*
She slips her hand under and carries Kenzi's faint body. Maybe it's because of the magical girl augmentations, but her body seriously felt light as a feather. She was lifted with surprising ease. Now Kaori was afraid that she'd drop Kenzi, it was impossible for Kenzi to get hurt from such a short fall, but she couldn't help it... It's at odd times like this that Kaori got conscious of the fact that she's a guy deep down...
Whatever, think of good things, happy thoughts! Don't be too conscious of it and just head back with a refreshing smile!... Refreshing?
"Haa~" (Kaori)
Somehow all the chaotic thoughts swirling in her mind calmed down when she accepted her own silliness. Her legs never stopped, [Hollow calamity] formed a barrier eliminating air resistance around them as she ran towards the nearest teleport point. After returning to the simulated park in the labyrinth, she layed Kenzi down on the mat and stretched her arms to relieve the soreness. The fight got a little too intense... Thankfully she was limited to her base stats and not allowed to enhance herself, so there was still some margin of safety.
"Get up. I know you're awake." (Garion)
As if on cue... Kenzi really did open her eyes... She returned everyone's gaze with a little grin and peace sign, as if to say she was back.
"... If you were fine the whole time, you could have walked in your own..." (Kaori)
"Oh come on! Then I wouldn't have gotten to see all those interesting expressions you made! Hahah!" (Kenzi)
"..." (Myuu)
"Ah... Scary..." (Vibell)
Kaori could only do her best to pretend not to see the dark expression clouding over Myuu's eyes. If she got defensive, it might seem suspicious instead, so she chose to keep her silence. In the end, it was conveniently skipped over.
"Speaking of which, your skills were incredible. You were super strong! It's just that your range of action is short, long range bombardment would do you in." (Kaori)
"Hmmm... Well that's fine, I have Garion and Barius to rely on! I'm not the same scaredy cat from a year ago! Heheh! " (Kenzi)
A light chuckle escaped her lips, a bright grin that assured all with its warmth spread across her cheeks. She seemed really reliable now. Though there isn't really a serious need to gather comrades anymore, the Demon King is gone and Zedicia is purging the underworld. It isn't exactly right to kill your own employees, so they've heard that Zedicia is moving her capital into the overworld and converting them into businesses.
Repurposing her cult to contribute to the Sanctuary's economy should safely transition the callous underworld dwellers into upstanding citizens. Or at least that was the plan. No one would openly defy the Progenitor, though there was a little surge in crime rates. However, the fact that this surge in crime rates could be observed meant that it's being dealt with accordingly. There was no more need to fight, it's fine to retire... It's fine to enjoy the rest of her life on government pensions.
After a busy day of chatting and catching up with everyone else, she went back home mentally exhausted but satisfied. It had been so long since she met others around her age outside of fighting... It had been so long since she participated in anything with a semblance of normality. Myuu slit the key in with a click and they entered the large apartment. They were greeted with the usual towering second floor but headed straight for the couch in the living room. This was the exact same couch they had in the previous apartment, the familiarity brought relaxation to their pounding hearts.
Sinking into their seats, they shut their eyes in the soft bliss.
"Fuuh~ was it always this tiring just to talk? " (Kaori)
"Well, we didn't really talk much in our expedition. It was just fight and sleep... Sometimes we didn't even have sleep..." (Myuu)
"... Isn't that... D-" (Kaori)
Didn't it hurt? Was all the pain really worth following my lead? I'm sure someone else could have done a better job. I was only good for fighting. Why? Why follow me then? Is it my fault-
"Nah, it's fine. Whether it was Gerald, Paridia or me, we all agreed to follow you. Even if there were minimal breaks, utilised solely because we got sleepy at night.
I was just following along and getting stronger on the way. You can count on pure talent when my stays overtook yours then, and now.
But those 2... They needed you more than anyone. Someone to take charge, take control of the pace, and steadily bring you towards your goal. It sounds idiotic to do so, but no one else would charge in and reach the root of the problem like you did. " (Myuu)
Was she trying to absolve me of what she practically described as inhuman treatment? Was it really acceptable to have treated them like party members in an rpg...? To eat, sleep and fight on my own whims... I thought we had plenty of rest, taking few days off at a time, but... If all our rest is spent on sleeping, what good does that do? As an ex-shut in, obviously that wasn't right. Taking a break must involve some recreation, some fun that will add colour to our boredom...
" That's... Wow... I don't know how to feel about that, but if it was ultimately useful for those 2, then it was simply the right person appearing at the right time. I... Was completely lost too.
I simply found a convenient enemy in The Progenitor. Someone evil who I don't need to hesitate to cut down. Someone who's death will never lay on my conscious... " (Kaori)
Why am I making excuses? Why am I... Regretting the time I so cherished...? Even if it was inhumane for everyone else, I promised myself not to regret my own actions, and... I really had the time of my life. Even if it was painful receiving attacks and getting my memory wiped, these were just part of the experience. In the end, I couldn't even do just what I set out to do. Every death layed on my conscious, every head I cut down, every life and ambition I extinguished to fuel mine...
