*
"I think I know what to do. Yes, it's been right in my face all this time, I've even done it a little already"
"... We still don't know what you're talking about?" (Izumi)
Vibell only shook her head to her sides in confusion. Did she have words she didn't remember the conversion of? I thought she regularly spoke in that archaic style, I suppose now that there was no more world wide web, she could not easily google the appropriate words.
"Didst thee think of something rude?" (Vibell)
"N- no! Not at all!... Ahem! I was talking about how we solve this abduction problem. You all would rather go back home then be sent to kill more right? It was already hard how we've failed some of our missions.
Well, now I know the next step. It's simple, gather influence. In the first place we need a figure head, anyone is fine they just need to take the attention away from general Frena then be nominated for promotion. Once that happens, I suppose everyone but the figure head can be sent back home...
Someone has to be sacrificed to stay here huh. Well, I don't mind. My goal isn't to go back home anyway, it's quite the opposite. "
"....! That's DANGEROUS!! Are you serious?! You're just going to send me back with the rest right? I can't stay apart from you, not after coming this far. I won't let you brave the danger alone. "(Myuu)
It was a conversation that we would rather keep quiet, so Myuu had been sent to stand guard outside the door. Now whether she chose to eavesdrop herself was up to her. We didn't mind, but parts such as this were better kept away from her ears... I didn't want her to hear such heavy things.
"... I'm glad you'd choose to stay with me. But if the time comes, promise me you won't waste your life."
"..." (Myuu)
Looking to the side, she thought over what she just heard. As she organise her thoughts with her eyes closed, she gave herself a little nod before opening them once more. Her long eyelashes shook with the movement of her eyelids, as if to
signal the end of her decision making.
"Yeah. I'll keep that promise, only if you make sure to stay safe yourself." (Myuu)
"... Haha, that'd be kind of difficult..."
"Exactly! With how dangerous this is, you think a silly little promise will CUT IT!?" (Myuu)
Her chest heaved up and down rhythmically, catching back her own breath after that small outburst. She wasn't the type of girl to cry easily, in fact it was the opposite. With her mother suffering from severe trauma and being unable to leave her own house, Myuu had gotten used to putting on a brave front. She definitely had sadness deep down, she expressed that clearly back when we were in the labyrinth, back when I asked her about her dreams... So she clearly had grown stronger mentally. Far stronger than I ever did.
".... This is dangerous."
"I know." (Myuu)
"It won't just be our lives, everyone will be risking it together. Random people may even get dragged into it."
"I know." (Myuu)
"We ourselves may potentially die. When general Frena eventually uncovers my plan."
"Yeah." (Myuu)
"This is a bet, a gamble of wits against a general that's clearly more experienced than us. She may have even caught on to us and have already begun scheming."
"That would be a shame." (Myuu)
"And even after all that, would you still have absolute faith in my plan, complete faith in our work,
and finally to the point of irrationality, a magical amount of faith in me? "
"Of course. After all this time, you're still the very same Kaorin, right? " (Myuu)
"Mhmm. "
I held my right hand out to the left side of my body, the brushing of the stale air cooling its temperature a little. My heart was beating quick with anticipation, but with everything said and done, trust is a two way street. So I'll have my own magical faith that she understands what I mean. For starters, this pose makes it easy to deduce.
She followed up in the same way, our forearms collide with a firm but not overbearing strength. It was kind of embarrassing, but I was too in the mood to let this chance go. She flashes a smile to soothe some of my shame, as if having read my thoughts. Her eyes glistened under the indoor light, her face contorted back into the usual teasing smile she gave. Ah, I feel very grateful.
***
First things first, I have already taken command over the magical girl's at my patrol station. Well it was a unanimous vote that in the end it looked more like I was forced into it by everyone anyway. Initially, I had taken this role out of necessity as everyone wouldn't calm down before their very first mission. It was just on a whim to quell all their confusion and anxiety, it was unexpected for this decision to stick. I didn't think they had that much faith in me, even though we lost 5 magical girls. To the Illnoians the 5 of them died, well no one had actually been informed except for me and Myuu.
I suppose for the first step is to come clean with the magical girls in my squad. Even the Illnoians. If I want to build a cohesive relationship, I'd have to earn their trust and divulging a secret is a good way to do that. It's extremely stupid at first glance, but that's because that action by itself is foolish no matter how one looks at it. It needs more to come along with it to secure the deal. Just what kind of benefits would they get for siding with me and not exposing myself?
*Crash!!! * A thundering shockwave struck the building we resided in, sweat dripped down my right temple. Staring at the direction where the shockwave came from, this time a smaller collision impacted the walls as the door to the bedroom slamed against it. A girl rushed in, her usual cold disposition washed away by her passion. Her straight black hair shook wildly as she ran up to me, her small hands gripping my collar tight.
