Sasaki and Peeps - Volume 2 - Chapter 6

<Psychic Powers and Magical Girls>

With the help of Peeps’s teleportation magic, we left my apartment behind and appeared in the high-class hotel room where Futarishizuka was staying.

The sight that met our eyes upon arrival was completely different from before—it was a total disaster area. The sofas had been overturned, and the low table now hung halfway out the window, which was broken. Here and there, patches of wallpaper were torn or burnt.

Blood spatter was all over the room. It was alarming.

Frantic, I tried to cast my barrier spell, but Peeps, wasting no time, had already taken care of it. Instantly, I felt a thin film wrapping around us. I was deeply impressed by his speedy technique. I understood why Count Müller had been so charmed by him.

A moment later, we heard an awful sound. Shh-tat-tat-tat.

Checking my surroundings, I spied a machine gun barrel peeking out from around a corner in the hallway.

How terrifying. Was this really Japan? Maybe I should double-check.

The bullets all fell to the ground, blocked by Peeps’s barrier.

“Thanks, Peeps. One wrong step, and I’d have been dead.”

“I must apologize. I should have prepared in advance.”

“Don’t worry about it—nobody could have predicted we would immediately be shot at.”

At this point, what worried me most was Futarishizuka’s safety. I knew she wouldn’t die from just a pistol shot, but if that machine gun had made her into Swiss cheese, even she might be done for. Quickly, I surveyed the room. I spotted her outside the dining room, hiding in the back of the kitchen.

She was sitting on the floor, propped up against the wall. Turning our backs on the ceaseless machine gun fire, we hurried over.

“Ms. Futarishizuka, are you all right?”

“Ah. You really came.”

“I promised I would.”

She was looking at us with surprise.

She was in terrible shape. Her favorite kimono was red with blood. A closer look revealed several holes in the fabric, and the blood flowing out from them had formed small pools on the floor. It seemed like they’d really shot her up.

The very fact that she was still alive probably said a lot about how much power she had.

“Hold still a moment. I’ll heal you right away.”

“…Heal me?”

She already knew our secrets, including the existence of the otherworld. And since we’d restricted her words and actions with a curse, there was no need to pretend. I’d just use the healing spell Peeps had taught me.

I chanted the spell, and with a single grunt, I blasted it at her. A magic circle emerged from the floor. Illuminated by its light, her skin began to regain its color.

“This… Now this is a power the bureau is likely to desire.”

“If you tell anyone, I’ll be very angry.”

“Ooh, how scary. I wouldn’t have done so, in any case.”

“Well, you do have a record.”

Even in a situation like this, she was able to joke around with me. It was kind of impressive, actually.

She must be used to this kind of thing, I thought. Both the one perched on my shoulder and she hadn’t shown even a hint of agitation—one day, I wanted to be able to face down problems with their level of calm.

“You managed to stop me, so no hard feelings, right?”

“If I hadn’t, you would definitely have told.”

“That sounds like speculation…”

As she stood on her own, she rolled up one of her kimono sleeves to show the back of her hand. The curse mark was inscribed there, courtesy of Peeps, just the same as before. It hadn’t changed since its last growth spurt immediately after we’d given it to her.

She truly didn’t seem to be plotting anything untoward.

“Look. It hasn’t changed since then—proof of my sincere, unwavering faithfulness.”

“Well, that’s good to know.”

“I am sorry for calling you this late at night.”

“I happened to be up, so it wasn’t especially inconvenient. Thankfully, that meant we were able to come right here. Still, I would rather this didn’t become an everyday occurrence.”

“Mm, yes. I, too, wish to avoid that.”

As we spoke, the machine gun continued firing without pause. A bunch of other stuff was flying by, too, like balls of fire—probably all the products of psychic powers. Even with barrier magic, I felt a chill run down my spine. I couldn’t help wondering, What if the barrier just smashes to pieces?

“Silencing their own first, huh?”

“Something like that, yes.”

It seemed that even her ability, which was incredibly powerful in one-on-one fights, couldn’t be put to good use when outnumbered and in a floor layout this complex. To my annoyance, her troubled face as she spoke, combined with her youthful appearance, provoked my protective instincts.

Remember, she’s an old lady inside.

Still, this served as confirmation of her defection.

That meant we’d come out of this situation with one piece of good news, at least.

“Is this enough to overwhelm even a rank-A psychic?”

“They brought several rank Bs along who hold a natural advantage over me.”

“I see.”

They seemed to be attacking in earnest. I had learned during bureau training that a handful of rank-B psychics made for a very powerful fighting force. The current situation only reaffirmed to me how much the little girl—a rank-A psychic, despite her appearance—was feared.

“What will you do now, then?”

“As it happens, our target is among them.”

“The one with telekinesis from the bowling alley?”

“Indeed, that one.”

“Wait, you want to go after him right now?”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

I could sort of understand why she’d make such a decision.

As old as she was, her abilities were nonetheless more than enough to designate her as a rank-A psychic. She had probably considered the possibility she’d scare off her target, causing him to flee. It was very difficult to find someone who wanted to stay hidden in this wide world of ours.

“It will probably be harder to chase him down if we miss this chance, huh?”

“Psychics with his rank are in great demand all over the world.”

“In that case, we can’t simply escape.”

Promising words from my distinguished Java sparrow. He had been surprisingly belligerent lately.

My personal opinion was that we should finish up this business with Futarishizuka as quickly as possible, given how chaotic things were in the otherworld. If we took too long here, the days would fly by on the other side. We couldn’t afford to be taken in by the bureau under any circumstances.

As we discussed the situation, furniture suddenly came flying into the room along with the bullets. A big-screen TV and a sofa shot from beyond the kitchen counter, making a quick midair turn and heading directly for where we hid behind an island-like counter. There was no doubt about it—this was the hurricane user’s power.

We covered our heads on reflex, but the objects slammed into the barrier and fell to pieces in front of us. Futarishizuka was right—our target was here. The continued barrage of furniture and appliances made me certain he was among the enemy forces. Someone—a psychic, I assumed—jumped in alongside some of the home goods, but a light touch from Futarishizuka sent them collapsing to the ground. Somehow, I doubted the bureau had given a kill order for that one.

“Let’s wrap this up, shall we?”

“Will you fare well against so many?”

“This world’s magicians—nay, psychics, you called them? I have an interest in them. Depending on what happens, we may need to rethink our approach in the future.”

“You know, I never did hear what your goals were.”

“We cannot say.”

“Playing it close to the chest, eh…?”

This was the sparrow that wanted to eat high-quality beef chateaubriand for all three meals while surfing the internet from morning to night, acting all pompous and smug to Futarishizuka. He talked a big game, but without his “goals,” he was just a deadbeat.

“Peeps, what are you going to do?”

“Just leave everything to me.”

“Wait, are you sure?”

He seemed even more confident than usual.

Maybe he was excited about his first away game—combat here in modern Japan. Normally, his attitude was more philosophical, but knowing he had this other side to him filled me with love and affection.

I found myself wishing I could take a picture of him in action. Thinking back, I couldn’t remember ever taking a photograph of him. I felt a little sad, from a pet-owner standpoint.

“It’s highly likely he’s teamed up with a psychic who can block perception. We probably won’t be able to spot him just by looking around. And if we allow ourselves to become preoccupied with the items whizzing around our heads, they may attack us from an unexpected position.”

“So there are psychics with that sort of power as well, are there?”

“As an ally, they are quite dependable—but as an enemy, they are a force to be reckoned with.”

“Then I shall endeavor to disable that one first.”

The perception-blocking psychic must have been that girl we’d encountered last time at the abandoned bowling alley. She’d appeared to be about middle school age and had been sticking right beside the hurricane user. Her elaborate Gothic Lolita clothing had stuck in my memory. From Futarishizuka’s tone, it seemed they frequently worked as a pair. Like Miss Hoshizaki and me, perhaps.

“What will you do, then?” asked Futarishizuka.

“If possible,” I cut in, “I don’t want to let them see anything magical.”

“That does make things a bit more difficult.”

There was no telling where the section chief had eyes. I’d expect him to have planted an informant somewhere among them, at least. We couldn’t afford to let him find out just how incredibly cool Peeps was.

Just then, we heard a voice.

“Wait, you’re still at it? Isn’t this taking a little too long?”

It was an awfully tranquil voice, incongruous with the brutal scene in the hotel room, bullets and psychic powers flying. It sounded like someone chiding a friend for not being able to beat a video game with the difficulty set to “very easy.”

At the same time, the enemy attacks abruptly ceased.

“Over here? Are you there, Shizu?”

A figure appeared in the living room, staring past the dining room and into the kitchen. A glance revealed a man of about twenty. He was probably Japanese. His long hair reached to about his shoulders, and he wore black-rimmed glasses. He was spindly and about as tall as I was. He wore old, faded jeans with an oversize checkered shirt, under which you could spot an anime T-shirt.

One of those Akiba types, in other words. He certainly fit the stereotype of an anime- and manga-obsessed nerd.

“Wha—?”

