MGRP Limited Ch 2

Chapter 2: Drowning In Love And Hearts

☆7753

A professional basketball player who strikes out batter after batter with a self-created miracle pitch, a police officer who subdues a shotgun-wielding violent criminal in a firefight, and a private detective who gathers the suspects into a large room and points out the culprit in a brilliant display of logic.
以自创的魔球将强打一个接一个解决掉的职业棒球选手;压制掏出闪弹枪与警方进行激烈枪战的暴徒的刑警;将相关人士集中在宽敞大房间进行推理，漂亮揪出犯人的私家侦探。

Fictional stories could provide enjoyment in a variety of ways, from mundane stories to those filled with adventures. To professionals familiar with those lines of work, these feats were little more than fantasies or gags. However, to certain Magical Girls, they were not simply funny stories filled with excitement and wonder.
从通俗到充满冒险情怀的活跃表现，都能通过虚构故事获得乐趣。对于从事这些职业的当事者而言，这些活跃的表现充其量只是妄想、玩笑话，然而对一部分的魔法少女而言，这可不仅仅只是“充满奇幻色彩的活跃表现”之类的玩笑话。

In the case of the Magical Girl 7753, who was a specialist in face-to-face mental care, she had a high chance of encountering Magical Girls who single-mindedly pursued adventure.
像魔法少女“7753”这般以面对面的精神治疗为专门的人，邂逅一味地追求冒险的魔法少女的机会非常高。

The number of Magical girls who trained hard every day in the hopes of fighting demon lords, evil gods, the twisted products of science, assassins from another world and other undefined powerful enemies far exceeded the number of professional baseball players who worked on developing gyroball pitches. 7753 could not count the number of those she had personally encountered on the fingers of both hands.
梦想与大魔王、邪神、扭曲的科学文明产物，或是从异世界派来的刺客等“不确定的强敌”进行战斗，而每日辛勤锻炼的魔法少女人数，大大超越真心想开发魔球的职业棒球选手。光是7753碰上的例子，用十根手指都数不完。

For instance, there was a Magical Girl who proudly declared that she would one day face a global disaster and thus trained herself. Her practice area was filled with the fragments of numerous rocks which had been kicked to bits, and every time 7753 saw those sparkly, beautiful eyes, she wanted to say, “if the world is in danger, someone stronger than you will show up, you won’t get your turn. And of course, it was even harder to say “Before worrying about the danger to the world, you should worry about the safety of this city”. It was all 7753 could do to put on a tired smile and and tell her to pick up the scattered debris.
举例来说，有个自豪地表示自己为了应付总有一天会来临的世界危机，正在进行训练的魔法少女。她的训练场里，散落着许多被踢爆的岩石碎片，每每看到那双闪着光芒的美丽大眼，实在令人不忍说出“如果世界面临危机的话，会有更强的人出头，轮不到你上场”，更说不出“在你操心这个世界的危机之前，先操心一下这座城市的治安吧”。光是为了带着无力的笑容指导她收拾四散的碎石，就耗尽7753的力气。

After her partner had been rotated out, they never saw each other again. She was probably breaking rocks while holding onto her dream of, “someday, the world will be in danger”.
自从对方轮调后，她们就再也没见面。想必对方现在也是怀抱着“总有一天会发生世界危机”的梦想，破坏着岩石吧。

There was also a Magical Girl who “craved a worthy opponent”. To her, fighting was an end in itself, and justice, evil, and other questions of ideology were taboo.
也有“寻求值得一战的对手”的魔法少女。对她而言，战斗本身才是目的，正义或邪恶等意识形态的问题是不纯洁之物。

If she touched a tree’s bark lightly, the bark on the opposite side would explode and fragment, sending leaves everywhere. While 7753 secretly mused, “I think I’ve seen that move before in a manga”, 7753 did not say so. It was all 7753 could do to put on a tired smile and tell her not to wantonly destroy nature.
只要她轻轻触碰树干，被碰到的一侧与相反侧的树干就会炸开、碎裂、树叶凋零纷飞。虽然7753暗自心想“好像曾在某漫画中看过这一招”，但7753并没有说出口。光是为了带着无力的笑容提醒对方别过度破坏大自然，就让7753心力交猝。

“This is me now. My strength is such that ordinary Magical Girls cannot hope to reach it.”
“这就是现在的我。力量达到了一般的魔法少女无法到达的遥远境界。”

“Mm~”
“呃～”

“Master! Please give me a chance! Please give me a chance to show my strength!”
“大使！请给我机会！请赐予我能够大展身手的舞台吧！”

“Mm~”
“呃～”

That Magical Girl was transferred away shortly after that, and 7753 could could pray that she had been rotated into a place where she could show off her skills.
这名魔法少女不久后就转调走了，只能祈祷她顺利转调至能够大展身手的单位。

In addition, there was also a researcher type Magical Girl who believed that “magic shouldn’t be viewed as a vague, indistinct entity, but it should be systematized and studied”, as well as a revolutionary who believed “since we possess power which surpasses scientific technology, we should conquer and rule this world! Mankind, which only acts upon their own desires, can no longer be left alone!” and then there was even a patriot who reasoned, “In order to revitalize our country’s stagnating national potential, the strength of Magical Girls is a vital element. Magical Girls are the best way to secure ourselves!”
另外，曾经也有抱持“不应该将魔法这种技术视为不明确的暧昧存在，应该进行系统化并加以研究”这类想法的学究型魔法少女，以及认为“正因为我们拥有超越科学文明的力量，所以应该由我们支配、统治这个世界吧！不能再继续放任只凭一己私欲行动的人类！”的革命家，甚至也有提出“为了一扫我国逐渐凋零与停滞不前的国势，魔法少女的力量是绝对不可或缺的要素。魔法少女能够提供最安全的保障！”如此理论的国士。

“We should go beyond our assigned areas and actively make contact with the human world. When Magical Girls get serious, they can prevent tragedies from happening.” A girl who advocated that went to the Middle East to bring down the government of a certain nation, and after that she proceeded to take out numerous evil Magical Girls one after the other. Thus, everyone began referring to her with the provocative nickname of the “Magical Girl Hunter”.
“应该跨越地区，积极与人类世界接触。只要魔法少女认真起来，一定能够阻止悲剧发生。”如此主张的少女，前往中东地区击溃某国政府，在那之后也陆续收拾掉许多邪恶魔法少女。于是，众人便以“魔法少女猎人”如此耸动的别名尊称她。

7753 was very aware of how the Land of Magic viewed herself.
7753非常明白“魔法王国”是如何看待自己的。

The Land of Magic sent her problem children who were drunk on power and their dreams, and after anywhere between a week to half a year later, these people would be transferred away. The Magical Girls came one after another like they were on a conveyor belt, and they left one after the other as well.
魔法王国总是送来沉浸于梦想与力量之中的问题儿童，这些人大约一星期到半年左右就会被调走。魔法少女就像是输送带般一个接着一个来，又一个接着一个离去。

7753 had a duty to submit reports on these problem children. Therefore, 7753 used the information her Magical Skill provided as a foundation for writing those reports and then submitted them.
7753有针对这些问题儿童提交报告的义务。因此7753以通过自己的魔法获得的资讯为基础，制作报告书后提交。

7753’s Magical Skill was to visualize information. It was hardly a noble action, nor was it anything difficult. It was extremely cheap and effective given what she did and the results it produced.
7753的魔法是将资讯具视化。这并不是什么高尚的行为，也不是什么困难的事情。以她做的事情与从中得到的结果看来，实在是廉价至极。

By inspecting someone through her magic goggles, she could learn all sorts of information about them, which were displayed over their head. Simply put, it was like the player status one would find in an RPG.
透过魔法护目镜观察对方，便能得知显示在上方的各种数据。简言之，与玩RPG游戏时会出现在画面上的玩家状态一样。

All she had to do was center her target in her goggles’ sights and it would display their information with a bibibi~ tone. The categories could be as broad as Intelligence, Strength, Fighting Ability, or as specific as Arm-Strength, Grip Strength, Grasping Force, Finger Strength, Nail Hardness and so on, and it even included things like interests and hobbies. When she inspected a Magical Girl, she could also learn about their Magical Skills, and it would show everything about them. However, the magic displayed information as a number of hearts and it would render sentences in a childish way, such as “can do so-and-so ~yo”, “can use so-and-so ~yo” “likes so-and-so ~yo”, so in that sense it was very suited to a Magical Girl’s style.
只要用护目镜的瞄准器捕捉对象，就会随着哔哔哔的电子音显示数据。大到智力、体力、战斗能力等项目的测量值，小至腕力、握力、抓力、指力、指甲硬度等细节的测量值，只要调整刻度盘，就能得到几乎所有的资讯。能够获得的资讯不只有能够数据化的事物，甚至包括兴趣、嗜好，当观察对像是魔法少女时，还能够得知对方具备的魔法，将一切资料一网打尽。只不过，数据化魔法是以爱心数量来表示，句子的话则是以“能够～哟”、“能够使用～哟”、“喜欢～哟”口齿不清的幼儿语气记载，在这方面可以说是相当符合魔法少女的风格。

To the Land of Magic, this Magical Skill was very suitable for filtering out evil Magical Girls who were bad at working with others. No matter how they tried to cover themselves up, there was no way to fool 7753’s Magical Skill. Thus, she exposed those problem children who tried to hide their natures and helped the Land of Magic maintain control of the situation. Though speaking of which, most of those problem children did not intend to hide their personalities to begin with.
这个魔法对“魔法王国”来说，非常适合用来过滤出配合度不佳的邪恶魔法少女。无论对方如何掩饰都无法瞒过7753的魔法。她就是这样揭发隐藏本性的问题儿童，协助“魔法王国”掌握情况的。不过话说回来，大部分的问题儿童根本没打算隐藏本性。

7753 quietly completed the duties she had been given. Since the Land of Magic expected her to use her Magical Skills on this sort of work, she would do her best to meet their expectations.
7753默默完成被交代的任务。既然“魔法王国”期望她将魔法用在这种工作上，她就会尽力迎合对方的期盼。

It was not that she had not thought of other ways to use it. She could go to a bigger city to hunt down and root out hiding criminals, and she could go to countries that suffered frequent terror attacks and pick out the terrorists hidden among the innocent civilians.
她也不是没想过其他的运用方式。她能够前往更大的都市，搜寻并揪出藏匿的罪犯，也能前往恐怖攻击频繁的国家，检举混在无辜市民中生活的恐怖分子。

That would probably be a meaningful use of her Magical Skill. But she had no need to disobey the Land of Magic, and since the Land of Magic had ordered her to use her Magical Skill to filter out problem children, all she had to do was obey. It had been seven years since Nanaya Kotori had gained the magical abilities of 7753, and a girl filled with hopes and dreams had now become a senior Magical Girl. Compared to how full of hopes and dreams she had been back then, her present self understood the ways of people and the world, and she did not get drunk on her own power.
想必这才是有意义的魔法使用方式吧。但她没必要违背“魔法王国”，既然“魔法王国”命令她把魔法用在过滤问题儿童上，照办就对了。七谷小鸟获得魔法少女“7753”的魔法以来，已经历经七年的光阴，原本满怀梦想与希望的少女，如今成为资深的魔法少女。与满怀梦想与希望的当时比较起来，现在的她明白人情世故，也不会沉醉于自己的强大。

There were Magical Girls stronger than 7753 everywhere, and besides, even if she sought power which pushed the limits, in the end the Land of Magic was the only one who could decide how that power was used.
比7753强大的魔法少女比比皆是，再说，即使追求濒临极限的强大，到头来还是只有“魔法王国”才能够决定使用方式。

The Land of Magic did not want for money, but they spent every cent on their best people. In short, they were misers. Magical Girls were fundamentally unpaid volunteers who were ordered around at will. If they did not like it, then they could just quit -- though exactly how bluntly that was stated varied from person to person. That was the Land of Magic’s opinion on the matter.
“魔法王国”并不愁钱，但每一块钱都花在刀口上。简单来说，就是吝啬。魔法少女基本上是没有任何报酬、被任意使唤的义工。有意见的话，辞职不干就行了——直言不讳的程度因人而异——魔法王国方面是这么说的。

She had also heard rumors about people who had devoted their lives to Magical Girl activities and who survived on their nation’s welfare system. Those stories were vividly repeated among Magical Girls -- so in all likelihood they were not rumors.
她也听说过，有人因为将全部心血都倾注于魔法少女活动而接受国家最低生活保障制度的谣言。在魔法少女之中传得绘声绘影——这件事应该不只是谣言吧。

However, even the stingy Land of Magic would pay out sometimes.
不过，即使是这样小气的“魔法王国”也会有出钱的时候。

In order to retain talents that they did not wish to let go, they would feed them in the form of salaries.
为了留住不愿意放手的人才，以支付酬劳的形式持续喂饲料给对方。

Such people were usually district supervisors or Magical Girl headhunters assigned to unearth talented individuals. Be through their abilities, skills, experience, Magical Skills and all manner of reasons, the Land of Magic expected these rare few Magical Girls to contribute their specialized talents.
对象是治理一定地区的管理者，或负责发掘人才的魔法少女星探之类，根据其能力、技能、经验、魔法等五花八门的理由，“魔法王国”希望对方贡献专业技能的极少数魔法少女。

7753 was one of those people. She was a Magical Girl who belonged to the Human Resources department, and she received a regular salary from the Land of Magic.
7753正是其中一人。她身为隶属于人事部的魔法少女，会定期收到“魔法王国”支付的薪资。

Because being a Magical Girl was considered an honor, one had very limited freedom in choosing one’s assignations. There were also some people who worked in society apart from their Magical Girl identities, and they could survive on that work even if they did not serve as Magical Girls. Compared to these part-time Magical Girls, full-time Magical Girls had nothing else to fall back on.
也因为魔法少女是一份殊荣，所以能够同时选择的选项相当有限。除了魔法少女的身份，在社会上有工作的人，即使不当魔法少女也能够靠那份工作过活。与这类的兼职魔法少女相比，专职的魔法少女根本没有退路。

For example, go players, shogi players, singers, actors, artistes, mangakas, authors and professional wrestlers would have a very hard time switching career tracks if they suffered setbacks in their lives. Magical Girls had an even harder time of it than them. Be they chess players or mangakas, their jobs gave them some experience and skills. However, that was not true for Magical Girls. Because their memories were erased, they would be returned to a blank slate. They would return to being human beings without skills, experience or qualifications, and then they would be cast out into the savage tides of human society
举凡围棋、将棋的棋士、歌手、演员、艺人、漫画家、小说家、职业摔跤选手，在职业生涯遭遇挫折时也很难转换跑道，魔法少女更是难以转换跑道的佼佼者。不管是棋士也好，漫画家也罢，都还能留下经验与技能。魔法少女却连这点都办不到。由于由于记忆会遭到消除的关系，会真正回归到一张白纸的状态。只能以一名没有任何技能、经验与资历的人类的状态，被放逐于人世间的惊涛骇浪之中。

