Ch.139139. Avalon

“Yunseul… So can I hit Elise now?”

“Yeah… I guess that’s fine?”

“Whaaat?! W-wait a minute! Wait, wait! U-untie me! Let me go! Untie me!”

“How dare you… You made the unnies angry with your useless words?”

“Unnie! Me too!”

“Seohyun. Do you trust your unnie?”

What’s going on…?

C-clearly.

This shouldn’t be undone…?

Things have… gone wrong…?

“Well… Looking at the structure, I expected this. But really, nothing happened…?”

“Yunseul. The contract?”

“Yeah… It seems to be reconnected.”

“Really… It doesn’t matter at all…?”

This is so disappointing.

I thought the Doctor would have set up at least one failsafe.

At the very least, something that would explode if forced open.

Just… was there really no purpose to it at all…?

…Could it be that he only cared about getting Bine?

Did he think of me as just a free gift, a bonus item attached to Bine?

From behind, Garnet makes a request to Yunseul.

“Unnie…! Why don’t you try giving an order through the contract magic?”

“Huh?”

“It might not have returned properly. Like, you could order her to give you a massage… or lick your feet…”

“Ugh… you had that kind of taste?”

“No, I’m just giving examples!”

“Your examples are perverted. I knew magical girls couldn’t be trusted.”

“Hmm…”

Blanc ponders after hearing those words.

Why…?

Why is she even considering it?

Shouldn’t she just ignore such ridiculous nonsense…?

“Umm… Elise? Could you smile for me?”

“Huh…? Well, okay.”

I complied with the simple request.

When I smiled, Blanc fell into thought again.

“Isn’t that too easy? Shouldn’t you give an order she would resist to be sure?”

“But… there’s not much I can order her to do while she’s tied up.”

“Well… I’ve really given up now. I can’t even die anymore. I’ll just be Blanc’s slave, forced to do whatever she wants…”

“What are you saying…”

“Sigh… I tried my best to help the boss achieve his ideals. But now everything’s gone wrong…”

“…Well, I guess it’s settled that you’re coming with us.”

“…Can we untie her, unnie?”

Arin fiddles with my handcuffs while talking to Blanc.

“Why are you pretending to be nice? You shouldn’t release a villain. Don’t feel sorry for them. I’m a villain, you’re a magical girl.”

“You said the contract magic is in place. Isn’t that enough?”

“Who knows if that’s true? I might be deceiving you.”

“…I don’t sense any lies. Unnie, I think we can untie her.”

“Really? Then…”

Blanc approaches me and unties my wrists.

“…What if I cause trouble here?”

“You’re wearing a seal in the first place.”

She pulls out a white collar from her pocket and shows it to me.

“To think I’d throw this away… only to end up wearing that. You hated wearing it so much. Right?”

“…Well, I had no choice for Bine’s sake.”

“Yeah… Well, I’m going to read your memories now. Is that okay?”

“How interesting that a master would ask permission from her contract slave.”

“Oh, right. Umm… what should I order you to do…? I’ve untied your hands…”

“Should I strangle myself, master?”

“Why would I order that?”

“Well… I’ve given up. This body isn’t even mine anymore… Do whatever you want… I’ve really given up now. Really… that idiot Doctor… Did he think he could easily subdue me because he had Bine…?”

Seeing my genuine resignation, Blanc untied my legs from the chair.

“…What if I knock everyone out here and escape?”

“With me here?”

“…What if I cause chaos? I could easily beat Arin over there. What if I take her hostage and threaten you?”

“If you were that kind of person, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

“This is ridiculous… seriously.”

Blanc naturally checks my arms and legs, feeling their condition.

Then she removes the seal.

“Here, this was heavy, right?”

“…Are you serious?”

“Hmm… No, I was going to replace it with the one you used to wear.”

“I’m from Eden.”

“Hmm… That doesn’t matter, does it?”

“…Right, that’s correct. Magical girls were a group of lunatics… Yes, I shouldn’t have tried to understand.”

“For now… you can’t go home. You’ll have to stay in this room. Just tell me if you want to go out.”

“Yes. Let me correct myself. Not lunatics. Just not human. Shouldn’t this level of intelligence be called bestial?”

“There’s a bed, so make yourself comfortable. We’ll be going now. See you later.”

“…Sigh.”

Blanc puts the white collar back around my neck as she says this.

It’s better than the thick metal collar from before.

…Haa.

* * *

After Elise’s disappointing interrogation.

I analyzed Elise’s memories and confirmed the location of their base.

And… I could also check Bine’s condition in more detail based on her memories.

As for Elise…

“Hey! No! Argh! That’s not it! Again! Again!!”

“Pfft… You’re still bad at this?”