Futarishizuka’s expression tensed as soon as she saw him. Following the path of her gaze made it obvious what had surprised her. She was staring at the nerd, eyes as wide as saucers. She always acted so nonchalant and detached—this was certainly a novel reaction.

“You know him?”

“He’s the leader of our group.”

“I see.”

So he was a pretty big fish—rank A, from what I’d heard. And unlike Futarishizuka, he didn’t require a lot of qualifiers and outside considerations—his rank was purely a product of the fear he inspired.

“This changes things. We need to withdraw.”

“Is that man truly so troublesome?”

“We would never win in a fair fight.”

“What sort of power does he use?”

“According to him, his power makes fantasies manifest. His abilities are so varied that even I, who was part of his team, don’t know much about the limits of his powers.”

I remembered getting a similar rundown at bureau training. Despite psychics above rank B being infamous, many of their abilities were unknown. They’d told me that if I ever met one, I should take the utmost caution. Now that the time had come, I wondered how, exactly, I was meant to do that.

“Hmm…”

Peeps seemed to be thinking about something.

In the meantime, our opponent started speaking.

“Rad! You’re actually here. But wait, who’s the old guy next to you?”

He placed his hand casually on the kitchen counter and peered down at us like he was gazing at some rare zoo animals through the bars of a cage. He was so close that it seemed like he could see us even as we huddled on the floor behind the center island.

“Wait, Shizu, don’t tell me you let Daddy live.”

“Regrettably, you all were rather rough with me. So yes, I let Daddy live.”

“No way…”

The comedy routine continued. It appeared what she had said about this man being from her group was true. Still, regarding their dialogue, this “daddy,” who was in no way, shape, or form an actual dad, had a few objections.

“That seriously makes me sad, y’know. I relied on you for so much, Shizu.”

“That may be true of you, but not so for the others, eh?”

“I’m sure they were just jealous. You’re stronger than all of them.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, of course it is!”

This guy was really going hard. He was acting like a hawker in a red-light district. Maybe it was rude of me to think this way, but the gap between his behavior and his appearance was really throwing me off. Preconceived biases can really do a number on you.

“That makes this discussion more troubling, indeed,” she mused.

“Let’s talk about the future. I’ll be straight—do you have any intention of returning?”

“Not if I was allowed to choose, no.”

“Huh.”

Futarishizuka’s expression faltered as she answered. It was pretty clear she had trouble with this guy.

That made me curious about a few things, but it wasn’t our place to butt into another organization’s issues. Instead, Peeps and I just watched over the exchange in silence. If something happened, she’d probably ask for our help.

As I was lost in thought, something happened.

“Well, you’d be a formidable enemy, so I suppose it’d be easier to bid you farewell right here and now.”

“Ack…”

With that, he moved.

There had been no hint of motion beforehand.

One moment, the man was speaking in that lighthearted tone of voice—and the next, Futarishizuka appeared in front of us.

It was like I was watching a scene from a video game or something. With a low vrrrr, a figure suddenly came into focus, out of nowhere, looking exactly like the girl crouched next to us. Even the clothes she wore had the same design.

“Good to see your power is as distasteful as ever,” said the original Futarishizuka.

“Oh, but I need to fill the hole you’ll leave, don’t I?”

Apparently, this was the anime nerd’s power as well. She’d said he could give form to fantasies, but there appeared to be surprisingly few restrictions. The copy of Futarishizuka, identical inside and out, couldn’t possibly have all the same abilities, right?

One wrong move, and even Peeps might have trouble with this one.

“Ms. Futarishizuka,” I said, “does she have—?”

“I hear he cannot give form to things he cannot fantasize—but as long as he can dream it up, he can give it form. Considering my ability is well-known among my former colleagues, there’s a good chance she can use it.”

As she spoke, she looked at her double with disgust.

Even the bird on my shoulder stared, on his guard. At this point, maybe we didn’t have the luxury of worrying about keeping our secrets.

“Could I trouble you to help me?” she asked. “Opposing both my copy and that man would strain me beyond my limit. But with your help, we should be able to escape, at least.”

“If we’re fleeing,” I replied, “that shouldn’t take too long.”

“Right?”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sorry to impose, but yes, could you?”

“All right, then.”

I wasn’t sure why, exactly, but I got the feeling there would be another copy to replace every one we took down. In that case, the difficulty level of this particular stage would skyrocket, all thanks to Futarishizuka’s brutal power. She could kill with a single touch—if we had to face several of her at once, we’d be helpless. If we didn’t take the chance to run when we could, we’d regret it for sure. I’d had the same experience countless times when playing roguelikes.

“I’ve been curious for a while now,” said the man, “but that bird on your shoulder sure talks a lot, doesn’t it? Do you have a power that gives you a familiar—some kind of little friend you bonded with? Seems more like a power for a cute girl, though.”

Yeah, I get what you’re implying, here. In a magical girl sorta sense.

“Let’s go.”

Peeps ignored him. With a single shout from the bird, a magic circle emerged at our feet.

It was the Lord Starsage’s teleportation magic. I didn’t know where he intended to bring us, but it didn’t matter, so long as it was away from these people. He could unleash all the fantasies he wanted, but he couldn’t bring us back from parts unknown.

Otherwise, rather than attacking Futarishizuka at home like this, he would’ve just used his power to bring her to his location. This was just speculation, but maybe he was limited to materializing objects with a clear and concrete form.

“Farewell, then.”

The very moment Futarishizuka bid her good-bye, our visions blacked out.

The surrounding scenery had changed in an instant.

We’d come to the storehouse on the wharf where I’d brought our shipment the other day. There were only so many locations the three of us all shared, so Peeps had naturally settled on this place. The lack of people around made it extremely convenient for us, too.

“Was this acceptable?”

“Y-yes. You saved me. This time, I truly feared for my life.”

“I want to know what conditions that man must meet before he can materialize something.”

“I’m hazy on the details myself. However, I have never heard of him manifesting a natural phenomenon.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Futarishizuka and Peeps must have been thinking the same thing as I was. I didn’t really feel like checking my answers at this point, but I figured I wasn’t too far off the mark. For now, we’d just have to stay vigilant as we continued about our daily lives.

“Well,” Futarishizuka said, breathing out, “this does make the bureau’s request exceptionally difficult.”

“You still plan on trying?”

“Oh, well, naturally,” said Futarishizuka like nothing had happened.

Fearless, as always. From her point of view, it must have been a narrow escape from the jaws of death, but she wasn’t acting like it. Perhaps her senses had dulled with age. That was the only explanation I could come up with.

“As long as you stay cautious, I guess,” I said.

“How cold of you. Is this not the scene where you extend your hand in aid?”

“Oh, I could never.”

Futarishizuka’s tone grew sly and a little playful, though I could sense an indescribable pressure behind her nonchalant behavior.

“Actually, I have a proposal for you two,” she said.

“What is it?”

“Do you remember our previous conversation here?”

“I suppose I do. Why?”

“Were you to assist me in entering the bureau, I could work with you on future exchanges. I would stick my neck out for you, as well, to an extent. If needed, I could set up a base of operations for you outside the country, where I have many acquaintances. I wouldn’t mind helping you with all that.”

“Have you forgotten the curse engraved on the back of your hand?”

“Peeps, could you let me handle this one?”

She wasn’t speaking arrogantly, but despite her appearances, I got the sense that she was a very proud woman. I could tell by the edge that had come into her voice under our current circumstances. She was panicked.

And that’s what would give any promise we made here particular importance.

“You’re so particular about such strange things.”

“That’s just how I am.”

Maybe it would have been possible to make her obey us, using Peeps’s curse as a shield. But the person in front of us would never forget it. She had been at fault on that occasion, but when it came to our future deals, we were on equal footing.

When I thought about it like that, it seemed crucial that we keep negotiations fair in order to maintain a smooth relationship with her.

Based on our time together, I could tell Peeps and I had totally different ways of doing things. And I suspected it was his rather aggressive personality that had earned the resentment of those around him and led to his assassination.

I felt bad for making him go along with my wishes like this, but I hoped he would leave things to me this time.

“What is it?” prodded Futarishizuka. “Interested in my proposal?”

“I think it’s worth exploring. However, our lives are just as important to us as yours is to you.”

“Of course.”

“If you have some sort of plan, we might be willing to help. Though, that will depend on what it entails.”

“…Hmm.”

If her tactic put us in danger, I might feel bad, but I’d simply flee. Doing business with her was an attractive prospect, but we could always look for a replacement. And—in the absolute worst-case scenario—I could go crying to the bureau.

After a pause, Futarishizuka began to speak, her expression serious. “All right. In that case—”

But she never gave voice to the next words.

That very moment, in the corner of our vision, there was a change at one end of the warehouse.

Someone had broken through one of the high windows and come inside. At the loud crash of breaking glass, everyone’s attention shifted to its source. Right before our eyes, the figure effortlessly dropped several meters to the ground to land softly on the floor of the warehouse.

“How…how did you…?!” shouted Futarishizuka in shock.

It was her boss.

The anime fan—the one we’d been talking to just a few minutes ago.

