The magical girl sleeps.
In a quiet room, the woman was reading a book.
The sound of turning pages echoed in the room as she enjoyed her reading with a cup of tea.
Suddenly, the space in the room warped, and out crawled a single magical girl.
“Oh? Rock… what happened to you?”
Lockwert’s condition after narrowly escaping Inie’s magic was terrible.
His body was covered in lacerations, and parts of him were frozen.
The ice was charged, constantly causing Lockwert pain.
“You got messed up after messing with Jeanne. Can’t you heal me?”
The woman, who had been reading, sighed and transformed into a magical girl.
She held a large red book, flipped through a few pages, and then cast a spell.
“All Heal”
A soft light enveloped Lockwert, the ice shattered into particles and disappeared, and his wounded body began to heal.
“I’m saved.”
“So, who did this to you this time?”
“That I don’t know. Do you know any magical girl wearing white robes with a hood on?”
The woman muttered “white… white,” then took out her smartphone.
After scrolling for about a minute, she showed the screen to Lockwert.
“Yes! That’s her! No doubt about it! Even though I saw her from afar, there’s no way I could have mistaken her.”
Lockwert pointed at the screen, a look of wild excitement on his face.
The screen displayed the profile and image of Inny Flowering.
“Inny Flowering. Nickname: Inie. She once ranked as high as 18th but was presumed deceased… right?”
“Ah? Rinne, do you know about her?”
While stretching to warm up his cold body from the ice, Lockwert asked Rinne.
“She’s the magical girl who defeated M·D·W prepared by the witch. Why don’t you know about her?”
“I’m not really interested in anyone other than Jeanne. But she’s supposed to be dead, right?”
“M·D·W’s self-destruction should have hit her directly, yet somehow she survived, and her ranking seems to have reset.”
Currently, only Demon knows why Inie is alive.
However, among humans, only Haruna and Inie are aware of Demon’s existence.
Demon always possesses someone except in front of Haruna, ensuring no one else discovers their existence.
When they will understand the reason behind hiding their existence remains unclear.
“Did the witch say anything?”
“She just laughed and didn’t give any information. Ultimately, how she survived remains a mystery. Perhaps she might become a problem for us.”
“As for me, I didn’t expect to get attacked when I went to kill her… I’ll definitely repay this debt.”
“Anyway, you’re not combat personnel, are you? The witch will get angry again if you keep doing this.”
“My death wouldn’t affect the plan, would it? Where is that witch now?”
“Hmm, either in Japan or the North Pole, I think.”
Lockwert gave an indifferent reply and started to leave Rinne’s room.
Rinne prayed he wouldn’t do anything foolish, but suddenly remembered a request from someone.
“By the way, Lockwert. Would you take a request as thanks for healing you?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“There’s a request to kill a magical girl next Wednesday. Her name is Take Mikadzuchi, a rookie magical girl from the Tohoku Branch in Japan.”
Lockwert rested his chin thoughtfully, recalling his recent unpleasant experience in Japan. He didn’t want another quick trip back.
Still, he feared the consequences if he didn’t do the work after being healed by Rinne.
Since the date was specified, he could rest until then.
Although Rinne healed the injuries inflicted by Inie, he still felt some discomfort deep within his body.
He convinced himself that accepting the request would suffice.
“Alright. Next Wednesday it is. Please send me the details later.”
“Understood. I’ll leave it to you.”
With that, Lockwert left Rinne’s room, leaving her alone.
“Inny Flowering…”
When Japan’s defense relied solely on Thalagong, the monster M·D·W appeared, sent by the one Rinne referred to as the witch.
M·D·W couldn’t defeat Thalagong, but its self-destruction affected others besides Thalagong.
Eliminating Thalagong, ranked fifth, and Fleur, ranked sixth, would remove obstacles for them.
But their plan was thwarted by a single rookie magical girl—someone completely off their radar.
Based on the short video of Inie battling M·D·W, it seemed unlikely Inie could defeat M·D·W.
This impression coincided with Kaede’s thoughts.
Rinne pondered whether Inie should be eliminated or observed.
Though the final decision rested with the witch, Rinne had to propose the options.
Everything would eventually vanish, but careful planning was essential to avoid failure.
Rinne finished her remaining tea slowly, placed the cup back on the saucer, reverted to her normal form, and resumed reading.
Called nihilists by Demon, they quietly but surely acted to bring about the world’s end.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the world, Inie was slacking off in the dormitory.
On weekdays, she trained with Marin in the morning and hunted monsters in the afternoon except for the first day.
