The Magical Doll Jem

The sun was already sinking low, its dying rays painting the sky in deep red. On a bench in the city park bathed in that scarlet light, Pania and I sat at opposite ends, as far apart as possible. The empty space between us only sharpened the sense of distance. Filthy bitch. Shameless bitch! Vulgar bitch! All I wanted was to declare our separation and leave the city immediately. But that was impossible. Without this disgusting girl's ability, I couldn't fight the magical girls. At first I'd thought the contract favored me, but now it felt like I'd been fitted with a collar. An inseparable pair. Or more precisely, a pair I wanted to break from but couldn't. That was exactly our situation.

Sighing, I glanced sideways at Pania, only to meet her own sidelong gaze. We both quickly turned our heads away.

I need to get moving soon...

There was still plenty of time left, but there was no reason to waste it pointlessly in a place with nothing to do. One of us had to apologize first to end this cold war. Pania probably knew that too. But it couldn't be me doing the apologizing. I hadn't done anything wrong. So hurry up and apologize to me already! I'd forgive you!

With that thought, I stared openly at Pania. Reacting to my blatant gaze, she didn't avoid it this time. She looked straight back at me, lips moving as if she meant to speak first. I held my breath, considering how graciously I'd accept her apology. The attitude of the one apologizing mattered most, but the attitude of the one receiving it was just as important.

And then, Pania's lips slowly parted.

This damn bitch?

I snorted and gave her the words she deserved.

"What? Rag? Hey!! Are you going to keep this up?! Apologize to me! I'll forgive you!!"

Who was forgiving whom? She really had zero self-awareness. They say humans can't see the backs of their own heads, but hers seemed especially hopeless.

Still, at least the conversation had started. That was good enough.

"Get up. We've got a long road ahead."

I stood from the bench, ignoring her grumbling. Pania muttered something to herself before standing as well.

"Where are we headed?"

"Hespina City. A mining town at the far western edge. There's also a place nearby believed to be a sanctuary of an ancient magical girl. We'll stop there too."

I had my reasons for heading all the way to such a remote frontier. Since I lacked the power to face Serafina right now, the first priority was to run as far as possible. The second was the unidentified structure near Hespina City that resembled an air-raid shelter entrance. And finally, the rulers of central inland cities tended to be stronger. That meant a frontier city's ruler, while still a high-rank magical girl, would be at the bottom of that tier.

I'll start by crushing the weakest ones and work my way up. That makes sense.

"I can roughly guess what you're thinking. But what's an ancient magical girl's sanctuary?"

At Pania's next question, I closed my mouth. I'd only heard about it from the Great Mother, so I didn't know the details either. But my pride refused to admit that honestly. Especially after the fight we'd just had.

"It's a hidden place where you can obtain magical tools."

I brushed it off with a sloppy answer. But Pania wasn't sloppy.

"What are magical tools?"

Does this girl know nothing at all? At least this was something I could answer.

"Tools with magical abilities that help in combat or daily life. They're useful on their own, but if they synergize well with a magical girl's powers, they let you stand against enemies one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or two ranks above you."

"If they synergize well with a magical girl's powers..."

Pania stopped walking and repeated my words. She furrowed her brow in thought, then suddenly asked something unrelated.

"Then is a magical girl's Soul a magical tool too?"

"I suppose... it could be?"

I didn't actually know for certain. I'd never considered it from that angle. Since it was a catalyst that recreated ordinary people as magical girls, in a broad sense, maybe the Soul could be seen as a magical tool.

"Give me that Soul from earlier."

Why was she acting like this all of a sudden? Bewildered, I handed over Jem's Soul. Pania snatched it like she was stealing it and brought it right up to her face.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"What the hell are you—"

Before I could finish, Pania's left pupil began to twist and swirl. In response, pink sparks burst violently from Jem's Soul, swelling larger and larger. What soon materialized was a teddy bear with the build of a muscular adult male. Sunglasses over its eyes, a tight suit clinging to its body. It even wore the same gauntlets Jem had used on both hands.

"What is this...?"

I pointed at the bear doll, watching its black-brown fur flutter in the wind. Object creation? No... something felt different. It had definitely used the Soul as a medium. An awakening ability? The one hidden in the status window? What was the underlying principle?

I looked up to examine the bear doll's information.

Magical Girl of Ferocity...? With the Unbreakable Fist ability, did that mean it could even use Jem's ultimate technique, the Strong Fist? It could wield a magical girl's power without absorbing the Soul? What kind of ridiculous ability was this? And why were the position and danger level fields blank? There was no way an inanimate object would have a position, and the danger level would depend on the operator's capabilities, so maybe it simply wasn't displayed.

