NOVEL WEB Chapter 133
“……”
“…The results are fine. However, that sign from last time seems to have been a coincidence. There’s no particular physical change. It must have been affected by the rampage… or maybe something from the Crystal Stone.”
After getting my body checked in the Fairy Realm, I’m now sitting somewhere, sipping coffee.
Well… I’ve calmed down.
But the anger hasn’t completely subsided.
Every time I think about it, I get so mad I could go crazy.
“Please forget about Sis and Clock Hands for now. I understand how you feel, but if you keep getting angry… your magical control will drop. You know what that means, right?”
“…I know.”
I get what the Fairy Queen is saying.
If my control drops, I could cause too much damage, so I need to be careful.
I already know that.
There’s no way someone who didn’t know that could’ve handled this power all this time.
I know better than anyone… the burden of this power.
It’s not like I suddenly gained this immense power out of nowhere.
Unlike those who recklessly wield power they got overnight.
“…The coffee was good.”
“Go back and rest well. For now, mental and physical stability are important.”
…A Fairy Queen-approved vacation, huh.
Well, I’ll rest to my heart’s content.
I was already planning to only train at the training ground for a while, so it should be fine.
“Welcome back!”
“Yeah. Set out some snacks.”
“Snacks?”
“I’m taking a break for a while. Except for training.”
“Got it!”
By the way, the witch hunts… the other magical girls are taking care of the small fry.
It’ll probably end soon enough.
But the fact that there are so many witches… is it to test me and clean up the miscellaneous stuff?
That’s the kind of impression she gives off.
“Sigh~…”
“Rampage-san…”
“…Just make the snacks.”
“Yep!”
Something fried to go with beer…
I should crack open some craft beer for this.
Phew… It’s been a while since I’ve filled my stomach with just fried food…
“By the way, what happened to Hatred?”
“She successfully defeated the witch, burned the corpse, and tore it to shreds!”
“…Typical of her.”
I was a bit worried, but it seems Hatred is fine.
Well, she’s strong in her own way, even if not as strong as me.
She’s the second strongest among the magical girls.
So worrying about her was probably foolish…
“Sigh, it’s almost time to go train.”
“Meow.”
“That’s right! You’ve been fighting all day!”
“Then I’ll finish eating here and go train. Max, wait for me a bit.”
“Take care!”
Sigh… I showed such an ugly side… I’ll forget about it while training.
◇
A few days after the cycle of training and rest began, I feel like my mind has calmed down.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been in a state of no thoughts, no distractions. I still get angry when I think about it, but not enough to lose my composure.
Well, time has passed while training, so some of it has faded.
“…Lately, the dining table seems much more extravagant than usual.”
“Chubby’s been working hard to cheer me up.”
“Ah…”
“Ah~ so delicious~! Who knew such food existed?”
“……”
“…Yura, don’t talk with food in your mouth.”
By the way, is today the weekend?
The sun’s shining, and I’ve rested enough, so I should go out for a bit.
And Yura’s going out to exercise, is Diamond Dust staying home all day today?
I should warn the Responsible Mascot to keep an eye on her so she doesn’t sneak a whiskey and drink it all.
“Where are you going?”
“Just a walk.”
“Ah, then on your way back, could you get some cheesecake…”
“…Sure, I’ll get it for you.”
This girl, hasn’t she been eating cheesecake too often lately?
Almost once a day.
I get it’s delicious, but still…
“Max~…”
“…Meow.”
“Then I’ll be back.”
“Okay~.”
“Katanu. Guard the whiskey well.”
“Yep!”
“Ugh…”
Hmm… The smell outside already feels like spring.
The flowers are about to bloom, and soon I’ll be able to see cherry blossoms.
But I’m not really the type to go flower-viewing, so I don’t plan to go.
“…Lately, there’s a nursing hospital and funeral hall right next to the elementary school…”
Well, I can understand a nursing hospital and funeral hall being next to each other, but why are they right next to an elementary school?
It looks like something that would make parents of elementary school kids file a lot of complaints.
But more importantly, I didn’t know something like this was here…
“……”
By the way, since it’s the weekend, there are a lot of elementary school kids around the school and shopping district.
Their unique noise makes them stand out even more.
…It’s really noisy.
Is it just a kid thing to scream every time they talk?
“Chubby. By the way, how’s that magical girl from Gangwon-do doing now?”
“She’s doing well! Since she’s one of the few juniors, everyone takes good care of her, and she’s confidently hunting without any issues!”
“Really? That’s good. If she wasn’t doing well, I was thinking of going to retrieve her depending on the situation.”
“…Retrieving her seems a bit harsh, don’t you think…?”
“I was just going to ask if she wanted to quit. I wouldn’t forcibly take it away.”
