Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku - Volume 1 - Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

CRANBERRY’S SECRET

The chaos of Calamity Mary’s attack was ultimately explained as an act of terrorism. No groups claimed responsibility for it, but it was the only justification the world might accept.

Snow White and Hardgore Alice worked themselves to the bone helping people, leaving far more than a few witnesses. Additionally, the many weapons Calamity Mary had left behind lent credence to the terrorism story. No one, at least publicly, suspected a magical girl to be the perpetrator, partly because no one could imagine a lovely girl with superpowers as a gun-wielding soldier. Their existence was hardly public knowledge, despite the number of witness reports. Of course, the syndicate that had supported Calamity Mary knew who was behind the attack, but they kept silent. Most likely they didn’t spare a thought for what a magical girl was supposed to be. They were just relieved to be free of the nuke waiting to go off.

“My, what an exhausting morning, pon.”

The white section of the sphere’s body was dull, and the butterfly wing beat weakly. At least, so it seemed.

“They’re calling it a scam, a hoax, fraud, lies, and all sorts of things, pon. Maybe it was too much to hope they’d believe we had to cut down to four just because we added the items, pon.”

“If they don’t believe you, then so be it.”

“Master.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t think it’s okay for Fav to suffer just because it’s Fav, do you, pon?”

“It’s your job to be hated.”

Lying on the bed, Cranberry put a hand to her cheek.

“So please, let them hate you. I have a lot to think about in the meantime.”

Several of their number had already died: Nemurin, Ruler, La Pucelle, Magicaloid 44, Weiss Winterprison, Sister Nana, Yunael, Calamity Mary, and Top Speed. It was a shame she wouldn’t get a rematch against Winterprison. She’d been so sure Winterprison would be the last one alive.

The game had passed its halfway point, and the most qualified contender, Winterprison, was out. Of those left, maybe Swim Swim or Ripple were most capable. Or perhaps Hardgore Alice. Cranberry preferred interesting opponents.

“Oh, one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“Fav was going to make a progress report. Did you have anything specific to add, pon?”

The Magical Kingdom would periodically hold selection tests in order to find new blood. Capable candidates were chosen to compete, and one would be chosen to join their ranks.

As per custom, the selection test curators were called “masters.” After the Magical Kingdom dispatched the necessary members, they would adopt the role of adviser and seek out humans from the land the test was being held in, offer words of wisdom, and keep the test proceeding smoothly. Without a master to handle this role, the selection test could not take place.

The special phones provided to masters came preinstalled with various applications not found on normal magical phones in order to make the test as smooth as possible. Fav, who resided inside this supervisor phone, would obtain whatever items the master required. Fav was also an impish creature, and many of the apps he installed were alarming.

“Fill out the report as you see fit.”

“Yes, yes.”

Cranberry wondered if Fav would actually do as she said. The idea was to convince the Magical Kingdom that they were carrying out a perfectly normal personnel training session. It had to present their bloodstained death match as a test of peaceful, goody-two-shoes girls.

The Magical Kingdom sought talented individuals, but they would not accept applicant deaths in the name of this pursuit. They claimed it was wrong to disrupt other realms for their own gain.

Of all the idiotic ideas. Cranberry spat.

Reaching out to other realms for talent was a disruption in and of itself. All that crap about making the least possible disturbance was just their hubris talking. If they were going to come in and throw things out of balance anyway, then they might as well use everything at their disposal to achieve their goal. If they wanted talent, then they needed to purge the weak and pick from the strong.

An accident had occurred during the selection test that had made Cranberry a resident of the Magical Kingdom. One of the applicants had attempted to summon a demon in a basement, and it went berserk. By the time she’d subdued the demon, it had killed everyone except Cranberry: her fellow applicants, the supervisor who’d stepped in to help—twelve casualties in total. A great tragedy.

One by one, her classmates had been crushed, melted, mashed, and broken. Cranberry had been nine at the time, so it was a shocking experience for her, but the joy she’d experienced was even greater. Trading blows with violence incarnate, drooling with the elation of slaughter, firing off magic—then, when they were both at wits’ end, emerging dominant over her opponent. Truly, that was the definition of a warrior of justice. In defeating powerful enemies, she found catharsis.

The demon purged, she’d stood there intoxicated. Ecstasy coursed through every fiber of her being. She bathed in the joy of overflowing blood until a hologram rose up from the supervisor’s phone and asked, “How long are you going to keep standing there, pon?”

