Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku: Breakdown Volume 1 Chapter 1

Chapter 1

There was an island with plenty of greenery. Rocky fields around the cape that protruded from the north, to the south were long sandy beaches spread out, and aside from the stone castle-like structure in the center, it was almost completely covered with plants. The man looked away from the tapestry that offered a bird’s eye view of the island, and sighed. Although he looked like he was about to pa.s.s the slope of middle age, his weight looked more than what was appropriate for someone his age, the fat around his belly was especially packed that it inhibited any light movements he would make, but that wasn’t why he was breathing out with sorrow. The room inside was so messy that he wanted to cover his eyes.

He rolled up the sleeves of his robes and put his right hand out, he moved the tip of his thumb as if he was rubbing on the second joint of his index finger. He made a horrible snapping sound, at the same time, a chair slid. The bed tilted. The empty bottles, metal parts, and rolled up parchments that were on top of it fell down to the floor, the carpet picked them up altogether and swept them and the dust to the garbage can. Although some dust was still floating, the room was cleaned.

There was a small room near the 3-meter square storage room. A gray stone wall had become exposed. There, a wide tapestry that had the entirety of the island drawn on it was hung. The light of the moon and stars shone through the large gla.s.s window with a heavy lock on it. The wooden table and chairs were roughly cut and had many wood grains, on top of the table was a marble top board matching its size, and on top of that were quills and stationery, inkwells, blotting papers, herb-blended candlesticks, and other necessary writing instruments.

The man nodded in satisfaction, and breathed in slightly. Smells dusty.

Standing on the side of the window, he chose the third key from the key ring, opened the lock while struggling with the rust. I need to oil this, he muttered as he used both hands to open the window. From the forest underneath his eyes, the greenery continued towards the edge of the island, and from there it was only the dark blue sea until the tip of the horizon. The sound and smell of the tide filled the room, cancelling and leaving no trace of the smell of dust, this time it smelled properly of the sh.o.r.es. The night winds blowing in not only increased the smell of the sh.o.r.es, but made it cold as well. This island was hot during the days, but when night pa.s.ses, it cools down. The man hugged his fat body and s.h.i.+vered slightly, but didn’t try to close the window.

For the master of this room, an eccentric researcher, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves, even the cool of the night were nothing but extra things. He easily spent most of his time in this room isolated by magic without the need for food, drinks, or toilet breaks, no doubt joyfully immersing himself in research and experiments. If you were someone who knew him, they’d say “That’s him alright,” and would nod in conviction.

The fat man was the nephew of the researcher who used this room. But he was no researcher himself. He wouldn’t devote himself to his research like his uncle, having said that, he didn’t regularly go to work either, he was a self-proclaimed high priority citizen who wanted to have fun and delicious food.

Not all Mages were dedicated to devoting their mind and body on a quest to develop magic. If you talked to his research-oriented uncle, he’d say “He’s nothing but a commoner who uses the accomplishments of his predecessors, not even advancing some himself,” but such a person would always exaggerate an advanced idler’s lifestyle and be strongly against it.

The man did not have the rationalism common to Mages. The narrowness of the room, the smell of the tides, the sound of the waves, the coldness of the wind, hunger, sleepiness, unnecessary things, inconvenient things, where his uncle dismissed them distastefully, he felt the taste of these things instead. Being inconvenienced wasn’t always a bad thing. Lighting a fire with something primitive rather than using one command word had its fun too.

Being able to enjoy these inconveniences were only due to the arrogance of the upper cla.s.s. To anyone who’s seriously being inconvenienced, they’d appreciate a Mage who would prefer efficiency as their top priority. That’s what his uncle said, and he wasn’t wrong. But if he was arrogant, then he was arrogant. People need to prioritize their own feelings. If his uncle were still in charge, then he’d act the way his uncle wanted to act. Now that his uncle has pa.s.sed away, there was no need to do things the way his uncle would.

That being said, he still had to carry out the orders in his will. The man sat on the chair. He grabbed the pen with his hand, and he raised his head at the sound of a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

The door made a sound as it opened. I need to oil that too, then.

The Magical Girl he hired a few days ago lowered her head quickly.

“The annex’s… That’s an annex right?”

“It looks like an annex”

“Yes it does. The annex’s cleaning is done.”

The woolen hat on a woolen one-piece made her whole body seem fluffy. Her sleeves were long and covered her entire arms, and her wrists were further hidden under a large amount of fur. Her legs were covered with tights making her degree of exposure extremely low. The man embraced the prejudice that Magical Girls were fundamentally exposed, but at the same time, since there were many of them that are exposed, he highly valued Magical Girls who were restrained in their exposure. It gave them a mysterious sense of refinement that was difficult even for him to put into words. But there was no need to put them all into words. As a sophisticated person, it was enough for him that she was able to get the job done.

“Thank you.”

The man replied with a smile, and looked at the woman. Her appearance was well-prepared, her platinum blonde hair was cut short, instead of fanciness, she had a quality and ruggedness that implied she was useful. In addition to her low exposure being one of his favorite points, her trimmed hair also gave her a dignified att.i.tude. That was good. If he were to hire anyone, this would be the Magical Girl for him.

The sheep behind the girl bleated out a “baa”, the girl panicked, and tried to hold down the sheep. The sheep struggled to escape. The beautiful girl and the cute sheep make a good pair. Since there was nothing he could do about the sheep smelling like an animal and how it would leave hoofprints on the carpet, he allowed it.

The sheep bleated in one remarkably large voice, shaking off the girl and running off into the corridor. The shaken off girl made a perfect revolution in the air, hitting the stone corridor with her momentum, and since she was just pa.s.sively accepting this, bonk, she hit the back of her head. The man lifted his large b.u.t.t off of his chair, and offered a hand to the girl who was lying on her back and shaking with her head held between her hands..

“That was quite a loud noise there, you alright?”

The Magical Girl rose from her knees to stand up, waving her hand with a smile.

“Merry’s fine… very, very fine.”

Her voice seemed okay, but was she really fine? Her eyes were darting left and right.

“You don’t look very fine.”

“Merry likes to draw pictures.”

“Yes. That’s not what I’m asking.”

Looking out into the hallway, there was a large crack that shouldn’t have been there until a moment ago. While the girl’s head was swinging like a pendulum, for some reason, her words were level-headed.

“But but, Merry can’t eat just by doing that, it’s pretty sad, isn’t it?”

“Why are you asking me these questions?”

“But Merry’s okay. This isn’t just some part-time job. Really, this is a hard-working job so Merry will work hard…… Yes, work hard!”

