Chapter 101
...The Jeopjeop bird. It's one of the monsters that appears in a fairy tale my little sister liked.
That was a name I'd heard so often because of that woman that I was sick of it: Jabberwock, Jeopjeop bird, Bandersnatch.
'...Haah. Seriously, that crazy woman.'
<Grrrk?>
According to everything I'd learned about this Garden so far, it was a place that she'd deliberately made like this.
It wasn't originally a place with card soldiers, knights, and all sorts of monsters. She had brought the knights from elsewhere and forcibly turned the soldiers into cards, making them the foundation of the Garden.
I'd heard that even the Jabberwock, said to be the strongest of the Queen's many pets in the Garden, was actually another monster that had already existed in the Abyss—she'd cut off its head and named it Jabberwock.
So this Jeopjeop bird, too... There was a good chance she'd simply picked up some suitable bird in the Abyss as a pet and named it Jeopjeop.
'...Is this not even a suitable bird?'
It was a creature depicted as a ferocious monster even in the fairy tale. I didn't know how much Han Serin had cared about faithfully recreating it, but I could feel that this thing's specs were impressive, too.
I didn't even have to go far to prove it; it had approached me before I could react just moments ago.
Even if I'd let my guard down a little, the fact that I hadn't been able to react meant this bizarre-looking bird had at least the capabilities of an S-rank Abyssal One. At least in speed.
-Gulp
'...Maybe it's a good thing it mistook me for her.'
<Screech.>
Seeing it show affection toward me now, it seemed that, just like the mascots, this creature had mistaken me for Han Serin.
'...What on earth is its criterion for telling us apart?'
The Garden's Abyssal Ones I'd encountered so far fell into three types.
First was the knight I'd met on Earth. It hadn't realized that I was Han Serin's twin.
Next were the card soldiers I'd met and dealt with during the interrogation. They hadn't known I was the Queen, either. They'd thought I was an Abyssal One from somewhere else.
And finally, this bizarre Jeopjeop bird. It alone had mistaken me for Han Serin's twin... No, to be precise, it had mistaken me for Han Serin.
'...Could it be a difference in rank? If they're sensitive to energy, could that actually make them mistake us?'
Or it could be a difference in intelligence. This thing clearly didn't look very intelligent. It was a birdbrain, after all.
Maybe it was both.
In any case, there was a problem right now.
Naturally, it would be safer to kill it. From the standpoint of someone hiding in the Garden, I was in a situation where an Abyssal One at least as strong as an S-rank one was aware of me, even if it was mistaken about my identity. Thinking about what would happen afterward, it would be better to kill it and be done with it.
Naturally, that was the better choice.
...Yeah. Right.
'...How am I supposed to kill it.'
But that was the biggest problem.
This Abyssal One staring at me and making those grrking noises—as I said, it was at least an S-rank Abyssal One.
"...Whoa. What are these feathers?"
-Swoosh
Even its ordinary-looking feathers were incredibly sharp up close, and its hide was obviously far thicker than normal.
Even I couldn't dispose of an S-rank Abyssal One in an instant without leaving a trace. Even if it stretched out its neck like a chicken at a slaughterhouse and stayed still, I wasn't confident I could cut through it in a single strike.
'...What should I do?'
It was a serious situation.
<Grrrk?>
It wasn't showing any aggression for now, but that could change at any moment. The instant it realized I wasn't its owner, it would become just like an ordinary Abyssal One.
'Ugh, my head hurts.'
At worst, it might even be a scout. Its friendliness could all be an act, and it might fly back to report that an intruder was here...
-Nuzzle nuzzle
"I told you, it tickles."
...I didn't think that was the case.
If it had merely been a big bird, I would have quietly snapped its neck, but if I made the wrong move and it let out a scream loud enough to shake the Garden, I would be fucked in an instant.
-Flap!
"Oh, fuck!"
The crazy bastard had rubbed its head against my chest, then, apparently satisfied with whatever it had been doing, turned around and started flying away.
