A New Character

(Ceruno)

"Huh? Going to the branch? Now?"

Miluno suddenly said this after dinner.

"Well, there are some things I'd like to discuss with SpiCa in person. I can go by myself. You can do the dishes."

"No, I want to go too!"

Lately, she's been hiding too many things from me.

Even if what happened with Miss Jaeger was a misunderstanding, there might be other things I don't know. Although it's true that we need to maintain a proper distance, wouldn't it be estrangement if I didn't know too much?

It was as if Miluno no longer belonged to me.

"Hmm."

Miluno hesitated for a moment, but still compromised:

"Alright, since we'll need your help in the end anyway, let's finish washing the dishes and then go together."

"Ah! Leave the dishwashing to me!"

As Xiaoling said this, she quickly began to clear away the dishes.

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you."

Miluno didn't stand on ceremony and casually activated a teleportation portal, her skill surpassing even mine...

"Ceruno, let's go."

"Oh!"

The Sky Branch remains the same.

No, I should say I'm even busier.

Because SpiCa moved its team from headquarters here, there are now many more foreign faces here.

"Ah, Sirius, Xiao Wei!"

On my way to SpiCa's office, I ran into two acquaintances.

"Oh dear? What are you two doing here so late?"

Miluno said she wanted to discuss something with SpiCa.

"Um?"

Sirius glanced at Miluno but didn't ask any further questions:

"Is it something that can't be discussed over the phone? Let's talk about it when we meet SpiCa."

It's worth mentioning that a tall, blonde, blue-eyed magical girl was standing in front of SpiCa's office; she appeared to be a trusted confidante she had brought from headquarters.

She seems very strong.

After the previous incident, SpiCa has also begun to pay more attention to its security measures.

Sirius, who was in the lead, took the initiative to step forward and greet them.

"Hey Chris, is SpiCa there?"

"Sirius, you've come at just the right time."

The girl, dressed in light silver armor, resembled a medieval guard more than a magical girl Kaida, and answered:

"We've only been back a short while, and Director SpiCa is already busy with official business."

As she spoke, she looked at me and Miluno.

"You must be the Galaxy group? We've heard so much about you. Thanks to you, we were able to deal with the Witch Domain."

The other person took the initiative to come up and greet us.

"Ah, hello."

I responded, and Miluno shook hands with the other person, but her expression seemed a little impatient?

Miluno has been increasingly impatient lately, and her temper has become violent.

Miss Chris then introduced herself, "I am Chris Kenway, a magical girl transferred from headquarters, currently in charge of Director SpiCa's security."

"A personal bodyguard? Thanks for your hard work."

She waved her hand modestly.

"As for hard work, it's nothing compared to the director's. I don't understand strategy, I'm just better at combat than others, and I can't be of much help except for this kind of thing."

Even so, the lightly armored magical girl felt like she'd seen her somewhere before.

"Excuse me, what is Miss Chris's title?"

The blonde magical girl said modestly:

"It's embarrassing to announce that kind of title yourself."

"Then let me speak."

Miss Chris was too shy to speak up, so Sirius interjected, "Among the active magical girls, Chris is ranked third on the strength list, and her title is..."

Oh, it's that Swift Sword!

"Kris the Swift!"

I remember now!

When it comes to such a well-known magical girl, I can't help but ramble on about her.

"I remember... it's said that you were a master swordsman before becoming a magical girl! And after becoming a magical girl, you became famous for your swift sword-drawing slash... but I've never seen your formation before, I never expected you to be such a simple person!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than Miluno's punishing chop struck me squarely on the head.

"Ceruno, isn't that incredibly rude of you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Miss Chris hurriedly said:

"It's alright, I really don't have much of a presence. As for those anecdotes you mentioned, they're all made up. I never learned swordsmanship before becoming a magical girl, and as for after becoming a magical girl... cough, actually, I've never even used my sword."

She patted the ornate rapier at her waist.

"Ah?"

"I'm a magical girl, after all. Miracles are actually magic, just like this."

She reached out and grabbed a lock of my hair, and then... without warning, that lock of hair was cut off.

"Huh?!"

The blonde, blue-eyed magical girl gave a wry smile.

"See, I didn't use a sword, did I? The so-called 'fast sword' is just speculation from watching the video. In reality, my sword is just for decoration, yet I'm called a swordsman because of it, and I'm always compared to that legendary magical girl..."

Miluno asked, "Without a cutting trajectory, does your attack directly target the target?"

"Yes, it's the same kind of magic as Little Ceruno's; it can cut through anything within sight."

"Wow! That's way too strong! Doesn't that mean anyone who gets glared at will die?"

"To say I'm weak is certainly true, but I'm not as invincible as you think. My magic range is very short, roughly the distance of a sword blade, and I can only cut what I can see. For example, if I want to cut your body, I have to cut your clothes first, because I can't see your body until your clothes are cut."

They are easily kited by highly mobile enemies.

It's difficult to deal with enemies who wear a lot of clothes.

Even so, Miss Chris's strength is definitely not weak, given that she ranks third on the strength list.

As if hearing my innermost thoughts, Miluno suddenly said:

"Indeed, after all, one can't be a witch's guard without some strength."

"Huh?"

"Ahem, I was just talking to myself."

Wasn't she talking to me?

"Besides serving as a guard, I actually have other duties..."

"Hello!"

Miss SpiCa peeked out from the office.

"How long are you going to chat in front of my office? I'm very busy; I even had to stop working to receive you!"

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but SpiCa, now in her Witchification, seems to speak in a younger tone.

"Oh dear? Miluno and Ceruno are here too?"

That's when she noticed Miluno and me.

"Hmm, Miluno seems to have come up with a defense plan against the Other Side."

That's all I know, so I'll just say it.

"Sirius also has something to say, so which of you two wants to go first?"

"Yin Wei, just a brief report~"

Miss Sirius snapped her fingers, and Sister Yin Wei stepped forward and said:

"Given the increasing prevalence of Witch Domain and Magical Girl Soldiers, new 'Magical Girl Interception Protocol' have been issued today. Large cities have a large number of magical girls, so implementing the new rules is not difficult. However, some smaller cities have only one magical girl defending them, making it difficult to even form a three-person team, let alone a reserve team... Therefore, is it possible to ensure that every city meets the basic defense requirements through the Association's coordination?"

That sounds like a very constructive suggestion.

Ms. SpiCa shook her head at this.

"No, that won't work, and it's impractical."