Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku: Breakdown Volume 1 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

☆ Pastel Merry

Removing the scattered large and small stones on the sh.o.r.eline promenade, by the time work on the western side had completed its first stage, the sun was s.h.i.+ning at its highest point. Her job of maintaining the roads so that customers could comfortably reach the main building was, no matter how much she liked it, never completed in time. Even though she had to clean it before any visitors visit, some visitors seemed to have already arrived. While the visitors didn’t see it directly, she received a message from her master, who couldn’t keep his frustration hidden. That fact darkened Merry’s mood. Even though she’d have no choice but to give a depressing report of “I didn’t finish in half a day,” her master’s mood was already bad before the report.

The island was far too vast. From one end of the island to the other, that would span a distance of 10 kilometers, the central building, the annex surrounding the main building, and the Gates scattered throughout the island, even getting sheep to help her would take her more than four hours. Knowing that, she started her work at dawn, in the end, despite working 6 hours, only the west side was done and her work wasn’t over,

being carried over to the afternoon.

With the strong, dark orange-colored sun illuminating her, she knocked on the main building twice, entering the automatically opening hinged door. When she first started working she was overwhelmed and excited by the 300 meter, both vertically and horizontally, 4-story stone castle, Oh this is an enormous place to work in, she shuddered, but after one week of working there as her part-time job, the enormity of the castle just felt annoying to her.

She ascended the stairs of the first and second floor, going through the hallway of the third floor into the next building. Over there were similar doors lined up together, but she didn’t know where or which room to head towards right now. Merry stopped at the one marked with a star nameplate that said Shepherdspie. This was Merry’s employer, the Mage named John Shepherdspie’s living quarters.

The hall was large, and since Merry had just been hired, she couldn’t remember it at all. Since she repeatedly made mistakes, her master nailed the plate on the door, mumbling how it “ruined the aesthetics” of the place while hammering it in. Since he still wanted to keep the aesthetics of the place in good shape, he used a star-shaped nameplate, not even Merry would make mistakes now, it was very easy to understand.

She opened the door to give the report-

“Kyaaah!”

“S-Sorry!”

Surprised by the large scream, she hurriedly closed the door. After closing, she tried to process the scene she just saw.

...Why was there a naked woman?

Merry checked on the star nameplate again. Shepherdspie was written there. That was her master’s name. It’s such a weird name that not even Merry would mistake or forget it. That means it should be her master’s room. So why was there a woman she didn’t know there. Not to mention one that was naked.

Merry began to think. Maybe she made a mistake. For example, maybe it was just an obscene doll, or a poster that was pasted on, maybe that’s what it was. When she opened the door, the wind probably blew so hard that she heard the scream of a woman. That’s probably what happened.

Was that reality, or just a misunderstanding? She had to make sure. She turned the k.n.o.b so it wouldn’t make a sound, quietly pulled the door, and peeked through the gap. There she saw a face.

“Whoa!”

“Hya!”

Merry raised a scream and fell on her b.u.t.t, even from the other side of the door, the sound she made was like if you crushed a frog, then everything went quiet. It was different from the erotic scream back then, but she did hear a woman’s voice.

Even if she missaw it, she didn’t mishear it. She was sure.

She felt her heartbeat rise, while holding it down desperately, she held the k.n.o.b once again, she also remembered that she didn’t knock last time, so she knocked on the door three times, and the voice from the other side replied “H-H-Hold on a minute!” She can’t really escape now.

About 30 seconds after she felt a rumble in her tummy, the voice from inside the room called out.

“Okay, all dressed, come in!”

“Excuse me……”

“Ah, of course. Come in.”

She wasn’t naked. She had a bathrobe. It was far too big, it had rolled up hems. It looked like she was forced to wear a men’s bathrobe. Her face was cheerful, her hair had steam rising, and her skin was white with no makeup. Her thin body matched the light blue bathrobe she was wearing, everything about her said that she had just taken a bath, but her eyelashes were standing firmly.

———Who was this?

She knows that there was someone that she hasn’t seen before. If she tried to think of anything more than that, she had no idea what to think. Not to mention, the room was strangely cluttered. A bag of eaten sweets, Manga magazines, a handheld gaming device. None of these gave off any conclusive feelings. As Merry looked on confused by the surroundings, the stranger had a look on her face as if someone had noticed she was a failure.

“Ah, yeah my bad…”

“Huh? Your bad?”

“Yeah, well… It’s a bit cluttered.”

“Ah, no, I wasn’t worried about that. Um, I’m sorry, I’m just staring and being impolite. I’m really sorry. I’m just here to report that the west is finished…”

“Huh? The west is finished?”

“Huh? Well, uh”

“Are you talking about… World affairs?”

“N-No, I wasn’t talking about that… sorry, I meant that things in the west aren’t finished yet… It took a lot longer than I expected.”

“So you’re saying… The Cold War is still going?”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

What was she talking about? Merry had no idea. The girl was also tilting her head as if she didn’t get it either.

“Um… I just came to give a report…”

“A report? Huh? What report? A marriage report?”

“No, I’m single. Wait, that’s not my point.”

“Ah, I’m also single.”

She’s replying as if she’s not listening.

“Okay, hang on. Let’s reorganize.”

“Um, okay.”

“Why are you here?”

“I have a report. The western maintenance isn’t finished.”

“This has nothing to do with marriage.”

“No it doesn’t, and I’m single.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Boyfriends… How do I say this, they tend to naturally disappear.”

“Won’t it be great if you did have one? My mom keeps nagging to me all the time. She says these awful things like ‘if you’re not going to work, at least get married’... Well sorry, that’s not how it is.”

“Um, I think you’re digressing.”

“Then let’s reorganize again. You have a report that says you’re finished with the western maintenance?”

“Yes.”

“You didn’t come here because you’re angry at the mess?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank goodness… I didn’t think you’d be angry at my room being messy, but you never know”

“Huh?”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Your room?”

“Yeah. My room.”

This was Shepherdspie’s room. If this girl says that this is her room that means she’s Shepherdspie, but the Shepherdspie that Merry knew was completely different.

——Wait a minute, this means…

She remembered one by one. Shepherdspie was single. Looking at him, he didn’t seem like someone who’d get into a love affair. He was also unemployed. She remembered him talking about how good it was not to work. His mother would probably be worried about something like that. Furthermore, the girl said this was her room. She wasn’t that different from Shepherdspie at all, now that she thought about it, only her appearance was different.

“Transformation……?”

“Transformations? Ah, transforming, huh. Transformations always make tensions high”

“Yeah… I guess it does.”

“I don’t hate it though. Still, it’s different than when you’re just relaxing.”

“Um… You can transform?”

“Yep, I can!”

“Ah, right. Sorry for the weird question.”

