The President's Annoyance and the Mother's Kiss
Eve was staring at the photograph in her hands.
“Huh?”
She lowered the photo and lifted her gaze to the sudden visitor.
A faint smile that carried the same mocking undertone as always curved Aquamarine’s lips as she looked down at Eve.
The president’s office had quickly turned freezing cold.
The meeting of two magical girls sharing the same attribute was stirring up dramatic synergy and shaking the air inside the office.
It had zero effect on the two people involved, though.
“I’ve come to declare that I’ll accept it.”
“Got it.”
“And aside from that, why didn’t you stop the video from spreading?”
“Why should I? You told me you’d tame it, so I said no—clearly.”
“That’s a personal matter. If that video spreads, my reputation takes a hit. Isn’t it the Association’s job to protect and guard my honor?”
On the surface, the words sounded right.
Aquamarine was the vice president of the Magical Girl Association despite all her troubles.
The current trouble surrounding her could damage not only the entire Association’s prestige and honor but also the perception of magical girls as a whole.
Yet Eve had taken no action—neither personally nor at the Association level.
“So what exactly do you want?”
Irritation began to seep into Eve’s voice.
Even so, Aquamarine continued her speech with perfect calm.
“Fix this right now. Delete every video, take down the articles that appeared, and prepare a correction piece.”
“Hah. Fix it. And ‘fix it for me’? Am I your mom? Why should I fix your mess?”
“Huh? Did I just say that?”
Aquamarine’s eyes narrowed in a glare that collided with Eve’s stare.
Eve met the gaze without flinching and slowly rose from her chair.
“You said it. Still not done, though. But Aquamarine—”
Eve reached out with a casual flick of her wrist.
“I no longer have anything worth saying to you. I don’t even want to talk anymore.”
A blinding light flared in her hand, forming a dazzling holy sword.
At the same moment, Aquamarine’s grip tightened around a dagger that shimmered into existence.
“You want to fight right here? Eve, are we dueling now?”
“Hah. Duel, huh? That’s a pretty poor choice of words.”
Eve rose even more slowly from her seat.
“I’d forgotten something. For so long I moved only by the Association’s rules that I lost track of it.”
Light swirled from the holy sword like rising steam, dancing wildly through the empty air.
From Eve’s side, a rainbow aura bloomed outward.
“I thought magical girls only listened when forced to their knees with raw power. And now? You actually need to be taught a lesson.”
“Take one more step and I won’t stay quiet either.”
Droplets of water began to scatter around Aquamarine’s body.
Yet Eve was not the type to back down from such threats.
Instead she walked forward with a savage aura flaring around her.
“Since you were going to tame me, you should have succeeded. I said no because I knew you wouldn’t. Yet you still tried, got your butt kicked, and now you’re whining that I won’t protect you. Are you even three years old?”
“Three? Three?! Did I just say that?! You’re still going through with it?!”
Once she reached S-rank, casting proper spells became optional.
Her inherent magic had already reached its peak; she only needed to align her will.
Of course, using incantations would make the power stronger, but between two S-class magical girls, squeezing out mana and pouring it straight into a spell was often the smarter route.
Geometric patterns formed as water droplets orbited Aquamarine and streaked toward Eve.
Normally they would have stuck to her body and detonated, but a shimmering barrier blocked them, leaving the droplets to dissolve helplessly.
That was expected.
Two water dragons coiled around Aquamarine, swirling upward.
The serpentine creatures reared their heads, gaping wide to unleash a roar.
“Rise! Three-headed dragons!”
Aquamarine’s furious shout echoed, and the roaring dragons twisted mid-air, hurtling straight at Eve.
**BOOOOOOM…**
Eve met the dragons’ charge with a single swing of her holy sword, smashing it down.
A sonic boom followed as six identical blades materialized around her.
“Perish!”
The holy sword streaked toward the dragons alongside Aquamarine’s sharp cry.
Clashing bodies, thunder, and flying water droplets scattered in every direction, painting rainbows across the sunlight streaming through the office windows.
“Break—stop—crack—scatter—my beloved!”
Eve’s voice rang out as the holy sword soared into the sky.
“Ah!”
**KWA-BOOOOOM!**
With a final cry, Aquamarine was slammed into the opposite wall, clothes pinned to her by the holy sword.
