Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku - Volume 11 - Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

THE QUEENS’ PLAYGROUND

  CQ Angel Hamuel

Two mountains side by side soared up in front of her, and through that ravine bottom, sandwiched between the stark cliff faces, was the road that led to the ruins. A massive gate—currently fallen into the hands of the Puk Faction—protected the entrance to that road. From the top of a small rise that was so slight you couldn’t even call it a hill, where Hamuel was, she could see out over the gate that protected the ravine, and the whole wasteland that lay before it.

As a position to lay their forces’ camp, it wasn’t a bad one. It was just over six miles to the gate. You couldn’t say for sure that was a safe distance—that depended on the magic—but going even farther back would make it difficult to get a grasp of the wasteland as a whole, which Hamuel anticipated would be the main battlefield.

Hamuel ordered the diamond Shufflin IIs to promptly construct some special seats for their most distinguished guests. Lethe was sitting as arrogantly as always, but since this was improvised seating, all they had was plastic folding chairs. But even in the deprived environment of the wasteland, on a plastic chair in a tent made of tarps and iron pipes, Lethe was indomitably continuing to act the aristocrat, making herself less “noble,” instead generating the silliness of a clown who imitates nobility.

Unlike the spades and the clubs, who were fully alert and watching the gate area, the diamond Shufflin IIs were engaged in various activities: analyzing sand-covered magical phones and exchanging business cards and such with magical girls of various departments that the Osks didn’t usually engage with.

Mages and magical girls gathered around the VIP seating, away from any combat. Upon learning of the Puk Faction’s violent acts, these men and women had immediately offered their cooperation in subduing them, and their presence was appreciated. Their support took many forms: Some had provided magical weapons, funds, or magical gems for the war effort, and some important figures had come straight over in person. Even if all someone offered was their name, it was meaningful just to be able to proudly say, “Justice is on our side.” Since Hamuel had used her magic to go around informing every office of the situation, the more quick-witted types had acted with lightning speed. Even if sentiments toward the Osk Faction had chilled since Grim Heart’s blunder, compared to the Puk Faction, with its leader immediately and presently leading her forces into criminal acts, the Osk Faction could be described as a worthwhile cause.

A revolving door of people came to bow their heads to Lethe, squeeze her hand, and make requests to the effect of, “We’ll be offering our aid, so once matters have been resolved, we beg your best regards.” It was just like having their old influence back, but nevertheless, they couldn’t let their guards down. Puk Puck and her allies would have known full well before committing to this that it would make them criminals, and if they were going through with this anyway, it meant she was prepared to go as far as she wanted to go.

Lethe must have had her own thoughts on the matter as well, as she dealt with their new allies in a perfunctory manner. Though that forced Hamuel to bow her head ingratiatingly that much harder—there were no few bureaus that seemed to think that if they just sent over some important people, that would communicate their enthusiastic cooperation—it wasn’t as if that fully occupied all her time.

Lethe was beneath a sunshade, two heart Shufflin IIs waving fans to cool her off. Even that must not have been enough, as she held another fan in her right hand to fan her face. Her left hand never left her opera glasses, eyes pointed toward the giant gate.

The imposing appearance of the gate showed that it was there to stop intrusion. The gate and walls that barred the entrance to the ravine and prevented the entrance of outside enemies were easily over a hundred yards tall, and they made any who saw them lose the urge to try climbing them. They were so incredibly large, they made the great rows of boulders before the gate—which had to be about three times the size of a person—look like pebbles. But they protected ruins of such a ridiculous scale that a whole village would fit into them, so their size was appropriate.

“Then we’re ready, eh?” Lethe confirmed with Hamuel.

“Yes, though only to the degree currently possible.”

Three hours had passed since the ruins had been attacked by the Puk Faction. If you were only thinking about their aim of preventing the device’s activation, three hours was a very long time, but as a length of time taken to gather combat forces to suppress the enemy, it was too short.

“Then open the gate,” Lethe ordered.

“Yes’m.”

