Chapter 108

Unsuccessful Rampage of Magical Girl Marin

Tamake, who had been on a mission to search for Inie alongside Marin, tilted her head as she returned home.

Usually, Fūru would have come home first, and the lights would be on, but today the house remained dark.

Driven by unease, she opened the door to find no shoes inside. Thinking perhaps Fūru might be elsewhere, Tamake checked the living room sofa and the bed in her own room, but there was no sign of her anywhere.

Had she gotten caught up in some incident? Or had she grown weary of Tamake and run away?

Anxiety and guilt welled up from deep within her chest, causing nausea as she collapsed to the floor.

At that moment, her terminal rang.

The name “Arongante” appeared on the screen, and Tamake suppressed her trembling voice as she pressed the call button.

“Hello?”

“Sorry to contact you so soon after the mission ended. Now that we’ve finally caught Inie, I’d like to discuss things. Is now okay?”

Ah, so there was no way Fūru could have returned home.

Tamake felt a slight sense of relief.

“I’m fine, but how exactly did you catch her?”

It seemed impossible to capture Inie through normal means. Whether trapping her with barriers or cutting off space, Inie would surely escape.

“To put it simply, Thalagong happened upon a weakened Inie by chance and knocked her out.”

Tamake worried if it was right to subdue someone while they were weak, but since Thalagong was technically Inie’s guardian, she hoped he had considered such matters.

“Um, is she really okay?”

“Honestly, her condition doesn’t seem too good. Please come to my office tomorrow morning with Marin. That’s all for now.”

The call ended, leaving Tamake to sigh heavily and feel disheartened. She had known the day of parting would come, but she had wanted time to prepare mentally.

Still, this farewell was better than expected. At least she knew where Inie was—better than having her disappear suddenly.

Soon, Arongante sent an email detailing the next day’s plans and Inie’s condition, which made Tamake worry further.

In Jeanne’s guest room, Inie lay sleeping.

However, her bodily functions had significantly deteriorated, and it wouldn’t improve in just a few days. Even Jeanne, despite being able to treat injuries, couldn’t restore those lost functions.

Though there was a certain spell that might help, Jeanne couldn’t afford to collapse herself at the moment.

Tamake stood up, brewed some cocoa to calm herself, and sat on the living room sofa, taking a sip.

Fūru was usually there, but now Tamake was alone.

It was merely returning to her original life, yet she felt an odd loneliness, her chest tightening.

Recently, it had been Fūru who prepared the cocoa when she came home first. They often drank it together across from each other, sometimes even falling asleep.

Despite not talking much, Fūru would encourage Tamake when she was down and offered to help with anything. For all her youth, she was surprisingly mature.

Inside Fūru, however, was Star Nail, a 26-year-old man killed by Blue Colette and turned into a magical girl. The reason for her transformation into a child was unknown, but she fought actively as a magical girl and had defeated SS-ranked foes.

This enigmatic magical girl had little information available about her on official sites.

Though mysterious, somewhere along the line, Fūru had become special to Tamake.

Indeed, the person inside might be male, but that didn’t matter. Whether Fūru was Inie, Haruna, or Shiro—it didn’t matter.

Her heart had been saved by Fūru.

As Tamake finished her cocoa, her terminal rang. It was Marin calling.

“Hello? What’s up?”

“Did you hear about Inie?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“In that case, I can skip the explanation. If you’re free, how about visiting her now?”

That was exactly what Tamake had been thinking.

“I’m coming!”

She shouted louder than intended and got scolded by Marin for being too loud.

“Our meeting point… to save trouble, I’ll head straight to your place. I should arrive in about ten minutes, so please wait.”

The call ended, and Tamake slipped her terminal into her pocket.

“Alright!”

Tamake slapped her cheeks with both hands to muster her spirit.

While Fūru’s absence was indeed sad, she couldn’t stand still here. It would betray her dear friend Blue Colette and leave her no different from her weaker self. She had decided to fight.

Still, regardless of that, she wanted to visit Inie.

Even though they helped each other, she wished to stay with Fūru forever—to eat together, bathe together, sleep together. She wanted that kind of life.

It wasn’t love, nor was it heavy affection; it was more like the bond between an older sister and younger sister. Though it might seem excessive, it wasn’t to the extent of Marin.

As for the visit, Inie had been knocked unconscious by Thalagong.

There was a possibility she might wake up, but Tamake couldn’t know for sure.

Opening the refrigerator, Tamake searched for something suitable for the visit. Luckily, there was one unopened bottle of apple juice.

Actually, it was something Fūru had secretly bought for demons, but Tamake didn’t know that.

Thinking it was perfect, she placed the bottle along with paper cups into a bag.

Just then, the bell rang.

“Coming!”

