NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27
[Under the third light, I, the Magical Girl of War, declare.]
[Oh, ye who dwell on the earth where the goddess’s remains have fallen.]
[Oh, ye bugs who fight even at the cost of dragging infinity down to finitude.]
[Under the eternal fate of struggle and destruction, kill and fight forever.]
[The filthy desires and ugly feelings of conquest shall become the virtues of this land.]
＊
“I… don’t know.”
“Yeah, that might be the case. Sumire.”
It was a soft and gentle voice so shocking that anyone who had ever faced Eiji Fujimoto or witnessed his words would be in disbelief. Perhaps it could be compared to a madman whispering warm words to a young daughter who wonders why the sky is blue while his hands are stained with blood.
“I find it difficult to grasp my father’s intention behind promoting the [Start] Magical Girl as a representative of all supernatural ability users.”
Could there be some meaning I’m unaware of?
Sumire hesitated for a moment before carefully continuing.
“Unlike the Prime Minister or Attorney General, who move through power, that person possesses the strength of sheer invulnerability.”
Could that person really be one who can stay under Fujimoto’s shadow?
Eiji smiled gently at his daughter’s direct counsel, silently urging her to continue speaking.
“I cannot easily fathom the intent to keep someone close who you have already sent an assassin after.”
“He cannot kill me.”
Sumire gasped at those words and flinched her gathered hands but quickly regained her composure.
Eiji did not scold his daughter’s disturbed state. It was behavior that fell under ‘naiveté,’ not ‘brokenness.’
“Because he is bound by human righteousness and is someone tied to justifiable reasons.”
“Justifiable reasons… you say.”
“Sumire, doesn’t it seem strange?”
This time, Sumire bowed her head quietly, expressing her apology for not being able to provide the answer her father desired.
“Why did the first person to share this power speak so ambiguously, as if waiting for ignorance to err?”
“……”
“Why did the prophet appear when the blind man tossed his coin to check the path?”
“……”
“It seems the one who shared this power waits for errors, and [Start] appears to counter any possible mistakes.”
When a new era arrives, it often involves making mistakes while blazing a path never taken before. That is the rightful form of history flowing and humanity’s history of advancement.
Mistakes are corrected and progress is made.
History advances through a bloody path.
“But what if the consequences following that mistake are irreversible?”
“Does [Start] manifest as justification for that?”
Eiji lifted his teacup and drank.
It was a bitter but deeply fragrant top-grade tea.
To truly appreciate the aroma of tea, one must taste a cup brewed properly after hundreds of failures.
“If Fujimoto were unnecessary in the new era, he would appear out of nowhere and strike me down with his supernatural ability.”
“……”
Thud
As he set down his teacup, Eiji’s eyes sparkled.
“Supernatural ability, Magical Girl, Red Broadcast… there was a rightful path to follow in all these trends, and destroying the old order distorts something.”
“And.”
“That is the justification he can never let go of.”
A time when the existing order wavers yet people cannot trust the new order.
“Keep him close and bind him with justification; if you refuse, he will lose his righteousness, and if you accept him, you will bind him to the old order.”
In such a chaotic era, Fujimoto gained everything and developed.
“Both evil and good deeds must be done under one person, Fujimoto. As long as Fujimoto’s name remains, even mistakes become history.”
Eiji muttered, recalling the bitterness of the tea.
“That’s why I killed my brother who tried to share Fujimoto, and I pushed my father into the back room.”
The pain that Sumire had buried deep in her heart resurfaced, throbbing.
[The killer’s daughter! I’ll kill everyone! Die!!]
The desperate scream of her cousin who blamed her.
The final moments of Director Takahashi.
Kaede, whose whole body was shattered.
Every scene flashed by, making Sumire’s heart ache.
Is this truly right?
Is Fujimoto’s method an absolute that cannot change?
‘Both evil and good deeds and mistakes, all must be under Fujimoto’s name…’
[The power of dreams held by the stars is something you cannot possess…]
‘If that cannot be possessed under Fujimoto’s name, what should I do?’
The girl who spent her life watching her father and learning only Fujimoto’s methods felt a bit scared.
‘Maybe if it’s her…’
＊
‘Damn Fujimoto Eiji.’
This sinister scheme smelling of uncle’s breath was 100% his doing. Sumire’s portrayal in the story was more like a soldier than a politician.
‘In the latter part of volume 1, Sumire, while facing imminent death from [War], stubbornly led people in place of her dead father.’
In chaos, she transformed ordinary people into Magical Girls and trampled the [FLAG].
