Version Update Notice, and the Unknown Magical Girl
Snow White.
Koyuki Himekawa had grown through her encounters with Ripple.
"There's something else I'd like to ask of you… Would a sparring match be possible?"
"You want to spar…?"
Both Ripple and Top Speed looked surprised. When it came to a magical girl's work, neither of them had ever thought combat was particularly necessary.
"The truth is, there's a magical girl they call the 'Outlaw.' There's a chance I might end up clashing with her… so I want to get even a little stronger."
Top Speed answered for the most part.
"Sorry to say, but I'm not the combat type, and that kind of thing just creeps me out. I don't want to do something that rough and then get an earful for it."
Snow White already knew the facts about Top Speed. She was pregnant now, but in the past she'd been a biker. The name of the motorcycle she'd ridden was Rapid Swallow… or something like that. That wasn't important right now.
Her real target wasn't Top Speed — it was Ripple. She wanted to maintain a friendly relationship with her.
"……Go ask someone else."
"Haha… Don't take it too hard. She's always like this."
Ripple left without another word. But where she was headed was obvious. It took Snow White less than five minutes to find her.
"You're persistent. How long are you planning to follow me?"
"……Why don't you just ask that magical girl you hang around with? Why does it have to be me?"
"Sou… I mean, La Pucelle has been busy lately, so we won't be able to work together for a while."
Ripple clicked her tongue, looking at Snow White with open irritation.
"……Tch. We'll keep it short, and then don't come back."
Her reluctance was plain — whether from sheer annoyance or simply not wanting to deal with her — but in the end, Ripple agreed to the spar.
At first it was nothing more than a bare-handed brawl. From Ripple's perspective, there was no way a magical girl so far removed from combat could possibly beat her.
But something was off about the way she moved. It was as if every action of Ripple's was being read in advance. At every opening, she found herself taking Snow White's fists and kicks.
"……"
She'd only thought of her as a weak-looking magical girl.
"Stop! Stop! You two, isn't this getting a little too rough…?!"
Top Speed stepped in to mediate. But by then, both of them were fully absorbed in the match. Even Ripple wore an expression that looked almost… enjoyable.
In the end, the match went to Snow White. It was only natural. Ripple hadn't used magic or weapons. That the more experienced Snow White would win had been as clear as day.
Snow White held out a hand to the dust-covered Ripple. But Ripple didn't take it. She turned her head away. Was it frustration at losing? Or the fact that she'd lost to someone who had looked so weak?
"……You're full of surprises. I'm not bragging, but I've done plenty of hand-to-hand. And you — you're pretty good."
"……Not at all."
Ripple looked up at Snow White.
"If you'd used your weapons and magic, I probably would have lost."
At those words, Ripple's gaze wavered for just a moment. Looking back, Snow White saw Top Speed wearing a thoroughly displeased expression.
"Hey… you two!! What are you going to do about this mess?!"
Cracks and scuff marks from the magical girls' brawl marred the surrounding buildings. They'd thought they were holding back, but…
Top Speed clutched her head and sighed.
"Honestly, I can't catch a break…"
Several days passed like that, and before long the time came for Snow White to work alongside La Pucelle again. That was when a message arrived for both of them from Sister Nana.
Even without reading it, they could tell it wasn't good news.
Present in the room were Ves Winterprison, Sister Nana — and one more. A magical girl who looked like a robot. Magicalroid 44.
Atop a log in the garden, a recording from the past began to play. A blonde elf — a magical girl with red eyes and a green costume — was playing the violin.
Snow White watched the conversation without changing her expression. She already knew this. All of it was nothing more than a scenario scripted by the selection examiner.
Snow White said nothing.
Snow White alone remained calm. Before long, other magical girls began entering the chat room.
Everyone was in turmoil. This was a matter of life and death. Amid it all, Fav — floating above the fountain — opened his mouth.
"It means their breath stops as a living being-pong."
"There's nothing to explain-pong. If you lose, you die-pong."
Ripple pointed at the screen.
"Isn't this… Nemuring?"
"That's right-pong?"
Fav cut her off.
"You are beings who have pushed your physical abilities to the absolute limit through the power of magic-pong. Losing that right means losing your essence as a living creature-pong. In other words, you die-pong."
"Even if you quit, you still die the same-pong."
"Can't be helped-pong."
Atop the steel tower, a bitter wind blew.
Even after regressing, the sweet dream of things flowing along peacefully would never come true.
"……"
La Pucelle placed a hand on Snow White's shoulder.
"Not wanting to die… Everyone feels that way. I do too."
The Magical Girl Selection Examiner. Her true identity was the Musician of the Forest, Cranberry. More precisely — the head of the Magical Kingdom's Personnel Division. The Musician of the Forest, Cranberry.
La Pucelle spoke from beside her.
"……A true magical girl should be pure, righteous, and beautiful. That's what you always used to say."
She took a breath, then added quietly:
"I'm scared… I'm scared too. How could I not be…"
Snow White remembered her past self — the girl who had done nothing but lean on La Pucelle.
"But… if we let fear stop us from doing anything, we might be the next ones eliminated. And that… I don't want that…"
"……"
No one would want to take part in a competition where lives were on the line. At some point, her tears had already run dry. Remembering her past self — the one who had only stood there blankly while people died and she fled — she simply stood still.
It had been La Pucelle who had reached out a hand to her as she cried.
"……I don't want to lose anyone anymore…"
La Pucelle was still alive. The girl who had worried over her was still alive, too. So she had to do what she could, right now.
Just then, a mail notification chimed.
Magical Candy "Transfer" Function Added
It meant magical girls would now be able to give and receive Magical Candy among themselves. And Snow White already knew what would happen once that function was introduced.
The incident in which Ruler led her team and fled after seizing half of someone's Magical Candy from atop the largest steel tower near Kubegahama.
In a forest villa, before a grand piano set in the center of the room, Cranberry continued her performance. At the thought that she would soon be able to fight the strong, an intrigued smile rose to her lips.
Then the voice of the mascot character cut through her playing.
"……Something's off-pong."
"What do you mean?"
Fav pulled up the eyewitness reports on Snow White, along with an article about an unidentified magical girl with sky-blue hair.
"This is…"
"Snow White's personality is strange-pong. The initial personality Fav checked was a magical girl rich in emotion, with lots of facial expressions-pong. But now… she's far too cold-pong."
"Strange in what specific way?"
"In the early stages of the game, she reacted as if she knew nothing-pong. But now, even when Fav appears in person, she doesn't look surprised at all-pong."
"……"
Cranberry fell into thought for a moment.
"She's just a magical girl with an unremarkable magic, isn't she? More concerning is the one with sky-blue hair and that reaper-like costume. That one is far more interesting."
"……Investigation results show only eyewitness accounts-pong. No solid information-pong."
"Any possibility she's with the Audit Division?"
"If so, Master will have to handle it the same as before-pong. We'll take care of the body disposal on our end, but we can't afford for information to reach the Audit Division-pong."