About Becoming a Magical Girl

"I saw it."

Masaki Hina sighed, propped her chin on her hand, and let her gaze wander around the room.

"That 'Apostle' was strong... If an enemy like her showed up again, you'd probably be the only one on our side who could subdue her."

"The Special Disaster Division could do it too."

"No! Those brutes would definitely kill the target! What would be the point if we couldn't capture such a valuable source of information alive?"

"Let me remind you: people like that are our enemies. There are plenty stronger than her. If we aim to capture them alive instead of killing them, we might be the ones who die."

"It's just a hypothetical, a hypothetical..."

Faced with Efnir's chilly gaze, Masaki Hina could only pout.

"Besides, you should have realized by now that there are their people inside our organization. For the past six days, we've been led around by the nose... If we stay put and wait like this, we may fall into their next trap. But the information we have is extremely limited—practically nonexistent. We need to know what they want, and what mission the person behind that girl gave her."

Efnir said.

"Our only lead right now is her, so progress will probably be slow... But I remembered something interesting. That self-proclaimed Apostle never spared any effort in driving a wedge between me and the organization, as if it would bring her enormous benefits. That bothered me. So based on that, I have an idea worth trying."

"What idea? Tell me, if you don't mind?"

"Well, something like waiting for the hare by a tree stump—or fishing, perhaps. Since she wants to drive a wedge between me and the organization, I can play along and lure the snake from its hole. I had no intention of putting on a show for her, but since things have come to this, acting naturally wouldn't be so bad. This time, I came to your office in Exile Form. With that as a trigger, it'll be easy for others to believe it. If word that 'you and I had a dispute' leaks out even a little, plenty of busybodies will come sniffing around. And perhaps 'that person' will be among them."

"I see, so that's why you look like this..."

Masaki Hina looked thoughtful, but then cast Efnir a suspicious look.

"Hey, wait. Why did you say 'acting naturally'!?"

"Because I did seriously consider wiping all of you out and leaving this city with Yukina. But then I realized there didn't seem to be anywhere to go, and my little sister probably wouldn't want to see me like that. So I gave up."

"What????"

Masaki Hina's expression instantly became wonderfully colorful.

She sprang to her feet indignantly, pointed at Efnir, and said with plenty of force but not enough volume:

"Huh?? You actually thought about it!? And the only reasons you gave up were 'nowhere to go' and 'my sister wouldn't like it'! Was the friendship we built over the past year really so easy for you to sell out!? Even if it was for your sister, aren't you way too cold-hearted!? Are you a siscon???"

"Then... explain what that file was about."

Not willing to yield in the slightest, Efnir stood as well and replied sharply.

"Why was there still a record in the organization for something that had supposedly been destroyed? And why was it deliberately kept from me? If you can give me an explanation that satisfies me on this matter, I won't pursue it any further."

The moment Efnir finished speaking, Masaki Hina choked up. She slowly sat back down and gave an awkward smile.

"Well..."

"Forget it. I don't want to hear it. It's not like you could explain anything anyway."

Efnir shot Masaki Hina an annoyed glare.

"All this time, I've kept things about myself and my sister from you without permission. I'm sorry for that... But I'm sure you've hidden plenty from me too. As far as this matter goes, we're even. Neither of us owes the other anything, and neither of us gets to hold the other hostage."

"Mm... I should be the one apologizing..."

With things having been said this far, Masaki Hina put away her joking expression. She lowered her lashes, pressed her lips together, and sighed.

"The file on your sister was indeed originally scheduled for destruction. But you know how it is—humanity is gradually running out of options. We didn't want to miss even the slightest hope. If you died, this city would lose its greatest trump card against the Erosion Entities. We needed someone strong enough to uphold people's confidence and lead them forward, so..."

"Enough! That's the end of it. Don't say any more."

Efnir impatiently cut Masaki Hina off.

If Efnir were in Masaki Hina's position, she would have done the same thing—to ensure that, after Yanase Naoto, who was Efnir, died, there would still be another powerful fighter to step in and fill the gap. But understanding it was one thing; agreeing with it was another.

That was what it meant to have different positions.

Efnir remained expressionless. Masaki Hina silently watched her, then lowered her head as well.

After a brief silence between them, Efnir spoke again.

"Then let's return to the earlier matter..."

"Mm..."

Masaki Hina nodded.

