MGRP Limited Ch 4

Chapter 4: Hero Or Idol

☆7753 (22 hours and 12 minutes remaining)

Ripple’s duffle coat included a hat, but its hem was not long enough to cover her legs, so it could not conceal her single-toothed geta.
莉普儿的粗呢外套有附帽子，但是外套下摆并没有长到足以盖住脚边，所以遮掩不了她脚下的单齿木屐。

7753’s peacoat did not have a hat included. She had no hat or mask, and although she suggested buying a hat, she was shut down with “we don’t have time for that”. She resigned herself to buying surgical masks from a supermarket, and then she wrapped a scarf borrowed from Ripple around her head several times to conceal her facial features. She looked very suspicious all wrapped up like that and with the goggles added,
7753的军装外套并没有附帽子。她既没有帽子也没有口罩，虽然提出想去买帽子的要求，却被回以一句“我们没有这个美国时间”遭到拒绝。她只好在超商购买口罩，用跟莉普儿借来的围巾，在头部缠绕好几圈，遮掩外貌。包成这样，再加上护目镜，看起来可疑到了极点。

Hana, on the other hand, tucked her long ears into her hoodie. She must have tailor made it for herself after calculating the length of her ears. Her coat’s hem was very long and completely covered up her exposed legs.
羽菜则是将长长的耳朵稳稳地收在帽T中。想必她是算好耳朵的长度，才特别定制那件外套的吧。外套下摆也很长，完美地遮掩住特别暴露的腿。

Mana was in a trenchcoat, and like 7753 she did not have a hat. However, Mana did not wear a mask, nor did she wear a hat, and her neck was exposed to the sun. 7753 wondered, is this really okay? Then again, since she was a professional investigator, it should not pose a problem.
麻奈身上的是风衣，跟7753的外套一样没有附帽子。然而，麻奈既没有戴口罩，也没有戴帽子，脖子以上完全暴露在阳光下。7753暗忖这样没问题吗？毕竟对方是资深的专家，想必不会有任何问题吧。

Mao Pam’s dress coat felt off, in a way which could not be expressed in words. It looked like a cheap item bought off the markets, and at the same time it also looked like a custom-fitted haute couture garment, and it also looked like it had been hand-made. An idea struck 7753; perhaps this isn’t an added-on coat, but part of Mao Pam’s original Magical Girl costume.
魔王帕姆的燕尾服，有一种无法以言语形容的不协调感。看似市面上贩售的廉价成衣，又像是向裁缝店客制的高级货，也像自己亲手缝制的手工品。7753灵光一闪，也许这根本不是外加的外套，而是魔王帕姆原本的魔法少女装扮。

Everyone was wearing coats, and they were finished pretending to be normal people. However, 7753 had no idea how they would appear to normal people. 7753 was a novice to searches like this. Even if she had boldly declared she would help with all her strength, the fact was that she was only reading off the lines her superior had given her. She was at a loss, but dared not voice it.
众人都穿上外套，算是完成了普通人扮相。但看在普通人眼里是什么模样，7753就不清楚了。
在这方面的搜查上，7753是十足的门外汉。尽管她夸下海口说要全力协助，但她其实也只是按照上司编的台词说而已。虽然内心感到些许困惑，但她也不敢说出口。

Mana got into a cream-white compact car and started up her Magical Phone. It would seem they would be searching while driving. 7753 breathed a sigh of relief at not having to walk around on the streets in that weird outfit, but she also had the vague feeling that this was not how a Magical Girl should be acting at all.
麻奈坐上奶油色的轻型汽车，操作起魔法终端设备。看来是要驾车进行搜索。7753不由得为自己不用以这副怪模怪样走在路上感到松一口气，却又隐约觉得这么做实在不符合魔法少女的行事作风。

Even if a Magical Girl could run faster than a car, they could not run around on the streets in broad daylight lest they draw attention. The windows were pasted with dark-colored glass-insulation stickers, and it felt like an unmarked cop car.
即使魔法少女跑得比汽车快，但总不可能大白天地公然在街上奔驰，恐怕会相当引人侧目吧。车窗贴着与轻型汽车不搭的深色汽车玻璃隔热贴纸，散发出一股便衣警车的味道。

“We drove a somewhat bigger station wagon before this, but after we were attacked, we left it at the scene.”
“我们之前驾驶的是大一点的旅行车，遭到敌人攻击后，被我们弃置在现场。”

In contrast to Hana, who apologized for the cramped interior as she opened the driver’s seat door, Mana merely hmphed unhappily.
相较于打开驾驶座车门，为这辆空间狭窄的车子致歉的羽菜，麻奈只是不悦地哼了一声。

“Stop bringing up things which piss me off!”
“别提这种光是回想就会让人火冒三丈的事情！”

Even though Mana had said not to mention it, she ended up talking about the events after the ambush.
明明是麻奈自己下令不准提起，但她还是说出遇袭后的经过。

Two Magical Girls had pursued the car with Mana and another Magical Girl in it. Seeing their opposition catching up, they had no choice but to deploy a magical smokescreen, and then they split up and fled from the station wagon in two different directions, seeking to split up their pursuers. Mana barely managed to escape, and she had linked up with Hana afterwards to go look for their colleague. However, they found a corpse with a broken neck in an alley, covered up by cardboard boxes. There was no sign of resistance on the corpse, suggesting that they had their neck broken from behind..
两名魔法少女追赶着麻奈与另一名魔法少女搭乘逃逸的汽车。眼看对方就快追上来了，她们只好用魔法喷出烟雾，各自从旅行车的左右两边逃离，打算兵分两路甩开追兵。麻奈好不容易才逃脱成功，跟羽菜会合后，一起去寻找另一名同伴的下落。未料却在后巷发现一具脖子遭到折断的尸体，并被人用纸箱覆盖住。从尸体上完全看不到任何抵抗的痕迹，想必是逃跑中遭人从背后踢断脖子的吧。

“Motherfuckers! They killed off the search specialist that 3rd Branch lent us!”
“混账家伙！竟然就这样杀死调查三科派给我们的搜索专家。”

Mana’s words were so intense that they threatened to scorch the eyes, and they were filled with hatred. Not only had her colleague been killed, but she had been trapped in the barrier which Foreign Affairs had set up around the city. Even so, Mana had not given up yet.
强烈到仿佛要将人的眼睛灼伤般的麻奈的话语中，透露出满腔的悔恨。不仅伙伴遭到杀害，还被外交部擅自设下结界困在市内。即使如此，麻奈仍然没有放弃。

“We’re going to find Toko. Even if we don’t get Toko, the Magical Girl will be fine. In any case, we’re going to be taking the initiative. The barrier’s effectiveness is limited. The spellcasters, the ritual items and the spell deployed on the land all have their limits. Once the barrier fails, it can’t be immediately renewed. In the 24 hours before the barrier loses its effect… well, there’s only 22 hours now. If time runs out and we haven’t caught the enemy…”
“我们要找出多可。就算不是多可，魔法少女也没关系。总之，由我们来采取主动。结界的效力是有限的，无论是施术者、施术道具或张设在土地上的魔法，都是有限的。结界失效后，不可能立刻重新强设结界。在结界失效的二十四小时内……现在只剩下二十二小时了啊。如果时间到了之后，还无法抓到敌人的话……”

The furrows between Mana’s brows grew deeper. Her eyebrows arched higher, her nostrils flared, and she used her facial features to express the quivering anger within her. One could almost hear Mana gnashing her teeth. 7753 unconsciously looked away. Mana sighed deeply, and continued:
麻奈眉间的皱纹变得更深、眉毛高高扬起，鼻翼微微张开，用上全部的五官，表现内心的震怒。仿佛还能听见麻奈咬牙切齿的叽嘎声。7753下意识地移开视线。麻奈则是深深地叹了一口气后，继续道:

“...Under no circumstances will I allow any more mistakes. Besides, there are other disruptive elements here too.”
“……我绝对不允许再有任何疏失。更何况，如今还有别处派来的搅局者。”

Mana stopped here, and then Hana took over with an apologetic look on her face.
麻奈只说到这里，接下来果然还是一脸歉意的羽菜负责接话。

“Er~ well, 7753-san, Ripple-san, there’s something I’d like to confirm with the two of you.”
“呃～那么7753小姐与莉普儿小姐，我有件事想先向两位确认一下。”

“Do go on.”
“请说。”

“Your Magical Skills require line of sight, am I correct? Your perfectly accurate shurikens can only hit things you can see, right? And the target’s status screen can only be seen through the goggles, am I correct?”
“两位的魔法必须配合视线才能使用吗？百发百中的手里剑，只能命中看得见的物体吗？目标物的状态画面，只有在透过护目镜观察的情况下才能窥伺吗？”

“I can’t use my Magical Skill on people I can’t see.”
“我的魔法无法使用在看不到的人身上。”

After 7753 finished, she glanced at Ripple, who also nodded lightly.
7753如此说完，瞥了莉普儿一眼，只见莉普儿也轻轻点头。

“I see. That means the two of you will best be able to use your Magical Skills when you can see your opposition… alright, that’s it, then.”
“原来如此，也就是说你们两位最好是在看得见对方的状态下发动魔法……那么，这样子应该就差不多了。”

Suddenly, her vision became much clearer. 7753 had no idea what was going on for a moment and was visibly confused. For a moment, she thought that her goggles were letting more light through, but then she removed them and realized that was not the case. The scenery around her, the view in the distance, all of them were clearly visible. Magical Girls had better eyesight than human beings, but her vision now was even better than that. When 7753 looked at Ripple, she found that the other girl was also looking around at her surroundings.
视野瞬间变得清晰许多。7753在一时之间搞不清楚怎么回事，显得有些迷惘。原本以为是护目镜的透光性变好，摘下护目镜一看，才发现并非如此。周围的景色、远方的风景，全部都能看得一清二楚。魔法少女的视力比人类优秀，但她现在的视力更胜以往。当7753望向莉普儿时，发现她也跟自己一样，东张西望地观察起四周。

“This is my Magical Skill.”
“这就是我的魔法。”

Gekokujo Hana’s Magical Skill was “the ability to sharpen senses”. Shr could improve vision, hearing, smell, taste,  touch and all other senses, making them more acute.
下克上羽菜的魔法便是“能令感官变得锐利”。提升视觉、听觉、嗅觉、味觉、触觉等所有一切都感官，令人变敏锐。

“I can improve them all at once, but doing it in excess will confuse people. Also, when I use it on multiple people, controlling it becomes more difficult in proportion to the number of people I’m affecting. Therefore, I’m only augmenting your vision for now. How does it feel? Or do you want me to improve it more?”
“虽然能够一次提高所有感官的敏锐度，但做过头反而会导致混乱。再加上，对多人使用魔法的话，控制比例的难度会因人数增加而升高。所以，我只有先加强你们的视力，感觉如何？还要再调高一点吗？”

She had the mistaken impression that there was something very close to her. It felt as though she could clearly differentiate every single speck of dust in the air. The flowing movements of the clouds in the sky were as close to her as though they were in the palm of her had. 7753 could even tell the types of trees which grew on a hill which had originally been distant scenery.
有一种物体离自己很近的错觉。甚至连大气中的每一粒尘埃，都能够清楚地辨识。在空中流动的云朵形状，仿佛握在自己掌心般清晰。7753还能够辨识出，原本只是远景的山上所生长的树木种类。

“Is this alright? Improving your senses beyond this might cause problems.”
“这样可以吗？如果再加强感知度的话，也许会有问题。”

“Ah, this is amazing. Your Magical Skill is awesome.”
“哎呀，还真是厉害。这个魔法好棒喔。”

“No, no, it’s nothing special.”
“不不不，没有什么大不了的。”

When a human became a Magical Girl, all their senses were sharpened, but this felt different. 7753’s heart filled with the joy of a new discovery.
从人类变成魔法少女之后，所有的感官都会变得敏锐，但这种感觉又不太一样，7753的内心涌现一股感动于新发现的喜悦。