Every time she thought about that outcome, she could not help but shudder. As she was now, she could only continue living as a Magical Girl.
每每想到这个后果，她都会忍不住打冷颤。如今的她，只能以一名魔法少女的身份活下去。

The search for power and clinging to one’s dreams were brilliant and attractive to those Magical Girls whose objectives lay in the future. She too had dreamed about such a life more than once, but they had remained at the dream stage. It was human nature to dream about a life which one could not have, but there was no need to actually live that same life. 7753 did not live in dreams, but reality.
寻求力量、怀抱梦想，以未来为目标的魔法少女们很耀眼。她也不只一两次憧憬起这种生活态度，但只停留在在憧憬的阶段。憧憬自己无法过的生活乃是人之常情，没必要也实际过着相同的生活。7753并不是活在梦里，而是活在现实中。

While professional Magical Girls often did nothing for social welfare, their income was not a small sum. She controlled her desires, minimized useless expenditures, and saved every single cent of her income into the bank, and recently, her savings had reaches 10 million yen. 7753 enjoyed the feeling of practical satisfaction that came with reading her passbook, and then she wept silently as she read the figures within.
虽然职业魔法少女与社会福利无缘，但现金的收入并不少。她尽可能地克制欲望、不做无谓的浪费，将收入一点一滴地存进银行，终于在不久前成功存到一千万。7753一边感受着存折传来的踏实满足感，一边看着存折数字静静落泪。

She had once heard that certain Magical Girls who made money by doing bad things, but she had not taken that risk. If she got fired because of that, that would be the end of everything for her. She wanted to build up her savings through practical steps, even if she had to do it in bits and pieces.
她也曾经听说，有魔法少女通过做坏事敛财，但她不会以身涉险。如果因此被炒鱿鱼的话，就本末倒置了。就算是一点一滴也没关系，她要以踏实的脚步储蓄。

And so 7753’s savings accumulated bit by bit, but it was still not enough. Magical Girls who resigned could live a very long time. At that time, the place she was living in would become a 30 year old home, and after considering the rebuilding or renovation, her savings of 10 million yen would be used up in a flash.
7753的存款就这样一步一脚印地累积，但还不够。辞掉魔法少女后的人生漫长得很。到时，现在住的家会变成屋龄三十年的老房子，考量到改建或重新装潢等诸多事情，一千万程度的存款一下子就会用光。

***

Her parents had died several years ago, only leaving behind some meager savings, shares and the land rights to this home. She had only met her relatives -- who were fellow beneficiaries -- once, and then they had not encountered each other again.
双亲在数年前相继过世，只留下为数不多的存款、股票与附土地权状的这个家，跟一票亲戚也只有当时见过面，在那之后就再也没碰面。

After her parents had passed away, her life had gone through great changes.
双亲离世后，她的生活有好一阵子产生极大的变化。

The first thing was that her superior had been demoted.
首先是上司遭到降职。

Other than her parents, the only other person she could rely on was her direct superior, a strong, capable and independent woman. Besides being stylish, she had said, “I’ll take responsibility for whatever happens,” but then she had ended up being demoted and transferred elsewhere thanks to the mistakes of another one of her subordinates. Her boss had taken care of her for a long time, but she had not even been given the chance to say goodbye to her.
除了双亲以外，她唯一比较能够依靠的人——直属上司是个“能干的女强人”。风采翩翩不说，还表示过“发生什么事都由我来负责”愿意一肩扛下所有责任，却因为其他部下的疏失，如此令人感到无奈的理由遭到降职并转调。虽然长久以来受上司不少照顾，但她却连道别的机会都没有。

Soon, 7753 met her new boss.
不久后，7753就见到继任的上司了。

Her new superior looked a little shifty. Compared to her previous boss, she did not seem particularly reliable, but there were rumors stating that she was a rising star who had been promoted as a special exception to the rules, and some people even said that it was because her family was deeply linked to Magical Girls. Simply put, she had come this far through connections. However, it was hard to determine the truth or falsehood of her situation, as befitted her shifty appearance.
新上司看起来是个有点缥缈的魔法少女。与前任上司相比，似乎没那么可靠，但有谣言说她是破例获得提拔的新锐，甚至也有人在背后闲话，说是因为她的家人与魔法少女关系很深。说穿了，就是靠走后门才能出人头地。然而，事实与她那缥缈的外表相符，难以掌握真伪。

Perhaps if 7753 had used her Magical Skill, she could have seen her true identity, but 7753 always took her goggles off in front of her superiors. That was only to be expected. Using her Magical Skill on her boss would only upset them. Even if her target was not her boss, snooping through their data without permission was quite rude.
也许只要7753使用魔法，就能够掌握她的真面目，但在上司面前7753都会摘掉护目镜。这是理所当然的。如果对上司使用魔法，只会让对方感到不悦吧。就算不是上司，在未经许可的情况下，擅自偷窥对方资讯也是相当不礼貌的行为。

Her new superior seemed very interested in the goggles which 7753 had taken off, and she had snatched them away just after saying, “leave them with me for a while.” While 7753 had repeatedly told her superior that not having her goggles would interfere with her job, her superior had ignored her pleas and taken them away, only returning them several days later via registered mail.
新上司对于7753摘下的护目镜显得兴致勃勃，说完“先暂时放在我这里吧”就径自拿走了。虽然7753多次对上司表明，没有那个护目镜会妨碍到例行的业务，但上司却完全不予理会地带走了护目镜，数日后，才以简易挂号寄还。(注:日本的挂号分为普通挂号、现金挂号与简易挂号三种。简易挂号的邮资比普通挂号便宜，万一挂号寄丢或损坏，赔偿费以最高五万日元的物品实际费用进行支付。)

“I’ve modified them. The goggles will send information here directly, so you won’t need to hand in reports any more,” said a letter within the mail, which 7753 crumpled up and threw into the trash. How dare she look down on her! All that about how if someone else took the goggles, they would turn back to ordinary goggles when she de-transformed, and being able to modify them despite being magical goggles. Her superior had told her many things which she herself did not know, but she was more furious than surprised.
“我改良过了。护目镜会直接将资讯传送到我这里，即日起不需要提交报告。”信件里附上这么一封信，信被7753揉成一团丢进垃圾桶里。竟然这么瞧不起别人。说什么护目镜被别人拿走的话，只要她解除变身就会变成普通的护目镜，还有明明是魔法护目镜却能够进行改造等，虽然对方让她明白许多连她自己都不知道的事情，但比起惊讶，更令人感到火冒三丈。

Not only had she forcibly confiscated the goggles which were the core of the Magical Girl 7753, she had also modified them without her permission, and she had done all that without so much as a word of apology. It was quite clear from her boss’ actions that she was a self-righteous idealist. While this was not something she had learned through the goggles, 7753 was certain that her impression was correct. Her new boss also seemed less reliable than her old boss… or rather, if she made careless requests to her, she might end up being abandoned.
不仅强行拿走可以说是魔法少女7753根基的护目镜，并且在未经本人许可之下擅自改造，竟然连一句道歉都没有。从这种种行为便能够导出，对方是个自以为是的理想性主义者。虽然不是透过护目镜观察到的结果，但她确信这个印象百分之百不会错。新上司看起来也不比之前的上司可靠……或者应该说，如果轻率地拜托对方，也许还会被弃置一旁。

At that time, all she could do was lament her ill fortune and sulk about being saddled with an annoying boss. And then, time passed, and so did the seasons.
当时只能哀叹自己命运多舛，为自己跟到一个讨人厌的上司而沮丧。然后，时光飞逝，春去夏来，夏去冬来。

Humans were practical creatures, and during the course of her peaceful life, her thoughts had changed to “Not having to write reports is pretty relaxing, this isn’t bad either”. The information obtained by 7753’s goggles was so detailed that writing reports on them was quite a waste of time. Thanks to her modified goggles, she could omit that step and spend her days at ease.
人类就是这么现实的生物，她的想法在安稳地过着生活的期间不知不觉中变成“能够不用写报告的确轻松许多，这样也不赖”。由于透过7753的魔法所获得的资讯非常详尽，写起报告也相当旷日费时。多亏有改造后的护目镜，她才能够省略这道步骤，悠哉度日。

In addition, her salary, which she had pessimistically thought would never increase until the day she died, had more than tripled. She even began to feel grateful to her current superior, and she felt like she was an excellent employee rendering service to one of the elite. When she learned about her raise, she had bought three bottles of foreign stout. Those bottles were shaped different from those made in Japan, and their angular exterior was quite interesting. It moved her deeply, she who had not touched alcohol in a long time. Compared to Magical Girls, humans were much more easily affected by externalities.
再加上原本悲观地以为，直到入土为止都不会调涨的死薪水，竟然成长了三成之多。她甚至开始对现在的上司怀抱感激之情，觉得自己似乎变成在精英分子底下卖力工作的优秀员工。得知加薪的那晚，她还在商店街抽到三瓶国外产的黑啤酒。瓶身与日本的规格不同，有锐角的外形相当有趣。许久没有沾染的酒精令她感动不已。与魔法少女相比，人类还真是容易受到外在事物的影响。

Now that she lived a more relaxed life, her heart relaxed as well. When she cleaned the house, she would carefully clean the window and door frames, and when she trimmed the grass in her yard, she would not use pesticides. She even considered planting some vegetables in her yard and make a small garden.
生活的富足连结心灵上的富足。现在打扫房间时，她也会仔细地打扫窗缘或门框等小地方，割庭院杂草时也不会使用除草剂。甚至考虑要在庭院种些蔬菜，打造成小型菜园。

Thus, 7753 began to gradually improve the fullness of her life, and she had even come to smile at the business trips she used to find annoying, until today--
于是，7753就这样逐渐加强生活的充实度，就连以前嫌麻烦的出差也能够微笑以对，直到今天——

***

When she woke up, the first thing she did was stare in shock at the strange ceiling above her before she remembered that she was staying in a hotel. It had been a long time since her last trip. People would cook and clean for her, and she could claim her meals and travel expenses from the company. While this room was so small that she would bump her head in the tub, hotels held a rare and precious sense of bliss for people who lived alone. Magical Girls were primarily active at night. In order to fully savor this bliss, she would stay in bed all day and only emerge slowly and unhurriedly when evening came.
当她醒过来时，先是恍惚地眺望陌生的天花板，接着才想起自己住在饭店里。久违的出差。不管是打扫或煮饭，都有人帮她做，餐费与交通费都可以报公账。虽然是个泡澡都会撞到头的狭窄房间，但对独自生活的人而言，饭店这种地方有一种难能可贵的幸福感。魔法少女主要的活动时段在夜晚。在她睡了两次回笼觉，充分品尝幸福的滋味，到了傍晚才不疾不徐地起床。

The first thing Nanaya Kotori did when she woke up was to wash her face and brush her teeth. This was the only way for her to fully wake up. As long as she used the magical facewash her previous superior had given her she could easily clean off the excess oil on her face.
七谷小鸟起床的第一件事就是洗脸刷牙。这么做才能让她完全清醒过来。只要使用前任上司送给她的魔法洗面乳，就能够清爽地洗掉脸上多余的皮脂。

She went to the hotel’s dining hall, where there was a buffet set up, and she read the evening news while eating salad and sausages. The crisp sensation of the lettuce refreshed her mind and body, and she spread peach jam on her bread while drinking warm milk to moisten her throat. She unconsciously looked toward the TV, at the evening news. She thought, “they’re all so pretty” as she watched the high school girls laughing shrilly on the screen.
她在满满是人的饭店附设自助式餐厅，一边吃着沙拉与香肠一边翻阅晚报。莴苣爽脆的口感让人感到身心舒畅，在面包上涂抹杏子果酱，并以温牛奶滋润喉咙。不自觉地看向电视，正在播晚间新闻。望着在画面中发出尖锐笑声的女高中生们，她心想大家真漂亮。

If she had not become a Magical Girl, perhaps she might have spent her youth like that.
如果没有成为魔法少女的话，也许她会拥有这样的青春期吧。

All this time, she had been thinking about herself as a Magical Girl, and she had put her life as a human being behind her. She had originally thought that improving her feminine charm to boost her ego and whatnot was unimportant, but after standing in front of a mirror and inspecting herself, she realized that she looked older than her actual age. Gold would shine beautifully without polishing, but scrap iron would only rust without polish.
一直以来，她满脑子都在思考身为魔法少女的自己，将做为一名人类的生活摆在后面。她原本认为女人味或提升自我之类的事情，根本无关紧要，但站在镜子前仔细审视自己后，才发现外表显得比实际年龄老。黄金即使不需琢磨也能够绽放美丽的光芒，但破铁不琢磨只会生锈而已。

Since she had come all the way to B-City, she had booked an appointment at a local beauty salon. It was a famous place which the magazines had recommended. She persuaded herself by saying that she was only here because she happened to be in the area on a business trip.
既然难得来到B市，她也预约了市内的美容院。那是杂志介绍过的名店。她说服自己，只是出差顺便来这里而已。

No, I didn’t happen to be in the area, she amended her thoughts in her mind. More to the point, coming here was not a waste of money, but a necessary expense. Doing so would allow her to achieve a balance between her life as a human and her life as a Magical Girl, and thus improve the fullness of the human experience. Yes, that was probably it. Indeed, if she remained as a Magical Girl, she could have saved on her food bills and other miscellaneous expenses, and indeed, that was how she had lived when she had first become a Magical Girl.
不对，并不是顺便来，她在脑袋里订正。更何况，来这里并不是乱花钱，而是必要的支出。这么做能让她在人类生活与魔法少女生活之间取得平衡，并获得更加充实的人生。应该没错吧。的确，如果她一直维持魔法少女的状态，就能够节省餐费等诸多预算，在她刚成为魔法少女时，确实也是靠这种生活方式存钱。

However, even if she could become pretty by transforming into a Magical Girl, she could not neglect her appearance when she returned to her human form. That point became more and more important as the years went by. Once she grew up, she had to focus on how she was perceived by society, even if she was just popping out to buy something.
然而，尽管自己只要变身成魔法少女就能变可爱，但也不能忽略恢复人类时的外表仪容。随着年龄的增长，这一点的分量越来越重。长大之后，即使只是稍微出去买个东西，也会被要求注重社会观感。