The Osk Faction had been the ones to control these ruins, the establishment of the gates included. They could not only open and close the gates from the inside; it was also well within their power to operate them from the outside. Hamuel gave the order from her communicator, and with a heavy sound and a shuddering that could be felt all the way at her position, the gate slowly opened. Their guests applauded and commended them and expressed amazement as casually as if they were at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for an amusement park. There was no sense of tension at all. Despite her waning motivation and energy, Hamuel kept her mic at the ready as she focused her gaze on the gates.

They’re here!

Once the gates were open just wide enough that one person might or might not be able to get through, someone slipped out from the inside. One, two more followed, and, swaying from side to side or weaving around, about a dozen magical girls emerged from within the gates. They appeared vague as silhouettes and couldn’t be clearly made out.

Examining them through her opera glasses, Lethe snorted. “Dummies, eh. Illusions created by magic. Throw rocks or something at them.”

“Ahh, throw some rocks at those blurry-looking figures,” Hamuel ordered the Shufflins.

“There’s some invisible ones coming up behind them. Doubtless those are the true targets.” The opera glasses Lethe used were custom-made, brought out from the Osk Faction treasure house. Whether the enemy was invisible, camouflaged, or concealed, they would see through it all.

Hamuel relayed Lethe’s instructions through her communicator. “There are invisible enemies coming up behind, so, clubs, attack them.”

With rocks being thrown at them from all directions, the magical-girl silhouettes crumbled away, and the club Shufflin IIs raised their weapons to charge what lay behind the silhouettes. The clubs had better hearing than the other Shufflin IIs to keep track of their fellows, even while operating covertly. Even when they just swung based on intuition, since there were a lot of them, they were not a force to underestimate.

When Puk’s magical girls removed their invisibility cloak and made to strike back against the unit of clubs, Lethe gave further instructions. “Send in the spade face cards.”

“Right, then, jack, queen, and king of spades, go,” said Hamuel.

“And ensure the diamonds are supporting them from the fringes, eh.”

“All diamonds, are you ready?”

Each and every one of the Shufflin IIs, even the lower numbers, was an elite soldier. Furthermore, Hamuel was watching the battle in real time, and capable of flexible, situational command with practically no lag. And she had thirty units. With all of this at her disposal, of course their forces were not weak, they were in fact strong, but the enemy was also quite formidable, and they couldn’t quite overcome it. A unit composed of a few Shufflins attacked one magical girl together, but the enemy skillfully evaded them, keeping the Shufflins’ attacks from focusing on her and diverting them around her.

Suddenly, black clouds welled up, and lightning struck, aiming for the supporting diamonds at the rear in a succession of cracks that made you want to plug your ears. The next moment, a torrent of water washed the clubs along. A great mouth opened in the air, blowing a breath that swept the poor hearts away.

With her opera glasses still raised, Lethe pointed her fan at the battlefield. “They’re strong.”

“That’s not just her own personal subordinates. There are mercenary troops among them.”

“Mercenary troops?”

“I hear frightening rumors that after being hired once by Puk Puck, even for meager pay, a mercenary will stop seeking new employers. And, well, I highly doubt they say that simply because it’s comfortable. Since being in contact with that will steal certain things from you. So that’s why their side has so many mercenary troops. It also seems they’re all ‘I’ll do anything for my master’s sake’ sort of hot-blooded types.”

“Don’t we have any mercenary magical girls on our side, eh?”

“We had those allies who have been reluctant to offer combat forces supply us with the Shufflin series in their possession. It’s largely Shufflin IIs, but there are variations among them, such as Prototype Shufflin, Shufflin Desert Type, and Shufflin Trainer Type. I would argue those could be described as mercenaries.”

“That sounds rather lackluster.”

“Oh no, far from it,” said Hamuel. “It’s actually quite fantastic. Fundamentally speaking, one master can only make a contract with one set of Shufflins. However, temporary delegation of the right of command is possible even for someone who already holds a contract with another Shufflin. And right now, we’re making use of that loophole to enable me to take command of a large force of Shufflins.”

“I would have nothing to complain about if it had the, shall we say, visual flair of a variety of magical girls using a variety of magic, eh.”

