Magical Girl Volunteer
That day, Jeanne was waiting in her office located in the Fairy Realm for a magical girl to arrive.
Sitting in her chair, she processed paperwork related to healing while sipping coffee.
Jeanne, one of the world’s foremost practitioners of recovery magic, ranked among the top ten magical girls despite having a relatively low monster slaying count due to her exceptional abilities.
While she was the weakest among the top-ranked fighters, her contributions to the world placed her at the top tier among magical girls. The magical girl ranked 9th below her was stronger in combat but had too many non-combat responsibilities like paperwork and mediating between the Magic Bureau and the Fairy Bureau, preventing her from ranking higher.
Jeanne tossed the paperwork aside and read the information on Inny Flowering that Kaede had given her via terminal.
Despite having her records reset just a week ago, Inny had already defeated several C-Rank monsters and started climbing the rankings again.
Her profile remained unchanged, but a new nickname “Inie” had been added.
Jeanne thought it over and decided calling her Inie wasn’t a bad idea since the original name was quite long.
She had heard from Thalagong that Kaede had taken considerable risks to have Inny’s records reset. The Magic Bureau had protested, claiming foul play and insisted magical girls should belong to them.
Kaede threatened to dismantle Japan’s Magic Bureau if they didn’t stop their nonsense, leaving Inny’s situation ambiguous. Surprisingly, the fairies also accepted the reset, causing Inny to drop from 18th place back to rookie status.
Jeanne looked at Inny’s current rank, which had climbed to 52nd, and pondered.
The first time Jeanne saw Inny, she was practically a corpse – a gaping wound in her abdomen, shattered bones, severe burns, and massive blood loss. It was astonishing her heart was still beating. Was it because she was a magical girl or something unique about Inny herself?
Recalling this, Jeanne smiled faintly. Among all the grim sights she’d seen as part of her work, Inny’s condition had been one of the worst. For someone still alive, it was an extraordinary case.
While she still couldn’t revive the dead, she could heal the living.
Jeanne once investigated what made some magical girls capable of using recovery magic. Starting out of mere curiosity, she discovered a common factor: an underlying emotion driving their ability. Reflecting on this, Jeanne considered how the deep darkness within Inny might be contributing to her powerful recovery magic.
A knock sounded four times on the door.
“Come in,” Jeanne replied, snapping out of her thoughts.
A hooded girl in a white robe entered.
“Hello, I’ve been waiting for you. Nice to meet you, Inie.”
“May I clean your room?”
Seeing the state of disarray, with scattered papers and empty snack wrappers everywhere, Inny immediately offered to tidy up before even greeting Jeanne.
“Well, Thalagong helped clean not too long ago…” Jeanne remarked, watching Inny efficiently organize the room, at least around the sofa and table areas.
Inny then prepared coffee in the kitchenette and served both Jeanne and herself.
“I appreciate it. I do try to keep up with the cleaning, but I never seem to have the time.”
“Consider it thanks for your help. So, what will we be doing today?”
“Ah, you’re new, aren’t you? Let me briefly explain the free treatment sessions I organize.”
This treatment program, devised by Kaede, has been running for about five years. It treats not only regular injuries and illnesses but also magical conditions and mutations.
The initiative began due to declining physician numbers and medical supply shortages.
Official permission is obtained from each country where these sessions are held, so there are no complaints.
However, magical power has its limits, meaning only a certain number of people can be treated.
Consequently, hurtful comments from those who aren’t treated are frequent, questioning why children or others aren’t prioritized. This emotional strain causes many magical girls assisting Jeanne to eventually leave.
Jeanne herself remains unaffected by such criticism and continues her work earnestly, sometimes being called a saint.
The treatment session itself is straightforward: patients are treated in the order they arrive until the magical power runs out.
Security includes other magical girls and at least one high-ranking guardian.
Such strict measures were implemented after a designated extermination species attacked during a previous session, resulting in civilian casualties. Jeanne, having exhausted her magic, was unable to intervene, and several security magical girls were killed before reinforcements arrived too late.
Since then, security protocols have been significantly enhanced.
“Is everything clear?” Jeanne asked Inny, who nodded understanding the basics.
Though Inny knew from Demon that a high-ranked magical girl would be present, she hadn’t learned who specifically. She decided to ask now.
“Who is the high-ranked magical girl joining us?”
“Ah, you didn’t know? Today…”
Before Jeanne could answer, the door opened.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
A magical girl in a white pilot-like suit stood there – it was Glint.
“Hello Glint, thank you for coming. Inny, this is Glint, our guardian for today.”
“Inie? Ah, right, you can use recovery magic.”
Glint took a seat next to Inie and grabbed a snack.
Originally, Fleur (ranked 6th) or Thalagong (ranked 5th) was supposed to provide security, but Fleur was busy capturing a designated extermination species, and Thalagong was traveling for an extended vacation. With others unavailable, Glint was chosen instead.