Kotori returned to her room, and checked her schedule book.
小鸟回到房间后，确认了行程表。

In the past, she would never have carried such a stylish thing on her; it was a high-quality item with a leather cover. If not for her increased pay, she would never have bought something like this.
以前的她绝对不可能随身携带这种时髦的物品——皮革封面的高级品。要是不加薪，她绝对不可能买这种东西吧。

To think a raise would make her feel so much better. It was as though the entire world had changed. She could not help but feel admiration for life-long employment, regular salary increases in accordance with one’s seniority and as other such systems, as well as their ability to win over the human heart.
想不到加薪会让人如此身心舒畅，仿佛整个世界都变了。她也不禁对年功序列、定期加薪、终身雇用等制度，着实能收买人心而感到佩服。(注:日本传统的加薪、升等制度，年资越久就升越高。)

Today’s schedule would have her meeting a Magical Girl she was supposed to mentor. She would only need to move out at midnight for that, so all she had to do was reach the beauty salon at the appointed time in the afternoon.
今天的行程是与即将来培训的魔法少女碰面。半夜再出发就行了，所以下午只需要在预约的时间抵达美容院。

While she mentally listed out all the things she had to take care of before that and began to contemplate them, her Magical Phone emitted a ringtone. It was from her boss.
当她在脑中列出在那之前必须先处理的事情，细细思索时，魔法终端设备响出来电铃声。是上司打来的。

She had actually called directly instead of sending a text message. How unusual.
竟然直接打电话联络而不是通过简讯，真是稀奇。

Kotori transformed into 7753 before picking up the terminal. Her voice was different before and after her transformation, and picking up a work call without transforming might easily lead to people thinking she had a slack work attitude. The workplace etiquette of Magical Girls could be quite nuanced and complex in the strangest little areas.
小鸟变身成7753后，才拿起魔法终端设备。变身前后的声音有差，不变身就接起工作的电话，难免会被认为工作态度过于随便。魔法少女的职场礼仪，在奇怪的小地方其实很多繁文缛节。

“Hello, this is 7753.”
“您好，我是7753。”

“There’s an urgent job. Invest e-gaters are headed to B-City.”
“有紧急工作。‘调茶圆’正前往B市。”

She sensed a hint of anxiety from her superior. B-City was this city, where 7753 had been sent on a business trip. For a moment, she could not make sense of the words “invest e-gaters”, and she spent about five seconds pondering them.
她从上司的声音里嗅到一丝紧张的气氛。B市是指7753目前正在出差的这座城市，她一时想不出“调茶圆”这几个字，思考了大约五秒钟。

“Invest e-gaters?”
“调茶圆？”

“Investigators. People who investigate whether or not Magical Girls have committed crimes.”
“就是调查员啊。调查魔法少女是否有犯罪行为的职员。”

“Ahhh, I see.”
“啊啊，原来如此。”

“The Land of Magic has information that a violent criminal is hiding in B-City, so they’ve sent out their investigators. According to the report, they made contact with the criminal not long ago, but since the enemy’s fighting strength was beyond their expectations, they were forced to retreat.”
“魔法王国获得残暴的罪犯藏匿在B市的情报，所以才会出动调查员。据报，她们不久前直接接触了犯人，由于敌人战力超出预期，只好暂时撤退。”

Her grip on her Magical Phone tightened unconsciously.
握着魔法终端设备的手下意识地加重力道。

“What’s all this about?”
“这到底是怎么一回事？”

“It seems they’ve reported a death. We’ve received a request for assistance from all nearby Magical Girls, and naturally that includes you, since you’re on dispatch in B City. I was hoping to have at least one person from our department there, and fortunately you happened to be in the area.”
“似乎也有传出死亡名单。我们收到要求邻近魔法少女前往支援的联络，当然也包括正在B市出差的你。无论如何我希望能够从我们部门派出一名人员，幸运的是你正在当地出差。”

What fortune was this? It was more like misfortune.
哪里幸运，根本就是不幸吧。

“I’d just get in the way for such a dangerous matter.”
“这么危险的事情，我去了也只会碍手碍脚吧。”

“It’s not like you can leave B-City anyway. Foreign Affairs has set up a barrier around it for support.”
“反正你也没办法离开B市，外交部以支援为由，在四周张设了结界。”

“What?”
“什么？”

“They set it up to prevent the criminal from fleeing the city, but for the Magical Girls within the city, they’re basically trapped in there. No magical elements can pass through the barrier, not even Magical Girls before transformation.”
“这个措施是为了避免犯人潜逃至市外，不过，对身处市内的魔法少女而言，等同于被困在里面。任何魔法元素都无法通过结界，即使是变身前的魔法少女也不例外。”

“That’s just crazy!”
“这也太乱来了吧！”

“Well, you can’t get out anyway, so rather than being on your own within the city, why not stick with professional investigators? It’ll be safer that way. If you move around on your own, you might be mistaken for an accomplice of the criminals and attacked.”
“反正无论如何你都逃不了，比起一个人待在市内，倒不如跟专业的调查员待在一起更安全。如果你任意单独行动的话，也许会被视为犯人的同伙而遭到攻击也不一定。”

“But I…”
“可是我……”

“I”ll mail you the details, there’s not much time. Remember, you need to report everything. Even if you think it’s unimportant, you are not to make your own judgements. Oh, and stay safe.”
“详情我再传电子邮件给你，时间所剩无几，记得凡事都要报告。即使是你觉得不重要的小事，也不可自行妄加判断。喔，还有注意安全。”

That last sentence sounded like it was supposed to have “by the way” tacked on to the end of it. Perhaps it was 7753’s persecution complex at work.
最后一句话听起来像是“姑且补充一下”的感觉，也许是7753的被害妄想症导致的吧。

7753’s daily life was slowly dissolving. She stood dumbly on the spot for a while, and then, as though driven by a force external to her unthinking body, she accepted the e-mail. Her boss’ email had reached her, and she immediately opened it and scanned the contents. The meeting place was the KTV in front of the train station, and they would be meeting up soon. There was also a careful insistence at the end of the text that she should not be transformed into a Magical Girl while in transit.
7753的日常生活正逐渐瓦解。愣在原地好一会儿，仿佛受到一股无法正常思考的自己以外的动力驱动般，她确认了电子邮件。上司的电子邮件已经传来，立刻点开，以眼神扫过内容。集合地点是车站前的KTV，再过不久就是集合时间。文末还细心地叮咛，前往时别变身成魔法少女。

In any case, I’ll have to cancel my salon appointment, she suddenly thought.
总之得先取消美容沙龙的预约了。她恍惚地想。

***

Kotori decided to walk the streets before the meetup. Once outside, she saw that the sky was covered in thick, swirling clouds, the dark gray ceiling stretching all the way to the horizon. The buildings had interior lighting, so they were much brighter than the outside. It was only evening now, but the darkness outside was closer to midnight. It felt like a hint of her hopeless future, and she could not help but feel frustrated.
小鸟决定在会合前去街上走一圈。一来到户外，天空已笼罩在一大片又浓又浊的乌云下，深灰色的天棚一路朝地平线的尽头延伸而去。建筑物里因为有照明的关系，比户外明亮许多。虽然时值傍晚，天色却暗到接近深夜。仿佛象征着自己前途无望般，令人忍不住烦躁起来。

She reached an intersection after travelling five minutes on foot from the hotel where she was staying, and beyond that was the city outskirts. The air here was hardly fresher, and the cold bit into her throat. This was truly the countryside.
从下榻的饭店走向徒步五分钟就能抵达的十字路口，再过去就是市外。这里的空气没有比较新鲜，空气中的寒意刺激着她的喉咙。真是个不上不下的乡下。

The pedestrians at the intersection near the train station fit the countryside image perfectly. They came in huge crowds, and coated students walked carefully alongside office-worker men and women. They stopped at the same time when the lights turned red and started walking in unison when the lights turned green. Kotori did as they did, but at the end of the zebra crossing she hit an invisible wall, making her waist buckle in pain. It was not the simple sensation of hitting something hard, but in the moment she touched it, her lower body hurt so much that she could not stand. She wanted to cry out, but she could not make any sound. A sense of numbness spread out from the depths of her brain, and her vision briefly turned red before it slowly returned to normal. She hugged herself and collapsed to the ground.
车站附近的行人保护时相交叉路口，很符合不上不下的乡下印象，往来行人众多，穿着大外套的学生与看似上班族的男女专注地走着，遇上红灯时众人会同时停下脚步，变成绿灯时又会同时迈开步伐。小鸟也跟着众人这么做，却在即将走到斑马线尽头时，一头撞上一道隐形的墙壁，让她忍不住痛到蹲下来。不同于单纯撞上坚硬墙壁的感觉，接触的瞬间，她的下半身立刻痛到站不直。即使痛到想叫出声来，也发不出声音。从脑袋深处传来麻痹的感觉，视线在一瞬间变得鲜红，接着才一点一滴地慢慢恢复原样。她抱着双肩瘫坐。

Intense nausea assailed her, making it impossible for her to breathe, and she had no idea which way was down.
一股强烈的晕眩感袭来，令她无法呼吸，甚至无法辨识地面在哪一边。

She had been walking on the edge of the zebra crossing so nobody would collide into her from behind, but she could not avoid the people looking suspiciously at her. All she could do was crawl to the sidewalk, then smile weakly and wave to the people inquiring about her in worried tones. She only managed to struggle back to her feet after grabbing onto one of the roadside trees. She felt a thread of cold near her mouth, and when she rubbed at it with her hand, she found a thin line of drool at the corner of her mouth. She hurriedly wiped it away with her handkerchief.
因为她是走在斑马线的边缘，虽然不会有人从后面撞上来，但还是无可避免被行人投以怀疑的眼神。她只好连滚带爬地回到人行道，对以担心的语气关切她的路人回以无力的笑容并挥了挥手，扶着路树才勉勉强强站起来。感觉到嘴角传来一丝冷意，以手擦拭后，发现嘴角竟淌着一丝口水。赶紧拿出手帕擦拭干净。

So this was the barrier. Even if ordinary people could walk right through it, 7753 could not continue forward.
这就是结界啊。即使普通人能够畅行无阻，7753却无法继续前进。

She had heard that anything magical would rebound off it, but she had never expected it to do so much damage. Just touching it had nearly paralyzed her. When she thought about what would happen if she took a car or a train outside the barrier without knowing anything about it, she she trembled from a chill not born of the temperature.
虽然听说与魔法有关的事物会遭到反弹，但她万万想不到会造成这么大的伤害。光是碰触就差点造成瘫痪。一想到如果自己在完全不知情的状况下，搭乘汽车或电车前往结界外面的下场，就令她感到不寒而栗。

When Kotori gave up on the idea of leaving B-City and turned back, she saw that the WALK icon was flashing and about to change, so she hurriedly dashed across the road.
当小鸟放弃离开B市的念头打算回头时，发现行人专用号志一闪一灭即将变换，于是她急忙飞奔过去。

***

She took out her Magical Phone and checked the time. There was still a bit more time before the meetup. She gently slid her finger across the screen and checked a map of the surrounding area in search of the nearest park, and then she headed there. After sitting on a bench, she opened her emails and started scrolling through the information her boss had sent.
拿出魔法终端设备，确认时间。距离集合时间还有一点空档。她以手指轻轻滑过荧幕，确认周边地图，搜寻附近的儿童公园，然后前往。坐在长椅上，点开电子邮件，浏览起上司传来的资料。

Said information contained details on the criminal. While it was supposed to be information, the fact that the criminal’s name and afiliation was unknown meant that this was pretty much a mysterious serial killer. When Kotori read about how the criminal killed with a gigantic blade, her heart sank. To think she would have to take part in finding such a person.
资料上记载着犯人的详细资讯。虽说是详细资讯，但犯人姓名与隶属单位尚未明朗，几乎等同于神秘的连环杀手。当小鸟读到犯人以巨大的刃物斩杀被害者时，忍不住意志消沉起来。竟然要自己参与这种人的调查行动。

The victims were all people connected to the Land of Magic -- whistleblowers, administrators who were about to be called as important witnesses, examiners rumored to have taken bribes, and a Magical Girl who was said to have smuggled magic items from the Land of Magic to the Yakuza. According to the text, the criminal was extremely cruel. Was it wise to let her know there things? Kotori’s heart was in turmoil, and at the same time she was frightened by the fact that Magical Girls were going about their business like ordinary citizens despite all these victims. All this would lead to a huge spike in Magical Girls dying in the line of duty.
被害者净是与“魔法王国”相关的人士——内部告发者、即将被视为重要参考证人的管理官、谣传有收贿行为的考官、据说暗自偷渡“魔法王国”的魔法道具给黑道的魔法少女。根据文中的描述，犯人非常残暴。让她知道这些事情真的好吗？小鸟的内心相当动摇，同时又对明明出现这么多被害者，却仍然有身为一般市民的魔法少女们在毫不知情的情况下持续活动，感到惶恐不安。这样会造成魔法少女的殉职率飙高吧。

However, this information was only the beginning.
然而，这些资料也只是开端而已。

When she slid to the next page, she saw words like ”infiltrator”, “double agent”, “undercover agent”, and so she hurriedly turned off the power to the Magical Phone. She chucked her Magical Phone into the tote bag behind her shoulder and rose to her feet, dusting off the skirt around her butt and bought a can of black coffee before sitting back down on the bench. There was an old man fishing by the pond. Kotori could not help but think, what a peaceful way of life. I’m envious. Those thoughts came from the bottom of her heart.
当她一滑动页面时，“潜入调查”、“双面调查”、“卧底行动”等文字立刻映入眼帘，于是她赶紧关闭魔法终端设备电源。将魔法终端设备丢入肩背的托特包中后起身，拍了两次屁股后的裙子，在自动贩卖机买好无糖咖啡后，重新坐回长椅上。公园的池子边有老人正垂着钓线。小鸟忍不住心想，还真是怡然自得的生活呀。真令人羡慕呀。她打从心底里这么想。

Criminal investigations… Frankly speaking, she had never been involved with any criminal apprehension work before, yet she had been forced into such a huge and arduous task.
犯罪调查……具体说起来，自己明明没有接触过任何逮捕犯人的工作，却被硬塞如此艰巨的任务。