“Anyhow, we don’t have the time—”

“What about Pfle?” Lethe interrupted. “Didn’t she claim she would gather personnel using the powers of Magical Girl Resources?”

“She’s gathering personnel from both inside and outside her department. However, it will still take time to deposit them here, since they must be examined to see if they are under Puk Puck’s spell.”

“So then…this may be rather difficult, eh.”

The Shufflin IIs were doing their best, but the enemy’s attack was pushing them back. The enemy forces were a hodgepodge and lacking in cohesion, but they had powerful offensive abilities and a wide range. All the Shufflin IIs had for projectile weapons was the diamonds’ taser guns and birdlime guns, which weren’t great when an attack came from outside their range.

Grasping her mic, Hamuel brought it to her mouth and squinted one eye. “What will we do?”

“It’s time. Have them retreat.”

“All right, everyone currently engaged in combat, retreat at a very gradual pace. I don’t mean that you should turn tail and run. Remain facing the enemy, prioritizing defense as you back off, please.”

Just as ordered, the Shufflins gradually backed away from the enemy, and the esteemed guests in the VIP seating area were astir. The way they would see it, the battlefield they had assumed they were safely away from was approaching. The Shufflin IIs retreated even farther, dragging their fallen allies with them, and the commotion grew even greater. The enemy knew this was their main camp, too. It wouldn’t be surprising for them to think that if they pushed forward a little more, they could crush this whole camp. The stray bullets hitting the ground were drawing closer and closer. Soon there wouldn’t be anything “stray” about them.

Once the enemy was close enough that some of their allies might start thinking about coming up with a plan to flee, Lethe ordered, “Now. Crush them.”

“Well then, everyone, just as we discussed,” Hamuel said into her mic.

Instantly, a total of twelve Shufflin IIs leaped out from the VIP seating. They raced through the wasteland faster than the blink of an eye. Dodging the oncoming beams of light and even avoiding the lightning falling on them, undulating and splitting like an organism, the group sprinted through the obstacles to collide with the enemy.

It was a super-elite unit, all twelve of them specially selected aces of spades. Be it in poker, Grand Millionaire, or actual combat, they would never lose. They were too much for the enemy to even touch with water or lightning magic. With each swing of a spear, wielded with such speed that it looked like multiple spears, one more enemy fell. The enemy had come in too deep to flee, and it was too far away from the gate. The only option that remained for it was to be defeated in despair while reaching out in the direction of the closing gates.

Watching the battlefield through her opera glasses, Lethe nodded in satisfaction. “First battle’s our victory, I’d say.”

“The fruits of your command. It was indeed very splendid,” Hamuel praised her.

“Your compliments are so vexing.”

“If you find even my compliments vexing, then I suppose I can’t say anything at all, can I…?”

As the two forces brutally clashed, the gates continued to move. But it would still be more time before they opened fully. There were a number of things that had to be done by then: orders to subordinates, reorganization of the troops, preparations to march—those were all important, but first, Hamuel had to receive their guests.

The guests who came of their own volition to visit Lethe were no issue, but there were other guests who did not. Normally, it would be fine to say, “What a rude lot they are, Lady Lethe, ha-ha-ha!” and leave it at that, but they needed as much help as they could get right now.

Hamuel flipped through a catalog that listed the names of mages and magical girls. “Help is continuing to come from all over… Um.” She looked around, but couldn’t find the person she was searching for. With an, “I beg your pardon, one moment please,” to Lethe, Hamuel made her wait as she circled behind the VIP seats, but she still couldn’t find this person.

Then she discovered a mage and a magical girl behind a boulder at the bottom of a hill, yelling at each other.

“Are you in a position to be whining like a baby?!”

“Uluru’s not whining! Uluru’s just stating the obvious!”

“Coming all this way in the first place, when you’re a material witness—”

“Uluru’s not a material witness!”

Hamuel wasn’t going to stick her nose into someone else’s business. As long as she could tell Lethe that they had these people on their side, that was enough. Of the two people who were yelling at each other, she addressed the mage girl with the glasses. “Thank you for earlier. I’m very sorry to bother you when you seem so busy, but could you please introduce yourself to my boss? I believe it will encourage her to hear we have the cooperation of the Inspection Department.”

