Chapter 10

“Who’s that…?”

Saionji tilted her head.

The man, dressed like an office worker, stormed up to Saionji, his face bright red with anger.

“Hey, Magical Girl! Are you screwing with me?! It’s your fault my car got wrecked by that monster!”

The man got right in Saionji’s face, shouting and spraying spittle.

He pointed a finger at a crushed car behind him, directing his misplaced rage at her.

“My car wouldn’t have been destroyed if you magical girls had just beaten the monster sooner! It was brand-new, delivered less than three months ago! How are you going to take responsibility for this?! Huh?!”

“But, I…”

Saionji faltered, taken aback by the man’s threatening demeanor.

I was furious at the man’s selfish behavior.

If anything, Saionji fought the monster to reduce the casualties.

If she hadn’t been here, the city would have been destroyed even more, and people would have died.

She was fighting monsters and risking her life to protect humanity. She deserved gratitude, not blame. This was completely out of line.

But the man, who looked like an office worker, was apparently unable to contain his anger over his car being destroyed by the monster.

Taking advantage of the fact that Saionji was too stunned to say anything, he continued to unleash his anger on her.

“That’s five million, you hear me?! Five million! I worked my ass off for that money to finally buy it! And now it’s ruined because of you magical girls! Take responsibility! Pay me back! Isn’t it a magical girl’s job to protect the lives and property of the citizens?! You good-for-nothing!”

“…?!”

“You magical girls are useless! Look around! People are dead, the city is wrecked! Couldn’t you have done something before it got this bad?!”

“I… I was just trying to defeat the monster…”

“But you couldn’t, could you?! I saw you! You were losing! You’re a useless, incompetent magic user! Don’t make excuses!”

“…”

Saionji’s expression fell further and further.

What the man was saying was completely irrational, but her spirit had been broken by her defeat, and she couldn’t find the words to argue back.

Seeing this, the man grew even bolder, spewing all kinds of verbal abuse at her.

Saionji, seemingly without the energy to fight back, just looked down and replied in a hollow voice, “Yes… yes…”

I couldn’t watch anymore. I stepped between the man and Saionji.

“Hey, that’s enough.”

“Huh? Who the hell are you?”

“Who the hell are you? You think that’s any way to talk to a magical girl who just risked her life fighting?”

“Hah! What’s wrong with calling an incompetent what she is? It’s a magical girl’s mission to protect the lives and property of ordinary people from monsters! She failed to fulfill that mission, so she deserves to be criticized!”

“Saionji is not incompetent. She fought to protect this city, risking her life until she was this battered and broken! Let me tell you something—if it weren’t for Saionji, you might be dead right now, let alone your car. The damage could have been much worse. The only reason the monster’s rampage was stopped is thanks to her! I won’t let you insult Saionji!”

“Shut up! Pay me back for my car, you useless magical girl!”

“You shut up!”

CRACK!

“Toujou!?”

Before I knew it, I had punched the man.

His body went flying, and he landed hard on his rear.

“Wh-Wha…”

The man, who clearly hadn’t expected to be punched, just stared at me, dumbfounded.

“Get lost.”

“Hieee!?”

When I said that, the man shrieked and ran away.

“T-Toujou… what have you done…?”

“Sorry, Saionji. I couldn’t help myself.”

“A magical girl using violence against a civilian is the most despised act of all! We have powers that ordinary people don’t! With great power comes great responsibility! What you did is going to be a huge problem…!”

“Maybe so. But I couldn’t just stand by and say nothing. I can’t stay silent when someone talks like that to you after you risked your life to protect this city.”

“…!?”

Saionji looked up, her face a mask of shock.

I looked directly at her—battered, bruised, and bleeding from several places—and spoke.

“You saved this city. You should be proud of that. I know better than anyone that you fought that monster because you cherish the mission of a magical girl more than anyone.”

“Ah…”

As if a dam had burst, tears streamed from Saionji’s eyes.

Like everything she’d been holding back was finally released, Saionji cried on my chest.

“Waaah… uuuuuh…”

“You’re doing your best, Saionji. I think you’re amazing.”

“Shut up… I don’t need you to comfort me… I… I…”

“That’s why you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself all the time. Isn’t it okay to show your weaknesses every once in a while?”

“…?!”

“You don’t have to be a strong champion of justice 24/7, right? You’re human, Saionji. It’s okay to feel weak sometimes. It’s okay to lean on someone, to be comforted by someone. That’s what I think.”

“Auh…”

Saionji must have always disciplined herself with the belief that a magical girl must constantly be strong.

But even magical girls are human.

Everyone reaches their limit eventually.

So it should be perfectly fine to show a more human side sometimes, like she was now.

I let Saionji cry on my chest, rubbing her back until she finally stopped.

“What? You’re telling me Gotees was defeated?”

A voice tinged with anger echoed through the dimensional subspace.

The monster on the throne showed open fury at the report delivered by its subordinates.

The news that the monster Gotees had just been defeated had only just arrived.

“Why…? Gotees was several times stronger than Venom. It was not an opponent that could be beaten even by a whole group of magical girls. What happened…?”

“W-Well… we’re not entirely sure what happened ourselves…”

“Speak! Who was the magical girl that defeated Gotees!”

“It wasn’t a magical girl!”

“Hah…?”

The monster on the throne tilted its head.

Its low-ranking monster subordinates continued their report, trembling.

“According to those who were monitoring the battle between Gotees and the magical girl… the one who defeated Gotees was not a magical girl… but an unknown man.”

“A man, you say…? A human defeated Gotees?”

“Yes.”

“…”

The monster on the throne showed signs of agitation.

It couldn’t believe the fact that the powerful monster Gotees, which it had created itself, had been defeated not by a magical girl, but by a mere human.

“They say… this man, despite being male, used powerful magic to defeat Gotees, who had the magical girl cornered.”

“A man… who uses magic…”

“W-We found it hard to believe ourselves, but those monitoring the scene said they saw it with their own eyes…”

“Was he the one who defeated Venom, as well?”

“We do not know. However, we believe it is a strong possibility.”

“…”

The monster on the throne fell silent.

Stillness dominated the subspace.

Cold sweat trickled down the bodies of its underlings.

Eventually, the monster on the throne slowly opened its mouth.

“Investigate this man.”

“U-Understood…!”

“Gather information. If he is indeed the one who defeated Venom and Gotees… then we must prioritize his elimination, even over the magical girls.”

At the command of the enthroned monster, the low-ranking monsters scrambled into action.

“A man who uses magic, eh…? Kukuku… Interesting. I would like to see what kind of person he is with my own two eyes.”

The laughter of the monster on the throne echoed throughout the dimensional subspace.