MGRP Limited Ch 7

Chapter 7: Attack of the Witches

☆ Wedin (15 hours and 22 minutes remaining)

The girls ran through the night at high speeds, disturbing people’s sleep with their game of hide and seek, until it was interrupted by the four Magical Girls who had appeared from within the abandoned factory.
少女们在深夜以惊人的速度四处奔跑、扰人清梦玩的捉迷藏游戏，由于从废弃工厂现身的四名魔法少女们而被迫中断。

The nine girls looked at each other in front of the factory, which had been abandoned during the crash of the bubble economy. Some of had mocking smiles on their faces. They looked entirely out of place among the street lamps which had gone unrepaired for years, the asphalt road covered in cracks, and the general run-down nature of the scenery.
在泡沫经济时期倒闭的废弃工厂前，共计九名少女你看我我看你地互相睥睨，也有人嘻皮笑脸地讪笑著。年久失修的路灯、早已遍布龟裂走纹的柏油路，以及扭曲歪斜的铁网等，颓圮潦倒的景色与外表光鲜亮丽的美少女们显得格格不入。

Wedin’s hairs stood on end as she saw the four people emerge from the hole. There was a stark difference between all the Magical Girls she had seen up until now. When the ninja had pinned her to the ground, she had shuddered because she thought there was pain in store for her. When bunny ears had chased her, the thought of what would happen after being caught had demoralized her. She had been acting out at Mei in order to cover that up.
誓约薇汀看到从洞中现身的四人，不禁寒毛直竖。对方与自己截至目前为止看到的魔法少女有著决定性的不同。被忍者钉死在地板上时，她以为自己会吃苦头而颤抖不已；被兔耳追赶时，光是想到被对方逮到后的情形就觉得意志消沉。当时也是为了掩饰这个，才会对蒂普赛柯梅大小声。

All of them were terrifying Magical Girls. Wedin was nowhere near their match. Even Tepsekemei and Kurukuru-hime, who were stronger than Wedin, could not hope to beat them in one-on-one combat.
一个个都是非常恐怖的魔法少女。誓约薇汀根本不是对手，即使是比誓约薇汀强的蒂普赛柯梅或转转姬一对一单挑也绝对敌不过。

However, after seeing the four people who had just appeared, she realized how terribly mistaken she had been. Her fear of bunny ears and the ninja was purely because she was a coward. She had simply assigned unnecessary fear to people she should never have needed to fear. Be it bunny ears or the ninja or Magical Girls, they still lay on the axis of the fantasy genre, and that axis did not contain vivid, bloody violence.
然而，看到刚才现身的四个人之后，她才恍然大悟自己会错意了。她会害怕兔耳与刃心者，纯粹只是因为自己是胆小鬼。她只是对原本不需要如此恐惧的对象，产生必要以上的恐惧感而已。无论是兔耳或忍者、魔法少女，都还处于奇幻题材的延长线上，那条延长线上并没有活生生血淋淋的暴力。

The four before her were different. They reeked of vivid, bloody violence. Just facing off against them made her want to collapse to the ground on top of her powerless legs. If not, she might end up kowtowing uncontrollably and begging to serve them.
眼前的四个人不同。全身上下淨是散发出一股活生生血淋淋的暴力气息。光是与对方对峙，就让她只想双腿一软瘫坐在地上。不这样的话，只怕她会情不自禁地想以头叩地、向对方俯首称臣。

Wedin struggled to support her rapidly-softening legs. However, terror rampaged within her heart whenever it got the chance, even though she tried to force it back down. She desperately tried to keep a lid on her emotions and keep them from leaking out, and then she peeked at bunny ears’ movements. Her expression was stiff, not one that she would have when looking at reinforcements.
誓约薇汀努力撑著快瘫软的双腿。然而，即使强行压制住，但一逮到机会就想窜出来的恐惧心却在大肆暴动。她拼命安抚那颗心并盖好不让它外洩，接著她窥探起兔耳的动静。兔耳的表情显得相当僵硬，不像是面对援军的表情。

“I advise you not to defy her, everyone. You do not wish to suffer, do you?”
「奉劝各位千万别忤逆她喔。你们也不想吃苦头吧？」

The fortune-teller smiled as she said this. It would seem they were not bunny ears’ allies. There was a saying which went, “the enemy of my enemy is also an enemy”, which made things complicated. However, if things were complicated, that meant it might be worth a gamblr.
占卜师笑著如此说。看来对方并不是兔耳的同盟。俗话说，敌人的敌人也是敌人，情况变複杂了。但事情若是複杂了，也许有赌一把的价值。

“Are you kidding me, dumbass!”
「少开玩笑了！笨蛋！」

Grace’s slash was accompanied by a bout of childish cursing, which the swordswoman casually blocked. The pirate’s sturdy cutlass clashed against the swordswoman’s fancy rapier, and the metallic sound of their collision echoed through the alley.
葛蕾丝的斩击伴随著稚嫩青涩的谩骂声而下，剑士从容不迫地应战并阻挡攻击。海盗所持的坚硬弯刀与剑士所挥舞的华丽西洋剑，面对面碰撞，金属碰撞的声响在狭小的巷弄间回荡。

Grace applied strength to her cutlass and went for a kick to her opponent’s cut, but her adversary deftly pulled away and evaded the attack. Next, Grace picked up some twisted steel mesh and threw it at her opponent, and the swordswoman sliced it into scrap with her slender rapier. However, that was not the end of Grace’s attack. She kicked the wall of the building as she moved and turned, pulverizing the concrete and sending the chunks at her foe.
葛蕾丝施力压住弯刀，伸腿踢向对方腹部，却遭对方以俐落的动作拉开距离，躲过攻击。接下来，葛蕾丝从地上拔起扭曲的铁网后扔向对方，剑士以细长的西洋剑将铁网砍成碎屑。然而，葛蕾丝的攻击尚未结束。她踢著建筑物的牆壁进行移动，在转过身的同时，一脚踢碎水泥牆，以碎片攻击对方。

The swordswoman leapt into the air, treading easily upon a piece of flying debris, and then lighted delicately upon the ground. The concrete chunks which the swordswoman had avoided tore up the external wall of the building like a gigantic shotgun blast.
剑士则是轻轻鬆鬆地飞身踩在其中一块碎片上，然后一派轻鬆地著陆。被剑士闪过的水泥牆碎片，彷彿霰弹枪般破坏著建筑物的外牆。

Wedin had intended to go forward and help Grace, but she abandoned the idea. Just following Grace’s movements with her eyes was taxing enough, to say nothing of Grace’s opponent, who gave battle with matching speed and a pleased look in her eyes. If Wedin interfered in the battle before her, it might entail extreme danger to her, and it made sense for her to avoid joining in rashly. Wedin racked her brain, thinking about what to do and what actions she could take.
誓约薇汀原本打算前去支援葛蕾丝，后来还是作罢。光是要用眼睛追上葛蕾丝的动作就已经相当吃力，更遑论敌人以毫不逊色的速度一脸愉悦地应战。如果干涉眼前的战局，恐怕会对誓约薇汀带来直接的极度危险，理当尽全力避免轻率介入。誓约薇汀绞尽脑汁思索该如何行动、该採取何种行动。

The people on her side were not making any moves. No, they could not move. Funny Trick’s face was pale and she was trembling uncontrollably. In comparison, Tepsekemei remained calm, her face as expressionless as always, staring hard at the enemy. The enemy, on the other hand, looked quite at ease, be it their smiling faces or watching the battle with sinister grins. Bunny ears, on the other hand -- turned and ran like mad.
自己阵营的人并没有任何动作，不对，是动弹不得呀。惊喜魔技苍白著一张脸，颤抖不已。
相较之下，蒂普赛柯梅得相当冷静沉著，带著一如往常的面无表情，紧盯著其馀的敌人不放；敌人或有一脸笑容可掬，或有挂著一抹邪佞奸笑观战者，总之相当游刃有馀；兔耳则是——转过身去，拔腿狂奔。

The fortune-teller whispered to the swordswoman, and the swordswoman nodded magnanimously.
占卜师凑在剑士耳边低声几句后，剑士大方地点了点头。

Thus, the musician and the fortune-teller leapt over Wedin’s head, kicking off the factory’s exterior wall with a triangular jump in pursuit of bunny ears.
于是，音乐家与占卜师两人从誓约薇汀头顶上方越过，踢向建筑物外牆，使出所谓的三角飞行(注1电玩游戏常见的打斗招式，踢牆飞起后再踢一次，以反作用力飞向敌人进行攻击)追著兔耳而去。

If she was going to make her wager, now was the time. However, even though the enemies had lost half their number, Wedin still did not think she had a chance of victory. They could not win through fighting. That being the case, Grace’s presence was a major hindrance. Wedin switched thinking modes with blinding speed, and after coming to a conclusion, she suddenly shouted:
要赌一把的话，只能趁现在。不过，即使敌人的人数减少一半，誓约薇汀依旧不觉得自己有胜算。不可能以战斗取得胜利。如此一来，葛蕾丝的存在就会是一大阻碍。誓约薇汀以令人眼花撩乱的速度切换思考模式，导出结论后旋即大喊出声：

“Leave me behind and run from the enemy!”
「你们别管我了，先逃离敌人再说！」

She had already made everyone promise that they would obey the team leader if anything happened. Even if they had only done so casually to go through the motions, Wedin’s Magical Skill would not allow for any breach of contract.
她之前曾让全部的队员许下承诺，发生事情时必须服从队长的命令。即使她们只是抱持著敷衍了事的心态随口附和，但是誓约薇汀的魔法绝对不容许任何不履行契约的行为发生。

Grace’s cutlass faced the enemy, but her legs jumped the rest of her on top of a building. Funny Trick had jumped away too. Tepsekemei looked briefly at her, and then ascended into the air, unable to defy her order.
葛蕾丝一边将弯刀对淮敌人，脚却一边朝建筑物上方跳去。惊喜魔技也跳走了。蒂普赛柯梅则是短暂地将视线投向这边，接著在无法反抗命令的情况下，朝天空飞升而去。

The last enemy in front of the factory -- the patchwork Magical Girl -- nodded her acknowledgement to the swordswoman and then jumped up onto the building. The swordswoman did not follow. In fact, she did not give chase, but instead turned to face Wedin. Given the clash between the swordswoman and Grace, Wedin was completely outclassed by the swordsswoman.
占据工厂入口前的最后一名敌人——全身都是补丁的魔法少女，向剑士点头致意后，便朝著建筑物上方飞奔而去。剑士没有跟随其后，她不但没有追上去，反而转身面对誓约薇汀。光凭剑士与葛蕾丝拔刀相向的情况看来，誓约薇汀完全不是剑士的对手。

She felt her head spin and her vision swim. She would not even be able to breathe if she were not consciously drawing breath. Currently, she was having trouble remaining conscious. Transforming into a Magical Girl should have improved her resistance to the, but she felt chilling waves down her spine, as though it were going to freeze. She exhaled deeply, and her white breath swirled into a cloud, which slowly vanished.
她只觉得头晕目眩。要是不刻意吸气吐气的话，甚至无法正常呼吸。如今的她就连保持清醒都有困难。明明只要变身成魔法少女，耐寒能力也会变强，但她却觉得背脊传来阵阵寒意，彷彿快冻结住般。深深地吐出一口气，白色气息流泻，缓缓地消失不见。

The cut and thrust between the swordswoman and Grace was a life-or-death struggle. Saying that she could not intervene because the two of them were too fast was only an excuse. No rational human being could have stepped in when faced with two wild beasts seeking to tear out each other’s throats.
剑士与葛蕾丝之间的砍杀，是以生命相搏的拔河赛。因为速度过快而无法出手，只不过是藉口而已。看到两匹野兽打算咬断彼此咽喉的殊死缠斗，任何有理性的人类都不可能出得了手。

Calm down, Wedin told herself. Bunny ears had already drawn off two of the enemy. Wedin’s plan to disperse the enemy’s strength had been proceeding quite well. In addition, patchwork was chasing three people by herself, so at least two people ought to be able to escape. This was not sacrificing one person to save the other two. Everything had been calculated. If they fled an enemy which they could not possibly defeat, then saving two out of three people was practically a steal.
冷静下来，誓约薇汀对自己说。兔耳引走两名敌人。誓约薇汀想分散敌人战力的盘算进行得相当顺利，而补丁又独自跑去追逐三人，应该至少会有两名队员能够顺利逃脱。她并非打著牺牲一人，拯救其他人之类的感性算盘。一切都是根据计算得来。如果要逃离毫无胜算的敌人，三人之中能够有两人获救，就已经是捡到了。

More to the point, she had to face her foe one on one. The candles on her Magical Costume flared with a crackling sound.
更何况，她必须一对一单挑对方。魔法少女装扮的蜡烛配件，发出啪滋啪滋的声响燃烧著。

-- Don’t back down! Hold your head up high! I’m the team leader! How can I lose to the opposition!
——别退缩！抬头挺胸！我可是队长耶！怎么可以败给对方！

The swordswoman closed in, an elegant smile on her face. She looked so noble, with an aristocratic air hanging about her, yet Wedin thought she was staring Death in the face. What would happen if she died? Did the afterlife really exist? Was it divided into Heaven and Hell? Or what if everything was over when she died? Did that mean if she lost her life, she would be reduced to eternal, unthinking nothingness?
剑士步步逼近，脸上带著优雅的笑容。明明看似高贵无比，全身上下散发出贵族般的气息，她却觉得自己彷彿看著死亡本身。死掉的话，会看到何种景致？那个世界真实存在吗？真的被划分成天堂与地狱吗？抑或是死掉的话，一切就到此为止了呢？还是说，失去性命的话，就会在毫无意识的状态下，化为永恒的虚无而已？