“Are you sure you’re okay? No matter how st.u.r.dy a Magical Girl is-”

“Work hard. Work hard. Working hard. Working hard, Merry’s working hard, working super hard for you.”

The girl bowed once, then closed the door. Her footsteps faded away.

She wanted to work as hard as possible, but as for her saying she was okay, she doesn’t seem to be feeling okay. The man was a little troubled. Oh well, he thought, deciding to believe her. She was quite interesting herself, and had a deep charm to her. Not to mention, Magical Girls were created st.u.r.dy.

Well then, time to write some letters to these heirs while enjoying the inconveniences of life, he thought as he sat back on the chair and picked up the pen on his desk. However, before he moved the pen, he noticed a problem. This would be impossible to do with just the light of the moon and stars, it wasn’t enough. He moved his index finger, with a snap, a magical light appeared in his hand, lighting away the darkness. Making a magical light just to brighten the room was inelegant, but there was nothing else here. It might take some time, but he could make it seem like this silver candlestick was crafted by artisans with precise attention to detail. Little by little, he began to think on how to make the interior, exterior, and all the accessories suit his tastes.

The deceased certainly had some strange conditions attached to this… Why bring Magical Girls to accompany them? The man would wonder sometimes as he furrowed his eyebrows, gradually stroking with his quill.

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☆ Miss Margarite

In the cold, chilling winds of winter many years ago, a Magical Girl known as Anna Marie lost her life. It was neither an honorable death for her duty nor an accidental death, she started a fight with another Division staff and had the tables turned on her. As a combatant, a professional, and a Magical Girl, it was a dishonorable death. The Division which she belonged to, the Examination Division, had an easy time dealing with the aftermath of the incident.

While Anna Marie had been working as an apprentice Investigator, the Magical Girl Miss Margarite was her combat instructor. Karate, Judo, Kendo, there were many Magical Girls who practiced combat sports from their times as a human, but for the Examination Division, combat was neither a compet.i.tion nor a battle. She could painfully see how not only combatants who learned fighting sports, but even killers considered fighting between Magical Girls as an extension of killing between humans. People like Margarite, who could teach the ABC’s of Magical Girl combat, were useful no matter where they went and within the Examination Division, so she played a particularly important role.

Many students pa.s.sed by Margarite. There were people who were called Aces, there were even people who were recommended to work in the office too. Some fought against rogues and died, some stopped getting involved in political fights. But the only Magical Girl who foolishly attacked another Division and didn’t come back with her life was Anna Marie.

Margarite only had to attend a few formal hearings and never had to take responsibility. That’s why she voluntarily resigned. She couldn’t bear remembering Anna Marie, but if she continued on as an instructor, there was no way she couldn’t remember her. She didn’t listen to her bosses, or even her students, asking her for a change of mind, she handed everything over to her replacement in the Examination Division.

She didn’t do anything since then, and lived her life on her savings.

______________________________________________________________________

Ever since she quit the Examination Division, her opportunities for eating out increased, but she couldn’t eat at these so-called high cla.s.s restaurants. If there were no VIPs accompanying her with her Division wallet, there was no reason to splurge. Today, she didn’t come to this shop because of some VIP.

Margarite looked outside the window. There was a drizzle wetting the gravel path, it was light enough that having an umbrella would just be annoying. Just looking at it made her dislike the gloomy sight, she looked back inside the room, and there she saw a girl. Her outward appearance was about 15 years old. It was neither low nor high for a Magical Girl. Her black bangs were aligned straight, while dressing up with her plain gray long skirt, her white s.h.i.+rt that was one size shorter could just barely hold in her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, up until the second b.u.t.ton, she was unb.u.t.toned, giving her a high impact for any onlookers. Even when Margarite first met her during her time working at the Examination Division, even when she missed her as they parted ways after she quit her job, that girl still hasn’t changed, always wearing a s.h.i.+rt that’s one size smaller.

The unfitting s.h.i.+rt had its sleeves rolled up to her elbows. The girl was grabbing up a few pieces of beef with her chopsticks, and put it on an egg. Contrary to her sweet and cute appearance, the girl heartily stuffed the meat in her cheeks, chewed slowly, and swallowed.

Margarite turned her eyes away again, and saw the sliding screen. There were several paintings of rabbits and frogs doing pro wrestling techniques painted in an Edo period style. Plenty of shops that were used by Magical Girls while they were in their Magical Girl forms had these strange accents.

Margarite looked ahead. There was a girl who was sucking on thin slices of beef. Margarite didn’t like remembering the past. Doing that was always followed by a psychological distress. The girl was someone who took care of the Examination Division, so just looking at her made her remember the past, which made the back of her chest burn. Remembering something she didn’t want to remember was a suffering that was unbearable. Even if the girl wasn’t someone bad, even if she knew she wasn’t someone bad, it didn’t change the fact that she still remembers.

“You’re not gonna eat your meat? It’s delicious”

“No”

The person that made her remember her bad memories was soon in front of her. Margarite didn’t know where to look, so she looked down at the hat she placed on her knees. The peac.o.c.k feathers and silk veil were too spectacular for everyday use. However, for a Magical Girl, it was suitable. She slightly s.h.i.+fted her line of sight to the small sword she placed to the right. She never put it somewhere out of reach no matter where she was.

“It’s good meat, though. Very soft.”

“You mean to say that it’s so delicious that even the elderly can eat it?”

“Hey, you’re the one talking about age, Yos.h.i.+ko.”

“It’s just an expression, I didn’t know you’d take it in that direction.”

“So are you gonna eat it?”

Right now, Margarite had no appet.i.te to eat food for fun. She held up her right palm, declining the offer, and gave a small nod. She intended to prompt her and ask what the matter was as soon as possible. The girl closed her eyes, she nodded two to three times, and purposely sighed.

“Argh, I’m a nuisance at home, I’m a nuisance at work, even you, who I haven’t seen in awhile, treats me like a nuisance.”

“No, that’s not what I-”

“Come on, I’m your partner! The least you could do is be friendly!”

What would she say if Margarite replied that she only came all the way out here to fulfill her duties?

“I’m not a very sociable person.”

“I know, I know. It’s fine. I don’t hate blunt Magical Girls.”

“I get that a lot.”

“Or shameless ones.”

“I get that one a lot too.”

“Alright, I’ve got one request to make of you. You’ll be rewarded. Normally, I wouldn’t think it’s dangerous, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that there is no danger. Sounds like a job for a veteran who won’t be careless, right? Well strong folks like that, they’ll start going, oh nothing’s happening, oh I’m so bored, and start getting careless, it’s sad really.”

“I’m not taking work.”

