Hope born of solitus

*

Twin black braids, Pelenia. Chocolate blades of grass, Sophy. Lastly, autumn brown ponytail, Rita. Pelenia was the healer, Sophy wielded nunchucks and was the injured being tended to due to the knight's superior weapon handling. Rita was the archer that saved me.

"... We thank you sincerely for dropping by and offering help. What about your own territory?" (Pelenia)

She spoke with a dignity that couldn't be contained in her petite body, she was only less than a head shorter, but her tone brought untold resolve to the conversation. Their uniform was a tan brown blazer over a plain white button shirt, their skirt was a similar shade of brown and pleated around their waist.

"My own... Territory? Are we... managing the land?" (Lastia)

"Hmm... In a way, yes. We're managing the Trace population. With each school being the epicentre where the population density is the highest. Most 'Events' happen in school." (Pelenia)

She sat on the table next to me and ordered her friends to make sure no one was listening in. Sophy stood guard outside the corridor while Rita kept watch at the row of windows. It was a thin building among many that they currently occupied in this Caledonia high institution. Anybody could be listening in from anywhere, rudimentary precautions were necessary.

Lastia held out her hand, gesturing to Pelenia to wait for a short moment. Her body sent out a wave of faint scarlet light, this was [ingest]. She was using it to track the presence of everything in the vicinity. Physically, it should be impossible to hear them from upstairs or downstairs, so she'll check for any usage of magic energy to eavesdrop on them. Particularly upstairs and downstairs.

"... Unless they have cloaking, there shouldn't be anyone listening in. There's also... No one else in the building right now." (Lastia)

The 'Event' was over, normal inhabitants of this zone should have begun to continue moving. The force that served to put them in stasis was more like an isolating or preserving measure. It's all too much like a storybook, left on a certain page and continuing from another, they would retain no memories of the time inbetween in which Traces were wreaking havoc. A fundamental law of this world was preserving their sanity by preventing them from learning about the existence of magic.

"Right. Thanks for the heads up. Back to the matter concerning your territory, do you not need to defend it? It's an incredibly important matter, that's why almost no magic girls travel around at all.

We all keep to our territories, working hard everyday just to make it safe. " (Pelenia)

She wasn't admonishing Lastia, but it almost felt like she was. A pang of guilt constricted her heart lightly before letting go. She arrived at a conclusion almost immediately.

" My friends are strong. That's why I took some time to see the world. I came by on the way not to help you guys out... But to train and become stronger." (Lastia)

"... I see. It would have been wistful if we used the capabilities of another territory's magical girl... At the expense of the safety of their land.

I think the other 2 might have some things to tell you too, so I'll end off with something minor. Take it with a heavy grain of salt, a myth if you will.

It's said that magical girls might not awaken spontaneously due to random conditions, but are actually deliberately selected by the land we live on. That's why each territory roughly has the same number of magical girls, barring some exceptions.

It's also said that when they awaken, they are given only the right amount of power needed to protect the land from Traces, not a single drop more or less. They will expend their entire beings to fulfill their purpose, eventually returning all to the land. That's it from me. Please take your time. " (Pelenia)

Controlling the quantity and quality of magical girls... The hypothesis was that these intricacies are manipulated by the land we live on, another sister fundamental force similar to the one that enacts 'Event's. Then wouldn't the absence of one girl cause everything to crumble? What if one had died due to a mishaps or betrayal, wouldn't the imbalance favour the Traces? There's also a short period of time before they are replaced, wouldn't that place a gap in a land's defences?

Traces are not a monolithic entity capable of teamwork or thorough planning, they're more like wild animals that happen to feed on the same prey, humans. So they might not be able to effectively exploit such gaps of a magical girl's absence.

There's also the matter of quality, when a magical girl awakens with just enough power to defend the land, are they referring to their initial abilities? Or how much power they attain at the end of their duties? Lastia had never seen a 'predecessor' magical girl, they might all have died in the line of duty, with 'event's making sure they are forgotten... This terrifies Lastia. For she who only exists in the mind of others, for her who has no continuity.

Mulling over any of it is useless, so she put them in the back burner as she approached Rita near the windows. When her time comes, she'll write it all into a diary.

"Hi... Rita, right? Thanks for saving me at the end, you and Sophy. If you guys weren't there, I wouldn't be able to defeat that creature." (Lastia)

"Oh... Please~ From our perspective, it's almost like a hero came out of nowhere to change a situation from an impossible battle to an unfavourable one. You gave us hope, no matter how meagre it was incredibly valuable to us." (Rita)

Her ponytail swayed gracefully from her gentle movements, even her gait betrayed how light footed she was. She must be their strongest fighting force, but her defence wasn't high. Did Sophy get injured because she was also protecting the other 2?it couldn't have been long before Lastia arrived.

"Fufu... A hero? Isn't every magical girl a hero?" (Lastia)

"Right... That's what I wanted to talk about... I'm sorry to break your expectations, but not everyone is a hero..." (Rita)

She narrowed her eyes while looking down, truly she looked regretful. Her kindness was not inferior to the other 2, even with the most power in the group, it also looked like she treasured her companions the most.

"But... Even if they're weak, they're still-..." (Lastia)

"This is not a matter of strength. There are some magical girls on the side against humanity. I just wanted you to watch out for them. We're the locals defending the land, so we're on the same side.

Sometimes... There are strays that are violent. Other times, there are those that form powerful organisations to crush those who are weak. They've been getting bolder recently, it must have been due to the giant eye in the sky that appeared some time ago. " (Rita)