The fear of death surged up from her belly. She clenched her teeth, swallowing that fear back down.
对死亡的恐惧从她的胃裡深处涌了上来。她咬紧牙关，硬是将那份恐惧吞下肚。

Wedin -- Musubiya Mine -- always acted in a calculating, self-centered way, regardless of the circumstances. After weighing the merits and flaws of the situation, she had decided to have everyone flee. That was because compared to fleeing slowly on her own, she might as well stay here. She was most certainly not doing so to make some grand emotional gesture of turning herself into a live sacrifice.
誓约薇汀——结屋美祢无论何时何地，总是以自我为中心，一切都得根据利益得失而行动。她计算了整体的好坏优劣后，决定让大家先行逃脱。因为她认为比起慢吞吞地逃跑，倒不如乾脆豁出去地留在现场。她绝对不是抱持著牺牲自我的伟大情操，把自己当成活祭品而留下来。

She had a chance of victory. Wedin raised both hands, relaxed her tense expression, and smiled to the swordswoman.
她手上握有胜算。誓约薇汀朝剑士举起双手，将原本绷紧的表情放柔和之后，笑脸迎人地看向对方。

“I lose. I surrender. I cannot continue to fight. I hope you will be magnanimous and spare my life.”
「我输了。我投降，我没有办法再继续打下去，还请您高抬贵手放过我这条性命。」

The swordswoman looked suspiciously at her. That being the case, the swordswoman was speaking a foreign language… though it was hard to tell because she spoke so quickly. However, it was most likely English. Wedin instead said, “Surrender”.
剑士露出一脸狐疑的表情。这么说来，剑士是说外文……虽然对方说得很快难以辨识，不过恐怕是以英文进行沟通的。誓约薇汀改口说出「surrender」。

The swordswoman stopped three meters away from her, then flicked the feather in her hair and quirked up the corner of her mouth. Her opponent seemed to be smiling, but she still seemed wary of her.
剑士在距离三公尺处停下脚步，以指尖弹了弹装饰在头上的羽毛，微微扬起一边的嘴角。对方似乎是在笑，但看起来仍然对她怀抱戒心。

Even declaring her surrender could not dispel the tension in the air. Wedin had not raised her hands to surrender in earnest. Rather, it ought to be said that the battle was about to begin.
即使说出投降，也无法消除紧张的气氛。誓约薇汀并不是打从心底想要投降而举起双手的，反而应该说战斗才正要开始。

This was not a direct, head to head contest of strength like Grace favored, but a battle strategy which involved allowing the enemy to deliberately capture her. Wedin’s Magica Skill had the ability to enforce agreements. There was no upper limit to the number of those agreements, and even if she reneged on her side of the deal, her opponent would still be compelled to obey.
这不是如葛蕾丝那般直接硬碰硬、互相比拼蛮力的战斗，而是故意让敌人逮住的战斗策略。誓约薇汀的魔法是拥有强制效力的约定。约定的数量并无上限，而且即使她单方面毁约，对方仍然有不得不遵守约定的义务。

After being captured, she would surely be interrogated. While speaking in English made her uncomfortable, it would be fine if someone could translate for her. She had to find a way to draw out the interrogation, had to find a way to buy time without having the interrogation turn into a torture session, and increase the chances for a dialogue. It did not matter how trifling they were, but she had to find a way to slowly and steadily accumulate promises during their dialogue. All would be well if the enemy thought that they would not have to adhere to any verbal promises. She had to eat away at the enemy from the inside, step by step, drip by drip...
被敌人抓住的话，想必免不了一番侦讯吧。虽然用英文对话令她感到不安，不过只要有人帮忙翻译就不会有问题了。她必须想办法拖延侦讯时间，必须想办法维持在不演变成严刑拷打的情况下拖延时间，增加对话的机会。无论是怎样鸡毛蒜皮的小事都没有关系，要想办法在对话中一点一滴地累积约定。只要对方抱持著反正不需要遵守任何口头约定的心态就行了。她要一步一步地、一点一滴地从内部开始侵蚀掉对方……

Once the swordswoman was only half a step away, she stood in place and her blade flashed twice. Then she returned it to her sheath.
剑士逼近到只剩半步的距离后，站在那裡闪了两次剑光后，将剑收回剑鞘。

“I see. I understand now. What an admirable spirit.”
「原来如此，我懂了。精神可嘉。」

She had not been able to understand the swordswoman’s words until just now, but now she understood completely. The swordswoman… was not speaking Japanese, but still English. However, Wedin did not find that unusual. She took in the situation before her as though it were perfectly natural. Wedin bowed her head and said:
直到刚才为止听不懂的剑士所说的话，如今竟然能够完全理解。对方说的……并不是日文，仍然是英文。然而，誓约薇汀却不觉得有任何不可思议之处，极为自然地接受了眼前的情况。誓约薇汀低下头说：

“Thank you. I am grateful for your merciful treatment.”
「谢谢您，感谢您宽宏大量的处置。」

“Speaking of which…”
「话说回来……」

The swordswoman smiled. That smile was genuine, with no trace of wariness.
剑士笑了，这次笑得非常真心，不见任何一丝防备。

“Despite how I look, I was an interrogator once. Naturally, many liars came before me.”
「别看吾辈这样，吾辈可是担任过监察官一职。想当然耳，出现在吾辈面前的人大多是骗子。」

And so, the swordswoman nonchalantly drew close to Wedin, utterly unguarded, and placed her hand on her shoulder.
剑士就这样在毫无戒心的状态下，若无其事地靠近誓约薇汀，并将手搭在她的肩膀上。

“After interacting with these people for decades, I became able to size up people just by looking at their faces. Those people who would become lawbreakers someday, those who would lie to me, those who would deceive others, the demented ones and other plotters would all reveal their true natures through their faces.”
「与那种人打交道数十年的期间，吾辈也渐渐变得只要看表情就能够掌握到一定的程度。日后势必会为非作歹的人、对吾辈撒谎的人、妄想欺瞒吾辈的人，还有心怀不轨、另有所谋的人，全部都会表现在脸上。J

The swordswoman put her arm around Wedin’s shoulder with intimate closeness, as though they had been friends for years. Then she slid about 10 centimeters of her rapier from its sheath and showed it to Wedin.
剑士以彷彿对待有十年交情好友般的态度，亲暱地搂著誓约薇汀的肩膀，并将收入剑鞘中的西洋剑推出十公分左右，对誓约薇汀亮出剑身。

“At those times, this sword was necessary to deal with those rapscallions. That is because this sword is infused with magic that causes delusions in those it cuts.”
「这时就要用这把剑来对付那种冒失鬼。因为这把剑灌注了魔法，会让被砍到的人产生错觉。」

“Causes… delusions?”
「产生……错觉吗？」

“Indeed, it causes delusions. In truth, it causes subtle delusions For instance, a mortal enemy might end up under the delusion that their opponent is their master, whom they must serve with their life. They would not be an ordinary follower, but one who was willing to do anything and sacrifice everything in the name of their loyalty to myself. Ah, but do not think of it as brainwashing. It is simply that reality changes for those who are cut by my blade. Therefore, even one who is impeded by a lack of a common tongue can enjoy a conversation with me.”
「没错，产生错觉。其实只会产生些许不同的错觉而已。举例来说，明明是不得不战斗的敌人，却会产生错觉，将对方视为自己必须赌命侍奉的主人。这可不是普通的随从，而是会为了侍奉吾辈愿意不惜一切代价做任何事的随从。哎呀，你可别误以为是洗脑。只是对被砍到的人而言，现实会产生变化而已。因此，即使是面对语言沟通有障碍的人，也能够享受流畅对话的乐趣。」

There was a soft clang as the sword returned to its sheath.
铿锵一声，将剑收回剑鞘。

“Alright, there is still much work to be done… what is your name?”
「好了，我们还有许多工作要做……你叫什么名字？」

“I am Wedin.”
「我是誓约薇汀。」

“A good name. That being the case, you can come help me too.”
「好名字。既然如此，你就来帮忙吧。」

Wedin was practically jumping for joy as she followed behind the dashing figure of Pukin. All her life, Wedin had longed for Pukin. She would obey any command Pukin gave without fail. Following Pukin was the right thing to do. Therefore, she had no regrets at all about betraying her friends. Pukin was the topmost priority in her life.
誓约薇汀带著无比雀跃的心情，跟在英姿焕发地奔驰的谱金身后。谱金可是誓约薇汀过去十年以来所嚮往的对象。只要是谱金的命令，她一定服从到底，追随谱金绝对不会错。因此，即使要她出卖伙伴也在所不惜。一切皆以谱金为第一优先。


☆ Captain Grace (15 hours and 15 minutes remaining)

While she was upset by how her body had betrayed her will by fleeing, she was positively furious at the fact that she was actually relieved by being able to flee. She leapt over buildings, dashed over rooftops, ran, jumped and sprinted along darkened alleys with no street lights. Even so, the presence of her enemy followed her unerringly.
在她对违背自我意志而不停逃跑的身体感到不悦的同时，又对因为能够逃跑而鬆了一口气的真实心声气到无以复加。她跨越建筑物、衝过屋簷、奔跑、飞跃，一路奔驰于没有任何路灯的暗巷中。即使如此，敌人的气息仍然不偏不倚地跟了过来。

This was the first time she had ever been at a loss for what to do next in a battle. Shihabara Umi had never hesitated before on the battlefield. She had already decided everything she had to do. Be it punching her enemy, kicking them to bits, or even putting both hands on them to grapple with them for a bit before tossing them away, none of that was important. In any case, all she had to do was keep her fighting spirit high, let her body do as it wished and unleash violence upon the foe.
在战场上迷惘于接下来该如何行动的经验，也许是她出生以来头一遭。芝原海在战场上不曾有过片刻的犹豫。该做什么她早就已经决定好了。无论是痛揍对方也好，踢爆对方也罢，甚至是双手交缠、扭打在一起后，使力将对方丢出去都无所谓。总而言之，就是保持高昂的战斗意志，放任身体拼命地施展暴力就行了。

She looked down on those ordinary people who were scared stiff after being harassed by ordinary street punks. If there was a chance, then they ought to fight. If they could not win, then they ought to run. Doing nothing and letting others take everything from you was the most foolish course of action possible.
她瞧不起那些一旦被地痞流氓纠缠，就怕得动弹不得普通人。如果有胜算就该搏命一战，如果毫无胜算就该想办法逃脱。毫无作为，只会放任对方剥夺自己的一切，这种行为实在是愚蠢至极。

When those four people had appeared, she had not been scared stiff, but she had instead been lost in thought.
当那四个人现身时，她并非吓到动弹不得，而是陷入思索。

The four people who had emerged from the factory were all strong. The guitar-carrying Magical Girl and the crystal ball-carrying Magical seemed to be about as strong as bunny ears or the ninja. But the sword-wielding Magical Girl and the patchwork Magical Girl were a cut above the rest, being stronger than the mysterious black entity they had fought in front of the apartment block. Although both sides had an equal presence and were staring at each other, she had the feeling that her opposition was looking down on her.
撕裂工厂入口而现身的四人相当强大。背著吉他的魔法少女与手持水晶球的魔法少女，实力与兔耳或忍者不相上下。而持剑的魔法少女与全身上下都是补丁的魔法少女则更胜一筹，比她在公寓前对上的黑色不明物体更加强大。虽然双方以同样的气势互瞪著彼此，但她却感觉到自己遭对方瞧不起。

Things were very bad. Even if Grace had decided to attack them in tandem with bunny ears, what about the others? While Tepsekemei might be able to escape into the sky, the enemy would then direct the brunt of their attacks at Funny Trick and Wedin, and she did not think she could spare the strength to block attacks against them as well.
状况相当不妙。即使葛蕾丝打算在兔耳的夹击下与对方战斗，但其他人怎么办？即使蒂普赛柯梅可以逃到天上，但是当敌人将攻击的矛头指向惊喜魔技与誓约薇汀时，她不认为自己还有馀力去阻挡攻击。

Such an obvious excuse made Grace burn with anger. Thus, she swung at them, in order to clear away the weakness in her heart.
如此显而易见的推拖藉口，在在令葛蕾丝感到火大不已。于是，她为了挥开自己内心的懦弱而一刀砍了过去。

First, she would cut down one of them in a single bow in order to put the enemy on the back foot -- at least, that was her original plan. However, her foe had effortlessly warded off her attack. Her rapier looked like it could be broken with the slightest bit of force, yet it had deflected her slash with incredible hardness. The four Magical Girls laughed. Both the swordswoman and the three others watching from the side were looking at Grace like she was a clown.
首先用一击砍倒第一人，压制住对手的气势——她原本计画如此，然而，对方却三两下轻轻鬆鬆地格开了她的攻击。看似稍微用力就会应声折断的细剑，竟然以惊人的韧性格开斩击。四名魔法少女笑了。无论是战斗中的剑士，或是在一旁围观的三人，似乎都把葛蕾丝当小丑看待。

How dare they look down on me. Grace was practically fuming from the ears. But just as Grace was about to abandon defense and commit all her strength to deal a fatal blow, Wedin had given the order to retreat.
竟敢瞧不起她。葛蕾丝气到头顶都冒烟了。正当葛蕾丝打算放弃防御，用尽全力使出致命一击时，誓约薇汀下达了撤退命令。

