NOVEL WEB Chapter 3
At the Magical Girl House, slacking off.
“Are there no monsters?”
The man serving as the Director of the North Kanto Branch of the Magic Bureau frowned at the report submitted by his subordinate.
Having been preoccupied with the scandals caused by magical girls since last night, he had just managed to wrap things up and was heading toward the Operator Room when this happened.
“Actually, the monster’s presence disappeared before the magical girl could arrive. This has occurred 30 times today alone.”
Upon hearing about 30 incidents, the man thought it was strange. The average number of monster appearances in the North Kanto Branch was around ten. Thirty cases were on a national scale. Thus, he asked for confirmation.
“To confirm, nationwide, right?”
“Yes. According to information, stray magical girls are believed to have defeated the monsters. From the collected eyewitness accounts, it seems likely that all the monsters were defeated by the same magical girl. However, her identity or affiliation remains unknown.”
With yesterday’s events fresh in mind, the man scratched his increasingly gray head, pondering another major issue. He wanted to dismiss it as nonsense but couldn’t.
Just summarizing the current situation: the mysterious magical girl can detect monsters faster than the Magic Bureau, move instantly, and retreat after defeating them quicker than their own magical girls can arrive. Achieving even one of these feats would make an impressive magical girl; doing all of them together made him suspect some fairy mischief.
Perhaps the fairies, who are more advanced in magic, could pull off such feats. But is she truly a magical girl…? If unaffiliated, the man thought about bringing her into the North Kanto Branch.
Because of yesterday’s cover-up being disrupted, and with the North Kanto Branch already struggling, it was clear things would only get worse.
Moreover, two out of the three affiliated magical girls were undergoing re-education, further reducing their already limited combat strength.
“Is there any other information?”
“From SNS and reports from other magical girls who acted early, the subject wears a white robe and her face is obscured by a hood,” replied the subordinate.
Had it not been for the demon deliberately ensuring some visibility, the magical girl might have remained completely unseen, leaving the Magic Bureau without any information.
Currently, Inny Flowering’s details—her name, affiliation, ranking, personal registration—are entirely unknown, shrouded in mystery. Beyond the fact that she wears a white robe, nothing else is known.
“I’d like to make contact somehow… but it’s probably impossible.”
The man sighed, shrugged his shoulders, and decided to return to the Director’s office to deal with the ever-growing pile of paperwork.
Watching his back, the subordinate thought he could submit a report on yesterday’s incident later and bid farewell to the Director.
But day after day, due to the havoc wreaked by the stray magical girl and the aftermath of scandals, he never got the chance to report.
As a result, the only remaining magical girl in the North Kanto Branch would later face immense difficulties.
1
(I’m so tired.)
Summoned continuously for three days since the first monster extermination, I am physically fine but mentally exhausted. At first, most were G-rank or lower eliminations, but on the third day, I ended up handling a C-rank elimination.
Thanks to that, I’ve learned how to use magic well, but when my arm was bitten off, I braced myself for death for the first time since the first day.
Magic is incredible. I never thought it could heal even lost limbs. Well, the reason my arm was bitten off was because I helped another magical girl, which, frankly, isn’t funny when I think about it.
Still, seeing the demon’s shocked face when my arm healed was worth it.
“Hey, good morning, Haruna! It’s a great morning, isn’t it?”
Indeed, it’s a beautiful sunny day outside, but emotionally, it’s the worst morning ever. On the first day, I didn’t notice, but now the lack of bath and underwear options feels somewhat embarrassing. As for underwear, it’s Demon’s choice, but since I don’t have the knowledge to choose myself, there’s nothing I can do.
(What should we do today?)
“Since you worked hard yesterday, take today off. Here’s your reward.”
There’s an app for the Fairy Bank passbook on my smartphone, and checking it, there’s quite a nice amount recorded.
“By the way, that amount is roughly equivalent to eliminating two A-rank monsters. Also, taxes and clothing costs have been deducted.”
