CH 18

“Blackrose, turn to the south a little bit more kyu~!”

“OK!”

Using the movement magic accel, I leap through the valley of buildings late at night. Kicking the window sills, accelerating, and keep going faster and faster.

This magic is my favorite.

Although I am not flying in the air, the sensation of jumping is as exhilarating as flying, and the speed at which the scenery flows by in an instant gives me a feeling of pleasure that is incomparable to any vehicle.

It was so much fun that I once snuck out late at night, the time for all kids both good and bad to sleep, and drove from one end of the development zone to the other. Now I know how street racer feels.

I realize that I smile every time I experience an increase in speed, I feel like I’m going to turn into a speed maniac if I continue like this. That’s probably not a good sign, but I can’t help it it’s so much fun.

Besides, I’ve gotten so used to this magic that even in the tightest of gaps I can maintain my speed and move forward without scraping my body. So, even now, I can pass right and left through the city’s intricate streets like this.

It is so much fun that I almost forget my purpose, but what I am doing this time is not for a stroll. My foldable cell phone has alerted me of the appearance of “Wanderer”, so I’m in the middle of rushing to it.

After living a magical girl life for a while, I realized that “Wanderers” are more common at night. I’ve never subjugated them in the morning or during the day, but today it’s already the 4th sortie at night. Of course, “Wanderers” appear regardless of the time whether it’s in the morning or during the day, but there are certainly a lot more reports at night.

And magical girls are little girls. Generally speaking.

From there the conclusion is very simple. It’s late at night, and it’s time for the kids to go to bed.

Even if you are a hero of justice, you’d still need sleep. Especially if the heroes of justice are little girls who are still growing up.

Of course, there are probably children who can work late at night, but among the already small number of magical girls, how many of them can sit still and wait for a monster like “Wanderer” that can appear who knows when. It is not difficult to imagine that there are not many of them.

As a result, the “Wanderers” from daytime to nighttime are quickly subjugated by the magical girls belonging to the organization, but on the other hand, the “Wanderers” from late at night to early in the morning take longer to be subjugated.

Well, that may be the difficult part of belonging to an organization.

With the government taking the lead in running the organization, it is not possible to overwork elementary and junior high school students, children with long futures ahead of them.

Magical girls are a mystery to the public at the moment, but eventually, they will have no choice but to disclose that the children are the ones protecting mankind. At that time, if it was revealed that they were making those little children work until late at night, it would not just be a small matter.

Of course, Wanderer is a threat to the world. So some will surely say that it’s not the time to be saying such a naive thing. That’s why, there are some children who are working late at night, like that serious-looking Sapphire.

But there are also those who cannot be easily convinced to so easily deprive children of their future.

In short, what I’m trying to say is that stray magical girls like me are probably there for times like these.

The only adult, mysterious magical girl who can move without being bound by the framework of an organization. I’m starting to feel like a full-fledged dark hero.

Well, maybe there are people out there who would still recognize me as a magical girl belonging to an organization, even though I’m a stray magical girl, but that’s just the way it is. In the end, someone has to do it, and there’s no problem with me doing it.

I’m sure it would be appreciated not only by the general public but also by those involved with magical girls. I’m troubled, hehe.

“What are you grinning about kyu~. It’s disgusting kyu~. If you have the time for that, don’t just use Mokyu as the radar, I want Roze to look for it to kyu~.”

“What do you mean by disgusting. Are you sure you’re not mistaking it for cute. Besides, I am looking for them. But I didn’t know there was such a hard-to-find ‘Wanderer’. It’s a hassle searching for it.”

“The size of a “wanderer” is basically determined by the size of its malice kyu~. Some are the size of a house, while others are the size of a car kyu~. The larger ones are more problematic in terms of threat, but the smaller ones are harder to find and less likely to cause damage, so there is often a delay in responding to them kyu~. Many of the ‘Wanderers’ reported in rural areas are like this, so they are often put off until later kyu~.”

The “Wanderers” I have defeated so far seem to be of medium size, and I’ll know where they are as soon as I get a report of their appearance on my cellphones and went to them. The reason for this is that the malice that Wanderer unleashes is extremely dangerous, so I knew immediately which direction was dangerous.

This time, however, the “Wanderer” is of the smaller type, and while it is possible to get a vague idea of which direction the malicious intent is coming from, it tends to be difficult to pinpoint its exact location.

“Is there a magic that can accurately detect where the ‘Wanderer’ is? it’s too inconvenient to search with just my feet and five senses.”

“More or less, the cell phone has that function kyu~. So the moment it appears, the cellphone detects the mass of malice and reports its approximate location. However, with a small ‘Wanderer’, though it may be detected the moment it appears, it will soon be lost in its surroundings and its exact location will not be known kyu~. ‘Wanderer’ is a mass of malice, but the malice in the atmosphere that is not originated from the ‘Wanderer’ is also all over the place kyu~.”

“So they are like Wanderers who are good at hide-and-seek. How about I create a magic to detect it?”

At my age, I don’t have much of a taste for playing hide-and-seek, and I’m also not happy that the other party is a villain.

I can use any type of magic anyway, so it would be nice to create such magic.

“There’s still no problem as long as you know the degree of malice of the ‘Wanderer’ you want to detect, but it’s better to stop trying to create something that ambiguous kyu~. Roze doesn’t have much understanding or knowledge about the origins of ‘Wanderer’ or malice itself, so you can’t even create a safety for yourself kyu~. If you try to do it as it is, you will probably take in all the malice and go crazy kyu~.”

