Episodes 11

A Knight’s Day Off

This story takes place several months before the struggle for Magical Candies in Magical Girl Raising Project.

Offline gatherings. Offline meetings.
网聚。离线聚会。

Those broadly referred to people who knew each other through online chatrooms, message boards, MMORPGs and so on meeting up in real life to eat, drink, sing, and have fun
泛指在线上的聊天室、留言板、MMORPG等管道认识的人们，在现实世界中一起吃吃喝喝、唱歌聊天、玩乐的聚会。

More than once, the idea of participating in an offline meetup had crossed his mind. To Kishibe Souta, who was secretly interested in Magical Girls, the general chat section of the Magical Girl aggregator site’s message board was the only place where he could loudly proclaim his love for Magical Girls.
他不只一、两次产生想参加网聚的念头。对于偷偷喜欢着魔法少女的岸边飒太而言，魔法少女的综合情报搜集网的酸甜苦辣留言板，是他唯一能够大声喊出自己喜欢魔法少女的小天地。

The postcount of the message boards of the Magical Girl information aggregator site “Magimagicalcal” was astounding throughout the world of Magical Girls websites, and even among those of all animation websites, and all manner of discussions appeared and faded one after the other there.
网罗古今中外，所有魔法少女情报的魔法少女综合情报捜集网「魔法魔法可鲁可鲁」里，别说是魔法少女界，甚至拥有整个动画系网站里留言数惊人的知名留言板，并且有各式各样的讨论串出现又消失。

He knew all the regulars of each message board. He knew what series they liked, what characters they favored, what plots they liked to see developing, he knew them all. Sometimes, he would debate others about a particular series or over an opinion, dissecting the history of Magical Girls, pouring out his love for Magical Girls and otherwise interacting with them in his capacity as a Magical Girl fan.
他知道每一个留言板的常客。谁喜欢怎样的作品、怎样的角色，怎样的情节发展，他都一清二楚。有时候会跟人针对作品或个人见解互相辩论、解开魔法少女的历史、倾诉对魔法少女的爱慕之情等，以魔法少女粉丝的身分彼此切磋。

Every time someone planned an offline meetup and organized one, he would coolly scroll through the announcement of the meetup while thinking, “Hmph, they’re just pretending to be close,” and “If you want to chat, you can do it in a chatroom or on the boards.” However, at the same time he could not help but think, “Ah~ that looks really fun,” “What would we talk about if I took part too?” and so on.
每当有人企划网聚，并实际举办网聚时，他都会一边冷眼旁观地浏览网聚报告，一边心想「哼，装成一副很熟的样子」、「如果要聊天的话,在聊天室或留言板也可以啊」，同时却又会忍不住心想「啊啊〜好像很好玩的样子」、「如果我也参加的话，不晓得会聊些什么话题」诸如此类。

He possessed a copy of the very first volume of Cutie Healer, signed by the author, a golden disc of the PS version of Star Queen, and a Witch Hina-chan transforming toy that had been quickly recalled shortly after release due to accidents where people’s fingers got hurt.
有作者签名的《甜心治疗师》第一部的漫画书、PS版「星星女王」的璀灿黄金版、由于手指被连接处夹伤的意外频传，开卖后即迅速被回收的「魔女小雏」变身组合。

He wanted to flaunt these rare collectibles to people who understood their value. In real life, he could not even admit he owned such things, let alone show them off.
他想向唯独同好才能了解其中价值的人，炫耀自己搜集的珍贵收藏品。在实际的生活中，别说是炫耀，就连自己拥有这种东西都无人可讲。

Souta was a second-year middle school student. It was the age where one most wanted to look cool and be different from the others. Currently, he was embroiled in a maelstrom of deviant values. Moreover, Souta was part of the soccer club, and the role he played was that of an athlete. In particular, the current leader of the soccer club was the sort of person who would seize on the chance to go “why are there so many four-eyes in the science club”, a sports maniac who looked down on those who preferred more sedentary activities. As a result, the soccer club had been influenced by this scornful attitude. Souta could read the mood and play along. He did not even want to think about what would happen if his love for Magical Girls became public knowledge.
飒太是国中二年级的学生。是人生中最渴望耍帅、展现自己与众不同的年龄。如今的他，正处于逊咖即为罪大恶极的偏差价值观的漩涡中。再加上飒太是足球社的社员，平日扮演着运动健将的角色。尤其是现任的足球社社长，是那种一逮到机会就会说出「为什么科 学社社员是四眼田鸡的机率这么高啊」的话，瞧不起喜欢静态活动人们的超级运动会迷。也因此，现在的足球社也染上这股歧视的歪风。飒太也会看气氛随口敷衍过去，他甚至不愿意去思考,如果被别人知道自己喜欢魔法少女，会落得何种下场。

Of course, there were boys who liked anime and manga. However, even those otaku were not like Souta, who single-mindedly loved Magical Girls. Perhaps if it were shonen manga, the world would be kinder to him. However, he was better off not harboring any delusions about what would happen if it was Magical Girls instead. In the eyes of the world, boys who liked Magical Girls were the sort who looked lewdly upon animated females.
喜欢动画、喜欢漫画的男生，说有当然也有。然而，即使是那种御宅系的男生,也不会像飒太一样，一心一意只爱魔法少女。如果是少年漫画之类的东西，世人的视线也会柔和许多吧。但是,魔法少女就别痴心妄想了。在世人的眼里,只会认为喜欢魔法少女的男生，都 是用有色的眼光注视着动画中稚嫩的少女。

To Souta, allowing others to discover that he was a Magical Girl fan was the same as being eradicated from society. Therefore, he could not allow that secret to be known by anyone, no matter the cost.
对于岸边飒太而言，被人发现他是魔法少女粉丝一事，等同于自己将会从这个社会中遭到抹杀般事关重大。所以，这个秘密绝对不能被别人知道。

That was the first reason why he did not take part in the offline meeting. If he joined them, and his friends saw him… “Eh? Kishibe? What are you doing here? What kind of gathering is this?” and asked him questions like that… if he could not properly bluff his way through, then he could prepare himself to be ostracized in school the next day.
这就是他无法参加网聚的第一个理由。如果他参加网聚，被朋友目击到的话……「咦？岸边？你在这种地方做什么？这是什么性质的聚会啊？」又被问起这些……如果他没办法好好敷衍过去，就可以先做好从隔天开始，学校里已无他立足之地的心理准备。

There was another reason. Souta had lied about his sex on the website. In other words, he was a GIRL (Guy In Real Life).
还有另外一项理由。飒太在网站上谎报性别。也就是所谓的网路伪娘。

