Chapter 23 : Machine Gun of Love

“Wh-What?!”

Rena, who had been lying face down with a despairing expression, suddenly stood up with a look of disbelief.

The traces of destruction they had just caused.

The ruins of Kabukicho, which had been full of screams and terror, disappeared without a trace, and the streets returned to their normal state.

Everything they had done vanished as if it had been a dream.

People passing through the streets were moving their steps towards the main road in an orderly manner.

I approached the girls who were surprised by the sudden return to the original scenery.

“So, do you feel better now?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

They, who had been out of their minds due to the guilt of their destructive actions, looked at me with expressions that couldn’t distinguish if this was reality. Their faces, staring blankly with tears streaming down, were no different from any other girls.

“This is reality now. You’re still just troublemakers who only caused a disturbance in front of Kabukicho.”

“Thank… goodness.”

Hup

Nanami covered her mouth, surprised as if she couldn’t believe the words that had unconsciously come out of her mouth. And tears could be seen welling up in her eyes as she covered her mouth.

The true feelings flowing from their unconscious.

I saw, heard, and felt it.

“Oh, you kids.”

Tap

Tap

Tap

I lightly hit their heads once each with my staff, with a slight reproach.

Girls who couldn’t overcome their contradictory anger and caused a disturbance hiding under my name.

The three girls bowed their heads, shivering with relief as if they felt the reality from the pain felt on their heads.

“Why did you try to do something you’d regret so much?”

“But…”

As Kohane seemed to be trying to make excuses with her swollen eyes, I hit her protruding forehead once more with my staff.

Tap

“Ugh?! That hurts…”

While deploying the Dream World, I felt where their mental images were heading.

It wasn’t an ending achieved through revenge or destruction. Rather, it was a goal to move forward.

Kabukicho wasn’t their final destination.

‘As soon as they gained power, they caused a disturbance as if to vent their grudges, but even that was anger distorted over a long time.’

In the original work, no companions appeared alongside [Machine Gun].

Was she alone, unable to overcome her own contradictions, and entrusted her life’s purpose to someone else?

“So, have you still not changed your mind?”

“…”

“If you’re still feeling resentful, you can do more.”

“…”

Rena seemed to be hesitating on how to answer my question. If so, it would be an adult’s duty to provide proper direction to the wandering Rena.

There was still room for them to change, and the advice I could give them was…

* * *

“So, leader, how did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Those guys who were advancing with the momentum to burn down Kabukicho turned into gentle lambs and turned themselves in to the police.”

Ichika crossed her legs the other way and waited for my answer.

While I was drawing Rena, Kohane, and Nanami into the illusion barrier, Ichika and Hana were waiting outside, so they didn’t see the whole story.

“Does the illusion magic you use have some hypnotic function that makes people change their minds?”

“If I had such a thing, I would have used it on Congressman Fujimoto and criminals.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“I just took a bit more responsibility this time because it was partly my fault.”

“How is that your fault…?”

Ichika, who was about to say something, hesitated and turned her head.

“Wow! That’s amazing! Hikari-chan is a hypnotist who brightens the world!”

“Hana-chan, it’s illusionist, illusionist.”

“Illusionist!”

In the empty train returning to Yokohama.

I looked at Hana’s side profile, who was clapping and repeatedly chanting, then turned my head to look at the scenery outside the window.

The sky dyed red by the sunset.

The city lights were turning on one by one under the twilight.

The night view of the city shining in the gradually approaching darkness.

‘At least tonight, they won’t see the night view they hated.’

Those who had wailed after seeing their true dreams in the Dream World turned themselves in to the police right away.

Their real wish was not the destruction of the streets, but reunion with their families. What they truly wanted was love, not hatred.

Their dreams that had become distorted during the long time of pain.

‘I might have done the same if I were in that situation.’

While I was thinking about those kids’ hatred that didn’t feel like someone else’s business, Hana spoke to me with my complicated feelings.

“Hikari-chan, are you sad?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve had a strange expression ever since seeing those bad big sisters.”

“Is that so? Isn’t it just the usual expressionless fox eyes?”

Hana shook her head at Ichika’s indifferent words.

“Hikari-chan sometimes makes that expression when she’s really sad.”

“…”

Is this why adults say you shouldn’t show emotions in front of kids?

“Just… I feel like it’s partly my fault too.”

“How is that the leader’s fault?”

“If I had done better in a different way as the magical girl of [Beginning], I wouldn’t have stimulated those kids.”

Perhaps I needed to be prepared to take responsibility until the end if I affected this world.

The confusion that appeared right after irresponsibly throwing the wave of change and disappearing.

Even though I stopped it quickly, there were already people who had been harmed there.

Even if it was a world destined to perish anyway, they were harmed because of me long ago.

If I had risen to save all the precious people and innocent people, wouldn’t there have been a better way?

Words I couldn’t bring myself to say out loud stirred in my head.

“I don’t think that’s right. How is that the leader’s fault?”

Ichika stood up abruptly and continued speaking, pointing at me.

“Not all the bad things magical girls do in the world are the leader’s fault! Digging yourself into a hole like that too…”

Ichika tried to say something more but seemed unable to organize it herself and mumbled. I could feel her hesitating, afraid of hurting me by not conveying well that she just wanted to comfort me.

“Tch, sorry for yelling. I guess I got heated too.”

