Magical Girl Lost to Nanomachines (1)

***

[So, aren’t you going to tell us about your good plan?]

“It’d be troublesome if the information leaked~ Won’t you wait until we make our move?”

Today, five days after the team’s meeting, Ciel continued another meeting with the Magical Girls displayed on the electronic billboard.

Though, ‘exchange’ was just Ciel letting the nagging squawks of those bitches, who were criticizing and arguing, go in one ear and out the other.

[You expect us to believe you? You, who’ve done nothing since the attack?]

[Hmph, they’re probably just spouting nonsense to cover up something they did without thinking.]

[Anyway, acting all high and mighty just because they became Magical Girls… It’s laughable, truly laughable.]

‘Hmm… As expected, our team’s image isn’t good…’

Colony Star 009… It was good that they found a team on Earth, but not a single one looked favorably upon Luna’s team.

The crackdowns had intensified, the Seven Stars’ executives had joined forces with the Unaffiliated, and the Seven Star known as Doctor had begun modifying monsters, making it too much for their strength… Ciel couldn’t avoid the arrows of blame.

Amidst the back-and-forth of questions and accusations, to the point where it felt less like a meeting and more like a hearing, Ciel calmly answered while drinking a milkshake.

“Even if I can’t go and help directly… this is the most I can apologize for on behalf of the leader.”

It was a lie, though. Neither the most, nor an apology.

Ciel had no intention of bowing to those bitches with lower ranks than her, nor did she want to sincerely cater to those who only faced her through a screen, boasting about themselves without a direct confrontation.

‘I have no intention of becoming friends with you all.’

It’s just… business. So Ciel will endure it a little.

Checking urban blind spots, identifying the joint areas of the armor worn by Klaus-affiliated monsters, tracking the movements of the Unaffiliated, and providing miniature drones and auxiliary weapons… To Ciel, this level of work was child’s play.

“If you inject Magical Power and use offensive magic, a laser will fire. If you hit the armor’s joints with it, it’ll be neutralized.”

[Hmph… Now I can finally see your sincerity. Alright, we’ll wait until you execute that plan. Oh~hohoho!]

[You can even do things like this? You’re quite useful~ Want to join our team?]

[Yeah~ We’ll treat you much better than that problematic team.]

“…..I appreciate the scout offer, but I like it here. And don’t get the wrong idea, you idiots★”

Ah… Ciel might have gotten a little heated.

Ciel didn’t want to close the lid that had been opened after so long. She was living a life full of stress, both in her current life and here, so it was a good thing.

“It’s true that I want to look good to you, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t look down on us. The reason there’s no internal strife is because it makes it easier to rebel; it’s not about who’s above and who’s below. We’re just in a business relationship. Understand?”

[How arrogant. That kind of outfit, their Guardian Force must be crazy too.]

[Oh~ She’s just wearing a swimsuit and a gown, so she’s not scary at all.]

[A nuisance team, no less… Fine, if you’re going to act like that, I’ll just tell those monster bastards what you’re up to~.]

Hah… This won’t do.

Ciel didn’t intend to cause trouble herself, so perhaps she should just scare them a little.

“Are you going to go talk to them as a civilian? Ms. ■■■ ■■?”

[..What? How do you know my name…?]

Slowly.

It wasn’t just knowing their names, but rather,

“I quite like my Magical Girl outfit. It looks better than your party whore costume, Ms. ■■ ■■.”

[W-what…? I’m not that kind of person?!]

As if she knew everything. Each time it was the next person’s turn, Ciel elaborated on their detailed information.

To those who looked down on her friends like insects-friends who, despite being a troublesome team, allowed Ciel to be comfortable and laugh freely.

Because Ciel wanted to properly show them who was superior.

“Why are you all so quiet? Oh, if you suddenly leave the meeting… your transformation videos and identities might just leak out somewhere, you know?”