Due to Wedin’s Magical Skill, she had to flee obediently even though she did not want to. Though she was not happy with that at all, thanks to that, her brain had managed to cool down to some extent -- she had regained a bit of her ability to reason.
由于誓约薇汀魔法的关系，导致她明明不想逃也得乖乖逃跑。虽然心有不甘，但她的脑袋多少也因此冷静下来——算是稍微恢复一些理智。

An enemy was chasing her. It was not the sword-wielding Magical Girl, but the patchwork Magical Girl. Her foe seemed to be expecting something, her eyes twinkling as she trailed about 10 meters behind.
有一名敌人追过来。不是持剑魔法少女，而是补丁魔法少女。只见对方像是满心期待著什么般，双眼散发出光芒，尾随在后方十公尺处。

“Leave me behind and run!” Since she had given an order like that, Wedin was probably still back there. Thus, there would be at least one more enemy left over. Bunny ears had fled before Wedin had spoke, and Grace had seen crystal ball and guitar chasing her. By process of elimination, she could tell that nobody was chasing Funny Trick.
「你们别管我了，先逃离敌人再说！」既然是如此的命令，想必誓约薇汀现在人还留在现场吧。因此，那裡最少会留下一名敌人。在誓约薇汀出声前，兔耳已经率先逃跑，而且葛蕾丝也确定水晶球与吉他追了过去。用消去法一算，便能知道没有敌人追赶惊喜魔技。

Once she concluded that Funny Trick was fleeing without anyone following her, Grace could not help sighing in relief. The stress on her had greatly decreased in an instant. It would seem her partner’s life was safe for the time being.
一推断出惊喜魔技在没有敌人的情况下逃跑，葛蕾丝不禁鬆了一口气，压力瞬间减轻不少。看来搭档的性命暂时无虞。

In the first year of elementary school, Nemura Kayo had been the best student in her class, but Grace had not approached her because of her studies. Grace had used the anime technique of “look through the library loan record to see who shares interests with you”  to find a person who thought the same way as her. That person was Kayo. During lunch break in the library, Grace would sneak peeks at Kayo’s face from the side as the latter read “The Robber Hotzenplotz”. She saw that Kayo’s expression was as though she were engaged in an exciting adventure herself as she flipped through the pages with relish. She was so lost in the book that she did not even pay attention when Grace poked her cheek with her index finger. Kayo’s cheek was very soft.
小学一年级时，根村佳代是班上最会读书的女生，但葛蕾丝主动找她说话的理由与是否会读书无关。葛蕾丝利用从动画裡学到的「透过图书借阅卡的借阅纪录，寻找与自己兴趣相投的人」手法，找出志同道合的同好。那个人就是佳代。在午休时间的图书室裡，葛蕾丝从旁偷窥正在阅读「大盗贼」(注2奥飞•普思乐，德国知名儿童文学作家。「大盗贼」系列作共有三集)的佳代侧脸。只见佳代带著一副彷彿自己正在经历一场刺激冒险的表情，津津有味地翻页。即使用食指戳佳代的脸颊也浑然未知，一味地沉浸于书中的世界。佳代的脸颊相当柔软。

Because of that, Umi was very interested in Kayo. Ever since that day, she aggressively hung around Kayo. Dispensing with bothersome rules and etiquette and stepping right into someone’s personal space was Umi’s specialty.
因此，海非常中意佳代。从那一天起，她就积极地纠缠佳代，省略一切繁琐的规矩或礼仪，一脚踩进对方的领域中，是海最擅长的事情。

In the fourth year of elementary school, there had been a trek from south to the north of the province, and the two of them had been partners.
小四的暑假由南到北纵走本州时，她们也是两人相伴。

In the fifth year of elementary school, the two of them had worked together to take down the master of a karate dojo.
小五时，在学习空手道的道场收拾掉道场师父时，也是两人一起行动。

In their first year of middle school, there had been a fight with the motorcycle gang called “Rabu Raifu”, and Kayo had stood by Umi’s side.
国一时，与暴走族「罗武雷斧」发生争执，当时佳代也陪伴在海的身旁。

Umi longed to advance endlessly and charge  straight ahead, and it was Kayo’s job to soothe her and calm her down. Even if her reason was saying, “we should pull back for now”, her legs would move on their own, driven by her personal sensibilities. This was Shihabara Umi’s life philosophy. If she was left to her own devices, she would devolve into an endless berserk state. It was only with her strategist Kayo by her side that she could unleash her full potential. However, she felt embarrassed by it, and had never spoken it out loud.
佳代的使命就是安抚贪心地想要不停前进、一路往前衝的海，让她冷静下来。即使理智判断「目前先暂时撤退比较好」，双脚却会在感性的驱使下擅自行动，这就是芝原海的人生哲学。若是放她踽踽独行，就会陷入无穷无尽的失控状况。她一直以来都认为，只有佳代这个军师待在身旁，自己才能够发挥出最大潜能。不过她觉得很难为情，从来没说出口就是了。

At this moment, she felt that something was off. There was someone running beside the enemy pressing in from behind. Was it a new enemy? Thus, Grace glanced back, and she saw a familiar Magical Girl as she ran. Captain Grace swallowed the curses she was about to spit. It was Funny Trick. Funny Trick kept an even distance from Captain Grace and the enemy, forming a triangular pattern during the pursuit.
就在此时，她感受到情况不太对劲。除了从后方逼近的敌人，还有另外一个人并排奔驰。是新的敌人吗？于是，葛蕾丝将视线投射过去，便见一名眼熟的魔法少女奔跑著。葛蕾丝船长吞下想咒骂人的话语。是惊喜魔技。惊喜魔技与葛蕾丝船长、敌人保持著等间隔距离，以三角形的队形紧跟在后。

It’s not like you’re a piece of goldfish poop trailing behind me, what the hell are you thinking, why did you come? We have the advantage of numbers, all we had to do was split up and we could guarantee that one or two people would escape. Did she even know how strong this enemy was? Grace thought furiously as she ran, but the fact that Funny Trick had followed her made her smile very slightly. Grace did not think that it was because Funny Trick had developed the will to fight, but but was because she could not gauge her opponent’s strength. She had to praise her here -- truly, she was the best partner for herself.
又不是金鱼大便，到底在想什么啊，为什么跟过来？毕竟我们在人数上有优势，明明只要分头逃跑，至少能够保证一、两个人顺利逃脱。她到底知不知道，这次的对手强到爆炸的地步啊？葛蕾丝一边跑一边气愤地想，却也因为惊喜魔技跟过来的事实，欣喜地微微笑歪嘴角。葛蕾丝并不认为惊喜魔技产生斗志，是因为无法测量对手实力的关系。在这裡姑且称讚她一下，不愧是自己的最佳搭档。

Captain Grace ran over a tiled roof, crushing them underfoot with forceful stomps. Then, she dug out the fractured tiles and threw them behind her one after the other. The enemy completely ignored the shattered tiles and remained in hot pursuit, without slowing her speed.
葛蕾丝船长一边在屋瓦上奔驰，一边施力踩碎屋瓦。接著，以指甲扒出碎裂的屋瓦，接二连三地拨向后方。敌人完全不把碎裂的瓦片放在眼裡，以丝毫不减的速度紧跟过来。

It would seem she had not been hurt, and it had not scared her away.
看起来并没有受到任何损伤，而且显得毫不退缩。

Grace was disappointed at the complete failure of the tile attack. However, the fact that she could still attack by throwing tiles behind her carried great significance. Wedin’s Magical Skill compelled her to flee, but it would seem she had some degree of leeway in choosing how she ran.
葛蕾丝忍不住对瓦片攻击完全无效感到失望。但是，将瓦片扔向后方发动攻击是可行的，即使只确定这一点也极具意义。誓约薇汀的魔法会强制她逃跑，但是以何种形式逃跑，她似乎有一定程度的选择权。

Let’s try slowing down. The distance between her enemy and herself shrank by just slowing her pace just a little. It would seem she did not need to run with all her strength. She tied her hook to a rope taken from her pirate ship.While she wanted to tie a navy or sailor’s knot, she was unfortunately lacking in knowledge from that field. In any case, all she needed was to tie it securely and ensure it did not slip off the hook.
试著减慢速度看看。她只是稍微放慢脚的动作，与敌人之间的距离立刻缩短。看来似乎不一定要使出全力逃跑。她将铁钩繫在海盗船附的绳索上。虽然她想要採用海军或水手风格的绑法，但很不凑巧，她完全不具备这方面的知识。总之，只要能够牢牢固定住、解不开铁钩就行了。

Grace jumped down from the building’s roof and cast out her hooked rope to snare a viaduct, moving herself onto the bypass. Her enemy continued her pursuit, but unlike Grace, she had nothing to help her. It was only a few meters, but Grace had successfully widened the distance between them by that much.
葛蕾丝从建筑物的顶楼一跃而下，并掷出绑有铁钩的绳索勾住高架桥，移动至绕道道路上方。敌人依旧紧跟过来，但是对方跟葛蕾丝不一样，没有任何道具辅助。虽然只有数公尺，不过葛蕾丝顺利地拉开些微距离。

Perhaps it was because of the time of day, but there were no vehicles travelling there. It looked like it was possible.
也因为现在时段的关系，绕道道路上并没有任何车辆通行。看来行得通。

An unidentified flying object chased after Grace and the enemy who had manually climbed up the bypass. After that, there was an explosion as something hit the road’s surface. Grace looked to the sky as Tepsekemei launched her attack and flew in the opposite direction of the enemy.
上空似乎有不明物体朝追赶著葛蕾丝、同时也跟著攀上绕道道路的敌人而去。接下来，发出命中路面的爆炸声响。葛蕾丝望向上空，看到蒂普赛柯梅正一边发动攻击，一边朝敌人所在的反方向飞去。

Besides Grace, who was eager to fight, it would seem everyone was planning on a fighting withdrawal. As the thought crossed her mind, her mood turned joyful and she could not suppress a laugh. She looked at Funny Trick, who had climbed up the viaduct a few steps behind the enemy.
除了打算积极应战的葛蕾丝，大家似乎都打算且战且逃。一思及此，她的心情不禁变得愉快起来，葛蕾丝忍不住笑出声。她看到慢了敌人几步爬上高架桥的惊喜魔技。

The air bullets ripped through the air again, followed by the sound of explosions and concrete chunks raining down on the ground with a pattering sound.
空气子弹再度破空射来，紧接著传来的是爆炸声与水泥块哗啦哗啦地散落声响。

Grace looked back. Naturally, that slowed her down, and her enemy pressed in. She saw that the patchwork Magical Girl was smiling in delight. It was like a predator opening its maw to deliver a fatal blow to its prey, rejoicing over the fact that soon its fangs would tear its prey to pieces.
葛蕾丝边跑边回头，当然速度因此变慢，敌人逼近。只见那穿著全身上下都是补丁服装的魔法少女，一脸高兴地笑著。简直如同即将给予猎物致命一击的肉食动物般地张开血盆大口，正为自己接下来能够尽情地以僚牙撕裂猎物而雀跃不已。

As if I’d let you! With that, Captain Grace spread her palms and thrust them forward.
别想得逞！于是，葛蕾丝摊开手掌，将双手向前一伸。



She had not yet reached a safe distance, so she had prepared herself to be hurt to some extent. Captain Grace summoned her ship between herself and her enemy.
现在还不到安全距离，她已经做好会受到一定程度损伤的觉悟。葛蕾丝船长在敌人与自己之间召唤出海盗船。

The object which appeared out of thin air in complete defiance of the law of the conservation of mass squashed the running enemy, sending the nearby Grace flying and shattering the road.
完全无视于质量守恒定律凭空出现的物体，压烂了奔跑中的敌人，撞飞附近的葛蕾丝并压碎道路。

Grace rolled and bounced along the road after being knocked away, shouting in joy as she did. Her enemy had not been able to evade her. She had felt it hit something.
葛蕾丝遭到撞飞后，一边在地面上打滚，一边大喊快哉。敌人来不及躲避。她能够感觉到砸中东西的触感。

Funny Trick slowed down and Tepsekemei slowly descended. The enemy no longer existed, so there was no further need to run.
惊喜魔技放慢脚步，蒂普赛柯梅则是缓缓降落地面。敌人已经不存在，不再需要逃跑。

“Excellent, next we’ll--”
「太好了，那么接下来——」

Her words trailed off halfway. A plume of black mist spewed from the ship’s bow, trailing powder in its wake.
话只说到一半就中断了。黑色的雾霭拨开粉尘从船首飞跃而出。

While it was a wooden-hulled vessel, it was still a magical ship. It could cruise on the water at subsonic speeds, it could endure water and air resistance through its supernatural resistance… or so it seemed. That ship’s structure was not something which Magical Girls could easily punch and kick through.
虽说是木造船隻，但那可是魔法船。能够以亚音速在水面上航行、能够透过超越物理法则的耐久性承受空气与水的阻力……似乎是如此。那艘船的结构，并不是魔法少女随便打打踢踢就能够轻易破坏的。