Ripple crouched down, and when she stood back up, she had a pebble in each palm. After that, she hurled the right pebble into the air, and it vanished in an instant. After that she grandly raised her left hand and raised the pebble in her left hand above her head, and then threw it with incredibly force. The sound of a collision came from above, and fragments of the pebbles showered down upon them. Hana and 7753 made noises of surprise, then cheered and applauded.
莉普儿原地蹲下，她站起来时，双手掌心各躺着一颗小石头。然后，她奋力地将右手的小石头朝空中丢去，转眼间却消失地无影无踪，再大大地挥动左手，将左手小石头举高至头顶，以惊人的气势投掷出去后，上空立刻传来“咚”的一声物体相撞的声音。小石头的碎片哗啦啦地落下，羽菜与7753在发出惊呼声的同时，鼓掌叫好。

“What an amazing ability.”
“真是了不起的能力。”

“...No.”
“……不不不，别这么说。”

“This Magical Skill only works within three meters of me. There’s no time limit to it, so just try not to stray too far away from me.”
“但是，这个魔法必须在以我为中心的半径三公尺内才有效。这个魔法没有时效性，所以只要你们尽量被离我太远就行了。”

Hana was in charge of driving, and with her heightened hearing, she served as a detector to pick up anything the instant it happened. 7753 worriedly asked Hana about the police questioning a young girl for driving a car, and Hana immediately whipped out her license. Her age was listed as 21, and the person in the picture was Hana without the bunny ears.
羽菜负责驾驶汽车，并将听觉磨得锐利，当成一有状况发生就能瞬间察觉的搜索装置。7753担心地询问羽菜，用少女的外貌驾车有可能会遭到警察盘查的事情后，羽菜立刻秀出驾照。年龄为二十一岁，除了没有兔耳之外，大头照看起来就是羽菜本人。

“That’s because our team leader is good at making these things.”
“因为我们组长擅长制作这类东西。”

The license looked like it had been forged by Mana. With magic, one could even reproduce modern technology.
驾照似乎是麻奈伪造的，只要有魔法，就连现代科技大致上也都能够重现。

“After this, all that’s left is to assign tasks.”
“接下来，只剩下工作分配。”

Mana used her magic wand to search for the rough location of the target. It would seem the wand’s tip would point to nearby magic sources, but because the tip was wavering, it only supplied a very rough location. Still, it was better than nothing.
麻奈使用魔法杖，搜寻目标大概位置。魔法杖前段似乎会指向附近有魔法存在的方位，但因为手杖前段摇摆不定的关系，只能知道非常粗略的方位。即使如此，还是聊胜于无。

7753 sat in the co-driver’s seat, looking out of the vehicle. While the magic wand would point toward their target, it could not display distances. In other words, they had to use her magic goggles to visually aid the search. She was fully aware that the enemy might be hidden in a building, but that was no reason to stop looking.
7753坐在副驾驶座看向车外。虽然魔法杖会指向对象目标的方位，却无法显示距离。也就是说，必须通过魔法护目镜以目视的方式协助搜索。她很清楚也许敌人会藏身于建筑物中，但也没有理由放弃目视搜寻。

She had to fiddle with the settings. Everything would be over if their enemy detransformed and they could not find them. Therefore, 7753 put the unusual and frightening category of “number of Magical Girls killed” as a top priority, and put everyone she saw through the car window within her crosshairs.
她必须在测量数值上下工夫。若是因为敌人解除变身而无法发现目标，一切就免谈了。于是，7753将“杀死的魔法少女人数”这种平常不曾使用、听起来很耸动的测量项目设定为第一优先，透过车窗，每每发现人影就立刻以护目镜的瞄准器对准对方。

Ripple was their bodyguard, because her Magical Skill of “throwing shurikens with 100% accuracy” sounded very strong just by hearing about it. Although the fact that Ripple was a Child of Cranberry disturbed 7753, the fact that 7753 had always had problem children of varying degrees dumped on her lap. In addition, children who were more problematic usually ended up being stronger.
莉普儿担任保镖，光是听说她的魔法是百发百中的手里剑，就觉得很强大。虽然知道莉普儿是“克莱莓的孩子们”令7753感到相当动摇，但会送至7753眼前的魔法少女也都是程度或大或小的问题儿童。再加上，问题越严重的问题儿童，通常越强大。

While Hana did not pride herself on her fighting ability, she was probably no weakling either. More to the point, she and Mana were at the heart of this investigation. Hana’s Magical Skill was of a supportive nature, but its effects were astounding. However, her Magical Skill only worked within three meters of her, so they had to be  careful of that.
虽然羽菜对自己的战斗能力并不会感到自豪，但想必也不弱吧。更何况，这个调查工作是以她与麻奈为核心人物。羽菜的魔法虽然是辅助性质的魔法，但效果相当惊人。只是她的魔法有三公尺的距离限制，关于这点必须多加注意。

And there was one more person. 7753 looked out the window. There was no trace of the moon and the stars; they were all veiled by the clouds. The temperature outside was much colder than an ordinary November night ought to be. Mao Pam flew alone in the frigid sky. She had the ability to fly at high speeds, the eyesight to observe the surface from the air, and the fighting power to effectively retaliate even if she was attacked in mid-air. In addition, if they encountered any difficulty, she was fast enough to rush to them immediately. In other words, Mao Pam could do anything.
还有一人。7753将视线投向窗外，天空已不见月亮与繁星的身影，全部笼罩在云层下。窗外的气温比在十一月的夜晚该有的文都，显得寒冷许多。魔王帕姆独自飞翔在寒空之下。她具备能够以高速飞行的能力、拥有从高空看清地面状况的视力、即使在空中遭到攻击也能够迎击的实力，再加上她们遭遇麻烦的话，也能够立刻赶到的速度。换句话说，魔王帕姆简直无所不能。

Before Mao Pam took off, 7753’s boss gave her an order which made her feel uncomfortable: “verify Mao Pam’s combat ability”. 7753 nervously made a request to Mao Pam, which the latter was eager to grant. In the instant she tried to assess Mao Pam’s fighting ability through her goggles, her vision was drowned in a sea of heart-shaped icons and a brilliant light stung her eyes painfully. When Mao Pam leisurely asked, “How was it~?” 7753 barely managed to answer “It was amazing…”
在魔王帕姆起飞前，上司对7753下达“确认一下魔王帕姆的战斗能力”……如此让人感到为难的指令。7753只好战战兢兢地拜托魔王帕姆，而对方则是极为爽快地答应了。当她正要通过护目镜确认魔王帕姆的战斗能力时，视野立刻被无数的心型符号给淹没，强烈的光芒刺痛她的眼睛，令她痛苦了好一会儿。对于一脸悠哉地询问自己“如何～？”的魔王帕姆，7753勉勉强强才挤出“真是太厉害了……”的回答。

Mao Pam was now flying at an altitude where 7753 could not spot her, even with her Hana-enhanced eyesight.
魔王帕姆目前正在即使是被羽菜强化的7753的视力，也无法捕捉到的高度飞翔。

She did not know if it was because Mana had been discriminating against her, or because it would be easier to do things when looking down from above. It might well have been both.
不知道是因为遭到麻奈排挤的关系，抑或是从上空俯瞰地面比较容易行事的关系，搞不好是两者皆是吧。

Perhaps it was because this arrangement had closed off as many of the loopholes as possible, but it made her a little more confident. While she did not intend to fight at all once combat started, the important thing was that everyone played their part. Even if she could not fight, she was not completely useless. In any event, she had the mindset of doing her assigned task as perfectly as possible, and so she focused all her attention outside the window. She brought person after person into the crosshairs of her goggles, and the status screen changed with bewildering speed. However, a Magical Girl’s motion-tracking vision could easily handle that.
也许是这个配置并没有抓也抓不完的漏洞，让她多了一丁点信心。虽然一旦爆发战斗，她完全不打算成为战力之一，但重要的是各司其职。即使她无法战斗，却也不是完全排不上用场。总之，她抱持着尽可能将分内工作做到最完美的心态，全神贯注于窗外。以瞄准器对准一个接一个地进入视野的人，状态画面以令人眼花缭乱的速度切换。不过，凭着魔法少女的动态视力，便能毫无阻碍地应付。

The vehicle was moving 10 km/h below the speed limit. Since this was a two-lane road, there were few cars in transit and thus it was impossible for a jam to occur. There was a T-junction ahead, so the car turned left and went amongst the brown-colored, harvested fields. Then it turned left once more, onto the mountain road, made a circuit around a reservoir, and then went down a serpentine road on a slope.
汽车以低于限速十公里的速度通行。因为是两线车道，通行的车辆并不多，因此也不可能塞车。由于前方就是T字路口的关系，汽车朝左边一弯，在收割后的咖啡色田野中前进，接下来再朝左边一拐，开上山路，行经蓄水池后，沿着蜿蜒蛇行的下坡路行驶。

7753 had no idea where they were heading.
7753搞不清楚她们到底是朝着哪里前进。

“Er… where are we going now?”
“呃……我们正往哪里前进吗？”

After casually throwing off that line, an unhappy “What?” came from behind her, so 7753 had no choice but to shut up. Hana the driver tried to soften the blow:
随意脱口而出这么一句话后，后座立刻传来“什么？”相当不悦的声音，7753只好乖乖闭上嘴巴。负责驾驶的羽菜则是帮忙缓颊:

“Just think of it as following the magic wand. However, the wand points here and there, and it changes direction randomly, so it doesn’t feel like we’re heading towards our destination.”
“你只要想成是跟着魔法杖走就行了。只不过，魔法杖一直摇摆不定，也不会频繁地变换方向，完全不会觉得我们是朝着目的地走就是了。”

“Ah, I see.”
“啊啊，原来如此。”

“This is a little primitive, but it’s the best we can do now.”
“做法虽然有点原始，不过以现况来说算是最佳方案了。”

“Are you both out of concentration?!”
“你们的集中力耗光了吗？”

The voice from the back seat sounded even more unhappy, and 7753 could not help but cringe down into her seat, regretting how she had made things difficult for Ripple, who was beside Mana in the back seat. It must have been very stressful to have to sit beside one’s boss when they were in a bad mood.
从后座传来的声音听起来更加不悦，7753忍不住缩了缩脖子，为自己害到坐在麻奈身旁的莉普儿而自我反省一番。在心情不好的上司身旁，会让人感到极大的压力。

“Concentrating is one of the strengths of a Magical Girl. If you can’t even do that, then what good are you? Ahhhh?!”
“集中力可是魔法少女的卖点之一。你们在这方面帮不上忙的话，还有用处啊？说啊！”

Ahhh~ here we go again, 7753 sighed internally.
啊啊～又开始了。7753暗自在内心叹气。

“Ah, look. There’s a convenience store over there.”
“啊，你们看。那边有便利商店。”

Hana pointed ahead. There was a convenience store nestled between the foothills. It had a big parking lot since it was located in the countryside.
羽菜指向前方。有间便利店坐落于山麓。由于位于位于乡下的关系，停车场相当宽敞。

“I’ll go buy some supper. It’s about time, right?”
“我去买些宵夜来吧，时间也差不多了吧？”

“No, there’s no need. I’ll go myself. I’ll be back soon, so you wait here.”
“不，不用，我自己去。我马上回来，你们在这里等。”

Hana stopped the car in the parking lot, and after exhorting everyone to stay alert, Mana got off the vehicle by herself. 7753 let out a sigh, finally able to breathe again.
羽菜将汽车停在停车场，吩咐大家提高警觉后，麻奈径自下车。7753吁出一口气，终于能够稍微喘息一下。

“I’m sorry~”
“对不起喔。”

Hana put her hands together and bowed her head in apology. There was a bitter smile on her face.”
羽菜双手合十，低下头道歉。脸上浮现一抹苦笑。

“She’s not a bad person, she’s just easily misunderstood.”
“其实她人并不坏，只是很容易被误解而已。”