Opening the door, there stood Marin, already transformed. Though her appearance hadn’t changed from earlier, an ominous aura surrounded her.

Despite smiling broadly, Tamake felt unnerved.

“So, are we going now?”

“Yes. She might escape again, so it’s better to hurry.”

During the battle against Blue Colette, Marin had told Inie to wait, but Inie had fled. Marin held a grudge about that.

Deciding it was best not to say anything, Tamake transformed and teleported with Marin to the Fairy Realm.

“Is it okay to go just to Jeanne’s place?”

For regular magical girls, entering a high-ranking facility caused tension. Only someone like Inie could stroll in without concern.

“We have permission from Arongante, so it’s fine. Besides, Jeanne isn’t around either, so there’s no need to feel tense.”

“That’s good… oh, sorry.”

As the two tried to enter the facility, Star Nail, distracted by Marin, nearly collided with a magical girl exiting the building.

She had black hair like Marin, but it lacked shine and had a dark, abyss-like quality. Her eyes slanted upward, indicating irritability.

“Be more careful not to look elsewhere… oh? Aren’t you Marin?”

“Yes. And you are?”

“I’m Nightmare. A Russian magical girl ranked eighth. So, why are you here?”

Nightmare, after being lectured by Strauf, had returned to her office to write a report. However, growing bored, she decided to go out for dinner.

“I heard Inie was captured, so I came to visit.”

“Hmm…”

Nightmare’s eyebrows twitched before she smirked.

Though hesitant to go alone, following these two meant she could reach Inie without issue. Curious about why they were visiting, Nightmare decided not to miss this opportunity.

“I actually know Inie. Can I come along?”

“Really?”

Marin’s demeanor shifted as she carefully observed Nightmare.

She was taller than Marin, likely in her late teens, dressed entirely in black as her name suggested.

Why would a foreign top-tier magical girl know Inie? Marin hadn’t heard of Inie having acquaintances abroad.

Was she lying to get close? Or perhaps they knew each other in civilian form?

In the worst-case scenario, she could be a spy for the destructionists.

It wasn’t wise to let her guard down.

“It’s fine to not be so suspicious. If you’re unsure, ask any Japanese top-tier. They probably know.”

“…Alright.”

Marin contacted Arongante via terminal. After a few rings, Arongante answered.

“This is Arongante. Is there something wrong?”

“A magical girl named Nightmare wants to visit Inie. Is that okay?”

“Ah, that snot-nosed brat… Excuse me. She’s a top-tier now. Since Thalagong has informed me, bringing her along is fine.”

“…Understood.”

Though Arongante had said something strange, Marin decided not to question it.

“Permission granted, so it seems safe.”

“Good. I’ll leave the guiding to you.”

With Nightmare unexpectedly joining, Marin decided to inquire why Arongante had approved.

“Are you acquainted with Arongante?”

Nightmare paused briefly before continuing.

“Not exactly strangers. Long ago, she helped me slightly.”

As Nightmare spoke, her expression revealed it wasn’t a pleasant memory.

Though tempted to ask further, Marin decided it wasn’t worth upsetting her unnecessarily.

“By the way, how did you meet Inie?”

Pretending to be Ayame during their initial encounter, Nightmare couldn’t reveal the truth.

“I met her while fighting the destructionists. Though I can’t share details yet, we worked together to defeat someone.”

It wasn’t a lie but not entirely true either. While Nightmare created a diversion, Inie did the fighting, which could loosely be called cooperation.

“Really!”

“Of course. We also took down a mutated M·D·W.”

The first observed M·D·W was S-class, leading to the classification: Standard S-class, Special SS-class, Mutated SS-class.

Though the final self-destruction posed a greater threat than its rank suggested, otherwise, the sheer number of monsters was troublesome.

Even SS-class foes became overwhelming for individuals, but someone like Thalagong or Blade could handle them easily.

While Star Nail listened to Nightmare’s boasting, Marin analyzed her story calmly.

Initially wary, Marin began to think Nightmare didn’t seem particularly malicious based on her account.

Given her acquaintance with Arongante, she likely wasn’t an enemy, though the term “snot-nosed” lingered curiously.

Despite being a top-tier, she lacked the gravitas compared to the Japanese top-tier magical girls Marin had met.

As Marin analyzed their conversation, they arrived at Jeanne’s office.

Upon opening the door, the usual scattered documents and food scraps were mostly gone, making the room relatively clean.

An ordinary observer would consider it tidily organized.

Lately, Jeanne had been busy, reducing her time spent in the office. Moreover, 80% of her paperwork was handled by Arongante, explaining the lack of clutter.

Additionally, Thalagon had done a bit of cleaning when bringing Inie in.

“The guest room is through that door.”

