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Chapter 148: Chapter 3.1

Nagisa and Siesta had occupied those two empty beds when I went to sleep.

Last night, after talking things over with Stephen, I'd given the origin text to the messenger from Another Eden. When I'd gotten back to the hotel, Siesta and Nagisa were already in bed. However, Nagisa had heard me come in; she'd sat up and asked how my talk with Bruno had gone.

I told her I hadn't been able to convince him to stay away from the ceremony. I thought maybe I should tell her about meeting Stephen, too...but I wasn't sure I wanted to. In the end, I couldn't bring it up. Nagisa had seemed like she still had something she wanted to say, but I'd climbed into my own bed and shut my eyes.

"So this isn't going to be one of those 'They weren't actually all that mad' things?"

...Probably not. Siesta and I still hadn't made up over our argument at the bar yesterday. Nagisa had wanted to tell me something, but I hadn't let her do it. Maybe I was lucky they'd gone out; the morning could have been pretty awkward otherwise.

"Nah, I'll hurry and go meet up with them."

Then I'd tell them everything was all right now. That there was no need to worry about today.

Deciding to get changed and go look for them, I got out of bed, but then— "The two detectives have only gone to have themselves formally dressed."

When I turned around, Noel de Lupwise was standing there. Instead of her earlier Gothic Lolita costume, she was dressed in an aristocratic gown, which was normal by comparison.

"That's not your Federation Government uniform."

"No. I've been tasked with running the ceremony and guiding people today."

Ah. So that was why she'd come to get me. "That aside, Noel, this is breaking and entering."

"I'm sorry. I'd intended to come a little earlier and wake you, but..." That was not at all what she needed to apologize for.

"I'd meant to give a perfect performance as an admirable little sister who gently wakes her brother, but..."

Actually, I may be sorry I missed that.

"Heh-heh. That was a little sister joke." Noel smiled faintly. So, she'd said Siesta and Nagisa had gone to get dressed up?

"Since there is a ball before the Ritual of Sacred Return, the female guests must begin their preparations a little early."

...Oh, was that why? Then they hadn't stormed out because they were furious with me?

"By the way, when I came to fetch those two, Miss Siesta looked more out of sorts than I've ever seen her. Did something happen yesterday?"

"So they're mad after all."

Damn. I was starting to want to see them less.

As my mood deflated, I sluggishly began getting ready to go out.

"The day has finally come." Apparently, Noel was planning to wait in the room with me, although she did have her back turned toward me. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"After that cruise, I drank a bit, so I slept like a rock." "That's good. You met Grandfather again, didn't you?"

"Yes, I had the honor of drinking one-on-one with someone with the world's wisdom."

"You tried to persuade him again, then. Thank you very much." Noel seemed to have a vague notion of what we'd talked about.

Talking hadn't changed anything, though: Bruno was still planning to attend the ceremony. That couldn't be what Noel wanted. She gazed out at the distant scenery from our room on the thirty-fifth floor. Reflected in the window, her eyes wavered uneasily.

"Mr. Kimihiko, if you knew there was a bomb on a train you were riding, would you stay on that train?"

What an abstract question. I didn't really get what she was trying to say, so I asked a few questions of my own.

"There's no telling when that bomb is going to explode?" "No."

"Are we on that train of our own free will?" "Yes."

"Is there a reason we absolutely have to reach our destination?" "Yes."

In that case...

"I've been riding trains like that for years now." Noel turned, waiting for me to go on.

"The fuse on that bomb was still lit, too. I thought it had gone out—or that I'd put it out—several times. And yet the next thing I knew, the flame was always right up close. There's no avoiding that, though. That proves how big my wish was."

I'd experienced trials, been tormented by its price, and even regretted making the wish at all—but that all meant the will behind it was strong.

"Is it all right for us to have our own selfish wishes?"

"Wishes can become more solid goals, and if you have one of those, you can take action. Without them, you can't pull yourself out of your routine."

It had been a long time ago now, but until I'd encountered Nagisa's boiling passion, I'd spent the year after Siesta died soaking in tepid routine.

"Then, wishing for something at the cost of something else isn't a bad thing?" "It might not even have a shot of coming true until you're bad enough that

you'd sacrifice anything for it."