Sensing Hana was talking about Mana, 7753 hurriedly shook her head.
察觉到羽菜是在说麻奈，7753急急忙忙地摇头。

“No, ah, it’s fine.”
“不不不，没关系的。”

Perhaps she had been making her attitude obvious. It would seem Hana had found the convenience store to help clear the air. To think she mad made Hana go to those lengths.
也许是自己的态度相当明显吧。看来羽菜找到便利超商，应该也是想帮忙缓和气氛吧。竟然让羽菜这么费心。

“She’s very keen on getting the job done. She’s very serious and focuses on the job, and then she feels that as long as she’s doing the right thing, people will understand her. This time, the presence of interferers is making her… er, sorry for calling you interferers…”
“她是个很热衷工作的人。相当认真、全心全意放在工作上，再加上她觉得只要自己做的事情是正确的，别人一定能够谅解她。这次也因为有搅局者的关系，她的心情才会……呃，对不起，
说你们是搅局者……”

“Ah, not at all. Don’t worry about that.”
“啊，不会。你不需要顾虑这么多。”

In truth, 7753 also felt that what her boss was doing could only be described as interference.
实际上，7753也认为自己上司所做的事情，除了搅局者之外没有其他更适合的说法。

“Mana only shows her true feelings after she gets drunk. Normally she’s really hard to work with. However, it’s easy to get along with her once she lets her real self show, no… I should say she’s very cute.”
“麻奈组长喝醉后才会显露出真实性情，平常的她真的很难相处。不过，显露真性情的她非常好相处，不……应该是说很可爱。”

Hana did not seem to be talking about her superior so much as gossiping about her little sister. Her bunny ears seemed to be twitching under her hood, and combined with her uncomfortable smile, it was enough for 7753 to smile in understanding.
与其说是在谈论上司，倒不如说羽菜的态度比较像是在闲聊自己的妹妹。兔耳在帽T下动来动去的模样，以及微微苦笑的表情，令7753看了忍不住会心一笑。

“It’s just that usually, she has a vicious tongue… 7753-san, Ripple-san, I’m really very sorry to the two of you.”
“只是她平常嘴巴比较坏……7753小姐、莉普儿小姐，真的很对不起你们两位。”

“Of course not, don’t say that. We’re fine.”
“不会，别这么说，我们没事啦。”

“She’s really not a bad person. Nobody else thinks as much about Magical Girls as she does.”
“她真的不是坏人。除了她之外，真的没有人怎么替魔法少女着想。”

“Thinks about… Magical Girls?”
“这么替……魔法少女着想？”

“Yes.”
“是啊。”

The feeling that something was out of place that she had until now was finally clear. When one thought about it, Magical Girls did not need supper. At last, she understood why Mana’s looks and costume did not resemble a Magical Girl. And the way she spoke, attacking all Magical Girls, as though she was not one herself.
至今为止，她感觉到的不协调终于逐渐明朗。仔细回想的话，魔法少女根本不需要吃宵夜。她总算明白，麻奈无论在容貌或服装上，都不像魔法少女的理由。还有那种像是针对整体魔法少女的发言，仿佛自己不是魔法少女的原因。

“Mana’s not a Magical Girl, is she?”
“麻奈不是魔法少女吧。”

“Yes, she’s not a Magical Girl, but a Mage… er, did you not notice at all?
“是的，她不是魔法少女，而是所谓的魔法师……呃，你完全没有察觉吗？”

Hana’s surprised expression and tone made 7753 feel uncomfortable. If she had looked closely, she would have learned the truth without having to wait for others to tell her. Perhaps the chain on unexpected occurrences since this morning had prevented her powers of reason from functioning properly. 7753 searched for an excuse within herself.
羽菜回以惊讶的声音与表情，令7753忍不住感到难为情。要是能够仔细观察，不需要等到别人说她就能察觉真相。也许是因为今天从早上开始就出现一连串出乎意料之外的事情，导致她的思考能力无法正常运作。7753在心里替自己找借口。

“I’m sorry, this is so embarrassing…”
“对不起，真是太丢脸了……”

“But you could tell with your Magical Skill, no?”
“可是通过你的魔法，应该能够观察出来吧？”

“No, ah… I often remind myself not to use the goggles when I don’t have to. Or rather, I feel that using magic to observe anyone but my mentees without their permission is very rude, so I try to get the other party’s approval first if I have to… in any case… I’m sorry.”
“不，那个……我会在心中提醒自己，如无必要就不使用护目镜。应该是说，我觉得擅自用魔法观察培训生以外的人很没礼貌，所以要使用的话我会尽量经过对方的允许……总之就是……对不起。”

Hana’s expression changed from one of surprise to helplessness, then delight, and then she smiled.
羽菜的表情从惊讶转变成无奈，接着，再从无奈转变成一脸喜悦的神情，最后笑了出来。

“You’re a good person, 7753-san.”
“7753小姐也是个好人呢。”

“No, I’m not a good person.”
“不，我并不是好人。”

She simply did not wish to be rebuked. She knew better than anyone else that she was just a coward. If one wanted to speak of good people, then Hana -- as someone who tried to smooth things over from the side -- was truly a good person.
她只是不想被别人责备才这么做的。她比任何人都清楚，自己只不过是个胆小鬼而已。真要说好人的话，会从旁帮忙缓颊的羽菜才是真正的好人。

“And… 7753-san sounds a little…”
“还有……7753小姐听起来实在有点那个……”

“It’s not good?”
“不好吗？”

“7753-san sounds kind of hard to pronounce, so just call me 7753. I’d be very grateful if you could address me like that.”
“因为7753小姐听起来真的很拗口嘛，叫我7753就好了。如果你愿意这样叫我，我会很感激的。”

“That sounds like directly addressing you by your name.”
“这样很像是直呼你的名字。”

“It’s fine, you can do that.”
“没关系啊，直呼也可以。”

“No, but…”
“不，可是……”

“Nonono, it’s fine.”
“不不不，没关系的。”

“Nonono, I can’t.”
“不不不，这可不行。”

Quiet laughter came from behind, and 7753 and Hana unconsciously looked to the back seat. They saw Ripple with her head lowered, mumbling, “Forgive me”, and her cheeks seemed slightly flushed.
听到从后座传来一丝窃笑声，7753与羽菜下意识地将视线投向后座。只见莉普儿压低头，嘴里
咕哝着说“失礼了”，脸颊似乎染上微微的红晕。

☆Kurukuru-hime (20 hours and 15 minutes remaining)

It was almost 8pm. Nozomi had temporarily separated from the students and come to the designated apartment. Everyone should have gathered in Room 204, but Toko was the only one here. She laid a coaster on the table, and sat on it.
接近下午八点。暂时与学生分开行动的希，来到指定的公寓。应该全员到齐的二〇四号室里，只有多可一个人。多可在桌上铺好杯垫，坐在上面。

“Where are the others?”
“其他人呢？”

“They seem to be running and jumping around outside. Humans who just obtained their magic are always so eager to try it out, and even moving their bodies a little makes them happy.”
“似乎是在外面又飞又跳的。刚获得魔法的人类总是会迫不及待地想试试看，就算只是稍微活动一下筋骨也开心得不得了。”

A mocking smile appeared on the cute fairy’s face. Then, she continued:
可爱妖精的脸上浮现一抹带着嘲讽意味的笑容，接着说:

“Well, they’re children, so it can’t be helped. Besides, most people who become Magical Girls are just dumb kids. Only a rare few adults become Magical Girls…”
“毕竟她们都还是小孩子，这也是没办法的事。更何况，变成魔法少女的大部分都是头脑不怎么灵光的孩子。鲜少有大人变成魔法少女的例子……”

She narrowed her eyes and looked up to Nozomi.
眼睛微微向上地望着希。

“What a rarity.”
“还真是罕见。”

“Me?”
“我吗？”

“I was referring to the fact that you were mentally prepared to accept the reality of being a Magical Girl.”
“我是指你早有心理准备，接受成为魔法少女的事实。”

“I’m not that self-aware.”
“我并没有这种自觉耶。”

“You can’t survive in this world on self-awareness alone.”
“这个世界又不是只靠自觉就能生存的。”

Toko stopped here, and then stared silently out the window. There was the vague feeling that Toko thought of herself as the sole adult among a group of playful children, so she was looking down on her. Perhaps she was just angry, but Nozomi felt that this was the case. Toko’s expression seemed much more mature than Nozomi’s or anyone else’s, for that matter.
多可只说到这里，便不发一语地盯着窗外。隐约觉得，从多可的角度看来，她明明是个大人却混在一群孩子中玩耍，想必相当瞧不起她吧。也许只是迁怒而已，但希认为事实也是如此。多可的表情，比希、比任何人都要老成。

“Hey, Toko.”
“喂，多可。”

“What?”
“干嘛？”

“What exactly did that evil mage do?”
“具体来说，邪恶魔法师都做了哪些坏事？”

“That’s not important, right? Why don’t you read a few fairy tales or light novels and manga targeted and teenagers? Simply put, that’s what those people did.”
“那种事情一点都不重要吧。你自己去参考童话故事，或是青少年性向的小说、漫画什么的，简单来说，那帮人干了那种事情。”

Toko replied without even looking back. This casual, dismissive style of reply was quite “mature”. Nozomi laid her things on the sofa and left the room to go outside.
多可头也不回地说。这种随便敷衍的应对方式，果然相当“老成”。希将行李放在沙发上后，离开房间来到外面。

Toko’s mood seemed a lot better than before Nozomi had returned to the school. Or rather, it was not that her mood was better, but she had calmed down after some time.
多可的心情似乎比希回学校之前好许多。与其说它是心情好，倒不如说是时间一过就冷静下来了吧。

♢  ♢  ♢


After their maiden battle was over, the rookie Magical Girls who had driven off their enemies returned to the science prep room while avoiding the eyes of others.
结束首场战斗，击退敌人的菜鸟魔法少女们，在掩人耳目的情况下回到学校的理科准备室。

While Toko was angry that they had not exterminated the enemy, the students were not afraid of that, but instead discussed their next move. The fact that the Magical Girls seemed to be completely ignoring her demands added fuel to the fire, and after a bout of furious screaming, she flew off by herself. After some time, shouting came from the roof, which sounded like Toko. That shouting was accompanied by all manner of unspeakable words, which did not think people think of a fairy so much as a gangster.
虽然多可一直对没将敌人全部歼灭一事震怒不已，但学生们并没有因此退怯，而是互相讨论接下来该怎么做。看着魔法少女们对自己的主张充耳未闻的模样，简直就是在多可的怒气上火上加油，等到它疯狂怒吼完，就径自不知道飞到哪里去。好一阵子过后，从顶楼传来似乎是多可所发出来的怒吼声。由于那一道道激烈的吼声里夹杂着许多不堪入耳的字眼，与其说它是妖精，反而容易令人联想到“道上的兄弟”。

She returned to the prep room after that. She did not flare up, but she was still in a terrible mood.
它在那之后没多久便返回准备室，虽然不再乱发脾气，但心情仍然极差。

Toko said she had been contacted by her collaborator and told them the details of their conversation. B-City was surrounded by a spherical forcefield. After all, evil mages were able to easily deploy barriers and the like, and this had restricted everyone’s movements.
多可说它接到协助者的联络，并说出对话内容。整个B市都已经被设下球状的结界。毕竟，邪恶魔法师能够非常轻易地张设结界这种东西，因此大家的行动也遭到限制。

“All you had to do was wipe her out and that would have been the end of it.”
“明明只要干脆地歼灭那伙人就没事的说。”

