About Becoming a Magical Girl — Chapter 36

"That was suspicious behavior by anyone's standards. She had no authorization, and I have no idea how she got those guarding soldiers reassigned. She didn't tell anyone what she was planning, either... She's as willful as ever, that woman."

Shinomiyami Nami wore an unmistakably complicated expression, let out a long sigh, and muttered a complaint.

"Yukina, did Efnir tell you anything before she came here?"

"I... don't know..."

Yukina shook her head blankly, quickly going over everything Efnir had said to her since that afternoon. But much of it had already become hazy, leaving her unable to discern what Efnir was thinking.

She lowered her eyelashes, slightly stunned.

"She... never tells me about herself... This time is the same..."

"I see... She really is difficult."

Shinomiyami Nami pinched the bridge of her nose in distress and took a deep breath.

"So why, exactly...? Everything was fine just now, and then she suddenly did something that would definitely make people misunderstand. She isn't planning to take the commander hostage, is she? But could that even work...?"

"My sister would never do something like that!"

Yukina reflexively objected, only to receive an unreadable look from Shinomiyami Nami.

"Of course... Your sister is highly disciplined and levelheaded. I believe she would never do anything impulsive or irrational. But even for your sister, moving through headquarters fully armed without authorization is a serious violation and a dangerous act. Especially in a place like that—if things go wrong, she'll immediately be treated as someone with ulterior motives and placed in danger. This isn't something that can simply be brushed aside. If the soldiers surround her, even an Agent will have trouble getting away... No, more than that, I'm worried about the soldiers' safety—the Efnir isn't easy to deal with. If she wanted to, no one at this headquarters could stop her right now."

"Huh? My sister..."

"Your sister is strong, you know. 'The strongest chief' isn't just an empty title."

Shinomiyami Nami revealed a faint, inscrutable smile.

"Well, anyway, since she's already gone this far, I'm afraid she might really do something foolish. If it's for your sake, I don't think she'd be incapable of it."

"..."

Yukina fell silent.

She understood Shinomiyami Nami's implication without needing to guess.

It had been the same when they were children. Because Yukina had been bullied, her usually quiet "older brother," who never caused trouble, had gone and beaten every last one of them until they cried, leaving himself covered in bruises. To buy Yukina that limited-edition collectible card, her honor-student brother, who never skipped class, had skipped school for the first time.

He talked back for Yukina, lied for Yukina. That brother who seemed as though he would never do such things would do anything in front of her.

"Well... Even so, if this was something she did after careful consideration, then she must have her own reasons. And as her operations officer and vice commander, I'll stand by your sister no matter what. So you can trust me."

At that moment, the elevator doors opened.

The temporary command tower was on the lowest floor, which was also the core of the entire Orderkeeper Headquarters.

Shinomiyami Nami quickly pressed the buttons for the other floors, then pulled Yukina away at a brisk pace.

"This isn't an emergency elevator, but just in case, it should be able to buy us some time if something really happens. Anyway, this happened suddenly. I exceeded my authority and intercepted the order on my own, so this hasn't spread through headquarters yet. We still have time. Let's hurry over while we can..."

Masaki Hina

The two broke into a quick jog. After rounding a corner, they spotted a man on duty standing at the entrance to the corridor like a sturdy pine.

"Looks like we made it."

Shinomiyami Nami finally relaxed a little and led Yukina over.

"State your identity."

"Here is my electronic card."

"Come this way for verification."

Yukina followed quietly, her eyes fixed on the handgun at the man's waist.

"Yukina, come with me."

Shinomiyami Nami passed the identity check easily and led Yukina inside.

"Does it bother you? That people carry guns in a place like this?"

Yukina nodded honestly.

"Well... that's the nature of our work... Compared to the personnel on duty we saw earlier, even the soldiers over at headquarters are equipped with them."

Shinomiyami Nami stared straight ahead as she spoke gravely.

"I'm worried your sister might do something foolish. This cramped place puts her at a disadvantage, and it would be bad if she clashed with the soldiers. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have gone that far yet. And..."

Shinomiyami Nami raised a finger and tapped the earpiece beside her cheek.

"I have someone here keeping watch for me, too. So far, things are still alright."

Yukina lowered her gaze.

"There are soldiers here too... In a situation like this, nobody knows what's going on. But if my sister makes a dangerous move, would those soldiers fire at her even if she's an Agent?"

"They would."

"Even against an Agent who has always fought on the front lines... they would go that far..."

Yukina murmured, strange thoughts churning within her.

If someone defied orders and acted on their own in a way that harmed the organization, then they would be punished.

There was nothing wrong with that.

But... according to Shinomiyami Nami, it seemed somewhat different.

If one distinguished between behavioral patterns and intent, the punishment Yukina understood was generally a reckoning after something had happened. But the soldiers Shinomiyami Nami spoke of seemed more like a precaution against an accident before it could occur.

That subtle difference bothered Yukina.

Shinomiyami Nami glanced at her.

"Something like that happened before, actually... It ended with extremely severe casualties. It isn't something we can afford not to take seriously."

"Before?"