And that ship, the pirate ship which was Captain Grace’s pride and joy, now sported a huge, unsightly hole in it. A corrosive phenomenon which looked like a spreading black stain was slowly devouring the ship’s body, and the enemy jumped out, not having slowed down at all. The enemy brushed past Tepsekemei, slightly bumping her with her shoulder, and the touched portion instantly turned into black mist which scattered into the wind. Tepsekemei’s usually blank expression contorted, and there was a look of disbelief there as she looked dumbly at the half of her body which had lost something.
而那艘船、那艘葛蕾丝船长引以为傲的海盗船，如今正惨不忍睹地裂开一个大洞。彷彿黑色污渍般的侵蚀现象逐渐啃噬船身，而敌人则是在完全没有减慢速度的状态下跳出来。对方只是彷彿擦肩而过、稍微撞到肩膀般，轻轻碰触到蒂普赛柯梅，被碰触到的部分瞬间化为黑色雾霭，烟消云散。蒂普赛柯梅平常的面无表情瞬间扭曲，只见她露出一副不敢置信的眼神，呆滞地望著失去某个部分的半边身体。

The patchwork Magical Girl threw herself into a leap and instantly closed the distance to Grace, reaching a hand out to her. Grace met it with her dagger, but the black mist made the dagger vanish without ever making contact. The Magical Girl gently caressed Grace’s face, and her vision went black.
全身上下都是补丁的魔法少女，纵身一跃缩短与葛蕾丝之间的距离，朝这边伸出手。葛蕾丝以小剑迎击，但小剑却在什么都没有碰触到的状态下被黑色雾霭削掉，魔法少女轻轻抚上葛蕾丝的脸，她的视线立刻陷入一片漆黑。

She could not see anything. The number of times she had fought under zero visibility conditions could be counted on the fingers of one hand. More to the point, her opponent was incredibly powerful, more so than bunny ears and the black sphere.
眼睛无法视物，她在可见度为零的状态下战斗的经验，五根手指头也数得出来，更别说对方还是实力胜过兔耳与黑色球体的超级强敌。

This had been a truly exciting adventure. When Captain Grace’s adventures were made into a book, this experience would definitely be the most exciting and fantastic chapter of them all. She had to ask Funny Trick, her partner and recorder of events,  to carefully observe these developments. While being a chronicler was hardly an interesting job, since Funny Trick had insisted on coming along by herself, she was obliged to take on that role.
真是刺激的大冒险。当葛蕾丝船长的冒险故事被写成书的那一天，这段体验绝对会是最精彩绝
伦的篇章吧。必须请身为搭档的惊喜魔技，以记录员的身分好好看清楚这一段的发展才行。虽然记录员实在是不怎么有趣的工作，但既然惊喜魔技自作主张地跟过来，就有义务担任记录员一职。

--Still, Kayo always did miss the point of doing things.
——不过佳代做事真的很不得要领呢。

That’s why I, Grace, have to protect her. Thus, as Captain Grace sketched a brilliant, shining future in her mind, her consciousness fell into an infinite black abyss.
正因为如此，葛蕾丝我必须好好保护她才行。于是，一边在脑海中描绘著闪亮未来的葛蕾丝船长，意识也一边坠入无尽的黑暗深渊之中。

☆ Pythie Frederica (15 hours and 15 minutes remaining)

Bunny ears was incredibly fast. Just staying on her tail was very tiring for Tot Pop and Frederica.
兔耳的脚程实在快得惊人。托托流行乐与菲列特莉嘉光是为了紧跟在后就相当吃力。

Magical Girls’ appearances looked like they were meant to fool small children, but one could not take them lightly. Growing wings implied an ability to fly. A long tail implied the ability to grab something with it. If they had weapons, it implied that they were skilled with them. Other than these obvious differences, it was not uncommon for the special features of the motif used in designing the Magical Girl body to end up affecting its abilities.
魔法少女的外表看似只是拿来哄骗小孩子的，却意外地不容小觑。如果长有翅膀的话，意味著能够飞翔，有长长尾巴当然意味著能够以尾巴抓物.，持有武器的话，即意味著能够舞刀弄剑。除了这种一目瞭然的特徵，整体造形的参考范本即象徵著本人能力特质的情形也不少见。

In other words, a rabbit-themed Magical Girl would have a quicker pace than Magical Girls themed after fortune tellers. “Since rabbits run like they’re flying, they’re counted as if they were birds.” It would seem that little fable was not entirely baseless. Their opponent was running on all fours, like a real rabbit. Thus, the distance between them was slowly widening.
换句话说，以兔子为范本的魔法少女，脚程想必会比以占卜师或音乐家为范本的魔法少女快速吧。「由于兔子跑得像是在飞一般，所以才会用一羽两羽(注3日文中鸟类的计算单位为「羽」，而在地上跑的动物计算单位为「匹」)来计算数量。」看来这则小寓言并非毫无依据的空穴来风。对方真的是以四肢贴在地面，如同货真价实的兔子般奔跑。彼此之间的距离正逐渐拉开。

“This is bad, Master. She might get away.”
「这下不妙了，师父。看来有可能会被对方逃掉耶。」

“If we let her get away here, they’ll brand us as useless.”
「如果在这裡让她溜走，我们势必会被烙上毫无用处的印记。」

“I don’t want that.”
「我可不想这样。」

“Neither do I. Let’s work together, master and disciple, and show how useful we can be.”
「我也不想。让我们师徒携手合作，努力展现有用处的一面吧。」

Frederica searched her memories. Bunny ears and a yukata. There ought to be a Magical Girl like that in the Inspection Division. Her name was Gekokujou Hana. She was the only one present who could tell them who was confirmed to belong to the investigation team, and thus she had value as a hostage. Obviously, she could not allow Sonia and Pukin -- who were unsuited to capturing targets alive -- to chase her, so she had brought Tot Pop along. Still, they were so slow that it made her head ache.
菲列特莉嘉搜寻著过往的记忆。兔耳加上和服。监察部应该有这么一名魔法少女存在。名字叫做下克上羽菜。此人是现场唯一一名能够断定隶属于调查小组的魔法少女，也正因为如此，有绑来当人质的价值。她当然不可能让不适合活捉目标任务的索妮雅或谱金前来追人，所以才会带著托托流行乐一起过来追捕，但脚程上的落差实在令人头疼。

“Gekokujou-san!”
「下克上小姐！」

She tried calling out to the other party, and the long rabbit ears shook violently. A reaction was a good thing. It proved that she was Gekokujou Hana in the flesh, and it also revealed that she had a certain straightforwardness to her personality/
她试著呼唤对方，长长的兔耳大大地抖动一下。有反应就是好事一桩。既可以证明对方就是下克上羽菜本人，也能得知对方拥有一定程度的率直个性。

In accordance with the principle of sharing information, Frederica told Tot Pop the relevant details about their target.
基于情报共享的原则，菲列特莉嘉将目标的相关情报告诉托托流行乐。

“Gekokujou Hana’s Magical skill is to sharpen senses. Once you draw close, your senses will fall under her control. Please be careful.
「下克上羽菜，魔法是将感官变敏锐。只要一靠近对方，感官就会遭到操控。请千万小心。」

“That’s Master for you, a Magical Girl Maniac really does know all sorts of things.”
「真不愧是师父，魔法少女狂热者果然知道得很详尽。」

“She’s responsible for internal affairs within the Inspection Division. Because she can sharpen senses, she’s suitable for duties which involve tracking down the enemy, and she’s also a militant Magical Girl who’s skilled at fighting. Do not be deceived by her appearances and think she’ll be an easy win.”
「在监察部中负责告发内部的犯罪行为。由于能够将感觉变得敏锐，因此适合进行搜索敌人的职务，更别说她还是擅长打打杀杀的武斗派。绝对不可以被她的外表所蒙骗，以为打起来的话自己一定会获胜喔。」

“Ohhh~ got it.”
「喔喔〜瞭解。」

Frederica decided to play on information relevant to Gekokujou Hana, and continued digging.
菲列特莉嘉针对下克上羽菜的相关资讯，继续深入挖掘。

“Gekokujou-san! How’s Mana-san!”
「下克上小姐！麻奈小姐还好吗？」

Her long bunny ears swept back, and Hana immediately straightened up. She stopped and turned around.  Frederica stopped as well, halting Tot Pop -- who was planning to continue pursuit -- with her right hand. She smiled warmly and genially to Hana, whose expression was filled with disbelief.
长长的兔耳左右摇摆后，羽菜立刻撑起上半身，接著停下脚步，回过头来。菲列特莉嘉也停下脚步，并以右手制止打算继续前进的托托流行乐。她露出一抹温暖和煦的笑容，看著羽菜，羽菜的表情充满了不信任。

Frederica swiftly verified their positions. There were ten meters between them, and they were in a narrow alley running along a drainage canal. Some distance ahead of them was a culvert. If she got in there, they would have a very hard time finding her. In all likelihood, their opposition had thought of that when stopping at this distance. Their foe was very strong indeed.
菲列特莉嘉迅速地确认好位置。彼此之间距离十公尺，地点位于排水沟渠沿岸的狭窄巷弄。前方不远处就是不晓得会流向哪裡的暗渠。若是让她逃到那裡，就不好追回来了。想必对方也是算到这个，才会在这个距离停下脚步。敌人果然很强。

“We’re reinforcements from the outside, are you having problems with the number of enemies?”
「我们是从外面派来的援军，你们正因为敌人人数众多而感到困扰吧？」

“I’m not falling for that.”
「我才不会上你的当。」

She retorted with a simple, final answer.
对方斩钉截铁地回呛。

“Falling for what? What do you mean?”
「上当？这话是什么意思？」

“You were talking about me just now, right? My ears are very sensitive; I heard everything.”
「你们刚才在谈论我的事情吧。我的耳朵很灵敏，全都听得一清二楚。」

“...Isn’t that impressive.”
「……那还真是了不起呀。」

“Still, even if I hadn’t heard it, I wouldn’t have fallen for it, superstar. If I didn’t know the name and face of Pythie Frederica, I wouldn’t be qualified to be an investigator.”
「不过，就算没听到我也不会上当的，大明星。要是不知道比缇•菲列特莉嘉的长相与名字，根本没资格当调查员。」

“Ahhh~ well… this is a headache.”
「哎呀……还真是……伤脑筋呀。」

Frederica affected an uncomfortable smile. Of course, she was secretly hoping the smile would spread to the other person’s face, but Hana’s expression was still very tense. Hana’s arms sagged powerlessly. Her posture looked relaxed, but anyone with a good eye would be able to tell that Hana was preparing herself to run at any moment. She was really strong, given how she did not expose any weakness.
菲列特莉嘉故意露出一副难为情的笑容。虽然她暗自期待著对方会受到笑容感染而微笑以对，但羽菜的表情仍然绷得紧紧的。羽菜的双手无力地垂下，姿势看起来似乎相当放鬆，但明眼人一看就知道，羽菜早就做好随时随地都能够逃跑的淮备。没有丝毫空隙，真的很强。

“That being the case, why did you stop to hear me out?”
「既然如此，你为什么会愿意停下脚步听我说话呢？」

“How did you know Mana was our team leader? You should have been locked up before she was appointed to that position.”
「你为什么知道麻奈担任组长？你应该是在她以组长身分赴任以前就被关起来了吧。」

Frederica had spied on many places before. Some of these places contained top secret documents, or meetings where important decisions were made and so on. She picked out potential candidates for the position of Inspection Division leader, called the names in order, and her opposition would surely take the hook. The fact that she had succeeded on her very first try only proved that the human resources affairs of the Inspection Division were proceeding as predicted.
菲列特莉嘉偷窥过许多地方。其中也有超级机密的文件内容，或是会议中所做的决定等。她在脑袋裡筛选出日后可能就任监察部主管的人选，只要按照顺序叫出名字，对方一定会上勾。能够在第一号人选就宾果，也只能说明监察部的人事案如预期般顺利进行而已。

All she needed was to accomplish her ultimate objective of “getting Hana to stop moving.”
只要能够达到「让羽菜停下脚步」的最终目的就行了。

“I have some past history with Mana-san.”
「我与麻奈小姐算是有些因缘。」

And so, she faked an expression that seemed to say, “I’m going to spill the beans”, and as she spoke she smoothly and naturally slipped her left hand into her crystal ball, which then passed through it and to the outside.
于是她佯装出一副「正要说出来龙去脉」的表情，一边说话一边以极为自然的动作将左手放入水晶球中，接著穿出水晶球到外面来。

“Eh?”
「咦……？」

Before Hana’s suspicions could clear up, she had thrown the three grenades she was holding. Their safety pins had already been removed beforehand, and the grenades passed over Hana’s head and rolled behind Hana. Tot Pop seized the moment and played a grand riff on her guitar. The intense noise was accompanied by a stream of large and small music notes which flooded out at Hana like a raging river.
她在羽菜的疑惑解除前，扔出手中三枚手榴弹。安全插梢已事先拔除，手榴弹越过羽菜的头顶上方，朝羽菜的身后滚去。托托流行乐则是配合那个时机点，毫不客气地大肆拨弄吉他。猛烈的声响伴随著大小不一的音符，化为湍急奔流朝羽菜袭击而去。

The grenades exploded in front of her, sending concrete fragments everywhere. The shockwave tossed Frederica’s hair up and down. She poured strength into her feet, stabilized herself, and then thrust her left hand into the crystal ball again.
手榴弹在前方爆炸，水泥碎片朝四面八方飞散而去，菲列特莉嘉的头髮在爆炸波的吹拂下舞动跳跃，她用力踩好步伐、稳住身体后,再度将左手探入水晶球中。

