The next day, both Kirishima Ai and Sakaki Chika were summoned to Ms.
Haibara’s office.
Sakaki Chika came out crying.
At noon, the three magical girls gathered together to eat lunch, and along the way discussed the matter of the recent Weirdos.
“I just get the feeling the Weirdos have been getting stronger and stronger lately.
Ones we used to handle easily now take real effort even with the two of us going at them together.”
As she spoke, Kirishima Ai stuffed another piece of crab stick into her mouth.
Before, she’d been quite confident in her own strength, but over the last several battles she’d gradually started to feel like she was falling short.
Even if the two of them could win together, there were always times when she had to fight alone.
“Give me a crab stick.” Without the slightest hesitation, Takanashi Shiori plucked a crab stick out of Kirishima Ai’s bento box and ate it as she pleased.
Kirishima Ai shot a glance at this good-for-nothing yet ever-hungry creature.
“Say, why would a pterosaur be a Snake?”
No matter how she thought about it, it just didn’t add up.
Takanashi Shiori unhurriedly swallowed her food.
“Mm… the Snake-type Weirdos—rather than calling them snakes, it’s better to call them ‘fantasy creatures.'”
“These Weirdos come in about five main forms.”
“Dragon, Phantom Dragon, Sea Dragon, Dinosaur, and Reptile.”
“Take the Pterosaur Kaijin—it falls under Dinosaur, while the Thorn Monster falls under Reptile.”
“Phantom Dragon probably refers to creatures with the feel of a Chinese dragon.”
They were probably all creatures that didn’t exist in reality, or had already gone extinct—things that existed only in fantasy.
Compared to the other elements, the “Snake” element carried a more mysterious aura.
At this point, Sakaki Chika, who had been quietly nibbling on her nutritional meal off to the side, spoke up.
“But even the Pterosaur Kaijin is only a Mature Form Weirdo, right?
So how did the magical girl Huanfeng from a few years ago manage to defeat a Complete Form Weirdo all by herself?”
They were both magical girls, yet their strength was on completely different levels.
For some reason, Takanashi Shiori’s expression turned a little odd.
She picked up her thermos and took a sip of the warm milk inside.
“A magical girl’s strength is tied to the strength of the one who Transforms, and also… to the Magic Tool and the Magic Crystal.”
“Take our Witch Academy in Ruruye—the mentors there all have a kind of crystal called a ‘high-grade Magic Crystal.’ With that kind of Magic Crystal, you can Transform into a far more powerful magical girl.”
By the sound of it, those things called high-grade Magic Crystals weren’t easy to come by.
Kirishima Ai kept a blank expression and simply took another bite of fried potato.
She’d heard about the Witch Academy’s mentors from Takanashi Shiori before—supposedly they were on a completely different level of power from the magical girls active in the human world. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
“So how do you get hold of that kind of Magic Crystal?”
Sakaki Chika bit off a mouthful of broccoli with a bitter look on her face.
“Only Her Majesty the Queen can bestow it.
Take me—I must complete the tasks from the Witch Academy to have a chance to meet Her Majesty in the Sanctuary.”
Takanashi Shiori quickly finished her meal, then, with nothing to do, propped her chin in her hand and watched the other two eat.
“Tasks?
Come to think of it, what exactly did you come to Earth to do?”
Kirishima Ai asked curiously.
Takanashi Shiori was the only magical girl among them who came from Ruruye, and it was because of her that Kirishima Ai had become a magical girl in the first place.
But as for what exactly Takanashi Shiori had come here for, neither of them had any idea.
“It’s to recover a certain Magic Tool.”
As she spoke, Takanashi Shiori toyed with a strand of her grayish-gold hair.
“We call it the ‘Relic of the Overlord.’ It’s a Magic Tool that transcends the Sanctuary, left behind three hundred years ago by the strongest rebel magical girl of all—the ‘Overlord.'”
Just like the Weirdos, magical girls too came in different ranks.
From ordinary, nameless magical girls, to magical girls who possessed a “Magic Name,” like Silver Feather.
And beyond that were the Sanctuary magical girls who possessed high-grade Magic Crystals—such as the mentors of the Witch Academy, the nobility of Ruruye.
But above even those, there existed beings who transcended the Sanctuary.
Such as the leader of the Black Death Cult, the “Demon King,” and also the magical girls’ Queen, the Sages, and so on.
And the Magic Tool left behind by the Overlord was, among all the Magic Tools of Ruruye, a truly dreamlike existence—perhaps only Her Majesty the Queen’s Magic Tool could compare to it.
“That said, according to the prophecy of the Star-Reading Grand Scholar, it will still be a long time before that Magic Tool appears.
For now, what matters more is building up our strength and getting ready to contend for it against any potential enemies.”
“Once I recover my magic power after a while and reestablish contact with Ruruye, the Academy might even give us some help.”
Takanashi Shiori said casually.
Simply put, they wouldn’t be getting any useful help anytime soon.
Seeing Kirishima Ai looking a little down, Takanashi Shiori paused.
“You don’t have to be like that.
If we’re really talking about Magic Tools, yours is actually…”
“What?”
Kirishima Ai lifted her head.
“…It’s nothing.”
After finishing scolding those two problem children, Haibara faced yet another problem.
In a little while, it would be midterm exams.
What Haibara had told those two girls was simple: if their grades slipped this time, she’d be considering a home visit.
As the end of the school day drew near, Haibara felt a little tired.
She’d had three classes today, plus scolding those two girls, and since there was a homeroom meeting tomorrow, she still had to do a bit of preparation.
After lingering in the office for a while, Haibara thought it over and decided to reward herself just a little.
She opened the cabinet in the office and took out several cans of high-proof distilled liquor.
Deftly popping open a can, she began to gulp it down.
The liquor slid down her throat, stinging her tongue.
Haibara could really hold her liquor and didn’t get drunk easily, so she had to down a lot in one go before she could find even a hint of a buzz.
The office was a little stuffy and warm, and after a few sips, Haibara undid the buttons of her suit jacket, revealing the white shirt beneath.
After that, Haibara took a few more sips like this, and before long she’d drained the whole can.
She twisted open another and took a small taste—and at that moment, Haibara’s appearance began to change.
At some point, the hair tie holding up her hair had come loose.
Her once jet-black long hair lengthened and curled, its original color gradually fading and taking on a beautiful silver-gray.
And her glasses slid down as well, revealing a pair of eyes tinged deep violet.
Haibara carelessly took off her glasses, then stood up and walked over to the mirror in the office.
“Mm, I’ve turned out like this again after all… So then, what should I do today?”
This gray-haired woman gazed at herself in the mirror, her expression still cold, but she quickly snapped her fingers.
“—Snap!”
With that crisp sound, several bottles filled with liquor suddenly appeared on the empty floor of the office.
She crooked her finger again, and those bottles floated up.
With a series of popping sounds, the caps fell to the floor one after another.
Every time she got drunk, Haibara would turn into this.
That was why she generally didn’t drink too much when she was drinking with others.
Even if she wanted to drink her fill at home, once she turned like this, she’d easily attract Weirdos from who knows where.
Haibara thought for a moment, then cast another spell.
Then she quickly sensed several presences within the school giving off magic power.
Smiling, this gray-haired beauty gently cradled a liquor bottle and said cheerfully:
“Tonight is the perfect time to have a nice little play with these problem children.”