Chapter 92

The magical girl and the two captured individuals.

“This is a good time, isn’t it?”

Morning, huh? What time exactly is “good,” though…?

(What time is it now?)

“It’s 6 AM. I woke you up a little earlier.”

It’s still dark at 6 AM in winter since the sun hasn’t risen yet.

And why is Tamake clinging to me?

Did she mistake me for some kind of hugging pillow?

I slip out of Tamake’s arms and get out from under the blanket.

I feel like I’ve recovered about eighty percent based on how I feel.

(Seems like there’s no issue with my condition. Once Tamake leaves, we’ll go too.)

“Understood.”

“Hmm? Is it already morning?”

“Yes, it’s 6 AM.”

“6 AM? …It’s a bit early, but I guess I’ll get up.”

Tamake gets up and starts changing clothes, so I leave the room and head to the living room.

Can she stop changing in front of me as if it’s nothing?

Let me make some warm drink and wait.

Still, if we have hojicha, it feels like we should also have coffee…

But if it’s not available, cocoa will do.

How are the morning news going?

I turn on the TV, and shortly after, Tamake comes downstairs from the second floor.

She seems sleepy, rubbing her eyes.

“Oh, you made cocoa. Thank you, I’ll start breakfast right away.”

“That’s fine.”

The news is all about monster damage and me.

However, this situation risks harm to ordinary people and magical girls.

Personally, I don’t particularly care, but since Fool helped me, I might as well take some righteous actions.

If it’s G to B-class monsters, I can instantly kill them, so it’s not much trouble.

Moreover, demons handle movement and reconnaissance for me, so if I want, I could eliminate a large number of monsters in one day.

As for B-class and above, due to their barrier intrusion, my presence would be discovered, so I can’t defeat them. But below that level, I alone can do the work of dozens of regular magical girls.

Besides, it seems demons can supply magic power, so as long as my physical strength holds out, I can keep fighting.

(Today seems like it’ll be about clearing out the weaker ones, doesn’t it?)

“Understood. By the way, during liberation, magic power is constantly supplied, but during normal times, it takes a bit of time, so be careful.”

I originally have a lot of magic power, so it won’t run out easily.

So far, the only times my magic power has run out were against strong enemies.

Even during normal times, sometimes it might be better to briefly activate liberation rather than just waiting.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I thought about making udon, but since dinner will be udon, I made rice porridge instead.”

That’s right, dinner was supposed to be kitsune udon.

Though it’s fine to have the same thing again.

“Then let’s eat.”

“Yes. Itadakimasu.”

The pot, having been left overnight, developed a deeper flavor and tasted very delicious.

After finishing the rice porridge, Tamake makes bento boxes and begins preparations to leave.

“Well, I’m off. I’ll come back once at noon.”

“I’m leaving too, so it’s fine if I don’t come back by noon. I’ll return by night.”

Tamake looks slightly sad.

“Okay. Uh, here’s the spare key. Make sure to lock the door properly before leaving.”

“Understood.”

“Then, I’m off.”

Without using a simple teleporter, Tamake just left.

The snow has stopped, but quite a bit has accumulated.

(Well then, I’ll head out too.)

“By the way, as a precaution, if you use magic, there’s a possibility of being detected, so try to quickly defeat the monsters and immediately disengage.”

It means I should fight the same way I did at the beginning.

It would be better to aim for defeating them even faster, just to be safe.

Also, I’d like to grab some coffee somewhere along the way.

A cup of coffee before work boosts motivation.

“Transformation”

My hair changes from white to blue, and I transform from cute pajamas into a white robe.

(Alright, time for battle.)

1

After leaving home, Tamake heads to the North Kanto Branch to hold a morning meeting with Amakaze, Shirokigawa, and Marin.

Yesterday, they failed to find any significant clues, and they couldn’t gather much useful information.

Amakaze also tried gathering information through different connections, but as an unknown magical girl, they couldn’t collect much valuable information.

There was infamous gossip, but recent events overshadowed it, and those who had been reporting on Blue Colette are now focused entirely on Inie and witches.

“We’ve checked various sources, but there’s no relevant information. Also, with the increasing monster attacks, people seem more concerned about whether it’s magical girl-related or monster-related damage.”

Amakaze shares what he couldn’t yesterday, explaining that he gathered no information, similar to Shirokigawa.

“After sending Star Nail and Marin home, I continued searching late into the night, but the result was the same as Amakaze.”

All they knew was the last place where Blue Colette fought a monster.

“Looks like we have no choice but to search blindly…”

Time is short, and there’s no information.

For this, Amakaze could only apologize.

The meeting ends, and as Star Nail and Marin are about to exit the room, Amakaze’s terminal rings.

“What’s wrong? ——Is that true! Marin, wait a moment.”

Amakaze stops Marin while surprised by the information received from the caller.

“Is something wrong?”