The boss she had originally thought was quite capable had actually given such a troublesome order to a subordinate who happened to be in the area. Her assessment of her boss being an unreasonable rationalist had been accurate, after all. If she had known, she would not have lowered her guard after finding out her workload had decreased and that she had gotten a raise, but it was too late for that now.
原本觉得相当能干的上司，竟然对纯粹只是凑巧出现在同一地区的部下，下达如此为难人的命令。不近人情的理性主义者评价，果然是正确的。早知道就不要因为工作负担减轻又被加薪而卸下心防。如今后悔也已经为时已晚。

Capable superiors would require their subordinates to be equally capable. The most 7753 had done in the field of violence was breaking up a fight between two drunks. What on earth had her boss expected out of her? No, people like that were not capable bosses, just useless bosses who thought they were capable. A truly capable superior ought to have a firm grasp of their subordinates’ suitability and under normal circumstances, she should have told 7753 “A war might break out in B-City, please stay in a safe place and wait for orders.”  While she had complained long and loud about her superior, she could not ignore the duties assigned to her. The life of an office-worker Magical Girl who had to put up with her boss and collect her salary was truly difficult.
那种能干的上司，也会要求部下同样能干。7753在暴力事件方面，只有调停过醉汉之间的纷争而已。上司到底期待如此的她有何表现？不，那样的人才不是能干的上司，只是个自以为能干的无能上司。上司要是真的能干，应该能够确实掌握部下的适性度，按照常情应该会告诉7753“你现在身处的B市有可能发生战争，尽量待在安全的场所待命”。虽然她毫不客气地大肆抱怨上司一番，却不能不理被交代的任务。看人脸色，拿人薪水的上班族魔法少女真命苦。

After a mouthful of coffee, Kotori looked at her Magical Phone again.
喝了一口咖啡后，小鸟再度将视线投向魔法终端设备。

This information seemed to be a forced sharing of secrets and forcing a sense of camaraderie onto her. It would essentially put her in the same boat as the person who had shared it. Kotori had never expected that she would end up knowing things like these which ought not to be know. The coffee she drank tickled at her gut.
所谓的情报，似乎会强行与人共享秘密、强行让人产生伙伴意识，并把人硬拖上同一条船。小鸟原本并没料想到，自己会得知这些不该知道的情报。喝下的咖啡刺激着她的胃

It was not just a simple set of data, but it also included notes for easier reading.
上面不只是单纯地列举资料，还为了阅读方便贴心地附上详细解说。

Among them were quite a few cases of untransformed Magical Girls being killed in their own homes. The locations of Magical Girls were hidden behind multiple layers of tight security, and ordinary citizens of the land of Magic would not be able to easily obtain that information. More to the point, the fact that the criminal could learn a Magical Girl‘s true identity was a sign that the criminal had high-level connections or the backing of an organization. Some people had even started to suspect that someone was trying to purge undesirables.
其中不乏没有变身的魔法少女，在自宅遭到杀害的事件。魔法少女的所在位置在层层严密的管理下，普通的“魔法王国”居民不可能轻易得到这方面的资讯。更别说，连魔法少女的真实身份都能够掌握，即意味着犯人处于相当高层或以组织的形式运作。甚至有一部分的势力开始怀疑，有人为了利益正在肃清对自己不利的人。

Amidst these secretive and forbidding circumstances, many factions had suggested requests for joint investigations. Among them were the Human Resources Division that Kotori worked for, and the Foreign Affairs Division who had set up this barrier. Perhaps they were trying to prove that they were innocent by having people from their department assist in this investigation. They might even be planning to seal the criminal’s lips using the excuse that the criminal had almost gotten away and they had no choice but to kill them.
在如此疑心生暗鬼的情况下，许多势力纷纷提出协助调查的要求。其中，也包括小鸟隶属的人事部，以及这次张设结界的外交部。或许是想藉由自己部门有协助调查，作为与犯人无关的清白证明也不一定;抑或是顺利的话，甚至想以犯人差点溜掉，不得已只好杀死犯人的借口，来封住当事人的嘴也不一定。

The fact that the information had clearly pointed that out made Kotori even more depressed.
资料中甚至明明白白地指出这点，令小鸟更加意志消沉了。

While she had no desire to be promoted, she still held onto the wish of living her life like a good citizen as her salary slowly increased. Under no circumstances did she want to be involved with inter-factional conflicts or assassinations, purges, and the like. The thought of it was horrifying.
虽然她完全没有升官发达的欲望，但还是怀抱着能够慢慢调薪、好好过生活的庶民心愿。无论如何她都不想与派系间的斗争或暗杀、肃清之类的事情有瓜葛。实在太骇人听闻了。

Currently, there were three investigators in B-City. Gekokujo Hana and Mana from the Examinations Division, and Mao Pam from another division. Gekokujo Hana and Mana were expert investigators and searchers, while Mao Pam hailed from the Land of Magic’s Foreign Affairs Division. Since the Foreign Affairs Division had insisted she would be necessary to capture this violent criminal, she had been assigned as a combatant for the infiltration team at the last minute. And then, there was the Magical Girl from the Human Resources Division -- 7753, which completed the mixed team.
目前在B市里的调查员共有三人。监察部的下克上羽菜与麻奈，再加上从别的部门调派来的魔王帕姆。下克上羽菜与麻奈是调查和搜索方面的专家，魔王帕姆目前隶属于“魔法王国”的外交部，但由于外交部主张押解残暴的犯人时会需要她，因此被临时指派为潜入小组的战斗干员。再加上隶属人事部的魔法少女——7753，便形成最终的联合军班底。

However the fact that they had assigned someone from Foreign Affairs as a designated combatant felt off to her. It added a splash of realism to the aforementioned silencing. For all she knew, the others might assume 7753 was the Magical Girl who had been tasked with that duty. The fact that someone else had been shoehorned in was already quite suspicious. How could someone who had been forced onto their team be met with a warm welcome?
不过，竟然毫不避讳地将从外交部派来的协助人员指定为战斗干员，实在令人感到不妥。总觉得刚才提到的封口手段，似乎染上了一丝现实的色彩。搞不好别人也认为7753也是肩负如此任务的魔法少女。光是她被硬塞进潜入小组，就显得相当可疑。后来才被强加进来的人，怎么可能会受到热烈欢迎？

She quietly made up her mind to work hard so that the others would not suspect her. Then, she scrolled to the next page. The criminal’s accomplice was a mascot - Toko. That much had already been verified.
她暗自在心中下定决心，至少要努力表现出不会遭人怀疑的举动才行。接着，她滑至下一页。
协助犯人的是吉祥物——多可。它的身份已经获得证实。

The newest model of Magical Phone contained a directional Magical Potential sensor with higher performance than previous models, but this ability was a top-secret hidden function that could only be used by authorized personnel. Every use would be logged by the Land of Magic’s Examination Division.
最近研发的新型“魔法终端设备”，搭载了优于以往机型的高指向性魔法天赋搜寻工具，但这个功能是仅限部分相关人士才能使用的超机密隐藏功能，一经使用便会在“魔法王国”的监察总部留下记录。

Simply put, the Land of Magic was monitoring the use of that function. However, the Land of Magic’s surveillance system was riddled with holes; just about any active Magical Girl would have experienced that before. There had always been a certain percentage of problem children who made such holes. Therefore, this was the most rational solution to solving that problem. Although the classified surveillance function was just like a secret police or society of informants and it pressurized her so much that she could not breathe, it was still better than letting bad people do as they pleased in a surveillance system that was filled with flaws.
简单说，就是“魔法王国”确实有在监视该功能的用途。然而，魔法王国的监视体系漏洞百出一事，只要是正在活跃中的魔法少女应该都曾经感受过吧。钻漏洞并兼差干坏事的问题儿童，一直以来都有一定比例的存在。因此，为了解决如此歪风而有所行动，也是再正常不过了。虽然机密的监视装置像极了秘密警察或告密风气盛行的社会，让她有一种喘不过气来的压迫感，但总好过放任坏人在那漏洞百出的监视体系下为所欲为。

That was what Toko had been aiming for. That mascot had been privately nicknamed the “human trafficker” by her colleagues, and she was a skilled Magical Girl scout. From that negative sobriquet, it was not hard to tell that she was quite cold-hearted towards Magical Girls despite her skills. Wherever she went, a steady stream of Magical Girls would be born. She was willing to guide those with ability, but she cared nothing for the life or death of the plebeians who did not meet her standards; if she judged them as useless, she would abandon them without a second thought. Even when the Magical Girls she had scouted went to her for advice, they would only receive a cold reply. To date, there had been numerous “outstanding Magical Girls” who had been raised up with the mental defect of “power is all, don’t worry about the details”. They were very capable, but their personalities… were a different matter.
多可就是看准这点。这个吉祥物从以前就被同事在私下称为“人口贩子”，是个精明干练的魔法少女星探。从此一负面绰号不难得知，虽然它手腕高强，对魔法少女却很薄情。只要它出马，就会源源不绝地孕育出魔法少女，愿意亲切地指导有能力的人，却完全不顾资质平庸之人的死活，只要被它认为毫无利用价值，就会毫不犹豫地舍弃对方。即使过去录取的魔法少女找它咨询，也只会得到冷淡的回应。截至目前为止，已经有数名“优秀的魔法少女”是基于“只要有能力，不需要在意小细节”的精神缺陷而培育出来。她们的能力固然优秀，但人格方面……就不得而知了。

Due to her impressive track record, she had earned the right to preferentially distribute the latest model of experimental Magical Phone. Toko was discovered to be using that function by the authorities, who discovered traces of Toko at the scene of a crime while it was in progress. From that, they could tell that Toko had used the Magical Phone, but the actual criminal was someone else. That criminal had probably been scouted and raised by Toko the expert mentor -- a Magical Girl who had been secretly trained -- and whose abilities were specialized for homicide.
由于它拥有相当的实绩，因此获得配发实验用的新型终端设备的优先权。多可被当局逮到它利用了这一点，在某个犯行的犯罪时间与犯罪现场，发现多可留下的痕迹。被害者遭到巨型刃物残忍地杀害，但吉祥物并不具备做出这种事情的能力。由此可知，利用魔法终端设备的虽是多可，但实行犯另有其人。犯人恐怕就是身为人才培育专家的多可所发掘，并秘密训练——特别强化杀人能力的魔法少女。

Given the similarities between the victims and Toko’s situation, they had concluded that “Toko could not be the mastermind; someone else or some organization was giving Toko orders”. As a result, the higher-ups in the Land of Magic could not help but nervously suspect interference from one of the Divisions. In addition, it was not hard to see the reason why 7753 had been forcibly stuffed into the Investigation Team.
根据被害者的共通点与多可的立场，可导出“多可不可能是幕后黑手，对多可下达命令的另有其人或组织”的结论。想必“魔法王国”的高层，也因此战战兢兢地忍不住怀疑有哪些部门涉案吧。另外，也不难推敲出，这就是7753被强行塞进调查小组的缘由。

Kotori tilted her head in order to down the canned coffee in one gulp, but only a few drops of coffee landed on her tongue, and no matter how much she shook it after that, no more came out. She sighed, and then tossed the can into the trash bin next to the vending machine, but she missed, and it fell onto the paved road. Kotori sighed again, then stood up, picked up the fallen can and chucked it into the bin.
小鸟仰头想将罐装咖啡一饮而尽，却只有几滴咖啡汁液落在舌头上，之后不管她再怎么摇晃罐身都没有流出一滴。小鸟叹了一口气，将空罐丢向自动贩卖机旁的垃圾桶，却不小心丢偏，空罐滚落在石板路上。再度叹了一口气后，站起身来，捡起掉在地上的空罐并扔进垃圾桶里。

She left the part, and peeked into the bucket next to the old fisherman. The bucket was filled with water, and there was nothing inside. Kotori sighed a third time, and so the old man glared at her. She hurriedly tightened her collar and quickly left the park.
离开公园前，她偷瞥了一眼正在钓鱼的老人家身旁的水桶。水桶里只有水，没有任何收获。小鸟第三度叹气，老人因此瞪了她一眼。于是，她赶紧拉起外套衣领，急忙离开公园。

The meeting place was a private box in the KTV lounge, which was part of a famous chain that had branches in the city where Kotori lived. However, it seemed much smaller compared to the shops and the parking lots of the city where Kotori lived, and it looked old. The automatic door did not move smoothly, jerking here and there. Was it because of the obvious rust? Or could it be because a sinkhole had caused the foundation to settle? Or was it just because the establishment was slanted? All of those seemed likely as she looked at the KTV’s storefront.
集合地点是KTV其中一间包厢，是小鸟住的城市也有的知名连锁店。但是比起小鸟居住的城市的店面与停车场，这里的规模小上许多，而且老旧。自动门开合的动作相当不顺畅，看起来卡卡的。是因为明显可见的生锈造成的吗？抑或是地层下陷使得地基下沉而导致的？或许单纯只是店铺倾斜的关系吧？从这间店的门面看来，不管是哪一种现象都有可能。

Although she did not think the attendant was very friendly, she did not express it, naturally, and after indicating she was heading for Box 12, she proceeded there right away.
虽然觉得店员也不怎么亲切，但她当然不会表现出来，在表明自己要找十二号包厢的客人后，便直接前往。

She walked along a passage flanked by doors, through which came the sound of music. It would seem business here was booming. There were more customers here than she had expected. 7753 walked up to the door labelled “12” and stopped. Before stepping into the room, she opened up her palm. It gleamed with sweat, so she wiped it away with her handkerchief.
她走在被传出音乐的门左右包夹的通道上。这里还算是生意兴隆。顾客比她原本预期的还多。7753走到门牌写有数字十二的门前，停下脚步。踏进房间前，她摊开了掌心。掌心因汗水而闪闪发光，她用手帕拭去汗水。

Her palm was not sweaty because she was wearing her coat indoors, but because she was  nervous. She re-tucked the tote bag on her shoulder under her armpit, then coughed a couple of times before knocking on the door. The activity within the room suddenly ceased.
掌心被汗水浸湿并不是因为因为她在室内穿外套的关系，而是因为紧张。将背在肩上的包包重新夹在左腋下方，轻咳两三声后敲了敲门，包厢内的动静突然消失。

“...Enter.”
“……请进。”

“Please excuse me.”
“打扰了。”

She pushed open the door.
她推开门。

Warm air flowed out from inside. Several lines of sight focused on her, and Kotori could not help but shrink under them.
从里面流泻而出的暖气抚过脸庞。视线朝自己集中，小鸟忍不住瑟缩了一下。

There were four Magical Girls here.
有四名魔法少女。

--Four?
——四名？

She could not help her confusion. She had no idea why there was one more person than what her information had said; what was going on? Everyone was in a transformed state.
她不禁感到混乱。不知道为什么比资料上多一人，这是怎么一回事呢？大家全都处于变身状态。

