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Chapter 3: Warm Feelings

Old Man Tetsu, full name Tetsumori Tamura, had been living in retirement for a while now. For many years, he worked as an electrician in a company, and now that he had retired, he had become a local handyman in his neighborhood, repairing electrical appliances for free, making him a rather respectable figure within the neighborhood.

Ever since the death of his wife, Tetsu had been living on his own, with all his sons already moving out and having their own families. He spent most of his day walking around the neighborhood, meeting up with fellow retirees and elderlies. He didn't have anyone living with him in his own house until a few days ago when his youngest granddaughter, Haruka Tamura, came in to stay with him.

"I'm heading to school now, grandpa! See you!"

Already in her school uniform, Haruka headed out to school. After watching his granddaughter leave, Tetsu decided that it was time for him to do his daily walk.

"I'm heading out now. You want anything?" Tetsu asked Saiph, Haruka's pet cat. People would think that he had gone crazy for talking with a cat.

"Hmph." The cat, Saiph, let out a huff. "How presumptuous of you. Do you think I need anything?" After a pause, he added, "How about canned tuna?"

Tetsu smiled. He was ready to head out, already wearing his tracksuit for the occasion. He also brought with him his utility pouch in case if he had to repair something. "Watch over the house for me." And with that, he left the house, locking the front door before he started his walk.

Because he already ate breakfast, Tetsu didn't have to buy breakfast out there. The first order of business was to head over to the bookstore, and when he arrived there, the bookstore's owner, Takeshi, greeted him warmly.

"Good morning, Tetsu!" The bookkeeper smiled at the retired electrician. "So, the usual?"

Tetsu grunted in response. He bought the newspaper for today and checked the headline. It seemed that there was no disappearance last night. He remembered what happened last night. He was still trying to process it, though he had already accepted it as something that had indeed happened.

"Seems like no one disappeared last night." Takeshi said, looking visibly relieved. "Hopefully it'll stay that way."

"Hrmh…" Tetsu grunted. It looked like no one knew what actually happened last night. And even if he were to tell anyone, they wouldn't believe him. Logically speaking, that monster wasn't something that should exist. And yet, he still remembered his encounter with it, and if it wasn't due to his granddaughter, things might've been different.

Speaking of his granddaughter, Tetsu had learned that she had been moonlighting as a magical girl, or Cosmic Guardian as she would call herself. It felt like those magical girl shows that she used to watch, but unlike the shows, this was real. Haruka was indeed a genuine magical girl with tremendous power. She had used this power to defeat that monster last night, with her making use of the typical trope of dramatic power-up prevalent in those magical girl shows.

Like the existence of that monster, the fact that Haruka was indeed a magical girl felt illogical, but Tetsu had already accepted it as fact. The two of them already had a talk last night about it, and he was willing to keep it a secret for her because he knew that she needed someone she could talk with.

Tetsu knew that he was powerless to help Haruka, so at the very least he could become her confidant who could listen to her. He agreed to not have his own memories erased by her so that he could be the one in the know so that she would be less lonely.

Tetsu shook his head, trying to not be distracted by what happened last night. After paying for the newspaper, he continued his walk, heading over to the park. Also, he remembered that the clash between his granddaughter and that monster happened here at these streets. From the way they were flinging magic missiles to each other, there had to be the signs of damages, though he found nothing that indicated the fight had happened at all.

Perhaps it was thanks to Haruka's cat, Saiph, that the streets weren't damaged. He wasn't sure of it or how he did it, though he thought that he might as well drop the matter. While he did agree to become Haruka's confidant, he wasn't going to involve himself into another encounter with some eldritch beings. As mentioned before, he already had enough excitement for a lifetime.

Tetsu sighed. He hoped that Haruka would be careful while moonlighting as the magical girl out there. As long as she didn't put herself into unnecessary dangers, he was fine with her going out at night, patrolling the streets and defeating monsters that could harm other people here in the neighborhood.

