A Mother at Home, Seventeen Years Old

(Bai Ziye)

Seeing that Dad, Mom, and Ceruno had entered the library, Falcon quickly patted my arm.

How can we sneak into the air-raid shelter without being detected?

"No need to hide anymore, just go in."

"Huh? So what were you doing all this time, acting so suspiciously? Speaking of which, why were you following Ceruno?"

Don't ask so many questions.

I don't intend to explain, nor is there any need to explain.

The more you talk, the higher the risk of exposure; sometimes, remaining silent is an option.

He jumped from the rooftop.

The guard at the gatehouse was listening to a crosstalk broadcast when a figure suddenly appeared, startling him. I simply waved to him and walked into the library.

The refuge passage leading to the air-raid shelter was a stairwell leading underground, where the lights were on, Ceruno and the others had obviously gone down.

Falcon caught up and asked, "Hey! Miluno, are you hiding something from me?"

"I wasn't even there at the time, so why do you think I know more than you?"

The heavy metal door was ripped apart by Sirius's arm of light; that was an immense force, probably only Steel Dragon Metal could contend with.

I walked through the door and into the still-chaotic air-raid shelter, and to my surprise... my mom was already sitting at the door waiting for me.

"I had a feeling someone was following us... I think you must be the famous 'Moonlit Gale'?"

I felt a little embarrassed by my mother's flattery.

Moreover, I always felt that they were throwing dirty and tiring jobs at me that were almost tantamount to suicide.

My mother stood in the center of the air-raid shelter with her arms crossed, while my father was taking pictures at the scene with a DSLR camera. They were probably there to gather evidence and conduct an investigation.

"You're searching for Heat Haze's whereabouts, so we wanted to see if there was anything we could do to help. After all, she's our friend too."

My heart aches.

Do I really have the right to say this, having watched her get arrested without intervening to keep the secret?

However, no one refuted this, because they were unaware of it.

My mother said confidently, "The intention is good, but there's no need for help, because I can always find the answer."

Then she put on a pair of sunglasses. Before I knew what she was going to do, a strange red light flashed in her eyes, a light that even the sunglasses couldn't completely block out.

Without a doubt, this is magic.

Faced with this situation, I was naturally speechless, but fortunately Falcon voiced my questions for me.

Are you a magical girl too?

"That's right, but I'm a support-type magical girl. As you can see... my magic isn't suitable for combat."

"So what are the effects of your magic?"

Although the red glowing eyes effect is cool, it seems like nothing actually happened.

"The magic is called 'Memory Record.' I can use the 'remembrance' Past here to rewind time, but the 'remembrance' will dissipate over time, and if I arrive too late, I'll lose all clues... Is this crazy woman the terrorist? Her abilities are like Spider's..."

"Can't we see it?"

"It's possible, but it's a bit troublesome... Old Bai, give it to me."

Wearing sunglasses, the mother, who looked like a blind person, reached out her hand to the father, who then handed Past the camera.

Then, Mom pointed the camera at the empty air-raid shelter and started snapping photos.

"Look, you can see it now."

She handed over a camera, which showed the red-haired magical girl taking Heat Haze away, but the missions present were all red silhouettes, making it impossible to discern any further details.

"... Is it impossible to capture the colors?"

"If it were a fresh 'longing,' it might be possible, but the 'longing' here has already Past more than half a day, so this is the limit for its reproduction. However, the 'longing' in the brain can be seen more clearly."

"Longing in the brain?"

Falcon was puzzled, and I didn't quite understand either.

"It can be called 'memory.' I can directly access the 'Memory Record' in my mind, so as long as I find the people who were present at the time, I can understand the situation more clearly."

"No wonder you said no one can lie to you... it's practically mind reading!"

Ceruno suddenly realized what she meant and pointed to the ceiling.

"Then why not just find Yezi? Heat Haze was being hung right here when he was captured."

My mother, however, flatly rejected the idea.

"No way! I don't want my son to know that I'm still a magical girl at my age!"

Unfortunately, we already know everything.

They were so shocked that the expression on their faces disappeared.

Although I, as "Miluno," don't really have many expressions to begin with.

Ceruno advised, "Auntie, you haven't changed back all these years, have you? Your appearance hasn't aged either. Yezi will find out someday."

I had no idea at all...

Mom laughed and said, "We'll see when the time comes. Besides, I don't plan to change back. Like I said before, it's great to be a young magical girl forever."

Will the Star Crystal reject someone who harbors such a selfish desire to maintain their transformed state and stay young forever?

And Dad will get older eventually... although from his perspective, it's not a bad deal...

So, when did Mom become a magical girl?

I've forgotten what she originally looked like. I feel like she's always looked the same. I thought she just took good care of herself.

"Um, I have an idea, but I'm not sure if I should say it."

Ceruno raised her hand and stammered, "Can... can we check Secretary Anjie's 'longing'?"

My mom reminded me, "I know you suspect her, but there's no evidence yet to take action against her."

"We can sneak Past... If we combine our efforts, we can surely do something without anyone noticing, right?"

Although the words were inspiring, the underlying message was clearly "illegal."

"You little brat, are you planning to become a lawless outlaw too?"

Mom sighed, but her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Then let's go!"

"Where are you going?" I asked.

We do not know the secretary-general's itinerary or address.

Flacon then suggested, "Why don't we ask SpiCa or Sirius? Since they're high-ranking members of the Association, they should know the addresses of the employees, right?"

But my mom disagreed.

"No, this matter can only be investigated by us. Sirius doesn't know about this, and SpiCa won't allow our actions. After all, now is not the time to alert them... Besides, considering Secretary-General Anjie's thoughts, there is a more suitable place."

Ceruno, however, asked a question unrelated to the topic.

"Um, does Miss SpiCa know your aunt's identity?"

"Of course, we often exchange information, but I'm not under her jurisdiction. The Prosecutorate belongs to the Association, but it operates independently of the Association's system. Prosecutors have considerable power!"

After all, it is also responsible for internal investigations, combining the functions of the Discipline Inspection Commission and the Procuratorate.

Investigating the collusion Ceruno's father and a third-party organization was indeed her parents' job, even though the other party was the Association's chairman.

"So... Miss Prosecutor... where are we going now?" I asked.

Calling his own mother "Miss Prosecutor" still feels a bit strange.

"The branch building, the chairman's office... However, we cannot enter through the main gate."

As she spoke, Mom put her hand on Falcon's shoulder.

"This little girl can fly, right? There are quite a few of them, so I'll have to trouble you to help!"

"Huh?!"