“Shall we get going now?”
“I’d prefer to stay a bit longer, but since you’re organizing, I’ll follow your lead.”
As the two stood to leave, Inny quickly tidied up the cups and snacks before following them out.
They teleported to the Kansai Branch of the Magic Bureau where the branch director awaited, leading them to a conference room. Inside were several magical girls assigned to security duties, including Sweep, and a few operators.
After sitting down, the group began discussing logistics.
“This is our first time in the Kansai Branch, but I think we have the process down.”
“Yes, I’ve heard from the Kyushu Branch about the procedures… though, isn’t that white-robed figure…”
The director, noticing the white-hooded figure, asked Jeanne.
“She’s Inny, here to assist me. There may be some issues, but please don’t cause any trouble.”
Jeanne knew from Kaede that Inny was being targeted by the Magic Bureau, not necessarily to harm her but to recruit her into their ranks.
Inny’s abilities include standard magic, recovery magic, teleportation, and barrier penetration, suggesting possible spatial magic skills. Her presence alone improves survival rates for other magical girls and, combined with her own formidable combat abilities, makes her highly desirable to various branches.
However, relations between Inny and other magical girls are strained due to perceptions of her taking away potential earnings.
While some magical girls have been saved by Inny, overall sentiment among peers remains negative.
“I understand. I’d rather not die, so I’ll cooperate. By the way, are you aware of the incident in the Tohoku Branch?”
“You mean the dark magical girl? I’ve heard about it, but it doesn’t seem to be a designated extermination species, so we should be fine.”
Last week’s attempted murder involving a magical girl caused significant unrest both within the magical girl community and the Magic Bureau. Testimonies suggested corruption within the bureau, prompting immediate action from Kaede, ranked 1st. Corrupt officials were swiftly dealt with physically. The Tohoku Branch is now under surveillance by fairy bureau staff and the 9th-ranked magical girl.
Another topic of discussion was the mysterious magical girl wielding a black sword. Despite detailed descriptions from the victimized magical girl, her identity remains unknown, with searches across international databases yielding no results. Though suspected as a designated extermination species, no malicious actions have been confirmed thus far.
Meanwhile, Inny, hiding her face under the hood, engaged in conversation with Demon.
“Better safe than sorry. Shall our magical girls secure the perimeter while the White Knights handle the interior?”
“Yes, let’s ensure proper patient guidance. We have time, so let’s proceed.”
With that, the group left the conference room, led by the director. Vehicles awaited to transport them to the venue, though some security personnel would accompany on foot or flying.
Jeanne and Inny rode in a car while Glint traveled on her Lindworm. Their journey was broadcast on public television as part of promotional efforts for magical girls and the Magic Bureau.
At the venue, a large dome-shaped room, patients waited in organized lines according to their conditions, maintaining appropriate spacing due to the severity of some cases.
Magic Bureau staff handled patient guidance while Jeanne and Inny performed treatments following preliminary examinations.
“How much can you handle, Inny?”
“Without my staff, I’m not entirely sure, but I believe I can manage most cases.”
Jeanne, impressed by Inny’s capabilities, theorized that recovery magic stems from specific emotions, based on statistical analysis of other recovery magic users. She believed the strength of recovery magic correlates with the intensity of these emotions. Considering the deep darkness within Inny, Jeanne found herself smiling knowingly.
“Let’s alternate treatments then. While less efficient together, considering mana recovery, this approach works better.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll casually keep watch. Let’s hope for an uneventful day.”
Thus began Jeanne’s free treatment session, lasting from 9 AM to 6 PM with a lunch break. Thanks to Inny’s contributions, particularly when she requested permission to use wide-area recovery magic on batches of patients, all attendees were successfully treated.
Initially alternating treatments with Jeanne, Inny later requested permission to use area-effect recovery magic on groups of patients. Amused, Jeanne granted permission, despite her own limitations with such techniques.
Ultimately, Inny handled most physical injuries while Jeanne focused on diseases and special conditions, allowing them to treat everyone efficiently.
The Kansai Branch director was thrilled with the outcome and impulsively tried recruiting Inny, earning a glare from Glint.
Jeanne, enjoying the excitement, momentarily forgot her own vulnerabilities.
Returning to the Kansai Branch by car, an urgent communication interrupted their journey.
An S-Rank or higher monster had appeared.
“I’ve found you…”
The voice echoed ominously.
The location: Akashi City, Hyōgo Prefecture – their current position.
“…this time, I’ll kill you, Jeanne.”
“Interesting… being trapped in a barrier with just me and Inny… wouldn’t you say our luck’s run out?”
“I’ve encountered something similar recently… difficult to say…”
Suddenly, the driver and vehicle vanished, leaving Jeanne and Inny enclosed within the suddenly manifested barrier.
“Most likely, I inadvertently drew it upon myself…”
And so, Jeanne muttered wistfully, realizing the gravity of their situation.
