Monogatari Series - Volume 21 - Chapter 0.25

025

Now that Gentle Nadeko was flattened, her shikigami technique of a ‘deflective barrier born from fear of human contact’ should also fade as time goes on.

Therefore, we must finish this private ruckus as soon as possible, lest staff or customers saunter in.

If this bookstore was seen in this sorry state, I could be misunderstood as a teenager having too much stress and going on a destructive, pubescent rampage — no, that would not be a misunderstanding; aside from a few skipped steps, that would be supremely spot on.

My failure in controlling my shikigami has caused massive damages to this bookstore; a truly dizzying thought — and when thinking of the responsibilities, I cannot take it.

‘No, I don’t think anyone would think that this chaos could be caused by you, a single middle school girl, or any single person, for that matter — sorry for bursting your bubble, but your guilt cannot be assuaged by legal means. If you do feel sorry for this store, then be a great manga artist and hold a book signing here in future.’

Good point.

If I don’t become a popular manga artist, there was no hope of me returning this debt… this was suddenly a lot more than finding a job after graduating middle school.

The stakes have been raised once again.

I carefully avoided stepping on the scattered books on the floor, following the path Ononoki-chan walked, and reached the stairs to the upper floor.

It was quite a lot of work getting here in the first place.

When I face Divine Nadeko on the upper floor, at least don’t topple any bookshelves or damage books… I swore to myself as I turned on the landing — and then.

‘……’

The sight on the ground floor made me speechless. This sight on the upper floor did the same, but not in the same way.

The pathetic sight of collapsed bookshelves and scattered books on the ground floor can only be described as despairing; the pathetic sight on the upper floor can only be described as decadent.

The upper floor — comics, picture books, children’s books.

All bookshelves and books were where they were supposed to be, however, unlike the ground floor, the upper floor was not empty.

With that said, they were not customers or staff either — the people crowding the entire floor, perhaps a hundred of them, they were all me.

They were all Sengoku Nadekos.

More than that, they were all half-naked wearing only gym shorts, aka Bloomer Nadekos — names aside, there was no look lamer than this, but anyway, there were about a hundred Sengoku Nadekos, all with their long fringes, occupying the entire floor.

Some looked for comics whilst cupping their breasts with both hands, some were picking picture books with one hand covering their breasts, and some laid them bare for all to see whilst reading children’s books — no, that entire side of the bookstore was supposed to be for kids, yet this sight that greeted me as I ascended those stairs was completely X-rated.

Also, to see a cultured place such as a bookstore being smothered with these girls felt particularly immoral.

By the way, since I was criticised just now for not putting in enough work on the feet; probably in the same way I put beach sandals on Speedo Nadeko simply because they matched, these Nadekos all wore gym shoes to match their gym shorts.

It may be better than being barefoot, but it is only better than being barefoot.

Even death might be better than this.

‘……’

I could not muster even a shriek.

Normally emotionless and well-spoken, Ononoki-chan was also silent.

What kind of situation would render even Ononoki-chan speechless?

I see, now I know why there were more witnesses for Bloomer Nadeko than Speedo Nadeko — the former simply outnumbered the latter.

An utterly insignificant truth.

I was originally wondering how they set up such a large trap that involved all bookshelves collapsing, but if there were a hundred of them working, then setting a trap would not have been a challenge regardless of size.

But who was the one who mass-produced this many Bloomer Nadekos, and how did they do it?

Much earlier, Ougi-san made the suggestion of me drawing another hundred Nadekos, which Ononoki-chan also said was not a bad idea on its own, but it should have been shot down with the reason that an outsider such as myself had no hope of controlling a hundred shikigami at once.

‘Even a pro would find managing a hundred shikigami difficult — unless they are a god who can conjure a hundred thousand snakes.’

‘…But, even so, to draw a hundred variations on the same character —’

Halfway through that sentence, I glanced once again at that horrid sight.

They looked — identical.

Everybody the same Gentle Nadeko, as if pressed from a mould — Bloomer Nadekos.