The real shock came when she heard it had all been because of an accident. The true selection process seemed so tepid, exasperating, and boring. The failures would laugh with embarrassment, and everyone would celebrate the winner together. But that wasn’t how it should be, she thought. It was all wrong. They should be stealing irreplaceable treasures from one another, killing, being killed—and only by surviving to the end did the winner get chosen. That was how things should be.

When she told Fav this, he had answered, “Then you should become a master, pon.” Taking his advice, she did just that. Fav admitted he was bored with the current system and eagerly looked forward to a more entertaining selection test under Cranberry’s supervision.

She wondered if something inside her had broken during the accident. But it was of no concern to her. As a master, she could conduct the game as she saw fit. As long as the Magical Kingdom never caught wind, she could do as she pleased.

“I just wish I could have enjoyed this as a participant. C’mon, can’t I get an invitation?” she muttered to herself.

Swim Swim pondered the situation.

The number of magical girls had been reduced to seven, yet they were given another quota. In order to ensure everyone in her group survived, three other girls would need to drop out of the race. Tama had come scurrying back after her skirmish with Snow White and Hardgore Alice, but Minael was still missing. She didn’t seem to be dead, though.

Their ambush had failed because even though Minael had successfully distracted the enemy, Tama had been discovered while wearing the invisibility cloak. It must have been the work of magic.

That magic that let its user find people. That made the invisibility cloak utterly useless. It also meant Tama couldn’t hide in a hole for a surprise attack, and if Swim Swim dived beneath the ground, she’d be found anyway. Snow White might even be able to sniff out Minael while she was transformed into an object. Ambushes had been extremely effective against people who believed in chivalry and fair fights, but Ruler had never cared for those things, so neither had Swim Swim. But if Snow White could sense them, that was that. It was a bad matchup.

In other words, they should avoid a battle with Snow White. Hardgore Alice seemed to be acting together with her, so they should stay away from her, too.

What about Ripple?

She had taken care of Top Speed by attacking from behind, but she’d had to let Ripple go after a head-on clash. The battle between Calamity Mary and Ripple had told Swim Swim that Ripple far outclassed her in reaction speed, agility, and quick thinking. This was why their fight had ended in a stalemate even though Swim Swim had rendered all of Ripple’s attacks useless.

Tama and Minael could run and fly faster than Swim Swim, but in battle they were no quicker than her. Swim Swim might be safe, but they would most likely get killed before they could get an attack off. A successful ambush would mean victory, but if they failed, the damage would be enormous.

If she went after Ripple, it would be best to go alone.

The only one left was the Musician of the Forest, Cranberry.

There was no information on her.

And mystery was a sign there was great danger lurking in the shadows. But the reason she had no information on her was because Cranberry had abstained from fighting—had never even run into another magical girl by chance. If she was confident in her skills, wouldn’t she have shown up for Calamity Mary’s attack on National Route X? Her name, Musician of the Forest, also made it seem like she wasn’t a fighter.

Compared to Snow White, who couldn’t be ambushed, and Ripple, who was too fast to surprise, she seemed easiest to deal with.

They’d saved the energy pills because they had so few of them, but now seemed like a good time to test their effects. If they worked well, they would be useful in the fight against Ripple.

Tama was kneeling on the wooden floor, looking depressed, and Minael still hadn’t come back.

Yunael’s loss had hurt, but the remaining three had still made it into the final eight. Ruler would have kept them all alive, even once the limit had dropped to four. Swim Swim mulled over what Ruler would and wouldn’t have done.

The sound of a door opening broke her concentration. There was Minael. She was panting, just like when Winterprison had killed Yunael. Tama screamed, but Minael ignored her.

“I know someone we can kill! We won’t fail this time!”

Behind the back alleys of the Kubegahama street lined with fishing supply shops was a long stone staircase. During the day, it was a playground for children, but at night there was not a single streetlamp. Even the light from the stores that opened early and closed late couldn’t reach that far. No one was foolish enough to climb those long stairs with only moon and starlight to rely on, so the area was naturally empty at night. Except for magical girls.