"Is something the matter, Tetsu?" Tetsu was broken out of his musing when Otsumi, another fellow elderly, spoke to him. "Something troubling you?"

"Hrmh…" Tetsu grunted as he shook his head. "It's nothing. Just thinking about stuff." He stopped by Otsumi's place to repair her heater.

"Well, since nobody disappeared last night, I guess we probably don't have to worry about it now." Otsumi said. She was one of the elderlies here who were worried for the safety of their granddaughters due to the disappearances of teenage girls around the neighborhood

"Hrmh… still too early to celebrate that." Tetsu said. He knew what happened to the one responsible for the disappearances, as it was thanks to his granddaughter that the kidnapper had been taken down. He was just saying this to keep up appearance. "And the girls still need to be careful out there. Lots of dangers lurking in the dark."

After learning that magical girls are indeed real, Tetsu couldn't rule out the possibility that there was more than just that one monster. Haruka would remain here in Sakamoto Town as its resident magical girl, or Cosmic Guardian, which meant that the monster last night, the Devourer, wasn't the only thing that could cause harm to the people of the neighborhood. Tetsu wished that the real authority could get involved, but that was just wistful thinking, knowing that anyone would be laughed out of the building if they brought up the existence of monsters and magical girls.

"Well, I guess you're right…" Otsumi agreed. "Oh, by the way, I heard this about some people from big city moving in. They're going to take up residence at the apartment block over there." She pointed at one direction, and Tetsu knew that she was referring to one particular apartment block here in Sakamoto Town.

"Hrmh…" Tetsu grunted, mulling over this new information. Sakamoto Town wasn't a big place, so it wouldn't take long for the resident to learn about new people moving in. "Got any idea about who they are?"

"I wasn't there when they moved in, but I think they're just young people who want to stay together. Not sure what they're up to, though." Otsumi shrugged.

Still processing this new information, Tetsu stroked his beard. Sakamoto was a small town, and almost everyone here knew everyone. It was only a matter of time before he got to know these people, though it was unknown as to why they were here in the first place. The fact that they were moving in group was odd and the retired electrician couldn't help but ponder about this matter.

In the end, he decided to drop it. Perhaps it was due to him learning the existence of monsters that made him paranoid, though he couldn't just suspect any newcomers coming into the town and think they were up for no good.

"Oh, I need to buy some stuff. See you later, Tetsu." Otsumi excused herself, and Tetsu continued with his walk before he decided to finally return home. He had a few things in his mind as he headed home. Of course, on his way home, he bought a few cans of tuna for Saiph. He thought that the cat would probably appreciate it.

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"I'm home!"

Both Tetsu and Saiph were watching the television when Haruka returned home. The two of them were having a chat while watching the news, and when Haruka arrived, Tetsu went to welcome her.

"So, are you planning to head outside tonight?" Tetsu asked his granddaughter. As soon as she returned home, Haruka immediately worked at the kitchen, and Tetsu decided to help her out cooking.

"Well, I didn't sense anything ominous out there, but better safe than sorry." Haruka said as she chopped some vegetables.

"Hrmh…" Even though he had already accepted the fact about Haruka being a magical girl, as her grandfather, he couldn't help but worry. He knew that he would just get in her way if he were to be involved, though judging from what happened last night, she would certainly get herself into dangerous situations, and he'd rather prefer her encountering nothing. "Just be careful out there. Run away if things get too tough."

Haruka smiled happily as she nodded at her grandfather. "Okay! And it's thanks to you that I'm feeling much stronger now!"

Tetsu was reminded of how Haruka managed to get herself some dramatic power-up after she told him that her power had something to do with her emotions. It was a gamble, but it paid off in the end. By giving her words of encouragement, Tetsu managed to empower Haruka, allowing her to defeat the Devourer with her newfound power.

Still, regardless of what happened, Haruka would continue putting herself in harm's way, and Tetsu couldn't help himself but worry for his granddaughter's safety.

"Just… stay safe." Tetsu said. "I'm worried."

