"Really? You swear you won't do anything bad again?" She stops turning the page and looks at their faces with a serious expression. "I promise! I won't do anything bad ever again! I swear, I really swear!" "From now on, we'll live honestly! We'll turn over a new leaf and work hard! We'll be good to our parents! We'll become decent people!!" "Alright, if you say so..."
Dorothy takes the robber's tearful and desperate vow seriously. "I believe in you. That you can become decent people." "Y-Yes! We'll definitely change!"
"I believe you! I'll be waiting!" And with that, she dramatically opens the grimoire in front of them. "Until you become good kids and come see me again."
A red magic circle appears on the opened page... "Huh?" "Huh?"
"Well then, goodbye. If you're still bad in the next life, you'll be dog food again." *Grrrrrrrrr...* "W-Wait a minute—"
With a growl, a bloodthirsty dark red beast leaps out. "...W-What just happened!?"
"A quirky vehicle just crashed into the bank." "Why are you so calm, Chief?! We almost got run over too!?"
The moment Dorothy's voice is heard from inside the bank, her carry-on bag transforms into a large car with arms.
Before Ryuuke could grasp the situation, the monster truck with arms went full throttle, roaring like a wild beast and crashing through the grand entrance in a spectacular fashion.
"Hahaha, looks like Hummer is as energetic as ever," said the old butler, still smiling and unfazed even though the monster had just passed right before his eyes, further pushing Ryuuke to the edge mentally.
"A-And if something like that crashes in there, the hostages...?"
"...No, the hostages are fine."
"Eh? Ah..."
The hostages stumbled out of the bank, looking utterly frazzled.
"Come on, let's go! Don't dawdle!"
"Ah... Yes!"
"You guys come too! If we don't show some good work here, we'll get called tax thieves and hear all sorts of gossip again!"
The officers hurried over to the hostages. The inspector addressed Barney, who was holding a handkerchief to his swollen cheek with an annoyed look.
"Mr. Barney, CEO of Burning Brave Bank, are you alright?"
"What do you mean 'alright'? I almost died!"
"It's great to see you're okay. We have an ambulance waiting ahead, so head over there."
"Ugh... Whenever that woman is involved, nothing good happens! It's always been that way!!"
"I agree. I feel the same way too..."
Barney, now identified as the victimized CEO of Burning Brave Bank, along with the other hostages, were protected by the waiting paramedics.
The inspector sighed in relief upon seeing him wave at them, albeit grudgingly.
"Phew..."
"Hey, Inspector, it's all done!"
With that, Dorothy, satisfied after finishing her job, returned and got a strong whack on the head.
"Ouch!"
"What were you thinking?! Calling that thing here in this situation—have you lost your mind?!"
"Well, I had no choice. If I didn't, Barney would have been killed."
"That's exactly what caused Barney to almost die!"
Dorothy turned away from the shouting inspector, muttering, "You're so noisy."
He considered giving her another knock on the head but managed to hold back.
"...But I do appreciate your help, Crapovich."
"Hehe, you're not very honest, are you?"
"..."
"See you later, Inspector. Clean-up is on you."
"Wait, where did the robbers end up?"
As Dorothy started to leave, the inspector called out. She turned back, saying, "Oh, right," in a casual tone.
"They're all dead. Five became extra chunky tomato sauce, and two became food for this one."
Dorothy pulled out a blood-stained grimoire from her coat and handed it to the inspector.
"...Hey, this blood..."
"It's better if you don't ask. You can either deliver the grimoire to the Management Bureau or bring it back to the police station, whichever you prefer."
"Wait, I don't want this. You deal with it."
"You sure? I'll just take it then?"
"I hate magical stuff, thanks to someone!"
The inspector dumped the problem of disposing of the bloody grimoire onto Dorothy. Normally, the police should have collected it and handed it over to the Anomaly Management Bureau, but he, who detested magic, didn't want anything to do with a blood-soaked grimoire.
"Magic tools are convenient, you know?"
"That's why I hate them. Just learning how to use one makes people like that get all cocky."
"Haha, it's not the tool that's bad; it's the cocky fools using it."
With those parting words, Dorothy left the inspector. She flashed a peace sign and a smile at the news cameras before heading back to where her old butler was waiting for her.
"Inspector, just who is she... exactly?"
Luke asked the inspector with a complicated expression as he watched her leave.
"...Her name is Dorothy. Dorothy Barkins."
"Huh?"
"I said, she's Dorothy Barkins."
Upon hearing that name, Luke's eyes widened in shock.
"That's her!? That little girl is the infamous...!?"
"Yeah, that's her—the Goddess of Fortune. What did you think when you saw her up close? Got quite a chill, right??"
"Bu-but I heard she's supposed to be a witch who's lived for hundreds of years! She looks so young, though..."
"Yep, that 'young' girl is actually hundreds of years old. She hasn't changed a bit since I was a kid. She's still the same damn witch she's always been."
Dorothy Barkins, known by many aliases including the "Goddess of Fortune," is a mysterious figure who has lived for over a hundred years while maintaining the appearance of a young girl.
Alexis has mastered a plethora of magic, including forbidden spells, and possesses several dangerous magical artifacts. To top it all off, she harbors a powerful supernatural ability, making her a person of high concern for the Anomaly Management Bureau...