"Hey! Where are you going?! I didn't tell you to leave yet!!"
-Whoosh!
"Ah, shit...!"
The thought of attacking it kept rising to the surface, only to fade away again.
If I launched an attack powerful enough to shoot it down? Whether it would work was beside the point; it would at least put on a fireworks display in the sky. In the middle of the night.
-Droop
"...Haah. Damn Abyss."
It was insanely fast, too. Even if I'd prepared an attack, it would have vanished from my sight while I was getting ready.
What kind of thing was this, when I'd only come out to get some fresh air?
It was absurd enough that something that huge had managed to approach this far while evading my senses.
Wasn't something that big supposed to make its presence known? How had it been there without me even knowing when or how it arrived?
"...There's no point worrying about it now."
I trudged weakly back to the hideout. This time, just in case, I spread my senses as far as possible.
Naturally, nothing caught my attention.
"...Miss Momo. Let's move. I caused a bit of trouble. I'll carry Miss Black Rose..."
"Eek?! S-Senior?!"
-Whirl.
The moment I entered the hideout, I saw an awakened Black Rose—and a remarkably large amount of bare skin.
My judgment was quick. I turned around, leaned against the wall, and blocked my view of Black Rose.
The whole thing took about one second.
"Hmm. I made a mistake. I should have told you before coming in."
"N-no... I, I had just transformed again... I was changing into something more comfortable and less conspicuous..."
"Comfort is a good thing. Since it's still difficult for Miss Black Rose to maintain her transformation, wearing something comfortable will make things easier. You can only change your outfit when you deactivate and reactivate your transformation, so it would be difficult to do it later."
It was easy to understand the situation from that much information alone.
Black Rose had awakened and judged that she needed to change her outfit immediately after transforming again. Magical girls' outfits were flashy, after all, so being forced to spend several weeks in one like this would inevitably be uncomfortable.
"J-just wait a little. I'm almost done..."
"Take your time. The most important thing is for you to be comfortable, Miss Black Rose."
...Was it? Was there no time right now?
Even so, I couldn't drag her out while she was changing clothes....
'...Damn. Why have I gotten so soft?'
Lately, I felt as if I wasn't acting like myself.
If I'd still had my old personality, I would have told her to throw on anything and leave quickly because every second counted. Why couldn't I bring myself to say something harsh?
Seriously, just lately, at some point, all of a sudden...
'...It started after that woman moved in next door...'
"D-done! W-we have to move? Let's go, quickly!"
[Has our location been exposed?]
When I turned around at Black Rose's announcement that she was done, I saw that she'd removed some of the unnecessary decorations from her original Black Rose costume and exposed a little more skin, presumably because she'd found it stifling.
'...I'm jealous. I'm uncomfortable, too.'
Alice's costume was completely unexposed, covering every inch of skin so thoroughly it was suffocating, all to conceal the fact that I was a man in women's clothing.
It wasn't as if I could deactivate my transformation, either, so I couldn't change the outfit.
"Um... when Alice went outside, my appearance was exposed to a bird-shaped Abyssal One. It didn't show any aggression, but... now that it's left, other Abyssal Ones might come looking for this place."
[We should pack only the essentials and move immediately. I've already looked over several possible places to relocate, so we can go to one of them. If possible, it would be best to choose the farthest one.]
Even though she must have had plenty of other questions, perhaps because she was Momo, she immediately began putting the plan into action.
'...Ha. Whether it's Earth or anywhere else, I just want to get out of here.'
On Earth, I had rarely felt outmatched in terms of force. I was the fourth-ranked S-rank magical girl. It wasn't a ranking that left me lacking anywhere.
But here... S-rank Abyssal Ones were running rampant.
That dragon named Jabberwock seemed like something all of Earth's S-rank magical girls could attack together and still not guarantee victory against.
Han Serin had captured a creature like that...
-Clench
If I could return to Earth, I would have gained quite a lot. I could provide the mascots with information about the Abyss, too... And then...