Hearing that made me feel slightly uneasy. Even though they’re called grunts, eliminating around 100 of them and one C-rank equals two A-ranks…
So, higher ranks must be much more profitable. Still, with this money, I could buy those expensive coffee beans I hesitated over and maybe a new car… if only I could drive it.
You need identification for purchases like that, which I obviously don’t have. I’ll consider ordering necessities online later.
“You look stretched out like dried fish, but check this out.”
Lying by the window, the demon handed me a smartphone. It seemed to be open to some bulletin board, and the gist of the thread was something like “Mysterious White Mage Appears!” (though the content suggests she’s actually a Black Mage).
(What does this mean?)
“It’s an ego search!”
I quietly turned off the phone and buried my face back into the bed.
Who would willingly do something like that? Especially given the content issues, if someone writes something bad, it could ruin me!
“Well, joking aside, remember the magical girl you saved yesterday? She quickly reported Haruna’s information to the Magic Bureau and also released a combat video from that time. So the information spread faster than expected.”
Hmm, indeed. Yesterday’s battle had various problems. I wanted to help more smoothly, but I didn’t expect to be hindered afterward.
As a result, my arm was bitten off, and I wasted unnecessary magical power. On the bright side, the recovery magic was impressive, and keeping my hood down until the end was a high point.
Thank you, staff. Without its teachings, I might have become famous as a one-armed magical girl.
Even if things hadn’t gone well, the demon might have fixed it, but I prefer not to owe anyone, so I’m glad I handled it myself.
(So what?)
“Because of that, I think we should reveal Haruna officially sooner. Also, while it’s hard to go out here, over there, as a magical girl, you can move freely.”
Yeah, in my current state, moving freely isn’t really possible. All I’ve done so far is poach jobs. Quite a few magical girls must hate me by now.
I’m doing this because I’ve been asked, but thinking about the future makes me feel heavy. Even if I’m told I can move freely, I should avoid going to the Fairy Realm. There’s always the possibility of being mobbed in the worst-case scenario.
(Leave those decisions to you. I don’t know anything.)
“Understood. Let me borrow your smartphone again… Alright, this is Inny Flowering’s official page now.”
Looking at the smartphone handed back to me, I saw the familiar magical girl official site where, under the list of magical girls, “new” appeared alongside Inny Flowering’s name at the bottom.
Tapping it, an image of me in magical girl form appeared.
My face is covered by a hood, so there’s no worry of being recognized… When did they take this photo?
Most fields say “No Data,” and only the combat method field mentions “can use magic” along with the score of eliminated monsters. That’s about it.
I’ll pretend not to notice how abnormal the elimination score looks compared to other rookies. It’s wrong to compare me, who fights across the nation thanks to the demon, with others who stick to their designated areas.
(In any case, as long as my identity isn’t revealed, anything goes.)
“I still want to enjoy Haruna privately for now. Watching others’ reactions is pretty fun.”
(If you’re having fun, that’s great.)
I’m exhausted, so I’m calling it quits.
“By the way, how was fighting? I knew you could use healing magic, but I didn’t expect you could restore lost limbs. Are there any other interesting abilities?”
During combat, I tried various things, but basically, I can only use magic. I haven’t tested the scale of magic yet, but I believe I can do decent things. Healing magic consumes more mana than attack spells, but I could probably regrow arms ten times in succession.
Thinking about it, it’s quite impressive, but there’s always someone better. Like 5-meter robots—I can’t possibly win against them in direct combat. If I could use barrier-like magic, it might help, but since I can’t, weapons like bows or guns aren’t very compatible either.
Besides, I’m only somewhat skilled in staff techniques, and physically, I’m very weak.
(I don’t have any cool abilities, but I want to know the maximum scale of magic and test how far healing magic can go. Like internal organs or the heart.)
Also, I want to explore how many types of magic I can use, mana consumption rates, and other things, but these seem most likely to interest the demon.
