Chapter 164 : Epilogue 2 [Colorless Magical Girls] (1)

On a spring day with refreshing breezes blowing.

The wide grassy field used as the Magical Girl Academy’s exercise ground and training field was bustling with the sound of one woman.

“Now, do it like this here!”

Under the warm sun, a woman was demonstrating various movements in front of girls. Following her movements, her hair arranged with a hairpin and ample dobok skirt fluttered, leaving afterimages.

As silver and green taeguk swirled, the woman poured out continuous attacks like a living storm.

Air exploding with one punch.

Space splitting with one kick.

Though it was a terrifying continuous attack just to look at, it wasn’t enough to surprise the girls watching it.

Because they had grown up watching much more terrifying and mysterious magic of witches since they were old enough to understand.

For the girls, it was just annoying to have practical training time after this.

“I can’t do splits like that…”

“I’m a summoner type, do I need to learn such things?”

“More than that, can’t we just push with telekinesis?”

The girls clearly remembered the appearance of witches showing intense fights in <Witches’ Duel>, but. There weren’t many among them who fought crudely with just bare hands like the practice teacher in front of them.

“These days <Witches’ Duel> is a firepower battle…”

“Yeah, wasn’t the new participant amazing this time?”

Though they knew the practice teacher once achieved an undefeated champion record in <Witches’ Duel>, that was just a past from several years ago, so. They still admired magic much more than physical combat.

“Always making us run and punch… this is why Magical Girl Academy PE class is boring.”

“I wish magic practice time would come quickly.”

The girls admired witches who fought more elegantly and coolly… like Sato Hana the Witch of [Swift] or their principal who fired massive psychic powers.

The sparkle of yellow Milky Way filling the sky.

Flame lotus obscuring even the magical beasts summoned by Mines.

Compared to the powerful magic of brilliant and beautiful witches, the practice teacher’s demonstration was just crude punching.

“This… isn’t a magical girl’s way of fighting.”

“Right, magical girls’ fights should be brilliant and beautiful.”

Letting such voices of complaint pass through one ear, the woman who had been showing fierce fighting against imaginary enemies for a while shouted to the girls.

“Now look, like this. If an enemy suddenly appears from behind, aim for the stomach rather than the head or legs, like this!”

Boom!

The fist thrust without even looking back split the air and made a huge explosive sound. Where that fist was aimed was the estimated location of an approaching enemy’s abdomen behind the woman’s back. The fist extending towards that spot created wind pressure up to over 100 meters away.

The movement of grass taking the shape of a fist and appearing up to 100 meters away was amazing, but.

That was it.

For girls who weren’t going to fight the practice teacher anyway, it was just a somewhat interesting fist wind.

“Heh, this is a realm called ‘Hundred Step Divine Fist’. It’s a difficult realm that can’t be imitated with half-hearted punching, so you guys just need to hit enemies behind…”

“We can just attack about 100 meters away by firing emission magic.”

“…”

Stop

The woman in her late 20s, Ichika, who had been excitedly showing martial arts to the girls… new magical girls, had to stop her demonstration at those words. Not only was she upset at the Hundred Step Divine Fist realm being treated as an inferior version of magic firing, but she was more upset that they didn’t understand the meaning of this class itself.

‘These brats…!! How precious a teaching this is…!’

The realization of Ichika who spent most of her 28 years of life on battlefields

The essence of one who fought and overcame humans, magical girls, demons, Mines, trials… everything

She was displeased that they considered this precious realization just a boring PE class.

‘These little brats might have to go out and fight someday too. Is this soft method right?’

The magical girl training Ichika remembered was practical combat itself.

Pain with blood splattering

Determination surpassing even that

Clashing beliefs

Though the desperation of Chinese magical girls dreaming of revenge on Scavenger and girls belonging to the White Wing Unit was still vividly present before her eyes. Half-listening to the precious realization salvaged from that chaos…

‘I’m worried… Big sister is really worried about you guys.’

From when she was first hired as a practice teacher, Ichika argued in meetings that rather than this bland method, it would be better to all rush to the garden and fight directly hitting each other. But Yuki rejected it, saying the education method for new magical girls shouldn’t be the same as for themselves who faced destruction right before them.

-Because that must be achieved by one’s own will.

Because our goddess just gave us opportunities to stand up on our own.

We must give opportunities to our children to stand up on their own and watch over them.

We must have patience to wait for children to grow into bigger trees, as much as the newly given peace and time.

Because in that gaze like white flames burning that Yuki showed, Ichika saw desperation for tolerance and realization she herself hadn’t received. So Ichika quietly withdrew her practical combat-oriented training plan.

“…Haah.”

Master.

‘Was this how you felt when you abandoned the old rough methods and taught us new training methods?’

Ichika sighed and plopped down in front of the magical girl who made the magic firing platform comment.

“Kids. Why do you think you need to learn how to fight?”

“Umm. Mines?”

“That’s right, but S-class Mines that tell you to run away if possible are mostly taken care of at the witch level… frankly speaking, at Sato Hana’s level. What’s left are just small fry, and that much is enough to experience in actual combat.”

“Ummm… <Witches’ Duel>?”

“Is this some kind of fighting athlete training center?”

“But it’s a fact that magical girl applicants increased a lot thanks to that program…”

“Ah geez! I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Ichika ignored the chattering girl’s words and continued speaking.

“The reason teachers want you to know how to fight is because we don’t know what might happen.”

“What?”

“To put it bluntly, what if an enemy we witches can’t defeat suddenly appears? What will you do then? Who could have expected even us strong nations and adults would be helpless against demons right away.”

“…Goddess?”

“Well that’s true. But it’s too different from the point of my words so let’s move on… anyway.”

Ichika calmed her heart surprised by the mention of Hikari, and looked up at the sky for a moment to gather her thoughts.

