*
".... Y... You! You're under the law... Right?! Take her behind bars! Surely you must be strong enough to beat her!" (Middle aged man)
"I... I was just minding my own business-" (Young magical girl?)
"You shut up! You should behave and get detained for breaking my wrist! You broke a tantrum and damaged someone's wrist for bumping into you!! How are you going to compensate me now! I can't work anymore with my hand like this..." (Middle aged man)
At that moment, Kaori thought, 'ahh... If that old man is the owner of the shop, I won't be able to buy the food already... Maybe if I pretend to take her away and get a healer to mend his wounds with magic, he could still make the parfait that miss Jenny wanted...'.
"Alright, I am~ the one on patrol shift right now. Sorry to say, you'll have to come with me." (Kaede)
She was glad that she didn't walk into a blood bath. A single punch and an angry magical girl could skewer everyone here, but since the only injury right now is a broken wrist, it should be fine. She's so cute as well, Kaede thought it was a shame. Taking her back to headquarters to detain her and do weird things to her... Is not on the list of things Kaede would allow. And since she is cooperative, Kaede should treat her kindly as well.
'Uwah, this is gonna get annoying! Let's hope she doesn't freak out. Usually we rely on the perpetrator's goodwill to willingly come with us. And if they defy us, we have no choice but to sever a few limbs and carry them back. At present there's no anti magic handcuffs that can undo their physical augmentation. We can use magic tools to disable their skills, but they can still physically rip off cuffs. I know, we can use this fact to alleviate her stress. ' (Kaede)
"We don't have handcuffs. Perhaps we can walk this back to the station and have a conversation there? We can just treat it like a survey first before investigating.." (Kaede)
She was concerned if she came off too meek. It was hard to convey what she wanted with an entire crowd staring at her, but Kaede kept her composure and beckoned the young girl with her gaze. She gave off a friendly smile... Or at least attempted to...
"Hieck!!!" (Young girl)
"..." (Kaede)
It had... Much more of an impact than she thought. The young girl quickly held her hands outwards and raised them, as if waiting to be cuffed. Kaede wordlessly stepped up to her before putting one of those hands into her own. In her head, it was a like a mother holding her daughter's hand, but their outward appearances suggested that they were more like sister's holding hands.
She then turns her head to the middle aged man while ignoring the trembling magical girl. Was saying that she was on this patrol's shift that effective? It could totally be an act, she shouldn't let her guard down. But now she still needs to fetch one more person up.
"Can you stand on your own? Or would you like for me to help you up and hold your hand as well? Unfortunately, I have stuff to bring back so I can't hold hands with you." (Kaede)
She gave off a dazzling smile like an angel, fully making use of the slightly above average looks given by the magical girl transformation. It was leaning more towards the cute type than the sexy type, so it wasn't as if it worked on everyone. There wasn't any charm magic involved. Perhaps finally feeling shame in his current looks, he picked himself back up... When one stands up from a sitting position... The temporary shame caused him to forget about the pain in his broken wrist?
"Isn't it supposed to be broken...? How did you pick yourself up from the ground?" (Kaede)
She was expecting it to be tiresome and tedious to deal with the whole thing, but if the middle aged man messed up by himself here, she can't exactly cover for him in the middle of the crowd. Everyone saw how he used his hand to stand back up. There was no getting out of this... Perhaps there was no way to get those parfait after all... Since he'll have to be detained and sent to the local police department.
The Rising Knight order didn't actually have any legal backing from the government, the only thing they're allowed to do was deal with other magical girls. Normal humans would be dealt with by the police. Well, she still needed to escort him to the police anyway, in case he ran away. She continued to hold the girl's hand as she turned around and walked into the opposite direction of where the headquarters was located.
"Well? Get going! We don't have all day...! Unless you really want me to carry you... " (Kaede)
"..." (Middle aged uncle)
Seeing that there's no escape, he began to move obediently. Giving up on the parfait since the old man will have to be kept by the police for now, Kaede thought about how her walk has been ruined. She didn't want to stand out or go this far, but it's now part of her job. In fact, she was quite irritated and while it was in a morbid way she still wanted to vent out her bitterness.
"Oh yeah, you guys are in luck. My passive is a radar type, and since I've now recognised the two of you on the radar, if either of you run... I'll have to hunt you down. At that time, I won't be able to guarantee your lives much less your limbs, so make this smooth for everyone okay? Then we can all go home faster. " (Kaede)
Taking their silence as agreement, they arrived at the police station with no hiccups. Naturally, it was due to Kaori's combat dress. The other magical girl merely had coloured hair and was wearing an inconspicuous T shirt and denim shorts. With such a sighting, everyone would part away to let them through.
No one explicitly says it, but having thousands of magical girls in a faction is like having thousands of superm⚪ns in a country. It was quite terrifying to have god-like creatures walking amongst them, accidentally offend one and you could have the whole town killed. That's why the government bothered to hire private organisations like The Rising Knight Order to aid them in keeping the peace.
Of course, not all these organisations were so diligent. In simple terms, they were mercenaries. This town happened to have The Rising Knight Order, which was a group of people displaced out of their own original town in revolt of The Eye God. But since their leader told them they lost, they had no choice but to continue on as mercenaries for a living.
