Plans for What Comes Next

(Bai Ziye)

Who is this?

This is the first time Miss SpiCa has met "me".

Yin Wei took the initiative to introduce, "This is Bai Ziye, the friend that Ceruno asked to bring along."

She knew the identity of the "Bai Ziye" in front of her, but still chose to hide it. Just as she promised, only she knew my true identity, and it was indeed not reported to the Association.

Since Bai Ziye's existence seemed reasonable, SpiCa had no doubts and even said with amusement, "Your personality is quite interesting, why aren't you saying anything?"

Now it was Ceruno's turn to explain.

"Oh, Yezi choked on her burrito and the hot sauce hurt her throat, so she can't speak."

Spica covered her mouth and chuckled, "Ceruno has mentioned you quite a bit..."

Surprisingly, she actually had a pretty good impression of UI-31. I thought all women would instinctively dislike this quiet pervert.

However, she is, after all, middle-aged, and it seems, she is still unmarried...

Hmm, could she have been charmed by UI-31's earlier antics?

I wouldn't normally meddle in other people's relationships, but the thought that UI-31 is currently acting on my behalf sends chills down my spine.

However, UI-31 didn't give anything away. His smile was natural. After stepping aside, he joined Antarctic Star in building sand sculptures.

SpiCa then asked, "Is he your boyfriend?"

Ceruno hurriedly retorted, "No, why are you saying that too!"

Although it doesn't really count, it's still a bit upsetting to be rejected.

"Even magical girls have the right to pursue happiness. If you have a good man like this by your side, you should cherish him and not wait until you're my age to regret it."

SpiCa spoke with an air of maturity, even though she looked only seventeen years old.

Realizing she had lost her composure, she cleared her throat.

"Ahem, let's get back to the point. I hope you'll meet with your father when you get back. I'd like to hear what he really thinks..."

Ceruno raised her hand to interrupt SpiCa.

"Excuse me, Miss SpiCa, I'd like to ask, what was my father's role in the Past wars? Was he a liaison officer? Or a tactical officer?"

Hesitant, SpiCa did not answer.

"You still don't know?"

Sirius, however, looked surprised. She cupped Ceruno's cheeks in her hands and looked at SpiCa, asking, "When you made this child a magical girl, you didn't tell her anything?"

"There's no need for that; doing so will only make her feel worse."

While saying things that piqued attention, SpiCa also secretly observed Ceruno's reaction.

"Ceruno, if you want to know about your parents, just ask your father directly. I think it's only meaningful to have him tell you this in person."

Although reluctant, Ceruno, being as timid as ever, was destined not to ask any more questions and finally nodded, obeying SpiCa's arrangement.

The latter smiled with satisfaction.

"Good boy, we'll discuss this again when you get back to Skyreach City... I have to go to the Hawaii Branch, so I won't stay here any longer."

"Eh? Miss SpiCa is leaving already?"

Ceruno seemed to want to persuade her to stay for the barbecue, but Sirius, the island's owner, hadn't made a move, and it wasn't appropriate for her to bring it up.

"Yes, the theft of the Simulacrum Factor is no small matter. If the power of that Kraken the Thirteenth is absorbed by UI-31, it will be very troublesome. He may also be targeting Ceruno. You should not be too careless and should still be wary of him coming to the island."

These words sound like hindsight to me.

Because it's all already happened, it's a complete disaster for me...

An unfamiliar small boat was already docked at the pier, presumably there to pick up SpiCa for their trip to the Hawaii Branch.

"Sirius, I hope you can also consider this: humanity cannot continue to unilaterally endure the enemy's harassment. If we cannot retaliate..."

Sirius simply brushed his hand at her, not even looking at her, and said, "Alright, I don't need you to tell me that. Get lost!"

Sirius only came close to me after SpiCa left.

"That's hilarious. As the Tactical Division, he couldn't see anything at all. With this level of understanding, he wants to organize a second counterattack?"

Why are you telling me all this? I don't want to get involved in their argument.

I glanced at Ceruno; she was completely absorbed in the barbecue atmosphere, and with Zara's guidance, she was planning to try barbecuing herself.

"After all, he's Monster specializes in infiltration missions, and he's born with the ability to impersonate others. If he could be seen through so easily, then the level of 'the Other Side' wouldn't be anything special."

Sirius narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.

"Speaking of which, it seems like Spica is quite fond of that guy?"

I glanced again at "that guy" who was helping Antarctic Star build sand sculptures, and couldn't help but sigh and rub my forehead.

"That kind of thing just gives me a headache."

After all, she's using my face to perform. The thought of SpiCa having feelings for me makes my scalp tingle, but that kind of development is unlikely, given the nearly twenty-year age difference... However, magical girls don't age.

Let's not talk about that anymore.

Pulling the frightening thought out of my mind, I asked again, "What are your plans for dealing with UI-31?"

Sirius's expression turned serious.

"If he is telling the truth, we certainly can't deal with him arbitrarily. Even if he was modified, he was once human. I will start by investigating his human identity. If he is indeed not lying, then we can let him move freely."

Freedom of movement?

I couldn't help but frown and question, "Are we really going to let an unstable, unreliable Special Monster who can constantly absorb Simulacrum Factor to become stronger move freely?"

"That's why I said I would investigate beforehand~"

"Aren't you going to report this to the Tactical Division?"

"I won't report it! Anyway Spica will investigate on its own. If it gets caught while operating freely, it just means this infiltration Monster isn't all that capable."

The sand palace built by UI-31 is big enough for little Antarctic Star to sit inside with his knees drawn up... These two are having a blast.

"Woof!"

Golden ran up to my legs and frolicked. Sirius picked up the Doggy, who wasn't much shorter than her when she stood up straight, and then rubbed her cheek against its soft golden fur.

"Miluno- chan, you've always been very wary, even towards me. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, living like that must be exhausting, right?"

"Because it's necessary, and I don't want to lose my life due to carelessness."

"Please, who would want to kill you when there are no Monster around?"

Sirius, holding the forepaws of the Golden, pressed a few shallow plum blossom marks on my belly.

"Enjoy life to the fullest when it's time to enjoy it! Magical girls should have a rosy life, right Miluno- chan!"

Sirius is free, so free that it's almost unrestrained.

However, I couldn't maintain such an optimistic attitude as her. I rubbed the Golden's head and then walked towards UI-31, who was using her little fingernail to carve out hollow decorations on the sand sculpture.

"Stop playing around, I have something I want to talk to you about."

"Huh?"

He looked up at Ceruno, then clapped his hands and stood up.

I pointed in the direction of the mountain path.

"Come with me."

"Aww!"