The Girls’ Evening
Wednesday, September 8th
When the new semester began after summer vacation, the clubs of Harukaze High immediately set to preparing for the cultural festival. This, of course, included the knitting society. All three of its members—Koutarou, Harumi, and Yurika—were currently gathered in the club room discussing what to use for their club exhibit. They could have just as easily held the meeting in room 106, but since it was club-related, it seemed more appropriate to have it at school.
“I’m going to put this muffler out as-is.”
“Well, you just started out, so that sounds about right.”
For the knitting society’s exhibit at the festival, they’d be displaying choice pieces of their work. Still new to the club, Yurika was only just learning how to knit. She was currently at the level Koutarou was about a year ago, which was mastering the basics. Yurika made some modifications to her first creation, called it a muffler, and decided to use that.
“Which piece will you use, Sakuraba-senpai?”
“Hmm... Which one should I pick?”
This would be Harumi’s third year in the club. She’d completely mastered standard knitting fare such as sweaters and gloves, and moved on to more complex creations like stuffed animals and handbags. Picking just one piece to showcase her skill wouldn’t be easy.
“Why not just display all of them?”
Koutarou saw an easy alternative. He believed that because she’d made so many pieces, she should show them all off.
“But... then it would just be an exhibit of my work...”
Harumi furrowed her brow. She was concerned about taking over the display. Yurika only had her “muffler,” and Koutarou only had a couple of pieces to show for himself. She was worried that if she put all her work out, it would go from being the knitting society’s exhibit to Harumi’s exhibit. And as conscientious and modest as she was, Harumi didn’t want that.
“I think it’s fine. This’ll be your last year in the knitting club, so why not take the opportunity to show off some?”
“Satomi-san is right. The display would be boring with only a few pieces in it, so we should fill it up with your amazing work or else we won’t get any display space for next year’s cultural festival.”
Koutarou and Yurika were both in support of Harumi putting out all her work, even if it was for different reasons. After thinking on it for a moment, Harumi gave a reserved nod.
“Okay, then I’ll display a few things...”
Harumi was attached to several of her pieces. Through her experience in the school plays, she’d also learned the joys of having others recognize her work. Being a showoff wasn’t good, but it wasn’t good to hide things, either.
“All right, then this year, the knitting society display is all about Sakuraba-senpai!”
“Satomi-san and I can just stick our pieces in the corner!”
Koutarou and Yurika decided that the focus of the exhibit should be Harumi’s work. It would help advertise the club better, and would hopefully help lure in new members come next year.
“W-Wait a minute, you two!”
Harumi had come out of her shell some over the last year, but she couldn’t help feeling shy when her friends were pushing her like this.
Now with a plan in mind, the three members of the knitting society headed back to room 106. From there, Harumi would use the gate to return home via the transporter aboard Clan’s Hazy Moon. Teleportation was faster than taking the bus, and this way, she got to spend more time with her friends as she walked back to Koutarou’s apartment with them. It was win-win.
“As for the next step, I’ll handle the stands and panels, so can I leave decorations to you two?”
Koutarou sketched out a rough plan for their exhibit on a piece of scrap paper and proposed that Yurika and Harumi take care of making it look nice. He believed the girls’ delicate sensibilities would make them much more qualified for the job, while he would stick to the physical labor.
“Certainly.”
“I’ll try... Slurrrp...”
Harumi sounded perfectly confident and dependable, but Yurika seemed less so as she slurped down her instant noodles. It would have been a little disconcerting if Koutarou didn’t know that she would actually try her best when it came down to it.
“I’m sorry for making you do all the hard work, Satomi-kun...”
The exhibition stands and panels were heavy, and Harumi felt bad for leaving all the labor to Koutarou. Koutarou, however, didn’t seem to mind at all. He smiled and shook his head.
“It’s fine. The right person for the right job, you know?”
Koutarou was aware that he had no sense of aesthetics. He was, however, perfectly confident in his strength.
“Yeah, Sakuraba-senpai. If we didn’t divide things up this way, Satomi-san and I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on... Slurrrp...”
“Eat or talk, pick one.”
“Slurrrrrrrrp...”
