episode_0011

Strictly speaking, this is impersonating a public official.

If caught, I will definitely be arrested; it’s that serious of a crime.

“In times like these, you have to be brazen.”

I recalled Misaki’s team leader’s expression.

As the most recent public official I had seen, I tried to maintain a similar atmosphere by fixing my expression as much as possible like hers.

“Under Magical Girl Special Law Article 8, Section 24… there’s no need to do that.”

I recited the law.

While it may be hard to imagine any public official memorizing legal provisions one by one, in such “frequent situations,” there are specific laws that can be identified.

“Damages to property caused by magical girl activities shall not be claimed against the individual magical girl. If you have a business card, would you please give it to me? The management headquarters will carefully review it and may process insurance according to the provisions and regulations.”

In reality, it’s not wrong.

“But what if we analyze the CCTV footage? Or would you like to submit your black box?”

“Oh, um, darn it…! Ugh…!”

The man scratches his head.

He might be irritated, but such irritation typically arises when one comes out on the losing end.

There’s nothing else to it.

It’s anger at things not going as planned.

“O-Okay! I’ll claim insurance later, so just go like that!”

Trying to take advantage of teenage magical girls and leaving when things don’t go as planned.

Of course, they must have been conscious of the surrounding gazes.

“I-I mean, if I hadn’t hit the magical girl, what would have happened if she hadn’t transformed?”

While a magical girl’s physical abilities without transformation are significant, they are only comparable to those of track and field Olympic athletes.

“Mom, I saw it. That truck driver was speeding so fast, wasn’t he?”

“He was speeding. Yasuo, when you grow up, you shouldn’t drive recklessly, okay?”

“Yeah! I won’t speed!”

Even those who were already outside knew that the truck driver was speeding, making it a checkmate situation for anyone.

“It’s not quite a checkmate.”

If asked for a business card, I have no choice.

Not even a business card, let alone having stamped the contract yet.

“I-I’m fine!”

The green-haired magical girl raises her hand and speaks.

I thought she might be unnecessarily complicating the situation by intervening, but-

“Since you’re fine, just go. But if you cause trouble for the staff…”

“Tsk!”

When the magical girl sternly expresses herself, the truck driver, despite his bumper being dented, climbs back into his truck and reverses out of the alley.

“Phew.”

“Um, excuse me….”

“We almost had a big problem. Um….”

“Shiori! Call me Shiori.”

The magical girl politely introduced herself as Shiori.

“It’s my first day at work today, and I almost caused a big problem.”

“Are you hurt?”

“…No. I’m fine.”

She says she’s fine.

Although she says she’s fine, a hint of sadness creeps into her slightly lowered gaze.

“It shouldn’t have been green for no reason.”

Magical girls with mana flowing from Sephira often have green-themed powers and are usually gentle and peaceful like trees.

Even if they bear the wounds inflicted by others, they tend to hold onto those wounds until they eventually break or burst, unaware that they themselves are decaying.

“I will take legal action against the truck driver later.”

“What? Oh, no! It’s just…!”

“It’s not a threat. We will issue a warning along with compensation to prevent unnecessary problems, so there should be no inconvenience to the magical girl. The same goes for the truck driver personally and his family.”

“Oh….”

A 40-year-old truck driver driving since morning.

And a 17-year-old magical girl who has just become a high school student – and roughly speaking, a promising talent who has reached the ‘mature stage.’

Cruelly enough, the world tends to value the latter more than the former on average.

While it is impossible to rank humans and such comparisons tend to corrupt the former, reality is such.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

“Excuse me!”

“Yes?”

“Y-Your, number!!”

As if startled by her own outburst, Shiori closed her mouth, but her hand was still gripping my wrist.

“……”

Using mana can repel them.

But if I use it and get exposed as a witch, I can only act like an ordinary person.

How?

“Ah, oops…?!”

“……”

I embraced Shiori.

Because I’m taller, Shiori ended up pulling me closer.

“S-Sorry!!”

Due to the wind, Shiori’s face ended up against my chest, but she quickly backed away, apologizing and bowing down to my waist.

“It’s okay. That…”

Ten years ago, I didn’t expect to say such words.

“Between girls.”

It’s sad, but that’s how things are.

“Oh, right. Yes….”

Her somewhat regretful tone briefly gave me a creepy feeling, but I decided not to dwell on it.

“I-I didn’t ask for your number to be different, just meant to thank you separately with a meal later…!”

“I’m sorry. I don’t have a smartphone.”

“……What?”

Shiori seemed shocked.

“W-Why…?”

“For personal reasons, I can’t carry a smartphone.”

“…Do you dislike me?”

Shiori asked, lowering her head.

