Volume 1 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Chapter 1

There was an island with plenty of greenery Rocky fields around the cape that protruded fro sandy beaches spread out, and aside from the stone castle-like structure in the center, it was almost completely covered with plants The man looked away from the tapestry that offered a bird’s eye view of the island, and sighed Although he looked like he was about to pass the slope of ht looked e, the fat around his belly was especially packed that it inhibited any lightout with sorrow The room inside was so messy that he wanted to cover his eyes

He rolled up the sleeves of his robes and put his right hand out, heon the second joint of his index finger Hesound, at the same time, a chair slid The bed tilted The empty bottles, metal parts, and rolled up parchments that were on top of it fell down to the floor, the carpet picked thee can Although so, the room was cleaned

There was a sray stone wall had become exposed There, a wide tapestry that had the entirety of the island drawn on it was hung The light of the lass ith a heavy lock on it The wooden table and chairs were roughly cut and had rains, on top of the table was aits size, and on top of that were quills and stationery, inkwells, blotting papers, herb-blended candlesticks, and other necessary writing instruments

The htly Smells dusty

Standing on the side of the , he chose the third key fro with the rust I need to oil this, he muttered as he used both hands to open theFroreenery continued towards the edge of the island, and from there it was only the dark blue sea until the tip of the horizon The sound and s no trace of the smell of dust, this tiht winds blowing in not only increased the smell of the shores, butthe days, but when night passes, it cools down The htly, but didn’t try to close the

For the master of this room, an eccentric researcher, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves, even the cool of the night were nothing but extra things He easily spent ic without the need for food, drinks, or toilet breaks, no doubt joyfully i himself in research and experiments If you were soht,” and would nod in conviction

The fat man was the nephew of the researcher who used this room But he was no researcher himself He wouldn’t devote hi said that, he didn’t regularly go to work either, he was a self-proclaih priority citizen anted to have fun and delicious food

Not all Mages were dedicated to devoting their ic If you talked to his research-oriented uncle, he’d say “He’s nothing but a commoner who uses the acco soerate an advanced idler’s lifestyle and be strongly against it

The es The narrowness of the room, the smell of the tides, the sound of the waves, the coldness of the wind, hunger, sleepiness, unnecessary things, inconvenient things, where his uncle diss instead Being inconvenienced wasn’t always a bad thing Lighting a fire with so one command word had its fun too

Being able to enjoy these inconveniences were only due to the arrogance of the upper class To anyone who’s seriously being inconvenienced, they’d appreciate a Mage ould prefer efficiency as their top priority That’s what his uncle said, and he wasn’t wrong But if he was arrogant, then he was arrogant People need to prioritize their own feelings If his uncle were still in charge, then he’d act the way his uncle wanted to act Now that his uncle has passed away, there was no need to do things the way his uncle would

That being said, he still had to carry out the orders in his will The rabbed the pen with his hand, and he raised his head at the sound of a knock on the door

“Come in”

The door made a sound as it opened I need to oil that too, then

The Magical Girl he hired a few days ago lowered her head quickly

“The annex’s… That’s an annex right?”

“It looks like an annex”

“Yes it does The annex’s cleaning is done”

The woolen hat on a woolen one-pieceand covered her entire are aree of exposure extreical Girls were fundamentally exposed, but at the same tihly valued Magical Girls ere restrained in their exposure It gave them a mysterious sense of refinement that was difficult even for him to put into words But there was no need to put theh for hiet the job done

“Thank you”

The man replied with a smile, and looked at the woman Her appearance ell-prepared, her platinum blonde hair was cut short, instead of fanciness, she had a quality and ruggedness that i one of his favorite points, her triood If he were to hire anyone, this would be the Magical Girl for him

The sheep behind the girl bleated out a “baa”, the girl panicked, and tried to hold down the sheep The sheep struggled to escape The beautiful girl and the cute sheephe could do about the sheep s like an animal and hoould leave hoofprints on the carpet, he allowed it

The sheep bleated in one re off into the corridor The shaken off girlthe stone corridor with herthis, bonk, she hit the back of her head The e butt off of his chair, and offered a hand to the girl as lying on her back and shaking with her head held between her hands

“That was quite a loud noise there, you alright?”

