Restart Chapter 01

Chapter 1 - Hello Daisy!

☆Pechika

When Magical Girls were active, it was only to be expected that they would occasionally be sighted by human beings. However, while the Land of Magic encouraged everyone to cover up the traces of their activities, there was a tacit understanding that it would be fine if the other party was a child who did not think of Magical Girls as anything strange, although it was not recommended..
既然是以魔法少女的身分活动，当然偶尔会发生被人类撞见的情形。基本上，魔法王国鼓励大家隐藏行踪隐密地行动，不过，大家彼此心照不宣，如果对象是不认为魔法少女是异类的小孩，虽然不建议这么做，但被看见并没有关系。

It was the middle of summer, and the asphalt road in the park looked like it was going to melt from the intense heat. The cicadas chirped as though they were about to go hoarse, while the housewives were cheerfully gossiping to each other in hushed tones.
盛夏时节，在柏油路因为酷暑仿佛都要融化变得柔软的午后公园里。蝉鸣到仿佛声音都快嘶哑了，而太太们则是窃窃私语地聊八卦聊到不亦乐乎。

She should have been waiting for her mother to finish talking. A girl of around kindergarten age was hiding from the sun, crouched in the shade of a tree. Her right hand clutched a slender white string, whose tip was tied to a red balloon printed with the logo of a pharmaceutical company. The sunlight filtering through the tree branches striped the balloons surface as it floated lightly through the air.
应该是在等着妈妈聊完天吧。只见一名大约幼稚园的年幼小女生，躲避着日光的直晒，蹲伏在树荫下。她的右手握着白色的细线，细线的最前端飘着印有药局商标的红色气球。红色气球被穿过树缝洒落的阳光照得斑烂，轻盈地飘浮在空中。

Sudden;t, there was a gust of wind. The girl used her right hand--the one holding the string--to cover her eyes. Because of that movement, the string slipped free of her hand, and the girl looked to the sky with an “Ah!” The balloon rose steadily to the blue sky. Just as the girl’s expression was about to change from surprise to crying--
突然吹起了一阵风。小女孩举起握着细线的右手，掩住眼睛。细线因为那股震动，俐落地从手掌中滑开，小女孩发出啊的一声，抬头望向天空。气球朝着蓝天逐渐上升而去。就在小女孩的表情从惊讶转变成快哭出来的表情时——

A Magical Girl appeared out of nowhere, treading gracefully as she ran over, and with a great leap, she caught the balloon that had escaped the girl’s hand. The Magical Girl smiled and said, “Here, for you” as she handed the balloon over. While she had to be careful not to be noticed by adults, she could render service with a smile if the other party was just a kid. The girl smiled broadly and replied, “Thank you!” in vibrant gratitude. Then she muttered, “Nee-chan, you’re really pretty.”
不知道从哪里冒出来的魔法少女，脚步轻盈地跑过来，纵身一个大跳跃便抓住从小女孩手中溜走的气球，少女笑着说「来，给你」，并将气球递了过来。虽然要小心不被大人撞见，但如果对方是小孩子，露出微笑服务一下也没有关系。小女孩说着「谢谢！」脸上带着大大的笑容，朝气蓬勃地道谢，一脸恍惚地喃喃：「大姊姊……你好漂亮喔。」

Upon being told that, the Magical Girl Pechika smiled as well, although she hid quickly, careful not to be spotted by the girl’s mother and her friends. Magical Girl costumes were quite eye-catching, so she had to be very discreet while doing anything in broad daylight. Swiftness and efficiency were the basic principles which every Magical Girl followed when they were active in the day.
被这么说的魔法少女「蓓蒂卡」陶醉地露出微笑，不过还是小心翼翼地避免被小女孩的妈妈与其他人看到，迅速隐藏了起来。魔法少女的服装相当引人注目，在白天活动必须非常小心。迅速、俐落，就是白天行动的魔法少女所秉持的基本原则。

Indeed, to Tatehara Chika, “becoming a beautiful girl” was more important than “Magic” or “physical abilities”. One could even say that it was 70% of the reason she had become a Magical Girl.
没错，对建原智香而言，比起「魔法」或「身体机能」，「变身成貌美如花的少女」更为重要。甚至可以说她成为魔法少女的理由，有七成是为了这一点。

Chika did not like the way she looked. On the whole, she felt that she had too many moles and her nose was turned up too high. Her left and right breasts were uneven in size and shape, her fingertips were thick and hard, her severe bow-leggedness made her unable to put her knees together, she was not tall no matter how much milk she chugged, and it would have been nice if her eyes were a little larger.
智香并不喜欢自己的外貌。以整体而言，总觉得她的痣太多，鼻子也太过朝天了。左右胸部的形状与大小并不一致、指头又粗又硬、严重的O型腿导致双膝无法并拢，即使狂灌牛奶还是长不高，眼睛也是大一点会更好。

Nobody had mocked her as ugly before, but she had no memories of being praised as cute or beautiful. Chika felt that everyone around her was doing their best to avoid touching on her looks. While this was close to a persecution complex, it still felt close to home.
她不曾被人嘲笑为丑女，但也没有被人称赞很可爱或是美女的记忆。总觉得周围的人都在尽力避免触及智香的长相容貌。虽然近似于被害妄想症，但总觉得似乎也离事实不远。

In middle school, she tried her best to avoid attracting too much attention, putting her effort into being average, neither too good not too bad. And so she had stayed in the middle of the road until now.
在中学里，她也会极力避免太过引人注目，尽量维持在平均的水准，不好也不坏。她就这样一路维持着中庸直到现在。

She did not feel that there was anything bad about this. Not attracting attention had its own good points. She did not go to adult-restricted arcades to play video games or take photo stickers, she did not circulate strange books during reading sessions, and she most certainly did not plaster herself with super-thick mascara after school, but she enjoyed herself with the occasional round of rebellious activity.
她并不认为这样有何不好。不引人注目也有不引人注目的乐趣所在。即使她不会去被大人禁上的电玩中心打电动或是照大头贴，也不会在读书会时传阅不伦不类的书，更不是那种放学后就会涂上超浓睫毛膏的女生们，但还是能够乐在偶尔为之的叛逆行为乐趣中。

However, there were still some things she could not do.
然而，还是有她办不到的事情。

Ninomiya-kun of the Baseball Club was the team’s ace, and he wore the number 4 on his jersey. There was no doubt that in the future, he would be walking on the path of a professional player. He was an excellent talent who had scouts circling around around him early on. He was broad-minded and did not get caught up on minor details and his hobbies were baseball, eating and sleeping. He was far taller and heavier than the average middle school student, and he could instil fear with a vicious glare, but after talking to him, one would discover that he was chatty and liked to laugh. It was not just the girls in his school who were charmed by his carefree smile and baseball skills. The girls from the nearby middle schools, high schools and universities would flock to the field to cheer him on even for practice sessions, to say nothing of an actual match.
棒球社的二宫同学是队上的王牌，背号四号，将来无疑会迈向职业选手之路。他是个现在早早就有球探在四周徘徊的优秀人才。个性豪爽不拘小节，兴趣是棒球、吃饭与睡觉，身高体重远远超越国中生的体型，猛一看会令人产生恐惧感，但交谈过后便会发现，他相当健谈而且很爱笑。受到那份爽朗的笑颜与棒球实力所迷倒的女生不仅限于校内，甚至附近的国、高中及大学生，比赛当然不用提，连练习都会跑来场边加油。

Similarly, Chika was no exception, being a super fan of Ninomiya-kun. She was not like the other blind followers--she was a pure baseball fan who enjoyed watching him play, especially the way he threw a slider pitch that seemed nothing short of magical, and she made excuses like that and many others within her heart.
同样地，智香也不例外，她是二宫同学的超级粉丝。自己与那些盲从的家伙不同，是纯粹喜欢看他打棒球的棒球粉丝，尤其是那滑球简直达到了魔法的境界，如此等等在心中暗自找借口。

After a match or practice session, countless fangirls would charge forward, each holding towels, candied lemon slices, filled water bottles and various other luxury items. The fans followed the unspoken and tacitly accepted rules of letting their looks determine the order in which they advanced.
待比赛或是练习结束后，就会有许多女粉丝带着毛巾、糖渍柠檬片或是装了水的水壶等各式各样的慰劳品奔向前去。还有众人心照不宣的潜规则，女粉丝冲上前的顺序依照外表的优劣排列。

If Chika chose to shove others aside in an effort to get closer to Ninomiya-kun, people would begin pointing fingers behind her back, gossip would spread wildly, she would become a thorn in people’s sides, and the rest of her middle school life would be stained pitch-black.
如果智香在这个时候推开其他人接近二宫同学的话，她从明天起就会遭人在背后指指点点、乱传谣言、被视为眼中钉，剩下的国中生活就会被染成一片黑暗吧。

However, if Chika were not Chika, but possessed the looks of an idol or a model, what would happen? Surely nobody would dare complain about or hold a grudge against Chika.
但是，如果智香不是智香，而是拥有偶像或是模特儿之类的人种外貌，结果又会如何呢？想必是没有人敢抱怨智香，也不会发出任何怨言吧。

She wanted to get close to Ninomiya-kun and let him taste the bento she had made with all her heart. Thus, she had to become somebody other than her present self. To Chika, who deeply desired good looks, being a Magical Girl offered the perfect opportunity for that, and so she gave her all to passing her selection exam, finally becoming the Magical Girl Pechika.
好想接近二宫同学，想让他尝尝看自己用心做出来的便当，为此，她必须成为现在的自己以外的别人。对于强烈渴望拥有美貌的智香而言，魔法少女正好给了她大好机会，于是她拼命通过选拔测验，终于如愿成为魔法少女「蓓蒂卡」。

And now, she looked at the image of herself reflected in the mirror and sighed. This was not her usual sigh of despair.
而如今，她望着映照在镜中的自己，吁出一口气。这不是她平常的唉声叹气。

Her nose was straight, her skin was smooth and shiny, and even the moles which she had been worried about were gone. Her eyes were large and dewy, hEer pupils gleamed, and her eyebrows were two perfect curves even without any touching up. Her fingers were soft and bouncy, their tips slender and well-formed. Her breasts were no longer mismatched; they were close to Chika’s ideal size, shape and texture, and her formerly crooked legs now extended straight downwards. She smiled cutely, twirled, and struck a pose, and every little thing she did was magic.
鼻梁挺直、肌肤细致光滑,连她在意的痣都消失不见了。水汪汪的大眼、炯炯有神的瞳孔，眉毛明明完全没做任何修饰，却画出两道美丽的曲线。手指柔软有弹性，指头纤细且形状姣好。胸形也不再是左右不对称，连大小、形状与弹性都接近智香的理想，歪歪的腿也笔直地伸展着。
她笑容可掬地一笑，转了转圈，摆出招牌姿势，一举手一投足间都令人着迷不已。

If she really had to find a fault with herself, it would be that her clothes were too gaudy. Granted, they conformed to how a girl should dress, but all in all, they were far too over-the-top. Even if Pechika’s looks were every bit as striking as her clothes, they were still too flashy for daily life.
若真要挑剔的话，就是服装太过华美吧。虽然是相当符合魔法少女的装扮，但服装整体太过夸张。即便蓓蒂卡的外貌拥有不输给夸张服装的冲击性，但对于日常生活而言仍然太过气派了。