Right next to him stood the hurricane user. They must have chased us here using his telekinetic power. He’d been tossing around heavy building materials like they were nothing, so a human body was no challenge to him.

Location-wise, we were a dozen or so kilometers from the hotel when measured in a straight line. Soaring through the air would get you here in a few minutes.

If they had come straight here, I supposed I could understand the entrance. But how did they know about this place?

The distress was plain on our faces at the anime fan’s sudden appearance.

Futarishizuka owned this warehouse, and she’d told me herself that the others from her organization didn’t know about it. She was just as surprised as we were, so it certainly didn’t seem like she’d been lying. Naturally, the rest of us were also struggling to decide our next move, clueless as to what was happening.

Then, as if in answer to that very question, the anime fan spoke. “A good friend tipped me off.”

“This is the first I’ve heard of such a handy acquaintance.”

“Well, of course it is. I never told you,” he said, glancing over at us.

Why had he looked this way? Was this acquaintance someone we both knew?

No, there was nobody like that.

“……”

Wait a minute. There was one person who fit the bill.

Process of elimination left me with only one possibility. And it was someone fairly close to me, too. One I’d only recently become acquainted with—and someone whose private life was veiled in mystery.

But if that was true… Well, I couldn’t think of anything more troublesome.

“Oh! Did you figure it out?” asked the man, taking notice of my change in expression. His words and actions held such a relaxed confidence.

“I would have never dreamed you were secretly communicating with the bureau.”

I said that mostly to make sure I had the correct read of things.

But when I did, a little smile crossed the man’s lips.

He didn’t give me any concrete name in particular, but I had no doubt. That meant Futarishizuka wasn’t the only one in trouble—I was, too. I felt a squeezing pain in my stomach, empty except for the acid welling up inside.

“You’re…you’re in league with the bureau?!” exclaimed Futarishizuka.

“Looks like you picked the wrong place to go job hunting, Shizu.”

“Mgh…”

The anime fan continued to talk, smirking at Futarishizuka. She’d been completely and totally played. “And that’s why I was aware of everything you two got up to.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you knew of this place,” she replied.

“Thanks to all that state authority, I guess? I don’t know the details myself, but they scraped the surveillance cameras and uncovered all your comings and goings. They’re really nosing about in their subordinates’ business, huh?”

“……”

I could definitely see Chief Akutsu doing that. And it was well within his means. These days, cameras were set up even in private homes and restaurants. He’d probably grabbed all the footage from the day we showed Lady Elsa around the city, working backward until he got to Shiodome Station.

But the fact that it was possible didn’t mean it was easy. How many people had he mobilized for this purpose? The speed with which he’d uncovered this warehouse was terrifying.

When I’d first introduced Futarishizuka to the chief, he’d seemed honestly surprised about it. Had that been an act? Or had this anime fan only made contact with him afterward? I could imagine several possibilities.

But given the man’s considerable self-respect, I felt the latter was more likely. That flabbergasted reaction of his had been my greatest achievement during the past few days.

At the same time, I wondered how closely involved these two parties were. Did their interests just happen to overlap this time, or was this a long-term arrangement? If they’d been like peas in a pod since before I joined the bureau, as his subordinate, I’d probably start to cry.

“I apologize. I should have been paying more attention.”

“No, no. There was nothing you could have done about this one.”

Peeps was so cute, getting all apologetic on my shoulder like that.

No, this time, it had been my responsibility. As someone unfamiliar with the modern world, he couldn’t have seen this coming.

“Peeps, let’s go somewhere else qui—”

“Whoa, there. Come on, stick around a while.”

I decided to request a second helping of teleportation magic from my pet bird. A magic circle appeared underfoot.

But the anime fan was already in motion, not waiting for the spell to go off. Quicker than we could disappear, he materialized something directly underneath us.

It was a pile of hand grenades. And the pins were all out. Several of them now lay at our feet.

“Hrm? These are…”

Even Peeps seemed to recognize their shape. A moment later, they exploded.

A series of booms rang in my ears. I hadn’t even had enough time to kick one of them away from us.

I thought I was dead for sure.

But the shocks never hit me. Nor did my vision fill with smoke and fire. Almost as if the bursts had occurred in a very limited space—like toy firecrackers. Something invisible had closed them up, preventing the blasts from reaching us.

It seemed the grenades had been covered with barrier magic. That had to be Peeps’s doing—such blinding speed.

“Thanks, Peeps. Once again, I thought I was dead.”

“Mm. It made me sweat a bit as well.”

I could never have pulled off a stunt like that.

It was like he was teaching me that simply being able to use high-ranking magic didn’t make you a great magician. It made me want to work hard and study everything he knew, regardless of whether I liked a spell or not. Incredible masters brought out their students’ desire to learn.

“Hmm! You’re not bad.”

The man’s voice came to us this time from atop some cargo stacked in the warehouse—I didn’t catch him moving up there. He’d probably done so to escape the grenade blasts. The hurricane user must’ve moved him away from us with his powers.

“Peeps, you knew those rolling things were explosives?”

“The internet is wonderful, indeed. They are illegal in this country, yes?”

The way this sparrow spoke so indifferently about such things gave him an air of dependability. Right there, I swore in my heart that I’d protect my pet’s exclusive internet connection even if it cost me my life.

“Would you like to go look at smartphones sometime?”

“A new one? Did you not just purchase a laptop a few days ago?”

“No, I meant one for you specifically, Peeps.”

“…You would buy one for me?”

“As a present. Would you like one?”

“……” Peeps’s tail feathers twitched.

I had never seen a reaction like that.

“I won’t force it on you or anything, of course…”

“Then I would very much like you to bring me along when you go. Smartphones are those highly portable devices you always use outside, yes? I hear that with one, you can use the internet no matter your location. And there was actually one model in particular I was interested in.”

“Sure. We can go to the store together.”

Peeps, you’re just so excitable. The way his beak was flapping open and shut was just too cute. I bet he’d found a product he was interested in but was stressing over it on his own, unable to tell me he wanted it. Imagining it made my heart flutter. I should have suggested it a long time ago.

I thought back to when I’d gotten my first cell phone. It had been a moving experience.

“But we’ll have to do something about this first.”

“Right you are.”

The lovely sparrow nodded firmly, his gaze fixed on the man standing on the cargo.

At some point or another, the hurricane user had moved to stand beside him.

“Any objections to me dealing with that one?” Peeps asked Futarishizuka. I felt reassured by his tone—I had a feeling this sparrow was about to enter combat mode.

“I… Yes, if you can, but…”

“Why, Shizu, isn’t that a little mean?”

“Mean? So says the one who came and attacked me.”

“You two, stay here and watch.”

The anime fan standing atop the cargo pile had the absolute calmest expression while he spoke. But Peeps was unfazed, instead declaring triumphantly he would handle it alone. It was looking like we wouldn’t have much to do.

The lordly sparrow fluttered up and off my shoulder.

According to him, he couldn’t use certain advanced magic when he was away from me. If he’d flown away, that meant he had plenty of confidence. The two of us, nothing but baggage at this point, looked on in silence.

“I see. A psychic who can use his familiar for both offense and defense.”

“……”

Peeps watched his opponent as he hovered in midair, flapping his wings. He should have been able to fly even without beating them, using magic. I was sincerely grateful for him continuing his sparrow act, even in this mess.

And so in this warehouse procured by Futarishizuka, their battle began.

The anime fan was the first to make a move. He thrust out his palm in front of him and shouted, “Crimson hell flames burning eternal, incinerate all those who defy me!”

“Hmm…?”

What a strikingly fantastic line.

I suddenly had the feeling I’d heard those words somewhere before. Ah yes—the main character of a video game that had recently gotten popular said it when he used a certain spell. He shouted it out every time you chose to use it, so it had left an impression even on me.

The next thing I knew, a magic circle appeared at his feet. From it burst a round cluster of flames.

“Oh!” Futarishizuka breathed out. “What is that? It is almost like the magic you and the bird use.”

“I thought you said he couldn’t cause any natural phenomena.”

“I didn’t say he couldn’t; I just said I’d never seen it. Either way, does that look like a natural phenomenon to you, hmm? Looks a bit more like it came from a fairy tale than something in nature.”

“What are you getting at?”

“To be honest, it looks exactly like a spell from a game I played quite a bit of…”

“Oh, so you played that one, too, Ms. Futarishizuka?”

“Oh, you too?”

“I’d assumed he couldn’t conjure up anything without a solid form. You were part of the same group as he was, so you wouldn’t happen to have any info on that, would you?”

“I had assumed the same.”

Perhaps he’d been purposely hiding it, even from his allies. And now that he was up against a powerful enemy like Peeps, he had to undo the seal, as it were. Or maybe he’d leveled up his psychic powers and recently gained the ability to give form to a broader range of things.

No, wait; hold on. If I remembered correctly, you could only use that spell when you had something equipped—more specifically, when you were wearing some kind of ring. If, hypothetically, that was true for him as well, then…

In great haste, I checked the anime fan’s hands. And there it was—a ring of a peculiar design on his finger.

“I get it.”

He must have given form to the ring he needed to use the magic, not the spell itself. But if he was able to do that, it meant he could pull off way more than we thought—he could even conjure items from fictional worlds.