“Then I guess the right job for you is eating ramen, huh?”
“Heehee.”
The members of the knitting society continued to sit around the tea table and discuss the details of their upcoming exhibit. Once they had everything hammered out, the others girls of room 106—who had been keeping quiet in order not to disturb them—began talking too.
“So, Theia-chan, what will the drama club be doing?”
The first to open her mouth was, of course, the chatterbox of the group, Shizuka. Koutarou, Harumi, and Yurika had been talking about what the knitting society was going to do for the cultural festival, which got her wondering about what everyone else was up to. Theia paused her game and turned to Shizuka to answer.
“Since it was received so well last year, they’re supposedly going to be doing ‘The Silver Princess and the Blue Knight’ again.”
“So you’re going to have your hands full, aren’t you?”
Maki, who was sitting next to Shizuka, joined in on the conversation too. She suspected that, though Theia was sitting around carefreely play video games right now, once the preparations for the play began, she probably wouldn’t have time for such leisurely luxuries.
“No, I won’t be getting involved this time.”
However, Theia shook her head, her beautiful golden hair swishing left and right.
“Really?”
Maki went wide-eyed at Theia’s unexpected answer. Everyone else in the room looked similarly surprised.
“Indeed. The other day, the president passed the torch on to the next generation, and while they were at it, they decided to replace all of the staff and cast and start from scratch. And so I won’t be intervening. At most, I’ll be a consultant for any questions they have.”
“Ah, I heard about that,” Koutarou interjected. “Supposedly Mackenzie will be playing the Blue Knight now. Feels kinda strange...”
Koutarou flashed a wry smile. Last year, he’d ended up stealing the role from Kenji, but now that the play was being recast, Kenji was returning to play the leading man. Since Kenji was better-looking than Koutarou, he thought Kenji would probably do the part more justice.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Theia-dono.”
Kiriha smiled sympathetically as she poured herself some more tea. She knew that Theia was quite invested in anything and everything involving the Blue Knight, and figured that Theia would probably be disappointed over this development.
“It’s not that I don’t feel that way... However, techniques must be succeeded. Letting each generation do things their own way is forward-thinking and brave. It’s the correct decision that will lead the club to greater success.”
As it turned out, Theia wasn’t as broken up over it as Kiriha had expected. She thought that it would be good for there to be multiple interpretations of the legend. She hadn’t always felt that way, but a lot had happened over the past year—including Koutarou challenging her own interpretation of the Blue Knight. But that wasn’t the only reason Theia’s way of thinking had changed.
“Besides,” she said with a bittersweet smile, “since Koutarou is now playing out his own legend, there’s no need for a theatrical rendition. And there’s no need for me to meddle.”
Koutarou didn’t have to play the Blue Knight anymore—he was the Blue Knight. At least, that was how Theia thought of it, even if Koutarou didn’t see it that way himself. As such, having him play the part of the Blue Knight in the play would make it less like a play and more like a documentary. And since Theia knew the truth, she felt like her assistance in producing the play would subtract from its artistic vision. It was different last year when they were all still thinking and dreaming without knowing any better, but they couldn’t unlearn what they now knew. Theia appreciated that, and so she didn’t mind letting a new generation of the drama club reinterpret the play for themselves.
“That may be what Her Highness says, but the truth is that she doesn’t want to reveal Master’s true self to the public.”
“H-Hey! Ruth!”
But when Ruth exposed Theia’s real motivations in stepping down, she turned bright red—which only seemed to confirm that Ruth was telling the truth.
“I’m only doing this for the sake of the play! I definitely wasn’t thinking of keeping Koutarou to ourselves!”
“Theia-dono, Ruth never said anything about that.”
“Ugh...”
When Kiriha pointed that out, Theia fumbled for a reply. Kiriha then smiled, but not because she was teasing her. It was because she felt for her.
“That being said, I agree we should keep him to ourselves. If we let him take part in the play again, we’d simply be putting what’s most precious to us on display.”
“W-Well, that is true...”
Theia was still shaken, but felt a little better after Kiriha showed some empathy. While she was embarrassed, she didn’t mind her friends knowing her real intentions. There was a high chance they felt the same way too, after all.