Toko made no attempt to hide her displeasure, and Nozomi felt the future grow gloomier and gloomier. On the other hand, Captain Grace confidently said, “We’ll take them down the next time we fight, so it’ll be fine”, and Wedin had happily said, “Let’s get used to this and think up a good plan.” Meanwhile, Rain Pou decided to think positively, and said, “In other words, the enemy won’t be able to run for the next 24 hours, right?” and even Postarie had eagerly said, “I’m sure that if I use my Magical Skill, we’ll able to chase down the enemy.” Nozomi… no, the Magical Girl Kurukuru-hime had patted the despondent Funny Trick’s shoulder to comfort her. At times like these, common sense was no use.
多可甚至不打算隐藏自己的不悦，令希只觉得前途黯淡。然而，葛蕾丝船长却充满自信地表示“反正下一次战斗时就会打倒对方，没关系啦”，誓约薇汀一脸开心地说“让我们站稳脚步，好好订定对策吧”，梦幻彩虹则是采取正面思考“换句话说，对方在二十四小时内也无法逃脱喽”，甚至连波斯塔丽都说出“只要使用我的魔法，一定能追到敌人”的积极发言。希……魔法少女“转转姬”，拍了拍独自一人沮丧不已的惊喜魔技的肩膀，并安慰她。这种时候，即使具备常识也没有任何助益。

Everyone, Toko included, began discussing their next move.
包括多可在内的全部成员，针对接下来的行动进行讨论。

“It’ll be night soon. It’ll be better if we all gathered up.”
“再过不久就是晚上了，大家聚集起来比较好吧。”

“It doesn’t matter if we’re practicing with our Magical Skills or discussing countermeasures, but somebody needs to be on the lookout. Don’t forget that the enemy is still looking for us.”
“不管是要练习魔法或是讨论对策都可以，最好有人把风。千万别忘记敌人正在搜寻我们的下落。”

“It doesn’t matter if you make noise, but if the enemy attacks -- in any case, just make a big disturbance.”
“就算大叫出声也没有关系，如果遭到敌人袭击的话——总之就是要制造骚动。”

“We should stay transformed all the time, right?”
“一直维持变身的状态比较好吧？”

“When you consider that the enemy might attack us, staying transformed is better.”
“如果考量会遭到敌人攻击的情况，的确是变身比较好。”

“Ah~ yeah, that’s right. Still, being transformed all the time might make it easier for the enemy to spot us, right?”
“啊～话是这么说没错。但是，一直维持变身状态，也许会更容易被敌人发现吧。”

“In that case, it would be wiser to detransform.”
“那么，果然还是解除变身比较明智。”

“Can’t I stay transformed?”
“只有我一个人变身不行吗？”

“Don’t be selfish, Umi-chan.”
“小海，别说这种任性话。”

In the end, Captain Grace had supplied the team of Magical Girls with a base of operations -- an old apartment block with no residents, away from the city center. It would seem she had inherited it from her grandfather.
最后是由葛蕾丝船长负责提供魔法少女部队的据点——偏离市中心、如今无人居住的老旧公寓。似乎是她从祖父手上继承来的。

They had already agreed that after heading to the base, they would firmly grasp their Magical Skills and abilities, and then exchange the relevant information. If they had to move, they would do so after everything was ready. After that, they had informed their families about staying out tonight. Nozomi split off from the others to handle some remaining tasks in school, and she would meet up with them later.
她们说好，大家前往该据点后，先掌握好自己的魔法与力量，并交换彼此的情报，就算要行动也得等到一切准备就绪。接下来，确实联络家人今晚外宿的事情。希则是暂时与大家分头行动，在学校处理完剩下的工作后，再与大家会合。

After bidding her students farewell, Nozomi recalled what had happened when her mother had been bedridden several years ago.
与学生们道别后，希回想起数年前母亲病倒时的往事。

At that time, Nozomi had quit her job to look after her mother. She could not oppose her father’s unwillingness to send her mother to a nursing home. While they had hired a personal care assistant, they could not accompany them 24 hours a day, and so either Nozomi or her father would have to quit their job. After comparing their salaries, her father and his government job made more money. In addition, it would be better for Nozomi to handle the housework and the nursing duties rather than having her father learn everything from scratch.
当时，希辞掉工作回家照顾母亲。她无法否决父亲不愿送母亲去疗养院的想法。虽然有请居家看护，但并不是二十四小时随时在侧，因此父亲与希其中一人不得不辞掉工作。比较薪资所得后，在政府机关工作的父亲赚的比较多。再加上家事与看护的工作，与其要父亲从头学起，不如由希来做更省事省事。

She did not regret her choice, but she occasionally wondered, if only Mother had not fallen ill… but she hated those thoughts of hers. Nozomi had also been of a marriageable age, and she had met some whom she felt she could marry, but after her mother fell ill, their chances to meet had sharply dropped, and in the end the other party had requested a breakup.
她并不后悔自己的选择，只是偶尔会不经意地想到，如果母亲没有病倒的话……但她讨厌会浮现这种念头的自己。希之前也曾经在适婚年龄时，碰上觉得自己也许会跟这个人结婚的对象，但自从母亲病倒后彼此见面的机会锐减，最后对方提出了分手。

Her father was still hale and hearty, but he was much quieter than before. If her father fell ill as well, Nozomi would have to care for him by herself. Since she had taken care of her mother at home, she obviously could not send her father to a nursing home. Just as she was grateful to her mother, she was also thankful to her father for raising her into an adult.
虽然父亲身体还算硬朗，但沉默的时候比以往多。如果父亲也病倒的话，这次就得由希独自一人照顾了。既然母亲是居家照顾，当然也不能把父亲交给疗养院。正如同她对母亲保存感恩之心，她也相当感谢父亲将自己养育成人的这份恩情。

Becoming a Magical Girl was much like when her mother had fallen ill. Her time was very limited, she had hardly any time to take care of personal matters, and it was impossible to continue working full-time. At least she could discuss the matter of caring for her mother at home with her father and they could help each other out. But she could not ask for her father’s help in her Magical Girl activities. The “danger to the world” Toko had mentioned was imminent, but Nozomi still had to go back to school to show her face at a staff meeting.
成为魔法少女的此时此刻，状况与母亲病倒时相似。时间很有限，而且只能在有限时间内利用私人时间处理，导致她无法继续正职工作。母亲的居家看护，她还能够与父亲互相讨论、协助。但魔法少女的活动实在不可能拜托父亲的协助。即使多可所说的“世界危机”迫在眉睫，希仍然得独自一人回到学校参加教科会议。

♢  ♢  ♢

By the time Nozomi had showed up on the apartment room, all the students were assembled there. They had experimented with their Magical Skills, and shared their opinions. Things seemed to be going very well. As she was now, she was already used to the sight of outlandishly-clad pretty girls gathered in a group. Nozomi joined the others. The students made a space just big enough for her. When Nozomi sat down, she suddenly realised--
当希出现在公寓顶楼时，学生们已经全员集合，针对魔法进行多方尝试，并且互相提出意见。似乎进展得很顺利。如今的她，也已经对奇装异服的美少女们成群结党地聚在一起的异样光景见怪不怪了。希也加入大家的行列。学生让出仅能容纳一个人的空位。当希坐下去的时候，才突然察觉到——

“Didn’t we say we were detransforming?”
“不是说要解除变身吗？”

Everyone was transformed and sitting on the ground.
全员都维持着变身的模样，坐在地上。

“Yes, but many things happened…”
“是啊，但发生了许多事……”

“What things…”
“什么事？”

“It’s really inconvenient for one of us if they’re untransformed…”
“只有一个人变身的话，实在很不方便……”

“Inconvenient?”
“不方便？”

“Because of Mei!”
“因为小梅啦！”

The dancer girl raised her hand and instantly vanished.
舞者风格的少女举起手后，旋即消失不见。

“Sensei, over here.”
“老师，你看这边。”

Captain Grace tugged on Nozomi’s sleeve and she looked downwards. She then saw that there was something where Tepsekemei had been sitting. No, not “something”, some “living thing”.
希的袖子被葛蕾丝船长拉了一下，她将视线往下移，发现蒂普赛柯梅原本坐的地方似乎有什么东西。不，并不是有什么“东西”，而是有什么“生物”。

“Eh?”
“咦？”

She had some impression of this creature. It seemed to be the tortoise they were raising in the prep room… just as she realized that, the tortoise vanished and Tepsekemei appeared once more.
她对这个生物有印象。记得是饲养在理科准备室里的陆龟……就在她这么想的瞬间，陆龟消失不见，蒂普赛柯梅再度现身。

“If Tepsekemei doesn’t transform, she won’t be able to talk and her intelligence is greatly limited… so Umi-chan suggested that everyone should just transform together.”
“只有蒂普赛柯梅不变身的话，不仅无法对话，智力方面也有障碍……所以，小海才会建议，干脆大家一起变身。”

As Funny Trick said so, she had a look on her face which belonged to someone who had devoted all her effort to figuring out the situation. Nozomi rested her finger on her brows and rubbed two or three times. Now that she knew of magic, a force which transcended the laws of physics and common sense, she was no longer astounded by such things, but to think she had not discovered their numbers were different before and after transformation. In any case, Tepsekemei was now one of them, and making a big fuss would only hurt Tepsekemei’s pride, and that would be a shame for Tepsekemei.
如此说明的惊喜魔技，脸上带着只有拼了命想搞清楚现况的人才会露出的表情。希以指头抵住眉间，揉了两三次眉头。在知道魔法这个超越物理法则与常识存在的如今，因为这种程度的事情感到惊讶根本无济于事，但她竟然大意到没发现变身前后的人数不同。无论如何，蒂普赛柯梅如今也是她们的成员之一，大惊小怪反而会伤害到蒂普赛柯梅的自尊，这样的话蒂普赛柯梅也太可怜了。

“Er… then, let’s continue discussing strategy. What’s been said so far?”
“呃……那么继续讨论今后的对策吧。你们目前讨论到什么地步？”

“We are researching our individual Magical Skills.”
“正在研究每个人的魔法。”

“Really? Tell me about it.”
“是吗～也让我知道一下吧。”

“I made some notes. Please have a look, sensei.”
“我制作了一份简单的笔记，请老师过目。”

Wedin (Class 2-D - Musubiya Mine): Binding promises, poor physical abilities
Captain Grace (Class 2-C - Shihabara Umi): Can summon a pirate ship, possesses personal items, excellent strength and agility
Tepsekemei (Egyptian Turtle - Mei): Can meld with the air, average strength, excellent dexterity, able to fly
Funny Trick (Class 2-C - Nemura Kayo): Can swap the positions of covered objects, good physical abilities
Postarie (Class 1-B - Sakaki Tatsuko): Able to make objects sprout wings and fly to their owners, poor physical abilities
Rain Pou (Class 1-B - Ninotsugi Kaori): Able to create rainbow bridges, passable physical abilities
Kurukuru-hime (Japanese Language Teacher - Himeno Nozomi): ?
·誓约薇汀(二年D班·结屋美祢)……强制性约定，体能方面并不强。
·葛蕾丝船长(二年C班·芝原海)……能召唤出海盗船，可携带道具，无论是力量或敏捷度都相当优秀。
·蒂普赛柯梅(埃及陆龟的·小梅)……与空气同化，臂力普普通通，但动作非常敏捷，能够飞行。
·惊喜魔技(二年C班·根村佳代)……能够将覆盖住的物体位置对调，体能极优。
·波斯塔丽(一年B班·酒己达子)……能够让物体长出翅膀，飞至持有者的身边，体能极差。
·梦幻彩虹(一年B班·三香织)……能够制造出彩虹桥，体力尚可。
·转转姬(国文老师·姬野希)……？

That was probably why she had become class representative. The teacher would have felt more relaxed with a reliable student like her around. In order to explain her hitherto unknown Magical Skill to the others, Kurukuru-hime transformed.
想必她就是这样才会当上班长的吧。能够有个可靠的学生，老师也会轻松许多。为了将目前一片空白的自己的魔法告诉大家，转转姬进行变身。