“Ms. Futarishizuka, could it be that your former colleagues didn’t trust you very much?”

“I… I’d appreciate it if you didn’t put it that way!”

The ball of flames traveled straight for Peeps. Its exaggerated appearance bestowed an even greater sense of power to it.

The bird, however, accustomed to such phenomena, safely swept it aside. I didn’t know what spell he’d used, but the flames dissipated with a flap of his wings. The swelling flames scattering in every direction reminded me of fireworks.

Peeps was being especially cool recently.

“Huh. That didn’t surprise you?”

“What was there to be surprised about?”

But the anime fan hadn’t given up just yet.

Once again, a ball of fire appeared in front of him. And this time, it was far, far larger. His last shot had been the size of a volleyball, but this one rivaled the containers in the warehouse. If that thing exploded, we wouldn’t be making it out of here. Wouldn’t that endanger the user, too?

“You two are dead…,” said Futarishizuka, face visibly tense.

“Don’t kill us off just yet, please,” I replied.

Peeps was handling this one, so I had faith it would work out fine. But that didn’t mean there was no danger. In that case, it was my turn to use the barrier spell—the one that had blocked the direct hit from the crashing airplane. That should help a bit, at least.

In a rush, I chanted the spell, and with a heave, an invisible barrier went up. I included Futarishizuka inside it as well.

“This is over.”

At the same time, the anime fan had shot the fireball toward Peeps.

There wasn’t much distance between the two of them. It approached in the blink of an eye—and hit Peeps head-on.

However, that fireball, too, vanished into thin air with a single flap of his wings—what had happened? The flames had been so violently ablaze, but it was like someone had sprayed a fire extinguisher over it; all at once, it was just gone. Not even an ember remained.

“Whoa, hold on. What’s up with your familiar? This doesn’t make sense.”

Even the anime fan seemed shocked by this—he looked baffled.

Judging by what he’d been saying, familiars were a known psychic power in the modern world. They probably weren’t the same as the ones in the otherworld, but I could probably use this fact to conceal Peeps’s true identity. I’d have to investigate it more thoroughly when I had time.

Incidentally, the hurricane user who had been standing next to the anime fan just a moment ago was now totally gone. It seemed he, too, had been created by the anime fan’s power—a product of fantasy. He must have used it as a means of movement.

“Creative application of a spatial power? No, wait, that can’t be…”

“It’s my turn to attack now.”

“Ack…”

The little sparrow darted up high into the air.

The anime fan prepared for an attack.

Right then, there was a change at his hands.

Another ring joined the first on his finger.

A moment later, a fireball flew out from below the lovely sparrow. It had the same design as the anime fan’s previous attack, but it was about a meter wide. I’m a little worried about the heat, Peeps—we’re inside a warehouse, after all.

But right before it struck the bird, there was a dry, shrill noise—and it dissipated. It was as though it had bounced off an invisible barrier.

“Oh? It seems you can nullify my magic.”

“See? I told you. How was it? Surprising, right?”

The cause was without doubt the additional ring. He’d given form to a fantasy excelling in defense, just like our barrier magic. I wasn’t sure about the man’s physical abilities, but if he could simply equip these strange items and use them immediately, he was a force to be reckoned with.

“It’s that ring, isn’t it?” mused Futarishizuka. “Even that is the same as the game.”

“You noticed it, too?”

“If you knew, I wish you would have told me.”

“Well, I assumed you’d already figured it out.”

At this point, the possibilities for what he might use expanded to cover even fictional meta-items like bombs to destroy the world and swords that could cleave dimensions. It was terrifying. My feelings were complicated—on the one hand, I kind of wanted to see something like that; on the other, I most certainly did not.

“But you know,” murmured the anime fan, moving again, “this isn’t really the time to be watching and waiting.”

The next change was more conspicuous.

This time, his hand gripped a bladed weapon. The blade itself was thirty or forty centimeters long, and its design was reminiscent of a large knife.

“Wait! Is that…?”

“Oh, you know it?”

Futarishizuka was the first to react, and she cried out as soon as she saw it. Having lived for so long, she probably had a wealth of knowledge in this field. How reliable. Since I was still hazy on the details of psychic powers, having someone beside me to explain really set my mind at ease.

“It’s another item from a game I was obsessed with…”

Cancel that. Just another video game.

“I didn’t know you liked playing games so much, Ms. Futarishizuka.”

“It’s one of my few hobbies.”

“What sort of item would that be, then?”

“It erases anyone it cuts from existence.”

“What do you mean by erases?”

“It’s handy for taking down enemies with more armor. But you don’t get experience points for it.”

“I didn’t mean how it works in the game…”

She did this sometimes—acting like she didn’t know what I was talking about. Was she teasing me, or was she just getting on in years? I figured it was fine, but if it was the latter, I’d have to give some thought to the way we did things in the future.

“If you’re hit by the blade, you vanish from existence.”

“I still don’t know what you mean by ‘existence.’”

“That’s what it said in the game’s help window. And when you use it to attack, and it hits, then no matter how little damage it does, it defeats the enemy. It didn’t work against boss monsters, though, and you didn’t get experience points for it.”

“…I see.”

That actually put us in a pretty tight spot, though, didn’t it? Even her energy drain paled in comparison to this. Seemed like even healing magic wouldn’t be able to turn the tables. Great.

“Peeps, don’t let that blade hit you!”

“What is it? Do you know something?”

“She says if it hits, you vanish from existence!”

“Vanish from existence? Hmm…”

Naturally, I had turned to my bird and called out to him. If possible, I wanted to flee with him.

But the anime fan was staring him down, ever vigilant; I was sure he’d react immediately no matter what we tried. Considering how varied his methods of attack were, we couldn’t make any indiscreet movements. There was always the possibility he’d give form to some other fantasy with an insta-kill mechanic.

Peeps, please, come back to my shoulder.

“You’re spoiling it for them, Shizu. Now it’s boring.”

“The game just came out, and you’ve already stolen the idea. It’s your own fault.”

“Guess I can’t argue with that. I was never great at retro games anyway.”

Now he was complaining to Futarishizuka.

I’d heard that some kids these days had a lot of trouble with pixel-art games. Since lifelike 3D was the norm now, they had grown unused to the rougher pixel designs. Personally, looking at pixel art calmed me down.

“I find myself more and more interested in these so-called psychic powers.”

“I kinda hate that condescending attitude,” responded the anime fan.

The hurricane user rematerialized to his side.

The next thing I knew, the blade had left his hand and was flying through the air. His goal was probably to use telekinetic power at the same time to drive it straight at Peeps. Each power was strong on its own, and he could combine them? Talk about unfair.

At a blinding speed, the blade’s tip shot toward Peeps. But it didn’t pierce him. Blocked by a barrier spell that had appeared around the bird, the blade froze in midair.

A moment later, someone appeared behind Peeps.

I recognized the outfit as belonging to the woman who could teleport. I’d met her at the bowling alley along with the hurricane user; about twenty years old and sporting a very sexy look. Considering the timing, she was probably one of the anime fan’s fantasies. In her hand, she gripped the same sword that had been stopped by the barrier.

And this one, she drove straight through Peeps’s wing.

“Hrgh…”

“There, there. That does it, hmm?” said the anime fan gleefully.

The one he’d hurled at the bird head-on had apparently been a decoy. The man’s true aim was to use the teleportation psychic to quickly get into Peeps’s blind spot. Considering Peeps didn’t know about her to begin with, he was taken completely by surprise.

The scene was so shocking I couldn’t help but cry out. “Peeps!”

“No need to panic. Just stay there and don’t do anything.”

“But…!”

How could he be so calm? I’m beside myself with worry over here, Peeps. I’ll give you all the chateaubriand you want once we get home—I’ll get you an unlimited data plan for your smartphone, too—so please, don’t vanish on me. I don’t think I could go on.

The cage he lived in, for example, would probably stick around forever, empty. It hadn’t even been six months since we’d met.

But that pathetic pang in my chest was only momentary.

“Wait. What the heck?”

The anime fan let out a surprised exclamation.

His eyes were on the woman who had stabbed Peeps. Was it my imagination, or was her body fading as we spoke? I, too, was astonished. It was exactly what I would imagine if I heard the phrase “vanish from existence.”

But somehow, it was happening not to my sparrow, but to her.

“It seems like my powers are effective even against these psychic abilities of yours.”

“Hold on just one second. Why’s my fantasy vanishing? You must have reflected it just now. How can something that can reflect also use teleportation? That doesn’t have anything to do with manipulating space! That’s against the rules!”

“Why indeed? That is for you to think about.”

“Ugh…”

Come to think of it, I remembered Peeps telling me once that he had a defensive spell that could block every supernatural phenomenon under the sun, like magic or curses. That matched exactly with what I had just seen.

And now, the anime fan was the one on the defense. If he attacked thoughtlessly, he could easily be the next one to vanish. He didn’t know that the cute little sparrow he’d just picked a fight with was a grand magician who could use as many spells as there were stars in the sky. His confidence quickly turned to anxiety.

