TL Note: I apologize for the sporadic release schedule this month. I had been extremely busy and didn\'t have much time to revise my translations, and I would have hated to release something unpolished. As a way to make it up to everyone I will be releasing 3 parts per week for the following 3 weeks. Happy reading.

Gharaga, an Silver-rank soldier, knew how to break the enemy\'s illusions from his many combat experiences. The pain of losing his arm was outweighed by the thrill of blocking Suzuki\'s technique. Gharaga looked at his hated enemy with a grin on his face.

Suzuki\'s eyes filled with tears as he stared at Gharaga with concern.

"Ay-ay-ay, that looks painful, ya know. Are you okay, Gharaga?"

At the same time, he heard Mimi\'s voice. Suzuki must have spoken imitating Mimi\'s voice. His stomach was churning. 

"You\'ve got to be kidding me, you fucking brat!! You\'re DISGUSTING!"

As he was about to pull his arm back, determined to kill him this time, Gharaga saw another unbelievable sight.

A young Mimi was standing next to Gharaga. Mimi had moved away from Suzuki and was looking up at Gharaga from right beside him.

"...Pritis\'s 48 Gestures---Thirteenth Gesture, \'Tearful Eyes\'"

(Mimi split from Suzuki! Wh--What, the heck? Wasn\'t it an illusion sorcery?) 

Like Suzuki, Mimi had tears in her eyes and looked at Gharaga with concern. Mimi\'s image was clearly visible without any blurring.

(A ghost? Is this guy a necromancer?? No, he\'s not! This is something else...!)

Gharaga was having difficulty breathing. It was not an illusion sorcery. Perhaps it was also different from a Spiritism technique. Suzuki\'s technique did not conform to Gharaga\'s knowledge of sorceries.

"Hey, Gharaga. Do you want me to bring you some medicine??"

(It does NOT matter if it is a hallucination or a ghost!!)

Rather than Suzuki in front of him, he thought he had to deal with Mimi first. Gharaga swung his arm around and tried to slash Mimi.

"Damn you! Do NOT look at me that way!"

However, the moment Gharaga\'s claws struck Mimi, she disappeared without a trace. The next moment, she was standing on the opposite side from where she had been.

"Gharaga. Your arm is bleeding, you know."

"Bastard!"

This time, he aimed at the head and delivered a thrust.

"Gee, cut it out. Please? We need to get you patched up quickly."

Just when he thought he had for sure hit, Mimi disappeared again and was now standing right next to Gharaga.

The attack was not successful. But while attacking, Gharaga realized something decisive.

"Ke-ke... ke-ke-ke-ke-ke-ke-ke-ke!!"

(I understand! I knew it was all a hoax!)

Gharaga laughed loudly. That Suzuki! He got carried away and dug his own grave! "Medicine"? "Patch you up" was it?

"Ku-ke-ke-ke-ke-ke!! Mimi would never say such a thing to ME!!"

What kind of person would be worried about an enemy who has eaten her?! That statement proved that it wasn\'t the real Mimi! He had seen through Suzuki\'s shallow technique!

"You moron!! Mimi is full of RESENTMENT and HATRED towards me!!"

Gharaga was convinced that he had seen through Suzuki\'s technique. Even so, Mimi\'s illusion would not disappear.

"I do NOT care!! Then, I\'ll eat you again!! I\'ll swallow you whole!!"

In front of the young Mimi, Gharaga opened his big mouth. He tried to bite her head off.

(Be gone!! Impostor!!)

The moment Gharaga was piercing her with his own fangs, he saw------ it was Mimi, smiling innocently at him.

"Y--You... are...!"

Seeing her smile, a perfect replica of the one she had 30 years ago, a sense of dread ran through Gharaga\'s body. The gentle smile that stuck in his mind made him stop moving. For the first time in his life, Gharaga experienced complete terror and collapsed, leaving his mouth open as if it were about to take a bite out of Mimi.

"Why... Why are you smiling...? How can you have a smile on your face like that...? I ate you, didn\'t I...?"

(And, I was just about to eat you... right now...!)

Mimi looked at Gharaga with a curious expression on her face.

"What do you mean, why? Isn\'t it obvious?"

Mimi beamed with a big smile.

"It\'s because I love you! Gharaga!"

...That\'s right. Mimi was smiling. She must be smiling. He was sure Mimi had forgiven him for eating her and was smiling, just like that time.

Gharaga reached out with a trembling hand to the small Mimi in front of him.

"I also... I also... you...!"

(I finally understand. Why I\'ve had that salty taste in my mouth for so long.)

"You... Love you...!"

Tears welled up in Gharaga\'s eyes. Tears, which he had swallowed for thirty years, fell uncontrollably down his eyes, soaking the ground.

"...Pritis\'s 48 Gestures---Final Gesture, \'Radiant Smile\'." 

He heard Suzuki\'s voice and looked up. Mimi had disappeared, and Suzuki was standing in front of Gharaga, who was kneeling down. Gharaga could feel that Suzuki had a sad look on his face.

The surrounding demons began to make a commotion.

"Hey! Gharaga kneeled down...!"

"Un--Unbelievable! He\'s crying!"

"I mean, that guy confessed to Suzuki that he liked him at the end, right!?"

(Not to him, you idiot!)

However, he didn\'t think it was necessary to bother to say such a thing. Gharaga was feeling wonderful right now. He wanted to enjoy this feeling in silence for a while.

Before long, the cat-eared referee raised her hand and announced.

"Eee-uhm... Gharaga cried and told Suzuki \'that\' ------ The winner of the military duel is Suzuki!!"

The roar of the demons\' cheers reverberated through the training grounds.