Her brows furrowed and her teeth showed in a intense grimace. This was the angriest state I've ever seen her in. What was going on? Why was she so mad?
"I've had about enough. You... Don't have a plan do you. If you did, having 5 of our old classmates die is too much of a loss. At the very least I expected the dead ones to be the Illnoians.
Your incompetence caused lives and now Kenzi couldn't take it and ran away. Do you have any explanations before you die?[Indifference engulfs the coin]. " (Garion)
As her grip on my collar was a little tight, it took some effort to speak through the pressure placed on my neck.
" Ugh... Why did she run? They're not dead, they were just left in the Eye God's territory so they can prepare us supplies in the worst case scenario..."
"... That wouldn't make any sense! If we are to tackle this problem of taking down general Frena, we would need more power on this side rather than there. Just one would be enough for the insurance, so why 5?"(Garion)
"... You... Really... Trust the Sanctuarians...? Didn't general Frena... Said it herself.... We were sold... "
Releasing her grip she stared wide eyed, contemplating the situation like how I just did when a loud bang impacted the walls, which I assume is Kenzi breaking out. Wait... Kenzi is running away right now!? From what it seems, she seems to have misunderstood. I'll have to use full strength for this, to cover up the distance. I only have around 70-80% of my default power available. A large amount of warmth is absorbed into my body, smoothly swirling around like a fluid. My clothes began to glow, it was the usual dark grey training tracksuit with black highlights.
The glowing gradually grew brighter before a small flash that covered only my own body was released. When the light was gone, my magical combat dress had materialised and the tracksuit was gone, unless with a passive or skill, full power cannot be used without the magical girl combat dress. Rushing outside of the door and lodging building, I found the hole and ran straight from that. If one wanted to escape, they would wait for an opportune time instead. Since Kenzi was careless enough to leave some of her tracks and a gaping hole in the lodgings which point to her location, she must not be in the right of mind.
... Something made her lose her composure, it had been 2 days after we finished the mission. If she was calm, she'd leave in the middle of the night. Even I hadn't abandoned my humanity and forgo sleep, in this tiresome routine of training and bantering I've grown to like sleep. In this exhaustive wretched lifestyle I absolutely despise with all my being... I've grown tired. I grew tired of it all a long time ago.
This devotion to my own cause, this goal without a single good plan was causing my sanity to fade. To be honest, I grew tired of living and gave up on my dream after Ray gave me that injury. This injury that never heals, this injury that only burdens me. I wonder if everything would be better off if I died in the battle with Ray then. She was arrogant, bossy, utterly terrifying, that was my impression. What's more the Internet no longer exist, technology, games, every trace of the entertainment I crave is gone.
My parents were definitely gone too. I hadn't even told them how much I appreciated them.... And yet.... They catered to my hideous whims of being a shut in for that 1 year. I worked up my courage to return to school, the entrance exam was easy for the low standard high school I was heading to. Again, I had absolutely nothing left. Except for my life I suppose, it was like an itch, a satisfaction. To remove even that would be my last satisfaction.
Perhaps even then, I was looking for a little light. I asked the person who sat closest to me, Myuu about her dreams. Envied her, cursed her, raged at her, ridiculed her, despised her. Of course it was all behind her back, but most of all I cried at her, and cried at myself. I cried for how she lose her father and had to bare with her current circumstances, I cried for my own circumstances. What did she fight for? What did she work so hard for? It was obviously so her mother could continue living comfortably. What did I fight for instead? I made some new friends to cope, but nothing could fill the void left behind by my thousands of hours invested in my games.
Kenzi's run had reminded me of that, though she was of the opposite gender it was pretty much the same. The final strain of reasoning broke, running was all one could do when faced with such despair. I picked myself up, told myself that I loved Myuu and was doing it for her. While I indeed love Myuu, it may not be as a lover but only a friend. I deeply cared for her who earned my admiration through her effort, and I wanted to protect the person I admired. I can not explain it, but even if it was something trivial like that it was enough.
Perhaps Kenzi's bond with her friends Garion and Barius wasn't as deep as I thought. I had asked Garion to carry and throw me so I could catch up with all my strength. Even now, my speed was not enough. I was lagging slightly behind her and she was successfully keeping her distance. It was like she was my outline, my potential. Like if I hadn't fought to save my friends from Ray, I would have turned out like her.
Even now, I was exerting all my strength into catching up as my insides began to hurt. I forced all my magical particles into fuelling my agility, less of it was going to healing and it hurt a bit as a result. With this I could bring out more than my current strength, but it could only last for a minute or two before damage starts occurring.
She seemed to have slowed down, I could see droplets of water suspended in the air, that was the kind of speed we were moving at.