A former enemy had told me as much before he died. He'd said if I didn't care what my wish cost, then I should keep moving forward. So even if the world called that evil, we'd—

"Thank you." Letting a faint smile suffuse her usual doll-like expression, Noel bowed her head to me. "Now, shall we go? I'll escort you to the venue."

"Yeah, please do."

Once I was dressed, I grabbed my bag, which had something precious in it.

The ceremony, in which many different intentions were at work, was about to begin.

Tonight, justice gathers here

The venue for the ball turned out to be a magnificent, palatial building. From what Noel said, it was under the jurisdiction of the Federation Government, and Federal Councils sometimes took place here.

Inside, men in tuxedos and women in elegant gowns were already enjoying a buffet party. I spotted faces I thought I'd seen on TV in the crowd: politicians from somewhere or other, and members of industrial groups. If they'd been

invited to this event, they must also be involved in the world's hidden dealings as well.

"Once again, the ball will begin at five o'clock, while the Ritual of Sacred Return will take place at seven. The ceremony itself is scheduled to take approximately thirty minutes, with a formal dinner to follow."

Handing me a welcome drink, Noel went over the evening's schedule with me.

Apparently, attendance at the opening ball wasn't mandatory. The main event was the Ritual of Safe Return.

"The venue has a security system, but there's no guarantee it will stop an attack by Another Eden. If it fails..."

"You'd like the Ace Detectives to help out?" I asked. Noel nodded apologetically.

However, that was the promise I'd initially made with her and Bruno. It was the reason Siesta and Nagisa had temporarily reclaimed their authority as Tuners.

"Right. That's not a decision I can make, but if it happens, I'm sure they'll both give everything they've got to their missions."

Even as I told her that, I was praying it wouldn't happen... No, I trusted that it wouldn't. That was what I'd laid the groundwork for last night.

"...Thank you. All right, I'll take my leave for now. I must begin preparing for the ceremony." Noel bowed respectfully, then left the room.

In the hall, everyone was mingling and chatting. I was standing alone at loose ends. Weren't Nagisa and Siesta here yet? I looked around restlessly.

"—You're still dependent on Boss, aren't you, Kimihiko?" a voice behind me said.

There weren't too many people who called me by my first name—I knew who it was immediately.

"I like how you're ignoring the fact that you're the exact same way, Mia."

When I turned around, Mia looked away in a huff, pretending she didn't know what I meant.

Mia Whitlock, the Oracle, was a former Tuner. In that glamorous purple dress, she looked far more grown-up than she had when she'd shut herself up in her clock tower.

Somebody else looked up at me primly from the wheelchair Mia was pushing. "You're pretty insolent for someone who's just Rill's pet. You should only have eyes for your master."

This was another former Tuner: Reloaded, the Magical Girl. She wore a vivid

orange gown that was a perfect match for her bright, cheerful personality. "It's been a long time, Rill. I missed you."

"...If you missed Rill, you could have come to see her."

Possibly because I'd been more honest with her than she'd expected, Rill scratched at her cheek awkwardly.

Yeesh. I'd thought she'd yell at me if I dropped in for a casual visit.

"It's just the two of you? What happened to Olivia?" I asked Mia. I'd assumed her servant would be attending the ceremony as well.

"...Olivia left me to go greet everyone." Mia's resentful gaze was fixed on the distant Olivia. So she'd been abandoned while she was far from home? Pathetic, but cute.

"I've been trying to become one with the wall for a while now, but it's difficult."

Apparently, a couple years hadn't improved her communication skills any.

That was actually a relief.

"You're seriously lucky Rill is here." Below Mia's line of sight, Rill crossed her arms proudly. "Otherwise, you'd be so lonely. Be grateful."

"Weren't you looking for me? You seemed happy to see me." "Wha—? How dare you talk to your senior like that!"

"You may be older than me, but I've been a Tuner longer than you have." "Hey! Kimihiko! This girl is as insolent as they come!" For a second, I

worried Rill's head might actually start steaming. "She used to be so docile she couldn't even answer back!"

The two of them had been this incompatible since they'd first met. The one thing that had changed was that Mia now had no trouble talking back to Rill.

However, being incompatible didn't necessarily mean they didn't get along. The fact that Reloaded had trusted Mia with her wheelchair, which was basically part of her, was the strongest proof of that there could be.

