Chapter 57

The laughing witch and the dejected magical girl.

In the room where Rinne always reads books, a rift appeared, and the three of them emerged from it.

There was a round table in the room, and the witch was sitting there waiting.

“How was she?”

After returning from Inie’s attack, the witch offered tea to the three of them and gestured for them to sit. The three were somewhat surprised, but since the witch is known to appear suddenly, this wasn’t unusual. Without much resistance, they sat down on the chairs and took a rest.

“The actual encounter with her was truly amusing. Moreover, compared to the information from Lockwert, she turned out to be better in a good way.”

Rinne handed over the recording of the battle to the witch, who then watched it.

Rinne seemed pleased, but Shengxi had a bitter expression on her face. Though Inie had severed her arm, Rinne had healed it; still, Shengxi was dissatisfied with having been interrupted and essentially losing to Inie.

Considering how Lockwert had lectured them earlier, this defeat was hard to accept.

Even Shengxi herself couldn’t tell if she would have won against Inie had the fight continued.

However, as the operation was under Rinne’s command, going against it wasn’t an option.

Meanwhile, Lockwert was calmly drinking tea in front of Shengxi with a composed demeanor.

“Hmm, this is quite interesting. From what I see here, she hasn’t awakened, nor is she borrowing the power of Arcana.”

Having seen Inie transform into her second form, the witch laughed delightedly.

“Can you figure out what this is from my perspective? Not only does she possess two forms, but she’s clearly different from before.”

To Rinne, the magical girl named Inie was incomprehensible. Despite being clearly one of their side’s magical girls, she somehow remained on the other side.

Looking into Inie’s murky eyes, Rinne recalled her own past and attempted to bring her back to their side, but was ultimately rejected.

From the combat data alone, it was evident that Inie possessed extraordinary talent in healing magic and harbored immense darkness within.

Though the witch had been tasked with killing Inie, Rinne couldn’t fully let go and ended up letting her go.

“Seeing that nothing changed during the white phase… perhaps there has been some change in her mental state.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“During the white phase, she stays at the back, but in the black phase, she moves to the front. Probably, she’s found a reason or something she wants to fight for.”

The witch concluded that this was merely a hypothesis.

Magical girls are unpredictable beings; even unexpected changes like Enhanced Forms must simply be accepted.

“And for Shengxi to lose an arm… well, it seems the Demon has gained an interesting piece.”

“I won’t lose next time…”

“Winning or losing doesn’t matter. More importantly, forget about Japan for now and go kill a few top-ranking magical girls from America.”

Among the global rankers, many Japanese ones are not necessarily stronger but have peculiar traits, which is why the witch often postpones dealing with them. Especially the top two—when they’re serious—are opponents the witch prefers to face last.

“Shall I stay behind then?”

It sounded as though Rinne was asking if the three of them should go, but Rinne questioned the witch. Unlike Jeanne, Rinne rarely leaves the base unless absolutely necessary due to fewer combat options.

“Either way, just take out the 8th or 9th ranker—or both, if you can.”

“I’ll go. Lockwert, count on you.”

“Sure thing. Take a break first.”

Still feeling unsatisfied, Shengxi urged Lockwert to go immediately, but Lockwert leisurely sipped tea and rested. Lately, except for matters concerning Jeanne, Lockwert didn’t seem very motivated to work.

Until recently, due to mission failures and being defeated by Jeanne and Inie, Lockwert had worked diligently, but having repaid those debts, she entered a rest mode.

“If you don’t kill Inie, I won’t say anything, but if you act too independently… you know what will happen, right?”

“Of course. Sorry for dragging you along with my whims this time.”

After finishing the video, the witch gave Rinne a warning, which Rinne accepted and apologized for indulging in his personal desires.

“But Inie is intriguing… I might bother her later. My current playmates are only Demons after all…”

“Hasn’t anyone else contracted with the other Arcanas?”

“It seems not. There are four survivors left, but only the Demon has made a contract. How ironic that only the escaped Arcana managed to find a contractor…”

Although her face was hidden under the hood, Rinne felt the witch was smiling.

Even though the final outcome was predetermined, as long as the Arcanas existed, the witch wouldn’t bring about the end of the world until they were defeated. This was a self-imposed rule of the witch, though the reason remains undisclosed.

However, Rinne vaguely understood the reason.

Regardless of the reason, those gathered under the witch agreed with her philosophy and accepted the conclusion.

Rinne was no exception, but ever since noticing Inie, she started pursuing a different goal. What exactly that goal was, Rinne wouldn’t reveal.

But Rinne believed that this purpose wouldn’t lead to a bad outcome for the witch.

“Since I’ve gotten the answers I wanted, I’ll be off. Contact me if anything happens. And Shengxi, Lockwert, I’m counting on you with the American business.”

Summoning a magic circle, the witch stepped onto it and disappeared somewhere.

“Well, you two. I’m going to relax, so I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yeah. Come to me if you get injured.”

Rinne left the room and headed toward the hot springs.

Compared to Shengxi, Rinne wasn’t covered in rain or mud, but she was slightly dirty. Even after transforming back, dirt and grime wouldn’t disappear. Therefore, the base was equipped with hot springs to clean off such stains.

Initially, there were only showers, but due to certain circumstances, hot springs were installed. Rinne, who happened to enjoy hot springs, appreciated this addition.

1

Marin had been locked in her room since the group training day for newcomers.

Despite receiving messages from Star Nail, Shirokigawa, Mika, and Sweep, Marin ignored them all.

Not that she didn’t want to reply—it was that she lacked the energy to do so.

Naturally, Marin’s parents were worried, but Marin hadn’t said anything to them.

(What do I even want to do?)

Marin, who dreamed of becoming a magical girl to protect everyone, had always been saved by Inie when it mattered most.

She wanted to help, yet she was helped; she wanted to stand beside others, yet she could do nothing…

These thoughts swirled inside Marin, trapping her in a maze without an exit.

Marin was by no means a weak magical girl.

In fact, among her peers, she stood out significantly.

At the age of eleven, she became a magical girl and, by the time she was six months in, she could already contend with B-Rank monsters. Now, after a year, she had awakened and could even defeat A-Rank monsters alone.

She wasn’t arrogant or complacent.

She never missed a day of training and had even devised ways to stabilize her Enhanced Form.

Yet, it still wasn’t enough.

Younger than Marin and her savior, Inie loomed large as both a guiding light and an insurmountable wall.

With spider-type monsters, M·D·W, and Doppelgangers…

Inie always stood in front of Marin, fighting with her small body.

Ideally, Marin should have been the one standing in Inie’s place.

Marin became a magical girl to protect—not to be protected.

Yet, in reality, Marin had become someone who needed protection.

Trapped within her shell, Marin repeatedly questioned herself.

There was no answer forthcoming…

Did Marin desire overwhelming violence capable of destroying everything?

Or did she seek absolute power to protect everything?

Marin tightly gripped the blanket around her and weakly shook her head.

“No! That’s not it! I…”

All she wanted was to be by Inie’s side…

Tears streamed down her cheeks, soaking the blanket.

At that moment, Marin was not a magical girl but just a young girl.