“That’s right, knights! I forgot!”
That was when Sanae, who had been clinging to Koutarou, shouted out. She quickly climbed off and moved around to face him.
“What now all of a sudden?”
“Employ me, you bastard!”
Sanae leaned forward and demanded something from Koutarou, but since she’d omitted most of the details, he wasn’t sure what.
“What in the world are you talking about?”
“You promised me! That once the mess with Kiriha was all cleaned up, you would let me into your band of knights!”
“Ah, that’s right.”
With a bit more context, Koutarou remembered. Sanae wanted to join the Satomi band of knights, but her initiation had been put off until the ordeal underground was settled. If the radical faction had caught wind that the powers of room 106 were starting to unify, it could have meant even more trouble.
However, with the radical faction now officially dissolved, there was no longer a need to worry about that. And now that summer vacation was over and things were returning to normal in room 106, Sanae had finally remembered her deal with Koutarou.
“So there you have it! Now hurry up and employ me, you bastard! I’ll be the housekeeper!”
“Is that the kind of attitude you use when asking someone for something?!”
“Employ me too, you bastard! I’ll be the secretary!”
“Y-You too, Senpai?!”
Harumi, who was sitting next to Sanae, jumped on the bandwagon. She mimicked Sanae’s tone and demanded to join as well. Thinking back on it, Koutarou recalled that he’d made a similar promise with her too.
Well, things sure have taken a strange turn... But there shouldn’t be any problems now.
After turning it over in his head for a moment, Koutarou began thinking he should grant their request. After all, he had made a promise to them, and now that the problems with the underground dwellers had been resolved, there really shouldn’t be anything stopping them from joining.
“W-Wait! Sanae, Harumi! I must ask that you hold off on joining!”
However, it seemed someone had an objection. It was none other than the very person the band of knights was supposed to protect, Princess Theiamillis.
“Your Highness, why are you in such a fluster? Is there a problem?”
Ruth, who was sitting next to Theia, looked at her with a confused expression. She couldn’t imagine there being any issues with Sanae and Harumi joining.
“There’s a major problem! At this rate, my band of knights will be taken over by noncombatants! I can’t have that!”
Theia’s concern lay with the official division of duties within the band of knights. Currently, the Satomi band of knights consisted of three members: Koutarou the captain, Ruth the vice captain, and Maki the treasurer. With two knights and one noncombatant, they could still maintain the appearance of being a combat-ready force. But if Sanae and Harumi joined to help with housework and paperwork, the ratio of noncombatants to knights would jump from 1:2 to 3:2, which didn’t bode well for their war potential.
“Surprisingly, you care an awful lot about the details, don’t you?”
“You just don’t care enough, Koutarou!”
To Theia who had all kinds of ideals about knights (whether or not they were just for show), a band of knights was and should be a combat unit. She didn’t want history to remember hers as anything less. Especially not with Koutarou in charge of it.
“I understand, but... What are you going to do, Your Highness?”
Ruth smiled when she figured out what was going on in Theia’s head and pushed the stagnating discussion forward. Normally, the captain—in other words, Koutarou—was in charge of personnel. Theia couldn’t actually insist on refusing Sanae and Harumi for personal reasons. They’d need to find some sort of compromise.
“First, we’ll increase our combatants by two! That way, the majority will still be knights!”
By adding two additional knights and having Sanae and Harumi join after that, knights would remain the majority in the troupe. That way, they could honor Theia’s ideals for the Satomi knights.
“That’s surprisingly underhanded for you, Theiamillis-san.”
Clan smiled wryly. She was reading a book while lying down on the ceiling via the power of her anti-gravity device. The manipulative move Theia suggested sounded like something Clan herself might have done in the past. She didn’t think it suited the straightforward Theia.
“Say whatever you like! This is an issue of integrity!”
“Well, it’s not like I don’t understand how you feel...”
Clan shrugged and laughed a little. Truth be told, since Koutarou wasn’t the fighting type in the first place, the Satomi band of knights would inevitably be a peaceful bunch anyway. That said, the Blue Knight’s personal troupe being a powerful combat squad was important for the sake of appearances. Clan understood that well as a fellow princess of Forthorthe.