He had not done so with evil intentions, and neither did he think he had been born to the wrong gender… probably. It was just that when he realised it, doing so calmed his heart. After that, he gradually ended up playing the role of a girl on the internet, and everyone called him Nee-chan. Perhaps that was the fault of his online nickname “Magical Girl Souko”.
他这么做并没有任何恶意，也不认为自己生错了性别……应该吧。只是当他察觉时，这么做令他感到莫名的安心。接着，不知不觉间，他在网路上成为女性，而大家都称他为姊姊。也许是「魔法少女飒子」这个网路昵称惹的祸也不一定。

There were cases where people had thought of someone online as a girl, but then they were shocked to find that in real life, they were an old uncle who was well into their forties. He had heard of such jokes before, but he had never expected that he would be in such a situation himself. Souta was not thick-skinned enough to giggle and say, “Ahhh~ actually I’m a middle school boy” while taking part in the gathering. His personality was more like that of the blushing teenager.
在网路上以为对方是女生，却在网聚实际见面后，赫然发现对方是超过四十岁的中年大叔。他经常耳闻如此的笑话，但从来没想过自己也面临到类似的局面。飒太的脸皮可没有厚到一边笑说「哎呀〜其实我是就读国中的男生啦〜」一边参加活动。他的个性反而更符合青春期的羞涩特质。

In reality, he could only hide furtively, and online he could not fully come clean, walking the lonely path of anime by himself. In this state, Souta had encountered Magical Girl Raising Project about half a year ago, and he had become a true Magical Girl about half a month ago.
在现实生活中他只能躲躲藏藏，而在网路上也没办法毫无顾忌地全盘托出，一直以来只能孤伶伶地走在这条动画之路上。这样的飒太邂逅社交游戏「魔法少女育成计画」是发生在半年前的事情，而他成为真正的魔法少女，则是在半个月前。

***

Apparently, there was a rumor around Magical Girl Raising Project--its players could become real Magical Girls.
据说「魔法少女育成计画」游戏有个谣言——玩家能够成为真正的魔法少女。

That said, Souta had not begun playing the game because he wanted to be a Magical Girl. Even if he gained magical powers, it would look terribly unsightly on him, given that he was not a girl. He could easily imagine what that would turn out like by just imagining himself cosplaying as Cutie Healer or Star Queen. While he did enjoy playing games, actually becoming a Magical Girl… or perhaps, in this case, a Magical Boy, was out of the question. Souta simply enjoyed the game. How could a Magical Girl fan like himself not enjoy making his dream Magical Girl?
说起来，飒太并不是因为期待成为魔法少女，才开始玩这个游戏。即使获得魔法，不是少女的自己只会看起来难看至极而已。只要随便想象一下自己角色扮演成「甜心治疗师」或是「星星女王」的模样，就能非常轻易地预料到结果。先不论他很享受玩游戏的乐趣，但实际成为魔法少女……这种情形应该是说魔法少年，一切免谈。飒太纯粹只是乐在玩游戏。打造出心目中理想的魔法少女的作业，身为魔法少女铁粉的他，怎么可能不会乐在其中。

However, he became a Magical Girl. Surprisingly enough, he had actually become a Magical Girl.
然而，他成为魔法少女了。意外地成为魔法少女。

“Ah, this is pretty vexing for me. I do like Magical Girls, but I didn’t actually want to become a Magical Girl.”
「不，这样我很困扰耶。我的确很喜欢魔法少女，但并不想要自己变成魔法少女。」

“You saying that is vexing for me ~pon. Boys becoming Magical Girls is a very rare thing ~pon.”
「你这么说，我才会感到困扰的蹦。男生成为魔法少女可是相当稀奇的例子的蹦。」

“That’s not rare, it’s just utterly unnecessary.”
「那并不是稀奇，纯粹只是没必要而已吧。」

“It is necessary ~pon!”
「有必要的蹦！」

“Is not!”
「没有！」

“No, it is ~pon!”
「不，有的蹦！」

“No, no!”
「没有没有！」

“Ahhhh, what a pain, in any case, why not look in the mirror first ~pon?”
「麻烦死了，反正你先照一下镜子蹦？」

“Why are you so being annoying?”
「你怎么这么烦吶。」

“You can clearly accept the existence of Magical Girls, so why are you being so stubborn ~pon?”
「你明明能够相当干脆地接受魔法少女的存在，为何这么顽固蹦？」

“That’s because Magical Girls do exist. They exist in real life.”
「因为魔法少女的确存在啊。实际上确实有啊。」

“Look, you~ are you the sort who gets scolded for not listening to others ~pon? Come to think of it, you should have noticed the change in your voice, right?”
「我说你啊〜是不是常被说都没好好听别人说话的蹦？话说回来，你好歹也应该察觉到自己的声音不同吧。」

After that, the mascot launched into a passionate presentation, while Souta looked into the mirror, learned about his Magic, and personally confirmed whether or not he had actually become a girl. And so, Kishibe Souta accepted the proposal to work as the Magical Girl La Pucelle.
在这之后，身为吉祥物的法唯进行了一段满腔热血的演说，飒太照了镜子、知悉魔法的能力，并且独自检查过自己是否真的变成女孩。于是，岸边飒太接受了以魔法少女「菈•普赛儿」身分活动的提议。

Ever since kindergarten, ever since he had watched anime with his childhood friend, he had been attracted by the allure of Magical Girls. He had a distant dream, that he would be  able to use mysterious Magic, work for the happiness of the people, and occasionally step up to battle evil as a Magical Girl.
从他就读幼稚园的时候，与青梅竹马一起观赏动画以来，就一直受到魔法少女的魅力所吸引。他成为拥有远大的梦想、能够使用不可思议的魔法、为了人们的幸福而勤奋工作、偶尔要挺身而出，对抗邪恶的魔法少女。

On the week he became a Magical Girl, he was so busy that he seemed to be in multiple places at once. Logically speaking, since he was using his spare time to help people, he should not have been that busy, but he was not used to the lifestyle. Interacting with his Magical Girl sempai and doing all sort of things in a clandestine manner drained Souta greatly.
刚成为魔法少女的那一个星期，只能说是分身乏术、忙碌不已。他是利用闲暇时间助人，照理来说，应该不会忙成这样，但他遗不习惯这种生活模式。与魔法少女前辈交流、在掩人耳目的情况下助人等各种活动，在在令飒太感到心力交瘁。

However, after a week had passed, he had become quite familiar with being a Magical Girl. He would sneak from the window of his room in the middle of the night and patrol the streets, helping people in need, accumulating Magical Candies, and then return home once the sun rose. He managed to work these activities into his lifestyle.
但是，经过一个星期后，他已经相当习惯当一名魔法少女。深夜偷偷从房间的窗户溜出去，在街上巡逻，找出有困扰的人并提供帮助，增加魔法糖果，等到早上再返家。如此的活动模式，顺利地融入他的生活循环中。

