/
“
Once again, I am Kyoko. I am the Heroine who has taken the liberty to rule this city.”
Eisuke and his group were led to a luxuriously furnished building. It was Kyoko’s mansion in the center of Balletta. It used to be the estate of a prestigious noble family, but it appeared to have been remodeled. Indeed, this was the center of Balletta, which was now controlled by Kyoko. The latter smiled at Marielle with her red hair swaying.
“Princess Marielle, I see you are alive. If I had known earlier, I would have at least tried to hide you in this city
”
“Ah, no, that’s
”
“Very nice and all, but I don’t see you siding with the princess and fighting the other Heroes, do you?”
Aside from Marielle, who was still wondering what to say, Eisuke’s words were meant to provoke. Kyoko scratched her cheek reproachfully.
“I don’t like to admit it, but
 Like them, I don’t want to give up this power either. With it, I can carry out justice.”
“Justice
?”
Marielle murmured, and Kyoko continued.
“
I have always longed to be on the side of justice. To appear on the scene and defeat evil. Of course, I know it’s a bit childish.” Kyoko let out an embarrassed giggle. She clenched her hands tightly and made a fist. “Of course, I was very happy that I was able to use this power to defeat the evil Demon King. I want to protect people from many more evils. And at the very least, I want to perfectly protect the area within my reach. That’s why I’m trying to guard the peace of this city, because it’s within my reach.”
“She-She is a Hero
”
“Yes, a Hero
”
Serika and Yui were really surprised to see a real Hero for the first time.
“If I lose this power, I won’t be able to protect this city from evil. 
Please, Princess Marielle. At least wait until the current incidents in this place are resolved.”
“Incidents
?”
Eisuke’s eyebrows twitched. Kyoko nodded.
“Yes. 
Recently in this town, some “witches” have been appearing at night.”
“Witches
?” Marielle’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Lately, women with vacant eyes, who lose control and lash out at others, have begun to appear. For convenience, we call them witches.”
“
Is it brainwashing magic?”
Rukino asked inquisitively, and Kyoko frowned.
“Maybe
 but it would be strange if it really was brainwashing magic.”
“What do you mean? But how about first explaining to me what this brainwashing magic is?”
Eisuke asked Rukino. Rukino, or rather Rukipedia, exhaled and began to explain.
“Brainwashing magic is, as the name suggests, a magic to brainwash others. However, being a mind-controlling magic, the activation conditions are quite limited.” Rukino made a peace sign. “The first is simple: you must activate the magic while touching the person you are going to manipulate. The second is to send the magic to a catalyst while the wand or magic stone is in contact with the person to be controlled. There are only these two main things.”
Direct touch or indirect touch. Limited, it seemed, also meant that the conditions were strict.
“I see
 no one would be stupid enough to let themselves be touched knowing that it can be manipulated. By the way, what is a magic stone?”
“Normally, magic revolves around the magician, and is activated from the magician’s hand or wand. But if a magic stone is charged with magic beforehand, it can be activated by focusing on the magic stone even if it is far away.”
Marielle answered in Rukino’s place. After explaining the premise information up to that point, Kyoko cut the conversation short.
“I too suspected brainwashing magic when I saw that they had lost their minds, but
 there is no evidence that they have anything resembling a magic stone, and there is no information that they were in contact with anyone just before they went on a rampage against others. First of all, magic stones are very valuable things, and considering the number of victims, I don’t think it’s possible that they would prepare so many magic stones and make a mischief like this.” Kyoko shrugged her shoulders as if she couldn’t help it. “Now, anyway, I’ve been trying to subdue the out-of-control women so that the damage won’t increase
”
“Okay, then I’ll get the culprit.”
“You
 mean it?”
Kyoko’s expression turned to surprise. Eisuke smiled at her, his hands in his pockets.
“When I catch that criminal, you’ll have to fight me. Once the case is closed, you won’t have any more doubts, will you? I’ll beat you in a fight and send you back to our world. Okay, it’s all set! Let’s go out and patrol the streets!”
“Wait, wait, Mr. Eisuke! You can’t decide that on your own!”
Eisuke quickly left the place, without listening to Marielle. Yui and Serika, also stunned, followed him. Marielle and Rukino were the only ones who stayed.
“Someone
 should stop that boy
”
“I-I’m so sorry
 That boy is a hopeless fool who is only interested in fighting Heroes
”
Marielle apologized flatly, and Kyoko let out a low chuckle.
“No, it’s okay. 
Besides, he’s absolutely no match for me.”
“
That’s a lot of confidence. Do you have a secret plan?
Marielle asked nonchalantly. But Kyoko shook her head.
“Because justice always prevails.”
She said it with a perfect smile, without a single cloud of doubt.