...Then...
'...Huh.'
If I returned to Earth like this, wouldn't I end up famous not only on Earth, but among the mascots as well?
A moment ago, half-jokingly, I had imagined something like a "Brave Magical Girl statue." Even if it didn't go that far, the mascots' interest in Alice would certainly increase.
For an ordinary magical girl, that would be a good thing. My connection with the mascots would grow stronger... Maybe it could become even stronger... And if I happened to meet that Queen, I might even receive some kind of reward.
But the problem was... me.
-Drip drip
'...It'll be a problem even after I get back...?'
I was somehow deceiving them for now, but that had basically happened because of the mascots' ignorance about humans, along with a bug caused by a possibility so minuscule it was difficult even to imagine.
Identical twins of different sexes, one of whom had originally made a magical-girl contract and disappeared into the Abyss, while the other inherited that contract and lived as Alice for eight years? It was something I could say only because it had already happened; under normal circumstances, it would have been virtually impossible to imagine.
Even if I somehow made it back to Earth... afterward, I would have to live under the world's suddenly focused attention without letting anyone discover that I was Alice...
'...Should I live quietly even after I get back...? Somewhere in the countryside...'
I had gone so far as to think that.
The idea of simply pretending to retire from being a magical girl and living quietly in the countryside, farming.
And I rejected that thought almost instantly.
'...Sigh.'
Earth still needed Alice.
Even though I no longer had the same standing I had back when I first began operating as Alice... Earth was still being invaded by the Abyss in real time, and even while I was suffering here in the Abyss, Abyssal Ones would be making their way to Earth.
So...
'This is just my lot in life, I guess.'
To reduce the number of grieving people by even one.
In the end, fighting was simply my lot in life.
* * *
<Hmm... Everyone has returned.>
Knight Captain Jaquir's duties included checking whether the pets that had gone out for walks with the Queen, or on their own, had returned.
The report about Her Majesty's visit to the Hunting Castle had not yet been submitted, so she decided to take care of other matters first.
Pet management might have seemed beneath someone of the rank of Knight Captain, but it couldn't be helped.
<Grrrrrr...>
It wasn't only the card soldiers. Even most of the knights couldn't withstand the pressure Jabberwock gave off.
Card soldiers weren't just figuratively blown away; the air pressure created when Jabberwock rolled over was enough to send them tumbling through the air. So even if others handled the odd jobs, someone of roughly comparable rank had to take care of it.
<Jeopjeop looks to be in a good mood today. Did it steal and eat some fruit again?>
<Grrrk!>
<Hmph. As long as you didn't peck and eat any soldiers or knights, I don't care. I've already lost count of how many soldiers you've sent flying while you were flying around.>
Jeopjeop wasn't as strong as Jabberwock, but it was also one of the Queen's most cherished pets and one of the strongest Abyssal Ones in the Garden. Having received the Queen's abundant favor, it had grown much stronger than it was before coming to the Garden.
Unfortunately, it wasn't particularly intelligent, so even Jaquir couldn't converse with Jeopjeop, but after being together for so long, she was familiar with reading its emotions, or at least its signals.
'...Her Majesty should be outside the Garden right now.'
Jeopjeop's current reaction was what it looked like when it was in an especially good mood after receiving the Queen of Hearts' affection.
But according to Her Majesty's official schedule, she was still not in the Garden.
It wasn't impossible that she had stopped by the Hunting Castle on a whim and played with Jeopjeop while it was out for a walk... But the Queen's patterns, as Jaquir had come to understand them, said otherwise. If she was bored, she would have stopped by Jaquir's office at least once to play a prank before leaving. There was no way she would wander aimlessly through a Garden containing nothing but pets.
If... what had happened in the Garden today really wasn't the doing of the Queen of Hearts.
'...Someone is impersonating Her Majesty?'
The worst possible scenario, one that absolutely must not happen, began to surface in Jaquir's mind.