CH 22

“Um, excuse me.”

After the meeting with Blackrose, the two magical girls of the committee had managed to persuade Benihime to come to the headquarters of the Magical Girls Committee.

They were initially going to bring Benihime to the committee by summoning a gate connected to the magical girl school, but after receiving an explanation that she had already transformed and had used magic, they decided to teach her the minimum things about magic and the knowledge she needed along the way there.

Normally, the use of magic is discouraged until permission is received from the magical girl school, but Sapphire was authorized to teach inexperienced magical girls, so they headed to the headquarters, while Saphire explained things to Benihime as if she were a teacher.

Unlike the two girls who had learned and trained in magic, Benihime, a true beginner, was impressed by the wonder of magic, however, because she’s not familiar with it by the time they arrived she’s already exhausted.

Chief Sawada, who greeted them in one of the reception rooms upon their return from late-night “Wanderer” subjugation, was surprised to see that the pair become a trio but she first welcomed them into the room and prepared drinks for them.

“Welcome back, you two. And nice to meet you. My name is Sawada Yuko, I’m the head of the Magical Girls Committee of the Ministry of Monster Countermeasure. Here’s your green tea. So, Sapphire. May I ask for a detailed explanation? The fact that you brought her here in person and not just tell me through the phone, is there some kind of trouble?”

“You can say that. It’s going to be a bit complicated, but please listen.”

Sapphire explains to Sawada what happened during today’s “Wanderer” subjugation. She explained that she had met Blackrose, that Blackrose had met Benihime, and that Benihime had just become a magical girl.

Sawada, who was listening to the explanation, deepened her eyebrows as the story progressed, and by the time the story ended, she felt a little headache.

“Is that so. So now there’s a magical girl who wasn’t given any explanation… I understand. About Benihime-san I’ll take over from here. Sapphire, Quartz. it’s already late, so it’s fine to go home. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Yes. Well then, excuse me first.”

“T, thank you for your hard work…!”

“Quartz”

“Y, Yes!?”

Though she felt a little guilty for causing it, Sawada continued to talk in order to ask Quartz a question.

“Today, how was it? Magical girl, do you think you will continue?”

Today’s dispatch for Quartz isn’t about subjugating the “Wanderer”, it’s more like for rehabilitation.

When Quartz, who had once quit being a magical girl, come here again Sawada was surprised but more than anything else she was happy.

I must never put her through that again. Her fighting the “Wanderer” alone, not being able to protect her from people’s malice, and not being able to do anything for her when she made the decision to quit being a magical girl.

All of those is Sawada’s regret, and also the biggest reason she continues to stay here.

This time, she will protect her and the magical girls to come. That is the only way she, as an adult, can repay the debt of gratitude she owes to the magical girls.

“Umm. The patrol ended before I can meet a ‘Wanderer’, so, I still don’t know…”

“You’re right. It’s alright, so don’t overdo it, ok? When you feel well I will have Sapphire be dispatched with you. It’s not too late to start the magical girl activities after you get used to it. So, think about yourself first, ok.”

“Yes, thank you very much! Um, excuse me!”

Quartz bowed deeply and walked toward the exit.

Her figure as she walks away does not have the heavy and gloomy atmosphere like in the past, but instead, she is advancing forward to the future with her feet firmly on the ground walking step by step.

Praying that she will be able to become an ideal magical girl in the future, Sawada herself – the work of the adults in the PMagical Girls Committee – will properly take care of it.

“Now then, Benihime-san. May I speak with you for a moment? I don’t mean to take up too much of your time, but have you contacted your family yet? If you haven’t, I can contact them for you.”

“No problem. It’s not unusual for me to go out at night.”

“Understood. I’m sure you’ve heard the general idea from Sapphire, but magical girls are obliged to belong to the Magical Girl Committee here. Of course, the Ministry of Monster Countermeasure and the Magical Girl Committee hasn’t been publicly announced, so it’s weak in terms of compulsion. However, since you have followed us this far, may I understand it as you having agreed to it?”

