Tokyo: Magical Girl Shatters My Dream of Going Public

"You overheard this?!" Chika and Kaoru exclaimed in unison.

"Hush! Keep your voice down!"

Saki gave a reminder.

She opened her laptop.

The cold light from the screen reflected on her face, where she usually wore a playful expression, but now she appeared unusually focused.

"Didn't you mention magical girls before, Chika?" She explained as she slid her fingers quickly across the touchpad, "I've been keeping an eye out for any clues ever since then."

She paused, a look of excitement on her face, like a hunter spotting his prey.

"Until the last month or two... I finally found some crucial clues."

The keyboard clicks are crisp and clear.

One by one, the encrypted folders were opened, and the background programs ran quickly.

Chika and Kaoru subconsciously moved closer, their eyes fixed on the screen.

Even Kurokawa, who was originally sitting by the window, silently got up and walked behind the three of them.

Sakibake pointed out two time points.

"The first thing, April 20th, near Tokyo Tower."

She pulled up a photo that was clearly taken with a mobile phone and was very blurry.

The background is the steel framework of Tokyo Tower. In the photo, there are two figures: one moving quickly and the other sitting high up.

Although the resolution wasn't high, Kurokawa recognized the iconic bright yellow skirt and pink glow at a glance.

Heavenly Flash and Scarlet Cherry.

"This post was deleted less than two hours after it was published; it was completely wiped clean from the entire internet," Saki said. "But I was quick and saved it."

Kurokawa's heart stirred slightly.

He had seen the photo that day, but he never expected that this girl would see it too and even save it.

"The second thing," Saki switched pages, "April 26th, Xiapu Lake."

Xiapu Lake.

Upon hearing those three words, Chika's body tensed up instinctively.

Xun immediately looked at her sister, her eyes filled with worry.

Saki pulled up several blurry clips, clearly taken by home security cameras or dashcams.

The image was shaky and dimly lit, but one could vaguely see an unusual flash of light in the sky above the distant mountains, as well as a slight tremor in the ground.

Saki explained:

"At the time, nearby residents were discussing online that they saw 'strange flames' and felt 'minor earthquakes.' But soon, the official announcement came out. It was defined as a geological disaster caused by heavy rain, and because there were no casualties, it attracted almost no attention."

Chika's breathing was a little erratic.

Xiapu Lake Observatory...

That was the place where she and the president carried out their second mission together.

There, they housed geisha dolls and flesh dolls, and even took experimental data right under the noses of magical girls.

Xun had already learned about the previous mission from her older sister.

Worried that her sister's whereabouts might be photographed, she quickly asked in a low voice, "You... found traces of the magical girl?"

Saki Hikari shook her head: "Almost all the public surveillance cameras in that area are broken, they didn't capture anything."

She abruptly changed the subject and slammed her finger down on the Enter key.

"But—I found this!"

Two surveillance screenshots popped up side by side on the screen instantly.

The filming locations and times were different.

But in the center of the image is the same car model.

A sleek, eye-catching pink two-door sports car.

"This is traffic surveillance footage from an intersection near Tokyo Tower on April 20th," Sakiaki pointed out the image on the left.

"This is the checkpoint surveillance footage of the road surrounding the Xiapu Lake Observatory on April 26," she pointed to the right.

Then, she looked up at the three of them, her eyes shining with an astonishing light.

"And this car—"

She paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately.

"We're parked in the hotel's parking lot right now."

The three were shocked.

But Saki's analysis wasn't over yet.

"The same car appeared in two locations that are far apart, both of which had experienced 'abnormal events'."

She pointed at the screen, her tone as calm as if she were stating a theorem.

"This can no longer be explained by coincidence."

She typed on the keyboard and brought up the vehicle information.

"Moreover, this sports car is a special custom model; there's only one like it in the entire country. So I found out the owner's information through some 'channels,' and then followed the trail—"

Snapped.

Press the Enter key again.

A file popped up.

The top left corner shows an ID photo.

The girl in the photo has pink hair, exquisite makeup, and a slightly nonchalant and arrogant look in her eyes.

Name: [Aiko Furukawa]

Saki Hikari pointed to the file: "Her information was deliberately encrypted, but I still managed to dig some out using some technical means and with the help of a mysterious friend."

"Aiko Furukawa, a first-year student in the Faculty of Letters at the University of Tokyo. Her grades were extremely poor in high school, with a deviation score of just over thirty. She was a well-known central figure in the school's gyaru (gal) group. Her parents run an ordinary ramen shop."

Saki paused for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject.

"But three years ago, her life suddenly turned upside down."

"Spending records show that she began buying luxury goods in large quantities. Even more strangely, her grades improved dramatically, she won several literary awards in succession, and was eventually admitted to the University of Tokyo through a special admission program."

"Plus, her file was deliberately concealed... If it were simply because she was being kept by some wealthy businessman, her file wouldn't be so difficult to find."

"but!"

"If she is a magical girl, then everything makes sense. Her file was deliberately hidden by the authorities, and the government even paid her a very high salary."

Hearing this, Kurokawa was secretly alarmed.

This girl's intelligence-gathering ability... is terrifying!

Because everything she said was correct!

Saki's fingers didn't stop.

"Then, I continued to investigate based on the information I had about Aiko Furukawa. It was thanks to the fact that this Ms. Furukawa really liked to show off her life and posted about it almost every day that I actually found this out."

She typed on the keyboard again.

Another file popped up.

Hayami Tenkyou

The moment she saw the name, Xun clenched her fist tightly.

Chinatsu blinked, a thoughtful expression on her face. "This name... sounds familiar."

"You should know her well." Saki looked at Chinatsu, somewhat speechless. "Hayami Tenshou, a senior in high school, seventeen years old. She was in all the last few track and field competitions you participated in before your injury. You were always first, and she was always third or even fourth."

Chika exclaimed "Ah!" and remembered.

Saki continued, "I discovered her while digging deep into Aiko Furukawa's social media accounts. The two of them originally had no connection, but they suddenly started interacting frequently a year ago."

She pulled up several screenshots from social media.

In the selfies posted by Aiko Furukawa, Hayami Tenhito occasionally appears.

In the caption, she referred to the other person as a "partner" or "companion".

"Most importantly—" Saki pointed out the posting time of one of the tweets, "This post, which shows they 'became comrades,' was posted when..."

She looked at Qianxia and softened her voice.

"It's the third day since you were admitted to the hospital with serious injuries."

The room was deathly silent.

Saki Hikari is like the final piece of a puzzle:

"Based on what you said about seeing a magical girl... I speculate that Hayami Tenshou may have become a magical girl on the day you were injured."

"Later, under the arrangement of a certain 'organization,' she was paired with Aiko Furukawa, who was also a magical girl, and they began to act together."