——It was him! This is Shepherdspie! He transformed with magic!

If so, then everything would coincide. The Mage Shepherdspie transformed into the figure of someone else using magic. She didn’t know why he had the desire to transform into a young girl. If it became harder to move because of his fat, then she might understand why he wanted to transform.

Okay, so that’s how it is, Merry was convinced, then the corridor creaked, and footsteps followed. When she turned around, she saw Shepherdspie with his big belly appear.

“There was a scream… I heard it… Hm, Hm… What’s wrong… Are you okay?”

“Huh!? Why!? Why are there two of you!?”

“You… Why are you so… surprised?”

She saw that this was for real. Golden hair that wasn’t dense, white moustache, black robes, the short staff with unfinished woodwork that went up to his waist, that breathtaking figure too, this was none other than Shepherdspie.

“Which one of you is real…”

“Like I said… What are you talking about?”

The male Shepherdspie wiped his forehead sweat with the sleeves of his robe after a sigh, then he looked at Merry, then the female Shepherdspie, furrowing his brows and tilting his head.

“There’s a couple of things I’d like to ask, if that’s alright with you?”

“Huh? No, uh”

“What’s up?”

The female Shepherdspie seemed so calm at this abnormal situation. The male Shepherdspie nodded and breathed out a sigh, turning his face to the female Shepherdspie.

“Why are you wearing my bathrobe?”

“I was naked and someone opened the door without knocking.”

“I’m really sorry about that…”

“Oh don’t worry about it.”

“The details don’t matter. That’s not what I’m asking.”

“Well this bathrobe is here for me to use, right? I mean it was in the room.”

“This isn’t your room. This is my room.”

“What? Really…? Oh, uh, sorry. The nameplate said Dreamy☆Chelsea so it’s clearly my room.”

“That’s not what I wrote. That says Shepherdspie.”

“Huh? Really? But the nameplate was in a star-shape…”

The girl was trying to find an excuse.

“I guess Che and She looked similar…”

“I can understand that you mistook where your room was, but why did you go so far as to make a mess here?”

“I’m a work-at-home person… So I just thought it’d be great to make the place just like my house.”

“Am I supposed to take that as a serious answer… No, it’s fine. That’s my bad, then. More importantly, why aren’t you transformed into a Magical Girl?”

“Huh? You mean I can’t not be a Magical Girl?”

Merry retreated half a step back, she felt like she was being sandwiched by these two having a conversation so she’d like to escape if possible. As a result, she hit the back of her head on a wall, but the two of them paid no attention to Merry and kept on talking.

“You’re the one who’s wondering if you can’t not be a Magical Girl. I hired you as a Magical Girl, I didn’t hire you as a human.”

Hearing her master’s words, the girl muttered with an unwilling expression.

“But transforming into a Magical Girl always makes tensions high…”

“Something wrong with that?”

“It’s fun to laze around as a human, though…”

“Did you say something?”

“Ah, no, just talking to myself. Anyways, um, uh, yeah, about that. I just think it’s weird.”

“What’s weird about it?”

Merry seemed to have made a terrible misunderstanding. This wasn’t the same person talking to each other. Rubbing the back of her head while gulping, she watched the two of them.

“Well, um. It’s weird for a Magical Girl to usually be transformed.”

She was a.s.serting something, but her eyes seemed confused, it looked like she was looking to Merry for advice, but Merry just turned her head down. Her master said “Ah” and “Hm”, answering with unresponsive voices, before finally breathing out a sigh.

“What’s your point?”

“Well, look, see. Magical Girls are, in the end, normal humans. Normally, Magical Girls aren’t transformed. They just laze around… as humans, isn’t that just more convenient? What kind of Magical Girl would you be if you use a Magical Girl’s powers for yourself? When someone else is in trouble… Yeah, we transform so we can respond to accidents. When a little girl is pushed to unhappiness, we use our magical powers to counterattack, then we resolve their troubles. Making people smile is what sets the audience’s hearts on fire. They’ll think awesome, I adore her, I wanna be a Magical Girl too, am I wrong?”

Merry was about to raise her gaze, meeting her master’s eyes. Now she couldn’t deviate from it, she could only shake her head at her master, who seemed to be silently saying “What am I going to do with you?” Her master sighed, raised his right hand, rubbing his ring finger and little finger and made a silently dull sound. A small pot flew from the hallway and hit the wall, it rolled over the carpet, making a sound she didn’t want to hear.

“Oh, wait. That’s wrong. This isn’t what I wanted.”

The man graciously picked up the small pot and threw it back, this time rubbing his middle and little finger, giving a better snap than before. A gla.s.s bottle flew from the corridor dangerously before being caught by his hand. He twisted the bottle cap, tilted it, then drank it in one gulp, sighed deeply, and threw the bottle back, his moustache rocking softly. Just by doing this, he had sweat on his forehead.

“Sigh… What you say may be a good thing.”

“Yeah”

“Relying on your magical powers for everyday things are unnecessary, I think this as well.”

“I know, right?”

Her master placed his right fist against his mouth, then cleared his throat.

“However… You misunderstand one thing.”

In an instant, the woman’s face slowly became cloudy.

“Me? What? What did I misunderstand?”

“Our current situation is already an emergency. We need Magical Girls.”

Her master continued.

“A lover’s daughter, a famously stubborn person, a resident of the Ivory Tower, a policeman, a secluded woman, these Mages that will need delicate treatment will soon come to this island. Well, some of them have already arrived. I’ve made some delicious cuisine to satisfy them, but that won’t be enough. Stubborn high-cla.s.sed people would consider that natural and request more. I can only do so much by myself. I need the cooperation of you Magical Girls. This is an emergency that doesn’t seem like an emergency. We need the powers of a Magical Girl.”

The woman once again had an unwilling look on her face. That expression wasn’t trying to conceal the way she thought that “I’d better avoid any trouble, he shot me down with a well-prepared theory.” Her master was looking at the woman with a self-confident expression. The woman clicked her tongue as she gave up, nodding honestly.

“I’m sorry… I’ll be a Magical Girl…”

“Thank you. Now then, hurry and transform into-”

“Ah, it’d be bad to transform in public as a Magical Girl, so do you have anywhere I can hide to transform?”

“Oh, yes. Use the room next door.”

The girl with big thighs left the room, making a loud noise before closing the door. Her master wiped his forehead of sweat, snapping with his index and little finger, a dull sound rang. The chair made wrinkles on the carpet as it slid, her master sat on it. The chair bent, but it did not break.

“So annoying… Magical Girls are like that, it seems.”

“Well, there are people like that, sure…”

“No, you’re also very much like that.”

“Huh? What? R-Really…?”

“Whenever something happens, you fall down, don’t you?”