Kurukuru-hime’s “Ribbon Control” Magical Skill could be used to assist in movement. When used at the right moment, one could swing between buildings. After jumping, she could extend her ribbon, use it to wrap around the sides of a building or their wire mesh, and then forcefully pull herself in. In this way, she could extend her jumps, but reduce her hang time in the air. The ribbons ought to be able to bind the enemy too Therefore, Kurukuru-hime undid all the ribbons around her and began wrapping loop after loop around Musubiya Mine, who was the Magical Girl Wedin. Wedin struggled, but could only move her body slightly. Magical Girls had incredible arm strength compared to the average person, so it would seem those ribbons were resilient enough to take that strength. In the end, Wedin calmly said, “I see, I can’t move at all.”
转转姬“操控缎带”的魔法，如果作为协助移动的手段，用于恰当的时机点的话，就能够在穿梭于大楼之间时派上用场。跳跃后，在空中伸长缎带，再用缎带缠住大楼边缘或铁网，一口气用力拉。这么一来，不只能加长跳跃距离，也能够缩短跳跃时间。缎带应该也能够用于捆绑敌人吧。于是，转转姬解开装饰于全身的缎带，试着将变身成魔法少女“誓约薇汀”的结屋美祢一圈一圈地缠起。誓约薇汀用力挣扎，却只能稍微挪动身体而已。魔法少女拥有一般人难以比拟的臂力，看来这些缎带具备承受如此臂力的韧性。最后，誓约薇汀以极为冷静的口吻陈述“原来如此，真的完全动弹不得耶”。

“This magic looks like it came from a lewd game or manga.”
“这个好像那种色情游戏或漫画会用的魔法喔。”

“Why does a minor like you know about things like that?”
“为什么未成年的你会知道这种事情！”

“This is common knowledge.”
“这是一般常识。”

“That’s not common knowledge at all.”
“这才不是一般常识。”



Nozomi had thought she was a more decent, upright student. Perhaps it was due to a sense of closeness as fellow Magical Girls, but she still sounded casual even when she used polite language to address Nozomi.
原本以为她是更正经八百的学生。也许是同样身为魔法少女的亲切感，尽管说话时她会对希使用敬语，却让人觉得很随意。希身为教师的威严俨然已荡然无存，消失得无影无踪。虽然希原本是否具有威严令人存疑，不过目前先暂且搁置一旁。

Wedin’s Magical Skill was “the ability to enforce binding promises”. However casually one agreed to a promise, once it was made, it had to be kept. For example, if one promised her “I won’t hit you any more”, even thinking about lifting one’s hand to grab Wedin would result in the arm going numb and immobile.
誓约薇汀使用的是“令约定具备强制效力”的魔法。不管是怎样顺口答应的约定，只要与她订下约定，就必须遵守到底。举例来说，如果答应她“我再也不会打你了”，即使举起手想掌掴誓约薇汀，整条手臂都会麻痹，当场动弹不得。

“What a scary Magical Skill…”
“好恐怖的魔法喔……”

“It seems to represent the terror of marriage.”
“似乎象征着婚姻的恐怖。”

“Why does a minor like you know about things like that?!”
“为什么未成年的你会知道这种事情！”

“This is common knowledge.”
“这是一般常识。”

“Throw out that so-called common knowledge right now!”
“给我丢掉你脑袋里的这种一般常识！”

As everyone was chattering away, Captain Grace suddenly said:
当大家吱吱喳喳地交谈时，坐在顶楼边缘的葛蕾丝船长冷不防地说:

“You know, since we’re all Magical Girls, why don’t we pick more coordinated names? Like fruits or colors or the elements and so on. Won’t similar names make us feel more like buddies?”
“既然变成了魔法少女，大家不会想要取比较统一的名字吗？像是水果或是颜色、风木水火土之类的，这种有一致性的名字更有‘伙伴’的感觉吧？”

Wedin. Captain Grace. Funny Trick. Postarie. Tepsekemei. All of those names sounded like they had come from their own different works, to say nothing of similarity. They had nothing in common with their names and costumes. In particular, Kurukuru-hime’s name was not even a foreign word written in katakana, but rendered entirely in kanji, so she was entirely out of place.
誓约薇汀、葛蕾丝船长、惊喜魔技、波斯塔丽、蒂普赛柯梅。别说是一致性，每个人都像是来自于不同作品的登场人物般，名字与打扮完全没有任何共通点。尤其是转转姬，只有她一个人的名字不是外来语的片假名，汉字直接写成转转姬，格格不入到了极点。

In any case, her adorable, ribbon-clad appearance fell short of her name. If she could have picked her own name, she would have liked something more exotic and colorful, regardless of how her students looked at her.
总觉得全身上下缀满许多缎带的可爱外表与名字有落差。如果能够自己取名的话，就算会在意学生的目光，她还是想取一个更有奇幻色彩的名字。

When she asked Toko, “Why was I given this name?” Toko proudly replied, “It was a flash of inspiration.” In the face of that smug smile on that palm-high fairy, she could not bear to scold her, but could only ask, “Could I at least change my name?” And then Toko actually replied: “I need to talk with the higher-ups”. There was no sense of magic or dreams in that practical answer.
当她质问多可“为什么我会叫这个名字？”，多可却一脸骄傲地回答“这是灵光一闪的灵感”。面对脸上露出充满自信的笑容、只有巴掌大的妖精，她也不忍心继续责备，只好再问“至少让我改个名字吧？”，想不到多可竟然回复“必须与高层交涉看看”，如此让人感受不到梦想或任何魔法风情的现实回答。

Wedin shrugged, and quirked up the corner of her mouth in a teasing way.
誓约薇汀耸了耸肩，带着讽刺意味地扬起一边嘴角。

“What does it matter, so what if we’re not the same? Besides, we are a ragtag bunch of misfits drafted together at the last minute.”
“有什么关系，就算没有一致性也没差吧。更何况，我们确实是临时凑出来的杂牌军啊。”

Rain Pou immediately shot back:
梦幻彩虹立刻反驳道:

“Of course not, we’re all schoolmates, aren’t we?”
“才没有这回事，大家都是就读同一所学校的伙伴嘛。”

“No, we don’t have anything between us like a bond of friendship or trust.”
“不，我们之间才不存在着所谓的伙伴或信赖关系。”

Wedin nodded slightly.
誓约薇汀轻轻点头。

“So coherence is not essential.”
“一致性果然不是必要的。”

“But, Magical Girls should be united, right?”
“但是，魔法少女应该会需要这种一致性吧？”

From Kurukuru-hime’s perspective, she felt that Captain Grace had a point. The long-running TV anime series “Star Queen” used the names of the constellations, and everybody’s finishing moves were designed with reference to the constellations. “Cutie Healer” would introduce new Magical Girls every season and the design themes would change with every season. Therefore, she could keenly understand why a part of a Magical Girl group would want their names to be similar.
从转转姬的立场看来，她觉得葛蕾丝船长并没有说错。长寿的电视动画“星星女王”系列是统一使用星座名字，每个人的必杀技也都是参考该星座的形象而成。“甜心治疗师”系列则是每一季会推出新的魔法少女，造型主题也是每季变更。因此，她非常能够了解，既然身为魔法少女军团的一份子，会希望名字有一致性的想法。

Wedin pressed her finger between her eyebrows, and after making an “aiya” face of surprise, she slid it away. It would seem she had forgotten she was not wearing glasses now, and had unconsciously made to adjust her spectacles.
誓约薇汀将中指抵在眉间，露出一副“哎呀”的意外表情后，挪开手指。想必她忘记自己现在没有戴眼镜，才会下意识地伸出手指想调整眼镜的位置吧。

“Speaking of which, do we count as Magical Girls?”
“话说回来，我们算是魔法少女吗？”

“Ah? Of course we’re Magical Girls. Toko said so, right?’
“啊？当然是魔法少女啊。多可确实是这么说的吧？”

“Strictly speaking, we’re not Magical Girls.”
“严格来说，我们不是魔法少女。”

They were girls living in modern Japan -- although there was one person and one creature who did not fall within that group -- who had received mysterious Magical Skills, cute outfits and looks from a fairy that had come from the Land of Magic. In addition, the fairy had addressed them as Magical Girls. Therefore, there was no reason not to say they were Magical Girls.
生活在现代日本的少女——虽然掺杂了不属于这个范畴内的一人与一只生物——通过来自于魔法王国的妖精，获得了不可思议的魔法与可爱的服装、外貌。而且，妖精本身也是使用魔法少女来称呼她们，所以，没道理说她们不是魔法少女。

Funny Trick rested her finger on her chin.
惊喜魔技将手指抵在下巴前端。

“Well, for better or worse… I think we really are Magical Girls.”
“先姑且不论是好是坏……但我认为我们确实是魔法少女。”

“Toko explained it, and I have done all sorts of experiments on my own. Our physical abilities have distinctly improved. However, don’t you think that rather than Magical Girls, these characteristics are more like those of pretty warriors or battle heroines?”
“多可也说明过，而我个人也做了各式各样的实验。我们身体的能力确实有显著的提升。但是，你们不觉得比起魔法少女，这种特征更接近战斗美少女或是战斗型女主角吗？”

Kurukuru-hime went “Huh?” and then tilted her head in bafflement.
转转姬发出“唔？”一声，不解地偏着头。

“Aren’t we pretty warrior-type Magical Girls?”
“不是战斗美少女系的魔法少女？”

“Those two are different things entirely.”
“这两种是不同的路线吧。”

“Still, we’ve gained the power of magic.”
“但是，我们确实是得到了魔法的力量吧。”

“The source of our power is not relevant to what we are discussing. Whether it is by ninjutsu or science, works like that all fall under the banner of Magical Girls.”
“力量的来源与现在讨论的事情无关。不管是藉由忍术或科学的力量，这类的作品也都是被归纳于魔法少女类别。”

“Still, Star Queen and Cutie Healer are all Magical Girls.”
“不过，星星女王与甜心治疗师也是魔法少女吧。”

“Incorrect. Star Queen, Cutie Healer and pretty warriors are not within the domain of Magical Girls.”
“不对。不管是星星女王、甜心治疗师或是战斗美少女，都不属于魔法少女的范畴。”

Wedin continued speaking. These so-called Magical Girls were those who used their magic in everyday life. They were distinctly different from pretty warriors, who had enemies, comrades and their Magical Skills.
誓约薇汀如此说。所谓的魔法少女，主要都是在日常生活中就能够施展魔法，不管是敌人、同伴还是魔法上，都应该与拥有类似能力的战斗美少女有明确的区分。

“Filing things from other genres under the umbrella of Magical Girls to bulk up their numbers is nothing more than the arrogance of Magical Girl fans.”
“将其他派系的事物一律包括在魔法少女之内的说法，充其量不过是魔法少女粉丝的狂妄表现而已。”

The way Wedin clenched her fists, so hard that her fingertips flushed red, and passionately declaimed her opinion was markedly different from the usual cool image of the class representative Musubiya Mine. In addition, the flames of the candles which adorned Wedin blazed up mightily.
誓约薇汀双手紧紧握拳，用力到手指泛红、满腔热血地发表意见的模样，与平常担任班长的结屋美祢的冷静形象，有着极大的落差。而用来装饰誓约薇汀婚纱的蜡烛火焰，也高高窜起。

“Under conditions where characters named for combat take up more than half the cast, rules where one cannot allow others to know one’s true identity and keeping one’s magical abilities secret are useless. Consider a main character who studies at a magical academy; are the female classmates Magical Girls? Is an elf who admired the human world and left the forest a Magical Girl? I doubt that. They are all not Magical Girls. By similar logic, pretty warriors are not Magical Girls.”
“在与战斗息息相关且有取名的角色人数占了登场人物一大半的情况下，不能被其他人知道自己的真实身份、魔法必须保密等规则形同虚设。就读于某魔法学院的主角，班上的女同学是魔法少女吗？因为憧憬人类世界，为了冒险而离开森林的小精灵是魔法少女吗？不是吧。她们都不是魔法少女。同理可证，战斗美少女也不是魔法少女。”

