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Chapter 9
Chapter 1 — Blow all of heaven and earth to smithereens! • Episode 1-2 • Encounter ③ ☆
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
「The way to earn points isn’t just to beat the Diest–ran.」
「Come to think of it, I remember seeing this before.」
Just before I became a Magical Girl, I looked at the official website with the slightest interest in the existence of Magical Girls. There was a system of special services for paying members and support by paying points. I didn’t know the specifics of the money flow, but I believe it was something like it was being returned to the magical girls in some form or another.
「There are three broad ways in which Magical Girls can earn points–ran. First is the most basic, and your duty, to defeat the Diest.」
It seems that most Magical Girls use this method to earn a living or accumulate points to exchange for desired items.
My own current source of income is from defeating this Diest.
「The second is to win the magic competition held in the magical world–ran. This is like a Magical Girl vs. Magical Girl sport, played for the purpose of improving the strength of the battle and the magic–ran.」
I didn’t have a clear idea of what to expect, but when I asked for more details, I was told that they would be divided into four camps and fight for everything and anything.
There is a special field magically created for this competition, and even if you die in this field, you will be resurrected after a certain amount of time. So it’s a respawn. Probably made in reference to a smartphone or PC camp game.
「And the last one is to gain popularity among the general public–ran. We in the Magical World don’t create money out of nothing–ran. If a Magical Girl becomes popular and squeezes money out of her fans, part of that money goes to her as a reward–ran.」
I don’t think it’s the only source of funding for the Magical World, but in fact the idol business seems to make a lot of money for the management if it works out, so it’s a two birds with one stone way to feed the Magical Girls.
There is simply the advantage of fundraising in that points can be converted into cash, and moreover, a girl who originally aspired to be an idol can use the rarity of being a Magical Girl as a weapon to fight.
「Fumu–fumu, by the way, I saw a Magical Girl idol on the Internet before. Is that one of the magical world’s strategies to gain popularity?」
「That’s just the girl doing her own thing–ran. Our true purpose is to defeat the Diest and protect the world–ran. They do a lot of things while they’re at it, but the only thing I tell the magical girls directly is to defeat the Diest.」
It sounds like a laissez-faire attitude, but I don’t want to be told to become an idol or fight other Magical Girls out of the blue, so that’s more convenient for me.
「They’ve also posted videos of each Magical Girl in battle as part of their popularity contest–ran. If Ryōichi wants to post hers too, you can change the settings on the Magiphone–ran.」
「I’ll think about it.」
I turned behind. I don’t like to be expected by anyone. They selfishly expect you to do them a favor, and if it’s not what you expected, they turn around and slap you out of the palm of their hand. That’s how it is with Internet residents. Rather than flirt for a pittance, I would rather work quietly and return to my former life without attracting anyone’s attention.
「Tch. Speaking of the devil, or something like that.」
Just as I was coming to a break in my conversation with Jack, the notification of the Diest occurrence rang out as if it were timed to happen. This insanely loud noise is heartbreaking when it comes on suddenly. It freaks me out for a moment. I tried to see if I could change the setting on the magiphone, but could not. They said that it is an urgent matter and that I should always be aware of it.
「Other Magical Girls are going ahead of it–ran. The rank is Baron–ran. What will you do–ran?」
「Let’s see…」
The fact that Jack bothered to ask means that the Magical Girls ahead of us alone have a good chance of winning. I don’t have to go overboard, but if I want points, I’ll go for it.
But it’s a hassle to get sidetracked like in a net game and get into trouble over the allocation of points, and above all, I don’t want to get involved with other Magical Girls as much as possible.
「Let’s not do that this time.」
「You’re so passive-aggressive–ran…」
「Wasn’t it Jack who said something about territory?」
Magical Girls have territories. A territory is basically the entire area where the Magical Girl lives. In my case, that would mean the town of Sakira is my territory.
This is not officially recognized by the Magical World, but is like a local rule decided by the Magical Girls on their own, but since there is no interference from the Magical World, it is like a tacit understanding.
Many Magical Girls do not tolerate magical girls from other districts hunting Diests on their territory without permission. It is only natural, because if the prey is intercepted, one’s points will be reduced.
In the same way, it is said that Magical Girls who are new to their territory are not welcome in their own way. It is good if they greet their seniors and become familiar with their territory, but there are times when they are so cocky that they are disliked and ended being isolated.
Apparently there are a fair number of Magical Girls who don’t mind such things, but it doesn’t matter much either way to me, as I intend to go it alone from the start.
Well, I was a little saddened to see that even the fanciest of Magical Girls are in fact a bit of a world-class existence.