With her bangs slightly covering her forehead like a curtain, her shadowed eyes looked a bit gloomy.

“If you dislike me, just say so….”

“No, really, I don’t have one.”

I spread my arms.

“Want me to search you?”

“…Never mind!”

Shiori blurted out, then turned like a rejected girl and walked away briskly.

“Thank you for your help!”

She soon turned back towards me, bowed 90 degrees, then confidently ran forward.

“……”

Misunderstood, but understood.

“Magical girls are sensitive and emotional.”

Magical girls naturally think of themselves as protagonists.

The stronger the ‘EGO,’ the more powerful the magical girl can become.

Some may call it self-centered, but isn’t that what being a magical girl is about?

“The one who always defeats the demon lord is the protagonist magical girl.”

The closer to the main role, the stronger they become.

If there are conditions for the protagonist, being self-centered and unaffected by others—

-You’re just being selfish in your own way!!

“…Sigh.”

Since strength comes from such tendencies, I decided to understand Shiori’s attitude.

Living as a magical girl is no ordinary matter.

“Teenagers will be teenagers. Adults should understand.”

Everyone can wander during their youth.

* * *

A while later, at the Magical Girl Special Investigations Bureau reception room.

“Thank you so much, Miss Mumei. Oh, can I speak freely?”

“Yes.”

“You too, feel free to talk.”

“In official settings, please. This is work.”

“…In official settings. Okay, interesting. Positive.”

Team leader Misaki welcomed me from the entrance to the reception room, unfolded a contract before offering refreshments.

“Did you bring the documents from yesterday?”

“Yes.”

“Get rid of them. I’ve printed a new one.”

Misaki brought out a new contract.

Judging by the warmth, it seemed freshly printed and not even 30 minutes old.

‘It’s not because of me that they came in early morning, right?’

Although they don’t seem to work overtime since they’re not witches.

Some Japanese companies rotate full-time shifts for retired witches who don’t need sleep due to safety concerns, but it doesn’t seem to be the case here.

“Examine it carefully. And if you don’t like it…feel free to decline.”

“Decline?”

“We want to hire employees, not create monsters from corrupted staff.”

Honesty is good.

“You’ll have a lot to do. There will be work-related stress, but more than anything, dealing with the kids will also be stressful. You can quit anytime.”

“To prevent yourself from becoming corrupted?”

“That’s the idea.”

“It seems like you’re working in a really bad working environment, like a printer in a bad place.”

“I can’t say it’s good. But the weekly pay is good, right?”

“…?”

For a moment, I doubted my eyes.

“The weekly pay… 50,000 yen?”

“I did my best within my authority. But don’t mention it anywhere. Especially not to Senior Mumey and the others.”

“There are seniors too?”

“We don’t have just one team. Our team is a bit special.”

Usually, when they say a team is special, it means there’s a lot of troublesome work.

Silence.

I pass over the contract.

There are no poisonous clauses.

What was there has disappeared, and Misaki Team Leader’s consideration was evident in many ways.

“Rejecting this level of care wouldn’t be polite.”

Even if there comes a time when I say, “I really can’t do this,” seeing the effort of the person who prepared the contract by coming to work early in the morning, doing this is the right thing to do.

If I don’t, I’ll end up worrying, and my balance will tip in the wrong direction.

Every magical girl has a balance.

A scale that extends left and right, and if this scale is tipped with all sorts of impurities and negativity, they become corrupted.

Not just a witch who retired, but a completely corrupted witch who became something other than a magical girl due to being engulfed in entirely negative emotions.

“Um, the seal…”

“Just sign with your name.”

“…I shouldn’t use my surname.”

“Oh, is that a curse too?”

“It’s not exactly that…”

I go by Mumei, but I haven’t specifically chosen a surname.

“In that case, just write your name.”

“…Is that okay?”

“But you have to work hard for it. Understand?”

“I understand.”

I quietly signed my name.

Mumyo (無命).

“…Life (命)?”

Originally, it was Mumyo (無名). I thought it might be a bit much to carry that into my signature.

“…Isn’t that even more unsettling?”

“It’s fine. I’m cautious about superstitions.”

Superstitions wouldn’t work on me.

“There have been plenty of curses already.”

I am too strong.

“And they say humans are scarier than ghosts, right?”

* * *

First meeting.

Scary.

“These are the magical girls that Mumei will be managing.”

“……”

Familiar faces.

“From the left, Seiya, Karin, and….”

“Oops!!”

“Do you know each other?”

“A bit in the morning.”

“…Shiori.”

Red, blue, green.

“By any chance, is the group name RGB?”

“How did you know?”

Should I tear up the contract?