“Several other options were available to me, but if that worked, then this will be simple.”

Peeps, hovering in the air, moved forward a bit as he spoke.

The anime fan rushed backward atop the container.

“What the hell are you? This isn’t right. I don’t get it.”

“Neither do I. This world is filled with all manner of things I do not understand. Learning about each and every one of them is a joy unto itself. When man ceases to learn, when man forgets his desire to improve himself, what follows is a death of the mind. Eventually, a dead mind will kill even the body.”

Peeps was so cool when he went into lecture mode like this.

In the meantime, the blade piercing his small body dissipated like cotton candy melting away in saliva. Blood had overflowed from the wound, but once he activated his healing magic, it was gone in the blink of an eye.

“W-wait, stop! If you want her that much, you can have her!”

“Have her? Whatever do you mean?”

“Shizu! Your bureau scouted her, right? Who cares about this crap?!”

The anime fan gave up on fighting—he seemed completely over it. The other blade hovering in front of Peeps dissipated as well. Finally, he turned on his heel to face away from us in a show of frustration.

I couldn’t help but think he might still be plotting something. But considering what he stood to lose against his potential gain, the act seemed trustworthy enough.

“Oh. You’re giving up already?”

“It’s so not worth it. Risking my life? What do I look like, some kind of idiot?”

“…I see.”

Peeps seemed a little disappointed to me. I hoped it was just my imagination. It was great that he had an amazingly inquisitive mind, but as his owner, my pet’s safety was my first priority.

I hoped he’d be more careful going forward.

The fight between Futarishizuka’s boss and Peeps had ended in victory for the latter.

That made it all the more important we not let this chance slip by. We were up against the top of a large group of high-ranking psychics. Plus, if he had connections even to Section Chief Akutsu, I wanted to use this opportunity to get to know him a little better. In fact, if I didn’t do so right now, my ties to the bureau would probably turn precarious later.

Peeps had worked hard to overpower the man, and now it was my turn.

Thus determined, I addressed the anime fan.

“There is one thing we’d like to talk to you about.”

I needed to do my best to protect my future life in society. It was necessary to achieve my ideal, relaxed life with my pet bird.

“…And what would that be? What could you possibly want from me other than Shizu’s transfer?”

“It involves our future relationship with her.”

The man stood atop the shipping container, looking down at us nervously. Maybe he was having trouble gauging the connection between Peeps and me. The hurricane user had disappeared at some point, so he was all alone now.

“If you’re telling me to sell out my group, I can’t do that.”

“Strictly speaking, we don’t want your head or those of your comrades. We need to provide the bureau with proof that she has left your group, and I was wondering if you might be able to help us with that.”

“You want me to speak to your boss or something?”

“Essentially, yes.”

“Sounds pointless to me.”

“The person you spoke of is the very one who ordered us to deal with your group. I can’t begin to guess his intentions, but is your relationship with him significant enough to put your group in danger?”

“What? Don’t even joke about that. Our interests just happened to align.”

Oh, good, I thought. Looks like they’re not on great terms, after all.

That said, what was their relationship? It wasn’t all that strange, I supposed, if you considered their similar positions—both of them headed an organization employing a large number of psychics. They’d probably come up against each other time and again. Naturally, exchanging blows wasn’t the only way to handle conflict.

“If I may,” I said, “have you known the section chief for very long?”

“Do you expect me to be honest about that?”

“Not at all. I just wanted to try asking you directly, since we’re all here.”

“Well, I did lose the fight… I guess I could give him a call, at least.”

Now we just had to wait and see how Futarishizuka’s employment exam turned out.

In the meantime, I couldn’t forget about approaching the anime nerd.

“By the way, can I ask one more thing?”

“You’re still not done?”

“We’ve been presented with a chance to get acquainted. I’d like to talk for a little while.”

“…Are you trying to threaten me?”

“The bureau is home to a great variety of people, as you well know. For my part, given that your group is where Ms. Futarishizuka originally hails from, I’d like to establish a positive relationship. Not to mention I very much doubt the bureau poses a threat to you with its current forces.”

“Uh-huh? What about that familiar of yours?”

“Like I said, this is my personal viewpoint.”

“……”

The worst possible outcome would be for Section Chief Akutsu to team up with this man and attack us. I wanted to come to an agreement with the anime fan, right here, to prevent that from happening. Peeps had just overpowered him, so now it was my turn to strut my stuff.

The section chief was clearly fine with selling out his employee’s movements for his own benefit, after all.

“I don’t intend for this to be a one-way deal, of course. Perhaps we can make it a give-and-take situation? Obviously, we have some points on which we cannot yield, and I’m sure you are much the same. However, I think there is still room to compromise.”

“And what would I be getting out of all this? I can’t say it’s particularly obvious.”

“Thankfully, the abilities I’ve just shown you are not known to anyone from the bureau. If you stay silent, we won’t have any reason to wield them against you. As a member of the bureau, I have my own hands full simply providing rear support.”

“…Uh-huh?”

“How about it?”

I hastily attempted to secure his silence with an offer of friendship.

Any further exchange could be handled through Futarishizuka in the coming days as the situation demanded. If we sought too much from him, the man might try to take advantage of us. Contrary to his appearance, the anime fan had a pretty aggressive personality.

“Are you unhappy with the bureau, too, then?”

“No, nothing of the sort.”

“Sure, that’s what you say.”

“Will you not regret losing your relationship with Ms. Futarishizuka? Her abilities as a psychic aside, her assets must be considerable even for your organization. There’s no need to split up over this.”

“……”

In reality, I didn’t know how much she possessed. Still, I thought it would be best to butter her up here. If I got her involved, she could serve as my pipeline to this man in the future. That would bring us huge benefits.

I felt like if Peeps and I were to personally correspond with him, things could get a little dangerous.

At the same time, Futarishizuka, too, would no doubt prefer to maintain a cordial relationship with her old workplace.

“What do you think?”

“…Well, I don’t really care, I guess,” said the anime fan reluctantly, before nodding.

He didn’t seem very pleased, but that was just as well. If we were able to provide him with some lucrative future deals, his attitude toward us would probably change. I hoped he’d consider the long run.

“I very much appreciate your wise decision.”

“Yeah, right. Not like I had any choice.”

“In the not too distant future, you will have cause to be thankful for all this.”

“Really, now?”

We would align our own interests with those of the psychic world—I believed this was crucial, since we had so much to hide. That way, if something was to happen, or the chief was to abandon us, I’d still be able to cling to my position as a member of the bureau.

“Speaking of which, how is the man with telekinesis powers doing?”

“He’s still in a wheelchair. What about it?”

“Not to change the subject, but if I used my abilities, I could restore all his limbs. Just the same as how he healed the cut from the blade earlier. He won’t even need rehabilitation—he would be up and moving again the same day, like before he was injured.”

I indicated to Peeps with my gaze as I spoke. There was still blood on him, but the actual wound was nowhere to be found.

“Are you seriously implying you’ll just…heal him for us?”

“I believe it’s necessary to prove my willingness to compromise.”

“……”

“What do you think?”

The anime fan fell silent at my proposal. He seemed to be thinking about something—but not for long. “All right,” he said, nodding. “I’ll contact you through Shizu soon.”

“Understood.”

With that, it seemed I had received his acquiescence to our little partnership, as well as the group’s approval of Futarishizuka’s withdrawal. They probably wouldn’t be attacking her lodgings and trying to kill her in her sleep anymore.

That only left Section Chief Akutsu, who I got the feeling would be the most annoying part of all.

After we exchanged a few words, the anime fan went on his way, leaving Peeps, Futarishizuka, and me. We were in the same place as before: a corner of the cargo warehouse set up on the wharf. We ended up putting our heads together and discussing our new position in light of what had just happened. My distinguished sparrow was in his usual location, too, his little feet perched upon my shoulder.

Before he had moved there, he’d produced hot water using magic and dumped it over his head to clean himself off. I could not sully your clothing with blood, he’d said considerately. The sight of him shaking off all the moisture clinging to his feathers was so charming.

“Thank you for everything. Without your help, I would have surely died.”

“Peeps here was the star of the show.”

“I simply obeyed this man’s will. I have no reason to be thanked.”

Futarishizuka bowed her head in gratitude. The solemnity of the action, when combined with her graceful kimono, made for quite the picture. Though as the one she was bowing to, I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable, since I’d relied on Peeps for pretty much everything.

“Not to mention, this incident has been quite stimulating.”

“What do you mean?”

“That man would be considered quite powerful, even in my own world.”

“Ah. I thought so, too.”

“If I had been mistaken in my responses, I might have gotten in a lot more trouble.”

“That’s a little scary to think about…”

Hearing that from the Lord Starsage himself made me unconsciously stiffen up. But perhaps it was a good thing to confirm this fact at the earliest possible stage. It meant even psychics in this world, if they were rank A, could match top-class pros from the otherworld.

I wondered how the man compared to the purple-skinned person Peeps had fought in the sky. If worse came to worst, we might have to secure combat forces from the otherworld. For example, if that anime fan was to join up with another rank-A psychic.