Humans--once they were adept at something, they would take it easy. Once they took it easy, they would begin to think about unnecessary things. The excitement he felt about being a Magical Girl--something which he had thought he would never be able to do by virtue of being a male--had died down as time passed. After regaining his calm, what appeared in Souta’s mind was the idea of using his magical abilities to do bad things.
人类——只要上手之后，就会变得游刃有余。感觉自己游刃有余之后，就会思考多余的事情。
他成为了先入为主地认为身为男性的自己绝对不可能成为的魔法少女后，沸腾至最高点的兴奋之情，多少也随着时间的流逝而冷静下来。恢复冷静的飒太，脑海中浮现的是，把这个魔法用来做坏事的念头。

The first thing which came to Souta’s mind was “becoming an uncatchable thief”, but he hurriedly dispelled that notion from his head. He was not a gag character from a slapstick Magical Girl manga, and the very idea of a Magical Girl walking the path of crime was utterly unthinkable. In the Cutie Healer series, Dark Cutie had once robbed a bank, but the fact was that such deeds were undertaken by villain characters. While there was a series called Baby Clown that featured a phantom thief stealing things with magic, such actions did not fit the elegant and noble character of the magic knight La Pucelle.
飒太起初想到的是「自己会是绝对不可能被逮到的小偷」，但他立刻慌张地赶走这个念头。他又不是走打打闹闹路线的搞笑魔法少女漫画，而且身为魔法少女竟想要走上犯罪的歧途，简直就是岂有此理。「甜心治疗师系列」中，曾经有暗黑甜心袭击银行的情节，但再怎么说，那种行为都是坏蛋角色负责的。虽然也有一部叫做《宝贝小丑》描述怪盗利用魔法偷东西的作品，但这种行为不符合高贵的魔法骑士「菈•普赛儿」的角色特质。

After Souta came to the conclusion that “stealing things was bad”, the next thing he thought of on his bed was, “If I transform, I can go in and out of the girls’ bathroom. After that, he was deeply ashamed of his vulgarity. At the same time as he wallowed in shame, his thoughts went one step further.
做出「偷东西是不好的行为」结论的飒太，躺在床上思考的下一件事是「只要变身，就能够进出女子澡堂了」，接着，他对想到这方面的自己的卑鄙感到羞愧。在感到羞愧的同时,他的思绪又再更进一步。

If he transformed… could he not then join one of those offline meetings?
变身的话……他不就能够参加网聚了吗？

There were two reasons why he could not join those offline gatherings: the first was that it would be very troublesome for him if he was spotted by someone who knew him, and the second was that he had lied about his sex on the internet. Would becoming La Pucelle not help him solve both problems?
无法参加网聚的理由有二：第一个理由是被熟人看见会很困扰；第二个理由是他在网路上谎报性别。无论哪一个理由，只要他变身成菈•普赛儿，问题不就能获得解决吗？

Who knew he might finally be able to take part in those offline meetups he had been thinking about for so long.
搞不好，他终于能够参加朝思慕想的网聚了。

As he thought of that, he immediately turned to the mirror to look at the form of La Pucelle. There were horns on her head; that was a big problem. Ordinary people would not grow horns. More to the point, there was the tail. That was a big problem too. He had gotten carried away when designing his ideal Magical Girl, which had resulted in a knight with draconic elements, which was now fully displayed before him. Ahh~ he thought with regret. If only I’d known, I wouldn’t have added things willy-nilly. At the same time, he decided to think positive.
一想到这里，他立刻看向映在镜子里的菈•普赛儿的模样。头上有角，这会是一大问题。普通人才不会长出角。更何况，还有尾巴。这也会是一大问题。当他为了打造出理想的魔法少女而加加减减，不知不觉间变成只是骑士加龙等元素的成果，如今完整地呈现在眼前。啊啊〜他后悔地心想，早知道就别乱加东西了，同时又采取积极的正面思考。

In other words, so long as he hid those two things, he could show up at offline meetups, right?
也就是说，只要藏好这两个东西，他就能出席网聚了吗？

Souta detransformed and turned on his computer. He remembered that there had already been a date fixed for an offline meeting. After talking with a few people on Magimagicalcal, he verified the date of the next offline gathering. It was exactly a week from now, on Sunday, at a family restaurant in Tokyo. They would have lunch in the family restaurant, and apparently there would be an after-party at night.
飒太解除变身，启动电脑。记得已经订好下一次网聚的日期。他在「魔法魔法可鲁可鲁」的网聚讨论串内确认下一次的网聚日期。正好是从今天算起的一星期后。星期日，地点位于东京都内的家庭餐厅。午餐是在家庭餐厅用餐，晚上似乎预计会有两次续摊。

--I wish… I could go.
——好想……参加呀。

Once he realised that he might be able to take part, he could not help but desire to be there. He wanted to talk with others about Magical Girls, he wanted to speak, he wanted to debate with others about the opinions he cherished, and he wanted to show off his treasures to others… apparently, the previous offline meeting had featured a quiz on Magical Girl trivia, so how far could he go with the knowledge he had? Even if he did not emerge the overall champion, surely he ought to be able to place within the first few positions, right?
一想到自己也许能够参加网聚，就会不由自主地变得极度渴望参加。好想和他人聊魔法少女的事情、好想说话、好想与各持己见的他人针对各自的主强进行辩论，也想向其他人炫耀自己的收藏品……他听说上次的网聚是采魔法少女机智问答大会的形式，如果根据他具备的知识答题，能够闯到哪一关呢？即使无法获得冠军，应该也能挤进前几名的行列吧？

At that point, he could not longer hold it in. By the time he realised he had done it, he had already quietly indicated his interest in participating.
想到这里，他就按捺不住了。等到回过神时，已经悄悄在网聚的讨论串中留下有意愿参加的留言。

In response to Souta’s announcement, he received replies like, “Magical Girl Souko-nee wants to join. Is this your first time?”, “I’m so happy Magical Girl Souko wants to join us~” He could no longer back out. All he could do was grimly resolve himself and take part in the offline meeting.
「『魔法少女飒子』姊要参加啊。第一次？」、「『魔法少女飒子』愿意参加活动，好开心喔〜」对于飒太的参加宣言，出现了如此的回应。他已经无路可退，只能抱着必死的觉悟，参加网聚。

He would transform into La Pucelle, shed his Magical Girl costume, change clothes, disguise himself as an ordinary girl, and attend the offline meeting. That was the plan Souta had come up with.
变身成菈•普赛儿，褪去魔法少女的服装，并换装，假扮成随处可见的平凡女生，前往网聚。这就是飒太制定的策略。

But the big problem was his horns and tail.. He had to think of  a way to hide them.
会是一大问题的角与尾巴……必须藏起来。

He could hide his horns with a knitted hat… or so he thought, but he had not expected the horns to be longer than expected, and they pierced the knitted hat. Since he could not wear a knitted hat, he would need a sturdier piece of headwear. Also, it had to have some height to it. That way, it would be able to hide the horns.
头上的角只要戴毛线帽就能掩饰过去了……他原本这么想，想不到角的长度超出自己的预期，将毛线帽剌穿过去。不能戴毛线帽，必须是质料较硬挺的帽子。而且，最好有一点高度。这样子，应该能够藏住角。

