*
In the first place, she has way more magic than me. Her A grade well was at least 10 times my own B grade. Just another person to add to the list of those stronger than myself... I've only been in this world for a short amount of time, all I've found out was that I'm one of the weakest magical girls.
"... Let's stop talking about that. Anyway, I heard you had an adventure in Central?" (Barius)
"We were just searching, but over the months we didn't get anywhere. There were too many secret lairs to find, it was hard to sweep through every single one of them."
Adlib. The only time I've fought was in that artificial labyrinth made by that illusion magical girl. I knew there were many lairs, but I don't know anything else beyond that. I don't have much other information to offer, but I have a slight inkling of what bait I can use. Thinking about it, it was obvious this whole time.
"... Remember those times we fought back then...?"
With a moment of hesitation, she questioned the change of topic but quickly put it off her mind. She was the one who suggested that I stop questioning what happened to her, if I pressed on with my own questions, perhaps I could barely steer the conversation in my way.
"You mean back when we sparred in school and in the Illnoia Administration border? I gotta say, I thought I was the strongest modern magical girl until I met you. Rather than open my eyes, you were the one who first suggested to spar... I'm sorry... " (Barius)
"... What for? I've moved on from that. "
Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, a vigour that was absent before had returned to her body. Her miniscule fidgeting had stopped and she seemed earnest to reminisce with me. Her apology was sudden, my mind had frozen for a second before I returned a courteous answer. By pretending I was a little concern but not too much, it resumes the flow of the conversation with a sort of invisible pulling force pressuring her to answer.
"I realised after a bit, while I did mellow out after what happened at the Illnoia Administration border, before that I was slightlt arrogant. I consciously thought of myself as better and didn't see anything wrong with that. So I thought maybe you first sparred with me because you were pissed off at me. "(Barius)
Her eyes point down as she spoke about herself. Some of her thoughts may have slipped through, but it was understandable after hearing what she spoke about. Was this her heartfelt reflection? I wish... I at least cared a little. From my point of view, these were nothing the ramblings of a stranger, I find it hard to empathise or deduce why I would want to request a spar with her back then.
"Forget about that, I wanted to hear what your thought about my techniques! It was really fun wasn't it?"
"... Maybe I didn't think so at that time, but I did learn to enjoy it overtime. You would always summon that vacuum blade despite not knowing any basic swordsmanship. I would always get irritated at how you swung it like a barbarian. But slowly over time, it stopped being chaotic and random. You gave your own sword a form that only you could give. It was exciting to see what you came up with each time. Your movements change each time!" (Barius)
"..... Thank you. Anyway, it's getting a little late. Could you please go back to your room and sleep? "
Rather than feeling sleepy due to a human body's need for sleep, magical girls only sleep because they want to feel human. At the end of the day, our bodies are drastically different. If able to, we should sleep. That was what Myuu taught on the first day I woke up. Myuu... Despite that fight with her.... Despite being too uncomfortable to face her now. Oddly enough, I miss her. Even if it was only a little, I felt like I wanted to see her. I wonder I can do that again.
I wrapped my eyes closed as Barius left the room. Hearing the shutting of the door after the croaking slide of door's lower surface, I opened my eyes once more. I was tired, though not from the need to sleep. It was from using too much energy thinking as I spoke with Barius. Analysing her speech, overthinking things. Even after everything has passed, I wasn't exactly a proffesional... I have to operate on some assumptions to get anywhere, not know what is concrete and what is not...
Well, I politely got rid of her anyway. Finally, I have my own room to myself. How uncomfortable it was... To have someone else in my room. I layed down on my side, my arms in front of me. I gripped them tightly, laying them one over the other close to my body... I can't feel it. Only cold numbness from the lack of being able to sense warmth. I wonder when I'll be able to feel such a thing again...?
I need to lure the enemy out, impede them and defeat whatever they send out at me, forcing them to face me personally. It was the disadvantageous side in a war of attrition, but it was all I have. The simplest method was already right next to me. The next morning, I stopped all tax collection and began to track where they were flowing to. I forced Barius to anyway, as a penalty for losing the fight where I could have taken her life. I wonder if magical girls operated on such rules where the loser has to listen to the winner, or if they were outright killed.
She was a friend of Kaori in the past, I rather not do something that I would regret, if I ever regain her memories. As such, Barius, Neli and I went around to each office to either tear it down or close them, depending on how the magical girl officers reacted.
Dodging to the right side with a slight pivot, a fast blade of wind rushes past my left cheek, shaking my hair vigorously into the air behind me. Neli and Barius dodged the attack in their own respective ways as the magic attack struck a wall of concrete behind me, turning it into rubble. The person who had sent it was one of Barius' underlings, a magical girl tax officer who didn't want to give up this dirty trade.
