The Knight's Return
“I just wanted to protect my childhood friend.”
“...So, with this assignment, it looks like I won’t be able to use my magic anymore.”
Shinomiya Gaku gave a short, cynical laugh.
“Speaking of which—I have a request of my own. Since you asked for work from Snow White’s side, how about taking on mine too?”
Snow White considered for a moment, then spoke.
“...What is it?”
“The magical girl whose memories of Cranberry still remain.”
Gaku’s expression hardened slightly.
“That girl... she’s my childhood friend.”
“And her younger brother, Kurei Fuwa.”
“That guy... doesn’t show it on the surface, but I bet he’s planning to kill Cranberry. He’s been out of contact for a while.”
“...Huh...?”
Snow White’s face grew tense.
“The Forest Musician Cranberry is—never weak.”
“She’s not someone you can take on alone.”
“You mean you couldn’t stop him... right?”
“Of course I told him.”
Gaku exhaled heavily.
“But I couldn’t stop him.”
“Why...?”
“Haa...”
Gaku pressed his fingers to his forehead.
“Having to dig up the past with my own mouth... it’s really frustrating. That girl Fuwa Akane—her older sister became a magical girl. But it doesn’t stop there. Her mother, her sister, even her little sister—all of them became magical girls. Except for Kurei.”
Snow White narrowed her eyes.
“And...”
Gaku said quietly.
“From the very beginning of the selection exams, Cranberry was the one in charge.”
...Cranberry was the one who set up the situation that took away all of his family. That’s what I saw. And Kurei saw it too.
A long silence fell.
“So, here’s the thing...”
Gaku raised his head and looked at Snow White.
“If that guy ends up doing something foolish—”
“Could you... look after him for me?”
Shinomiya Gaku let out a rough breath.
“Haa... haa... hah...”
“As expected... my magic still has too many weaknesses...”
Snow White narrowed her eyes.
“Could it be... you activated your magic all by yourself?”
A mage’s magic...
is never used alone.
It’s simply too much of a burden.
“...Well, we’ll see about that later.”
Gaku waved his hand.
“If things get critical, activate the light seal and send it into the sky.”
“Then you’ll know.”
After saying that, Shinomiya Gaku vanished.
By the time the sun had fully risen...
“Vanished...”
La Pucelle muttered blankly.
Her body, which had stood frozen as if time had stopped, finally loosened.
“...Snow White.”
“...No, it’s Koyuki...”
She tried to say something but shook her head.
“No... it’s nothing. Forget it.”
...One day...
I will have to tell her.
That the magical girl who died after this reality...
is La Pucelle.
But right now, I can’t say it.
If I say it, La Pucelle...
won’t leave me alone.
Snow White released her transformation.
She returned to the name Himekawa Koyuki.
“...Souta... I think you’ve guessed a little. But... I can’t tell you right now.”
‘I’m a coward and can’t speak.’
The wind blew.
La Pucelle’s hair fluttered.
He released his own transformation.
He became Kishibe Souta.
But...
Souta rushed toward Koyuki.
“See you later, Souta.”
“Wait...!”
Those words felt as though they would never meet again.
Souta understood.
When you transform into a magical girl, you can catch them.
But after catching them...
he didn’t know what to say.
Fourteen surviving magical girls.
All of them...
would be suffering.
But the Koyuki he first met...
had been crying.
And even now...
it was the same.
“...Koyuki.”
He was powerless.
He had allowed himself to be used...
and caused Snow White to be caught by Ruler.
Kishibe Souta could not say a single word.
“...So then... what was I swearing for?”
That way...
Snow White, who had become his partner,
did not appear at Kubegahama’s iron tower after that day.
『Sorry, La Pucelle.
Because of the cold, I probably won’t be able to come out today.』
“...A cold?”
Souta muttered softly.
“That’s such a ridiculous excuse...”
Yesterday’s events refused to leave his mind.
Without realizing, he had come to the tower...
much earlier than usual.
He looked down at his Magical Phone.
A short message.
That was all.
“...Haa...”
La Pucelle lowered his head.
“If I had known this would happen... I should have asked directly.”
The wind blew.
But...
on top of that tower, there was no longer
the two of them standing together.
Meanwhile, on the very day she left La Pucelle behind...
in the abandoned building.
A faint light seeped through the cracks in the ceiling.
Underneath that light...
the nun-clad magical girl was quietly smiling, waiting.
“I’m sorry for suddenly asking you to meet here, Sister Nana.”
Snow White spoke first.
Nana shook her head.
“No... actually, I was the one who wanted to call you first. Welcome.”
At that moment...
a magical girl wrapped in a thick muffler slowly appeared from behind Sister Nana.
Ves Winterprison.
And the two who were already there.
The ninja magical girl and the witch-dressed magical girl.
Ripple and Top Speed.
“We called you here... thank you for coming.”
Sister Nana smiled gently.