「I told you they’re good kids here, you’ll be fine–ran.」
「I also said I would fight solo.」
「Ryōichi is stubborn–ran. I think you should make a friend or two–ran.」
「Not necessary.」
I am a loner from the start, so there is no way I can make friends, nor do I need them.
「People become weak when they have someone they love or want to protect. It’s natural, because it increases our weaknesses. It is foolish to make friends, lovers, or family. Living alone, that is the best way to protect yourself.」
「Too much backward thinking–ran. Too much negativity–ran.」
「It’s in my nature.」
I spat without hiding my displeasure and resumes the game I had stopped. Conversing with Jack sometimes causes these discomforts. It’s none of my business. So, I’ll leave it alone.
Jack said nothing more and was gone before I knew it.
.
The Diest that appeared that day was of the Baron class and had the appearance of a tiger made of solidified black haze.
At first, Elephant, Blade, and Press were at the mercy of its quickness and supple movements, but in the course of the battle, they began to get used to its movements and gradually began to see a chance to win.
「Heavy Of Elephant!」(TN : The Burden Is As Heavy As An Elephant)
When the magic was activated in time with the timing of the attacking Diest, Elephant, which should have been easily defeated and blown away by the force of the attack earlier, caught its paw without moving an inch.
「Press The Hand!」
The Tiger-shaped Diest stopped moving for a brief moment, but that was enough.
Press, which had been prepared to believe that Elephant would catch the Diest’s attack, immediately activated her magic, and the pressure knocked the Diest against the wall of the private house.
「Sword Geyser.」
A magic circle had been deployed under Diest’s feet before it realized. A series of attacks with no time to avoid. This would almost certainly result in a fatal wound. When the three magical girls were so convinced, something unusual happened.
「Gieeeeeeeeeeehhh!!」
With an eerie roar, the Tiger-shaped Diest’s body swells. Originally the size of a large tiger, it grew one or two times larger and eventually became as big as a large truck, stomping on the ground. The magic circle on the ground was destroyed and Blade’s magic was unexploded. Furthermore, it began to move without a hitch despite the pressure from Press.
「Shit…!」
「Wai—!?」
Shifting to top speed as soon as he started moving, Diest approached the press in the blink of an eye and plunged straight into it.
「Heavy Of——!!!」
Quickly, Elephant intervened between Press and the Diest and tried to use magic, but was blown away with the press in time.
Diest chased the two flying through the wall of a private house faster than that and slammed them to the ground.
The shock pierced through their bodies before the pain, crushing them before they had time to scream. The two were rapidly losing consciousness.
「Arrow Sword! Get away from both of them!」
Three swords thrust into the Diest at high speed like arrows, and in addition, Blade herself caught up with the Diest and cut at it, but was bounced off by a tail that swung like a whip from out of sight.
Diest’s gaze shifted to Blade as it held Elephant and Press down with its paws, and its expression twisted slightly.
The Diest has no parts on its face that can be clearly identified as a face. This is natural since everything is a collection of black haze, however, the cavities and the unevenness of the haze can make it look like a face. Blade doesn’t know if it actually functions as a facial expression or not, but for that brief moment, it just looked like the Diest was smiling wickedly.
It slowly raised its paw to show it to itself as it crawled
「S–Sto—」
Just before it swung down, something hit the Diest.
Blade did not understand for a moment what it was, but suddenly realized by the strength of the wind blowing against it.
It was a tornado so powerful that it shaved off the Diest’s flesh, yet so perfectly controlled that it did no damage to the Magical Girls.
The Diest, which had lost most of its flesh, disappeared. A powerful Diest regenerates itself after being mortally wounded once or twice, but if it is damaged to the extent that its body is reduced to dust, the dusty body must also regenerate, resulting in its extinction due to lack of energy.
Blade knew that in theory it would happen, but this was the first time she had seen a Baron-class Diest disappear with a single blow.
Looking up at the direction from which the tornado flew, and, in the sky, she saw a girl floating in the sky, illuminated by a false moon.
The girl is dressed in priestly vestments and carries a large staff.
It was the first time Blade had seen the figure, but she instantly understood when she saw the pumpkin ghost floating beside the girl.
That was, it was exactly,
「Tyrant Sylph…」
There were a number of questions she wanted to ask, and she wanted to thank her, but Tyrant Sylph disappeared in the light of transition faster than Blade could rouse herself.
KaiesV's notes:
If you see the star symbol, it means that there's an image included in the chapter, so I'll just include the link supporting it because I can't attach it because image itself is losing the resolution.