Chika transformed into Pechika, took her clothes off, and removed all her accessories. Then, she passed her hands into the sleeves of “a pure white sundress suitable for a Young Mistress in a tropical climate”. She had admired it for a long time before buying it, but then she had not dared to wear it because it was completely unsuited for her, and in the end it had been relegated to filling her closet. After that, careful not to be spotted by her family, she quietly left.
智香变身成蓓蒂卡，脱下衣服，将一切装饰褪去。她将手穿过憧景许久而买下，却又因为不适合，并且在完全提不起勇气穿出门的情况下，最后沦落成养胖衣柜的「适合避暑胜地的大小姐的纯白连身洋装」的袖口。然后，在不被家人察觉的情形下，她悄悄地离开家门。

She had been a Magical Girl for a year and a half now, and Chika who had once been in her second year of middle school was now in her third. Her days of admiring her looks in front of the mirror would end today. She had been helping people every day and night, looking for ways and means to drag this out, but she could delay it no longer. Today was the day she would carry it out.
成为魔法少女已经有一年半的时间，曾经是国中二年级的智香如今也升上三年级了。在镜子前欣赏自己容貌的日子，到今天就会画下句点。每天不分早晚助人，总是以各种理由推拖延期，但是她不能再继续延下去了。今天就是执行的日子。

Since she had no time to make a delicious bento, so she used Pechika’s Magic to “make delicious food” along the way. Although it felt somewhat insincere, after she sampled it, she found that it was like a taste of Heaven. She packed the food into a bento box, wrapped it up neatly, and thus her gift was complete.
因为她没时间制作美味的便当，所以就使用了「能制作出美味料理」的蓓蒂卡的魔法，在路上制作出来。虽然觉得有点不够诚意，不过拈了一点吃一口，简直是人间美味。将料理塞进便当盒里，手脚俐落地包好后，慰劳品就完成了。

She could enter the stadium. What if only she found herself cute, what if this look of hers was no different from the original Chika, what if people were annoyed by her… the worries plaguing Chika for a year and a half melted away when the girls looked on her with shock, admiration, jealousy and so on. Amidst the horde of whispering, gossiping fangirls, Pechika stepped forth, and the fangirls parted before her like the Red Sea, clearing her a path. Under these circumstances, one’s place was decided by their looks, and thus compared to the heavily mascaraed girls, Pechika had higher priority.
她能踏进操场了。也许只有她自认为可爱，其实这副模样与原本的智香无异，是不是会遭人白眼呢……如此这般反复长达一年半的智香的担忧，在接受到女孩子们惊讶、欣羡、嫉妒等的视线时，一扫而空。在窃窃私语、交头接耳不断的粉丝群中，蓓蒂卡一前进，粉丝墙便仿佛海浪般退开、让出走道。在这种情形中，顺序是依照容貌的优劣排列，因此比起涂上浓厚睫毛膏的女生，蓓蒂卡的顺序更为优先。

Pechika walked with her chest upthrust, as though she were a fashion model; if she were still Chika, she would never have received such treatment.
蓓蒂卡抬头挺胸走着，仿佛某时尚秀的模特儿般走着；如果她还是智香的话，绝对不会得到这种礼遇。

At the head of the fangirls was Ninomiya-kun. He was chatting and laughing with a friend. When said friend saw Pechika, a look of surprise appeared on his face, and he nudged Ninomiya-kun in the ribs while pointing at Pechika. Ninomiya-kun looked at Pechika, but Pechika did not know what sort of expression he had on his face--because Pechika did not dare look straight at him.
粉丝的最前方就是二宫同学。他正与朋友聊着天，哈哈大笑。那位朋友看到蓓蒂卡之后，脸上浮现吃了一惊的神情，戳了戳二宫同学的侧腹，指着蓓蒂卡。二宫同学看向蓓蒂卡，但蓓蒂卡不知道他现在露出什么表情——因为蓓蒂卡不敢正视他。

She simply lowered her head and looked at his studded sport shoes, which were caked in dirt. After going “I’llcheeryoouonsopleasedoyourbest” like shewere reciting a tongue twister, she shoved her bento into his hands. Ninomiya-kun seemed to have said something, but she did not hear it clearly, because Pechika ran off after giving him the bento.
她只是低下头盯着沾满泥土的钉鞋前端，像是在绕口令般迅速地说出「我会替你声援的，请你好好加油」，便将便当袋塞入他的怀中。二宫同学似乎说了些什么，不过她没听清楚，因为蓓蒂卡将便当袋塞给他之后，就转身向后跑走了。

The fangirls parted like the waves, just as they did when she had come. She went home, avoided the gazes of her family members, returned to her room, dispelled her transformation, and then collapsed on the bed. She squirmed around as she muttered “ahhh” or “ohhhh” and other such unintelligible utterances.
如同来时一样粉丝墙仿佛海浪般退开。她回到家，在避开家人视线的同时，回到了自己的房间，解除变身后倒在床上。一边喃喃「啊啊」或是「唔唔」等意义不明的话语，一边扭动身体。

Even though her Magical Phone was ringing, she was not in the mood to answer it.
即使魔法终端设备的简讯铃声响起，她也没有心思确认。

Chika was face-down on the bed and writhing about in frustration when she suddenly hit the ground, where she continued writhing, not because she was a lovesick schoolgirl but because it really hurt. Sand got into her mouth, and her forehead and nose were in agony. Her originally clean and soft bed was now an incredibly hard implement of pain.
趴伏在床上，烦恼不已地扭动着身体的智香，在毫无预警的情况下突然撞向地面然后她以一名被害者而非坠人爱河的扭捏少女的身分，疼痛地扭动身体。砂土跑进她的嘴中，鼻子与额头疼痛不已。原本柔软干净的床，倏地变化成坚硬无比的凶器。

Chika sat up, eager to find out what was going on, but she could not open her eyes because of the intense light.
智香从地上坐起身欲确认发生什么事情，但却因为强光无法睁开眼睛。

The brilliant white light pierced her eyelids, and after she adapted to the powerful illumination, she realized that her surroundings were both bizarre and incomprehensible.
强烈的白光穿透过眼睑，待眼睛适应强光之后，她才看到周围景色的异常与诡谲。

The sun shone brightly, weeds grew in scattered patches across the land, and the entire place felt like a wasteland all the way to the horizon. There were towering structures which looked like skyscrapers. There were three of them within her line of sight, but they were all in ruins. It was only then that she finally came to her senses. Her field of vision was much larger than when she had been human, because at some point, she had transformed into Pechika.
日照强烈，太阳正闪闪亮亮地发光，杂草稀落零星地生长，荒野风情一路连绵到地平线彼端。高耸的建筑物似乎是大楼，她的视线之内只看到三栋大楼，但全都崩毁了。直至此时此刻，她才回过神来。她的视线比身为人类的时候大幅提升许多，自己在不知不觉间，变身为宿蒂卡了。

She reached out and touched her arms, legs, above and below her waist. She inspected every part of herself carefully. She tried a gentle hop, and found that she could go three meters into the air before landing. So she had transformed. Transformations were a core part of Magical Girls, yet this one had taken place outside of Chika’s conscious control, something which had never happened before.
她伸手碰触着手、脚，由腰往下、由腰往上，无一处不仔细检视。自己果然变身成蓓蒂卡了。试着轻轻跳跃一下，结果跳至垂直离地三公尺的高空后才着地。果然变身了。变身为魔法少女的机制，居然在不受智香意志的控制下启动，以前明明从来没有发生过这种事情。

“Where is this? Why am I here?”
「这里是哪里？为什么我会在这里？」

Where was this place, anyway? It did not look like it was within Japan. She had heard that there was a sprawling wilderness near Hokkaido, but she did not think Hokkaido would come with ruined skyscrapers. This must be some foreign country where a civil war or some kind of invasion had taken place. If that were really the case, it was only natural for there to be skyscrapers around, and the barren landscape was well-suited for a slaughter of that sort. The abandoned scenery before her would not be so strange either.
这里到底是哪里？看起来不像是日本国内。她曾经听说北海道附近一带有广阔的原野，但是，她可不认为北海道会附赠倾倒的大楼废墟。这里应该是爆发内战，或是受到其他国家侵略之类的国外土地吧。真是这样的话，会出现大楼也许是正常的，而且这么荒凉的景色的确很适合那方面的血腥味。眼前这幅毫无人迹的景象也就不那么奇怪了。

There was one more thing; she had no idea how or why she had come here. She had clearly been rolling around in bed just now. Could it be that she had been too happy and this suffered this in order to balance out her karma? Or was this the punishment for selfishly using a Magical Girl’s power on things other than helping others?
还有一点，她对自己来到这里的理由，毫无头绪。她明明是在床上幸福地扭动着身体才对。难不成是她太过幸福，为了取得平衡而遭到报应了吗？或是自私地将魔法少女的能力使用在助人以外的事情上而遭受的惩罚？

Ah yes, Pechika remembered. In the moment before she had come here, there had apparently been a text message alert from her Magical Phone. Perhaps thag might have something to do with it.
对了，蓓蒂卡想起来了。来这里的前一刻，她的魔法终端设备似乎传来简讯铃声，或许与那件事情有关。

She took out her Magical Phone. Said phone was not only equipped with smartphone functionality, but also extraordinary portability in that it could literally be pulled out of nowhere, and it was designed in a heart shape which matched the image of a Magical Girl. While the heart-shaped screen had been panned for not being easy to read, there had hardly been any criticism of its performance.
她取出魔法终端设备。此设备除了搭载一般智慧型手机的功能之外，还具备能凭空取出的卓越携带性能，设计是采用符合魔法少女形象的爱心机型。虽然心形画面因为观看不易而遭人诟病，但功能方面却没有遭到太多批评。

The Magical Phone’s screen displayed the words “Practice Mode” in simple block letters. Pechika could not help but feel confused; this was a screen she had never seen before. She wanted to ask for the text message interface, but for some reason her Magical Phone did not respond. All she saw was the screen as it continued scrolling down of its own volition.
魔法终端设备的画面以明体的简朴字体显示着「练习模式」。蓓蒂卡不禁感到困惑：这是她从未见过的画面。她想叫出打简讯的程式，但不知道为什么终端设备毫无反应，只见画面自动往下卷动。

『In Practice Mode, you can physically experience the combat system of Magical Girl Raising Project! Please defeat the enemy and collect the Magical Candies!』
『您能在练习模式中，实际体验魔法少女育成计画的战斗场面。请打倒敌人，将魔法糖果拿到手吧！』

Magical Girl Raising Project? Combat? Enemy? Magical Candy?
魔法少女育成计画？战斗？敌人？魔法糖果？

Pechika sensed the ground shaking around her, as though it was going to swallow her up. This was not an earthquake! Only part of the ground was shaking, and not all of it. There was a tremor, a bulging, and then a cracking sound as a hole opened up from inside the earth, and from it came a white hand, followed shortly after by its owner.
旧蒂卡察觉到地面仿佛要将她团团包围般地震动起来。这不是地震！地面只有一部分在震动，而非全面性的地震。震动、隆起，啪喀一声从内侧开了一个洞，伸出一只白色的手，手腕的主人突然从地面之中现身。

Its teeth chattered as its mouth opened and closed, and its bones creaked as it slowly got up. Its empty eye sockets contained patches of blackness within its deep, dark recesses, and it would probably be empty even if she looked inside. These moving bones reminded her of the Grim Reaper, and there were five sets of them. She was surrounded.
只见那东西的牙齿喀哒喀哒地开阖，骨头发出喀哒喀哒的声响地缓缓起身。眼窝深处隐藏在黑暗之中漆黑一片，即使望进去，想必也是空空荡荡的吧。令人联想到死神那会动的骸骨，总共有五具。她被团团包围了。