Andreas seriglad, one of the more senior officers, also a magical girl with B grade effectiveness. That mean that her overall grades were B, in terms of combat ability she would be the same as me, a fellow B grade. She had dark grey hair and a gothic lolita outfit. An intricate rose themed black bracelet with black thorns adorned her right wrist, with her holding her arm up as if trying to show off her bracelet like jewelry she ha djsut bought.
It looks like one of her skills was related to wind, something I'm very used to handling. It didn't even take her to shoot it for me to notice what she was preparing. It looks like her speed is a little slow, at least compared to mine. I would even say her dress was hindering her movements a little due to its baggy nature. Rather, it was actually quite a rare costume. Most magical girls had super short skirts with some other apparel to cover underneath, while my dress was mostly horizontal cloth rather than vertical. My legs up to my thigh were still exposed, so I was much less restrained in this regard.
For some reason, my body has a very high threshold for disadvantageous speed differences. It meant that I was somehow able to react and handle opponents with a speed that was an entire grade above mine. In comparison, Andreas looked like a snail as she resisted the removal of the magical girl tax. Compare to all the others I fought, her none aoe slow attacks was as effective as flinging a toothpick at me and hoping it hit my eye.
Within a quick step or 2, she was within arms reach. Her dramatic movements give away the fact that she was about to attack... She must be one of those... Understanding that she was just going through a phase, where she thinks swinging her arm to conduct magic attacks is cool, I forcefully blocked her right arm she uses and prevented it from coming up. She stepped back with her left hand covering her mouth while a little stunned with her widened eyes.
"Ah... Ah... Ah..... You blocked my attack...." (Andreas)
"..." (everyone else)
Her subordinates layed in the back while looking away with dead eyes, as if they had just witnessed something shameful. I mean... I blocked your hand from coming up, you can still attack. Unless your magic actually has such an annoying requirement such as swinging your arms each time you attack. Wouldn't your arm get tired halfway through the battle?
She begins to comically pout, and while her childish exterior does seem somewhat cute, she was without a doubt still a B grade magical girl. If I was only C grade I may have gotten myself killed. After enough fooling around, she swung her fist toward my face. Catching it with my palm, I lifted her entire body.
"..." (Andreas)
"... I'm a short range fighter, what did you think would happen? "
I'm not merciful as you think. Right before I finished talking, my right leg was launched at her solar plexus as I held my right arm up. Her body flew across the air in an instant, its collision with wall bring forth a storm of dust and growing cracks in the wall. She falls forward, groaning in pain while clutching her torso.
"!?!" (everyone else)
" I didn't come here to negotiate. "
"I need it... Kugh!..... The money..." (Andreas)
She squeezed out her voice with the remaining air in her lungs, blood dripped through the left side of her lips as she glared at me through gritted teeth.
"Everyone needs money. Taking it from the citizens is not right though."
I couldn't care less. What I needed out of this exchange was the personal appearance of the enemy. The one pulling the strings stuck to Barius. If it weren't for such an unknown, I wouldn't have even bothered coming here. I would get Barius to dissolve it on her own, but if I personally do it and bring Barius with me, the enemy would want to take this chance to take me out while my guard is down... At least that was the plan.
She bites her lip and closes her eyes in frustration, it seemed Andreas wasn't going to give up no matter what. Maybe I should kill her after all, it would be detrimental to the plan if I garnered more enemies instead. Best to finish her while she is down. I raise my right wrist a slight bit as she opened her eyes at that exact moment. Wrinkles of frustration crest the ridge between her brows as the hostility and anger in her glare faded away.
She looks right at the ground as she spoke, her behaviour shocking me for a slight moment as these actions she took didn't seem to have retaliation as the objective. What caused me to go deeper into a daze was her next few words.
"They're for more advance treatment... Treatment the government can't exactly provide... My little sister... She got cursed, and unlike me she isn't a magical girl... So her body couldn't resist it and went into a comatose state. I need to hire a private doctor who can deal with curses, and you know the exorbitantly high prices charged by these magical girl doctors.... " (Andreas)
She no longer had the usual tone of haughtiness in her voice, and what replaced it was an audible sorrow. It looked like she was about to cry anytime.
I looked at the subordinates behind her, expecting the validity of her words to be challenged. Strangely enough, they nodded in agreement and were all supporting their boss which spoke of how well she had treated them.
"We gave her the money we collect since we found out earlier." (other officers)
"... Barius, send some people to investigate and help with this girl's sickness, meanwhile we will continue to abolish the magical girl tax."
"Alright. I'll have platoon C deal with it since they're free anyway. " (Barius)
In the end, her smile recovered.