She is the most infamous genuine witch in this city.
"Chief Alex!"
"What is it?!"
"Well, the Anomaly Management Bureau staff just arrived..."
"Late as usual, those damn slackers! Probably sipping tea leisurely again!!"
The chief, seething with frustration, marched toward the late-arriving bureau staff. Luke cautiously watched Dorothy from afar before chasing after the chief.
Limbo City, District 1: The Sefirot Central Headquarters of the Anomaly Management Bureau.
This building serves as the headquarters of the Anomaly Management Bureau, which has been active since before the city's founding. It was established based on the principles of "sustaining the world," "eliminating or pacifying threats from other worlds," "managing technologies and items related to other worlds," and "promoting coexistence and prosperity between people from other worlds and our world." It stands as a symbol of Limbo City.
"So, you caused the traffic accident in District 7, huh..."
In a dimly lit interrogation room within the building, Scott was being interrogated.
"...Well, you see... yes, that's right."
"Have you had similar experiences before?"
"Yes, plenty of times..."
Scott, restrained by James' magic for about ten minutes, was then forcibly brought to this room in a newly prepared, high-end white car. He tried to maintain his composure while responding to the staff's questions.
"Hey, demon! What the hell are you doing, popping up in the car like that... and then just disappearing without a word! What the heck was that all about?! What did you want?!"
Scott mentally lashed out at the demon inside him, but there was no response. The demon had rarely answered his words before, but he still couldn't help but say it.
"Damn it!"
He reluctantly accepted that James's magic must be too powerful even for the demon to break. Trying to calm down, Scott said, "A lot? That sounds tough."
"Um, can I ask one thing? Are you the person who was at the reception desk outside?"
"We do not accept personal questions other than those related to your ability."
"Oh, sorry..."
"Let's continue then. We don't want to take too much time."
The female staff member with horns on her forehead continued speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Can you control that power?"
"...Only if the demon doesn't wake up."
"When does the demon wake up?"
"...When stress builds up too much or when I'm in danger."
"So, if those situations don't occur, you can control it. Is that correct?"
Scott hesitated to answer the staff member's question. After a few seconds of silence, he replied uncertainly.
"…just in case."
Those words carry no certainty. However, that demon has never caused trouble when I'm in a good mood.
"Understood. Since you can control your power, we will continue to classify you as a Class B Esper. However, since you caused an incident in the single-digit zone, we will raise your threat level to [2]."
"What does 'threat level' mean?"
"It's exactly what it sounds like—the level of danger you pose. Each time your level increases, we'll impose corresponding penalties on you."
"…oh boy."
"The penalty for a Class B Esper with Threat Level 2 includes a ban from living in the single-digit zone, a prohibition against staying there for more than two days, restrictions on entering certain establishments, and the requirement to submit your resident card to your assigned supervisor once a week..."
Scott's spirits sink as he receives penalties right after arriving in Limbo City.
"Here is your identity card and resident card. Please take it."
The woman hands Scott a thin, glass-like card displaying his personal information, including a sullen-looking photo taken when he was brought in.
"Your evaluation is complete. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Um... did anyone get hurt or killed in the incident I caused? And about compensation..."
"Rest assured. If there had been any fatalities, we wouldn't have released you. You don't need to worry about compensation either. This time, we will cover it."
"…I see."
"We have your monitor waiting outside the door. Have a good day."
Scott left the room with a subtle sense of unease, given the overly formal response from the staff member.
"Congratulations! You're now officially a resident of this town," said James, who was waiting outside the door, addressing Scott.
"Um, monitor...?"
"Yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you."
James laughed heartily and offered his hand for a handshake. Scott reluctantly shook it and managed a polite smile.
"So, as a monitor, does that mean you'll be watching over me all the time?"
"Nah, don't worry. I won't invade your privacy that much. I just need to check your resident card once a week. You got it in there, right?"
"…This one?"
Scott pulled out the card given to him by the female staff member from his pocket.
"This is a good opportunity. Let me check it now."
James took the card from Scott, slid it through a palm-sized device he had in his chest pocket, and then returned it.
"There, that's done for this week."
"Th-thanks."
"That card records your activities. If you try to do something sneaky or cause trouble anywhere, it will show up on the card."
"You assume I'm going to do something bad…"
"That just means your power is fairly dangerous. But don't worry, as long as you don't cause any trouble, there won't be any problems. If you can make it through next month without any incidents, the penalties will be lifted and you'll be free from supervision."
Scott took this chance to ask James about something that had been on his mind.
"Hey, when you say 'ability users'... do you mean people like me with these kinds of powers?"
"Yeah, that's right. We call them ability users. Depending on the strength and danger of their abilities, and how hard they are to control, we classify them into different ranks. You're in the third-highest rank."
"...There are higher ranks?"
"Sure are... compared to some, someone like you who can control their power to some extent is doing pretty well."
James's words sent chills down Scott's spine.
"By the way, do you have a place to go?"
"...I've got somewhere in mind."
"And a job?"
"...I have an interview tomorrow afternoon."
"Good to hear. Say, want to grab lunch? My treat."