『Five Skeletons have appeared.』
『出现五具骷髅。』

The Magical Phone displayed those words.
终端设备的画面显示这几个字。

Pechika desperately fought the impulse to scream, steadied her legs that had nearly gone soft, grit her teeth, raised up a spatula as a weapon and took a defensive stance. Things being as they were, Pechika had no idea what was going on; she swept away a grasping skeletal hand with the spatula, kicked away a lunging Skeleton, backed away to avoid the hands reaching at her from both sides, and then she suddenly ground to a halt. The Skeleton which she had kicked away had fallen on all fours and seized Pechika’s leg.
蓓蒂卡拼命压抑住想发出尖叫的冲动，撑起差一点瘫软的双脚、咬紧牙关，拿起锅铲当成武器，摆出防御的架势。事到如今，尚未搞清楚到底是怎么一回事的蓓蒂卡，用锅铲扫开骸骨伸过来的手；一脚踢开追过来的骸骨，拉开距离，躲开从左右抓过来的手，然而她却在此时停下了脚步。一开始被她踢开的骸骨，竟呈现头朝下趴伏在地的姿势，一把抓住蓓蒂卡的脚。

Pechika froze at the feeling of the cold, spine-chilling sensation of the skeletal hand. If she used her Magical Girl’s strength, she could easily have shaken it off, perhaps even crushed it flat with a single stomp. However, Pechika’s mental state at its limits, and it was plain to see that she was on the verge of full-blown panic.
蓓蒂卡因为从骸骨手上传来冰冷且令人毛骨悚然的触感，不禁停下了动作。如果使用魔法少女的力量便能轻松将它挥开，甚至一脚把它踩个稀巴烂。然而，蓓蒂卡的精神状态已经濒临极限，眼见着她就要陷入恐慌状态之中了。

Although she was a Magical Girl, Pechika’s Magic was to “make food”. In battle, the only thing she could count on was her body. If she wanted to eliminate an enemy, she had to punch and kick them, and receive punches and kicks in turn. These violent, bloody proceedings were not something which Tatehara Chika, a middle-schooler who led a peaceful life, could possibly bear.
尽管她是魔法少女，但蓓蒂卡的魔法是「做料理」。战斗时能依赖的只有她本身的身体而已。如果想解决敌人，就必须出手痛殴、出脚猛踢，同时也会遭到痛殴以及猛踢。这种暴力血腥的过程，根本不是过着和平生活的国中生，建原智香所能承受的。

The four other Skeletons drew closer, as though in slow motion, and then, just before they could touch Pechika, they suddenly split in two from head to toe, clattering as they fell apart.
四具骸骨仿佛慢动作重播般地缓缓逼近，然而，就在它们即将碰触到蓓蒂卡之际，突然从头顶直到股间裂成两半，哗啦哗啦地崩解。

“...Eh?”
「……咦？」

Pechika looked at her leg, and she saw that the Skeleton grasping her ankle had been neatly sectioned into three pieces, cut apart with expert skill. The ground was deeply gouged, which spoke of the power of the strikes. Pechika hurriedly pulled her leg away, and the fingers clutching her fell to the ground.
蓓蒂卡看向脚边，只见抓住她脚踝的骸骨被工整地切成三截，手法相当俐落地将之切割开来。割痕深入地面，可见其威力之强大。蓓蒂卡慌张地退开脚，紧抓住她的手指就这样落在地上。

Something had happened, something must have happened. However, she did not seem to have awakened a new ability or awakened some sealed power or something along those lines. This was not Pechika’s doing.
发生事情了，一定是发生什么事了。不过，似乎不是新的能力觉醒或是封印的力量觉醒之类的事情。这并非蓓蒂卡所为。

Pechika looked left, right, and all around, using her extraordinary eyesight as a Magical Girl to verify the identity of the person beyond the dust. They were more petite than a grown man… it was a girl, holding a sword pointing at the ground in her right hand. She was probably the one who had saved her. While they were two kilometers apart, when she looked into the distance, there was nothing there besides her apart from the ruined buildings and weeds. Compared to the ruins and the weeds, it seemed more likely that the girl had helped her.
左右张望、环视四周的蓓蒂长，以魔法少女卓越的视力确认到砂尘的另一边有人。那是体格较成年男子更为娇小的……少女，右手握住刀指向地面。应该就是她出手相救的吧。虽然距离达两公里远，但放眼望去，除了她以外，只见颓圮的大楼或是杂草。与大楼废墟或是杂草相较之下，她看起来比较像是出手帮助自己的人。

Since she had reached out to help her, she must surely be a good person. To Pechika, who had been suddenly dumped into a strange la and forced to fight scary monsters, there was no doubt that the girl was her messiah. Pechika ran over with all her might, and in the blink of an eye, she had covered the two kilometers and bowed in thanks with surprising forcefulness.
既然出手相救，想必是怀抱善意之人。一定是这样子的。对于突然被丢到陌生土地，又被强迫与恐怖怪物战斗的蓓蒂卡而言，少女无疑是救世主。蓓蒂卡以全力冲过去，眨眼间便跑到两公里外的地方，以惊人的气势低头道谢。

“Thank you very much!”
「真的非常谢谢你！」

She raised her head to look upon her savior. Indeed, she was a girl. Her outfit resembled a samurai, though it had been greatly altered. Her hair had been tied into a ponytail, and a single flower sprouted from the end. Given her unique hairstyle, it was obvious that this was not a samurai’s clothing, but a Magical Girl’s outfit. More to the point, she could attack an enemy from two kilometers away, something which nobody but a Magical Girl could do.
她抬起头来看向救世主！果然是少女。身穿一袭仿佛武士般的服装，但经过大幅改造。扎成一根的马尾最末端盛开着一朵花，发型相当独特，明显可知这是不同于武士的服装，是魔法少女的装扮。更何况，她还能从两公里外的距离以刀攻击敌人，除了魔法少女之外没有人办得到。

“May I ask if...you’re a Magical Girl?”
「请问你是……魔法少女吗？」

There was no response.
毫无反应。

“Er, I’m called Pechika. I’m also a Magical Girl.”
「唉，我叫做蓓蒂长。我也是魔法少女。」

Still no response. All the other girl did was stare intently at Pechika. Feeling pressured, Pechika continued:
依然毫无反应。对方只是紧盯着蓓蒂卡。蓓蒂卡像是被逼急般,接着继续说：

“Where is this place? Do you know? I was here before realized it, I had no idea what was going on, and Skeletons appeared too. It was so scary, what a pain.”
「这里是哪里呢？你知道吗？我一回过神来就在这里了，完全不知道到底发生什么事情，还出现骸骨之类的东西。好恐怖喔，真是伤脑筋。」

“I’ve been fooled again… Isn’t this over already…”
「又被摆了一道……这一切不是已经结束了吗……」

“Eh?”
「咦？」

“I hate that, that… this is bad.”
「我讨厌那个，那个……不好。」

Her eyes did not move, focused as they were on a single point. However, she was not looking at anything in particular. While she was looking at Pechika, she was gazing at something else other than Pechika. The girl reached out and her fingers closed around Pechika’s throat. Pechika could not move; she could only let the girl do as she pleased without putting up any resistance. The girl’s fingers were cold, and Pechika gulped.
她的眼睛动也不动，焦点集中在一点上。但是，她并没有看向任何东西。虽然视线投向蓓蒂卡，却是看着蓓蒂卡以外的某个东西。少女伸出手，手指缠上所蒂卡的喉咙。蓓蒂卡无法动弹，只能毫无抵抗地任由她摆布。她的手指好冰凉。蓓蒂卡不禁吞了一口口水。

The fingers clutching her neck grew more forceful. Her skin and flesh grew taut, and the sword she held in her right hand drew closer to Pechika’s neck. There was the sound of grinding. It was the sound of Pechika’s teeth chattering uncontrollably.
缠上脖子的手指力道增强了。皮与肉变得紧绷，她握在右手的刀缓缓靠近所蒂卡的脖子，似乎有东西喀哒嘻哒地响起。原来是蓓蒂卡牙齿颤抖不已的声音。

“Wasn’t it all over? Oi,  Musician…”
「不是都结束了吗？喂，音乐家……」

“I… I don’t know. I, I have no idea what’s going on. I was here by the time I came to.”
「我……我不知道。我也、我也搞不清楚到底是怎么一回事。回过神来就在这里了。」

The girl stared at Pechika with those blank eyes of hers. The strength faded from her fingers, and her sword lowered once more. The girl let go of Pechika’s neck, and pushed her away. Thus shoved aside, Pechika fell on her butt, looking up at the girl, her mouth hanging open from sheer terror.
少女以那双空茫的眼神盯着宿蒂卡。指间的力道变弱，刀再度垂下。少女放开了蓓蒂卡的脖子，并推开她。蓓蒂卡就这样被推开，一屁股跌坐在地，抬头望着少女，嘴巴到现在仍然恐惧无比得阖不起来。

“You are not the Musician. The Musician should be more… like this…”
「不是音乐家啊。音乐家应该是更……这样……」

The girl turned her back on Pechika and walked away. Her footsteps were unsteady, and the sword in her right hand dragged a trail on the ground as she walked. She seemed to be muttering something to herself, but before long, she could no longer hear it.
少女转身背对蓓蒂卡，迈开步伐。只见她的脚步摇摇晃晃，右手拖着刀边走边刻下痕迹。她似乎口中念念有词地说着什么，但过不了多久便听不见了。

Pechika watched the girl leave from where she sat stunned on the ground. In the end, Pechika still did not know where this place was or why she had come here. However, Pechika did not intend to pursue that girl
蓓蒂卡一直愣愣地坐在地上目送少女离去。结果，到头来蓓蒂卡仍然不知道这里是哪里，还有自己为什么会来到这里。但是，蓓蒂卡并不打算追上少女。

☆Magical Daisy

The Skeletons were unexpectedly weak, being only slightly stronger than a human skull. They broke with a kick and shattered with a punch. While she disliked such destructive behavior, Magical Daisy was a veteran Magical Girl. If she could be traumatized by such trivial matters, she would have quit being a Magical Girl long ago.
骸骨意外地脆弱，只比人类骨头的强度强韧一点而已吧。只要踢一下就会断掉，出拳一揍就会碎裂。虽然是令她打从生理上感到厌恶的破坏行为，但是魔女黛西可是魔法少女中的资深老手。如果因为这点程度的事情就受挫，她早就辞掉魔法少女不干了。

“Daisy Punch!”
「黛西神拳！」

It was just a normal punch.
只是普通的拳头而已。

“Daisy Kick!”
「黛西飞踢！」

It was just a normal kick. Daisy had named these mundane moves because she believed that giving them names would make them more powerful. She firmly believed in the power of language.
只是普通的飞踢而已。自以为只要加上名字威力就会提升，因此魔女黛西替普通的拳头与飞踢等攻击技巧都取了名字。她深信言灵这种东西是存在的。

“Daisy Beam!”
「黛西光波！」

It was just an ordinary beam… as if such a thing could exist. The Daisy Beam was Magical Daisy’s killer move. It was not a figurative ace in the hole. It was literally “a super move that killed people.”
只是普通的光波……当然不可能如此。黛西光波是魔女黛西的必杀技。这并不是形而上概念的必杀技，而是诚如文字所示的「必定会杀死人的绝技」。

In addition to the superior physical abilities each Magical Girl possessed, they were also granted the ability to use a unique Magic, which was why they were called Magical Girls.
魔法少女除了本身具备的优秀身体机能之外，每个人都被赐予一项特别的「魔法」，因此才称为「魔法」少女。