Even on her rare days off, she assisted Jeanne with a healing gathering.
The event went smoothly, but afterward proved challenging.
Trapped within a barrier set by the nihilist magical girl Lockwert, they managed to defeat her thanks to Jeanne’s decoy strategy, but Lockwert escaped.
Just as things seemed over, an S-rank dragon-type monster appeared behind Inie.
Exhausted, Inie narrowly avoided the dragon’s breath attack thanks to Glint’s timely rescue.
Yesterday, she returned home utterly drained.
Haruna, always possessed by Demon, had changed into a tracksuit and lay face down on her futon while Demon fiddled with her phone and computer.
“Wow, Haruna’s thread is lively. Alright, deleting it!”
Demon cheerfully inspected and moderated the board titled “Newborn Inny Flowering Thread 101 [White Mage].”
Despite the prominence, having fans or detractors is common across all boards, but Inie’s remained stable due to Demon’s regular moderation.
When shown her own discussion board, Inie turned bright red and squirmed uncomfortably.
Even someone as mature as Inie finds embarrassing things embarrassing.
Inie’s day off was supposed to end with sleeping.
Resting on days off is an adult’s duty.
As Inie contemplated this, a shadow crept toward her.
Peace rarely visits the relatively unlucky Inie.
“Oh? Take Mikadzuchi is approaching your room.”
Annoyed internally, Inie sat up as Demon floated and possessed her.
Demon never appeared outside Inie’s presence.
Though curious, Inie received no answers from Demon.
The doorbell rang, prompting Inie to reluctantly head to the entrance.
Mika appeared on the monitor asking to come in.
“I have something to discuss briefly. Could you let me in?”
With a slightly uneasy expression, Mika requested entry.
Seeing this, Inie suspected trouble but allowed her inside.
She poured juice from the fridge into a glass for Mika.
“I apologize. I wanted to inform you that my solo hunting day has been decided for next Wednesday afternoon, whenever the monster appears.”
This was regarding the monster-hunting consultation Mika and Inie had agreed upon.
Mika’s uneasiness stemmed from the recent scandal at the Tohoku Branch.
One top-tier magical girl at the branch had secretly been killing others deemed troublesome, aided by colluding staff members, which had gone undetected until now.
However, a mysterious magical girl exposed the scene, leading to disciplinary action led by Kaede.
Just as everyone thought the incident was resolved, rumors spread to Mika suggesting that the life of a Tohoku Branch rookie was targeted.
Few remain calm when told their life is in danger, so Mika came to inform Inie about both the rumors and the confirmed monster-hunting day.
“I understand. I’ll keep that day free.”
“Aye, but supposedly, my life might be targeted. So, you don’t have to come, Inie.”
Fidgeting nervously, Mika observed Inie’s reaction.
Ideally, the hunt should be canceled, but once a monster appears, it must be dealt with.
Escaping from a monster isn’t acceptable behavior for a magical girl.
If her life were truly targeted, accompanying a veteran magical girl would be wise.
Yet, the number of available magical girls wasn’t sufficient to act on mere rumors.
Mika didn’t want to involve Inie, even if it was just hearsay.
“… Since I’ve been asked, I’ll go with you. I’ll handle anything that arises.”
After a brief pause, Inie met Mika’s gaze with a hazy expression.
Only Inie and Demon knew what compelled her to respond this way.
Claiming to dislike magical girls yet helping those who ask for aid reflects the contradictions inherent in Inny Flowering.
“U…m, thank you. Honestly, thinking about being rejected by Inie and then possibly targeted made me…”
Mika belonged to the Tohoku Branch recently marred by scandal, leaving her with few reliable allies.
Among her rookie peers, only Marin was trustworthy.
Though technically she could rely on Prizes, asking an adult for help feels awkward for a child.
Inie gently patted Mika’s head and whispered reassurances.
Her comforting gesture combined with her usually expressionless face caused Mika to laugh oddly.
“Kukuku. Sorry for being consoled by someone younger. Aye! I’m fine now! Thanks for the juice. See you next Wednesday!”
With a relieved smile, Mika left Inie’s room.
Watching her go, Inie returned to lying face down on her futon.
Recalling Mika’s sudden arrival and cheerful departure, Inie mused.
Magical girls are generally no good, and she dislikes them.
But helping someone in trouble is what adults do.
Using this excuse, Inie drifted off to sleep.
Her position shifted from prone to fetal, hugging her knees.
Demon watched silently, snapping photos.