Yukina lifted her eyes in disbelief and met Shinomiyami Nami's gaze. Shinomiyami Nami was looking ahead, and Yukina could not make out her expression.

Shinomiyami Nami continued.

"Even Agents are human... And if they're human, then anything is possible, isn't it? It's rare, but there have been Agents who ultimately turned against the organization for various reasons. As far as I know, even before the public became widely aware that Agents existed, there was an incident where an Agent attacked the organization. After that, the Agent escaped. According to the senior members, she fled Beyond the Boundary, but there has never been a definite conclusion as to whether she is still alive... Well, sorry. I've been telling you things that have nothing to do with this."

Shinomiyami Nami pursed her lips anxiously before continuing.

"But that is precisely why your sister's actions can so easily touch this organization's nerves. That's why I'm so worried... If anything happens, Yukina, please make sure to stop your sister..."

"Me...?"

"That's why I brought you here. If it's you, there won't be a problem."

Shinomiyami Nami nodded with certainty.

The two continued onward. Then Shinomiyami Nami suddenly stopped.

"Efnir appeared? What about the commander?"

She asked urgently into her earpiece. Before long, her brows gradually relaxed.

"The commander is fine..."

Yukina also breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that.

"A false alarm... Thank goodness."

"I came here to confirm a few things with you."

Efnir's voice was not loud, yet it echoed through the quiet room.

She looked at the girl seated behind the desk before her.

"Do you take me for an idiot? You clearly came here looking for a fight, didn't you!? Your killing intent is leaking everywhere, hey!!"

Cold sweat slid down the girl's cheek. Though she still sat upright in her chair and wore her usual pretty smile, she involuntarily leaned back as far as she could, as if some terrifying beast stood before her.

Before her stood Efnir, radiating a stern and imposing presence.

"Ah—I get it. You just got out of the hospital, so sometimes you feel like stretching your limbs a little. I understand. If you want a sparring match, I wouldn't necessarily say no."

"Hey! You're serious!?"

She kept glancing at the silver spear in Efnir's hand, the smile on her face incomparably stiff.

The girl wore a crisp gray military uniform. Beneath her cap, long black hair fell behind her shoulders, while skin as pale, smooth, and delicate as snow showed from the side of her face down to her neck. She looked about the age of a college freshman, and her height was difficult to comment on. As a result, aside from when she was serious, she always exuded a natural cuteness utterly unsuited to her position whenever she smiled, making full use of her gentle, lovely face. She was the complete opposite of Efnir's cold, expressionless face.

—But in truth, this was an extremely misleading appearance, because she herself was already on the verge of turning thirty.

And though her body looked very slight, she was in fact a formidable combat and tactics expert, the genuine article.

She was Masaki Hina, commander of the command division at the Orderkeeper Headquarters in Xijing City.

At this moment, Masaki Hina looked like a startled cat—terrified beyond measure yet unwilling to show weakness. She shrank her neck tremblingly, peeked cautiously at Efnir, and bared her canine teeth as if in defiance.

"Let me make this clear first: I will—abso—lutely not accept a challenge! Besides, I'm not healed yet. You can't take advantage of someone like this!"

Masaki Hina raised her bandaged left hand, symbolically using it in place of a white flag.

Just as she had said, she had been injured during the last attack on headquarters. Her body was still far from recovered, and she had only barely returned to her post.

"So once you're healed, you can?"

Masaki Hina shrank back again and hurriedly shook her head.

"Still no!"

"Not even with a wager?"

"Mm..."

At the mention of that, Masaki Hina immediately hesitated.

Incidentally, Masaki Hina loved gambling. If she did not have so little free time due to being the commander, she would definitely spend every day at casinos for hours on end.

"Enough. That's enough nonsense. I'm talking seriously now."

Efnir tugged faintly at the corner of her mouth and let out a helpless breath.

Contrary to her appearance, Masaki Hina was usually extremely serious and earnest. But whenever she spoke alone with Efnir, she became fond of cracking jokes, making Efnir feel that she was incredibly unreliable.

Efnir had more or less gotten used to that, but every time she faced Masaki Hina, she still found it difficult to suppress the urge to abandon verbal communication altogether.

Still, perhaps Masaki Hina's "strategy" really was remarkably effective. The murky anger that had accumulated inside Efnir when she arrived had already faded considerably.

Or perhaps her nerves had become so frayed that her anger had naturally weakened as well.

Efnir withdrew her spear and released Exile Form. Yanase Naoto appeared before Masaki Hina just like that.

Masaki Hina also seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and casually straightened her posture.

"Go ahead. I've entered serious mode now. I'm not joking with you anymore."

"The fact that you said that makes it sound like a joke—"

"Hey, what kind of attitude is that!? I'm trying hard to cooperate with you."

"Do you want to spar?"

"No, absolutely not that."

Masaki Hina denied it flatly, her earnest gaze making it seem as if everything she had just said had been a lie.

Efnir ignored her and sat down in a chair nearby.

"I'll be direct. I came to see you about that so-called Apostle. I already asked Canary to send back the relevant records. You should have read them long ago, right?"

Suspicion