“No, I can explain… uh, how do I say this… My physique and my head, completely different from when I was a human…”

“But you see, I can’t deny that you’re still better. Do you think everything would be okay if I leave the guiding and cleaning to her? I don’t think so.”

“Ah, I thought so. I’ve been listening in on the conversation and I thought so, too. So she’s a newbie part-timer?”

“Did you think she was anything else?”

“Well… No, I didn’t really. I just thought she was a bit tired.”

”I'm tired as well…”

With a huge sigh, her master wiped off the sweat on his forehead.

“Tell me what you don’t understand, and I’ll support you if I can. There’s no time to hire any new Magical Girls. I was naive to think that they’d come if I put up a wanted ad. If I increased their paycheck, I thought maybe some good talent would show up…”

His expression was more serious than ever. Merry’s face also naturally tightened up, it was stiff and puffed. Someone else hired other than her should naturally be better at Magical Girl work, or be the center of her job, or be someone that she could rely on, but that wasn’t the case at all.

“You do the catering and serving. Try not to make too much of an appearance.”

She’s already being treated like that.

“But, uh, I, that’s going to be the first time I do that kind of job.”

“Ah, yes. I know.”

“It’s unreasonable. Didn’t you say earlier that there’s a stubborn person, a secluded woman, meaning these Mages are people that are hard to please.”

“It’s fine. They all came here for their inheritance. They don’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble. The only person who’d be angry at a serving Magical Girl who fell would be…”

Her master stopped his words halfway, closed his mouth, placed his hand on his chin, then looked at the ceiling for a bit.

“Well, as long as you don’t fall and spill soup on someone’s head, they shouldn’t get angry.”

He added that sentence. Merry moaned “Aaah” and looked up at the sky.

“If you say something like that, I have a feeling it’ll probably happen now…”

“No no no, don’t be like that. Be careful please. I did warn you.”

“You can warn me but it always seems to happen. But, I don’t know why, something strange is-”

With the sound of the door opening, Merry’s words were interrupted. Looking back, she saw a flashy colored Magical Girl standing posing with a cane. Her appearance was like an elementary or middle schooler, or a high schooler with a pet.i.te physique. Her height, weight, leg and arm size had also shrunk from the woman before, but there was no awkwardness like Merry.

On the small cane, she had a small star decoration. It also somehow was sellotaped like it was under repair.

“A cheerful how do you do! I’m the Magical Girl, Dreamy☆Chelsea!”

Merry took half a step back, taking her previous position to give some s.p.a.ce between her master and Dreamy☆Chelsea, she bent her back and lowered her head.

“Ah, h.e.l.lo. A pleasure. You can call me, Pastel Merry.”

There was a pause, then her master also bowed slowly.

“Pleased to meet you… John Shepherdspie.”

“Nice to meetcha, Merry-Chan, Shepherdspie-Chan!”

“Ah, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you… could you not call me Chan?”

“Then, Shepherdspie-Kun!”

“Well… I’ll take it, I guess.”

Chelsea spun the cane in her right arm, at the same time she spun whatever she had in her left, then crossed her arms in front of her chin. The thing she had twirled with her cane was her Magical Phone.

“Y’know, I can’t get a signal online with my Magical Phone.”

“It was the intention of the deceased to be isolated from the outside world, quite strange indeed. It’s even inconvenient for me.”

“Whaaat? That’s so lame. The scenery is so good though, I thought I’d post it on my social media.”

“Regardless of whether you can connect or not, you shouldn’t do that.”

While Chelsea was mumbling “So lame…” she kept her Magical Phone in her breast pocket, when she looked up her discontent disappeared, she had a bright bottomless smile.

“Oh that’s right, that thing from before!”

“What? What thing?”

“That thing that flew by when you snapped your finger, that was magic, right?”

“No, it wasn’t me who used it. The whole building is enchanted with magic. You can use specific commands to do a bunch of things.”

“Awesome! Can I do it too?”

By the time her master raised his right hand, Chelsea’s left and right hands were already snapping about. By the time her master wanted to raise his voice to restrain her, a bunch of things flew from behind Chelsea. For a Mage who lacked exercise, the movements of a Magical Girl were too agile.

Without looking behind her, Chelsea squatted on the spot, a red plastic container nearly grazed her head, Merry panicked and dodged the object that was going to hit her directly, she broke her balance, fell, tumbled on her master, and both of them were tangled up on the carpet.

With no one stopping it, the plastic container crashed into the wall, its contents sprinkling to the floor. Transparent liquid spilled, a stimulating smell filling the room.

“A-”

Chelsea’s voice reacted, Merry tried to look towards her, but her master’s belly was in the way, so she couldn’t. However, she saw that the light of a torch fire flying. With no one to stop it, the torch hit the wall in the same orbit as the plastic container, the sparks scattered and bounced, falling on the floor, burning it.

Her master screamed. Chelsea tried to put out the fire by stomping on it many times, but the fire didn’t disappear, it burnt the carpet vigorously. Chelsea stomped on the floor as hard as she could, she stomped on the floor so much the room began to shake, the furniture collapsed, there was a sound of something breaking, her master shouted, and by the time Merry wanted to scream, the floor partially collapsed, sending Chelsea, her handheld console and a bunch of other things falling down with it.

There was dust and black soot that scattered about, it was hard to see 50 cm ahead with the smoke, but she could feel heat, and she could hear the sound of something burning. The fire wasn’t gone yet. Merry took out one sheet of paper from her pocket, doodled up one running pastel sheep. The paper became swollen, the sheep inside of it jumping out.

“Get some water buckets and help, please!”

The sheep bleated “Baa”, heading outside towards the exit, but on the way, when it jumped the flames, it’s fluffy wool caught on fire. The sheep cried out with a sorrowful voice, rampaging about, and since there was a large hole nearby, it fell down. They could hear the screams of one person and one sheep from below them.

She didn’t think about it hard enough. Sheep were not suitable for locations on fire. She had no choice but to go it alone. That’s what Merry decided, she stood up, ran out, but since she was all tangled up when she forcefully ran off, her master’s robes ripped, and her staggering master dropped down the hole.

From below the hole, she could hear the screams of two people and one sheep. Regrettably, she didn’t even have time to help them. She had to put out the fire as soon as possible, otherwise the small fire could become a larger fire. Merry ran, on the way, she received a heavy shock to her forehead. Since she didn’t look ahead when she was running, she hit the wall next to the door, and before she could understand what happened, she fell on her b.u.t.t, there was nowhere for her hand to support her body, so she fell down the hole.