The Magic which Magical Daisy possessed was called the Daisy Beam. Magical Daisy extended her finger, fired a 10 centimeter-wide ray of light from its tip, and everything it hit disintegrated instantly. Its mechanism of action was unclear. According to Palette, it broke apart the binding forces between molecules, thus causing matter to disintegrate into a sand-like state which then vanished as though blown away by the wind. There were many variations on the Beam; if she did not use her fingers but her palm to attack with the Beam, she would project a 50 centimeter-wide beam, which greatly increased its area of effect.
魔女黛西所拥有的「魔法」便是黛西光波。魔女黛西伸出去的指尖前端，放射出直径达十公分的光柱，命中的部位就会在瞬间分解消失。原理不详。根据巴雷特的说明，这是解开了分子单位的结合作用，因此物体会分解成砂状，仿佛被风吹散般消失不见。光波也有许多种变化，如果不是用手指而是以手掌产生光波进行攻击，就会放射出直径达五十公分的光柱，攻击范围一口气大增。

This move was not originally meant to kill people, but to eliminate rubbish or obstacles. She had once made a suggestion to the Land of Magic; if she could use this technique to get rid of industrial or nuclear waste, it would do a lot of good to the human world, but she had instead received an order along the lines of, “You are not to affect the physical processes of the human world or its industries”. She remembered that she had also been warned, “There ought to be a limit to how much you try to distinguish yourself” or something like that. It was as though they ahd seen right through her thoughtless desire to show off, and it filled her with self-loathing.
这一招原本并不是用来杀人的，而是用来除掉废弃物或是障碍物。她曾经向「魔法王国」提议，如果将此招用于产业废弃物或是核废料的处理，会对人类世界有莫大帮助，然而却得到「不得改变人类世界的物理流通或产业」之命令。记得当时她觉得自己像是被警告「出风头也要有个限度」，仿佛连本人都毫无自觉的表现欲遭人看穿般，令她深深感到自我厌恶。

In terms of her personality, using her Magic on living things was a taboo among taboos, and its applications were severely restricted by the Land of Magic and her mascot. However, when her opponents were unliving monsters, and when she heard the video game-like explanation of “Five Skeletons have appeared”, she had been caught up in the moment and used her Magic. When a single beam had disintegrated the Skeletons had disintegrated into flying ash, it had also eradicated all the pent-up stress accumulated through her daily life, but she reflected on herself -- she had gotten too carried away.
以性质而言，将魔法使用于生物是大忌中的大忌，用途也受到「魔法王国」与使魔强烈的限制。但是，当对象明显是不带有生命迹象的怪物，而且还显示出充满电视游戏风格的「出现五具骷髅」的解说时，她就忍不住得意忘形地使用了魔法。虽然，骸骨在一发光波的攻击之下灰飞烟灭的模样，一口气消除了她平日累积的不满，但她还是反省了一下——自己太得意忘形了。

“Speaking of which, where is this place?”
「话说回来，这里是哪里？」

While she was talking to herself as she always did, her question this time was sincere. After the announcement that the game had begun, she had transformed into a Magical Girl by the time she had gotten a grip on herself. Then she found herself alone in the wilderness, after which the Skeletons had attacked her. She was surrounded on all sides by the horizon. While she had never been to those places before, the Mexican and African sun was probably as vicious as this one. If she were not a Magical Girl, she might have been sunburnt already.
虽然是一如往常的自言自语，但这次是打从心底的疑问。宣布游戏开始后，当她回过神来时已变身成魔法少女，独自一人立于荒郊野外，然后就遭到骸骨的袭击。她的四面八方被地平线所环绕。虽然她没亲身去过，不过墨西哥或是非洲的太阳差不多就这么毒辣吧。如果她不是魔法少女的话，只怕会为晒伤所苦。

In addition to the sun and the wilderness, there were the remains of skyscrapers.
视野内除了太阳与荒野之外，还有大楼的残骸。

She checked her Magical Phone.
她确认过魔法终端设备。

Nothing worked besides her personal dossier, and there were letters on the screen.
个人档案以外的功能完全无法启动，画面显示着文字。

『Practice Mode is over.』
『练习结束。』

『You have earned 5 Magical Candies.』
『你获得了五颗魔法糖果。』

Magical Candies. Come to think of it, the Magical Phone seemed to have displayed those words before the Skeletons appeared. She had the feeling that she had heard those words before. Where exactly was that?
魔法糖果。这么说来，在骸骨出现之前，魔法终端设备似乎出现过这些字。总觉得她曾经在哪里听过这个词。到底是在哪里呢？

『Please proceed to the Town.』
『请前往城镇。』

A town? All she saw before her was an endless expanse of wilderness. Perhaps if she could look down from a higher vantage point, she would know what lay ahead of her. Magical Daisy ran towards one of the buildings. At a closer look, it was quite an awe-inspiring pile of ruins, dyed a dirty brown by the dust. The spiderweb of cracks and the broken corners deprived it of any sense of ancient nostalgia; it was nothing more than an abandoned building which had not been maintained for a long time. The building leaned to one side, and it looked to be about 10 storeys tall at a glance. Its height was about the same as the other buildings.
城镇？视野所及只有无尽的荒野。如果能从高处眺望的话，也许能知道前方有什么。魔女黛西朝大楼跑去。在近处一看，果然是相当惊人的废墟，被尘土染成肮葬的咖啡色。无论是那龟裂走纹或是壁面缺角，毫无一丝老朽多年的怀旧风情，只是年久失修的废弃大楼。大楼倾向一旁，断成大约十楼左右的高度。从高度来说，与其他的大楼相差无几。

In order to avoid collapsing the building, she climbed it carefully, yet swiftly and skillfully. It was child’s play to scale the outside walls of a building with a Magical Girl’s physical abilities. She mounted the zenith of the building, and then surveyed her surroundings.
为了避免大楼崩塌，她小心翼翼但迅速俐落地爬上去。凭魔法少女的体能要上大楼外墙，简直轻而易举。她登上大楼的最高处，从那里眺望四周。

The wind here was stronger than on the ground, and Magical Daisy held her skirt down with her hands. Perhaps it was because she was closer to the sun, but the daylight seemed much more intense now. Naturally, the view from here was much better. She pressed her left hand to her forehead to shade her eyes as she looked into the distance--Magical Daisy’s eyesight far exceeded the limits of living beings.
风比平地更为强劲，魔女黛西伸手压住裙襬。也许是靠近太阳的关系，连日照似乎都变得热辣许多。想当然耳，这里的视野比下面好多了。她将左手抵在额头，一边挡阳光一边望向远方——魔法少女的视力远远超过生物的极限。

“Hm… is that it?”
「嗯……是那个吗？」

There was a dense cluster of structures far in the distance. That was probably the only place which would qualify as a “town”. Everywhere else was the same as where she was now, wilderness dotted with abandoned buildings. She looked in all directions, steadily confirmed that the video game-style broken windows and even the way they were tilted were the same between each building, and then her gaze settled on one of them--there was a person on the building’s roof.
远方有密集的建筑物群。能被称为「城镇」的地方，看起来恐怕也只有那里了。其他则是与现在身处的地方毫无两样、废弃大楼零星分布的荒野。她环视着四面八方，逐一确认充满电玩风格的窗户裂痕，甚至连倾倒方式都完全一致的大楼后，视线停留在其中一栋——屋顶上有人影。

Once she was certain that it was a person, she swiftly leapt back. The roof of the building cracked apart beside Magical Daisy’s feet. This was not a natural phenomenon; it was as though someone had cleaved it with a sharp blade, cutting deeply into the concrete. Was this the work of the person which Daisy had sighred?
确认到人影的同时，她也迅速向后一跃。大楼屋顶上，魔女黛西的脚边裂开了。那并非自然裂开的现象，而是仿佛遭锐利的刃物划过般，水泥地被深深地砍过。魔女黛西看到了人影，是那个人做的吗？

The figure in the distance held a rod-like object, but they were too far apart, and even with a Magical Girl’s superb vision, she could not make it out clearly. The figure moved, seemingly swinging the rod it was holding. The rod reflected the light of the sun and sparkled; it was metal… a sword blade?
那道人影握着一根棒状物，但是距离太远，即使魔法少女拥有绝佳视力，也无法判断清楚。人影移动了，似乎挥动了手上的棍棒。棍棒反射着太阳光而闪闪发光，那是金属……刀刃？

Magical Daisy hurriedly dropped prone. A large chunk of the roof went missing, sliding slowly away and crashing to the ground with a tremendous impact. From where she was, she could see the dust rising up from the landing site.
魔女黛西忙不迭地趴倒在地。屋顶的边缘缺了一大半，缓缓滑开，发出轰然巨响后掉落。从这里还能看见地面扬起尘土。

There was no way she could be wrong. She had been attacked as the figure moved. She had thought that her opponent’s attack would travel through the air towards her, but she had not expected there to be almost no delay between the motion and the damage. It did not seem to be a projectile-type attack.
绝对错不了。伴随着人影动作的同时，她也遭受攻击。原本以为对方施展的斩击会凌空飞来，不料动作后到造成破坏为止，几乎没有时间差，似乎不是释放型的攻击。

Magical Daisy remained prone on the ground, bringing her hands forward and pointing them at the figure while she thought, She had been attacked, but she had not been hurt. Was this some form of intimidation or some attempt to scare her and keep her at bay? While she had backstepped and dropped prone, it was dubious whether she would actually have been hit if she had not taken evasive action.
魔女黛西维持趴在地上的姿势不动，一边将两手伸向前，对准人影，一边沉思。她遭到了攻击，但是没有受伤。难不成这是威胁或是牵制之类的吓阻行为？虽然她有做出向后退或是趴下的举动，不过她不采取闪避措施是否真的会被砍中，也很微妙。

If her opponent had not been trying to hurt her in earnest, then it would obviously be fine, but if they were deliberately trying to harm her, then these actions did not seem like what a mindless, lifeless entity like a Skeleton would perform. The merits and demerits of that attack method aside, this was most definitely an action taken by a human being. She could not use her Daisy Beam on humans… or rather, on living creatures.
如果对方不是真心要伤害她当然不会有事，但如果有心伤害的话，这种举动实在不像是骸骨之类毫无生命或有意志的对象所为。先不论攻击方法的优劣，这绝对是人类的行为。她不能对人类……应该说，不能对生物施展黛西光波。

After Magical Daisy waffled for a while, she saw a huge fissure on the wall of the building. Thinking that she could not delay any further, she aimed her hands, made some slight adjustments, and then fired the Daisy Beam. The beam struck the base of the building, causing the ruined building to list even more strongly to one side. So she fired again, and the building collapsed amidst a cloud of dust which billowed up into the sky.
魔女黛西踌躇了好一会儿之后，看到大楼壁面上出现巨大裂痕，心想不能再继续耗下去，便将手对准的位置稍微下移后，释放出黛西光波。光波命中大楼根基部位，使得崩坏的大楼更加倾斜，于是她再追加一发，只见大楼伴随着漫天飞舞的烟尘，倒塌而去。

The figure leapt away from the collapsed building, then landed. At the same time, Magical Daisy ran down the side of the building, using the slope of the building to shorten the distance between them. The figure was also sprinting at her, slashing as she ran. Her opponent swung once, twice, and Daisy leapt up, neatly evading the attacks.
人影从倒下的大楼中跳了出去，然后着地。同一时间，魔女黛西也飞奔下楼，在倾斜的外墙助跑藉此缩短彼此距离。人影也朝着她飞奔而来，一边跑一边释放斩击。对方一下、两下地挥刀而下，黛西向上弹跳，闪避全部的攻击。

