Version Update Notice, Weapon Update
Gaku Shinomiya looked around at everyone and continued, “And this incident is also connected to the Temidoll case I investigated.”
“Actually… Miya Octave was not dead. She was alive.”
Snow White’s eyes widened in shock at those words.
“Alive? Is that even possible?”
“I’m not one hundred percent sure. But six months ago, when the Forest Musician Cranberry claimed she buried a corpse…”
Gaku exhaled briefly. “It’s only a guess. But I’d appreciate it if you could hold off on killing Cranberry. There are still endless directions to investigate.”
At that moment, the sky-haired magical girl exploded with fury.
“So Shinomiya-san wants us to forgive them?”
Her voice trembled.
“I feel sick. The Forest Musician Cranberry has been killing people through the selection exams. No matter what her past was… killing someone is unforgivable.”
She gritted her teeth and went on, “You know this too, don’t you? Because of that bastard, Akane-san…!”
Sister Nana quickly interjected, “Calm down… now is not the time to fight each other.”
Gaku closed his eyes, then slowly opened them. “I have no intention of forgiving anyone either. And Kurei, trying to resolve this emotionally is not a good idea.”
Snow White sighed quietly.
Even as this happened, someone might die today.
Yet they were still sniping and arguing, which only made things more frustrating.
Top Speed stepped between them and said, “Hold on, hold on. Let’s stop here today. We were collecting Magical Candy too… and there’ll be elimination today as well.”
The instant…
The Magical Phone screen forced itself open and a familiar voice rang out.
『No need for that-pong. Since we’re abolishing Magical Candy collection, there will be zero eliminations today-pong.』
“That can’t be…”
“Was it exposed…? Us?”
Fav’s holographic image appeared. An expressionless face.
『I didn’t expect a mage from the Magic Kingdom to be mixed in-pong. At first I thought it was a machine error-pong.』
『To think you tricked Fav with such sloppy magic-pong. Impressive-pong.』
『But now that our identities are out, there’s nothing we can do-pong.』
After a brief pause, Fav spoke clearly. “Shinomiya Gaku. Age seventeen. Member of the Magic Kingdom Audit Division. A brand-new mage who only joined recently-pong.”
“Ah… a…”
Gaku clutched his head.
“I loosened the sealing circle as much as possible to replenish my mana, and this is the result… Even a dumb AI fairy should have something that can cancel spells, right?”
『Are you treating Fav too stupidly-pong?』
Gaku muttered tiredly, “Of course I am. What else would you expect?”
『Whatever. Anyway, all the magical girls should gather in the chat room-pong.』
“…Tsk.”
Ripple clicked her tongue openly.
Fav ignored it and continued, “This is good news for you all-pong. From now on, no one will die-pong.”
After another pause, the voice grew cold. “And if you refuse to enter the chat room… bad things will happen-pong.”
“Of course, I’m excluding the sky-haired magical girl from this-pong.”
“…”
Snow White gritted her teeth.
Immediately, the chat room opened.
Sister Nana has entered.
Ves Winterprison has entered.
Top Speed has entered.
Ripple has entered.
Snow White has entered.
La Pucelle has entered.
Hardcore Alice has entered.
Everyone in the chat room was connected.
A short silence.
Then Fav spoke with satisfaction, “Well, everyone’s here… I’ll go in order-pong.”
“First, the announcement about the rule change-pong.”
All eyes focused on the screen.
“Eliminations this week are zero-pong. But this game will proceed under different rules-pong.”
A moment of silence.
Then Fav declared without a care, “Kill one magical girl within two days-pong.”
The air instantly froze.
“If you don’t, everyone dies-pong.”
Top Speed: Is this real…?
“The period is two days-pong. If no one dies by the end, everyone dies-pong.”
Ripple: …Why are you doing this?
Ves Winterprison: Are you trying to make us kill each other…?
Sister Nana: ….
La Pucelle: What kind of nonsense is this? Wasn’t it supposed to be a Magical Candy competition?
Fav chuckled as if waiting. “Ah, right-pong. Since you’ve discovered a secret you shouldn’t have, you’re right-pong.”
“If you want to blame someone, blame Sister Nana, who went out of her way to bring in external cooperation-pong.”
The chat room froze instantly.
“Of course you know you shouldn’t tell external cooperators like that mage or other magical girls about this-pong?”
Sister Nana: This is unreasonable… Why… I was just trying to…
She couldn’t finish her sentence.