There was a bunny-eared girl in a mini-yukata.
穿着迷你浴衣的兔耳少女。

There was a girl in a black tuxedo, with a pair of horns in her hair.
身穿黑色燕尾服的少女，头上还长着小小的角。

Both of them looked to be around 11 or 12, the age of a Magical Girl.
两人的外表年龄都只有十一二岁左右吧。是魔法少女的年龄层。

The other person did not look like a Magical Girl -- she was dressed like a ninja, her left eye was scarred from a blade, and her left sleeve looked soft and floppy under her elbow. One-eyed and one-armed. Her intact eye transfixed Kotori with a keen gaze, and so Kotori instinctively averted her eyes. She sensed an intense chill surging up from the depths of her gut. That Magical Girl radiated an intense aura of violence.
另一人的外表并不像是魔法少女——忍者风格的装扮，左眼有刀伤，左手的臂套在手肘以下的部位看起来松垮垮的。独眼独臂。完好无缺的眼正以锐利的视线牢牢紧盯小鸟，于是小鸟反射性地移开目光。她感觉到一股打从胃里深处涌上来的冷冽寒意。这名魔法少女的身上散发出一股浓浓的暴力气息。

And then there was the last person, who was not scary, but struck her as a little out of place. She looked to be about 15, around the same age as the others, but she seemed slightly different. A pair of frameless glasses, a ponytail sloppily tied behind her, an unadorned outfit… well, rather than an outfit, it looked more like what a normal person would wear, and seemed very natural. She wore a navy blue sweater with purple highlights and a comfortable green tunic, which went with an open-collared grey cardigan and beige cotton pants, and there was a brown-colored coat draped over the sofa’s armrest, while her feet rested on a pair of foreign sneakers whose brand she could not identify at the moment. Her cheeks were freckled, and 7753 could sense her strong personality from her manicured eyebrows, though her face looked like she was very impatient.
再来是最后一人，虽然不恐怖，却有种不协调的感觉。尽管她与其他三人差不多，也拥有年约十五岁的外表，但就是不太一样。无框圆眼镜、随意绑在后面的头发，没有任何装饰的打扮……与其说是打扮，更像普通人的穿着，极为自然。带紫的深蓝色剪裁针织衫、舒适宽松的嫩草色丘尼卡连身衣，配上灰色开襟毛衣、驼色的棉质裤、沙发扶手处还披着一件折好的咖啡色大衣，脚上踩着叫不出品牌名的进口休闲鞋。脸颊上分布着零星雀斑，从那工整的眉毛能够感受到对方的强势个性，表情却显得相当不耐烦。(注:丘尼卡为麻制的白色透气罩衫。在古罗马时期，通常穿在长袍下当内衣。)



The bespectacled girl furrowed her brows and narrowed her eyes at Kotori.
戴眼镜的少女像是刻意皱眉般，斜睨着小鸟。

“So this is the amateur who doesn’t even know the basics of an investigation, come to shamelessly barge in and disrupt our workplace.”
“连调查的基础都不懂的门外汉，恬不知耻地为了扰乱工作现场而来。”

“Aw, come on.”
“别这么说嘛。”

The bunny-eared girl raised a hand, as though to clear the air.
兔耳少女像是要圆场般，举起一只手。

“She came to help us, how can you say that?”
“她可是来这里协助我们的，怎么可以这样说。”

The bunny-eared girl stood up and bowed in apology. The bunny ears moved with her head, and they were so cute that it made her want to touch them.
兔耳少女站起身并低头致歉。兔耳跟着头的动作动来动去的，可爱到让人不由自主地想伸手触摸。

“You’re 7753-san, right? I’m Gekokujo Hana.”
“你是7753小姐吧？我是下克上羽菜。”

“Ah, yes. Please, there’s no need to be so formal. I’m 7753.”
“啊，是的。请别这么客气，我是7753。”

7753 hurriedly bowed, and then raised her head. Hana extended her palm to introduce the members of the team.
7753慌张地低下头，再抬起头。羽菜伸出手掌逐一介绍成员。

“Specky over here is our leader -- Mana.”
“这位眼镜娘是我们的组长——麻奈。”

“Who the hell’s Specky?!”
“谁是眼镜娘啊！”

Hana ignored Mana and her blatant displeasure, then continued:
没理会不悦神色完全表露无遗的麻奈，羽菜继续道:

“Over there is someone much like yourself, specially dispatched to help us -- Mao Pam.”
“那位跟你一样，这一次特别调派来协助我们的人手——魔王帕姆。”

The tuxedo-clad girl smiled thinly, and then said, “Pleased to meet you” before bowing to her. So this was Mao Pam, According to Mao, the girl before her seemed to have used a demon as a role model. She wore an all-black tuxedo, and was that thing twitching and writhing below it a demon’s tail? Kotori imagined a demon with lips redder than fresh blood and hair darker than the night, probably because she had heard that this person was a Demon King. However, her gentle, almost unreliable smile and her adorable drooping eyelids looked more like a Buddha than a demon.
穿着燕尾服的少女露出浅浅的微笑后，说了一句“请多指教”并低下头。看样子这位就是魔王帕姆。经羽菜这么一说，眼前的少女的确像是以恶魔为参考范本。全黑的燕尾服、从下摆探出来一扭一扭地仿佛蠕动中的鳗鱼的那个东西，该不会就是所谓的恶魔尾巴吧？小鸟的脑海里浮现嘴唇比鲜血红艳、头发比黑夜更加漆黑的恶魔形象，应该就是听到对方是魔王的关系吧。不过，与其说是温柔更让人觉得不太可靠的微笑，以及爱困地垂下的眼睑，比起恶魔似乎更像佛陀。

“That is Ripple.”
“那位是莉普儿。”

The one-eyed, one-armed ninja lifted her her head, still expressionless.
独眼独臂的忍者仍旧面无表情地抬起头。

Ripple. She had heard of her before. No, had she seen her before? She remembered that name from somewhere. However, her name was not in the list of the Investigation Team members.
莉普儿，她有听说过。不，还是有看过？她曾经在哪里看过这个名字。不过，调查小组的成员名单中，并没有这个名字。

Kotori racked her brains to try and figure out where exactly she had encountered that name. It was very recent. She vaguely knew that it was a very important name… but unfortunately, she could not recall it.
小鸟挖掘着脑中的记忆，想弄清楚自己到底是在哪里看到这个名字。最近才看到过。隐约觉得是个相当重要的名字……无奈她想不起来。

Mana muttered -- as though to deliberately let her hear it -- “You really are relaxed, huh.”
麻奈像是故意说给她听般，喃喃道“还真是悠哉呀”。

“How long are you going to space out over there? We don’t have much time.”
“你到底想要呆站在那里到什么时候？我们的时间已经不多了。”

“Ah, yes. Sorry.”
“啊，是的。对不起。”

There should not be a seating order in a KTV box room, right? She had never heard of that before. Everyone was seated on the sofas, surrounding table which had a stack of spread-open documents upon it. From where she was, Mana was on the left, Hana was beside her, Ripple was a short distance away, and Mao Pam was somewhat further away, seated on the right by herself.
KTV包厢应该没有所谓的座位席次问题吧？她从来没听说过。众人坐在沙发上，围坐在摊开一堆像是资料的东西的桌子前，从这里望过去，坐在左边最里面是麻奈，隔壁是羽菜，隔了一点间隔后是莉普儿，魔王帕姆则是离得比较远，一个人坐在右侧。

Ripple stood up, making an empty space for Kotori. It was a tiny gesture of courtesy, but as she was now, Kotori was deeply grateful for it. In her heart, she apologized to the person whom she had concluded was a specialist in violence purely based on her appearance, and sat down on the sofa.
莉普儿站起来，腾出空位给小鸟。即使是这种微不足道的亲切感，对现在的小鸟来说也觉得感激万分。她一边在心里暗自对自己光凭外表就认定对方是暴力方面的专家感到抱歉，并一边在沙发坐下。

“Take off your coat.”
“请你先把外套脱掉吧。”

“Yes.”
“好的。”

Kotori did as Mana ordered. The coat should have gone onto the coat hangers near the door, but if she did, she would have to ask Ripple to get up again. Therefore, Kotori silently draped it over the back of her chair.
小鸟按照麻奈的吩咐脱掉外套。外套挂钩与衣架设置于入口旁，但如果要挂外套的话，就得再请莉普儿起身。于是，小鸟默默地将外套置于椅背上。

“Now transform.”
“好了，变身。”

“Yes.”
“好的。”

She changed into 7753. Not having any experience in transforming in full view of others, she felt a little uncomfortable. She took off her goggles and placed them on the table.
变身为7753。因为她没有在众目睽睽之下变身的经验，觉得有点难为情。她摘掉护目镜，放在
桌上。

“Then, I’ll explain again for the latecomer.”
“那么，为了迟到的家伙，我再从头说明一次。”

Every single word she spoke dripped with obvious annoyance. 7753 lowered her head.
话语中的一字一句都渗透出明显的不耐烦。7753轻轻低下头。

“Everyone is to stay as a Magical Girl. Only after we capture the suspect…”
“请各位一直维持魔法少女的模样，只有在逮捕到犯人……”

Mana glanced at Mao Pam, and Mao Pam tilted her head, not quite comprehending, and then she smiled serenely. Mana hmphed in disdain and then continued:
麻奈瞥了一眼魔王帕姆，魔王帕姆则是不解地偏着头，露出一抹沉稳的微笑。麻奈不屑地哼了一声后继续:

“...Or if the suspect is killed, are you allowed to detransform. Our opposition is a ruthless killer and there is no guarantee we won’t be attacked. Nobody is to detransform on their own until I judge that no further combat is likely. Don’t be so naive as to think you’ll have time to transform back when you’re attacked. After all, there are some dumb people out there who don’t understand how big a difference there is between a Magical Girl’s and a human’s reflexes.”
“或是杀死犯人的状况下，才允许各位解除变身。对方是相当凶残的歹徒，无法保证我们不会遭到突袭。只要我没有判断不会再发生任何战斗，请各位绝对不可以擅自解除变身。千万别天真地以为等到被攻击了再变身成魔法少女也来得及，毕竟偶尔还是会有脑袋不灵光的家伙，不了解魔法少女与人类之间的反射速度差距有多么大。”

Those words seemed to be needling the person who had remained in human form, and so 7753 bowed her head lower.”
这句话仿佛是在责备一直维持人类状态做这种蠢事的自己，于是7753的头垂得更低了。

“There’s already been a casualty, so don’t be careless.”
“已经有人员死亡，请大家千万不可大意。”

The weight of the word “casualty” pressed heavily on 7753’s chest. Who would be the next person to die? It would probably be the person on the team who was least used to combat. As she thought about that, she trembled.
人员死亡这几个字的重量，重重地压上7753的胸口。下一次再有人员死亡的话，会是谁呢？如果小组里有比任何人都不习惯战斗的成员想必就是那个人了吧。光是想到这点，就令她感到不寒而栗。

Mana glanced at Mao Pam, and continued:
麻奈瞥了一眼魔王帕姆后，接着说:

“The barrier set up by Foreign Affairs will only last for 24 hours. This is not something that can be put up again right away once it expires. Therefore, we need to capture the suspect before the barrier vanishes.”
“外交部设下的结界只能维持二十四小时。这可不是时效超过之后，就能马上重新张设的东西。因此，我们必须在结界失效前将犯人逮捕到案。”

You Foreign Affairs bastards, see what you’ve done! 7753 quietly cursed in her heart. Still, even if she spoke them out loud, probably nobody would care.
外交部的混账，看看你们干了什么好事！7753暗自在心中抱怨。即使她抱怨出声，也不会有人理睬吧。

“Wear a coat, a hat and a scarf while moving around outside to cover up your Magical Girl costume. Surgical masks are fine too; after all, quite a few humans wear them because they’re afraid of seasonal flus. Anyone without those items should go any buy them.”
“在外面移动时请穿上长外套，搭配大帽子与围巾，掩饰魔法少女的变装。带口罩也可以，毕竟也有不少人类怕得到季节性流感或感冒而戴口罩。没有准备这些配件的人，请记得去买。”

7753 finally understood why Mana wanted her to take off her coat. If she did not, then she would have to wait until she detransformed before the coat appeared again. However, she had no hat or mask, so it would seem she would have to go shopping. Those were probably claimable expenses. In any case, she would need to collect the receipt from the shop just in case.
7753终于明白麻奈要她脱掉外套的理由了。如果不脱掉外套就变身的话，必须等到解除变身后外套才会出现。不过，她没有帽子与口罩，看来得去采购一下了。应该能够报公账吧。总之先跟店家要收据以备不时之需。

“With this…”
“只要使用这个的话……”

Mana indicated a wooden baton on the table. It was roughly 30 centimeters long, and it did not seem ornamental in nature.
麻奈指着放在桌上的木棒，长约三十公分左右，看起来不像是装饰品。

“It’s not impossible to find our target.”
“也不是没办法搜寻出我们的目标对象。”

What a convoluted way of putting it.
真是奇怪的拐弯抹角说法。

“This is very primitive magic. It can indicate a direction, but not an exact location. Our expert who could search with nonprimitive magic… isn’t around any more. Got killed.”
“这是很原始的魔法。虽然能够指出方位，但没办法得知正确地点。能够以非原始的方法搜寻魔法少女的专家……已经不在了。被杀死了。”

An image of a large number of famous idols dancing appeared on the room’s TV display. Their movements were neat and coordinated, like the group gymnastics of a certain communist country. Since the TV had been muted, no music accompanied the dancing, and it looked quite creepy. The brilliant colors flooded out from the display, dying Mana’s face a bright red and lighting up the fine hairs on her face.
荧幕上出现以大量人数闻名的偶像团体跳舞的画面。动作仿佛共产国家的团体操般，整齐划一。由于设定成静音的关系，没有配合任何音乐的舞蹈画面，看起来有种诡异的感觉。色彩鲜艳的照明从画面中溢出，将麻奈的脸映照成一片鲜红，脸颊上的汗毛还发着光。

“That’s all. If you have any questions, ask.”
“以上。有任何疑问的话，请提出。”

“Ripple raised her hand, and Mana narrowed her eyes.
莉普儿举起手，麻奈眯起了眼。

“What?”
“干嘛？”

Mana had asked for questions, yet she looked displeased. She did not know if Ripple had picked up on that or not, but she quietly asked:
明明是麻奈自己表示有问题请提出来，看起来却一脸不悦。也不晓得莉普儿是否有察觉到这一点，只见她轻声说出问题。