Simply put, it was the same as swinging a sword at close range. The attacks followed the path of the blade, and if she shifted her body, she could evade the attack. Her opponent was essentially swinging a bat around.
简单来说，就是与近距离挥刀的效果一样。攻击是沿着刀的轨道而来，只要让身体偏移该轨道，就能闪避攻撃。对方只是挥大棒而已。

“Daisy Beam! Daisy Beam! Daisy… Beam!”
「黛西光波！黛西光波！黛西……光波！」

She fired off several beams, one after the other. She did not aim at her opponent, but at the ground. Said ground disintegrated, throwing up clouds of dust. Her objective was to block her opponent’s line of sight, and and so Magical Daisy rushed into the roiling clouds.
连射了好几发。她并没有瞄准对手，全都射向地面。只见地面纷纷分解，扬起烟尘。她的目的在于遮蔽对方视线，魔女黛西冲进黄土滚滚的砂尘之中。

She could sense her opponent’s presence. It was very strong, as though her opponent had no intention of concealing themselves.
她能感受到对方的气息，非常强烈，甚至完全不打算隐藏。

An attack came at her, skimming along the ground. Her opponent was aiming at her legs, so she leapt back, evaded it, and then kicked. While she had used a low kick, her crouching opponent had blocked it. The tip of her foot was originally aimed at her opponent’s temple, but it had struck her forehead instead. However, it was not so much that she had kicked her opponent’s forehead than her opponent blocking her attack with her forehead. A numbing pain shot through her toes. A stab at her throat came from the ground. She barely managed to avoid the strike, though it gashed her shoulders.
一击贴着地面而来。对方瞄准了她的脚，她前后跳跃、闪避，然后一踢。虽然她使出了低踢，不过被对手蹲低身子挡住攻击。她的脚尖原本对准对方的太阳穴，却命中额头。但与其说是踢中额头，倒不如说是对手用额头挡下了攻势。她的脚尖感到一阵麻痹。从地面攻来的刺喉袭击而来，魔女黛西在肩头被砍开的同时，勉强躲过刀锋。

She was too far away, and her movements were hampered by the sword.
距离太远了，她的行动受制于刀。

Therefore, she crouched low, sliding over to attack her opponent’s legs. Her foe fell, and the two of them entered a clinch. The sword was on the ground, their legs were tangled, their arms were locked, and she was grappled with an adversary which she could not clearly make out.
于是她蹲低，滑行过去攻击对方的脚边。对方倒下，两人陷入缠斗，刀落在地上，脚纠缠在一起、手纠缠在一起，她与看不清楚的对手互相抓住彼此。

She could tell just by touching it. This was a Magical Girl’s body, and one which had been amply trained. Much like Magical Daisy, her opponent was determined to win no matter who she fought, and so she had mortified her own body.
只要碰触到就知道了。这是魔法少女的肉体，而且饱经训练。和魔女黛西一样，这是无论对手是谁都决心要战胜对方，因而苛刻自己之人的肉体。

She grabbed her opponent’s sleeve and threw her. Just as her opponent was about to hit the ground, she swept Magical Daisy’s legs from under her, and thus they both fell heavily to the ground.
她一把揪住对方的袖口，摔投出去。在对方即将撞上地面之际，魔女黛西的脚被扫开，于是双双倒地。

“Haha!”
「哈哈！」

Her opponent laughed, and Magical Daisy forced herself to suppress her own smile.
对方笑了，魔女黛西硬生生将自己的笑容压回去。

She struck her opponent’s elbow, she hit her opponent’s fist, but her opponent hit her knee as well. Just before her opponent got their hands around her neck, she forcefully kicked her opponent away and opened up the distance between them. How would her opponent attack after this? How should she meet the attack? The core of her body began heating up. The dust slowly settled, and then a sudden gust of wind ripped across the land, instantly dispersing the remaining smoke and dust. However, only Magical Daisy remained by herself.
打中对方手肘、打中对方拳头，但膝盖也遭到对方击中。在她的脖子差点遭到对方的手缠绕住时，她用力踢开对方，拉开距离。接下来，对方会如何攻过来？该如何迎击？她的身体深处不禁变得炙热。烟尘徐徐散开，突然吹来一阵强风抚过地面，将剩下的烟尘全数吹散，那里只站着魔女黛西一人。

“...Strange?”
「……奇怪了？」

Had her opponent escaped? The ideal outcome would be if her opponent had fled. That said, there was a sense of emptiness inside her, or would it be better to call it dissatisfaction that had come from disappointment? Magical Daisy had quite enjoyed fighting in zero-visibility conditions, trading blows with an opponent she could not see. Her opponent must surely have enjoyed it too.
被对方逃掉了，是吗？如果对方逃跑的话，那是再理想不过的结果。虽然如此，但总觉得有一种落寞，还是该说是失落带来的不满足感？魔女黛西相当享受在视线能见度为零的环境中，与看不见的对手互殴的乐趣。对方一定也相当乐在其中吧。

“Not the Musician.”
「不是音乐家啊。」

She thought she had heard someone’s voice, but she did not see anyone when she turned back to look. In the end, she still had no idea what had happened. While she felt that her opponent was a Magical Girl, she could not be 100% sure of that.
似乎能听到某人的声音，回过头去却不见任何人。结果她仍然搞不清到底发生什么事情。虽然她认为对方同是魔法少女，但无法百分之百确信。

Her body cooled down from where it had heated up during her fight, and her mind calmed down as well. It was then that Magical Daisy recalled her original objective, and headed toward the town.
因为战斗而发热的身体逐渐降温，脑袋也同时冷静下来。魔女黛西这才回想起当初的目的，便看向城镇的方向。

This time, there was a plume of dirt and dust not far from the front of the town. She could see the shapes of people. People were moving swiftly, and it was not just one or two of them. They were surrounding one person, multiple white… Skeletons! Just like Magical Daisy, someone seemed to be fighting the Skeletons. She raised her right hand, prepared to use her Daisy Beam, when she suddenly realized that there was a distance between this place and her target. If she misfired, would it not lead to a great problem?
这次是在城镇前方不远处扬起一阵砂尘。看到人影了。不只一、二人，正激动地移动。那是团团困住一人的、复数白色的……骸骨！和魔女黛西一样，似乎有人正在大战骸骨。举起右手，正当她打算发射必杀的黛西光波时，才猛然惊觉这里离目标仍有一段距离。要是误射的话，不就会酿成大祸吗？

“Ah, forget it! Honestly! Dammit!”
「算了！真是的！可恶！」

With that cry, she charged forth.
她大叫一声冲了出去。

☆Pechika

The inside of the building was empty. There were no signs of any units being rented, any traces that it had been used for commercial purposes, or any indication that it had been used for human habitation at all. There was nothing here, save the stairs and the rooms, and the wind occasionally blew in through the cracked windows.
大楼里空空荡荡，完全不见任何租赁单位进驻，或是用于商业大楼的痕迹，也完全没有人类居住过的影子。真的什么都没有，只有阶梯与房间，风还不时钻过破裂的窗户吹进来。

She had been searching all this while for some clue to indicate where thsi place was. By the time she searched the third building she began to feel defeated, by the fifth building her motivation ran cold, and by the eighth building she had finally given up. Pechika herself sensed that her heart was weak.
她一直在寻找，指出这里是何处的线索。找到第三栋大楼时即感到挫败不已，找到第五栋大楼时变得心灰意冷,来到第八栋大楼里面她终于死心。蓓蒂卡本人也有自觉，她的心一点都不坚强。

She swept away the dust on the ground and sat, her back leaning against the wall, and all she could do was sigh deeply.
她扫开地上的尘埃坐了下来，倚靠着墙壁，只能猛叹气。

Not only did she not know where this place was, but she had been attacked by monsters, and she had almost been killed by the Magical Girl who had helped her defeat those monsters. Moreover, her Magical Phone did not respond to anything she did; she could not activate the text message function or make calls, so she could not communicate her situation to the outside world.
不仅不知道这里是何处，还遭受怪物袭击，甚至差一点被帮自己击退怪物的魔法少女杀害。再加上，魔法终端设备毫无反应，没办法启动简讯功能，也没办法拨号，因此无法向外界传达她目前的困境。

Her screen displayed the words “Magical Candies: 0”, which puzzled her. Magical Candies? It sounded very Magical Girl-ish, but she had never heard of them before.
萤幕现在显示着「魔法糖果零颗」如此令人摸不着头绪的文字。魔法糖果？听起来似乎很有魔法少女的风格，但是她从未听说过。

She thought of Ninomiya-kun, but that was simply to escape reality. But speaking of which, her present situation did not seem real at all. That being the case, she should just let her thoughts run wild and indulge wholeheartedly in her thoughts of Ninomiya-kun. It would make her feel better. Had he eaten her bento? The bento which Pechika made with her magic tasted so good that it could move people to tears.
她回想起二宫同学，这么做只是在逃避现实而已。但话说回来，目前的状况实在不像现实。既然如此，倒不如放任自己的思绪尽情思念二宫同学，会更愉快。他把便当吃掉了吧？用蓓蒂卡的魔法制作出来的便当，可是好吃到会让人流下泪水。

However, it might not have been to Ninomiya-kun’s tastes. Something might taste good, but among 10’000 people, one could not expect them all to have the same standards for flavor. Besides, he might have thrown the bento away without even putting his chopsticks to it. Sticking something into his mouth from a fan which he had never met before, which might have just about anything mixed into it, was the height of carelessness. If Pechika were in Ninomiya-kun’s situation, she would not want to eat something like that at all.
但是，也许并不合二宫同学的口味。虽然东西很美味，但是一万个人中不可能人人都拥有相同的味觉标准。再说，也许他没动筷子就把便当丢掉了。把来自于未曾谋面的陌生粉丝，而且不晓得里面掺了什么东西的食物放入口中，也可以说是过于粗心大意。如果站在二宫同学的立场，蓓蒂卡一点也不想吃那种东西。

--Ahhh, that won’t do.
——啊啊，这样子不行。

Thinking about Ninomiya-kun had only sunk her deeper into a vortex of despair. It should have been something to make her happy and delight her. Pechika wept. She made no sound, but cried quietly. She was worried that if she made a sound, she might be attacked by the Skeletons from earlier, so she only dared to weep in silence. Her tears flowed over her cheeks and to her chin, where they dripped onto the hands below them, which were hugging her knees. Chika had been a crybaby before she transformed, but she had never cried after becoming Pechika. She cried, and cried, and cried some more, and when she was tired from crying she fell asleep, until she awoke because she felt something shift behind her back.
思考二宫同学的事情，却导致她陷入更消极的漩涡之中。明明是一件令人开心又愉悦的事情。
蓓蒂卡哭了。没有发出任何声音，静悄悄地哭了。她担心如果发出声音，或许又会遭到先前的骸骨袭击，所以只敢默默流泪。泪水流过脸颊，滑落至下巴，一滴滴的泪水滴落下巴下方抱住膝盖的手背上。变身前是个爱哭鬼的智香，明明在变身成蓓蒂卡后就不曾哭泣过。哭啊、哭啊、持续哭泣，当哭累的她不禁打起瞌睡来时，因为背后一阵摇晃而清醒。

She opened her eyes, and plastered her right ear to the wall. There were footsteps, and… the sound of hooves? They were accompanied by the sounds of conversation. There was more than one of them; there were others in the same building. Pechika stepped away from the wall, taking great care in her movements. Perhaps she might meet someone normal this time; perhaps that person would be willing to explain the present situation to her, and tell her what exactly she should do. Perhaps that person would be willing to rescue Pechika.
她睁开眼睛将右耳贴在墙上，脚步声，还有……蹄声？以及交谈声。不只一个人，同一栋大楼里还有别人。蓓蒂卡离开墙壁，蹑手蹑脚地移动。也许这次能遇到正常的人；也许那个人会愿意告诉自己现况，并指示她到底该怎么做；也许对方会愿意拯救蓓蒂卡也不一定。