“Er… But, aren’t there characters based on Magical Girls within those fantasy shows which use magic in everyday life?”
“呃……但是，在日常生活能够使用魔法的奇幻题材里，也有以魔法少女为范本的角色吧？”

She had been rebuffed, but Funny Trick still tried for a counter-argument. However, Wedin easily shot back:
虽然遭到驳斥，但惊喜魔技仍然试着提出反论。然而，遭到誓约薇汀轻轻松松地驳回。

“Those characters are simply based on Magical Girls. If one takes a historical figure… for instance, if one used Oda Nobunaga as a model for a character, that character does not become Oda Nobunaga.”
“这种角色只是以魔法少女为参考范本而已。如果以实际存在的人物……举例来说，以织田信长为范本的角色，并不会因此成为织田信长。”

Captain Grace’s lower lips was pursed high up, and she looked quite unhappy. It was easy to see that if she sat back and let things continue, things would become even more prickly, so Kurukuru-hime tried to help out.
葛蕾丝船长的下嘴唇嘟得老高，看来她相当不满。不难想象继续坐视不管的话，状况会变得更加棘手，于是转转姬试着帮衬。

“Surely there are works titled ‘Magical Girl’ out there as well, right?”
“也有标题取名为‘魔法少女’的作品吧。”

“That is not true, sensei. Those are simply modelled after Magical Girls, they do not tell Magical Girl stories.”
“不是的，老师。那只是以魔法少女为范本而已，并不是描述魔法少女的故事。”

Wedin coughed quietly, and continued by saying “Besides”:
誓约薇汀轻咳了一声后，以“更何况”为开场，接着说:

“The aforementioned Cutie Healer and Star Queen feature a cast with similar names, but the concept of “similar naming” was an influence from hero sentai shows, and not innate to Magical Girls. Therefore, you should be able to understand that these two works are not, in fact, from the Magical Girl pedigree, but from the hero sentai genre. In other words, these two works have inherited the pretty warrior bloodline.”
“刚才提到像甜心治疗师与星星女王般，角色人物的名字有一致性，但‘名字有一致性’的概念其实是从英雄战队衍生而来，并非魔法少女。因此，你们应该可以从这一点明白，这两部系列作品并不是出自于魔法少女的族谱，而是来自于英雄战队。换句话说，这两部作品都继承了战斗美少女的血脉。”

“It’s just bullshit otaku reasoning anyway.”
“根本就是御宅族的狗屁歪理。”

Captain Grace’s cutting retort devastated all of Wedin’s reasoning. Captain Grace glanced at Wedin out of the corner of her eye, and while Wedin seemed a little intimidated, she nevertheless worked up her courage and glared back. Funny Trick tried to tug on Captain Grace’s sleeve but was waved off. Rain Pou frowned slightly, while Postarie was shivering so hard that it would make one feel pity for her.
葛蕾丝船长利刃般的一句话，一举击溃誓约薇汀的所有理论。葛蕾丝船长斜睨着誓约薇汀，誓约薇汀虽然感到有些退怯，仍然鼓起勇气回瞪。惊喜魔技拉了拉葛蕾丝船长的袖口却遭到挥开，梦幻彩虹微微颦眉，波斯塔丽则是浑身颤抖到令人同情的地步。

Kurukuru-hime clapped and rose to her feet.
转转姬“啪啪”地拍了拍手，并站起身来。

“Alright, that’s enough banter for now. Then, let’s move on to teamwork practice.”
“好了，闲话家常到此为止。那么，接下来进行团队合作的练习吧。”

While that did not completely clear the tense atmosphere in the air, at least reminding others of what had to be done next could shift their attention.
虽然这么做不至于将剑拔弩张的紧张气氛一扫而空，但提醒众人接下来该做的事情，至少能够转移注意力。

“Please wait.”
“请等一下。”

Wedin raised her hand.”
誓约薇汀举起手。

“Before that, is there not something more important that we have to decide first?”
“比起那种事，我们应该有其他更重要的事情要决定吧？”

“...What do you mean?”
“……你是指？”

Wedin rose forcefully, as though to set her long skirt fluttering, and opened her arms.
誓约薇汀以仿佛要令长长的裙摆飞舞起来般的惊人气势起身，摊开双手。

“That is to say, we need to decide who our team leader will be.”
“也就是说，我们必须决定好队长人选。”

After an unproductive argument between Captain Grace and Wedin, the question of who would become the team leader was settled by a majority vote, and in the end Wedin was became team leader by a margin of one vote.
由谁担任队长的议题，在葛蕾丝船长与誓约薇汀毫无建树的争论之下，决定采用少数服从多数的方式，最后由誓约薇汀以一票之差险胜，当上队长。

Nobody seemed to react to Wedin’s instruction to “obey the team leader’s decisions, no matter what” until she repeated it for the third time, whereupon everyone began to realize what those words meant. Thus, there were some who were unwilling, some who were disgusted, some who were happy to go along, and those who nodded emotionlessly.
众人都不把誓约薇汀“无论发生什么事，都必须遵照队长的决定”的指示当做一回事，完全没有任何反应，一直到她重复三遍之后，大家才纷纷察觉话中的含义。于是，有人心不甘情不愿、有人一脸嫌恶、有人心服口服，也有人面无表情地颔首。

With that, the situation had finally settled down. Just as Kurukuru-hime thought that, someone poked her shoulder. Looking back, she saw Tepsekemei floating gently in mid-air, in a cross-legged posture.
如此一来，局面总算稳定下来了。正当转转姬这么想时，有人戳了戳她的肩膀。转过头去，只见蒂普赛柯梅以盘腿的姿势，轻盈地漂浮于半空中。

“So in the end, what is Mei, anyway?”
“到头来，小梅到底是什么呢？”

Kurukuru-hime had no idea what she was asking, but neither did she feel good about saying that she did not understand. In the end, Kurukuru-hime simply replied, “Just believe in yourself.”
转转姬不明白对方想问什么，但也不好直接回答说自己听不懂她的意思。因此，转转姬仅仅回答了一句“坚持自我就对了。”

☆Captain Grace (18 hours and 53 minutes remaining)

Captain Grace -- in other words, Shihabara Umi -- had a secret base.
葛蕾丝船长也就是芝原海，拥有一个秘密基地。

A secret base -- it sounded like what a pirate would have, but the truth was that it lacked any such piratical flavor. That secret base was not a mountain of treasure, or a cove at the bottom of the ocean, but merely an apartment block in B-City built near the cheap residential district where part-timers used to stay. It was old enough that few people actually knew its age, and it was currently uninhabited. In addition, it was not very accessible, and even after renovation there was no guarantee anyone would be willing to stay there. Of course, tearing it down and turning it into a parking lot would also lead to a similar dilemma.
秘密基地——听起来确实符合海盗形象，然而，实际上毫无海盗风情。那个秘密基地既不是宝山，也不是海底洞窟，只是一栋位于B市郊区，盖在以前打零工的人们群居的廉价民宿街区附近的公寓而已。屋龄老到能够算出屋龄的人已所剩无几的地步，目前也无人居住。再加上交通不便，即使改建也无法保证有人愿意入住。当然，整个拆掉当成停车场也会面临一样的窘境。

Therefore, this apartment block was trapped in limbo and owned by Umi’s grandfather. After her constant pestering of “I want a secret hideout!” he willed it to her. The legal rights of this place also belonged to Umi.
因此，这栋公寓就卡在如此不上不下的状态，为祖父所拥有，并在海死缠烂打地说“我想要隐秘的藏身处！”后过继给她。在法律上的所有权也归属于海。

Since a long time ago, she had slowly moved her furniture and belongings here, making it more suitable for habitation. It could be locked up and it had gas and running water. Even if the exterior looked run-down, in Umi’s heart it was a flashy home. Of course, it seemed a little inadequate as a base for Magical Girls, but that could not be helped.
她从很久之前，就一点一滴地搬来家具与家当，把这里布置得更适合人居。这里也能上锁，也有瓦斯、自来水。尽管外观相当破旧，但在海的心目中，这里也是一栋气派的房子。虽然作为魔法少女的据点有些不足之处，不过这也是无可奈何的事。

After a round of discussion and explaining their Magical Skills, everyone decided to take an hour’s break. Captain Grace and Funny Trick sat facing each other over a low table made of mahogany. There were two coffee cups on the table. Those were taken from Captain Grace’s ship that had been conjured by her Magical Skill of “able to pilot a magic ship at super high speeds across the water”. Since the ship was quite big, they had to carefully select the location where they summoned it. She had practiced summoning her pirate ship after school in the field, and after taking out some useful items, she had sent it back. All the items on the ship were magic items, and they would not be damaged by contact with a Magical Girl’s strength.
经过一轮的讨论与发表各自的魔法之后，众人决定休息一小时。葛蕾丝船长与惊喜魔技隔着桃花心木做成的矮桌，面对面而坐。桌上摆有两组咖啡杯盘。这是从葛蕾丝船长的魔法“能够驱使以超高速航行于水上的魔法船”中拿出来的用品。由于船身相当巨大，因此必须慎选召唤船的地点。她在放学后的操场召唤出海盗船，拿出一部分似乎派得上用处的物品后，将船收回。船上用品全部都是魔法物品，即使以魔法少女的蛮力碰触也不会造成损伤。

And then, an uneasy Funny Trick said, “Listen…”
接着，一脸不安的惊喜魔技对她说了一句“我说你啊”。

“What?”
“干嘛？”

“Please don’t do something like just now again.”
“拜托你别再做出刚才那种行为了。”

“What did I do just now?”
“刚才哪种行为？”

“I’m talking about how you were arguing with Wedin.”
“当然是指你跟誓约薇汀吵架的事情啊。”

“She…”
“那种人……”

Captain Grace snorted in annoyance. Kayo had been doing this ever since elementary school, soothing Umi when she got worked up lest Umi flipped out. While that personality ended up making Kayo her partner, it made her appear weak at times. Even if she could not be as bold as Umi, sometimes she could not help but wish that Kayo were stronger.
葛蕾丝船长不屑地嗤之以鼻。佳代从就读国小起就是这样，总得安抚热血过头的海，以免海失控。虽然这样的个性也让佳代成为称职的搭档，但有时候难免显得过于懦弱。即使她无法像海这般大胆，但有时会忍不住期盼佳代能够再强势一点。

“She’s showing off just because she’s a little stronger now. She’s the leader on the surface, but there’s nothing official about it, she’s just being all smug and self-satisfied like an idiot.”
“只不过变强一点，就拽起来了。虽然表面上说她是队长，但根本没有任何正式性可言，像个笨蛋一样沾沾自喜。”

“Just try to get along with her.”
“试着好好跟对方相处吧。”

“Maybe I need to teach her a lesson.”
“也许有必要教训她一下。”

“Like I said, stop doing that!”
“所以说，我就叫你别做这种事情了！”

Captain Grace downed her hot milk in one gulp and slammed it down on the table. While it was true that cups made for Magical Girl would not be damaged by an impact of that level, there was a dent on the mahogany table’s surface in the shape of the cup’s base. Captain Grace cursed quietly, and gently put the cup down this time.
葛蕾丝船长一口气喝干热牛奶，以仿佛要用杯子撞桌面的力道，用力一放。虽然魔法少女专用的杯子不会因为这点程度的撞击而损坏的推测无误，但桃花心木的矮桌桌面被印下一道与杯底同样形状的凹陷。葛蕾丝船长小声地咒骂，这次缓慢地放下了杯子。

“Kayo, do you have a problem with what I’m doing?”
“佳代，你对我的所作所为有意见吗？”

“I didn’t mean that…”
“我没有这个意思……”

However weak Kayo’s personality was, whenever Umi advanced, Kayo was always right behind her. Because of that, Kayo was the best partner for Umi. This has not changed ever since they had read adventure stories together in elementary school.
尽管佳代个性懦弱，但每当海向前迈进时，佳代一定会紧紧跟随在后。正因为如此，佳代才会是海的最佳搭档。从两人小学时在图书室读到冒险故事起，自始至终未曾改变。