Ciel had hoped it wouldn’t be like this here… but it was just like a company. Adults trying to bring down a CEO much younger than themselves, or those bitches puffed up with pride from the power they received from the Star’s Protection…

Furthermore, those making faces right now were far inferior to Soo-ah, the weakest in terms of firepower on the team, so that said it all.

If Ciel didn’t properly crush them, they might try to crawl back up again. She had wanted to treat everyone as equally as possible, but it seemed she had to let them know who held power over whom.

“I sought you out because I want to get things done properly. If I put my mind to it, I can control Earth’s network however I want.”

“How about it, does it feel a bit more real now? Ms. ■■ ■■■, the fake virgin who gets 50… no, 50,000 yen per job in Shinjuku. Using Magical Girl abilities for hymen regeneration, isn’t that a waste? I’ve never seen such magic before… Is it a unique ability?”

[Y-youuuu…!]”

“Hey, as a Super Genius and a pure virgin, I don’t really know, but what does it feel like to be poked by that meat stick? You were howling with such pleasure… Should I show it?”

[W-wait…!]”

If words couldn’t control them, then Ciel had to put a leash on them.

Ciel sequentially pulled out electronic billboards from the ceiling and floor, then began playing videos that exposed the records of Magical Girls from other countries, even their identities.

Ordinary part-timers, streamers, mops… Ciel didn’t expose the identities of the team leaders who had remained silent. They were the kind of kids who’d at least get halfway there if they just stayed quiet… so Ciel was rather grateful.

Because only the leaders of the three teams needed to be disciplined.

“Let’s all rebel amicably~ Oh, and the drones I gave you? The moment they arrive in Korean airspace, I’ll have control over them, so don’t get any premature ideas~. Hehet★”

[…]

[…]

[…]

“….Aren’t you going to answer?”

『Aura of Dread Charisma LV7 is activated.』

『The target will shrink back and feel fear towards the caster.』

As Ciel’s eyes shone like emeralds and she slowly rose from her seated position, the faces of the three people turned pale with fright.

“Did I treat you with such expressions?”

“In Korea, there’s a 『Prison Warden』. He’s a Seven Star who’s crazy about Magical Girls and cute things… If he finds out your identities, he might just fly straight to you, you know?”

[Ah, alright! We’ll do it with a smile, amicably… right?]

[O-o-of course~! Those nasty monster bastards, I’ll drive them all away~.]

[The video… you really won’t spread it, right?]

“Of course~ Super Genius-nim doesn’t break promises. As long as nothing like what just happened occurs, that is★ That’s all for the meeting today~ I want to rest too.”

As soon as they heard the word ‘end,’ the three delinquents immediately turned off their screens. Ciel sighed, opened the lid of her remaining milkshake, and chugged it down in one go.

Hmm… Ciel realized she wasn’t in a position to say her kids weren’t normal either. Feeling refreshed, the enormity of what she had just done slowly began to sink in…

[Um… Ciel.]

“Huh? You haven’t left yet, Kunai?”

Besides the Magical Girls from Japan, about five others waited without leaving the video conference.

[It’s not that… I can’t move…]

[Me too… It feels like there’s a tiger in front of me…]

…Ah.

They were frozen, weren’t they? Ciel hadn’t turned off her Charisma skill… She’d forgotten to turn it off after using it for the first time in a while.

『Aura of Dread Charisma LV7 is deactivated.』

As the green light in Ciel’s eyes faded, the terrified Magical Girls’ bodies one by one relaxed their shoulders.

[Phew… Um… Do you know my identity too…?]

“N-no, I only properly investigated three people. It’s not like I have too much free time to go around invading privacy~.”

Ciel had investigated just in case it might be necessary, but there was no need to explicitly state it. Excluding her own team, information on all Magical Girls was already in her possession.

Lupin, Luna, ChuChu, Mera, Soo-ah, Hyun-ah… As they were all precious friends, Ciel neither betrayed them nor wanted to.

“I’m truly sorry for getting angry. My team did make mistakes, but I absolutely couldn’t tolerate such a dismissive attitude.”