Snow White sat on the first stone step, staring at the pebbles at her feet. The incident on the highway had been no accident. It was obvious from the giant holes, exploded vehicles, and people reduced to simply feet that it wasn’t a normal pileup. She had been too busy prying open car doors, lifting rubble off people, and carrying the victims to ambulances to even stop to think, but now that she did, she felt more and more that it could only have been the work of a being like her.

She was disappointed in her comrades who’d ignored people in need to fight instead, but she despaired that some had purposefully hurt and killed civilians.

And now they needed to reduce their numbers to four, not eight.

After letting her emotions take over and screaming at Fav, there was nothing left in her. Not anger, not fear. Nothing. Only weariness and exhaustion.

She’d spent her whole life thinking magical girls were supposed to help people in need, and Snow White’s magic was for this express purpose. But maybe she was the crazy one, not everyone else. La Pucelle wasn’t there anymore to cheer her up and tell her that wasn’t true. Sister Nana and Winterprison had suggested they band together to overcome the danger, but they were gone, too. It was hilarious, really—she was like a character in an action movie trying to change it into a romcom on her own.

“I don’t want to do anything…”

The sentiment bubbled up from deep, deep within her heart. She was tired. She’d stopped checking the aggregate sites for magical-girl sightings, grinning widely at her own section. She had missed just one day at first, which became three, until finally she had stopped altogether for who knows how long.

“I don’t have to do anything, do I?” she asked, hoping to hear some kind words.

“Not true,” came the swift denial.

“There’s nothing I can do.”

“Not true.”

“There’s nothing I want to do.”

“Not true.”

“Hey.”

“Not true.”

Snow White’s toe kicked the pebble she’d been staring at. The flat little stone flew straight through the air and bounced off a utility pole.

“I don’t want to do anything anymore!” Snow White screamed. Secretly, she was surprised she had the energy to scream. She stood and seized Hardgore Alice, sitting next to her, by the collar, hauling her up.

“There are no magical girls in this town anymore! I! Don’t! Want! To! Do! Any! More!”

Hardgore Alice’s apparent indifference to what had happened infuriated her. Her eyes were dead and colorless. Dark bags drooped beneath them. Her back was straight because Snow White was holding her up, but other than that she was the exact same as when they’d first met.

So much had happened. Was she not sad or depressed at all? Snow White was mad at her, but she was also angry with herself for yelling at her.

“There are still magical girls in this town.”

“No, there aren’t. They’re all gone.”

“Not true. They’re still here.”

“They’re gone.”

“Not true.”

“They’re gone!”

Snow White roughly let go, and Alice fell back onto the stone stairs. Snow White continued to shout.

“La Pucelle, Sister Nana, and Winterprison are gone! There are no magical girls left in this town! Just leave me alone!”

She took the rabbit’s foot from her pocket and hurled it at Hardgore Alice, then turned and ran. She could sense a presence chasing after her, but she shouted, “Don’t follow me!” and it disappeared. Alone, Snow White ran off into the darkness.

Ako Hatoda woke to rays of sunlight peeking in through a gap in the curtains and chirping swallows. Sitting up in bed, she reached next to her pillow for the white rabbit but came up empty. Ako was often careless with it, so it constantly went missing. Thinking she would look for it later, she decided to have breakfast.

Her uncle worked the night shift, so he was asleep. Her aunt had already eaten breakfast and headed out for the day. Ako spread some butter on her bread, then topped it with sweet red bean jam. She added ketchup to her fried egg and soy sauce to her cabbage salad. The bottle got jammed, so she opened the hole with a toothpick. She’d packed her schoolbag the night before, so it was ready. Her school uniform was on a hanger hooked on the wall. She checked the mirror. Her complexion was bad, but she seemed the same as ever. Picking a piece of cabbage off her cheek, she put it in her mouth.

Everything was normal as she shuffled into the crowd of students heading to school. Without any attempt to start conversation or even say hello, she blended into the mob.

Snow White had flung the rabbit’s foot at her, saying to leave her alone. But she couldn’t. Unlike Hardgore Alice, the other girl would easily die from being beheaded or impaled. Alice needed to be by Snow White’s side and protect her. If not, Snow White needed to at least hold on to the rabbit’s foot for emergencies.

She could ask Fav to contact her, but Snow White would probably ignore her. In that case, she needed to look for places to find her that night. She hung her head as she walked and thought, but at the sound of her name she looked up. That moment, she realized the name she’d heard was not Ako, but Hardgore Alice.