Still looking grumpy, the bespectacled mage turned just her head toward Hamuel and snorted. “Hmph. Me, cooperate?”

“Huh? You were offering help in removing the Puk Faction, since they’re illegally occupying the ruins…weren’t you?”

“You guys are all villains of the same stripe, firing off shots at each other in a place like this. Once things are settled down, I’ll be sure to get you investigated, so don’t forget it.” Saying only that, she turned back to the magical girl, and the two of them started snapping at one another again.

If this was how they were going to be, then she wasn’t someone Hamuel would enjoy attending to, and if she were to introduce her to Lethe and things were to go south, that would be even more trouble.

Turning away from the pair, Hamuel started walking, but when she noticed that, she turned back. Not to the mage with the glasses; to the one who was wearing a robe like a mage, with the hood pulled down over her eyes. The magical girl—well, probably a magical girl. Hamuel put a hand to her temple.

Half the girl’s face was hidden, but her nose and below were visible. From what Hamuel could just barely see of her features, that faint scatter of freckles was familiar. It was fairly unusual for a magical girl to have freckles.

There had been a magical girl of the Puk Faction like that. Hamuel seemed to recall her magic was to make you believe her lies. Because of that magic, Hamuel had been forced to get earplugs for all her forces.

She rubbed her temple up and down, then brought her hand an inch away from her head before tapping that same spot. Why was a magical girl of the Puk Faction in a place like this? When Pfle had said all that about her information source, had she perhaps meant this person? And then for some reason she had come as an employee of the Inspection Department, and was having a fight with her superior? There was no way.

Hamuel brought her mic to her mouth. Setting it to send to the sole recipient, “a magical girl who makes people believe lies are truth,” so quietly that no one else could hear, she whispered, “Idiot.”

“No, you’re the idiot for calling me an idiot!” the magical girl with the low hood yelled.

The mage with the glasses had a look on her face like, “What is this idiot talking about?” as she eyed the girl who’d suddenly started spouting nonsense during their conversation.

Hamuel whispered, “You’re the idiot, idiot,” in the same way, and the magical girl with the low hood waved her arms up and down and stomped around.

The bespectacled mage, who’d just been yelling back and forth with her, seemed confused, saying, “Be quiet,” and “What are you talking about?” in an attempt to calm her companion.

So Hamuel had the right person. Then to capture her, or to question her? Or to watch and wait? She didn’t look like a simple spy, and it also didn’t seem as if she was a saboteur.

Hamuel contacted three aces of clubs and ordered them to coordinate to monitor her, following which she remembered she still had work left to do. She’d also left Lethe waiting.

If she couldn’t introduce the Inspection Department, then she should just introduce a different department.

Searching the area for a bit, she discovered a familiar-looking woman in a suit. Her mouth was half-open as she gazed off toward the gate. Hamuel called out to her from behind. “Miss Yoshioka.”

“Hmm? Oh, Hamuel,” Yoshioka replied.

“It seems you’ve come to support us—thank you very much.”

“Oh, I’m just here to liven things up a little, though.”

“So then is Lady Ratsumu…?”

“I haven’t brought the luggage here.”

“The luggage”—she treated her like a thing. Yoshioka adjusted her glasses with her middle finger, shrugging on her right side only. Was that supposed to be friendly banter, or was it just a slip of the tongue? Hamuel couldn’t figure it out, and so she smiled back vaguely.

“Well,” Yoshioka continued, “being in that state, you know? If a stray bullet were to come flying, a thing like that wouldn’t be able to dodge it.”

That state and a thing—more not-good terms followed. Ratsumu was, all else aside, an incarnation of one of the Three Sages, so was this okay? Shouldn’t Hamuel kind of tell her off? But maybe the Caspar Faction were more casual, and jokes like that were their usual, so Hamuel again responded with a vague smile.

“You seem so busy,” said Yoshioka. “Did you need something?”