“So you’re just planning to live in seclusion until you die?”

“If my savings run out, I’d have to do some unwilling jobs for money.”

“What’s up with that criminal-like motive?”

The girl scoffed, and ate an egg wrapped with noodles.

“Do you know the saying that your skills will get rusty if you don’t train them?”

“I don’t know where you’ve heard that from, but even a recluse can move their bodies.”

“Well, I guess if they’re a Magical Girl, they could, sure.”

“Yes, if they’re a Magical Girl, they could.”

“If they’re a Magical Girl, they’d obviously have to help people, right?”

Margarite furrowed her eyebrows. The girl cut up the baked tofu without any concern, picked up a piece, put it in her mouth, and chewed quietly.

“Now now, don’t be so alarmed. I’m not asking you to bury some criminal back into the depths of darkness or resolve some unsolvable feud or whatever, I’m not asking you to do anything like that. I just want you to help this little boy who has no one left to rely on is all. Come on, that’s cla.s.sic Magical Girl stuff, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, interested, are we?”

“I’m not.”

“Since you asked, I’ll explain. Some Mage out in the wilderness died in an accident in the middle of an experiment. So, his relatives are supposed to show up somewhere to talk about his inheritance and all that, but, one of them is a distant relative, you see. This kid’s been living a life completely unrelated with magic, so it’s kinda hard for him to hire a Magical Girl to escort him. Looks like he can’t go unless he has an escort.”

“You want me to escort him?”

“All the Magical Girls back at the Cla.s.sroom, all busy, even me. We’re doing some training for a mid-career employment group. They’d kill me if they saw me be the only one to take a day off from work. Seriously.”

The Cla.s.sroom was a nickname for the Examination Division’s instructor team. Something’s off about the timing of this mid-career training, was something going on? She only thought of that much before she put her right hand on her knee. This wasn’t something Margarite should be thinking of.

“...There are plenty of others outside the Cla.s.sroom that want to give back to their old instructors.”

“I can’t make Magical Girls with a public office act on private affairs. Besides, I can’t let someone of talent go to waste.”

“Do you know the term ‘none of your business’?”

“Oh yeah. I think you should actually see what kind of kid he’s like.”

She had no hesitation. The girl placed her right hand beside her mouth, “You can come in now!” she called out with a loud voice towards the sliding door, Margarite turned around the same time as the sliding door opened.

She knew by their breathing that there was someone behind the sliding door. A boy about 10 years of age.

The boy looked happy as he bowed his head down, “Nice to meet you!” he greeted in a shout. Margarite couldn’t just not respond to a formal greeting, “A pleasure to meet you,” she responded. Margarite looked towards the girl with blaming eyes. The girl smiled without feeling any guilt.

“Come here, let’s eat some beef together.”

“Can we? Thank goodness. I’ve only just been smelling it, and it’s making me super hungry.”

The boy kneeled on the tatami mat, he glanced a while at the girl’s large open chest before looking over at the beef, then he looked at Margarite.

“She’s the one who’s gonna come with you, okay?”

“Whoa, cool. Is that a real sword? You’re a… Magical Girl… aren’t you?”

The boy looked at Margarite’s sword, his mouth wide open as he let out a “Whoaaa”.

“And you are…”

“Ah, Touta. Touta Magaoka.”

The boy responded, tightening his chest, then quickly changed his posture and looked forward. Grabbing the bowl, taking the meat, onions, cabbage, and stuck it to the large rice cooker with one hand.

“You know, she’s like a superhero who beats up the bad guys. Isn’t she cool?”

“No, I’m not-”

“Yes, she is. Beating up bad guys is her biggest specialty.”

“That’s so awesome. Seriously, it is. So, are Rangers and Riders real too? Are they?”

Anna Marie was a Magical Girl who was more cheerful than anyone. Whether you prepared a hurdle, or if she hit an impa.s.sable wall, she would never lose her motivation. She was in the Examination Division’s Investigation Team, investigating the Forest Musician Clamberry incidents, she knew that her friend had died in one of Clamberry’s tests. She investigated the Magical Girl who killed her friend using the authority of the Examination Division, challenged her in a fight, and was beaten. The case was settled as an attempt at revenge on behalf of her friend, Miss Margarite began to dislike remembering her and left the Examination Division.

Her opponent was one of the Children of Clamberry, and was also part of the Mao’s School. There might have been a way to win against them in a fight, but no one ever heard of any, and she didn’t want to talk to anybody. However, it was unbearable to think of her as an incompetent apprentice.

The boy was in high spirits, laughing while eating meat with the girl. Margarite began thinking of her apprentice, who had the same level of energy as this elementary school boy, and she smiled.

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☆ Ragi Je Nent

The trigger that made Ragi be unwillingly a.s.signed to the Magical Girl Administration Division were the Three Sages. Ragi was opposed to the existence of Magical Girls, he even openly criticized it..

Magical Girls should only be observers, not dominators. Derailing into technical things like physical and magical strength was blasphemous and betrayal. Shouldn’t Sages be more sensitive to intellect and goodness rather than trivial things that could be quantified by numbers?

The few comrades that agreed with his claims were either tempted away, or scared away, one by one being cut down. When he discovered that his friend who had promised to stand by him to the very end had been providing information for favors, Ragi, who finally understood that he couldn’t do anything alone, bent his knees.

He was removed from mainstream work, separated from research jobs, rather than a researcher, he thought he was being given a job as an official, being given a supervisor job, told that “Since you worked so hard, we’re officially promoting you,” and forced to work as a Magical Girl Administrator, without them considering whether he’s willing to or not. This was the end of the game.

It was a hara.s.sment similar to demotion. It’s not that he hasn’t thought about quitting before. The Puk faction was out of the question, but should he switch to the Caspar faction to live freely? Should he descend to the fields and retreat? He knew there was a life like that, but just choosing that would make him angry. It was equal to him admitting that he was a loser. If he looked at it objectively or subjectively, it might be a fact that he’s a loser. Still, it was another matter for him to actually admit it.

Moreover, even if he fell this far, Ragi still respected the Sage Chene Osk Val Mer. When he first saw Osk at a young age, she was a majestic spherical ball of light. Approaching her would warm his heart and his body. The Mage at that time used her own blood as a catalyst, and summoned one of the Three Sages in the form of an elegant old lady, to guide all of the lost Mages with gentleness, talking about harmony with the world. She smiled, and her body, unable to endure the mighty spirit, withered away.

It was only a sentimental memory. It was frustrating. She should be a G.o.d who commanded fear and respect, and now she’s being used as a stupid toy. They all say “No, we’re trying to make Master Osk manifest even stronger,” but if they say that to Ragi, it was nothing but a way to increase their own power, while saying it was for helping the Sage.