" I...-" (Kaori)
Was any of it really acceptable...? Of course it was. Ahh... These dark selfish thoughts that only care about myself... They are the root, the cornerstone of which I based the motto on, to never regret my actions means to accept the consequences and internalise everything I do. In other words, I cannot feel remorse for myself but I can so easily shift it over to others. I can blame evil for existing, I can blame the time and place for whatever circumstances be fell me. I can blame it all on bad luck.
"I'm sorry to hear that, but I don't regret it. I don't think I can afford to... After all, it was the best time of my life.
When one thinks about magical girls, the core of their being has to be fights." (Kaori)
Without fighting, I would no longer consider myself a magical girl, because I would no longer serve the purpose of this power. But I don't have such a lofty sense of justice, I just love to fight.
" Hee~~ I see. Well it's fine. Now we have time to do other things. There's less than a week left until the Life Festival. We have all the time in the world now, to do as we wish." (Myuu)
"Fufu~ what should we do then...? It feels surreal to have retired early from being a magical girl, since the Demon King appeared and declared war early, and so she was defeated early.
We can spend our time thinking about how to pass the time too... " (Kaori)
She agreed with a bright smile attached to her face, as if her worries evaporated. They proceeded to spend the rest of the day relaxing, and in the end nothing happened. It practically vanished from their minds as Kaori became too immersed in lazing around the entire day, while Myuu spent time with her mother.
She layed in bed, her thoughts floating away from her like a fuzzy incomprehensible mess. She felt her ability to form cogent thoughts fading away like a marshmallow smore melting off a stick. She spread her arms over her bed, all of the furniture salvaged from the ruins of modern society was given to the citizens for their priority usage. Everything in the labyrinth instead, was made by magical girls for magical girls. It felt unfair to many, but they also have to consider...
A lot of these magical girls are children. Even if it was rare but not impossible for cases like Kaori, where a male or an adult can become a magical girl, the majority were just young girls as it normally went. Their mental health after The Great Disaster was the highest priority, giving them a reason not to rebel against the Sanctuary in precarious times. Friedra was an A grade assigned to take in any stray magical they found. She acted as the 'stick' while the labyrinth acted as the 'carrot'.
Well, no sense in complaining about boons. Today, she felt particularly more comfortable in her bed. She dreamt that she was in a dark space with nothing but a single dimly illuminated door. The door was nothing ostentatious, primitive even as if it was shoddily carpentered by any average Joe with an axe. But it was also familiar in some odd sense, that foreign sense of nostalgia called out to her without any words.
She held her fingers up, realised she remained transform as a magical girl in this particular dream. Oddly enough, she was always back to her normal untransformed self in her dreams, as an average guy who was desultory in life. Wandering without any end in sight. She clasped the knob with her right palm, carefully adjusting her strength so as not to tear off the door from its hinges. *Slid* It was nearly silent, of course, it was no grand door meant to make an imposing entrance of the other side.
It was a humble door bursting with light through the slightly opened space. She pulled the rest of the way and the light gradually consumed everything.
"Ugh...! Uhh...~? " (Kaori)
Her eyelids strained and shut, struggled to be pried open by her eye muscles. When they were finally open, there wasn't any blinding light there. It was now 3 days before the Light festival and 2 days since the reunion with her classmates. It was a fun exciting time getting to know how they've spent the past half a year since she left the Southern region of the Sanctuary.
It finally clicked that she was semi-retired, and she was lazing on her days off duty. Essentially she was a spare ArcMaiden, that was the agreed upon arrangement with Himei. That she could laze around as long as she fulfilled this sole duty.
What it entailed was an untapped reserve of tactical power, a presence that has already done its job of making the other superpowers, the continental factions wary of the Sanctuary. Diplomacy was much smoother than ever before with a single large player, the Sanctuary taking the reigns of any diplomatic matter. Any negotiations, deals or threats, Kaori's existence has exceeded bureaucratic impotence or red tape and fastened responses.
It was a position that any would envy, while the God magical girls that manage each faction make the final say on any decisions, it's the politicians representing each faction that argue with each other over matters pertaining to their factions. Kaori's name is known by these higher ups and thrown around the negotiation table, new international efforts to bolster security have now proceeded smoothly.
Now any outlaws seeking to take refuge outside the factions can be caught and sent to the judiciary process under any one faction, it was a massive but necessary strain on manpower, the justification being to serve justice. It was a rudimentary foundation for international cooperation and quelled down the kidnappings and trafficking of magical girls.
Initially, there would be some parties of doubtful character who would be protected by their governments given that they serve their factional interest. In other words, the kidnapping and trafficking of magical girls across continents have always been swept under the rug. A sin that no one capable representative of their faction would ever admit to.
But it also meant that they cannot complain when there are successful rescue efforts and recovery of these individuals. That's what Zedicia had been up to, after cleaning up the Sanctuary internally she has begun to direct her efforts to other continents. Kaori's presence has given enough leeway for the others to tackle more ambitious projects, for better or worse, she has cemented herself.
'To live is to toil, thus harken thy toiling breaths, Hwat thou seek is never found anywhere.' (?)