“Association President…? Are you abandoning your work to play with Elise?”

“Huh…? I already finished everything. Want to try again? Okay. This time I’ll give you 3 seconds without any moves.”

“Ugh! How can an old man like you be so good at this game! It’s unfair! Unfair!”

She sits in the Association President’s office playing games.

Or wanders around the association bothering Hyewon.

“Come on… what’s that? Who does manual organization these days? Can’t you use functions?”

“No, that’s not it…”

“Oh, don’t tell me… You’re one of those old-fashioned types who says juniors shouldn’t use functions because it’s like using a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken?”

“That’s not it…!”

“Geez, how frustrating. Let me see that. You can’t even do this much?”

“What?! This is confidential association material?!”

“So what? Blanc already took all my secrets. Besides, am I going outside the association? In a place where even my naked body is recorded on CCTV. I’m Blanc’s slave, you know?”

“What are you talking about?!”

“Just telling the truth. Though I might befriend the night security guard and have him let me out secretly later.”

“You want to go out? Just say so.”

“Eek! B-Blanc! W-why are you here suddenly!”

“I heard someone was bullying my sister.”

“You didn’t hear it, you saw it! When you go through my memories, I can feel it too! You saw it and came looking, didn’t you!”

“No, I didn’t.”

“What do you mean no…!”

Well… she’s somewhat right.

I did need to call Hyewon, so I came.

But… I was too lazy to search. I just peeked a little thinking Elise might be bothering Hyewon again.

These days, wherever Elise goes…

Picking fights during Arin’s combat training at the training ground.

Following Hyewon around and picking fights…

And then eating snacks that Hyewon’s team members provide.

I don’t know what happened… but she’s almost like a mascot…

Then when she finds the Association President, she follows him and begs to play games, until Hyewon drags her away.

At night, Yuri unnie, who doesn’t sleep, watches over Elise, playing together until they fall asleep.

That’s what she’s been doing.

“Hyewon. Bring Elise and follow me. There’s an important meeting.”

“Just the two of us?”

“No, everyone.”

“Everyone in this area?”

“Really everyone. We’re going to be serious this time.”

“…And then you’ll send me back to Eden! And release the contract!”

“Wasn’t there nothing about releasing the contract in the bet with Arin?”

“Release me! I had a conversation with Arin. No matter what you say to me, I believe that only the future led by our boss can guide this Earth toward eternal happiness and sustainability!”

“Well… let’s go downstairs and talk.”

The schedule has been set.

We’ve identified the base location, and our forces are perfect.

…We’ve even analyzed Bine again based on the previous encounter and trained endlessly.

Seohyun even told us to stop.

But Bine’s combat style was completely different from before.

Based on what Arin said and Elise’s memories…

It’s clearly all the Doctor’s doing.

And thinking about the training Bine had done…

“Is everyone here?”

“About 50 people including those who participated in the previous battle. Those who couldn’t attend are watching via video.”

“Then… I’ll set the meeting agenda.”

“Operation name: Avalon. Adjustment and discussion of detailed plans. Let’s begin.”

Let’s see which side is the true paradise.

Let’s have a proper showdown.

* * *

The operation was successful.

Everyone except Elise returned.

The boss is now recovering in Eden.

Soon, he will sit on his throne again and lead us.

Elise couldn’t return.

…Couldn’t return.

It’s a success.

Hela, Voltorn.

Everyone came back, but why not Elise.

How much self-blame did I feel?

The Doctor prioritized the boss’s healing and gave us no further missions.

Boring days… continued.

Three days later, the boss woke up.

So I went to see him.

“…Doctor. Was it successful?”

“Yes. Keheheh… Unfortunately, we gave them the failure, but Bine is still in our hands.”

“Ah, Bine. Haa… Should we open a new dimensional rift? This operation wasn’t a complete success. It’s a failure.”

“Not really, we only lost Elise. It’s still usable. I’ve erased unnecessary memories and guided her thinking to be loyal to Eden. You can use her as you please.”

“I see. Elise, that side is a disposable card. Doctor, prepare to open a new dimensional rift. This time… a moderately large one would be good. Small ones are good for stealth and mobility, but the power is…”

“Still, we raised her and she became useful. Don’t compare her to the Mines from that world. This world is weak after all.”

“Haa. Huh…? Did you leave the door open, Doctor?”

“No…? Why would I… Oh.”

What did I just…?

What did I hear…?

“Doctor. Take care of it.”

“Yes.”

The Doctor presses a button.

“Aaaaargh?!?!”

As my consciousness fades.

I wake up in a chair that restrains me.

Below the chair, the boss is looking down at me.

The boss was sitting in the chair.