He searched through his house, but he could not find anything.
他搜遍家里，但遍寻不着。

Even if he wanted to borrow one, he had nobody to borrow one from. None of Souta’s friends possessed a variety of hats, especially stylish ones which kept up with the trends. Because he was an only child, he had no siblings to borrow them from, and of course he could not count on his mother or father. If he asked his female classmates or his childhood friend, “I’d like to borrow your hat”, they might take him for a pervert. While his Magical Girl mentor, Sister Nana, seemed like she might have hats like that, how should he ask her? If he said that the wanted to borrow a hat which could hide his horns, he would need to explain why he needed to hide them. That would wreck the image of the noble knight, and Sister Nana would grieve for him, or treat him like an idiot, or simply scorn him. None of these outcomes was pleasant to him.
即使想用借的，也没有对象可借。飒太的朋友中，并没有会持有各式各样帽子、注重时尚打扮的类型。因为他是独生子，所以也没办法向兄弟姊妹借，当然更不用期待母亲或父亲。如果对同班的女同学或是青梅竹马说「我想借你的帽子一用」，可能会被当成变态。虽然魔法少女前辈——修女奈奈，像是会拥有这种帽子的人，但他该如何开口拜托？如果表明想要借能够藏起角的帽子，他势必得说出隐藏角的理由。那么，高尚骑士的形象将会一落千丈，而修女奈奈则会为他感到悲哀，或是把他当笨蛋，要不然就是瞧不起他。无论是哪一种结果，都不是他所乐见。

He thought of wrapping a towel into a turban and wrapping his head, or using a hairclip to cover the horns up with his hair, or a shawl like Sister Nana’s, but none of these methods were workable.
他试着把毛巾卷成回教徒式的包头、用发蠘固定头发盖住角、模仿修女奈奈的修女头巾，无论是哪一种方式都不适用。

It would seem he had no choice but to give up on the offline meeting. However, he had the feeling that if he gave up now, he would never be able to take part in them again.
看来只能放弃网聚了。但是，他有一种如果此时轻言放弃，这辈子就别想参加网聚的预感。

Souta opened his wallet and took out a cashcard hidden within. The money in that cashcard had been earmarked for him to buy knew soccer shoes. He had slowly saved up this money from his allowance, his New Year money, the change left over from when his mom had given him money to run errands, and so on.
飒太打开对折式的短夹，抽出一张收在内侧的提款卡。存在这张卡里的，是他打算用来买新钉鞋的钱。这是他从零用钱、压岁钱、从妈妈请他帮忙买东西的跑腿费中凑出来或是剩下的钱，然后再一点一滴地积存起来。

Souta stared at it for a good long while. He now stood at a fork in the road.
飒太凝视着卡片好一会儿。他现在正站在抉择的岔路上。

On one side was Magical Girls, and on the other was soccer. Both of these were very important to Souta. However, he had to make a choice. It had to be one or the other; as of now, Souta was not wealthy enough to choose both.
一边是魔法少女，另一边是足球。无论哪一边都在飒太的人生中占有重要的一席之地。但是，他不得不做出抉择。鱼与熊掌不可兼得，目前的飒太并不具备兼得雨者所需的财力。

Souta chose Magical Girls.
飒太选择了魔法少女。

Soccer was important. Until now, he had not given up on his dream of becoming a professional soccer player who would display his skill on the pitches of Europe. However, right here and now, he was already a “professional” of sorts in the world of Magical Girls. Therefore, that ought to be his priority… right?
足球很重要。直到如今，他仍然没有舍弃成为职业足球选手，在欧洲大肆活跃的梦想。但是，此时此刻的他，在魔法少女界已经是「职业级」的。第一优先应该是这边才对……应该吧。

After using his youth ticket to transfer from one express train to another, he found himself in the mind-bogglingly large Tokyo Station, where he had to ask the staff how to proceed to his desired platform. After several stops, he finally reached his destination. He wore a bell-shaped hat on his head to hide his horns, and pulled it low to cover his brows. His light pink skirt was cut in a wavy shape to hide his lower body. That was how he covered up his tail.
用青春十八车票从特急列车再转搭别辆特急列车后，在大到令人头昏眼花的东京车站里，数次向站员询问搭车月台，并在经过好几个车站后，终于抵达目的地。他头上戴着款式俐落的钟形帽，覆盖住角。将帽檐深深压低，遮到眉毛下方。浅桃色长裙采轻飘飘的波浪状剪裁，因此能掩饰下半身。尾巴就是透过这个方式藏起来的。

Since all these clothes were bought from a supermarket near his house, it might have given him an overall bargain-basement look, but at least that was it. Underwear was the only thing that he did not have the courage to buy, so he had directly used La Pucelle’s own set.
因为这身行头都是在住家附近的量贩店买来的，也许整体看起来很廉价也不一定,但还算有那么一回事。唯独内衣，他实在没胆量采购，因此直接使用菈•普赛儿原本的。

He had come to Tokyo from his house while dressed in that get-up. He tried to tell himself that the occasional peeks he felt directed at him were not because his clothes were very weird. Given that his backpack and his leisure shoes were the kind he usually wore, they came off as very mismatched; because his leisure shoes did not match up to his foot size, he ended up walking in a somewhat creepy way. However, it should only have come off as being a little strange in others’ eyes.
他穿着这身打扮，从家里前来东京。他暗自说服自己，偶尔感受到别人偷瞄自己的视线，并不是因为他的打扮很奇怪的关系。由于这趟旅程的背包以及休闲鞋是他平常使用的物品，所以看起来很不搭调；因为休闲鞋的尺寸不合，所以他走起路来有点诡异。不过，看在别人的眼里应该只会觉得有些许的不协调才对。

--I should have looked for a place to change outside.
——果然应该在外面找地方换装。

He had once considered changing in a bathroom outside, but it would be terribly suspicious if Kishibe Souta went in and La Pucelle came out. He had waited until his parents were both out before transforming, then carefully snuck out of the house while taking care not to be noticed. That should have been the best choice he could make.
他也曾经考虑过在外面的厕所换装，但进去的是岸边飒太，却变成菈•普赛儿出来，这种情形相当诡异。看准双亲都不在家的时机进行变身，并小心翼翼地在不被任何人看见的情况下偷溜出门，应该是最佳的选项。

Souta’s heart was filled with unease as he took the tram to his destination, and after stepping into the family restaurant designated as the meeting point for the offline meeting, he immediately saw that there were many people here who looked like they were participants, chatting with each other. Familiar terms filtered into his ears.
而内心如此忐忑不安，搭上电车来到这里的飒太，一踏进做为网聚会场的家庭餐厅后，立刻发现已经有数名看似参加者的人聚集在一起畅谈。熟悉的单字传入他的耳里。