“About the news concerning the dead team member… does that mean you’ve fought the suspect already?”
“关于已经有人员死亡的事情……也就是说，你们已经与犯人交手过了？”

“One of us was killed while we were retreating. We escaped by car, but the enemy caught up with us and there was a broken neck. That’s it.”
“撤退时有一名成员遭到杀害。虽然组员驾车逃逸，但被敌人赶上，一击折断脖子。就这样。”

That’s it. That turn of phrase sounded nonchalant enough, but her expression was anything but. Rather, she looked as angry as a hannya demon. 7753 carefully looked away. She was scary.
就这样，虽然措辞相当干脆，但表情一点都不干脆，反而更像厉鬼般充满怒气。7753轻轻地移开视线。好恐怖。

“...I would like to know our enemy’s characteristics.”
“……我想先了解敌人的特征。”

Mana snorted.
麻奈哼了一声。

“I’ve taken most of them down and printed them out. Check them yourselves.”
“大部分的特征我都已经记下，并影印出来了。你们自己确认吧。”

A pirate, a stage magician, an Arabian dancer, ribbons, postgirl, bridal gown… the numbers frightened Kotori more than the people themselves. Why were there so many?
海盗、舞台魔术师、阿拉伯舞者、缎带、邮差、新娘礼服……比起内容，这人数更令小鸟感到背脊发凉。为什么人数这么多？

“This information only covers their external appearances…”
“这份资料只有外观上的特征而已……”

“I only saw how they looked, so that’s what I wrote down. Even if I didn’t explain that, you should have understood, right?”
“因为只知道外观上的特征，所以只有写外观上的特征。这个就算我没有明说，你应该也要明白吧。”

“But…”
“但是……”

“We didn’t even fight, but ran away! While we were running away, one of our people was killed! Then we asked the other Divisions for help! Are you happy now?!”
“连战斗都没有战斗就拼命逃跑！在逃跑的过程中，有一名成员遭到杀害！然后向其他部门请求支援，就是这个样子！你满意了没！”

7753’s eyes were not on Mana, but she knew what expression she had on her face. Mana seemed to be exuding her anger into cramped room, and like water infused with chillies, it hurt just to feel it.
虽然7753的视线并没有落在麻奈身上，但不用看也知道她现在带着何种表情。狭窄的室内仿佛正渗出麻奈的怒气，就像是掺入辣椒的水，光是接触就觉得刺痛。

The sound of Mana’s breathing and the repeated KTV ads reached her ears. Then, the sound of breathing gradually spread through the entire box, and the sound of Mana striking the table was lost in the sound of the ads.
麻奈的呼吸声，与重复播放的KTV广告声传来，接着，呼吸声逐渐扩散至整间包厢，而麻奈揍桌子的声音，最后被淹没在广告声中。

“Son of a bitch! We… we’re running out of time. Everyone here is an expert in “violent incidents”. Even if they’re not as good as you, they’re still experts.”
“混账家伙！时间……真的已经不多了，聚集在这里的每个人都是‘擅长暴力事件’的专家。即使实力不如你，也还算得上是专家。”

But I’m no good at all! 7753 screamed internally.
可是我一点都不擅长啊！7753在心里大喊。

“We’re in a situation where we have to fight. You don’t have to like it, you just have to do it!”
“我们现在处于不得不战斗的状况。就算不甘愿也得做！”

Mana locked eyes with Ripple for a while. Or rather, the way Mana glared at Ripple was like a razor blade, while Ripple simply refused to back down. Mana did not shift her gaze until the very end, and Ripple slowly closed her eye.
麻奈与莉普儿彼此互瞪了好一会儿。应该是说，麻奈比较接近以锐利的眼神睥睨莉普儿，莉普儿则比较像是紧盯不放。麻奈一直到最后一刻仍然没有移开视线，莉普儿缓缓闭上眼。

“I understand.”
“……我明白了。”

Ripple, don’t give in! Hang in there! 7753’s silent cry reached nobody, and it faded away like smoke. Everyone picked up their coats or jackets and prepared to move. 7753 concealed her unwillingness, but slowly put on her coat. That was because the coat she has bought as a human was an elegant gray, but but was too plain for a Magical Girl, and too big, besides.
莉普儿，别屈服啊！再坚持一下！7753内心如此呐喊，在没有传达给任何人的情况下烟消云散。大家纷纷拿起外衣或外套、围巾，准备动身。7753掩饰自己的不情愿，但拖拖拉拉地穿上外套。这是为了普通人类的时光买的外套，高雅的炭灰色，对魔法少女而言太过朴素，尺寸也过大。

7753 put on her goggles, and as she was buttoning up her coat, someone spoke quietly to her:
7753戴上护目镜，当她扣起外套钮扣时，有人小声对她说:

“That was a disaster…”
“真是一场灾难呀……”

It was Ripple. From close up, the wound on her face looked fresh and bloody, and it was a gruesome sight. Initially, 7753 had been thinking that she must have been studying scars to put that thing on her face as part of her character design, but when she thought about it, it might have been a wound taken in actual combat.
是莉普儿。近看她脸上的伤痕，看起来活生生血淋淋的，惨不忍睹。原本7753满脑子都在想她的角色设定，必定是参考疤面煞星而来，但现在仔细一想，也许是在实战中受的伤也不一定。

“I guess the mentoring will have to wait until all this is over…”
“看来培训也只能等这件事结束了吧……”

As she heard Ripple say that, 7753 suddenly exclaimed “Ah!” and called up the information display on her goggles. There was her name, her height, her weight, and then she scrolled to the next page, quickly scrolled past her history, birthplace, family members and so on, and after a few more pages, she reached a window which said “Today’s Itinerary”.
听到莉普儿这么说，7753“啊！”了一声猛然想起。将资讯显示于护目镜上。从名字到身高体重，滑开后移往下一页，快速滑过经历、出生地、家族成员等，接下来又滑开好几页之后，终于来到“今日预定行程”的栏位。

She finally realised why she had the impression of hearing Ripple’s name before. The fact was, 7753 had come to this rural city for no other reason than to mentor a novice. She had accepted the request to investigate the suitability of a Magical Girl for duties within the Land of Magic, and had taken the express train here. And that newcomer Magical Girl was called Ripple.
她终于明白听到莉普儿名字的那一瞬间，会有印象的理由了。追根究底说起来，7753会来到这个乡下城市的理由无他，就是为了新人的培训。她接受了调查在魔法王国负责内务行政的魔法少女的适性度，转搭特急列车来到这里。而那位新进的魔法少女，名字就叫做莉普儿。

For delaying the mentoring and for completely forgetting about her, 7753 put her hands together and apologized:
除了培训延宕，再加上自己完全忘得一干二净，7753双手合十赔罪道:

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can start right away after all this is over. After all, even after we capture the criminal, there’s still the clean-up…”
“对不起，但我觉得结束后应该没有办法马上进行。毕竟在逮捕到犯人之后，也还得善后……”

“How long will we have to wait?”
“要等到何时呢……”

“I’d like it to be sooner too, but it’s hard to say right now… however, the district I’m responsible for isn’t far from here. Once things settle down, I’ll come over right away.”
“我也希望越快越好，但目前实在很难说……不过，我负责的地区离这里并不远，等到事情稳定下来后，我会立刻前来的。”

Ripple raised an eyebrow in surprise. Although Ripple was simply caught off guard, even that simple gesture was filled with power.
莉普儿一脸不可思议地扬起眉毛。虽然莉普儿只是单纯地感到惊讶，但她光是这样就充满了魄力。

“You don’t live here…?”
“你不住这里吗……？”

“Eh? Of course not, is this your area of responsibility?”
“咦？当然不是，这里是你负责的地区吧？”

No… not really.”
“不……并不是。”

“Eh?”
“咦？”

The two of them looked at each other.
两人面面相觑。

When she had to observe how someone worked in their area, as well as understanding if there were any rumors about exposing their identity, 7753 would be sent to the district which her protege was in charge of. However, it was more of supervising them than being their mentor. There were also mentees who came looking for 7753, and in fact that situation was more common. That was because people who had not yet decided their areas of responsibility had to first be taught the basic principles of being a Magical Girl.
当需要观察对方在负责地区工作的情形，以及了解街坊是否有传出暴露身份的谣言时，7753就会被派往培训生负责的地区。但比起培训，其实更接近监察。也有培训生反过来找7753的，这种情形比较常见。这是为了教育尚未决定负责地区的人，先明白魔法少女的基本原则。

7753 had never been called to a place which was not her protege’s area of responsibility. If there were some special reason for this, there was no way she could not have been informed.
7753从来没有被叫到不属于培训生负责地区的地方。如果有任何特殊目的，照理来说她不可能没被通知。

As 7753 helplessly wondered about what was going on, her phone rang. The name on her Magical Phone’s display indicated that the caller was her boss. Mao Pam, Hana and Mana had already gone outside. 7753 used one hand to gesture to Ripple, “You should go first,” before picking up the call.
当7753忍不住纳闷起到底是怎么一回事时，电话响了。显示在魔法终端设备上的来电者为上司。魔王帕姆、羽菜、麻奈已经先走到外面。7753则是以单手作揖，对莉普儿下达“你先走吧”的指示后，才按下通话钮。

“This is 7753.”
“我是7753。”

“Looks like you met everyone.”
“看来你跟大家碰头了。”

7753 unconsciously looked at her Magical Phone. How had her boss known?
7753下意识地回望魔法终端设备一眼。上司是从哪里看到的？

“I wasn’t spying on you, I just received the information from your goggles.”
“我并没有监视你，只是收到从你的护目镜传来的资讯而已。”

“Ahh, when you say that…”
“啊啊，听你这么一说……”

“If you don’t wear the goggles, the transmission cuts off. Could you please not do what you did just now and put the goggles on the KTV box’s table?”
“没戴护目镜的话，通讯就会中断。可以请你别再像刚才一样，把护目镜摆在KTV包厢的桌上好吗？”

So she had seen it. 7753 looked uncomfortably at her Magical Phone.
她果然看到了啊。7753感到不舒服地看着魔法终端设备。

“You don’t need to worry what they’re thinking. Even if your magic is a major invasion of privacy, there won’t be any problems as long as nobody knows.”
“你不需要关心对方的想法。即使你的魔法严重侵犯隐私，只要不被对方知道的话，就不会有任何问题。”

“Er, oh…”
“呃、喔……”

“Also, I have something to tell you.”
“另外，我有件事情必须先让你知道。”

***

Before 7753 could call out, Gekokujo Hana had already seen her. Her bunny ears were covered up by her hat, and she was warily surveying her surroundings.
在7753喊出声之前，下克上羽菜已经看到自己了。她的兔耳被帽T盖住，正提高警觉地戒备四周。

7753 raised a hand and called out to Mana and Hana, who had left the storefront and were headed for the parking lot. Mana looked over, Hana having prodded her in the side, and the furrows between her brows grew deeper and deeper. Even without the data display from her goggles, she knew that Mana was angry.
7753举起一只手，喊住离开店门口正要前往停车场的麻奈与羽菜。侧腹部被羽菜轻轻一顶，望向这边的麻奈，眉间的皱纹变得越来越深。即使不通过护目镜测量数值，她也知道麻奈在生气。

“Why are you twiddling your thumbs over there! Where are the other two?”
“你在那里拖拖拉拉什么！另外两个跑哪里去了？”

This time, even Hana did not come to her rescue. She eyed 7753 suspiciously. 7753 raised her hands and showed her palms to the two of them.
这一次连羽菜也没有出面安抚，她以狐疑的表情看着7753。7753举起双手，将掌心朝向两人。

“I asked Ripple to wait in the reception area with Mao Pam. I have something to tell you two.”
“我请莉普儿在前厅那边陪魔王帕姆，我有话要跟你们说。”

“I have nothing to say to you.”
“我没有话要跟你说。”

“I’m not a killer, not am I here to tie off loose ends.”
“我既不是杀手也不是制裁者。”

The wrinkle in Mana’s brow vanished. Her anger changed to surprise, and her mouth, which was ready to upbraid her, hung open and motionless.”
麻奈眉间的皱纹消失了。怒气转变成惊讶，原本想要出言责备的嘴巴则是微微张开，一动也不动。

“Human Resources just wants me to help in the investigation.”
“人事部要我只协助调查方面的工作。”

7753 advanced close enough until she could feel Mana’s breath, and then she lowered her voice.
7753逼近到能够感受到麻奈鼻息的超近距离，并将声音一沉。

“I don’t have any exceptional combat abilities. That’s because my job never required me to fight. However, I’m good at observing people. That’s not just an ability I trained up in HR…”
“我本身并不具备超越平均值以上的战斗能力。因为我的工作根本没有机会接触战斗。不过，我擅长观察人。不光是我在人事部磨练出来的本领……”

7753 tapped her goggles.
7753以指尖弹了一下护目镜。

“This is my Magical Skill. Through my goggles. I can see the identity of a Magical Girl, even if they’re in human form.”
“这就是我的魔法。即使是变回人类的魔法少女，只要透过我的护目镜观察，就能够一眼看穿对方的魔法少女身份。”

Mana seized 7753 by the lapels of her coat. She did not look annoyed, but that was hardly a friendly attitude. She was not angry, but trying to probe and be threatening.
麻奈一把揪住7753的外套衣领。虽然她没有不耐烦的表情，但也称不上是友善的态度。她并不是在生气，而是在威胁与打探。

“What do you know? How much do you understand?!”
“你知道些什么？了解到什么地步？”

“Your team views me, who was assigned to you at the last minute, and Ripple as killers who are here to silence witnesses. Am I correct?”
“你们调查小组把从别的部门临时派遣来的我跟莉普儿，视为‘为了杀害证人而来的杀手’。我没说错吧？”

Mana still had a hold on 7753’s lapels, but she was silent. That essentially meant she admitted to it.
麻奈仍然揪住7753的衣领不放，不吭一声。这个态度等同于她承认了。

“This city’s been surrounded in a barrier.”
“这座城市似乎被设下了结界。”

“So what? It’s been set up to keep the criminal from escaping.”
“那又如何？这是为了不让犯人逃跑的措施。”

“The anti-magic barrier surrounded B-City… anyone with traces of magic in them can’t leave or enter. Even de-transformed Magical Girls can’t do it, and neither can mascots.”
“涵盖整个B市的对抗魔法结界……只要是拥有魔法要素的人，便无法进出B市的强大结界。就连解除变身的魔法少女也无法进出，吉祥物也不例外。”

