Caught Red-Handed

Miss Miluno... left with a tense expression.

Heat Haze said bluntly, "She doesn't look very happy."

"Probably because Miss SpiCa kept questioning her identity? She already made it clear that she didn't want to reveal it."

I did not avoid the matter and said it directly in front of Miss SpiCa.

She adjusted her glasses and sighed. "Someone has to do these unpleasant things. If we can obtain Miluno's full cooperation, a small elite force alone could provide global support within three minutes... When facing External Invaders, personal privacy can be sacrificed."

Miss SpiCa's views were completely opposed to Miluno's.

That was why she appeared before us in her true form rather than as Virgo.

But...

"I think Magical Girls still need to retain some mystery. If you keep pressuring her like this, she'll be even less willing to trust the Association."

"Magical Girls need an organization that can coordinate them, preventing them from being divided up and controlled by nations and other forces, which would lead to meaningless internal conflict. That is also why the Association was founded. The idolized social image of Magical Girls, as well as their high pay, are all products of our long-term strategy."

Magical Girls had originally all been ordinary people.

Whether it was building up the positive image of Magical Girls or issuing generous rewards for subjugating Monsters, it was all to prevent Magical Girls from using miraculous magic for illegal acts.

[Becoming a Magical Girl is the best choice!]

As long as most people thought that way, there would be no social problems. That was why the matter of "Magical Girls becoming Witches" had to be buried completely.

Of course, I knew that, but I did not often think about it from that angle.

After all, I also hoped Magical Girls could be more ideal idols. Just as Miss Yin Wei had said before, they were "warriors who fought for all humanity."

Come to think of it, I had not seen Miss Yin Wei since the battle began, had I?

Luer was also the one coordinating the aftermath. Where had she gone?

"It's about time. I need to return to headquarters."

SpiCa glanced at her watch and quickened her pace as she left this level of the testing area. As the director of the Tactical Division, her schedule was surely packed, and her complexion looked unhealthy from overwork.

Metal also said, "All right! I'm heading back to my shop too!"

She seemed to be a small shop owner in the C4 Area. Now that she was a Magical Girl, running the shop had become more of a hobby. Besides, there would not be any customers in the store during an evacuation anyway.

"Then I'll go check on Miss Heat Haze first..."

Yet Heat Haze, who was still sprawled helplessly on her hospital bed on the tablet screen, said, "I don't need you visiting me! Weren't you out shopping with your boyfriend today, fatty?"

Boyfriend?

Did she mean Yezi?

"I already told you, he isn't my boyfriend! How could I possibly have—"

Only halfway through denying it did I realize the problem, stopping in front of the elevator doors.

"...Wait! How do you know what I did today?!"

Could a patient with every bone in her body broken really push a wheelchair around and follow me?

"Hey, hey, you didn't seriously believe that encounter was such a coincidence, did you?"

I quickly understood what she meant.

"You had Miss Yin Wei follow me?!"

"Don't put it so harshly. More accurately, she was assisting you. I asked her to lend you a hand when you needed help. Since your boyfriend wasn't willing to go into the lingerie store with you, Sister Xiao Wei took over the guidance... Pretty big, 30E."

Now that I thought about it, it had been far too strange for Miss Yin Wei to be shopping alone.

"I told you Yezi isn't my boyfriend... So you were spying on me?"

"Of course. I watched Sister Xiao Wei's recording the entire time."

"...You were recording even when I went into the fitting room?"

"Of course, but don't worry. I won't show it to anyone else."

"Th-That's too much! Magical Girls really do need privacy!"

I blushed furiously in front of the elevator. Being peeped on without knowing it was happening was far too humiliating.

"Maybe other people do, but Sister Xiao Wei and I both know your identity. It isn't a secret anymore, so isn't it normal to follow you around a little?"

"That isn't normal! How could you do something like that?!"

Really, just how twisted was Miss Heat Haze if she was still ordering around a liaison officer while lying in bed?

"I'm bored lying here."

"No! I'm going to have a proper talk with you!"

Holding the tablet, I stepped into the elevator.

After leaving the Magical Girl treatment facility, I did not head straight home.

Instead, I went to the mall in the C4 Area to retrieve Ceruno's "spoils" from her shopping trip. That little rich girl had bought quite a few clothes, and they were too heavy to carry after she canceled her transformation, so I had canceled my Battle Dress and put on a mask before coming to pick them up.

The mall had already resumed business. The emergency evacuation at noon had not affected people much; they had become quite used to it... Human adaptability was strong, even though those Monsters had only appeared twelve years ago.

"Thirty-four... thirty-five... thirty-six... There it is, number thirty-eight."

The mall lockers had also undergone an industry upgrade over the years. They were no longer metal boxes for customers to temporarily store things in, but sturdy safes that could keep their contents intact even if the building collapsed.

"Miss, please wait."

As I reached toward the locker's holographic screen, a woman beside me grabbed my wrist. I stared at her blankly, then recalled who she was.

She was the woman who had been with Ceruno at noon, the one who looked very much like Luer. She seemed to have been waiting here for quite some time.

Had she discovered my identity?

This was bad. As expected, too much contact with the Association was dangerous.

"What is it?"

I suppressed my panic and tried to make my voice sound as natural as possible.

"May I ask if you are Miss Miluno?"

"Investigating a Magical Girl's identity is illegal."

"Then it really is Miss Miluno... I wasn't investigating your identity. I only wanted to know why the clothes Miss Ceruno bought were in your hands."

"What do you mean? These are clothes I bought."

"There are receipts inside the shopping bags, with the payer's bank card number on them. If it doesn't match yours, may I understand that you stole Ceruno's clothes?"

Tch, I had forgotten about receipts.

"Your Association really is impossible to like... So? What exactly do you want?"

At this point, there was no point continuing to play dumb. The woman before me clearly knew everything.

"I won't force you to register with the Association, nor will I report your identity. Waiting here for you was only my personal decision, Miss Miluno. I guarantee that I won't tell anyone your identity, not even the Association."

She was a meticulous person. People like that were the troublesome ones.

"Just say it. What do you want?"

Even though I was the one caught red-handed, she instead revealed a helpless smile.

"There are no conditions, Miss Miluno. I didn't wait here for more than six hours to threaten you. No matter what, I will keep your secret... I only have one request. Would you allow me to become your personal liaison officer?"

"You only want to be my liaison officer?"

"That's right."

She looked at me with great sincerity.

"To show my sincerity, I'll prepare a special 'gift' for you."