“Hmm, for magic training, there’s a simulator or facilities in the Fairy Realm. Regarding healing magic, since you can already restore lost limbs, you’re world-class, so it’s hard to improve further.”
I understand. I’ve lived in a world with magical girls for 26 years, so I comprehend that being able to restore lost limbs means this is exceptional.
Moreover, there are only five specialized healing magical girls in Japan, and among them, only one can restore lost limbs, with a daily limit of three people according to official data.
In my case, I could heal my own body within seconds and immediately return to battle.
Still, because I demonstrated this in front of other magical girls, the demon decided to expedite plans…
(Though I don’t particularly want to, I guess I’ll have to experiment on my own body.)
“Don’t do that in front of me. No splatter, please.”
(Understood.)
I dislike pain too, but in a world like this, preferences don’t matter. Technically, I’ve died once already.
Anyway, if I’m going to do it, it will be through the simulator or training in the Fairy Realm. Practically speaking, it’s the only option.
(Let’s prepare the simulator.)
“Alright. You should think more like a girl, despite your language being pretty good… Put this on when you transform.”
“Guh…”
A helmet-like device fell onto my back, making me emit a strange sound. Being frail now as a girl, I wish I could be treated more gently.
“Yo-kkoi-se,” saying something old-man-like as I sat up.
“Being an adult inside makes it hard to break down barriers… Transform!”
Even sitting, the robe transformed perfectly.
“There’s a regular training mode and a ranking mode that competes based on elimination numbers and methods in the Fairy Realm. But this one only supports training mode, so be careful.”
Once the headgear was on, the power automatically turned on, displaying precautions and explanations.
Made using the Fairy Realm’s mysterious technology, this uses a magical girl’s magic power as its power source, so it seems like you could train anywhere with this.
However, unlike the official version, realistic combat training isn’t possible. It might be perfect for ability checks or beginners getting used to their powers.
“Testest. Can you hear me?”
(I can hear you.)
Responding to the demon’s voice resonating in my head rather than externally. As usual, I have a bad feeling, but there’s nothing I can do.
“If you can hear me, that’s good. I just conducted a small experiment and possessed Haruna. Everything seems fine.”
(I don’t feel any discomfort, but what’s the meaning of this possession.)
“As for advantages, I don’t have to speak aloud anymore, and Haruna can use a little bit of my magic power. For disadvantages, we’re still unsure at this stage. We’ll address any issues as they arise.”
(Understood. If there’s no problem, that’s fine.)
Despite calling it a simulator, the realism exceeds expectations. Impressive mysterious technology.
Starting with “Ice,” my first spell, I experimented with various ones. One-word spells are versatile but lack power and range adjustments.
“The greater the power of ice, crush those who oppose,” the longer the incantation, the greater the power and range, but fine-tuning is difficult.
It seems like emotions and motivation during spellcasting affect the outcome, but perhaps it’s just my imagination?
In terms of firepower, I shouldn’t have many issues, but my frail body makes close combat challenging.
For some reason, perhaps due to the demon’s possession, a thought flows through me suggesting that maybe I can handle something via the staff.
Even in my current state, as a magical girl, I shouldn’t run into significant problems unless something unexpected happens.
“Among all the magical girls I’ve seen, yours is quite versatile. Occasionally, monsters nullify magical attacks, but unless something like that appears, you won’t lose to C-rank or lower monsters.”
(Having the demon’s approval is reassuring. Since I’ve practiced enough, I’ll stop here for today.)
Feeling lethargic from depleted magic power, I removed the headgear and took a deep breath, realizing I was slightly hungry.
Having not gone shopping for about three days, my stockpile is running low.
Though I don’t want to go out, I have no choice but to shop.
After de-transforming and changing into casual clothes provided by the demon, I headed to the nearby supermarket. Ideally, I’d drive, but operating a vehicle in this form would definitely get me caught.
Let’s make the demon-requested mapo tofu for dinner tonight.