The magical girl ran away.
“Shaa! I won!”
The monster turned to dust, and Nightmare’s triumphant cry could be heard. There were several dangerous moments, but it seems Marin ultimately succeeded in defeating the monster with a powerful technique. Her enhanced form had already been undone when she used her special move, so perhaps there are some limitations?
With that settled, I was about to release the Arcana…
…but I needed to descend to the ground first.
I retrieved the gem I had given as equipment to the two individuals and deactivated the Arcana.
“Huh?”
“Hm?”
There was no sign of physical discomfort or fatigue after using the Arcana.
But…
“Hermes!”
“Don’t shout! Consider this punishment for your foolishness and a side effect of releasing the Arcana simultaneously. You’ll return to normal in about two days if you eat properly and get enough rest.”
If Hermes called my actions foolish, all I can do is apologize, though I never expected things to turn out like this.
“By the way, can I still fight in this state?”
“Do you really think you can fight when you can’t even hold your staff properly? Incidentally, activating the Arcana will also be impossible. Farewell.”
Hmm, well, two days isn’t too bad, I suppose.
“Wasn’t that Hermes just now? What’s going on?”
“This would take too long to explain, but let’s deal with the present situation first.”
My robes became baggy, and my already long staff became difficult to handle. I didn’t expect to shrink like this…
In anime terms, I suppose this is called infantilization?
I’m already small, but now I’ve gotten even smaller.
Additionally, wearing my hood makes it hard to see ahead. It can’t be helped if the edge of the hood covers my eyes.
“Eh? Inie?”
“What? Did you shrink or something?”
It seems both of them noticed me, but I currently can’t see anything. Reluctantly, I must remove my hood…
And by the way, my undergarments are in a precarious state, so I need to be careful.
“It’s me. I’ve only shrunk due to the side effects of the power, so please don’t worry.”
With a sigh, Marin approached briskly. This is not good, but in my current state, I can’t run away fast enough. Here, I shall stand tall and face this like an adult.
“Is something wrong?”
Marin began patting me down and then pinched my cheeks. She then picked me up…
“I have business to attend to, so I’m leaving. Farewell.”
“Wait!”
Nightmare stopped Marin, who was trying to take me somewhere with me in her arms. Yeah, we should wait. She looked quite serious, which was a little scary.
“What!? Are you trying to take this child from me?! I’m going to live with him!”
“First of all, isn’t Inie Thalagong’s sister? Besides, we need to report this to Arongante…”
Nightmare struggled to pry me away from Marin, who refused to let go.
By the way, the reason I remain silent is because interfering might make things worse. As a rule of adult conduct, sometimes it’s best to let events unfold naturally.
Allowing yourself to be carried by the current minimizes damage.
“Hey! Seriously. Why are there so many strange people related to Inie… Anyway, once we’re back and finished reporting, you can do as you please, but I’m going back.”
“…Understood.”
Nightmare managed to wrestle me away from Marin, who reluctantly let go. But did anyone bother to ask my opinion?
“Can we teleport in this state?”
“Is it possible?”
“No problem.”
“It’s fine. Just hold onto me loosely.”
Marin took my right hand, while Nightmare held my left. Naturally, I ended up stretching my arms upward, almost like swinging on a swing.
“Counting on you.”
“Acknowledged. I’ll send you directly to where Arongante is.”
When we teleported with three people, we ended up in a different room than the usual meeting chamber.
“We’re back…”
Arongante froze upon noticing us.
“It’s a side effect of the battle. I’ll return to normal in two days, so please don’t worry.”
“I see… Is your health alright?”
“Compared to before, I’m doing relatively well.”
After fierce battles, I usually end up bedridden, so considering that, this time is somewhat better.
“I understand, but please have Jeanne check you later. We’ll hear individual reports, so the two of you aside from Inie may rest.”
Despite their attempts to stay, both were asked to leave by Arongante and exited the room.
Left behind were me, Arongante, Shirokigawa, and a few fairies.