‘Hm. I feel like she drew one and then used the photocopier. Aha, so that’s something that can be done. How modern. But going back, a shikigami summoning shikigami is already frightening, but a shikigami producing shikigami… that’s absurd. Gentle Nadeko’s a neutral, basic type, so I’ve always felt that ‘deflective barrier born from fear of human contact’ was too strong for something like her, but if it’s a hundred of them working at once, then I can accept that. I thought we had to deal with this quick, before other people entered the store, but by the looks of it, we needn’t worry about that’, said Ononoki-chan.

No, looking at that part alone did give cause for optimism, but surely it doesn’t cancel out the astonishing sight of a hundred Bloomer Nadekos?

My callous judgement resulted in the hopeless destruction of the ground floor, of which I express my most sincere regrets; but I wasn’t expecting to be punished like this…

‘Indeed. The challenges so far have been dealt with differently every single time, but I can say this for certain now, this is one volume  where an anime adaptation is out of the question.’

Er, um, that too.

But we will leave chastity or social perceptions for another time (probably never); even if it wasn’t a hundred Bloomer Nadekos in front of us, this was still quite serious.

Because what was thought to be one remaining shikigami was now a hundred and one — furthermore, ‘a hundred Bloomer Nadekos’ was just a rough estimate; there could be even more.

This was not a two-against-one.

Even if one includes the supporting Ononoki-chan, this was still three against over a hundred — there was no point in battling, was there.

Seeing that Divine Nadeko has so many Sengoku Nadekos as pawns, she might be ready to rid one or two.

‘“There’s no point in battling” seems a bit much… things are not that pessimistic. Whilst we have a glaring disadvantage in terms of numbers, the amount of people on their side means it is impossible to give detailed instructions to every single one of the hundred shikigami. It doesn’t matter how divinely powerful Divine Nadeko is.’

‘……’

Really?

It was true that by the looks of it (a sight so disgusting that it was actually physically draining to look at), from these hundred Bloomer Nadekos, they didn’t seem to have a will of their own.

They seem to not care at all, or have hollow eyes… they grab books really slowly as well.

I may be low on stamina, tired, and aching everywhere, but I could probably move quicker than those Bloomer Nadekos — let alone Anti-Nadeko with her movement limiter removed.

If a shikigami’s consciousness can be described as an artificial intelligence, then the hundred Bloomer Nadekos are the NPCs.

It may be the case that this was a mass-production model without differentiating details, hence this tendency — but even so, a hundred of them proved an overpowering advantage.

Overnumbered.

Attacks need no explanation, and their defence was also overwhelming — if there was one thing Divine Nadeko fears despite her godlike powers, it was me, holding the method of sealing her in.

Once at hand’s reach, one swipe with a sketchbook page will capture them in the blink of an eye, be they a god or a serpent — conversely, this was the one event Divine Nadeko had to prevent.

Hence the gap in numbers — in other words,

Fawning Nadeko’s ‘human barrier’.

I already guessed this was how Divine Nadeko would use Gentle Nadeko, but I was not expecting her to make a hundred Sengoku Nadekos to build this wall — additionally, unlike Fawning Nadeko’s ‘human barrier’, since they were all Nadekos, Divine Nadeko could blend in.

Not hiding amongst bookshelves, but hiding amongst Nadekos; I have no choice but to surrender, haven’t I?

Both my hands up in surrender in front of everybody with their hand bra, the irony.

‘Oi, oi, you haven’t forgotten, have you, Naddie?’

As I was enveloped in all manners of despair, Ononoki-chan interjected.

‘Even if Divine Nadeko is amongst this crowd, I still have my hand on her back — not covering her breast, but gripping on her back. So she can hide however she wants, but we can still know where she is. Most importantly, Divine Nadeko appears to still be oblivious to this fact.’

‘……’

I see — quite an advantage, I must say.

A sizeable advantage.

Not as huge as the despair hanging above me, but sizeable nonetheless.

However, even with a rough idea of where Divine Nadeko is, breaking through a hundred Bloomer Nadekos to reach her was still a problem…

‘…But since that trap sprung on the ground floor, Divine Nadeko must know we’re here, surely?’

‘Probably, given that great noise.’

But there was no reaction from the hundred Bloomer Nadekos; looks like Ononoki-chan was right, Divine Nadeko could not give them specific instructions.

Which meant Divine Nadeko was preparing for a siege.