“It isn’t much by way of thanks,” said Futarishizuka, “but I have a proposition.”

“What is it?”

Was it time? Time for Futarishizuka to bestow upon us a reward? She was filthy rich, so my hopes were naturally high.

“As I said previously, I will fully assist you both going forward.”

We’d made a verbal promise in the high-class hotel kitchen amid the barrage of bullets and psychic powers. She’d mentioned something about setting up a base of operations for us outside the country, too, if I was to help her handle the hurricane user as part of her employment exam.

It seemed her intentions had been pure—though, it couldn’t have been a malicious lie anyway, given the curse.

“We should secure a base of operations separate from this warehouse with all haste,” she suggested. “If you need anything, say the word, and I will bring it there. I promise to be as accommodating as possible. If you’re stocking up on bulky goods like sugar, you’ll need somewhere to store it as soon as possible, won’t you?”

“That’s an extremely welcome proposal.”

“And a commendable attitude.”

“You did save my life. I do, at least, pay my debts.”

“Do you?”

“I can’t afford to keep borrowing without paying back,” she said with a chuckle. “Being in constant debt to people like you seems a fearsome prospect.”

Her proposition seemed incredibly attractive, given how things had been for us lately. After all, if we were going to fill the Kepler Trading Company’s requests, we’d need to bring in literally tons of product basically every day. Acquiring the space to do that and finding a stable way to procure the goods had been giving me headaches.

For the time being, we’d be able to rely on Futarishizuka, which had been my intention in the first place. But I’d been worried that if it continued for weeks, and then months, she would start to complain. That problem, however, had just been solved quite nicely.

“In that case, I’d like to procure three hundred tons of superfine sugar.”

“My, don’t we have a sweet tooth? What will you do with that much sugar?”

“Can you get it for me?”

“I’ll have it for you by the end of the week. And you can pay me at a later date.”

I’d meant that mostly as a joke, but she’d accepted the task, seeming pretty unfazed. Considering the sheer amount I wanted to stock, I’d really have to work at my business dealings, or I might not be able to pay her later. That said, for this sort of foodstuff—the kind that needed to be mass-produced in factories—you could sell however much you could bring, which put my mind at ease.

I’ll be adding another digit to my stock for the Kepler Trading Company next time.

“That really does help, Ms. Futarishizuka.”

“I thought you might ask, so I already have about fifty potato sacks’ worth of it,” she said, looking at the tall stack of pallets in another corner of the warehouse. The stuff may keep for a long time, but what would she have done if I hadn’t wanted it? I couldn’t imagine any businessperson wanting to buy a stock of sugar from an outlaw like her.

“Now,” she continued, “this warehouse is useless to us for several reasons, so I’ll want to clear out as early as tomorrow. If you have any requests as to the location or facilities, tell me now. It’ll be much harder to work out later.”

“You’d do that much for us?”

“Well, certainly! It seems that if I treat you well, I’ll probably have plenty of lucrative opportunities of my own.”

“I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t sustain any losses.”

“What a vague response. Can’t you be a little more enthused about it?”

“I would rather hold off and provide you with tangible results.”

“Ah. I see. In that case, I will wait patiently.”

At her grin, I felt a jolt to my pride. I recalled my feelings from back when I was a fresh recruit, straight out of college, about a certain superior I had respected. When my training period was over, he disappeared somewhere. Rumor had it he’d been demoted and sent away to an affiliated company.

Looking at the little lady in front of me, I felt the same as I did back then.

In the meantime, Peeps was harboring other emotions—mostly apprehensions.

“If you try to fool this good-natured fellow, the curse will progress.”

“How insulting. I have no such ulterior motives.”

She took the opportunity to expose the back of her hand. The curse’s pattern was there, with no apparent change since the last time we’d seen it. According to Peeps, its surface area would increase if she harbored any hostile intentions toward us.

“Yes, it does appear so.”

“Believe me now, do you? Rest assured—I am your loyal slave.”

“When you put it like that, it actually worries me more.”

“A rephrasing might be in order.”

“Um. I would prefer to at least have the freedom to choose my own words…”

And so we continued to discuss our future plans with Futarishizuka.

After finishing up our discussions, I suddenly heard my phone begin to vibrate in my breast pocket. The rhythmic buzzing meant someone was trying to call me. This was my personal device, which I’d been carrying since before any of this happened. Whoever it was had probably called this number after not being able to reach me on the one the chief had provided, which I’d left back at the apartment.

“Sorry, could you excuse me for a second?” I said to Futarishizuka, taking out the phone.

The display showed a familiar name—Miss Hoshizaki. I’d add her to my contacts list just in case. And not because I wanted to gloat about having a high school girl’s number in my address book.

“Hello, this is Sasaki…”

“Sasaki! Sorry for calling you so suddenly, but are you with Futarishizuka right now?!”

The voice on the other end sounded very harsh. That alone told me she must be in a pretty desperate situation.

“I am. What about it?”

“Again, sorry, but please bring her to the bureau right away!”

“Is this urgent?”

“We’re under attack by the magical girl!”

One thing after another. According to my bureau training, magical girls were impossible to face unless you mobilized a whole handful of rank-B psychics. The people there currently must have been in the fight of their lives. Personally, though, I had a hard time working up the appropriate amount of fear when the subject had such a sweet-sounding name.

I mean. A magical girl.

“I thought the bureau employed a bunch of rank-B psychics.”

“There are two magical girls here! One more than last time!”

“Oh wow…”

Apparently, the homeless girl had brought along another magical friend. That put the bureau in grave danger.

“There’s a helicopter heading your way! Thanks, and see you soon!”

“Huh?”

This was my personal phone—and yet she’d gotten my location data anyway. I was shocked. She had probably gone through the same system used for reporting emergencies. That thing would pilfer your location data whether you liked it or not as soon as you picked up the call. I’d have to be more careful when responding in the future.

This time, I had an excuse—the matter involving Futarishizuka. But that wouldn’t always be the case.

In the meantime, Miss Hoshizaki had ended the call. She was probably in a rush, her hands full with the situation at the bureau.

“What is it?” asked Futarishizuka. “That is quite the odd expression.”

“The magical girl is attacking the bureau—with a friend.”

“Oh! Looks like our little adventure isn’t quite over, hmm?”

“There’s a helicopter coming; she wants you to come along.”

A taxi was one thing, but a helicopter? They sure had a lot of money to throw around. Or maybe that was just how desperate the situation was. I’d never ridden a helicopter in my life, though, so my heart was already pounding.

“Ah, more work, even though the bureau still hasn’t approved my employment.”

“And what shall I do?”

“I’m sorry, Peeps. Could you go back home ahead of me?”

“Will you manage on your own?”

“My barrier spell works against them, so I should at least be able to flee if needed.”

“I see. Then I will await your return at the apartment.”

The sparrow rose into the air. A moment later, a magic circle appeared underneath him—the teleportation magic I’d grown so familiar with over the last few days. The next instant, Peeps was gone. I admired the sight of it every time. It was the ultimate commute spell, and I yearned for the day that I, too, would be able to cast it.

“Then you are my only companion…,” said Futarishizuka.

“What are you looking at me like that for?”

“Nothing. I just have a bad feeling about this.”

“I’ll be counting on you, Ms. Futarishizuka.”

Once we’d seen Peeps off, we rushed outside. The helicopter probably wouldn’t be able to spot us otherwise. As we exited the warehouse, the sky had begun to brighten. While we weren’t paying attention, a new day had dawned.

“Wouldn’t the preferable course of action be to place this curse on your boss as well?”

“If I kept doing stuff like that, eventually nobody would trust me.”

“It seems I really drew the short end of the stick here…”

“You reap what you sow. No use being depressed about it.”

A short while later, the helicopter arrived, propeller roaring. It made landfall in a storm of ferocious winds, whipping our clothing and hair. I felt my heart beating faster—the machine was more powerful than I’d expected.

According to Futarishizuka, a helicopter would be able to reach the bureau in just a few minutes.

After enjoying a quick jog through the sky, we alighted in a park near the bureau.

There were no pedestrians to be seen. No cars passing by on the roads, either. The police must have mobilized to keep people away from the area. Seeing only a few uniformed officers standing here and there was extremely unsettling. A lot of emergency response vehicles were standing by, too; it was a very impressive sight.

We ran straight through it all toward the bureau.

On the way, we’d questioned the helicopter’s pilot; apparently, the incident was being reported to the public as a large-scale terrorist bombing. The same thing was being told to the police grunts directing pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

I asked about the media situation, too, and he told me the bureau had restricted all movement in and out of the area. No wonder the only thing we’d seen in the sky was our own helicopter. I felt like I’d gotten a glimpse of what this nation was capable of when it was serious.

Section Chief Akutsu was probably pretty desperate right now—his status within the bureau would be at stake.

“Oh? I can see them,” remarked Futarishizuka.

“Yes, there they are.”

We located our targets by the entrance, right in front of the bureau’s building.

One was the magical street urchin—the one we’d met the other day.

