Hospitalization

(Bai Ziye)

...Ugh.

A water bullet from that Monster had struck me in the head and knocked me unconscious.

The moment my consciousness returned, I understood what had happened.

But since I could wake up like this, that rather unusual Monster must have been dealt with by the other Magical Girls... Ceruno, for example.

"Urgh—"

When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

Though it was unfamiliar, it was not hard to guess where I was. This was a treatment facility under the Association. I had accompanied Heat Haze here only yesterday, yet today I had been carried in horizontally.

I tried to sit up, only to find myself wrapped in bandages. A sharp pain from my back instantly woke me up... There was no cast, so they seemed to be only flesh wounds.

After taking a finishing move of that scale and suffering only flesh wounds, perhaps I was tougher than I had imagined.

When I turned my head slightly, I saw a certain fool's uneasy expression.

"Have you been waiting here the whole time for me to wake up?"

"Mm..."

Like an elementary school student who had made a mistake, she sat by the bed, avoiding my gaze before hesitantly speaking again.

"Miluno... I-I'm sorry."

Her first words were an apology. I did not know how to respond. After a moment of silence, all I could manage was, "I'm fine."

But that only made her blame herself even more.

"Because of my carelessness, Miluno got hurt so badly..."

"It wasn't your fault. No one expected that Monster to abandon its defenses just to launch a sneak attack."

"Even so, I held you back."

This was troublesome. The fool was trapped in her negative emotions. How was I supposed to comfort her?

Knock, knock—

Someone knocked on the door.

Ceruno finally pulled herself together and trotted over to open it.

"I'm coming."

The person who entered was Luer, the liaison officer.

She wore her signature black suit, though she had a red shirt underneath.

She was also carrying a plastic bag containing boxed meals.

The moment she entered, she greeted us. "Yo, you're awake? Never thought our invincible Miss Moonlit Gale would end up being sent here. Is it because there's no moon during the day?"

"...No, it was all my fault."

Though it was only a joke, Ceruno lowered her head again. Luer hurriedly explained, "I wasn't blaming you! Ceruno, why are you so gloomy? Try looking at things more positively!"

"Mm..."

She nodded, but did not look even remotely more positive.

It seemed I would have to encourage her properly in the future and give her some psychological guidance... Of course, that was assuming I could change back first.

"Are you feeling all right, Miluno? You're recovering quickly. You should be discharged in two days."

At Luer's words, I shook my head.

"...No, I'll be leaving shortly."

"Huh? So soon?"

Ceruno looked worried.

"I'll recover at home."

"You really don't trust the Association at all, do you?"

I braced myself against the bed and tried to sit up. Afraid I would tear open my wounds, Ceruno hurried back to my side to support me.

"I believe in absolute secrecy."

I lowered my head and looked at the hospital gown I was wearing.

"You changed my clothes... Where's my Battle Dress?"

Ceruno answered, "It was shredded by fragments from the barrage. The back was full of holes, so Miss SpiCa took it to repair... Um, and your twin swords were given to Miss Metal... the other Magical Girl who arrived earlier, to be reforged."

I tried moving my body and replied, "I know Metal, the Iron Dragon of C4 Area. But who is this SpiCa?"

Luer introduced her. "She's the director of the Association's Tactical Division. She was also once the Magical Girl known as Virgo."

The Tactical Division?

My expression immediately turned cold.

"This important person took my Battle Dress away just to repair it?"

"Um, she might also investigate it, analyze it..."

Luer's voice grew much quieter out of guilt.

"This is why I don't trust the Association. You always say one thing to our faces and do another behind our backs."

Once a damaged Battle Dress was recovered into its Star Crystal, it would automatically begin repairing itself, even cleaning itself. There was no need for a third party to repair it at all. Virgo's motive was obvious. Even if I got it back, I would have to inspect it carefully. There was no telling whether she might leave some sort of tracking device behind.

Luer lowered her head as well and said humbly, "Miss SpiCa instructed me to take you to see her if you were able to get out of bed."

"How long was I unconscious?"

Ceruno glanced at the electronic clock on the hospital room wall.

It was almost six in the evening.

"...A little over four hours, counting from the end of the battle."

Four hours. That was quite a while.

I threw aside the thin blanket and got out of bed. Once I got used to the pain in my back, it was not so unbearable. As long as I did not make any major movements, I should recover in the next couple of days—but changing back might hurt unbearably.

"The busy director of the Tactical Division has been able to stay here this long?"

Skyreach City might be considered a major city, but it was still quite far from headquarters... How had she gotten here?

Luer answered, "Besides having something to tell you, she also needs to deal with that Shark Princess Witch."

"...Hm?"

That Monster had not died?

"That... used to be a Magical Girl too?"

In the elevator going up, I listened as Ceruno explained the shocking truth.

"What exactly is going on? I've never heard that Magical Girls could become Monsters, or turn into Witches."

"This involves a lot of classified information. I can't explain the details very clearly either. It would be better to let Miss Virgo tell you herself."

Ceruno did not seem to know much either. It seemed they had been waiting for me to wake up before explaining everything at once.

Also...

"Ceruno, don't hold the tablet like that. Heat Haze isn't dead yet."

The fool held a tablet in both hands, with Heat Haze on a video call. Holding it like that made it look like one of those black-and-white memorial photos.

Meanwhile, Heat Haze was sprawled on a hospital bed. She could not even use a wheelchair, so this was the only way to give her some sense of involvement.

Ceruno said, "Oh," and lifted the tablet over her head...

The elevator doors opened.

Luer introduced the place. "This is the top floor of the treatment facility, but it belongs to the Association's research department. So there are no doctors here, only researchers."

"A research department specifically for studying Magical Girls?"

I frowned.

Just as I had expected, the Association intended to use the power of Magical Girls for something. They had even placed the department on the top floor of a medical facility. Were the Magical Girls receiving treatment downstairs all lab rats?

"Um, Miss Miluno's prejudice against the Association really is..."

Miss Luer looked awkward after being left speechless by me, but another woman here offered an explanation.

"We do not only study Magical Girls. We also study those External Invaders. The bodies of Magma and Thunder God, whom you defeated yesterday, were sent here for dissection and research as well. Every major city has a facility like this. Only by fully understanding their structures can humanity have any chance of striking back. Perhaps our methods are unacceptable to you, but our ultimate goal is the same."

Her first impression was of black hair that had not been curled, straightened, or dyed, yet had been carefully groomed. She was a white woman of around forty, wearing an oversized lab coat. Though her thin frame looked unhealthily frail, her gaze was remarkably resolute.

She was SpiCa.

The legendary Magical Girl known as the "Sage Strategist."

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