“In that case, you should shut up and just follow me. You won’t regret it and you won’t lose out on it.”
“既然如此，这次你也乖乖闭上嘴，好好跟随我就行了。你绝对不会后悔，也不会吃亏的。”

☆Postarie (18 hours and 40 minutes remaining)

Beside Tatsuko was Kaori… and someone else -- a Magical Girl in a bridal gown.
达子的身边是香织……以及另外一人——身穿新娘礼服的魔法少女。

The three of them sat in a circle on the roof of the apartment block.
她们三人围坐在公寓顶楼。

“Please look at this.”
“请看这个。”

The notebook which the Magical Girl in the bridal gown handed over had the number “1” written on the cover. Upon opening it, they saw dense rows of neat handwriting which read -- “physical attribute enhancement, night vision, enhanced sensory acuity, no biological requirement for excretion, no need to eat, no need to sleep, abnormal strength, post-transformation beauty” and various other characteristics of Magical Girls, and in addition to that there were all sorts of Magical Girl rules like “avoid being noticed by others, do not reveal your true identity, obey Toko’s instructions”, and so on.
新娘礼服的魔法少女递过来的笔记本，封面写着数字“1”。翻阅之后，只见整齐的字体密密麻麻地记载着——体能的强化、夜视能力、感官敏锐化、没有排泄的生理需求、不需要进食、不需要睡眠、异常强健、变身后是美少女等魔法少女的特性，以及尽可能避人耳目、不可对任何人透露真实身份、要确实遵守多可的嘱咐等魔法少女的规则。诸如此类的事情极为详尽地记载在册，有的甚至还附上具体数字。她的字很漂亮，而且似乎有点神经质。每一个字都毫无例外地微微向右上倾斜。

“In other words, these are the benefits of being a Magical Girl.”
“也就是说，魔法少女有这么多益处。”

Postarie lifted her face from the notebook and looked at Wedin. In contrast to her Magical Girl outfit which was themed on the gown of a beautiful and happy bride, Wedin’s words and actions sounded like she was trying to force her opinions down others’ throats. In addition, her Magical Skill of “enforcing binding promises” also felt like very domineering.
波斯塔丽从笔记本中抬起头来，望向誓约薇汀。与以幸福美满的新娘礼服为基底设计而成的魔法少女装扮背道而驰的是，誓约薇汀无论说话的口气或行为，都有一种强词夺理的感觉。而她所持有的“能让约定具有强制效力”的魔法，也让人觉得相当强词夺理。

“This is what Toko promised us. As long as we can become independent Magical Girls, we will be able to continue living as Magical Girls. All these benefits will surely help us a lot in our real lives. Yes, I was also thinking about our signature pose when we assemble. Do you have any ideas? While I do not know if we can properly convey the image of Magical Girls, we do have seven people in total, so I was thinking of using our superior numbers to convey a ‘big is beautiful’ aesthetic.”
“这是多可答应我们的。只要我们成为独当一面的魔法少女，大家就能一直以魔法少女的身份活下去。既然有这么多的优点，想必对现实生活的帮助也不少。对了，我打算思考一下，全员到齐时的招牌姿势。你们有什么好主意吗？虽然不确定是否能够呈现出魔法少女的形象，但我们总共有七个人，所以我打算利用人数优势彰显硕大即是美的美感。”

“I see.”
“原来如此。”

Rain Pou kept on adding, “That’s right~”, “I think so too” in order to mollify Wedin’s burning passion, and after they said goodbye, she sighed quietly..
梦幻彩虹不断附和“就是说啊～”、“我也这么认为”敷衍着誓约薇汀满腔的热情，并在道别后才小小地叹了一口气。

***

“Therefore…”
“所以喽……”

After bidding Wedin farewell for the time being, Rain Pou and Postarie caught up with Tepsekemei floating lightly through the air above the road leading to the apartment block. They found the girl themed after an Arab (or some other country)-themed dancer in her translucent, gaseous state, and they could see the apartment behind her through her body.
暂时与誓约薇汀道别后，梦幻彩虹与波斯塔丽在公寓前的路上，逮到轻飘飘地漂浮于半空中的蒂普赛柯梅。只见那不晓得是阿拉伯还是哪里的舞者风格扮相的少女，维持着半透明的气体形态，还能够透过她的身体看到身后的公寓。

“So Rain Pou and Postarie want to learn about Mei’s Magical Skill.”
“梦幻彩虹与波斯塔丽想要了解小梅的魔法。”

“Mm, we’d like you to show it to us.”
“嗯，希望你能展现给我们看。”

Tepsekemei’s clothing was arguably the most revealing of all the Magical Girls. Compared to “cute” or “cool” Magical Girls, the first impression she gave others was closer to “erotic”, Postarie thought.
蒂普赛柯梅的衣着，可以说是全部的魔法少女里最暴露的。相较于“可爱”或“帅气”的魔法少女，她给人的第一印象比较接近“色情”，波斯塔丽如此暗忖。

At the same time, Postarie felt that her cold attitude stood out quite strongly. The problem was not that she was stern, but that she did not change her expressions. There was no anger or sorrow, nothing to show her inner feelings . When young girls gathered, there would invariably be competition and comparisons. Under these circumstances, Tepsekemei came off as very cold. She did not try to impress with her words and actions, she did as she pleased, and she was as plain as water.
同时，波斯塔丽也认为那冷淡的态度，在全部的魔法少女里也是一枝独秀。问题并不在于她不苟言笑，而是她根本不会变换表情。既没有愤怒也没有悲伤，她的内心完全不会显露于表。年轻的女性聚集在一起，总免不了争奇斗艳，相互比较一番。在如此的情况下，蒂普赛柯梅显得相当冷漠，言行举止也很不讨喜、态度随性，平淡得仿佛白开水般。

Girls with personalities like that would usually be ostracized. Having experienced a history of being ostracized for over 10 years, Postarie was painfully aware of that point. And then there was the fact that Tepsekemei was not even human. To Postarie, who could not blend in, Tepsekemei was not just out of place in a physical sense.
这种个性的女生，通常都会遭到排挤。这一点，拥有十多年被排挤资历的波斯塔丽，了解到令人痛彻心扉的地步。更别提蒂普赛柯梅甚至不是人类。看在无法融入环境的波斯塔丽眼里，蒂普赛柯梅显得有点格格不入的，不只是物理上的意义。

“After Mei became a Magical Girl, Mei realised…”
“小梅变成魔法少女后才察觉到……”

The wind blew, and Tepsekemei’s outline wavered in the air.
风吹拂着，蒂普赛柯梅的身形在空中摇摆不定。

“Mei is Mei. I am not me. Only Mei is Mei.”
“小梅是小梅。我自己并不是我自己，小梅才是小梅。”

Postarie glanced at Rain Pou’s expression from beside her. She was smiling, but she must have had the same huge question mark in her mind as Postarie.
波斯塔丽偷瞥了一眼身旁的梦幻彩虹的表情。虽然她的脸上带着笑容，但在她的脑袋中想必也跟波斯塔丽一样，闪着大大的问号吧。

“Er~ what does that mean?”
“呃～这是什么意思呢？”

“All Mei’s life, Mei was living in a hell that Mei could not escape. Mei did not even know Mei was in hell. The only thing there was suffering. This was what I realised.”
“小梅这一辈子都活在爬不出去的地狱深处。甚至完全没有察觉到那里是地狱深处，那里只会令人痛苦不已。这就是我察觉到的事情。”

Tepsekemei returned to her gaseous form once more, approaching a rusted pillar and encircling a rainwater-sodden cardboard box that was so rotted through that it was about to fall apart. After that, the cardboard box was shredded to pieces with a quiet pang, the scraps scattering in all directions.
蒂普赛柯梅再度变成气体状态，靠近满是铁锈的柱子，缠绕住被雨水淋湿、破烂到快要腐烂的纸箱。接着，轻轻迸出“砰”一声的同时，纸箱被割成碎片，化为纸屑四散。

“When Mei realised it, Mei could already do things like these. However, Mei can’t break things that are too strong.”
“等到小梅察觉到的时候，已经能办到这种事情。只不过，没办法破坏太坚固的物体就是了。”

She entered a pipe and burst it open from within.
钻进排水管之中，从内侧炸开水管。

“Mei can still speak.”
“还能够传话。”

Tepsekemei split into five copies of herself, and then ten copies.”
蒂普赛柯梅变成五个分身，接着又变成十个人。

“Mei can scare the enemy.”
“可以用来吓唬对手。”

The ten Tepsekemeis fused into one, and they became a gigantic Tepsekemei.
十名蒂普赛柯梅合而为一，变成一名巨大的蒂普赛柯梅。

“Mei can instantly return to normal.”
“一下子就能恢复原状。”

She poked her head with her index finger, and with the sound of escaping air, she returned to her original size.
用食指戳向自己的头后，伴随着泄气的声音传来，她也变回原来的大小。

“I like bumping against the air.”
“我喜欢跟空气碰撞。”

She extended her arm to five times its original length, picked up chunks of the recently-broken pipe, and threw it into the air.
将手臂伸长成五倍的长度后，抓起刚才弄坏的排水管，投向半空。

She then made a finger-gun and went “bang bang bang”, and the chunks of pipe in mid-air exploded.
当她用手比出手枪的形状，自己喊出“砰”的效果音后，空中的排水管瞬间碎裂。

“Hit Mei.”
“打一下小梅。”

When Mei asked her that, a look of complete bafflement came over Rain Pou and she pointed at herself, saying “Eh? Me?”
被她这么一说的梦幻彩虹一脸搞不清楚状况地说“咦？我吗？”并指着自己。

“Try it.”
“打看看。”

“That’s no good, right? If you say that all of a sudden, you’re putting me in a spot…”
“不好吧，你突然这么说，实在让我很为难……”

“Enough talk.”
“别说这么多。”

“After all…”
“毕竟……”

Rain Pou scratched the back of her head with her right hand, and with a troubled look on her face, she smiled weakly to Postarie, who was standing beside her, and in the next second she turned to Tepsekemei without warning and delivered a punch with her left hand. In the face of this sudden movement, Postarie did not even have the time to feel shocked, but in a split second, the stricken Tepsekemei’s body changed like an amoeba and coiled up Rain Pou’s arm. When Tepsekemei resumed her normal form, Rain Pou’s right arm and shoulder were tightly locked at an extreme angle, with half her body in a vise-like grip. Tepsekemei knocked Rain Pou down and pinned her tightly against the ground.
梦幻彩虹的右手抚着后脑勺，以一脸困扰的柔弱笑容望向身旁的波斯塔丽，下一秒冷不防地转向蒂普赛柯梅，击出左拳。面对这突如其来的行动，波斯塔丽甚至还来不及感到惊讶，被揍的蒂普赛柯梅的外形在一瞬间仿佛变形虫般变化，并缠上梦幻彩虹的手臂。当蒂普赛柯梅恢复原状时，梦幻彩虹的右手肘与右肩已经以极端的角度遭到牢牢固定，半边身体被钳制住。蒂普赛柯梅打倒梦幻彩虹，并将她紧紧按压在地。

Tepsekemei released her hold and took Rain Pou’s hand, helping her up. Postarie was so surprised that she could not help but applaud, and as Rain Pou stood up, she shared her opinion as well.
蒂普赛柯梅解开钳制，抓住梦幻彩虹的手，扶她站起来。波斯塔丽惊讶之余，忍不住鼓掌，站起来的梦幻彩虹也接着发表感想。

“Amazing! That was amazing!”
“好厉害！太厉害了！”

“I have no idea what you did with that last move of yours!”
“最后的那一招，我甚至完全不知道你做了什么！”

Rain Pou and Postarie were elated, and they exclaimed, “That was incredible!” as they looked behind Tepsekemei. Tepsekemei looked at them expressionlessly.
梦幻彩虹与波斯塔丽两个人的情绪嗨到最高点，两人一边说着“真是太强了！”，一边转向蒂普赛柯梅后，不禁吓了一大跳。蒂普赛柯梅正面无表情地望着她们两人。