“Now, first of all, regarding this incident—officially it will be announced as a terrorist attack—but thanks to your cooperation, the threat of witches has become globally recognized.”
Even though the audio was cut off, the video was viewable everywhere. Once it became clear how many monsters could be controlled, the Magic Bureau—effectively managed by Arongante—won’t be able to leisurely leave everything to the magical girls anymore.
Countries around the world will need to unite against witches, but unfortunately, such unity doesn’t come easily.
“There will be a global conference later. Inie will need to attend with me. Ideally, we’d like Inie to act freely, but…”
Arongante sighed deeply, looking troubled.
“Sorry to say, I don’t want to drag Inie into the dirty world of adults, but we can’t ignore such significant results, especially given the threat of witches. I’ll inform you of the details later, so let’s proceed to the main topic.”
The introduction felt rather long, but I’ll leave this matter to Demon. While the task remains unchanged, it’s troublesome to deal with unnecessary interference.
If we have any weaknesses, they can be used to silence fools.
(Go ahead with the information gathering.)
“Understood.”
“When the witch specified the time, only Inie’s monitor showed noise and went blank. Do you have any idea why?”
(Is it okay to mention Shengxi?)
“It’s fine to discuss the extent of the fight and defeat. Even I don’t know exactly what happened. Perhaps blame the noise on Shengxi?”
Ah, halfway through, she went berserk—or rather, entered full combat mode, erasing Demon’s consciousness.
Reflecting on it now, neither of us were truly human at that point. Describing us as beasts focused solely on fighting would be more appropriate.
Had Shengxi not created a barrier, we would have destroyed Australia ourselves.
Though it ended in mutual destruction, I wouldn’t mind facing such a formidable opponent again.
“I don’t know about the noise, but it was probably caused by Shengxi appearing.”
“I see. So it was Shengxi. By the way, what happened to her?”
It was fortunate I didn’t lie unnecessarily. I hadn’t realized her figure was visible before Demon cut off the video.
“I killed her.”
“Yes… That’s something we adults should have done, but it’s regrettable to place such responsibility on a young child like Inie twice…”
Any 11-year-old who kills someone and remains unperturbed would surely provoke thoughts in anyone.
Either unsettling feelings or disappointment.
If only I could express emotions more openly, it might change how people perceive me, but regardless of how they feel, nothing will change.
Besides, I’ll disappear eventually anyway.
For someone as broken as me, murder isn’t much of an issue.
“It’s fine. This is my job and my duty.”
Arongante glanced at Shirokigawa, who shook his head. Then Arongante sighed.
“Even if I say this, I doubt you’ll listen, but please take care of both your body and mind. Normally, you’d need to be hospitalized for your mental state, but without you, we wouldn’t be able to escape this predicament. There’s more I’d like to say, but please rest thoroughly. And tomorrow morning, go see Jeanne. That’s an order.”
I am aware that my mental state isn’t normal, but is it really that bad? This is the third time I’ve killed, and the opponents weren’t exactly pure humans. At the very least, I can judge right from wrong, and while I’ve broken laws—like misusing teleportation or executing certain magical girls—that’s something Demon knows about too.
(What do you think?)
“You can’t do whatever you want just because you’re not doing bad things, right?”
Apparently, Demon agrees with Arongante.
This report felt more like eighty percent preaching, but I acknowledge my own faults this time. It’s better to nod obediently.
“Understood.”
“Your calm response leaves me wondering if you truly understand, but please rest absolutely. With those two coming, things will get chaotic again, so feel free to teleport home early. Lastly, thank you very much this time. On behalf of humanity, I express my gratitude.”
Personally, being thanked like this feels worse than being scolded. That’s why I dislike affiliating with any group.
(Please handle it.)
“Alright, alright.”
I lightly bowed to Arongante and then had Demon teleport me. Many things happened this time, but this was the most unexpected event yet. It’s about as surprising as when my body disappeared or when my records were erased.
Moreover, even after returning, I can’t rest immediately.
After all, I still need to explain myself to Demon.