“So, please, Shizuka! Kiriha! Could you join my band of knights as a martial artist and strategist?!”
“What? Me?”
Shizuka, who was eagerly listening in on this dramatic discussion, was surprised to hear her own name come up. She’d joked about joining before, but she had never anticipated that she would get dragged into things like this.
“You have no affiliation, so asking you is the least problematic! And I don’t mind if you join in name only!”
Theia humbly pleaded with both girls. She could have just as easily recruited real Forthorthian warriors to pad their numbers, but she didn’t want the band to lose the warmth it had. So, to that end, Theia thought the best solution would be recruiting fellow residents of Corona House instead.
“Heh... I understand your dilemma. I also owe you for your help against the radical faction. I will gladly join.”
Kiriha understood the position Theia was in and readily accepted her request. She used the pretext of repaying Theia for her hard work in the battle against the radical faction, but Kiriha’s real motivation for joining was that it sounded like fun.
“Then I’ll join too.”
Since Kiriha hadn’t hesitated to join, Shizuka decided to go along with it as well without giving it much of a second thought. She figured if the wise Kiriha was on board, then there shouldn’t be any issues. It wasn’t exactly the most sound of reasons.
“Thank you both!”
Theia shook Kiriha and Shizuka’s hands with tears in her eyes.
“Theia-dono, there’s no need to cry, is there?”
Seeing her in this state, Kiriha couldn’t help the smirk that crept across her lips.
“Say what you will, but this is a matter of utmost importance to a maiden of Forthorthe!”
Theia wanted to safeguard her ideals, no matter what it took. She was in love with the romantic idea of a band of knights, even if they were meant to be a lethal killing force.
“...Do I get a say in all this?”
Koutarou was flummoxed by this discussion continuing without him, the captain.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Shizuka. “Oh, and Satomi-kun, I don’t mind if my salary is just your rent.”
“Thanks, Landlord-san.”
As puzzled as he was, Shizuka’s bright smile eased his worries.
It’s not like we’ll be playing the part of a real band of knights anyways...
The important part was whether or not everyone was having fun. In that sense, their little band of knights was more like a school club.
“So, Theia, what about me and Harumi joining?”
Sanae hadn’t quite been able to keep up with the rapidly unfolding events, and eagerly leaned forward over the tea table to ask Theia if she’d made up her mind yet.
“Don’t worry. Everything has been resolved, so you may now join in triumph.”
“All right!”
“Isn’t that great, Higashihongan-san?”
“Yeah!”
Having finally gotten permission, Sanae flashed a large, bright grin. The kind Harumi seemed happy as well, and the two of them smiled warmly at each other.
“Harumi, Harumi!”
“Right!”
Without another word, the two girls stood before Koutarou and called out to him in perfect sync like they’d practiced it ahead of time.
“Employ us, you bastard!”
“Yeah, yeah...”
Since the two of them seemed so happy, Koutarou couldn’t bring himself to object.
And so the Satomi band of knights grew by four members, the most eager of which were Sanae and Harumi. They were both thrilled that they’d finally gotten their chance.
“Koutarou, Koutarou! Let’s talk about my salary!”
“Okay, okay.”
“I’ll give all of it back when I get it, so make it a million yen! I want to be a well-paid woman!”
“As a housekeeper?”
“Yeah!”
Sanae had no intention of actually taking any money from Koutarou, but she still wanted the prestige of a high salary. Her solution for this odd conundrum was returning her pay to Koutarou immediately after she received it.
“No way.”
“Why not?! I said I’d give it back!”
“You’ll need to keep at least enough to have some pocket money.”
Ever since her time as a ghost, Sanae had been receiving an allowance from Koutarou, which usually went toward anime merchandise and candy. Koutarou would feel bad if she gave him all the money she made back and didn’t have enough to spend on those things anymore. In truth, he wanted to keep giving her an allowance.
“Pocket money is different!”
“Is that so?”
“An allowance is a token of love! It’s different from hard-earned wages!”
“I don’t really get it, but if you’re fine with that...”