I wouldn’t just show up and take it away if she wasn’t doing well.
And she might just be in a slump for a while.
Though it’s a bit funny to have a slump right from the start.
Anyway, taking away her chance over something like that would be a bad move.
“…By the way, what was that thing before?”
“What thing?”
“That… When I used Ether Blast, it felt like there was some kind of error.”
“I don’t know… But since it’s based on the legend, even the Fairy Queen might know about the signs, but not the conditions or what stage this is at!”
“Is that so… Then there’s nothing we can do. I’ll find out later, I guess. Anyway, in that state, the technique was unnecessarily powerful, so it’s not a disadvantage.”
Was that… something the senior did?
I feel like the senior’s Crystal Stone might have had an effect.
“Rampage-san… what are you going to do now?”
“About what?”
“Pandora’s pressure is increasing, isn’t it?”
“That’ll be fine.”
“Huh?”
“She said to meet in five years. So until then, she’ll probably stay quiet.”
“But that’s not certain, is it?”
“The witches we’ve seen so far and this one had different attitudes and behaviors. They were probably mid-tier or high-tier witches. Sending them and even higher-tier ones? That’s just stupid. She seems to have expectations of me, so she won’t interfere with me sharpening my blade properly.”
“I see…”
Thinking about what she said, maybe… all of this is a provocation towards me.
It might be over-interpreting, but considering what the Witch of Wind and this witch said…
“Anyway, I’ll keep training at the exclusive training ground for a few years. Then I’ll invade. About three years should do…”
“Not just increasing your magical power, but also training your techniques?”
“Of course. Increasing magical power isn’t as significant as you’d think, so refining the precision and basics of techniques will help improve combat power more.”
“I see!”
Given that my talent is “Rampage,” improving techniques is crucial.
Controlling and compressing that explosive power directly increases its effectiveness and allows for higher output.
Even though it’s sufficient now, I haven’t polished it to its limit yet, so I’ll use this chance to refine everything to the extreme.
…Ah, and I need to name that new ultimate move.
Hmm… I’ll decide that later.
No matter how much I think about it, no name comes to mind.
“Ah, should I eat a burger for the first time in a while? There’s a handmade burger shop here.”
“I’ll take note of that too!”
While walking, I noticed a handmade burger shop had opened, so I went in.
I’m pretty sure there used to be a regular Japanese restaurant here…
Well, I’ll just pick the one that looks the most delicious.
“Ah…”
Hmm… The handmade burger really brings out the beef flavor and its unique taste.
A burger piled high with cheese and patties is good too, but it’s too meat-heavy and gets boring quickly…
Though a few bites are quite satisfying.
“But why is it called a handmade burger?”
“Because instead of just grilling patties made in a factory, they make the patties themselves, grill them, and assemble them here.”
“I see!”
“Sometimes there are jerks who lie about using handmade patties when they’re factory-made. But you can tell by the look and taste of the patty, so just avoid them next time.”
That doesn’t mean factory-made patties are bad.
But handmade patties have their own unique flavor, and the overall quality of the burger is usually higher.
Especially when they use fresh vegetables and such.
But it’s a tough road for handmade burgers to survive if they don’t stand out.
It’s like gourmet fast food, so… you have to accept that.
“…Was ordering a milkshake a bit much?”
“Just drink it slowly while walking!”
“Guess I’ll do that.”
Anyway, I enjoyed the handmade burger.
But my stomach is small, so I barely finished the burger, and more than half of the milkshake is left.
I didn’t even order fries.
So, as Chubby suggested, I’ll just take the milkshake with me.
Sometimes… I want to eat a lot at once.
“…It’s still a bit too cold to drink something cold while walking.”
“There’s no helping it!”
Sigh… This is why snacking is such a hassle…
…Huh? Wait, what’s that…?
“…Chubby. What’s that?”
“That? …It’s a Rampage-san figurine?”
“Right? I’m not seeing things, am I?”
“You’re not…?”
Wait, why is there a figurine of me here…?
And more importantly, this is a ramen shop?
I heard ramen shops display figurines to trick people, but why me…?
This is a bit… no, more importantly, why is there a figurine of me being made?
If even a common ramen shop has it on display, it must mean someone’s mass-producing it.
“Should I track down all the factories and destroy them? Did they even get permission from the Fairy Realm? If not, I’ll just… deal with those making merchandise.”
“Please stop!”
…Well, there’s no real way to stop it.
But even if it’s not a fictional character, making merchandise of real magical girls without permission… isn’t that wrong?
If it’s for personal collection, I can understand, but commercial use is a bit…
“…Sigh, whatever…”
Tch, why bother dealing with this?
It’s better to just ignore it than waste time being annoyed.
Unless it keeps popping up annoyingly.
…Let’s go home.