CH 94

Chapter 3 — Dry scrape, burn and perforate! • Episode 3–3 — Little Sister ⑦

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

If I could, I would have liked to dispatch the Diest as quickly as possible and go home, but since we were working as a team, I couldn’t be selfish and do anything on my own.

The strength of the Earl-class Diest that appeared was a little higher than that of the current Blade-san and Press-san, and it took quite a while for the two of them to defeat it while I assisted.

「Sorry for the wait.」

I returned to the room as if I had gone to the bathroom as before, and called out to Futaba, who was sitting with her back to me. I know I don’t have to make such excuses, because the cognitive inhibition prevents the average person from questioning things related to Magical Girls, but it’s a little chilling to see them repeatedly disappear and reappear right before your eyes, even if you know you won’t be caught. So I was playing out a plausible situation.

The mission I instructed Futaba to do before the transfer wasn’t that difficult, and I don’t hear any button presses, so it’s probably already done. Let’s get back on track and help Futaba play her game because it can’t be helped.

「You’re late, Ryō-chan.」

「? I’ve been a little under the weather.」

「I see, I was worried.」

What…? Something is wrong with the current exchange. Was I too late…?

Coming back from the bathroom is just a lie like that. In fact, from Futaba’s point of view, she wouldn’t know if I was holed up in the bathroom. I should only think that she had cognitive blockage and went to the bathroom when she thought I wasn’t there, and besides, was she worried about me?

If she actually recognize that I was holed up in the bathroom for an extended period of time, I can see how she could say she was worried, but there’s something about… that’s just not the right atmosphere if you ask me.

Did I get caught? No, it can’t be. If she could notice that I am a Magical Girl, it should only be if Futaba is also a Magical Girl. But if that’s the case, it would be strange if Futaba hadn’t noticed it when she came to the house before I transitioned in the first place, or even before that.

「I thought that maybe Ryō-chan would never come back.」

「!?!」

「Ryō-chan, no, Tyrant Sylph-chan. Was the Diest strong this time?」

「H–How did you…!?」

I involuntarily widen my eyes in agitation and return the question in a shaky voice.

It can’t be. This can’t be happening. Inhibition of perception is a Magical Girl’s lifeline. The only reason why Magical Girls who are so flamboyantly active in this information society can remain safe and not be exposed to the malice of the masses is because of cognitive inhibition. That’s why, there should be no way for that to be breached. It should never be exposed.

Futaba called me Tyrant Sylph. And I also wondered if the Diest was strong this time.

Magical Girl activities have been shown in videos and on official websites, and society is well aware of the existence of Magical Girls as mysterious beings, but their true identities and what kind of enemies they fight are not well known.

Even if she felt uncomfortable because I suddenly disappeared right in front of her or something, if she tried to tell me that I was a Magical Girl in a sick joke, I’m not going to be able to tell her that I’m a Magical Girl, they shouldn’t even know that I’m Tyrant Sylph and that our enemy is the Diests.

To know that is to have broken through cognitive inhibition, and if cognitive inhibition is working properly, there is only one entity that can do such a thing.

「Are you, a Magical Girl…?」

But that shouldn’t be possible.

Because Futaba is already 20 years old, and Magical Girls are forced to retire at that age, meaning they can no longer transform. And although retired Magical Girls don’t lose the memory of their previous activities, from then on they are under the influence of cognitive inhibition and shouldn’t be able to recognize the notification of the Diest occurrence or the Magical Girls themselves.

「Former, though. Don’t look so blue, Ryō-chan. It’s not that I’m trying to do anything with it, you know.」

「How would that work…!? If you’re retired, you’re supposed not to know! How do I know you’re not!?」

No, it is more a question of what to do with that knowledge.

Don’t tell me you’re trying to extract information from me by blackmailing me with a whip instead of candy this time, because I’m not so dominant!

「Former Magical Girls, you know, can break through cognitive inhibition if they know how to do it. I cheated a little bit, though. Look, that’s why I told you to calm down. Don’t stare at me so much. On the contrary, mere mortals can’t escape the effects of cognitive inhibition in any way, hypothetically, you know? I don’t really have any intention of doing this, but even if I were to tell people that Ryō-chan is a Magical Girl, no one would believe me. I have no intention of harming you.」

「…」

I was so distraught at the revelation of my true identity that I thought the worse of it, but if you ask me, Futaba’s words are quite plausible. I didn’t know that there was a way to break through cognitive inhibition if you are a former Magical Girl, but it’s clear from previous results that ordinary people cannot break through cognitive inhibition. The only reason why such a controversial topic as “who that Magical Girl actually is” isn’t gossip or even an Internet article is because they are protected from malicious intent by cognitive inhibition. Even if Futaba tried to spread the information by showing some conclusive evidence, almost all people wouldn’t pay attention to it and would soon lose interest in it. That is what cognitive inhibition is all about.