Ah

What was I trying to say?

What Ichika and her friends experienced while pioneering a path no one had taught them.

Words she wanted to say just as a senior who had gone ahead first.

Expectation that you would go towards a better path than us.

“Um. Uh… what I’m saying is this. We just wished someone had taught us these things.”

“…”

“How to deal with it when a magical girl with massive power suddenly appears holding a grudge.”

“…”

“How to fight to get less hurt when incredibly huge demons and cunning Mines suddenly appear threatening people.”

“…”

“How we should have fought when companies trying to monopolize magical girls’ power all picked fights at once while the goddess was gone.”

Ichika summarized her somehow lengthened words in one sentence.

“We just wished someone had taught us. So I hope you guys know more things than us and get less hurt… that’s what I’m saying.”

“…”

Whoosh

A sea breeze containing warmth blew to Elysion floating in the sky, and swept over the heads of Ichika and the children sitting quietly holding their own thoughts.

Those gathered on the wide grassy field for the Academy’s PE class sat feeling that breeze.

Ding-dong-dang-dong

The bell sound heard from far away.

“Sorry, I brought up such a serious story suddenly from the beginning of the semester. Let’s end today’s class here.”

Ichika just flopped down on the grass.

The magical girls walked towards the Academy building while chattering about the next class time or where to play with friends after school.

“Um… teacher.”

“Yes?”

When Ichika turned her head to look, it was the girl who made the magic firing platform comment earlier.

She had pondered deeply about the words Ichika gave earlier.

“Come to think of it, all Mines are swift, and adults trying to obtain magical girls’ power have scary guns, right?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think there will be many situations where we can always maintain a 100-meter safety distance.”

“…Yes.”

The girl kicked the ground with a somewhat apologetic look, but in the end couldn’t finish her words and ran straight into the Academy.

So I’ll listen more carefully next time.

She seemed to want to say something like that.

“Pfft.”

Ichika felt somewhat proud hearing those words.

Though she was clumsy and unskilled, it seemed she succeeded in giving at least one person a chance to think again.

‘Leader, I’ve become able to teach someone now too… just one person.’

Somehow it felt like a warm wind blew from the moon floating far away in the sky.

Ichika, who had been lying down for a while feeling proud like that, belatedly realized she had practice education for another class and ran away in a hurry.

* * *

“Noa?”

“Sis! Hello!”

“…Hello.”

Sato Hana, who was flying around the world eliminating threatening Mines as usual today. She chuckled looking at the paper held out by two junior division graduate magical girls.

[Junior Division Graduation Exam: Experience activities working together with witches working in the field.]

“…Magical girls these days do things like this too.”

Hup

Hana suddenly realized the words she muttered sounded too old and covered her mouth.

As if it wasn’t enough, she had shuddered seeing witches who were active in the same generation as her changing their first digit one by one as she approached her mid-20s.

That’s right.

Her current age is the same as when her parents had her.

On the day Hana realized that fact, she stopped dispatches with the excuse of being sick and walked along the beach for a while, complaining towards the moon.

‘Ah, not yet… not even at Ichika’s precarious level.’

Though Hana still swayed her long side tail she kept tied, she wondered if it was right to maintain this hairstyle at this age. But after seeing a girl’s disappointed face asking why she changed her hairstyle when she went out with her hair completely loose once, she kept it.

An age where even hairstyle becomes something to be conscious of.

Hana had finally come to that age.

‘…But something interesting is still interesting.’

In Hana’s memory, magical girls were girls who fought by their own will following the goddess’s guidance, but it was just interesting that such systematic education was carried out since the Academy was established.

These two girls came as part of that education.

Sato Noa and Yamashita Asuka.

“Hmm… so Noa, you said you want to follow me?”

“Yes! I want to fight together with sis!!”

“Did you say you want to follow me too, Yamashita-san?”

“Yes, and please just call me Asuka.”

“Okay, got it Asuka.”

A twin-tailed girl bouncing around happily about meeting her sister outside since earlier and a calm-looking girl wearing a horse head mask.

Between the two girls with completely opposite personalities, a reddish-brown cat was watching with its cloak fluttering.

“The education period is one week. I leave them in your care, guide.”

“Pfft, alright.”

Hana seemed to know who this cat with an old-fashioned way of speaking originated from, but. After hearing that realizing its own identity was its life’s task, she refrained from speaking.

“I look forward to working with you sis… no, field trip teacher!”

“I look forward to working with you, teacher.”

“Yes! Alright.”

Hana felt ticklish at the word teacher.

‘Teacher… I’ve become old enough to be called that.’

Though she had become the same age as when her parents gave birth to her, Hana still became the little magical girl in a yellow dress when visiting the cafe in Yokohama.

Ichika still laughed heartily and made silly jokes.

Kyoko brought coffee wearing clothes with strange patterns.

The three troublemakers of Yokohama were still playing pranks at the cafe even now after 12 years.

‘Have I really become an adult?’

Sumire who became the Witch Association president and fiercely checks numerous companies behind the scenes.

Yuki who gives merciful teachings to numerous magical girls as the principal of the Magical Girl Academy.

Besides them, numerous witches who lived in a similar era were fulfilling their responsibilities in their positions.

And Hana’s friend Hikari too…

“Sis!”

“Yes?”

“Where are we going today?”

“I do hope it’s an intense battlefield. It would be of great help for Noa’s education too.”

“…With the Witch of Swift.”

Hearing those words, Hana returned to reality.

To the reality her friend opened by sacrificing herself.

“…Huhu. Then shall we go on patrol together?”

“Great!”

“Yes!”

The young child who gave hope to adults became an adult who gives hope to young children.

That fact Hana herself couldn’t be certain of.

The white light flickering on the moon affirmed it.