Hamuel got the feeling that if she took this one to Lethe, Yoshioka would quite casually put her foot in her mouth. So then it would be wise not to take her. With that vague smile still pasted on, Hamuel gradually backed away to put distance between them, and then when Yoshioka was looking away off toward the gate, she left. Whatever the time or occasion, association between factions had a lot of attending hassles.

  Puk Puck

The Osk Faction was moving faster than expected. It surely had a capable boss. If she became a friend, she was bound to be helpful in all sorts of ways, so Puk Puck had to do her best—for her sake, as well.

Everything they told her about the battle situation was bad news. Puk Puck was very sad. Everyone was joining up with the Osks to attack Puk Puck. They were all being so mean and trying to make her cry.

It would be easy to cry now and be sad about it. Some kind person would come console her, and maybe her sadness would subside for a bit. But when someone was trying to make you cry, going and crying was basically acknowledging that you were a crybaby. You couldn’t make friends like that.

Puk Puck fought back her tears and squeezed her koala plush. It was big enough to enfold her, and when she put herself in its arms to squeeze it, her heart calmed, and she could be kinder.

Releasing the koala, she rolled over her rug and got up. The rug, the wallpaper, the ceiling, the credenza, the canopied bed, the mountain of plushes, the small drawers and flower vase and the white lily in the vase—her friends had made this room inside the ruins just like her own, so that it would be easier for Puk Puck to spend time here, easier for her to live here. Thanking everyone, Puk Puck said to the magical girl at her side, “Hey, Snowy Sis.”

“What is it?”

“They said Puk’s friends at the entrance to the valley are in big trouble. What d’you think we should do?”

“We can’t do anything about the dead. If any are still alive, I would suggest we have them pull back to the entrance of the ruins.”

Snow White had answered without even pausing to think about it. So she’d been thinking about this before Puk Puck had asked, but if Puk Puck hadn’t asked, she would have stood there without saying anything. Since Puk Puck had managed to make her a friend and bring her along, she needed to make it so Snow White could do more for her.

“Sorry, Snowy,” Puk said.

“About what?”

“Oh, no, it’s just me thinking. Anyway, why should we pull back to the entrance of the ruins?”

“The space before the ravine is wider than the ruins’ entrance. Magic that causes large-scale destruction can be used there, and many soldiers can clash at once. The ruins’ entrance is more restricted, and we can focus a small number of elites there to defend us. The attacker is at a disadvantage,” Snow White explained.

“If it’s just about the attacker being at a disadvantage, Puk thinks it’d also be okay to have friends waiting on the narrow ravine road. That won’t work?”

“I believe setting an ambush in their path rather than sending forces to engage them would also be an option, but since the enemy will have Shufflins on reconnaissance and scouting, I doubt much could be gained from it.”

“But, but, if we have a big fight near the ruins, wouldn’t that be dangerous? If some spell were to miss and hit the ruins instead, then the device might go boom and be ruined, you know?”

“The same holds true for them. Preventing them from using attacks that cover a broad range that would harm the ruins is to our major advantage.”

Puk Puck looked up at Snow White. She stood there expressionlessly, as usual, but she also appeared somehow proud. Puk Puck stretched up on her tiptoes to pet her head.

  Bluebell Candy

Sticking with Deluge and the others had brought her all the way out to a place like this. The air was abnormally dry, and there was nothing but wasteland as far as the eye could see. While watching the important-looking types who’d had vehicles pick them up for the trip out of the corner of her eye, Bluebell and the others were forced to run through the wasteland, guided to their forces’ camp.

Glassianne was resting. Dark Cutie and Deluge hadn’t come back. Nearby were those playing card magical girls who had just been fighting. Deluge in particular had battled these playing cards in the past. If there were any surviving cards from that time, Deluge would certainly remember them, so Bluebell wondered if it was okay for them to be there. If they were going to be here, Deluge should simply suck on Bluebell’s candies to calm her heart, but since the night before, she wouldn’t even touch them anymore. This saddened Bluebell, making her wonder what she’d even come here for.