When he approached them, everyone fell silent and looked at Souta. Souta hurriedly bowed his head. “Excuse me… but is this the offline meeting?”
当他一靠近那里，每个人都突然沉默下来，看向飒太。飒太紧张地低下头。「请问……这里是在举办网聚吧？」

“Yup.”
「是啊。」

“Pleased to meet you, everyone, I’m Magical Girl Souko.”
「初次见面，我是『魔法少女飒子』。」

“Ohhh, so you’re Magical Girl Souko-san!”
「喔喔，你是『魔法少女飒子』小姐呀！」

“Uwah, you’re just like how I imagined, what a surprise.”
「哎呀，跟我想象中的一样，真令人惊讶。」

“You have great skin~”
「你的皮肤好好喔——」

After receiving everyone’s approval, he could put down the heavy stone in his heart. They brought him to a place deep within the room, where he sat. Right now, if his soccer club captain were here, he would probably bellow, “there’s too many four-eyes here!” without holding back in the least, and he would be a very welcome companion for Souta. There was a fast food chain near Souta’s home with a corner where a small group would discuss Magical Girls. So this is an offline meeting, Souta thought as his heart swelled uncontrollably.
得到众人的欢迎，悬在心中的大石总算落下。他被带到深处的位子，然后就座。如果足球社的社长在场，似乎会大肆批评「四眼田鸡的比例也太高了吧」的成员们，对现在的飒太而言，则是他求之不得的伙伴。在飒太住的地方也有的连锁家庭餐厅的一隅，畅谈魔法少女的小团体集结而成。原来这就是网聚啊，飒太的胸口感到澎湃不已。

“Hi, I’m Genopsycho.”
「你好，我是『杰若疯子』。」

“Ah, Genopsycho-san? Thank you very much for taking care of me all this time.”
「啊，是『杰若疯子』小姐吗？平常承蒙您的关照。」

She was one of the core figures of the message board, Genopsycho. She was a somewhat plump young lady. However, she seemed surprisingly similar to Souta’s mental image of her. She offered a large platter of fries in one hand as she smiled warmly to him.
留言板的核心人物——杰若疯子。是个有点圆滚滚的年轻女性。不过，似乎意外地符合飒太的想象也不一定。她一边将手伸向大盘的炸薯条，一边露出笑容可掬的微笑。

“I didn’t expect Magical Girl Souko to join our meetup.”
「万万想不到『魔法少女飒子』会参加我们的网聚耶。」

“Ahaha.”
「啊哈哈。」

“You’re beautiful!”
「你好漂亮喔！」

“No, I’m not.”
「才没这回事。」

“Are you one of us too? It’s not just your face, but your body… and most importantly, the air around you.”
「你该不会是同道中人吧？不仅脸蛋，还有这副身材……最重要的是全身散发出来的氛围。」

“What?”
「什么？」

“Nothing! If you don’t understand, then don’t worry about it… now all we need is Pellet-san and the online regulars will all be here.”
「没事！听不懂的话，就别放在心上……现在只差『贝雷特』了，这么一来线上的常客就全员到齐了。」

“Does Pellet-san not take part in these meetups?”
「『贝雷特』不会参加网聚吗？」

“Pellet’s never taken part before.”
「那个人不曾参加过。」

“Genopsycho” deliberately lowered her voice, then brought her face close to La Pucelle’s before quietly saying:
「杰若疯子」刻意压低声音，将脸凑近菈•普赛儿后，轻声道：

“That person~ they’re probably from the production side. If they show their face, they’ll be recognized, so that’s why they won’t take part in these at all. At least, that’s my guess.”
「那个人啊〜大概是游戏单位的人吧。要是露脸就会被人认出来，所以才会完全不参加网聚。我猜就是这么一回事。」

“Ahhh, I see.”
「啊啊，这样啊。」

“Pellet” was one of the regulars on the message board, and his Magical Girl knowledge surpassed even that of Souta’s. He was a huge fan of Magical Daisy, and prefaced every post he made with the statement “If Magical Daisy ends, so does my youth.”
「贝雷特」也是留言板的常客，在魔法少女的相关知识量则更胜飒太。对方是魔女黛西的死忠粉丝，以「如果魔女黛西结束的话，我的青春也落幕了」为开头的发言，甚至成为众人争相转贴、转载的热门句子。

After hearing what Genopsycho said, Souta too began to vaguely realise something… though it should have just been rumors, Pellet was able to vividly describe things like the involvement of sponsors and the interactions between the seiyuus, the directions the company was taking, and many other pieces of insider information. In addition, all that information revolved around Magical Daisy.
听杰若疯子这么一说，飒太也隐约发现……明明只是传闻，对方却描述得绘声绘影……像是赞助商的介入或是与声优的交情，还有公司的方针等，诸如此类的内幕话题相当多。而且，主要都是关于魔女黛西的资讯。

“So people like that from the world of anime and manga post on message boards…”
「那种动画界的人也会在留言板上回文喔。」

“Oh, there’s people like that all over that message board. Just like me, for… cough cough cough.”
「那个留言板似乎有不少这种人。就像我这样子的……呵呵呵。」

“Eh? Genopsycho-san, are you from that line as well?
「咦？『杰若疯子』小姐也是动画界的吗？」

“No--but it’s not convenient for me to talk about it. Cough cough cough.”
「不——不过我不太方便明说就是了。呵呵呵。」

After that, he swapped places several times, and repeatedly introduced himself and chatted with others.
后来换了好几次位子，重复进行自我介绍与畅谈的活动。

“Canossa-san, do you play Magical Girl Raising Project?”
「『卡诺莎』你没有在玩『魔法少女育成计画』吗？」

“I’ve heard the rumors surrounding that game, but I just can’t bring myself to play it.”
「我有听过那个游戏的传闻，不过实在提不起劲玩。」

“It seems there’s very few people who play it in the Tokyo area.”
「东京都这一带好像很少人玩呢。」

“It’s quite rare  to have a social game that’s only popular in a small area. After hearing about the game, I was pretty excited but for some reason, I couldn’t move my index finger no matter what I did. It’s really quite strange. Normally speaking, there’s no way I wouldn’t want to play a Magical Girl game. Plus, it’s free. It’s really mysterious; I just couldn’t bring myself to play it. How bizarre. Is it because I’m too old?”
「仅限一小部分的地区流行的社交游戏也很少见呢。听完游戏的内容后，我也觉得满有趣的，但不知道为什么食指就是动不了。真的很奇怪耶。如果是魔法少女系的游戏，照理来说，我不可能会不想玩啊。再加上还是免费的耶。真不可思议，我就是提不起劲玩。真的很莫名其妙耶。是我年纪大了吗？」

After speaking with many people, one could learn about the relationships between them.
跟许多人聊过之后，也能发现其中的人际关系。