“I feel like half of it is forced though? Well, I already know there’s na way out, so it can’t be helped. If I don’t join this committee, I’m gonna be in more trouble, right? But I ain’t got any intention to be a magical girl, ya know? I came here because I was threatened that magic gonna b dangerous if I don’t properly learn about it. Once I learn everything I need, I’ll have ya let me go free.”

“I will respect your decision whether or not to continue as a magical girl. However, you will be required to attend the magical girl school, and the life you have lived up to now cannot be guaranteed. There are still many mysteries about magical girls, and on our side, we also don’t have a solid system in place. There may be times when there are inconveniences, but when that happens, we will do our best to deal with it. We can only make this much promise at the moment.”

“I don’t really understand, but I ain’t have to continue being a magical girl, right? After that, well it’s fine if go to high school. Even if I have to go to magical girl school, I ain’t have to quit high school, right?”

“Of course. But please keep the fact that you’re a magical girl a secret.”

“Who the hell would willingly come out that they became a magical girl!”

If a high school student suddenly said something like that, there would probably be more people who would suspect that the onset of chuunibyou comes late than those who would believe it.

Putting aside what becoming a magical girl for young children is, for high school students it’s not something you can boast about.

“It seems that you have agreed, and let’s drop formality, the Magical Girl Committee welcomes you. You can call yourself ‘Garnet’ as a magical girl. It’s perfect your red figure.”

“Hey! I don’t wanna be a magical girl allright!? I don’t need a magical girl name!”

“Are you going to tell everyone you meet in that you’re Benihime? Even though there are only people who are related to magical girls here, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“……Shit!”

“I’m sure there’s some complaint, but it’s for your own good, so please put up with it. Rather than that, what are you going to do today? Are you going home? We have a dormitory, so you can use it if you want.”

“It’s troublesome to go back all the way home. Guide me”

“I also act as a teacher here. I wonder if I should teach you starting from speech manner? ”

“…Please guide me”

“Good. I don’t really mind that kind of trivial things, but there are many children younger than you here, so it would be helpful if you could take that into consideration.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Sawada guides Benihime–or rather, the magical girl Garnet–she gives a brief explanation of the various facilities, their roles, and also about the Ministry of Monster Countermeasures.

The facilities and roles that were created in reality as opposed to the children’s fantasy of magical girls were more dreamless than expected, to the point it can be said it put a stain on the word “magic,” and Garnet’s face twisted at this discrepancies.

Perhaps anticipating Garnet’s impression that this was the kind of thing that would destroy dreams if shown to children, Sawada let out a wry smile and replied that there are some places that were designed for children. The inorganic, convenience-oriented, playless facilities, putting aside the middle school student, it looks too cold for elementary school children, and in fact, some of the children who visited actually began to cry.

For the magical girls, the children who fight “wanderer” and protect humanity, we tried to grant their requests as much as possible. Compared to the damage wrought by Wanderer, the magical girls’ requests are nothing, so it’s our duty to arrange them so that they’re not inconvenienced. However, as a result of fulfilling them, the adults who belong to the committee have fallen into a situation where they have no choice but to pinch on money. Even if we want to reward those who have made meritorious contributions to humanity, the adults who support them are still on the side of being helped, so at the end of the day it can’t be called a reward. Or rather, even if it’s natural to reward the magical girls, isn’t it putting the cart before the horse if they ended up cutting the budget needed to support the magical girls? Added to that even if there’s money, but if they can’t secure the minimum number of people needed there is no way they can provide satisfactory support.

Seeing Sawada’s explanation become more and more like a complaint, Garnet began to feel a little lucky at her position as a magical girl, but on the other hand, the sight of the adults who still continue to expose the ugly truth made her determined to never enter that profession. As if to escape, she quickly completed the formalities for the dormitory and immediately get inside.