☆ 7753

After pa.s.sing through the gates of the Examination Division, while looking at the map that came with the envelope, they walked for 15 minutes on the animal trail. They walked up an uphill slope, then downhill where rocks rolled, surrounded by trees, they couldn’t see the sea. The earth had a very undulating look, even just walking straight made them spend some time. They still haven’t reached their destination, the castle at the middle of the island. The animal trail surrounded by tall trees obstructed the sunlight, so it was dim, while they were grateful for the moderate heat, it was annoying to have to keep watch to swat out branches that protruded from their sides every time.

Mana looks so pained from her teleportation-sickness, I wish we arrived sooner, she thought, but they wouldn’t arrive early just by hoping and thinking. If she had lent a shoulder, carried her on her back, or held her as she walked, Mana would’ve been feeling a lot better, but if she did that, Mana would get angry. Her pride was high and steep.

7753 was affiliated with the Human Resources Division, using her Magical Goggles to see Magical Girls, their abilities, self-a.s.sertiveness, philosophy, family structure, career, she was a.s.signed to check a variety of things like that as her job. When she equipped her goggles, even though the data displayed on them had the possibility to be viewed by someone other than 7753, the only one who could quickly fine-tune which status they viewed through those goggles was 7753.

This thing that only 7753 could do satisfied 7753’s self-confidence, at the same time, the number of business trips she went to has increased. There were countless business trips to the countryside and country houses, but never to a dark and naturally surrounded relaxation-filled island before. Currently, she entered the forest from the sandy beaches, endlessly walking through the animal trail. Her choking interest in the greenery had barely run out, amazing, amazing, she thought as she pa.s.sed through the road that was maintained to a sorry extent.

Firstly, the smell was different. The thin smell of the tides drifted away to become the smell of vegetation. The smell of the greenery was dense enough to push the self-a.s.sertive smell of the tides to the corner. The branches shook in the wind, the leaves trembled. The shorter gra.s.s stayed in the ground, the taller gra.s.s made an annoying scrunching sound. Wood and gra.s.s grew thick on the exposed earth as if surrounding it. There was a tropical-style red and yellow flower, beside it was a j.a.panese fatsia standing with trees possessing palm-like leaves side by side, the tree facing it was a fine coniferous tree that was reminiscent of those at the local shrine by the forest. j.a.panese palm tree-like trees stood up towards the sky, there were large fern plants that was as tall as an adult male, their shapes just like a royal fern. It wasn’t just that there were a large number of miscellaneous things, from cold to mild regions, the plants were living together ignoring habitats and climate. Getting some kinds of adjustments to fit the island’s climate and temperature. Since it didn’t look like beauty and landscape was being given priority, it must’ve been for experimenting or something. There were no natural or unnatural things in magic.

A cool breeze stroked her cheek. Tepsekemei turned above in the sky. Don’t go anywhere we can’t see you, she had been told, she seemed to be following those for the time being, but since there were tall trees and spreading branches and leaves blocking them, occasionally she disappeared. The genie-looking Tepsekemei suddenly appeared, overlapping with the sun, 7753 used her right hand to s.h.i.+eld her eyes. The bush in front of her made a scrunch scrunch noise, before two colorful birds flew out, when she saw Tepsekemei appear chasing those birds away, 7753 called out.

“Don’t chase the birds!”

Tepsekemei looked back, she disappeared, fluctuated, 3 seconds later she returned to her original density, when she returned to her original form, she tilted her head with a strange look on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“The books you read told you not to mess with animals, didn’t it?”

“As long as you help the spider in the end, everything is forgiven.”

“You’re still getting the wrong message, then… Um, how do I put this, it’s not just spiders you have to help. If you help birds too, then they’ll carry you from h.e.l.l to heaven. That’s safer than a spider’s thread, isn’t it?”

“Is that how it works…”

She remembered simple kanji, the range of books she read had expanded, so she’s getting stranger influences. There was an educational effect on reading, but the amount of trouble they had increased too.

Tepsekemei changed her face from that of strangeness to a difficult expression, slowly she descended. 7753 noticed that she stopped walking, so she tried to apologize to Mana who was standing beside her, but Mana wasn’t looking at her, she was staring up at Tepsekemei.

7753 looked at where Mana was looking. Tepsekemei had something in her right arm. It was gray like black paint mixing into melting white paint, its shape was about 10 centimeters in a circle. It seemed to be a fruit. Bite marks. There were bite marks on them.

“Aaah! Did you just decide to eat the things you found here!?”

“It’s delicious. Eating it makes Mei happy. Mei will share for Wedin and Funny Trick.”

“You don’t need to do that. Aaaah! You ate this much!?”

She bit two things, there were also three things that only had skin left on it. Tepsekemei’s cheeks were dirty with fresh juice, since she was chewing something inside her mouth, her p.r.o.nunciation was a bit weird.

While 7753 looked at Tepsekemei, she whispered to Mana in a soft voice.

“Is this going to be okay?”

“If it was important, they wouldn’t have let her steal it.”

Mana let out a sigh after that. Rather than being amazed at the acts of Tepsekemei, thanks to being dulled, she treated it like it was a minor crime and that it was nothing. It was rare for a someone like Mana, who was a strict investigator at all times to have that kind of att.i.tude. When she thought of the saying ‘Even the devil gets sunstroke’, she gulped.

“Are you sure it’s okay? They won’t get mad? The owner of the island, he’s studying magic, right? Aren’t they worried that an important fruit was taken away?”

“It’s not like that fruit’s rare around here… So it’s not like the dead man’ll get angry.”

7753 raised her eyebrow and looked at Mana. It wasn’t just that she was simply feeling sick or lazy, those words felt like they came out of nowhere. It felt like she was talking about someone else’s problem. Mana coughed like something was caught in her throat, breathing away exhaustively, then continued.

“I’ve never met the deceased directly… He was my father’s senior at school.”

“Oh is that so?”

Was it okay to step into this? Were there any disputes between the Mages? 7753 couldn’t ask what Mana’s relations.h.i.+p was to the deceased. She’s always waited for the other person to speak up first, she’s been like that since she was a schoolgirl, because of that, 7753, Kotori Nanaya’s friends.h.i.+ps were quite narrow.

“Eating this makes you happy.”

Without breaking her difficult looking face, she offered one of the gray fruits to 7753. At the Nanaya family household, there was a rotten garden tree that almost fell down. The fruit looked like it would’ve come from that tree. What was it, a loquat fruit?

She didn’t want to return it, but how was she supposed to accept it? A hand stretched out over 7753’s shoulders, the small hands received the gray fruit. It was Mana.

Mana lifted her wide brimmed hat, while supporting her hat, she looked at the fruit, moving her face close, opening her mouth wide that her skin stretched. 7753 opened and closed her mouth several times, holding both hands in an odd position, wondering if everything was okay as Mana nodded.

“This is a gray fruit.”