The hair coiled around her right index finger came from one of Tot Pop’s subordinates, the one with the most beautiful hair. The crystal ball showed the armory where the girl was, and through Frederica’s magic, she could draw forth appropriate weapons as the situation demanded. If magical weapons from the Land of Magic were used, not even Magical Girls could get through unscathed.
卷在右手食指上的头髮，是从托托流行乐的部下裡，拥有一头最美秀髮的那个女生身上得来的。水晶球映照出那名少女所在的武器库情景，只要透过菲列特莉嘉的魔法，就能够根据状况取出适合的武器。动用到「魔法王国」的魔法武器的话，即使是魔法少女也不可能毫髮无伤。

Hana could not turn tail and run. If she entered the blast radius of one of the thrown grenades, she would either die or be severely hurt.
羽菜无法转身向后逃跑。如果前进到手榴弹滚落之处，不是受重伤就是死亡一途。

Hana could not attack head on either, because Tot Pop was playing her guitar as Frederica threw the grenades, releasing a pile of solidified music notes. While those notes seemed like quite a bizarre weapon, a direct hit would hurt as much as those grenades.
羽菜也无法从正面攻击。因为托托流行乐在菲列特莉嘉扔出手榴弹的同时，开始拨弄吉他，迸出一大堆实体音符。虽然迸出的是音符这种走梦幻路线的武器，但若是被直接命中，会遭受到更甚于手榴弹的损伤。

Hana picked a third option. She took the grenade blasts on her back and kicked off towards the concrete wall, then towards a power pole, choosing to flee up instead of forward. However, that was what Frederica was hoping for.
羽菜选择了第三个选项。她以背部承受爆炸波并跳跃，踢向水泥牆，再朝电线杆一踢，羽菜朝著上方而非前后逃跑。然而，这一个选项也是菲列特莉嘉心中所盼望的。

She had already seen through Tot Pop’s escape route, and smoothly changed the frequency of the crystal ball. The middle finger of her left hand had Tot Pop’s hair around it, and the crystal ball now showed a region of space near Tot Pop, Frederica and Hana. Frederica plunged her left hand into the crystal ball, allowing it to appear ahead of Hana’s escape route.
她早已看穿羽菜的逃跑路径，间不容髮地将水晶球的频率一变，左手中指缠著托托流行乐的头髮，并在水晶球中显示出托托流行乐与菲列特莉嘉，包括羽菜在内的这附近一带的空间。菲列特莉嘉将左手伸进水晶球中，让手出现在羽菜逃跑路径的前方。

She grabbed Hana’s foot and pulled it backwards, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground. Hana spun three times in the air before landing in the place where Tot Pop was unleashing another barrage of music notes.
在半空中抓住羽菜的脚踩后一拉，让她失去平衡坠落地面。羽菜在空中旋转三圈后所降落的地点，则是遭到托托流行乐第二匹音符大军杀入。

The music notes wildly lashed Hana’s defenseless back like roaring rapids. Tot Pop played an ear-splitting chord, and the quaver notes which had hit the concrete walls became crotchet notes which rebounded back and assaulted Hana’s body from all sides. It was only after Frederica said, “That’ll do” that the notes no longer hammered Hana. With a last metallic clang, the notes which fell to the road surface and vanished as though they had melted. Frederica patted Tot Pop’s head with an appreciative look on her face.
音符形成的奔流疯狂乱打羽菜毫无防备的背部。托托流行乐弹奏著刺耳的乐曲，撞上水泥牆的八分音符变成四分音符后回弹，从四面八方攻击羽菜的身体。一直到菲列特莉嘉出声制止说「可以住手了」为止，掷出去的音符不断猛捶羽菜。当最后一道音符发出清脆的铿锵声响，掉向路面并彷彿融化般迅速消失不见后，菲列特莉嘉一脸讚赏地抚摸著托托流行乐的头。

“You sensed my intentions even without me having to signal you. You’re a wonderful disciple.”
「就算没有打暗号也能够察觉我的企图，真是好徒弟。」

“Of course! I’m your Number One disciple, after all. Of course I’d know what my Master was thinking.
「这是当然的喽！毕竟我可是头号大弟子，当然明白师父您在想什么。」

The two of them smiled to each other as they spoke.
两人一脸愉快地如此笑著说。

Frederica had Tot Pop take her playing pose, while she approached the crouched Hana and flipped her over with a kick to her side. Hana hugged herself and lay supine on the ground. It would seem she had lost consciousness. She had not detransformed, even after losing consciousness. It would seem she would have to revise her opinion of Hana upwards.
菲列特莉嘉要托托流行乐摆好弹奏吉他的架势，自己则是接近蹲在地上的羽菜，以脚尖踢向羽菜的侧腹部，把身体翻转过来。羽菜呈现双手环胸的姿势，横躺在地上。似乎是失去意识了。即使昏过去，却没有解除变身，看来有必要上修对羽菜的评价。

Frederica grabbed Hana by the scruff of her neck and dumped her into the crystal ball.
菲列特莉嘉一把抓起羽菜的后颈，将她放入水晶球中。

☆ Maou Pam (14 hours and 53 minutes remaining)

There were only a few signs of combat at the abandoned factory, with no trace of enemies or allies.
废弃工厂前只残留下些许打斗的痕迹，未见任何敌人或自己人。

Maou Pam chewed at her thumbnail in annoyance. Ever since the attack on the apartment, all her actions had been a step behind the opposition.
魔王帕姆不甘心地咬著大拇指指甲。在偷袭公寓之后，她一切的行动都晚对方一步。

Not long before this, an aimless-wandering Arabian dancer had come begging for help. The Arabian dancer had descended onto the road before Maou Pam and the other two, who were looking for their own people and the enemy
不久之前，在天空四处漫无目的地游荡的阿拉伯舞者跑来求救。阿拉伯舞者完全没有一丝紧张感，毫无戒心地降落于走在路上寻找敌人与自己人的魔王帕姆和另外两人面前。

Maou Pam took a fighting posture, but the other party acted like it was nothing out of the ordinary.
魔王帕姆警觉地摆出备战姿势，对方却毫无防备地露出一副若无其事的模样。

She remembered this person. She was the opponent whom she had fought in the air, and who had eventually escaped her. The Arabian dancer paid no heed whatsoever to the advancing Mao Pam, self-absorbedly telling Rain Pou and Postarie that “Someone’s chasing Wedin, come save her”. Eventually, Maou Pam decided to rein in this disorderly behavior and grabbed her shoulder, intending to turn her around. The other party immediately dissolved into a cloud of smoke and vanished.
她对这个人有印象。是与自己在上空战斗，最后被逃掉的对手。阿拉伯舞者完全无视于打算逼近的魔王帕姆，自顾自地对波斯塔丽与梦幻彩虹说「有人在追赶誓约薇汀，快来救她」，当魔王帕姆打算制止如此的脱序行为而抓住对方肩膀，想逼对方转过身来的瞬间，对方立刻化作一阵烟雾消失不见。

She received confirmation from Rain Pou and Postarie that the Magical Girl from just now was their friend. After thinking over the matter, the final option was to check on the direction from which the Arabian dancer had come.
她从梦幻彩虹与波斯塔丽的口中证实，刚才的魔法少女是她们的同伴。左思右想，最后剩下的选项就是去察看舞者跑来的方向。

Because two of her wings had been used to make coats for Rain Pou and Postarie and one more was a coat for herself, she could only use one wing to hunt down the enemy. She was running out of chips to play.
因为她让四片翅膀中的两片变成波斯塔丽与梦幻彩虹的外套，另一片则是变成自己的外套，所以只能派出一片翅膀进行搜敌，手上能运用的筹码实在吃紧。

Even so, she could not just abandon the two of them. Once she could rejoin her friendlies, she could entrust them to 7753 or Mana. However, meeting up would be difficult now that their Magical Phones had malfunctioned.
儘管如此，她也不能丢下这两个人不管。只要能够与友军会合，将这两个人託付给7753或麻奈就行了，但在魔法终端设备失灵的此时此刻，就连会合也变得困难重重。

The factory entrance was riddled with signs of unnatural damage. It had not come from fighting, melting, burning or other obvious signs of destructive activity. It seemed like some kind of rot or corrosion, but it was very subtly different from those.
工厂入口处残留有不自然的破坏痕迹。并非打斗、融毁、焚烧等之类显而易见的破坏行为。虽然接近腐蚀或酸蚀现象，却又有些许微妙的差异。

“Can your friends use a Magical Skill like this?”
「你们的伙伴中有人会使用这类的魔法吗？J

“...I don’t know.”
「……我不知道。」

“Are you telling me you don’t know because you don’t want to tell me the truth?”
「你说不知道，是因为不想告诉我实情吗？」

“No, that’s not it! I really don’t know!”
「不、不是的！我真的不知道！」

There was no need for truth serum whatsoever. It would seem they were not lying.
完全不需要使用自白剂，看来对方没有撒谎。

She lightly scraped off part of the damaged material. After scraping her fingertip across it, it crumbled into powder. That was when Maou Pam instantly realized this was a magical phenomenon, and that it probably possessed incredible power. Even Magical Girls who were skilled in fighting like Hana and Ripple would probably have had a hard time.
她轻轻刮起一小部分的破坏痕迹，以指尖摩擦后，立刻化为粉尘崩解而去。当下魔王帕姆立刻明白这是某种与魔法相关的事物，而且恐怕这东西拥有极为强大的力量。即使是像羽菜与莉普儿这般善战的魔法少女，也许也会感到吃力。

It was just like at the apartment. She knew something had happened, but she had no idea what exactly had gone on. More to the point, she had no idea what to do with the two people beside her.
跟在公寓时一样。她明明知道有什么事情发生，却又完全不知道到底发生了什么事情。更别说，她实在不知道该拿身边的两个人如何是好。

Rain Pou was still energetic; she got back up again even after being punched. But Postarie’s mental condition was very fragile. She had to rest and rest before she could move.
梦幻彩虹还算是有活力，即使被揍也会马上重新站起来，但波斯塔丽的精神状况则是相当疲弱。只能不断休息再休息，然后才能上路。

When she turned around without warning, she saw Postarie and Rain Pou whispering to each other. Without saying anything, she slapped each of them. She might as well just dump them here. It would make things easier for herself too.
当她冷不防地转过头去时，正好看到波斯塔丽与梦幻彩虹交头接耳地窃窃私语，便二话不说先赏了两巴掌。乾脆把她们丢在这裡，自己也能够落得轻鬆吧。


☆Toko (14 hours and 32 minutes remaining)

She silently muttered that she was a part of Rain Pou’s body, not even daring to take a breath. If she was discovered here, everything would be over. Fortunately, Postarie did not seem to want to tell the other person that she was hidden here.
它不断默念自己是梦幻彩虹身体的-部分，连大气都不敢喘一下。要是被发现它就在这裡，一切就完蛋了。幸好波斯塔丽似乎也不打算将它躲在这裡的事情告诉对方。

Even Toko had heard of Maou Pam. When people argued about the strongest Magical Girl, her name would always come up. People had privately discussed the scope and the horror of the devastation left behind by her Magical Skill. At the very least she had not thought they would have mobilized her for a mission to find and capture the suspect. That would be like calling the police for help and finding that they had sent over a tank instead.
就连多可也听过魔王帕姆的大名。如果要争辩谁是最强魔法少女的话，这个名字一定会被推举出来。人们在私底下议论过，因为魔王帕姆的魔法而造成的破坏规模有多么壮烈妻惨，至少它并不认为以搜索并逮捕犯人为主的任务会需要动用她。这种道理就跟警察要求支援，却派出破坏力超强的战车一样。

--Dammit, looks like her killing intent’s building.
——可恶，看来对方杀气腾腾、来势汹汹。

She felt that Foreign Affairs would send over a powerful Magical Girl. She knew she had interfered in Foreign Affair’s business, and the Foreign Affairs Division possessed the ability to eliminate those who interfered with their business. However, she had not expected them to dispatch someone who would injure ordinary people too. It would seem she had underestimated the Foreign Affairs Division of the Land of Magic.
它认为外交部是特地派来强大的魔法少女。它也有自己妨碍了外交部好事的自觉，而这个外交部拥有消灭碍事者的能力。但是，它万万没有料到，外交部竟然派遣会伤及普通人的人员出动。看来它太轻忽「魔法王国」的外交部了。

Just thinking about that made her entire body tremble in unease. However, something seemed strange about the situation. Maou Pam appeared to be trying to avoid harming innocents, and at the same time she was also guaranteeing Rain Pou and Postarie’s safety. While Maou Pam was slightly wary of them, she was not treating them like enemy captives. The proof was that she had not searched them, nor had she disarmed them.
光是想到这裡，它就不安地全身颤抖不已，但状况似乎有点诡异。魔王帕姆看似在避免伤及普通人的感觉，似乎也打算要保护波斯塔丽与梦幻彩虹的安全。虽然魔王帕姆多少有点提防波斯塔丽与梦幻彩虹，但没有将她们视为被俘虏的敌人对待。证据就是她既没有搜她们的身，也没有缴她们的械。

That being the case, there was an opportunity which Toko could exploit.
既然如此，就有可乘之机。

Making use of others’ kindness or morals was Toko’s specialty. At the same time, it was also the specialty of Toko’s bosom buddy.
利用别人的善意或道德观是多可的看家本领，同样也是多可倾囊相授的伙伴的看家本领。

