The Ministry of Magic's Meeting

The Ministry of Magic:

Inside a classical church.

At the head of a long golden nanmu conference table sat a black-haired woman in a magician's uniform, around forty years old.

She was the current minister of magic, as well as a former magical girl who had voluntarily given up her powers and chosen to retire.

She looked at the people sitting with their heads lowered and spoke in a cool, reserved tone. "Have you all seen the new video Moon Studio released yesterday? What do you think?"

Everyone attending the meeting was a Ministry of Magic official in charge of a region. Among them, the officials in charge of Tianhe City and Liberty City held the highest positions, second only to hers.

Hearing the question,

the official in charge of Tianhe City was the first to speak.

"Minister, I believe this was an outright provocation. That gray-haired magical girl blatantly violated the Ministry of Magic's rules. It was a provocation against our ministry and a transgression against the rules themselves."

"Magical girls are forbidden to harm ordinary people. That is the bottom line of the law, and the bottom line of human decency!"

Hu Xueting: the chief official in charge of Tianhe City, in her early thirties. She was also a magical girl who had retired and found new employment.

Her words drew repeated nods from the others, who spoke up one after another.

"That's right. I also think we should immediately issue a statement condemning her and order Moon Studio and Titan Capital, the company behind it, to blacklist this magical girl and prevent her debut."

"I agree! The Ministry of Magic will never allow someone who tarnishes the reputation of magical girls to appear before the public. Someone like that should be thrown into the witch detention center."

"I agree too. That murderous magical girl is obviously no good. Who knows where that wildcat came from?"

"Someone like her will turn into a witch sooner or later. I also agree that we should follow the rules, lock her in the detention center, and destroy her magic circuits."

As Hu Xueting listened, she could not help nodding slightly to herself. These were exactly the words she wanted to hear.

The vast majority of those present were women, averaging over thirty years old. Their remarks were also highly consistent: they were entirely opposed to the new magical girl's debut.

The only exception was Liberty City.

The official in charge of that region was a man, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man.

He was even a little bald, wore a suit and bow tie, and was somewhat overweight. He bore a striking resemblance to Churchill.

Merlin Metal: the chief official in charge of Liberty City's Ministry of Magic. Though he was not a magical girl, he was a representative specifically appointed by the United Government.

He was in no hurry to speak. Instead, he concentrated on stirring the hot tea before him, pouring in three lethal-dose packets of white sugar.

He took a small, savoring sip.

Ah, what a fine taste.

Only after everyone else had finished speaking did Merlin clear his throat twice and speak in a thoroughly authentic London accent.

"Everyone, how about hearing me out for a moment?"

A smile appeared on his chubby face, making Hu Xueting frown slightly. She was particularly displeased that a man occupied the position of Liberty City's chief official.

The Taiping Prefecture Ministry of Magic had begun as a magic symposium founded by a group of self-taught magicians. Only later had it been absorbed into the government.

After the new century arrived, magical girls burst onto the scene, and the weaker magicians gradually faded from the stage of history.

Represented by the current minister of magic and Hu Xueting, retired magical girls had relied on their achievements and seniority to take power from the magicians, completing a peaceful transfer.

They had also introduced the first Magical Girl Prohibition Regulations and the Guidelines for the Commercial Standardization of Magical Girls.

Now, fifteen years later, no one in the Ministry of Magic could shake the power held by Hu Xueting and the others.

The ministry, which had originally had a balance of men and women, had consequently become ninety percent female and ten percent male. Even that ten percent remained only because the United Government required it.

It was worth mentioning.

For magical girls, "retirement" referred to a common phenomenon in which they suddenly lost their powers at around eighteen years of age.

Magical girls who had passed that age without "retiring" were placed on the Ministry of Magic's list of those at "extremely high risk of witchification" and had to undergo its treatment and supervision.

As for why magical girls suddenly lost their powers at that age, that remained an unsolved mystery.

A professor had once tried to investigate it in depth, only to be hanged in a suicide the next day.

There were rumors among the public, however, that girls who still possessed a magical girl's powers after eighteen were the ones truly recognized by magic.

Those who lost their powers did so because their dreams were no longer pure.

Merlin swept his gaze over the room and spoke unhurriedly.

"Ms. Hu Xueting, first of all, I think I need to correct you. The gray-haired magical girl in the video did not harm an ordinary person."

"The one who died at her hands was the criminal Ripper, a supercriminal who had already lost his human rights under the third amendment to Superhuman Law."

"You shouldn't pin the serious charge of harming an ordinary person on her without knowing the whole story."

"Second, still under Superhuman Law, nothing this child did violated any law in Taiping Prefecture."

"Although she violated the Ministry of Magic's rule against killing, she is neither a ministry civil servant nor an official magical girl."

"From any standpoint, we have neither the standing nor the authority to order Colossus Company to blacklist her."

"Lastly, and most importantly, since this magical girl has not violated any law, even if she turns into a witch, as long as she does not harm anyone,"

"we have neither the standing nor the authority to forcibly confine her in the detention center, much less subject her to the severe punishment of having her magic circuits destroyed."