Mana once more bit it again, whew, she breathed out, she looked at 7753, furrowing her brows.

“No, I mean the name really is grayfruit. I’m not just saying that it’s a fruit that’s gray, okay?”

“Ah, okay.”

“What did you take me for?”

Three times, four times she bit, the dripping food juice dexterously being put inside her mouth. Once more she breathed out. Redness returned to her pallor white complexion. Mana wiped off the juice with her right hand, she received another offer of fruit from Tepsekemei, then threw it to 7753.

“Try it. They absorb magical power from the land and atmosphere and store them… only trace amounts though. If you were a Mage specializing in pharmaceutical magic… Then even as a student, you’d know about a hundred or two hundred ways to formulate and prepare this. We just plucked this out, so you better eat it before it rots. We don’t have any left.”

Mana received one more from Tepsekemei, the remaining grayfruits that Tepsekemei had were in both her hands as she alternated between them. 7753 looked at the fruit—One with a gray skin—in her hand, rolled it, poked it, brought her nose closer to smell it. It was sweet. It even smells like loquats. Learning from Mana, she bit it without peeling the skin. She was afraid, from the refrained first bite, she increased it with her second bite. Her third bite was a large one. Just as she thought, no, it was sweeter and fresher than she thought. The skin didn’t disturb the fruit, it didn’t have any hair that stinged, it was also soft. Even swallowing it as it naturally melted into her throat felt comfortable. Breathing in the aroma from her mouth gave off a sweet fragrance. The heat from the core of her body, that is to say, the energy she felt seemed to be filling up. Tepsekemei wasn’t lying when she said it’d make her feel happy.

7753 wanted a refill, but there was none left.

“This is… delicious.”

“It’s been used for processing and nutritional support. I’ve made these before too. Still, it’s rare for it to be this delicious. Must be a new breed.”

Mana’s words were without delay, she stretched her back, even though she wasn’t talking about herself, her expression was good, furthermore, her complexion looked good. Mana was back to the usual Mana. It even works against teleportation-sickness huh? She wanted to say before she stopped herself.

“Wait, then it really was something valuable, wasn’t it?”

“If it was a problem, we’ll apologize. He’ll probably just reduce my share. He seems to be a pretty wealthy man. Even if I’m his junior’s daughter, I should get some share.”

“About that. I think something’s a little weird, but why invite the daughter instead of the junior? Shouldn’t normal inheritance be pa.s.sed on to the more closer ones in relations.h.i.+ps?”

“I asked my father, but it looks like he’s a bit of a weird Mage. Most researchers are more or less weird anyways.”

“Is he going to be okay, that man I mean.”

“Well if he’s dead it should be safe.”

“Well yeah… I guess.”

“Since he was a bit weird, he might’ve left behind some interesting things.”

“Interesting things? So the heritage isn’t money or land?”

“Works, creations, not to mention magical tools.”

“Ah, so there’s those things as well, huh.”

“There’s probably even some undiscovered theories or magical arts too. He seems to be a well-known researcher. I’d be glad to use any of his new magic for the Examination Division. If they exist, I’ll try and see if I can be given priority.”

“So who gets what is determined by discussions?”

“If there’s a will, we’ll respect it, of course we’ll have to keep it within the range of common sense by comparing it with previous examples.”

She took out the white envelope from her pocket, taking out the letter inside and spreading it out.

“This letter has the same message for every inheritor. We shall decide with the others who inherits the heritage of the deceased. Anyone who does not respond loses the right to inherit. Each inheritor may bring up to two Magical Girls as companions.”

“But that looks like only one person’s going to inherit everything, though.”

“That makes no sense. Gathering so many people just to have one inheritor is absurd. If he wanted one inheritor, he should’ve nominated it from scratch. He gathered us all here, so he wanted us to discuss. Did you think we’d be bringing Magical Girls with us to have some kind of tournament match or something?”

“No, well… Um, the discussions are only between Mages, right?”

“We’re not bringing Magical Girls with us to have them partic.i.p.ate in discussions, you know”

“Then why?”

“I’m also questioning that, if I think about it… This island probably has dog-eat-dog style animals, so maybe Magical Girls are bodyguards for protection?”

“Ah, I see.”

“Besides, you don’t need Magical Girls in the first place if you’re just going to have a discussion, all the professionals gather in the Examination Division.”

“They do, don’t they. It’s not like you need to bring any friends along.”

Mana’s mouth slightly stiffened. 7753 wondered what happened, then repeated her own words in her head, ‘Ah’, she felt.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to say friends.”

“No… Well, yeah. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I mean, you don’t have to worry because we’re just going a Mages only discussion. You don’t have to have any weird worries. Besides……. Um, I’m an old veteran pro investigator. Worrying would be useless. Rude, even.”

Mana confidently spoke aloud, taking out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth. Come on, she nudged on, walking first, before quickly turning around. Her face seemed to be angry. Not to mention, because she was pointing her index finger, 7753 unconsciously stepped back.

“I want you to supervise Tepsekemei as closely as possible. She might get too loud or something.”

“Yes. Sorry.”

The direction of her index finger changed, pointing at the sky behind 7753.

“Also, Tepsekemei. Don’t you fly around w.i.l.l.y nilly! Stay close.”

“If Mei doesn’t fly, Mei won’t know when an enemy Magical Girl will come or not.”

“Even if you think it’s unexplored territory, we can easily jump there using a Gate, we’re still in range of civilization. This is a place protected by the law, which means there are no enemy Magical Girls.”

She affirmed this, then she did a cute walk through the bushes, making a shuffling noise. While following her behind, 7753 was relieved that Mana had recovered, but the usual Mana was always angry and proud every time. If she ever caused a dispute, 7753 prayed that it was within a range where she could back her up, as she chased after Mana’s small back.

Watching behind her, Tepsekemei became bigger and smaller as she followed. Following her word, she did not fly.

☆ Love Me Ren-Ren

Ren-Ren held up the island map towards the sun. The terrain was just like what was shown on the map. Somehow, they were walking on the right route. It took them 10 minutes to get here, it’ll take them about 10 more minutes before they could arrive at their destination, the main building.

The choppy words that Nephilia kept saying were easier to understand than when she first met her. Though her voice wasn’t loud and her p.r.o.nunciation also was still not clear. It’s not that she could hear her better, it’s just that she could read her better.

Inferring someone’s real intentions from their gestures and tone of voice was Ren-Ren’s specialty. It’s difficult for someone she just met, but after she’s conversed repeatedly and worked together with them, her accuracy would improve. For example, if she says “Br……hggt……” in a very choppy voice, then if she’s holding her palms up towards the sun whilst looking up annoyedly, then it can be inferred that she’s trying to say “Bright”.