“Mm, that’s right. We’re all trapped in here. So what?”
“嗯，没错。我们都被关在里面了。那又如何？”

Mana seemed to be inspecting 7753, and she licked her lips. 7753 was a little frightened by that deliberate action, but she screwed up her courage and said:
麻奈似乎正在观察7753，并以舌尖舔了一下嘴唇。虽然7753对这刻意的小动作感到胆怯，但仍然硬着头皮接着说:

“From the perspective of something that was set up after receiving news that our side was beaten back, this reaction is far too swift. Just setting up such a large-scale barrier would require meticulous preparation, be it in terms of casters or reagents. Didn’t you ever suspect  that all this was this set up beforehand? The specialized investigation team getting defeated, and asking for help is just as Foreign Affairs predicted. Therefore, Foreign Affairs forcibly activated the already-prepared barrier to sever communications between B City and the outside world.
“以接收到我方遭到击退的消息后才进行的措施而言，这种反应也太迅速了吧。光是要张设这么大规模的结界，无论是施术者或触媒，应该都需要缜密的准备。你不也怀疑过‘该不会是事先准备好的’吗？专门的调查小组遭到击退，并请求支援，一切都在外交部的预料之中。所以，外交部才会强行使用事先准备好的结界，切断B市与外界的联系。”

After exhaling, 7753 wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
吁出一口气后，7753以手背拭去额头的汗水。

“Foreign Affairs was in charge of the barrier. HR were not the ones who trapped us in here with the criminal. We didn’t know about the barrier either. We’re not the same as Foreign Affairs, who sent in a weapon of mass destruction and then sealed up B-City in a barrier.
“结界是由外交部一手主导的。将犯人们连同我们一起关在里面，并非人事部所为。我们也不知道结界的事情。跟送来大规模杀伤性武器后，才张设结界把B市封起来的外交部不同。”

“No, you’re not different.”
“不，并无不同。”

Mana let go of 7753’s lapels like she had bounced off. 7753 was briefly unstable on her feet and staggered back.
麻奈仿佛弹开般，放开揪住衣领的手，7753一时脚步不稳，踉跄了几下。

“You all look like you’re at loggerheads, but you’re actually cut from the same cloth. You both want to use this incident as a tool for your political conflicts. However, don’t expect to get your way. I won’t let you do as you please. Murderers will be handled as murderers. No matter what kind of scum, vermin or trash they are, I won’t let you do as you wish with the criminal. I lost one of my people. If I stay around to play games with you, I’ll get whats’ coming to me!”
“你们看似站在敌对立场，其实还不是一丘之貉。彼此都想利用事件作为政治斗争的工具。不过，你们别想得逞。我绝对不会放任你们这么做。杀人凶手就必须以杀人凶手的身份处置。无论是怎样的人渣、害虫或垃圾，我都不会放任犯人任由你们摆弄。我可是死了一个部下。如果我还在这里陪你们玩这种勾心斗角的游戏，我会遭到报应的！”

Mana’s tone was quite scornful, and her eyes were as keen as a blade. However, rather than looking at 7753, she seemed to be looking through 7753, at somewhere far away.
麻奈的语气相当不屑，视线仿佛利刃般锐利。然而，与其说麻奈瞪视着7753，倒不如说她透过7753看着更遥远的远处。7753吸了一口气，将氧气输送至血液里。

“I’ve looked you up beforehand. I wanted to know what kind of people you were, and why you were slotted into my team… My investigations on Ripple revealed that she’s a Child of Cranberry. Plus, she survived that final test where Cranberry lost her life… in the most intense test of them all. So please don’t make me laugh, who the hell’s going to believe what you say?”
“我事先调查过你们。因为我想知道到底是怎样的家伙，怀着怎样的目的被安插进我们小组……那位莉普儿的调查显示，她是‘克莱莓的孩子们’。而且，她还从那场令克莱莓丢掉性命的最终考试……据说是有史以来最激烈的考试中幸存下来。拜托你别笑死我了，谁会相信你的说词啊。”

“Ripple is my bodyguard. That’s why she’s here. I won’t ask her to do anything else. More to the point, rather than say she passed it, why don’t you say she barely made it through? You should be able to understand after seeing her hand and eye, right? She’s not as strong as she was in her prime, and just protecting a single Magical Girl who can’t fight is going to be tiring enough.
“莉普儿是我的保镖，所以她才会来到这里。我不会指示她做其他的事情。更何况，与其说通过克莱莓的考试，倒不如说她是好不容易才生还吧。看到她的眼睛与手臂，你应该也能够明白吧。现在的她并不如全盛期强大，光是要保护一名无法战斗的魔法少女就很吃力。”

7753 lowered her voice again.
7753再将声音往下一沉。

“As you know, the Magical Girl from Foreign Affairs is Mao Pam. She was sent in the name of providing assistance, but she’s been hailed as Foreign Affair’s secret weapon, a “Magical Girl of mass destruction”. Even if she was sent here to help capture a criminal within the city, sending out firepower of that level is way too much. Therefore, it’s quite likely that Foreign Affairs is planning to secretly bury the killer.”
“外交部派来的魔法少女，如你所知道的一样，是‘魔王帕姆’。虽然名义上是前来支援，但她可是被誉为外交部决战兵器的‘能够进行大规模破坏的魔法少女’。就算要来支援围捕市内的犯人，派出这种级别的战力也太过火了。所以，外交部打算偷偷埋葬犯人的可能性相当高。”

7753 respectfully bowed her head.
7753恭敬地低下头。

“If you have our help, you might be able to capture the criminal before Mao Pam loses control. And we share a common understanding in that we don’t want Foreign Affairs to do as they please. You can order us as you see fit. We won’t get in your way, so let us help you.”
“如果有我们的协助，也许能够在魔王帕姆失控前逮捕到犯人也不一定。对于不想让外交部为所欲为这点，我们有相同的共识。请你尽管吩咐我们吧。我们绝对不会妨碍任务，请让我们助你一臂之力。”

She bowed her head and remained that way. She could hear Mana and Hana secretly talking from beside her. While she could not hear what they were saying, it was not hard to deduce the contents. In all likelihood, they were debating over whether to accept hers and Ripple’s help, or to chase them away.
低下头后就这样静止不动。耳边传来麻奈与羽菜窃窃私语交谈的声音。虽然听不到她们在说什么，但不难推敲出内容。想必是在讨论要接受她与莉普儿的帮忙，还是要把她们赶走。

7753 sighed deeply, feeling as though her heart would come out of her mouth.
7753深深地叹了一口气，感觉自己心脏都快从嘴巴里跳出来了。

If she had said that everything had been done on her superior’s orders and that she knew nothing, Mana would never have believed her. However, that was precisely the case. 7753 had been following her superior’s directions and begin this negotiation. The goggles displayed the appropriate lines to say and her boss’ directions, such as “lower your voice here” or “close to 30 cm” and so on. After receiving detailed instructions on every move she would make, all 7753 could do was carry them out obediently.
假如她表示从头到尾都是上司的命令，自己什么都不知道的话，想必麻奈绝对不会采信。不过，事实也确实是如此。其实7753是根据上司即时的指示，进行交涉的。护目镜上会适时地出现该说的台词以及上司的指令，像是“在这里将声音一沉”或是“逼近到三十公分的距离”之类，接收到每一个动作的详细指示后，7753只能任由心脏怦怦跳个不停，乖乖按照指示行事。

Even 7753, the owner of the goggles, had no idea that the goggles were equipped with that sort of ability. It must have been added during the modification process. She did not dare think about what else had been modified.
连身为护目镜主人的7753都不晓得，护目镜竟然具备这种功能。想必是被改造的吧。她根本不敢去想，除此之外是否还有其他部分被改造。

After recalling what she had said just now, she realized that this was an incredibly serious matter. She was getting closer and closer to the heart of the problem 7753 reflexively prayed that she would be able to go back alive.
回想起刚才的一席话，她才发现这可是超级严重的大事件耶。她离问题的核心越来越近了。7753不禁暗自祈祷，至少能够活着回去。

☆Ripple (22 hours and 28 minutes remaining)

Magical Girls who wanted to go places in the land of magic had to fulfil several conditions. One of them was to “accept face-to-face mentorship from the Magical Girl known as 7753.”
魔法少女想要在“魔法王国”内部出人头地，必须达到几项条件。其中一个就是“面对面接受名为7753的魔法少女所进行的培训”。

The Magical Girl 7753 had a pair of magical goggles which could accurately measure all sorts of data. Therefore, she was the most adept person to filter out problem children. There were no secrets in front of 7753’s Magical Skill. Be they girlish feelings or scars from the past, they would be dragged out into the light of day for evaluation, and the distilled information would then be sent to the Human Resources Department of the Land of Magic.
名为7753的魔法少女，拥有能够正确测量所有数据的魔法护目镜，因此她最擅长通过此物滤出问题儿童。站在7753的魔法面前，根本没有任何秘密可言。无论是少女情怀或过去的伤疤，都会被摊在阳光底下审视一番，经过抽丝剥茧后的资讯则会被送至“魔法王国”的人事部。

This was how the Land of Magic prevented anti-establishment people and troublemakers from coming near the Land of Magic.
“魔法王国”就是靠这个方式来防止反体制派或滋事分子接近“魔法王国”。

Ripple did not love the Land of Magic. Strictly speaking, she leaned towards hating them. However, she had no intention of smashing the state, but instead she wanted to make her own way within the current system.
莉普儿并不爱“魔法王国”。严格说起来，她是偏向讨厌的那一方。但她并不打算推翻体制，而是想在现行体制下出人头地。

Ripple had a Magical Girl friend. That friend was a very proactive Magical Girl who believed in her own heart. Because of her eagerness, she often became a thorn in the higher-ups’ side. Currently, she was in their favor because of her powerful abilities, but nobody knew how long that would last.
莉普儿有个魔法少女朋友。那位朋友是个相信自己的心、非常积极的行动派魔法少女。也因为她积极行动的关系，很容易被上层当成眼中钉。目前因为她本身具备强大的能力而受到重用，但谁都说不准能够持续到何时。

Ripple wanted to provide support. Therefore, she needed a certain degree of status and persuasive power. Therefore, Ripple wanted to rise through the ranks, She went through a friend of a friend and learned the name of Magical Girls who were close to the Land of Magic, and then worked under them. She helped them do things, she chatted with them, and even when her counterparts disliked her and told her never to show up again, she would still show her face before them, thus being seen as incorrigible, among other things. After repeating these things over and over again, she had mysteriously acquired many friends who could only be described as “connections.”
莉普儿则是想要提供协助。为此，她需要一定的地位以及说话的分量。所以，莉普儿想要出人头地。她通过朋友的朋友，这种微妙的关系得知与“魔法王国”关系亲近的魔法少女们的姓名，并在她们的底下做事。像是帮忙对方做事、陪对方聊琐事，即使遭到对方讨厌并叫她不准再出现，却还是会出现在对方眼前，因此被当成无可救药的家伙，诸如此类。就在她如此不断重复这些事情的时候，不知不觉间增加了许多只能称作是“门路”的朋友。

Ripple’s forceful style was imitated from her past partner. Ripple was simply putting into practice the way her previous partner would barge her way into another person’s heart and mess things up inside, making friends in a bad way. Ripple had been one of the victims of this method.
这种强硬的作风是莉普儿模仿过去的搭档而来。莉普儿只是实践了过去那位搭档会硬敲开对方的心房，毫不客气地跑进去搅和，这种恶劣的交友方式而已。莉普儿本身也是这种做法的被害人之一。

For all she knew, Ripple might be a being like her previous partner in the eyes of others.
现在的莉普儿在周遭人的眼里，也许就像过去那位搭档般的存在也不一定。

She made a request to undergo 7753’s mentorship, and it had gone through successfully. SHe had heard rumors that it would still take upwards of half a year if she wanted to go in through backchannel connections, but she was still happy. She was happy because she could finally get somewhere, and so she went to B-City, and then her Magical Terminal told her to go to the KTV lounge for some reason, and by the time she got there she learned that she had been wrapped up in an arrest operation and was trapped in the city.
她提出希望接受7753培训的请求，非常顺利地通过了。即使曾经听说走后门也必须等上半年时间的谣言，她还是觉得很开心。她为自己能够出人头地而感到开心，并前往指定的B市，接下来“魔法终端设备”接到不知道为什么要她去KTV包厢的指示，等到抵达现场，才得知自己被卷入逮捕犯人的事件，被关在市内。

As usual, the Land of Magic typically ordered Magical Girls about at its whim. They knew there was a risk to life and limb, but they did not mind in the least about drafting non-expert Magical GIrls into their team. However, to Ripple, this was an excellent opportunity. Rather than a proper mentorship, perhaps she might score more points by showing her stuff in this unexpected incident. After all, she had always been suited to fighting, or more accurately, she had strengthened her fighting abilities.
“魔法王国”仍然一如往常地任意使唤魔法少女。明知道会有生命危险，却毫不在意地将非专家的魔法少女编入小组。不过，对莉普儿而言，这次的事件可是绝佳的机会。比起接受正规的培训，也许在这种意外事件中大显身手会更加分。毕竟她原本就擅长打斗的工作，更精准的说法是她强化了这方面的能力。

However, her original intention to do so had evaporated like smoke once she had heard the explanation. Learning that she was trapped in an inescapable face and that she would be forced to fight only left her breathless. Fortunately, their side seemed to have the mindset of reducing bloodshed, but she did not think the enemy thought the same way. Since arrest was the same as death, the enemy assassin would most likely seek to ply their trade.
然而，原本决定这么做的想法，却在听取说明时烟消云散。被关在无法逃跑的封闭空间，面临不得不战斗的状况，只让人喘不过气来。幸好，这边的阵营秉持尽量避免杀人的理念，但她可不认为敌人抱持相同的想法。既然遭到逮捕形同死期的到来，想必敌方的暗杀专家会努力发挥所长吧。

She had met 7753 in the KTV box room, and she seemed to be uneasy in her seat. Combined with the fact that Mana of the investigation team seemed to be finding fault with every little thing she died, she could not help but sympathize. If the rumors were correct, 7753’s specialty ought to be in human resources, so getting involved in this must have been harder on her than Ripple. She hoped that she could help 7753 as much as possible… though of course, she was also secretly calculating how many more points she could score for herself.
在KTV包厢碰头的7753似乎相当坐立难安，加上她的一举一动都会遭到调查小组的组长麻奈的斥责，实在令人同情。如果传闻不假，7753擅长的领域应该是人事相关才对，被卷入这种事件，她的心情恐怕比莉普儿更加煎熬吧。希望自己能够尽量协助7753……当然，莉普儿也暗自盘算这么做也许能替自己加分不少。