“You should be careful of Misoyaki-san.”
「你要小心『烤味噌』喔。」

“Ah?”
「啊？」

“He gets abnormally excited whenever cute girls are around.”
「那个人啊，只要有可爱的女生在场就会异常兴奋。」

Souta snuck a look at Misoyaki-san. He was wearing what seemed to be a branded summer suit jacket, as well as a fan with “Magical Girl” beautifully calligraphed on it. He was a man who appeared to have very strong opinions about fashion. The beard on his chin looked very suspicious.
飒太偷瞄了一眼「烤味噌」先生。穿着看似名牌的夏季西装外套，搭配以漂罾的草书写上「魔法少女」四个字的扇子，是个在时尚打扮上似乎有强烈主张的男性。下巴的胡子看起来很可疑。

“I was thinking that it’d be better to ban him from these gatherings, but Genopsycho-san’s too nice when it comes to that sort of thing.”
「我是觉得干脆就禁止他参加网聚，不过，『杰若疯子』在这方面太好说话了。」

“I see… I’ll be careful.”
「原来如此……我会注意的。」

He glanced at Misoyaki again, and suddenly their eyes met. He nodded slightly, and the other person smiled and then stood up. Was he planning to come over? He felt embarrassed after having just been warned to be careful. It was probably best for him to take the initiative and make the first move.
他再瞥了一眼「烤味噌」，冷不防地对上视线。他轻轻点头致意，对方笑容可掬地微笑后，站了起来。难不成对方打算走过来吗？才刚被人奉劝要多加小心，总觉得有点尴尬。自己抢先一步移动似乎比较明智。

Souta said, “Excuse me”, and then made a chopping motion with his hand while shifting his place.
飒太说了一句「失礼了」一边摆出手刀姿势一边移动座位。

“I’m Magical Girl Souko, nice to meet you.”
「初次见面，我是『魔法少女飒子』。」

He stated his name with a smile, but the girl beside him simply nodded politely.
他带着笑容报上名字，然而坐在旁边的少女却只是礼貌性地低头致意而已。

“Er…”
「呃……」

The girl looked at Souta in confusion. It would seem he had put her on the spot, and he was feeling quite vexed himself. He hurriedly searched for a topic to talk about, but the girl in front of him refused to respond to anything he brought up, be it about Magical GIrls,the message board, even the weather. All she did not nod or tilt her head in puzzlement.
少女露出一脸困惑的神情望着飒太。他似乎造成对方的困扰，而他现在也感到很困扰。他拚命地捜寻聊天的梗，但不管是魔法少女的话题、留言板的话题，甚至是今天天气如何的话题，眼前的少女都不做任何回答，仅仅只是点头或纳闷地偏着头而已。

“What do you think that series?”
「你觉得那部作品如何？」

“...”
「……」

“It’s good that the skies are clear today.”
「今天天气放晴真的是太好了呢。」

“...”
「……」

“Magical Girls are great.”
「魔法少女真的很棒呢。」

“...Yes.”
「……是啊。」

These few words were the only thing he had gotten by way of eply.
两人的对话中，唯一听到的回答就只有这么短短几个字。

After that, he tried asking Genopsycho, “What’s with that girl?” but her only response was a shake of the head and a shrug of the shoulders.
在那之后，他试着向「杰若疯子」打听「那个女生是怎么一回事？」但她只是摇摇头并耸了耸肩。

“Who knows? They’re probably a freshly-registered noob. As long as they pay the participation fee, it doesn’t matter who they are.”
「谁知道？应该是刚注册的生手吧。只要她有乖乖付参加费，是谁都没差啦——」

In any case, he found himself thinking about that girl. She did not take part in the conversation, simply sat by herself and ate in silence. It was not because her face was similar, or because of her demure, quiet demeanor, but for some reason, Souta thought of his childhood friend. It must have been the air around her.
总觉得有点在意那名少女。她也不参与交谈，只是独自一个人默默地吃着餐点。并不是因为她的脸形很像，也不是因为那种文静乖巧的个性很类似，但就是会令飒太联想到自己的青梅竹马。应该是她散发出来的氛围吧。

She weighed on his mind, but Souta did not have the time to bother with her. He chattered nonstop about Magical Girls, showed off his treasures which he had carefully wrapped in packing material, took part in the Magical Girl word-chain game, received presents and then silently regretted, I should have brought some gifts of my own. Then, after repeatedly refusing the men who kept on praising her looks, he suddenly realised that it was time for him to take his train.
虽然很在意，但飒太并没有闲工夫搭理她。在魔法少女对谈中妙语连珠、炫耀自己用包装材料仔细打包好带来的稀奇收藏品、在魔法少女接龙时炒热气氛、拿到伴手礼后暗自后悔「早知道我也买一些小礼物来」。接着，当他四两拨千斤地拒绝不停夸奖自己外表的男子后，猛然发现搭电车的时间快到了。

There was a lot he wanted to talk about, and he was curious about the after-party and after-after-party, but if he did not go back now, his parents would reach home before him. If he returned home as La Pucelle and ran into his parents, things would be very bad. Besides, even if he changed in an outside toilet, he would be in the dilemma of being unable to step out of the female bathroom, which would also be very bad.
他还有好多话想聊，也很好奇接下来的两次续摊，但如果不在这个时候回家，双亲就会比他早一步到家。如果他以菈•普赛儿的模样回到家，又恰巧碰上双亲的话，就大事不妙了。再说，即使先在外面的厕所换好装，他就会面临无法踏出女厕的窘境，也很大事不妙。

“I had a lot of fun today.”
「我今天玩得非常愉快。」

“Same here, I had a lot of fun too.”
「彼此彼此，我也玩得很愉快。」

“Let’s meet on the message board next time.”
「下次在留言板见吧。」

“I’ll be organizing more offline gatherings. Hope to see you there.”
「我还会再举办网聚，到时也请多指教喽。」

“When the time comes, let’s talk about the new Cutie Healer series.”
「到时候来聊甜心治疗师的新作吧。」

After saying his farewells, he turned to look at that quiet girl, and found that she was looking at him with a very faint smile on her face. A mysterious feeling of joy bloomed in Souta’s heart, and then he left the family restaurant.
道别之际，他将视线瞥向那位沉默寡言的少女，发现对方正看向自己——虽然很轻微并不明显——面露微笑。飒太莫名地感到开心,然后离开了家庭餐厅。

While he wanted to go to other places and see other things, there was no time for that. All he could do was quietly promise himself to come to Tokyo and sight-see again next time, and then he checked a map to verify the route he had taken here. After finding that a certain alley was a shortcut, he walked down it for about five minutes before someone else clapped him on the back. When Souta turned around, he was shocked.
虽然他还想绕去别的地方，也想看别的东西，但没有时间。只好暗自决定下次再来东京观光，然后在地图上确认从这里到车站的路。他研判这条小巷是捷径，并在大约步行五分钟后，被人从背后拍了拍肩膀，转过头去的飒太吃了一惊。