They entered the large old building, entered the elevator that decided to ascend and descend, before exiting on the supposedly non-existent 8th floor, there, after completing some procedures for the Land of Magic’s surveillance agents, they could finally use the Gate—which to Ren-Ren looked like just a giant wooden door—and travel to the island.

Because the procedures were quite long, there were plenty of opportunities to talk with Agri and Nephilia. How the movie they saw with the free coupon they got from buying something was boring, how the old confectionary store had delicious castelas, how they partic.i.p.ated in a Land of Magic PR Mascot Character champions.h.i.+p, and other silly things like that.

Having conversations with others is so that she’d know what others want and do not want. In order for Ren-Ren to fulfill her duties, she needed to know those so that she could better observe and gain insight on them, even if she didn’t like it. You have a talent, being able to adapt to anything you need, said her examiner once, but was she just saying it? Was it a compliment? Maybe it was words of comfort? Even now, she didn’t know.

Just by chatting she could understand anyone. If she knew them, she’d know what to talk about, too.

Agri also began to understand what Nephilia wanted to say, but not as good as Ren-Ren did, occasionally, she’d need a translator. Do you have a trick to do it? Agri would ask, but since Ren-Ren knew from personal experience that answering honestly with I just have good people observation skills will look bad, she’d just smile and fool her by answering vaguely.

The wind blew down on the small pathway sandwiched between the trees, Agri pulled down her hood to shade herself from the sun. Even though it was just a hooded robe pulled straight out of the closet, which made it dusty—Which was cream-colored, so thankfully the dust wouldn’t stand out, something a young woman would never say—wearing it made her look like a Mage.

The wind blew on them again, Nephilia furrowed her eyebrows looking pained, her lips pursed, Agri looked up at the blue sky and muttered “Dammit”, to which another gust of wind blew as if to drown her words.

The winds made the trees shake, and when they came in waves, it made a roaring noise. Even just walking, the sound of stepping on the earth, the sound of shaking tree branches, the sound of the leaves on the branches they avoided hitting, and a variety of other sounds, nature was filled with more sounds than they thought. The birds chirped, then flew away, when she thought the bushes were moving, she saw a pure white sheep show its face, before disappearing into the bushes.

“They just let them roam free, huh. It’s wild but not dirty.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” yawned Agri uninterestedly from the bottom of her heart.

Ren-Ren led the two of them. Outdoor activities weren’t her specialty, but she couldn’t hand this over to Agri, and she’s not yet ready to rely on Nephilia for this either. She moved a spider’s nest to another branch, sc.r.a.ped the tall gra.s.s, made it so that the two behind her could head forward as easily as they could. There was a fallen tree that blocked the road, with signs of a beast’s bite marks on it. The size and shape of the mark seemed to be a carnivorous beast that was the same size as a human’s, her mind once again tightened up. No matter what kind of wild beast that would attack them, they wouldn’t be a match for a Magical Girl, but this was an island that was managed by a Mage. The living creatures here may not just be natural flora and fauna. Escorting someone was just like outdoor activities, not her specialty, but it was necessary for her as a Magical Girl.

While paying closer attention, yet still walking without slowing down, Agri and Nephilia began playing j.a.panese word-chain out of boredom, after Nephilia’s persistent 16th “Ru” ending, the path finally opened. There were no trees that provided shade. The tall gra.s.s that had been treaded on many times was replaced by gra.s.s that grew on one side. A dazzling light hit Ren-Ren’s eyes.

A water-like smell went up Ren-Ren’s nose. It wasn’t the smell of the tides, it was the smell of water.

Gra.s.s-covered rolling hills continued on, on its narrow s.p.a.ce, was an approximately 100 meter diameter circular pond. The surface water sparkled reflecting sunlight. As her eyes gradually got used to it, she could see the whole view. She could see several trees growing in her surroundings, with gray-ish fruits hanging from the branches. Something was splas.h.i.+ng in the water, perhaps there were creatures in there, she thought as the waves splashed up. The waves were too big for small fish and insects to make.

Her thought of sitting at the thicket to have some lunch was filled with wariness in less than a second. Since she wasn’t good at outdoor activities, it’s better not to approach anything she didn’t understand. This island’s nature isn’t limited to decent creatures. When she was on the verge of suggesting that they avoid the pond, the surface of the water bounced again. It was 3 meters bigger than before, close to 4 meters bigger.

Ren-Ren placed an arrow on her bow, she heard the sound of Nephilia setting up her scythe behind her.

Whether it’s a bug, animal, or fish, it’s far too big-

“Heyyo”

The two Magical Girls who had been fixed to the pond instantly reversed back, jumping into position to protect Agri. Ren-Ren stayed low, Nephilia pushed her scythe out. Agri yelped out in surprise, the Magical Girl who talked from behind them made a vexing looking face as she waved her right hand.

“Whoa whoa whoa, weapons are dangerous, aren’t they?”

Since they were distracted by the pond, they didn’t notice anything at all. She had a blueish gray and thinly black printed fur like costume with a short tail. She had large catlike ears protruding from her head, her large smile showed off her animal-like fangs that were sharp like a vampire. Unlike Ren-Ren or Nephilia, she had no weapons with her.

Was she trying to appeal to them by having nothing at all? The Magical Girl put her hands forward, boing, boing, she jumped back a distance of 10 meters.

“Sorry for surprising you with my voice. I won’t do it next time. Look, I have no weapons, see?”

Her tone and att.i.tude was light. She seemed to not be hostile, but Ren-Ren can’t be careless. Ren-Ren slowly stood up, closing up to Agri behind her, whispering to her.

“Do you know her?”

“Nuh-uh”

Ren-Ren’s lips curled, sighing out. She’s not good at fighting others and she disliked violence. She thinks she can understand people, she also thinks there’s no one she couldn’t befriend. She noticed her hands trembling on her bow, as she tightly grasped it.

Ren-Ren wondered how she should proceed. This is different from family disputes. She didn’t know what her opponent wanted. What she wanted was to avoid a fight. She’ll try to be as reasonable as possible, but since she was resolute, she had to inform her that she didn’t want to fight. WIthout evoking any bad feelings, without making light of her, she asked who she was affiliated with, probably sent to escort the Mages that came to this island.

Before Ren-Ren could reach a conclusion, the fur Magical Girl laughed out a “Haha”. The fangs in her mouth reflected light, as Ren-Ren narrowed her eyes.

“Why’re you asking? You’re Agri or something right? Am I wrong?”

Agri placed her hands on Ren-Ren’s shoulder. I’ll talk with her, she was motioning.

“It’s not wrong, but how did you know? I’m n.o.body famous.”

“You came to this island, didn’t you? So you used those new Gates, right? They let me know.”

“Do they normally tell people that? There’s no confidentiality or privacy?”

