Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

"……what?"

However, there was no one in the room.

There were only two VIP hospital beds that were still warm.

Back in the office, the middle-aged researcher was already trampled underfoot by Miluno. He seemed to feel fooled, but his expressionless face revealed obvious displeasure.

The aunt demanded, "Where is he? What happened?"

"That's why I said no... the person was just taken away."

Who picked them up?

"I... I can't say for sure... but you should already know the answer, right?"

"If you don't want to talk about it, then let me see!"

The aunt put on sunglasses, grabbed the uncle's hair, and her eyes gleamed red again.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Memories and Longing

(Sun Yao)

"You should have told me sooner that someone was taken away!"

thump—

The middle-aged man, who was halfway through his sentence, was knocked unconscious by Falcon, who was annoyed by this.

To knock out an unarmed ordinary person—is this really something a magical girl should do?

Meanwhile, Aunt Rinki used her magic "Record of Thoughts" to trace the images in her office and research lab, and soon got results.

"Did you see when they left?"

"Yes, about fifteen minutes ago, when we were still in the sky... a magical girl in black robes took Yuehan and Xiaoyangyan away."

Miss Spica asked, "How did you know it was a magical girl?"

"She activated the same teleportation halo as Ange, something ordinary people without magic couldn't do. Miss Ange thought she was unique, but she never expected that her beloved Chairman Sun had a spare key."

"Where did they go?"

"I don't know, I don't know where they teleported to."

Auntie's magic has this drawback.

She could only see what actually happened, but couldn't know the cause and effect. The researcher uncle also seemed to know nothing.

Seeing that the trail had gone cold, the aunt asked, "Chief of Staff, what should we do?"

"The area below is almost entirely forest, making it difficult to find... No, Yuehan's health isn't good; she couldn't possibly be hiding in the forest... What facilities are nearby..."

Miss Spica was resting her chin on her hand and muttering to herself when Miluno suddenly spoke up.

“The hydroelectric power station, A2 has a small reservoir, and there is a hydroelectric power station on the dam that can hide people. I think they are very likely to go there.”

“There are really no other facilities around here… You and Falcon are quick, go and scout ahead.”

Falcon nodded in agreement.

The "Ange Mummy" behind Miss Spica raised her hand and created a teleportation halo on the office wall.

“This leads to the sky. Since Asahi has other magical girls, you two need to be careful... Falcon is a bit reckless, so keep an eye on him, Milno.”

"clear."

Falcon scratched his head without offering any explanation, then picked up Miluno and left through the portal.

As the two left, only I, Miss Spica, and Aunt Rinki remained in the airship research institute's office.

Well, Miss Anjie can't be considered a person yet.

I asked, "Does Dad know we're watching him?"

“It’s impossible that he didn’t know. Given his consistently cautious nature, when he decided to take the risk, he already assumed we would see through him… He doesn’t usually interact with us much because he doesn’t want us to notice.”

When Spica said this, her aunt chimed in, "If they couldn't contact Secretary-General Anjie, they would abandon this place and move people away. That's certainly a very careful decision..."

I couldn't get a word in edgewise when they were talking because, comparatively, I didn't know my dad very well.

"Wait a minute."

A ringtone came from inside Spica's "bandage outfit," and then she pulled her phone out from her chest.

"...Where is this hidden?"

It wasn't a phone call, just a text message, but her expression turned serious.

Auntie asked, "What's wrong?"

“Aji’s counterattack has come; he wants Sirius and me to go to a branch meeting.”

My father is in charge of the association's external affairs, which includes image projects, so it is perfectly reasonable for him to convene a meeting of the association's senior management.

If it weren't for this critical juncture...

"Why not just say no?" I said.

"I can't refuse. It's a meeting about this media storm, and we're here for an informal search, so it can't be used as a reason... It seems I have to go back."

How will you get back?

"I called for a wormhole."

Spica waved her phone, her tone as casual as if she had just hailed a ride-hailing service.

She then asked, "What are your plans?"

"Can we keep Anjie?"

"Yes, as long as you don't remove the white silk ribbon from her body, she won't be able to control her body and will obey your commands."

No matter how you look at it, Spica's magic really does seem like that of a villain.

Aunt replied, "Then you go back and keep Chairman Sun occupied. I will continue the search here. There are many memories left in this research room. Perhaps I can trace back to the records of Chairman Sun's personal appearance."

The distinctive buzzing sound of a wormhole came from below the airship; it must be the one the branch was using to connect to the Spica.

"I should probably go now, Seruno."

She greeted me.

"Huh? Oh!"

I knowingly took out my wand and put a bubble wrap on Spica to protect her from the pressure inside the wormhole. She nodded and jumped into the red teleportation ring.

I asked, "So what do I need to do?"

"Come with me."

Taking out the camera I'd been carrying, my aunt grabbed my wrist, stepped over the unconscious on-duty officer, and re-entered the deserted research lab.

"This place holds your mother's memories. I've come to show you what she was thinking about during her nearly ten years in a coma..."

What she sees seems to be able to be recorded by a camera.

Do people in a vegetative state experience longing?

"Yes, but her longing has nothing to do with reality, and what she records is not what actually happened."

Aunt Linxi held a DSLR camera in one hand and the camera lens in the other, and pressed the shutter button on the empty hospital bed.

Click.

A very crisp sound.

"What did you photograph?" I asked, craning my neck.

"Let me think, shouldn't this be called 'love'?"

"...Um, huh?"

That sounds a bit strange.

"You'll understand once you see for yourself."

"..."

Taking the heavy DSLR camera, the scene in the photos was not at all a cold hospital bed.

My mother, whose face I've almost forgotten, and my father, who was once young, are holding my hands when I was still a child...

I wasn't very fat when I was a child...

Mmm...

A sob involuntarily rose in his throat, and warm tears blurred his vision.

"My father just wanted to wake my mother up."

My voice had a thick nasal tone.

"Yes, but he chose the wrong way."

In the eyes of her aunt and the others, her father might be wrong.

But he must have had no other choice but to kidnap a magical girl to steal the Star Crystal.

"Serno, do you think... your father was forced into a corner by reality, which is why he had to make this difficult choice?"

"Well, after all, he wouldn't have done that before."

"But there are some things that you should never do, even if you're forced into a corner."

“I know, so I will go with you to correct Dad’s mistakes… and then we’ll figure out a way to wake Mom up.”

But this is not easy.

Over the years, Dad must have tried countless ways to wake up Mother, right?

It was precisely because all his attempts had failed that he set his sights on the Star Crystal.

But even if using the looted Star Crystal could wake the mother, it cannot be called "correct".

—Since miracles called magic exist in this world, there must be a way to awaken her.—