“Hi, where are you going?”
「嗨，你要去哪里？」

It was Misoyaki-san. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses now which he had not worn in the store, which made him look even more suspicious.
是「烤味噌」先生。现在的他戴着一副原本在店里没戴的大镜框墨镜，看起来更加可疑了。

“May I ask what is the meaning of this?”
「请问，这是为什么？」

“You want to know why I’m here? Of course it’s because I can’t let a girl go home by herself.”
「你是要问我为什么在这里吗？当然是因为我不能放任女孩独自一个人回家啊。」

“No, I’ll be fine.”
「不，我没事的。」

“You don’t need to be so modest.”
「你不需要这么客气啦。」

He was not being polite; the feeling was that he was not listening at all.
他并不是客气，总觉得对方根本听不进去。

“Ah yes, before I send you home, how about I show you around the place? I live in Tokyo, so I’m very familiar with the area.
「对了，送你回家之前，我先带你绕一绕吧？我住在东京，对这里很熟喔。」

Given the opinion of this man, his attitude, his facial expression and various other factors, even Souta the middle-schooler knew what he was trying to do. However, Souta had no intention of responding to him.
根据这个人的评价、态度以及表情等种种要素，就连读国中的飒太也能明白对方到底想干什么。不过，飒太压根儿不打算回应对方。

“There’s no need, if I don’t rush, I’ll miss my train.”
「不用，我要赶不上电车了。」

“It’ll be fine.”
「安啦。」

“I need to go home.”
「我必须回家了。」

“Going home is boring.”
「回家很无聊耶。」

“That’s not the problem.”
「问题不在那里。」

“Why don’t we go have dinner at a classier place? Not a shabby little family restaurant like that, for sure. Do you prefer French or Italian cuisine?”
「我们去更高档一点的地方吃饭吧？不是那种穷酸的家庭餐厅。你喜欢法式料理还是义式料理？」

It was not as though he could beat the crap out of him on the spot. Even if he refused him, the man did not seem to able to take no for an answer. If he shrugged him off and ran to the train station, he might give chase. That would be bad.
也不能在这里痛揍对方一顿吧。即使开口拒绝，对方似乎也不打算听。如果甩开对方，一路直奔车站，有可能会直接跟过来。那可就糟糕了。

In all of Souta’s life, he had never experienced being harassed by a man. Naturally, he had not imagined what he would do if such a situation occurred. His heart pounded. What would a girl do in this situation? What should he do? What was the best thing to do? As his anxiety grew, so did his panic, and the more at a loss he was. Just as he thought, “Ahh~ what should I do?”--
飒太的人生中，并没有被男人死缠烂打的经验。当然也没有模拟过，碰上这种事情该怎么做才好。他的心跳加速。女性碰到这种情形，会怎么做呢？该怎么做才好、到底该怎么做才好？他越焦急就变得越慌张、越不知所措。就在他暗自苦恼「啊啊〜我到底该怎么办」时——

“Stop right there, criminal scum!”
「给我住手！」

A girl appeared, seemingly backlit by the sun. She was dressed in a battle suit of the sort one would see in tokusatsu movies. Even silhouetted by the light, he could clearly see that her facial features were finely proportioned. Souta immediately realised, “Ah, she must be a Magical Girl.”
有一名仿佛将阳光背在身后的少女。她身穿特摄片才会出现的战斗部队般的服装，即使在逆光之中，仍能清楚看出她的五官清秀。飒太立刻了解到「啊〜确实是魔法少女没错」。

“I won’t let you harass a delicate young lady in an alley on my watch!”
「我绝对不允许你在这种人迹罕至的后巷对柔弱的女子死缠烂打！」

“What, what’s with that getup of yours?!”
「那、那身打扮是怎么一回事啊？」

“You know, at times like these, it’s only common sense to reply ‘Who goes there!’ or something.”
「这种时候反问『来者何人！』是基本常识吧。」

“As if I’d say that to you! An outsider like you should shut up.”
「谁在跟你说这种事情了！局外人给我闭嘴。」

“Can’t you see she’s not interested?”
「你看不出来对方不情愿吗？」

Misoyaki-san began arguing with the Magical Girl. The Magical Girl looked past Misoyaki-san’s shoulder and winked, probably to say that he should run while he could.
「烤味噌」先生与魔法少女争执起来。魔法少女越过「烤味噌」先生的肩膀，对飒太眨了眨眼，就是要他快点逃跑的意思吧。

It would seem the Magical Girl responsible for protecting this region had decided to help Souta, who was in trouble. After bowing to the Magical Girl, he ran toward the train station with all his might. Yes, he ran full-tilt.
看来是负责守护这一带的魔法少女，帮助了遇上麻烦的飒太。他向魔法少女一鞠躬后，全力朝车站飞奔而去。没错，尽全力飞奔。

After reaching the train station, when he reached to his backpack to take out his train ticket, he realised something was wrong.
抵达车站后，当他打算拿出车票而探向背包时，察觉到异样。

Magical Girl costumes were specially made. As a result, they could endure any sort of athletics Magical Girls went through. Be it supersonic flight or sinking into the depths of the earth, they would not tear or be messed up. In contrast, human clothing was not made with consideration for a Magical Girl wearer. If he had moved as an ordinary human being, there would not have been any problems, but this clothing was not sturdy enough to withstand the stresses of a Magical Girl sprinting with all her might.
魔法少女的服装是特制的。因此能够负荷魔法少女进行任何运动。就算以超音速飞行，或潜到地底深处，也不会破掉或是显得凌乱。反观人类的衣服并没有考量到魔法少女的状况。如果以普通人的速度移动，并不会有任何问题，但这身衣服并没有强韧到能够负荷魔法少女尽全力的冲剌。

His skirt was gone, his hat had been blown away, his blouse was in tatters, and his backpack was shredded, along with its contents. As Souta realised what had happened to his precious collection, he could not suppress a scream. Upon hearing the scream, Souta realised the people around him were looking at him, and because of all the gazes directed at him, he screamed again. The first scream was an “Ah!” and the second one was “Uwaaaaah~”. Was his unconsciously covering of his chest a reflexive moment? Ir was it instinct?
他的裙子消失不见、帽子也飞走了，上衣变得破破烂烂，整个背包则是连同内容物一同化为碎屑。察觉到珍贵收藏品下场的飒太，忍不住尖叫。听到飒太尖叫声的周遭人们正注视着自己，而他因为这一道道的视线，再度尖叫。第一次的尖叫是「呀！」第二次则是「呀啊啊啊〜」。
下意识地遮住胸前，是反射动作吗？抑或是本能？