“Aren’t you guys managed by the Osk Faction out there? Don’t they think human rights is nothing but an eyesore or a rotten stain or something.”

“Oooh, so you’re an Osk Faction person? You’re giving a bad name for them.”

“But I’ve got good news for you, don’t I? My master wants to talk with you, after all.”

“Hmm… Fine, then.”

“Thanks!”

Agri muttered “Annoying” under her breath while pus.h.i.+ng Ren-Ren’s back.

“There’s no sense in staying away and speaking loudly, get closer.”

“But, uh… It might be dangerous. We didn’t sense her at all, back then.”

“Once we’re in the range of the law, nothing’s going to happen. If you’re so worried, then you can stay back, Ren-Ren, if something happens, shoot your arrows. Nephi, come with me.”

Agri quickly walked, Ren-Ren had no choice but to make way. Following up was Nephilia pa.s.sing by Ren-Ren, she glanced at her, Ren-Ren nodded. Her expression read “We’re both suffering aren’t we?” but she didn’t seem to be as nervous as Ren-Ren.

Ren-Ren walked behind at a distance of 5 meters. She was 10 meters away before, but it was too far, it might make her opponent alarmed. Contrary to Ren-Ren, the fur Magical Girl didn’t seem to show any tension, she was relaxed and smiling.

When they were only 10 steps away, the fur Magical Girl turned her face to the pond. As Ren-Ren was cautious of this Magical Girl, she looked at where the girl looked. The bushes slightly shook, something flew from the leaves of the trees. It was a carpet, there was a human sitting on it. The flying carpet flew above the pond, then flew straight at a speed that made the water rain, drifting from behind the fur Magical Girl and swirling around her for a while, changing to head towards Agri before stopping completely. The wind from the carpet stopped and made the gra.s.s fall down, Agri let out a voice of admiration, Nephilia laughed her “Kus.h.i.+s.h.i.+” laugh, the fur Magical Girl yelped out a surprised “Nya!” avoiding the water sprinkles.

The man sitting on the carpet raised a hand and said “Yooo.” It was a thick and low voice. The robe sleeves were slipping off, his muscular arms were exposed. On his wrist was a complicated figure of a hexagonal star drawn on a pentagram in green. Many Mages would make carved items, she’s heard of that before. Obviously for magical purposes and not fas.h.i.+on.

“Navi Ru. Satabourne’s disciple from long ago. This is Clarissa… Er, what was your full name again?”

“Whaaat, you forgot? It’s Toothedge, Clarissa Toothedge.”

The Magical Girl, Clarissa, lowered her head while protesting, Agri nodded back.

“Agriellemaid Quarky. Satabourne’s lover’s daughter. The Magical Girl with a scythe is Nephilia. The one with a bow is Love Me Ren-Ren.”

Nephilia lowered her head while protruding her jaw and looking forward at her opponent. It looked like she was a child playing a bad joke, but Navi nodded as if he didn’t really care. Ren-Ren lowered her head while looking at Navi, then gulped.

His appearance was too vulgar for a Mage. To sum it up, his forehead hair was spa.r.s.e, his belly was protruded, he had shaving traces of a lush and deep beard, he had a perfect smiling face, a contrast to Clarissa’s mysteriousness. Young, old, before you could even get that impression, you’d think he was ‘Strong’. His whole body was square-shaped, tough, powerful, big.

What made Ren-Ren nervous wasn’t Navi’s extruded strength and conviction, but the way his eyes moved. Before he looked at Ren-Ren, Nephilia, or Agri, he gave priority to the pond, then he looked at Ren-Ren, Nephilia, and Agri in that order, then back to the pond, then quickly returned to Agri, rang his nose, then crossed his arms.

He was interested in the pond, he was hiding something. Was there something in the pond, or someone? Whatever he’s hiding in the pond, it can’t be good for Agri.

Ren-Ren focused on Navi and Clarissa, but her body was vigilant to the pond. Agri was having a relaxing conversation with the old man’s relative, Nephilia was so relaxed that it felt like she was in a transcendental state listening to the two Mages talking.

Navi began talking as he sat on his carpet.

“A lover’s daughter? Oh how nice. I want that too.”

“Why are you agreeing by yourself?”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to stop you so suddenly.”

“It’s not really so sudden. It’s just not that interesting.”

“Yes, about that not-so-interesting event. I’ve also come to inherit from old man Satabourne.”

“Did you come early just to wait for us? Here to ambush us?”

“No, I didn’t change any timings or anything. This island just has a bunch of gates. I’m simply looking for whoever I can cooperate with.”

“...Cooperate?”

“Basically it means me and you. I’d like to talk about both of us making profit.”

Navi slapped his wide forehead.

“It’s a Mage’s style to always consult each other before deciding on something, from the Three Sages to the most worthless things, right?”

“That’s pretty depressing.”

“But you see, here’s the important bit. So, when the time comes when we decide what to do with the heritage, there is one person who unreasonably hates me. He’s an old man called Ragi, hates me like I’m his grandkids’ nemesis. He’ll probably give priority to me losing rather than him profiting.”

Did Agri found the way he talked funny? Agri rocked her head, trying hard to kill her laughter. Navi raised his thick eyebrow and looked at Agri, distorting his thick lips and making a horrifying smile.

“I don’t hate the old man, personally. Just from the way he talks, I like him more than the other high-cla.s.sed seniors, although unfortunately, this isn’t a personal affair. So I need someone to help me. I don’t care in what way, as long as it keeps the old man from trying to go for a mutually a.s.sured destruction with me.”

“That’s all well and good. But helping you will only benefit you, what do I get from it?”

“You get that, little lady.”

“Could you not call me little lady?”

“Who are you then, little lady?”

“Agri is fine.”

“Agri, then. What you desire and what I desire are probably different. It should be easy for us to both get us what we want.”

“Then what do you want, old man?”

“Could you not call me old man?”

“Who are you then, old man?”

“Navi is fine.”

Navi knocked on his forehead, Agri shook her shoulders, Clarissa held her stomach, they seemed to be laughing in a sweet kind of laugh, but in the middle of that, Navi glanced at the pond, and Ren-Ren remembered her fear more than her fun, she bit her dry lip from the tension, gently moistening them with her saliva. Nephilia laughed a little late with the three of them, laughing alone about 4 seconds after they stopped laughing.

“Me, I don’t need money or things or land.”

Navi smiled, Agri looked back with a suspicious face.

“Then why’d you come here?”

“I want the techniques that old man Satabourne’s left behind.”

“Huh? He hasn’t really researched anything that big.”

“You’re belittling him, huh. As a researcher, he’s pretty considerable. People laugh at him for getting his hands in everything, but there are lots of people who call him an all-purpose Mage. There are techniques that use Satabourne’s name in a variety of fields…… though I doubt he was quite human, that old man.”