“All right, then it’s decided!”
With her working arrangements determined, Sanae grinned from ear to ear. Nothing was really changing with Sanae joining the band of knights. Her everyday life would continue on just like it always had. But it would feel different. She cheerfully clung to Koutarou’s back as if to claim it was where she belonged.
“So what’s my mission, Satomi-kun?!”
Harumi looked just as animated as Sanae. Unlike Sanae, she was mature and demure by nature, but she was purposefully going along with Sanae’s antics for the fun of it. As of late, she was learning how to express herself in ways like this.
“It’ll be something like gathering information, right?!”
Harumi made theatrical gestures as she waved her hands around enthusiastically. A cheerfulness that rivalled Sanae’s sparkled in her eyes.
“Of course not. I don’t need any information.”
Koutarou could see through her and knew that she was playing along on purpose. It only took one look into her eyes filled with childlike excitement. Growing a little embarrassed, he responded to her somewhat snappily... but he couldn’t deny that she was extraordinarily cute right now.
“So... something like going to buy melon bread and milk, then?”
“What kind of a mission is that?!”
“Oooh, I’ll take some!”
“So for Satomi-kun, Higashihongan-san, and myself makes three. Would anyone else like some?”
“...Theia, do you hear this? What about the image of your precious band of knights?”
Even though she was a noncombatant member, Harumi’s first mission being going to buy melon bread and milk would surely not sit well with Theia—which was why Koutarou turned to her for help.
“Urgh... Harumi!”
And, just as he’d hoped, Theia looked like she was about to lose it.
“What is it, Your Highness?”
“I desire a red bean sweet bun!”
“As you wish, my princess.”
“Very good!”
“...I never should have counted on you...”
It was actually a common mission for bands of knights to provide support or supplies for civilians. And while Theia was picky when it came to her ideals about how the band of knights should work, she wasn’t the kind of lord to refuse missions her members voluntarily chose.
“Master, isn’t it a good thing that there are only peaceful missions to be had?”
“That’s right, Koutarou. Do you know how wonderful a thing it is for a squad of knights to have the leisure of goofing around?”
With Ruth and Kiriha on Theia’s side, Koutarou started to come around. He couldn’t deny that they were right. The fact that the shy Harumi was teasing him was proof enough that things were peaceful. Just like Theia, Koutarou didn’t actually want his band of knights to become militaristic, so he decided to count his blessings and just be happy that Harumi was acting the way she was.
He sighed before muttering, “This is all thanks to the problems underground being resolved now...”
Because the state of affairs in room 106 had the potential to agitate tensions underground, the Satomi band of knights had never taken on missions or new members before. But now that they no longer had the radical faction to worry about, things were different. They could play around as a band of knights as much as they wanted without there being any trouble. And that was indeed a wonderful thing.
“The problems underground are resolved...” Yurika muttered too, echoing Koutarou’s words.
Yeah... I might be able to ask now...
There was something Yurika had been wanting to ask the girls of room 106 for some time now, but in order not to incite anything—especially from the radical faction—she hadn’t been able to bring it up. When she heard what Koutarou said, however, she too realized that things were different now. That gave her hope.
“What’s the matter, Yurika-san?”
Clan, who had been lying on the ceiling, slowly descended next to Yurika when she noticed that she seemed unusually lost in thought.
“Um... There’s actually something I would like to consult everyone on.”
“Consult? That’s unusually serious for you.”
Slightly surprised by this rare display from Yurika, Clan adjusted her glasses as she looked at her. Surprised or not, she would at least hear her out.
“What is it, Yurika?”
Koutarou also turned to her attentively. The other girls felt the change in atmosphere and followed suit.
“You don’t have to hold back. Just spit it out.”
“All right... What I want to consult with you all about is Nana-san.”
Yurika brought up her friend and mentor that had taught her magic, Magical Girl Rainbow Nana.
“Nana?”
Maki’s expression stiffened and turned sad upon hearing that name. In the past, Nana had fought against Maki—or more precisely, Darkness Rainbow—and sustained serious injuries that forced her into retirement. Maki, as she was now, regretted what had happened. Yurika didn’t blame her for it, but the mere mention of Nana tugged at Maki’s conscience.