Having finished, Merlin picked up his teacup. "That's all I have to say. Thank you."

Slurp.

What a fine taste. Oriental Leaf lives up to its name.

After he finished speaking, the conference room fell silent for a second. Then the women immediately burst into argument.

"I think Mr. Merlin has a point. We shouldn't judge her on our own when she hasn't done anything wrong."

A timid voice came from the youngest local official, a girl wearing glasses and holding a book.

But the next second, her words were drowned out by the other women.

"I object! I still believe that once this gray-haired murderer has done it once, she'll do it again. Someone with such bad character must never be allowed to debut."

"I object too. A magical girl who has killed can never turn back. She should be blacklisted and then sent to the detention center."

Without a word, Hu Xueting shot a cold glare at the girl with glasses sitting at the far end.

Lin Xiaohong: the newly appointed official in charge of Jinghai District. She was the youngest, only just over seventeen, and a currently employed official magical girl.

After that glare, Xiaohong hurriedly lowered her head, too afraid to meet her immediate superior's eyes, for fear that Hu Xueting would tear into her.

Hu Xueting continued.

"Mr. Merlin, setting the facts aside, shouldn't this gray-haired murderer be put on trial? That was a human life. Even if Ripper was a criminal, a criminal's life is still a life."

"Are we supposed to wait until she turns into a witch, causes countless civilian casualties, and leaves people homeless before we try to fix things after the damage is done?"

"Besides, let me remind you that this magical girl committed her crime in Tianhe City, which falls under my jurisdiction. It's not your place to tell me what to do."

Hearing this, Merlin let the corners of his mouth droop and shrugged.

"Okay, since you've put it that way, I have nothing more to say. Carry on."

As he spoke, he drew a hand across his mouth as though zipping it shut, announcing that he would say no more.

Only then did Hu Xueting sneer inwardly and begin discussing an investigation into the magical girl with the other officials.

After the meeting ended.

Humming a tune, Merlin swiped a bag of premium black tea reserved for the Ministry of Magic and slipped it into his pocket, then left the church leaning on his cane.

He had just settled into the vintage car outside and lit a cigar, and was about to tell the driver to go, when someone suddenly knocked on the window.

Merlin lowered the window and said with gentlemanly courtesy, "What can I do for you, Ms. Xiaohong?"

Lin Xiaohong wore her oversized magician's uniform, her head almost buried in her pointed hat.

"Mr. Merlin, I... I really agree with what you said at the meeting today."

Merlin smiled and nodded. "Thank you. Anything else?"

Lin Xiaohong's expression looked uglier than if she were crying. "Miss Hu just told me privately to lead a team to capture that magical girl, then skip the trial and take her straight to the detention center."

"Oh?"

Merlin frowned. "That is bad news. What do you think about it?"

Hugging her magic book, Xiaohong said earnestly,

"I don't think we can do that. It's illegal. The gray-haired girl isn't a witch, so the Ministry of Magic doesn't have that level of law enforcement authority."

"That girl only broke the Ministry of Magic's rules, but those rules can only bind our own civil servants and official magical girls."

Approval showed in Merlin's eyes. "You're right."

As the chief official in charge of Tianhe City, Hu Xueting could hardly be unaware of those rules, so she had passed the matter to Lin Xiaohong.

To put it plainly, she was making Lin Xiaohong take the blame. If anyone came looking for accountability, she could simply push Xiaohong forward.

Merlin knew that Lin Xiaohong had come to him because she surely wanted to ask a notoriously wily old hand like him whether there was a way to avoid taking the blame.

Since she was a newcomer and not as shameless as the likes of Hu Xueting, Merlin decided to give her a few pointers.

He smiled. "Procedural risk avoidance and separation of responsibility."

Lin Xiaohong looked utterly bewildered and blinked.

Seeing this, Merlin sighed inwardly and had no choice but to put it in the plainest, most direct, most to-the-point, and most incisive way possible.

"Submit a formal application to her for authorization to arrest, using the Ministry of Magic's written procedures. If she doesn't sign it, play dumb."

"If she takes a step back and tells you to secretly watch the girl instead, do the opposite. Find a chance to visit the gray-haired girl and explain why you're there."

"Tell her and Titan Capital behind her that you're not the one targeting them. Someone above you is."

"As for Ms. Hu, remember that you're a civil servant whose appointment was signed by the president. Even the minister of magic has no authority to remove you from your post."

"In short, I don't do work that hasn't been signed off on, and I don't do illegal work either. Got it?"

Lin Xiaohong's eyes lit up. She hurriedly bent forward to bow and thank him, only to hit the glass. She cried out at once, grimacing as she clutched her forehead.

"Thank you so much... Mr. Merlin."

Merlin put the cigar between his teeth and waved a hand. "All right, all right, go on back. Don't let too many people see you talking to me. It won't be good for your political career."

If Lin Xiaohong had not been only a few years older than his own child, Merlin would not have been kind enough to advise her.