She was filthy, as always. Even from afar, I could tell how disheveled her hair was. She appeared to be in even more dire straits than when I’d seen her last; she must have been homeless for a while. Seeing her like this, I couldn’t help pitying the girl.

Next to her stood someone else—a girl who appeared to be a similar age. She, too, wore clothing with tons of frills on it. Her clothes, however, weren’t dirty in the least. Her hair was smooth and neat as well. As I’d guessed, the former seemed to be an exception among her peers.

At a glance, this new magical girl didn’t appear to be from Japan. She was striking—her skin was very fair, her eyes were blue, and her hair was blond, reaching down to her waist. Her magical girl outfit differed somewhat in its base colors and design, as well.

The two girls stood with their backs to each other, faces serious as they confronted the bureau’s psychics surrounding them.

Behind them, I could see part of the building’s wall had crumbled, from the third floor to the fourth. From the cross section of reinforced concrete—it looked like something had taken a huge chunk out of it—I guessed it was probably the result of a magical beam passing through.

“We can’t charge at her,” noted Futarishizuka. “She won’t even let us close with her Magical Barrier. It looks like the bureau’s psychics’ attacks aren’t connecting, so they likely already have it up. We won’t be able to scratch her like this. Well? Any clever plans?”

“Hmm…”

As she had said, all kinds of psychic powers were raining down on the two already, from flames to ice to weird-looking beams. Every last one of them, however, was being obstructed by something invisible. Whatever it was, it seemed to work on bullets as well, and the machine guns flanking the main force had already ceased firing.

In the past, even Futarishizuka had given up on trying to break through the Magical Barrier. The image of this little girl punching at the invisible wall was still fresh in my memory.

Had Peeps been here with us, I could have had him teleport Futarishizuka right beside them and settled things immediately.

No, I thought. There’s no point in wishing for something we don’t have.

Could I think of a good way through?

As I mulled it over, I hit upon something.

“What about attacking with water?”

“What do you mean?”

“Last time, we learned the Magical Barrier doesn’t let human bodies through. I doubt water would get through, either. I was wondering if we could produce a large quantity of water inside the barrier, then have them cancel it momentarily to let it out.”

“Can your powers create this water for us?”

“I’d need to get closer, but thankfully, they’re close to the entrance—I should be able to make an attempt without showing myself. The problem would be the bureau members catching a glimpse, but if they do, I can tell them my power to create icicles has evolved.”

When using the spell I learned from Peeps to create water, I could adjust how much magic power I used, increasing or decreasing the amount of water produced, just like a faucet. If I put every ounce of my strength into casting, I should be able to fill up even their somewhat large Magical Barrier within seconds.

If that succeeded in confusing them, it was highly likely they’d let the barrier down, if only for a moment.

“I’ve heard,” said Futarishizuka, “that using powers inside a Magical Barrier is difficult.”

“My powers aren’t psychic, so I think it’s worth trying.”

“The barrier might not work the same when traveling outward from the inside. What will you do if the water won’t stay in?”

“In that case, I’ll create my own barrier and overlap it with theirs.”

If I could produce water inside their barrier, I could probably use my barrier magic as well. Just like what Peeps had done against the grenades—creating a barrier that went around the boundary of their Magical Barrier would cause the water to accumulate.

I wasn’t sure how far I could fool them with it. Still, if they let down their Magical Barrier for even a second, I could send in Futarishizuka. If even that didn’t work, we’d have to think of something else.

The most important thing here was to create a way for Futarishizuka to strut her stuff in front of all the bureau members.

She seemed to grasp that as well and quickly agreed. “Yes. If that is what you’re after, I will go along with your plan.”

“But whatever you do, do not kill the girls. My hope is that you can disable the pink-haired magical girl, then force the other one to retreat using Magical Field.”

“You just love ramping up the difficulty on me, don’t you?”

“Can you do it?”

“Well, I do need to start winning some points.”

“Then I’ll be counting on you.”

I wanted to settle everything in a single attempt—we’d only have the element of surprise once.

Not long after separating from Futarishizuka and arriving at my position, I received her call. She was all set.

I couldn’t see her from my vantage point, but she must have been standing by. Thanks to Peeps’s curse, I didn’t have to consider her betraying me at this crucial moment. I’d just do what I needed to do.

I was several meters from the target.

From my position behind a building wall, I directed my water-producing magic toward the magical girls and fired.

I heard a glug-glug sound from inside their Magical Barrier as a glob of water emerged midair, about as big as a size 7 basketball. A huge stream of water poured from it, as though someone had gouged a hole in the bottom of a giant water tank.

“There’s…there’s water coming in…”

“What is this?!”

The magical girls began to panic.

The bureau’s psychics gathered in the area were similarly confused. They started raising their voices, wondering what had brought about all this unexpected water. Even their powers, which they’d been incessantly launching, abruptly stopped.

Meanwhile, the water continued to fill the inside of the Magical Barrier. In just a few seconds, it had reached the girls’ waists. It was like looking at a fishbowl, the way the clear liquid filled the dome-shaped barrier. And because it was two young girls trapped inside, the sight was especially guilt-inducing.

Incidentally, hearing the magical girl newcomer cry out in Japanese piqued my curiosity.

“Sayoko, the Magical Barrier!” she exclaimed.

“But—”

“We’ll drown!”

A few more seconds passed, and with the water all the way up to their chins, they finally acted.

The Magical Barrier was disengaged.

With loud splashes, all that water burst free of the sphere it had occupied. They’d only opened up very small parts of the barrier. Holes, about ten centimeters long, right at the bottom; the water drained out from there.

I hadn’t needed to worry about drowning them—their barrier seemed pretty versatile. Theirs was also a barrier of sorts based on magic, but it seemed to work differently from the barrier spell Peeps had taught me.

Interesting. Could they make it into different shapes, or was it only spherical? Wait, now’s not the time to be thinking about that.

Using more magical power than before, I increased the flow of water. It flowed in faster than the water could drain and began to fill the Magical Barrier again. I decided to create icicles as well and place them around the barrier to plug up the holes.

“No! It won’t be enough!”

“But any more, and it’ll…”

The magical girls had once again started to panic. The holes in their barrier grew.

Now it was time for Futarishizuka to take the stage.

She closed in on the girls, completely disregarding the flow of water rising to her knees. She probably had her superhuman physical abilities to thank for that. At a blinding pace, she crossed through the stream and ran toward the Magical Barrier.

All this occurred within a few seconds.

“Sayoko!”

“That’s the psychic from—”

In the end, Futarishizuka overcame even the water bursting directly out of the Magical Barrier’s drains and managed to get inside. At that point, things were easy. She reached out suddenly with her fingers and touched the foot of one of the girls—the panicking street urchin.

“Ah—”

The barrier had probably been hers, because a moment later, all the water in the dome rushed out in all directions. Waves of water crashed and flooded into the surrounding area.

At this, the bureau members beat a frantic retreat. Trying to avoid being swept away, they began practically climbing over each other to escape. A few even floated up into the air. As for myself, I got my feet up onto one of the building’s window frames and waited out the flow of water passing underneath me.

Meanwhile, I used my magic to cancel the source of water hovering in the air. Without the barrier containing it, the water flowed out in a matter of seconds. All that remained were three soaking-wet girls.

One of the magical girls was unconscious, and the other one was holding her. Two or three meters in front of them stood Futarishizuka. This was the exact situation I’d asked her to create.

“Did you want to keep going?” asked Futarishizuka leisurely.

“Ugh…”

Incidentally, her soaked kimono was strangely erotic. The fabric stuck to her skin, bringing out the lines of her body in vivid relief. Though her chest was modest, her waist was pinched, and her rear and thighs were shapely. Combined with her long black hair, also soaked, she looked more mature.

“What did you do to her?”

“Oh, that? She’ll wake up after a few days.”

Apparently, the other magical girl didn’t know who Futarishizuka was. She glared at the kimono-clad girl in irritation. “You’d better remember this, got it? Because I won’t forgive you.”

“I’m so happy to have made the acquaintance of a magical girl.”

“Hmph!”

Futarishizuka’s tone was detached.

The blond-haired magical girl continued to glare at her as she engaged a Magical Field. With a kind of sizzling crack, a pitch-black hole opened up right next to her. Just as I’d heard before, it seemed like all magical girls were able to use the same magical abilities.

Using Magical Flight, she—and the girl she’d called Sayoko—lifted off into the air and disappeared into the hole.

I hoped she’d have a nice nap.

In the end, our original plan had gone off without a hitch: Futarishizuka had used her energy-draining ability to force the two magical girls into a retreat. As I watched them go, I wondered what kind of world that pitch-black hole led to.

A moment later, the bureau members in the area began to move, crowding around Futarishizuka. Everyone wore a cautious expression as they prepared for a fight. I spotted a few here and there whose knees were shaking. Every one of them was white in the face. On a whim, I looked more closely at the group and saw the glasses boy Miss Hoshizaki had scouted in Iruma standing toward the rear. Like myself, he’d been thrown into actual combat immediately after entering the bureau.

“What?” drawled Futarishizuka. “Is that any way to greet the most meritorious among you?”