Such preference to this strategy was, as expected, because she was born from me, a hikikomori; should this be a cause for self-reflection… the other side seemed to have no intention of going on the offensive.

Decoys, traps, sneak attacks — snake-like attacks, if one were to be overly cynical.

Although if there were a hundred yourselves in front of you, anybody would end up jaded and world-weary.

Then again, for a manga lover, trapped in a comics market feels like living the dream.

But this is something I wish to achieve for myself.

‘They’re definitely not steady as a rock either. There’s no more decoys or traps available to them, no room to restart — those hundred Sengoku Nadekos are also not the original default, but in this unbearable form; I’m guessing she’s trying to deflate your will at the expense of a little damage to herself; therefore, if you attack now, there’s nothing more Divine Nadeko could do.’

‘……’

Those were only predictions… but for us, we had no room to restart either.

Besides, if that were the case, my will to fight has definitely taken a hit according to her plan, but even so, even though she’s made me seen this ludicrous sight, the thought of giving Divine Nadeko a good talking-to had not disappeared — even if Ononoki-chan told us we should leave, I would stay here alone.

This was for Fawning Nadeko, who heroically sacrificed herself to save me and fulfil her duties; for Gentle Nadeko, who woefully sacrificed herself whilst baiting me and failing her duties.

And also for my future.

Present Nadeko is going to fight Divine Nadeko.

‘…But there’s no way we can just rush in; Ononoki-chan, any ideas?’

‘Hmmm. Not that I don’t have any…’

With my question, Ononoki-chan gave a stammered response. No, her tone of voice was as unchanging as ever, but seems that she only started thinking of strategies now; I feel Ononoki-chan’s not particularly enthusiastic about this fight.

‘It’s all thanks to Araragi Tsukihi that my misfortunes became visible for all to see, plus I was only recently reassembled, and my right hand is made of dirt… given my situation, it might be better if you devised a strategy.’

‘M-me? No, but… I’ve made a big blunder just now…’

For some reason, not just now, Ononoki-chan has always wanted me to think of ways to deal with the shikigami.

I just realised, the moment she first saw Speedo Nadeko, she did not use the ‘Unlimited Rulebook’, but had me wait, see, and catch that big fish — that could also be because she wanted me to make the final decision.

People can only save themselves — self-help.

‘I will of course give my opinion. In order to maximise efficacy and chances of success, I will fine-tune accordingly as a pro. Any idea can be of use.’

‘…Understood. I’ll have a think.’

If this was past me, I would have refused on the spot.

Even up until yesterday.

But current me, today’s me, that was the response I gave.

‘I will try my best. I probably wouldn’t beat the Fire Sisters’ lieutenant, Tsukihi-chan, though.’

‘If you ever get to that girl’s level, you’d be better off not doing anything at all.’

Her words to Tsukihi-chan were still mean as ever.

So, let us think like an aspiring manga artist would.

Like that time against Anti-Nadeko, one must eliminate the distinction between reality and fantasy — this was an offensive.

Curiously enough, the stage a comics market.

This called for some unrealistic combat, something straight from a battle manga.

I was already different from when I drew Divine Nadeko, and I have to reflect that.

‘…I can use your “Unlimited Rulebook”, right, Ononoki-chan?’

‘Only once. No matter in what form, no more than once.’

‘Would the hundred Bloomer Nadekos still move after disabling Divine Nadeko? Or is it that once the boss falls, all her henchmen can be sealed as well?’

‘We’ll never know until we try, but it should be the latter. So to take an extreme, if we kill you, then all Nadekos would disappear.’

‘That’s a bit too extreme… no need to root it out. Hmmm, then —’

I once again took out the sheet of paper that had Anti-Nadeko on it from my pocket. I also took out an empty sheet of paper, one I prepared in advance for capturing Divine Nadeko and Gentle Nadeko.

‘…Anti-Nadeko’s hairstyle came from a snip from Tsukihi-chan, and is a hairstyle she hates, right…’

‘Mm? Yeah, you mentioned that whilst you were drawing all the Sengoku Nadekos.’

‘Then’

Ononoki-chan had a look of ‘so what?’ written across her face, as I told her an idea that came out of nowhere.

‘Then I’ll make it even shorter — about as short as mine.’