Since his wallet and ticket were gone, he could not take the train home. Needless to say, he did not even have any clothes on. His legs were paralyzed from embarrassment. Just then, a hand rested on La Pucelle’s shoulder as she sank cross-legged to the ground.
因为车票与钱包都没了，他没办法搭电车回家。更别说他现在连衣服都没有。由于实在太过羞耻，他的双腿动弹不得。就在这个时候，一只手搭上瘫坐在当场的菈•普赛儿的肩膀。

“Eh?”
「……咦？」

His body steadily changed color. A collar appeared, followed by sleeves, pockets and zippers, and at a glance, he was wearing a set of tights.
他的身体逐渐变色。生出领子、袖子、样式、口袋与拉炼的模样，乍看之下，他似乎穿了一件紧身衣。

Souta rose to one knee and looked behind himself. There was nothing and nobody there.
飒太单膝跪地，转过头去望向身后。什么都没有，也没有人。

“Hau unfortchnet, but dis will last until yu get hom. (How unfortunate, but this ought to last you until you get home.)”
「可怜の郎，不过这会当呼哩冻卡厝里。(可怜的人，不过这可以让你撑到家。〕」

Souta pivoted on his knee and turned, looking in all 360 degrees around himself as he slowly rose to his feet, but he could not see anyone. However, that voice just now could not have been an illusion.
飒太以膝盖为中心旋转身体，一边站起身一边确认周遭三百六十度，果然还是不见任何身影。但是，刚才的声音绝对不是幻听。

Both the buttons and the zippers felt like his own skin when he touched them. If he looked closely, he would realise that he was not wearing anything at all, but it could still deceive an average person’s eyes.
无论是钮扣或是拉炼，碰起来都是自己皮肤的质感。如果仔细观察的话，会发现他根本没有穿衣服，但足以瞒过一般人的视线。

While he had no idea what had just happened, he keenly understood how uncomfortable it was to be stared at by everyone. La Pucelle ducked everyone’s eyes and fled the scene. While it was a long way back home, if he ran along the railway, he ought to be able to reach home.
虽然无法理解发生什么事情，但他深刻地体悟到持续被周遭人注视有多么难受。他没有选择的余地。菈•普赛儿甩开人们的视线，跑离现场。虽然距离家里有很大一段路，但沿着铁轨跑的话，应该能够顺利返家。

--Still… what was all this?
——不过……这是怎么回事呢？

Only a Magical Girl’s power could do that. It would seem that Tokyo was a Magical Girl city where Magical Girls would show up if people were in trouble. Or did it have something to do with the density of the population?
只有魔法少女才办得到这种事。看来东京是个只要人们一碰上麻烦，魔法少女就一定会现身的魔法少女之城吧。还是跟人口密度有关？

Several days later, he read reports of the offline meetup saying, “Magical Girl Souko-san was so cute, and Souta could not help but smile weakly.
日后，他在网路上读到「『魔法少女飒子』姊好可爱喔」的网聚报告后，飒太不禁虚弱地微笑。

***
The pamphlet said that one could see the Tokyo Skytree from the hotel’s windows, so she had stayed there to see what it would be like. However, the view had been blocked by a building under construction, to the point where she could not even see the tower’s tip, Because she wanted to see the Skytree no matter what, she plastered her face against the window, leaving cheekmarks on the glass.
轻信饭店宣传单打出能透过窗户眺望晴空塔景观的宣传文，抱着尝试的心态入住后，景观竟然被建设中的高楼挡住，连塔的尖端都看不到。由于她无论如何都想要眺望晴空塔景致，拚命贴在窗上的关系，窗户玻璃仅残留下一道道脸颊的印痕。

Kuji Mashiro sat on the business hotel’s bed, her heart filled with despair.
坐在商务饭店床上的久慈真白，心情陷入沮丧之中。

Clamberry had sent her orders which said, “Melville? There’s something I need to trouble you with, is it convenient? A Magical Girl website will be organizing an offline meeting soon, and I‘d like you to make your way in there. People say that there are many people with the talent for becoming Magical Girls among Magical Lovers. Please help me look for those talented people so I can scout them… how could that be? It’ll be fine! I believe you can do it. So, you have to try hard, okay?” and everything had gone well until she had blended into the offline meeting. However, she had not dared to approach anyone, and then La Pucelle, who was currently undergoing Clamberry’s examination, had even showed up in her transformed state. The offline meeting had thus ended while Mashiro was panicked and unable to do anything. Clamberry had entrusted her with that mission because she trusted Mashiro… the Magical Girl Melville, and so she was ashamed to face Clamberry.
从接到克莱莓「梅尔维儿？我有件事情想要麻烦你，方便吗？近期有个魔法少女系的网站会举办网聚，我想请你潜入那里。人家都说，魔法少女的爱好者里拥有魔法少女天赋的人也不少。请你找出有天赋的人，予以挖掘……怎么会！没问题的啦！我相信你一定办得到。所以，你要好好加油喔！？」的命令，一直到潜入网聚为止还算顺利。然而，她迟迟不敢主动搭讪别人，中途还杀出目前正在接受克莱莓测验的菈•普赛儿，变身成魔法少女来到会场。网聚就在真白慌张起来，无法专心工作的情况下落幕了。明明是相信真白……魔法少女「梅尔维儿」才会委托她执行任务，她实在愧对克莱莓。

She had trailed La Pucelle because she had been very mindful of La Pucelle, who had talked so much with her. However, it was Yumenoshima Genopsycho who had helped La Pucelle. Melville had remained invisible all that time, and had missed the chance to step in. The only thing she had managed to do was help La Pucelle, who was in a bind because she had no clothes. If she had left La Pucelle alone, La Pucelle would have been at a loss, and it might even have affected Clamberry’s exam. In other words, Melville had helped Clamberry...
因为很在意找自己聊了许多话题的菈•普赛儿，所以才会尾随对方。不过，出手帮助菈•普赛儿的是梦之岛杰若疯子。梅尔维儿就这样一直保持隐形的状态，失去了登场的时机。帮助没有衣服而感到伤脑筋的菈•普赛儿，是她唯一办成的事情。如果她放任菈•普赛儿不管的话，菈•普赛儿就会不知所措，甚至有可能妨碍克莱莓的测验也不一定。换句话说，梅尔维儿的确有帮上克莱莓的忙

...At least, she should have. That was what she tried to tell herself.
……应该是吧。她如此说服自己。

Mashiro reflected over all this. She was not good at talking to others and she was afraid of blending with a group of strangers. However, if she drew boundaries for herself because she was not good at something, then she would never be able to grow. She quietly resolved herself to take the initiative to talk to others, and to not back down because of her thick accent.
真白深深地反省一番。她不擅长与人交谈，更害怕混进众多陌生人之中。但是，只因为不擅长就画地自限的话，绝对不会成长。她暗自下定决心，要努力鼓起勇气主动找人攀谈，别因为自己一口浓浓的方言腔调就退缩。