"How did you do that? Didn't you say it was just an object creation ability?"

"I'll tell you if you explain your ability in detail, sis."

That was out of the question. It might expose weaknesses I wasn't even aware of myself. I wasn't about to spill anything to a girl who might stab me in the back at any moment.

I raised my trembling hand and connected threads to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jem's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠body. The first sensation was a heavy, explosive power flowing from my fingertips. My whole hand began to tingle. When I glanced up at the convex mirror by the roadside, my eyes met my own dazed reflection looking up while connected to the bear doll by threads.

Two things had changed from the previous reading. The danger level. It had gone from 1.6 to 2.3.

"2.3 means..."

That's mid-rank magical girl territory... And on top of that, Xena-Style Puppetry? If danger level represented the raw strength of the ability itself, then an ability carrying one's own name indicated mastery of technique and skill. While 'Ryu' ranked higher than 'Style,' both were notations reserved for those who had entered the realm of true masters. It wasn't something a mid-rank magical girl should possess. Those labels belonged to high-rank magical girls who'd survived countless life-and-death battles. It was probably the influence of my experiences before I became Porim.

"How is it? Surprised, right?"

In the middle of it all, Pania squared her shoulders and thrust out her chest. Her smug posture was incredibly irritating.

"It's nothing special. Just somewhat useful, I guess?"

It was an incredible ability, but I couldn't admit that. Praising her would only make her mouth run even more. I had to keep emphasizing how much greater I was. It was also a way to make her overestimate me so she wouldn't dare step out of line.

"Your eyes went pretty wide for something 'not special.' Anyway, I get it."

Pania smirked, the corner of her mouth curling up. I turned my head away from her and tested manipulating Jem. It felt like pulling a lump of iron with threads. The control response was quite stiff.

I extended my hand and threw a punch.

—Whoosh!

The heavy fist tore through the air and gouged the road surface. Shattered fragments flew up and smacked my shin. What was this power? No, it was still too early to be impressed. This time I'd use the ultimate technique—Strong Fist. I'd already grasped the movement principle the moment the threads connected, so there was no hesitation.

I lightly twisted the thread on my hand and focused my power. Blue smoke violently erupted from Jem's right fist.

"Wait! This runs on my mana, you know? Can you not waste it like that?!"

Even if I fired off the ultimate move or the doll got destroyed, it only consumed Pania's mana to recreate it. That was even better.

With that thought, I thrust my arm forward!

—Kwaaaang!!

A deafening roar exploded alongside a storm. My hair whipped violently and a ringing filled my ears. When the storm finally cleared, what remained was a building whose entire foundation had been pulverized. Stone debris scattered in every direction.

"E-eek!"

"Kyaaak!!"

The citizens' screams followed. Ability verification complete. I shook the threads off my hand and turned away casually.

"Let's go."

The power wasn't far from the mid-rank magical girl level I'd anticipated. It was nowhere near enough to challenge a ruler, but it could easily tear through wandering magical girls.

"Before that, take this."

At that moment, Pania tossed something at me.

"What is this."

"A transceiver. You weren't planning to make me fight, were you? I'll stay hidden nearby, so call if you need anything."

So she was dumping all the fighting on me while she hid? I flared up for a second, but deep down I knew it couldn't be helped. She was already overwhelmed in close combat against me; facing a high-rank magical girl would be impossible for her. If she died, I'd be left with nothing but useless thread abilities.

I silently fitted the transceiver to my ear. My black hair completely covered it.

I didn't answer and kept walking.

"I can hear you, you know?"

After heading toward the train station while listening to her pointless chatter, we arrived before a glittering building. Its grandeur didn't lose out even when compared to the Magical Girl Association building.

"Why is it so flashy?"

"It's a building visited by people of that caliber."

In this world, those who could take trains to other cities were mostly magical girls or humans of high status. An ordinary citizen would have to save nearly three or four months of salary just to ride one.

"You there. I want to take the westbound train."

At my words, the old attendant standing in the corner flinched. Even though he must have seen plenty of magical girls, that reaction told me he knew exactly how they usually behaved. Especially with two of us showing up.

The attendant approached us hesitantly.

"Um... Magical Girl ladies. The fastest westbound train is scheduled to depart in three days. It only leaves once it's over eighty percent full, and it hasn't reached capacity yet..."

Three days? Serafina would return the day after tomorrow.

I clicked my tongue and glared at the attendant.