“Um, Satomi-san, when you fought Maya-san from Darkness Rainbow, she had a body made of machines from the underground, right?”
“Yeah. It was definitely spiritual energy technology, probably also enhanced by Forthorthian science.”
Koutarou nodded and confirmed what Yurika was suggesting. After a firsthand encounter with Maya, he was sure of it. And after Elexis’s involvement with the radical faction was revealed, he thought the chances were high that advanced technology from Forthorthe was also used to help create her mechanical body.
“So, I was thinking... After seeing Maya-san move around so well after what happened to her, I was wondering if the same could be done for Nana-san.”
Maya had suffered debilitating injuries in an all-out fight with Nana. Some time after that, Maki and the rest of Darkness Rainbow got their vengeance and put Nana out of commission. Like Maya, she was wounded badly enough that her protégé was forced to take over for her. But if Maya had recovered through the help of spiritual energy technology and advanced Forthorthian science, then it seemed like Nana should be able to do the same. That was what Yurika was hoping for.
“Nana was... your savior and mentor, right, Yurika?”
“Yes.”
When she was younger, Yurika was attacked by a demon that had sensed her aptitude for magic. Nana had saved her, which was the start of a long and lasting bond between them. One thing led to another, and Nana ended up teaching Yurika magic. She became something of her apprentice, and took over her role as a member of Rainbow Heart when she was forced to retire. It went without saying that Nana meant a great deal to her.
“Kiriha-san, Theia, Clan... What do you think?”
Koutarou made up his mind right away. In his eyes, Nana being Yurika’s friend was reason enough to help her. But considering the fact that she’d saved Yurika’s life and more, there was no reason for him to even hesitate.
“Of course. A friend of Yurika’s is a friend of mine. I will gladly help.”
Theia was the first to respond. She thought of Yurika as a precious friend and had no reason to refuse her request. She’d also heard about Nana saving Yurika in the past, so she too wanted to help save her in return.
“I don’t mind either. I’ve always been interested in technology from the underground. And besides, I can’t refuse a request directly from Veltlion.”
Clan agreed as well. She genuinely wanted to help Yurika, but with her aloof personality, she couldn’t admit that outright.
“What about you, Kiriha-san?”
“I agree, of course. I’m sure it will be beneficial for everyone.”
Last but not least was Kiriha, who also agreed. The girls of room 106 considered each other invaluable friends. If one of them was suffering, they all were. So if Yurika had a problem, they all wanted to help her with it.
“But I’ll have to ask that you be patient. Since this will mean offering spiritual energy technology to an outsider, it’s not a decision that I can make on my own. I’ll have to consult with the chief first.”
While Kiriha was the commander of the surface invasion forces, she wasn’t in control of the People of the Earth. She didn’t have the same kind of authority Theia or Clan did. As such, it would take some time for her to get the powers that be to agree to supply their proprietary technology to a complete outsider. That wasn’t a call she could make on her own.
“Of course. I’m very grateful.”
Yurika bowed deeply to Kiriha. Considering her normal carefree attitude, that gesture alone conveyed just how important Nana was to her.
“Don’t worry. I don’t think anyone will object. It will just take time.”
While Kiriha couldn’t agree to help Yurika without consulting her people, she remained optimistic. Yurika had played a major role in quelling the radical faction, so the People of the Earth had no reason to refuse her. Moreover, assisting Nana would also help them understand exactly what spiritual energy technology had been given to Maya.
“Isn’t that great, Yurika?”
“It is. Thank you very much, everyone.”
And so Koutarou and the others decided to help Nana.
The country of magicians, the Magical Kingdom of Folsaria, was impossible to reach by foot, car, plane, or boat. Folsaria, you see, existed in a different plane. It took magic to travel there, similar to how Theia used a gate to travel between room 106 and Blue Knight. It was a nearly instantaneous process.
A complex geometrical pattern drawn on the concrete floor began glowing. The light in the center of the pattern was especially strong, and from it stepped a lone girl. It looked almost like she was emerging from water.
“Good to have you with us, Blue,” said a powerful voice.