“This one is Ves Winterprison.”
Top Speed waved her hand.
Ripple bowed her head slightly.
“Hello.”
At that instant...
Sister Nana firmly grasped both of Ripple’s hands.
And said decisively.
“I think it was wrong.”
“...What was?”
Ripple asked quietly.
“Right now... this situation.
The power we received to protect this world...
and we’re hating each other, mocking each other, dragging each other down... what exactly can we gain from it?”
“...Precisely when we’re in this situation, we must unite as one.”
A brief silence fell.
Top Speed scratched her head and spoke.
“Unity... that’s a nice word, but what exactly are we supposed to do?”
Sister Nana smiled brightly.
“That... you can think about it together from now on.”
Ripple’s expression hardened.
Top Speed smiled awkwardly.
“The only thing we can solve with... is the magical girls’ wisdom. I’ve even filed a complaint to the operation side through Fav.”
“Oh, the operation!”
Top Speed nodded.
“I see, there was that method too.”
But Sister Nana shook her head.
“...It was rejected.”
“Really?”
“Fav... told me to just give up. But... a victim has already appeared.”
“Nemuring... and Ruler...”
“...It’s so pitiful...!”
Sister Nana’s eyes welled with tears.
Snow White quietly watched the scene.
(…Ruler’s case is karma.)
Ripple’s eyes grew cold.
‘This... can’t change anything.’
The next moment...
Ripple roughly shook off Nana’s hand.
Winterprison quickly supported Nana.
She glared coldly at Ripple.
Top Speed looked at the two of them with a panicked expression and shouted.
“Got it! I got it!”
“Let’s stop here for today! Before anyone gets hurt emotionally!”
“Tsk...”
Ripple clicked her tongue.
“...Is this really okay?”
Top Speed asked cautiously.
“Sister Nana...”
Winterprison trailed off.
“...Yes.”
At that moment, Snow White, who had been quietly watching, spoke up.
“Just a moment.”
All eyes turned to her.
Snow White slowly raised the light seal.
“The reason I came here...”
A moment of silence settled, then she continued.
“I want to talk with all of you.”
“...Seriously.”
A strange voice cut in.
“If it’s not an urgent situation, don’t call me. Don’t you know how hard it is to set up a short-term barrier nearby...?”
“...”
The air trembled as if distorted.
And a man in a hoodie materialized in that spot.
The being who had been cooperating with Snow White.
In an instant, all eyes shifted from Snow White to the man.
Shinomiya Gaku scanned the surroundings with a tired face.
“I told you to come... only ten minutes ago, and you’re already trying to rush things... turn your gaze slowly... hm... it seems we’re in exactly that kind of situation.”
“Keek... Shinomiya?”
Ripple frowned and took a step back.
The face of someone who had completely run out of patience.
But soon she covered her mouth and glared at him again.
“There are people who know my name... how interesting.”
Shinomiya chuckled.
Sister Nana looked at Snow White carefully.
“...Um, Miss Snow White... what exactly is this situation?”
“Who is this person...?”
Snow White said calmly.
“In short, he’s from the department that monitors the operation side.”
“...Not wrong, but...”
Shinomiya shrugged.
The moment he spoke, Sister Nana’s face brightened.
Hope.
“Then... can you stop the operation?”
Top Speed looked at him with mixed expectation.
But the answer that came back was only one.
“...Impossible.”
“...That can’t be...!”
Nana’s face hardened.
“Why...?”
Shinomiya answered briefly.
“I’m not the operator. I’ve come to arrest the magical girl who created the exams.”
After a short pause, he added.
“From the very start, the term ‘operation’ is wrong... this is a test.”
“A test...?”
The air grew heavy.
At that moment...
Ripple cut in sharply.
“More importantly...”
“Sorry, while we’re talking... your phone and the Magical Phone... both are dead.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“What exactly did you do?”
Shinomiya smiled lightly.
“You noticed quickly. It’s a seal.”
“All magical communication is blocked, and all communication devices have been disabled.”
“There’s no way any secret will leak out. I don’t want to contact Fav.”
Top Speed muttered in exasperation.
“But even so... you’re blocking communication?”
Ves Winterprison stepped forward and said.
“You... seem to know about this test. And you said ‘arrest,’ right?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“That means... there’s a separate force that’s helping us, not just you alone?”
Shinomiya looked up as if thinking for a moment.
“Two... no”
He corrected himself shortly.
“...Right now, it’s just me.”
“Eh?”
Top Speed’s eyes widened.
“With this level... wouldn’t you normally need a large-scale investigation?”
Shinomiya exhaled a frustrated breath.
“Normally, yes.”
A brief silence.
He shrugged.
“But the upper management has been putting pressure on me.”
“The big shots upstairs
keep saying to follow proper procedures, finish the previous case first—”
He chuckled.
“...Just talking nonsense.”
So in the end...
Shinomiya raised his hand.
“He’s moving alone.”