"Then... I'll tell you the results of our investigation too."

"Is it about the parasites hiding inside us?"

"That's right. Those people are lurking around us, and they're very dangerous. What's even more troublesome is that we have no idea when they might suddenly jump out and stab us in the back... So I immediately deployed people to investigate and search for them. But in the end, we were still one step too late..."

"What happened?"

"They died."

Masaki Hina pouted, sighed, and gloomily stared at an indoor plant nearby.

"We followed the traces left by identity authentication and tracked them down, but all we found were a few corpses. These people were the actual operatives. We don't know how they managed to manipulate the Boundary Stele without escaping my notice, but now that they're dead, we can't dig up any further information. And we don't know whether they were coerced or discarded. In short, the trail has gone cold again."

"I see..."

"But don't worry about it. This was only a preliminary investigation today. We might still find some other valuable information later. I'll notify you when we do."

Efnir nodded in agreement.

Rather, if Masaki Hina had managed to root out the people planted by the enemy in just one afternoon, Efnir would have been the first to suspect that Masaki Hina herself was an undercover agent.

"I have a piece of information to provide as well. My sister told me—after Nami sent her to the shelter, a mysterious girl approached her on her own initiative. According to my sister, that mysterious person opened a hidden passage there and let her through. That was how she managed to leave the shelter."

"A hidden passage? I never authorized anyone to access it. How could she open it?"

"I'm puzzled too. But just as the Boundary Stele's program was tampered with, perhaps they can bypass you and interfere with the shelter as well... In any case, there are three times when suspicious people appeared: the person who handed 'Fifina' to my sister at the venue that morning; the person near the venue's preparation room at noon who operated my phone and sent my sister a message; and the person at the shelter at noon who opened the passage for my sister. Those people should have appeared in the surveillance footage from those times. Unfortunately, whoever used my phone to send the message left no fingerprints. But I think we can review and screen the surveillance footage from both the shelter and the venue. If we're lucky, we can capture images of their appearances and perhaps even learn what method they used to bypass your authority."

"Alright. Thanks for telling me. I'll have someone do it shortly."

Masaki Hina nodded readily, but then raised another question.

"But now that you mention it, all these people seem to have their eyes fixed on your sister... I don't mean anything by it. It's just that the other side's intentions are still unclear, and I think you should keep a close eye on your sister for a while."

"Mm... Don't worry. I'll stay by her side at all times."

Yukina alone was important above all else.

A New Plan

Efnir looked away, paused, and changed the subject.

"On another matter, has there been any progress in the interrogation and investigation of the 'Apostle' being held by the Special Disaster Division?"

"That one? Unfortunately, we still haven't gotten any reliable answers from her..."

Masaki Hina said.

"You know that because headquarters is being rebuilt, we can't hold her here. If we want to learn anything, we have to ask for support from the Special Disaster Division. But as you know, our relationship with them is one of cooperation and coexistence on one hand, but mutual dissatisfaction and rivalry on the other. Normally, they wouldn't make things difficult for us over something this important, but over the past six days, we Orderkeepers have screwed up three times in a row. The Special Disaster Division has been very blunt in expressing their dissatisfaction to my face."

By the end, Masaki Hina simply collapsed onto the desk and began sighing like an old woman on her last legs.

"You said it yourself earlier—there's a mole in our organization. The Special Disaster Division guessed that too, and as a result... they don't intend to hand over information to us so easily anymore. In short, it's a crisis of trust..."

Efnir fell silent.

What Masaki Hina said was true. The Special Disaster Division and the Orderkeepers Organization had to assist and support one another, dividing their responsibilities, in order to most effectively avoid casualties and property damage. Neither could independently carry out counterattacks against the Erosion Entities without the other.

The Orderkeepers Organization and the Special Disaster Division were two sides of the same coin.

But precisely because they were so closely connected while belonging to separate institutions, they each had their own priorities in certain matters and decisions. The result was disagreement.

When disagreements accumulated, a subtle distance emerged.

If open conflict had never broken out between them because they shared a common enemy, then this time, with a mole appearing within the Orderkeepers Organization, a crack formed between the Orderkeepers and the Special Disaster Division because they could no longer place absolute trust in each other.

"But."

Masaki Hina suddenly twirled a strand of hair around her fingertip and said:

"The Special Disaster Division said that if it's you, they're willing to share information."