Ragi was saddened by the present state of his beloved Osk, angry at the present state of himself, he wouldn’t allow himself to stay still with these negative emotions, he continued his work as head of the Administration Division without extinguis.h.i.+ng the flames of his anger. Every day, he would manage the ever changing names of the Magical Girl roster, occasionally a Mage would visit. If Magical Girls had formal permission, he would allow a visit, if not, he’d turn them away. One of them being a  Magical Girl who stole personal information like a thief. Although he reported it to the Examination Division immediately, they replied back with a vague “The case has been resolved.” Even if the case is resolved, people who don’t follow the rules should be punished, no? This so-called Magical Girl Hunter, even today she was capturing criminals while still breaking the rules. This fact made Ragi’s anger burn even more.

Inheriting the enormous amount of data made by the IT Division, the physical roster became more detailed than ever, recording the unique powers and abilities of every Magical Girl. He could think of some ways to misuse these. Just thinking about it for a while gave him 10 or 20 ways. They weren’t something people could just freely use, let alone steal.

The Head of the Administration Division’s office had its security strengthened. Teleportation, mind reading, mental manipulation, remote observations, information a.n.a.lysis, spatial distortion, causality law interference, concept conversion, dimension hopping, local domination, they were able to stand up against a variety of magical powers, repelling everyone that came in without exception. Other than what was stolen by the Magical Girl Hunter, not one piece of information has ever been leaked. His main motivation was anger, and so long as he was the Head of the Administration Division, that anger would continue to spring up indefinitely.

One day, inside of the Head Administrator’s office, which had been separated into independent s.p.a.ces like small islets, surrounded by arts that made it float, iron walls, and an invincible absolutely impenetrable criminal-proof day and night security system that he continued to polish daily, a message was sent, he had received a letter.

In the s.p.a.ce with nothing in it, surrounded by magical pentagrams, Ragi took the white envelope. Things that were used by Mages often gave off a very worldly atmosphere.

“What’s this?”

“An invitation… it looks like.”

The Magical Girl messenger who had the letter was an annoying Magical Girl. Her fluffy costume and warm expression somehow irritated him. Ragi named her “Sheep” in his head. He didn’t respond other than scoffing, and picked up the white envelope.

Just by touching it, information flowed in. Ragi’s face frowned. Yet, if he frowned, he could feel the distasteful feeling of his wrinkles deepening. His body stiffened. He forcefully restored a strong expression. It was harder to change his expressions compared to when he was younger, but he didn’t want to use magic to do it.

The sender of the message, Ril Quem Satabourne, was a Mage who followed his hobbies. No matter what happened, he’d always do the experiments he loved, experiments, experiments, but first, experiments, more than anything else, experiments distracted him from his surroundings, and he never had a family. The fact that he didn’t want to get involved with anyone with a personality made him similar to Ragi, but since he had the ‘right’ to use what was pa.s.sed on by his predecessors to deepen his research, he was able to freely live his life, not being tied by organizations or factions, unlike Ragi. Going back towards his family tree, it was very old, not to mention high-cla.s.sed. A House that should’ve formally belonged within the Osk faction, but he’s never heard of any cooperation with anyone named Satabourne. Living a life with no obligations or responsibilities didn’t exactly not make Ragi angry, but he did envy him. Though, his envy was directly linked to his anger.

“He died… I see.”

Dying in an accident in the middle of an experiment actually made sense. Ragi closed his eyes and prayed for Satabourne’s soul.

“But, why would I be inheriting?”

“S-Sorry. It doesn’t say anything about that in the will…”

As a fellow outsider, did he feel some form of sympathy? It was unlikely that Satabourne showed some respect for him, but if he asked him if he had no respect at all, then he couldn’t understand the mind of a dedicated researcher.

“But I don’t understand.”

“Mm, yeah.”

“Why is there a condition to bring a Magical Girl along?”

“That’s uh… well, I don’t know the reason either… Wonder why, huh? Maybe for your personal belongings, or a bodyguard… probably?”

Ragi frowned once again, he tried to return it to his original state, but it only solidified to a sullen expression.

“Isn’t it enough to bring a Homunculus or a Golem?”

“There are other inheritors too, but they’re all bringing Magical Girls… I mean, being the only one that doesn’t, well…”

Being the only person that brought a Homunculus and the only person who has nothing to do with the deceased among other inheritors who brought Magical Girls. Just imagining it made him uncomfortable. Ragi pushed the floor with his cane, the small bodied sheep Magical Girl trembled in surprise, hugging herself with her fluffy sleeves.

Before the sheep could say anything, Ragi gritted the back of his teeth. She was frustrating and annoying.

“What does he think Magical Girls are? Did he mistake them for personal status or accessories? Foolish, Satabourn is nothing but a fool…”

Ragi thought as he became angry. He could purchase a basic organic body. If he didn’t add an ego but added ideas and comprehension, then then would that somehow work? If he said that was a Magical Girl, could he manage to pa.s.s through-

“Um, maybe do something a little less weird…”

“You, are you reading my mind? What’s the meaning of this? I need to increase my crime prevention.”

“No, I can’t read minds… You just said everything out loud.”

He gritted his teeth. He had to bring one somehow.

“Getting your mind read here’s kinda scary, anyways…”

“What do you mean?”

“Uh, no, it’s just some rumors I’ve heard.”

“What rumors?”

The sheep distorted her expression to one of difficulty, looked up, looked sideways, it looked like she was giving a “Was there no one here to save me?” look. However, there’s n.o.body here but the sheep, Ragi, and the magical pentagrams.’

“Umm… the Magical Girl Administration Division’s a pretty hot thing right now…”

“Hot? What do you mean?”

“There’s a game that Magical Girls who were self-conscious about their skills play, where they try and steal any info from the Magical Girl Administration Division, it’s booming right now… Since only the Magical Girl Hunter was able to successfully do an extreme information theft, it’s been giving the partic.i.p.ants more motivation.”

His temperature rose from the neck to the top of his head all at once, along with that, the sheep’s facial expressions distorted even more pitifully, just a few seconds before Ragi could shout at her, the sheep quickly ran from the s.p.a.ce. On her way out, her head hit part of the barrier and she fell over, she swiped the back of her head, and crawled out.

Were these creatures known as Magical Girls truly beyond help? Chasing the sheep away, Ragi started up his searching arts. He no longer thought that there was no way he would be bringing a Magical Girl for his own private affairs, though using his power to order them to accompany him was out of the question. Then he’ll request a freelancer as a customer, but Ragi had no connections. There was only one person who could lend him freelancers… Well, her name was Tot Pop, and that Magical Girl was affiliated with the Rebels, she caused a jailbreak incident, and was said to have lost her life in the middle of it.