He admitted to her of how worried he was for her safety. Haruka stopped chopping the vegetables and looked at her grandfather, smiling warmly at him.

"Don't worry, grandpa. I'll be careful."

The day went on uneventfully.

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It was nighttime, and Haruka headed out to patrol the streets of the neighborhood. Now that her grandfather was aware of her nighttime activities, she didn't have to sneak out to do so. She just said goodbye to her grandfather before she left, ready to do her duty as the Cosmic Guardian.

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"Okay, here we go…" Haruka muttered to herself before she closed her eyes. Then, her body was surrounded by a ring of light before her clothes changed into her magical girl outfit. The dress was colorful with orange being the most dominant color. Her body was also glowing. "Alright, time to look around…"

Channeling her magical energy into her feet, Haruka leaped into the air before she conjured magical platforms to step on. Moving gracefully in the air, she scanned the neighborhood below to see if there was anything suspicious. She effortlessly moved around, not stopping until she finally made a full round in the neighborhood, and she landed on the ground.

"No suspicious activities detected."

Another figure materialized next to her. It was a blue panther-like creature. There seemed to be some kind of rune-like sigil on its forehead.

"Saiph…" Haruka said. It was the true form of her pet cat, Saiph. "I guess tonight will be an uneventful one, huh?"

Saiph looked up before he shrugged his shoulders. "Still too early to tell. This town is located very close to the Great Leyline in this country. I'm willing to bet that there will be more entities interested to use this town for their own means." He pawed on the ground. "For a place like this, there has to be more than one Guardian. A single Guardian isn't enough to keep this place under control."

Haruka pouted. "You're saying I'm not good enough to protect this town?"

"You are acceptable enough, especially after you experienced the breakthrough last night." Saiph pointed out. "Like I said before, a Cosmic Guardian's power is closely tied to her emotional state, and yesterday, you experienced some kind of emotional breakthrough that allowed you to gain a significant boost of power. Most Cosmic Guardians couldn't achieve this in such a short time…"

Haruka hummed as she mulled over this information. "I guess it's thanks to my grandpa that I'm much stronger now. He's the reason why I got this surprise power-up."

"I was actually surprised when I heard that your grandfather was able to deduce such a thing." Saiph stated. "For someone who has no prior knowledge regarding the supernatural side of this world, he is surprisingly perceptive."

Haruka puffed up her chest proudly. "That's my grandpa! He's great, right?"

Saiph sighed. "Well, as long as he won't get in your way. We're already risking ourselves by letting him know about your secret." He looked at the magical girl. "Ultimately, it is up to you to decide. If you think it is wise for you to let him know about your secret, it is your call. And having him become your confidant should at least lessen your burden a little."

Haruka smiled. She knew that she had made a right choice by letting her grandfather know about her being a magical girl. At the very least, she didn't have to be secretive while around him.

"Putting that aside, let's do another round. Then we go back home." Haruka said. She was about to leap up into the air before she suddenly froze. Even Saiph seemed to notice something was wrong as he looked up. "What's this?"

"This stench…" Saiph muttered. "It's unmistakable. There's no way I can mistake a stench of death for something else. Keep your guard up, Glitter Orange. I sense monsters."

"Monsters? You mean, more than one?" Haruka inquired as she quickly took off into the air, once again moving fluidly over the town. "Can you ascertain what they are?"

"There's no way I can mistake them for something else." Saiph said as he followed after Haruka, gliding through the air alongside her. "These ones are small fries, though. The stronger ones may have already established their nest somewhere."

Both Haruka and Saiph continued moving before they finally found what they were looking for. At the street below them, they saw three hooded figures moving down the street. They seemed humanoid enough and they didn't move strangely like the monster she encountered last night. One might even mistake them for ordinary humans who were oddly dressed at night.

Though both Haruka and Saiph weren't fooled by their appearance. These figures were not humans at all, and Haruka decided to make her dynamic entrance by suddenly descending down from the sky, charging her feet with her magical energy.