She knew Deluge wasn’t an idiot. She did think Deluge was trying to avoid drawing attention, but Bluebell really was hopelessly worried that Deluge might ruin it by doing something impulsive on the spur of the moment. The playing cards were running around busily, while all the other magical girls were kind of relaxed about the whole thing—rather, it was as if they saw this fight as someone else’s business, saying things like, “Wow, wild stuff” as they spectated.

Meanwhile, the situation on the battlefield was in flux. The magical girls on their side made a sharp offensive, and when the enemy tried to strike back, they withdrew like a wave. When the enemy came in too deep, the powerful cards that had been hiding in the tents leaped out to go around beating down the enemy magical girls.

“Their proficiency is on another level, hmm.”

Bluebell turned around to see a magical girl in a wheelchair. She’d thought of her as a scary person, but Bluebell’s running into her now, in a situation where she didn’t know anybody, made her seem like a savior. “Miss Pfle. You’re here?”

“Come now, I clearly had to be here.”

“Um…is that…all right?”

“Treading a tightrope is nothing new for me. I might even try out some acrobatics. More importantly—there, take a look.”

Bluebell suddenly realized the enemy was completely gone from the battlefield. The gates continued to open slowly, and were already cracked open wide enough for a person to get through, but the card soldiers stayed still in front of the gates with their spears raised, not moving from that spot.

“They’re not going in to attack?” Bluebell asked Pfle.

“I’m sure they’re being cautious. You can sense a level of calm in them, that even if they plan to invade, it’s not something to rush. But how frighteningly disciplined they are.” Shading her eyes with her open right hand, Pfle looked at the battlefield. “Fundamentally speaking, every single magical girl is a bundle of individuality, so making use of them as a unit of soldiers is difficult. Being able to move them as a group with such fluidity… I’d say I’m quite impressed by the Shufflins, as usual. Of course, this is also dependent on the magic of the commander—oh, that is a convenient one to have. By the way.”

With her right hand still up, she moved her wheelchair from side to side, changing the direction it faced. “Where is Glassianne? It couldn’t be that she’s gone out on the battlefield.”

“She’s resting in a tent. She said her eyes are tired,” Bluebell told her.

“That’s unfortunate. We must have her continue to work for us. It should be fine to have her rest up for now… Well then, I’ll be off.” Turning around, Pfle went forward about six feet, stopped there, and suddenly turned back toward Bluebell. Bluebell automatically stepped back.

Unperturbed, Pfle said, “Which reminds me, about Deluge.”

“Y-yes?”

“Is she all right, with the Shufflins so close by?”

“Oh, no, it seems ever since yesterday evening, she’s calmed down.”

“Because of your candies?”

“No, not because of that. I mean, it seems that she doesn’t need my candies at all. She hasn’t been taking them this whole time.”

Pfle nodded, then did another sudden turn, spinning around a full 180 degrees. Watching Pfle leave, Bluebell thought, She really is odd.

Looking toward the tents and confirming that Deluge and Dark Cutie weren’t back yet, Bluebell sighed. She really had nothing to do here. Despite having come all this way so she could be even slightly useful to Deluge, to support her, she couldn’t dispel the feeling that she was not only useless, she was dragging her down.

All the people here—not just Pfle and Dark Cutie, every single one of them—had come with a job to do. Bluebell was the only one indecisively stuck halfway, who had come without bringing anything, swept along.

No matter what she did, she was tired. She popped a candy in her mouth. Once she felt a little better, she’d take a rest. She’d recharge her physical and mental energy so she could be more useful. Closing her eyes, she rubbed between them. It was really sunny here, and there wasn’t any decent cover, aside from the tents. Tents had popped up all over the place like bamboo after the rain, but most of them were in use by others.

In search of a free tent, she took several unsteady steps, but before she could take one more, something warm touched her mouth. Before she could even realize that it was someone’s hand, following her mouth, her throat was seized. Her hands shot forward, but they swung through air, and, unable to yell or make any noise, without being seen by anyone, she was dragged into a tent.

The hand covering her mouth pulled away. Bluebell took the opportunity to open her mouth to yell, but something was stuffed into it. Something spherical melted on her tongue. She tried to spit it out, but then her mouth was covered again, and she couldn’t. In the blink of an eye, the spherical something—the candy—melted completely, and Bluebell remembered that she was not Bluebell.