Why would she do something so foolish? His thoughts derailed, Ragi cleared his throat loudly.

As for other Magical Girls that he personally knew, until a while ago, there were none. However, a few days ago, at the “Great Magical Girl Athletic Meet - Miso Soup and Rice b.a.l.l.s Included” event, he met several people. Naturally, they weren’t acquaintances or friends, it’d even be presumptuous to call them people he knew, but it was better than asking someone he’s never met before.

Minus 15 seconds later, in a magical sense, he discovered the current status of the Magical Girl using his search technique. Since one of them was partic.i.p.ating in a Ramen Tag Battle, she was looking for a partner. Another one was riding a lawnmower in a parallel dimension. The other Magical Girls looked like they were busy with their jobs, busy with their own duties, but the last one didn’t have any special errands and her schedule was free. You could say that this Magical Girl was within acceptable range of accompanying him.

Ragi used his searching arts to find the contact information of the Magical Girl Clantail. He didn’t think that this wasn’t an abuse of authority, but he pushed such trivial concerns to the corner of his brain.

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☆ Dreamy☆Chelsea

Like many Magical Girls, Chie Yumeno, Dreamy☆Chelsea, loved Magical Girl Anime. Chelsea’s mother, Fuchiko, who had been a Magical Girl before she was married, originally found it pleasant that her daughter was watching Magical Girl Anime, but soon enough, it went beyond a level that a parent could overlook. She scolded her daughter, who wouldn’t take her eyes off the television even if they became red, and watched videotapes until they wore out, telling her “Be more responsible!” But that wasn’t enough as she woke up in the middle of the night, finding her daughter inside her blanket that was wrapped around the TV, not letting a single light escape. She was beyond shocked, she was impressed.

Wasn’t having a kind of concentration like this a talent? People with magical potential occasionally manifested their powers in mysterious ways before they transform, such as high physical abilities, memory abilities, unique appearances, or lifespans that approached the limits of any living creatures, so to speak.

Fuchiko wasn’t a professional Magical Girl, but she’d find leisure time from her housework and child rearing, and if she couldn’t find leisure time, she’d use her Magical Girl powers to make leisure time, then she’d often partic.i.p.ate in Magical Girl activity circles and events. She showed her daughter to her acquaintances who were Magical Girl scouts, they gave her a stamp of approval, saying “Your daughter really has a talent for magic.” The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, she thought as she felt a sense of earnestness.

Thus, Chie Yumeno became the Magical Girl Dreamy☆Chelsea. She was wrapped in pleasure now that she knew the world of dreams and magic actually existed, and she took her first step on the road to being a Magical Girl.

Seasons changed, days pa.s.sed…

“Listen you, you really need to be more responsible!”

“Mom… Are you perhaps… angry?”

“Of course I’m angry! You’re the one who said you hate working!”

“But… it’s weird for a Magical Girl to work.”

“It’s not weird. All the characters in your favorite Anime worked, didn’t they? Cutie Healer, Star Queen, all of them have a salary. Even Magical Daisy had a part-time job so she could earn a living and go to college.”

Chie stood up and looked at her mother, bulging her cheeks largely.

“I keep telling you that’s different than what I like! All of those people… They’re all fighters! They’re just like Shonen Manga or Mecha Anime! I love Magical Girls! Cute girls saving people in trouble!”

She couldn’t say that “back in my day things were great”, because Chie’s favorite Magical Girls, ever since she was a kid, were old-fas.h.i.+oned Magical Girls. They were in a part of the Showa period that was so old that you couldn’t even find them in video rental stores.

But now, it’s just even more horrible. Chie’s favorite Magical Girls were even further in the past. Nowadays, everyone liked people who were ‘just barely cla.s.sified as Magical Girls’, but if you tell Chie that, she’d call them fake.

“I wanna be the kind of Magical Girl that I love. Since I became a Magical Girl, I’ll continue to help people every day, and I don’t plan on stopping. If I get a job, that’s gonna interrupt all my Magical Girl activities.”

She threw out her fervent speech, she held her fist, she could feel her own absolutely unbreakably strong will inside of herself. Yet, she felt like it would bend as soon as she saw the look on her mother’s face. Chie crawled backwards on her b.u.t.t, but there was no escape behind her, only the wall and windows. Her mother, who had distorted her facial expression in anger that she could bear no longer, walked one step closer to Chie and looked down at her. If her mother transformed into a Magical Girl, she’d look like a cute little devil who could entertain your eyes. Now she looked like a great demon.

Chie corrected her posture, sitting on her knees. She placed both her hands on her knees, and stared forward.

“Um”

“How old are you again?”

“That’s got nothing to do with…”

“How old?”

“Thirty… Four.”

“Chie Yumeno, do you want to know what kind of rumors people say about you in the neighborhood?”

“No…”

“Change your clothes and go to the Employment Support Center. Now.”

“Okay…”

“It’ll be fine, you’ll find a way to have fun somehow. You always do.”

“Irresponsible…”

“What was that?”

“Nothing….”

Chie didn’t want to work. She thought Magical Girls should only do Magical Girl things. If she wanted to earn income, she’d have to get a job, but if she got a job, then she’d also need to have responsibility. She had to give priority to her work rather than her non-paying Magical Girl activities, which means she’ll become less of a Magical Girl.

She a.s.serted that she wanted to do activities that made her highly conscious of herself as a Magical Girl, she managed to deceive and cheat this far, but her mother’s patience was about to reach its limits.

It’d be impossible to earn more time now. If she tried to do more, her mother will have to use her true power. Her mother had a wide range of acquaintances in her Magical Girl circle, just looking at these evil recruiters could get her into fis.h.i.+ng tuna, or at a crab factory, or harvesting gold dust, or be in a labor camp, or a silk spinning mill in the mountains, back in the old days, these things might’ve been normal to do. She might even take Chie to see her uncle who was in his fifties, and had a son Chie’s age, and tell her “This will be your dear husband from now on.”

There was no escape. While dragging her heavy legs, she headed to the Employment Support Center. She wanted to go to the convenience store. She even wanted to go to a bookstore. She wanted to browse. She wanted to kill time. However, she had nowhere to run. Since she graduated from college, she had nowhere else to go.