She could pretend to be a victim, disguise herself as an ordinary civilian, put on an act of being a good samaritan, and finally deliver a fatal blow. After all, Foreign Affairs could not possibly have many Magical Girls like Maou Pam. As long as they eliminated Maou Pam, her sponsor who ended her sentences with ~nyan would be able to save them.
佯装成受害人、伪装成普通市民，以大好人的假象行动，最后再给予致命一击。毕竟外交部不可能投入好几名魔王帕姆这种等级的魔法少女，只要收拾掉魔王帕姆，那个老是在语尾加上喵结尾的协助人员就能够前来拯救他们了。

Of all the Magical Girls Toko had seen until today, Maou Pam was among the most powerful. Her strength was not purely derived from the scale of destruction she could unleash, but also from her mind.
在多可截至目前为止看过的众多魔法少女中，魔王帕姆算是数一数二的强大。这份强大并不只限于破坏规模，也在于她的心智。

She had to bring down the extraordinary Maou Pam. Her partner would surely be able to do it. Her partner was more cunning, filthy, crude, despicable and adept at mind games than Toko herself. Surely her partner would have no problem finding a chance to attack Maou Pam when she left herself open.
它必须扳倒一切都大大超乎常轨的魔王帕姆。如果是它的搭档，一定办得到这种事情。搭档比多可更狡诈、龌龊、卑劣、卑鄙，工于心计。找出攻击魔王帕姆空隙的机会，一定也难不倒它的搭档。

☆ Pythie Frederica (14 hours and 21 minutes remaining)

The wind carried the sound of police sirens over. There should have been a great distance between this high-rise building and the abandoned factory, but Magical Girls had much better hearing than humans, after all.
警车的警笛声乘著风传到这裡。这栋大厦应该与倒闭的小镇工厂有一大段距离，但毕竟魔法少女的听觉远比人类敏锐许多。

Frederica closed the window and curtains, then turned back to the room’s interior.
菲列特莉嘉关上窗户与窗帘后，重新转身面向房间内部。

Pukin and Sonia were wolfing down all the food in the fridge which was ready to eat. Pukin washed it down with matcha from a PET bottle, while Sonia was up-ending the contents of snack packets into her open mouth, like she was catching them in a basin.
冰箱裡能够直接食用的食物，正被谱金与索妮雅收拾进胃裡。谱金用宝特瓶装的麦茶将吐司冲下肚，索妮雅以嘴巴盛接著被上下颠倒过来的零嘴包装袋袋口。

Tot Pop, on the other hand was rushing in and out of the kitchen. She was in charge of preparing all the food which had to be cooked. Being ordered by an Englishwoman to cook was like some kind of bad joke, and it felt unnatural to Frederica, but when she thought about it, the person eating it was also English, so it was nothing to be alarmed about.
托托流行乐则是在厨房裡忙进忙出，需要烹煮的食材全部交由她料理。眼前这个被英国人吩咐煮饭、彷彿什么恶劣笑话般的情境，令菲列特莉嘉感到些许不自然，但仔细一想吃的也是英国人，因此也没有什么好大惊小怪的(注4意指英国以料理难吃而闻名全球，却被这样的英国人要求做料理，对日本人而言实在难以接受)。

Tot Pop had proudly patted her chest and said that her long periods of living alone were not for show, but there had been some loneliness in her expression. As her master, Frederica hoped that Tot Pop would be able to find a partner whom she would hit it off with right away.
自豪地拍著胸脯说长时间独自生活的经验，可不是摆著好看而已的托托流行乐，表情显得有些许落寞。菲列特莉嘉站在师父的立场心想，希望托托流行乐能够找到一拍即合的好搭档。

The decorations, food, furniture and other things in a room would express its owner’s way of life, their social position and their status. A middle-aged male who lived alone, with an above-average income, who knew how to enjoy himself, and on the whole he lived a comfortable life. Currently, he was lying on the other side of the sofa, with only his ankles and the blood that had leaked out of him being visible. This place had been very well cleaned, food stocks were adequate, and the interior was very tidy. It was quite amazing for a single man to be able to do this much. Frederica gave thanks in her heart, and put her hands together.
房间裡的摆设、食材、家具等事物，如实地传达出这个家主人的生活态度、社会地位以及阶
级。独居的中年男性，收入比平均薪资高，颇懂得享受，整体而言算是过得相当惬意舒适。如今因为他人横躺在沙发另一侧的关系，只看得到脚踝与流淌出来的血液而已。这裡打扫得相当乾淨、食物库存充足，房间内也整理得很整齐。对单身生活的男性而言，能够做到这个地步非常了不起。菲列特莉嘉暗自在心裡说了句谢谢，并双手合十。

Then, there were the other three. The stage magician-themed Magical Girl was face down on the wooden floor. The bridal-motif Magical Girl attended Pukin, her lashes drooping, watching Pukin eat with a blissful look on her face. The other one had been dragged some distance away from the others, the only person to be dumped in the corner of the room. Due to having been severely mauled by Tot Pop, the Magical Girl’s face had swollen up and she had broken bones all over her body. Her eyes still gleamed with determination, which only made them even more insufferable.
另外还有三个人。舞台魔术师风格的魔法少女倒在铺木地板上；新娘礼服风格的魔法少女，则是待在谱金身旁，眉尾下垂，一脸幸福地凝望著谱金用餐.，另一人被拖到与大家有一段距离之处，也只有那个人被扔在房间的一隅。由于被托托流行乐狠狠教训过的关系，那名魔法少女的脸肿胀起来，全身上下到处骨折。如今仍然散发出坚定光芒的双眼，反而让人看了更加于心不忍。

Funny Trick and Mana were bound hand and foot, with ropes taken from the armory. The ropes were strong enough that even Magical Girls would have trouble bursting them with their strength.
惊喜魔技与羽菜的四肢都被绳索牢牢绑住，从武器库带来的绳索，具备即使是魔法少女的臂力也难以扯断的强度。

“I’m afraid of pain, so please don’t torture me. Ask me anything you want, I’ll answer any question you give me. After all, my bosses and the Land of Magic aren’t nice enough that I actually owe them anything. Besides, they pay us so little and order us around so much.”
「我很怕痛，所以请别拷问我。如果想问什么请儘管问吧，任何问题我都愿意回答。毕竟上司与『魔法王国』也没有对我恩惠有加到需要讲义气的地步。更何况，薪水明明那么低，使唤起人来却一点都不客气。」

Hana said so in a tone which suggested that she would sing like a canary even without being asked. Despite her swollen face and the very high chance that she had broken several teeth, her voice was still clear and distinct. Frederica faithfully translated for Pukin, and after wiping her mouth with a napkin, she rose.
羽菜以就算没问自己也愿意全盘供出的气势这么说。脸颊肿胀，极有可能断了几根牙齿的她，发音却相当清晰、容易辨识。菲列特莉嘉一字不漏地翻译给谱金听，谱金以餐巾纸擦拭嘴角后站起来。

“General, you must not approach her. Her Magical Skill can be used without having to make contact.”
「将军，绝对不可以接近她喔。这家伙的魔法能够在不碰触到人的状况下发动。」

“You need not belabor the point… You there, the rabbit.”
「这种事情不需你多说……喂，那边的兔子。」

Pukin drew a dagger in her left hand, pointing it from a distance of three and a half meters away.
谱金以左手拔出小剑，保持著三公尺半的距离指向羽菜。

“Your eyes burn far too bright for someone who declares that they owe no loyalty to the Land of Magic and the superiors who do not succour you. Those are not the eyes of an official whose clouded heart is so rotten that it stinks and who has even lost the will to fight. Those are the beautiful, shining eyes of a Magical Girl. How unpleasant.”
「以一个嘴上明明说著，上司与『魔法王国』都没有对自己恩惠有加到需要讲义气的地步的人而言，你的双眼太过炯炯有神了。那根本不是内心已经混浊到腐烂发臭，甚至丧失斗志的官兵所拥有的眼神。那是散发出耀眼光芒的魔法少女的美丽双眼。眞碍眼。」

After Frederica translated, Hana said:
当菲列特莉嘉如此翻译后，羽菜又说：

“They probably look pretty because of the double eyelid serum, I’ll bet.”
「眼睛看起来漂亮，应该是因为双眼皮定型液的关系吧。」

After hearing Frederica’s translation, Pukin’s brows furrowed slightly.
听完菲列特莉嘉的翻译，谱金的眉头微微皱起。

Frederica knew very well that Hana had no intention of cooperating with them. The inbox of Hana’s Magical Phone was empty, but no matter how Frederica asked her about the location of any emergency meeting points, Hana only insisted “there’s no such thing” and did not waver.
菲列特莉嘉也很明白羽菜根本不打算提供协助。羽菜的魔法终端设备裡的收件匣是空的。她们应该有事先做好约定，但不管菲列特莉嘉如何逼问紧急时的集合地点等资讯，羽菜也只是一味地主张「才没有那种东西」，完全不受动摇。

“I can only tell you what I know. I can’t give you answers I don’t know. That’s a fact of life and only natural, right? But if you want to know how to use double eyelid serum, I could tell you.”
「我只能够回答我所知道的事情，没办法回答不知道的事情。这是天经地义的道理，也是理所当然的吧。如果你是想知道如何完美使用双眼皮定型液的话，我就回答得出来。」

After Frederica finished translating, Pukin flicked her right hand without another word and threw her dagger into a wall, the blade still quivering slightly. The rabbit lay between Pukin and the wall, but half of her right ear fell off, and noise spilled out from Hana’s throat as she desperately tried to bite back a scream of agony. Frederica had a look on her face which said, “Oh my, that looked like it hurt”, while the stage magician-themed Magical Girl quietly squeaked “Eeeee!”
当菲列特莉嘉一翻译完这一段后，谱金便二话不说挥出左手，被投掷出去的小剑插在牆壁上，刀刃摆动不已。在牆壁与谱金之间的兔子，右耳从大约一半之处应声掉落，羽菜的喉咙轻溢出紧咬著不愿叫出来的惨叫声。菲列特莉嘉皱起眉头说「哎呀，似乎很痛」，而舞台魔术师扮相的魔法少女则是小声地发出「咿」的尖叫声。

“Like I said… Didn’t I tell you I was afraid of pain…”
「所以说……我不是说过我怕痛吗……」

“Are you mocking me now? Such an insult will not be forgiven lightly.”
「你现在是在瞧不起吾辈吗？这等耻辱绝对不可轻饶。」

“Ah~ … it hurts…”
「啊〜……好痛……」

Pukin drew her rapier with her right hand and threw it like before. Frederica’s left hand caught the hilt of the rapier. The blade had been stopped five centimeters away from Hana’s chest.
谱金以右手抽出西洋剑，如同先前般扔掷出去。菲列特莉嘉的左手出现在半空中并抓住西洋剑的剑柄，刀刃停在距离羽菜胸口前五公分处。

‘Your Excellency, would it not be a little rash to deprive ourselves of a source of information?”
「将军阁下，减少情报来源是否会显得有些轻率呢？」

“She’s a seasoned professional. She says ‘I’ll answer any question you pose me’, but even if she does affect that attitude, you can be sure she has no intention of doing so. In addition, questioning her from three meters away is both inconvenient and dangerous. That being the case, we might as well make an example of her, which ought to loosen the other’s lips. A skilled torturer does not begrudge the number of their information sources.”
「那家伙可是经验老道的专家。什么全盘招出，就算她装做一副煞有介事的模样，也根本没有这个打算。还得保持在三公尺距离的限制下让她吐实，既不方便又很危险。既然如此，乾脆拿她来杀鸡儆猴，想必会更容易从其他人的嘴裡逼问出情报吧。优秀的拷问员才不会拘泥于情报来源的数量。」

“I see… your words are wise. Your servant has spoken too much and too arrogantly. However, your servant submits that even if she cannot be made to talk, she still has value as a hostage, is that not so? And these people could also be used as hostages, I believe? I hear that the people of the Inspection Division share a strong bond with their colleagues.”
「原来如此……您说得很有道理。是在下多嘴，说了些自以为是的话。不过，在下以为就算无法当成情报来源，此人似乎也有当作人质的价值？听说监察部的人与自己内部的伙伴之间有著强烈的羁绊。」

“Hmph, forget it, then. That being the case, I will leave her disposal to you.”
「哼，那就算了。既然如此，那家伙就交给你处置吧。」

Frederica approached quietly and respectfully offered the rapier. Then she pivoted clockwise to turn her back to Pukin. Her eyes warned Hana, “Don’t aggravate Pukin again”. Hana smiled mockingly, and then gently nodded.
菲列特莉嘉静静地靠近后，一脸恭敬地奉上西洋剑，并且顺时针立定向后转，背对谱金朝羽菜使眼色。她以眼神警告羽菜「别再做出惹怒谱金的行为」。羽菜露出一抹嘲讽的笑容并小小地点了，一下头。

Pukin’s easily-angered nature aside, she really was a prickly hostage. Even if Pukin could control minds, she could not approach within three meters of the opposition. While they could knock her out like last time, their hostage was now severely wounded, and rationing their strength to only make her faint and not die was very difficult. In addition, Tot Pop’s notes were not suitable for holding back.
姑且撇开谱金易怒的脾气不论，对方确实是一名棘手的人质。儘管谱金可以操控人心，但又无法接近对方三公尺以内的距离。虽然也可以像先前一样直接将人打晕就好了，但此时此刻人质的伤势相当严重，要斟酌力道只让对方昏过去又不至于死亡，实在相当困难。而托托流行乐的音符又不适合手下留情。

