Clow Reed's Request

Time-Space Administration Bureau, dimensional warship Asura.

A few hours earlier, the Time-Space Administration Bureau had received a request for an audience. The applicant was Clow Reed, the great mage from the Age of the Gods.

The door to the captain's quarters opened, and Chrono stepped inside to find Admiral Lindy staring at a screen with a rather grave expression.

"Admiral, you wanted to see me?"

"We just received a message from Clow Reed. He requested the use of our warship's Rainbow Light Cannon."

"Clow Reed? I remember he should be conducting his succession ritual on Earth right now. But even a succession ritual for a great mage from the Age of the Gods shouldn't require the Rainbow Light Cannon, should it?"

The Rainbow Light Cannon was their dimensional warship's main gun, a planet-destroying weapon with enough energy output to shatter an entire planet.

It was generally used for disaster relief in situations such as meteorite impacts.

Yet the succession ritual Clow Reed had reported concerned only the Clow Cards, magical items with a danger rating of merely B-.

Of course, that was only their danger rating. As Clow Reed's legacy, the Clow Cards were worth at least an S rank.

"It isn't the Clow Cards he needs to deal with. It's the Book of Darkness."

Chrono jolted at the name, his whole demeanor turning solemn.

"The Book of Darkness has appeared again?"

More than ten years earlier, Admiral Lindy's husband-Chrono's father-had died while transporting the dangerous Ancient Belka Relic known as the Book of Darkness after it went out of control.

Neither Lindy nor Chrono would ever forget it. They had continued investigating it for years, but the Book of Darkness had vanished without a trace after that incident.

For all those years, the Book of Darkness had been almost an inner demon for Chrono. His ongoing investigations had also shown him just how many casualties this Device had caused throughout history.

"It's on Earth, currently being suppressed. The great mage Clow contacted us to request that we deploy the Rainbow Light Cannon to destroy its core. I've already approved it. Enforcer Chrono, I'm assigning this mission to you. Make contact with the great mage, discuss the specific steps for handling it, and determine what preparations we need to make."

Many thoughts flashed through Chrono's mind in that instant. He had no reason to refuse, and deep down, he wanted to put an end to that tragedy with his own hands.

"Understood. I accept the mission. But the great mage Clow actually managed to suppress the Book of Darkness single-handedly? If the previous records are correct, its danger rating is S+!"

The official designation for S+ was "special disaster class." It indicated the ability to cause widespread destruction on a scale exceeding the annihilation of a planet, and contact was strictly forbidden.

"We should be thankful there's a great mage from the Age of the Gods on Earth."

Otherwise, they would certainly not have been so relaxed. An Ancient Belka Relic with an S+ disaster rating was the worst kind of headache, one that would put the entire Time-Space Administration Bureau on alert.

But however powerful it was, it could not run rampant before someone from the Age of the Gods.

Since Clow Reed's message had been rather brief, Admiral Lindy also assumed that the great mage himself had suppressed the Book of Darkness.

That was hardly a misunderstanding. Clow Reed did indeed possess that ability. A mere Book of Darkness would have been nothing more than a little toy in his hands.

It was just that no one knew Clow Reed's reincarnated soul had already split in two.

"Also, I'm not sure whether it's related, but an explosion occurred last night at an abandoned-car dump in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, on Earth. Our scans detected traces of magic, but we couldn't identify the energy signature. It wasn't the Midchildan magic we're familiar with."

"Should I investigate that as well?"

"Yes. Sorry for the trouble."

Both incidents had occurred on Earth, so there was no need to send someone else.

The evening sun stretched their shadows long.

The first day of the school festival had ended. The Literature Club's restaurant had only operated for half a day, while the Cooking Club's book club had drawn a constant stream of visitors all afternoon thanks to "Mr. Kudo" appearing in person, even though he had only spent an hour meeting everyone.

Overall, there had been no surprises, and everything had gone smoothly.

"Let's have eel rice tonight. I know a good place."

