhelmina and Alastor.
If the final enemy the protagonists would face was the Snake of the Festival, then becoming the contractor of the Flame of Heaven was indispensable, because only Alastor, God of Retribution, could slay the Crimson God of Creation, the Snake of the Festival.
Thus…
"Yes," Nitocris answered firmly.
"Is that…so?"
Hirai Yukari asked again. She couldn't see Nitocris's expression, only aware that the other had fallen silent for a long time.
"Yes."
Nitocris repeated, the same answer as before, but clearly stronger in conviction.
Nitocris could sense Shana and Alastor just outside, watching this direction.
At least, although clouds covered the sky tonight, it probably wouldn't rain.
Though Nitocris knew Shana could easily dry herself with Purifying Flame, it didn't mean she could watch Shana getting soaked outside without any reaction—even if Shana herself didn't care at all.
Though she had given Shana a name and repeatedly prodded her emotionally, turning her into a true "human" still had a long way to go… Shana still saw herself merely as a "tool" tasked with hunting Crimson Denizens, not a living, breathing human being.
The night was still long, still deep, and each person held their own thoughts closely…
...
Although they had formed a cooperative relationship, Nitocris actually did not lack fighting strength.
Even if Hirai Yukari, as her vessel, had limited capacity, Nitocris was still a god. If Crimson Denizens and Flame Haze were to break historical precedent and form a united front against her alone, she might even feel slightly interested and play with them seriously.
Don't think she was exaggerating—the gap between a Demon God and other Crimson Denizens really was just that huge. Even if every drain and stream merged together, they could never rival the ocean. Only a god could confront another god.
Now, the God of Guidance hadn't appeared, the God of Creation was sealed, and the God of Retribution was her ally. Nitocris was practically invincible. No matter who came, no matter how many came, there could only be two outcomes—they'd either flee in disgrace or suffer a crushing defeat.
If it weren't for the World Consciousness's inability to locate Seireiden, Nitocris would have already knocked on Bal Masqué's door. The Snake of the Festival's three powerful subordinates—the Trinity—might not be killable, but his other underlings had no such immortality. If they died, they'd be truly dead.
Still, at this time, most Bal Masqué members should be outside causing trouble for Flame Haze, leaving very few in Seireiden. Even if Nitocris blew up Seireiden like a firework, it wouldn't deal significant damage to Bal Masqué.
As for Shana right now—although unable to summon flames on her own, she could already defeat weaker, mediocre Crimson Lords in battle. She truly lived up to her title as the Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter, possessing such fighting power even while still maturing... However, Nitocris couldn't bring Shana along.
It wasn't just the gap in fighting strength. Because Nitocris had the cooperation of the World Consciousness, she could instantly appear at any location on this planet—but she couldn't bring Shana with her.
Therefore, Nitocris would pass information from the World Consciousness about certain Crimson Denizen locations to Shana, who would then travel on her own to engage them. Meanwhile, Nitocris herself would deal with other Denizens.
"Hmm… Such a tiny island nation actually has so many Denizens? The protection of humanity really is convenient."
Upon receiving the Denizens' locations, Alastor couldn't help but sigh, "In the past, we could only rely on unreliable tips from Outlaw or sheer luck. Tips from Outlaw were often mixed with false leads and difficult to verify, and alerted Denizens frequently escaped. So, most of the time, we'd end up empty-handed, relying purely on luck. That severely limited the efficiency of Flame Haze hunts...but your presence changes everything."
It was no exaggeration to say—even if Nitocris weren't a god, or even if she had zero fighting capability, her ability to pinpoint Crimson Denizen locations alone would make her the most valuable ally in Alastor's—and every Flame Haze's—eyes.
Speaking of Outlaw...after some discussion, Alastor and Shana decided not to report Nitocris's existence to Outlaw, at least not for the time being.
Alastor had taken Nitocris's earlier words seriously. He genuinely feared the Flame Haze who learned of Nitocris's presence might do something foolish and irrational.
Shana had left. After receiving some of the Crimson Denizen locations, she departed Misaki City.
Before leaving, Shana had given a deep glance toward Hirai Yukari—or more accurately, toward the pendant on Hirai Yukari's chest. Nitocris initially thought she might be reluctant to leave, perhaps intending to say a few parting words. But instead, Shana walked away without looking back, exceedingly cold.
...Well, forget it. It's not like she won't come back, anyway. No real need for goodbyes.
Hirai Yukari couldn't simply leave everything behind as Shana did, wandering freely around the world. She still had school. Her parents were still in this city. That was the biggest difference between Hirai Yukari and the Flame Haze—she still maintained connections to reality.
Inside the classroom of Class 2, Year 1, the history teacher was lecturing about the Incident at Honnō-ji.
To Nitocris, this class felt strangely fragmented...because when the teacher spoke about Oda Nobunaga, the only images that appeared in her mind were Chaldea's Oda Nobunaga—who sounded very similar to Shana—and the Oda Nobuna from a certain anime… Anyway, they were all girls.
"Kami-sama…"
"Hm?"
Nitocris froze for a moment, unsure why Hirai Yukari suddenly called her in the middle of class.
You're daydreaming and whispering during class? That's disrespectful to the teacher, even worse than drinking water during class!
Although Nitocris herself had slept through seven out of nine daily classes when she'd attended school—perhaps even more disrespectful than Hirai Yukari…
"I…really can't become stronger?"
---
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl