Chapter 160

The magical girl is involved in abductions (which is a crime).

After helping Rinde, I spent about two hours defeating monsters and aiding magical girls who were in danger.

By noon, I have to go home once, but I need to return earlier than Ren.

Since the rice was already cooking before I left the house, there’s no issue, and making udon doesn’t take much time either, so that’s fine too.

I’ll head back a little early to prepare lunch.

While boiling the udon and stuffing vinegar rice into deep-fried tofu, Ren came home.

“I’m back. It smells delicious.”

“Welcome back. For lunch, we’ll have udon and inari sushi.”

Living alone as a man, I can manage basic cooking, but this is the first time I’ve served food to someone else.

I never expected my first guest to be Ren.

“Is it ready yet?”

“Yes. All that’s left is to serve the boiled udon into the bowls.”

Ren carried the plate of inari sushi to the living room and prepared drinks for us.

Just as we were about to eat, Rinde visited.

“There’s some for you too, Rinde. Please sit down.”

“Oh, thank you very much.”

After serving Rinde her portion of udon and bringing it to the living room,

“Which would you prefer, chopsticks or a fork?”

“A fork, please.”

Rinde ate while saying how delicious it was, whereas Ren and I ate quietly.

Unlike yesterday, Ren was eating quickly with her chopsticks.

After finishing, we cleaned up the dishes and began discussing our plans for the afternoon.

“How did it go on your side, Ren?”

“I visited several branches, but they lacked energy. Moreover, the relationship between the staff and the magical girls seemed strained.”

So, Bayern’s words weren’t false.

Australia was also quite hostile, but when it came to life-or-death battles, cooperation was achieved.

…Partly because I threatened them, but still, they cooperated.

This is just my personal opinion, but bridging the gap between adults and children is difficult.

It works well while everyone is united, but small cracks grow larger, become fissures, and eventually everything collapses.

Once that happens, fixing it becomes extremely challenging.

And usually, the fault lies with the adults.

Power, money, honor, superiority…

For these reasons, magical girls were lured and corrupted.

Of course, there are cases where the magical girls themselves are at fault, but issues among magical girls could be handled internally.

The fact that designated targets haven’t caused historical disasters is evidence of that.

Despite their power, most magical girls are still children.

It’s the adults’ responsibility to guide them, yet…

“What will we do next?”

“We’ll visit the branches and intimidate them. Then, we’ll bring all the directors to Bayern’s place for negotiations.”

“But, is that really okay?”

It’s natural for Rinde to worry.

Though we’re talking about negotiations, what we’re actually doing is threatening and abducting people.

Magical girls, even if they’re high-ranking, don’t have the authority to use such aggressive tactics.

If things go wrong, it might escalate into an international incident.

“There’s no time for peaceful resolutions. Besides, if something happens, Arongante will surely handle it.”

That’s true, but I didn’t say it aloud.

I’m starting to understand why Arongante seems cold towards Ren.

“And if anything happens, I could handle all the monsters myself, rendering both the Magic Bureau and magical girls unnecessary.”

It’s an extreme argument, but technically correct.

Without monsters, the Magic Bureau and magical girls wouldn’t need to function.

We’d only need one or two people to support Ren.

In that case, discussions during this period wouldn’t be problematic.

…But not many magical girls can do that.

“Hmm, that’s probably impossible…”

“I can do it without any problem. And isn’t Inie capable as well?”

“For a few hours, it might be possible.”

By overusing Arcana powers, covering an area the size of England should be feasible.

There are concerns about handling SS-rank and irregulars, but it has been proven in Australia.

Rinde’s gaze has shifted from when we first met; she now looks at us like dangerous individuals.

Please don’t include me in that category of dangerous people.

I may borrow my strength, but Ren is naturally this powerful.

She’s truly monstrous.

“How did it go with Inie?”

“She was eliminating unslain monsters and aiding endangered magical girls. There’s no sign of that shadow yet, though.”

“Thank you for that time.”

Besides Rinde, there were several other magical girls in danger. After swiftly defeating enemies, I healed their injuries without them noticing and fled before they could thank me.

Additionally, I eliminated the remaining unslain monsters, which should improve the security situation somewhat.

That shadow refers to the witch, but Ren will understand that.

“That’s good. For now, it seems there aren’t any issues. Let’s head out soon. The transportation is up to you.”

“Understood. Which branch should we visit?”

I anticipated that response.

Since we’ll visit all of them anyway, it doesn’t matter which we start with.

There are six Magic Bureaus in England, including the main office.

I don’t remember their names, but the demon will surely handle it.

“Then, let’s teleport randomly.”

(I requested randomly.)

“Understood.”

After confirming that the two had grabbed my clothes, I asked the demon to teleport us.

Come to think of it, I didn’t specify where to teleport to, but I trust the demon knows what he’s doing.

When the scenery changed, there was a man sitting on an expensive-looking chair in front of us.

Ah, demons really are demonic after all.

“Wh-who are you?! Do you know who I am?!”

“Hmm? Aren’t you the director of the Newport branch?”

Ideally, we should have entered through the door, but thinking about it, this was bound to get rough anyway…

“Indeed… No, wait, your face seems familiar. Aren’t you from Japan…?”

“Introductions can come later. Let’s cut to the chase: What do you think of the current situation?”

The director hesitated slightly upon being questioned by Ren.

Since he admitted to knowing her earlier, he must be unsure how to respond.

If he answers incorrectly, he might be killed.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think so.

“—Things aren’t in good shape. However, I can’t fully trust the magical girls, nor can I trust Bayern. So, I believe my job is to do what I can.”

“Good. Then, will you lend us your strength to change the current situation?”

Incidentally, the demon has ensured no one can enter this room.

The director is likely wondering why no one is coming despite his growing sweat.

Even if reinforcements arrived, they wouldn’t stand a chance against Ren anyway.

“…Alright.”

“Inie.”

“Yes. I’ll be back shortly. Is there anything you want me to convey?”

“Tell them to prepare a conference room and wait there.”

“Wait! What exactly are you planning to discuss…?”

I touched the protesting director and teleported to Bayern’s location.

Bayern was doing paperwork as usual, but when we appeared, his eyes widened in surprise.

“This is a message from Ren. She’ll be bringing all the directors, so please prepare the conference room.”

“Hmm… Yes… Understood.”

Bayern tried to say something but probably realized arguing with Ren would be futile, so he simply nodded.

“I understand your concerns, but it’s too late for peaceful solutions. Just obey for now.”

“You’re right… I’ll leave it to you.”

Everything has been delayed too long.

The witch might make her move at any moment. We can’t afford to waste time.

After teleporting back to Ren’s location, I found her sitting in the director’s chair doing work.

“What are you doing?”

“I asked Arongante to ensure things won’t fall into chaos if the director disappears. Better safe than sorry. Let’s move on to the next place.”

“This is technically a crime, right?”

As Linde pointed out, Arongante will likely smooth things over in the end.

We then visited the remaining five locations and delivered the directors to Bayern’s place.

At one location, there was a guard magical girl, but Ren quickly incapacitated her.

Although “incapacitated” means a magical strike, the damage was severe.

Without my healing magic, she might have been hospitalized for a while.

Now that we’ve gathered all the Magic Bureau directors, the meeting begins. I hope the discussions proceed smoothly.

Even if someone causes trouble, their only option is to resign as director.

If they refuse to step down, Ren will handle them.

I won’t detail how, but they won’t be seen again.

Rinde remained nervous throughout, but hopefully, she learned something.

Without power, one can do nothing.

Those who possess power must shoulder corresponding responsibilities.

If Ren refuses to perform her duties as a magical girl, Kaede will likely take action.

She’ll pressure them to either quit or continue working, leading to a situation similar to the current state of England’s directors.

Honestly, I don’t know why Ren became a top-ranked magical girl, but for now, she’s forcefully getting the job done.

This attitude is something Rinde should learn from.

“Now that we’ve finished, what should we do with the magical girls?”

“They’ll figure it out somehow. Once we deal with the troublesome adults, there are plenty of ways to handle it.”

“Understood. Then, let’s head back.”

After grabbing Ren and Rinde, we teleported to the headquarters of the British Magic Bureau.

The upcoming meeting could decide the fate of Britain itself.

Bayern is on Arongante’s side, but his true intentions remain unclear.

And the other directors are all questionable characters.

Let’s hope they can reach a consensus.