Boom!

Haruka stomped onto one of the figures, emitting bright, blinding light upon impact. The hooded figure didn't even have time to scream as they crumbled into ashes. The remaining two were spared from destruction, but they were unable to avoid being damaged by the light.

The remaining two jumped back and whipped out their own weapons. They pulled down their hoods, revealing human-like faces. Of course, Haruka knew better because these people weren't humans at all.

"Y-you killed Kaito!" One of them, the female one with bob haircut, shouted out, baring sharp fangs as she did so. They were clear indication that these people were not humans.

"I can't risk having vampires skulking around here." Haruka said resolutely. She conjured a pair of spears of light. "Your kind brings nothing but harm to the innocents. Nothing but a bunch of parasites."

Enraged, the female vampire roared, her body engulfed in black aura. "I will not let you kill us! Die!"

Charging towards Haruka, the female vampire tried to bull-rush her, though the magical girl managed to stop her advance. In retaliation, Haruka stabbed her right into her chest. The female vampire screamed out in agony as Haruka's spear of light protruded out of her back before her body crumbled into dust.

"K-Kokomi!" The remaining vampire, a male one, wailed out in despair. Then his face contorted into a hateful expression as he glared at the magical girl. "Y-you bitch… you think you have any right to kill us? Your soul is mine!"

Haruka flinched when she felt like there was an invisible hand trying to yank out her innards, but she managed to resist it, and the vampire was dumbfounded as he was unable to instantly kill her.

"H-how…?"

"Starburst."

In a flash of light, the vampire was obliterated and reduced into ashes. Haruka sighed as she lowered her hand. She managed to effortlessly defeat all three of these vampires without trouble, though she frowned as she looked at the hooded cloaks that were left behind after the vampires were killed.

"Those were newborn vampires…" Saiph appeared next to Haruka. "I don't think they were from around this place. Still, newborn vampires have close connections with their masters, so they're probably aware of their deaths by now."

Haruka nodded grimly. "That's probably true, but for now, I don't think they're going to immediately act." She turned around. "Saiph, will you erect a few barriers around the neighborhood? That way, the people will be protected from any potential vampire attacks, at least."

Saiph tilted his head as he processed Haruka's command. "Very well. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going home. Slip into my room through the window once you're done, okay?" And so, Haruka leaped up into the air as she headed home.

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"I'm back."

Haruka entered her grandfather's house and headed over to the living room. Her attire had reverted back to her ordinary clothes. Her grandfather was still awake, watching a show on television.

"Hrmh?" Her grandfather looked at her. "Oh, welcome back. How's the job?"

For a while, Haruka said nothing. Then, she approached her grandfather and gave him a big hug.

"Haruka?" Her grandfather seemed confused. "Did something happen?"

Snuggling against her grandfather, burying her face into his shoulder, Haruka said, "I killed some monsters earlier."

"You did?" Her grandfather frowned. "Ah."

Gingerly, her grandfather brought his arms around her, giving her a comforting hug.

"Was it difficult?" Her grandfather asked. He figured that she was experienced enough in killing monsters as a magical girl.

"They looked like people…" Haruka stated. "It was easy. Too easy." And it was clear that it bothered her quite a lot.

"I see…" Her grandfather mused. He seemed to be trying to find the right words to say. "Well… I can understand why you're troubled by that, but… do you think you did the right thing?"

Still having her face buried into her grandfather's shoulder, Haruka said, "They're monsters. It's my job to get rid of them."

"Then it's the right thing to do." Her grandfather said. "And it's fine to worry about this sort of thing." He already accepted the fact that his granddaughter would do things like killing monsters, and he was glad that she still could feel hesitation even if she had to do it. "Why don't you go to bed now? I'm sure you're feeling exhausted after jumping around the neighborhood."

"Grandpa… can I…" Haruka said. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Her grandfather blinked. He took a few seconds to process what she just said. Seeing her grandfather's confusion, Haruka went on to explain herself.

