Chapter 64: It's Not Suspicious at All

"Well... It's not as if Alice is the only candidate. Among the A-rank magical girls, there's Whitefield, Skylin, and Twinkle Iris... Among the S-ranks, Snow is about the only one who could use an attack like that. They're all people who don't particularly want to step into the spotlight."

"...I think I've heard of Snow, but I don't know the others."

"I told you. They all hate stepping into the spotlight. Unless someone's interested enough in magical girls to look them up, it's only natural not to know them. Especially Ms. Twinkle Iris... Ha-ha... She happened to make her magical-girl contract at the height of puberty... She calls herself only Iris, but her registered magical-girl name is already Twinkle Iris, so it's too late..."

...Good grief. What a shame.

I was lucky Alice was at least a simple name. If it had been something like SuperCutieTwinkleAlice, I would have hung myself long ago, contract or no contract.

"Magical-girl names seem to cause fewer problems later if you keep them simple."

"That's the tip retired magical girls mention most often. A lot of people make their contracts full of youthful bravado, given the nature of magical girls... They tell you to choose your magical-girl name carefully. It's advice that will serve you for life. If I'd chosen a weird name too... Ugh. Just thinking about it makes my face burn."

"...Come to think of it, what does Mia mean?"

"The name of a cartoon character I used to watch back then."

You chose it pretty simply, huh?

...Well. Alice isn't all that different.

I didn't choose it myself, but it was similar in that there was an obvious fictional character who served as the original.

"So what kind of technique is that? I've looked through every photo of Alice I could find from way back, but I've never seen anything like it. Is it a new finishing move? Or an upgrade to an existing technique?"

-Sparkle sparkle

...She'd always been a bright, lively woman, but the moment Alice came up, her eyes lit up.

What on earth was Alice to this woman that she went this far?

And now she knew Han Sejin and Alice were the same person, so this was fine, but... what would happen if she found out that the person standing before her had erased Alice from the world and was pretending to be her?

I couldn't say for certain, but it probably wouldn't be the same 100-percent-pure goodwill she was showing now.

"...It was something I made in a hurry because the Abyss One was so unusual. It only looks impressive on the outside; its efficiency is poor and its risks are high, so it's not a practical technique. I probably won't use it again."

"You made a one-use technique in a hurry?! Right there?!"

"...Creating one isn't difficult in itself, is it? All you need is magic power and a spell formula. What's difficult is making a technique that's practical and offers a definite return for its risks. Making just any technique isn't particularly difficult. Even you can quickly make a spell that lights a fire in your hand, can't you, Miss Mia?"

"That's true, but isn't the scale a little different?! That was obviously a finishing move!"

"If you cram all your magic power and everything else into it, of course it's a finishing move."

"...Well, since it's Alice, I suppose it makes sense. Considering all the performances you've shown us, it's not surprising. So do you really make techniques on the fly and use them in the middle of battle whenever you need one?"

"If necessary...?"

"Wow..."

This time, awe appeared in her eyes. It was a look slightly different from respect—the look of someone witnessing something genuinely incredible.

'...She's making a huge fuss over nothing.'

I cooled the heat rising to my face by drinking the beverage I'd poured in advance.

I'd simply accumulated enough experience and quick-thinking ability over eight years of activity that I could make techniques in real time without hesitation. Creating a new technique wasn't something other magical girls found particularly difficult either. It probably took some know-how and experience, though.

"Anyway... Since you're here, I'd like to ask you for a favor. Could you help me transport the luggage again today?"

"Same as yesterday, right? But isn't there much more today? Usually, today and tomorrow are when the most will come in."

"...That's the problem. Miss Sapphire says there are about four boxes the same size as yesterday's."

"...That's a lot."

"Exactly."

"But that's not the end of it, is it? The magical girls who attend classes in person... Isn't their submission deadline tonight? Another few dozen will probably arrive around evening..."

"...That's why it's a problem. Going to get them now would be awkward, but if we wait and collect them all later, there'll be too many."

"And we don't even know how much will be replenished tomorrow, do we?"

"You understand perfectly."

That was exactly the situation.

The amount piled up already was more than enough. But, as part of Alice's concept, I couldn't refuse gifts from fans. Alice barely did any work, yet always went around saying she loved the people who loved Alice.

Ask the company to hold onto gifts from those beloved fans? It might be realistic, but I would have to accept a crack forming in Alice's unrealistic concept. Alice was built around an unrealistic concept in the first place, so the moment people said, "Well, that's realistic," the concept would crack. And that would be in front of the countless magical-girl-related people at the company.

I couldn't bear to put that much at risk just because it was a little troublesome. I treasured the concept I'd protected all this time. I'd guarded it with my life; I couldn't let something so trivial put a crack in it.

No, think about it. Alice not taking the gifts her beloved fans had given her and asking the company to hold them for a while.