The Magical Girl rose fro her hand with a smile

“Merry’s fine… very, very fine”

Her voice see left and right

“You don’t look very fine”

“Merry likes to draw pictures”

“Yes That’s not what I’”

Looking out into the hallway, there was a large crack that shouldn’t have been there until alike a pendulum, for some reason, her words were level-headed

“But but, Merry can’t eat just by doing that, it’s pretty sad, isn’t it?”

“Why are you asking me these questions?”

“But Merry’s okay This isn’t just so job so Merry ork hard…… Yes, work hard!”

“Are you sure you’re okay? No ical Girl is-”

“Work hard Work hard Working hard Working hard, Merry’s working hard, working super hard for you”

The girl bowed once, then closed the door Her footsteps faded away

She wanted to work as hard as possible, but as for her saying she was okay, she doesn’t see okay Theto believe her She was quite interesting herself, and had a deep charical Girls were created sturdy

Well then, ti the inconveniences of life, he thought as he sat back on the chair and picked up the pen on his desk However, before he moved the pen, he noticed a probleht of the er, with a snap, aaway the darkness Making a ant, but there was nothing else here It ht take some time, but he could make it seem like this silver candlestick was crafted by artisans with precise attention to detail Little by little, he began to think on how to make the interior, exterior, and all the accessories suit his tastes

The deceased certainly had soical Girls to accompany them? The radually stroking with his quill

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☆ Miss Margarite

In the cold, chilling winds of winter ical Girl known as Anna Marie lost her life It was neither an honorable death for her duty nor an accidental death, she started a fight with another Division staff and had the tables turned on her As a coical Girl, it was a dishonorable death The Division which she belonged to, the Exa with the aftermath of the incident

While Anna Marie had been working as an apprentice Investigator, the Magical Girl Miss Margarite was her coical Girls who practiced combat sports from their times as a human, but for the Examination Division, combat was neither a competition nor a battle She could painfully see how not only co sports, but even killers considered fighting between Magical Girls as an extension of killing between huical Girl combat, were useful no matter where they went and within the Examination Division, so she played a particularly important role

Many students passed by Margarite There were people ere called Aces, there were even people ere recoues and died, sohts But the only Magical Girl who foolishly attacked another Division and didn’t come back with her life was Anna Marie

Margarite only had to attend a few fors and never had to take responsibility That’s why she voluntarily resigned She couldn’t bear re Anna Marie, but if she continued on as an instructor, there was no way she couldn’t remember her She didn’t listen to her bosses, or even her students, asking her for a change ofover to her replacement in the Examination Division

She didn’t do anything since then, and lived her life on her savings

______________________________________________________________________

Ever since she quit the Exa out increased, but she couldn’t eat at these so-called high class restaurants If there were no VIPs acco her with her Division wallet, there was no reason to splurge Today, she didn’t come to this shop because of some VIP

Margarite looked outside theThere was a drizzle wetting the gravel path, it was light enough that having an u at it ht, she looked back inside the rooirl Her outward appearance was about 15 years old It was neither low nor high for a Magical Girl Her black bangs were aligned straight, while dressing up with her plain gray long skirt, her white shi+rt that was one size shorter could just barely hold in her breasts, up until the second button, she was unbuttoned, giving her a high iarite firstat the Examination Division, even when she irl still hasn’t changed, alearing a shi+rt that’s one size smaller

The unfitting shi+rt had its sleeves rolled up to her elbows The girl was grabbing up a few pieces of beef with her chopsticks, and put it on an egg Contrary to her sweet and cute appearance, the girl heartily stuffed the meat in her cheeks, chewed slowly, and sed

Margarite turned her eyes away again, and saw the sliding screen There were several paintings of rabbits and frogs doing pro wrestling techniques painted in an Edo period style Plenty of shops that were used by Magical Girls while they were in their Magical Girl fore accents