All the people surrounding her hadn’t flustered her a bit. Perhaps this was the confidence of a rank-A psychic. As I watched her, I wondered why I always wanted to go crying to Peeps for everything. Since I knew she was an old lady, much older than I was, on the inside, I felt no reservation in wondering all sorts of things.

I couldn’t exactly leave her be, so I ran out toward her.

Though she was considered a part-timer, and had officially joined the bureau, we hadn’t been informed how they were handling the matter internally. Given Chief Akutsu’s personality, it was possible he purposely hadn’t told anyone. It would be miserable if we were attacked now.

“Please, wait! She bears you no ill will!” I insisted in a loud voice.

I’d only joined the bureau recently, but I was one of the few survivors from the front lines of the bowling alley incident. And given my role as Miss Hoshizaki’s partner, I was in their good graces.

Confusion rippled through the bureau members as they studied my middle-aged face—like they were wondering what on earth I was doing here.

“She is currently working for the bureau part-time. She’s not an enemy.”

“What’s this?” said Futarishizuka. “Your defense of me is quite spirited, hmm?”

“The chief did entrust me with your safety.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’re simply having lewd thoughts about me now that I’m dripping wet.”

“It’s true; I think you’re far more attractive when soaked.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, so if you ever want to pour water over yourself again, just let me know.”

“You…really are a bore, you know that? One would think you could show me at least a fraction of the consideration you show that bird of yours. Why must you be so unsociable? Do you perhaps prefer the company of men?”

“Having a relationship with an acquaintance just seems like a lot of trouble, you know?”

“What was that now? Are you scared?”

“I am, indeed. And I can always go to a brothel if I need to.”

“…You really are too mature for your own good.”

If I wanted to feel the warmth of the opposite sex, I could pay for it, and if I felt the urge of the flesh, well, I could handle that on my own. Given Japan’s cultural mechanisms, the cost effectiveness of a relationship was far too low for a middle-aged man without any physical or capital assets.

I’d rather leave all that to attractive young men. Women would probably be happier that way anyway. Instead, I wanted to funnel my efforts into future feasting with my pet bird.

“More importantly,” I said, “I would prefer if you focused on your current predicament.”

“I doubt this crowd will listen to anything I have to say,” said Futarishizuka, looking out over the assembled bureau members.

Just then, we heard familiar voices.

“Sasaki! Was all that water just now your power?!”

“Sasaki, I would have preferred it if you’d captured the magical girls.”

It was Miss Hoshizaki and Section Chief Akutsu.

No sooner had they parted their way through the crowd and spotted us than they began shouting to us—both sounding very in character. Though personally, I had been hoping for a slightly different greeting. A thank-you would have been nice.

But as for my senior, Hoshizaki… Her eyes were positively sparkling.

“I apologize for our late arrival, and I’d like to thank you for the helicopter.”

Everyone else was looking on as well, so I gave a meek bow of appreciation. I had all sorts of things to ask the second person, but that could wait.

“Thank you for coming as well, Futarishizuka,” said the chief. “We were able to keep casualties to a minimum, thanks to you. This will make it easy to spin for the media and the public. No casualties among the police, either. The worst was the damage to the bureau building.”

“Is that so?” asked Futarishizuka. “Well, if I was able to help, that’s wonderful.”

“By the way, Chief,” I said, “why did the magical girl attack the bureau?”

“She has approached employees in the past. Her exact motive is under investigation, but she had that other magical girl with her this time, right? I would guess she received assistance from somewhere and decided she had enough combined power to strike at our base.”

“I see.”

“Which calls into question the intentions of the newcomer’s sponsors, but I digress.”

The chief was thinking along the same lines as I was. No matter how talented he was, I doubted he had any connections to the magical girls’ camp. What he’d just said was likely the truth. That meant I was actually a step ahead of him when it came to relations with magical girls.

Though if you were to ask “So what?” I wouldn’t be able to answer.

“Still,” mused Futarishizuka, gazing at the spot where the magical girls had disappeared, “by the looks of things, they may attempt another attack.” Now it was time for her to make herself look good in the hopes of getting hired.

“The possibility is there,” responded the chief.

“Then should you not bolster the bureau’s combat forces to prevent that?”

“Right—about that. I’d like to officially accept you as an employee of the bureau.”

“Truly?”

“Your letter of appointment will arrive at a later date, but you can take this as your unofficial notification.”

“Gladdening news, indeed. Now I may finally call myself a proud public servant.”

“I’ll leave the more detailed explanations to Sasaki,” said the chief.

Then, he turned to me. “Sasaki, if you could, I’d like you to look after her. She’ll be going through the same training as you, fundamentally.”

He turned back to Futarishizuka, continuing, “I’ll give him a phone for you as well, so check that when you have the time.”

“Understood,” she replied.

No matter how I resisted, I had apparently been confirmed as Futarishizuka’s chaperone. At this point, I didn’t really mind, but still.

“Finally, I have something minor to discuss with you, Sasaki, so come with me.”

“Understood, sir.”

Whoa. The chief had just called me out. I rallied my nerves—I could only guess what kind of trouble I was in this time.

We moved from the building’s entrance to a conference room in the bureau. I could hear everyone bustling around outside, trying to bring the situation under control. This distant noise continued in the background as our meeting began.

Section Chief Akutsu and I were alone in the room, facing each other across the conference table.

“Now then, Sasaki. First, there is something I’d like to confirm.”

“What might that be?”

“Am I correct in understanding it was you who made the water that filled the magical girls’ Magical Barrier? If memory serves, your power was creating icicles.”

“Yes, that is correct. It was me.”

If I made lame excuses here, things would probably get even worse. Instead, I’d do what I’d decided beforehand—explain that my power had leveled up. Now that I was supervising Futarishizuka, there shouldn’t be much of a problem with that.

“As I learned during bureau training, by using a psychic power many times, it can sometimes change, broadening what the psychic can do. I was confused at first, but I believe that is what’s happening.”

“I see.” The chief didn’t openly doubt my words—he just nodded slightly. “According to Hoshizaki, you were in an odd place right before we called you here. Did some sort of issue occur related to Futarishizuka? I’d like you to write up a report about it, if so.”

“We were in a fight with her old organization. I’ll include the specifics in the report.”

They’d already fished through footage from nearby surveillance cameras to track our movements, and yet he was still acting like this. He had an ax to grind—or two or three, most likely. Still, maybe he harbored a similar feeling about us.

Plus, he’d let Futarishizuka into the bureau despite us failing to neutralize the hurricane user. The anime fan had probably already caught him up. Which meant we were currently locked in a mental battle, trying to work out the other’s intentions. I felt my stomach tighten.

“All right, I understand. Please submit it as soon as possible.”

“Will do, sir. I’ll e-mail it to you by the end of the day.”

I still lacked experience, but it seemed best not to speak recklessly with Chief Akutsu. He was a smart guy, so if he spotted even the slightest inconsistency or contradiction, he’d pounce.

“And how is Futarishizuka? As I told you earlier, I’d like to keep you in charge of her supervision. Naturally, you’ll have more chances to work with Hoshizaki as well. I’d like to hear your observations, including any thoughts on your compatibility.”

“I’ve only been around her for a few days, but I believe her willingness to join the bureau, at least, is sincere. In terms of her psychic power, it’s more than impressive, as I believe you know. In my opinion, her mental fortitude, in particular, makes her singularly suited to the role.”

“…I see.”

The words But wouldn’t you know more about it, Chief? caught in my throat. Brazenly broaching that subject would only create suspicion. And if I had asked it, it wouldn’t have benefited me. It would only invite unnecessary mistrust, so I’d be circumspect for now. I’d use my knowledge eventually—when I needed to. That said, by the time things progressed to that point, I had the feeling my own position as a bureau member would be in jeopardy.

“Anything you’d like to ask me, Sasaki?”

“Well…”

I now guessed the reason he’d been so flustered at Futarishizuka’s heartfelt request had as much to do with his relationship to her former group as it did with the danger she personally posed as a psychic. And that implied that their representative, the anime fan, didn’t have such a smooth relationship with the bureau.

Maybe that would be a good avenue to pursue later on. Depending on how I handled it, I might even be able to keep Chief Akutsu in check.

“Not at the moment, no.”

“No? Well, then I have nothing else to ask, either.”

“Regarding the future—can I have time to share information with her?”

“Yes. You can spend today and tomorrow on that. I don’t know how it is the two of you came to be on such good terms, but if that relationship is to our benefit, I want to respect your privacy.”

With that, I’d gotten the time I’d need for a short stay in the otherworld as well. With Mr. Marc’s life currently in danger, I planned to go home on time even if I had to insist.

“Thank you for your consideration, Chief.”

“I should be thanking you. I look forward to what you will do for us in the future, Sasaki.”

It seemed fine to assume I’d survived our discussion. Though I hadn’t intended to, it looked like I would get all the credit for solving something I’d stirred up myself. Considering my relationship to the magical girl, I wasn’t just a double agent—I was a triple agent.

It was time to get back to the otherworld, clean up that mess, and practice my magic. I couldn’t have Peeps help with my work for the bureau, so I would have to improve my own abilities.