Tokyo: Magical Girl Shatters My Dream of Going Public

Meanwhile, inside the temporary command vehicle of Yagi Heavy Industries, not far from the rain shelter.

The lighting was adjusted to a comfortable reading level, and several screens emitted a soft blue glow, illuminating the sophisticated instruments and stacks of documents inside the car.

At the control panel, a figure was almost buried in the screen.

Her long gray hair was casually coiled at the back of her head with a pencil, with a few unruly strands still falling across her forehead and cheeks.

A pair of black-rimmed glasses slid down to the tip of his nose, but the eyes behind the lenses shone with an astonishing brightness as he stared intently at the waterfall-like stream of data on the screen.

She was wearing a white lab coat, with a shirt and skirt underneath that were barely visible. Black stockings covered her slender calves, and one of her shoes was missing, leaving her bare feet on the cold floor.

Otsuka Hyakutomo, one of the chief researchers in the Magic Application Technology Department of Yagi Heavy Industries.

At this moment, her ten fingers are flying across the keyboard, so fast that they almost leave afterimages. Occasionally she stops, pushes up her slipping glasses, and makes a meaningless, short, nasal sound as she thinks.

The car door slid open, bringing in a touch of the dampness of the rainy night.

A steaming cup of hot cocoa was gently placed on the empty seat next to her, and the rich aroma of cocoa and the subtle sweetness instantly filled the space filled with the smell of electronic devices.

"Doctor, why don't you take a short rest?"

Sakurako's gentle voice came through.

Otsuka Momotomo paused for a moment, finally looking away from the screen and turning his head somewhat blankly.

Seeing Sakura and the cup of hot cocoa, she blinked, as if only then snapping out of her reverie.

"Ah... Sakura." She grabbed the cup of hot cocoa, not caring that it was too hot, and carefully took a sip.

The perfect temperature and sweetness made her let out a satisfied sigh.

"We're saved..."

She leaned back in her chair, her tense shoulders relaxing, and closed her eyes, as if this cup of hot cocoa was more effective than any high-end energy supplement.

"To be able to drink hot cocoa in a place like this..." Otsuka opened one eye, looked at Sakurako who was tidying up the scattered documents beside him, and joked, "Sakurako, how about we get married?"

Upon hearing this, Sakura didn't even look up, only chuckled softly, and continued what she was doing: "No, Doctor."

"Tsk, I knew it." Otsuka curled his lip, took another big gulp of cocoa, and asked lazily, "Is it because of that 'Night Lord'? I'm really curious what kind of person he is that you treat him so well."

Sakura didn't answer, but just smiled gently.

She categorized and put away the documents, then turned to the main topic: "Doctor, how's the situation analysis going? Is the practical data valuable?"

When his profession was mentioned, Otsuka immediately sat up straighter, though his posture was still not exactly upright.

She carefully placed the remaining half of the hot cocoa on a steady surface and tapped a few times on the keyboard.

On the main screen, complex waveforms and parameter lists have been replaced by clear charts and comparative data.

"It's more than just valuable..."

Otsuka pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the light from the screen, his tone carrying the excitement typical of a tech geek.

"The data collected in this real-world exercise is even better than what we obtained from laboratory simulations!"

She pointed to several key curves on the screen.

"Look here, and here... The mass-produced warheads, when facing those highly reactive flesh-derived entities, actually have a penetration and subsequent energy erosion effect that far exceeds expectations. And the protective linings worn by the combatants are also quite effective at defending against the splashes of vengeful spirit energy."

She switched to a summary table, which was filled with densely packed percentage performance improvements.

"These figures are enough to shut up those picky bureaucrats in the Ministry of Magic."

"We're very confident we'll secure their trillion-dollar contract for basic equipment for urban rapid reaction forces. This 'cleanup' operation has recouped its costs and even generated a considerable profit."

Sakura carefully examined the data on the screen and nodded slightly: "That's good. I'll need the doctor's help with the detailed reports and analysis later."

"Don't worry, I've got it covered." Otsuka waved her hand, then slumped back in her chair, picked up her cup of hot cocoa, and squinted her eyes contentedly. "For this hot cocoa, I'll have to write a beautiful report... Oh, by the way, Sakurako, I want to eat tamagoyaki for breakfast tomorrow, and I want it sweet."

Sakura smiled helplessly: "Doctor, I'm going on vacation tomorrow."

"I don't care, I want sweet tamagoyaki." Otsuka started to act spoiled.

Sakura felt somewhat helpless for a moment.

She knew the woman's personality; once she started acting unreasonably, she wouldn't give up until she got what she wanted.

Just as Sakurako was thinking about how to ensure she could take a day off tomorrow.

Du, du du.

A perfectly timed knock on the door broke the little "stalemate".

Both of them turned to look at the slid-open car door.

Kanzaki Jin stood outside the door. His left eye had been professionally bandaged, with white gauze covering the injured area, adding a touch of coldness and fatigue to his originally resolute face.

He changed his soaked combat uniform into a dry black training uniform, but his posture remained upright.