Margarite looked ahead There was a girl as sucking on thin slices of beef Margarite didn’t like re that was always followed by a psychological distress The girl was someone who took care of the Exa at her made her remember the past, whichshe didn’t want to reirl wasn’t someone bad, even if she knew she wasn’t soe the fact that she still remembers

“You’re not gonna eat your meat? It’s delicious”

“No”

The person that made her rearite didn’t knohere to look, so she looked down at the hat she placed on her knees The peacock feathers and silk veil were too spectacular for everyday use However, for a Magical Girl, it was suitable She slightly shi+fted her line of sight to the sht She never put it somewhere out of reach no matter where she was

“It’s good h Very soft”

“You mean to say that it’s so delicious that even the elderly can eat it?”

“Hey, you’re the one talking about age, Yoshi+ko”

“It’s just an expression, I didn’t know you’d take it in that direction”

“So are you gonna eat it?”

Right now, Margarite had no appetite to eat food for fun She held up her right palave a small nod She intended to proirl closed her eyes, she nodded two to three tihed

“Argh, I’m a nuisance at home, I’m a nuisance at work, even you, who I haven’t seen in awhile, treats me like a nuisance”

“No, that’s not what I-”

“Come on, I’m your partner! The least you could do is be friendly!”

What would she say if Margarite replied that she only came all the way out here to fulfill her duties?

“I’m not a very sociable person”

“I know, I know It’s fine I don’t hate blunt Magical Girls”

“I get that a lot”

“Or shameless ones”

“I get that one a lot too”

“Alright, I’ve got one request to make of you You’ll be rewarded Norerous, but that doesn’t necessarily er Sounds like a job for a veteran on’t be careless, right? Well strong folks like that, they’ll start going, oh nothing’s happening, oh I’ careless, it’s sad really”

“I’ work”

“So you’re just planning to live in seclusion until you die?”

“Ifjobs for money”

“What’s up with that criminal-like motive?”

The girl scoffed, and ate an egg wrapped with noodles

“Do you know the saying that your skills will get rusty if you don’t train them?”

“I don’t knohere you’ve heard that from, but even a recluse can move their bodies”

“Well, I guess if they’re a Magical Girl, they could, sure”

“Yes, if they’re a Magical Girl, they could”

“If they’re a Magical Girl, they’d obviously have to help people, right?”

Margarite furrowed her eyebrows The girl cut up the baked tofu without any concern, picked up a piece, put it in her mouth, and chewed quietly

“No, don’t be so alar you to bury some criminal back into the depths of darkness or resolve so you to do anything like that I just want you to help this little boy who has no one left to rely on is all Coht?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, interested, are we?”

“I’m not”

“Since you asked, I’ll explain Soe out in the wilderness died in an accident in the middle of an experiment So, his relatives are supposed to show up somewhere to talk about his inheritance and all that, but, one of the a life coic, so it’s kinda hard for hio unless he has an escort”

“You want me to escort him?”

“All the Magical Girls back at the Classroo for a roup They’d kill me if they saw me be the only one to take a day off from work Seriously”

The Classroom was a nickna’s off about the ti on? She only thought of that ht hand on her knee This wasn’t so of

“There are plenty of others outside the Classrooive back to their old instructors”

“I can’t ical Girls with a public office act on private affairs Besides, I can’t let soo to waste”

“Do you know the term ‘none of your business’?”

“Oh yeah I think you should actually see what kind of kid he’s like”

She had no hesitation The girl placed her right hand beside her mouth, “You can come in now!” she called out with a loud voice towards the sliding door, Margarite turned around the sa door opened

She knew by their breathing that there was soe

The boy looked happy as he bowed his head down, “Nice to arite couldn’t just not respond to a forarite looked towards the girl with blauilt

“Coether”

“Can we? Thank goodness I’ve only just been sry”

The boy kneeled on the tatae open chest before looking over at the beef, then he looked at Margarite

“She’s the one who’s gonna come with you, okay?”