“Come to think of it, where did that black one called Blackrose go? Though it’s not as far as a hostile feeling for some reason, she seemed uncomfortable with Sapphire”

“Ah… We don’t know much about her either. She doesn’t belong to any organization, she’s a mysterious magical girl…”

“Hah!? The heck’s up with that!?”

It was a casual question Benihime asked before entering the dormitory, but the answers that came back were beyond her expectations.

If not belonging to any organization is acceptable, then I want that too. Was what she was about to say but the other side, perhaps not wanting to be questioned too deeply, had already hurriedly turned back the way she had come from.

“Where is Director Iida now?”

“If it’s the director, he’s taking a break in the nap room. Is there another problem?”

“It’s not a big problem, but it’s possible that it will in the future.”

“Haaah. I wonder when we can take a break…”

The people who belong to the Ministry of Monster Countermeasure are forced to lead a black life that makes it hard to believe they’re part of the government. But, considering that ‘Wanderer’ is a crisis for the country, the current situation may be the right way to be, but from the point of view of the working person, it’s not something to be put up with it. Few people can go home because their work never ends, and they are forced to live here as if that place is their new home.

It’s a newly created facility, and there are many dormitory-like living spaces, so there’s no problem with that, but you should probably be able to guess what’s going on the moment there are people using the nap room.

Putting that aside, reporting is an important aspect as a member of society, I feel sorry for Director Iida who is currently resting in the nap room, but I need him to wake up. When she used the remote-controlled alarm clock to its true potential, Director Iida managed to show up at the headquarters after a few minutes.

“What’s the matter this time? It’s been a while since I’ve had a decent night’s sleep, so please don’t let it be some trivial matter.”

“It’s quite an important matter. Earlier, I took custody os a new magical girl brought by Sapphire and Quartz. She was the first high school magical girl, and after being turned into a magical girl by a spirit, she wasn’t given any explanation. Blackrose, who happened to be there, urged her to join the committee, and both Sapphire and Quartz took over from there. The name of the protected girl was Benihime, and the magical girl’s name was Garnet. I’m currently resting in a dormitory for magical girls.”

“Wait a minute. I don’t understand. Let me sort things out a little.”

Sawada moved from a summary explanation to a detailed recounting, still after listening to all the stories and sorting them out, there are so many questions.

“I understand that the newly joined Garnet is the first high school student and that there was no explanation given. Just as I worried about, the number of such magical girls is likely to increase in the future. So, what does Blackrose have in mind? I don’t understand the point of urging Garnet to join the committee. If she can make that kind of decision, why wouldn’t Black Rose join the committee?”

“Even if you ask me, I don’t know. By the time Sapphire realized it, she had already gone somewhere. I heard she invited Blackrose to join the committee, but she didn’t listen to her this time either. I thought she intended to monopolize the magic stone, but it seems that the magic stone Garnet defeated was left untouched. I don’t really understand her purpose.”

“Maybe she just wants to move freely. Magic is interesting, and not a few children are dissatisfied with not being able to use it freely. But it’s useless just thinking about it. Starting tomorrow, we have to start moving to take in magical girls in earnest. We need to guide magical girls who don’t know what to do, and I’ve learned that even high school students can become magical girls. From now on maybe the time will come when adults and old people alike, or even men will become magical girls, you know?”

“Please stop it. I don’t know what the definition of a little girl is anymore, and I don’t want to imagine a man wearing that kind of costume.”

“just kidding. I really hope it does not come to that. Rather, we need to tell all little girls that they have the potential to become magical girls. It seems the time has come for us to make our way to the front stage.”

“I hope that makes will make our job easier. Also please keep replenish our manpower.”

Once the Magical Girl Committee is revealed to the public, we can expect people to gather to support it. At the same time, it can be said that the amount of work will inevitably increase, but at this point in time so there is no way to know what the end result will be.