That last sentence, probably added to satisfy Agri, who wasn’t very fond of Satabourne. Navi’s smile was a mixture of somewhat flouris.h.i.+ng colors. The edge of Agri’s lips curved to a smile before it disappeared. No one but Ren-Ren noticed that she was tightening her fists so hard her fingernails were turning white.

“So, um? Uh…… You want Satabourne’s techniques, is that it?”

“I’m not interested in the techniques that have been publically announced. I’m interested in the techniques that the old man has kept secret that no one knows about.”

For the first time since Navi showed up, although it was slight, Agri raised her eyebrow.

“That sounds awfully suspicious. You don’t even know what they are.”

“A man lives by making bets, doesn’t he?”

“Well if that’s what you want, I won’t stop you. Still, if you don’t find what you’re looking for, it’d be trouble if you complain how you’re the only one who comes home with nothing.”

“You calling me stingy?”

“Mages will resort to anything when they’re desperate.”

“You’ll just have to trust me, then. I want the old man’s techniques, I’ll make an effort so that you can go back with money or objects as much as you want.”

“Can’t really trust someone I’ve just met. Anything you say is just verbal promises. But, if you want to make a Nariami Contract, we’d both be relieved.”

“Ah? The Nariami Contract. Isn’t that a curse?”

“It’s not a curse. If anyone betrays it, it just gives you what you deserve. Nothing happens if you don’t betray, or are you telling me you were planning to betray me?”

“Of course not… But as for the contract, do you have something like that in a place like this?”

“Nephi, you have it, right?”

Nephilia’s eyes widened when she was spoken to, gradually closing up. Finally nodding when she was back to her usual glazed expression. Navi scratched his head, standing on one knee on his carpet. He pulled back his robe, you could see the hairs on his s.h.i.+n. There was some kind of old wound on his s.h.i.+n, that was the only place without hair.

Ren-Ren began to think. This man, everywhere in his body was an atmosphere of violence.

“I’m not too happy about leaving something like this lying around, though.”

“Prob…… This…… New…… Temp……”

“She’s saying how by modifying this template just a little bit, she can make a seemingly normal contract at first glance. Also, she’ll word it so that no matter where we bring this contract, no matter what happens to it, it won’t be a problem.”

“What? You brought an expert with you?”

“Isn’t that why we’re all gathered?”

“Well you’re not wrong.”

The two Mages and Nephilia brought their heads close to each other, discussing their opinions about the contract between the binders, “Let’s do this one” “No, that’s non-negotiable” “Just a little bit more” Clarissa began to grow bored, Ren-Ren was the only one getting tense. Nephilia listened to both of their opinions, scribbling down the contract with letters. The black parts gradually increased in the pure white contract, by the time they were done, they lifted the mostly black paper towards the sun as she laughed in her “Kus.h.i.+s.h.i.+s.h.i.+” laugh. It looked like an infant had drawn on it with crayon, but since she was an expert, she probably didn’t make any mistakes.

Navi repeatedly looked back at the words.

“Here, this is a bit weird, don’t you think?”

“That’s just a nuance problem.”

“Well I’m concerned about that nuance. After all, you need form and honor to make a living.”

“Fine, Nephi. Do what the old man says. Oh, be careful not to make me lose out, okay? Can’t let your guard down when dealing with mages.”

“Yes……”

“Hehe, my bad.”

“No need to apologize. We have to be careful about this sort of thing. It is the Nariami Contract. You could get burnt, buried, or destroyed.”

“There’s no need for threats. I get it…”

Navi stroked his head from the top of his head to his chin, he purposefully made a serious look on his face, once again looking over the contract.

“Don’t forget, this applies in reverse. If you betray me, all your wealth becomes mine.”

“That’s just how the contract works. If you betray us, everything you have scatters to us.”

“Yes. True. Then the contract is sealed. Let’s do our best to ensure we both gain profit.”

Nephilia got on her knees, lifting the binder as if it was an offering. Navi and Agri overlapped their hands on top of the black paper, casting a spell. They made sounds that not even Ren-Ren could understand as their momentum increased, like a trade, like they were shouting at each other, Navi’s clear chanting suddenly collided with Agri’s chanting, her sense of time diminished within the tension, the end came abruptly. The two Mages calmed their voices, and separated their hands.

As if peeling off layers, the paper was divided into two, each being given to Navi and Agri. Well then, I’ll see you they repeated to each other as Navi went on his carpet as Clarissa walked behind him waving her hands wildly to chase him, 5 minutes past the hill, they disappeared, Ren-Ren advanced to the pond low in posture, she looked down at the surface of the water at an angle.

There were some small fish, a dragonfly had stopped on the reeds. She couldn’t see the bottom, though. There were no movements of any large creatures either. Ren-Ren sighed out in relief and worry.

“Don’t be too worried about the old man’s bluffs.”

She was surprised at the voice behind her, turned around, then looked up. Agri was smiling.

“He purposely showed off his wrist, didn’t he? Only Mages from the Experiment Site have that mark.”

“The Experiment Site?”

“It’s a place where 99% of the people who are involved are good-for-nothings. You don’t need to know the details, I don’t even want to talk about the details, those are just rumors in the first place, I don’t really know if the details are true.”

Ren-Ren furrowed her eyebrows. Her sense of worry was pa.s.sed on, as Agri fluttered her right arm chuckling.

“He says we met him by coincidence, but I don’t believe it. He investigated me and found it acceptable to cooperate with me, so he really was waiting for us, don’t you think? If he was an Experiment Site Mage, then he’d immediately investigate the daughter of Satabourne’s lover. I don’t think it’s out of the question if he thinks that daughter could be living a better life.”

Accepting the extended hand, Ren-Ren stood up, at the same time she was hugged. She felt her face being pushed to soft bulges behind the robes as Ren-Ren looked up. Agri looked down at Ren-Ren with a serious face.

“Are you pitying me?”

“No… why?”

“You’re making a face.”

“I… This is the face I always make. I’m not… pitying you.”

She knew that Agri wasn’t rich in her life. She knew that Agri hated her father. She could see that Agri’s mother and Agri herself has gone through some hards.h.i.+p. Yet Ren-Ren didn’t think she felt pity for her.

“Really?”

“Really. I don’t pity you, but… I’m worried.”

The two of them stared at each other for a while. The first one to divert her eyes was Agri. She muttered “Seriously” in a soft voice, but it didn’t sound like she was annoyed. She looked back and beckoned to Nephilia, she also came in with the three of them.

“You don’t need to pity or worry about me.”

“Okay.”

“This is just business relations.h.i.+p, okay? I don’t e