This simple principle repeated until a 3-star Magical Girl carelessly killed her as a supporting character.
‘I guess this time too, she would have spoken as her father instructed.’
She held a desire to protect but didn’t know how to.
The move Sumire made on behalf of Fujimoto Eiji hurt in its own way.
I leaned on the apartment railing, my legs trembling from anxiety, trying to calm myself.
So, they’re attempting a water ghost operation.
‘If I accept, [Start] becomes a beautiful ornament for the alliance, and if I refuse, it will execute a legitimacy recovery centered around Sumire.’
[Start] is loved because it holds a great cause for everyone.
If [Start] fails to sit on the prepared throne according to its own statements, its moral perfection will be damaged.
“What’s up, the Magical Girl of [Start] is just words after all?”
I might hear such a thing.
Witnessing the alliance manipulating Magical Girls to suit corporate interests.
Saying what wrong is it to overwork a few Magical Girls in the research facility.
Completely forgetting about the drug experiments that never even happened.
‘Should I just disappear somewhere like this?’
It hurt my heart to think that all the camps I had worked hard to prepare for the past two years were becoming useless.
After experiencing Fujimoto’s water ghost tactics, entering back into the ordinary world didn’t seem so bad.
‘What nonsensical talk.’
Even after stripping away adults’ greed towards the Magical Girls,
Even if I show them the true power of the Magical Girls,
Even if I try to stop the Magical Girls arising with resentment towards society,
The evils of this world clung to me persistently.
‘Should I have ripped off Fujimoto Eiji’s head?’
Then the second and third villains would have appeared.
‘Should I have pretended not to see Haruko?’
Then the victims would have increased.
‘Should I have not rescued Ichika in time?’
Then those kids who laughed and chatted together would have become devastated.
‘Should I have waited until the Magical Girl of War appeared?’
While watching the deaths of the Master and the Sato couple.
“Haah…”
I found no answers.
The truth is, there is an answer, but I don’t want to choose it.
Choosing that means it can never be undone.
“What kind of sighing in the middle of the night?”
Ichika, waking from her sleep, walked down the apartment corridor where I was pacing.
We all listened to the evening news in shock, finally coming to the conclusion that there were no answers after pondering it all and going to sleep.
“I’m just confused in my head.”
“You know, that’s the problem with leaders; they always think too much.”
Whoosh, whoosh
Ichika threw a few punches in the air and smiled.
“So, you got beaten by some guards while you were busy saying ‘uh oh’.”
“When was that?”
“It was only two months ago, right?”
“I won!”
“Against those specs, that amount of time means defeat.”
Ichika’s candid assessment pricked at my pride, but since it wasn’t incorrect, I had no choice but to mumble excuses.
“I wasn’t used to fighting back then.”
“So, you’re telling me you’re used to it now?”
“Right.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
“……”
Sometimes Ichika hits the nail on the head like this.
“Don’t think, feel!”
“That’s a movie line, you know.”
Ichika acted as if that was exactly it! while scratching her nose and pretending to be dramatic.
Even her usual words smelled of rough martial arts uniform, and it seemed her movie taste leaned that way too.
Puff, puff
Watching Ichika make silly gestures and even mimic some martial arts made me chuckle.
“I always wondered what you were watching on your phone, and it turns out you were watching movies that came out before you were born.”
“Want to watch together, leader? It’s fun!”
“Haha… no thanks.”
While exchanging such nonsensical words, I felt my head gradually clearing up.
“Ichika.”
“Yeah?”
“Do I look like a fool?”
“Yeah, why are you still living with newspapers and using that antiquated phone?”
“…It’s about making a choice; like knowing something and making a mess of it but getting scared when it comes close.”
“Is that so? In the logistics warehouse, in Odaiba, and in Kabukicho, you made the best choices in the end, right?”
The best choices, huh.
I just flailed about wishing it would be better than I knew from the original.
“Ichika.”
“Why?”
“If something feels right deep down but it’s a too hard and difficult path, what would you do?… Even if there’s another path connected to where you must go.”
“Yeah, I think you really are a fool.”
Ichika’s vicious comment came out, but she said it with confidence.
“If you were the person I know, you would have chosen the electronic option long ago, and that’s something you’d only whine about when you’re sad. Also, even if that other path exists, it wouldn’t be an easy one either.”
“……”
“I’ll fight with you then.”
Ichika lightly lifted her heels and put her arm around my shoulders.
“Leave your back to me.”
“…Thank you.”
At least now I wasn’t alone.