The Employment Support Center’s doors were too heavy for a woman in her thirties with no exercise. She struggled at the door, before a middle aged man in a suit opened it. “Wow, looks like we’re both in trouble, huh?” she laughed as she went in, filling up the registration cards as per the receptionist’s instructions. Sure enough, there were lots of empty s.p.a.ces. “Lots of s.p.a.ces, must be tough, huh?” she said with a self-deprecating smile to the receptionist lady. She recommended the Acquiring Abilities Useful for Employment support program, so Chie partic.i.p.ated. In the conference-style room, there were young college looking people, a housewife-looking middle aged women, homeless men with large rucksacks, and a variety of other people who received their lessons. She sat next to a bearded man who praised her interesting s.h.i.+rt—a foreign-looking T-s.h.i.+rt with a misplaced j.a.panese-style shrine maiden and a 4-Character idiom—and got some sweets. She felt a sense of crisis when many people took out their notes and scribbled notes with their pens, she went back to the receptionist and borrowed a notepad and a ballpoint pen from the lady, guess it was like this too back in college, she thought as she wrote down everything important. For now, it seemed to be okay to keep up her bookkeeping qualifications.

She talked with the man about how job hunting was a deep activity, next they were taught by the receptionist on how to search using a PC. The old man seemed to be having some difficulties, but it wasn’t as hard for Chie. At home, she used the computer, or transformed into a Magical Girl to play, or watched Anime, and then she’d either sleep, eat, or read Manga. She’s been using a computer for over 25 years so she’s practically a veteran. As a so-called master of computers, she’d be fine as long as she was taught the basics.

Salaries, sponsors, conditions, people who can use macros, event organizers, people who had regular licenses, there were lots of information but none of them jumped out to her. She couldn’t even brag about her qualifications or experience, so obviously she needed to compromise. It’s easy to find places with good conditions to hire her, but she felt like if she went there, she’d be caught up in something shady within them. Chie was definitely lacking in any social experience. Looking at the old man beside her, he seemed to be understanding things as he repeated “I see, I see” while double clicking. That’s good.

She dropped her eyes to her right hand holding the mouse. Her dark pink nails reflected the flourescent light of the room. She breathed out from her nose, and scrolled down the screen. While watching the screen idly, she began thinking of what to do after this. She wanted to go to the convenience store to check the new releases of candies and ice cream. If it’s her own reward, then her mother wouldn’t complain when she got home. But if she insisted on a reward, she’d have to show something for it first. Was it three days ago that her mother sarcastically told her how much meat she had gained? Her mother could see through her lies easily. If her mother was serious, she’d get back at her by any means. There was no way of avoiding it.

Thinking about her mother only made her feel gloomy. She should be thinking about something else. That’s right, if she was going to check on the latest candies, then she wanted to browse some Manga. She wondered if that one Manga that had taken a hiatus had published anything new yet. If they did, then her energy would rise up. While thinking profoundly about it, she kept scrolling, finally, her finger that was moving the mouse stopped. Chie squinted her right eye slightly. The large orange-colored font wasn’t trying to hide its eye-catchiness. The words ‘Magical Girl’ were even more eye-catching.

She scrolled the page, and it continued on.

“We are recruiting Magical Girls.”

“Only those with Magical Potential can see these sentences.”

...Oh ho… Okay?

Chie placed her index finger against her right eyelid, pus.h.i.+ng her squinted eyes to widen them.

“Hey, mister.”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“You see anything written here?”

“No… I don’t see anything.”

“Really?”

“My eyegla.s.ses were just bought, so I can see small letters.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

This was real. They’re recruiting Magical Girls.

Chie’s mother told her. Being a professional Magical Girl was a narrow door only open to those with overwhelming Magical Potential, and if you do get in, it’d be a spiky road until the very end. To Chie, her mother was a very good Magical Girl, yet she wasn’t a professional Magical Girl, choosing to make a family instead.

Whether Dreamy☆Chelsea was a talented Magical Girl or not, after being a Magical Girl for 30 years, like it or not, she understood. She wasn’t about to bend on her a.s.sertion that Magical Girls don’t use power, speed, or energy beams, but without them, she didn’t think she would be better than other Magical Girls. Although there was no one to compare to other than her mother, who gave up on being a professional Magical Girl, and compared to her Chelsea was worse. Experience, her eye for people, attentiveness, strength of heart, even her problem-solving skills.

But, there was no way she was losing. She had magic. As a Magical Girl, she only needs to win with magic, that’s her way of thinking.

Chelsea’s Magical Skill was Manipulating Stars. Just saying it like that, it could sometimes be misunderstood with moving celestial bodies freely, but of course, she couldn’t do that. She can move small objects shaped like stars and play with them, and whenever she explained it, usually most people would smile softly, while others would try to encourage her.

There was no need for sympathy. To Chelsea, it was a Magical Girlish cute and happy gem. Throwing stars and skipping rocks, then repeating it on distant targets, continuing to keep score like Tennis wall-striking, she played this Throwing Stars Game since she was a child. Even now, she still regularly updates her high score, if there were any professional compet.i.tions, it’d be a piece of cake, but unfortunately, the only partic.i.p.ant would be Chelsea.

To Chelsea, Magical Girls only need Magical Girlish Magical Skills. That, and one more thing. Luck. Luck is what Magical Girls needed to find Magical Girl Jobs that were best for them. Chie released her finger from the mouse scroll wheel. She looked over the new sentence, and looked through another one, then looked through another.

“Beginners welcome. We are looking for people who can transform into Magical Girls. We are looking for gentle and honest Magical Girls. There’s no need for magical or physical abilities. Cleaning, was.h.i.+ng, cooking, etc. Illegal behavior is strictly prohibited. We have a bright workplace.”

Chie pinched her cheek. The world didn’t fade away. The old man next to her was surprised by a sound made by his computer, and loudly called out for the staff.

______________________________________________________________________

☆ Love Me Ren-Ren

There are many unhappy people who didn’t realize they were unhappy. Her administrator who took care of her had told her that. She rebelled inside, but she didn’t say it.

Rei Koimizu never thought of herself as being unhappy. She heard what her friends’ families had said in kindergarten or school, even if she looked at her friends’ mothers, who looked very kind, when she came over to play, she didn’t think that they were as kind as her own mother. She didn’t even think that they were any different from her own mother. It wasn’t anything like my mom is irreplaceable, she’s more important than anyone, nothing like that. Her mother was her mother. Nothing more, nothing less. Her mother being her mother was the most important thing to Rei.

When Rei entered kindergarten, no, long before that, when Rei was just born, her father should have been there, but she only had faint memories. His back was wide, his laugh was loud, she remembered things like that, and didn’t remember other things, but then she wondered if the images of her ‘father’ only appeared because she gained knowledge of him.