That was why Ripple was helping 7753 like this.
所以，莉普儿现在才会像这样子协助7753办事。

“Please help me,” 7753 asked, and she had asked Ripple to sit down with Mao Pam on the sofas in the reception lounge. 7753 had asked her to find a way to keep Mao Pam occupied, and she was agonizing over what to do. After all, she had no idea what sort of excuse she should use to pin down someone she had just met, and with no alternative, she had to tell the truth.
“务必请你帮帮忙”被7753这么一拜托的莉普儿，与外派来的支援人手魔王帕姆，面对面坐在KTV前厅的沙发上。7753拜托她想办法绊住对方，原本还在烦恼该怎么做，毕竟她完全想不出该用何种借口牵制才刚认识的人，无可奈何之下只好说实话。

“Ah…”
“那个……”

“What is it?”
“怎么了？”

“They seem to be having some sort of secret discussion… they told us to wait here for a bit…”
“她们好像要进行秘密会谈的样子……叫我们在这里等一下……”

“Ah, is that so? Then we’ll wait for them to call us.”
“啊啊，是吗？那就等她们叫我们吧。”

The other girl had not shown any displeasure and had answered with surprising forthrightness. Knowing that she did not seem to be a bad person allowed Ripple to breathe a secret sign of relief.
对方竟然没有露出任何不悦，相当直率地回答她。知道对方似乎不坏，也让莉普儿暗自松了一口气。

The two Magical Girls were in coats, and Mao Pam was wearing a panama hat on her head to hide her horns, sitting on the sofa and pretending to be human beings. While this was not an appropriate time for two girls to be roaming around outside, nobody asked after it, although they had to reject the occasional man trying to chat them up. Thus they waited in the reception lounge, which smelled faintly of smoke.
两名魔法少女穿着外套，魔王帕姆在头上又戴了一顶巴拿马帽遮住角，假扮成人类少女坐在沙发上。虽然现在时段并不适合两名少女在外游荡，但没人追究这个，两人偶尔还得拒绝前来搭讪的男人们，就这样一直在隐约飘出烟味的前厅等待。

Both Mao Pam’s tone and actions seemed very calm and composed. The image of an “old lady” appeared in Ripple’s mind. It was not to indicate that Mao Pam was advanced in years, but more like she had a presence and a closeness which was like that of a grandmother. Ripple had never met her grandmother before, but for some reason, she felt Mao Pam fit the bill.
魔王帕姆无论在语气或举止上，都显得相当沉稳与从容。莉普儿的脑海里浮现出“老婆婆”的形象。并不是指魔王帕姆上了年纪，而是她散发出一股祖母般的距离感与气息。虽然莉普儿从来没见过祖母，但隐隐约约觉得很符合形象。

Mao Pam rested an elbow on her knee, supported her chin with her hand, and sighed.
魔王帕姆将手肘靠在膝盖上，手支撑着下巴，吁出一口气。

“May I ask you an unrelated question?”
“我可以问您一个题外话吗？”

“...Please do.”
“……请问。”

“Have we met somewhere before?”
“我们是不是曾经在哪里见过面？”

Ripple searched through the recesses of her memory. She recalled the faces of all the Magical Girls she had encountered thus far, and then she doublechecked them to make sure Mao Pam’s face was not among them.
莉普儿挖掘起记忆的深处。回想至今为止邂逅的魔法少女的长相，再度确认其中并没有魔王帕姆的存在。

“...No. I believe this is the first time I have seen you.”
“……不。我是第一次见到您。”

“Really? For some reason, I feel like we’ve met before.”
“是吗？不知道为什么总觉得我们曾经在哪见过面。”

The impression of being a kindly grandmother was even stronger now. Ripple thought about it and realised that it was quite rude to do so, even if she kept it within her heart. After quietly regretting her actions, she discarded that preconception.
祖母的老妪印象更加强烈了。莉普儿转念一想，即使自己只是在内心思考也很失礼，于是她默默反省之后，默默地抛开既定印象。

After that, the two of them waited for quite a while. In the end, it was still Mao Pam who spoke up first. It was uncommon for Ripple to take the initiative in starting a conversation, be it then or now.
在这之后，两人又等了好一阵子。率先开口的果然还是魔王帕姆。莉普儿主动找人攀谈的情况，不管是现在或是从前都不常见。

“You don’t have to be so formal.”
“您不需要说敬语喔。”

“...Ah?”
“……啊？”

“We were both dispatched here from external departments, there’s no seniority or status between us.”
“我们同样是外派来的，没有长幼尊卑之分。”

“That’s because… you were also being formal.”
“那是因为……您也是用敬语呀。”

“Anyone who is not my junior -- be they a superior or a co-worker -- is the same to me.”
“只要是同辈以上的人，不管是上司或同事，我都是一视同仁。”

“Me… too…”
“我也……一样……”

“Really now?”
“是吗？”

“...Yes.”
“……是的。”

Their conversation was awkward, but neither was it unpleasant. Perhaps it was because the grandmotherly image had not yet been erased from her mind.
两人的对谈似乎牛头不对马嘴，但却不会让人感到不愉快。也许是祖母的印象仍然尚未从脑海中抹除掉的关系吧。

☆Toko (22 hours and 30 minutes remaining)

I’m very sorry, but the plan changed at the last minute ~nyan.
非常抱歉，计划临时变更喵。

This isn’t what you said! It’s not the same at all!
这跟说好的不一样！完全不一样！

Toko vented her fury on the Magical Phone leaning on the roof’s steel mesh walls. Even typing was very tiring for someone of a fairy’s size, but she angrily punched and savagely kicked to send a text message, and then she screamed at the reply.
多可朝立在顶楼铁网边的魔法终端设备发泄满腔的怒火。凭那妖精体型，就连打字都相当吃力，它却猛揍、狂踢、传送简讯，然后看着回传的讯息怒吼。

“That’s not what you said at the beginning!”
“这跟当初说好的不一样嘛！”

They had arranged beforehand that once the Investigation Team was thoroughly defeated, there would be help in arranging for Toko and her partner to escape. The other part had clearly promised that they would introduce a Magical Girl who had an extradimensional hideout to her.
之前明明说好，只要把调查小组打得落花流水，就会帮忙安排它与搭档一起逃脱。对方明明答应过，要介绍在别的次元拥有藏匿处的魔法少女给自己。

However, her collaborator’s text message wrote that the plan had changed. Foreign Affairs had set up the barrier and sent out Mao Pam. Foreign Affairs had put their reputation on the line to defeat them. Their escape routes were cut off, and neither Toko nor her partner could escape.
但是，协助者传来的简讯却写着计划有变。外交部张设结界并派出魔王帕姆。外交部可是赌上声誉，前来击溃他们的。逃跑路径也遭到封锁，不管是多可或搭档都无法逃脱。

Frustrated like never before, Toko launched a thrust kick at the reply button and then typed out a reply on the keyboard with a combination of punches before sending the text message. She received a reply immediately.
多可只觉得无比焦虑，用前踢按下回信键，以连环打的方式狂揍键盘后，送出简讯。立刻收到了回信。

The barrier’s shaped like a perfect sphere, perfectly encapsulating the whole of B-City ~nyan.
结界是与完全球体一样，上下左右完美笼罩住整个B市的喵。

Therefore, you can’t flee through the sky or dig through the earth ~nyan.
因此，无法从空中逃脱，也没办法挖地道遁逃喵。

Even the slightest contact will cause great harm ~nyan.
只要稍微碰到一下，就会元气大伤的喵。

Extended contact, even for someone with a Magical Girl’s durability, could be fatal ~nyan
如果长时间接触的话，即使具备魔法少女的持久力，也会有生命的危险喵。

I don’t suggest you try anything on the barrier ~nyan.
完全不建议从结界下手喵。

Toko elbowed the display.
多可以手肘顶向荧幕。

Even under normal circumstances, she was baffled by the way this person kept ending their sentences with ~nyan everywhere. Now her anger seethed with her like boiling water, and she hatefully gnashed her teeth. And the text message continued.
平常就对这家伙一直在那里喵个不停的语尾感到不解的疑惑，仿佛煮开的热水般变得滚烫沸腾，它恨恨不平地咬牙切齿。简讯还有后续——

We haven’t given up yet ~nyan.
我们这边也还没有放弃的喵。

After all, the two of you are worth the effort ~nyan.
毕竟你们两位拥有值得多费心的价值喵。

These nauseating pleasantries only deepened her anger. She had followed this person’s instructions and wiped out the people in their way. Both Toko and her partner were deeply involved with their employer. If they were captured, those people would have a very hard time. It was not so much that they were worth it, but rather that being captured would cause a lot of problems, which was why they were trying so hard to hide them.
这种令人作呕的场面话，更加深了它的不耐烦。它明明按照这些家伙的指示，消灭了碍事者。不管是多可或搭档，都与雇主渊源颇深。如果他们俩被逮到的话，那帮人会非常头痛。与其说她们两个有价值，倒不如说她们被抓会出大问题，所以才会这么努力地帮忙藏匿。

Please do your best to escape, until the barrier is taken down ~nyan.
请你们务必尽量逃跑，直到结界解除为止喵。

The barrier will lose effect after 24 hours ~nyan.
结界在二十四小时后就会失效喵。

If you can survive until then, we will be able to send reinforcements ~nyan.
只要你们能逃到那个时候，我们就能够派出支援喵。

Good luck ~nyan
祈祷两位武运昌隆喵。

Toko barely managed to suppress the urge to pulverize the Magical Phone. If she lost her usual cool, she would become easy to manipulate. She had seen people like that who had lost their money and lives to others, so many of them that she wanted to throw up. Or rather, it would be better to say that Toko had always been the one making full use of others. Idiots ought to be used. She would not be an idiot whom others used.
多可好不容易才克制住，想将魔法终端设备破坏得粉身碎骨的冲动。如果失去一贯的冷静，就会容易遭人利用。像这样子，无论是金钱或性命等一切都遭到剥夺的人，它一路走来看到的例子多到令人想吐。应该说，多可正是截至目前为止一直积极利用别人的人。笨蛋就应该遭到利用，它才不会变成遭人利用的笨蛋。

After turning off the Magical Phone, she took a deep breath.
关掉魔法终端设备后，它深深一呼吸。

She thought about her priorities. She and her partner came first. Escape for the two of them was their highest goal.
思考一下优先顺序。以自己与搭档为第一优先，总之以两人一起成功逃脱为最大宗旨。

How should she use these 24 hours to achieve this objective? Run around? Or kill the enemy?
为了达到这个目的，它该如何利用这二十四小时呢？四处逃窜？还是将敌人赶尽杀绝？

How should she do it? The choice of the method lay in the hands of Toko’s partner. Besides, Toko’s partner was very strong, even without her. Dealing with the investigation team’s level of fighting strength was not a problem at all. If there were any problems, they did not lie in the investigation team, but in their assistants. Apparently Foreign Affairs had come with the intention of thoroughly crushing them.
该怎么做？选择哪一种做法，选择权在多可与搭档的手上。姑且不论多可如何，它的伙伴非常强大。用来对付调查小组程度的战力根本不成问题。有问题的并不是调查小组，而是支援人手。听说外交部抱持着全力击溃她们的决心而来。

--After all, they had lost a lot of their people, so obviously they would be angry.
——毕竟外交部被杀了那么多人，当然会心怀怨恨。

Her partner was strong, but not invincible. If Foreign Affairs sent out a Magical Girl of startling strength, her partner might be defeated. That would be bad. Her partner’s future was very bright, and she could not allow her partner to die here.
它的搭档虽强，但并非无敌。如果外交部派出实力惊人的魔法少女，它的搭档有可能会落败。这可不妙。它的搭档未来不可限量，绝对不能让她死在这里。

In that case, should they focus on running? However, that smacked of cowardice.
既然如此，也许该努力逃跑？又不免过于没志气。

Therefore, Toko decided to investigate their opponents’ strength and let those middle-schoolers serve as meat shields. If victory was impossible, then they would think of a way to flee. Using the middle-schoolers as meatshields ought to buy them time to flee. Besides, those people were hastily-created Magical Girls who were made to be thrown away. Death was part of the job, so they had no room to complain. They were all stepping stones for Toko and her partner.
于是，多可选择一边打探对手虚实，一边让那群国中生当箭靶，没有胜算的话，再想办法逃跑。只要用国中生当人肉盾牌，应该能够拖延时间供她们逃跑。反正那群人本来就是为了用过即丢而拉进来的速成魔法少女。死也是工作职责之一，由不得她们抱怨。她们都是多可与搭档的垫脚石。

Toko’s plan had originally been to increase their fighting strength and form a large-scale Magical Girl unit to win by human wave tactics, but unfortunately, there were few people with Magical Potential. While she had been protecting her partner’s school life, she had been thinking about how to gather all the people with Magical Potential which she had found. These people were the sum total of her pawns. She had to think of how to use them to overcome this difficult situation.
它原本打算增加更多战力，组成大规模的魔法少女军队，以人海战术取胜，只可惜拥有魔法天赋的人不多。它一边在一旁守护搭档的校园生活，一边想办法号召所有它寻觅到的有天赋的人。这些人全部是它的棋子。必须想办法靠这些人度过难关才行。

The sound of the middle-schoolers filtered up from below, and the voice of her partner was among them. Although her partner was more anxious than anything, her partner’s acting skills was absolutely perfect. There was a world of difference between her partner and Toko, who pretended to be a cute fairy, but accidentally let her true nature slip out when forced into dire straits.
楼下传来国中生们交谈的声音，其中也掺杂着搭档的声音。虽然内心焦虑无比，但搭档的演技实在是完美到极点。跟假扮成可爱妖精却在被逼到绝境时，不小心露出本性的多可有着天壤之别。

As she thought, she should not abandon her partner now. Her partner had room to grow, and she was Toko’s ideal Magical Girl -- cunning, selfish, calculative, always able to come out on top, possessed of infinite possibilities, and she would surely be the one to take the throne of the winner at the end.
果然不该在这个时候放弃搭档。她还有成长的空间，她是多可心目中理想的魔法少女——狡黠、本位主义，擅长计算利益得失、总是能够占上风、拥有无限可能性，最后必定能坐上胜利者的宝座。

So long as she worked with her partner, she would be able to escape. A sly grin appeared on Toko’s face.
只要能跟搭档齐心协力，它一定能逃脱成功。多可的脸上浮现一抹老奸巨猾的笑容。