Tracking Memories

(Bai Ziye)

"... mom."

"Oh dear, why don't you call me 'Miss Prosecutor' anymore? That sounds younger!"

"SpiCa notified me to attend a branch meeting..."

"I have to attend that meeting too. First, come with me and find Chairman Sun and his entourage, daughter~"

Being addressed that way made me shudder.

The Ceruno's mother obtained from the Star Crystal was the magic of invisibility in the shadows; although it was the same Crystal, the magic was completely different.

"Even if you become invisible, you'll still leave behind memories; I see it all clearly."

My mom tapped her sunglasses, revealing glowing red eyes beneath them, and struck a pose.

We are tracking Ceruno's father down the city streets.

"At this rate, stopping and starting, when will you ever catch up with them?"

"There are too many people on the street, and all sorts of feelings swirling around. I have to discern them all! But as long as they don't use that teleportation magic, I can chase them all the way to the ends of the earth!"

If Ceruno were here, she could use the remaining magic to open another door leading in the same direction. I'm afraid I can't do that; that idiot is a genius far superior to me when it comes to applying magic...

As I walked, pondering this, I asked again, "Mom, how detailed are the contents of your ' Memory Record? Didn't they use a phone for navigation? If they did, wouldn't it be faster to just look at the destination displayed on your phone?"

"My silly daughter, why do you think they can still use their phones? If their phones were still on, your dad would have already gotten results... Sniff sniff... Would your mom still need to be here on the street like a police dog?"

So you see yourself as a police dog?!

"Well--"

Feeling helpless towards her mother, she said, "Why are you sighing like that? Didn't I promise to keep it a secret? I won't tell your dad either. I'm a tight-lipped person. Even if you don't trust me, you should trust my professional ethics!"

"Sigh, that's not why I'm sighing..."

So that's how it is.

"Mom, don't you have a name as a magical girl?"

"No! To be precise, I don't realize I'm a magical girl."

"What's the meaning?"

Mom didn't turn around, saying as she walked, "Your mom is a reconnaissance-type magician. Unlike other support magical girls, I need to operate covertly for extended periods, and my identity needs to be kept secret. The label of 'magical girl' is even more of a hassle for me. I don't want anyone to recognize me at all~ So, just think of me as a magical spy."

"Aren't you afraid of being overheard saying this in the street?"

She turned around.

"What I'm saying can't be heard by others, okay? These are all sent directly into your head in the form of thoughts."

My mother's mouth didn't move when she spoke.

"Wow, amazing!"

Telepathy?

"Without contact, I can't see other people's thoughts, nor can I send anything beyond sound... My magic still needs further development."

If we could share what she's seeing right now, many things would be much easier.

Thinking this, we went into the roadside...

"Old Subway Mall?"

The abandoned subway line in Skyreach City was transformed into an underground shopping mall running through the city center after the opening of a parallel line of the same name. The long, narrow pedestrian street, with its apocalyptic feel, has its entrances and exits located in the original station.

Incidentally, the reason for its abandonment was the deformation of the passageway caused by land subsidence. As a pedestrian street, a little undulation is acceptable, but the undulating slope cannot tolerate the light rail transit.

"I see. Although we can't take public transportation, can we use the remaining passageways to get closer to our destination?"

"Where is Old Man Ceruno's destination?"

"SpiCa says it's a branch, and this route does indeed lead to the branch."

I asked again, "What is he going to the branch for?"

Who knows?

My mom shrugged, then picked up a Crystal hair clip from a jewelry store we passed and tried to pin it in my hair. I wanted to turn my head away to avoid it, but thinking about how unreasonable she was, I obediently let her do it.

"Great! My daughter is beautiful!"

Her mouth remained silent; after all, saying those words would easily attract attention from those around her—what mother in the world is about the same age as her daughter?

She paid readily, but the jewelry store owner was startled by her red eyes; even though she was wearing sunglasses, a closer look revealed a red glow.

I touched the hair clip that was held in my hair.

"Now is not the time to play around, is it?"

"It didn't take much time, I can just walk faster from now on~"

"Then why don't you start running now!"

This is such a careless work attitude!

"I stopped because the 'longing' I was chasing also stopped— Ceruno's mother was also buying trinkets here."

It's understandable that someone who has been in a coma for nearly ten years would be curious about all sorts of things after waking up.

But...

"Can't you fast forward a bit?"

I refuse to believe that the Memory Record can only be played at normal speed.

"Fast-forwarding makes it easy to lose sight of your target; the density of longing on this pedestrian street is much higher than outside..."

Seeing me standing there with my hands on my hips, not saying a word, my mom finally said, "Okay, okay, I'll speed things up a little, alright? You're just like your dad."

She muttered to herself, but quickened her pace, still stopping and starting frequently.

As a result, she led me into the fitting room of the women's clothing store, and when we came in, she was carrying a lace short-sleeved striped blouse.

She shoved the clothes into my hands and ordered, "Try them on, and oh! No Star Crystal allowed!"

Does she think this will embarrass me?

It's just a women's clothing store's fitting room. I've been through countless battles with it, and I'm not going to blush over something as small as this.

I unbuttoned my shirt and confidently put on the sky-blue blouse in front of my mother, then turned around in front of the dressing mirror.

The clothes are loose-fitting and very comfortable to wear.

Mom retorted, "I must say, those two really do look alike... Little Yezi, how come you're a magical girl and still don't resemble me at all?"

Actually, there are still some similarities...

For example, the fact that certain parts are very barren.

"If I were as unreliable as you, my dad would be so pitiful."

"So that's how you see your mother. I'm so sad~ (fakes crying)."

My stomach is aching slightly.

But since she has something on me, I can't do anything about it.

"Hmm? Wait a minute..."

However, she seems to have made a new discovery.

She lay down in the dressing room without any regard for her image, then pried a small card out from under the wall panel.

"What's this?"

"A business card, but the business card itself has no meaning, yet it still says something..."

[If anyone finds this business card in time, please inform the Sky Branch as soon as possible; the target is a medical facility.]

The date was also left below, but it's no longer relevant.

This is a clue left to us by Ceruno's mother.

"I'll contact the Tactical Division."

"Then, I'll head over Past first."

I turned to leave, but my mother grabbed my wrist.

Are you worried about me?

I reassured him, "It's alright, your son is quite strong."

"No."

She pointed to the blouse I was wearing.

"This one hasn't been paid for yet."