Meaning, she had no memories of her father. Rei’s memories were only of her mother.

She brought the springboard and headed towards the sink, cutting the vegetables with the weight of the kitchen knife. Her small fingers were busily moving the rice, regularly was.h.i.+ng the electric pot. She never thought of it as annoying or bitter work. Her mother would come home late at night, working at the times when Rei wasn’t there. Although she only showed her face a few times in a month, whenever she did, her eyes always looked sleepy. She thought she was actually sleeping. There was no way she could be tired.

She s.h.i.+ned the toilets, wiped the corridors, she’d keep it clean, even if it’s just a little bit. Her curry wasn’t sweet, but she used medium spices that her mother loved, and she put up with a little spiciness. To prevent the laundry from collecting, she used the was.h.i.+ng machine every day, or she’d use the remaining hot water in the bathtub.

Although Rei was also living a life she thought was worth living, her mother didn’t think so. She understood this when she received a phone call with her mother saying “I’m not going home anymore,” and the shock that Rei had received was extraordinary.

She was sad, she was pained, this was the first time she realized how important her mother was to her. It was natural of her to have a mother, for her to eat breakfast, sleep, watch TV, sometimes joke around, and would smile at her, now that was gone.

She was sad because she had a vague understanding of why her mother didn’t want to come home anymore. Her mother was different from Rei. She wanted time to herself. There were things she wanted to do. There were even people that she liked. She couldn’t get any of them, no matter what, but if Rei wasn’t here, then maybe she thought she could get them. Rei didn’t know if what she was thinking was the correct thing or not. Her mother had never come home since the day she told her she’d be leaving.

Rei was already an elementary schooler. She knew that things like this happened in the world. She was sad, she was sad, tears continued to flow, yet when she tried to find her mother, and wanted her to come home, she didn’t think she should do such things. No, maybe she did think of doing it, but she simply curved her lips and stopped herself, as she didn’t want to drag her mother down.

If she did, it wouldn’t be long before they would encounter a problem, in the end, her mother would be unhappy. But she didn’t do it, and Rei was scouted by a test administrator, and became the Magical Girl Love Me Ren-Ren. She certainly knew how to live by being hired for cash, she was also able to ask for someone to play the role of a guardian for her. Her everyday life became very busy, yet Rei continued to pay rent for her apartment, and go to school, she didn’t neglect cleanup and was.h.i.+ng either. She left everything her mother placed the way it was, but she cared for it so that dust wouldn’t gather, it looked like her mother could return any minute, then she could return to her original life.

The administrator who cared for Ren-Ren pointed out to her, “You’re an interesting person. You know… you should find places where people could use someone like you. That’s my dream stage that I want you to have.”

Love Me Ren-Ren evoked love using her bow and arrow. With Love Me Ren-Ren’s arrows, she could even fix and retie the bonds that were nearly undone.

The Magical Girl Love Me Ren-Ren was able to make people cherish their connections, that’s what Rei had decided. Her father loved her mother, and her mother loved her father, that’s why Rei, that’s why Love Me Ren-Ren was here now. Now that Love Me Ren-Ren was here, no matter what happened, she can surely make things better. She can make people smile more, reduce tears, and more than anything, create bonds of love.

She can revive families who have collapsed, she can make siblings reconcile after an inheritance dispute, she can make couples who can’t say the words to make up go back to their original selves, Rei began taking on work that involved getting herself into human bonds. Sometimes, she’d even throw away her position and gain for hard work, and her name began to spread, her administrator had told her that work will come even if she didn’t advertise herself, thus she had become a ‘blessed Freelancer’.

______________________________________________________________________

She didn’t have much experience in going directly to a client’s house. Her clients, whether they were rich or poor, usually wanted to keep their privacy. So although this time her client was quite open, she wasn’t childish enough to think this was a good thing.

They wanted to go to a Mage’s inheritance but needed a Magical Girl to accompany them. That’s all they told her, but looking through her client’s house, she could see the fact that their economic situation wasn’t too good, she thought as she made up the story in her head.

The house was around 30 years old. Humans couldn’t feel it, but Magical Girls could feel a slight tilt in the building. The colors of the wallpaper were thin, the original stronger colors of yellow had now appeared light cream. The round fluorescent light hanging from the ceiling looked like it was collecting dark soot at the bottom. It looked like an apartment on the verge of being demolished.

Though it looked like a residence where someone lived for a long time, it didn’t look like  a cozy one. The kitchen floor was sticky, and the dining table’s legs were too high.

The Magical Girl sitting face to face by the table placed the teacup she held on the table, which had no tray, and muttered something roughly. Thanks to her ambiguous p.r.o.nunciation and voice volume, she couldn’t tell if that was j.a.panese or if she was chanting some spell, the only thing she knows is that she was muttering something, and whatever she was saying, Ren-Ren couldn’t catch it at all.

“Umm… something the matter?”

The Magical Girl, with her flat eyes, muttered one or two more words. She still couldn’t catch anything she said. Her all-black costume gave her a melancholic feeling. Her dull eyes and vague face looked like she didn’t let anything in.

Although Ren-Ren had been a Freelancer for many years, her workplace was biased, she wanted to help people connect, she only did work involving relations.h.i.+ps between people, and if she succeeded, then more work would come relating to that. Not to mention, her work wasn’t something that required the management of multiple Magical Girls. Only her opportunities of working alone increased, it’s been a while since she’s had to be involved with another Magical Girl. Whether or not she can work well with another Magical Girl on a job, she was anxious about.

Ren-Ren replied with a painful smile, the Magical Girl Nephilia grinned while going “Kus.h.i.+s.h.i.+s.h.i.+”. That was… probably a… laugh.

“Lo-Lo-Love Me………  Ren-Ren……… yes……”

Although she was a bit choppy, she could somehow hear what she said.

“Ren-Ren’s fine. Nephilia, right?”

“Nephi…”

The Magical Girl Nephilia was a Grim Reaper style Magical Girl that had a terrifying large scythe. It was a scythe that didn’t conceal how it reflected light in a way only metal could, and although Ren-Ren knew it was originally an agricultural tool, the scythe created a strong impact on her, but Nephilia’s att.i.tude didn’t put emphasis on that, rather than violence, it looked to be full of depression instead.

“By the way, you two.”

The two Magical Girls turned away from each other, Nephilia to the right, Ren-Ren to the left, and saw the one who spoke.

“If you’re going to talk, I’ll be joining you.”

A 20-year old woman. Her chestnut hair was as long as her shoulder. Her makeup was  overall thin, with only her rouge dark red popping out. Because her posture was low, the table was in the way and you couldn’t see below her stomach, even so, they could see that she had her legs crossed and knees bent. The left strap of her camisole was above her clavicle, and the right strap was coming off her shoulder, it feels like it symbolized her as an unbalanced person.