“…”

“I’ll go cool off for a bit. Sorry!”

Rattle Slam!

Silence returned to the empty subway car.

Night view and sunset, lonely silence. In it, Hana opened her mouth in a quiet voice.

“I think Ichika is angry that Hikari-chan is hurting herself.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Sato Hana held my hand tightly. As her warm and soft hand enveloped mine, I felt my complicated feelings gradually calming down.

“Hikari-chan.”

“Yes?”

“I was happy that Hikari-chan asked me to go help people together today.”

“…”

“Mom and Dad just worry whenever I try to do something.”

To Mr. and Mrs. Sato, Sato Hana is not a powerful magical girl, but their precious daughter who recently got up after not being able to walk for a long time.

Even though it was urgent, regret washed over me that I might have made too hasty a decision.

Regret.

As if feeling the guilt in my heart, Hana grasped my hand even tighter, interlocking our fingers.

“Thanks to Hikari-chan, I think I’ve found what I really want to do.”

“What you want to do?”

“Yes!”

Hana smiled brightly at me.

Hana’s hair seemed to shine even though she hadn’t transformed, because of the sunset.

“I want to help people in trouble with my magical girl powers!”

“…”

“Will you help me?”

“…Okay.”

“Thank you.”

This world doesn’t seem to be soft enough to be fixed with just one show.

Then let’s change it more.

Let’s make better choices while helping and teaching a little more.

So that magical girls can properly find their own dreams.

So that someday, when everything is over, I can return smiling in front of my mother.

Let’s try.

* * *

The interrogation room at the Metropolitan Police Department was filled with tension.

This was because three magical girls who had caused a disturbance recently had turned themselves in.

“So in the end, they were just kids with no connection to the magical girl of [Beginning]?”

“All three of their testimonies match, and above all, it’s confirmed that they were gathered in the square at the time of that broadcast…”

“Rather, most testimonies say that the magical girl of [Beginning] focused on relief activities at the time of the incident.”

“…”

“I don’t understand.”

The Kabukicho Incident.

Officially, the first incident caused by a supernatural ability user holding a grudge against society.

Because the three perpetrators of the incident engaged in actions closer to a show of force rather than causing casualties, there was property damage, but except for a few injured, not many casualties occurred. However, it was an incident that raised awareness of how powerless public authority could become if supernatural ability users decided to cause a disturbance.

When public power was paralyzed and unable to function.

The girls, subdued by a mysterious group of magical girls, came to turn themselves in as if possessed by ghosts.

“That magical girl group…”

“Their testimonies also match that the magical girl of [Beginning] came directly to stop them.”

“The magical girl of [Beginning]…”

An existence that led to magical girls being found in society in just 2 months.

An existence that revealed the principle and blooming of supernatural abilities that no one had been able to uncover.

“This is like…”

Isn’t this the act of a Prometheus who first taught humanity how to use fire?

“Young Lady Fujimoto seemed to show great interest in that [Beginning].”

“Is that why she’s going so far as to conduct the interrogation herself?”

Inside the interrogation room behind the magic mirror, Fujimoto Sumire, who had entered with the status of a national magical girl special interrogation officer, was looking at the three instigators of this incident.

“…So in the end, they were just a group impersonating the name of [Beginning]… is that it?”

“…”

The intimidating presence of a girl with sharp eyes wearing plain black clothes.

Rena, Kohane, and Nanami nodded with their mouths tightly shut at her question.

“I see.”

“…”

“Somehow it seemed a bit strange. [Beginning], who seemed to follow her own beliefs, suddenly committing terrorism…”

“…Actually, we don’t really know much more than what we’ve told you so far…”

“Because of the mask, we couldn’t see the face well…”

“Is that so.”

Sumire responded in a businesslike tone and then took out various documents from the envelope she had placed on the desk in the interrogation room.

[Kanto Region Entire Supernatural Ability Crime History]

[Tokyo 23 Wards Resident Supernatural Ability User Statistics]

Although it’s being overshadowed now by the flashy disturbance these girls caused, crimes and disturbances using supernatural abilities were gradually coming to light.

“According to [Beginning], supernatural ability… magical girls are the power of dreams, right?”

“Yes…?”

“Although it’s hard to guess how she could know information that no one else could uncover.”

Sumire spoke quietly while looking at the trio.

“Even if the source of power magical girls have is a new form of power that escapes the logic of resources, uncontrolled power tends to stagnate and run wild.”

Unable to guess what this meant, everyone was blankly staring at Sumire.

“We want to create a group that can stabilize and control it.”

“That’s…!”

“Let’s have the Fujimoto name take care of the aftermath of this Kabukicho incident.”

Come under me.

“Soon, special laws targeting supernatural ability users will be enacted. This includes a law that grants sentencing through community service to supernatural ability criminals who committed crimes in situations difficult to control themselves.”

I will forgive your sins.

“If it’s true that magical girls’ power grows stronger through dreams and goals, Fujimoto can certainly embrace that.”

I will grant what you wish for.

“…”

Rena, who understood the meaning of all the words, was silent for a moment.

-What do you really want?

Our true feelings that the magical girl of [Beginning] showed us.

“I want to… find my family again.”

“…I understand.”

Sumire quietly opened her mouth, her eyes shining.

“Welcome to the Magical Girl Alliance.”