Then the other employees would open the conversation with a question like, "How unexpected. I thought Ms. Alice would immediately hug the gifts with both hands and take them home."

All sorts of stories would come up, and no matter how long it took, they'd eventually reach the same conclusion.

Ah. She doesn't have a car, so she can't take all these gifts.

Alice, of all people. Alice, who had been active since the first generation and was now in her tenth year—so at least in her late twenties—and had appeared on numerous broadcasts, meaning she ought to have plenty of money, couldn't take her gifts because she didn't have a car. The moment that rumor spread, Alice's mysterious image would take a nosedive.

[...Do humans really talk behind people's backs and spread rumors like that?]

'Of course. Ninety-five percent of the rumors born in this world come from people talking behind others' backs.'

[Then the person involved doesn't even know a rumor is being made. A rumor about them spreads without them knowing anything about it?]

'Correct.'

In reality, whether Alice had no car and didn't take the gifts wasn't important. The moment a question like, "Come to think of it, Ms. Alice always commutes using only magic without even bringing a car, but if fans have given her this many gifts, shouldn't she bring a car to take them home?" arose in someone's mind and escaped their lips, it would become established as fact.

You can't give people anything to nitpick from the beginning. Especially when you're committed to mystique.

But Alice moving around covered in gifts would draw far too much attention in its own way.

"So what do we do? Go now and again tonight? Or keep going back and forth? If we can get a large backpack or something, two or three round trips should do it."

"...Listen carefully."

Since the plan itself was simple, I was able to explain it to Mia quickly, and we put it into action right away.

* * *

"Miss Sapphire, you're a good driver. This is very comfortable."

"It's a manager's basic qualification. The company even trains managers in it."

...They even train them? As expected, that isn't an easy job either.

Sapphire herself was an A-rank magical girl, yet she chose to manage another magical girl... She must genuinely enjoy it.

"You don't have to worry. I won't record where Alice lives or tell anyone outside."

"Alice trusts Miss Sapphire. You're a manager Alice can trust."

"Since you trust me that much, I'll do my best to live up to it."

Personally, saying Sapphire was trustworthy wasn't empty flattery; I meant it. During my years as a magical girl, there had been a few times when I'd unavoidably had people in something like a manager role, and of them Sapphire had the best instincts, never crossed boundaries for no reason, and knew how to handle things properly.

Although it was a little uncomfortable that the way she accommodated me was tailored to the "Alice" concept known to the public, it was also proof that I was doing a good job as Alice. I had no choice but to endure the discomfort.

"Would it be all right if I dropped you off here?"

For starters, I'd brought Sapphire to the parking lot of a building completely different from where I lived.

If we'd managed to bring those bulky gifts here safely, everything from this point on would be easy.

"Yes. Alice can carry this much from here."

"Are you taking them while transformed? If you'd like, I can just leave the luggage here and you can come pick it up later..."

"It's fine. Alice isn't ashamed to be seen by the world, you know?"

"I see. My apologies."

Honestly, hadn't Sapphire laughed to herself? Someone who went out of her way to avoid people claiming she wasn't ashamed to be seen in public.

"Hup. Thank you for coming all the way here, Miss Sapphire. And for preparing the backpack. I'll return this later."

"You may keep it. It's surplus magical-girl-related stock left at the company. It would be discarded if no one took it, so feel free to use it."

"Alice always repays what she owes and any kindness shown to her. I'll be sure to return the favor later."

"If you insist that much, I won't refuse."

"Then~ I'll come back for the rest this evening~ See you later~"

I put on the backpack Sapphire had given me and teleported away once I reached a spot outside Sapphire's line of sight.

I mixed stellar displacement and teleportation and arrived at the place I'd discussed with Mia in advance.

"There. Now, here's what I need you to do."

"...Senior. I was just thinking this and wasn't going to say it, but don't we look like we're smuggling illegal goods or something?"

"...Would you be disappointed if there really were something?"

"Well, if you wanted, I could join you in something like that, as long as it didn't hurt anyone else..."

...Talk about worrying over nothing. I do smoke, but I don't get involved with anything stranger than that. Nor do I plan to.

Still, I won't deny that the situation was quite complicated.

If someone really saw us, they'd think we were smuggling at the very least, or disposing of a body at worst.

Of course, doing something like that would get our contracts terminated by the mascot. A magical girl's power would be plenty useful for crime, but considering what happened to the countries that went as far as trying to use magical girls for crime, it was truly insane.

It's thanks to precedents like those that society treats magical girls kindly today, isn't it?

Safety regulations are written in blood, after all.

"...Two magical girls working this hard to hide and transport fans' gifts? It sounds like something a criminal organization would use as a code name."

"Oh, I think I've seen a movie like that. The terminology sounded fresh, cheerful, and straight out of a children's storybook, but it was actually a noir film about a criminal organization that used them as code names..."

That really exists?! Why does it exist?!

...It seems the world keeps producing things I never knew about, no matter how long I live.