Nephilia remained silent and expressionless, while hanging her head, she looked at the woman.

“B-Bad at…… Talking……”

“Ah, you’re not good at speaking. That’s perfectly fine.”

“Inheritance…… Succession…… Law…… Business……”

“I see. Since you’re not good at anything other than your professional work, you’re also not good at speaking.”

Nephilia with her eyes upturned did the snicker laugh. Somehow she seemed positive. Ren-Ren lightened her expressions, nodding in a “That’s right” kind of way.

“Then I’m just like you. I only work with things related to family problems. So, I rarely work with other Magical Girls, so to speak.”

Nephilia put her hand on her forehead, this time she grinned, showing her teeth.

“H-Here…… Nervous…… Too……”

“I’m also nervous. I think this is going to end unpleasantly.”

Nephilia raised an eyebrow at her client’s words.

“Oh………?”

“Well, picture this. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d daughter of a mistress receives a letter and pushes for an inheritance, do you really think it’s not going to end in an annoying and unpleasant way?”

From the appearance of the client, at a glance, she seemed to be talking in a casual tone. However, she was grasping the teacup in her hands with a powerful grip, and the tips of her nails were discolored white.

Ren-Ren succeeded her client’s words, emphasizing a light tone.

“We’ll work to solve annoying problems like that. Miss Agriellemaid Quarky.”

“Agri’s fine. Anything else is too long… Remember it, okay?”

The two of them laughed out loud, Nephilia followed with a similar laugh.

“A…… Ag…… “

“No, no, Ag’s fine and all, but really, I prefer Agri.”

“Ri……”

“Oh, my bad. You’re still in the middle of saying it, weren’t you?”

Agri and Nephilia laughed, and this time Ren-Ren followed.

When Agri stood up to go to the toilet, Ren-Ren exhaled a little. Nephilia moved only her eyes to look at Ren-Ren, Ren-Ren pretended not to notice as she moistened the teacup in her hand.

“Do you specialize in inheritance and succession, Nephi?”

“C-Corpses…… Cadavers…… Hate……”

“Me too… I don’t really like them that much.”

“Fighting…… Weak……”

“I’m sure we won’t have to fight. I’d be in trouble if we did.

[”

Ren-Ren smiled bitterly, although she still held the teacup, there was nothing inside it anymore. Nephilia dropped her tone one step lower, putting her right hand next to her mouth and said something.

“Client…… Thoughts……”

Ren-Ren tightened her expression, making a serious face.

“I… If I can, I think I want to help Agri.”

“Money…… Payment…… Work……”

She put her fingers together on top of the table. She thought for a while on how long she should talk, even if she talked honestly, she noticed that it ended with a laugh. Ren-Ren nodded.

“Agri has some antipathy to her deceased father. I don’t know any details about this Mage, but it looks like she was the daughter of his lover.”

“Y-Yes.”

“I… I want to help make Agri like her father, even if it’s just a little bit.”

Nephilia furrowed her eyebrows, and in an instant spread them out again, slowly returning them to their original position.

“Huh……”

“Isn’t it sad how a daughter doesn’t love her father?”

There was about three seconds of silence, Nephilia made no sound and shook her shoulders. She wasn’t crying. She was holding her stomach and was laughing at the wind like something was unbearably funny. Ren-Ren didn’t feel bad. Everyone always thought that it was funny whenever she said something like that. Yet she didn’t want to be misunderstood.

“Nephi, I’m not lying.”

“I-I Kno…… Not…… Lie……”

Nephilia stopped laughing, then placed her body on the table and raised her head, staring at Ren-Ren. Instead of being half-open, her eyelids were properly open this time. Ren-Ren didn’t show how overwhelmed she was feeling and stared back.

“Do you think it’s… funny?”

“N-No…… Sorry……”

“You don’t have to apologize… I’m used to being laughed at.”

“Cool…… Ego…… Magical…… Girl…… Ish……”

Ren-Ren didn’t know if she was being praised, she replied with an expression that looked like a smile. Nephilia stretched out her hands, laying it atop of Ren-Ren’s hands. They were cold hands.

“Straight…… Sc.u.mmy…… I like……”

She said only that much before she ‘smugly’ smiled. She probably wasn’t praising her, after all.

______________________________________________________________________

☆ 7753

As soon as she heard what Mana said, 7753, who was confident at how bad she is at judging, knew exactly what she wanted. The reason she understood wasn’t because 7753’s judgement had improved, it’s because Mana was terribly easy to understand. Mana had no other Magical Girls that she could ask for private favors, though saying that 7753 had to accompany her to an island because “I have no one else” is kind of embarra.s.sing. Even before that, Mana didn’t want to buy any sympathy since she could neither progress nor retreat, but she did want 7753 to come.

She understood painfully how troubled she was, and 7753 wanted to help her. Mana used to have a Magical Girl she could ask for help. 7753 remembered that Magical Girl, Hana Gekokujou, and when she did, she had emotions that felt like it would break her chest. Looking at Mana, who was nothing less than a sister to her, how could it not be breaking hers? When she thought of it that way, then just a little, even if it’s small, if 7753 could do it, she wanted to help out.

But 7753 had work to do. Yet somehow when she asked for a vacation request, she got it, and was free from work, the Magical Girl that 7753 was keeping, Princess Deluge, was being transferred to a more ‘appropriate place’, and 7753 couldn’t even say goodbye.

And now 7753 came to an island.

The temperature was high. The sandy beach was baked in strong sunlight, large stones were mixed with the sands, humans wouldn’t be able to walk barefoot, 7753 was a Magical Girl, so she was able to, but she wouldn’t be able to do it aggressively. While looking away just before the waves were on the verge of splas.h.i.+ng, she kept watching the horizon. She couldn’t see the figure of Tepsekemei who was too excited in front of her. Keep quiet, don’t destroy anything, or do anything dangerous, she made her promise before bringing her, even if she forgets, 7753 will make her remember.

Tepsekemei was being drifted by the winds in the sky. When Mana told her not to go too high or she’ll hit the barrier, Tepsekemei responded “Mei did that already.” Was she really going to be okay?

“Tepsekemei looks like she’s having fun.”

She turned around to see Mana looking at the sky. Mana’s cape was fluttering in the wind as she gripped it with her right hand, she held down her witch’s hat with her left. Not to mention, she was wearing a magical school uniform, it looks neat, but not cool.

“It’s hot.”

“Very.”

“So… Aren’t you goi