As long as there is this cognitive inhibition, there is very little Futaba can do for me just because she had figured out that I’m Tyrant Sylph. For example, if Futaba has a terrible grudge against a Magical Girl named Tyrant Sylph, she might target me before my transformation, but Futaba and I were born on the same day, and I became a Magical Girl the day after my thirtieth birthday. In other words, I must’ve become a Magical Girl after Futaba retired, and since no connection exists, the possibility that she have any special feelings for the Magical Girl called Tyrant Sylph is close to zero.

I was ready to transform at any time with my guard down, but at first I understand that Futaba has no purpose to harm me, and I sit down on the cushion facing her.

「…What do you mean by “it depends on how you do it”?」

However, there were some words that I couldn’t miss, so I asked Futaba while lightly glaring at her with half-lidded eyes.

Futaba said that she had cheated a little earlier. What exactly is that cheating meant?

Magical Girls have been a part of society since before I can remember, and there are over 10,000 of them in active service as of this moment alone. If retired Magical Girls are included, the calculation would be at least twice as high. I don’t think it’s a number that you have an easy chance to meet in your normal life, however, it’s also a number that you can never say you will never run into each other.

If the method Futaba describes is something that can be easily done, the worst that can happen is that a Magical Girl who is a complete stranger may expose her true identity. So I had to make sure I knew what that cheating was in order to be careful about it.

「Ahh, it’s, well, how can I say it…」

Futaba scratched her head badly and looked away. She must have something to be guilty about. What the hell did she do?

「Just tell me quickly.」

「Errm, are you angry?」

「I won’t get angry, so hurry up.」

「You’re definitely angry…」

「If you keep trying to tell me this, I’m going to get even angrier, okay?」

「I’m still assuming that you’re going to get more angry… You, see…? It’s not actually me? It’s my friend, you see? She did this on her own…?」

Futaba starts talking, freaking out like a child who has done something wrong and shifting the blame to her friends and such.

Her frightened appearance reminded me of the time when Futaba was much younger and came to me crying and apologizing for the overturned juice-covered manga I treasured so much.

「She snuck into this house and recorded Ryō-chan’s transformation on her Magiphone and showed it to me. And she told me that Ryō-chan was Tyrant Sylph, and that’s how I got out of the cognitive inhibition…」

「…Is this friend of yours a Magical Girl? How often did she sneak in?」

「She’s still a Magical Girl now. She’s about to retire. She said this was the only day she snuck in. She said she waited until I got here and that she had that much common sense.」

「I don’t think there is any common sense when it comes to trespassing… But you didn’t take offense, did you?」

「! Yeah! Originally, I asked her if Ryō-chan might be a Magical Girl, and she seemed to confirm it. I have cognitive inhibition and forget, so she did it for me.」

「Then, it’s not good, but I forgive you just this once. Please tell her not to come in without permission again.」

「Thank you, Ryō-chan!」

「Please keep the video off the screen.」

「Don’t worry, I already turned it off.」

The fact that she had snuck in without my knowledge gave me goosebumps, but strangely enough, I didn’t feel angry. In fact, I am even relieved that even former Magical Girls cannot break through the cognitive inhibition without such solid evidence.

I wonder why. I’m not that open minded, and I’m not a nice person. I feel like I should’ve been more outraged that someone had entered my house without my permission.

「So, Futaba-san, why did you want to find out that I was a Magical Girl by doing such an illegal thing? As a forerunner, do you have any advice for me?」

「Advice, huh… yeah, that’s right. I wasn’t going to tell you this if it were true, but I do have one piece of advice as a senior Magical Girl.」

I could tell from her words that Futaba’s purpose was in a different place, but if she has advice to offer, I’ll listen.

I may not know this because Futaba has since retired, but even though it looks this way, I am the highest power called the Witch who opened the third gate. I don’t know how powerful Futaba was as a Magical Girl, but if she says something off the mark from the top, I’ll mount the opposite.

「You should stop being a Magical Girl.」