Of course, it was possible that the opposite would be the case. Or rather, it was more likely that the reverse would be true. Ever since she had been brought here, she had not met a single person with whom she could communicate with normally.
当然，也有可能是相反的情况。应该说，相反的可能性较大。自从她被带来这里之后，别说是非善恶了，根本没有遇到能正常沟通的对象。

If the other party was willing to speak reasonably, then she would take the initiative and talk to them. If the other party did not seem amenable to reason, then she would run away before the other side detected her. Therefore, she decided to go with that action plan and imitated a ninja, standing on her tiptoes and creeping carefully  towards the source of those sounds. She spent about 30 seconds taking each step as she drew closer to it. The chin which had been dripping tears was now dripping sweat instead.
如果对方讲理的话，她就主动攀谈。如果看起来无法讲理，就得在被对方察觉之前逃之夭夭。于是，她根据这个行动方针，学起忍者，抬起脚跟轻手轻脚地朝声音的来源走去，以一步大约耗时三十秒的时间慢慢接近。直到刚才为止还垂着泪水的下巴，正涔涔地滴着汗水。

“Like I was saying~”
「所以我不是说过了〜吗！」

It was Japanese. The intonation was a little strange, but Pechika could understand her words--at the very least, they were someone with whom she could communicate through language.
是日文，虽然音调的抑扬顿挫有点奇怪，但是蓓蒂卡能理解对方的话——至少似乎是能用语言沟通的人。

“In any case, we need to get to the top of the building so we can see further~ But then Rionetta…”
「无论如何，先爬上大楼顶楼才能看得比较远〜然而莉欧妮塔却……」

“Did that comment on idiots and smoke really get to you? Did I strike a nerve?”
(TL Note: Japanese saying: only idiots and smoke like to go to high places)
「原来你这么在意笨蛋与烟什么的那一句话呀？被我说中了吗？」〔注〕日本俗语，只有笨蛋与烟喜欢往高处去。

“Oi! Of course my stomach will stand when you say that!”
(TL Note: “stomach stand” in Miyopls sounds like 腹立 in JP; it means to get angry)
「喂！被人这么说我的stomach当然会stand起来啊！」〔注〕音近，stomachstand的幽默。

“Stop arguing, both of you!”
「你们两个别吵了！」

Pechika quietly peeked at them through the doorway. The ceiling in that room was gone, so it was effectively the top floor. She saw the shadows of three people there--not three people, but their shadows. Pechika thought to herself that if they were reasonable, she would make the first move, and so she stopped in front of the room.
蓓蒂卡静悄悄地从门口窥视里面。那个房间的天花板已经不见了，实质上算是顶楼。那里有三道人影，并不是三个人，而是三道影子。暗忖如果对方是讲道理的人，就要主动攀谈的蓓蒂卡在房间前停下脚步。

“We’re not arguing~ This is a proper protest~”
「才不是吵〜架！这是正当的抗〜议！」

The girl’s words had a very strange pitch and intonation. One could say she was very normal, and indeed, she looked quite ordinary, dressed as she was in a costume with a shrine maiden motif. She was probably a fellow Magical Girl like Pechika. While her Japanese style and looks did not match her way of speech, at least she did not look too abnormal.
音调抑扬顿挫得很奇怪的少女。如果说她很普通，的确相当普通，她身上穿着一袭以巫女为设计概念的服装。恐怕与蓓蒂卡同为魔法少女。虽然纯日式风格容貌与说话的腔调不搭，但至少她的外观并无太大异常。

“We are not arguing. And if I had to argue, I would do so with someone who had standards.”
「我们才不是在吵架。如果要吵也得找同样水准的人来吵吧。」

She was a tall-ish, yet ordinary-looking girl. Her brimless hat, bloomers and other Lolita stylings would go well on a girl with such tastes, even if she were not a Magical Girl. As she looked on her features, Pechika thought, she’s cute, but looks very artificial. Then, when she looked at her exposed elbows, wrists and finger joints, she unconsciously held her breath. Her skin texture looked no different from those of a regular person’s but the joints were ball joints. She was not a human, but a talking doll.
虽然看起来有点高大，但似乎是普通少女。无边软帽与灯笼裤等萝莉塔风格，即使不是魔法少女也能适用在有这方面嗜好的女孩子身上吧。看到她容貌的蓓蒂卡暗自在心中给予「虽然可爱，但总觉得很人工」的评语，然后在看到她暴露在衣服外的手肘、手腕、手指关节时，不禁屏住呼吸。肌肤的质感与人类皮肤毫无差异，但关节部分则是球体关节。她不是人类，是人偶在说话。

And then there was the third person--she was more striking than even the doll. She looked adorable, her clothes had a purple base color, while her tailfeather-like accessories and huge ribbon served as distinguishing features. And then there was her lower body, which was that of a horse. She was not simply straddling a horse, but it was as though someone had chopped off everything above the neck of a horse and grafted a human girl’s upper body onto it. In other words, she was a centaur, or a half-man, half-beast.
然后第三个人——她比人偶还更具冲击性，长相很可爱，服装是以紫色为基调，仿佛小鸟尾巴的扇形羽毛装饰与超大蝴蝶结为其特征。再来是她的下半身，居然是马。她并不是单纯地跨坐在马上，而是将马的脖子以上的部位砍掉，装上人类女孩子的上半身，也就是所谓的半人马或是半人半兽的生物。

Pechika could not tell if she was a monster like the Skeletons or a Magical Girl. Since she could not determine that, she should not make contact with her. Therefore, she began to retreat slowly. It would be best to leave before they spotted her. Just as Pechika took her third step away, her Magical Phone rang. The three of them each took out their Magical Phones--thus proving they were all Magical Girls--but Pechika’s Magical Phone had rung as well, and so the three of them looked at Pechika in surprise.
蓓蒂卡无法判别她们是与骸骨一样的怪物还是魔法少女。既然无法判断，就不应该与之接触。于是她开始缓缓向后退，最好在不被对方察觉的状况下离开。正当薛蒂卡后退到第三步的时候，魔法终端设备响了起来。三人各自拿起自己的魔法终端设备，因此能确定她们三位都是魔法少女，然而蓓蒂卡的魔法终端设备也在同时间响了起来，只见三人神情讶异地往蓓蒂卡的方向望去。

Pechika sprinted off without looking back.
蓓蒂卡头也不回地拔腿狂奔而去。

☆Magical Daisy

The maid girl Magical Daisy had rescued called herself “Nokko-chan”.
魔女黛西拯救的女仆小姐自称是「小原原」。

She was dressed like a stereotypical maid, her silver hair was plaited on both sides of her head and tied up with ribbons, and the broom she carried was tied with the same ribbons. She looked to be around 10 years of age, and she was a head shorter than Magical Daisy, which was to say that she was not tall.
一身典型的女仆打扮，绑成左右两边的银发以蝴蝶结扎好，握在手上的拖把也绑着相同的蝴蝶结。外表看起来大约十岁前后，比魔女黛西矮了一颗头，并不高。

According to her, she had become the Magical Girl Nokko-chan at the age of four, and she had lacked a sense of judgement. When she was asked to decide her Magical Girl name, she thought she was being asked for her own name, and so she cheerily replied, “Nokko-chan!” In the end, it had ended up being her Magical Girl name. After that, she had filed 13 separate requests to change her name, but all of them had been rejected one after the other.
听说她成为魔法少女「小原原」的时候，年仅四岁，并不具判断能力。当要决定魔法少女名字时，她以为是在问自己的名字，便活力充沛地回复「小原原！」，结果就成为魔法少女的名字了。在那之后，她曾提出更名上诉书十三次，却屡屡遭到骏回。

The boilerplate reply from the Land of Magic was: Once a Magical Girl’s name is decided, it cannot be changed unless it is for a big matter--even a four-year old girl who cannot exercise her judgement is not exempt from this.
套句「魔法王国」的话：一旦决定好的魔法少女名字，非重大事件不得变更——即使是毫无判断能力的四岁幼儿也不例外。

Daisy watched as Nokko-chan related the origin of her name in a way that seemed both like a complaint and like self-abasement, an embarrassed look on her face as she stroked the ribbons in her hair. She looked so young and adorable.
只见她一脸难为情地一边说着这种不晓得该抱怨还是自虐的名字由来，一边摸着头发上的蝴蝶结的模样，实在是青涩又可爱。

“Do you know where this is, and why we were brought here?”
「你知道这里是哪里，还有我们为什么会被带来这里吗？」

“I have no idea. I was looking at my bank book, but then I suddenly ended up here.”
「完全不清楚。我明明在看存折，结果突然就来到这里了。」

While she was curious about why she would be looking at her bank book in the middle of the night, it was probably unrelated. They had compared the date, and it would seem Magical Daisy and Noko-chan had gone through the same thing. It had happened on the same day, at the same time.
虽然好奇她为什么会在半夜看存折，但应该没有关联。她们也确认过日期，魔女黛西与小原原的认知完全一致。都是在同一日、同一时间发生异状。

“Excuse me, but…”
「请问……」

“Yes?”
「什么？」

“Are you the Magical Daisy?”
「难道说您是魔女黛西吗？」

“Mm, that I am.”
「嗯，是这样没错。」

“Awesome! You’re just like on TV! Were the events of the anime real?”
「好棒喔！跟电视上一模一样耶！动画里的情节都是真的吗？」

“Mm, for the most part. Though some parts were a little exaggerated.”
「嗯，算是吧。虽然有些部分过于夸大。」

Nokko-chan was a fan of Magical Daisy… or rather, she loved everything to do with Magical Girls. It was clear from her excited, overwrought way of speaking. The most common reason for Magical Girls to become Magical Girls was probably “I like Magical Girl anime and manga”. One could even say Daisy was the same; she had become a Magical Girl because she liked them.
小原原是魔女黛西的粉丝……应该说，她喜欢一切关于魔法少女的事物。只见她心情亢奋，情绪高涨地说着。魔法少女会成为魔法少女的理由，最常见的便是「我喜欢与魔法少女有关的动画与漫画」吧。甚至可以说魔女黛西也一样，因为喜欢魔法少女所以才成为魔法少女。

Therefore, the fact that Nokko-chan was a Magical Girl fan was not strange or unusual in the slightest. That said, Magical Daisy was glad to be able to meet with her audience, and if she was happy, she would be happy too.
所以，小原原是魔法少女粉丝的事实并不奇怪，而且一点也不稀奇。虽然如此，能见到魔女黛西的观众实在让人高兴，对方开心的话，自己也会更开心。

As she saw Nokko-chan talking happily about the episodes where she had cried, the enemies she hated most in a certain episode, the plotlines which had made her break out in a cold sweat and so on, Magical Daisy thought, I have to protect her.
看到说起往事，说自己在哪一集哭了、很讨厌哪一集的敌人、哪一则故事令自己捏了一把冷汗等，一脸开心地说着话的小原原，魔女黛西心想一定要好好保护她。

“When the show re-aired, I looked forward to the broadcast every week.”
「重播的时候，我每个星期都很期待播出喔。」

“I was still in middle school when it first aired… how old was I when it re-aired…”
「第一次播出的时候我还只是国中生……重播的时候我都几岁了呀……」