[It’s okay. Those three were annoying from the start.]

[When we asked them to fight together, they just kept teasing us, calling us idiots for helping without compensation…! Ciel, scold them more next time!]

[Th-that’s right! Their attitude was bad, and they always looked down on us… Thanks to you, I feel so refreshed. Thank you…]”

“I know… I’m actually grateful that you’re not complaining despite suffering because of my team’s actions.”

About three minutes later. After the five people, who had amicably expressed their gratitude to Ciel, ended the call, silence fell upon the workshop where Ciel was left alone.

…………..

…………….

……………….

Ciel operated the panel, brought up the blueprints on the screen again from the recall tab, and began developing equipment.

In addition to the lens given to Lupin today, Ciel needed to reinforce her equipment further for her to operate properly.

She also had to work on the rebel army’s weapons… so Ciel would have to stay up all night again…….

“Aaaahhh~!! There’s too much to do…”

Why was Ciel a Super Genius?

For a cute, lovely, and intelligent talented individual to also be a Magical Girl… This was a trial.

“Two, three, five, seven…”

The priest who accelerated time once said that counting prime numbers calms the mind… It didn’t really have any effect.

Still, thanks to releasing all the pent-up emotions, Ciel was able to concentrate on her work again.

Alright, a good stretch…

“Haaah~~cha! Super Genius-nim can’t fall here!”

Two days until infiltration.

To reclaim the blue star Earth, just a little more effort~!!

“..Ah. I haven’t looked at the files I took from the prison.”

Just before resuming her work, Ciel remembered the files she had additionally hacked when rescuing Lupin.

Moving her hand, imbued with green Magical Power, through the air, Ciel pulled out a file from a folder-shaped hologram.

‘I’ve been so busy lately… I haven’t even had time to look at the things I stole…'”

A strictly forbidden file with nine firewalls. But in front of a Super Genius, it was nothing~!

“Now… what kind of content is so important that it’s hidden away like this~”

As Ciel slowly pulled out the paper, the phrase that appeared was─

[Ciel-nim, outsiders have infiltrated.]

[Ciel-nim, outsiders have infiltrated.]

Just before Ciel could see the content with the phrase 『The Last of the Stars』 written on it, an alarm blared throughout the entire workshop.

One kilometer below the company’s underground parking lot. It should be a structure impossible to enter without teleportation… Did they physically break through?

“Wait… ‘outsiders’들?”

[Klausin Magical Power confirmed, danger level measurement…. Measurement impossib──*crackle*, *cr-cr-cr-crackle*…]

‘Measurement impossible…?’

The AI (Artificial Intelligence) that automatically blocked external interference and managed the entire workshop disconnected its link with Ciel and chose to delete itself.

The program Ciel had input for an emergency had activated. That emergency was…

〔Ah, ah… Can you hear me? The security system is quite strict. Though, it’s nothing to me.〕

A middle-aged man’s voice came from the speaker. The clanking sound of metal echoed continuously, as if several people were walking down the corridor.

The fact that she had been hacked… sent a chill down the Super Genius Ciel’s spine.

〔I’m greeting you politely, but you’re silent. I’d appreciate it if you’d at least let me hear your voice, Ciel.〕

*Beep-*

[Virus detected.]

“What…?”

〔Good grief… Is this how you use your manpower? You seem quite proud of your wisdom, so how about we play a game? Of course, there’s no refusing.〕

The man proposed a game.

A game with no right of refusal.

If Ciel removed the virus before he reached the workshop door, it would be her victory, and he swore to leave without doing anything further.

But if she couldn’t remove it… it would be her defeat.

〔My introduction is late. It’s unfair for only me to know your identity… Yes, it’s unfair.〕

Unlike the man’s softly smiling voice, upon hearing the child’s introduction, Ciel dropped the milkshake she was holding and sat back down in front of the panel.

〔Klaus Seven Stars Technology Officer, 『Doctor』… I look forward to working with you, Ciel.〕