They had intended to use Wedin’s Magical Skill to force information out of her, but Hana had berated Wedin from the beginning to the end, and it had been a bust. Hana should have witnessed Wedin facing off against Frederica, so only letting Wedin talk to her would have been unnatural in the extreme. Even though Hana did not know about Wedin’s Magical Skill, she had was very clear on that point. Pukin’s assessment of Hana as a “seasoned professional” was accurate.
原本打算利用誓约薇汀的魔法强行逼问情报的策略，在羽菜自始至终一直对誓约薇汀恶言相向的情况下破局。羽菜先前应该也有目睹到誓约薇汀与菲列特莉嘉等人对峙的情形，儘管如此却刻意只让誓约薇汀跟她对话，可以说是不自然到极点。即使是不知道誓约薇汀魔法的羽菜，也能够清楚看穿这点。谱金对羽菜所下的「经验老道」的评语并没有错。

Frederica looked at the last Magical Girl. The stage magician-themed Magical Girl was gnashing her teeth.They had already learned about her situation from Wedin. Now that Wedin had become a devotee of Pukin, she had automatically told them about things which they had not asked for.
菲列特莉嘉将视线投向最后一名魔法少女。舞台魔术师风格的魔法少女，牙齿似乎无法咬合地喀哒喀哒颤抖不已。她们已经先从誓约薇汀口中问出该瞭解的事情。成为谱金信徒的誓约薇汀，连她们没有问的事情也主动全盘托出。

Thanks to Wedin, they had learned about how Toko had transformed the middle-schoolers into Magical Girls. She had recorded everyone’s Magical Skills, physical abilities and even their human names in her notebook. According to Wedin, she had to be certain of everyone’s condition as their leader. Apparently even a teacher and the science lab’s tortoise had been transformed into Magical Girls. Pythie was quite interested by that point.
也多亏有誓约薇汀，她们才知道多可把国中生变成魔法少女的事情。甚至连每个人持有的魔法与身体能力，甚至是人类模样时的本名都仔细地记载在笔记本裡。根据誓约薇汀本人的说法是，身为队长的她有必要掌握每一名队员的状况。据说连教师与被饲养在理科教室裡的乌龟都变成了魔法少女。菲列特莉嘉对这点感到兴致盎然。

What interested her even more was the ninja Magical Girl who had attacked Wedin. However, she could not obtain detailed personal information about her due to the fact that Wedin and that Magical Girl were enemies. However, she had learned some defining physical characteristics. She had one arm and one eye, was themed after a ninja, and she could throw kunai and shuriken with the precision of threading a needle, and with the rapidity of a machine gun. From this, she had learned that Wedin had been nailed to the roof so thoroughly that she could not move.
更让她兴致盎然的是，攻击誓约薇汀的忍者魔法少女。不过由于这名魔法少女与誓约薇汀站在敌对立场，因此无法法获得详细的个人情报。但有掌握到外表特徵。独眼独臂，以忍者为范本的魔法少女，还能够以穿过针孔般的精淮度与机关枪般的连续性，扔掷苦无与手裡剑。她也因此得知誓约薇汀在公寓的屋顶上，魔法少女的衣服曾遭忍者牢牢地钉在地上而动弹不得。

In Pythie’s sphere of knowledge, only one Magical Girl possessed all these characteristics. That would be the Magical Girl “Ripple”, who was a friend of Pythie Frederica’s last disciple, the Magical Girl “Snow White”. Once she knew that Ripple was inside the barrier, a thrill of joy ran up Frederica’s spine. For all she knew, it was not just Ripple, but Snow White who had come here. The thought of that was so delightful that that her waist went weak and she sank to the ground on her knees.
在菲列特莉嘉所知的范围内，只有一名魔法少女符合这些特徵。那就是菲列特莉嘉最后的徒弟——魔法少女「白雪」的朋友，魔法少女「莉普儿」。得知莉普儿身处在结界之中的瞬间，菲列特莉嘉的背脊不禁流窜过一股喜悦之情。搞不好不只莉普儿，连白雪也来到了这裡。一思及此，她就不能自已地欢喜到腰部一软，以膝盖著地。

Fate was a bizarre thing. That was made even more evident among Magical Girls.
缘分还真是奇妙呀。在魔法少女之间，这点更是显著。

“Don’t you think?”
「你不觉得吗？j

“Mm.”
「喔。」

Wedin’s answer held no sincerity at all. Perhaps it was because she was only a rookie who did not know the joys of Magical Girls, or perhaps it was because she had been controlled by Pukin.
誓约薇汀的附和完全没有一丝的真心，也许是因为她还只是个不懂得魔法少女乐趣的菜鸟，抑或是遭到谱金操控的关系。

Captain Grace had been killed by Sonia, and Tepsekemei had fled to the sky after losing half her body. It was probably not because of strong life force. Perhaps she could repair the lost portion of her body with the wind, or perhaps it was because Tepsekemei was made of wind to begin with, so losing part of her body did not constitute a fatal injury. In any case, Tepsekemei seemed to be stronger than any of the other remaining Magical Girls.
海盗葛蕾丝船长被索妮雅所杀，而神灯精灵蒂普赛柯梅则是在失去半个身体后，逃跑到天上。应该不单纯是生命力旺盛的关系吧。也许她能够透过与风同化补回失去的部位，或者神灯精灵是原本就是由风构成，即使丧失一部分身体并不会造成致命伤。无论如何，在剩馀的魔法少女之中，神灯精灵似乎比其他人强上一级。

Was the assassin among the middle-schooler Magical Girls Wedin had told them? Or were they all just simple victims.
暗杀者是否就在誓约薇汀所说的国中生魔法少女们之中呢？又或者她们只是单纯的被害人？

“Speaking of which,”
「话说回来。」

Pukin swished her rapier, flecking the sky-blue sofa with blood.
谱金休的一声甩了甩西洋剑，点点血迹溅上天蓝色的沙发。

“I believe our mission is almost complete.”
「吾辈认为任务几乎已经达成了。」

“And by that you mean…?”
「您的意思是？」

“I feel that we have captured the grand criminal you seek. That would be this person…”
「吾辈认为目前已经逮捕到你们想要捕捉的重大罪犯了。也就是此人……」

Frederica glanced aside at the stage magician-themed Magical Girl. Funny Trick’s body was shuddering, and she was trying her best to become as small as possible. Her skin was covered in beads of sweat, and she was cowering so badly that it made one reflexively pity her.
菲列特莉嘉斜眼瞥向舞台魔术师风格的魔法少女。惊喜魔技浑身颤抖、拼命地瑟缩著身体，珠玉般的豆大汗水浮在肌肤上，畏缩到令人忍不住心生怜悯的地步。

“Do you mean to say that she is the assassin that we seek?”
「您是说，她正是我们要找的暗杀者吗？」

“As a long-serving investigator,  I am quite confident that we have your woman.”
「吾辈长年以来担任监察官，有相当的自信心，绝对不会看走眼。」

“I see. One could say that.”
「原来如此，这可以说是可信度相当高的根据。」

“There was a pirate wench before this, was there not?"
「之前有个海盗小丫头吧。」

“Yes, there was someone like that.”
「是的，曾经有过这个人。」

She must have been referring to the Magical Girl who had died a miserable, sightless death after Sonia had caressed her face.
想必就是被索妮雅摸到双眼，在眼睛全盲的状态下妻惨地死亡的魔法少女吧。

“That prestidigitator…”
「那名魔术师……」

Pukin sheathed her rapier and walked over the wooden floorboards, avoiding the bloodstains as she did. She pulled out the dagger embedded in the wall, and returned it to its sheath.
谱金将西洋剑收回剑鞘，避开血迹行走在铺木地板上，拔起插在牆壁上的小剑后，同样也收回剑鞘中。

“After the pirate wench was defeated, she was clutching the body to herself when Sonia caught her, I believe?”
「她是在海盗小丫头被打倒之后，紧紧抱著尸体时被索妮雅逮住的吧。」

Sonia raised her head, hmphed in satisfaction, then went back to burying her head in food.
索妮雅抬起头来，得意洋洋地哼哼一声后，又立刻埋首大吃。

“Am I correct?”
「没说错吧？」

Yes
「是的。」

“When Sonia dragged her in, I had a good look at her. Her friend had just been killed and she herself was still in mortal danger, yet there was a faint gleam of delight in the depths of that magician’s pupils. Normally, there is nobody who would be glad about the deaths of their friends. However, that heinous criminal might well be a fool who does not fear God Himself. Perhaps they delighted in the deaths of their friend because they had never seen them as a friend in the first place. While I cannot understand how anyone could think that way, very often the worst villains are those with such abnormal ways of thinking. That is what my past experience has told me.”
「吾辈的这双眼清楚看到被索妮雅拖来的那家伙的模样。同伴明明才刚被杀死，自己还身陷死亡的危险中，但那个魔术师的瞳孔深处却散发出微弱的喜悦光芒。按照常理，不可能有人会因为同伴遭到杀害而开心。但如果是那个重大罪犯的话，恐怕是个连上帝也不畏惧的愚蠢之人。不将同伴视为同伴，也许就是这样的人会对同伴的死而感到喜悦。虽然如此的感性吾辈无法理解，不过重大罪犯就是会有这种思想异常的人。从吾辈过去的经验法则即能得知。」

“Okay~ Sorry to keep you guys waiting~”
「好啦〜让各位久等了——」

The distant fragrance of roasting meat suddenly grew more intense, carried by a wave of steamy heat. Tot Pop was dressed in an apron decorated with musical note designs, and her hands were full with platters laden with ham, pork belly, steaks and all manner of other roasted meats, all stacked up on each other. The food smelled good, but it was served in a crude manner. For some reason, this seemed to reflect Tot Pop’s personality.
原本飘散在远处的淡淡烤肉香气，浓度一口气大增，伴随著蒸蒸热气到来。托托流行乐穿著音符图案的围裙，双手抱著的大盘子上放有火腿、五花肉、牛排等种类五花八门的各式烤肉，层层迭迭地堆积起来。味道很香，但摆盘的手法实在粗糙。隐约觉得在某种层面上，似乎也象徵著托托流行乐的个性。

Tot Pop laid out soy sauce, mayonnaise, mustard, shichi-mi spice powder, Worcestershire sauce, barbeque sauce, salad dressing and other condiments on the table.
托托流行乐将酱油、条状芥末，美奶滋、黄芥末、番茄酱、七味辣粉、伍斯特酱(注5Worcestershiresauce，源于英国的酱汁，酸甜且微辣，传至日本后发展成用来配炸猪排、大坂烧、高丽菜丝等料理的沾酱。)、烧肉酱、沙拉酱等各式调味料摆在桌上。

“Take your pick of the sauces. Then, Tot will go make the rest of the food.”
「各式酱汁任君挑选。那么托托我再去煮追加的料理喔。」

On her way back to the kitchen, Tot Pop noticed that one of Hana’s ears had been lopped off and made a quiet noise of surprise. That said, she continued back to the kitchen without asking about it.
走回蔚房的途中看到羽菜一边的耳朵被削掉，托托流行乐小声地发出「唔喔」的惊呼声。儘管如此，却在贫有提出任何疑问的情形下，再度走回蔚房。

“Sonia, eat slowly. Dead meat won’t run away.”
「索妮雅，你慢慢吃，死掉的肉是不会逃跑的。」

“Okie!
「好的！」

Sonia grabbed her meat with her bare hands, while Pukin skilfully worked her knife and fork as the two of them launched into their meal without another word. It would seem this was not simply for energy, but also for pleasure.
索妮雅徒手抓起肉，谱金则是以漂亮的手法操作刀叉，两人再度不发一语地重新埋首用餐。看起来不只是为了摄取能量，似乎也相当乐在其中。

Frederica turned back once more to the stage magician Magical Girl.
菲列特莉嘉再次转向舞台魔术师风格的魔法少女。

“I have a question for you.”
「我有一件事想问你。」

The stage magician Magical Girl was still trembling. Frederica clapped, and with that, the Magical GIrl’s eyes finally went to Frederica.
舞台魔术师装扮的魔法少女仍然颤抖不已。菲列特莉嘉啪的一声，拍了一下手。魔法少女的双眼这才移向菲列特莉嘉。

“How were you related to the pirate?”
「你跟海盗是什么关系？」

Frederica spoke in Japanese so the other girl would understand. She kept her eyes trained on Funny Trick. The girl’s eyes were shifting about visibly. While part of it was fear at seeing a fellow captive have their ear chopped off, Frederica sensed that her question just now had gotten to her.
为了让对方明白，菲列特莉嘉以日文提出问题。菲列特莉嘉紧盯著惊喜魔技不放。眼前少女的双眼显得游移不定。虽然是因为一起遭到绑票的其中一名人质耳朵被砍掉而感到胆怯，但菲列特莉嘉能够感觉得到，对方似乎也对刚才的问题产生动摇。

“According to her Excellency, you were pleased by the pirate girl’s death.”
「根据那位将军阁下所言，你因为那名海盗小丫头的死而感到喜悦。」

Funny Trick’s eyes went so wide that it looked like her eyeballs would fall out of their head. She seemed to have forgotten that she was bound as she squirmed around on the ground and struggling madly.
惊喜魔技的双眼吃惊地瞪大到眼珠子彷彿快掉出来的地步。她像是忘记自己被绳子綑绑住般，在地上扭动著身体、失控地挣扎起来。

