Simulation Battle: The Magical Girls Arrive
Even if there were twenty-four minions, that wasn't a large number. But having that many minions all rushing around would itself raise suspicions.
Thanks to that, Dusick had to escort groups of about four minions each time, requiring six round trips between the hotel and the association building.
Kabe had been left at the daycare center inside the association building.
It was only for a moment that she tried not to leave my side, but soon she let go of my hand as if her soul had left her body, heading straight for the television playing the video in the daycare. It was a bit unbelievable.
“Are there no regular staff at the association?”
“Yeah. Why not.”
This was some kind of magic. On the twenty-eighth floor, which had been turned into a perfect replica of a city street, Eve and I sat facing each other and sipped our coffees.
Convenience stores, hospitals, supermarkets… It was just the appearance of an ordinary city. What's more, the convenience store had tables and chairs set up right on the sidewalk, so Eve and I could sit there.
“But is it okay for the minions to come and go like this?”
“It's fine.”
Eve giggled, sipping her coffee through a straw.
“Once you leave the building after work, you forget about the outside elements. There are so many strange things inside, and if you remember all of them, it'll be a problem.”
“You manipulate people's memories?”
“Yeah. You just thought we were bad guys, right?”
“Correct.”
“It's not like there are side effects, it's fine.”
Was it really fine? Even if there were no side effects, it was still something whose existence couldn't be confirmed.
“Keru, come here.”
“What is it?”
“What do you mean?”
I pressed Keru's face down with my foot. Keru let out a weird sound as his face was squished under my sole.
“Why are you doing this?!”
“Why? This guy, don't I have to explain? The simulation starts soon, but it's battle, and the mascot is doing this.”
“S-stop it! I-I'll explain, so just stop!”
I stood up from my seat, took off my boot, and pressed my bare foot onto Keru's face. Watching Keru flail around while being flattened on the ground strangely made me feel good.
-Click.
It was the sound of a camera shutter. When I looked to the side, Eve was holding her smartphone with a mischievous grin.
“What are you taking a picture of?”
“Keru being tormented.”
“Why take a picture of something like this?”
“It might sell for a pretty high price.”
“What?”
“No, you don't need to know.”
Whatever. I pulled my foot away from Keru, who was still grumbling, and poked his nose with my toes.
“If you were supposed to explain everything after calling me Mother, you should have done that sooner. Why do you only talk when I'm right in front of you or when I ask? Isn't it clipped?”
“S-sorry, Mother! Move your foot!”
“Get up and explain. What's going on.”
Only then did Keru, who had been hesitating, finally sit up. He rubbed his face a few times with his front paws, then cleared his throat with a grunt.
“To start with, when the battle begins, I or Mother will declare the start of the battle as a count open—”
Count open. In other words, the start of the battle.
Since the Mogumogu-dan's minions are pseudo-life forms born from Mother's magical power, they share the same magical wavelength as Mother.
What does that mean?
“When I declare a count open… you will share the senses of the minions. You'll see where the minions are in your vision, receive the view from the minion you chose, have the minion's thoughts transmitted directly to you, and your commands will be transmitted directly to the minion. Whether to transmit to each minion individually or to all of them at once.”
“Amazing.”
“It's amazing, but it also means the burden you receive will be that much greater.”
“Hmm.”
You'll find out when you try it. That's why simulations are good.
“You know you're the worst for making me explain everything, right?”
“S-sorry, Mother!”
-Thud, thud.
All the minions had arrived.
The minions lined up in formation were all smiling brightly as they looked at me standing in front of them.
They called me Boss, but according to Keru, they were all like his children.
They weren't created with my magical power, but if the mother came out to fight with them, wouldn't they be incredibly happy? Thinking about that, it made sense why they were smiling like that.
“Are you ready?”
“Ready? I don't know yet.”
“You'll find out when you try.”
Eve patted my back as she approached.
“We, that is, the magical girls who will be our opponents have been configured with average specs. There are four of them. Since it's the first time, let's keep it easy. The exchange rate with the minions is six to one, so it shouldn't be difficult.”
“Even though I understand it well, I still don't get it. You'll find out when you try. Keru, do the count open or whatever that is. Watch it.”
“Understood.”
I felt a slight flow of something from my abdomen. I hadn't noticed it before, but now I knew what the sensation was. Keru was borrowing my magical power.
Keru’s black fur began to shine even more brilliantly.
“Warriors of the Underworld— A glorious battlefield has unfolded before you here. Fight according to your will, win according to your glory, and seize according to your pride!”
-Whoosh.
There was no sound, but a quiet yet intense vibration reached me. And at the same time, in front of my eyes—
Now that I think about it, I was quite skilled at real-time strategy simulations, or RTS games for short.
Galaxy Craft, the representative RTS, was one I had an overwhelmingly good record in among amateurs.
I wasn't particularly excitable, and people often told me I had good eyes for reading the situation.
I hadn't been able to play since the social debut, but whenever I had time or on holidays, I'd drink a can of beer and play a game.
Why is this story suddenly coming up? Because the map spread out before my eyes right now looked just like the map of Galaxy Craft.
What's more, a few lines of unidentified messages floated at the bottom left.
“Count Open Confirmed.”
“Battlefield Activated.”
“Mother, the Evil Magical Girl, Sets Out Confirmed.”
“Minion Combat Power Increases.”
“Mind Sync Confirmed.”
“Voice Sync Confirmed.”
“Battle has now begun.”
