The Struggle of Magical Girl Arongante (Nostalgia)
At the headquarters of the Magic Bureau located in the Fairy Realm.
Arongante had arrived accompanied by multiple fairies and magical girls.
After waking up, Arongante delegated tasks to Zea and spent the time thoroughly examining all evidence and contacting various relevant parties.
Finally, with everything prepared, they moved forward with the arrest.
“I hereby announce to all staff: If you do not come out within five minutes, I will blow this building apart!”
Arongante aimed her railgun at the headquarters of the Magic Bureau.
One of the fairies began reading out names and charges.
A long list of offenses, almost as if they had committed every crime except murder, was announced, causing frowns among the gathered onlookers and news reporters.
With such brazen actions, the options available to the Magic Bureau executives were limited.
Either flee or surrender.
There was no other choice.
“What are we going to do! If we stay like this, we’ll be captured!”
When Arongante arrived, the executives had just gathered for a meeting.
In fact, knowing they were holding a meeting, Arongante timed her arrival accordingly.
“Is this the end…?”
“Tch, just because you’re a magical girl. Don’t you realize that without us, the Magic Bureau would collapse?”
Present here were the directors of the Magic Bureaus from various countries and senior officials of this main headquarters.
If the entire upper management were removed, it would surely cause chaos within the organization.
“Only three minutes left!”
Some of the unrelated staff had already exited the building and were under the protection of the fairies and magical girls.
Arongante fired warning shots into the air, intimidating those who remained.
Ordinary people stood no chance against magical girls.
To defeat a magical girl, one would either need another magical girl or a monster.
However, humanity currently lacked the ability to create or control monsters.
But there was one person present who could do just that.
“It can’t be helped… but we won’t go down easily.”
Once captured, there would be no return to the outside world.
Their crimes were far too numerous.
Thus, they decided to resort to their final option.
The man who had made a deal with a witch retrieved an enchanted gemstone from his pocket.
“What is that thing?”
“If we’re caught, we’re either facing execution or life imprisonment. In that case, I’ll do this!”
As the man shattered the gemstone, smoke filled the air, and a massive black shadow emerged, destroying parts of the building.
“What?! Who are you?!”
“Run! You’ll get caught in it!”
Trying to escape immediately, many ran toward the exit, but the monster appeared faster, crushing them beneath rubble.
“Fools! Why is there a monster in the Fairy Realm? All personnel evacuate! Magical girls ranked 20th or higher, please assist with evacuation!”
After issuing the command, Arongante deployed her weapons and flew toward the monster.
The recoil from her boosters sent nearby fairies flying, and they quickly fled.
(Though the distance to other buildings is considerable, it seems even I might cause collateral damage…)
The monster that appeared was about 20 meters tall and resembled a robot.
At this size, battling with just a high-frequency blade would be futile, necessitating the use of the railgun.
Doing so, however, would inevitably cause collateral damage.
“This is the fairy bureau operator. We’re preparing a barrier now, so please hold on for three minutes. Also, the monster appears to be SS Rank or higher, so please be cautious.”
Holding on would be easy enough.
However, failing to defeat it quickly would increase the casualties, adding more work for Arongante, who was already at the forefront of this operation.
On the other hand, using the railgun to defeat it would also result in damage and additional work.
It was a somewhat difficult situation.
Still, doing nothing wasn’t an option.
(There’s no choice but to finish this quickly.)
Arongante fired her charged railgun at the monster.
This attack was only about 20% of its maximum power, intended partly to gauge how much force would be needed to defeat the monster without causing excessive collateral damage.
The expected-to-penetrate projectile was deflected by a translucent barrier emitted by the monster.
Recognizing Arongante as an enemy after being attacked, the monster roared.
Countless magic circles appeared around the monster, launching missiles toward Arongante.
Darting through the air, Arongante intercepted the missiles, but small monster-like bits were summoned, increasing the collateral damage.
Within mere seconds, the place where the Magic Bureau headquarters once stood vanished completely.
“Set! Extend Shot! Mirage Shot!”
She fired specialized area-attack rounds, carefully aiming to minimize collateral damage while taking out the bits and missiles.
(—It seems there’s no choice but to use maximum output…)
No matter from which direction she attacked, the monster’s barriers repelled her, preventing any damage.
Arongante resolved to accept the potential collateral damage.
Transforming into Enhanced Form, she swiftly destroyed the surrounding missiles and bits to stabilize her position.
As she began charging her railgun, something unexpected happened.
A single line appeared from the monster’s head down to its groin, splitting it in two.
The missiles and bits disappeared.
“Hey, I came to help ya.”
“It’s Blade. Thank you.”
Blade, who had coincidentally arrived as backup, had effortlessly defeated the monster with a single strike.
In Enhanced Form, Blade usually wielded a sword and a katana in a dual-wielding style, but now carried a single longsword adorned with geometric patterns.