"Did you come here by yourself, Rill?"

"Yes. The higher-ups are heartless, aren't they? They just sent Rill an invitation, then told her to get herself here," Rill complained. Mia shrugged, agreeing with her. "In this era, though, Rill can go anywhere as long as she has this wheelchair. In that sense, she's still free. Even if she does need a little help from other people."

Back when I met her, Rill never would have said that.

She'd changed. She'd fought many crises and found her own answer in the process.

"That said, she'd heard that former Tuners could bring a servant, so she did consider bringing you...briefly." Rill looked up at me.

I'd once worked as the Magical Girl's servant.

At the time, she'd needed me, and I'd needed her. "Wow, that's a blast from the past."

"Yes... Now that Rill thinks about it, though, all she saw was the enemy." Reloaded began to talk about her past and our shared memories. Back then, the world still had enemies to be defeated and crises to overcome. "In those days, nothing scared her. Fear didn't even exist for her. She took up her staff and fought giant monsters and mages, and she felt no pain."

She'd been invincible, the Magical Girl said.

She wasn't exaggerating, either. How had Reloaded managed to be the brave, unrivaled Magical Girl? Because, back then, she— No, now probably wasn't the time to get into that.

"Still, she really was a hero. Back then, Rill lived as a magical girl. Even now, she's proud of that."

"Yeah, me too."

The days I'd spent as Reloaded's partner had shaped me, the person known as Kimihiko Kimizuka. If, as they say, people always make the future pay for the past, then I'd at least like everything besides the cost to carry over to the future as well.

"It's hard to believe it's already been a couple of years since then. Time flies." Comparing the past to the present again, Rill smiled.

The crisis-riddled past and the tranquil present. "I'm glad things are peaceful now."

Watching the attendees enjoying the buffet party, Mia spoke quietly. "Still, it's so peaceful that sometimes I wonder if it might not all be fake."

I couldn't find an appropriate response right away. "You saved the world, Mia."

It hadn't been just Mia and Rill. On that day, all the Tuners had—

"Yes, I know. I think I probably still can't quite believe it. The fighting ended so suddenly, and I was freed from my mission. I'd assumed it would last forever," Mia said.

Rill smiled; she seemed to have felt the same way.

"Still, I'm sure what we need to do now hasn't changed," Mia told us. By

"we," she probably meant the people who protected the world.

Olivia had mentioned this earlier. Although she'd been released from her mission as a Tuner, Mia was traveling the world, observing it with her own eyes, preparing for unseen crises.

"My role may have ended, but my way of life hasn't changed... I shouldn't change it. It's how Boss taught me to live." Mia seemed to be trying to remind herself.

"Rill would like to say that's true for her as well, but she'll probably need to retire from being a hero." The former Magical Girl looked down at her legs, which no longer worked. "And so this time as well..." she murmured.

She probably knew about the unknown crisis, but she wasn't in any shape to be as reckless as she once was. That was the price she'd paid for staking her own pride and wish in the fight.

"Well, sure. You've grown up," I told her.

Rill tilted her head, puzzled. She hadn't retired because of her injured legs. "Reloaded, you graduated from being a magical girl because you grew up."

For a moment, Rill's jewellike eyes wavered. And then... "Thank you." For the first time in ages, the master gave her familiar—her pet—a treat.

Even I thought I had a talent for being a faithful dog. I smiled wryly. "What do you say? Want to come serve Rill again?"

"Well, that's a really tempting offer, but..."

My attention had shifted to two figures beyond Mia and Rill. The girls noticed and both glanced back, too.

The two detectives were there, looking radiant in their sparkling gowns, dramatic makeup, and special hairstyles for the occasion.

"Boss!" Mia ran up to Siesta, who was wearing blue.

"It's been a long time. You really should dress up more often, Mia. It suits you."

"...No, that's you, Boss. You're so cute." Mia was blushing faintly.

"She's acting totally different than she did with Rill." Rill was gazing at the two of them steadily.

Don't let it get to you. Humans relate to each other in lots of different ways.

"It's been ages, Rill," Nagisa said. She was dressed in red.

Rill blinked several times, then smiled at her. "Well, if it isn't Kimihiko's ex- girlfriend."

"~~~~~! He dumped you too, you know!" Are all the women I know spoiling for a fight?