Perhaps this was how an idol who cherished their fans felt like. Magical Daisy’s anime had ended long ago, and so perhaps she was like a retired idol, but when she saw Nokko-chan chirping happily about it, a surge of strength flowed out from the depths of her body.
这也许就是偶像珍惜粉丝的心情吧。动画早已完结的魔女黛西，也许就像是引退的偶像，但看到小原原仍然无比雀跃地说着话，她的腹部深处不禁涌出一股力量。

The two of them continued talking about Magical Daisy for a good long while, and just as they were in high spirits, the text alert from their Magical Phones brought them back to reality. This was a bizarre otherworld, and they were surrounded by the remains of Skeletons.
两人持续聊了好一阵子魔女黛西的往事，当她们正说得兴高采烈的时候，魔法终端设备的简讯铃声将她们唤回现实。这里是莫名其妙的异地，而她们周围散乱着骸骨的残骸。

Their Magical Phones said 『Please proceed to the town』. It sounded naggy, but they had no choice but to comply. Magical Daisy told Nokko-chan about the town-like place she had spotted from the roof of the building, stated her hope that they would find out what was going on over there and then suggested that they travel there together. Nokko-chan blushed and replied, “Let’s go! I’ll do my best not to be a burden!” and Magical Daisy was delighted to hear that.
魔法终端设备显示『请前往城镇』。虽然觉得啰嗦，但似乎不得不遵从指示。魔女黛西告诉小原原自己在大楼顶楼看到似乎是城镇的地方，希望能在那里了解现况，并且提议一同前往。小原原脸红着说「我会全力以赴，努力不扯你的后腿！」魔女黛西听了非常欢喜。

While that town-like place was very far away, it was a trivial matter for someone with a Magical Girl’s foot speed. Given the difficulty Nokko-chan had with the Skeletons, she was not used to long-distance running, which in turn meant that she was not very confident in her physical abilities. Therefore, Magical Daisy deliberately slowed down, but even so, the journey of 20 kilometers took only about 10 minutes to complete.
虽然那个类似城镇的地方距离遥远，但只要拥有魔法少女的脚程，简直如小事一桩。从小原原与骸骨陷入苦战看得出来，她并不擅长奔波，也就是说她对自己的体力较无自信。因此魔女黛西刻意减速，尽管如此，二十公里的路程仍然只花十分钟左右就抵达了。

The “town” was just as she had seen from afar. It was called a town, but it did not satisfy the requirements to qualify as one. The buildings here were only in a slightly better condition than the ruined skyscrapers, and the roads had not been taken care of, which meant that they were covered in dust. From the outside, it looked deserted.
『城镇』的情形正如她在远方看到的一样。虽然名为城镇，却没有满足城镇必须具备的条件。建筑物只比废弃大楼好一点，但路面并没有经过整治，只见砂尘漫漫。从外面看来，毫无人迹。

After reminding Nokko-chan not to leave her side under any circumstances, Magical Daisy entered the town.
叮咛小原原绝对不可以离开她的身边后，魔女黛西进人城镇。

Not long after entering the town, they discovered an open space. It looked like some kind of plaza. Though it was dried out, there was a stone-paved cavity in its center with a mermaid statue in the middle. It appeared to have been a fountain in the past, but now sand replaced the water which should have been there. From that, she could sense that the water had dried up for a very long time.
进到镇上没多久便发现一个宽敞的地方。似乎是广场。水已经干涸，但中央处有个挖系石头而成的窟窿，坐着一尊人鱼像。过去似乎曾是喷水池，砂子取代了水堆积其中。从这一点能感受出,水已经干涸很长一段时日了。

There were two people in the plaza.
广场上有雨个人。

“Wait, wait!”
「等等、等等！」

Someone was shouting. It was a girl with an excited look on her red face; she was pointing at them and shouting.
有人发出尖叫声。一位面露兴奋神情、脸红透半边天的少女，正指着她们大叫。

“Could it be? Are you Magical Daisy herself?”
「我没看错吧？你是魔女黛西本尊吗？」

“Ah, mm, yeah, you could say it’s me…”
「唉，嗯，的确可以算是本尊吧……」

“Awesome! You’re the real one! That’s just awesome!”
「好棒喔！你真的是本尊？太棒7！」

This girl was probably a Magical Girl too. She was dressed in a futuristic get-up, complete with a visored helmet that went her form-fitting, full-body sentai outfit. She had a gun in her waist holster, but it did not look like a real gun, more like a toy raygun. Her overall appearance looked screamed, “an Earth Defense Trooper who protects the Earth from monsters or alien invasions”, and to Magical Daisy--who looked forward to the school holidays when they would re-air anime-- it invoked a sense of nostalgia in her despite never having seen such shows before.
这位少女也是魔法少女吧。只见她一袭超现代的服装，附有遮阳镜片的安全帽，配上包覆全身的合身战队服，挂在腰间的枪套虽然收着一把枪，但看起来不像是真枪，反而像玩具雷射枪。整体充满「保护地球免于怪兽或是外星人侵略的防卫队」打扮，对期待着暑假的动画重播档期的魔女黛西而言，虽然没有直接目睹却也足以激起她的怀旧之情，令人怀念。

“Ara, don’t be deceived by my appearance, the fact is that I’m a mild otaku. I always rushed to watch Magical Daisy episodes when they first came out, and of course I bought the full set of DVDs. I didn’t expect Magical Daisy to actually exist--I’m both moved and thankful for that!”
「哎呀，别看我外表这个样子，其实我可是轻微的御宅族喔。我每次都一定抢着看魔女黛西的首播，当然我也搜集了一整套DVD喔。没想到魔女黛西真的存在，真是让人感动又感激！」
外表这个样子是怎样子，看起来明明就是十足的御宅族。不过先暂且不论这一点，只要粉丝开心她就开心了。

“Nyannyan! Nyannyan! Over here, hurry--”
「娘娘！娘娘！快来这里——」

She did not seem to be imitating a cat, but instead she was calling someone’s name. The girl who jogged over was wearing a modified version of a Chinese qipao, and her hair was done up into two buns. Her appearance was stereotypically Chinese, and even her accent was...
她似乎不是在学猫叫，而是在呼唤着某人的名字。小碎步跑过来的少女身穿一袭由中式旗袍改良而成的服装，头发绑成两颗丸子。外表看起来有着典型的中国风，连说话的腔调也是……

“Yumenoshima-san, are they friends of yours ~aru?”
「可是梦之岛小姐的友人儿？」

She was nothing new. However, she had a thick tail sprouting from behind her butt which resembled that of a reptile or a monster. It had an imposing air around it which seemed out of place on her.
毫无新意。只不过从她的屁股后面，长出一条像是爬虫类又像怪兽的粗尾巴，散发出迫力十足的不协调感。

“Mm! Nyannyan, don’t you know Magical Daisy? You’re simply clueless, aren’t you?”
「嗯！娘娘，你不知道魔女黛西吗？资讯也太不发达了吧。」

“Ahhh, so she’s famous ~aru? Sorry for being so rude ~aru.”
「啊啊，这位可是有名的人士儿？真是失敬失敬儿。」

“This isn’t just a matter of rudeness! This is common knowledge!”
「这可不是失敬而已！这可是常识耶！」

The Earth Defense Trooper said her name was Yumenoshima Genopsycho, while the Chinese-themed one was called @Nyannyan. Their names were quite surprising, but actually saying so might be rude, so Magical Daisy decided to keep quiet.
像防卫队的那位说自己叫梦之岛杰若疯子，而中国风的那位则叫@娘娘。这两个名字都相当惊人，不过说出口的话，恐怕有点失礼，于是魔女黛西选择沉默。（注）名字录入正确

“Those names are pretty something.”
「好惊人的名字喔。」

Nokko-chan finally said it.
小原原说出口了。

“I get that a lot ~aru.”
「常有人这么说儿。」

“That’s because I’m a big fan of impact.”
「因为我很重视震撼效果。」

The two of them laughed, and it infected Magical Daisy and Nokko-chan, who laughed as well. While she felt that she should chide Nokko-chan for making fun of people’s names, the notion vanished as she looked at Nokko-chan. After that, Nokko-chan stated her own name and shared its origins, whereupon everyone laughed again. Perhaps exchanging the origins of their names was a tactic Nokko-chan was experienced in using.
两人大笑，而魔女黛西与小原原也被感染，跟着笑了起来。虽然觉得自己应该轻斥小原原不可以拿别人的名字做文章，但是一看到小原原，这种心情就烟消云散了。接着，小原原也报上自己的名字，并告诉两人由来，到这里众人又是一笑。名字的由来与那之后的一来一往，也许正是小原原惯用的招式也不一定。

The four of them sat around the mermaid statue, on the edges of the fountain pool.
四个人围着人鱼雕像，在喷水池边围成一圈坐了下来。

Genopsycho and @Nyannyan were not originally friends; rather, they had come to know each other after coming here, like Magical Daisy and Nokko-chan. The way in which they had arrived was pretty much the same as well; they heard a text alert in the middle of the night, and by the time they figured out what was going on, they were in the wilderness, and then they were attacked by Skeletons
杰若疯子与@娘娘并非原本就是朋友，而是如魔女黛西与小原原般，来到这里才认识的朋友。来到这里的状况也几乎大同小异，半夜听到简讯铃声，回过神来就身处于荒郊野外，并且遭到骸骨袭撃。

“That’s right, I met other Magical Girls too ~aru, they seemed to be in the same boat as us ~aru.”
「对了，我也有遇到其他的魔法少女儿，对方似乎也是一样的状况儿。」

She said that another group of Magical Girls had come to the town earlier.
她说有另外一群魔法少女先来过城镇了。

“And where are those people now?”
「那些人现在在哪里？」

“They said they’d already taken care of things here ~aru.”
「说是已经解决这里的事情儿了。」

“And they wouldn’t tell us what was going on. How despicable; I’d expect nothing less of Magical Girls without class.”
「而且对方也不告诉我们到底是什么事情。真是卑鄙，真不愧是没品的魔法少女。」

“They said it would be better to move around together than work alone ~aru. However, they seemed to have some other aim in mind, and they left hastily ~aru.”
「她们有说与其分散行动，一起行动比较好儿。不过，她们好像有特别的目的，所以就神色匆匆地走掉儿了。」

According to @Nyannyan, they were a group of four Magical Girls--a doll-like Magical Girl, a Magical Girl dressed as a shrine maiden, a Magical Girl with a horse for a butt, and a Magical Girl who had been trussed up with translucent string and slung over the back of the horse.
根据@娘娘的说法，对方总共有四位魔法少女——仿佛人偶的魔法少女、巫女打扮的魔法少女、下半身是马的魔法少女，还有被半透明的线紧紧捆住，无力地被绑在马背上的魔法少女。

“Eh? Was it okay to just leave her be?”
「咦？就这样不管她好吗？」

“They said it was because she kept wailing and crying and trying to escape, so they tied her up for her own safety.”
「她们说是因为她一下哭一下叫，还一直想跑，以策安全才绑起来的。」

“They didn't sound like bad people ~aru.”
「听她们说话的感觉，也不像是坏人儿。」

While she had no right to be worried about others right now, she was worried all the same.  It was not impossible for Magical Girls to be confused by abnormal situations, leading to them fighting among themselves… not long ago, Magical Daisy had personally experienced that.
虽然她现在没立场操心别人，但还是会担心。面对异常状况而陷入混乱，导致魔法少女自相残杀的情况也不是不可能发生……不久之前，魔女黛西正好亲身体验过。