“Whoa, cool Is that a real sword? You’re a… Magical Girl… aren’t you?”

The boy looked at Margarite’s sword, his mouth wide open as he let out a “Whoaaa”

“And you are…”

“Ah, Touta Touta Magaoka”

The boy responded, tightening his chest, then quickly changed his posture and looked forward Grabbing the bowl, taking the e rice cooker with one hand

“You know, she’s like a superhero who beats up the bad guys Isn’t she cool?”

“No, I’m not-”

“Yes, she is Beating up bad guys is her biggest specialty”

“That’s so awesoers and Riders real too? Are they?”

Anna Marie was a Magical Girl as more cheerful than anyone Whether you prepared a hurdle, or if she hit an impassable wall, she would never lose her ation Tea the Forest Musician Clamberry incidents, she knew that her friend had died in one of Claical Girl who killed her friend using the authority of the Exaht, and was beaten The case was settled as an attean to dislike re her and left the Examination Division

Her opponent was one of the Children of Claht have been a way to win against theht, but no one ever heard of any, and she didn’t want to talk to anybody However, it was unbearable to think of her as an incompetent apprentice

The boy was in high spirits, laughing while eatingof her apprentice, who had the say as this elementary school boy, and she smiled

______________________________________________________________________

☆ Ragi Je Nent

The trigger that ical Girl Adi was opposed to the existence of Magical Girls, he even openly criticized it

Magical Girls should only be observers, not dos like physical and es be oodness rather than trivial things that could be quantified by numbers?

The few coreed with his clai cut down When he discovered that his friend who had pro infori, who finally understood that he couldn’t do anything alone, bent his knees

He was removed from mainstream work, separated froht he was being given a job as an official, being given a supervisor job, told that “Since you worked so hard, we’re officially proical Girl Ad to or not This was the end of the game

It was a harassht about quitting before The Puk faction was out of the question, but should he switch to the Caspar faction to live freely? Should he descend to the fields and retreat? He knew there was a life like that, but just choosing that wouldthat he was a loser If he looked at it objectively or subjectively, it ht be a fact that he’s a loser Still, it was another matter for him to actually admit it

Moreover, even if he fell this far, Ragi still respected the Sage Chene Osk Val Mer When he first saw Osk at a young age, she was aher would ware at that time used her own blood as a catalyst, and suant old lady, to guide all of the lost Mages with gentleness, talking about harmony with the world She shty spirit, withered away

It was only a senti She should be a God who co used as a stupid toy They all say “No, we’re trying to er,” but if they say that to Ragi, it was nothing but a way to increase their ohile saying it was for helping the Sage

Ragi was saddened by the present state of his beloved Osk, angry at the present state of hiative emotions, he continued his work as head of the Ad the fla nae would visit If Magical Girls had formal permission, he would allow a visit, if not, he’d turn theical Girl who stole personal inforh he reported it to the Exaue “The case has been resolved” Even if the case is resolved, people who don’t follow the rules should be punished, no? This so-called Magical Girl Hunter, even today she was capturing crii’s anger burn even more

Inheriting the enormous amount of data made by the IT Division, the physical roster beca the unique powers and abilities of every Magical Girl He could think of soave hi people could just freely use, let alone steal

The Head of the Adthened Teleportation, , mental manipulation, remote observations, information analysis, spatial distortion, causality law interference, concept conversion, di, local doical powers, repelling everyone that caical Girl Hunter, not one piece of inforer, and so long as he was the Head of the Ad up indefinitely

One day, inside of the Head Administrator’s office, which had been separated into independent spaces like small islets, surrounded by arts that made it float, iron walls, and an invincible absolutely iht security systee was sent, he had received a letter

In the space with nothing in it, surrounded by s that were used by Mages often gave off a very worldly atmosphere

“What’s this?”