They were a group that fought for the people and against other groups like the cult. This thin layer of self righteousness kept them from doing anything regretful, but they were also quite isolated from the people they were protecting. So as an order from the highest position, 'There is no meaning to it, stay away from the citizens. If you must be near, be concealed.'
Pushing the old man and the young girl into the police department, she spread the food she was carrying with a single hand into the other before going in as well. They had a simple wooden door with a large peephole the size of a miniature window.
Right in front of the door was a simple wooden desk that shone with a waxy surface, on the wall behind the counter and to its left and right were arches that lead to what seemed like another office behind. The walls on the left and right side of this rectangular reception room had a door each, this time they had no peephole and seemed to have other purposes.
The person who sat behind the counter on a high chair seemed to be a young officer on duty, they stared agape at my costume the moment I walked in. I know it seemed weird, but... It's still embarrassing. It's like wearing cosplay outside and feeling shame despite it being a proper uniform for my job...
"Uhmm... Please don't stare too much at my combat dress... Lest I rip your eyes out...
Could you get going? I have a case here with a fraudulent uncle and a magical girl who got roped into it." (Kaede)
"T...! This girl broke my wrist and this other one dragged me here against my will! I have no idea what she's talking about!" (Middle aged uncle)
The officer tearing his gaze away from my dress stares at the uncle in a befuddled gaze. His mouth was no longer agape, but the ridge of nose creases in frustration. He unexpectedly got easily irritated... Is he really okay as a cop?
"Alright I'll have someone check into it. Could you stay for some questions?" (Officer)
"H-Hey!!" (Uncle)
"... Fortunately I only arrived after the commotion and brought them here as part of my duty. I have to go back soon or the food will get cold.
And you... Uncle, you can't be thinking that you can still get out of this? Who's word do you think the cops will trust? This cute girl here, or you? " (Kaede)
She felt quite embarrassed calling herself cute, her cheeks flushed intensely for a moment before cooling down. She got irritated as well. Wow, this uncle must have the talent to make anyone annoyed! Before Kaede could walk away, she was stopped when she turned around.
"Wait up! Here, take this..." (Young girl)
She handed what seemed to be a coupon to the shop that they were at earlier. Kaede stared at it in surprise before inquiring further.
"Why do you have this?" (Kaede)
"Ah.... Uh, I work there! It's owned by my family... I was going to usher that man in, thinking he was a potential customer... But he fell over and grabbed his wrist while screaming..." (Young girl)
"..." (Kaede)
It successfully picked up attention at the street they were in, those who came afterwards would side with the uncle since they can only observe the aftermath of a panicked girl staring at an injured old uncle. Honestly, the first thing that came to Kaede's mind was an insurance fraud, but there was no insurance available for the common people in the present day.
Only magical girls had such luxuries like medical insurance, but that was because it was almost impossible for magical girls to get sick. The only kind of medical care that would remotely receive would be treatment for magic curses from monsters or rogue magical girls.
Magical girls were immune to sickness... This is due to their regenerative ability. So they often receive magic related medical care rather than normal sicknesses like flu or cold. Kaori had received such things countless times back in the labyrinth. A rather bitter and dull memory resurface in Kaede's mind for a moment. Brushing it off, she dismisses it as something that 'someone else experienced'.
For her... When do her memories really start? As part of her condition, likely part of the ego swapping magic contract, 'Kaori's memories' exists in third person. Then wouldn't she be able to realise when she actually switched? Since there will be some point where her memories switch to becoming first person... For some reason, she couldn't use this loophole to find the starting point, it still remains eluded.
For now, there was no point in dwelling in it. She focused on the present instead. For example, it was way more convenient for the young girl to be with her when she hands in the coupon.
"Oi, I'm taking the girl with me. You deal with the old man." (Kaede)
Recklessly and selfishly, she took the girl's hand and stormed off in an instant. Giving the others no chance to intercept, she left like the wind as she walked at a fast pace.
".... Uh..... Why the change of mind? It's been so chaotic today, I can't really tell what's going on..." (Young girl)
"... If I bring you back, I can have another coupon right? I was buying it for a colleague initially, but I'm feeling in the mood for a parfait as well. " (Kaede)
"... Fufu... Fuhahaha! " (Young girl)
Her sudden outburst of laughter causes a momentary stupor in Kaede, another blush creeps up on her cheeks as she quickly releases her combat dress transformation to hide her embarrassment. Most people wouldn't be aware of it, but to only transform and untransform the clothes it takes a high proficiency and talent in manipulating magical particles.
To infuse both their magical particles and magical signature into their clothes, and likewise release them out of the clothes would take an absurd amount of control that only a small portion of veteran magical girls possess.
The girl sizes up Kaede's casual clothing, she thought that despite its purpose of disguising its wearer, it was still quite fashionable and cute. She was a magical girl too, but she couldn't figure out how Kaede can release the transformation on her clothes alone. Her light grey hair was a dead giveaway, but wearing dark colours drew most eyes away from her hair in the first place.
"We're finally back! Time to finish the trip!" (Kaede)