“They also said that there were other Magical Girls ~aru.”
「她们有说，好像还有其他的魔法少女儿。」

“They left for other places after achieving their aim of reaching this town, but I have no idea what happened… eh?”
「虽然她们是达成来这个城镇的目的之后，就朝着某处离去了，但是到底发生什么事情，我完全摸不着头绪就是……咦？」

Genopsycho froze before she finished speaking, her mouth hanging wide open. Genopsycho then took out her Magical Phone in her right hand and stared at the screen. The contents of the screen were reflected on her visor.
杰若疯子话还没说完，一张嘴开得大大的动也不动。只见她右手拿着魔法终端设备，盯着画面。杰若疯子的遮阳镜片反射着画面的光线。

“It’s here! Everyone, turn on your Magical Phones!”
「来了！大家快打开魔法终端设备的电源！」

The screen which had been displaying 『Please proceed to the town』 had changed. It now said 『Additional support options.』
直到刚才为止还显示着『请前往城镇』的画面有了变化。上面写着『追加支援选项』。

“Support options?”
「支援选项？」

There was a hyperlink on the word “Support”, and so Magical Daisy tapped it with her fingertip.
「支援」的部分有超连结，于是，魔女黛西以指尖按下支援选项。

Gamemaster’s Side 01

The classroom was wreathed in flames.
教室被火焰团团包围。

The aged, campus built of wood did not have the necessary automatic water sprinklers installed, but was instead piled high with flammables. Be they tables, chairs, bookshelves, wallpaper, all of them burned, and the heat melted the glass in the window frames, which flowed down.
陈旧的木造校舍并无应该要有的消防自动洒水装置，却有满山满谷的助燃物。无论是桌子、椅子、书柜、壁纸都延烧开来，窗户的玻璃与窗框热到熔化，流泻而下。

Everything was illuminated by the brilliant red of a roaring blaze, and toxic black smoke filled the air. In this hellish landscape, completely out of place here, a pair of girls faced each other.
一切都映照着火焰的鲜红，四处都飘散着有毒的黑烟。在犹如地狱的光景之中，完全不符合此情此景的两位少女对峙着。

One of them was a crimson Magical Girl. She had a head of vibrant red hair, and she wore a fiery red dress. Her anger and agitation were reminiscent of a raging fire, and they twisted her originally pretty face with bestial savagery. She put up her clenched fists before her and lowered her waist, taking a stance to meet the enemy.
其中：人是鲜红色的少女。一头艳红的头发，穿着一袭赤红如火的连身式礼服，令人联想到火焰的愤怒与激动情绪，使得那张原本清秀端丽的容颜宛如野兽般狰狞。只见她将轻轻握住的两只拳头放在面前，腰部降低，摆出迎敌架势。

The other person was a pure white Magical Girl. She wore a sailor outfit and skirt which looked like a school uniform, as well as white flower accessories, with an old cloth bag at her waist, and her hands gripping a naginata-like weapon. In contrast to the furious bright red Magical Girl, her face was devoid of anything which could be considered emotion.
另一人是纯白色的少女。看似学生制服的水手服与裙子，以及纯白花饰、腰间挂着一个老旧的布袋，握着一把类似剃刀的武器。与气愤万分的鲜红少女形成强烈对比，她的脸上毫无一丝可称之为表情的情绪存在。

The red Magical girl made the first move. She bent her knees, still in a crouch, and extended her leg while staying low to the ground, delivering a low sweeping kick from outside the naginata’s attack range. It was probably an entry move or a feint to deceive her, but the white Magical Girl stuck out the hilt of her naginata to block it, as though to say “I knew this attack was coming”.
率先动作的是鲜红少女。维持蹲得低低的姿势膝盖一弯，紧贴着地面伸出脚，在薙刀的攻击范围外，使出低身旋踢。恐怕只是牵制，或是假动作之类掩人耳目的这一击，被纯白少女「仿佛早就料到她会有此一击」般而伸出来的剃刀刀柄挡住。

The second and third hits could not even get into the defensive radius of the naginata. By the fourth attack came, the tip of the naginata grazed her, and her toes split open with a spray of blood.
接下来的第二发、第三发攻击，甚至进不了剃刀的防守范围内。来到了第四发攻击时，她遭到薙刀划过，足尖裂开迸出鲜血。

The red Magical Girl wailed in pain, then breathed fire from her mouth. It was a surprise attack, yet the white Magical Girl remained impassive, merely spinning her naginata to extinguish the man-sized gout of flame. The heavy, one-meter long naginata spun deftly in the girl’s hands, as though it were a part of her body.
鲜红少女发出尖锐的惨叫，从口中吹出火焰。明明是出人意表的突袭，纯白少女却依旧面无表情地旋转薙刀，一击便将人类大小的火团扑灭。长达一公尺，沉重不已的薙刀在那纤细的少女手中一挥，灵活得有如她身上的一部分。

The red Magical Girl cried out, then threw herself into the flames behind her, vanishing as though she had melted into them.
鲜红少女莫名大叫一声后便投向背后的火焰，如融化般消失不见。

A moment later, the roaring flames behind the white girl suddenly swelled up, taking the shape of the red Magical girl. She levelled a savage roundhouse kick at the defenseless back of her head. Just as she was about to splatter her target, the white Magical Girl nonchalantly dipped her head, with the same “I knew this attack was coming” ease as before. In the end, all the roundhouse kick did was make a whip-like crack, tearing through the air and ending with nothing to show for it.
短短一瞬间后，在纯白少女的背后燃烧的熊熊烈火突然膨胀，转变成鲜红少女的模样。她朝着那毫无防备的后脑杓狠狠地使出回旋踢，就在快要踢爆目标的瞬间，果不其然，纯白少女又「仿佛早就料到她会有此一击」般头也不回地低下了头。到头来，回旋踢只发出有如挥出鞭子般的声响，划破空气便结束了。

The red Magical Girl immediately dove back into the flames, vanishing without a trace once more.
鲜红少女立刻潜人火焰内，再度仿佛融化般消失不见。

Ever since the two of them had started fighting, the white Magical Girl’s expression had not changed in the slightest. She whirled her naginata through a full 180 degrees and then stabbed it into the floor of the class room. She then reached into the bag at her waist, and then she produced a gray object which reflected the red of the fire around her… an industrial-grade fire extinguisher which was bigger than the bag itself.
从两人开始对战直到现在，纯白少女的表情毫无一丝变化。她以单手将薙刀旋转一百八十度后，刺入教室地板。手探入挂在腰间的布袋里，从里面取出来的是，一个在火焰的红映照下的灰色物体……比布袋还巨大的业务用灭火器。

She pulled out the safety pin, picked up the hose, and then pointed it at the ceiling--that was to say, at a 45-degree angle from herself, right above the teacher’s desk--at a tongue of surging flame, and expelled a spray of fire-fighting chemical.
拔开安全栓、抓起喷管，朝教室的天花板，也就是从她倾斜四十五度角的方位，正好是讲桌的正上方处——剧烈燃烧的火舌，喷出灭火剂。

Something fell from the ceiling. It cried out wordlessly, grabbing its face in agony as it rolled around on the ground. It was the red Magical Girl. Her red outfit and hair were covered in the white powder from the fire extinguisher, and all she could do was drool, weep and writhe in agony.
有东西从天花板掉了下来。发出不成声的嘶吼，捣着脸痛苦不已地来回滚动的那个「东西」，原来是鲜红少女。只见那赤红色的服装、赤红色的头发，全部都被灭火器的白色粉末覆盖，她只能痛苦地一边喷着口水飙着泪水，蠕动身躯。

The white Magical Girl approached leisurely, raising the massive fire extinguisher, and then she swung it down. After repeating this action five times, the red Magical Girl did not move any longer. The white Magical Girl cast aside the fire extinguisher she was holding and looked down on the red Magical Girl. Even after the battle had ended, her face was still devoid of expression.
纯白少女悠悠地接近，举起巨大的灭火器，然后挥下。如此重复五次之后，鲜红少女便一动也不动了。纯白少女抛开手中的灭火器，高高在上地向下睨着鲜红少女。即使在战斗结束之后，
她的脸上依旧一样面无表情。

The video clip ended here.
影片只到这里。

The sound of clicking accompanied the movement of the cursor, the closing of the video player software and the closing of the browser, and finally, the computer’s power was switched off. Now that the sole source of light in the room--the computer--had been turned off, it was plunged into blackness, and only a musty odour and the sound of conversation remained.
移动游标、关掉播放软体、关闭浏览器，每一次的动作都伴随着滑鼠喀答喀答的点击声，最后关掉了电脑的电源。室内在唯一的光源——电脑被关掉之后，便陷入一片黑暗，只留下阵阵霉味与交谈声。

“And so, she caught the baddie… ahhh, Snow White is just too cool.”
「于是，坏蛋遭到逮捕了……唉唉，白雪真是太帅气了。」

It was a satisfied girl’s voice, one who was probably between 15 and 16.
相当心满意足的少女声音，年龄大约在十五、六岁上下。

“Flame Flamey was a Magical Girl with excellent fighting ability, but she was as weak as a child when facing Snow White. It was as though every single move she made in that fight was seen through! Heeheehee!”
「芙雷伊姆，芙烈敏虽然也是战斗能力高超的魔法少女，但是一对上白雪的话，简直就如孩童般弱小。这场对战之中，她一切的举动似乎都被看穿了！嘻嘻嘻！」

She sounded like she was disappointed about it, but her voice overflowed with delight.
仿佛对此感到希嘘不已，然而声音的语调却洋溢着喜悦之情。

“That was just so cool! The Magical Girl Hunter who’ll never forgive evil Magical Girls--Snow White! She neatly dealt with Flamey, who made Magical Girls fight each other out of her twisted logic that only the strong could become Magical Girls! Snow White is a strong and kind Magical Girl of justice! Hey! Don!”
「果然是帅毙了！绝对不会饶恕邪恶魔法少女的魔法少女猎人——白雪！她漂亮地收拾掉了，抱持只有强者才能成为魔法少女如此歪理，并让魔法少女自相残杀的芙烈敏！白雪是又强大又温柔的正义魔法少女！嘿！咚！」

THere was the sound of clattering, as though something had fallen.
发出喀锵一声，似乎有物体掉落的声响。

“Besides, don’t you think there’s something wrong with requiring Magical Girls to be strong? Magical Girls ought to be gentle, adorable, caring, and friendly, doing everything with all their heart!”
「再说，不觉得要求魔法少女要强大的这个观念很有问题吗？所谓的魔法少女呀，必须具备温柔、惹人怜爱、体贴、友情与凡事全力以赴的要素才行吧！」

“Indeed ~pon! However, being strong at the same time isn’t bad either.”
「的确是如此蹦！不过，如果同时具备强大也不错啦。」

The voice which answered the girl was high-pitched, like that of a child. Despite its shrillness, it spoke in a calm way.
回答少女的声音有如孩童般高亢。虽然高亢，但语气听起来相当沉稳。

“It’s just as I thought! My Master said so too. Strength alone doesn’t qualify you to be a Magical Girl; we don’t need Magical Girls who only know how to pursue power. Leaving aside the Magical Girls who make other Magical GIrls kill each other, the Magical Girls who were selected for that killing are also to blame.”
「果然是这样没有错！我的师父也这么说。光是强大没资格成为魔法少女，我们不需要只会追求强大的魔法少女。让魔法少女自相残杀的魔法少女当然不必说，但是被选上进行互相残杀的魔法少女也有错。」

It was as though her hot blood had gone to her head...
仿佛被热血给冲昏头般……

“Therefore, what I’m doing is to help Snow White.”
「所以，我这是在帮助白雪。」

With that conclusion, she rested her case.
她下了如此结论。