“An invitation… it looks like”

The Magical Girl ical Girl Her fluffy costui named her “Sheep” in his head He didn’t respond other than scoffing, and picked up the white envelope

Just by touching it, infori’s face frowned Yet, if he frowned, he could feel the distasteful feeling of his wrinkles deepening His body stiffened He forcefully restored a strong expression It was harder to change his expressions coic to do it

The sender of the e who followed his hobbies No matter what happened, he’d always do the experiments he loved, experi else, experis, and he never had a faet involved with anyone with a personality ht’ to use as passed on by his predecessors to deepen his research, he was able to freely live his life, not being tied by organizations or factions, unlike Ragi Going back towards his fah-classed A House that should’ve fored within the Osk faction, but he’s never heard of any cooperation with anyone naations or responsibilities didn’t exactly not h, his envy was directly linked to his anger

“He died… I see”

Dying in an accident in the i closed his eyes and prayed for Satabourne’s soul

“But, ould I be inheriting?”

“S-Sorry It doesn’t say anything about that in the will…”

As a fellow outsider, did he feel some form of sympathy? It was unlikely that Satabourne showed some respect for him, but if he asked him if he had no respect at all, then he couldn’t understand the mind of a dedicated researcher

“But I don’t understand”

“Mm, yeah”

“Why is there a condition to bring a Magical Girl along?”

“That’s uh… well, I don’t know the reason either… Wonder why, huh? Maybe for your personal belongings, or a bodyguard… probably?”

Ragi frowned once again, he tried to return it to his original state, but it only solidified to a sullen expression

“Isn’t it enough to bring a Homunculus or a Golem?”

“There are other inheritors too, but they’re all bringing Magical Girls… Ithe only one that doesn’t, well…”

Being the only person that brought a Ho to do with the deceased aining it i pushed the floor with his cane, the s herself with her fluffy sleeves

Before the sheep could say anything, Ragi gritted the back of his teeth She was frustrating and annoying

“What does he think Magical Girls are? Did he mistake them for personal status or accessories? Foolish, Satabourn is nothing but a fool…”

Ragi thought as he becaanic body If he didn’t add an ego but added ideas and comprehension, then then would that soe to pass through-

“U a little less weird…”

“You, are you readingof this? I need to increase my crime prevention”

“No, I can’t readout loud”

He gritted his teeth He had to bring one somehow

“Getting your mind read here’s kinda scary, anyways…”

“What do you mean?”

“Uh, no, it’s just some rumors I’ve heard”

“What rumors?”

The sheep distorted her expression to one of difficulty, looked up, looked sideways, it looked like she was giving a “Was there no one here to save i, and the rams’

“Uical Girl Adht now…”

“Hot? What do you mean?”

“There’s a gaical Girls ere self-conscious about their skills play, where they try and steal any info froht now… Since only the Magical Girl Hunter was able to successfully do an extre the participants more motivation”

His temperature rose fro with that, the sheep’s facial expressions distorted even i could shout at her, the sheep quickly ran from the space On her way out, her head hit part of the barrier and she fell over, she swiped the back of her head, and crawled out

Were these creatures known as Magical Girls truly beyond help? Chasing the sheep away, Ragi started up his searching arts He no longer thought that there was no way he would be bringing a Magical Girl for his own private affairs, though using his power to order them to accompany him was out of the question Then he’ll request a freelancer as a custoi had no connections There was only one person who could lend hiical Girl was affiliated with the Rebels, she caused a jailbreak incident, and was said to have lost her life in the middle of it

Why would she do soi cleared his throat loudly

As for other Magical Girls that he personally knew, until a while ago, there were none However, a few days ago, at the “Great Magical Girl Athletic Meet - Miso Soup and Rice balls Included” event, he met several people Naturally, they weren’t acquaintances or friends, it’d even be presumptuous to call the someone he’s never met before

Minus 15 seconds later, in a ical Girl using his search technique Since one of the for a partner Another one was riding a laer in a parallel diical Girls looked like they were busy with their jobs, busy with their own duties, but the last one didn’t have any special errands and her schedule was free You could say that this Magical Girl ithin acceptable range of acco him