It was Dark Crimson, the red magic specialist of Darkness Rainbow, a secret society of evil magical girls plotting to overthrow the country of Folsaria.
When the girl fully appeared from the light, she stepped out of the geometrical pattern on the floor—a magic circle. She had short, bobbed hair and wore a dark blue robe.
“I just succeeded the previous generation, so I wanted to get a feel for things here.”
The girl’s voice was calm, her tone polite, and her expression indifferent. Compared to the dynamic Crimson, she came across as significantly less animated. She was Dark Blue, one of the leaders of Darkness Rainbow alongside Crimson. She specialized in blue magic, the magic of summoning and recovery.
Getting from Folsaria to Kisshouharukaze City required travel through a magical passage. Since creating one took a great deal of mana, people typically chose to travel through permanently established passages, though those were few in numbers. This girl, however, had chosen a different way. Dark Blue had used her own magic to create a temporary passage. It was just the kind of thing summoning magic was useful for. While she was somewhat lacking when it came to direct combat abilities, she more than made up for that with her remarkably utilitarian support skills.
“We’re counting on you. You’re the cornerstone of the operation this time.”
Following Dark Blue, another girl appeared from the light. She also had a calm voice, but rather than sounding indifferent, she gave off a more intellectual impression. Her glasses only highlighted that. This was Dark Green, the magical girl who had attacked room 106 alongside Crimson.
She, of course, specialized in green magic, the magic of illusions and divination. She was more or less the brains of Darkness Rainbow, and she would be leading the team in their upcoming operation—one of her own design.
“I’ll do my best.”
Blue nodded indifferently in acknowledgement of Green’s words. She hadn’t been brought along just for transportation; she would be playing a major role in the plan that Green had devised. Blue’s reaction, however, made her seem wholesomely unenthusiastic about the job. While she had said that she would give it her all, it was difficult to tell if she actually meant it or not, leaving Green a little uneasy.
“Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll handle it.”
Sensing Green’s worries, Crimson flashed a fearless smile. Even if Blue failed, things would still be fine as long as she was there to clean up afterward. Unlike Blue, Crimson was filled to the brim with confidence. Seeing that, Green sighed for some reason.
“Hahh... Even with the powerful magic you’ve obtained, you’re underestimating the enemy too much.”
Where Blue didn’t have enough motivation, Crimson had too much. Green’s ideal was somewhere in the middle, but her companions were too far astray on either side.
“I’ve waited so long precisely because I’m not underestimating them. I took the time to develop and master my new magic, and I think I’ve been patient enough. That’s how I know there’s no way I’ll lose.”
Using the combined knowledge Crimson had acquired through Maya and Elexis, she’d strategically gone through her repertoire of spells and fine-tuned them all to be more scientific. As a result, Crimson was pioneering a third generation of magic following ancient magic and modern magic. She called it scientific magic, and what she’d done was groundbreaking.
The inner workings of scientific magic weren’t all that different from modern magic, but they incorporated scientific principles to make them more powerful, more effective, and more efficient. A good example of this was with Crimson’s Ray of Sunshine spell.
As the name suggested, the spell imitated light from the sun to blind and burn an opponent. However, with her newfound scientific knowledge, Crimson now understood that there were many different wavelengths of light that overlapped to create white light. That overlap was unnecessary for her purposes, so Crimson had reduced the wavelengths the spell utilized to a single one. And with just that adjustment, Crimson greatly improved the power of the spell and reduced the mana needed to cast it, which could then in turn be used to make the spell even stronger.
That was why Crimson was so confident. There was no way she would lose to Koutarou or Yurika with the power she’d obtained. Her attitude bordered on cocky, but she had every right to be.
“The problem is that woman... Kurano Kiriha.”
Green, on the other hand, was very wary of one opponent in particular—Kiriha, whose mind was her greatest weapon. Her wits and intelligence were something to be feared. The reason Crimson and the others had to seek out scientific magic in the first place was because of their miserable defeat at the hands of Kiriha, who had no magic to speak of.