Swim Swim: …
Minael: So this whole mess happened because we were looking for cooperation everywhere…
Yunael: Because of Sister Nana, right.
Yunael: Die with responsibility.
Minael: Die, die, die.
Ves Winterprison: Nana, ignore what these idiots are saying.
A brief silence followed.
Then Snow White posted in the chat room.
Snow White: If that’s what you’re claiming, the fault lies on this side too.
Snow White: Choosing one side is biased thinking.
The Forest Musician Cranberry: A battle between the strong… sounds exciting.
Calamity Mary: In short, kill each other and survive. Simple and fun.
Fav raised his voice as if waiting. “And now the explanation for the changed rules-pong.”
“If anyone can be killed and one side is clearly at a disadvantage, it’s boring-pong. So Fav updated the shop system to avoid that situation-pong.”
The chat room buzzed.
“And the magical girl you’ll kill, you get to choose-pong. Simply defeat the designated magical girl-pong.”
“But if the designated magical girl survives for one day, she lives-pong. And she can then choose the next target-pong.”
“When the second day arrives and the designated magical girl dies, the situation ends-pong.”
After pausing, Fav smiled like he was having fun. “But the moment any magical girl who is not the designated target dies, the short game ends immediately-pong.”
“And even if an outside mage or magical girl dies, the rule applies the same-pong.”
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Master really planned well-pong!”
The Forest Musician Cranberry: Fav, your eyes are wide open… but could you hold back the laughter?
Calamity Mary: Well, it’s not bad.
After letting out a laugh, Mary’s lips curled up.
Calamity Mary: Being able to bully the weak… sounds good.
“The Magical Candy previously collected can now be used to buy items from the shop-pong.”
A moment later, the Magical Phone screen displayed a new list.
Special Items
Coat that makes the entire body transparent
Magic Kingdom Weapons
Lucky Rabbit Foot that massively boosts luck in danger
Medicine that improves mood when eaten
Bag that can hold anything
The chat room buzzed.
Fav continued with excitement, “And all items in this special shop can be purchased by paying your own lifespan-pong.”
A short silence followed.
“Normal items can be bought with Magical Candy-pong.”
“But that side is still being prepared… please look forward to it-pong!”
Sister Nana: That’s obviously wrong!
Weapons to kill each other, that’s…
Ripple: If one person dies, there will be no test for the rest of the week? Will the next week be the same way?
『Correct-pong.. Ripple』
Ripple: This is a mess… Even magical girls…
That’s just not okay!
The newly revised rules took effect, and everyone returned to their respective realities.
The gazes that once saw Shinomiya Gaku and the sky-haired magical girl as saviors had turned far colder.
Ripple walked up to Gaku and said coldly, “…Now pay attention to your own matters. Interference from your side just gets in the way.”
With those words, everyone except Snow White and La Pucelle began to leave one by one.
Ves Winterprison gently hugged Sister Nana and said, “Thank you for helping us all this time.”
Snow White narrowed her eyes.
She couldn’t tell Gaku about the truth directly.
But she couldn’t let it go either.
Gaku Shinomiya stood in thought for a moment, then turned. “…I’m leaving too. I never had any intention of coming in the first place. If Hardcore Alice hadn’t called, I wouldn’t have come.”
The sky-haired magical girl let out a light laugh. “Oh? Did you finally find a girl worth caring about?”
“Shut up. She’s just a friend.”
Gaku waved his hand as if irritated. “I’m going.”
Then he suddenly stopped. “Hey, Kurei.”
His voice lowered. “If you were in Fav’s position, what would you do first?”
Hua Kurei answered without hesitation, “Remove the obstacles that get in the way.”
Gaku gave a short laugh. “…That’s exactly who we are.”
At that moment, Snow White walked over quietly.
She could not speak of the game.
Of course, she knew she could not casually mention Fav either.
She silently handed him a book.
“Please read this.”
Gaku’s eyes widened the moment he saw the cover.
The book was one La Pucelle had once read.
But this place was not a good place for it.
Mistakes would lead to death.
Fav did not monitor every single action.
There were too many targets to watch, and he couldn’t probe every suspicious detail.
That was why it could be delivered now.
Gaku accepted the book and extended his fist.
Snow White quietly met it with her own.
“…Nice.”
Gaku smiled bitterly. “Now that you’re finally handing over something this important… it’s too late.”
On the book cover was written:
『On the Policy After Regression』
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『Policy After Regression』