A door at the back of the room bore a sign prohibiting entry to unauthorized personnel.

The guest room included a sickbay, kitchen, and bathroom, resembling a modest 2LDK apartment.

Upon opening the door, they saw a bed with a slight bulge—Inie was sleeping.

Approaching the bed, the three peered at Inie’s face. Her breathing was shallow, and her complexion lacked vitality.

Though her chest moved faintly, confirming she was alive, it was clear her condition was poor.

“She’s alive but weak…”

“She overexerted herself fighting the destructionists. Also, she got punched by Thalagon.”

Her pallor was due to the battle, but her unconsciousness was Thalagon’s doing.

Star Nail placed the apple juice she’d brought onto the bedside table.

“You’ve done reckless things again…”

“If it weren’t for Inie, I would undoubtedly be dead. Ordinary magical girls can’t defeat those foes…”

Enhanced Form might give some fighting chance, still within the realm of magical girls.

But the altered state battle was far worse than any Nightmare had ever encountered.

—No, Nightmare hadn’t witnessed the entire battle, only formed this impression.

Even so, she wouldn’t dare intervene in that duel.

“Do you know her condition?”

“I’ve only heard she’s stable. No details were given.”

The three worriedly looked at Inie, who slept soundly like a doll. Her constant pain-ridden warrior image contrasted sharply with her current adorable appearance.

Thanks to healing magic, her face bore no scars, and watching her, Marin felt intense emotions swirling in her chest.

Managing to remain calm, Marin thought if she had come alone, Inie’s chastity might have been compromised.

“By the way, how did you two meet Inie?”

Until reaching the guest room, Nightmare had been talking about herself, but she hadn’t heard anything from Star Nail or Marin.

With Inie asleep and nothing else to do, she decided to ask.

“I met her during combat against monsters and we’re classmates at the academy.”

And there was the M·D·W incident, but explaining that would take too long, so Marin omitted it.

“I…”

Star Nail hesitated. Depending on what she said, which meeting should she describe?

Technically, they met during the M·D·W incident, but including her encounter with Shiro Hazama, it would be when she fought Blue Colette.

Or perhaps when she found Inie at the park could count as a meeting too.

Talking about the M·D·W meeting would be disastrous—it was the worst possible introduction.

Not the kind of meeting that leads to friendly visits.

As Marin and Nightmare tilted their heads in confusion, Star Nail desperately thought about what to say.

“I happened to meet her in the fairy realm and recently helped her with Marin.”

A mix of partial truths and harmless lies.

This should suffice, Star Nail concluded.

“Hmm, impressive. That’s Inie for you. Too bad Russia doesn’t have magical girls like her.”

“What about the one who participated in the New Demon War?”

Magic Girl Lieszpart.

Representing Russia in the New Demon War, she was strong for a newcomer but paled in comparison to Inie.

“Granted, she’s a gem among newcomers, but only among them. What we need now is immediate combat capability, so she won’t do.”

Nightmare sighed.

“To return to the topic, since there’s no danger to her life, that’s good. Waking her up with noise would be rude, so I’ll take my leave.”

Having confirmed Inie was safe, Nightmare left the room. Though staying longer wasn’t ideal for a foreign top-tier, she was simply hungry and eager to eat dinner.

“Anyway, she seems fine. What do you want to do?”

Stay or go?

Star Nail asked Marin.

“Hmm…”

Noticing sweat on Inie’s forehead, Marin had an idea—a legal way to see Inie naked. Despite numerous attempts, Marin had never bathed with Inie.

Knowing everything about the one you love is a universal desire, and this might be the last chance to see Inie unclothed.

But Star Nail was present, and if Marin’s impure thoughts were detected, she’d surely stop her.

Maintaining naturalness and coolness was key to succeeding in this plan.

“Oh, she’s sweating. Since we’re here, why don’t we wipe her down?”

Making it seem coincidental and leaving the decision open.

This way, it wouldn’t appear unnatural.

“You’re right. Oh, I think this medical bed has an automatic cleaning function.”

“Really? Is that so?”

Marin’s ambition was thwarted by Star Nail. Operating the bed’s remote, Inie glowed white, and the sweat disappeared.

“Is that alright? Is there anything else we should do?”

“There’s nothing left but to wait for Inie to wake up. Let’s go home today.”

Deflated, Marin lost enthusiasm and, after a brief glance at Inie’s sleeping face, said so.

“Right… oh, wait a moment!”

On her way out, Star Nail remembered something, pulled out paper and a pen from her bag, wrote something quickly, and placed it on the table with the apple juice bottle as a weight.

“Let’s go now.”

“What did you write?”

“Umm… it’s a secret!”

As Marin and Star Nail left the guest room, hours later…

Inie finally woke up.