“Eh, what is up with that? that’s too scary.”

Is it that if a hero has both light and darkness in him, he will go crazy and die, something like that?

“If you can’t imagine the result properly, or if you don’t understand the thing properly, you’ll end up with an effect that’s too strong kyu~. Normally, such magic wouldn’t even activate, but Roze can even overturn that kyu~. If it’s magic that just produces a simple effect, there’s no problem with it kyu~. However, I don’t recommend using magic that can affect the mind kyu~. Roze is physically superhuman and is magically the strongest kyu~. But mentally, you’re a child, so I’m sure you won’t be able to stand it kyu~.”

“No, I’m an adult you know.”

But, well. I understand that Mochu is worried about me.

I guess it means that too much power can destroy you. I guess I’ve become too strong…

But, it sure is quite inconvenient that I’m too strong to use it. To be honest, I can defeat “Wanderer” even without strong attack magic, and I’m happy with the movement magic accel because I enjoyed it. So, what I want is convenient magic. Well, other than magic that affects the mind, it seems to be fine, so if I’m careful, there shouldn’t be any problems.

“Hey, Mokyu. I can’t find it…”

“Going by the feeling it should be nearby kyu~. Try harder kyu~.”

I heard that “Wanderer” is surprisingly intelligent, I wonder if it’s sneaking around and hiding.

After continuing the search for a while, Mokyu suddenly cries out.

“Roze, I felt the presence of magic over there. Maybe the ‘Wanderer’ is over there.”

“Ohh, man. Did a member of the Magical Girl Committee beat us to it?”

Today I had subjugated four “Wanderer,” and I had subjugated it every time I sortied, but every time after I had defeated it, that girl, Sapphire, would arrive late.

She might have noticed me, too. But I always left quickly because I was afraid she was going to nag me again.

This time, I was too late to find it, they might have taken our prey. I didn’t think I was that slow, but I guess the other side is quite excellent.

“What should I do? It wouldn’t be good to snatch their prey, so shall we go home?”

I don’t know if there is a quota, but not only subjugating the “Wanderer”, but collecting magic stones is also an important objective for the country, and accomplishing that is a matter of course for a member of the committee.

If a stray magical girl were to snatch it from the side, then she would become a villain third faction. Right now they’re overlooking us, but if that happened it would be a full-fledged manhunt.

“Kyu~. It’s great to see how other magical girls fight kyu~. Roze fights with her own style, but it’s also a learning experience to see how others fight kyu~. Also, there’s no guarantee that the other side won’t fail, so it’s best to stay here as insurance kyu~.”

“Come to think of it, I’ve never actually seen how a magical girl fights a ‘Wanderer’. Yeah, I’m free anyway, so why don’t we take a look?”

This is to provide back-up, so peeking is can not be avoided.

Making excuses to myself, I headed in the direction of Mokyu’s pointed.

As I headed in the direction Mokyu pointed, I saw a slight red light, which grew stronger as I got closer.

I peeked over the roof of the apartment building and saw a small “Wanderer” and a red-haired magical girl fighting.

“I wondered who it is. I’ve never seen her before, not even in a magical girl special feature.”

“There are only a limited number of magical girls who work late at night, so if this is the first time you’ve seen her, then she might be a newcomer kyu~.”

If she’s a newcomer, it’s probably the right choice to peek and watch over. However, if there is a newcomer, isn’t there usually someone who teaches them? Is there a fairy, like Mokyu somewhere?

The magical girl with a lock of red hair on the side of her head manipulates flames just like her fiery hair and slashes at the “Wanderer” with a sword-like object in her hand. The Wanderer burned by the scorching heat and probably slashed continuously by the sword, tried to fight back by dragging its battered body, but its burned tentacle arms were not functioning, and even if it tried to attack with its body, it was blocked by a wall of flames, rendering it unable to move properly.

The “Wanderer,” having been shown the difference in power, attempted to escape by releasing a black mist, but there was no way the girl would let it escape, its body was pierced by the sword and scattered like ashes.

“Cool! As I thought the color red is indispensable for a hero! I’m glad I came to see it!”

If you ask what color a hero is, red is sure to be the first color that comes up. Red is definitely a color that can’t be left out. Naturally, the color red in a hero is the team’s flower, leader, and the protagonist. Does that mean she’s the protagonist?

The fact that she controls flames is also a plus point. If one were to ask what attributes magic has, the flame attribute would surely be the first to come up. Naturally, if you say “hero” and “flame,” then you are talking about the protagonist. In other words, she is the protagonist.

“I know it’s cool, but you’re being too loud kyu~. Be quiet or else she will notice us kyu~.”

This steamed bun, just recording the battle scenes even though the other person is fighting. Of course, I don’t mind having my good looks filmed, and I can watch them back, so I’m not going to complain. I’m sure Mokyu recorded this one too, let’s watch it later.

I had enjoyed myself enough and was going to go home slowly, but it seems the other side won’t let me.

It seemed that I had made too much noise and the girl had noticed me.

“You sure got some nerve peeking on me, ain’t cha?”

The red-haired hero is a bit of a foul-mouthed child.

T/N: help me translate this line please, I don’t know how delinquent talk.

「覗き見とはいい度胸してんじゃねぇか。なぁ？」