“I wasn’t! I wasn’t! It wasn’t like that!”
「才不是！才不是！才没有这回事I.」

“However, her Excellency said she clearly saw it.”
「但是，将军阁下说她看得很清楚。」

“No! I… I just--”
「不是的！我……我只是——」

The eyes Frederica was studying were not looking at her, but rather, at her own heart. It was as though she was searching the depths of her heart to find the real her inside.
被菲列特莉嘉望著的双眼并没有看著她，看似在窥探自己的内心，彷彿在掏空自己心底深处地探索著在那之中的真心。

“I… I… I… I just…”
「我……我……我……我只是……」

Frederica watched her quietly. Her agitation was not because someone had pointed out a contradiction that might have led to the truth, or because the bond she shared with her old friend had been insulted. That was the reaction people had when someone pointed out a truth that they did not wish to be discovered. It was resistance to a revelation, a tantrum thrown after thinking and realizing and discovering an answer.
菲列特莉嘉静静地注视著她。她的情绪会如此激昂，并不是因为被人指出与真相有所出入的错误，也非与昔日旧友之间的羁绊遭人玷污的关系。那是被人说中不想被发现的真相时，才会产生的反应。这是在抗拒重新检视、推敲一番之后，所导出的答案而出现的耍赖行为。

“I juuuuust!”
「我只是！」

“Silence.”
「吵死了。」

Pukin threw a platter, scoring a direct hit on the stage magician Magical Girl. The plate shattered, scattering pieces over the ground. The girl collapsed limply on the broken plate.
谱金扔出的大盘子，直接击中舞台魔术师风格的魔法少女。盘子碎裂，纷纷掉落在地毪上。少女无力地瘫软在碎裂的盘子上。

“Cease your mindless wailing. I am at dinner, so still your tongue.”
「少在那裡没头没脑地大呼小叫。吾辈可是在用餐中，闭嘴。」

“Your Excellency, I believe you said just now that she was the criminal?”
「将军阁下，您刚才不是说过那位是犯人吗？」

Pukin’s thrown plates ought not to be fatal… no, even a plate might be lethal if they hit a vital spot. In addition, Pukin had thrown the plate with the intention to kill, even though Frederica had already expressed her desire to take the captive alive.
谱金扔的是盘子，应该死不了人……不，即使是盘子，要是命中要害，也还是有生命危险。而且，谱金确实是带著杀意而扔出盘子。虽然菲列特莉嘉事先表达过，希望能够活捉犯人。

“No, it is not her. After seeing her reaction, I went over my decision again. Are you familiar with the phrase “personality change”? Every time I receive new information, I will adjust my opinion based on the freshly acquired information. That woman’s true nature is that of a mental deviant. She is not the criminal; merely a madwoman who got mixed up with that bunch of people. Honestly, she was deliberately deceiving me.”
「不，不是她。看到她刚才的反应后，吾辈重新思考了一番。你可知性情大变这个词？吾辈每次更新情报时，都会以新到手的情报为根基，重新修正评价。那个女人原本就是个精神异常的人。她并不是罪犯，纯粹只是混在那帮人之中的精神异常者而已。真是的，根本就是故意误导人嘛。」

No matter what mistakes she made, Pukin would probably rationalize them away with excuses in the name of justice, rephrasing things so that she would never be at fault. If left to her own devices, she would probably kill everyone that she suspected.
不管犯下何种疏失，想必谱金都会说出义正辞严的藉口，硬拗成「自己绝对没有犯错」吧。若是放任她为所欲为，恐怕她会将有嫌疑的人全部杀光。

Funny Trick lay face down on the ground, her body trembling. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking from her appearance.
惊喜魔技维持著趴倒在地毯上的姿势，全身颤抖不已。从外表实在看不出来，她现在在想什么。

“What is your opinion, Frederica?”
「菲列特莉嘉，你怎么想？」

“Your servant submits that perhaps our target was among the ones who fled.”
「在下以为，也许目标就在逃跑的人之中。」

Gekokujou Hana was a skilled investigator under the Land of Magic’s Inspection Division. Both her tracking and combat skills were of a high standard. There was no other reason she would have come to this small town for any other reason than to find the criminal. In all likelihood, she had the same objective as Frederica’s group -- the assassin. Of course, that would mean Hana was definitely not the assassin.
下克上羽菜是隶属于「魔法王国」监察部的优秀搜查官。无论是在搜查或战斗方面，都具备相当高的水淮。她会来到这座小镇，除了揭发犯罪之外，绝无其他可能性。想必她的目标与菲列特莉嘉她们相同，都是那名暗杀者吧。当然，这样的羽菜绝对不可能是暗杀者。

Neither was Funny Trick. Perhaps she had not gotten along with the pirate, but that did not constitute proof that she was the criminal. Her actions and attitude when she was captured did not seem like an act either. Besides, a cold-blooded, ruthless criminal would never be stupid enough to be caught because they were cradling a corpse tightly.
惊喜魔技也不是。也许她与海盗在人际关系上有过摩擦或不和，不过这无法做为她就是犯人的依据。被她们抓到时，她所表现出来的态度与动作也不像是演技。更何况，冷血无情的暗杀者绝对不可能愚蠢到，犯下因为紧抱尸体不放而被逮住的疏失。

It was hard to tell for Captain Grace. By the time Frederica had seen her, Sonia had killed her horribly. Captain Grace seemed to have been a strong fighter, but whether that meant she was the real assassin remained to be seen. According to Wedin’s personality profiles, she was one of the most prominent people in school, and she had everyone’s eye. Frederica did not think that was an assassin’s style.
葛蕾丝船长则很难说。毕竟菲列特莉嘉看到时，她已经变成惨死在索妮雅手下的尸体。葛蕾丝船长的战斗能力似乎很强，但是否真的符合暗杀者的身分就不得而知了。根据誓约薇汀所描述的人格特质，她在校内似乎是屈指可数的名人，相当引人注目。菲列特莉嘉认为这实在不符合暗杀者的风格。

“Mhm. I concur. The true villain is one of the fugitives. To capture them, we will need more information, and thus someone we can squeeze for said information.”
「唔嗯，吾辈的想法与你一致。重大罪犯就在逃跑的人之中。我们如果想抓住那些鼠辈，需要掌握更多情报，必须找到能够逼问出情报的道具。」

“Do you mean Toko?”
「您是指多可吗？」

“Mm.”
「嗯。」

“If Your Excellency is but willing to swing your sword, I am certain the opposition will not only be glad to speak, but that you will gain an ally as well.”
「只要阁下您肯挥剑，别说对方会心甘情愿地鬆口，甚至还能够增加一名自己人吧。」

Pukin’s sword could create delusions in the ones it cut. As long as she could deceive Toko into thinking that they were on the same side, they could easily learn the necessary information.
谱金的剑能够令被砍的对象产生错觉，只要对方产生她们才是自己人的错觉，就能轻轻鬆鬆获得需要的情报。

Sonia and Pukin reached for the last piece of meat at the same time, and both of them froze. Sonia timidly pulled her hand back, and then Pukin cut the meat into two and placed one half on Sonia’s plate.
索妮雅与谱金同时将手伸向最后一块肉，两人顿时停下动作，索妮雅战战兢兢地缩回手之后，谱金将肉切成两半，并将其中一半放上索妮雅的盘子。

“There was money to be had in torturing humans, even when the ones interrogated were Magical Girls. The Land of Magic paid well for my skills at torture. However, if my targets were mascots -- familiars -- that would be a different matter. Whenever I heard that there was a familiar fairy which required interrogation, I would rush over without delay, with no payment necessary, whereupon I would extract the desired information. Thus, you may leave that work to me.”
「以人类为对象的拷问是有钱可以拿的，即使侦讯对象是魔法少女也不例外。『魔法王国』会以等价的金钱交换吾辈的拷问技术，不过，如果对象是吉祥物——使魔就不好说了。只要是听到要侦讯使魔妖精，吾辈就会立刻飞奔而至。不需要支付任何金钱，吾辈会无偿逼问出情报，因此这份工作就由吾辈负责吧。」

Pukin put her half of her meat on her tongue, chewed it slowly, and swallowed. Meat juices still trailed from the corner of her mouth. Frederica had seen this smile countless times during her career as a Magical Girl. It was a sadistic smile, drunk on violence.
谱金将半片肉放上舌头，缓缓地咀嚼后吞下，浮现一抹微笑，嘴角还流淌著肉汁。菲列特莉嘉在过去的魔法少女生涯中，看过无数次同样的笑容，那是醉心于暴力的虐待狂笑容。

“There is nothing more pleasurable in all the world than torturing a fairy. Not only do they make the most delightful and pleasing sounds, there are all the little amusements after that which I look forward to. I will not permit you to deny me that joy, even if you are the benefactor who liberated me from my prison.”
「这个世界上没有比拷问妖精更愉快的事情了。那些家伙不只会发出令人愉悦的美妙声音，在那之后的小乐趣也相当令人期待。即使是从监牢中救出吾辈的恩人，也不容许剥夺这份乐趣。」

“How could your servant possibly wish to deprive you of your pleasure?”
「您怎么说在下会夺走您的乐趣呢？」

“You must have been thinking, that I could swiftly eliminate the enemy if only I exerted my Magical Skill, am I correct?”
「你一定心想，明明只要吾辈使用魔法就能够迅速解决掉对方吧？」

“Nonono, your servant would not dare be so presumptuous.”
「不不不，在下不敢妄自揣测。」

“My Magical Skill is not all-powerful. It can only be used on one person at a time. Were I to use it on a new target, the existing application would be dispelled.”
「吾辈的魔法并非万能，只能够对一个人使用而已。要是向新对象使用魔法，之前施下的魔法就会解除。」

Saying so, Pukin caressed the chin of the girl in the bridal gown attending her. The girl’s face lit up in pleasure as a throaty purr escaped her lips, and she pressed her body against Pukin’s. The girl who had been an enemy not 30 minutes ago was now part of Pukin’s harem and at her service. Every time she and Sonia’s eyes met, they would glare at each other.
谱金如此说，并抚摸著随侍在一旁的新娘礼服少女的下颚。少女一脸愉悦地从喉咙溢出一丝满足的轻叹，将身体靠向谱金。三十分钟前还处于敌对立场的少女，如今成为谱金后宫的一分子，随侍在侧。每每与索妮雅对上视线，两人就会彼此怒瞪，互不相让。

It would seem they would be wasting a lot of time if they prioritized Pukin’s pleasure.
如果要以谱金的乐趣为优先的话，似乎会相当耗时。

It might well be more effective to just eliminate all the suspects in B-City However, the Revolutionary Faction’s aim was to capture the assassin, and not kill them. Even if Frederica had no love for the revolutionaries, opening with a mass slaughter would only make people think she had never intended to complete the mission from the beginning. If she wanted to control Pukin, she needed to give her some freedom, but too much slack and she would go out of control. It all depended on how Frederica played her hand.
乾脆一不做二不休，将B市内所有的嫌疑犯歼灭会更有效率吧。然而，反体制派所要求的条件是活捉暗杀者而非杀害。即使菲列特莉嘉根本没有抱定自始至终听命于反体制派的敬业精神，但一开始就展开大屠杀的话，只怕会让人认为她根本无心完成任务。要想控制住谱金，必须给予一定程度的自由，但超过尺度又会失控，一切端看菲列特莉嘉如何运筹帷幄。

If things became more prickly than expected, she would abandon working for the revolutionaries’ gain, let Pukin go berserk, and escape in the confusion. That might well be the wisest option. And in order to achieve that aim, she would have to let people think that Frederica was dead.
倘若事情比她想像得更加棘手，就撇开反体制派的利益不论，让谱金失控暴走，然后她趁这个空隙逃之夭夭。也许这是最明智的做法。而要达到这个目的，最好让别人以为菲列特莉嘉已死亡。

“Here it comes~ Sorry for the wait~”
「来喽〜久等了——」

Tot Pop brought out more food. This time, it was roast fish and salad. Sonia grabbed a handful of crude salad made from haphazardly-cut vegetables, while Pukin placed two mackerels on her plate.
托托流行乐端来追加的料理，这次是烤鱼与沙拉。索妮雅一把抓起以随便乱切的蔬菜堆迭而成的粗犷沙拉，谱金则是拿了两尾秋刀鱼放上自己的盘子。

High fuel consumption was one of their characteristics, and making full use of their abilities would require a lot of activity. Thus, Frederica entered the kitchen and told Tot Pop:
高耗油也是她们的特色之一，想要大大地运用她们的特色，势必得进行相当的劳动行为。于是菲列特莉嘉走进蔚房，交代托托流行乐：

“Pack some bento for them. It would be a terrible joke if the enemy was in front of us and they were so hungry they couldn’t move.”
「淮备一些便当带著走吧。如果敌人就在眼前，两位大人却饿到动弹不得的话，实在让人笑不出来。」

“Sandwiches?”
「三明治如何？」

“I was thinking onigiri.”
「饭糰应该不错。」

“Ahhh, well, here is a lot of rice here. Onigiri is good. I won’t use seaweed; the taste might be a bit strong. And I won’t use pickled plums either;”strong-tasting” doesn’t quite describe it.
「啊啊，毕竟这裡有很多白米，做饭糰也不错。不要使用海苔比较好，那个味道比较强烈。啊，还有梅乾也不要放比较好。这东西可不是简单一句味道强烈就能带过的。」

Everyone’s tastes varied, even for bento. Everyone liked different things, whatever those things might be. Standing by one’s principles was not an easy thing.
即使是便当，个人的口味也大不相同。无论是任何事情，喜好都会因人而异。想要坚持己见，绝对不是一件简单的事情。