The impact rattled her, yet what shocked her more was how much stronger Eve had become.
“Eve… you… you—”
“Exactly.”
Eve had walked right up to her and let out a meaningful laugh.
The smile carried so many layers that it sent an icy chill down Aquamarine’s spine.
“You’re right. I’m no longer some reckless S-class brat. While you were wasting time, I grew stronger. Understand? I’m far beyond the likes of you. Don’t even try to compare yourselves. Got it?”
Eve wiped the smile away and flicked her wrist.
The holy sword vanished as smoothly as it had appeared.
“Time, obey me. Do not defy my command.”
Furniture in the office returned to its original positions as if time had been rewound.
Aquamarine slid down the wall and collapsed onto the floor with a heavy thud.
Her face twisted in shock. Yet Eve didn’t even glance at her.
“Leave. From now on, stop making a scene. If you prick Mother, I’ll drive my sword straight through that spot.”
“…You’ll see.”
If she wanted to be scared, I’d just keep living like this.
Eve muttered to herself while listening to the door slam shut behind Aquamarine.
“Hah. Why does this irritate me so much?”
She scratched her head, frowning.
Eve hadn’t actually needed to get that angry at Aquamarine.
She had been whining like a child for days, throwing tantrums that were nothing compared to what low-rank Precure had done.
Yet today she felt unusually furious, like steam was rising inside her chest.
Her heart was tight, and even though she knew the words were just words, every single one grated on her nerves.
“Damn it.”
Still seated, Eve let out a long sigh.
This couldn’t go on.
“White.”
“Yes.”
White appeared as if she had been waiting right there.
“Keep this SS-rank development strictly hidden.”
“Yes.”
“And… these photos are genuine, right?”
“Absolutely. I personally witnessed them. We can verify the authenticity with the mana packets embedded in them.”
“True.”
They weren’t ordinary photos; one of White’s unique weapons had captured them.
The mana packets proved no tampering whatsoever.
“Hoo…”
Eve sighed again.
“…Should we kidnap her?”
White glanced at her.
At the look, White flinched and immediately bowed her head.
“My apologies. That was a slip.”
“It’s fine. Be more careful from now on.”
“Yes.”
“Anyway… this is all real, isn’t it?”
Eve’s gaze drifted to the scattered photos on her desk.
Mother holding a baby inside a chicken shop.
Mother soothing a crying baby, tears in her eyes.
Mother returning the baby to a woman who looked like her mother and hurriedly wiping her own tears.
Mother taking the chicken.
Mother making a call from somewhere.
A man in black sweatpants and white puffer vest entering the chicken shop.
Two people leaving the shop carrying chicken.
Finally, two people sharing a long, deep kiss right in front of the shop.
“Is this… really a kiss?”
“As you can see.”
Even though the photo was taken from behind, the distance and angle left no doubt—it was unmistakably a kiss.
**BANG!**
Finally, the boiling rage inside Eve slammed her fist down on the desk.
White’s body jolted, but Eve paid it no attention.
“Damn. Why am I this angry just looking at it?”
It was…
White closed her mouth the moment Eve opened it.
Anyone could see what was going on, yet only Eve didn’t understand.
“Would you like me to contact her first?”
“Contact her first? Why?”
You’ve been doing fine.
The words almost slipped out, but White managed to swallow them.
“There’s also a contract for the advertisement. Use that as an excuse to contact her. And Cabé’s identity work is ready. You have plenty of excuses to meet. Plus, Keru came back today.”
“Really? Keru’s back?”
“Apparently. Just ask her when you meet.”
“Hmm… yeah. Wait—”
Eve had been about to pick up her phone with a bright smile when she froze.
“Why should I make excuses to contact her? It doesn’t matter anyway.”
“That’s true, but—”
White stared at her blankly.
“And ‘ask her when you meet’—what exactly are you asking?”
“Ask if it was a kiss.”
“Right. I could have just asked normally. Why did I say it like that? Ah, and White, don’t take photos when I meet her.”
“Photos won’t be taken anyway. You’re always under the invisible barrier, right?”
“Just in case.”
“You don’t need to worry.”
White kept the thought *Of course the president knows exactly what I’m doing when she looks at the gallery* to herself.