Magic was but one facet of power. True strength was a matter of how it was utilized. That was the hard lesson Kiriha had taught them, and Green was keenly aware that even with scientific magic, there was still a possibility that Kiriha could outwit them somehow. Who knew what kind of terrifying fate awaited them if Kiriha made good use of Yurika?
“That’s why we came up with this plan, right, Green?”
“That’s true, but...”
As Green’s future forecast had been overcome by Kiriha in the past, the trick to making sure that didn’t happen again would be to take out Kiriha first. If they could incapacitate her, they had plenty of other means at their disposal to take care of Yurika and the rest of her allies. But even so, Green couldn’t shake the anxiety growing within her as they prepared to initiate their plan. The humiliation of defeat in the past still haunted her, even with the ability to read the future.
“Don’t worry. We’ve gotten stronger and we now know just how dangerous that woman is. Besides, Blue is with us, and you yourself planned this all out, Green. There’s no way things’ll go like they did last time.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I guess I was being a little too pessimistic.”
Green smiled faintly as she began to cheer up. Crimson’s positivity was always a blessing when she was feeling insecure.
Maybe it’s because the enemy is too strong, but... things have taken a strange turn...
Watching Crimson and Green, Blue felt puzzled. The members of the organization known as Darkness Rainbow were allies in theory, but they never beheld each other as friends. They were working together towards a common goal, but they each had their own agenda. The other members were simply pawns to be used to that end. In fact, the decisive battle against Rainbow Nana had even been an excuse for some of them to eliminate potential rivals.
“Like Maki, you overthink things from time to time.”
“I’ll try not to think at all, then. Just like you.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“Yes.”
“Jeez...”
But the way Crimson and Green were interacting now flew in the face of all that. Perhaps because their enemy was exceptionally powerful, they were genuinely cooperating and working together to support each other. If they turned selfish and put their own agendas before that of the group’s, the entire operation would fall apart.
But yeah, there’s no reason to use Crimson or Green for the time being. We can make deals later, but we can only fight now...
Things like teamwork and cooperation were the strong suits of Darkness Rainbow’s rival organization, Rainbow Heart. While Blue found it mysterious that Darkness Rainbow had to resort to the ways of their enemy, she also understood that it was necessary under the circumstances. As such, she also realized that she would have to join them if she wanted a chance of coming out on the winning side.
The crux of Green’s plan was to perform a large-scale ritual to unleash a powerful spell. That spell would serve as a preemptive strike to incapacitate Koutarou and the others. After that, the dark magical girls would take them out one at a time. If they were all incapacitated, Green’s calculations told her that they should be able to defeat all of them with scientific magic easily.
“Green, what are the chances of success?” Blue asked Green while working on drawing the magic circle.
They were currently in an abandoned building on the edge of town. It was plenty wide, the ceilings were high, and the foundation was sturdy. It was somewhat old and decrepit, but it was more than stable enough for the ritual. Blue’s voice as she asked Green about their prospects echoed through the empty, wide open room.
“To simplify things, the chances of our success exceed 80 percent.”
Green conveyed the future she had foreseen to Blue. Her powers of divination allowed her to see all possible outcomes, including scenarios where they never fought at all or there was no conclusion to the fight. Adding up all the potential futures, their chances of outright winning the fight were only about 25 percent, but that number wasn’t what Blue wanted to know. Their chances of losing the fight were about 5 percent. So discounting that and a few other anomalous scenarios, the odds of them coming out on top overall were greater than 80 percent.
“If the odds are that high, then we’ve pretty much won already. As long as we don’t cut any corners, that is,” Crimson said as she stood up with her staff in hand.
She had been helping out with preparing the magic circle, but she now had a different job to do.
“And on that note, I’m off. I’ll leave the rest of this to you.”
“Are you fine going alone, Crimson?”
“Green, you stay here and help Blue. You’re the only one that can use those weird machines we got from the underground people.”
“All right, then you can count on us. Right, Blue-san?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then I’ll see you later.”
Crimson waved and then headed out on her own. She had a job to do while the other two girls finished creating the magic circle. And that was perfectly fine with her. As lively as she was, Crimson much preferred seeing some action over drawing a magic circle. When she got outside the building, her steps naturally became much lighter.
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