“What do you think will happen next?”
“你们认为接下来会发生什么事情？”

Rain Pou looked pleadingly at Postarie. Postarie shook her head slightly, and looked back at Rain Pou. They had no idea what Tepsekemei was talking about.
梦幻彩虹一脸求助地看向波斯塔丽。波斯塔丽则是微微摇头，回望梦幻彩虹。她们不懂蒂普赛柯梅话中的意思。

“Haven’t you sensed it?”
“你们没有察觉到吗？”

“Er… what do you mean?”
“呃……你是指什么？”

“We’ve gained something great, and since we don’t want to let go of it, we must fight. For that, we must risk everything. And the source of everything is life. To Mei, that means Mei. Mei will definitely not die, because Mei wants to protect Mei. Death is a very scary thing. Mei did not know that before, but you should know. Am I right?”
“我们得到了很棒的东西，不想放手，所以我们要战斗。为了这个要拼上一切。而一切的根源就是生命。以小梅来说，就是小梅。小梅为了守护小梅，绝对不能死掉。死是一件非常可怕的事情。小梅以前并不知道，但是你们应该知道。没错吧？”

“Er~ hm, yes, that’s it.”
“呃～嗯，的确是这样子。”

Tepsekemei crossed her legs and floated in mid-air. They could not tell where her eyes were looking, because it seemed that her eyes had never been focused to begin with. She blinked and her eyes moved, but there was no sense that she was looking at anything. Both her expressions and eyes looked like they were merely decorations.
蒂普赛柯梅盘起腿，漂浮于半空中。看不出来她的眼睛到底望向哪里，她的双眼似乎原本就没有焦距。虽然会眨眼，眼睛也会动，但完全没有盯着物体的感觉。不管是表情或眼睛，都像是装上去的摆饰品。

“Why is that? Thinking is hard.”
“这是为什么呢？思考还真是困难。”

And so, she floated lightly in the air, riding the wind and flowing towards the mountains. Rain Pou and Postarie could only watch her as she left. Could everything that had happened be chalked up to the differences between species? Postarie did not know the answer.
她就这样轻盈地漂浮于半空中，乘着风往山的方向流动而去。梦幻彩虹与波斯塔丽只能眼睁睁地目送她远去。刚才发生的一切可以归纳为物种间的差异吗？波斯塔丽并不知道答案。

☆Wedin (18 hours and 22 minutes remaining)

The collection of information had progressed to a satisfying degree. Wedin put down the pen in her hand and flipped through her notebook again. These things ought to be helpful to their combat teamwork.
情报的搜集，算是进展到令人满意的程度。誓约薇汀放下手中的笔，重新翻阅笔记本。这些情报应该会对战斗中的团队合作有所助益。

The problem now was the sharing of information. Kurukuru-hime had originally been a teacher, so her memory probably would not be too bad. Rain Pou had very powerful reasoning abilities, and she could support Postarie from the side if there were any inadequacies.
问题在于，情报的共享。转转姬原本是老师，光是这样记性就不会差到哪里去。梦幻彩虹的理解能力很强，也能够从旁协助波斯塔丽不足的部分。

The problem was the other three. Captain Grace did not care about details, period. In addition, Funny Trick was essentially Captain Grace’s shadow, so she could not even speak to her. In addition, talking to Tepsekemei was like casting pearls before swine; she had no idea if she was even taking it in.
问题是其他三个人。葛蕾丝船长老是不顾细节，过于大而化之。再加上，惊喜魔技一直与葛蕾丝船长形影不离，根本没办法好好说上几句话。而蒂普赛柯梅则像是对牛弹琴，不知道她是否听得进去。

“Funny Trick’s Magical Skill is the ability to swap hidden objects. Captain Grace’s Magical Skill is to “summon a high-speed pirate ship” As for Captain Grace’s Magical Skill, it would be more accurate to say that we’re using the ship’s items rather than the ship itself.
“惊喜魔技的魔法是‘对调覆盖住的物体’，葛蕾丝船长的魔法是‘召唤能够以高速前进的船’。关于葛蕾丝船长的魔法，与其说是使用船，应该说是使用船里面的用品比较正确。”

“I understand.”
“我明白了。”

“Then, what is your Magical Skill?”
“那么，你的魔法是？”

“Eating the air.”
“吃空气。”

“...It’s not quite the same, but let’s leave it at that for now. Then, what is Funny Trick’s Magical Skill?”
“……虽然有点不一样，姑且先当作是这么一回事吧。那么，惊喜魔技的魔法是？”

“Who’s Funny Trick?”
“惊喜魔技是谁？”

“Alright, let’s start from the beginning.”
“很好，我们从头再来一遍。”

There was saying that went “dumb as a monkey”, which was used to scold stupid, contemptible people. However, that monkey was still a higher order of organism which lived behind a wall which the pre-transformed Tepsekemei could never cross.
有句谚语叫做“笨得跟猴子一样”，专门用来责骂智商低、让人轻视的对象。然而，就连那个猴子也是活在变身前的蒂普赛柯梅无法超越的高墙另一端的高等动物。

It was not that Tepsekemei did not want to remember, but that she could not remember. But it was not that she could not remember anything at all. There were things which she could remember, and things which she could not remember.
并不是蒂普赛柯梅不想记，而是她根本记不住。但她并非全然记不住，有她记得住与记不住的事情。

“Wedin is the leader.”
“誓约薇汀是队长。”

“Correct.”
“没有错。”

“Why is she the leader?”
“为什么是队长？”

“It was decided by a democratic process.”
“根据民主原则决定的。”

“But Wedin is very weak.”
“誓约薇汀明明很弱的说。”

“...Even if you think that, don’t say it. Come to think of it, you can’t remember anyone else’s name, but why can you remember mine so well?”
“……就算你心里这么想，也别说出口。话说回来，你明明记不住别人的名字，为什么唯独我的名字记得牢牢的？”

“Because you’re Wedin?”
“因为你是誓约薇汀？”

Wedin grabbed her head. As the class rep she had -- in order to score points with the teachers -- tutored her classmates with poor grades. However, they had been humans, and they had the learning ability to make it into their private school.
誓约薇汀忍不住头疼地抱头。身为班长的她——当然是为了博得老师的好感——也曾经指导成绩不好的同班同学功课。但是，对方是人类，而且具备能够挤进这所私立学校的学习能力。

Currently, her partner was a being who had been a tortoise until yesterday. She had fed it several times, and she had thought it was cute, but she had never thought of it as an equal.
如今的对话对象，是直到昨天为止还是乌龟的存在。自己曾经喂它几次饲料，也曾经觉得它很可爱，但不曾把它视为同等的对象。

--Because, it was a tortoise.
——因为，它是一只乌龟。

How should she encourage a tortoise to learn?
到底该如何督促乌龟学习呢？

That said, she was brighter than when she had been a tortoise. Just being able to understand human language and communicate was far beyond what the average tortoise could do. Her intelligence aside, the root of the problem was because she had never had any learning habits.
话虽如此，但她的头脑确实比身为乌龟时灵光。光是能够理解人类语言，进行沟通，就大大超越一般乌龟所能及的。先不论头脑好坏，她本人完全没有任何学习的习惯才是问题的症结所在。

Unlike Grace, it was not that Tepsekemei did not want to learn, but she did not know why she had to learn, which made her wonder what she could do for her. Tepsekemei’s Magical Skill was the most useful among all her companions, be it for support, raiding or ambush. If she could work together with the others, she would be a great combat asset.
蒂普赛柯梅的状况与葛蕾丝不同，光是她本人并非毫无学习欲望，就让人想要为她做些什么。蒂普赛柯梅的魔法在同伴间的实用度相当高，无论是支援、游击或突袭，只要能够与其他人相互合作，必定能够成为一大战力。

When Wedin lifted her head, she found Tepsekemei baring her teeth like a beast, staring at Wedin with a frightening expression on her face. Wedin stumbled back in panic, but accidentally tripped over her skirt and fell onto her butt.
当誓约薇汀微微抬起头来时，发现蒂普赛柯梅如野兽般龇牙咧嘴，带着恐怖的表情斜睨着誓约薇汀。誓约薇汀慌张地向后退一大步，却因为不小心踩到裙摆而一屁股坐在地上。

“What, what’s wrong? If you’re not happy, you can tell me directly, right?”
“怎、怎么了吗？如果你有任何的不满，可以直接告诉我吗？”

Tepsekemei continued baring her teeth, and tilted her head in bafflement.
蒂普赛柯梅维持龇牙咧嘴的表情，不解地偏着头。

“Mei was smiling.”
“小梅是在笑耶。”

“Nobody smiles like that!”
“没有人是这样笑的吧！”

“But then how should Mei smile?”
“不然该如何笑呢？”

It would seem she did not know how to smile. That meant that due to the the limited facial muscles on a tortoise’s face, she did not even know how to convey emotions. Sea turtles cried when laying eggs, but that was only to excrete their bodily salt, and it was not because they were feeling sad or because they were in pain.
看来她是不知道该如何微笑。这么说来，乌龟因为脸部肌肉的限制，甚至无法表达情绪。海龟产卵时会流泪的现象，纯粹只是为了排出体内的盐分，并不是感到悲伤，更不是因为痛苦。

“Er, well~ first, you turn up the corners of your mouth, and bring your cheeks up.”
“呃，这个嘛～首先要扬起嘴角，带动脸颊向上。”

“Like this?”
“像这样？”

“No, that’s scary. Your cheeks shouldn’t be like that, but like this.”
“不，这样子很吓人耶。脸颊并不是那样子，而是这样子。”

“Like this?”
“像这样？”

“Aaaah~ you just don’t get it, do you? I’ll do it directly, so you have to remember, okay?”
“啊啊～真是教不会耶。我直接动手，你要好好记住喔。”

Wedin’s hands caressed Tepsekemei’s face, manipulating her brows and her cheeks. When her fingertips made contact with Mei’s cheeks and she felt their softness, Wedin could not help but be shocked. Magical Girls had very delicate skin texture, and it was incomparably smooth and silky.
誓约薇汀的手抚上蒂普赛柯梅的脸，摆弄她的眉毛与她的脸颊。当指尖碰触到脸颊时感受到的柔软，令誓约薇汀忍不住心里一惊。魔法少女的肌肤纹理相当细致，摸起来光滑无比。

“Itchy.”
“好痒。”

“Bear with it.”
“忍耐一下。”

It took a while before she could mold a face that could make people think of a smile. Wedin took half a step back and inspected Tepsekemei’s face from various angles. It was a little stiff, but it counted as a smile.
好不容易才摆弄出会令人联想到笑容的表情。誓约薇汀向后退半步，从各种角度观察蒂普赛柯梅的脸。尽管多少有点僵硬，但还称得上是笑容。

“Then, please remember this.”
“那么，就请你记住这个模样喔。”

Just before Wedin’s tuition session ended, Tepsekemei resumed her original blank expression. Tepsekemei raised her head to the sky and muttered, “It’s coming” before vanishing.
在誓约薇汀的指导即将结束前，蒂普赛柯梅又变回原本的面无表情。蒂普赛柯梅抬起头望向上空，喃喃自语地说了一句“来了”旋即消失不见。

As though to take the soaring Tepsekemei’s place, a sound came from beside her as someone suddenly landed on the apartment block’s roof. The opposition was holding a ninjato, their scarf blowing in the wind. One eye was closed shut due to a long and large wound. The shuriken-shaped hairclip and the chainmail-like costume clearly indicated that this girl had a ninja motif.
仿佛要与飞到天上的蒂普赛柯梅轮替般，耳边传来“咚”一声，有人翩然降落于公寓顶楼。对方扛着一把刀，围巾随风飘扬，一只眼因为又长又大的伤口而紧闭。手里剑形状的发夹与极似链甲的服装，正在显示这名少女是以忍者为参考范本。