  Princess Deluge

When she had arrived here as Inspection Department staff, she hadn’t tried to hide her face. Pfle had said it was fine, so then what problem could there be? Even if someone there did know that Deluge had killed a whole bunch of Shufflins in W City and they caused an uproar and confronted her, she just had to fight them off and run. She’d been desperate enough when she’d come that she hadn’t cared, but there hadn’t been any uproar or confrontation. So it was best to quietly remain in her tent.

If she’d been like she had been back then, she wouldn’t have been able to take it. Quake, Tempest, Inferno, and Prism Cherry would all be revived in her mind with a feeling of vivid reality, and then they would have been brutally killed off. Why did they have to die, why have things come to this, it’s all because of those people, if only they were gone, she’d have thought, and then she’d have caused an incident with the Shufflins with no thought as to the consequences. She was staying where she was now because she was thinking of the consequences. Because she was able to think.

“I heard something from the boss.”

Deluge looked up. Sitting inside the closed tent was a magical girl in black, melting into the darkness. Her appearance was comparatively older, contributing to how silly she looked holding her knees in the corner.

“She said a mage from the Inspection Department picked up a magical girl at the Puk estate.”

Deluge had also heard about this. Right as Glassianne had been investigating Shadow Gale’s whereabouts, Pfle had told her a magical girl had escaped with Snow White’s possessions, and they’d taken her into custody.

“…So what about that?” Deluge asked.

“It was the one we fought at the amusement park. The one whose magic was to unconditionally make you believe what she said.”

Deluge looked at Dark Cutie’s face. She hardly ever moved the muscles there, but they had roused slightly now, tense from her cheeks to her mouth.

“The other magical girls with her I killed…,” Dark Cutie went on, “were likely not just her allies, but her family.”

“…So?”

“Even if we share a goal now, if she finds out I’m here, she might come to me herself.”

“Do you want her to come kill you?”

Staring at the ground, Dark Cutie shook her head. “I’m considering what a heroine would do. Should she work with me for the sake of the greater goal, even if I’m the one who killed the ones she loves, or would she be driven by her passions to swoop down on me without thought to what it might cost? Which course of action would be more appropriate for a heroine? If she chose the latter, then the villain shouldn’t be killed. I suppose I should treat the heroine with contempt by rubbing her weakness in her face, saying, ‘How laughable you should try to kill me when that’s all you’ve got! If you want to kill me, then get stronger’—and by implying she come try again once the grand goal is accomplished, you could say everything will have fallen into place, but then wouldn’t that put us at a prior stage where the rematch isn’t fulfilled?”

She was muttering on and on as she stared at the ground. Was she talking to Deluge or to someone else? Or was she telling herself this? Being neither Micchan the Dictionary nor Glassianne, Deluge didn’t know.

Even to Deluge, who was aware that she herself wasn’t right in the head, it seemed like Dark Cutie was clearly losing her mind. All of them—Pfle, Micchan, and Glassianne—were aware of this fact, but they let her be.

If there was no actual harm in it, then whatever. It was just that Deluge wanted to think about other things right now, but Dark Cutie being so unusually talkative kept her from focusing on her thoughts, which was a little irritating.

“Should a villain be thinking about that kind of stuff?” She didn’t necessarily mean it, but the nasty remark just slipped out of her mouth.

“Do you think that planning out a scenario isn’t appropriate for a villain?”

“Planning the scenario without the heroine finding out about it is part of a villain’s job.” No matter what Deluge said, Dark Cutie was going to justify herself anyway. Deluge closed her eyes.

In the empty darkness, all that could be heard was Dark Cutie’s words. “An avenger can sometimes become a heroine. She might also become a villain. However, those who die a petty death without managing to become either are far more common. I’m sure that’s true, and it’s just that they’re never known, because nobody tells their stories. Deluge—are you an avenger? Or are you not?”

Deluge opened her eyes. Dark Cutie was still staring at the ground.