"I-I mean, here, in the living room. And I'll bring my futon down too." Haruka said, looking flustered as she had to explain herself. Now understanding what Haruka was trying to say, her grandfather just chuckled.

"Heh. Aren't you too old to be doing that now?" Her grandfather said.

Haruka pouted and crossed her arms. Still, as her grandfather brought his hand to the top of her head, she smiled.

For her, as long as she got her grandpa to confide to, she believed she would be fine.

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"So… the reconnaissance team has been thoroughly eliminated?"

Seated on a throne was a blonde girl whose hair was fashioned into a side-tail. Before her was a tall man with bleached hair. A while ago, he went on to report about the deaths of three of his subordinates.

"That is so, mistress. It happened way too fast that I couldn't quite see whoever it was who slew them. Still, considering that mere newborn spawns are still strong enough to withstand conventional weaponry, it is easy to surmise that whoever was responsible for their destruction was a skilled fighter and magic-user." The man with bleached hair said.

The blonde girl leaned back. She was wearing quite a provocative outfit, which was a black leotard that accentuated her figure as well as thigh-high leggings and long gloves, all of them black in color. Her figure seemed to be flickering, indicating that despite her sitting on the throne, she wasn't actually there. She was actually projecting an image of her from somewhere.

"That's quite troublesome. I thought you reported to me that Sakamoto Town is unoccupied." The blonde girl said as she directed her gaze at the man with bleached hair. "I should've known that a place so close with Great Leyline is currently occupied by one of those pesky interlopers. This would require a significant adjustment to our plan."

The man with bleached hair bowed his head. "I beg your pardon, mistress. This lowly one has no excuse for his oversight."

The blonde girl sighed. "No matter. It's not a big loss anyway. We still can produce more lowly spawns. And I think our coven has enough members to cover the entirety of Sakamoto Town. From there, we will be able to turn the town into our feeding ground, and due to how close it is to the Great Leyline, it is possible that we may gain significant boost in strength that allows us to change our coven into a proper vampire clan."

"As long as we don't draw the attentions of Demon Hunter Association and Catholic Church, our ascension is already a guaranteed one." The man with bleached hair said, agreeing with his mistress' words. "That would mean no unnecessary turning and no binge-feeding. If possible, we should strive to ensure that we don't end up killing any of the humans here."

"I know that." The blonde girl seemed irritated by the reminder. "You don't have to remind me that every time."

The man with bleached hair smiled. "Well, a few reminders every now and then won't hurt, right?"

"Hmph!" The blonde girl huffed, crossing her arms under her ample chest. After a while, she said, "Regardless of that, it seems that we need to adjust our schedule now. That would mean I need to move into Sakamoto Town now and integrate myself with the people there." She sighed. "And I'm already sick of having to use Projection just to speak to you people. Do you know how many packs of blood bags I have to drink just to maintain a Projection like this?"

"Well, I don't think we don't have to worry about blood shortage for now." The man with bleached hair said.

"The problem is that I absolutely hate blood bags!" The blonde girl snapped. "Seriously, is it hard to heat up the bags before giving them to me? I hate refrigerated blood so much."

"If that's the case, then I will arrange your transfer immediately. Will you be joining us here in this apartment building?" The man with bleached hair asked.

"No, I'm not living with you at the apartment." The blonde girl shook her head.

The man with bleached hair gave his mistress a confused look. "Mistress? What do you mean you won't be living with us? Are you planning to stay somewhere else?"

The blonde girl smiled, as if recalling something nostalgic.

"Well, I'm planning to live with my grandpa there." The blonde girl said. "I'm sure he won't mind."

"Do you think it's wise?" The man with bleached hair asked, visibly frowning.

The blonde girl just shrugged. "As long as he doesn't know, it should be fine. I mean, I know my grandpa. He's a retired electrician, not a demon hunter in disguise. For all intents and purposes, he's a harmless old man. There's no way he can ruin our carefully-made plan."