The map rotated according to the movement of my fingers. Spreading my thumb and index finger enlarged the map, and closing it again shrank it.
“Boss, please organize the teams.”
“Whoa, you startled me.”
I was suddenly startled by the voice that had appeared at my ear. When I looked around while staring at the map, the minions were still smiling brightly, waiting for my instructions.
“You can do it on the map, or you can give instructions directly with voice.”
Whoa, you startled me.
I was even more startled because Dusick's transformed form had suddenly appeared after a long time.
“Did I startle you?”
“Ah, no… Anyway, can I do it on the map?”
With a cool smile at my reaction, Dusick explained.
“Yes. If you aren't looking at the map, it might be deactivated. To activate it, look at the map or touch it with your fingers. To do it on the map, you tap each unit you want to organize one by one or drag them…”
This was exactly like the game system.
So, to organize the teams, you tap each unit one by one or drag to group them, then link to one team.
It's a game. Except for the units moving in front of my eyes, it's completely like a game.
“Can I summon the magical girls?”
“Wait a moment.”
Despite Eve's urging, I waited a moment… There were four magical girls, after all. Thinking simply, divide them into four teams of one each.
“Let's try.”
Let's start. You have to experience it to know.
At the position I was standing, there was a particularly eye-catching red marker. As I moved a little, the marker moved with me, so it was clearly a marker pointing to my location.
And there were twenty-four small red markers. These must be pointing to the minions. And the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 were stamped on top of those markers. Were these unit numbers?
After stamping the numbers, I stamped the position on the map. Then the six markers began to move to that position together.
“Can I start now?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded at Eve's voice. I roughly understood the controls. Now that I was entering the real thing, it would be a matter of getting used to it.
When I heard Eve muttering something, four smaller blue markers appeared on the map than my marker. Those must be the magical girls.
Team 1, to Magical Girl 1.
Team 2, to Magical Girl 2.
Team 3, to Magical Girl 3.
Team 4, to Magical Girl 4.
Team 3, which was nearby, began to clash with Magical Girl 3. Along with that, a green gauge appeared above the minions' heads.
The green gauge began to decrease slightly. Was that the health gauge?
I picked out the minion whose gauge was decreasing rapidly.
“You, retreat. 5, take over the attack.”
-Understood!
According to my instructions, the marker's position began to change.
“Teams 1, 2, and 4, begin fighting.”
I was already watching. The map was now full of green gauges. The blue markers pointing to the magical girls didn't show health gauges. That was only natural, of course.
“Keru, let's go.”
Team 1's situation wasn't good. The magical girl had entered a narrow alley.
From our side, which had to use numbers, we needed to lure that magical girl out into the open.
As I started moving, Keru followed behind.
Since the battle area wasn't very wide, I thought we'd reach it quickly even by running, but while running, I had to keep moving the minions' positions according to the battle visible on the map, so I alternated between running and walking.
“Team 1, I'm here.”
-Boss!
-Mother!
-Welcome.
-It's dangerous!
It seemed like some strange words were mixed in, but whatever. I raised my left hand, and dark magical power gushed out.
What was good about this? At this distance… The magical girl had entered the narrow alley and created a 1:1 confrontation with the minions. To lure her out, it would be better to break the alley itself.
I placed my hand on the magical power. Thinking of the appearance of the throwing spear from the Sixfold Martial Arts Book I received from Karin last night, I extended the magical power long and thin, shaping it so I could grab and throw it easily. The tip was sharpened to make it easy to fly. Although the shape was rough, I held a magical power mass that resembled a spear, and with my left hand, I threw it with all my might toward the magical girl's location.
In my original intention, I should have broken the wall where the magical girl was, but since I was originally right-handed, my aim was off and my power control seemed off. The flying spear directly hit the magical girl and caused an explosion that shook the surroundings.
“Eh, I guess I killed her.”
On the map, the magical girl marker disappeared. It seemed she had been erased by this attack, so I ordered the remaining unit members to move in pairs to support other teams.
“Unni, you worked hard!”
“Yeah, I worked hard.”
A total of five simulations had been conducted.
After finishing the last simulation, I returned to the convenience store (fake) and plopped down on the chair. Dusick handed me a coffee.
“Haah.”
“Shall I massage your shoulders!”
“Yeah.”
Dusick’s hands began to knead my shoulders. My shoulders were stiff, probably because I had been tense, and I felt a slight pain from Dusick’s touch.
“Ouch.”
“Ah, sorry, sister! Should I be gentler?”
“No, it's fine. Perfect.”
“Sister, but you don't seem to be struggling that much.”
Struggling? What? There was nothing particularly hard about it.
“I can't handle more than ten minions synchronized…”
What? Was that so hard? It was actually much easier than Galaxy Craft.
Ah.
“Dusick, do you play games?”
“Games? No, I haven't tried. I don't like them either.”
This was the problem.
Clearly, people who hadn't tried this RTS style would find it difficult. Me, I've played this kind of game a lot and made a name for myself, so I'm used to it, so it's fine.
“Doesn't seem that hard?”
“None at all.”
While receiving a massage from Dusick, Eve came walking slowly, sipping her coffee.
“Mother, so you've fought before…”
“Sister, shall I give you more coffee?”
“Yeah, no. It's fine.”
“The feeling of having fought.”
“Sister, lower your head a bit. I'll massage your neck.”
“Mother…”
“Sigh, your neck is really stiff.”
…What is this situation.