Having been overly cautious due to concerns about collateral damage, Arongante sighed in relief knowing the monster had been defeated with less damage than expected, thanks to Blade.
(If Blade hadn’t come, I’d have been working overtime again…)
“But how did that monster appear?”
“Most likely, it was summoned by a Magic Bureau executive who had ties with witches. However, everyone’s dead now, so we may never know the details.”
Most of the debris had vanished, leaving behind a widespread crater.
Anyone inside the building when the monster appeared would surely be dead.
Arongante was aware of everyone gathered there; some were innocent individuals, including a few government officials, leading her to worry about potential unrest in certain countries.
“So, with all the top brass gone, is the Magic Bureau going to be okay? It doesn’t concern us directly, but won’t it inconvenience some people?”
“It’s already taken care of. The witches’ side as well. However, I can’t do much about the governments of various countries.”
Marin and Star Nail, along with several other magical girls and Magic Bureau personnel, formed an anti-witch organization.
Though not yet fully prepared, it was already beginning to function smoothly.
All that remained was to capture Inie and decide on a name for the organization to officially begin operations.
Until then, they planned to collaborate with the Fairy Bureau to temporarily fill the roles vacated by the deceased Magic Bureau executives.
Command would be led by Arongante’s sister, Shirokigawa Minato, while Arongante herself was scheduled to lead the new organization, though she would continue overseeing Magic Bureau affairs in the interim.
“I see. As long as there’s no problem, that’s fine. I’ll leave it to you then. I’m off.”
“Understood. And please remember to submit your report later.”
Blade turned her back to Arongante, waved goodbye, and departed.
As Arongante surveyed the area to assess the damage, her terminal rang.
“This is the Fairy Bureau Operator. We’ve confirmed the monster’s disappearance. Do you know the cause of its appearance?”
“It seems to have been summoned by Magic Bureau executives who were involved with nihilistic factions.”
“Understood. Please provide detailed information in your report later.”
Cutting the communication, Arongante immediately called her sister.
“That’s unusual. Is something wrong?”
“The Magic Bureau executives, including those we intended to use, are all dead.”
Arongante explained what had happened and discussed future plans.
As Shirokigawa listened, her mood worsened.
“Tch, bad luck. Understood. We’ll rely on you for now. I’ll manage the Magic Bureau and the organization here.”
“Understood. And please try to handle the Inie matter as soon as possible.”
“Inie’s situation depends on circumstances. There’s no starting point until we meet. I’ll try, but don’t expect too much.”
Ending the call, Arongante headed to her office.
Despite Zea’s recent assistance, piles of documents still awaited her attention.
She needed to clear them while issuing instructions to the organization.
(Sigh, I wish I had Inie’s recovery magic right now.)
Arongante suddenly remembered the recovery magic Inie had cast on her.
Due to staying up all night working before the group training session, Arongante had attended the academy with deep dark circles under her eyes.
Though not at full strength, she was confident she could handle S-Rank threats.
Being tired made her body feel heavy, and as she contemplated her current workload and upcoming tasks, Inie approached her.
Arongante had heard about Inie from Thalagong, but her first impression of Inie was of an extremely unsettling girl.
Her dark, murky eyes seemed to express complete resignation.
And despite appearing young, her speech and mannerisms were reminiscent of an adult.
Arongante vividly recalled feeling this dissonance.
Even so, Inie had used her recovery magic to heal her.
Among magical girls capable of healing magic, each had different specialties.
Generally, all could treat external injuries, but some excelled at curing diseases while others focused on healing wounds.
Until now, no magical girl had been known to specialize in mental ailments such as fatigue.
Besides the rarity of magical girls skilled in recovery magic, it was widely known to be highly taxing.
Therefore, front-line magical girls were prioritized for healing.
Even if there were magical girls capable of healing mental ailments, physical recovery took precedence.
While priority issues existed, someone could still fight as long as their body was functional, even with some degree of mental strain.
Things had been harsher in the past, but Kaede’s rise had gradually improved conditions.
However, since learning about recovery magic from Rinne, a subtle tension had spread among magical girls.
Subconsciously, magical girls capable of recovery magic were seen as potential adversaries.
It was understandable why this thought arose.
Even so, recovery magic was indispensable.
If magical girls with such abilities were persecuted and joined nihilistic factions, it would put humanity at a disadvantage.
Jeanne, the most famous practitioner of recovery magic, was confidently declared incapable of betrayal—so long as Kaede remained alive.
Unfortunately, should Kaede fall in battle, humanity’s chances of defeating the witches would plummet drastically.
—No, humanity would be finished the moment Kaede perished.
Via teleportation, Arongante returned to her office.
“Well, let’s get started.”
Seated at her desk, nutritional drink in hand, Arongante resumed her work.