A few yards in front of her stood an oddly dressed figure. Now that Ako had reacted, the figure slowly approached. She didn’t seem to be heading to school or work, and she stood out in the crowd. From the shadow of her hood, she watched Ako. She was coming closer. Beneath the coat was… a swimsuit? It seemed familiar.

Her eyes reminded Ako of her father’s. The one time she’d gone to visit him in prison, he’d said nothing except “Don’t ever come back,” and then he’d returned to his cell. This girl’s glittering eyes were the same. The same as the ones she saw in the mirror, so perfectly like her father’s. They were the eyes of a killer.

She panicked. A murderer in a white school swimsuit and coat was walking toward her. There were so many people nearby. If she transformed, the other students from Ako’s school would learn who she really was, and she’d lose her right to be a magical girl. In other words, she’d die. She had to find somewhere private to transform.

Ako did an about-face and took a step, searching for a secluded place, when something bumped into her from behind and knocked her off balance. There was nothing to grab on to, and she clawed at the air as she pitched forward and tumbled across the ground. She heard a scream. Her back burned. She hadn’t been pushed—she’d been stabbed. Blood gushed from a deep wound. Was she going to die? She needed to get away from the crowd, and fast. There she could transform into Hardgore Alice, and she would heal in no time.

Crawling across the asphalt, she made it a full body length before her arms stopped working. She couldn’t transform. If that was the case, then she at least needed to find Snow White.

The rabbit’s foot in her hand trembled slightly.

Koyuki had just gotten up for the day when a faint voice reached her ears. She couldn’t hear the cries for help without transforming into Snow White—that rule had never been broken before. Yet now she heard a voice.

It was small and weak, like it would disappear at any moment.

Still in the middle of changing, Koyuki raised her head and strained her ears. The words she’d shouted the day before haunted her. There are no more magical girls in this town. La Pucelle, Sister Nana, and Winterprison were all gone. Snow White had lost all hope for her fellow heroines.

Koyuki bit her lip. The voice was fading. Tossing aside the scarf she was holding, she leaped out the window, transformed into Snow White, and threaded her way through the mass of students making their way to school. She ignored the screams and shouts, focusing only on the direction of the voice. Kicking off the ground, she dashed up a utility pole and looked down from the power lines. A crowd was gathering—that must be it.

She ran across the wires and jumped down. A circle had formed in the crowd, and no one attempted to approach the girl lying in the center. She could hear the girl’s voice.

Snow White…

She rushed over. The crowd was buzzing with excitement, but the only voice Snow White could hear was the girl’s. It was small and weak, about to vanish, but still she heard it clearly.

As she approached, something seemed off to Snow White. How did this person know her name? Why was she calling her? All became clear a moment later.

Seeing the girl in white, the girl on the ground weakly extended her right hand. In it was a white ball of fluff.

I wanted to cheer you up.

If you’re here…

If the one who saved me is here…

Then this town will always have one magical girl in it.

That’s what I wanted to say.

But you ran off, and I couldn’t…

So now…

Snow White held the girl’s hand in both of hers. She was cold as death.

Snow White…

Please, at least take this…rabbit’s foot…

The voice faded away.

Blood stained the girl’s uniform, but her face was clean save for a few flecks of blood. Snow White remembered her. She was the middle schooler who’d lost her house key that night months ago.

She gripped her hand tightly.

She’d learned her lesson after the mistake with Winterprison.

The Peaky Angels had fatally injured her, but they lost Yunael in the counterattack. All because they had assumed she was dead and revealed themselves.

You couldn’t let your guard down for a second—disguised, closing in, or stabbing. Gritting her teeth, Minael shared what she’d learned from Yunael’s death.

After snatching the invisibility cloak from Tama during the battle at National Route X, Minael had used it to replace the white rabbit plush Hardgore Alice always carried around. After she tossed the cloak over the plush in the middle of the road, she’d transformed and swapped places. Hardgore Alice had picked her up and brought her home, and that was how Minael learned her true identity and address.

She carefully considered when they should strike. She’d learned from her mistake—she could only attack when there would be no risk of counterattack. Somewhere like in the middle of a giant crowd, where her target would be unable to transform or risk exposing herself.

Under her breath, Minael muttered over and over, “We should have done this in the first place. Then Yunael wouldn’t have had to die.”