"Me??"

This time, Efnir was the confused one.

"That's right. You, Efnir."

Masaki Hina idly twisted her hair and said in a deliberately serious tone:

"Don't underestimate the prestige you've built up in this city, Lady Magical Girl."

"Stop it. I understand. I'll go over tomorrow if I have to."

Even now, Efnir still felt strangely about that title. Not wanting Masaki Hina to continue, she cut her off.

After a pause, she added:

"But even so, you must do your best to keep pace with the Special Disaster Division. I didn't spare that person's life so you could play house at your leisure. You'd better pry something out of her as soon as possible."

"Oh, right. Speaking of that, there's actually something else I'd like to ask you for help with."

"What is it?"

"Do you remember Maesakagawa? The small town that was destroyed six days ago..."

Efnir's gaze shifted slightly.

"...I remember. It was destroyed, and that Apostle started plotting against me from there. Even now, my abdomen still aches from time to time. I remember it very clearly."

"Hey, that expression is terrifying..."

Masaki Hina instinctively sat up straighter.

"Well, I was actually trying to talk about something else... You know, Maesakagawa was one of Xijing City's most important food production bases. The extent of the destruction it suffered this time was truly unfortunate, and its fall has directly caused this year's projected food output for the city to decline by twenty-seven percent year-on-year. We've already urgently begun expanding the planting of short-term crops elsewhere to cushion the impact of this disaster, but that can only serve as an emergency measure, so..."

"So you're already planning a reclamation operation?"

"That's right."

"If you're saying you need me to assist in operations Beyond the Boundary and in reclaiming the Maesakagawa Fallen Zone, Hina, then I don't think I can agree so easily."

Without even thinking, Efnir voiced her reservations. She took a deep breath and looked Masaki Hina directly in the eye.

"Xijing City is currently beset by troubles both within and without, yet our Agents are severely lacking in combat power. Several major disasters in a row have placed immense pressure on this city. At a time when everyone is so frightened and anxious, I think there's nothing wrong with postponing the operation to reclaim lost territory. Even if we let all those crops rot where they are, that would still be better than sacrificing the last of our able-bodied forces. Besides, Qinglan is now also..."

Efnir trailed off and sighed.

When Qinglan was still around, operations Beyond the Boundary were usually led by Efnir and Qinglan together. Based on information left behind from that era or mission details assigned from above, their task was to explore Fallen Zones Beyond the Boundary. Their main purpose was to search for usable natural resources or other habitable land, though they occasionally escorted personnel or equipment.

In every expedition Beyond the Boundary, experienced combat personnel were indispensable.

Clearly, Xijing City was now stretched thin when it came to manpower alone, so Efnir believed it was not suitable to conduct operations Beyond the Boundary.

"I understand your concerns, Efnir, but right now we have an excellent opportunity."

Masaki Hina smiled calmly, turned in her chair, and picked up a document from beside the computer.

She pushed the document toward Efnir.

Efnir took it and gave it a quick look.

"A copied document from Human Alliance Command Headquarters? That's rare. I thought our city had already been abandoned..."

Under the massive White Hole Erosion, human society had long since completely collapsed. When "that era" came to its end, the common destiny of humanity—the Human Alliance—was born.

Just as its name implied, the Human Alliance was the integration of the few countries humanity had left at the time, representing humanity's final resistance and hope. It could be said that the Human Alliance was a remnant of that distant era. In Efnir's understanding, there was now very little contact between human urban settlements. Although they were nominally governed by the Human Alliance, cities were in practice almost entirely autonomous, with connections generally existing only between neighboring cities.

The major cities were nominally accountable to the Human Alliance, but Efnir had never felt that in any real sense.

Indeed, to Efnir, the Human Alliance only made its presence known occasionally by issuing investigation assignments and public notices. The rest of the time, it might as well not have existed.

"That's too harsh! I was sent here from there to take office, you know! Even if you're only pretending, at least act like you're grateful!"

Masaki Hina jabbed at Efnir in dissatisfaction, but then, unusually, sighed and fell silent.

Efnir glanced at her without saying anything.

The Human Alliance Central Province was Masaki Hina's hometown.

Last year, the former commander of Xijing City's Orderkeepers died in action, leaving the organization without a leader. That was when Masaki Hina had been dispatched by the Human Alliance—as Xijing City's new commander.