Marin is startled by Amakaze’s sudden loud voice.

“Inny Flowering appears to have resumed activity. Moreover, she’s destroying monsters at an incredible speed.”

Inny, who had disappeared since the New Demon War, has restarted her activities.

This surprises not only Amakaze but also the other three.

“Where is she?! Where is Inny located?”

“Calm down.”

Marin approaches Amakaze, slamming both hands on the desk.

Her expression is intense, causing Amakaze to flinch.

“Hem. According to the latest information, Inny Flowering’s presence has been observed not just in Japan but worldwide. However, the signal disappears almost instantly.”

It’s known that Inny can use transfer—spatial magic.

Even if found, it’s unlikely she stays in one place.

Realizing this, Marin grimaces bitterly.

With conventional methods, capturing Inny is nearly impossible.

Moreover, Marin knows firsthand that barriers are meaningless against her.

“I see… Thank you for the information. I’ll go look for Blue Colette.”

“Yeah. Once the matter with Blue Colette is resolved, we’ll think of some way to deal with this.”

Marin lightly bows to Amakaze and leaves the director’s office with Star Nail.

“Hey, Marin-chan.”

“What is it?”

“What’s Inny Flowering like, from your perspective?”

What kind of person…

She’s a savior, a partner in the academy, a role model…

And someone she deeply cares for.

“Why do you ask all of a sudden?”

“Well, I was thinking about it after M·D·W. Since you’re close to her, I was curious.”

Considering the earlier incident, more importantly, what Fūru said stuck with Star Nail.

Star Nail knows she caused Inny a lot of trouble during M·D·W.

At that time, she was extremely worried about civilian involvement in incidents and was upset because she had parted ways with allies like Blue Colette, leading her to be in less-than-optimal condition.

She made mistakes that caused serious injuries to Inny, and during the main battle of M·D·W, she wasn’t helpful, relying on Marin and Thalagong for help.

“Yes. She’s small, bad at expressing emotions, surprisingly strong and cool, hard to ignore when watching her, beautiful despite having an unbecoming gaze. I think she must have experienced something terrible in the past, but she never talks about it. Plus, she always puts herself on the line to protect everyone, like during the group rookie training…”

For about five minutes, Star Nail listens to Marin’s complaints-turned-praise for Inny.

Toward the end, it turned into a love confession, leaving Star Nail with nothing but a wry smile.

(Maybe Marin likes girls?)

Marin’s expression leans toward being disgruntled.

However, given the content, Star Nail wondered if that might be the case.

“——And then, when we went to a place called Numazu the other day…”

“Uh, Marin-chan? Shouldn’t we…?”

Thinking this would go on forever, Star Nail decided to intervene.

“Ah, sorry. I got carried away.”

Star Nail, not expecting such a reaction, vowed never to ask Marin about Inny again.

However, through this conversation, Star Nail learned that Inny might be a kind-hearted girl, more so than she imagined.

She saved Marin twice and assisted other magical girls as well.

During the New Demon War, she protected others while battling monsters that even top-ranked fighters struggled against.

Star Nail began to believe what Fūlu had said wasn’t entirely false.

“Anyway, shall we start looking around Myōgi?”

“Yes. There’s nothing there, but we’ll check just in case.”

The two enter the teleporter and teleport near Myōgi Shrine.

“It’s all white.”

“Yes. The snow was heavy yesterday. Even though it’s stopped, watch your step.”

They move by leaping from trees and rooftops.

The area around Mount Myōgi suffered severe monster damage, forcing people to abandon their homes, leaving it eerily quiet.

It used to be bustling with shrine visitors and hot spring-goers, but now it’s deserted.

While searching for Blue Colette, the two encounter scenes where other magical girls are battling monsters.

Generally, they don’t offer assistance unless asked, but when requested, they do help.

Normally, rewards would be split between the helper and the helped, but Marin and her companion decline to avoid wasting time.

As the hours pass and afternoon arrives, the two regroup at the North Kanto Branch after taking a brief break separately to discuss where to search next.

“Should we head south from Akagi towards Tochigi?”

“Yeah. We don’t have any leads or traces anyway.”

They teleported again…or so they thought.

The coordinates should have been Akagi Shrine, but they ended up in an unfamiliar place.

There should have been snow, but there wasn’t, and despite it being sunny, the sun was missing.

The landscape seemed artificially created—this place was…

“—Inside a…barrier?”

“Our terminals are out of range. This is just like that time…”

Too shocked by the sudden turn of events, the two freeze.

At that moment, something rapidly approached and swung at Marin.

“Ugh!”

Barely noticing in time, Marin blocks with her sheathed sword but gets blown back hard.

The impact sends Star Nail flying slightly but manages to land without falling.

As the dust settles, a single figure emerges—a “magical girl.”

Sinister horns, one black wing.

A girl resembling a monster wielding a spear.