"Excuse me, you two," Kanzaki asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Would you mind if I took a few minutes?"

Sakurako immediately resumed her work, nodding slightly: "Captain Kanzaki, please come in. How are your injuries?"

"Emergency measures have been taken; it's nothing serious."

Kanzaki stepped into the car, his gaze sweeping over the still-on data charts on the screen before finally settling on Otsuka and Sakurako's faces, getting straight to the point.

"I'd like to ask if either of you... has heard of an organization called the 'Night Watchers'? Or do you have any information related to them?"

There was a moment of silence inside the car.

Sakurako and Otsuka exchanged a glance.

After Kanzaki's team was rescued, they learned from the initial reports of the team members on the scene about the existence of the "Night Watchers" who called themselves "President" and "Hiyokko".

Subsequent intelligence gathering confirmed that the two individuals were already active in the underground facility before the involvement of Yagi Heavy Industries and the magical girl.

"I'm sorry, Captain Kanzaki."

Sakura shook her head slightly with regret.

"There is no record of the 'Night Watchers' organization in our internal intelligence database or in the list of known registered agencies."

"We also reviewed all the surveillance footage that was still operational around the base, but most of the equipment was damaged in the early stages of the incident, and the remaining ones failed to capture clear images of the unidentified individuals who matched the description."

At this moment, Otsuka Momotoshi pushed up his slipping glasses, leaned forward, placed his hands on his knees, and took over the conversation.

"Excuse my bluntness, Captain Kanzaki, the 'combat suit' you described... based on the currently publicly available industry secrets, and even the cutting-edge research we have access to, it is simply impossible for it to exist."

Kanzaki frowned. "Impossible? What do you mean?"

"It means..."

Otsuka explained it in the simplest language.

"The combat suit system you described, which provides all-around energy protection and significantly enhances the user's physical functions... is at least thirty years ahead of any existing laboratory theoretical model, or even longer."

"Our [Shadow Warrior] project, in which we have invested the most, is still in the prototype testing phase and is a long way from actual deployment."

She paused, her gaze behind her glasses becoming heavy.

"Simply put, if that thing really exists, its technology either comes from the 'future,' or... the people or organizations that developed it are aliens."

No technology can be developed overnight.

Since the emergence of magical vengeful spirits five years ago, major companies have been continuously advancing their research and development efforts.

If any company's technology could reach the level Kanzaki described, it would have already crushed all military giants and could even stand on equal footing with magical girls.

Otsuka, noticing Kanzaki's furrowed brow, continued.

"Furthermore, Captain Kanzaki, you and your team have been exposed to high concentrations of magical vengeful spirit energy radiation for extended periods. This radiation directly affects the nervous system, causing perceptual confusion, hallucinations, auditory hallucinations, and even distorted memories. Combining these two points..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was already clear.

They even suspected that the members of Kanzaki's team might have developed some kind of highly consistent collective hallucination under extreme pressure.

Kanzaki listened in silence, his right eye remaining calm, and he did not immediately refute her.

Is it a hallucination...? How could he not tell?

However, the reasons given by the other party are logically sound, based on existing scientific knowledge, and are irrefutable.

He took a slow breath in and then slowly exhaled, without arguing further. He simply stood up, nodded to the two of them, and said, "I understand. Sorry to bother you."

As he turned to leave the command vehicle, the cold wind of the rainy night rushed in, blowing the hair on his forehead.

"The night watchman..."

He silently repeated the mysterious name in his heart, his eyes filled with a mixture of doubt and an indescribable certainty, sinking into deeper darkness.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Meanwhile, Kurokawa and his companion, known as aliens, had quietly returned to the factory.

It was nearly midnight when we returned to the factory in the suburbs.

on the ground.

Clothes were scattered haphazardly on the floor.

Coat, skirt, over-the-knee socks...

As soon as she got back, Chika started clamoring for a bath.

Without even waiting for Kurokawa's response, she ran barefoot, wearing only a close-fitting vest and shorts, like a fleeing animal, towards the shower room in the corner of the workshop, which was partitioned off with simple boards.

Kurokawa didn't bother with Chinatsu, nor did he rush to rest.

After giving himself some basic first aid, he picked up Chika's clothes from the ground and took out the hard drives from the pockets one by one.

He pulled up a chair, sat down, and turned on the computer.

He first connected a military-grade solid-state drive that appeared to have the best sealing properties.

"This data is what Kanzaki and even the magical girls want to obtain. What secrets are hidden within it...?"

The hard drive is password protected; the encryption method isn't the latest, but it's quite robust.

Kurokawa, drawing on his background as a technician, began the cracking process.

Time passed second by second.

On the screen, the progress bar moved forward slowly but steadily.

finally--

"Beep".

A soft sound.

The progress bar has reached the end.

The combination lock icon has disappeared.

The hard drive directory expands on the screen, mostly consisting of standard experimental data numbers and categorized folders.

The most common item was a continuous experimental log. The moment he curiously opened the log, his hands froze in mid-air.

"What is this?!"