After spending half the day cooking, Huo Lin did not feel like making dinner.

"Sure."

Hayate had no objections. Ever since Huo Lin had begun submitting manuscripts to the Publishing House as "Yusaku Kudo," the Yagami House had no longer been particularly short of money.

Night had fallen in Tokyo, and its nightlife was beginning once again. That had nothing to do with elementary school students, though. If they stayed out too late, members of the parent-teacher committee would catch them and give them a scolding.

Apart from their previous magic test and the recent preparations for the school festival, Hayate and Huo Lin rarely stayed out past seven in the evening.

So Tokyo at night held a certain air of mystery for Hayate.

"Welcome. How many in your party?"

The sliding door opened. Seeing two elementary school students enter with no adults behind them, the owner paused in surprise.

"Just the two of us. Can we get a table?"

"Ah, yes. Please take any available seat."

Customers like these were fairly common at convenience stores or McDonald's. But this was an izakaya, and two elementary school students were a rare sight.

Since Huo Lin had come straight from school, she was still dressed as a boy.

Huo Lin had visited this place once before with Editor Nohara, as "Kudo," of course. The food had been quite good.

The two chose a table by the window.

Hayate felt a little out of place in the restaurant.

Simply put, it was a matter of "atmosphere." People in the island nation tended to pay close attention to the atmosphere and avoided doing things that did not fit in.

But Huo Lin was easygoing and felt nothing of the sort. She even joked with Hayate.

"Relax, Hayate. The staff aren't going to eat you."

"What kind of thing is that to say?"

She was such a blockhead.

Only then did Hayate realize that although Huo Lin was indeed a girl now, she lacked a girl's delicacy and sensitivity. She was still as carefree as a boy, and sometimes it was downright infuriating.

Huo Lin really did not feel anything unusual about the situation.

After all, while this place was an izakaya, it did not cater exclusively to adult men. Right behind Huo Lin was a table of female high school students having a meal together.

Plenty of people came specifically for the food without drinking any alcohol.

"If you don't like it, we can go somewhere else."

Huo Lin simply thought the food here was good and wanted Hayate to try it. She was not set on eating at this particular restaurant.

"Ah, there's no need. We're already here, after all."

That was not what bothered Hayate. She had simply remembered all of a sudden that Huo Lin had chosen to become a Magical Girl because of her. Back then, with her lower body paralyzed, Hayate had nearly given up on herself.

Huo Lin had brought her a miracle, yet she had never considered how Huo Lin felt.

Ultimately, she had no right to complain to Huo Lin at all.

"Huo Lin, are you really okay with this? Staying like this all the time. It's all because of me..."

"It has nothing to do with you. Compared to spending my whole life as an ordinary person, of course I'd rather have magic. Besides, you've already given me the Book of the Night Sky. It's incredibly valuable even among ancient relics. Just don't regret it once the book truly recognizes me as its master."

"I won't regret it."

Of course Hayate would not want the terrifying thing that had paralyzed her lower body. Compared with the Book of the Night Sky, things like the flying Device Huo Lin had made for her were far more interesting.

"Besides, I've pretty much found a way to resolve the Book of the Night Sky's curse."

Eriol had already contacted the Time-Space Administration Bureau and received permission to borrow the Rainbow Light Cannon.

"Really?"

"Really, really. So you don't need to worry about any of that. Excuse me, we'd like to order!"

When the server came over, Huo Lin ordered an eel rice set meal.

Besides the main dish of eel rice, the set included blanched spinach and simmered hijiki with konjac and carrots, along with a complimentary bowl of miso soup.

With the server standing beside them, Hayate paused their conversation. She did not particularly like hijiki, and upon seeing it listed among the accompaniments for the eel rice set, she promptly abandoned the idea of ordering it.

Huo Lin knew Hayate's tastes very well.

"You could try the white radish curry rice. The curry here is pretty good."

Compared with eel, curry was much more of a favorite for Hayate.

"Okay, I'll have that, then."

"Certainly. Please wait a moment."